HK1079330B - A disk recording apparatus, a data recording method, an information recording system, and an information reproducing method - Google Patents

Description

Disk recording device, data recording method, information recording system and reproducing method

The application is a divisional application with application number 00805289.1, which is filed on 27.1.2000.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for recording/reproducing information on an information recording medium. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for realizing real-time recording/reproduction of video and/or audio data on an information recording medium including a defective area.

Background

An optical disc is representative of an information recording medium having a sector structure. The recent trend of higher density and larger capacity has highlighted the importance of reliability of such discs. If the disc includes a sector in which information cannot be correctly recorded or reproduced, the optical disc apparatus generally registers such a sector as a "defective sector" so that the defective sector will not be used thereafter and replaces that defective sector with another sector, thus ensuring reliability of the disc. Such a defect management function performed by an optical disc apparatus is described in the international standard organization ISO/IEC10090 (hereinafter referred to as "ISO standard") for 90mm optical discs.

Fig. 25 is a diagram showing a structure of a general disc medium.

The disk medium 1 includes a plurality of concentric or spiral tracks 2 formed thereon, each track 2 including a plurality of subdivisions called sectors 3. This disc includes two types of regions: a disc information area 4 and a data recording area 5. A disc information area 4 storing parameters necessary for accessing the disc, etc. is located on the innermost circumference and the outermost circumference of the disc medium 1.

The disc information area 4 may also be referred to as lead-in and lead-out areas, respectively. Recording/reproduction of data is performed on the data recording area 5. Each sector in the data recording area 5 receives an absolute address called a physical sector number (hereinafter referred to as "PSN").

Fig. 26 shows a data structure of a conventional disk medium (denoted as 2600). The data structure 2600 represents the situation as shown in fig. 27, where the disc medium includes a directory DIR1 under a directory ROOT, and the directory DIR1 includes two FILEs FILE1 and FILE 2.

The data structure 2600 includes unused space management information 2601, a data structure 2602 representing a logical space on the disc medium 1, a data structure 2603 representing a physical space on the disc medium 1, and defect management information 2604. The physical space data structure 2603 includes a control data region 2605, defect management information 2606, and an unused spare region 2607, which will be interpreted only by a reproducing apparatus (e.g., a disc drive) to physically reproduce data on the disc medium 1, and which is inaccessible to a controlling apparatus (e.g., a personal computer). It should be noted that these regions are not included in logical space data structure 2602.

As shown in fig. 26, the logical space is divided into a volume structure 2608 for storing logical volume structure information and an area (partition space) 2609 for storing a file structure and file data in the logical volume space. Each subsection of this logical space is managed according to its contiguous address called a logical sector number (hereinafter "LSN").

Next, the corresponding contents stored in the partition space 2609 will be described.

Unused space management information 2601 is a bitmap indicating whether each sector within partition space 2609 is used. Each bit on the bit map corresponds to a sector. A bit value of "1" indicates "used", and a bit value of "0" indicates "unused". In the example shown in fig. 26, the unused space management information 2610 and the ROOT directory file structure 2611 always have a "0" bit value on the bitmap, and all the other regions except the unused region 2612 have a "1" bit value on the bitmap.

The ROOT directory file structure 2611 includes a ROOT directory file (not shown in this figure) for storing information on files and/or directories under the ROOT directory, and a ROOT ICB (not shown in this figure) for specifying a location where the ROOT directory file is recorded.

The DIR1 file entry 2613 includes location information for the DIRI directory file 2614. DIR1 directory file 2614 stores information about the directories and files in directory DIR 1.

The DIR1 directory FILE 2614 includes information about the FILEs FILE1 and FILE2 stored in the directory DIR1 and location information of the FILE1 FILE entry 2615 and the FILE2 FILE entry 2616.

The FILE1 FILE item 2615 and the FILE2 FILE item 2616 include the location information of the FILE data of the FILEs FILE1 and FILE2, respectively, and the like.

The FILE1 extension area (extension) 2617 contains FILE data of the FILE 1. The FILE2 expansion area 2618 contains FILE data of the FILE 2.

Next, the physical space data structure 2603 will be described.

The physical space on the disc is generally divided into a disc information area 2619 and a data recording area 2620. The disc information region 2619 stores control information that is referred to only by a reproducing apparatus (e.g., a disc drive) for physically reproducing data on the disc medium 1 and is inaccessible to a control apparatus (e.g., a personal computer).

The disc information region 2619 is generally divided into a control data region 2605 and defect management information 2606. The control data region 2605 stores control information such as disc identification information and copyright protection information. Defect management information 2606 stores information about any defect on the disc. This defect management information 2606 will be specifically described below.

The data recording area 2620 includes a user area 2621 for recording a file structure and file data and a spare area 2622 for supplementing any defective area that may occur in the user area. The defective area 2623 included in the user area 2621 can be replaced with one spare area 2624 of the spare area 2622. Also, the defective area 2625 included in the user area 2621 can be replaced with one of the spare areas 2626 in the spare area 2622.

Next, the relationship between the logical space 2602 and the physical space 2603 will be described. If no defective region occurs in the physical space 2603 on the disc, the user region 2621 corresponds to the logical space 2602 of each group. In the example shown in fig. 26, it will be seen that the volume structure 2608, unused space management information 2610, ROOT directory FILE structure 2611, DIR1 FILE entry 2613, DIR1 directory FILE 2614, FILE1 FILE entry 2615 and FILE2 FILE entry 2616 in the logical space 2602 correspond to their respective counterparts in the physical space 2603. However, if the physical space 2603 includes any defective regions (e.g., 2623 and 2625), such defective regions (2623 and 2625) can be replaced with spare regions (e.g., 2624 and 2626) within the spare region 2622. For example, FILE1 expansion region 2617 in physical space 2603 includes defect region 2623 in the example shown in fig. 26. Because defective region 2623 cannot be used, defective region 2623 is replaced with spare region 2624, providing error-free logical space 2602. As a result, FILE1 extension region 2617 is allocated as one contiguous space within logical space 2602, which applies equally to defect region 2625 in FILE2 extension region 2618 within physical space 2603.

The defect areas (e.g., 2623 and 2625) and the spare areas (e.g., 2624 and 2626) are managed using the defect management information 2606 within the disc information region 2619. The disc definition structure 2627 of the defect management information 2604 stores information of defect management methods such as disc-to-disc attributes. The main defect table (hereinafter referred to as "PDL") 2628 typically stores position information of a defective area detected during an initialization process performed by a disc manufacturer. Any defective area detected during user use is processed with a secondary defect table (hereinafter referred to as "SDL") 2632. SDL 2632 includes: an auxiliary defect table header 2629 for storing the number of updates made to the defect management information 2606; an auxiliary defect table registration number 2630 indicating the number of pairs of defective areas and corresponding spare areas registered in this table (set to "2" in the example shown in fig. 2); and a table 2631 of PSNs of the defective areas and PSNs of their corresponding spare areas arranged in ascending order of the PSNs of the defective areas. Thus, the recording/reproducing apparatus of the disc reads out the defect management information 2604 during a start-up process performed at the time of disc insertion, and can access the spare area in place of any defective area in subsequent disc accesses.

Next, a conventional method for performing recording processing of a disc will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in fig. 28. This recording process can generally be divided into two parts: the file data recording processing from steps 2301 to 2309 and the file structure recording processing from steps 2310 to 2317.

(1) File data recording process

A disc recording apparatus (not shown in this figure) first performs an area allocation step 2301 for selecting or allocating a location for recording a file from unused areas on the disc. Specifically, an area for recording a file is selected from among unused areas (which is represented by a "0" bit value on the above-described bitmap) in unused space management information 2601 (fig. 26). Thus, step 2301 determines the location of files recorded on the disc. Suppose that: unused space management information 2601 has been read out from the disc medium previously.

Next, in step 2302, the disc recording apparatus starts recording file data at the recording position determined in step 2301. When actual writing is performed on the disc, the error determination step 2303 checks whether the physical address (i.e., the position identification information recorded on the disc in the form of concave and convex) has been correctly read. This check is performed because the sector address must be read out before data is written in any given sector. If the sector address that has been read out includes an error, recording cannot be performed correctly because the correct position cannot be identified. If the error determination step 2303 determines that an address read error has occurred, the region associated with this error is defined as a defective region, and a replacement step 2308 is performed.

Next, a verification step 2304 is performed to verify whether the write operation was successfully performed. Specifically, the confirmation of a successful write operation at the verification step 2304 includes reading data from the area where the write operation was performed, comparing the read data with data intended to be written, calculations related to error correction codes, and the like.

After the verification step 2304, it is determined at step 2305 whether this data includes an error. If the data includes an error, the area associated with the error is defined as a defective area and an alternative step 2309 is performed.

If the error determination step 2305 determines that there is no error, it is determined whether all data to be recorded has been recorded in step 2306. If less than all of the data to be recorded is recorded, the next recording address is set at step 2307, followed by data write operation 2302 and verification step 2304.

The above steps are repeated until all data to be recorded has been recorded without errors. After that, the file structure recording process is performed.

Note that: both replacement steps 2308 and 2309 involve a process of replacing defective areas with spare areas (e.g., 2622) as shown in fig. 26.

Fig. 29 is a flowchart showing an alternative operation to be performed at the alternative step 2308 or 2309 during recording. In step 2401, a spare area 2624 or 2626 is allocated from the spare area 2622 shown in fig. 26 to replace the defective area 2623 or 2625. As a result, in step 2402, the data that is otherwise recorded in the defective area 2623 or 2625 is written in the spare area 2624 or 2626. Thereafter, an error determination step 2403 is performed to check whether the physical address was read correctly in a manner similar to step 2303 described in connection with FIG. 28. If it is determined that the read address includes an error, steps 2401 and 2402 are performed to perform recording in another spare area. If the write operation ends normally, a verification step 2404 is performed to verify whether the write operation was performed successfully. Specifically, the confirmation of a successful write operation at verification step 2404 involves reading data from the area where the write operation was performed, comparing the read data with the data intended to be written, calculations related to error correction codes, and the like. After the verification step 2404, it is determined in step 2405 whether this data includes an error. If the data includes an error, step 2401 is again performed to allocate yet another spare area. If the error determination step 2405 determines that there is no error, an SDL registration step 2406 is performed to register the PSN of the defective area and the PSN of the corresponding spare area on the SDL and increment the SDL entry number by 1.

(2) File structure record handling

After the file data recording process described in (1) above is completed, a file structure recording process is performed to accommodate any change in the file data recording position and any update made to the size information. The actual file structure recording process is similar to steps 2301-2309 except that different data contents and recording areas are handled. Specifically, the writing operation of the file structure (step 2310), the address read error determination (step 2311), the verification (step 2312), and the verification error determination (step 2313) are repeated each time the next address is set (step 2315), until this processing is ended because the end of data is determined (step 2314).

The replacement processing (steps 2316 and 2317) performed in the case where an error is determined in the error determination step (steps 2311 and 2313, respectively) is similar to the replacement step 2308 or 2309 of the file data recording processing described above in connection with fig. 29.

(3) Data reproduction

Next, an operation of reading out data recorded according to the recording method shown in fig. 28 and 29 will be described with reference to fig. 30. Specifically, fig. 30 is a flowchart showing an operation of reproducing one extended area (as a file data portion of a file recorded on a disc). Next, the respective steps of this process will be described.

Before reproduction, a disc reproducing apparatus (not shown in this figure) reads out file structure information in step 2501. Next, in step 2502, the file structure read out in step 2501 is interpreted so as to obtain therefrom the LSN of the file data in which the file to be reproduced is recorded and the size of that file. Then, in step 2503, the LSN is converted into the PSN set as the read position. In step 2504, it is determined whether the read position indicated by its PSN is registered as a defect area PSN on the SDL in the defect management information 2604. If the readout position is registered as the defective area PSN on the SDL, the reproducing apparatus calculates the PSN of the spare area corresponding to this defective area from the SDL and performs the reproducing process for this spare area in step 2506. If the read-out position is not registered as the defective area PSN on the SDL, the reproducing apparatus performs a reproducing process on the PSN obtained by the transformation of step 2503 in step 2505. After the reproduction step 2505 or 2506, the reproducing apparatus determines whether all data of the extended area to be currently reproduced has actually been reproduced at step 2507. If reproduction of all data is not completed, at step 2508, the PSN for reproduction next is set to an address obtained by adding the size of the reproduced data to the PSN obtained by the above-described transformation at step 2503, and the reproduction process at step 2504 is repeated. If it is determined in step 2507 that the reproduction of all the data of the extended area is completed, this process is ended.

