JPH04301284A - Device for reproducing information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To operate satisfactory and successive reproducing by controlling uniform intermusic time through the use of an access operation and a timer which are using controlling information of a controlling information record area and absolute address information 9 means of a control means. CONSTITUTION:A controller 10 receives the instruction of reproducing from a user through an operation part 11 and performs access to the record reproducing position of designated music so as to start reproducing. Absolute address information read during reproducing is received from a detecting circuit 8. When reproducing reaches the completion absolute address position, a converter 14 executes the muting operation and pause operation and, at the same time, a timer 13 is counted at the time of having reproduction candidate music. When the timer 13 reaches specified time, the routing operation and pause operation are released so as to start the reproduction of next music and the operations are repeated till reproducing reaches the completion absolute address position of last music. Thus, satisfactory and successive reproducing having uniform intermusic time is operated.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information reproducing apparatus that handles, for example, a recording medium on which digitized music information or the like is recorded, such as a write-once or rewritable optical disc.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, so-called compact discs (hereinafter referred to as CDs), on which continuous information such as music information is recorded as digital signals using optically detectable minute pits, have been widely used. CDs are played back by a playback-only optical disc playback device (CD player).

FIGS. 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams for explaining the signal format used in CDs. Figure 1
0, one frame 50a of the recording signal is
Frame synchronization signal 50b indicating the beginning of the frame 50a
, a subcode 50c indicating additional data information, and a data field 50d which is 24-byte data that is main information and a parity code for error detection and correction. Note that the data field 50d is CIRC (Cro
ss Interleaved Reed Solom
It consists of an error correction method that combines non-complete interleaving called ``on code''.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, one sub-coding frame 51 is formed by 98 frames 50a.
a (hereinafter referred to as a sector) is configured, and a subcode block 51c is configured by the subcode 50c of each frame 50a included in the subcoding frame 51a. (in this case, it is called a song number) and absolute address information on the disc. The above sector length is 13.3 [ms]
Therefore, 75 sectors equal one second, and the sector number is "minute": "second": "frame (number indicating the number of sector within one second)" from the innermost circumference of the disk. It consists of continuous time information and position information that increase sequentially. Note that the frame synchronization signal 51b and the data field 51d each represent a state in which the frame synchronization signal 50b and the data field 50d are aggregated for 98 frames.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of areas on a CD. The CD 52a has a main information recording area 52c containing main information such as music information and a sector number according to the subcode 50c, and the main information recording area 52c.
Additional information regarding each main information recorded in, for example,
TOC (Table Of Contents) in which the recording start sector number of each track and information identifying whether the track is audio information such as music or computer data are indicated by subcode 50c.
It is constituted by a region 52b.

[0006] According to the above format, the CD player reads the information according to the subcode 50c of the TOC area 52b when loading the disc, and thereby determines the number of each main information (corresponding to the number of songs in the case of music information) and its number. The sector number of the recording start position and the type of information (audio or data) are recognized, and the reproduction of the desired track in response to subsequent reproduction instructions is determined based on the information in the TOC area 52b.
By checking the sector number using the subcode 50c of the main information recording area 52c, the access operation is quickly performed.

[0007] In addition, for CDs, advanced editing work is performed in advance by the disc manufacturer, and for example, multiple songs are recorded separated by appropriate silent areas between songs, so that the most frequently used by the user can be recorded. Continuous playback, which is a legal requirement, is normally performed without any discomfort.

These CDs have a constant linear velocity during recording, that is,
CLV (Constant Linear Veloc)
ity) method, the recording density is constant at any position on the disc, achieving an improvement in recording capacity. In an actual CD player, the playback signal of a CD recorded with CLV in the above signal format, for example, the interval of the frame synchronization signal, is set to the standard length.
CLV control is executed by controlling the rotation of the disk.

On the other hand, when recording and using various types of information such as music information or computer data on rewritable disks such as magneto-optical disks, which have been developed in recent years, it is difficult to play them back and forth with conventional CDs. It is desirable to standardize the system and provide compatible recording and reproducing devices.

[0010] In this case, in the initial disc on which no information is recorded, the absolute address information and CL using the subcode according to the signal format of the CD mentioned above are recorded.
Since there is no frame synchronization signal used for V control, it becomes impossible to access an arbitrary sector position prior to recording and perform necessary CLV control even during recording. Therefore, as an absolute address recording method equivalent to the absolute address information using the subcode, after bi-phase mark modulation of the absolute address, the guide groove of the optical disc is moved in the disc radial direction depending on whether each bit is "1" or "0". It has been proposed to bias the guide groove to the inside or outside, or to change the width of the guide groove (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-3963).
(See Publication No. 2).

