JP2000339868A - Information processing device and data processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform continuous recording and reproduction of video data of a large processing unit utilizing effectively a data recording region even at the time of mixed recording of a plurality of input data by recording a small capacity file making a prescribed block as a unit while recording a large processing file making a plurality of large blocks of the previous block of a continuous region as a unit. SOLUTION: A hard disk device 1 is held in an AV device 2 freely attachably and detachably, and recorded data are reproduced and outputted. Data are constituted of video, audio, and still picture data of the MPEG system or the DV system and text data having a small total data quantity. Data in which video and audio data are compressed by a prescribed format is inputted and outputted between AV devices 2, and control commands, status data, addresses, and the like are also inputted and outputted between AV devices. Further, these data are recorded in a hard disk, reproduced and outputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a data processing method, and can be applied to, for example, a removable hard disk device for recording a video signal, a rotary disk device such as an optical disk, and a solid-state memory device. According to the present invention, by recording a file having a small capacity in units of a predetermined block, and recording a file having a large processing unit in units of a large block which is a plurality of blocks ahead of the area. Even when a plurality of types of input data are mixed and recorded, video data and the like having a large processing unit can be continuously recorded and reproduced by effectively utilizing the data recording area.

When an error that cannot be corrected easily occurs, video data or the like having a large processing unit is not notified as a defective block, but is simply notified of the error. Even when data is mixed and recorded on a disc-shaped recording medium,
The information recording surface can be used effectively to enable continuous recording and reproduction of video data and the like having a large processing unit.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for recording moving image data, a video tape recorder using a magnetic tape as a recording medium has been widely used. In such a video tape recorder, VA data based on a video signal and an audio signal are processed in a field unit or a frame unit, which is a processing unit of the video signal, and are sequentially recorded diagonally on a magnetic tape running at a predetermined running speed. It has been made like that.

On the other hand, in a personal computer, an application program or the like is recorded by using a hard disk device. In recent years, a hard disk device has been rapidly increased in density and reduced in size. It has been done.

[0005] In this hard disk device, the recording area of the hard disk is divided into a system entry area and a data area, and a file input from an external device is divided into cluster units and recorded in the data area. Then, data necessary for accessing the data area is recorded in the system entry area. Thus, in the hard disk device, a desired file can be accessed by a file management system using a cluster as a unit of recording and reproduction.

[0006]

By recording and reproducing a video signal using a hard disk drive, it is considered that a recording device which is small in size and capable of recording for a long time can be produced. Furthermore, a recording / reproducing apparatus which can carry a desired object and carry it like a camera-integrated video tape recorder can be considered.

At this time, if the file management system used in the personal computer is directly applied to the hard disk device, it is considered that the editing system can be easily constructed by connecting the hard disk device to a personal computer or the like separately.

However, the processing unit of the video signal is, for example, one frame in the case of video data according to the DV (Digital Video) system, and the transfer rate is 29 [Mbps].
Therefore, the data amount of one frame is about 1 [Mbit]. In contrast, MPEG (Moving
Picture Experts Group) type video data,
The processing unit is GOP (Group Of Pictures), and since the transfer rate is about 15 [Mbps], 1
The data amount of the GOP is several [Mbit].

On the other hand, in a hard disk drive applied to a personal computer, the data amount of one cluster, which is a unit of recording and reproduction, is usually 16 [KB bytes].
e].

If a video signal recording / reproducing apparatus is simply constituted by a hard disk device based on this type of file management system, the processing unit of the video signal may be subdivided and discretely recorded in a plurality of areas. is there. When recording data in such a discrete area,
In the hard disk drive, it is necessary to seek the magnetic head and wait for the rotation of the hard disk, so that it is difficult to continuously record and reproduce video signals.

In particular, in a hard disk drive, the fragmentation (data fragmentation) progresses due to repetition of recording / deletion, and such fragmentation further progresses due to editing work. The editing operation makes it more difficult to record and reproduce a video signal that is more continuous. In addition, when the hard disk is driven to rotate under the condition of a constant angular velocity, the data transfer speed at which data can be recorded and reproduced is significantly reduced on the inner peripheral side from the outer peripheral side. Becomes even more difficult.

As one method of solving this problem, a method of increasing the data amount of a cluster can be considered. However, in this case, when recording a file with a small data amount such as text data, the text data is recorded only in a part of the cluster having a large capacity, and as a result, the information recording surface is effectively used. become unable. By the way, in the case of text data, since it is about 10 [KB], in the case of recording text data, the data amount of one cluster is 16 [KB].
The information recording surface can be used efficiently by setting the degree to about.

