JP2005038591A - Information recording apparatus, information recording method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize loss of data recorded till then even in the case of the occurrence of an unexpected power break resulting from a power failure or the like when recording formatting disk control block information related to data recording in a prescribed management area of an information recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: A controller 9 fulfills functions of: a data recording means for recording data in an optical disk 12; a formatting disk control block information recording means for recording formatting disk control block information related to data recorded by the data recording means, in an FDCB of the optical disk 12; and a prescribed condition-time formatting disk control block information recording means for recording formatting disk control block information related to data recorded till then, in the FDCB when a preliminarily set prescribed condition is satisfied during data recording. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information recording apparatus for recording data on an information recording medium and recording formatting disk control block information relating to the data recording in a predetermined management area, and a formatting disc relating to data recording by recording data on the information recording medium The present invention relates to an information recording method for recording control block information in a predetermined management area, and a program for causing a computer to execute a predetermined processing procedure related to information recording.

When recording data on a DVD + RW disc, which is a recordable DVD disc, it is necessary to perform a format process before recording user data.
In the case of a DVD + RW disc, in response to a format request from the user, the completion of the format is notified to the user only by recording a part of the lead-in area, and the remaining area is dummy when there is no access due to the access request from the user. A so-called background format is performed in which data is recorded.
Background formatting has greatly reduced the time required for formatting, which previously required a long time.

In the background format, recording is performed with dummy data continuously from the inner periphery of the data area. When there is a data recording request from the user during the background formatting, the background formatting is interrupted and the last address continuously recorded (Last Written Address, hereinafter referred to as “LWA”) is updated. Perform the requested data recording.
After the user data recording is completed, the formatting process is restarted from the previous LWA.
Here, during the background format, the user can record data randomly in all data areas.

That is, user data can be recorded even in the area before the dummy data recording by the formatting process. Therefore, when user data is recorded during the background formatting, the data recording area and the unrecorded area are mixed. .
When restarting the background format in a state where such recorded areas and unrecorded areas are mixed, it is necessary to perform dummy data recording excluding the areas recorded by the user. For example, an area that is a recording unit (DVD + RW) In the case of a disc, there are many information recording apparatuses that manage the recording state of that area with a 1-bit flag (bitmap information) for 1 ECC block = 16 sectors).
That is, when the area where the user has recorded data is outside the LWA, the flag on the bitmap corresponding to the area is set to “recorded”.

Thereafter, when the background format is restarted, dummy data is recorded only in the unrecorded area with reference to this bitmap information.
Further, in the case of a DVD + RW disc, the background formatting can be interrupted and the disc can be taken out.
In this case, LWA and bitmap information are recorded in a formatting disc control block (hereinafter referred to as “FDCB”) in the lead-in area.
When the disc in the middle of formatting is inserted again, it is possible to record only the unrecorded area with dummy data when the background formatting is resumed by referring to the FDCB.

As described above, when the background formatting is interrupted and the disc is taken out, the FDCB is very important information for knowing the recording state of the disc. If the FDCB is erroneously updated, the data recorded by the user is recorded in the background. The problem of overwriting with dummy data due to formatting occurs.
On the other hand, frequent updating of the FDCB causes problems such as a decrease in data recording performance due to a user request and deterioration of the disk.

Therefore, in the conventional information recording apparatus, after data recording requested by the user, the FDCB update is performed at a predetermined timing until the background formatting is resumed, or when a disk ejection request or background formatting interruption request is received from the user. As a result, the FDCB update in the background format is performed at an appropriate timing, and the FDCB is updated when the data recording requested by the user is completed. Therefore, the FDCB is not degraded without degrading the performance of data recording from the user. It was possible to update (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-45117 A

However, the conventional information recording apparatus has the following problems.
As an application example using a DVD + RW disc, for example, there is a use of recording a TV program or the like in real time. In such real-time data recording, a data recording request is made by a user at a relatively low transfer rate and at regular intervals. . Therefore, when real-time data recording is performed during background formatting, dummy data recording by the formatting process is not performed, and data recording from the user continues for the recording time.

In other words, in the FDCB update method by the conventional information recording apparatus described above, FDCB cannot be recorded during real-time data recording, for example, when an unexpected power interruption due to a power failure or the like occurs during recording. For example, the FDCB cannot be updated normally.
Also, when such a disc is inserted again, incorrect information is recorded in the LWA and bitmap information to be referred to when the background format is resumed, so the user data recorded during recording is overwritten with dummy data in the format. The problem of end up also occurs.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. When data is recorded on an information recording medium compliant with the DVD + RW standard and formatting disk control block information related to the data recording is recorded in a predetermined management area. The purpose is to minimize the loss of data recorded so far even when an unexpected power interruption due to a power failure or the like occurs.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following information recording apparatuses (1) to (6).
(1) Data recording means for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording conforming to the DVD + RW standard, and formatting disk control for recording formatting disk control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means on the recording medium In an information recording apparatus comprising block information recording means, a formatting disc control block relating to data recording that has been recorded by the data recording means until then when a predetermined condition is satisfied during data recording by the data recording means An information recording apparatus provided with formatting disc control block information recording means for recording information on the recording medium at a predetermined condition.

(2) Data recording means for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording conforming to the DVD + RW standard, and formatting disk control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means in a predetermined area of the information recording medium In an information recording apparatus provided with formatting disk control block information recording means for recording, data recording recorded by the data recording means so far when a predetermined condition set in advance during recording of data by the data recording means is satisfied An information recording apparatus provided with formatting disk control block information recording means for a predetermined condition for recording formatting disk control block information on a predetermined area of the information recording medium.

(3) In the information recording apparatus according to (1) or (2), the data recording means includes storage means for sequentially storing data input from the outside, and data stored in the data storage means is recorded to the information recording apparatus. Recording means for recording on a medium, recording start means for starting data recording by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means exceeds a predetermined amount, and data recording by the recording means Recording stop means for stopping data recording by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means during recording is less than or equal to a predetermined amount set in advance, and the predetermined condition is the recording stop An information recording apparatus when a predetermined timing is reached between when data recording by the means is stopped and when data recording by the recording start means is started.

(4) In the information recording apparatus of (3), a predetermined amount of data stored in the storage means during recording of the formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means is set in advance. An information recording apparatus provided with recording control means for interrupting recording of formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means and starting data recording by the recording means when the above is reached.

(5) In the information recording apparatus of (1) or (2), formatting disk control block information for measuring an elapsed time after recording the formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means. An information recording apparatus comprising recording elapsed time measuring means, wherein the predetermined condition is when an elapsed time measured by the formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measuring means has passed a preset predetermined time.

(6) In the information recording apparatus of (1) or (2), background formatting means for performing formatting processing on the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is determined by background formatting by the background formatting means. An information recording device that is inside.

The following information recording methods (7) to (11) are also provided.
(7) A data recording procedure for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording, and a formatting disc control for recording formatting disc control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure in a predetermined area of the information recording medium Block information recording procedure and formatting disc control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure up to now when the predetermined condition set in advance during data recording by the data recording procedure is satisfied is recorded on the information recording medium An information recording method comprising: a recording disk control block information recording procedure for a predetermined condition for recording in a predetermined area.

