Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Control of storage or retrieval operation by a control... – Mechanism control by the control signal
Reexamination Certificate
1994-06-28
2001-01-30
Young, W. R. (Department: 2753)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Control of storage or retrieval operation by a control...
Mechanism control by the control signal
C369S053130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06181653
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc reproducing apparatus and a disc recording apparatus for use with a magneto-optical disc driving apparatus that includes a memory in order to present a reproduced sound from being interrupted by an external vibration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
CD players are known to reproduce a CD (compact disc) in which digital audio data is recorded on spiral tracks as rows of pits. Upon playback, the CD player reproduces a digital audio data by detecting that a laser beam radiated on and reflected from on the tracks of the disc is changed in intensity due to the existence of pits while rotating the disc at a constant linear velocity.
Under ordinary working conditions, the CD player can reproduce audio data without trouble according to error correction processing using an error detection code and an error correction code.
It is frequently observed that a CD player having an optical pickup cannot correctly reproduce data because the servo system (such as a focusing servo and a tracking servo of the optical system) is disabled by an mechanical external disturbance such as vibration, shock or the like. Such accidents cannot be compensated for even by the above error correction processing. The playback is temporarily interrupted, causing the reproduced sound to be interrupted.
Unlike home CD players of the floor type, a conventional vehicular CD player or portable CD player that tends to be causing the very large vibrations or impulses includes a mechanical vibration isolating mechanism in order to present the reproduced sound from being interrupted. Such a vibration isolating mechanism is not always sufficient and cannot suppress a reproduced sound from being interrupted depending on the magnitude of vibration or impulse.
In order to completely prevent the reproduced sound from being interrupted, it is proposed to prevent a reproduced sound from being interrupted by reading out reproduced data from a semiconductor memory serving as a data buffer of a relatively large capacity. That is, when the servo system such as the focusing servo and the tracking servo of the optical pickup is disabled by the mechanical external disturbance such as vibration, impulse or the like, reproduced data that has been stored in the semiconductor memory until the servo system returns to the normal condition, are sequentially read out to thereby prevent the playback from being interrupted.
In the conventional apparatus, data stored in the semiconductor memory is utilized to present the mechanical external disturbance such as vibration, impulse or the like in the reproduced sound. The storage capacity of the semiconductor memory is limited so that, when the external disturbance takes place several times, a reproduced sound may be interrupted. Therefore, the user cannot discern the reason why the reproduced sound is interrupted, i.e., the reproduced sound might be interrupted because the function of the semiconductor memory is not operated correctly or because the semiconductor memory suffers from a load that exceeds a storage capacity thereof.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved disc reproducing apparatus and recording apparatus in which the aforesaid shortcomings and disadvantages of the prior art can be eliminated.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc reproducing apparatus and disc recording apparatus in which the user can easily confirm the cause that a reproduced sound is interrupted.
As a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disc reproducing apparatus in which a signal recorded on a disc is optically read out from the disc and reproduced as an audio signal. This disc reproducing apparatus comprises an optical pickup tracing tracks formed on the disc to optically read out a signal recorded on the disc. The disc reproducing apparatus further includes a first decoding unit for decoding an output signal of the optical pickup and outputting the same at a first transfer rate. The disc reproducing apparatus further includes a memory in which digital data output from the first decoding unit is stored temporarily. The disc reproducing apparatus further includes a controller for controlling write and read of the memory such that the digital data is intermittently written in the memory at the first transfer rate and the digital data is continuously read out from the memory at a second transfer rate lower than the first transfer rate. The disc reproducing apparatus further includes a second decoding unit for decoding the digital data read out from the memory and outputting the same as an audio signal at the second transfer rate. The disc reproducing apparatus further includes a display device for displaying an amount of the digital data stored in the memory so that an increase or decrease of the amount of the digital data can be visually confirmed.
As a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disc recording apparatus in which an input digital audio signal is encoded and recorded on a disc. This disc recording apparatus comprises a first encoding unit for compressing an input digital audio signal. The disc recording apparatus further includes a memory in which compressed data stored in the memory is temporarily stored. The disc recording apparatus further includes a second encoding unit for intermittently receiving the compressed data stored in the memory and outputting encoded data as recording data to be recorded on the disc at its predetermined position. The disc recording apparatus further includes a controller for controlling the memory such that the compressed data from the first encoding unit is continuously written in the memory and the compressed data stored in the memory is read out from the memory at every predetermined data amount. The disc recording apparatus further includes a display device for displaying a storage amount of the compressed data stored in the memory so that an increase or decrease of the amount of the compressed data can be visually confirmed.
According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, since the amount of data stored in the memory is displayed so that the user can recognize the operation state of the memory intuitively and readily.
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Aramaki Junichi
Inatani Akihisa
Kajiyama Yoshihiro
Wada Isao
Limbach & Limbach L.L.P.
Sony Corporation
Young W. R.
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