JP2000123465A - Information recording/reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recording/reproducing device preventing an unfair use. SOLUTION: A nonvolatile RAM 200 storing a presently set operation mode of whether information recording or reproducing is prohibited, or whether information recording or reproducing is allowed is provided. At this time, when the information is recorded or reproduced on an optical card, the present operation mode stored in the nonvolatile RAM 200 is referred to, and when the recording or reproducing is prohibited, the optical card is not accessed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing information on / from an information recording medium, and more particularly to preventing unauthorized recording / reproduction on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a medium of an information recording / reproducing device which is connected to an external device and records and reproduces information according to an instruction of the external device, there are various media such as a disk, a card and a tape. . In addition, recording of information on a medium,
There are various types of reproduction modes, such as a type that can only be reproduced, a type that can record but cannot delete recorded information, a type that can record and can delete recorded information, and the like. Among these media, card-shaped media, in particular, media for recording and reproduction using a semiconductor laser (hereinafter referred to as optical cards) are compact and lightweight, convenient to carry and store, and have a relatively large capacity. Large demand is expected as a medium for recording personal information or bank deposit information.

The structure of an optical card and the principle of recording and reproducing information will be described below. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the optical card, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB. In the figure, reference numeral 108 denotes an optical card;
The surface 8 is roughly divided into an information recording area 137 and a blank area 138 other than the area. In the information recording area 137, a plurality of tracking tracks 134 preformatted for auto tracking are arranged in parallel. An information track 135 for recording information is provided between adjacent tracking tracks. At both ends of the information track 135, track numbers 136 for confirming the position of the information track are preformatted.

[0004] Here, as shown in FIG.
Is composed of a plurality of layers. 139 is a transparent protective layer,
140 is a recording layer. The recording layer 140 is, for example, a silver halide-based recording layer.
Dye-based or chalcogen-based ones. Also,
The boundary between the protective layer 139 and the recording layer 140 is formed in a step shape, and the tracking track 134 and the information track 135 are formed by the step. 142 is a substrate, and the substrate 142 and the recording layer 140 are
It is joined by.

[0005] Such information recording on the optical card 108 is performed optically by modulating a light beam narrowed into a minute spot in accordance with recording information and scanning the modulated light beam on an information track. Information is recorded as a detectable information bit string. Since this information bit string is formed by physical change such as deformation or discoloration due to light and heat, it is impossible to physically erase an information bit string once recorded and use the erased information bit string area again as a recording area. It is. In addition, in reproducing information from a recording medium, an information bit sequence of an information track is scanned with a light beam having a constant power enough to prevent recording on the medium,
Detects reflected light or transmitted light from the medium. Then, information is reproduced by performing predetermined signal processing using the obtained detection signal.

Next, the configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing information on / from an optical card will be described with reference to FIG. The optical card information recording / reproducing device 106 (hereinafter, referred to as a device) includes an MPU 124 having a built-in ROM and RAM.
Is provided. MPU 124 is a card feed motor 1
28, head feed motor 127, AT / AF control circuit 1
Recording / reproducing to / from the optical card 108 is performed by controlling each unit such as 25. The card feed motor 128 and the head feed motor 127 drive the card in the R direction and the head in the Y direction under the control of the MPU 124, respectively. At the time of recording and reproduction, the optical card 108
8 reciprocates in the R direction. The AT / AF control circuit 125 receives the signal of the photodetector 132, drives the AF actuator 129 in the Z direction and the AT actuator 130 in the Y direction, and performs focusing and tracking control. Further, the modulation / demodulation circuit 126 controls the light source 1 during recording.
The recording is executed by changing the emission intensity of 31
At the time of reproduction, predetermined signal processing is performed based on the signal of the photodetector 132 to demodulate data. Generally, the optical card information recording / reproducing device 106 is connected to an external control device (not shown) and the MPU 1.
24 is connected via an interface, records data received from the external control device on an optical card in accordance with a command from the external control device, reproduces information recorded on the optical card, and transmits the information to the external control device.

