Title:

Drive Device

Document Type and Number:

United States Patent Application 20080212431

Kind Code:

Abstract:

A drive apparatus of the present invention includes a recording/reproduction section and a drive control section. The drive control section performs a process including: determining a first track of the plurality of tracks, based on the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction and the track management information; determining whether or not the first track is a closed track; when the first track is determined to be the closed track, performing a process including: determining a second track different from the first track, the second track being an open track; determining as a next writable address a physical address indicating a location at which data can be recorded next in the second track, based on the last recorded address in the second track; pseudo-overwrite recording the data at the next writable address as a replacement location.

Inventors:

Nakamura, Tadashi (Nara, JP)

Plaque It!

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a U.S. national phase filing under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT/JP2005/010890 filed Jun. 14, 2005 and claims priority from Japanese Application Nos. 2004-177662, 2004-177663, 2004-177664, 2004-177666, 2004-177667, 2004-189013, and 2004-255440, which were filed on Jun. 15, 2004, Jun. 15, 2004, Jun. 15, 2004, Jun. 15, 2004, Jun. 15, 2004, Jun. 25, 2004 and Sep. 2, 2004, respectively.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a drive apparatus for recording data in an information recording media and for reproducing data recorded in the information recording media.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, various types of information recording mediums are used to record digital data. For example, a rewritable optical disc or a write-once optical disc is used. In the rewritable optical disc, data can be rewritten repeatedly at the same location. In the write-once optical disc, data can be written only once at the same location, while it is inexpensive.

As an example of rewritable optical discs, there are DVD-RAM discs and BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc Rewritable) discs and the like.

As an example of write-once optical discs, there are DVD-R discs and BD-R (Blu-ray Disc Recordable) discs and the like.

In the rewritable optical disc, a defective management mechanism is introduced to improve the reliability of data recorded on the disc.

The defective management mechanism includes a slipping replacement algorithm and a linear replacement algorithm.

The slipping replacement algorithm is mainly performed when the disc is formatted. In the slipping replacement algorithm, all of the ECC clusters in the user data area are checked for detecting a defective cluster. When the defective cluster is found, the location of the defective cluster is registered to a primary defect list (hereinafter, “PDL”). The logical cluster corresponding to the defective cluster is shifted such that the logical cluster corresponds to a physical cluster which is next to the physical cluster corresponding to the defective cluster.

Thus, when the user data is recorded, it is possible to avoid recording the user data in the defective cluster registered in the PDL. As a result, it is possible to improve the reliability of the data recording.

The linear replacement algorithm is performed when a user data is recorded.

After the user data is recorded, a verify process is performed. In the verify process, the recording result is verified. If the data recording has failed, the ECC cluster including the recording location is determined as a defective cluster. Then, the location of the defective cluster is managed by a secondary defect list (hereinafter, “SDL”).

The user data is recorded in the spare area which is located at the inner-most periphery or the outer-most periphery on the disc, instead of the defective cluster in the user data area.

The verify process described above is performed during the replacement recording. If the data recording has succeeded, the location at which the user data is recorded is determined. An SDL entry which correlates the location of the defective cluster with an ECC cluster for replacement is generated. Then, the SDL entry is registered to the SDL.

The SDL entry is provided for each of the all ECC clusters included in the spare area. It is possible to manage whether or not each ECC cluster in the spare area is available as a replacement cluster. If the ECC cluster is an unrecorded area in the spare area, then the ECC cluster is available as a replacement cluster. If the ECC cluster is a recorded area in the spare area, then the ECC cluster is not available as a replacement cluster. The unrecorded area in the spare area is also called a spare cluster.

In the reproduction process, by referring to the PDL and the SDL, if necessary, the data is reproduced from the replacement cluster.

The PDL and the SDL are recorded in a defect management area (hereinafter, “DMA”) provided in the lead-in area on the disc. In the DMA, information indicating the size of the spare area and the like is further recorded.

In the rewritable optical disc, the information on the defective management is updated by rewriting the DMA.

In the write-once optical disc, it is possible to introduce a defective management mechanism, for example, as described in the specification of U.S. laid-open patent publication No. 2004/0076096 (hereinafter, “reference 1 ”).

