Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Condition indicating – monitoring – or testing – Of record carrier
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-25
2001-06-05
Tran, Thang V. (Department: 2651)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Condition indicating, monitoring, or testing
Of record carrier
C369S032010, C369S053440, C369S047540
Reexamination Certificate
active
06243343
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical disk, an optical disk reproducing device and an optical disk reproduction system which allow only part of recorded information to be selectively reproduced from the optical disk depending on the type of the reproducing device employed.
For game software recorded in a CD-ROM, it is sometimes desire that the stored game software be able to be reproduced only via a dedicated game machine rather than non-dedicated or ordinary CD-ROM players. Further, for a plurality of pieces of information recorded on an optical disk, one may desire that only some of the stored pieces of information to able to be selectively reproduced from the optical disk depending on the type of a disk player used. However, there have heretofore been no optical disk and optical disk reproducing device that satisfy such demands.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefor an object of the present invention to provide an optical disk, an optical disk reproducing device and an optical disk reproduction system which allow only part of recorded information to be selectively reproduced from the optical disk depending on the type of the disk reproducing device used.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical disk which has a recording surface segmented radially into a plurality of volumes for recording information, each of the volumes including a lead-in area, a program area and a lead-out area. Succeeding-volume information announcing presence of a succeeding volume is recorded in a main channel of either or both of the program area and lead-out area of each of the volumes.
Non-dedicated or ordinary optical disk reproducing device can reproduce the first volume, but can not access any other volume succeeding the first volume due to its incapability to read (identify) the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of one or more volumes succeeding the first volume. By contrast, a dedicated or specialized optical disk reproducing device, equipped with the capability to read (identify) the succeeding-volume information, can know the presence of the succeeding volumes and thus is allowed to access these volumes in a sequential fashion.
It will be appreciated that the succeeding-volume information may be recorded in a file within a manageable range of a file system, or may be recorded, as data outside a manageable range of a file system, at a predetermined location on a recording format of the main channel.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical disk reproducing device for reproducing the above-mentioned optical disk, which, during reproduction of each of the volumes on the optical disk, reads out the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of the succeeding volume positioned after the volume being reproduced, and which permits access to the succeeding volume when the succeeding-volume information is read out from the optical disk but inhibits access to the succeeding volume when no succeeding-volume information is read out from the optical disk.
In a preferred implementation, a reproduction permission level unique to the optical disk reproducing device is set to determine up to which of the volumes reproduction of recorded information is permitted, and the optical disk reproducing device permits access up to either one of a last volume indicated by the succeeding-volume information and a last reproducible volume determined by the reproduction permission level which is smaller in volume number than the other and inhibits access to any other volume succeeding the one volume for which the access is permitted thereby.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical disk reproduction system which comprises an optical disk reproducing device for reproducing the above-mentioned optical disk that has capability to read succeeding-volume information, and a host computer connected with the optical disk reproducing device. The optical disk reproducing device, during reproduction of each of the volumes on the optical disk, reads out the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of the succeeding volume positioned after the volume being reproduced and transfers the succeeding-volume information to the host computer. When the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of the succeeding volume is received from the optical disk reproducing device, the host computer allows the optical disk reproducing device to access the succeeding volume, but when no succeeding-volume information announcing presence of the succeeding volume is received, the host computer inhibits the optical disk reproducing device from accessing the succeeding volume.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical disk reproduction system which comprises an optical disk reproducing device for reproducing the above-mentioned optical disk that has no capability to read succeeding-volume information or has such capability but does not utilize the capability, and a host computer connected with the optical disk reproducing device. The host computer extracts, from among information transferred from the optical disk reproducing device, the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of a succeeding volume on the optical disk, and wherein when the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of a succeeding volume is obtained, the host computer allows the optical disk reproducing device to access the succeeding volume, but when no succeeding-volume information announcing presence of a succeeding volume is obtained, the host computer inhibits the optical disk reproducing device from accessing the succeeding volume. Alternatively, the host computer may send the extracted succeeding-volume information back to the optical disk reproducing device so that the optical disk reproducing device itself, in place of the host computer, performs control for permitting or inhibiting access to the succeeding volume.
The present invention also provides a second-type optical disk which has a recording surface segmented radially into a plurality of volumes for recording information, each of the volumes including a lead-in area, a program area and a lead-out area. Succeeding-volume information announcing presence of each individual volume succeeding the first volume is recorded in a main channel of either or both of the program area and lead-out area of each of the volumes. In this case too, the succeeding-volume information may be recorded in a file within a manageable range of a file system, or may be recorded, as data outside a manageable range of a file system, at a predetermined location on a recording format of the main channel.
Optical disk reproducing device for reproducing the second-type optical disk is characterized in that, during reproduction of the first volume or each of the volumes on the optical disk, it reads out the succeeding-volume information announcing presence of each individual volume positioned after the volume being reproduced, and permits access up to a particular one of the volumes whose presence is confirmed last by the succeeding-volume information read out thereby and inhibits access to any other volume succeeding the particular volume. In a preferred implementation, a reproduction permission level unique to the optical disk reproducing device is set to determine up to which of the volumes reproduction of recorded information is permitted, and the optical disk reproducing device permits access up to a particular one of the volumes whose presence is confirmed last by the read-out succeeding-volume information and a last reproducible volume determined by the reproduction permission level which is smaller in volume number than the other and inhibits access to any other volume succeeding the particular volume.
The access control based on the above-mentioned reproduction permission level scheme may be performed in such a manner that, during reproduction of the first volume or each of the volumes, th
Ishimura Yutaka
Murata Morihiro
Takeshita Kenichiro
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Tran Thang V.
Yamaha Corporation
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