However, according to the above-described conventional technique, if the defective area 2623 exists in the FILE1 extension area of the data arrangement shown in fig. 26, the corresponding spare area 2624 allocated within the spare area 2622 will require a seek operation over a considerably long distance. For example, in order to continuously reproduce all FILE1 extension areas, the FILE1 extension area portion located in the user area 2621 is reproduced first. Then, when the defective region 2623 is encountered, a search of the spare region 2622 must be performed and an accompanying loop waiting period occurs before accessing the spare region 2624 becomes possible. Likewise, after accessing the spare area 2624, a search must be made from the spare area 2624 back to the area located after the defective area 2623 and an accompanying loop waiting period occurs before accessing the rest of the FILE1 extension area becomes possible, which is also true for any defective area 2625 in the FILE2 extension area.

Thus, if any defective area (e.g., 2623 or 2625) exists in the user area 2621, a significant delay occurs during the recording or reproducing process. It can be assumed that: such latency may not be a critical issue in the case of disks used as mass storage media for conventional computer applications. However, such delay may also be a critical issue in real-time recording and/or smooth reproduction of data containing digital video and audio data (hereinafter referred to as "AV data"). For example, problems such as partial loss of AV data, noise generation, and inability to perform smooth reproduction may occur.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium for recording and reproducing data thereon sector by sector, the recorded data being managed as at least one file using a file structure, wherein the file structure includes unused space management information for identifying a used area and an unused area, and wherein at least one defective area is registered as an unused area in the unused space management information, the at least one defective area being an area on the information recording medium where the recorded data cannot be correctly reproduced.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the at least one defective area is an area in which a physical address indicating position information on the information recording medium cannot be correctly read.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the at least one defective area is an area that is determined as an area where data is not properly recorded in a verifying operation performed after data recording.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the information recording medium includes a plurality of ECC blocks as a unit for performing an error correction process, each ECC block includes a plurality of sectors, and at least one defective area is managed on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis.

Alternatively, there is provided an information recording medium for recording and reproducing data sector by sector, comprising a plurality of ECC blocks as a unit for performing error correction processing, each ECC block including a plurality of sectors, wherein at least one sector on which data is recorded is managed as an extension area, and at least one extension area is managed as a file, at least one file is managed using a file structure, and wherein in a case where there is data in at least one file that is not large enough to fill one ECC block, an unused area of the one ECC block is managed as a padding extension area, thereby indicating that the unused area of the one ECC block is an allocated but unused portion of the at least one file.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an extension area type, which is identification information for identifying the extension area to be filled, and the at least one extension area are registered in the file management information in a one-to-one relationship.

Alternatively, there is provided an information recording medium for recording and reproducing data thereon on a sector-by-sector basis, the recorded data being managed as at least one file by using a file structure, wherein for each of the at least one file, the file structure includes an AV flag that is identification information for identifying an AV file containing at least one of video information and audio information.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording method for recording data on an information recording medium so as to record and reproduce the data sector by sector, the recorded data being managed as at least one file by using a file structure, the method comprising: a recording area allocation step of allocating a recording area for recording data; a skip recording step of recording data in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step while skipping the defective area in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step; and a file management information generating step of registering a part of the non-skipped recording area in which the data is recorded as an extension area in the file management information, registering the part as a used area in the unused space management information, and registering the skipped defect area as an unused area in the unused space management information.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an information recording method includes: a file data attribute determining step of determining a data attribute of at least one file to be recorded; and a replacement recording step of recording data while replacing the defective area within the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step with a non-defective area, wherein the recording of the data occurs in the skip recording step if the file data attribute determining step determines that the data attribute of the at least one file to be recorded is an AV file containing at least one of video information and audio information, as opposed to a non-AV file, or the recording of the data occurs in the replacement recording step if the file data attribute determining step determines that the data attribute of the at least one file to be recorded is a non-AV file.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the skip recording step includes a data verifying step for checking whether the recording data is correctly recorded, and the defective area includes an area determined to contain an error in the data verifying step.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the information recording medium includes a plurality of ECC blocks as units for performing error correction processing, each ECC block including a plurality of sectors, wherein the skip recording step skips the defective area on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis, and wherein the file management information generating step registers the defective area in the unused space management information on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the recording area allocating step includes an allowable jump number calculating step for calculating an allowable jump number indicating a maximum number of jumps that can be made while allowing data to be entirely recorded in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step, wherein the jump recording step includes a jump recording instructing step for requesting start of recording while specifying the calculated allowable jump number and position information of the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step, wherein the file management information generating step includes a recording position information transmitting step for transmitting recording position information indicating a position of a part of the recording area in which data is recorded and which is not skipped in the jump recording step, and wherein the file management information generating step generates the file based on the recording position information transmitted in the recording position information transmitting step And managing the information.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the skip recording step includes: a recording area specifying step of specifying the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step; and a split recording step of recording data in the recording area in a split manner, wherein the file management information generating step includes a recording position information transmitting step of transmitting recording position information indicating a position of a part of the recording area in which the data is recorded and which is not skipped in the skip recording step, and wherein the file management information generating step generates the file management information based on the recording position information transmitted in the recording position information transmitting step.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the skip recording step includes: a recording area specifying step of specifying the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step; and a split recording step of recording data in the recording area in a split manner; and a recording state confirmation step of obtaining position information and a recording state related to the progress of recording.

Alternatively, there is provided an information recording method for recording data on an information recording medium to record and reproduce the data thereon sector by sector, including a plurality of ECC blocks as units for performing error correction processing, each ECC block including a plurality of sectors, wherein at least one sector having data recorded therein is managed as an extension area, and at least one extension area is managed as a file, the at least one file being managed using a file structure, the method comprising: a recording area allocation step of allocating a recording area for recording data; a skip recording step of recording data in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step while skipping the defective area in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step; and a file management information generating step of registering a part of the recording area in which the data is recorded without skipping as an extension area in the file management information, registering the part as a used area in the unused space management information, and registering a skipped defective area as an unused area in the unused space management information, wherein in a case where an end of the extension area falls in the middle of one ECC block, a remaining part of the one ECC block is registered as a padding extension area in the file management information, thereby indicating that the remaining part of the one ECC block is an allocated but unused part of at least one file.

Alternatively, there is provided an information recording method for recording data on an information recording medium for recording and reproducing data thereon sector by sector, wherein at least one sector having data recorded thereon is managed as an extended area, and at least one extended area is managed as a file, the at least one file being managed by using a file structure, the method comprising: a recording area allocation step of allocating a recording area for recording data; a skip recording step of recording data in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step while skipping the defective area in the recording area allocated in the recording area allocating step; and a file management information generating step of registering a part of a recording area in which data is recorded without skipping as an extension area in the file management information, registering the part as a used area in the unused space management information, and registering a skipped defect area as an unused area in the unused space management information, wherein the file management information generating step includes an AV file attribute registering step of registering file attribute information for identifying the AV file in the file management information when the recorded file is an AV file containing one of video and audio information.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disk recording drive for recording data on a disk so as to record and reproduce the data sector by sector, the disk recording drive comprising: an instruction processing section for processing a processing request; and a disk recording control section for controlling a recording process of the disk in accordance with a request from the instruction processing section, wherein the instruction processing section includes: a jump recording instruction processing section for receiving a jump recording instruction and requesting the disc recording control section to perform a recording process, the jump recording instruction including a recording start position, a recording length, and an allowable number of jumps; and a recording position request instruction processing section for receiving recording position information of the recording data from the disc recording control section and reporting the recording position information, wherein the disc recording control section includes: a recording control information memory for storing recording control information including a recording start position, a recording length, and an allowable number of jumps while receiving a jump recording instruction; a defective area detecting section for detecting a defective area on the disc during a recording operation; a skip recording control section for starting a recording operation based on the recording control information stored in the recording control information memory, wherein in a case where the defective area is detected by the defective area detecting section during the recording operation, the skip recording control section i) if the number of defective areas is equal to or less than the allowable number of jumps, stops recording in the defective area and records a remaining part of this data in a subsequent area, the remaining part of this data including data that would otherwise be recorded in this defective area, or ii) if the number of defective areas is greater than the allowable number of jumps, ends the recording operation and reports an error to the skip recording instruction processing section; and a defective area recording position memory for storing position information of the defective area skipped by the skip recording control section.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the disc recording control section further includes a data verification section for reading out data from the recorded area and checking the data, and the defective area includes an area determined by the data verification section to contain an error.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in the case where the disc includes a plurality of ECC blocks as units for performing error correction processing, the jumping recording control portion determines the defective area on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis, each ECC block including a plurality of sectors.

Alternatively, there is provided a disc recording drive for recording data on a disc so as to record and reproduce the data on a sector-by-sector basis, the disc recording drive comprising: an instruction processing section for processing a processing request; and a disk recording control section for controlling a recording process of the disk in accordance with a request from the instruction processing section, wherein the instruction processing section includes: a recording area designation instruction processing section for processing a recording area designation instruction for designating position information of the recordable area; a split recording instruction processing section for processing a split recording instruction for instructing to transfer data to be recorded in a recording area specified by the recording area specifying instruction, wherein the data is transferred in a split manner; and a recording position request instruction processing section for reporting recording position information of the recording data, wherein the disc recording control section includes: a recording control information memory for storing position information of the recording area specified by the recording area specifying instruction as recording control information; a defective area detecting section for detecting a defective area on the disc during a recording operation; a skip recording control section for starting a recording operation based on the recording control information stored in the recording control information memory, wherein in a case where the defective area detecting section detects the defective area during the recording operation, the skip recording control section: i) stopping recording in the defective area if the recording position information indicates a position within the recording area stored in the recording control information memory, and recording the remaining part of the data in a subsequent area, the remaining part of the data including data that was otherwise recorded in the defective area, or ii) ending the recording operation and reporting an error to the split recording instruction processing section if the recording position information indicates a position after the recording area stored in the recording control information memory; and a defective area recording position memory for storing position information of the defective area skipped by the skip recording control section.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the disc recording control section further includes a data verification section for reading out data from the recording area and checking the data, and the defective area includes an area determined by the data verification section to contain an error.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in the case where the disc includes a plurality of ECC blocks as units for performing error correction processing, the jumping recording control portion determines one ECC block including a defective area as the defective area, each ECC block including a plurality of sectors.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the instruction processing section further includes a recording status report instruction processing section for receiving a recording status report instruction and reporting the current recording position and the current recording status.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data recording method for recording data on a disc so as to record and reproduce data on a sector-by-sector basis, the disc recording method including: an instruction processing step for processing the processing request; and a disc recording control step of controlling a recording process of the disc, wherein the instruction processing step includes: a recording area designation instruction processing step of processing a recording area designation instruction for designating position information of the recordable area; a split recording instruction processing step of processing a split recording instruction for instructing to transfer data to be recorded in a recording area specified by the recording area specifying instruction, wherein the data is transferred in a split manner; and a recording position request instruction processing step of reporting recording position information of the recording data, wherein the disc recording controlling step includes: a recording control information storing step of storing, as the recording control information, the position information of the recording area specified in the recording area specifying step: a defective area detecting step of detecting a defective area on the disc during a recording operation; a skip recording controlling step of starting a recording operation based on the recording control information stored in the recording control information storing step, wherein in a case where the defective area detecting step detects the defective area during the recording operation, the skip recording controlling step: i) stopping recording in the defective area and recording a remaining part of the data in a subsequent area if the recording position information indicates a position within the recording area stored in the recording control information storing step, the remaining part of the data including data otherwise recorded in the defective area, or ii) ending the recording operation and reporting an error to the split recording instruction processing step if the recording position information indicates a position after the recording area stored in the recording control information storing step; and a defective area recording position storing step of storing position information of the defective area skipped by the skip recording controlling step.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the disc recording controlling step further includes: a data verifying step of reading out data from the recording area and checking the data, and the defective area includes an area determined to contain an error by the data verifying step.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in the case where the disc includes a plurality of ECC blocks as units for performing error correction processing, the jumping recording controlling step determines one ECC block including a defective area as the defective area, wherein each ECC block includes a plurality of sectors.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the instruction processing step herein further comprises a recording status reporting instruction processing step for receiving a recording status reporting instruction and reporting the current recording position and the current recording status.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording system comprising the above-described disk recording drive and an upper limit control device, wherein the upper limit control device includes: an instruction issuing section for issuing an instruction to a disk recording drive; a recording area allocation section for allocating a recording area for recording data; and a file management information generating section for generating file management information for managing at least one file recorded on the disc, wherein the instruction issuing section includes: a skip recording instruction issuing section for issuing a skip recording instruction to record data in the recording area allocated by the recording area allocating section while skipping the defective area in the recording area allocated by the recording area allocating section; and a recording position request instruction issuing section for issuing a recording position request instruction to request transfer of recording position information of one recording area, wherein the file management information generating section generates the file management information based on the recording position information from the disc recording drive received by the recording position request instruction issuing section.