FIG. 3 of the reference 1 shows a data structure of the disc. In the disc of the reference 1 , the DMA is provided in the lead-in area and the lead-out area.

Further, a temporary defect management area (hereinafter, “TDMA”) is provided in the lead-in area and the lead-out area.

In the write-once optical disc, the information on the defective management is updated by additionally recording defective information in the TDMA each time the defective information is updated.

When the disc is closed or finalized, the data in the latest TDMA is recorded in the DMA.

In the TDMA, temporary defect management information (hereinafter, “TDDS”) and temporary defect information (hereinafter, “TDFL”) are recorded.

FIG. 5B of the reference 1 shows a data structure of the TDDS. The TDDS includes pointer information to the TDFL. The TDFL can be recorded in the TDMA a plurality of times. The pointer information is recorded for the respective TDFLs.

In the TDDS, a last recorded address on the write-once optical disc is recorded. As shown in FIG. 5B of the reference 1 , a single write-once optical disc can have a plurality of last recorded addresses.

In the TDDS, a last recorded replacement address on the write-once optical disc is recorded. As shown in FIG. 5B of the reference 1 , a single write-once optical disc can have a plurality of last recorded replacement addresses.

FIG. 6 of the reference 1 shows a data structure of the TDFL.

The TDFL includes information regarding defect # 1 , # 2 , . . . and the like.

The information regarding defect includes status information, a pointer to the defective cluster and a pointer to the replacement cluster.

The information regarding defect has a data structure similar to the SDL entry included in the SDL. The information regarding defect performs a function similar to the SDL entry.

FIGS. 33A and 33B show a method for updating the TDFL disclosed in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B of the reference 1 .

FIG. 33A shows a data structure of the TDFL # 0 . The TDFL # 0 includes the information regarding defect # 1 , # 2 and # 3 corresponding to the defects # 1 , # 2 and # 3 .

After the TDFL # 0 is recorded, it is assumed that the defects # 4 and # 5 are detected as a result of performing a new data recording. In this case, the TDFL # 1 shown in FIG. 33B is recorded on the write-once optical disc.

The TDFL # 1 is generated by maintaining the information regarding defect # 1 , # 2 and # 3 included in the TDFL # 0 and adding the information regarding defect # 4 and # 5 corresponding to the defects # 4 and # 5 .

FIG. 10 of the reference 1 shows a data structure of the information regarding defect.

The information regarding defect includes status information. The status information includes information indicating that the defective area is a continuous defect block or a single defect block.

The information regarding defect further includes a pointer to the defective area (the location of the defective area on the disc).

The information regarding defect further includes a pointer to the replacement area corresponding to the defective area.

When the defective area is a continuous defect block, the status information indicates that a pointer to the defective area designates a start location of the continuous defect block or an end location of the continuous defect block. In this case, the status information further indicates that a pointer to the replacement area designates a start location of the replacement block or an end location of the replacement block.

By using these data structures, the defective management mechanism can be implemented in the write-once optical disc.

Further, by using the defective management mechanism described above, it is possible to implement a pseudo-overwrite recording for the write-once optical disc.

With reference to FIGS. 31 and 32, the pseudo-overwrite recording for the write-once optical disc will be described.

As described above, in the defective management mechanism, by using the replacement information such as the information regarding defect or the SDL entry, the physical address at which the data is actually recorded is mapped to another location which is previously allocated, without changing the logical address at which the data is recorded.

When it is instructed to record data at a logical address at which the data has already been recorded on the write-once optical disc, the data is recorded in a sector located at a physical address which is different from the physical address corresponding to the logical address, and the replacement information is updated to maintain the logical address. According to this process, it is possible to overwrite data in a pseudo manner. Hereinafter, such data recording is referred to as a pseudo-overwrite recording.

FIG. 31 shows a data structure after directories and files are recorded in the information recording medium 1 which is a write-once optical disc. In the state shown in FIG. 31, it is assumed that the pseudo-overwrite recording has not been performed.

In the write-once optical disc, the user data area on the disc is managed as a unit of track or session.