(8) In the information recording method of (7), the data recording procedure includes a storage procedure for sequentially storing data input from the outside, and data stored by the data storage procedure is recorded on the information recording medium. A recording procedure, a recording start procedure for starting data recording by the recording procedure when the amount of data stored by the storing procedure is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount set in advance, and the data recording by the recording procedure A recording stop procedure for stopping data recording by the recording procedure when the amount of data stored by the storing procedure is equal to or less than a predetermined amount set in advance. Information when the predetermined timing is reached between when recording is stopped and when data recording is started according to the recording start procedure. Recording method.

(9) In the information recording method of (8), the data amount stored by the storing procedure during recording of the formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure is set to a predetermined amount. An information recording method provided with a recording control procedure for interrupting recording of formatting disc control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure and starting data recording by the recording procedure when the above is reached.

(10) In the information recording method of (7), formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measurement for measuring an elapsed time after recording formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure. An information recording method in which a procedure is provided, and the predetermined condition is when an elapsed time measured by the formatting disc control block information recording elapsed time measuring procedure has passed a predetermined time.

(11) In the information recording method of (7), a background formatting procedure for performing formatting processing on the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is when the background formatting is performed by the background formatting procedure. An information recording method.

Furthermore, the following programs (12) to (16) are also provided.
(12) A data recording procedure for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording, and formatting disc control block information relating to the data recording recorded by the data recording procedure are recorded in a predetermined area of the information recording medium. Formatting disc control block information recording procedure, and formatting disc control block information related to data recording that has been recorded by the data recording procedure up to that time when predetermined conditions are satisfied during data recording by the data recording procedure. A program for executing a formatting disk control block information recording procedure under a predetermined condition for recording in a predetermined area of an information recording medium.

(13) In the program of (12), the data recording procedure includes a storage procedure for sequentially storing data input from the outside, and a recording procedure for recording the data stored by the data storage procedure on the information recording medium. A recording start procedure for starting data recording by the recording procedure when the amount of data stored by the storing procedure exceeds a predetermined amount set in advance, and the storage procedure during data recording by the recording procedure And a recording stop procedure for stopping data recording according to the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the recording medium becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount set in advance, and the predetermined condition is to record data according to the recording stop procedure. This is when the predetermined timing is set between the stop and the start of data recording according to the recording start procedure. Program.

(14) In the program of (13), the amount of data stored by the storage procedure during recording of the formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount set in advance. A program provided with a recording control procedure for interrupting recording of formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure and starting data recording by the recording procedure.

(15) In the program of (12), a formatting disc control block information recording elapsed time measuring procedure for measuring an elapsed time after recording formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure The program is provided when the predetermined time elapses measured by the formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measurement procedure and a predetermined time has elapsed.

(16) In the program of (12), a background formatting procedure for performing formatting processing on the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is a program during the background formatting by the background formatting procedure .

  According to the information recording apparatus and the information recording method of the present invention, an unexpected power interruption due to a power failure or the like occurs when data is recorded on an information recording medium and formatting disk control block information relating to the data recording is recorded in a predetermined management area. Even in this case, the loss of data recorded so far can be minimized. Moreover, the program of this invention can make a computer perform the predetermined | prescribed process sequence of the information recording which concerns on this invention easily.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a reference example and an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the optical disk 12 (information recording medium) is a recording medium compliant with the DVD + RW standard, and the management information related to data recording is formatting disk control block information (FDCB information).
This information recording / reproducing apparatus is an optical disc drive such as a DVD + RW drive for recording data on a DVD + RW disc, and a spindle motor for rotating an optical disc (information recording medium) 12 capable of recording and reproducing data such as a DVD + R disc and a DVD + RW disc. Motor 1, rotation control system 4 that controls the rotation of motor 1, optical pickup 2 that irradiates optical disk 12 with laser light L for data recording and reproduction, and laser light L generated by optical pickup 2. An optical pickup control system unit 6 that performs control such as light emission drive, a coarse motion motor 3 that moves the optical pickup 2 in the radial direction of the optical disk 12, and a coarse motion motor control system unit that performs rotational drive control of the coarse motion motor 3 5 is provided.

The signal processing system 7 controls input / output of a reproduction signal from the optical pickup 2 and a recording signal to the optical pickup 2, and a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. A controller 9 is provided which records various programs including the program according to the present invention in a memory such as a RAM and implements the functions according to the present invention by executing the procedures of the program. The controller 9 performs processing such as background format start / interruption, user data recording, and FDCB update.
In addition, data such as data to be recorded on the optical disk 12 and data reproduced from the optical disk 12 is temporarily stored, and a cache memory used as an area for temporarily storing data when the controller 9 executes various processes. 8 and an external interface 10 for exchanging data with an externally connected host computer 11.

  The host computer 11 is realized by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and instructs the information recording / reproducing apparatus to record data and reproduce data. In addition, processing for generating recording data and using reproduction data acquired from the information recording / reproducing apparatus is also performed.

[1] Usually, a background format is adopted for a DVD + RW disc which is a recordable DVD disc, and a user can record data during the formatting. Formatting disc control block information related to data recording in the background format is recorded in a formatting disc control block (FDCB) in the lead-in area, and the unrecorded area is recorded as dummy data with reference to the FDCB information. Format processing is performed.
As an application example using a DVD + RW disc, for example, there is a use of recording a TV program or the like in real time. In such real-time data recording, a data recording request is made by a user at a relatively low transfer rate and at regular intervals. Done.

Therefore, when real-time data recording is performed during background formatting, dummy data recording by the formatting process is not performed, and data recording from the user continues for the recording time.
Therefore, FDCB cannot be recorded during real-time data recording, and FDCB cannot be updated normally, for example, when an unexpected power interruption due to a power failure occurs during recording.
Also, when such a disc is inserted again, incorrect information is recorded in the LWA and bitmap information to be referred to when resuming the background format, so the user data recorded during recording is overwritten with dummy data in the format. Resulting in.

  Therefore, in the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment, a data recording procedure for recording data on the optical disk 12 (information recording medium capable of data recording) in the memory of the controller 9 shown in FIG. Formatting disc control block information recording procedure for recording formatting disc control block information related to the recorded data in an FDCB (predetermined area) in the lead-in area of the optical disc 12, and preset during recording of data by the data recording procedure When predetermined conditions are satisfied, formatting disk control block information related to data recording recorded by the above-described data recording procedure is recorded on the FDCB of the optical disk 12 (FDCB update). Storing by installing a program for executing the I disk control block information recording procedure.

  A data recording procedure for recording data on the optical disc 12 (information recording medium capable of data recording) by the controller 9 executing the program, and formatting disc control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure Is recorded on the FDCB of the optical disc 12 and the data recording recorded by the data recording procedure up to that time when a predetermined condition is satisfied during data recording by the data recording procedure. Formatting disc control block information recording procedure for a predetermined condition for recording the formatting disc control block information on the FDCB of the optical disc 12 (FDCB update) is performed.

  That is, as a function according to the present invention, the controller 9 records data recording means for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording, and formatting disk control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means. Formatting disk control block information recording means for recording in a predetermined area of the medium, and data recording recorded by the data recording means up to that time when a predetermined condition is satisfied during data recording by the data recording means It functions as a formatting disk control block information recording means for recording the formatting disk control block information on a recording medium at a predetermined condition.