When the data amount of the cluster is increased in this way, if a defect occurs in one cluster, it is difficult to use the entire cluster having a large data amount, and the information recording surface Cannot be used effectively.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even when data having a large processing unit is mixedly recorded with data having a small data amount, the data recording area is effectively used. Another object of the present invention is to propose an information processing apparatus capable of continuously recording and reproducing data having a large processing unit.

[0015]

According to the first or seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus or a data processing method, which is applied to a file having a large data amount per processing unit. Records the file in units of large blocks, which are a plurality of continuous blocks, and for files with a small amount of data,
The file is recorded in units of the previous block.

In the invention according to claim 6 or claim 12, when a file having a small amount of data is reproduced by applying to an information processing apparatus or a data processing method, a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated. When a block is set as a defective block and a file having a large data amount per processing unit is reproduced, for a block in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated, the occurrence of the error is notified to a transmission destination of the reproduced data.

According to the first or seventh aspect of the present invention, for a file having a large data amount per processing unit,
By recording the file in units of large blocks, each of which is a plurality of continuous blocks, this one large block can be recorded / reproduced while preventing data fragmentation. By recording in units of blocks, frequent seeks can be prevented, and data with a large processing unit can be recorded and reproduced continuously. At this time, for a file having a small amount of data, by recording the file in units of the previous block, the unit of recording and reproduction can be adaptively switched, and the data recording area can be used effectively.

According to the sixth or twelfth aspect of the present invention, when a file having a small data amount is reproduced, a block in which a bit error in which error correction is difficult is set as a defective block. For data for a computer or the like, high reliability can be ensured by not using blocks with low reliability. On the other hand, when reproducing a file having a large data amount per processing unit, for a block in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated, the occurrence of the error is notified to a transmission destination of the reproduced data, so that the error is relatively notified. For video data or the like that does not require high reliability, data fragmentation can be prevented by leaving processing such as bit error recovery to the destination of the reproduced data.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of the Embodiment FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hard disk drive according to an embodiment of the present invention. This hard disk device 1
Is mounted on an imaging device, a set-top box, etc.,
It records various data output from these devices, and is detached from these devices to allow other AV devices,
While attached to a personal computer (PC),
The recorded data data is reproduced and output.

Here, these data data are composed of data having a large data amount per processing unit and data having a relatively small overall data amount. The data having a large data amount per processing unit is an MPEG system or a DV system. , Video data, audio data, and still image data (hereinafter, referred to as AV data) are allocated, and text data and the like are allocated as data having a relatively small overall data amount.

For this reason, the hard disk device 1 is detachably held in the AV device 2 such as an image pickup device and a set-top box, and compresses data obtained by compressing video data and audio data in a predetermined format. 2 and the like, and control commands, status data, addresses, and the like accompanying the input and output of these data are input and output to and from these devices. Further, this data is recorded on the hard disk 3, and the data recorded on the hard disk 3 is reproduced and output.

In the hard disk 3, as shown in FIG. 3, tracks are formed concentrically on an information recording surface, and the information recording surface is concentrically divided into a plurality of zones 0-3. In each of the zones 0 to 3, the track is divided into a plurality of sectors by dividing the track by a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction. In the hard disk 3, this 1
The number of sectors per track is sequentially increased from the zone 3 on the inner circumference side, and the information recording surface can be used efficiently by applying a zone bit recording technique of varying the recording frequency according to the zone. I have.

The hard disk 3 zoned and sectorized in this manner has the information recording surface number,
A physical address is set by a track number continuously allocated from the outer peripheral side of the information recording surface and a sector number for specifying a sector in each track. Further, an outer peripheral side of the information recording surface is set corresponding to the physical address. User data is file-managed by logical addresses that are sequentially set.

Here, a logical address is represented by a cluster number in units of a cluster formed by a set of a plurality of logical sectors. That is, the logical sector is an area corresponding to a recording unit of data set with the first area on the information recording surface (in this case, the outermost periphery) as 0 sector,
In this embodiment, one physical sector can be represented by the following equation in correspondence with one logical sector. Here, the surface number, track number, and center number are based on physical addresses.

[0026]

(Equation 1)

In this embodiment, the logical sector is:
The configuration is such that 512 bytes of data can be recorded in one logical sector in terms of user data, and one cluster is constituted by a plurality of logical sectors. Note that one cluster is generally composed of powers of two (1, 2, 4, 8,...), And in the data area for recording user data, a cluster number that is a serial number with the head of the file area being 2 Is specified.

In the hard disk 3, user data is recorded / reproduced using this cluster as a minimum unit. In this embodiment, the data amount of one cluster is set to 16 [KB]. It has been done.