[0011] In that case, if the frequency band of the absolute address by pi-phase mark modulation and the frequency band of recorded information by EFM modulation are made different, it is possible to reproduce the two separately from each other, and the recorded information can be reproduced separately. Access operations are possible even to areas where there is no area, using the above-mentioned absolute address recorded by the guide groove. Furthermore, CLV control can also be accurately controlled by using the reproduced carrier component of the absolute address, and this CLV control can be performed even during recording.

0012

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the disc recording/reproducing apparatus using the above-mentioned rewritable disc, re-recording is possible at any position within the main information recording area 52c, and therefore, unlike the above-mentioned CD, re-recording is possible. Each song is not necessarily recorded with a predetermined inter-song time, and for example, as shown in FIG. 6, an unrecorded area V (shown by hatching for convenience) between M1 of the first song and M2 of the second song. may exist. When reproducing information recorded in such a state continuously, the unrecorded area of V is played back as a silent part from the time M1 of the first song ends until M2 of the second song is played. However, if the silent portion lasts for a long time (for example, 7 seconds or more), it is uncomfortable for the listener.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(a), recording from the first song M1 to the fourth song M4 has already been made, and from the recording start position of the second song M2, another song M2' is recorded.
When a new recording is performed, if M2' is shorter than M2, as shown in (b) in FIG. 7, there is a rear remaining M2 of the old second song between M2' and M3 of the third song. However, in subsequent continuous reproduction, there is a problem in that unnecessary reproduction of M2 is performed after the reproduction of M2' is completed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(c), if M2' is longer than M2, the remaining M3 of the third old song exists between M2' and M4, and M2' will be played back in the subsequent continuous playback. After the end, unnecessary reproduction of M3 will be performed.

Furthermore, for example, in (c) of FIG.
If the songs after 3 are unnecessary, that is, M1 and 2 of the first song
If you want to keep only M2' of the track and treat the third and subsequent tracks as unnecessary parts (this is when you want to use the recorded disc only for the purpose of playing some of the tracks without erasing all the tracks) Even in the case of 3rd and subsequent songs, if continuous playback was performed, the third and subsequent songs would inevitably be played unless the playback device was stopped.

[0015] Furthermore, there are cases where the timing to start recording is almost the same as the timing to start playing the song,
When a broadcast or other recording medium is used as a source, as shown in FIG. 8, the recording may be performed with almost no pause time between songs, such as between songs M1 and M2. In this case, in the continuous playback, the playback of M2 starts immediately after the playback of M1 ends, which is undesirable for the listener as it is hectic.

[0016] In addition, in these information recording and reproducing devices, since the recorded contents on the disc can be managed using TOC information, so-called program play, in which specified songs are played in a specified order, can be performed with quick access operations. A major feature is that they can be used together. However, in that case, an access operation is required every time each song finishes playing, so
Non-uniform access times that vary depending on the location of each song on the disc are added to the silent time between songs, making continuous playback with uniform inter-song times difficult.

[0017]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, an information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention provides a main information recording area in which absolute address information is formed and a plurality of pieces of main information are recorded, and a main information recording area in which absolute address information is formed and a plurality of pieces of main information are recorded. An information reproducing apparatus for reproducing information from a recording medium having a management information recording area for recording management information whose identification number, recording start position, and recording end position are indicated in correspondence with the absolute address information, the above-mentioned A memory means for reading out and storing management information, and a comparison operation between the management information stored in the memory means and the absolute address information sequentially recognized during the reproduction operation, and determining whether a predetermined recording start position or recording end position has been reached. a calculation means for determining whether or not the main information has been reproduced; and a timer that starts counting after the reproduction of one main information is completed, performs an access operation to the recording start position of the main information to be reproduced next to enter a reproduction standby state, and sets the timer to a predetermined time. The apparatus is characterized by comprising a control means for canceling the playback standby state when the count value is reached.