Next, file management of a system using an optical card as an information recording medium will be described. When a set of information is recorded on an optical card, two pieces of information are recorded: an information file and information for managing the file (hereinafter, referred to as a directory). FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between files and directories on an optical card. As shown in FIG. 8, the directory and the file are recorded in different recording areas (the file is 143 and the directory is 144) in the information recording area 137 on the optical card, thereby facilitating the file management. In FIG. 8, a file is recorded with one information track as a unit, and a directory is divided into seven blocks of one information track and recorded with one block as a unit.
One block indicated by 145 in the figure is a directory.

In the case of a file, the additional recording of a file or directory is performed on the next unrecorded information track in the direction A after the already recorded file, and in the case of the directory, the next unrecorded information track is recorded in the direction C. Perform for recording block. When recording a directory, if recording is performed on all seven blocks in the information track, recording is performed in the B direction from the endmost block in the next unrecorded information track in the D direction. As described above, in the optical card, since data is managed by the directory, when accessing the data on the optical card, the recording position and the like are detected from the information in the directory.

Next, directory information on the optical card will be described. FIG. 9 shows an example of directory information recorded on an optical card. The directory 145 has a file name 146 managed by the directory, a file extension 14
7, file attributes 148 are included. The file attributes are used to indicate the types and attributes of files such as read-only files, system files, and invisible files. It also includes a head track number 149 on the medium surface on which the file is recorded, a file size 150, and an append flag 151 indicating connection information when a plurality of files are connected. The track number is address information indicating a position on the optical card indicated by the track number 136 in FIG. Further, the directory 145 includes a delete bit 152 indicating deletion information when the file is deleted, and a file creation date 160 indicating the date when the file was created.

Although one file area and one directory area are provided on the optical card area in FIG. 8, a plurality of file areas and directory areas are provided on the optical card area. . Here, in recent years, the use of an optical card and an optical card information recording / reproducing apparatus as a portable terminal (hereinafter referred to as a handy terminal) has been considered due to the portability and large capacity of the optical card.

Next, the configuration and operation of a handy terminal using an optical card as an information medium will be described. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a handy terminal using an optical card as an information medium. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 100 denotes a handy terminal, and 101 denotes a CPU for controlling the handy terminal. Reference numeral 102 denotes a control program for controlling the display 104, the keyboard 105, and the optical card reproducing unit 106, and an instruction for the control program, and an operation program 1 for operating the handy terminal 100.
07 is stored in the ROM. Reference numeral 103 denotes a RAM for storing data read from an optical card and for storing a result of executing a program. The display 104 displays data and the like stored in the ROM 102 and the RAM 103, and the keyboard 105 is used for selecting an operation of the program. The optical card reproducing unit 106 is a reproducing circuit for reading data from the optical card. FIG. 10 assumes that only the information is reproduced from the optical card, and the information recording function is omitted from the functions described in FIG.

Next, as an example of the handy terminal program, the operation of a program for reading personal information from an optical card and displaying it on the display 104 of the handy terminal 100 will be described. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a recording position on the optical card of recording information recorded in the optical card used for this program, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a program 107 stored in M102. First, the program 107 issues a command to the hardware control program 111 for controlling the display 104, the keyboard 105, and the optical card reproducing unit 106 as shown in FIG. It comprises a personal information display program 112 for reading a data file and displaying it on the display 104. The optical card 108 is inserted into the handy terminal 100 in the direction shown by the arrow as shown in FIG. The optical card 108 has a personal information data file 1 as an information file as shown in FIG.
09 is stored, and the personal information data file 109 is managed by the directory 110. The personal information data file 109 is displayed on the display 104 by a personal information display program indicated by 112 in FIG.
FIG. 14 shows a display example of personal information on the display 104.