In FIG. 31, the user data recorded in the user data area is managed by a file system. A space managed by the file system is referred to as a volume space 2 .

In the description below, it is assumed that information recorded in the information recording medium 1 as the volume/file structure of the file system (e.g. descriptor, pointer, metadata partition and metadata file) has a data structure defined in the ISO/IEC 13346 standard or the UDF (Universal Disc Format) specification, unless it is explicitly described on the contrary.

In FIG. 31, a volume structure area 3 and a physical partition 4 are recorded in the volume space 2 .

In the physical partition 4 , metadata partitions 5 a , 5 b defined by version 2.5 of the UDF specification are included.

In the physical partition 4 , metadata file 6 a and metadata mirror file 6 b which is the duplication of the metadata file 6 a are recorded.

FE (metadata file) 7 a and FE (metadata mirror file) 7 b , each being a file entry (FE) indicating the recording location in the physical partition 4 , are recorded. Further, data file (File-a) 8 and data file (File-b) 9 are also recorded.

All information on the file structure such as a file entry and directory file is allocated in the metadata partition, i.e. the metadata file.

In the data structure defined in the UDF specification, the respective recording locations of the metadata partition 5 a and the file set descriptor (FSD) 12 are recorded in the volume structure area 3 .

By retrieving the file structure from the ROOT directory using the FSD 12 as a start point, it is possible to access data file (File-a) 8 , for example.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 31, it is assumed that the pseudo-overwrite recording for data file (File-c) is performed.

FIG. 32 shows a data structure after the pseudo-overwrite recording for data file (File-c) is completed.

Herein, it is assumed that the data file (File-c) is recorded immediately under the ROOT directory on the information recording medium 1 .

During recording the data file (File-c), the required information on the file structure is updated or generated in order to add the data file (File-c). Specifically, FE (ROOT) 13 is updated and FE (File-c) 14 is generated, for example.

The data file (File-c) 15 is recorded in an unrecorded area shown in FIG. 31. FIG. 32 shows a state at this time.

When the FE (File-c) 14 is recorded, the FE (File-c) 14 is recorded in the unrecorded area 11 a in the metadata partition 5 a (i.e. the metadata file 6 a ).

Next, the pseudo-overwrite recording is performed as if the FE (ROOT) 16 would be overwritten on the FE (ROOT) 13 .

In this case, as shown in FIG. 32, the data for the FE (ROOT) 16 is recorded in the spare area 17 .

Further, the replacement information included in the disc management information 2 is updated such that the FE (ROOT) 13 is mapped to the FE (ROOT) 16 .

After performing the recording process for files, a reproduction operation for reproducing the data file (File-c) 15 will be described.

The location information of FE (metadata file) 7 a and the location information of FSD 12 are obtained from the volume structure area 3 of the information recording medium 1 .

Next, the file structure is reproduced. In order to reproduce the file structure, the FSD 12 is reproduced based on the location information of FE (metadata file) 7 a and the location information of FSD 12 .

The location information of the FE (ROOT) 13 is obtained as a logical address from the reproduced FSD 12 .

The FE (ROOT) 13 is reproduced based on the location information of the FE (ROOT) 13 .

By referring to the replacement information, the FE (ROOT) 16 , to which the FE (ROOT) 13 is mapped, is reproduced.

The FE (ROOT) 16 includes the latest ROOT directory file. Accordingly, the FE (ROOT) 16 includes the location information of the FE (File-c) 14 .

The data file (File-c) 15 is reproduced using the location information of the data file (File-c) 15 which is obtained from the FE (File-c) 14 .

Thus, in the write-once optical disc, it is possible to perform a pseudo-overwrite recording using the defective management mechanism.

However, according to the pseudo-overwrite recording for the write-once optical disc described above, there is a problem that if there is no unrecorded area in the spare area, it is not possible to further perform the data recording even if there is an unrecorded area in the user data area. This is because it is not possible to update file system information.

In particular, in the write-once optical disc, the size of the spare area is fixed at the time when the disc is formatted (initialized), unlike the rewritable optical disc in which the size of the spare area can be extended if required.

It is difficult to determine the size of the spare area appropriately in view of the pseudo-overwrite recording which may be performed in the future.