[0018]

[Operation] According to the above structure, the management information regarding main information such as music information read out in advance and stored in the memory means, and the absolute address information obtained sequentially during the playback operation.
When the computation means performs a comparison operation and recognizes that the reproduction of the main information has ended, the recording start position of the main information to be reproduced next is accessed, and a predetermined time is counted by the timer, and the main information that was reproduced immediately before is accessed. Since the reproduction operation of the next main information is started after a uniform period of time has elapsed from the end of the reproduction of the main information, the pause time between the main information is uniform regardless of the arrangement form of the main information on the recording medium and the reproduction order. Thus, good continuous playback operation can be performed.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the magneto-optical disk 1 as a rewritable optical disk is provided with a TOC area 1a (shown by hatching for convenience) as a management information area at the inner end thereof. Most of the area outside the main information recording area 1b is the main information recording area 1b. In the main information recording area 1b, main information such as music information is recorded, while in the TOC area 1a, management information regarding each piece of main information recorded in the main information recording area 1b, such as the song number for each piece of information. (identification number), a start absolute address position, and an end absolute address position are recorded. The signal format used here is the same as that in FIGS. 10 and 11 used in the description of the conventional example, so a duplicate description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the TOC area 1a and main information recording area 1b of the magneto-optical disk 1, spiral guide grooves 2, 2... (shown by hatching for convenience) are formed at predetermined intervals in the disk radial direction. It is formed by separating the Then, depending on whether the absolute address on the disk is "1" or "0" after the pi-phase mark modulation, the guide grooves 2, 2, etc. are located inside or outside the magneto-optical disk 1 in the radial direction. are biased toward Note that the above absolute address represents the position on the disk and becomes pre-recorded information that is also used as CLV rotation control information. Furthermore, since the absolute address here corresponds to one sector in the CD format, it will also be referred to as a sector hereinafter.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the information reproducing apparatus of this embodiment. This device includes a spindle motor 4 that supports and rotates the magneto-optical disk 1, and an optical head 3 that irradiates the magneto-optical disk 1 with a laser beam during reproduction and reads recorded information. The signal reproduced by the optical head 3 is amplified by the reproduction amplifier 5 and converted into a binary magneto-optical signal P.
s is supplied to the reproduced data processing circuit 9. Further, the pre-recorded information is stored in the pre-recorded information detection circuit 6.
sent to. The pre-recorded information detection circuit 6 includes, for example, a band pass filter and a PLL (Phase Locked L).
oop), and a clock synchronized with the prerecorded information in the reproduced signal extracted by the bandpass filter is generated by the PLL. Then, a synchronous clock synchronized with the pre-recorded information consisting of a bi-phase mark modulated signal of absolute address information is supplied to the CLV control circuit 7.

The CLV control circuit 7 compares the synchronized clock from the prerecorded information detection circuit 6 with an internally held reference frequency, and uses the difference signal to control the spindle motor 4.
Accurate CLV control is performed by controlling. Further, the pre-recorded information in the reproduced signal extracted by the pre-recorded information detection circuit 6 is supplied to the absolute address detection circuit 8.

The absolute address detection circuit 8 is composed of a biphase mark demodulation circuit and an address decoder, and after biphase mark demodulation of the prerecorded information extracted by the prerecorded information detection circuit 6 is performed, the address decoder detects the magneto-optical disk. 1 is decoded into an absolute address value, which is a sector value (sector number), and is supplied to the controller 10 as a control means.

In the reproduced data processing circuit 9, a frame synchronization signal is separated and EFM demodulated from the binary magneto-optical signal Ps in the reproduced signal supplied from the reproduced amplifier 5, and subcode information is separated and sent to the controller 10. At the same time, an error correction operation is performed by CIRC using the parity of the reproduced data. The reproduced data error-corrected by the reproduced data processing circuit 9 is converted back into an analog audio signal by a D/A (digital/analog) converter 14 and outputted to the outside via a terminal 15. Also,
The D/A converter 14 is configured to perform a mute operation by outputting a silent level regardless of the value of data from the reproduced data processing circuit 9 based on instructions from the controller 10.

The controller 10 is configured to receive playback instructions etc. from the user via the operation section 11. Additionally, absolute address information from the absolute address detection circuit 8 (i.e.,
It has an access function that recognizes the position of the optical head 3 on the disk by receiving the sector value) and moves the optical head 3 to a desired position using an optical head moving mechanism (not shown). The controller 10 also has the role of a calculation means, and recognizes subcode information given from the reproduced data processing circuit 9, and if the recognized subcode is the content of the TOC area 1a, it 1
2 (memory means) as management information, and read the management information from the TOC memory 12 as necessary. Furthermore, after resetting the timer 13, it is configured to instruct the start of counting and to monitor the counting status of the timer 13 one after another.

