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Apparatus for selectively comparing pointers to detect full or empty status of a circular buffer area in an input/output (I/O) buffer

  • US 5,537,552 A
  • Filed: 08/17/1993
  • Issued: 07/16/1996
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. An information reproducing apparatus for reproducing data recorded on a recording medium, said apparatus comprising:

  • input means for inputting data read out from data blocks of the recording medium;

    a buffer for storing data input by said input means, said buffer having a first storage area and a second storage area, said first storage area storing data of normal data blocks input by said input means and being a ring buffer in which data storing is restarted from a head address when the data storing at an end address is completed, and said second storage area storing data of specific data blocks input by said input means;

    transfer means for transferring the data stored in said buffer to a host apparatus;

    control means for controlling said apparatus to execute in parallel a first process for storing data into one of the first storage area and the second storage area in said buffer and a second process for reading out data stored in one of the first storage area and the second storage area in said buffer to transfer data to the host apparatus by said transfer means; and

    determining means for determining whether there are data in the first storage area to be transferred to the host apparatus by comparing a storing address in said buffer of the data which are being stored into the first storage area with a read address in said buffer of the data which are being read out from the first storage area, when said control means reads out the data already stored in the first storage area while storing the data of the normal data blocks into the first storage area,wherein said determining means does not compare the storing address in said buffer of the data which are being stored into said second storage area with the read address in said buffer of the data which are being read out from the first storage area, when said control means reads out the data already stored in the first storage area while storing the data of the specific data blocks into the second storage area.

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