Next, the ROM of the handy terminal 100
The operation of the personal information display program 112 stored in 102 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 15, first, information in the area of the RAM 103 in FIG. 10 is cleared (S200). Next, R of the handy terminal 100
The program 112 is read from the OM 102,
03 (S201). The display 10
In FIG. 4, "Please insert an optical card" is displayed as shown in FIG. 13 (S202), and insertion of the optical card into the handy terminal 100 is requested. After the display, it is determined whether an optical card has been inserted (S203). When the optical card is inserted, the personal information data file 109 is read from the optical card.
(“Personal.DAT”) is read and stored in the RAM 103 in the handy terminal 100 (S2).
04).

After the information is stored in the RAM 103, S204
Fig. 1 shows the information in RAM 103 read from the optical card
4 is displayed (S205). At this time, S20
In the reading process of the personal information data file from the optical card in step 4, the directory 110 for the personal information data file in FIG. 11 is reproduced, and the personal information data is read from the file name 146 and the extension 147 in the directory information in FIG. The file name “Personal.DAT” is searched, and if the file name matches, the first track number 14
This is performed by reading an area of the size indicated by the file size 150 from the track number indicated by the numeral 9. The display 10 of the handy terminal 100 is
The operation of displaying the personal information data file 109 in the optical card at 4 is completed.

[0015]

The conventional handy terminal often handles important information such as personal privacy information, but the handy terminal is assumed to be carried and used by a user. However, it is difficult to determine whether the handy terminal is being used by a legitimate user, and if used illegally by a third party, there is a risk that important information on the optical card may be leaked.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information recording / reproducing apparatus capable of preventing unauthorized use from occurring in view of the above conventional problems.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording / reproducing apparatus which records information on an information recording medium or reproduces recorded information, in a state where recording or reproduction of information is prohibited. A non-volatile memory for storing a currently set operation mode in a state where recording or reproduction of information is permitted, and when recording or reproducing information on the recording medium, the information is stored in the memory. The present invention is attained by an information recording / reproducing apparatus, which refers to a current operation mode and does not access the recording medium when recording or reproduction is prohibited.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those of the conventional apparatus of FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
That is, a handy terminal 1 which is an information recording / reproducing device
00, CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, display 104, keyboard 105, and optical card reproducing unit 106 are the same as those in FIG. The appearance of the handy terminal 100 is the same as FIG. As the recording medium, the optical card shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 is used. In this embodiment, a nonvolatile RAM 200 as a nonvolatile memory is provided in addition to the above configuration. The nonvolatile RAM 200 is a handy terminal 100
Is stored, information indicating whether the current playback mode is the playback prohibited state or the current playback permitted state. The stored information is retained even when the power of the handy terminal 100 is turned off. The operation mode of the handy terminal 100 is, for example, a nonvolatile R
If “1” is stored in AM 200, the reproduction is prohibited,
If "0" is stored, the reproduction is permitted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a directory used to change the operation mode of the handy terminal 100. This directory is recorded on an optical card for setting the operation mode, and the operation mode can be freely set by inserting the optical card into the handy terminal 100. The format of the directory is the same as the directory used for normal file management in FIG. In the present embodiment, the operation mode of the handy terminal 100 is changed by writing “−1” indicating the change of the operation mode to the file size 150 in the directory 201. In the handy terminal 100, the directory 201 is reproduced. If the file size 150 is "-1", it is determined that the change of the operation mode has been instructed, and if it is other than "-1", it is determined that the directory is a normal directory. All other items in the directory 201 are "0".

FIG. 3 shows the recording position of the directory 201 on the optical card 108 used for setting the operation mode. The directory 201 is recorded at the first position of the directory area 144.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, first, when the optical card 108 is inserted into the handy terminal 100 as shown in FIG. 13, the CPU 101 controls the optical card reproducing unit 106 to control the directory area 1 of the optical card 108.
The first directory 44 is reproduced (S101). Next, the contents of the directory are analyzed, and it is determined whether or not the value of the file size 150 in the directory is "-1" (S102). Here, if the value of the file size 150 is “−1”, it is determined that the information is an instruction to change the operation mode of the handy terminal 100, and the current operation mode stored in the nonvolatile RAM 200 is obtained ( S103).