FIG. 4 is a chart showing the format of the hard disk 3. The hard disk 3 divides an information recording surface into an inner peripheral area and an outer peripheral area, and the outer peripheral area is allocated to a system entry area. Further, the inner peripheral area is allocated to the data area.

In the data area, user data is recorded on the basis of a cluster, and information of a subdirectory is recorded. The data area can be accessed based on the cluster number which is the address of each cluster. In this embodiment, the cluster number is indicated in a 4-digit hexadecimal format.

On the other hand, the system entry area includes a boot area, a FAT (File Allocation table).
The hard disk 3 is divided into an area and a directory area, and data necessary for starting up the hard disk 3 is recorded in the boot area. On the other hand, in the FAT area and the directory area, address information and the like necessary for accessing the user data recorded in the data area are recorded.

That is, in the directory area, the file name of each file recorded in the data area, the cluster number of the first cluster which is the recording start position of each file, and the like are recorded. On the other hand, in the FAT area, a cluster number of each continuous cluster from the head cluster of each file is recorded. Thereby, the hard disk 3
After detecting the top cluster number of the desired file name from the directory area, and sequentially detecting the cluster number following this top cluster number from the FAT area, the addresses of the continuous clusters constituting one file can be detected. It has been done.

In FIG. 4, when the file 1 is recorded in the clusters having the cluster numbers 1234h to 1240h in the data area, the code indicating the cluster number 1234h of the first block of the file 1 is changed to the directory area. , And the cluster number following the cluster number 1234h is sequentially recorded in the corresponding area of the FAT area. In FIG. 4, EOF (End Of File) is
This is identification information indicating the last block of one file.

More specifically, in the directory area, file management data having the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is recorded for each file recorded in the data area. That is, in the file management data, the file name is assigned to the first 8 bytes, and the extension of each file is assigned to the next 3 bytes. Data indicating the attribute of the file is assigned to the next 1 byte, and the next 10 bytes are assigned to the data for reservation. The next two bytes are assigned to the data of the recording start time, the next two bytes are assigned to the data of the recording date and time, and the leading cluster number is assigned to the next two bytes. In the last 4 bytes,
File length data is allocated.

On the other hand, the FAT area (FIG. 4) is assigned a FAT address corresponding to the cluster number (cluster number) of the data area, and the cluster number of a cluster following each cluster (hereinafter referred to as a connected cluster number or a connected cluster number). (Called a cluster address). As shown in FIG. 6, predetermined codes among the codes not allocated to the connected cluster numbers are allocated to identification information indicating a free area, a defective cluster, and EOF.

Thus, the hard disk 3 can detect the free area of the data area by accessing the FAT area.

Interface control circuit (IF control) 4
(FIG. 2), for example, SCSI (Small Computer System)
Interface) Controller, IDE (Intelligent Driv)
e Electronics) It is formed by a controller or the like, and constitutes an input / output circuit for data data, control commands, addresses, etc., to be transmitted to and received from the AV equipment 2. The buffer memory 5 temporarily holds data input and output between the hard disk control circuit 6 and the interface control circuit 4.

The servo circuit 7 drives the motor (M) 8 under the control of the hard disk control circuit 6, thereby driving the hard disk 3 to rotate under the condition of a constant angular velocity. The servo circuit 7 similarly drives the motor (M) 9 to seek the magnetic head, and further performs tracking control.

Under the control of the hard disk control circuit 6, the read data channel unit 10 adds an error correcting code (ECC) to the user data input from the hard disk control circuit 6 during recording, and also controls the recording / reproducing system. A bit sequence data is generated by performing an encoding process using a method suitable for the characteristics of the magnetic head, and the magnetic head is driven by applying a zone bit recording technique using the data. During reproduction, the read data channel unit 1
0 reproduces user data by performing signal processing on a reproduction signal obtained from a magnetic head to generate reproduction data, and performing error correction processing on the reproduction data to output the user data to the hard disk control circuit 6. Also, it notifies the hard disk control circuit 6 of the error correction processing result.

The hard disk control circuit 6 is a controller for controlling the operation of the hard disk device 1.
The whole operation is controlled by analyzing a control command input from the interface control circuit 4 and executing a predetermined processing procedure according to the analysis result.

In this process, the hard disk control circuit 6 notifies the AV device 2 of data for file management when the power is turned on and in response to a request from an external device, so that the AV device 2 can access the file in file units. To do. Hard disk control circuit 6
Loads the data in the directory area into the built-in memory. As a result, the hard disk control circuit 6
In response to a command instructing a file name from the device 2, the contents of the memory are used to access the hard disk 3 so that the hard disk 3 can be accessed at a high speed.

