Information-recording/reproduction apparatus, information-recording/reproduction methods, program-storing medium and programs

• US 8,037,099 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2004
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takashima, Yoshikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu; Kuen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liu; Hexing
• Application Number:
  US10/990,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20050105430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,520 Days
• Field of Search: 707/737, 707/828, 707/822, 707/796, 707/791
• US Class Current: 707/796
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1217 on discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1288 Formatting by padding empty spaces with dummy data, e.g. writing zeroes or random data when de-icing optical discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/213 Read-only discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2541 Blu-ray discs; Blue laser DVR discs
• 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

Abstract

An MIA containing file-system information is updated and a recording/reproduction block 53 records Main MIA containing the updated information in block B″1 in a free area on a recording medium. In addition, Main G1, Res.G1, Main G2, Res.G2 and G3, which form a group of files each serving as an object of group management, are recorded in block B″2. Furthermore, Res.MIA containing a backup of the file-system information is recorded in block B″3. By recording information in this way, the recording area of the recording medium can be used effectively. The present invention can be applied to an information-recording/reproduction apparatus for recording information serving as an object of the group management on the recording medium.

Claims

1. An information-recording apparatus, comprising:

a recording unit configured to record a file onto a recording medium, the recording medium including a first region of gathered files, the first region of gathered files including a plurality of group file area regions; and

a control unit including a processor configured to

group files into group units on the basis of attribute information, said attribute information including a use frequency of each file, a size of each file, and data indicating whether or not each file is used in a specific application operation,

control said recording unit to record each of said group units onto one of the plurality of group file area regions of the first region of gathered files, and,

when a file having attribute information associated with one of the group units is added or updated, update said one of the group units to include the added or updated file and control said recording unit to contiguously record said updated one of the group units on said recording medium as a new group unit in a group file area region of a second region of gathered files, the second region of gathered files located at an entirely non-overlapping different position on said recording medium than the first region of gathered files.

2. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said control unit recognizes an allocation class of a file as said attribute information of said file and groups files on the basis of allocation classes of said files.

3. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

when files having attribute information associated with group units are added or updated, said control unit updates said group units with the added or updated files and controls said recording unit to contiguously record said updated group units on said recording medium as new group units in respective group file area regions of the second region of gathered files on said recording medium.

4. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

when said one of the group units has been added or updated, said control unit updates file-system information and controls said recording unit to contiguously record said updated file-system information collectively with said new group unit in the second region of gathered files on said recording medium.

5. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a read unit configured to read out file-system information recorded on said recording medium in group units from said recording medium, wherein,

when an operation to read out re-recorded file-system information ends in a failure, said read unit reads out previously-recorded file-system information corresponding to said re-recorded file-system information from an area storing said previously-recorded file-system information before re-recording said previously-recorded file system information in place of unreadable file-system information.

6. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

when a file has been added or updated, said control unit controls said recording unit to newly record specific files on said recording medium, after a predetermined command is issued.

7. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said control unit controls said recording unit to record said grouped files in group units collectively in a contiguous area of said recording medium.

10. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said control unit is further configured to update file-system information and control said recording unit to record said updated file-system information in said second region of gathered files without updating or recording any one of the group units, when a file not having attribute information associated with any of the group units is added.

11. The information-recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said control unit is further configured to update file-system information on said recording medium to place group file area regions of the first region of gathered files which were updated into an unreferenced state, when a file having attribute information associated with one of the group units is added or updated.

8. An information-recording method for recording onto a recording medium, the recording medium including a first region of gathered files, the first region of gathered files including a plurality of group file area regions, comprising:

grouping files into group units on the basis of attribute information, said attribute information including a use frequency of each file, a size of each file, and data indicating whether or not each file is used in a specific application operation;

recording each of said group units onto one of the plurality of group file area regions of the first region of gathered files; and

,

when a file having attribute information associated with one of the group units is added or updated, updating said one of the group units to include the added or updated file and contiguously recording said updated one of the group units on said recording medium as a new group unit in a group file area region of a second region of gathered files, the second region of gathered files located at an entirely non-overlapping different position on said recording medium than the first region of gathered files.

9. A computer readable storage medium including a program that, when executed by a processor of a computer, directs the computer to carry out an information-recording method for recording onto a recording medium, the recording medium including a first region of gathered files, the first region of gathered files including a plurality of group file area regions, comprising:

grouping files into group units on the basis of attribute information, said attribute information including a use frequency of each file, a size of each file, and data indicating whether or not each file is used in a specific application operation;

recording each of said group units onto one of the plurality of group file area regions of the first region of gathered files; and

,

when a file having attribute information associated with one of the group units is added or updated, updating said one of the group units to include the added or updated file and contiguously recording said updated one of the group units on said recording medium as a new group unit in a group file area region of a second region of gathered files, the second region of gathered files located at an entirely non-overlapping different position on said recording medium than the first region of gathered files.