Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-10
2001-09-18
Garber, Wendy R. (Department: 2612)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000, C711S112000, C707S793000, C369S032010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292626
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to recording and reproduction of data, and more particularly relates to a technique of continuously recording and reproducing AV data in a system, like a disk changer, in which a plurality of storage media can be housed.
Various types of storage media, including hard disk, optical disk, floppy disk and semiconductor memory, have been used for storing digital data thereon. Among these media, an optical disk has been used most frequently as a medium for storing recyclable digital data thereon, because an optical disk is advantageous in portability and capacity. Also, in most cases, the data stored on such a storage medium has been of a small size, e.g., text data or still picture data on the order of several tens megabytes.
However, in recent years, the demand for a storage medium that can store data of a much greater size, like moving picture data on the order of several gigabytes, has been increasing day after day. In recording such an enormous quantity of data, however, a single storage medium can rarely meet the capacity required for recording the data entirely. The same is true of even a large-capacity storage medium such as a DVD-RAM.
For example, as for a laser disc (LD), if data cannot be recorded entirely on a single side thereof, then the data is separately recorded on both sides thereof to avoid the problem of insufficient capacity. On the other hand, a recording/reproducing apparatus using a disk changer compensates for the shortage of capacity by recording data on a plurality of disks.
Regarding text data or still picture data, the recording and reproducing operations thereof do not have to be performed in real time. Accordingly, there is no problem if such data is recorded on a plurality of disks separately so long as disks are exchanged every time data has been written on a single disk.
However, if moving picture data is recorded in real time on both sides of an LD or on a plurality of disks, then it is difficult to maintain satisfactory continuity for the data stored. Specifically, in reproducing data stored on different disks or different sides, it takes a rather long time to reverse the side to be reproduced from recto into verso or to exchange the disks to be reproduced. Accordingly, the reproduction of the data may be discontinued because such an operation of reversing the side or exchanging the disks should be performed. Similarly, in recording data on different disks or different sides, the supply of the data must be suspended while the side to be recorded is reversed from recto into vero so or while the disks to be recorded are exchanged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is providing reproducing apparatus, recording apparatus and recording/reproducing apparatus allowing for continuous reproduction and recording of data from/on a plurality of storage media.
A reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a first storage including a changer for housing a plurality of storage media and a drive for reading out data from first and second target storage media selected from the storage media in that order; a second storage; a data processing unit for presenting the data stored on the first and second target storage media; and a controller for controlling the changer, the drive, the data processing unit and the second storage. Before the data processing unit starts to present the data stored on the first and second target storage media, the controller controls the first storage to read out at least part of the data stored on one of the first and second target storage media as bridging data and controls the second storage to store the read bridging data. When the data processing unit starts to present the data stored on the first and second target storage media, the controller controls the second storage to supply the bridging data to the data processing unit during a period in which reading the data stored on the first and second target storage media is discontinuous because of exchange of the first target storage medium for the second target storage medium, so as to present the data stored on the first and second target storage media continuously.
According to the present invention, while data, stored in first and second target storage media, is being presented through a data processor, part of the data is supplied as bridging data by the second storage to the data processor such that the data can be presented continuously even if data reading is discontinued by the exchange of storage media. Thus, data, which is stored on a plurality of storage media, can be continuously presented to the user without making him or her wait for the time required for exchanging the storage media and getting ready to read it out.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller controls the first storage and the second storage in such a manner that part of the data, which is to be presented before the bridging data, is read out and supplied to the data processing unit by the first storage, and then the bridging data is supplied to the data processing unit, and then a remaining part of the data stored on the first and second target storage media, which is to be presented after the bridging data, to the data processing unit by the first storage.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the controller controls the first storage to read out part of the data to be presented, which is stored on the first target storage medium, as the bridging data before the data processing unit presents the data stored on the first and second target storage media. When the data processing unit presents the data stored on the first and second target storage media, the controller controls the first storage and the second storage in such a manner that the bridging data is supplied to the data processing unit and then part of the data to be presented, which is stored on the second target storage medium, is supplied to the data processing unit.
In still another embodiment, the controller controls the first storage to read out part of the data to be presented, which is stored on the second target storage medium, as the bridging data before the data processing unit presents the data stored on the first and second target storage media. When the data processing unit presents the data stored on the first and second target storage media, the controller controls the first storage and the second storage in such a manner that part of the data to be presented, which is stored on the first target storage medium, is supplied to the data processing unit, and then the bridging data is supplied to the data processing unit.
In still another embodiment, the controller judges whether or not the bridging data is stored on the second storage before the bridging data is read out and stored on the second storage, and controls the second storage to store the bridging data when the bridging data is not stored on the second storage.
In still another embodiment, the second storage is accessible at a speed equal to or higher than a speed at which the first storage is accessible.
A recording apparatus according to the present invention includes: a first storage including a changer for housing a plurality of storage media and a drive for recording data onto first and second target storage media selected from the storage media in that order; a second storage; a data processing unit for supplying the data to be recorded to one of the first storage and the second storage; and a controller for controlling the first storage, the second storage and the data processing unit. The controller controls the second storage to store part of the data supplied from the data processing unit as bridging data during a period in which recording by the first storage is discontinuous because of exchange of the first target storage medium for the second target storage medium, and controls the first storage and the second storage to store the bridging data onto one of the first and second target storage media by the first storage.
Acco
Ino Hidefumi
Kanai Toshio
Nakatani Tokuo
Garber Wendy R.
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Onuaku Christopher
Robinson Eric J.
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