That is, FIG.
As shown in the processing procedure of FIG.
Moves from step SP1 to step SP2, accepts a recording control command output from the AV device 2, and determines in step SP3 whether data to be recorded is AV data. Here, the hard disk control circuit 6
Determines whether the data is AV data based on the status data indicating the attribute of the data output from the AV device 2. In this case, a flag indicating AV data may be transmitted from the AV device 2, and whether or not the data is AV data may be determined based on the flag. May be determined.

If a negative result is obtained here, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds from step SP3 to step SP4.
Then, a free cluster address is detected and a write address is specified. Here, the hard disk control circuit 6
As shown in FIG. 7, the FAT area (FIG. 7A) of the hard disk 3 is accessed to search for a code indicating a free area in the data area, and from this search result, a free area for specifying a free cluster in the data area is searched. The cluster information is generated, and this free cluster information is expanded in the buffer memory (FIG. 7B-2). Hard disk control circuit 6
Searches the free cluster information sequentially from the outer peripheral side of the hard disk 3, thereby sequentially specifying the free cluster addresses and designating the write address.

When the write address is specified in this way, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP5
Then, transmission of one cluster of data to the AV device 2 is permitted, and data to be recorded is input from the AV device 2. Subsequently, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step S
The process moves to P6, where the input data is recorded on the hard disk 3 for one cluster by the write address specified in step SP4, and then the process moves to step SP7.

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 determines whether or not writing of all data has been completed. If a negative result is obtained, the process returns to step SP5. Thereby, the hard disk control circuit 6 performs steps SP5-SP6-S
By repeating the processing procedure of P7-SP5, the data input from the AV device 2 is
Are sequentially recorded from the outer periphery side, and when the recording of all data is completed, a positive result is obtained in step SP7, and the process proceeds from step SP7 to step SP8.

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 controls the hard disk 3 so as to correspond to a series of writing processes.
For each FAT area, a cluster number to be linked is recorded, and EOF is set for the last cluster.
Further, management data relating to the recorded file is recorded in the directory area. Thereby, the hard disk control circuit 6 updates the contents of the system entry area of the hard disk 3. Hard disk control circuit 6
Deletes the free cluster information held in the memory, and completes the series of the processing. Then, the processing moves from step SP8 to step SP9, and ends the processing procedure. As a result, the hard disk control circuit 6 records text data having a small data amount on the hard disk 3 in cluster units.

On the other hand, if the data input from the AV device 2 is AV data, the hard disk control circuit 6
Moves from step SP3 to step SP10 because a positive result is obtained in step SP3.

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 generates super cluster free area information from the recording of the FAT area of the hard disk 3, records it in the memory, and designates a write address from this recording. Here, the free area information of the super cluster is information for specifying the free area of the super cluster. The super cluster is a minimum unit when recording and reproducing data having a large data amount in a processing unit, and is constituted by a number of continuous clusters corresponding to a data amount almost an integral multiple of the data processing unit. In this embodiment, the supercluster is D
It is composed of the number of clusters that can record V-system AV data for one second (30 frames). In the DV-system AV data, the transmission rate is approximately 29 [Mbps], which corresponds to this data amount. One super cluster is composed of 240 clusters.

The hard disk control circuit 6 searches the FAT area and searches the FAT area 240
The super clusters are set by sequentially detecting the free areas of the clusters, the top cluster number of each super cluster is expanded in a memory to generate super cluster free information, and a write address is indicated by the free area information. When recording the AV data, the hard disk control circuit 6 uses the servo circuit 7 based on the head address of the super cluster thus recorded.
, The AV data is recorded in units of a super cluster. Further, in the hard disk control circuit 6, even if it is an empty cluster, 24
For clusters that are not continuous with 0 clusters, recording of AV data is left without being used.

In the control of the servo circuit 7 at the time of writing by the super cluster, the servo circuit 7 receives the instruction to the servo circuit 7 indicating that the writing is to be performed by the super cluster, and the servo circuit 7 determines the super cluster from the top cluster number of the super cluster. In the case of successively accessing consecutive clusters constituting the cluster, and in the same manner as in the case of access in units of ordinary clusters, the hard disk control circuit 6 issues addresses of the continuous clusters constituting the super cluster, and A case where the operation is controlled may be considered.

When the write address is designated from the super cluster free area information as described above, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP11, where A
The transmission of data for one super cluster is permitted to the V device 2, and AV data to be recorded is input from the AV device 2. Subsequently, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP12, records the input data for one super cluster on the hard disk 3 using the write address specified in step SP10, and then proceeds to step SP13.
Move on to

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 determines whether or not the writing of all data has been completed. If a negative result is obtained, the process returns to step SP11. Thereby, the hard disk control circuit 6 performs steps SP11-SP1.
By repeating the processing procedure of 2-SP13-SP11,
The data input from the device 2 is sequentially recorded in units of one super cluster from the outer peripheral side of the hard disk 3, and when the recording of all data is completed, a positive result is obtained in step SP13, and the process proceeds from step SP13 to step SP8. .

