Apparatus and method for transferring information among variety of information recording and reproducing apparatus

• US 6,782,434 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1999
• Issued: 08/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited, Ricoh Technology Research Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Ryoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): SORRELL, ERON J
• Application Number:
  US09/448,500
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 710/31, 710/33, 710/2, 710/8, 710/13, 369/47.12, 369/85
• US Class Current: 710/33
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/218 Write-once discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2525 Magneto-optical [MO] discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2575 DVD-RAMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• 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: G11B 5/86 Re-recording, i.e. transcribing information from one magnetisable record carrier on to one or more similar or dissimilar record carriers by varying the order of the information G11B27/029, G11B27/036

Abstract

An information transfer apparatus includes a casing having at least two sections accommodating a variety of information recording and reproducing apparatuses, respectively. A transfer device is arranged to transfer information from one of the information recording and reproducing apparatuses to the other one or more information recording and reproducing apparatuses. A controller is arranged to control an information transfer operation using information transfer control program realizing an information transfer operation among the variety of information recording and reproducing apparatuses.

Claims

1. An information transfer apparatus, comprising:

a casing configured to include at least two sections accommodating a plurality of different information recording and reproducing apparatuses;

respectively;

a transfer device configured to transfer information from one of the information recording and reproducing apparatus to the other; and

a controller configured to control an information transfer operation using an information transfer control program realizing an information transfer operation among the variety of information recording and reproducing apparatuses;

wherein before a start of the information transfer operation, said controller reads an information transfer program from an information recording and reproducing medium and stores the same in a RAM included in the information transfer apparatus only when said controller determines that such an information transfer program is present in the information recording and reproducing medium; and

said information transfer program in said RAM is executed by the controller of the information transfer apparatus when information from an information recording and reproducing medium serving as an information transfer source is transferred to another information recording and reproducing medium.

2. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a memory configured to temporally store information read from one of the information recording and reproducing apparatuses when the information is transferred.

3. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said variety of information recording and reproducing apparatuses include those which share a same type of medium but a different type of formatting.

4. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information transfer operation is controlled by a remote controller.

5. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a selecting device configured to select one or more information recording and reproducing apparatuses as information transfer sources; and

one or more the other information recording and reproducing apparatuses as information transfer destinations.

6. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said selecting device selects one or more information recording and reproducing apparatuses in a prescribed priority order.

7. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said priority is given to a most frequently utilized information recording and reproducing apparatus as an information transfer source.

8. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a first recording medium existence determining device configured to determine if a recording medium having information to be transferred exists in the information recording and reproducing apparatus of the information transfer source.

9. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a second recording medium existence determining device configured to determine if a recording medium recording information therein exists in the information recording and reproducing apparatus of the information transfer destination.

10. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 8 or 9, further comprising a condition informing device configured to inform a condition if said recording medium does not exist.

11. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said condition informing device includes a display and a speaker.

12. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

a device configured to notify completion of the information transfer operation.

13. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

a replacement information device, said replacement information device being configured to notify the information recording and reproducing apparatus whether it includes the information transfer program.

14. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising an information transfer completion determining device configured to determine completion of the information transfer operation.

15. An information transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a plurality of ports configured to connect with a host computer, a printer, and another digital input/output instruments.

16. An information transfer method, comprising the steps of:

accommodating a controller and a variety of information recording and reproducing apparatuses in a casing, said variety of information recording and reproducing apparatuses including an optical disk, an optical magnetic disk, a magnetic disk, a memory card, and a magnetic tape;

selecting one or more information recording and reproducing apparatuses as information transfer sources;

selecting one or more information recording and reproducing apparatuses as information transfer destinations;

reading information from one or more information transfer sources;

transferring the information to one or more information transfer destinations;

controlling the information transfer operation using an information transfer program realizing an information transfer operation among the variety of information and reproducing apparatuses;

reading, by said controller, the information transfer program stored in a detachable recording medium included within at least one of said information recording and reproducing apparatuses; and

controlling, by said controller, said steps of reading and transferring by executing said information transfer program.