FIG. 1 shows the information reproducing apparatus of this embodiment.
7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation during continuous playback. Here, for the music information in the main information recording area 1b as shown in FIG. An example of this will be explained below.

[0027]

[Table 1]

Specifically, in FIG. 5, the first song P1 starts from [00 minutes 00 seconds 01 frame] and starts at [04 minutes 3 frames].
It ended in 8 seconds and 53 frames]. After that, there is a long unrecorded portion V1, and the second song P2 occupies [12 minutes 51 seconds 65 frames] from [08 minutes 15 seconds 28 frames]. The third song P3 is the old third song P3 that was previously recorded.
' has been newly re-recorded in the music information area of [
12 minutes 51 seconds 66 frames] to [16 minutes 43 seconds 19 frames], but there is no gap between songs after the end of the second song P2, and after the end of the third song P3, the old third song P3'
It is a figure showing the state where the rear part of is left. Old 3rd song P
There is an unrecorded part V2 following 3', and the fourth and final song P4 is from [18 minutes 47 seconds 40 frames] [59
minutes, 59 seconds, and 74 frames]. Therefore, in this example, it is not necessary to reproduce the music information of the long unrecorded part V1 after the first song P1, the old third song P3' and the unrecorded part V2 after that, and there is a predetermined interval between each song. The silent playback time is set and continuous playback is performed.

The flowchart of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG.
Normal continuous playback operation using the music information layout diagram, that is,
The operation when continuously reproducing the first song P1 to the fourth song P4 will be explained. When a user gives a playback instruction from the operation unit 11 and instructs the controller 10 (S0),
The controller 10 first performs an operation to access the recording start position of the song with the specified song number, that is, in this case, the recording start position of the first song P1 [00 minutes 00 seconds 01 frame] (S1), and starts playback. By doing so, the performance starts (S2).

Next, the absolute address information sequentially read out during the reproduction operation is received from the absolute address detection circuit 8 (S3
), it is determined whether the end absolute address position of the song currently being played, that is, the first song P1, has been reached [04 minutes 38 seconds 53 frames] (S4). If the end absolute address position has not been reached, the process returns to S3 and the above operation is repeated, and when the end absolute address position is reached, the D/A converter 14 performs a mute operation, thereby eliminating the silent state corresponding to the interval between songs. The process is started (S5).

[0031] Then, it is determined whether or not there are playback candidates for the next song (S6).
Since track P2 exists, the timer 13 is reset (S7
) and instructs to start counting (S8).

Next, an access operation is performed to the position [08 minutes 15 seconds 28 frames], which is the start absolute address position of the second song P2, which is the next song (S9). The time required for access here varies depending on the arrangement of the music information on the disk and the access distance, and is particularly important for the CL of the spindle motor 4.
Since V control is involved, the variation becomes even larger, and has a range of, for example, 0.1 seconds to 3.0 seconds. In this example, the above access operation causes the reproduction operation of the unnecessarily long unrecorded portion V1 located at the rear of the first song P1 to be skipped.

[0033] Then, the access operation ends in S9,
When the target absolute address position is found, a pause operation is performed and the process waits (S10). The pause operation here means, for example, that each time the magneto-optical disk 1 rotates once, the light beam jumps by one track in the direction of the inner circumference of the disk.
Common techniques are used.

Next, the counted value of the timer 13 is monitored, and if the inter-song time is uniformly set to 4.0 seconds, the timer 13 enters a standby state until the counted value reaches 4.0 seconds (S11).
. Then, when the count value of timer 13 reaches 4.0 seconds, S
2, the reproduction operation of the next song is started, and as a result, the pause operation and the mute operation are canceled, and the reproduction of the second song is started.

[0035] Thereafter, playback is continued in the same manner until reaching [12 minutes 51 seconds 65 frames], which is the end absolute address position of the second song P2 (S3 to S4), and then a mute operation is performed (S5). Set the third song P3 as the next song (S6),
Counting of the timer 13 is started (S7 to S8), and the start absolute address position of the third song P3 is [12 minutes 51 seconds 6].
6 frame] is performed (S9). In this case, the end absolute address position of the second song P2 and the third song P
Since the starting absolute address positions of 3 are consecutive, no actual access operation is performed and a pause operation is performed immediately (
S10), after waiting for approximately 4 seconds (S11), the process returns to S2, and a 4-second inter-song equivalent silent playback is performed between the second song P2 and the third song P3.