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 controls the hard disk 3 so as to correspond to a series of writing processes.
For each FAT area, a cluster number to be linked is recorded, and EOF is set for the last cluster.
Further, management data relating to the recorded file is recorded in the directory area. Thereby, the hard disk control circuit 6 updates the contents of the system entry area of the hard disk 3.

In setting the FAT area, as shown in FIG. 8, for the FAT area corresponding to one super cluster, the hard disk control circuit 6 sets the start cluster address (10F) of the corresponding super cluster.
0h, 11E0h, FFFFh (EOF)),
This makes it possible to identify whether the FAT address corresponds to a super cluster or a normal cluster. In this case, as shown in parentheses, a connected cluster may be set so as to correspond to a normal cluster.

Further, the hard disk control circuit 6 deletes the super cluster free area information held in the memory, and when these series of processes are completed, the process proceeds from step SP8 to step SP9 and ends this processing procedure. Accordingly, the hard disk control circuit 6 sends the hard disk 3
Is recorded on the hard disk 3 in units of super clusters as appropriate.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the hard disk control circuit 6 at the time of reproduction. The hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds from step SP21 to step SP22, and inputs a playback command from the AV device 2 here. Subsequently, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP23, and determines whether the data to be recorded is AV data. Here, the hard disk control circuit 6
It is determined whether or not the data is AV data in the same manner as at the time of recording. If a negative result is obtained, the process proceeds from step SP23 to step SP24.
Move on to

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 detects the corresponding management data from the directory area of the hard disk 3 with respect to the file name of the data to be played which is input together with the playback command, and determines the leading cluster number from the management data. To detect. Subsequently, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP25, reproduces data from the cluster with the head cluster number, and outputs the data to the AV device 2. Subsequently, the hard disk control circuit 6
Move to step SP26, access the FAT area,
The code assigned to the FAT address corresponding to this cluster number is detected. Here, if there is no cluster in which the following data is recorded for the cluster reproduced in step SP25, this code is set to EOF. The connected cluster number can be detected.

Thus, the hard disk control circuit 6
In the following step SP27, it is determined whether or not the code detected in step SP26 is EOF. If a negative result is obtained here, the process returns from step SP27 to step SP28, and reproduces the cluster specified by the connected cluster number. Accordingly, if the file to be played back does not have a large data amount in the processing unit, the hard disk control circuit 6 determines in steps SP25-SP26-SP27-S
The processing procedure of P25 is repeated, and the data recorded on the hard disk 3 is sequentially reproduced in cluster units.

When the EOF is detected by sequentially reproducing the data in this manner, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds from step SP27 to step SP28, and ends the processing procedure.

On the other hand, if the file to be reproduced is AV data having a large data amount per processing unit, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds from step SP23 to step SP29 because a positive result is obtained in step SP23. Here, the hard disk control circuit 6
With respect to the file name of the data to be reproduced, which is input together with the reproduction command, the corresponding management data is detected from the directory area of the hard disk 3, and the leading super cluster number is detected from the management data.

Subsequently, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP25, and reproduces the data for 240 clusters continuous from the cluster by the head super cluster number and outputs the data to the AV device 2. Subsequently, in step SP31, the hard disk control circuit 6 accesses the FAT area and detects a code assigned to the FAT address corresponding to the super cluster number. Here, if there is no super cluster recording the following data with respect to the super cluster reproduced in step SP30, this code is set to EOF, and if there is a cluster recording the following data, The super cluster number (concatenated super cluster number) following the code can be detected.

As a result, the hard disk control circuit 6
In the following step SP32, it is determined whether or not the code detected in step SP31 is EOF. If a negative result is obtained here, the process returns from step SP32 to step SP30 to reproduce the super cluster identified by the connected super cluster number. Accordingly, when the file to be played back has a large data amount in the processing unit, the hard disk control circuit 6 performs steps SP30-SP31-
The processing procedure from SP32 to SP30 is repeated, and the data recorded on the hard disk 3 is sequentially reproduced in units of a super cluster.

When EOF is detected by sequentially reproducing data in this manner, the process proceeds from step SP32 to step SP28.
And ends the processing procedure.

In reproducing data in this manner,
When the hard disk control circuit 6 detects a bit error that is difficult to correct in the reproduced data according to the notification of the error correction processing result from the read data channel unit 10, the hard disk control circuit 6 deletes the cluster when the text data or the like is reproduced. Update the record in the system entry area to set it as a cluster and prohibit its use.

