Apparatus and method for providing uninterrupted continuous play during a change of sides of a dual sided optical disk

• US 6,947,353 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2002
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Revis, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): PSITOS, ARISTOTELIS
• Application Number:
  US10/304,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20030123338A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• Field of Search: 369/30.11, 369/30.27, 369/30.23
• US Class Current: 369/30.23
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/127 involving detection of the number of sides, e.g. single or double, or layers, e.g. for multiple recording or reproducing layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2007/0013 for carriers having multiple discrete layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1062 Data buffering arrangements, e.g. recording or playback buffers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/213 Read-only 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 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0037 with discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/005 Reproducing G11B7/0065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08594 to access both sides of the disc with the same head assembly
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24038 Multiple laminated recording layers

Abstract

An apparatus and method for providing continuous uninterrupted playback of a dual sided optical disk during side-to-side changing of the optical disk. The point at which a dual-sided optical disk will be switched between sides is determined. At some point prior to the switching of sides of the disk, a portion of the data at the end of the first side of the disk is transferred to a memory. During the switching of the disk to the second side, the stored data is read out from the memory to provide uninterrupted continuous playback of the optical disk.

Claims

1. A method for reading a first and second side of a dual sided optical disk comprising:

determining a point when reading said dual sided optical disk should be switched from said first side to said second side;

storing a portion of data from said first side of said dual sided optical disk in a memory, said portion of data comprising data from said determined point on said first side of said dual sided optical disk up to an end of said first side of said dual sided optical disk;

reading data from said first side of said dual sided optical disk;

switching said reading of said dual sided optical disk from said first side to said second side when said determined point has been reached; and

reading said data from said first side of said dual sided optical disk stored in said memory while said switching is occurring.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said portion of data corresponds to an amount of time required to switch said reading of said dual sided optical disk from said first side to said second side.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein reading said data stored in said memory takes an amount of time approximately equal to said amount of time required to switch said reading of said dual sided optical disk from said first side to said second side.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reading data from said second side of said dual sided optical disk after said data stored in said memory has been read.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said switching further comprises:

using a transfer mechanism to flip said dual sided optical disk.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said switching further comprises:

rotating an optical reader used to read said dual sided optical disk.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said switching further comprises:

moving an optical pickup from said first side of said dual sided optical disk to said second side of said dual sided optical disk.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said switching further comprises:

using a first optical pickup to read said first side of said dual sided optical disk; and

using a second optical pickup to read said second side of said dual sided optical disk.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said determining a point when said reading said dual sided optical disk will be switched is performed by a disk drive controller.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said determining a point when said reading said dual sided optical disk will be switched includes using a microprocessor in said disk drive controller to determine a point when said reading said dual sided optical disk will be switched.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said storing a portion of said data in a memory includes storing a portion of said data in a dedicated memory device adapted to store said data from said dual sided optical disk.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

outputting said data read from said dual sided optical disk to an output device.

13. An apparatus for reading a first and second side of a dual sided optical disk comprising:

an optical disk reader;

a memory connected to said optical disk reader; and

a controller connected to said optical disk reader and said memory, said controller causing a portion of data from said first side of said disk to be read from said disk and stored in said memory and later read from said memory during a time when reading said disk is switched from said first side to said second side, thereby providing uninterrupted continuous playback of said dual sided optical disk.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said controller determines a point on said first side of said disk when reading said dual sided optical disk should be switched from said first side to said second side.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said portion of data stored in said memory comprises data from said determined point on said first side of said dual sided optical disk up to an end of said first side of said dual sided optical disk.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said controller comprises a microprocessor.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said dual sided optical video disk is a DVD.

18. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a transfer mechanism to flip said dual sided optical disk from said first side to said second side.

19. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said optical disk reader rotates around an axis.

20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said optical disk reader further comprises:

an optical pickup, said optical pickup being adapted to move from said first side of said dual sided optical disk to said second side of said dual sided optical disk to switch reading from said first side to said second side.

21. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said optical disk reader further comprises:

a first optical pickup to read data from said first side of said dual sided optical disk; and

a second optical pickup to read data from said second side of said dual sided optical disk.

22. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said memory is a dedicated memory device adapted to store data from said dual sided optical disk.

23. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

an output device connected to said controller to output said data read from said dual sided optical disk.

24. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said output device is a video display device.

25. An optical disk device for providing continuous uninterrupted playback of a dual sided optical disk, said device comprising:

an optical reader for reading said dual sided optical disk;

a memory adapted to store data transferred from said dual sided optical disk; and

a controller, said controller determining a portion of data on said first side of said disk to be transferred to said memory,

wherein said optical reader reads data on said first side of said disk up to said portion of data transferred to said memory, said portion of said data transferred to said memory is read while said second side of said disk is accessed, and said second side of said disk is read after said portion of said data transferred to said memory has been read.

26. The optical disk device according to claim 25, wherein said optical reader is rotatable to allow access to said second side of said dual sided optical disk.

27. The optical disk device according to claim 25, further comprising:

a transfer mechanism to flip said optical disk from said first side to said second side to enable said optical reader to read data from both sides of said disk.

28. The optical disk device according to claim 25, wherein said dual sided optical disk is a DVD.

29. A system for playing an optical disk comprising:

a processor;

a memory connected to said processor;

an output device; and

an optical disk device, said optical disk device comprising;

an optical reader capable of reading a dual sided optical disk,

said processor causing a portion of data from a first side of said dual sided optical disk to be read from said disk and stored in said memory and later read from said memory during a time when reading said disk is switched from said first side to a second side, thereby providing uninterrupted continuous playback of said dual sided optical disk.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein said processor determines a point when reading said dual sided optical disk should be switched from said first side to said second side.

31. The system according to claim 30, wherein said portion of data stored in said memory comprises data from said determined point on said first side of said dual sided optical disk up to an end of said first side of said dual sided optical disk.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein an amount of time required to read said portion of data stored in said memory corresponds to an amount of time required to switch reading of said dual sided optical disk from said first side to said second side.

33. The system according to claim 29, wherein said optical disk is a DVD.

34. The system according to claim 33, wherein said output device is a video display device.

35. The system according to claim 29, further comprising a video game system that includes the processor, the memory, the output device, and the optical disk device.

36. The system according to claim 29, further comprising a television system that includes the processor, the memory, the output device, and the optical disk device.

37. The system according to claim 29, further comprising a computer system that includes the processor, the memory, the output device, and the optical disk device.

38. An apparatus for reading a first and second side of a dual sided optical disk comprising:

an optical disk reader capable of reading the first side of the optical disk while rotating the optical disk in a first direction around an axis and capable of reading the second side of the optical disk while rotating the optical disc in a second direction around the axis;

a memory connected to said optical disk reader; and

a controller connected to said optical disk reader and said memory, said controller causing a portion of data from the first side of the optical disk to be i) read from the optical disk while rotating the optical disk in the first direction, ii) stored in the memory, and iii) later read from the memory during a time when reading the disk is switched from the first side to the second side, thereby providing uninterrupted continuous playback of the optical disk.

39. The apparatus according to claim 38 wherein the optical disk reader further comprises:

an optical pickup, the optical pickup being adapted to move from the first side of the optical disk to the second side of the optical disk to switch reading from the first side to the second side.

40. The apparatus according to claim 38 wherein the optical disk reader further comprises a first optical pickup to read data from the first side of the optical disk and a second optical pickup to read data from the second side of the optical disk.

41. A method for reading a first and second side of a dual sided optical disk comprising:

determining a point when reading the optical disk should be switched from the first side to the second side;

while spinning the optical disk in a first direction, reading a portion of data from the first side of the optical disk, the portion of data comprising data from the determined point on the first side of the dual sided optical disk up to an end of the first side of the dual sided optical disk;

sorting the portion of data in a memory;

while spinning the disk in the first direction, reading data from the first side of the optical disk not included in the stored portion of data;

reading the stored portion of data when said determined point has been reached;

concurrently with reading the stored portion of data, reversing the spinning of the optical disk to spin the optical disk in a second direction; and

while spinning the optical disk in the second direction, reading data from the second side of the optical disk.

42. The method according to claim 41 wherein the stored portion of data includes data located at an end of the first side of the optical disk.