Error correction apparatus and disk player using the same

• US 6,621,982 B1
• Filed: 05/18/1999
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kimura, Satoru, Yasuda, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US09/313,381
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.576, H04/N.592, H04/N.579, H04/N.5781, 386/22, 386/113, 386/116, 386/45, 386/125, 386/126, 386/124, 360/32, 360/48, 360/53, 714/51, 714/52, 714/751, 714/755, 714/756, 714/752, 714/758, 714/761, 714/762, 714/763, 714/764, 714/769, 714/770, 714/785, 714/787, 714/788, 714/800, 714/766
• US Class Current: 386/268
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1833 by adding special lists or symbols to the coded information G11B20/1806, G11B20/1866 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1062 Data buffering arrangements, e.g. recording or playback buffers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

An error correction apparatus comprises a buffer memory for successively storing ECC error correction blocks included in the reproducing signal read from the optical disk in units of a row including a corresponding inner code parity, and an error correction means for successively performing an error correction on the read row by reading the column of information data stored in a buffer memory and said inner code parity corresponding to the column from among the ECC error correction block and using the read inner code parity in parallel with processing for storing the remaining data forming the ECC error correction block at a timing before all of data constituting the ECC error correction block is stored in the buffer memory.

Claims

1. An error correction apparatus which performs an error correction in units of an error correction code block composed of information data, an inner code parity indicating the error correction code for every row of the information data and an outer code parity indicating an error correction code for every column of the information data when a plurality of bit data forming the information data is arranged in matrix,

said error correction apparatus comprising:

a memory means for storing said error correction code block included in a signal read from a memory medium by inputting the error correction code block as units of said row of the information data and the inner code parity corresponding to the row;

an error correction means for reading the row of said information data and the inner code parity corresponding to the row among the error correction code block stored in said memory means and performing an error correction of the read row of said information data by using the read inner code parity data at the timing before all of the data constituting said error correction code block has been stored in said memory means, in parallel with the operation of storing in said memory means the remaining data constituting the error correction code block, wherein the error correction means is adapted to begin performing the error correction of the read row of said information data when a predetermined amount of data is stored in the memory means, wherein the predetermined amount of data is less than the error correction code block; and

wherein the error correction means reads said read row of said information data from the memory means.

2. An error correction apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said error correction means terminates the operation of the error correction using the inner code parity on the error correction code block at the timing approximately matching to a timing when all of the data constituting said error correction code block data is stored in said memory means.

3. An error correction apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said correction means starts the operation of the error correction at the timing after a first row of the information data and the inner code parity corresponding to the first row is stored in said memory means.

4. An error correction apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said error correction means writes back the result of the error correction using the inner code parity in the memory means.

5. An error correction apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein said error correction means performs the error correction using the result of the error correction using the inner code parity data and the outer code parity data.

6. An error correction apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said memory medium comprises a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) storing video data and/or audio data.

7. The error correction apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount of data is an amount that causes completion of the error correction by the error correction means and the storing of said error correction code block by the memory means at about a same time.

8. An optical disc reproduction apparatus for reproducing by reading from an optical disc the signal including an inner code parity indicating the error correction code for every row, an outer code parity indicating an error correction code for every column and the error correction code block constituted by information data when a plurality of bit data forming the information data is arranged in matrix, comprising:

a reading means for reading a signal including said error correction code block from said optical disc;

a memory means for storing said error correction code block included in the signal read from a memory medium by inputting the same as units of said row of the information data and the inner code parity corresponding to the row;

an error correction means for read row data of said information data and the inner code parity data corresponding to the row among the error correction code block stored in said memory means and performing an error correction of the read row data of the information data by using the read inner code parity data at the timing before all of the data constituting said error correction code block has been stored in said memory means, in parallel with the operation of storing in said memory means the remaining data constituting the error correction code block, wherein the error correction means is adapted to begin performing the error correction of the read row of said information data when a predetermined amount of data is stored in the memory means, wherein the predetermined amount of data is less than the error correction code block;

a decoding means for decoding the error corrected signal; and

wherein the error correction means reads said read row of said information data from the memory means.

9. An optical disc reproduction apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein said error correction means terminates the operation of the error correction using the inner code parity on the error correction code block at the timing approximately matching to a timing when all of the data constituting the error correction code block data is stored in said memory means.

10. An optical disc reproduction apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein the operation of the error correction is faster than the operation of storing the error correction code block in the memory medium.

11. An optical disc reproduction apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein said error correction means writes back the result of the error correction using the inner code parity in the memory means.

12. An optical disc reproduction apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein said error correction means performing the error correction using the result of the error correcting using the inner code parity data and the outer code parity data.

13. An optical disc reproduction apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein said memory medium comprises a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) storing video data and /or audio data.

14. The optical disc reproduction apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein the predetermined amount of data is an amount that causes completion of the error correction by the error correction means and the storing of said error correction code block by the memory means at about a same time.