If the size of the spare area is determined as a relatively large size, the size of the user data area must be reduced. If the size of the spare area is determined as a relatively small size, a problem may be caused. The problem is that it is not possible to further perform the data recording even if there is an unrecorded area in the user data area. In either case, it is not possible to effectively utilize the user data area of the write-once optical disc.

The present invention is intended to solve the problem described above. One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a drive apparatus capable of utilizing the user data area without any loss in the pseudo-overwrite recording for the write-once optical disc.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drive apparatus capable of utilizing the user data area without any loss in the pseudo-overwrite recording for the write-once optical disc.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a drive apparatus is provided for performing a sequential recording for a write-once recording medium, wherein the write-once recording medium includes a data area and a disc management information area, the data area includes a spare area and a user data area, disc management information for managing the write-once recording medium is recorded in the disc management information area, a plurality of physical addresses are assigned to the data area, a plurality of logical addresses are assigned to the user data area, a plurality of tracks are allocated in the user data area, the disc management information includes track management information for managing the plurality of tracks, and the track management information includes a last recorded address of a physical address indicating a location at which data is last recorded in a track, the drive apparatus including: a recording/reproduction section for performing a recording operation or a reproduction operation for the write-once recording medium; and a drive control section for controlling the recording/reproduction section, wherein the drive control section performs a process including: receiving a recording instruction including a logical address indicating a location at which data is to be recorded; reading the disc management information from the disc management information area; determining a primary logical address-physical address mapping indicating a corresponding relationship between the plurality of logical addresses and the plurality of physical addresses based on the disc management information; obtaining track management information indicating a location of each of the plurality of tracks from the disc management information; translating the logical address included in the recording instruction into a physical address in accordance with the primary logical address-physical address mapping; determining a first track of the plurality of tracks, based on the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction and the track management information; determining whether or not the first track is a closed track; when the first track is determined to be the closed track, performing a process including: determining a second track different from the first track, the second track being an open track; determining as a next writable address a physical address indicating a location at which data can be recorded next in the second track, based on the last recorded address in the second track; pseudo-overwrite recording the data at the next writable address as a replacement location.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first track is a closed track including an unrecorded area.

In one embodiment of the invention, the drive control section further performs a process including: determines whether or not the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction is included in the unrecorded area in the first track; when the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction is determined to be included in the unrecorded area in the first track, performing a process including: generating padding data such that a boundary of data to be recorded in the write-once recording medium in accordance with the recording instruction matches a boundary of an ECC cluster; and inserting the padding data into the data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustrative diagram showing an appearance of information recording medium 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the information recording medium 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1C is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the user data area 108 shown in FIG. 1B.

FIG. 2A is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the session management information 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the track management information 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the space bitmap management information 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the disc structure information 1110 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the information recording medium 100 b according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the replacement management information list 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the replacement management information 1010 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the information recording/reproduction apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the information recording medium after the formatting process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a flowchart showing a recording process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a flowchart showing a RMW process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the information recording medium after the recording process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a reproduction process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the replacement management information 1010 B according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the physical address space and the logical address space according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the DFL entry 2010 which is an example of the replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19A is a flowchart showing a recording process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19B is a flowchart showing a recording process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the track management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26B is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the information recording medium according to the conventional technique.

FIG. 32 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the information recording medium after the file recording process according to the conventional technique.

FIG. 33A is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the TDFL according to the conventional technique.

FIG. 33B is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary data structure of the TDFL according to the conventional technique.