Next, the currently set operation mode is determined based on the information in the nonvolatile RAM 200 (S10).
4) If the information in the nonvolatile RAM 200 is “1” and the operation mode is the reproduction inhibition, the operation mode is changed to the reproduction permission (S105), and “0” indicating the reproduction inhibition is changed to the nonvolatile R
It is stored in the AM 200 (S106). Also, the nonvolatile R
If the information of the AM 200 is "0" and the currently set operation mode is reproduction permission, the operation mode is changed to reproduction inhibition (S108), and "1" indicating reproduction inhibition is stored (S106). Non-volatile RAM 2 in S105 and S108
When the change of the information of 00 is completed, the optical card 108 is ejected (S107), and the process of changing the operation mode is completed.

On the other hand, if the value of the file size 150 is a value other than "-1" in S102, it is determined that the directory is a normal directory (normal optical card), and the nonvolatile RAM 20
Information indicating the current operation mode stored in 0 is acquired (S109). Next, the currently set operation mode is determined based on the acquired information (S110). If the current operation mode is prohibited from being reproduced, "access prohibited" is displayed on the display 104 in FIG. 13 (S11).
1), the handy terminal 100 notifies the user that the reproduction is currently prohibited. Then, the optical card 10
8 is discharged (S107), and the process ends. Also, S
If the current operation mode is reproduction permission at 110, reproduction of the directory is continued, and then reproduction of the designated information is executed (S112).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the operation mode of the handy terminal 100 can be freely set to reproduction permission or reproduction inhibition by the optical card on which the directory for changing the operation mode is recorded.
Accordingly, by prohibiting the operation mode of the handy terminal from being reproduced, a third party cannot illegally reproduce information unless an optical card for changing the operation mode is obtained. Leakage of information due to unauthorized use of 100 can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, a handy terminal for reproducing information has been described as an example. However, the present invention provides an information recording apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium, and recording / reproducing information on an information recording medium. It can also be used for an information recording / reproducing device. That is, information indicating information recording prohibition and recording permission, or information indicating information recording / reproduction prohibition and recording / reproduction permission is stored in the nonvolatile RAM 200, and is stored in the nonvolatile RAM when a recording medium is inserted. Information recording, recording inhibition, information recording / reproduction, and recording / reproduction inhibition may be performed in accordance with the current operation mode. Also, when changing the operation mode, FIG.
By using the method described with reference to FIG. 3, the operation mode may be freely set as in the case of reproduction.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, when recording or reproduction of information is prohibited, a third party can use the apparatus unless a recording medium for permitting recording or reproduction is obtained. Therefore, it is possible to prevent leakage of information on a recording medium and unauthorized recording of information due to unauthorized use of a third-party device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of information for changing an operation mode.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an optical card used for changing an operation mode.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of an optical card.

6 is a cross-sectional view of the optical card of FIG. 5, taken along line BB.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional optical card recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing recording positions of files and directories on an optical card.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a directory.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional handy terminal using an optical card as an information medium.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a recording position when a personal information file of an optical card is recorded.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of a ROM used for a handy terminal that displays personal information.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an appearance of a handy terminal.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example in which personal information is displayed on a display.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of displaying personal information of the handy terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 Handy terminal 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Display 105 Keyboard 106 Optical card reproducing unit 108 Optical card 200 Non-volatile RAM

Claims (3)

[Claims] In an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium or reproducing recorded information, whether the recording or reproduction of information is prohibited or the recording or reproduction of information is permitted. A non-volatile memory that stores an operation mode that is currently set or is currently set, and when recording or reproducing information on the recording medium, refers to the current operation mode stored in the memory, and performs recording. Alternatively, the information recording / reproducing apparatus does not access the recording medium when the reproduction is prohibited. 2. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an operation mode of the nonvolatile memory is set based on information recorded on a recording medium for changing the operation mode. 3. The recording information of the recording medium for changing the operation mode is recorded in the same format as a directory for managing files, and a part of the directory includes information indicating the change of the operation mode. 3. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: