Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Control of storage or retrieval operation by a control... – Control of initiation of pause mode
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-01
2004-09-21
Edun, Muhammad (Department: 2655)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Control of storage or retrieval operation by a control...
Control of initiation of pause mode
C369S047330, C369S053370, C369S059100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06795382
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an information recording system for recording information onto an optical disk such as a CD-R/RW, DVD and so forth.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, optical disks in write once type, rewriteable type and so forth have been widely used.
For example, in an optical disk drive such as a CD-R/RW drive, a CD-R/DVD drive, a CD-RW/DVD drive for which information is written onto an optical disk by using a general-purpose computer or the like, the maximum recording rate at which writing onto the disk can be performed depends on a personal computer (PC) or the like to be used and the environment thereof, and, thereby, cannot be easily determined.
A problem of so-called buffer under-run may occur when information is recorded onto such an optical disk. This problem occurs when a rate of recording information onto the optical disk through a buffer is higher than a rate of transferring (for example, 150 kilobytes/second in a unit rate, and, actually, a rate even times thereof) information to the buffer. In such an occasion, there is no information left in the buffer to be recorded onto the optical disk. Thus, recording operation is interrupted. Then, after a predetermined amount of information has been transferred to the buffer, the recording operation is restarted.
In such a case, it is necessary that information which should be recorded first after the recording interruption should be recorded precisely subsequently to the information which has been recorded at the last instance immediately before the recording interruption. Otherwise, after that, reading of the information from the optical disk cannot be performed properly.
In the Orange Book and so forth, continuity between information recorded before and after recording interruption is prescribed. By performing appropriate processing according to the prescription, the above-mentioned problem of buffer under-run may be avoided.
In order to ensure continuity between information recorded immediately before the recording interruption and information to be recorded immediately after the recording restarting, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications Nos. 10-49990 and 2000-40302 disclose methods. A function of ensuring continuity between information recorded immediately before the recording interruption and information to be recorded immediately after the recording restarting is referred to as a buffer under-run free (BURF) function.
However, although these methods were used, it has not been possible to completely avoid a reading error occurring when information is restored from an optical disk, due to a problem concerning the above-mentioned in recording continuity due to buffer under-run problem.
In order to know the quality of information recorded onto an optical disk, it is needed to know how many times the above-mentioned BURF function is operated while the information is recorded onto the optical disk.
As the operation speed of the information recording device is increased, a difference between time required for recording at the maximum recording rate and the second maximum recording rate becomes smaller. Accordingly, a user may wish to perform recording at the second maximum recording rate if the above-mentioned BURF function operates too many times at the maximum recording rate. Further, a user may know a recording rate at which recording can be properly performed without many times of operations of the BURF function. However, in the related art, in order to know the actual number of times of operations of the BURF function at an any recording rate, it is necessary to actuarially perform recording operation, or to perform test write operation many times for trying various recording rates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system by which it can be seen whether or not information recorded onto an optical disk is such that the information was recorded on the optical disk with occurrence of recording interruption and operation of the BURF function.
Another object of the present invention is to enable easy study as to how many times operation of the BURF function occurs due to recording interruption for various recording rates.
An information recording system, according to the present invention, for recording information onto an optical disk, includes:
a continuity maintaining part which restarts recording of data onto the optical disk after a pause of recording occurring due to buffer under-run, in such a manner that continuity with information recorded immediately before the occurrence of the pause is maintained;
a counting part counting the number of times of operation of the continuity maintaining part during the recording of the information onto the optical disk; and
a display part displaying the number of times of operation of the continuity maintaining part counted by the counting part.
The information recording system may further include a recording part which records the number of times of operation of the continuity maintaining part counted by the counting part onto the optical disk.
The information recording system may further include a selecting part for a user to select, at the beginning of recording of the information onto the optical disk, as to whether or not the continuity maintaining part operates.
The information recording system may include a terminal device such as a personal computer and an optical disk drive which performs recording of information onto the optical disk; wherein:
the terminal device comprises the display part; and
the optical disk drive comprises the continuity maintaining part and the counting part.
The display part may display a picture for the user to select whether or not the continuity maintaining part operates.
The user may be able to select whether or not the number of times of operation of the continuity maintaining part is recorded onto the opitcal disk.
The information recording system may further include a testing part which performs test recording onto the optical disk with a reduced power of recording light, before regular recording, and, when buffer under-run occurs during the test recording, this matter is displayed.
The testing part may interrupt the test recording when buffer under-run occurs.
A recording medium, according to the present invention, in which a software program is recorded, is such that the program causes an information recording system, including a continuity maintaining part which restarts recording of data onto the optical disk after an interruption of recording occurring due to buffer under-run during the recording onto an optical disk, in such a manner that continuity with information recorded immediately before the occurrence of the pause is maintained, to perform the steps of:
a) counting the number of times of operation of the continuity maintaining part; and
b) displaying the number of times counted in the step a).
The program may cause the information recording system to further perform the step of:
c) recording the number of times counted by the step a) onto the optical disk.
The recording medium in which a software program is also recorded, such that the program may cause the information recording system to perform the step of:
c) selecting as to whether or not the continuity maintaining part is made operate.
The program may cause the information recording system to further perform the step of:
c) displaying a picture for a user to select as to whether or not the continuity maintaining part is made operate.
The program may cause the information recording system to further perform the step of:
c) displaying a picture for a user to select as to whether or not the number of times counted in the step a) is recorded onto the optical disk.
The program may cause the information recording system to further perform the step of:
c) performing test recording onto the optical disk with a reduced power of recording light, before regular recording, wherein, when buffer under-run occurs during the test
Hosokawa Kazuhiko
Kitamura Yuji
Ueno Tomomi
Dickstein , Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, LLP
Edun Muhammad
Ricoh & Company, Ltd.
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