[0036] After that, the third song P3 is played, and its ending absolute address position is [16 minutes 43 seconds 19 frames]
After reaching P, the muting operation is performed again (S5), and the 4th song P
4 as a playback candidate for the next song (S6), the timer 13 starts counting (S7 or S8), and an access operation to [18 minutes 47 seconds 40 frames], which is the start absolute address position of the fourth song P4, is performed ( S9), unnecessary reproduction operations of the old third song P3' and the unrecorded portion V2 are skipped.

[0037] Then, in S10 and S11, after 4 seconds of silent play between songs is performed by offsetting the required access time, the fourth and final song, P4, is played back to the end absolute address position (S2 to S11). S5), as there are no playback candidates for the next song as determined in S6, the playback operation ends (S1
2).

In the above embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the next song is started to be played (S2) when the timer 13 reaches a predetermined value (S11), but strictly speaking, the playback operation starts (starting absolute address position). Since there is a waiting time of up to one revolution of the magneto-optical disk 1 until the reconfirmation of the silencing operation, the muting operation is canceled only after at least the starting absolute address position has been reconfirmed.

As described above, the access operation using the management contents of the TOC memory 12 and the absolute address information, and the uniform inter-musical time control by the timer 13, make it possible to perform a good continuous playback operation. Although an example of normal continuous playback has been described here, the present invention can also be applied to a commonly practiced program play of only arbitrary songs in a specified order.

Although this embodiment has been explained using the magneto-optical disk 1 which is a rewritable optical disk, the present invention is not limited to this, and other rewritable optical disks or write-once type disks that can record only once can be used. It is also applicable to optical discs, etc.

[0041] In addition, in the above embodiments, a disc-shaped recording medium was used as the recording medium, but card-shaped or tape-shaped media can also be used without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is.

[0042]

As described above, the information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a memory means for reading and storing management information from a management information recording area of a recording medium, and a reproduction operation of the management information stored in the memory means. a calculation means that compares and calculates the absolute address information sequentially recognized during the recording and determines whether a predetermined recording start position or recording end position has been reached, and a timer that starts counting after the reproduction of one main information is completed. The apparatus also includes a control means that performs an access operation to the recording start position of the main information to be reproduced next to enter a reproduction standby state, and cancels the reproduction standby state when the timer reaches a predetermined count value.

[0043] This suppresses unnecessary playback of old main information caused by rewriting operations and unnecessary playback of unrecorded areas that tend to occur when recording on rewritable recording media or write-once recording media. When continuous reproduction of main information (music information, etc.) is performed, it is possible to perform a good reproduction operation with a uniform pause time between the main information.

[0044] Furthermore, even if there is no pause time between main information on a recording medium or the pause time between main information is too short, an information reproducing apparatus that can similarly perform continuous playback with a uniform pause time between main information is provided. Can be provided. These are not only preferable for auditory purposes when the main information is audio information such as music information, but also useful when dubbing to other recording devices.

Furthermore, when the main information is music information, when performing so-called program play in which specified songs are played in a specified order, unevenness may occur due to access operations performed each time the specified songs are played. It is possible to provide an information reproducing device that can offset the access time and perform continuous reproduction with uniform inter-track time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure for reproducing music information in an information reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing the information reproducing device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a magneto-optical disk handled by the information reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the magneto-optical disk.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of music information on the magneto-optical disk.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of music information with a long unrecorded portion on a conventional magneto-optical disk.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing how music information on a conventional magneto-optical disk is rewritten.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the arrangement of music information on a conventional magneto-optical disk without inter-track intervals.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing a conventional compact disc.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the frame configuration of a compact disc.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a sector configuration on a compact disc.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Magneto-optical disk (recording medium) 1a TOC
Area (management information recording area) 1b Main information recording area 10 Controller (calculation means and control means) 12
TOC memory (memory means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A main information recording area in which absolute address information is formed and a plurality of pieces of main information are recorded, and an identification number, a recording start position, and a recording end position for each main information are indicated in correspondence with the absolute address information. An information reproducing device for reproducing information from a recording medium having a management information recording area for recording management information, the information reproducing device comprising: a memory means for reading and storing the management information; and a management information stored in the memory means for reproducing the management information. Compares and calculates the absolute address information that is sequentially recognized during operation,
A calculation means for determining whether a predetermined recording start position or recording end position has been reached, and a timer that starts counting after the end of reproduction of one main information, and accesses the recording start position of the next main information to be reproduced. 1. An information reproducing apparatus comprising: a control means that performs an operation to enter a playback standby state, and releases the playback standby state when the timer reaches a predetermined count value.