On the other hand, at the time of reproducing the AV data, the processing is continued without prohibiting the use as a defective cluster. For one super cluster including a defective cluster, reproduced data is output to the AV device 2, and
The processing of the reproduction data by the defective cluster is entrusted to the AV device 2 side.

That is, in the image data, error correction can be performed by inter-frame interpolation processing using correlation in the time axis direction and space, intra-frame interpolation processing, and the like. Is A
An error is notified to the V device 2 and the process is entrusted to the AV device 2.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the hard disk control circuit 6 at the time of reproduction, which also describes the processing of this defective cluster. In FIGS. 10 and 11, the processing at the time of reproduction described above with reference to FIG. 9 is described together with the processing of the defective cluster. In addition, the description will not be repeated.

That is, the hard disk control circuit 6 (FIG. 10) determines whether or not the data to be recorded by inputting a reproduction command is AV data. If the data is text data or the like, the process proceeds from step SP23 to step SP24 ( 11), text data is reproduced in cluster units. In this process, after reproducing data for one cluster in step SP26, in the following step SP41, a bit error that is difficult to correct in the reproduced cluster has occurred due to the error correction processing result notified from the read data channel unit 10. It is determined whether or not. Here, if a negative result is obtained, the hard disk control circuit 6 proceeds to step SP26 to detect a subsequent cluster number, while if a positive result is obtained in step SP31, it is determined that a defect has occurred in this cluster. The process moves to step SP42.

Here, the hard disk control circuit 6 determines that it is difficult to reproduce correct data for this cluster, stops sending the reproduced data to the AV device 2, and in a subsequent step SP43, the FAT corresponding to this cluster A code FF indicating a defective cluster is provided in the area of the area.
After setting F7h, the process moves to step SP28 and ends this processing procedure.

On the other hand, in the case of AV data (FIG. 10), if AV data for one super cluster is read in step SP30, the next step SP45
In the above, based on the error correction processing result notified from the read data channel unit 10, it is determined whether or not a bit error that is difficult to correct in the reproduced cluster has occurred. If a negative result is obtained here, the hard disk control circuit 6
Moves to step SP31, and detects the leading cluster number of the following super cluster.
If a positive result is obtained in step 5, it is determined that a defect has occurred in this cluster, and an error flag is set. After setting the error flag, the hard disk control circuit 6 notifies the AV device 2 that a bit error has occurred, and then proceeds to step SP31.

(2) Operation of Embodiment In the above configuration, the hard disk drive 1 (FIG. 2) is mounted on, for example, an imaging device, a set-top box or the like, and a recording control command is input from these AV devices 2. Then, data input following the control command is input to the read data channel unit 10 via the hard disk control circuit 6, where it is modulated in a format suitable for recording and the magnetic head is driven. Recorded on the hard disk 3.

When a playback control command is input while being connected to these AV devices or detached from these devices and attached to another AV device, the playback obtained by the magnetic head is performed. The signal is processed by the read data channel unit 10 to reproduce data recorded on the hard disk 3. The reproduced data is transmitted to the hard disk control circuit 6 and the interface control circuit 4.
Is output to the AV device 2 via the.

As described above, when recording and reproducing AV data and further text data and the like by connecting to a personal computer, when a recording command is input, the hard disk device 1 sets a processing unit according to the attribute of a file to be recorded. It is determined whether the recording is a recording of large data or a recording of other data.

In the hard disk drive 1, in the case of recording AV data which is data of a large processing unit, data can be accessed at a high transfer rate in units of a super cluster composed of 240 clusters having continuous areas. AV data input from the AV device 2 is sequentially recorded from the outer peripheral side of the hard disk 3. In this recording, at least one super-cluster is formed by using a super-cluster composed of 240 clusters in a continuous area.
In the super cluster, AV data can be recorded in a continuous area without seeking. Therefore, data of a large processing unit can be continuously recorded and reproduced.

The block formed by the super cluster corresponds to 30 frames of AV data in which one frame is a processing unit.
Since the setting is made by 240 clusters which are substantially equivalent to the frame, in one super cluster, the AV data can be recorded using almost the entire information recording surface of the hard disk 3, whereby the data recording area can be recorded. The data area of a certain hard disk 3 can be used effectively.

On the other hand, when recording data other than AV data, in the hard disk device 1, the data is sequentially recorded on the hard disk 3 in units of clusters, which are constituent units of the super cluster.

Thus, in the hard disk drive 1, a file having a large processing unit is recorded on the hard disk 3 in units of a block having a large data amount, and a file having a small data amount is recorded on the hard disk 3 in a unit of a block having a small data amount. For a file having a large processing unit, data fragmentation can be prevented, and the data recording area can be effectively used.