[2] Next, in response to continuous data recording requests from the user (host computer 11), the controller 9 temporarily stores the data in the cache memory 8 in the information recording / reproducing apparatus, and the cache memory 8 stores some data. When the data is stored, recording on the optical disk 12 is started. When there is no more data in the cache memory 8, the recording process is interrupted, and the process of waiting for a certain amount of data to be stored in the cache memory 8 is repeated. . Also, the free state of the cache memory 8 is monitored during data recording, and if there is a free space, data from the user is received so as not to interrupt the recording process as much as possible.
Here, in real-time data recording such as TV program recording, the data transfer from the user has a relatively small transfer rate, and the data is transferred at regular intervals.

  Therefore, when the recording speed to the optical disk 12 is higher than the data transfer rate, the data recording is interrupted when there is no more data in the cache memory 8, and the recording is resumed when a certain amount of data is stored in the cache memory 8. Such a process is periodically repeated, and by updating the FDCB in a so-called recording start waiting state from when such recording is interrupted to when it is resumed, periodic FDCB update is performed even during data recording. It becomes possible.

  Therefore, in the above program, the data recording procedure includes a storage procedure for sequentially storing data input from the host computer 11 (external) in the cache memory 8, and data stored in the cache memory 8 by the data storage procedure is stored in the optical disk. 12 (information recording medium) recording procedure and data recording by the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure exceeds a predetermined amount (recording start threshold) set in advance A recording start procedure for starting recording, and when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure during recording of data by the recording procedure falls below a predetermined amount (recording stop threshold), Each step of the recording stop procedure for stopping data recording by the procedure is also included.

  In the case of data recording in which data recording is started when the amount of data in the cache memory 8 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount (recording start threshold) and data recording is stopped when the amount is equal to or smaller than the predetermined amount (recording stop threshold), the above predetermined condition Is when a predetermined timing is reached from when the data recording by the recording stop procedure is stopped until the data recording by the recording start procedure is started.

  Therefore, the controller 9 executes the above-described program, thereby sequentially storing data input from the host computer 11 (external), and the data stored in the cache memory 8 by the data storage procedure is stored in the optical disk 12 (information When the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure and the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount (recording start threshold), data recording by the recording procedure is started. Data recorded by the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure during recording of the recording procedure is less than or equal to a predetermined amount (recording stop threshold). The recording stop procedure for stopping recording is performed.

  And, as a predetermined condition set in advance during the data recording by the data recording procedure, it is preset between the time when the data recording by the recording stop procedure is stopped and the time when the data recording by the recording start procedure is started. When the predetermined timing is reached, the formatting disc control block information recording procedure for the predetermined condition for recording the formatting disc control block information related to the data recording that has been recorded by the above-described data recording procedure to the FDCB of the optical disc 12 is performed.

  That is, the controller 9 functions as a function according to the present invention, in which the data recording means stores storage means for sequentially storing data inputted from the outside, and records the data stored in the data storage means on the information recording medium. A recording means, a recording start means for starting data recording by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount set in advance, and during recording of data by the recording means It has a function of a recording stop means for stopping data recording by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means falls below a predetermined amount set in advance, and the recording of data by the recording stop means is stopped. Then, the predetermined condition is set when the predetermined timing is reached from the start of data recording by the recording start means.

[3] Next, there may be a case where a retry due to a recording error or the like occurs during FDCB recording and a long time is required for the FDCB recording process.
On the other hand, since data from the user is transferred at a substantially constant interval, the cache memory 8 may become full during FDCB recording.
In such a case, it is not desirable to wait for the data recording process requested by the user, and there is no data to be recorded in real-time data recording such as TV program recording.

  Therefore, the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storage procedure during recording of the FDCB information (formatting disk control block information related to data recording) by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure is preset in the program. There is also provided a recording control procedure for interrupting FDCB recording (FDCB update) by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure and starting data recording by the recording procedure when the amount exceeds a fixed amount (recording start threshold).

Therefore, the controller 9 executes the above program, so that the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure during the recording of the formatting disc control block information related to the data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure is preset. When the predetermined amount (recording start threshold) is exceeded, recording of formatting disk control block information (FDCB update) relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure is interrupted, and data recording by the recording procedure is started. The recording control procedure is performed.
That is, the controller 9 has a predetermined amount of data stored in the storage means during the recording of the formatting disk control block information related to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means as a function according to the present invention. When it becomes above, it also serves as a recording control means for interrupting the recording of the formatting disk control block information relating to the data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means and starting the data recording by the recording means.

[4] Next, in order to perform FDCB recording while waiting for recording start, it is necessary that the data transfer rate is low and the recording start waiting time is guaranteed to some extent.
For example, there may be a case where the recording start waiting state occurs because the data transfer rate is smaller than the recording speed, but the recording start waiting time is not a possible time for completing the FDCB recording. In such a case, if the FDCB update is performed, the FDCB update is interrupted every time when the user data recording is started.

  Therefore, in the above program, the data recording procedure includes a storage procedure for sequentially storing data input from the host computer 11 (external) in the cache memory 8, and data stored in the cache memory 8 by the data storage procedure is stored in the optical disk. 12 (information recording medium) recording procedure and data recording by the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure exceeds a predetermined amount (recording start threshold) set in advance A recording start procedure for starting recording, and when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure during recording of data by the recording procedure falls below a predetermined amount (recording stop threshold), Each procedure includes a recording stop procedure for stopping data recording by the procedure. Further, when a data transfer rate measurement procedure for measuring the data transfer rate at the time of data recording by the recording procedure is provided, and the data transfer rate is measured at the time of data recording, the predetermined condition is the data measured by the data transfer rate measurement procedure. When the transfer rate falls below a preset threshold.

  Therefore, the controller 9 executes the above-described program to sequentially store data input from the host computer 11 (external) in the cache memory 8, and the data stored in the cache memory 8 by the data storage procedure. Recording procedure for recording on the optical disc 12 (information recording medium), and data according to the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure exceeds a predetermined amount (recording start threshold) set in advance A recording start procedure for starting recording, and when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storage procedure during recording of data by the recording procedure is less than or equal to a predetermined amount (recording stop threshold) set in advance Processing of a recording stop procedure for stopping data recording by the recording procedure is performed.

  Then, a data transfer rate measurement procedure for measuring the data transfer rate at the time of data recording by the recording procedure is performed, and the data transfer rate measurement procedure is used as a predetermined condition set in advance during data recording by the data recording procedure. When the data transfer rate is equal to or lower than a preset threshold value, the formatting disc control under predetermined conditions for recording the formatting disc control block information relating to the data recording recorded by the above-described data recording procedure to the FDCB of the optical disc 12 is performed. The block information recording procedure is performed.

  That is, the controller 9 has, as a reference function of the present invention, the data recording means for storing the data inputted from the outside sequentially, and the data stored in the data storage means in the information recording medium. A recording means for recording, a recording start means for starting data recording by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means exceeds a preset predetermined amount, and during recording of data by the recording means Has a function of a recording stop means for stopping the recording of data by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means falls below a predetermined amount set in advance. It fulfills the function of the data transfer rate measuring means for measuring the data transfer rate, and the data transfer rate measured by the data transfer rate measuring means is It is the predetermined condition when it becomes less because set threshold.

[5] The threshold value is set to a value smaller than the data recording speed according to the recording procedure. That is, the controller 9 sets the threshold value to a value smaller than the data recording speed according to the recording procedure as a reference function of the present invention.

[6] Alternatively, the program may be as follows.
In the above program, the data recording procedure includes a storage procedure in which data input from the host computer 11 (external) is sequentially stored in the cache memory 8, and data stored in the cache memory 8 by the data storage procedure is stored in the optical disc 12 ( Recording procedure for recording on the information recording medium), and data recording by the recording procedure is started when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure exceeds a predetermined amount (recording start threshold). The recording start procedure and the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure is less than or equal to a predetermined amount (recording stop threshold) during the recording of data by the recording procedure. Each procedure includes a recording stop procedure for stopping data recording.

  Further, a data transfer rate measurement procedure for measuring a data transfer rate at the time of data recording by the recording procedure, and after the data recording by the recording procedure is stopped based on the data transfer rate measured by the data transfer rate measurement procedure, When a prediction time calculation procedure for obtaining a prediction time until data recording by the recording procedure starts is provided, and the prediction time is calculated at the time of data recording, the predetermined time is set in advance as the prediction time obtained by the prediction time calculation procedure. When the threshold is exceeded.

  Therefore, the controller 9 executes the above-described program to sequentially store data input from the host computer 11 (external) in the cache memory 8, and the data stored in the cache memory 8 by the data storage procedure. Recording procedure for recording on the optical disc 12 (information recording medium), and data according to the recording procedure when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storing procedure exceeds a predetermined amount (recording start threshold) set in advance A recording start procedure for starting recording, and when the amount of data stored in the cache memory 8 by the storage procedure during recording of data by the recording procedure is less than or equal to a predetermined amount (recording stop threshold) set in advance Processing of a recording stop procedure for stopping data recording by the recording procedure is performed.

  A data transfer rate measurement procedure for measuring a data transfer rate at the time of data recording according to the recording procedure, and after the data recording by the recording procedure is stopped based on the data transfer rate measured by the data transfer rate measurement procedure, The prediction time calculation procedure for obtaining the prediction time until the data recording by the recording procedure starts is performed, and the prediction obtained by the prediction time calculation procedure is set as a predetermined condition set in advance during the data recording by the data recording procedure. When the time is greater than a preset threshold value, the formatting disc control block information recording procedure at a predetermined condition for recording the formatting disc control block information related to the data recording that has been recorded by the above-described data recording procedure to the FDCB of the optical disc 12 of Carry out the management.

  That is, the controller 9 has, as a reference function of the present invention, the data recording means for storing the data inputted from the outside sequentially, and the data stored in the data storage means in the information recording medium. A recording means for recording, a recording start means for starting data recording by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means exceeds a preset predetermined amount, and during recording of data by the recording means Has a function of a recording stop means for stopping the recording of data by the recording means when the amount of data stored in the storage means falls below a predetermined amount set in advance. Based on the data transfer rate measuring means for measuring the data transfer rate and the data transfer rate measured by the data transfer rate measuring means It functions as a prediction time calculation means for obtaining a predicted time from when data recording by the recording means stops until data recording by the recording means starts, and the prediction time obtained by the prediction time calculation means is preset. The predetermined condition is set when the value is larger than the threshold value.

[7] Further, the threshold is set to a time longer than the recording time of the formatting disk control block information related to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure. That is, the controller 9 sets the above threshold as a time longer than the recording time of the formatting disk control block information related to the data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means as a reference function of the present invention.

[8] Next, as the recording speed to the DVD + RW disc increases, the ratio of the recording start waiting state in the entire data recording process increases, and the frequency of occurrence of the recording start waiting state increases. Updating the FDCB every time the recording start waiting state occurs causes deterioration of the FDCB area due to an increase in the number of overwriting.
Therefore, the program is provided with a formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measuring procedure for measuring the elapsed time since the formatting disk control block information related to data recording was recorded by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure. When the elapsed time of the formatting disc control block information is measured, the predetermined condition is that the elapsed time measured by the formatting disc control block information recording elapsed time measurement procedure has passed a predetermined time.

  Therefore, the controller 9 executes the above-described program to measure the elapsed time since the formatting disk control block information related to data recording is recorded by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure. When the elapsed time measured by the formatting disc control block information recording elapsed time measurement procedure has passed a predetermined time as a predetermined condition set in advance during data recording by the data recording procedure , Formatting disk control block information related to data recording that has been recorded by the above-described data recording procedure is stored in the FDCB of the optical disk 12 Performs processing of a predetermined condition when formatting the disk control block information recording procedure for recording.

  That is, as a function according to the present invention, the controller 9 measures the elapsed time since the formatting disk control block information recording means measures the elapsed time since the formatting disk control block information related to data recording is recorded. The predetermined condition is that the elapsed time measured by the formatting disc control block information recording elapsed time measuring means has passed a predetermined time set in advance.

[9] Alternatively, the program may be as follows.
In the program, a recording stop count counting procedure is provided for counting the number of stops in which data recording is stopped by the recording stop procedure after recording the formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure, The predetermined condition is set when the stop count counted by the recording stop count counting procedure reaches a preset predetermined count.

  Therefore, the controller 9 counts the number of times of stopping the data recording by the recording stop procedure after recording the formatting disc control block information related to the data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure by executing the program. The recording stop count counting procedure is performed, and when the number of stops counted by the recording stop count counting procedure reaches a preset predetermined count, the data recording that has been recorded by the data recording procedure up to that time is performed as the predetermined condition. Processing of a formatting disk control block information recording procedure at a predetermined condition for recording formatting disk control block information on the FDCB of the optical disk 12 is performed.

  That is, as a reference function of the present invention, the controller 9 stops the data recording by the recording stop means after recording the formatting disk control block information related to the data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means. The predetermined condition is set when the number of stops counted by the recording stop number counting means reaches a predetermined number set in advance.

[10] Next, the FDCB information is formatting disc control block information relating to the background format or formatting disc control block information relating to data recording in the background format. When the formatting process is completed, the FDCB is updated. Absent.
Therefore, the FDCB update during user data recording need only be performed during the background format.
In view of this, in the program, a background formatting procedure for performing formatting processing on the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is set during the background formatting by the background formatting procedure.

  Therefore, the controller 9 executes the above program to perform a background formatting procedure for performing formatting processing on the optical disc 12 (information recording medium) in the background, and a predetermined preset during data recording by the data recording procedure. As a condition, formatting disc control block information at a predetermined condition for recording formatting disc control block information related to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure up to that time in the FDCB of the optical disc 12 during the background formatting by the background formatting procedure. Process the recording procedure.

