Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-04
2004-08-31
Kelley, Chris (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000, C386S349000, C386S349000, C386S349000, C386S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06785465
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a disk apparatus such as a hard disk apparatus, more particularly to a disk apparatus capable of recording and playing back audiovisual data input continuously via a digital interface in audiovisual frame units, to an audiovisual data processing apparatus, and to an audiovisual control method for processing audiovisual data in audiovisual frame units.
BACKGROUND ART
In recent years, disk apparatuses, such as magnetic disk apparatuses and optical disk apparatuses, have been improved rapidly in performance regarding recording capacity and transfer speed, and have been used frequently for recording and playback of audiovisual data, i.e., moving picture data. In particular, the performance of hard disk apparatuses has been improved significantly, and hard disk apparatuses have been used for video servers and the like for carrying out storage, delivery and the like of audiovisual data.
In comparison with data, such as programs, processed by computers, audiovisual data is characterized in that it is uninterrupted continuous data (hereinafter referred to as stream data).
In a conventional magnetic disk apparatus, writing processing is required to be carried out in data block units, each having a predetermined size (hereinafter referred to as block data). Furthermore, the reading processing of the conventional magnetic disk apparatus is also required to be carried out in block data units on a magnetic disk, just like the writing processing.
Therefore, when stream data is recorded in the conventional magnetic disk apparatus, block data to be written is generated by dividing stream data at an external apparatus, and transmitted to the magnetic disk apparatus in block data units. Furthermore, the record address on the magnetic disk wherein block data should be written is also selected by the external apparatus and notified to the magnetic disk apparatus.
In accordance with a data writing request from the external apparatus and on the basis of the record address notified by the external apparatus, the conventional magnetic disk apparatus sequentially writes the data of the external apparatus in the following recording area.
In recent years, the development of digital interfaces has advanced, and the digital interfaces of the IEEE 1394 Standard have been mounted on digital VCR apparatuses as standard equipment. In the IEEE 1394 Standard, an ISOCHRONOUS transfer system is stipulated as a system for transmitting stream data between digital apparatuses.
In the transfer system using the IEEE 1394, a transfer system for digital VCR format audiovisual data is stipulated in IEC 61883, for example.
A digital apparatus, such as a digital VCR, having the above-mentioned IEEE 1394 interface as standard equipment is examined in a form wherein connection is carried out without using any host apparatus (an apparatus for controlling apparatuses connected to buses), and stream data is transmitted mutually.
However, no hard disk is available which has a digital interface provided with the ISOCHRONOUS transfer function of the IEEE 1394 Standard; in the case that stream data is transferred from an external apparatus to a conventional hard disk apparatus, a conventional transfer system wherein stream data is divided by the external apparatus and transferred is used.
When a digital VCR provided with the digital interface of the IEEE 1394 Standard is connected to the hard disk apparatus, it is necessary to add a special apparatus having the function of processing the above-mentioned stream data.
Furthermore, as the stream data processing functions in the digital VCR, commands, such as the record start command (hereinafter referred to as the REC command) and the playback start command (hereinafter referred to as the PLAY command) are used usually; however, the conventional hard disk apparatus does not have functions of processing these commands.
Furthermore, information on playback speed, playback direction or the like is added to the PLAY command and then transmitted; however, the conventional hard disk apparatus does not have means for carrying out the processing corresponding to the information.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention intends to provide a disk apparatus, an audiovisual data processing apparatus and an audiovisual control method, wherein a stream data processing function is newly added to a hard disk apparatus, and command processing functions for digital VCRs are provided virtually so as to meet various processing requests from external apparatuses.
In order to attain the above-mentioned objects, a disk apparatus in accordance with the present invention comprises:
a disk medium capable of recording/playing back data,
a buffer memory for temporarily storing audiovisual data,
buffer memory control means for controlling the input/output of the above-mentioned audiovisual data for the above-mentioned buffer memory,
audiovisual frame detection means for detecting audiovisual frame boundaries from the above-mentioned audiovisual data and for outputting a detection signal,
data division management means for dividing the above-mentioned audiovisual data depending on the above-mentioned detection signal and for forming the management information of the divided data, and
writing means for writing the above-mentioned audiovisual data on the above-mentioned disk medium in accordance with the above-mentioned management information.
The disk apparatus of the present invention configured as described above is configured so that the audiovisual frame boundaries of audiovisual data are detected, and audiovisual data externally received continuously is divided in audiovisual frame units in accordance with the detected audiovisual frame boundaries, whereby the writing of the audiovisual data on a disk medium can be controlled in the divided audiovisual frame units.
Furthermore, in the disk apparatus of the present invention, audiovisual data can be written on a disk medium in audiovisual frame units at the timing of detecting audiovisual frame boundaries, whereby, when audiovisual frames are received periodically (DV data and the like transmitted on the IEEE 1394 bus), the recording of the audiovisual frames on the disk medium can be carried out periodically.
A disk apparatus in accordance with the present invention from another aspect comprises:
a disk medium capable of recording/playing back data,
a buffer memory for temporarily storing audiovisual data,
playback data selection means for selecting the above-mentioned audiovisual data to be output externally from among the above-mentioned audiovisual data recorded on the above-mentioned disk medium,
reading means for reading the above-mentioned audiovisual data selected by the above-mentioned playback data selection means from the above-mentioned disk medium,
buffer memory control means for storing the above-mentioned audiovisual data read from the above-mentioned disk medium into the above-mentioned buffer memory, and
stream data generation means for generating stream data by combining the data stored in the above-mentioned buffer memory and for externally outputting the above-mentioned stream data continuously.
In the disk apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, an external apparatus connected to the disk apparatus can play back the audiovisual data stored on the disk medium in the same procedure as that carried out when the playback start command is used for a VCR apparatus, whereby the external apparatus can be provided with the same operability as that of the VCR apparatus.
A disk apparatus in accordance with the present invention from another aspect comprises:
a disk medium capable of recording/playing back data,
record/playback means for recording/playing back data on the above-mentioned disk medium,
a buffer memory for temporarily storing the above-mentioned audiovisual data,
buffer memory control means for controlling the input/output of the above-mentioned audiovisual data to the above-mentioned buffer memory,
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Ayaki Yasushi
Koshino Toshiharu
Nagaishi Yuji
Yamamura Toshiki
Yoshiura Tsukasa
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P.
Kelley Chris
Vent Jamie
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