Disk selection control device for multidisk player

• US 5,633,842 A
• Filed: 04/28/1995
• Issued: 05/27/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Toshiyuki, Kaneko, Kenji, Hayama, Akira, Sato, Hitoshi, Nishida, Junichi, Endo, Fumio, Furukawa, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thang V.
• Application Number:
  US08/431,396
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 369/32, 369/30, 369/33, 369/34, 369/36, 369/27, 369/57, 369/56, 369/3, 360/13, 360/69, 360/15
• US Class Current: 369/30.2
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/22 from random access magazine of disc records
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/228 Control systems for magazines G11B17/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/213 Read-only discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier

Abstract

A disk selection control device for a multidisk player, in which disk content identifying information and TOC information of the disks are preliminarily stored correspondingly with each other, and the disk content identifying information and disk holding position information of the disks are stored correspondingly with each other according to the TOC information when it is read-out. By inputting the disk content identifying information, the disk holding position information corresponding to the input disk content identifying information can be obtained from the above correspondency therebetween to thereby select a desired disk.

Claims

1. A method for selecting playback of one of a plurality of disks stored in a multidisk player, the method comprising the steps of:

reading from a recorded information lead-in area of each of said plurality of disks loaded in said multidisk player indexing information, said indexing information including identification of a disk type;

determining a disk holding position of each of said plurality of disks in said multidisk player and generating for each respective one of said plurality of disks a disk holding position information indicative of the holding position of each respective one of said plurality of disks;

storing the disk holding position information and the indexing information associated each other for said respective one of said plurality of disks at an internal memory of a system controller;

determining each of the plurality of disks as either a memory disk or a music disk based on the identification of a disk type in association with the disk holding position information;

storing disk content identifying information for identifying the contents of each of said plurality of disks at the internal memory of the system controller if each of said plurality of disks is determined as a memory disk in the above determining step, said disk content identifying information being stored in association with the disk holding position information based on a correlation between the disk content identifying information and the indexing information for the corresponding disks, respectively;

receiving, in response to user input, a disk selection command including a selected disk content information for selecting a particular one of said plurality of disks having a content corresponding to said selected disk content information;

determining a particular one of said stored disk content identifying information corresponding to said selected disk content information; and

determining the disk holding position information associated with said particular one of said stored disk content identifying information for selecting for playback the disk held at the corresponding disk holding position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of disks is a memory disk on which map data is stored, and the disk content identifying information comprises a map number indicative of content of a map stored on the memory disk.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said plurality of disks comprises a plurality of music disks storing music and a pluralites of memory disks each storing map data, said plurality of music disks and memory disks being intermixed with each other in said multidisk player.

4. A disk selection control device operating in a multidisk player, wherein said multidisk player houses a plurality of disks in a magazine, each of said plurality of disks having a lead-in area where indexing information is recorded, said indexing information including identification of a disk type, said device for selectively playing any one of said disks, the disk selection control device comprising:

retrieving means for retrieving each of said disks from a holding position in said magazine;

reading/storing means for reading and storing the indexing information of each of said plurality of disks;

disk position means for determining and storing disk holding position information indicative of said holding position of each of said disks in association with disk content identifying information and indexing information for the corresponding same one of said disks;

means for determining each of the plurality of disks as either a memory disk or a music disk based on the identification of a disk type in association with the disk holding position information;

storing means for storing the disk content identifying information indicative of disk content of the memory disk determined by said means for determining;

returning means for returning said disks to said holding position in said magazine;

means for receiving, in response to use input, a disk content selection command indicative of the content of a particular one of said disks, said receiving means selecting said particular one of said disks having content corresponding to said disk content selection command; and

means for determining which disk content identifying information of a particular disk corresponds to said disk content selection command, and for determining which particular disk holding position information is associated with said disk content identifying information of said particular one of disks, thereby selecting for playback the particular one of disks held at a disk holding position corresponding to said particular disk holding position information.

5. The disk selection control device as defined in claim 4, wherein at least one of said plurality of disks is a memory disk in which a map data is stored, and said particular stored disk content identifying information comprises the map number indicative of a content of a map stored on said memory disk, and said disk content selection command comprises said map number.

6. A multidisk player for housing a plurality of disks of varying format in a holding position wherein each of said disks contains indexing information, said indexing information including identification of a disk type, said player comprising:

player means for playing a designated disk in response to disk designating information;

first storage means for reading from a recorded information lead-in area of the disks and for storing said indexing information and disk content identifying information;

first means for determining a holding position of each of said plurality of disks;

second storage means for storing said indexing information and a holding position information representing a holding position in a corresponding relationship;

second means for determining each of the plurality of disks as either a memory disk or a music disk based on the identification of a disk type in association with the holding position information;

third storage means for storing disk content identifying information indicative of disk content of the memory disk determined by said second means for determining;

means for inputting the disk content identifying information; and

means for selecting the designated disk in response to the disk designating information based upon a particular holding position information that corresponds to said disk content identifying information.