  That is, the controller 9 functions as a function according to the present invention, which functions as background formatting means for performing formatting processing on the information recording medium in the background, and the predetermined condition is set when the background formatting means is in the background formatting. I have to.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the procedure of the user data recording process during the background formatting to the optical disc 12 shown in FIG.
When the optical disc 12 which is a blank disc is inserted into the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 1A, the lead-in area (lead-in area: Lead-in area) is initialized by the format initialization process. Area) is recorded only, and data recording / playback from the user is enabled. When the predetermined condition is satisfied, formatting disk control block information relating to data recording is recorded in the FDCB in the lead-in area.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5B, the data unrecorded area of the data area (Data Area) is recorded as dummy data (Dummy Data) from the inner periphery by the background format.

As shown in FIG. 5C, when there is a data recording request or reproduction request from the user, the background formatting process is stopped (interrupted), and the user data is recorded or reproduced. A lead-out area (lead-out area) is provided on the outer peripheral side of the optical disc.
When the data recording / data reproduction requested by the user is completed, the background format is resumed from the LWA as shown in FIG.
At this time, the normal information recording / reproducing apparatus records the FDCB information in a predetermined area.
When resuming the format, only the unrecorded area is recorded with dummy data with reference to the bitmap information.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the FDCB.
The FDCB is a data formatting disk control block information storage area composed of one ECC block (16 sectors), and is allocated to a predetermined area in the lead-in area. The predetermined area may be referred to as FDCB.
The content descriptor (Content Descriptor) is an ID indicating what DCB the DCB is. In the case of FDCB, “46444300” is recorded in this area. The first 3 bytes are ASCII code “FDC”, and the last 1 byte represents the version number.

Next, in the unknown content descriptor actions (Unknown Content Descriptor Actions), when an unknown ID is recorded in the content descriptor, that is, when the information recording / reproducing apparatus (drive) does not support a DCB Records the restrictions to be made by the drive. The contents of this restriction include restrictions such as recording prohibition and format prohibition on the data area.
In the drive ID (Drive ID), information related to the drive in which the FDCB is recorded is recorded.
The items below the FDCB update count (FDCB update count) are information relating to the background format, and are information specific to the FDCB.

In the FDCB update count, the number of times the FDCB is updated is recorded.
Formatting status and mode indicates the status of the background format (in the middle of formatting, formatting completed, etc.).
The last write address (LWA) is the last address in which data is continuously recorded (including dummy data), and dummy data is recorded from the LWA when the background format is resumed.

The last verified address (LVA) is the last address that is continuously verified. When no verification is performed, “00” is recorded.
The bitmap start address (Bitmap start address) indicates the address in the data area indicated by the first bit of the bitmap area, the bitmap length (Bitmap length) indicates the size of the effective bitmap area, and the bit The entity of the map area is recorded in a formatting bitmap. In this area, information on a recording area and an unrecorded area mixed in the data area is stored.

In the disc ID (Disc ID), ID information unique to the disc is recorded.
An application dependent is reserved as an area for recording information to be used for a specific purpose in the future, and “00” is recorded.
List of DCBs (List of DCBs) records DCB information existing in the lead-in area. A DVD + RW disc can record up to 16 types of DCB on the disc, and the list of DCBs records a list of content descriptors of each DCB. When only the FDCB exists on the disc, only the content descriptor of the FDCB is recorded in this area, and “00” is recorded in the rest.
Reserved and set to (00) is an area reserved for the future.

FIG. 4 is a time chart of user data recording and FDCB update in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 6A shows the amount of user data occupied in the cache memory 8 during storage of user data (the amount of data sequentially transferred from the host computer 11). The vertical axis represents the user data occupation amount, and the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time.
When data recording is started, user data is stored in the cache memory 8, so that the data occupation amount increases.

When the data occupation amount exceeds a recording start threshold value (T1) which is a predetermined amount (a constant amount, a predetermined threshold value) set in advance (recording start threshold value (T1 where the data occupation amount is a predetermined threshold value) ), The data occupancy in the cache memory 8 decreases because the data stored in the cache memory 8 is recorded on the optical disk 12.
During this time, user data is stored in the cache memory 8, but in real-time data recording, the data recording rate is higher than the data transfer rate, and as a result, the data occupation amount in the cache memory 8 decreases.

Next, when the data occupation amount in the cache memory 8 becomes equal to or less than a recording stop threshold (T2) that is a predetermined amount (a constant amount, a predetermined threshold value) set in advance, data recording on the optical disk 12 is performed. Data recording is started after being interrupted and waiting for a predetermined amount of data (the amount of data equal to or greater than the recording start threshold (T1)) to be stored in the cache memory 8. Thereafter, the same processing is repeated.
As the recording start threshold T1, the size of the cache memory 8 may be set, or a value of, for example, 70% of the size may be set. Further, the recording stop threshold (recording interruption threshold) T2 may be “0”, for example, a value of, for example, 30% of the size of the cache memory 8 may be set. The recording start threshold value T1 and the recording stop threshold value T2 are preferably set to appropriate values according to the capacity of the cache memory 8 and the data recording speed of the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

Next, FIG. 2B shows a procedure of recording processing on an optical disc in a conventional information recording apparatus. Conventionally, user data is accumulated (Store User Data), and is recorded when a predetermined amount is accumulated (Write User Data). Then, FDCB recording is not performed during continuous data recording.
When the data recording speed is higher than the data transfer rate, data recording occurs intermittently. During the data recording process, there is a so-called recording start waiting state, and the proportion of the recording start waiting state increases as the data recording speed increases.
FIG. 6C shows a time chart of user data recording and FDCB update in the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment shown in FIG.

The information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment updates the FDCB by using a recording start waiting state between intermittently generated data recording processes. That is, the FDCB is updated (Update FDCB) while data recording is stopped.
Thus, by periodically updating the FDCB even during data recording, it is possible to minimize the loss of recorded data even when an unexpected power interruption due to a power failure or the like occurs. .
The FDCB update need not be performed every time a recording start waiting state occurs, but may be performed in a recording start waiting state after a predetermined time has elapsed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing user data recording and FDCB update processing in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
When starting the data recording process, the controller 9 determines whether or not there is a data recording request from the host computer (user) in step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 1. In step 2, the recording request data transferred from the host computer is transferred to the cache memory and sequentially stored. In step 3, while the data reception and writing are continued, the amount of data transferred by the host computer is totaled and periodically recorded. Performs calculation to measure data transfer rate.

Next, the amount of data in the cache memory is checked in step 4, and it is determined in step 5 whether data is being recorded on the optical disk. If data is not being recorded, that is, if data recording is in a waiting state, step In step 16, it is determined whether or not the data occupation amount in the cache memory is equal to or greater than a predetermined recording start threshold (recording start threshold).
If the recording start threshold value is exceeded in step 16, it is determined in step 17 whether FDCB is being updated. If FDCB is being updated, FDCB update processing is interrupted in step 18, and in step 19. Recording of user data is started to record user data, and the process returns to step 1 to wait for a recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, if the FDCB update is not in progress as determined in step 17, the process of step 18 is skipped, the process proceeds to step 19 to start recording user data, record the user data, return to step 1 and again from the user. Wait for recording request.
If it is determined in step 16 that the data occupation amount is not equal to or greater than the recording start threshold value, the processing in steps 17 to 19 is skipped, and the process returns to step 1 to wait for the recording request from the user again.

