Digital video recorder, method of driving the video recorder and program

• US 7,437,053 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2004
• Issued: 10/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Hiromichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hasan; Syed Y
• Application Number:
  US10/756,708
• Publication Number:
  US 20040146274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,737 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/54, 386/55, 386/83, 386/112, 386/116, 386/117, 386/125, 386/126, 348/231.3, 358/538, 358/539, 369/47.19, 369/275.3, 369/44.26, 369/44.28, 369/44.29, 369/44.35, 369/53.28, 725/55, 725/92, 725/115, 725/145, 714/6, 714/7, 714/8, 714/E11.034
• US Class Current: 386/263
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1062 Data buffering arrangements, e.g. recording or playback buffers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/218 Write-once discs
• 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 2220/455 said record carriers being in one device and being used as primary and secondary/backup media, e.g. HDD-DVD combo device, or as source and target media, e.g. PC and portable player
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/61 wherein solid state memory is used for storing A/V content storing computer data in solid state memories G06F
• 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 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• 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 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A digital video recorder writes data on a selected one of a first storage medium and a second storage medium. The recorder includes an abnormal state detector for detecting any abnormal event that possibly occurs while the recorder is writing the data on the first storage medium. If the abnormal state detector senses the abnormal event while the recorder is writing the data on the first storage medium, then the recorder stops writing the data on the first storage medium and starts writing the data, which should have been written on the first storage medium only, on the second storage medium instead.

Claims

1. A digital video recorder for writing data on a selected one of a first storage medium and a second storage medium,

the recorder comprising abnormal state detecting means for detecting an abnormal event that unexpectedly occurs while the recorder is writing the data on the first storage medium,

wherein the abnormal state detecting means senses a tracking abnormality from a tracking error signal amplitude, while a tracking operation is being carried out on the first storage medium, and

if the abnormal state detecting means senses the abnormal event while the recorder is writing the data on the first storage medium, then the recorder stops writing the data on the first storage medium and starts writing the data, which should have been written on the first storage medium only, on the second storage medium instead.

2. The recorder of claim 1, wherein when the abnormal state detecting means, having detected the abnormal event, further senses that the abnormal event has been resolved, the recorder resumes writing the data on the first storage medium.

3. The recorder of claim 1, wherein after having written the data, which should have been written on the first storage medium only, on the first and second storage media separately, the recorder reads out that portion of the data that has been written on the second storage medium and writes the portion of the data on an unused area of the first storage medium.

4. The recorder of claim 1, wherein after having written the data, which should have been written on the first storage medium only, on the first and second storage media separately, the recorder reads out the data from the first and second storage media and writes the data on a third storage medium.

5. The recorder of claim 4, further comprising means for switching the data being read out from the first storage medium into the data being read out from the second storage medium, or vice versa, instantaneously in accordance with management information on the second storage medium and address information derived from a read signal.

6. The recorder of claim 1, wherein the first storage medium is an optical disc, and

wherein the second storage medium is a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

7. The recorder of claim 6, wherein the abnormal state detecting means senses a state that a read signal obtained from the first storage medium is not normal as the abnormal event.

8. The recorder of claim 1, wherein the first and third storage media are optical discs, and

wherein the second storage medium is a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

9. The recorder of claim 1, wherein the first storage medium is removable, and

wherein the second storage medium is fixed.

10. The recorder of claim 1, wherein the data to be written on the first storage medium is broadcast data.

11. The recorder of claim 10, further comprising a tuner for receiving the broadcast data.

12. The recorder of claim 1, further comprising an imager,

wherein the data to be written on the first storage medium is the output of the imager.

13. The recorder of claim 1, wherein the recorder writes the data, which has been written on the first storage medium, on the second storage medium after a predetermined amount of delay.

14. The recorder of claim 1, further comprising a dummy data generator for writing dummy data on the first storage medium while the recorder is writing the data on the second storage medium.

15. The recorder of claim 1, wherein identification information, which is uniquely associated with at least a portion of the data on the first storage medium, is added to the data being written on the second storage medium.

16. The recorder of claim 15, wherein the logical addresses of the data to be written on the second storage medium are continuous with the logical addresses of the data that has been written on the first storage medium.

17. The recorder of claim 1, wherein the abnormal state detecting means senses a state that an acceleration of the recorder exceeds a predetermined threshold value as the abnormal event.

18. A method of driving a digital video recorder, the digital video recorder being able to write data on a selected one of a first storage medium and a second storage medium, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting an abnormal event that has unexpectedly occurred while the recorder is writing the data on the first storage medium;

sensing a tracking abnormality from a tracking error signal amplitude while a tracking operation is being carried out on the first storage medium; and

stopping writing the data on the first storage medium and starting writing the data, which should have been written on the first storage medium only, on the second storage medium on detecting the abnormal event.

19. A computer program embodied in a computer readable media, the program to be installed in a microprocessor for a digital video recorder, the digital video recorder being able to write data on a selected one of a first storage medium and a second storage medium, the program being defined so as to make the microprocessor perform the steps of:

detecting an abnormal event that has unexpectedly occurred while the recorder is writing the data on the first storage medium;

sensing a tracking abnormality from a tracking error signal amplitude while a tracking operation is being carried out on the first storage medium; and

stopping writing the data on the first storage medium and starting writing the data, which should have been written on the first storage medium only, on the second storage medium on detecting the abnormal event.