Information signal recording and reproducing apparatus and recording and reproducing method

• US 6,031,806 A
• Filed: 02/02/1998
• Issued: 02/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tomita, Masami
• Primary Examiner(s): EDUN, MUHAMMAD N
• Application Number:
  US09/017,244
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 369/54, 369/58, 369/47, 369/48, 369/49, 369/50, 369/59, 369/32, 360/48, 360/51, 360/53
• US Class Current: 369/53.24
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00 Signal processing not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/024 on tapes G11B27/028, G11B27/029 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/026 on discs G11B27/028, G11B27/029 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/029 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/032 on tapes G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/22 Means responsive to presence or absence of recorded information signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums

Abstract

When an erasable region among recorded regions is selected, additional information (time information and content information) corresponding to a recording region is obtained. The elapsed time is calculated from the time information and present time information. As reference information, preserving period information of every content information is held and whether it is erasable or not is determined on the basis of the elapsed time and the preserving period information. With respect to N recorded regions, whether it is erasable or not is sequentially decided. The recorded region corresponding to the longest elapsed time among the erasable recorded regions is decided as a recording region. The recording process is executed to the decided recording region.

Claims

1. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus for selecting an arbitrary region of a recording medium and recording and reproducing, wherein

an information signal recorded on said recording medium is constructed by a main signal and additional information which was made correspond to said main signal, said additional information is constructed by time information showing a recording time of said main signal and content information showing the contents of said main signal,

and said apparatus comprises:

reference information holding means for holding preserving period information of every said content information; and

control means for performing processes such that

the presence or absence of a vacant region is detected, when said vacant region exists, the signal is recorded into said vacant region,

when said vacant region doesn'"'"'t exist, said additional information of a recorded region is reproduced, an elapsed time of the recorded region is calculated from said time information in said reproduced additional information and present time information,

whether the recorded region can be erased or not is decided from said elapsed time and said preserving period information corresponding to said content information in the reproduced additional information, and the signal is recorded to the recorded region which was determined to be erasable.

2. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said apparatus has means for inputting said additional information from an outside, and said additional information is inputted and recorded upon recording of said main signal.

3. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said additional information is inputted in association with the main signal which is recorded.

4. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said main signal and said additional information are recorded to a common recording medium.

5. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said main signal and said additional information are recorded to different recording media.

6. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said reference information holding means can select or change a condition setting on the basis of an input from an outside.

7. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said control means executes a process for deciding whether the signal can be erased or not every process for recording the signal.

8. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said control means executes a process for deciding whether the signal can be erased or not when the recording medium is loaded.

9. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said control means forms a list in which the erasable regions determined in the recorded region are arranged in accordance with the order corresponding to the positions before and after the time when the signal can be erased.

10. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

said control means forms a list in which the erasable regions determined in the recorded region are arranged in accordance with the order corresponding to the duration of a period of time when the signal can be erased.

11. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

in said recording region, a series of lengths of said main signal is set to a unit.

12. An information signal recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

in said recording region, a minimum data amount to be recorded and reproduced is set to a unit.

13. An information signal recording and reproducing method of selecting an arbitrary region of a recording medium and recording and reproducing, characterized in that:

an information signal recorded on said recording medium is constructed by a main signal and additional information which was made correspond to said main signal, said additional information is constructed by time information showing a recording time of said main signal and content information showing the contents of said main signal; and

there are executed processes such that

the presence or absence of a vacant region is detected, when said vacant region exists, the signal is recorded into said vacant region,

when said vacant region doesn'"'"'t exist, said additional information of a recorded region is reproduced, an elapsed time of said recorded region is calculated from said time information in the reproduced additional information and present time information,

whether the recorded region can be erased or not is decided from said elapsed time and said preserving period information corresponding to said content information in said reproduced additional information, and the signal is recorded into the recorded region which was determined to be erasable.