Next, if data recording is being performed in the determination in step 5, it is determined in step 6 whether or not the data occupation amount in the cache memory is equal to or less than a predetermined recording stop threshold (recording stop threshold). If it is not less than the stop threshold value, the process returns to step 1 to wait for a recording request from the user again. If it is less than the record stop threshold value, recording to the optical disk is stopped in step 7.
After the data recording is stopped in step 7, the FDCB update is performed using the recording start waiting state until the recording is started again in step 19.
That is, after the recording is stopped in step 7, it is determined in step 8 whether or not the background formatting is in progress. If it is not in the background formatting, there is no need to update the FDCB. Wait for the request.

On the other hand, if the background format is being determined in step 8, the FDCB is periodically updated, so that the recording speed (a value smaller than the data recording speed) that is the threshold set in advance in step 9 is set. The data transfer rate (average transfer rate of data recording requested by the user) is compared to determine whether the data transfer rate is lower than the recording speed.
Here, it is assumed that the data transfer rate is periodically measured in step 3.
If the data transfer rate is not lower than the recording speed in step 9 (the recording speed is equal to or lower than the data transfer rate), the data recording interruption occurred because the data transfer from the user was temporarily delayed. It is expected that there is a certain situation, and it cannot be guaranteed that the recording start waiting state is a sufficient time to update the FDCB. Therefore, the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to step 1 to wait for the recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, if the data transfer rate is lower than the recording speed (the recording speed is equal to or higher than the data transfer rate) as determined in step 9, the recording is the estimated time obtained by calculating from the data transfer rate in step 10 The start waiting time (expected waiting time from recording stop to recording start) is compared with the expected FDCB update time obtained by calculation from the data recording speed, etc., and is the recording start waiting time longer than the FDCB update time? Judge whether or not.
When the recording start waiting time is not longer than the FDCB update time in the judgment of Step 10 (when the recording start waiting time is equal to or less than the FDCB update time), the user data occupation amount in the cache memory becomes the threshold to start recording during the FDCB update. Since there is a high possibility that the FDCB update is interrupted when the value exceeds the value, the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to Step 1 to wait for a recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, when the recording start waiting time is longer than the FDCB update time in the determination in step 10, it is further determined whether or not a certain time (predetermined predetermined time) has elapsed since the previous FDCB was updated in step 11. If the fixed time has not elapsed, frequent FDCB update causes degradation of the FDCB area, so the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to step 1 to wait for a recording request from the user again.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step 11 that the elapsed time from the FDCB update has passed a certain time, the FDCB update process is started and updated in step 12, and the measurement of the elapsed time from the FDCB update is started in step 13 ( 1st time) or initialization of elapsed time (from the next time, reset the time counted until now and measure each time from FDCB update by measuring from the beginning) and return to step 1 It waits for a recording request from the user again.

It is preferable to measure the elapsed time every time after the FDCB is updated by a timer provided in the controller 9 for the predetermined time.
Further, the controller 9 is provided with an elapsed time initialization unit (this is a functional unit realized by the processing of the CPU), and the elapsed time from the FDCB update that the elapsed time initialization unit measures by the timer is By initializing each time the FDCB is updated, the CPU may obtain the elapsed time from the FDCB update each time.
If there is no data recording request from the user in step 1, it is determined in step 14 whether or not the data recording has been completed. If data recording has not been completed, the process returns to step 1 to request a recording request from the user again. If the data recording is completed, the data recording process is terminated after all the data in the cache memory is recorded in step 15.

In the above-described processing, it is not necessary to perform all of the determination processing (steps 8 to 11) for determining whether or not to perform the FDCB update, either of which may be omitted, or another type of determination is performed. Anyway.
For example, in step 11, the elapsed time from the previous FDCB update is used to update the FDCB at a predetermined interval. However, instead of the elapsed time, the FDCB is updated when a predetermined number of recording stops occur. Anyway.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another example of user data recording and FDCB update in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
Steps 21 to 30 are the same as steps 1 to 10 in FIG. 5, step 32 is the same as step 12 in FIG. 5, and steps 34 to 39 are the same as steps 14 to 19 in FIG. Omitted.
In the process of FIG. 6, if the recording start waiting time is longer than the FDCB update time in the determination of step 30, whether or not the number of recording stops that stopped data recording after the previous FDCB update in step 31 has reached a predetermined number. If it is not determined and the predetermined number of times has not been reached, the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to step 21 to wait for a recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, if the number of recording stops reaches a predetermined number as determined in step 31, the FDCB update process is started and updated in step 32, and the count of the number of recording stops from the FDCB update is started in step 33 (first time). Alternatively, the number of times of recording stop is initialized (from the next time, the number of times counted until now is reset and counted from the beginning to obtain each number of times of recording stop for each FDCB update), and the process returns to step 21 and the user again Wait for a recording request from.
The controller 9 counts the number of recording stops. The predetermined number of times may be set to a number that does not cause deterioration of the optical disk.
5 and FIG. 6, when data recording is completed, the background format is restarted at a predetermined timing, and at that time, the conventional information recording apparatus performs FDCB update. For this reason, it is considered unnecessary to update the FDCB at the time of data recording, but the FDCB may be updated when recording is completed.

In the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment, the data transfer rate at the time of recording is measured to determine whether or not to perform FDCB during data recording. However, the average transfer rate of data transfer requested by the user is determined. As a measuring method, for example, a known technique for measuring a data reading transfer rate described in JP-A-2002-8316 may be used.
In the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment, the processing example in the case of updating the FDCB has been described. However, the same can be applied to the update of a file system such as UDF.

Next, effects of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment will be listed.
(1) By performing FDCB update at an appropriate timing when performing real-time data recording during background formatting, even if an unexpected power interruption due to a power failure occurs, the user data recorded so far is lost. Can be minimized.
For example, when a TV program is recorded using a commercially available DVD + RW disc (usually commercially available in a blank state), data recording is performed during the background format.
Here, since the FDCB has not been updated during data recording in the past, if a power failure occurs while recording a TV program for a long time, all the recorded data is overwritten with dummy data by subsequent formatting. It was.

  In the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the FDCB is updated at the end even if a power failure or the like occurs during the recording by periodically updating the FDCB according to a predetermined condition even during data recording. The previously recorded data can be avoided from being overwritten with dummy data by the subsequent formatting process, and the loss of data due to power shutdown can be minimized.

(2) Since real-time data recording such as TV program recording has a relatively low data transfer rate, recording to a DVD + RW disc is not performed continuously, but the above-described recording start waiting and data recording are performed regularly. Will be repeated.
Furthermore, as the recording speed to the DVD + RW disc increases, the ratio of the recording start waiting state in the entire data recording process increases.
Therefore, by updating the FDCB while waiting for the start of recording, it is possible to periodically update the FDCB during data recording.

(3) When the cache memory becomes full during FDCB recording, by interrupting FDCB recording and performing data recording, the problem that user data recording is not in time and there is no data to be recorded is avoided. Is possible.
Since FDCB recording may be performed at the next predetermined timing, there is no problem in giving priority to user data recording.
(4) The recording start waiting time can be estimated by measuring the data transfer rate from the user.
Therefore, the FDCB update process can be performed only when the recording completion waiting time is a time during which the FDCB update can be completed.

(5) The time measured from the FDCB update to the next update is the FDCB update interval during real-time data recording.
For example, when the update interval is set to 1 minute, an unexpected power interruption such as a power failure occurs, and the record data is lost due to erroneous FDCB information for a maximum of 1 minute.
Conventionally, since FDCB update is not performed during data recording, there is a possibility that all recorded data may be lost due to power shutdown. However, by setting the FDCB update interval to an appropriate value, user data is lost due to power shutdown. Can be kept to a minimum, and the FDCB area can be prevented from deteriorating due to an increase in the number of updates.
(6) If the FDCB update is performed when the number of times the recording has stopped since the previous FDCB was updated reaches a predetermined number, the FDCB area can be prevented from deteriorating due to an increase in the number of updates. it can.
(7) Since the FDCB is not updated when the formatting is completed, unnecessary FDCB update can be avoided, and deterioration of the FDCB area can be avoided.

  Although the case where the FDCB is directly updated has been described above, the FDCB information is recorded on a nonvolatile information recording medium other than the recording medium on which data such as a flash memory, a hard disk, and another disk is once recorded. Then, the FDCB information may be updated after the data recording is completed.

Next, as another embodiment of the present invention, a case where a flash memory is used as the nonvolatile information recording medium will be described.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The same reference numerals are given to the portions common to FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted.
In this information recording / reproducing apparatus, a flash memory 13 is newly provided, and FDCB information is recorded in the flash memory 13 until data recording is completed.
That is, the controller 9 has, as functions according to the present invention, data recording means for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording, and formatting disk control block information related to data recording recorded by the data recording means on the recording medium. Formatting disk control block information recording means for recording, and formatting disk control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means up to now when a predetermined condition is set during data recording by the data recording means This function serves as a formatting disk control block information recording means for recording on the recording medium, and the flash memory 13 serves as the recording medium.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing user data recording and FDCB update processing in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
When the data recording process is started, the controller 9 determines whether or not there is a data recording request from the host computer (user) in step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 41. In step 42, the recording request data transferred from the host computer is transferred to the cache memory and sequentially stored. In step 43, while continuing to receive and write the data, the amount of data transferred by the host computer is totaled and periodically collected. Performs calculation to measure data transfer rate.

Next, in step 44, the data occupancy in the cache memory is checked. In step 45, it is determined whether or not data is being recorded on the optical disk. In 57, it is determined whether or not the data occupation amount in the cache memory is equal to or greater than a predetermined recording start threshold (recording start threshold).
If the recording start threshold value is exceeded in step 57, it is determined in step 58 whether FDCB is being updated (FDCB is being recorded in the flash memory). If FDCB is being updated, FDCB is determined in step 59. The update process is interrupted, user data recording is started in step 60 to record user data, and the process returns to step 41 to wait for a recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, if the FDCB is not being updated in the determination of step 58, the process of step 59 is skipped, the process proceeds to step 60, the recording of user data is started, the user data is recorded, the process returns to step 41, and the user again Wait for recording request.
If it is determined in step 57 that the data occupation amount is not equal to or greater than the recording start threshold value, the processing in steps 58 to 60 is skipped, and the process returns to step 41 to wait for the recording request from the user again.

Next, if the data is being recorded in the determination in step 45, it is determined in step 46 whether or not the data occupation amount in the cache memory is equal to or less than a predetermined recording stop threshold (recording stop threshold). If it is not less than the stop threshold value, the process returns to step 41 to wait for a recording request from the user again. If it is less than the record stop threshold value, recording to the optical disk is stopped in step 47.
FDCB update (recording of FDCB information in the flash memory) is performed using the recording start waiting state after the data recording is stopped in step 47 until the recording is started again in step 60.
That is, after the recording is stopped in step 47, it is determined in step 48 whether or not the background formatting is in progress. If it is not in the background formatting, it is not necessary to update the FDCB. Wait for the request.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the background format is being performed in step 48, FDCB update (recording of FDCB information in the flash memory) is performed periodically. It is determined whether or not the data transfer rate is lower than the recording speed by comparing the data transfer rate) and the data transfer rate (the average transfer rate of the data recording requested by the user).
Here, it is assumed that the data transfer rate is periodically measured in step 43.
If the data transfer rate is not lower than the recording speed at step 49 (the recording speed is equal to or lower than the data transfer rate), the data recording interruption occurred because the data transfer from the user was temporarily delayed. It is expected that there is a certain situation, and it cannot be guaranteed that the recording start waiting state is a sufficient time to update the FDCB. Therefore, the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to step 41 to wait for a recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, if the data transfer rate is lower than the recording speed (the recording speed is equal to or higher than the data transfer rate) as determined in step 49, the recording is the estimated time obtained by calculating from the data transfer rate in step 50. The start waiting time (expected waiting time from recording stop to recording start) is compared with the expected FDCB update time obtained by calculation from the data recording speed, etc., and is the recording start waiting time longer than the FDCB update time? Judge whether or not.
When the recording start waiting time is not longer than the FDCB update time as determined in step 50 (when the recording start waiting time is equal to or less than the FDCB update time), the user data occupation amount in the cache memory is recorded during the FDCB update for the flash memory. Since there is a high possibility that the FDCB update is interrupted when the threshold value is exceeded, the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to step 41 to wait for a recording request from the user again.

On the other hand, if the recording start waiting time is longer than the FDCB update time in the determination of step 50, it is further determined whether or not a certain time (predetermined predetermined time) has elapsed since the previous FDCB was updated in step 51. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the FDCB update process is skipped, and the process returns to step 41 to wait for the recording request from the user again.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step 51 that the elapsed time from the FDCB update has passed a certain time, the FDCB information is recorded in the flash memory in step 52, and the process after the FDCB is recorded in the flash memory in step 53. Start time measurement (initial time) or initialize elapsed time (from the next time, reset the time counted until now and measure each time to record each FDCB in the flash memory by measuring from the beginning. ) Process, return to step 41 and wait for a recording request from the user again.

It is preferable to measure the elapsed time each time after the FDCB is recorded by a timer provided in the controller 9 for the predetermined time.
Further, an elapsed time initialization unit (this is a functional unit realized by the processing of the CPU) is provided in the controller 9, and the elapsed time after the elapsed time initialization unit records the FDCB measured by the timer. The time may be initialized every time FDCB recording, so that the CPU can obtain the elapsed time each time from the FDCB recording.
If there is no data recording request from the user in step 41, it is determined in step 54 whether or not the data recording has been completed. If data recording has not been completed, the process returns to step 41 and the recording request from the user is made again. If the data recording has been completed, all the data in the cache memory is recorded in step 45, the FDCB information in the flash memory is recorded in the FDCB of the optical disk in step 56, and the flash memory is flashed. This data recording process is terminated.

In the above-described processing, it is not necessary to perform all of the determination processing (steps 48 to 51) for performing the FDCB update on the flash memory, either of which may be omitted, or another type of determination. May be performed.
For example, in step 51, the elapsed time from the previous FDCB update is used to update the FDCB at a predetermined interval. However, instead of the elapsed time, the FDCB is updated when a predetermined number of recording stops occur. Anyway.

