Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Automatic control of a recorder mechanism – Controlling the head
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-11
2001-06-12
Faber, Alan T. (Department: 2651)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Automatic control of a recorder mechanism
Controlling the head
C360S078140, C360S135000, C360S053000, C360S049000, C360S072200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246537
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording medium for magnetically recording information signals and a recording/reproducing method and apparatus for exchange processing of malfunctioning areas of the recording medium for recording the information signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a magnetic recording device, defective sectors are detected at the time of disc shipment or disc formatting and physical block addresses of the defective sectors are removed from the allocation to the physical block addresses by way of performing sector slipping. Also, if there occurred a defective track, the track in its entirety is removed from the allocation to the logical sectors, by way of performing track slipping.
As for the defective sectors removed by the sector slipping and for the defective tracks removed by the track slipping, there are such a system in which the sectors or tracks are simply put out of use to render the capacity available for the user variable, and such a system in which substitution sectors or tracks for the sectors or tracks removed by the slipping are provided outside of the usual user area.
In the former case, the sectors or tracks other than those found to be defective can be used in their entirety for writing user data, thus assuring a high recording medium using efficiency. However, this using manner poses a problem in an exchange recording medium such as a floppy disc, although there is no problem raised in case of a non-exchange medium, such as a hard disc. That is, there are occasions wherein the effective disc capacity is varied from disc to disc, such that there is a possibility that copying of the entire disc contents cannot be made from one disc to another.
In the latter case, since a constant format capacity can be assured at all times, the above-mentioned inconvenience in disc copying is not raised. However, since the substitution sectors or tracks need to be provided outside the user area, part or all of the spare region is not unusable.
Thus, the conventional defect processing method used in the conventional magnetic recording device is founded on the basic principle of not using his spare region.
As for the method of associating the physical block addresses with the logical block addresses, there are such a method of disc surface based association, a method of disc surface based association provided that one of the disc surfaces is processed for association and subsequently the other disc surface is processed for association from the opposite direction, and a method of zone based association using separate zones provided from the outset on the disc surfaces.
As for the method of providing spare sectors in case such are provided as the substitution sectors for sector slipping, there are a variety of methods, such as a method of providing the spare sectors in each track, a method of providing the spare sectors in each zone or a method of providing the spare sectors at a pre-set position on the disc.
The associating method for the logical block addresses and the physical block addresses, including defect management, is associated with a non-exchange type recording medium. That is, in selecting the associating method for the physical block addresses and the logical block addresses or the spare sector position setting method, meritorious characteristics, such as short seek time or high transfer speed, or the non-sophisticated control algorithm, represent the criteria for selection.
Meanwhile, with the defect management system, termed slipping, employed in the conventional magnetic recording de-vice, it is not possible to cope with defects that occurred after start of the use of the disc, although it is possible to evade the initial disc defects from the outset.
Thus, for improving disc reliability, there is used a method of previously attaching redundancy bits for error correction prior to proceeding to data recording. If failure readout occurs, those parameters affecting playback characteristics, such as tracking or equalization, are changed on re-trying.
With the above-described conventional system, success in the next readout is not ensured even if readout has been made successfully on re-trying. Moreover, the fact that readout has been achieved only on re-trial with changed parameters means that the sector in question is hard to read such that the sector in question has been lowered in readout reliability.
Thus, with the conventional system, it has been difficult to assure data reliability in future with respect to defects produced during use or otherwise proceeding with lapse of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium, recording/reproducing method and recording/reproducing apparatus whereby future data reliability can be assured against defects produced during use or otherwise progressing with lapse of time.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a substantially disc-shaped recording medium for recording information signals along a plurality of substantially concentric recording tracks provided on a first major surface and a second major surface thereof, wherein association of logical block addresses to the recording tracks is made in a sequence in which the logical block addresses proceed, in a recordable information area, with a first recording track at a radially mid portion between an innermost recording track and an outermost recording track on the first major surface as a logical starting point, in an address incrementing direction, towards the outer rim as far as a second recording track, then from a third recording track at a mid portion between an innermost recording track and an outermost recording track on the second major surface towards the inner rim as far as a fourth recording track, then from the next recording track on the outer rim side of the second recording track on the first major surface towards the outer rim, until reaching the outermost recording track on the first major surface, the logical block addresses then proceeding towards the inner rim from the outermost recording track on the second major surface, so as to skip the third recording track and the fourth recording track, until reaching the innermost recording track on the second major surface, the logical block addresses then proceeding from the innermost rim on the first major surface towards the outer rim as far as the recording track directly ahead of the first recording track.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a recording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing information signals for a substantially disc-shaped recording medium for recording information signals along a plurality of substantially concentric recording tracks provided on a first major surface and a second major surface thereof The recording/reproducing apparatus includes information signal readout means for reading out information signals from the recording medium, physical block address detection means for detecting the physical block addresses from information signals read out by the readout means from the recording medium, and table detection means for detecting a table holding the relation of correspondence between logical block addresses and physical block addresses by having reference to the physical block addresses detected by the physical block address detection means. The table is provided in a recording track at a mid portion between the innermost recording track and the outermost recording track on the first major surface and in a recording track at a mid portion between the innermost recording track and the outermost recording track on the second major surface, in a recordable information region of the recording medium. The table states the proceeding sequence of the logical block addresses in which the logical block addresses proceed, in the recordable information area, with a first recording track at a radially mid portion between an innermost recording track and an outermost recording track on the first major surface as a logi
Faber Alan T.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Sony Corporation
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