In one embodiment of the present invention, if the recording file is an AV file containing at least one of video and audio information, the file management information generating section registers information for identifying this AV file in the file attribute information.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the file management information generating section registers a defective area detected during a recording operation as an unused area in unused space management information included in the file management information.

Alternatively, there is provided an information recording system comprising an upper limit control device and the above-mentioned disk recording drive, wherein the upper limit control device comprises: an instruction issuing section for issuing an instruction to a disk recording drive; a recording area allocation section for allocating a recording area for recording data; and a file management information generating section for generating file management information to manage at least one file recorded on the disc, wherein the instruction issuing section includes: a recording area designation instruction issuing section for issuing a recording area designation instruction that designates one recording area on the disc as the area allocated by the recording area allocation section before a recording operation is performed on the disc; a split recording instruction issuing section for issuing a split recording instruction to transfer data to be recorded in the recording area specified by the recording area specification instruction issuing section in a split manner, and for requesting the disc recording drive to record the transferred data; and a recording position request instruction issuing section for issuing a recording position request instruction to request reporting of recording position information of an area recorded by the disc recording drive, wherein the file management information generating section generates the file management information based on the recording position information from the disc recording drive received by the recording position request instruction issuing section.

In one embodiment of the present invention, if the recorded file is an AV file containing at least one of video and audio information, the file management information generating section registers information for identifying the AV file in the file attribute information.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the file management information generating section registers a defective area detected during a recording operation as an unused area in unused space management information included in the file management information.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information reproducing method for reproducing data from an information recording medium to record and reproduce the data on a sector-by-sector basis, wherein the recorded data is managed as at least one file using a file structure, the method comprising: a reproduction area setting step of setting position information of at least one reproduction area from which data is reproduced before reproducing the at least one file; a continuous reproduction step of performing a reproduction operation on the reproduction area set in the reproduction area setting step and continuing the reproduction operation on the subsequent area even if an error is detected during reproduction; and a reproduction data transmitting step of transmitting the reproduction data of the reproduction area set in the reproduction area setting step.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disc reproduction drive for reproducing data from an information recording medium to record and reproduce the data sector by sector, wherein the recorded data is managed as at least one file using a file structure, the disc reproduction drive comprising: an instruction processing section for receiving and processing a processing request; and a reproduction control section for successively reading out data from the disc and transferring the read-out data, wherein the instruction processing section includes: a reproduction area setting instruction processing section for processing a reproduction area setting instruction for setting position information of at least one reproduction area before a reproduction operation; and a read data transfer instruction processing section for processing a read data transfer instruction requesting transfer of read data, wherein the reproduction control section includes: a read-out area information memory for storing position information of at least one read-out area received by the reproduction area setting instruction processing section; a read data memory for temporarily storing read data; and a continuous read pre-processing section for performing read pre-processing including reading data from the disc in advance and storing the read data in the read data memory, and continuing the read operation for the subsequent area without stopping the read pre-operation even if an error occurs during the read operation, wherein the read data transfer instruction processing section transfers the read data stored in the read data memory upon receiving a read data transfer instruction.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information reproducing system for reproducing data from an information recording medium to record and reproduce the data sector by sector, the system managing the recorded data as at least one file using a file structure, the information reproducing system including an upper limit control device and the above-mentioned disk reproduction drive, wherein the upper limit control device includes: a file management information interpreting section for interpreting the file management information to obtain location information and attribute information of at least one file; and an instruction issuing section for issuing an instruction to request processing of the disc recording drive, wherein the instruction issuing section includes: a reproduction area setting instruction issuing section for issuing a reproduction area setting instruction based on the recording position information of the at least one file determined by the file management information interpreting section; and a read data transfer instruction issuing section for issuing a read data transfer instruction to request transfer of read data from the area specified by the reproduction area setting instruction issuing section, and for receiving the read data.

Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the following advantages: (1) providing a data structure for a disc medium, allowing real-time recording/reproduction of AV data by performing a seek operation on physically spaced spare areas in advance to minimize any delay caused by a defective area; and (2) to provide a data recording/reproducing method for use with such a data structure.

These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a data structure diagram showing an information recording disc according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a data structure diagram showing a file item of a file containing AV data according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a data structure diagram showing a file item of a file that does not contain AV data according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an information recording/reproducing system according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an AV data recording method using an information recording/reproducing system according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a data structure diagram showing a command control block of an "SKIP WRITE (skip) command according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a data structure diagram showing a command control block of an "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS (read skip address)" command according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a data structure diagram showing a skip address data format according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a skip recording process according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a method for reproducing a file containing AV data according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a data structure diagram showing a command control block of an "SET READ AV AREA (set read AV area)" command according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a data structure diagram showing a data format of "SET READ AV AREA (set read AV area)" according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a data structure diagram showing a "READ AV (READ AV)" command according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a data configuration diagram showing return data relating to an AV data read error.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing an information recording/reproducing system according to example 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an AV data recording method using an information recording/reproducing system according to example 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a recording method of a disc recording/reproducing drive according to example 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a data structure diagram showing a command control block of a "SET RECORD AREA" command according to example 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a data structure diagram showing a command control block of a "WRITE AV (WRITE AV)" command according to example 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a block diagram showing an information recording/reproducing system according to example 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 21A and 21B are data structure diagrams showing a data layout on a rewritable disc according to example 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an AV data recording method according to example 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 23 is a data configuration diagram showing a command control block of a "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command according to example 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 24A is a data structure diagram showing a "RECORDING STATUS" data format according to example 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 24B is a table showing the code definition of the "RECORDING STATUS" data format according to example 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 25 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a general disc medium.

Fig. 26 is a data structure diagram showing a conventional information recording disc.

Fig. 27 is a diagram showing a general file structure.

Fig. 28 is a flowchart showing a conventional information recording method.

Fig. 29 is a flowchart showing an alternative process according to the conventional information recording method.

Fig. 30 is a flowchart showing a conventional information reproducing method.

Best mode for carrying out the invention

(example 1)

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a data structure 100 of a disc medium according to example 1 of the present invention. In the data structure 100 shown in fig. 1, the ROOT directory includes a DIR1 directory, in which the DIR1 directory includes two FILEs, an "AV _ FILE" FILE 108 for storing AV data and a "PC _ FILE" FILE 110 for storing computer data. The description of the units already described with reference to fig. 26 in conjunction with the conventional art is omitted, and only the units constituting the characteristics of the present invention are described.

In the logical space 102 shown in fig. 1, the "AV _ FILE" FILE 108 includes three extension areas, i.e., an AV _ FILE extension area 105, an AV _ FILE extension area 106, and an AV _ FILE padding extension area 107. The PC _ FILE 110 includes a PC _ FILE extension area 109. The example shown in fig. 1 represents a case where a defective area 112 exists between the AV _ FILE extension area 105 and the AV _ FILE extension area 106. The defective area 112 is a defective area detected when the AV _ FILE (105 or 106) is recorded. According to the present invention, in an embodiment in which a plurality of sectors constitute one error correction unit (referred to as an "ECC" block), a defective area is determined on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis, rather than on a sector-by-sector basis.

In the case of the conventional information recording disc, which has been described with reference to fig. 26, each defective area detected at the time of recording is replaced with a spare area within the spare area. However, according to the information recording disc of the present invention, any defective area detected when recording AV data is skipped to prevent a delay that would otherwise be caused by a seek operation for a physically separated spare area.

In the logical space 102 shown in fig. 1, the end portion of the AV _ FILE 108 is shown as including an extended area having a special attribute called an AV _ FILE padding extended area. Although no FILE data is recorded in the AV _ FILE padding extension area, the AV _ FILE padding extension area is managed as a part of a FILE. The reason why the padding extension area is adopted is as follows. In applications where an error correction unit (or ECC block) is composed of a plurality of sectors, such as DVD-RAM (digital versatile disc random access memory), it is desirable to avoid that files containing AV data and files containing PC data are mixed in the same ECC block. Therefore, padding of the extension area is employed to complete the ECC blocks that include the AV file but are not completely padded by the AV file, so that any PC file will belong to a separate ECC block. As a result, even in the case where an AV file is recorded in real time without performing any time-consuming data verification check, which would result in a certain degree of reliability reduction for the AV file, it is still possible to record a PC file that requires much higher data reliability than the AV file.

The unused space management information 101 recorded as file management information is a bitmap including a plurality of bits corresponding to each sector in the partition space 111 in a one-to-one manner. As shown in fig. 1, an area in which a file entry and an extension area are recorded is marked as "1", indicating "use". On the other hand, the unused area and the area indicating the unused space management information itself are marked as "0", indicating "unused". Note that: the defective area 112 in the logical space 102 is marked as "0", i.e., "unused". As a result, since the replacement processing described in connection with the conventional technique can be performed for PC data, the defective area 112 that cannot be used for recording AV data (because AV data requires high real-time recording capability) can be used for recording PC data.

In the case of an information recording disc in which one ECC block is composed of a plurality of sectors, a defective area is registered on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis. In the case of the DVD-RAM, one ECC block is composed of 16 sectors; accordingly, one defective area includes at least 16 sectors set to an "unused" state.

The physical space 103 is shown as including two defective areas 113 and 114. The defective area 113 is a defective area (corresponding to the defective area 112 in the logical space 102) detected when recording an AV file, and is managed by file management information in the logical space 102. On the other hand, the defective area 114 is replaced with a spare area 116 within the spare area 115 in a manner similar to the method used in conjunction with the conventional information recording disc described above. The spare area 116 corresponds to the defective area 114, which is a defect detected when recording a PC file. Note that: by performing a conventional defect management process on a defective area (e.g., 114) detected when a PC file is recorded, it is possible to achieve compatibility with a conventional environment.

Note that: in the example shown in fig. 1, the only area where the replacement process is performed is the defective area 114. Therefore, in the defect management information 104, the SDL registration number 117 is set to "1", and the first PSN of the defective area 114 and the first PSN of the spare area 116 are registered.

Fig. 2 shows a data structure of the AV _ FILE entry 118. The AV _ FILE entry 118 contains attribute information and recording position information relating to the AV FILE. The descriptor tag 201 in which the unique value is recorded is identification information for identifying the beginning of the file item. The file attribute information is recorded in the ICB flag 202. The location information of the extended area constituting the AV _ FILE is recorded in the allocation descriptor 203.

The ICB flag 202 contains a recorded direct entry number 204 for indicating the entry number of the already recorded extension area and a flag area 205 for indicating file attribute information. An allocation descriptor type 206 for identifying the type of the allocation descriptor and an AV flag 207 for distinguishing the AV file from the PC file are also recorded in the flag area 205. Since the AV _ FILE 108 is a FILE containing AV data, the AV flag 207 is set to "1". From the AV flag 207, it is possible to identify whether the file is an AV file or a PC file.

For each extension area, the allocation descriptor 203 includes an extension area type for indicating attribute information of the extension area, an extension area length for indicating size information on the extension area, and an extension area position for indicating position information where the extension area is recorded. The extension area type 209 of the allocation descriptor 208 for the AV _ FILE extension area 105 is set to "0", indicating a normal extension area. As used herein, a "normal extended area" is defined as an extended area in which file data is recorded. On the other hand, setting the extension area type 211 in the allocation descriptor 210 for the AV _ FILE to fill the extension area 107 to "1" indicates filling the extension area. In other words, although no FILE data is recorded in the AV _ FILE padding extension area as described above, the AV _ FILE padding extension area is managed as a part of a FILE.