In this way, for example, when the FDCB cannot be updated for the optical disk due to a power failure or the like, the FDCB of the optical disk can be updated based on the FDCB information in the flash memory after the energization is restored.
Also, in case the optical disk is replaced during a power failure, the information for identifying the optical disk is read from the optical disk in advance, recorded in the flash memory, and compared with the identification information of the optical disk currently in If it is determined that the optical discs are different, the update may not be performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, an information recording / reproducing apparatus such as a DVD + RW drive that records data on a re-recordable information recording medium such as a DVD + RW disc has been described. However, data is recorded on a re-recordable information recording medium such as a DVD-RW disc. The present invention can also be applied to an information recording / reproducing apparatus such as a DVD-RW drive for recording, and the present invention can be applied to all information recording apparatuses that record formatting disk control block information relating to data recording in a predetermined management area. .

  The information recording apparatus, information recording method, and program according to the present invention can also be applied to an information recording / reproducing apparatus such as a DVD-RW drive that records data on a re-recordable information recording medium such as a DVD-RW disk.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the reference example of this invention and the information recording / reproducing apparatus which is one Embodiment. It is a figure where it uses for description of the procedure of the user data recording process in the background format to the optical disk 12 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of FDCB. It is a figure which shows the time chart of user data recording and FDCB update in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing user data recording and FDCB update processing in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart showing another example of user data recording and FDCB update in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information recording / reproducing apparatus which is other Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of user data recording and FDCB update in the information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1: Motor 2: Optical pickup 3: Coarse motion motor 4: Rotation control system unit 5: Coarse motor control system unit 6: Optical pickup control system unit 7: Signal processing system unit 8: Cache memory 9: Controller 10: External interface 11: Host computer 12: Optical disc 13: Flash memory

Claims (16)

  Data recording means for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording conforming to the DVD + RW standard, and formatting disk control block information recording for recording formatting disk control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means on the recording medium An information recording device comprising: means for formatting disk control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means up to a predetermined condition during data recording by the data recording means; An information recording apparatus comprising: formatting disk control block information recording means for recording on the recording medium at a predetermined condition.   Data recording means for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording conforming to the DVD + RW standard, and formatting disc control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording means in a predetermined area of the information recording medium In an information recording apparatus comprising a disk control block information recording means, formatting relating to data recording that has been recorded by the data recording means up to now when a predetermined condition is satisfied during data recording by the data recording means An information recording apparatus comprising: a predetermined condition formatting disk control block information recording means for recording disk control block information in a predetermined area of the information recording medium.   The data recording means includes a storage means for sequentially storing data input from the outside, a recording means for recording the data stored in the data storage means on the information recording medium, and an amount of data stored in the storage means Recording start means for starting data recording by the recording means when the value exceeds a predetermined amount set in advance, and the amount of data stored in the storage means during data recording by the recording means is preset. Recording stop means for stopping the recording of data by the recording means when the amount becomes less than a predetermined amount, and the predetermined condition is that the data by the recording start means is stopped after the recording of data by the recording stop means is stopped. 3. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information recording apparatus is at a predetermined timing until the start of recording.   When the amount of data stored in the storage means during recording of the formatting disk control block information related to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means exceeds a predetermined amount, the formatting disk control block information recording 4. An information recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising recording control means for interrupting recording of formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by said means and starting data recording by said recording means.   There is provided formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measuring means for measuring elapsed time after recording formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording means, and the predetermined condition is the formatting disk control 3. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elapsed time measured by the block information recording elapsed time measuring means is a time when a predetermined time set in advance elapses.   The background formatting means for performing the formatting process on the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is when the background formatting by the background formatting means is in progress. Information recording device.   A data recording procedure for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording compliant with the DVD + RW standard, and a formatting disc control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure in a predetermined area of the information recording medium Disc control block information recording procedure and formatting disc control block information related to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure so far when the predetermined condition set in advance during data recording by the data recording procedure is satisfied. An information recording method comprising: a formatting disk control block information recording procedure for a predetermined condition for recording in a predetermined area of a recording medium.   The data recording procedure includes a storage procedure for sequentially storing data input from the outside, a recording procedure for recording data stored by the data storage procedure on the information recording medium, and an amount of data stored by the storage procedure A recording start procedure for starting data recording according to the recording procedure when the value exceeds a predetermined amount set in advance, and a data amount stored by the storage procedure during data recording by the recording procedure is preset. A recording stop procedure for stopping the recording of data according to the recording procedure when the amount falls below a predetermined amount, and the predetermined condition is that data recording by the recording start procedure is stopped after the data recording by the recording stop procedure is stopped. 8. The information recording method according to claim 7, wherein the information recording method is at a predetermined timing until recording is started.   When the amount of data stored by the storing procedure during recording of the formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure exceeds a predetermined amount, the formatting disc control block information is recorded. 9. The information recording method according to claim 8, further comprising a recording control procedure for interrupting recording of formatting disc control block information relating to data recording by the procedure and starting data recording by the recording procedure.   A formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measuring procedure for measuring an elapsed time after recording formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure is provided, and the predetermined condition is the formatting disk control 8. The information recording method according to claim 7, wherein the elapsed time measured by the block information recording elapsed time measurement procedure is a time when a predetermined time set in advance has elapsed.   8. The information recording according to claim 7, wherein a background formatting procedure for performing formatting processing on the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is when the background formatting is performed by the background formatting procedure. Method.   A data recording procedure for recording data on an information recording medium capable of data recording conforming to the DVD + RW standard on a computer, and formatting disk control block information relating to the data recording recorded by the data recording procedure in a predetermined area of the information recording medium Formatting disc control block information recording procedure for recording, and formatting disc control block information relating to data recording recorded by the data recording procedure up to that time when a predetermined condition is satisfied during data recording by the data recording procedure For recording a predetermined condition formatting disk control block information recording procedure in a predetermined area of the information recording medium.   The data recording procedure includes a storage procedure for sequentially storing data input from the outside, a recording procedure for recording data stored by the data storage procedure on the information recording medium, and an amount of data stored by the storage procedure A recording start procedure for starting data recording according to the recording procedure when the value exceeds a predetermined amount set in advance, and a data amount stored by the storage procedure during data recording by the recording procedure is preset. A recording stop procedure for stopping the recording of data according to the recording procedure when the amount falls below a predetermined amount, and the predetermined condition is that data recording by the recording start procedure is stopped after the data recording by the recording stop procedure is stopped. 13. The program according to claim 12, wherein the program is at a preset predetermined timing until recording is started.   When the amount of data stored by the storing procedure during recording of the formatting disc control block information related to data recording by the formatting disc control block information recording procedure exceeds a predetermined amount, the formatting disc control block information is recorded. 14. The program according to claim 13, further comprising a recording control procedure for interrupting recording of formatting disc control block information relating to data recording by the procedure and starting data recording by the recording procedure.   A formatting disk control block information recording elapsed time measuring procedure for measuring an elapsed time after recording formatting disk control block information relating to data recording by the formatting disk control block information recording procedure is provided, and the predetermined condition is the formatting disk control The program according to claim 12, wherein the elapsed time measured by the block information recording elapsed time measurement procedure is a time when a predetermined time set in advance has elapsed. 13. The program according to claim 12, wherein a background format procedure for performing a format process for the information recording medium in the background is provided, and the predetermined condition is when a background format is being performed by the background format procedure.

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