In recording data in units of a super cluster, which is a large block, in the hard disk device 1, address information necessary for accessing the super cluster is obtained by accessing the FAT area in advance. AV data is recorded in units of a super cluster according to the information. As a result, in the hard disk drive 1, after recording one supercluster of AV data, it is possible to record AV data of one supercluster that continues in a short time.
Data can be recorded continuously.

For the AV data recorded by the super-cluster in this manner, the FAT area used for managing other data sets the super-cluster at the head of the file and each super- By being able to detect consecutive cluster numbers for clusters, it is possible to effectively use a file management system in units of clusters to reproduce continuous super clusters, and to be compatible with this type of file management system. Can be achieved.

Further, the FAT for recording each AV data
The address information necessary for accessing the super cluster is obtained by accessing the area. For example, when the address information is used only for recording AV data, the external storage means of the personal computer is provided by file allocation in units of super cluster. In the case where the recording is performed only by using the same file allocation as that of the conventional hard disk drive, and when the recording of the AV data and the use as the external storage means of the personal computer are also used, the data is adaptively used according to the use. The recording area can be used separately. In other words, the user who uses the hard disk device 1 can appropriately use the data recording area in accordance with the connected device without making the user aware of the device to be connected, thereby improving the usability. be able to.

When a bit error for which error correction is difficult is detected during the recording and reproduction of such data, in the case of AV data, continuous reproduction is prioritized over reliability, and moreover, data reproduction is performed over data continuity. Since the bit error can be repaired, in this case, the hard disk device 1 sends out the reproduced data without changing the data reproduction process, and sends an error flag at this time, so that the error can be corrected externally. Leave it to the equipment. As a result, the hard disk device 1 can continuously reproduce and output AV data having a large processing unit. In addition, a cluster in which a bit error for which error correction is difficult has occurred is not regarded as a defective sector, so that data fragmentation can be prevented. Thus, AV data having a large processing unit can be continuously recorded and reproduced.

On the other hand, when a bit error for which error correction is difficult is detected, the other data is registered as a defective cluster, and the output of the reproduced data is stopped. As a result, for computer data or the like that requires high reliability, recurrence of a bit error can be reliably prevented, and reliability can be ensured accordingly.

(3) Effects of the Embodiment According to the above configuration, for a small-capacity file, a cluster which is a predetermined block is used as a unit. By recording in units of a super cluster, which is a set of data, even if a plurality of types of input data are mixed and recorded, the data recording area is effectively used to continuously process AV data having a large processing unit. It can be recorded and reproduced.

At this time, by setting a super cluster by a plurality of clusters so that the data amount becomes substantially an integral multiple of the data amount of the processing unit of the AV data, it is possible to reduce waste of the data recording area in the super cluster. Therefore, the data recording area can be used effectively.

The FA which is a management area of the data recording area
After accessing the T area and holding the address of an area that can be set as a super cluster in the memory, the AV data is recorded in units of super clusters in accordance with the address held in the memory, whereby one super cluster of AV data is recorded.
After recording the data, it is possible to record the AV data for one super cluster, which is continued in a short time, so that the AV data can be recorded continuously.

For a defective cluster in the data recording area, a code in the FAT area is set so as not to be accessed, and when reproducing the AV data, for a cluster in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated, the data of the reproduced data is deleted. By notifying the destination of the occurrence of the error and not setting it as a defective cluster, data fragmentation can be reduced and AV data can be recorded and reproduced continuously to that extent.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which data having a large processing unit is recorded in units of a super cluster. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this. A large file may also be recorded in units of a super cluster.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a super cluster is set every time AV data is recorded has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the super cluster is set in advance by dividing the data recording area. May be set.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which one super cluster is constituted by 240 clusters corresponding to one second of video data according to the DV system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A super cluster may be constituted by the number of clusters corresponding to one frame of video data according to the DV system. In the case of the MPEG system, a super cluster may be constituted by the number of clusters corresponding to one GOP. The number of clusters constituting the super cluster can be set variously.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which one super cluster is constituted by a fixed number of 240 clusters. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an adaptive May be switched.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where AV data and text data are recorded has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this case, and is widely applicable to a case where various types of data are mixed and recorded. can do.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the FAT area and the directory area are arranged in the system entry area and the connected file data is recorded in the data area has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present embodiment can be applied to a case where various areas are arranged on a recording medium in accordance with the above, or a case where linked file data is recorded in various areas, and the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained. In this case, for example, a case where the directory area is managed separately with a root directory and a subdirectory, and a case where the directory area is arranged in the data area are considered.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which management data or the like indicating the reproduction order is recorded on the hard disk. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the point is that this type of recording / reproducing apparatus is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to hold | maintain the kind of data integrally, for example, may incorporate a non-volatile memory and record it in this non-volatile memory.

In the above embodiment, the FAT
Although the case where the hard disk 3 is managed by the file system has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to the case where the hard disk 3 is managed by various management file systems.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a removable hard disk device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be widely applied to various information processing apparatuses such as a disk device and an information recording / reproducing apparatus using a card-shaped recording medium having a memory.

[0096]

As described above, according to the present invention, for a small-capacity file, a predetermined block is used as a unit, and for a file having a large processing unit, a plurality of blocks in a continuous area are used. By recording in units of large blocks, even when multiple types of input data are mixed and recorded, the data recording area is effectively used,
Video data or the like having a large processing unit can be recorded and reproduced continuously.

Further, when an error whose error is difficult to correct occurs, video data or the like having a large processing unit is not notified as an error without simply prohibiting its use as a defective block. Even when data is mixed and recorded on a disc-shaped recording medium,
By effectively utilizing the information recording surface, video data or the like having a large processing unit can be continuously recorded and reproduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a hard disk control circuit of a hard disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a hard disk device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for describing zoning of the hard disk in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a chart for explaining a recording area of a hard disk in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a table showing file management data recorded in a directory area of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a table showing codes recorded in a FAT area of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a chart for explaining a super cluster.

FIG. 8 is a chart for explaining recording of AV data by a super cluster.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a hard disk control circuit during reproduction.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a hard disk control circuit when a defect occurs.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hard disk device, 2 ... AV equipment, 3 ... Hard disk, 5 ... Buffer memory, 6 ... Hard disk control circuit

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus which divides and manages a data recording area in predetermined block units and records a plurality of types of files in the data recording area. An information processing apparatus characterized in that the file is recorded in units of a large block, which is a plurality of the continuous blocks, and the file is recorded in units of the block for a file having a small data amount. . 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the large block has a data amount that is substantially an integral multiple of the data amount of the processing unit. 3. A management area for managing the data recording area, wherein the management area is accessed to obtain an address of an area that can be set in the large block and held in a memory; and held in the memory. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is recorded in units of the large blocks according to the address. 4. The information according to claim 1, wherein, in addition to a file having a large data amount in the processing unit, a file having a large data amount is recorded in units of the large block. Processing equipment. 5. A defective block in the data recording area is prevented from being accessed, and when a file with a small data amount is reproduced, the block in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated is regarded as the defective block. Setting, when reproducing a file having a large data amount in the processing unit, for the block in which a bit error in which error correction is difficult is generated, an error occurrence is notified to a destination of the reproduced data. The information processing device according to claim 1. 6. An information processing apparatus which divides and manages a data recording area in predetermined block units and records a plurality of types of files in the data recording area, wherein a defective block in the data recording area is not accessed. When playing back a file with a small amount of data, the block in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is set as the defective block, and when playing back a file with a large amount of data per processing unit,
An information processing apparatus for notifying an error occurrence to a destination of reproduced data for the block in which a bit error for which error correction is difficult has occurred. 7. A method of processing data in which a data recording area is divided and managed in a predetermined block unit and a plurality of types of files are recorded in the data recording area. The file is recorded in units of large blocks that are a plurality of the blocks that are continuous. For a file with a small data amount, the file is recorded in units of the blocks. Processing method. 8. The data processing method according to claim 7, wherein the large block has a data amount that is substantially an integral multiple of the data amount of the processing unit. 9. A management area for managing the data recording area, wherein the management area is accessed, an address of an area that can be set in the large block is acquired and held in a memory, and the address is held in the memory. 8. The data processing method according to claim 7, wherein recording is performed in units of said large blocks in accordance with the set address. 10. The data according to claim 7, wherein, in addition to a file having a large data amount in the processing unit, a file having a large data amount is recorded in units of the large block. Processing method. 11. A block having a defect in the data recording area is not accessed, and when a file having a small amount of data is reproduced, the block in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated is regarded as the defective block. Setting, when reproducing a file having a large data amount in the processing unit, for the block in which a bit error in which error correction is difficult is generated, an error occurrence is notified to a destination of the reproduced data. A data processing method according to claim 7. 12. A data processing method for dividing and managing a data recording area in predetermined block units and recording a plurality of types of files in the data recording area, wherein an access to a defective block in the data recording area is performed. When playing back a file with a small amount of data, the block in which a bit error that is difficult to correct is generated is set as the defective block.
A data processing method for notifying an error occurrence to a destination of reproduced data for the block in which a bit error for which error correction is difficult has occurred.