Fig. 3 shows a data structure of the PC _ FILE entry 119, which is similar to the data structure of the AV _ FILE entry 118 (shown in fig. 2), except that the AV flag 301 is "0", which indicates that PC _ FILE is a FILE that does not contain AV data. The PC _ FILE 110 does not include a padding extension area because the PC _ FILE 110 never fills the ECC block with the padding extension area. Therefore, the extension area type 303 in the allocation descriptor 302 for the PC _ FILE extension area 110 is set to "0", indicating a normal extension area.

Thus, the information recording disc according to example 1 of the present invention has been described as above.

As described above, according to the information recording disc of the current embodiment of the present invention, the conventional replacement process is not performed for any defective area (e.g., 113) detected when AV data is recorded. As a result, it is possible to perform data recording/reproduction without causing any delay associated with these alternative processes. In contrast, the present invention enables high-speed defect management involving skipping only the defective area 112, whereas the conventional defect management method requires the above-described replacement process to provide the error-free logical space 2602. In addition, by registering a defective area detected when recording AV data as an unused area, such a defective area can be used for recording of PC data in an embodiment in which the above-described replacement processing is performed on PC data (note: AV data requires high real-time recording capability).

In an embodiment where the information recording disc includes ECC blocks each composed of a plurality of sectors, the information recording disc according to the present example of the invention obtains perfect reliability as the information recording disc by registering a defective area on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis.

In an embodiment where the information recording disc includes ECC blocks each composed of a plurality of sectors, the information recording disc according to the present example of the invention provides perfect reliability of PC data by filling extension areas by registration to ensure that the ECC blocks in which AV data is recorded do not include any PC data and by providing identification information to each extension area, even if both AV data and PC data are present on the same disc.

The information recording disc according to the present example of the present invention contains identification information for distinguishing AV files from non-AV files as file attributes. As a result, it is possible to selectively adopt different reproduction methods according to specific file attributes. For example, in the case of reproducing an AV file, it is possible to set a higher priority to the real-time capability than the data reliability.

Next, referring to the drawings, an information recording/reproducing system according to example 1 of the present invention for recording or reproducing data on the disc medium shown in fig. 1 will be described according to its structure and operation.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of an information recording/reproducing system 400. As shown in fig. 4, the information recording/reproducing system 400 includes: an upper limit control device 410 for controlling the entire system; a disc recording/reproducing drive 420 for controlling recording/reproduction of an information recording disc or medium such as a rewritable disc (not shown in fig. 4) according to an instruction from the upper limit control device 410; a magnetic disk device 450; an AV data output section 460 for converting digital AV data into analog video/audio signals and outputting the resultant analog video/audio signals; an AV data input part 470 for converting an input analog AV signal into digital AV data; and an IO/bus 480 for transmitting/receiving data and/or control information.

The upper limit control device 410 is mainly constituted by a microprocessor including a control program and a memory for calculation purposes. The upper limit control device 410 includes: a recording area allocation section 411 for allocating a recording area at the time of recording; a file management information generating section 412 for generating file management information of the recording file; a file management information interpretation section 413 for calculating a recording position of the file and determining attribute information from the file management information; a data buffer memory 414 for temporarily storing data; and an instruction issuing section 415 for issuing an instruction to the disc recording/reproducing drive 420. The instruction issuing section 415 includes a jump recording instruction issuing section 416 for issuing a jump recording instruction for requesting recording while skipping the defective area; a recording position request instruction issuing section 417 for issuing a recording position request instruction for requesting return of position information after recording to determine an area in which data has been recorded; a reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 for issuing a reproduction area setting instruction specifying an area to be reproduced (hereinafter referred to as "reproduction area") before reproduction; and a read data transfer instruction issuing section 419 for issuing a read data transfer instruction that requests transfer of the read data.

The disc recording/reproducing drive 420 is mainly constituted by a microprocessor including a control program and a memory for calculation purposes, a mechanism controlled by the microprocessor, and a signal processing circuit. Functionally, the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 includes: an instruction processing section 421 for processing an instruction from the upper limit control device 410; a recording control section 430 for controlling recording on the rewritable disc; and a reproduction control section 440 for controlling reproduction of the rewritable disc. The instruction processing section 421 includes: a jump recording instruction processing section 422 for processing a jump recording instruction; a recording position request instruction processing section 423 for processing a recording position request instruction; a reproduction area setting instruction processing section 424 for processing a reproduction area setting instruction; and a read data transfer instruction processing section 425 for processing the read data transfer instruction. The recording control section 430 includes: a defective area detecting section 431 for detecting a defective area at the time of recording; a skip recording control section 432 for performing recording while skipping the defective area detected at the time of recording; a recording position memory 433 for storing information on a position where data is recorded; a data verification part 434 for reading out the recorded data after recording to check whether the data is correctly recorded; a recording control information memory 435 for storing control information required for recording, for example, a recording start position and a recording length; and a recording data memory 436 for temporarily storing data received from the upper limit control device 410. The reproduction control section 440 includes: a read-out area information memory 441 for storing position information of the reproduction area specified by the upper limit control device 410 before reproduction; a read data memory 442 for temporarily storing data read from the rewritable disk; and a continuous read processing section 443 for performing read processing (defined later) based on predetermined read area information and continuing the read processing without stopping the processing in response to an error occurring during the read processing.

Next, a recording method of recording a file containing AV data using the information recording/reproducing system 400 shown in fig. 4 will be described with reference to the entire control process shown in fig. 5. The description of the entire control process will occasionally turn to the description of the corresponding data structures of the instructions and communication data transferred between the upper limit control device 410 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 with reference to fig. 6, 7 and 8. The recording procedure of the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 will also be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in fig. 9. In the entire control process shown in fig. 5, it is assumed that the file management information of the file recorded on the rewritable disc has been read out in advance at the time of disc insertion and interpreted by the file management information interpreting section 413, and this file management information is retained in the upper limit control device 410. The entire control processing shown in fig. 5 includes a set of processing 521 to be executed by the upper limit control device 410, a set of processing 523 to be executed by the disc recording/reproducing drive 420, and an instruction stream, a data stream, a processing stream 522 in the IF protocol between the upper limit control device 410 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 420.

(step 501) the upper limit control device 410 controls the AV data input section 470 to start receiving AV data. The AV data input through the AV data input section 470 is converted into digital data by the AV data input section 470 and then transferred through the I/O bus 480 to be stored in the data buffer memory 414.

(step 502) before recording the AV data, the recording area allocating section 411 in the upper limit control device 410 obtains the blank area information on the rewritable disc from the file management information interpreting section 413, and allocates the recording area. The recording area allocation section 411 allocates the recording area by considering the size of the allocation area and the physical distance between the areas so that AV data can be smoothly reproduced later.

(step 503) the jump recording instruction issuing section 416 obtains the position information of the area that has been allocated by the recording area allocating section 411, and issues an "SKIP WRITE (jump write)" command (as a jump recording instruction) to the disc recording/reproducing drive 420. Meanwhile, the jump recording instruction issuing section 416 specifies the position information of the area that has been allocated by the recording area allocating section 411, the size information of the data to be recorded, and the allowable number of jumps that can be made when detecting a defective area (i.e., the maximum number of jumps that can be made while allowing the data to be recorded entirely within the allocated recording area) as parameters of the command "SKIP WRITE". After the "SKIP WRITE" command, the size of the data specified with the "SKIP WRITE" command is transferred from the data buffer memory 414 to the disk recording/reproducing drive 420. Fig. 6 shows a command control block, which is a data structure transmitted as an "SKIP WRITE" command. The "SKIP WRITE" command has a command control block length of 12 bytes. The unique instruction code identifying the "SKIP WRITE" command is represented by byte 0. LSN (position information) of a sector where recording is started is represented by 4 bytes from byte 2 to byte 5. The number of ECC blocks that can be skipped (i.e., the number of allowable jumps) in the case where a defective area is detected during a recording operation is represented by byte 6. The number of sectors (i.e., size information) in the data to be transferred is represented by two bytes from byte 7 to byte 8.

(step 504) upon receiving the "SKIP WRITE" command from the upper limit control device 410, the jump recording instruction processing section 422 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 requests the jump recording control section 432 to start performing recording processing on the transferred data from the start LSN specified on the rewritable disc. Next, the operation of the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 9.

(step 901) the jump recording instruction processing section 422 receives the "SKIP WRITE" command and recording data from the upper limit control device 410. Along with the "SKIP WRITE" command, the jump recording instruction processing section 422 receives the following parameters required to execute this command: parameter "ADR" indicating start LSN; a parameter "LEN" indicating the number of sectors in data to be recorded; and a parameter "MAX _ SKP" indicating the maximum allowable number of jumps that can be made when a defective area is detected. The jump recording instruction processing section 422 stores these parameters in the recording control information memory 435. The parameter "MAX _ SKP" indicating the maximum allowable number of jumps is a variable calculated by the recording area allocation section 411 in the upper limit control device 410. In particular, the parameter "MAX _ SKP" is calculated to be a value such that any shift down of the recording position on the rewritable disc due to skipping of a defective area will not cause damage to the latter area that is already in use.

(step 902) upon receiving the "SKIP WRITE" command, the disc recording/reproducing driver 420 initializes an area for storing the number of ECC blocks skipped during recording and an area for storing the size of recorded data within the recording control information memory 435 to zero.

(step 903) thereafter, the jump recording instruction processing section 422 receives data to be recorded on the rewritable disc and stores the data in the recording data memory 436.

(step 904) after the predetermined amount of data has been stored in the recording data memory 436, the jump recording control section 432 starts the recording operation on the rewritable disc.

(step 905) during the recording operation, the defective area detecting section 431 determines whether the area being recorded is a defective area. The defective area detecting section 431 determines the defective area when any one of the following criteria is satisfied: i) if the physical address assigned to each sector as the location information on the rewritable disc is not read out correctly (in this case the entire ECC block containing such a sector will be determined as a defective area); or ii) if the monitored magnitude of the amount of light reflected from the rewritable disc during the recording process shows up as being distributed in a given area above a predetermined level (in which case the entire ECC block containing such a sector would be determined to be a defective area). In either case where a defective area is determined, the process branches to step 910.

(steps 906, 907) if the recording operation has been properly completed, the data verification part 434 determines whether the data has been properly recorded by reading out the data in the area where the recording operation has been performed. If the data verification portion 434 determines that the result of the verification is error, the process branches to step 910.

(step 908) if the data verification part 434 determines that there is no error, the number of recorded sectors is added to the number of recorded blocks.

(step 909) thereafter, the skip recording control section 432 determines whether the number of recorded blocks is equal to the variable "LEN" stored in the recording control information memory 435. If the number of recorded blocks is equal to the variable "LEN", it is determined that all the specified data has been recorded, and the process is ended. On the other hand, if the number of recorded blocks is less than the variable "LEN", then the process returns to step 904 to perform the recording of the remainder of this data.

(step 910) if it is determined in step 905 or 907 that there is an error, the number of jumps that have been made during the recording process is compared to the variable "MAX _ SKP" stored in the recording control information memory 435. If the number of hops that have been made during recording is equal to the variable "MAX _ SKP," then it is determined that the maximum allowable number of hops has been exceeded (this number is specified using the "SKIP WRITE" command), and this process is aborted.

(step 911) if the number of jumps that have been made during recording is less than the variable "MAX _ SKP", the number of jumps is incremented by 1 to skip the detected defective area.

(step 912) and the first LSN of the skipped defective area is stored in the recording position memory 433. (step 913) subsequently, the jump recording control section 432 sets position information for the next recording operation on the subsequent area. Although the explanation is omitted from the flowchart of fig. 9, the position information in the recording data memory 436 is also updated so that the data originally intended to be recorded into the defective area can be recorded into the subsequent area (i.e., the area following the defective area) after skipping the defective area. Then, the process returns to step 904 to perform recording on the subsequent area.

Thus, the skip recording control section 432 skips any defective area detected at the time of recording and stores the position information of such defective area, and continues this processing until all the data is correctly recorded.

(step 505) referring back to fig. 5, after the jump recording process is performed, the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 returns to the upper limit control device 410 to a "complete" state.

(step 506) the recording position request instruction issuing section 417 in the upper limit control device 410 issues an "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS (read skip address)" command to the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 to inquire about the position information of the defective area skipped during the skip recording process of step 504. Fig. 7 shows a command control block for the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command. Next, the data structure of the command control block of the "READ SKIPPEDADDRESS" command will be described with reference to fig. 7.

The command control block for the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command is 12 bytes long. The unique instruction code identifying "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" is represented in byte 0. The allocation length is expressed in two bytes from byte 7 to byte 8. As used herein, the allocation length indicates the memory size provided by the upper limit control device 410 for storing the returned skip address data. If the returned data is greater than the designated allocation length, the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 performs a rounding process so as not to return data greater than the allocation length.

(step 507) after receiving the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command, the recording position request instruction processing section 423 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 returns the position information of the defective area stored in the recording position memory 433 during the jump recording process of step 504 as the jump address data, see fig. 5.

Fig. 8 shows a format of the skip address data, and the meaning of the corresponding fields of the skip address data will be described with reference to fig. 8. The skip address data includes a skip address number 801 and a skip address list 802. Two bytes from byte 0 to byte 1 indicate the skip address number 801, in which the number of skip addresses to be returned is set. Byte 2 and its subsequent bytes represent the first LSN list 802 of skipped ECC blocks. If the number of skipped addresses 801 is 0, the skipped address list 802 is not returned. This skipped address is returned ECC block by ECC block. Therefore, in the case of a rewritable disc in which a plurality of sectors constitute one ECC block, if the number of skipped addresses is 1, it means that there are as many defective sectors as the number of sectors constituting one ECC block.

(step 508) referring back to fig. 1, 2 and 5, upon receiving the skip address data, the file management information generating section 412 in the upper limit control device 410 generates the file management information. The file management information generation section 412 determines that the transferred data has been recorded in an area other than the area skipped according to this skip address data, and generates the file item 118 (fig. 1 and 2) of the AV file. At this time, the file management information generation section 412 sets bits in the unused space management information 101, which correspond to the extension areas 105 and 106 specified by the allocation descriptor 203 (fig. 2) in the file entry 118, to "1", i.e., "use". Also, a skip area is determined based on the skip address data returned at step 507. As a result, all sectors in the skipped area are determined as defective areas, and the corresponding bit in the unused space management information 101 is set to "0", i.e., "unused". If the end of one file extension area (e.g., 106) falls in the middle of an ECC block, the file management information generation section 412 registers the remaining part of this ECC block as a padding extension area (e.g., 107). At this time, the extension area type 211 (fig. 2) filling the extension area (e.g., 107) is set to "1" to identify the filling of the extension area, and thereafter, the file management information generating section 412 stores the generated file management information in the data buffer 414 before recording the file management information on the rewritable disc.

(step 509) the upper limit control device 410 issues a "WRITE" command requesting the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 to record the generated file management information stored in the data buffer memory 414 using a conventional recording method. The LSN at which recording is started and the number of sectors to record are specified by parameters in the "WRITE" command.

(step 510) upon receiving the "WRITE" command, the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 performs a recording process similar to the conventional method for recording a file structure described with reference to fig. 28. Any defective area detected during a recording operation in accordance with the "WRITE" command is subjected to replacement processing using a conventional replacement method.

(step 511) upon completion of recording of all the data specified by the "WRITE" command by the conventional recording method, the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 returns a "complete" state to the upper limit control device 410. Thus, a rewritable disc having the data structure shown in fig. 1 can be realized.

Thus, the information recording method according to example 1 of the present invention has been described above.

Next, a reproduction method of an AV file according to example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the entire control process shown in fig. 10.

The description of the entire control program will occasionally turn to the description of the data structure of commands and data transferred between the upper limit control device 410 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 with reference to fig. 11, 12 and 13. The entire control processing shown in fig. 10 includes a set of processing 1021 performed by the upper limit control device 410, a set of processing 1023 performed by the disk recording/reproducing drive 420, and a command and data stream 1022 transmitted between the upper limit control device 410 and the disk recording/reproducing drive 420.

(step 1001) the file management information interpretation section 413 in the upper limit control device 410 interprets the file structure on the rewritable disc to determine whether the file to be reproduced is an AV file. If it is determined that the file to be reproduced is an AV file, the file management information interpretation section 413 calculates the recording position and the read out size of the file data of the AV file to be reproduced, and notifies the reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 of these parameters.

(step 1002) the read data transfer instruction issuing section 419 in the upper limit control apparatus 410 initializes a counter for calculating the read size to zero.

(step 1003) the reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 in the upper limit control device 410 issues an "SET READAV AREA (set read AV area)" command to set the recording position and the read size of the file data in the disc recording/reproducing drive 420, which has been calculated by the file management information interpreting section 413. Specifically, the "SET READ AV AREA" command is an instruction to set one or more continuous areas in which file data is recorded before the AV file is reproduced. Fig. 11 shows a data structure of a command control block of the "SET READ AV AREA" command. The "SET READ AV AREA" command control block is composed of 12 bytes of data. The unique instruction code identifying the "SET READ AV AREA" command is set in byte 0. In two bytes from byte 7 to byte 8, the area data length (in bytes) to be transferred is specified. After transferring this command control block, the reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 transfers area data of a size specified by the transfer data length to the disc recording/reproducing drive 420. Fig. 12 shows SET READ AV AREA data format, i.e., area data to be transmitted. This area data is constituted by a table 1203 including the number of AV areas 1201 (indicating the number of continuous areas to be set) and a pair 1202 of start address (LSN) and end address (LSN). When the number of AV areas is "0", the start LSN and the end LSN of any area are not transferred. Byte 2 and the following bytes are set in the order of the start LSN and the end LSN of the corresponding AV area set for reproduction.

(step 1004) after receiving the "SET READ AV AREA" command, the reproduction area setting instruction processing section 424 in the disc recording/reproduction drive 420 stores the reproduction area data received from the upper limit control device 410 in the read-out area information memory 441.

(step 1005) upon notification that the reproduction area data has been received from the reproduction area setting instruction processing section 424, the consecutive read processing section 443 of the disc recording/reproduction drive 420 starts read processing while referring to the position information of the reproduction area stored in the read area information memory 441. As used herein, "pre-read processing" is defined as processing of reading data from a rewritable disk in advance while waiting for a subsequent data transfer request and storing the data in the read data memory 442. In general, a data read operation is performed in such a manner that an area in which a read error occurs is first subjected to retry processing for recovery from the error; and if the error cannot be resolved with such error recovery processing, the read processing is ended, thereby marking abnormal ending. However, in the pre-read processing relating to the "SET READ AV AREA" command, even if an error occurs, the continuous pre-read processing portion 443 does not perform the retry processing; conversely, the continuous read processing section 443 continues the read processing of the subsequent area. This is to prevent a significant decrease in data readout speed due to the retry process, which may cause a critical problem such as disturbance in a reproduced image during the AV data reproduction process.

The disc recording/reproducing drive 420 does not report the "error" status to the upper limit control device 410. Therefore, in order to prevent a malfunction due to the AV data output portion 460 receiving data with an error, the consecutive read pre-processing portion 443 reports an error by setting an error flag contained at a predetermined position to "1" in the return data. The data structure transmitted to the upper limit control device 410 will be described in the description of step 1010.

(step 1006) after the completion of the storage of the received data and the notification to the continuous read processing portion 443, the reproduction area setting instruction processing portion 424 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 returns a "complete" status to the upper limit control device 410 to indicate that the "SET READ AV AREA" command has been correctly ended.

(step 1007) the upper limit control device 410 performs activation processing on the AV data output section 460. Once activated, the AV data output portion 460 enters a reproduced data input waiting state. Upon detecting the transfer of the reproduction data in this state, the AV data output section 460 converts the transfer data into an analog video/audio signal and outputs the analog video/audio signal.

(step 1008) the READ data transfer instruction issuing section 419 in the upper limit control device 410 issues a "READ AV (READ AV)" command that requests transfer of data that has been READ out from the rewritable disc to the disc recording/reproducing drive 420. Fig. 13 shows a data structure of a command control block of the "READ AV" command, which is composed of 12 bytes of data. A unique instruction code identifying the "READ AV" command is set in byte 0. Of the 4 bytes from byte 2 to byte 5, the first LSN of the area for which read data is required to be transferred is specified. 2 bytes from byte 7 to byte 8 represent the transfer length, in which the length of data (in bytes) required to be transferred is specified.

(step 1009) upon receiving the "READ AV" command, the READ data transfer instruction processing section 425 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 confirms whether or not AV data in the area specified by the parameter of the "READ AV" command has been stored in the READ data memory 442. If it is determined that the AV data read out from the specified area has been stored in the read data memory 442, the read data transfer instruction processing section 425 immediately transfers the AV data to the upper limit control device 410. On the other hand, if it is determined that the AV data read out from the specified area has not been stored, the read-out data transfer instruction processing section 425 performs data transfer only after storing the AV data with the continuous read processing section 443.

(step 1010) after the AV data which has been transferred by the read data transfer instruction processing section 425 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 is received by the read data transfer instruction issuing section 419, this AV data is stored in the data buffer memory 414. However, as described with reference to step 1005, the returned AV data may contain errors. Fig. 14 shows a data structure 1400 of read data transferred from the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 to the upper limit control device 410. The read data has 2048 bytes per sector. The number of sectors that transfer the data specified by the transfer length parameter of the "READAV" command. In the case of AV data, 2048 bytes of data constituting each sector corresponds to a unit called "packet" 1401. The packet 1401 is further subdivided into a packet header 1402 (consisting of 14 bytes) and a packet data 1403 (consisting of 2034 bytes). The packet header 1402 includes a packet start code 1404 in which a unique code for identifying the start of a packet is stored and an error flag 1405 indicating whether the packet data includes an error. As shown in fig. 14, if the read data to be returned is correct read data 1401, an error flag 1405 is set to "0", indicating normal data. Conversely, the error flag 1405A of the data 1401A in which the read error has occurred is set to "1", indicating that this data may include an error. Based on these error flags, the AV data output portion 460 can perform a recovery process without reproducing any data having an error by complementing the data with preceding and/or following data.

(step 1011) the upper limit control device 410 transfers the readout data stored in the data buffer memory 414 to the AV data output section 460. Since the AV data output section 460 has been activated since step 1007, any input reproduction data will be easily converted into an analog video/audio signal for output.

(step 1012) the read data transfer instruction issuing section 419 in the upper limit control apparatus 410 adds the size of the AV data that has been received from the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 to the read size.

(step 1013) the read data transfer instruction issuing section 419 in the upper limit control device 410 compares the read out size with the file size being reproduced. If the read-out size coincides with the file size being reproduced, it is determined that the entire AV data has been read out, and this processing is ended. If the read size does not match the file size being reproduced, the process returns to step 1008 to reproduce the rest of the AV data and continue the reproduction operation.

Thus, the reproduction method of example 1 of the present invention has been described above.

As described above, according to the information recording method of the present invention, any defective area detected at the time of recording is skipped during recording. As a result, the delay in the recording/reproducing process associated with the conventional replacement process is significantly reduced, thereby enabling real-time recording/reproduction of AV data.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, a defective area is managed as an unused area using file management information, which makes it possible to record PC data using a conventional alternative method for an LSN determined as a defective area.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, by performing the data verification process, it is possible to obtain high reliability in applications that are not required during recording but require real-time capability during reproduction (for example, recording AV data that has been stored in the magnetic disk device 450).

Since the number of allowable jumps is set during the jump recording process, it is possible to prevent damage to the subsequent area in which other file data is recorded even if a large number of defective areas are skipped.

If the end of the extension area of the AV file is exactly in the middle of an ECC block, the rest of that ECC block is registered as filling the extension area, thereby preventing other files from being recorded in the same ECC block. Therefore, in an embodiment in which AV data is recorded without any data verification for real-time recording, it is still possible to prevent files containing AV data and files containing PC data from being mixed in the same ECC block. As a result, the reliability of PC data is ensured.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the invention, identification information for distinguishing AV data from other types of data is registered in the file management information, so that it is possible to know whether this data requires real-time processing capability at the time of reproduction. As a result, it is possible to perform the high-speed reproduction method shown in the present example on AV data, which may be different from the reproduction method for reproducing PC data.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, in order to realize read processing for reading a plurality of areas in advance, one or more reproduction areas are set before reproduction, thereby realizing faster reproduction. As a result, AV data reproduction can be performed so as to reproduce video/audio information smoothly without destruction.

Although the recording data is explained in the information recording method according to the present example of the present invention with an example of the verification by the data verification section 434, it should be understood that such data verification may be omitted during recording in applications requiring higher real-time capability, for example, in which AV data is input at a very high transfer rate.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, the defective area detected during the skip recording is registered as the skipped and unused area in the file management information. Alternatively, the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 may register such a defective area on the SDL without allocating any spare area therefor, and then perform the allocation and replacement processing of the replacement position when the next PC data is recorded.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, a defective area detected at the time of recording is skipped. However, it should be understood that all defective areas that have been detected and registered on the SDL may also be skipped.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the invention, the area is designated by the reproduction area setting instruction according to the start LSN and the end LSN thereof. However, this designation may alternatively be based on, for example, the starting LSN and the region length, as long as one region can be identified.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the invention, the continuous read processing portion 443 can perform a seek operation or the like as appropriate in order to secure real-time capability during AV data reproduction.

According to the information reproducing method of the present example of the invention, the reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 sets all reproduction areas within the file before the reproduction processing. However, in an embodiment in which the read-out area information memory 441 of the system has only a small capacity, for example, reproduction may also be performed in multiple stages of subdivision steps, for example, specifying areas up to the middle of a file and performing reproduction processing for these areas, and then specifying subsequent areas and performing reproduction processing for these areas.

According to the information recording/reproducing system 400 of the present example, the transfer of information between the upper limit control device 410 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 is realized in accordance with a recording position request instruction, a reproduction area setting instruction, and the like. However, in an embodiment where the upper limit control device 410 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 420 of this system share a common storage area or the like that is accessible to both the upper limit control device 410 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 420, similar processing can be achieved by performing writing/reading on such a storage area, avoiding the above-described instruction.

(example 2)

Next, an information recording/reproducing system 1500 according to example 2 of the present invention for recording or reproducing data on the disc medium shown in fig. 1 will be described in connection with its structure and operation.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing the structure of an information recording/reproducing system 1500 according to example 2 of the present invention. Next, respective units of the information recording/reproducing system 1500 will be described, and a description of those units corresponding to the parts possessed in the information recording/reproducing system 400 shown in fig. 4 will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 15, the information recording/reproducing system 1500 includes an upper limit control device 1510, a disk recording/reproducing drive 1520, a magnetic disk device 450, an AV data output portion 460, an AV data input portion 470, and an IO/bus 480.

The upper limit control device 1510 is mainly constituted by a microprocessor including a control program and a memory for calculation purposes. The upper limit control device 1510 includes a recording area allocating part 411, a file management information generating part 412, a file management information interpreting part 413, a data buffer memory 414, and an instruction issuing part 1511 for issuing an instruction to the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520. The instruction issuing section 1511 includes: a recording area designation instruction issuing section 1512 for issuing a recording area designation instruction to designate a recording area before a recording operation; a split recording instruction issuing section 1513 for issuing a split recording instruction to issue a recording request of the recording area and perform data transfer in a split manner; a recording position request instruction issuing section 417 for issuing a recording position request instruction for requesting return of position information of a position in which a file has been recorded after recording; a reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 for issuing a reproduction area setting instruction for specifying an area to be reproduced before a reproduction operation; and a read data transfer instruction issuing section 419 for issuing a read data transfer instruction for requesting transfer of the read data.

The disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 includes: an instruction processing section 1521 for receiving instructions from the upper limit control device 1510 and processing the instructions; a recording control section 430 for controlling recording on a rewritable disc (not shown); and a reproduction control section 440 for controlling reproduction of the rewritable disc. The instruction processing section 1521 includes: a recording area designation instruction processing section 1522 for receiving and processing a recording area designation instruction; a split record instruction processing section 1523 for receiving and processing a split record instruction; a recording position request instruction processing section 423; the reproduction area setting instruction processing section 424; and a read data transfer instruction processing section 425. The recording control section 430 has the same structure as the reproduction control section 440 and the corresponding sections thereof in the information recording/reproducing system 400 according to example 1 of the present invention, and the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, a recording method of recording a file containing AV data using the information recording/reproducing system 1500 shown in fig. 15 will be described with reference to the entire control process shown in fig. 16. The description of the entire control program will occasionally turn to the block diagram of fig. 15 showing the information recording/reproducing system 1500, the flowchart of fig. 17 showing the reproducing process, and the data structure diagrams of fig. 18 and 19 showing the I/F command. In the entire control process shown in fig. 16, it is assumed that file management information of a file recorded on a rewritable disc is read out in advance at the time of disc insertion and is interpreted by the file management information interpreting section 413, and the file management information is retained in the upper limit control device 1510. The entire control processing shown in fig. 16 includes a set of processing 1621 to be executed by the upper limit control device 1510, a set of processing 1623 to be executed by the disk recording/reproducing drive 1520, and a flow 1622 of instructions, data, processing results in an instruction protocol between the upper limit control device 1510 and the disk recording/reproducing drive 1520.

(step 1601) upon detection of the input signal, the AV data input section 470 starts receiving AV data. The AV data input section 470 converts the received analog video/audio signal into digital AV data and transfers the digital AV data to the data buffer memory 414 in the upper limit control device 1510.

(step 1602) before recording the AV data, the recording area allocating section 411 in the upper limit control device 1510 obtains the blank area information on the rewritable disc from the file management information interpreting section 413, and allocates a recording area to record the AV file. The recording area allocation section 411 allocates a recording area for this AV file by considering the size of the allocation area and the physical distance between these areas so as to obtain a sufficient read-out rate during reproduction. Since a defective area may exist within the recording area and such a defective area will be skipped, the recording area allocating section 411 allocates a recording area larger than the actual recording size.

(step 1603) the recording AREA designation instruction issuing portion 1513 in the upper limit control device 1510 issues a "setup recording AREA" command designating a recording AREA to the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520, thereby designating the position information of the recording AREA allocated at step 1602. Fig. 18 shows a command control block data structure 1800 of a "SET RECORD AREA" command. The command control block of the "SET RECORD AREA" command is composed of 12 bytes. A unique instruction code 1801 identifying the "secercord AREA" command is specified in byte 0. The LSN 1802 of the start sector of the recording area is represented by 4 bytes from byte 2 to byte 5. The LSN 1803 of the last sector of the recording area is represented by 4 bytes from byte 6 to byte 9. Thus, the SET RECORD AREA command designates an AREA between the start LSN and the end LSN of the recording AREA as a recording AREA.

(step 1604) the recording AREA designation instruction processing section 1522 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 receives the "secrocord AREA" command issued from the upper limit control device 1510 in step 1603 and stores the position information of the recording AREA in the recording control information memory 435.

(step 1605) the recording area designation instruction processing portion 1522 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 returns a "complete" status to the upper limit control device 1510 to indicate that this instruction has been processed.

(step 1606) the split recording instruction issuing portion 1513 in the upper limit control device 1510 issues a "WRITE AV (WRITE AV)" command, which is an instruction for transferring data recorded in the recording area allocated in step 1602 in split form and requesting recording of the data on the rewritable disc. After the command control block of this command is transferred, the split recording instruction issuing section 1513 transfers the specified size of the data. FIG. 19 shows a data structure 1900 of a command control block of a "WRITE AV" command, which is a split record instruction. The command control block of the "write av" command is composed of 12 bytes. A unique code 1901 identifying the "WRITE AV" command is specified in byte 0. The transfer length 1902 is specified in 2 bytes (in a sector) from byte 7 to byte 8. Since the "WRITE AV" command is a command requesting recording of data in an AREA that has been designated by the "SET RECORD AREA" command, the "WRITE AV" command does not include a parameter for designating any AREA where recording is performed.

(step 1607) referring back to fig. 16, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 receives the recording data of the size specified by the split recording command "WRITE AV" and stores this data in the recording data memory 436. Thereafter, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 notifies the jump recording control section 432 in the recording control section 430 of the reception of the recording request and requests the start of the jump recording operation. The process performed by the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 17.

(step 1608) after instructing the jump recording control section 432 to start recording, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 returns a "completed" status to the split recording instruction issuing section 1513 to indicate that this processing has been completed.

(step 1609) after the "WRITE AV" command is completed, the split recording instruction issuing section 1513 in the upper limit control device 1510 determines whether or not all the data recorded in the recording area specified on step 1602 has been transferred. If less than all of the data to be recorded has been transferred, the process returns to step 1606 to issue the split record instruction "WRITE AV" command again. On the contrary, if it is determined that all data to be recorded has been transmitted, the split recording process is ended, and the process branches to step 1610.

(step 1610) the upper limit control device 1510 determines whether all AV data input from the AV data input section 470 has been recorded. If the recorded data is less than all the data to be recorded, the process returns to step 1602 to re-allocate a new recording area. On the contrary, if it is determined that all the data in this file has been recorded, the process branches to step 506 to enter the file management information generation process.

Steps 506-511 are similar to those shown in fig. 5 with reference to example 1, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the jump recording process and the split recording process of the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 17. It is assumed that a "SET RECORD AREA" command (specifying a recording AREA) has been received by the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 and stored in the recording control information memory 435.

(step 1701) the jump recording control section 432 refers to the position information of the recording area stored in the recording control information memory 435 and sets the recording position at the beginning of the recording area.

(step 1702) the instruction processing portion 1521 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 waits for a command issued from the upper limit control device 1510.

(step 1703) upon receiving the "write av" command for transferring the record data in a split form, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 stores the received record data in the record data memory 436, and requests the jump recording control section 432 to record this data.

After receiving the data recording request (step 1704), the jump recording control section 432 records the data stored in the recording data memory 436 from the recording position on the rewritable disc.

(step 1705) if the address assigned to each sector as the position information on the rewritable disc is not correctly read out, or if a disturbance occurs in the monitoring amplitude of the amount of light reflected from the rewritable disc during recording, the defective area detecting section 431 determines a defective area. If the defective area detecting section 431 determines a defective area, the process branches to step 1706.

(step 1706) if it is notified by the defective area detecting section 431 that the defective area has been detected, the jump recording control section 432 stores the first LSN of this defective area in the recording position memory 433 so that the recorded area can be distinguished from the skipped area after recording.

(step 1707) if the defective area is not detected by the defective area detecting section 431 during recording, the data verifying section 434 performs verification by reading out the recorded data and performs error correction processing on the read-out data. If error correction is not possible or if the number of error corrections exceeds a predetermined value, then this area is determined to be a defective area and processing branches to step 1706.

(step 1708) the area where the error was detected by the data verification section 434 in step 1706 is treated as a defective area. If no errors are detected, it is determined that this data has been recorded correctly.

(step 1709) if the recording has ended correctly, the defective area detecting section 431 determines whether any data not recorded remains in the recording data memory 436. If it is determined that all the data has been recorded, the defective area detecting section 431 branches to step 1702 to enter a command waiting state for a command from the upper limit control device 1510. Otherwise, if there is data left unrecorded, the process branches to step 1710.

(step 1710) in order to allow the unrecorded data to be recorded, the defective area detecting section 431 sets the recording position to the position next to the position where the recording has been completed.

(step 1711) the defective area detecting section 431 compares the recording position set at step 1710 with the last LSN of the recording area stored in the recording control information memory 435. If it is determined that the position of the record has crossed the last LSN as a result of the comparison, the exception ends this process, indicating that the record was not successfully performed in the specified area. Conversely, if it is determined that the recorded location has not crossed the last LSN, then the process returns to step 1704 to record the remaining data beginning at this recorded location.

(step 1712) the instruction processing section 1521 determines whether the instruction received during the command wait state at step 1703 is an "READSKIPPED ADDRESS (read skip address)" command as a recording position request instruction. If the received command is not an "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command, the instruction processing section 1521 determines that an incorrect command was issued during the split recording process, and returns an error to the upper limit control device 1510, and ends the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that the record position request instruction processing section 423 has received the "READ SKEPPED ADDRESS" command, the process branches to step 1713.

(step 1713) upon detecting that the "READ SKEPPED ADDRESS" command has been received, the recording-position-request-instruction processing section 423 returns the position information of the skipped area stored in the recording-position memory 433 during the skip recording process to the upper-limit control device 1510. Since the position information of the returned skip area has the same data structure as that shown in fig. 7 (described as example 1), a description thereof is omitted. Upon receiving this command, the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 determines that the split recording process has been completed, and ends this recording process.

Thus, the information recording method according to example 2 of the present invention has been described above.

The information reproducing method performed by the information recording/reproducing system 1500 according to the present example is similar to the method described in example 1, and a description thereof is omitted here.

As described above, according to the information recording method of the present invention, the following advantages are provided in addition to the advantages of the information recording method according to example 1.

The recording area is set in advance, and thereafter recording is performed in a split manner. As a result, it is possible to record AV data even in an embodiment in which the data buffer memory 414 in the information recording/reproducing system has a small capacity with respect to a large recording area. By repeatedly executing the split recording instruction, it is not necessary to occupy the I/O bus 480 between the upper limit control device 1510 and the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 for a long time. This advantage allows applications that require access to disk device 450.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the invention, the area is specified by the reproduction area setting instruction according to the start LSN and the end LSN thereof. However, the designation may alternatively be based on, for example, the start LSN and the region length, as long as the region can be identified.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the invention, after completion of recording in an area on the rewritable disc requested to perform split recording, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 exemplifies returning a "complete" status to the upper limit control device 1510. Alternatively, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 may return to the "complete" state when the recording data is stored in the recording data memory 436, and may perform actual recording on the rewritable disc later.

Although the recording data is exemplified as the verification by the data verification section 434 in the information recording method according to the present example of the invention, it should be understood that: in applications requiring higher real-time capabilities, such as in the case of AV data input at very high transfer rates, such data verification may be omitted during recording.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, the defective area detected during the skip recording is registered as the skip and unused areas in the file management information. Alternatively, the disc recording/reproducing drive 1520 may register such a defective area on the SDL without allocating any spare area thereto, and then perform the allocation and replacement processing of the replacement position when the next PC data recording is recorded.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, the defective area detected at the time of recording is skipped, but it should be understood that all the defective areas that have been detected and registered on the SDL may be skipped.

According to the information recording/reproducing system 1500 of the present example, information transfer between the upper limit control device 1510 and the disk recording/reproducing drive 1520 is realized in accordance with a recording position request instruction, a reproduction region setting instruction, and the like. However, in an embodiment where the upper limit control device 1510 and the disk recording/reproducing drive 1520 of this system share a common storage area or the like that is accessible to both the upper limit control device 1510 and the disk recording/reproducing drive 1520, similar processing can be achieved by performing writing/reading on such a storage area, thereby avoiding the above-described instruction.

(example 3)

Next, referring to these drawings, an information recording/reproducing system 3000 according to example 3 of the present invention for recording or reproducing data on the disc medium shown in fig. 1 will be described with respect to its structure and operation.

Fig. 20 is a diagram showing a structure of an information recording/reproducing system 3000 according to example 3 of the present invention. Next, the respective units of the information recording/reproducing system 3000 will be described, and description of those units having their respective units in the information recording/reproducing system 400 shown in fig. 4 will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 20, the information recording/reproducing system 3000 includes an upper limit control device 3010, a disk recording/reproducing drive 3030, a magnetic disk device 450, an AV data output portion 460, an AV data input portion 470, and an IO/bus 480.

The upper limit control device 3010 is mainly constituted by a microprocessor including a control program and a memory for calculation purposes. The main control apparatus 3010 includes a recording area assignment section 3011, a file management information generation section 3012, a file management information interpretation section 413, a data buffer memory 414, a temporary file management information memory 3015 mainly composed of a nonvolatile memory, and an instruction issuance section 3020 for issuing an instruction to the disk recording/reproducing drive 3030.

The instruction issue section 3020 includes: a recording area designation instruction issuing section 1512 for issuing a recording area designation instruction to designate a recording area before a recording operation; a split recording instruction issuing section 1513 for issuing a split recording instruction to issue a recording request of the recording area and perform data transfer in a split manner; a recording position request instruction issuing section 417 for issuing, after recording, a recording position request instruction requesting return of position information of a position of a recorded file; a reproduction area setting instruction issuing section 418 for issuing a reproduction area setting instruction specifying an area to be reproduced before a reproduction operation; a read data transfer instruction issuing section 419 for issuing a read data transfer instruction for requesting transfer of the read data; and a recording status report instruction issuing section 3021 for issuing a recording status report instruction requesting a recording status to be reported during recording.

The disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 includes: an instruction processing section 3040 for receiving instructions from the upper limit control device 3010 and processing the instructions; a recording control section 430 for controlling recording on a rewritable disc (not shown); and a reproduction control section 440 for controlling reproduction of the rewritable disc.

The instruction processing portion 3040 includes: a recording area designation instruction processing section 1522 for receiving and processing a recording area designation instruction; a split record instruction processing part 1523, configured to receive and process a split record instruction; a recording position request instruction processing section 423; the reproduction area setting instruction processing section 424; a read data transfer instruction processing section 425; and a recording status report instruction processing section 3041 for receiving the recording status report instruction and performing recording status report processing. The recording control section 430 has the same structure as the reproduction control section 440 and the corresponding units thereof in the information recording/reproducing system 400 according to example 1 of the present invention, and a description thereof is omitted here.

Next, a recording method according to example 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 21A and 21B. Then, details of the recording method will also be described with reference to fig. 22.

Fig. 21A and 21B show data layouts of logical spaces of the rewritable disc according to the present example. Fig. 21A shows the data layout of the logical space before any AV file is recorded, in which one PC file appears under the directory DIR 1. The volume structure, the ROOT directory FILE structure, the DIR1 FILE entry, the DIR1 directory FILE, and the PC _ FILE entry are the same as the corresponding parts described in connection with fig. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted. Fig. 21B shows the data layout of the logical space when an AV file has been recorded in an unused area that is available in the logical space before recording.

Before recording, the upper limit control device 3010 reserves at least one unused area in the logical space to be used as a recording area for the AV file. A part of the unused area 2101 shown in fig. 21A is reserved as an AV reserved area 2102 (while the unused area part that is not used as the AV reserved area 2102 is reserved as an area for recording file items (i.e., file management information for AV files)); the unused area 2103 is reserved as an AV reserved area 2104; and the unused area 2105 is reserved as an AV reserved area 2106. Before performing a recording operation, the upper limit control apparatus 3010 specifies three AV reserved areas 2102, 2104, and 2106 as recording areas of the disk recording/reproducing drive 3030. Thereafter, the upper limit control device 3010 issues a split recording instruction, and transfers the recorded data to the disk recording/reproducing drive 3030. The upper limit control device 3010 repeatedly issues a split recording instruction until all the recording data has been transferred.

The disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 receives the recording data that has been transferred according to the split recording instruction, and starts recording data in the area previously designated as the recording area. At this time, these recording areas are continuously used in the order designated by the upper limit control device 3010. In the example shown in fig. 21, recording is started by splitting the head of the AV reserved area 2101 designated first.

If the disc recording/reproducing driver 3030 runs out of the entire recording area during recording of the recording data transferred from the upper limit control device 3010 in accordance with the split recording instruction, the disc recording/reproducing driver 3030 will automatically continue to perform the recording operation on the next designated recording area. In the example shown in fig. 21, after the recording is completed to the AV reserved area 2102, the disc recording/reproducing driver 3030 starts the recording to the AV reserved area 2104, automatically bypassing the PC _ FILE extension area 2107. The disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 skips the defective area 3100 detected during recording and records the recording data that has otherwise been recorded in this defective area 3100 in a subsequent area.

If any recorded data remains after the recording is completed for the entire AV reserved area 2104, the disc recording/reproducing driver 3030 skips the PC _ FILE extension area 2109 and performs recording for the AV reserved area 2106. Just like skipping the defective area 3100, the defective area 3101 in the AV reserved area 2106 is also skipped so that recording data is recorded in the subsequent area. After the recording of all the record data is completed in the above-described manner, the upper limit control device 3101 registers each continuous area of all the areas where AV data has been recorded as an extended area. The upper limit control device 3010 generates FILE entry information so as to designate respective AV data recording areas separated from the defective area by the PC _ FILE extension area as AV _ FILE extension areas 2112, 2113, 2108, 2114, and 2110. The upper limit control device 3010 generates an AV _ FILE entry recorded in the AV reserved area 2102 (reserved in the unused area 2101).

Next, referring to fig. 22, the above-described recording procedure described with reference to fig. 21 will be described in more detail.

(step 3201) upon detecting the input signal, the AV data input section 470 starts receiving AV data. The AV data input section 470 converts the received analog video/audio signals into digital AV data, and transfers the digital AV data to the data buffer memory 414 in the upper limit control device 3010.

(step 3202) before recording the AV data, the recording area allocating section 3011 in the upper limit control device 3010 obtains the free area information on the rewritable disc from the file management information interpreting section 413, and allocates the recording area to record the AV file. The recording area allocation section 3011 allocates a recording area for this AV file in consideration of the size of the allocation area and the physical distance between these areas so as to obtain a sufficient read-out rate during reproduction. The recording area assignment section 3011 assigns a plurality of continuous areas as recording areas, and in the example shown in fig. 21, AV reserved areas 2102, 2104, and 2106 are assigned as recording areas.

(step 3203-. The recording AREA designation instruction processing portion 1522 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 receives the "SET RECORD AREA" command issued from the upper limit control device 3010, and stores the position information of the recording AREA in the recording control information memory 435. The start LSN and the end LSN of the corresponding area are sequentially stored in the position information of each recording area according to the received recording area. In a subsequent recording operation, these recording areas will be used according to the stored order.

(step 3206) the split recording instruction issuing section 1513 in the upper limit control device 3010 issues a "WRITE AV" command which is an instruction to transfer, in split form, data to be recorded in the recording area allocated at step 3202 and to request recording of this data on the rewritable disc. (this instruction has already been described with reference to FIG. 19). Upon receiving the "WRITE AV" command, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 stores the recording data of the size specified by its control block in the recording data memory 436. Thereafter, the split recording instruction processing section 1523 returns a "complete" status to the upper limit control device 3010. After returning to the "done" state, the received data is recorded. Such an operation is commonly referred to as a "write-back cache" operation.

(step 3207) the recording position request instruction processing section 423 in the upper limit control device 3010 issues an "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS (read skip address)" command to obtain a recording position within a section that has actually been recorded on the rewritable disc. (this command has been described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8). The recording position request instruction processing section 423 in the disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 refers to the skip address information stored in the recording position memory 433 and returns any unreported skip address information to the upper limit control device 3010. Because any returned skip address information is set to the "reported" state on record location memory 433, such skip address information will no longer be returned in response to any subsequent requests for the "READ SKIPPED ADDRESS" command.

(step 3208) the RECORDING STATUS report instruction issuing portion 3021 in the upper limit control device 3010 issues a "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command to request reporting of the current RECORDING STATUS.

The data structure 2300 of the command control block for the "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command is shown in fig. 23. A unique code 1901 that identifies the "SEND receiving STATUS" command is specified in byte 0 (i.e., the "SEND receiving STATUS" instruction code region 2301). Bytes 1-7 are reserved for an extension area that may be used in the future on instruction definitions and the like. In the "allocation length" field 2302, a memory size is allocated by the upper limit control device 3010 for the "receiving STATUS" data returned in response to the "SEND receiving STATUS" command. If the allocation length 2302 is less than '16', the disc recording/reproducing drive 3030 returns the same amount of data as the allocation length 2302. Bytes 10-11 are reserved.

Upon receiving the "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command, the RECORDING STATUS report instruction processing portion 3041 in the disc RECORDING/reproducing driver 3030 receives the current RECORDING STATUS from the jump RECORDING control portion 432 in the RECORDING control portion 430, generates "RECORDING STATUS" data, and returns the generated "RECORDING STATUS" data to the upper limit control device 3010.

The data structure of the "RECORDING STATUS" data is shown in fig. 24A. In bytes 0-1, the data length 2401 of the "RECORDING STATUS" data is stored. Since the data length 2401 does not include the length of the "RECORDING STATUS" data length field itself, "14 (bytes)" is set in the data length 2401. The "RECORDING STATUS" data code field 2402 stores the current RECORDING STATUS of the one-byte code shown in fig. 24B. As shown in fig. 24B, "00 h" in the field 2402 indicates that all the recording areas have been used (or no recording area is set); "01 h" in the field 2402 indicates that the recording area has been set but there is no data to be recorded; "02 h" in field 2402 indicates that a record operation is being performed.

The "RECORDING LSN" field 2403, which spans bytes 4-7 of the "RECORDING STATUS" data format shown in FIG. 24A, stores the currently RECORDING LSN. This field enables the upper limit control device 3010 to confirm the progress of the recording. The "number of unreported skipped addresses" field 2404 from byte 8 to byte 9 stores the number of skipped addresses that are not reported to the upper limit control device 3010 in the block skipped due to the defective area. The "number of effective recording areas" field 2405 from byte 10 to byte 11 stores the number of effective areas in the area specified by the ceiling control device 3010 according to the "SET recording area" command. For example, in the case where 3 recording areas are specified, "2" is set in the field 2405 (indicating the second and third recording areas) if data recording has been performed for the first recording area and part is recorded in the second recording area. In the "received but unrecorded data length" field 2406 from byte 12 to byte 13, the size of data that has been transferred from the upper limit control device 3010 according to the "WRITE AV" command but has not been recorded is set in a plurality of bytes in 2048 bytes.

(step 3209) the file management information generation section 3012 in the upper limit control device 3010 generates file management information from the recording information obtained so far in steps 3207 and 3208, and stores the generated file management information in the temporary file management information storage 3015.

(step 3210) the split recording instruction issuing section 1513 in the upper limit control device 3010 determines whether or not all AV data stored in the data buffer memory 414 has been recorded. If it is determined that there is any data left untransferred, the process returns to step 3206 to issue the "WRITE AV" command again. On the other hand, if it is determined that all data to be recorded has been transferred, the process branches to step 3211.

(step 3211) the file management information generation section 3012 in the upper limit control device 3010 refers to the "RECORDING STATUS" data obtained in step 3208 to determine whether the RECORDING STATUS is a "no recorded data" STATUS. If the "no data recorded" state is determined, the process branches to step 3212 to update and finally determine the file management information for the AV file. On the other hand, if it is determined to be a state other than the "no record" state, the process returns to step 3207 to wait for the "no record data" state.

(step 3212) the file management information generation section 3012 in the upper limit control device 3010 generates file item information for the recorded AV file and generates management information (e.g., unused space management information), and requests the disc recording/reproducing driver 3030 to perform recording processing in accordance with a conventional "WRITE" command.

Thus, the recording process for AV data has been described above.

The information reproducing method performed by the information recording/reproducing system 3000 according to the present example is similar to the method described in example 1, and a description thereof is omitted here.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, step 3209 confirms the current recording state and stores file management information in the temporary file management information memory 3015. As a result, in the event of a power failure during recording of AV data, it is possible to restore the generated file management information to the portion actually recorded on the rewritable disc.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the invention, the area is designated by the reproduction area setting instruction according to the start LSN and the end LSN thereof. However, this designation may alternatively be based on, for example, the starting LSN and the region length, as long as one region can be identified.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, a defective area detected at the time of recording is skipped. However, it should be understood that: all defective areas that have been detected and registered on the SDL may also be skipped.

The "READ SKIPPEDADDRESS" command and the "SEND RECORDING STATUS" command according to the information RECORDING method of the present example of the invention are individually defined as an example. Alternatively, the commands may be arranged so that data to be returned in response to the commands may be returned in combination according to one command.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, step 3207 and 3207 are performed each time the "write av" instruction is issued. However, it should be understood that these processes need only be performed within a predetermined time period.

According to the information recording method of the present example of the present invention, the file management information is updated in step 3209. Alternatively, a similar effect can be obtained, for example, by updating a file of management information associated with a so-called "trick play" mode.

According to the information recording disc of the present invention, recording/reproduction can be performed by skipping defective areas in the logical space managed according to the file management information. As a result, the present invention makes possible high-speed defect management involving skipping only defective areas, whereas conventional defect management methods require an alternative process of providing error-free logical space and thus cause some delay.

In an embodiment in which the information recording disc includes ECC blocks each of which is composed of a plurality of sectors, the information recording disc according to the present invention obtains perfect reliability as the information recording disc by registering defective areas on an ECC block-by-ECC block basis.

In an embodiment where the information recording disc includes ECC blocks each of which is composed of a plurality of sectors, the information recording disc according to the present invention can provide perfect reliability of PC data even if AV data (which can be recorded without performing a data certification process due to its requirement for high real-time recording capability) and PC data (which requires high reliability) are both present on the same disc. This can be achieved by registering padding extension areas to ensure that no PC data is included in the ECC block in which the AV data is recorded and by providing each extension area with identification information (ensuring that no ECC block contains AV data and PC data within the same block).

An information recording disc according to the present invention contains identification information for distinguishing AV files from non-AV files. As a result, it is possible to select different reproduction methods according to specific file attributes. For example, in the case of reproducing an AV file, it is possible to adopt a relatively fast reproducing method according to the present invention.

As described above, according to the information recording method of the present invention, any defective area detected at the time of recording is skipped during recording. As a result, the delay in the recording/reproducing process associated with the conventional replacement process is substantially eliminated, thereby enabling real-time recording/reproduction of AV data.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, a defective area is managed as an unused area using file management information. This makes it possible to record PC data by using a conventional alternative method for LSNs that have been determined as defective areas.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, by performing the data verification process, it becomes possible to obtain high reliability in applications that are not required during recording but require real-time capability during reproduction (for example, recording AV data already stored in a disc device). Since the allowable number of jumps is set during the jump recording process, even if a large number of defective areas are skipped, damage to subsequent areas in which other file data can be recorded can be prevented.

If the end of the AV file extension area falls exactly in the middle of an ECC block, the remainder of that ECC block is registered as filling the extension area, thereby preventing other files from being recorded in the same ECC block. Therefore, in an embodiment in which AV data is recorded without any data verification to facilitate real-time recording, it is still possible to prevent files containing AV data and files containing PC data from being mixed in the same ECC block. As a result, the reliability of PC data is ensured.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, identification information for distinguishing AV data from other types of data is registered in the file management information, and therefore it is possible to know whether this data requires real-time processing capability at the time of reproduction.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, the recording area is set in advance, and then recording is performed in a split manner. As a result, it is possible to record AV data even in an embodiment in which the information recording/reproducing system employs a data buffer memory having a small capacity with respect to a large recording area. By repeatedly executing the split recording instruction, it is not necessary to occupy a bus between the upper limit control device and the disc recording/reproducing drive for a long time, which is advantageous in allowing an application requiring access to the disc device.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, by periodically updating and storing file management information in the nonvolatile memory, it becomes possible to provide means for data recovery in the event of an unexpected power failure or the like without breaking AV data recording.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, in order to realize read processing for reading out a plurality of areas in advance, one or more reproduction areas can be set before reproduction, thereby performing faster reproduction. As a result, AV data reproduction can be performed, thereby smoothly reproducing video/audio information without interference.

Various other modifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the claims appended hereto are not limited to the description set forth herein, but rather should be construed broadly.

Claims (11)

1. A disc recording drive for recording data on a disc so as to record and reproduce data on a sector-by-sector basis, the disc recording drive comprising: an instruction processing section for processing the request; and a disk recording control section for controlling a recording process of the disk in accordance with a request from the instruction processing section,

wherein the instruction processing section includes:

a recording area designation instruction processing section for processing a recording area designation instruction which designates position information of a plurality of continuous recording areas;

a split recording instruction processing section for processing a split recording instruction instructing to transfer data to be recorded in a plurality of continuous recording areas specified by the recording area specifying instruction, the data being transferred in a split manner; and

a recording position request instruction processing section for reporting recording position information of an area recorded by the disc recording drive, and reporting a position of a skipped area with respect to recording data: and

wherein the disc recording control section includes:

a recording control information memory for storing position information of a plurality of continuous recording areas specified by the recording area specifying instruction as recording control information;

a defective area detecting section for detecting a defective area on the disc during a recording operation;

a skip recording control section for starting a recording operation based on the recording control information stored in the recording control information memory, wherein in a case where the defective area detecting section detects the defective area during the recording operation, the skip recording control section

i) If the recording position information indicates a position within a plurality of consecutive recording areas stored in the recording control information memory, recording in the defective area is stopped and the remaining part of the data, which includes data that should have been recorded in the defective area, is recorded in a subsequent area, or

ii) if the recording position information indicates a position after the plurality of continuous recording areas stored in the recording control information memory, ending the recording operation and reporting an error to the split recording instruction processing section; and

a defective area recording position memory for storing position information of the defective area skipped by the skip recording control section.

2. A disc recording drive according to claim 1,

wherein the instruction processing section further comprises a recording status report instruction processing section for receiving the recording status report instruction and reporting the current recording status.

3. A disc recording drive according to claim 2,

wherein the current recording state includes current recording position information.

4. A disc recording drive according to claim 2,

wherein the current recording status includes the number of valid recording areas.

5. A disc recording drive according to claim 2,

wherein the current record status includes the number of unreported skip addresses.

6. A data recording method for recording data on a disc so as to record and reproduce data sector by sector, the data recording method comprising: an instruction processing step for processing the request; and a disc recording control step of controlling a recording process of the disc,

wherein the instruction processing step comprises:

a recording area designation instruction processing step of processing a recording area designation instruction that designates position information of a plurality of continuous recording areas;

a split recording instruction processing section for processing a split recording instruction instructing to transfer data to be recorded in a plurality of continuous recording areas specified by the recording area specifying instruction, the data being transferred in a split manner; and

a skip area request instruction processing step of reporting a position of a skip area associated with the recording data; and

wherein the disc recording controlling step includes:

a recording control information storing step of storing position information of the plurality of recording areas specified in the recording area specifying step as recording control information;

a defective area detecting step of detecting a defective area on the disc during a recording operation;

a skip recording control step of starting a recording operation based on the recording control information stored in the recording control information storing step, wherein in a case where the defective area is detected during the recording operation by the defective area detecting step, the skip recording control step

i) If the recording position information indicates a position within the plurality of continuous recording areas stored in the recording control information storing step, stopping recording in the defective area and recording the remaining portion of the data in the subsequent area, the remaining portion of the data including data that should have been recorded in the defective area, or

ii) if the recording position information indicates a position after the plurality of continuous recording areas stored in the recording control information storing step, ending the recording operation and reporting an error to the split recording instruction processing step; and

a defective area recording position storing step of storing position information of the defective area skipped by the skip recording controlling step.

7. The data recording method according to claim 6,

wherein the instruction processing step further comprises a recording status report instruction processing section for receiving the recording status report instruction and reporting the current recording status.

8. An information recording system comprising an upper limit control device and a disc recording drive according to claim 1,

wherein the upper limit control device includes:

an instruction issuing section for issuing an instruction to the disk recording drive,

a recording area allocation section for allocating a recording area for recording data; and

a file management information generating section for generating file management information to manage at least one file recorded on the disc,

wherein the instruction issuing section includes:

a recording area designation instruction issuing section for issuing a recording area designation instruction to designate a recording area on the disc allocated by the recording area allocation section, before a recording operation is performed on the disc;

a split recording instruction issuing section for issuing a split recording instruction to transfer data to be recorded in the recording area specified by the recording area specification instruction issuing section, the data being transferred in a split manner, and for requesting the disc recording drive to record the transferred data; and

a recording position request instruction issuing section for issuing a recording position request instruction for requesting reporting of recording position information of an area recorded by the disc recording drive, and for issuing a skip area position request instruction for requesting reporting of a skip area position at which data is recorded,

wherein the file management information generating section generates the file management information based on the recording position information received by the recording position request instruction issuing section from the disc recording drive.

9. The information recording system according to claim 8,

wherein if the recorded file is an AV file containing at least one of video information and audio information, the file management information generating section registers information for identifying the AV file in the file attribute information.

10. An information recording system according to claim 8, wherein the file management information generating section registers a defective area detected during a recording operation as an unused area in the unused space management information, the unused space management information being included in the file management information.

11. An information reproducing method for reproducing data from an information recording medium to record and reproduce the data sector by sector, the recorded data being managed as at least one file using a file structure, the method comprising:

a reproduction area setting step of setting position information of a reproduction area from which data is reproduced before reproducing at least one file;

a continuous reproduction step of performing a reproduction operation on the reproduction area set in the reproduction area setting step and continuing the reproduction operation on the subsequent area even if an error is detected during reproduction; and

a reproduction data transmitting step of transmitting reproduction data from the reproduction area set in the reproduction area setting step,

wherein the continuous reproducing step further comprises an error reporting step for setting a flag indicating whether the reproduced data includes an error.