Data recording device, data reproducing device and data recording medium for managing encoded data over a plurality of recording media

• US 6,795,640 B1
• Filed: 08/11/2000
• Issued: 09/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Honda, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/637,809
• Time in Patent Office: 1,502 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/95, 386/111, 386/112, 386/124, 386/125, 386/126, 369/32, 369/53.18, 360/72.2
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• 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 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• 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 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A data recording device that can easily and reliably manage a plurality of recording media or information recording surfaces even when a data compression rate largely varies with the contents of the data and that can record, for example, mass image data by effectively preventing the picture quality of an image represented by the image data from being degraded. The data recording device records image data after securing a region according to the preliminarily estimated number of recording media or information recording surfaces at the time of recording image data by using a coding method, by which a data compression rate largely varies with the contents of data. Thereafter, the data recording device records management data used for managing the plurality of recording media or information recording surfaces, on which the coded data is recorded, on the management region according to a result of recording.

Claims

1. A data reproducing device for reproducing from a recording medium data coded by a predetermined coding process, comprising:

reproducing means for reproducing coded data from a plurality of information recording surfaces on at least one recording medium;

decoding means for decoding the coded data and for outputting decoded data; and

control means for controlling said reproducing means to reproduce said coded data from a first surface of said plurality of information recording surfaces in accordance with second management data recorded on said first surface, and for controlling said reproducing means to switch to a second surface of said plurality of information recording surfaces in accordance with first management data recorded on said first surface,

wherein said control means is further configured to control said reproducing means to reproduce said coded data from said second surface in accordance with another second management data recorded on said second surface;

wherein said first management data is not recorded on said second surface and used for managing all of said plurality of surfaces, and said second management data is used for managing a corresponding one of said plurality of surfaces.

2. The data reproducing device of claim 1, wherein the data, which is obtained by the decoding means by performing the decoding and is further outputted therefrom, is image data, wherein said at least one recording medium is at least one optical disk, and wherein the coding method is a method of allocating a variable-length code to at least one coefficient data, obtained by performing an orthogonal transform on the image data, according to values of the coefficient data.

3. The data reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said reproducing means comprises:

a plurality of CD-ROM drives.

4. A data reproducing device for reproducing from a recording medium data coded by a predetermined coding process, comprising:

at least one drive device configured to reproduce coded data from a plurality of information recording surfaces on at least one recording medium;

a decoding circuit configured to decode the coded data and configured to output decoded data; and

a control circuit configured to control said at least one drive device to reproduce said coded data from a first surface of said plurality of information recording surfaces in accordance with second management data recorded on said first surface, and to control said at least one drive device to switch to a second surface of said plurality of information recording surfaces in accordance with first management data recorded on said first surface,

wherein said control circuit is further configured to control said at least one drive device to reproduce said coded data from said second surface in accordance with another second management data recorded on said second surface;

wherein said first management data is used for managing all of said plurality of surfaces, and said second management data is used for managing a corresponding one of said plurality of surfaces.

5. A method of reproducing from a recording medium data coded by a predetermined coding process, comprising the steps of:

reading first management data from a first surface of a plurality of information recording surfaces of at least one recording medium;

reading second management data from said first surface;

reproducing coded data from said first surface in accordance with said second management data;

decoding said coded data and in accordance therewith generating output data;

changing to a second surface of said plurality of surfaces in accordance with said first management data;

reading another second management data from said second surface;

reproducing more coded data from said second surface according to said another second management data; and

decoding said more coded data and in accordance therewith generating more output data; and

wherein said first management data is not recorded on said second surface and used for managing all of said plurality of surfaces, and said second management data is used for managing a corresponding one of said plurality of surfaces.

6. A recording medium, in which coded data obtained by encoding data according to a predetermined coding method is recorded, operative to control, in part, operation of a reproduction device, said recording medium comprising a plurality of information recording surfaces on at least one recording medium, said recording medium having recorded thereon:

first management data used for managing all of said plurality of information recording surfaces recorded only on a first of said plurality of information recording surfaces, said first management data having been generated upon completion of recording said coded data;

a plurality of second management data, each of said plurality of second management data recorded on a corresponding one of said plurality of information recording surfaces and used for managing said corresponding one of said plurality of information recording surfaces;

an overlapping portion of said coded data on one surface of said plurality of information recording surfaces; and

a duplicate of said overlapping portion on another surface of said plurality of information recording surfaces,

wherein the reproduction device reproduces the coded data from the first surface of the plurality of information recording surfaces based on the second management data recorded on the first surface and switches to a second surface of the plurality of information recording surfaces based on the first management data recorded on the first surface.

7. The data recording medium of claim 6, wherein said first management data is recorded according to a result of recording the coded data on said at least one recording medium after securing a first management region corresponding to a quantity of the surfaces, which is preliminarily estimated, when predicting a difficulty to record the coded data on a single one of the surfaces.

8. The data recording medium of claim 7, wherein the coded data is image data, wherein said at least one recording medium is at least one optical disk, and wherein the coding method is a method of allocating a variable-length code to at least one coefficient data, obtained by performing an orthogonal transform on the image data, according to values of the coefficient data.

9. The data recording medium of claim 6, wherein said plurality of second management data is recorded on the surfaces according to a result of recording.

10. A plurality of recording media, on which coded data obtained by encoding data according to a predetermined coding method is recorded, operative to control, in part, operation of a reproduction device, said plurality of recording media having recorded thereon:

first management data used for managing all of said plurality of recording media recorded on a first medium of said plurality of recording media, said first management data having been generated upon completion of recording said coded data;

a plurality of second management data, each of said plurality of second management data recorded on a corresponding one of said plurality of recording media and used for managing said corresponding one of said plurality of recording media;

an overlapping portion of said coded data on one medium of said plurality of recording media; and

a duplicate of said overlapping portion on another medium of said plurality of recording media,

wherein the reproduction device reproduces the coded data from the first medium of the plurality of recording media based on the second management data recorded on the first medium and switches to a second medium of the plurality of recording media based on the first management data recorded on the first medium.

11. The plurality of recording media of claim 10, wherein said first management data is recorded according to a result of recording the coded data on said plurality of recording media after securing a first management region corresponding to a quantity of said plurality of recording media, which is preliminarily estimated, when predicting a difficulty to record the coded data on a single one of said plurality of recording media.

12. The plurality of recording media of claim 11, wherein the coded data is image data, wherein said plurality of recording media is a plurality of optical disks, and wherein the coding method is a method of allocating a variable-length code to at least one coefficient data, obtained by performing an orthogonal transform on the image data, according to values of the coefficient data.

13. The plurality of recording media of claim 10, wherein said plurality of second management data is recorded on said plurality of recording media according to a result of recording.