FIG. 34 is a flow chart showing a recording process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38A is an illustrative diagram related to replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38B is an illustrative diagram related to replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a flow chart showing a recording process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 44A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 52A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 52B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53A is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53B is an illustrative diagram showing replacement management information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 54 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 55 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 56 is an illustrative diagram showing a replacement recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

100 , 100 b information recording medium

- 101 lead-in area
- 102 , 102 a data area
- 103 lead-out area
- 103 b , 103 c outer area
- 104 , 105 disc management information area
- 104 a , 105 a disc management information area
- 106 , 106 a inner spare area
- 107 , 107 a outer spare area
- 108 , 108 a user data area
- 109 volume space
- 122 unrecorded area
- 120 , 121 LRA
- 210 track management information
- 211 session start information
- 212 track start location information
- 213 last recorded address information within track (LRA)
- 300 information recording/reproduction apparatus
- 301 system control section
- 302 memory circuit
- 303 I/O bus
- 304 magnetic disc apparatus
- 310 drive apparatus
- 311 drive control section

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1

1-1. Write-Once Recording Medium

FIG. 1A shows an appearance of information recording medium 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A lead-in area 101 is located in an inner-most periphery of the information recording medium 100 . A lead-out area 103 is located in an outer-most periphery of the information recording medium 100 . A data area 102 is located between the lead-in area 101 and the lead-out area 103 of the information recording medium 100 .

In the lead-in area 101 , reference information necessary for an optical pickup included in the recording/reproduction section 314 which will be described below to access the information recording medium 100 , information for identifying from other recording media, and the like are recorded. In the lead-out area 103 , similar information as those in the lead-in area 101 is recorded.

A plurality of physical sectors are assigned to the lead-in area 101 , the data area 102 and the lead-out area 103 . Each physical sector is a minimum access unit. Each physical sector is identified by an address information such as a physical sector number (hereinafter, “PSN”).

The data recording/reproduction is performed for each ECC cluster (or each ECC block) including a plurality of physical sectors. An ECC cluster (or an ECC block) is a minimum unit for the data recording/reproduction.

FIG. 1B shows a data structure of the information recording medium 100 . In FIG. 1B, the lead-in area 101 , the data area 102 and the lead-out area 103 are shown in a lateral arrangement, although they are actually arranged in a concentric circular manner as shown in FIG. 1A.

The lead-in area 101 includes a disc management information area 104 . The lead-out area 103 includes a disc management information area 105 . Disc management information is recorded in each of the disc management information areas 104 and 105 . The disc management information includes replacement management information, session management information, and space bitmap management information. This information will be described below. The disc management information areas 104 and 105 are used as an area for updating the disc management information. The area for updating the disc management information is also referred to as a temporal disc management information area.

In a case where the present invention is applied to the BD-R specification, the term “disc management information area” in the present specification should be read as a “Disc Management Area (DMA)”, the term “temporal disc management information area” in the present specification should be read as a “Temporal Disc Management Area (TDMA)”, the term “disc management information” in the present specification should be read as a “Disc Management Structure (DMS)” and the term “temporal disc management information” in the present specification should be read as a “Temporal Disc Management Structure (TDMS)”.

The data area 102 includes an inner spare area 106 , a user data area 108 and an outer spare area 107 .

The user data area 108 is an area used for recording a user data.

FIG. 1C shows a data structure of the user data area 108 .

The user data area 108 includes a plurality of sessions. Each session includes a plurality of tracks.

Each track is a contiguous area on the information recording medium 100 . Each track is managed by track management information which will be described below.

In a case where the present invention is applied to the BD-R specification, the term “track” in the present specification should be read as a “Sequential Recording Range” (hereinafter, “SRR”).

Each session includes a plurality of tracks which are contiguously allocated on the information recording medium 100 . Each session is managed by session management information which will be described below.

FIG. 2A shows a data structure of the session management information 200 for managing the session. The session management information 200 is included in the disc management information.

The session management information 200 includes header information 201 and a plurality of track management information.

The header information 201 includes general information such as an identifier of the session management information 200 and the number of the track management information 210 shown in FIG. 2B.

The track management information #N contains information corresponding to the track #N shown in FIG. 1C, where N denotes an integer greater than or equal to 1.

FIG. 2B shows a data structure of the track management information 210 for managing the track. The track management information 210 is included in the disc management information.

The track management information 210 includes session start information 211 which indicates whether or not the track is a leading track of the session, track start location information 212 which indicates a start location of the track, and last recorded address information within track 213 which indicates a location at which data has been lastly recorded within the track. Hereinafter, the last recorded address information within track 213 is referred to as LRA 213 .

If the track managed by the track management information is 210 located at a leading position of the session, a value (e.g. “1”) indicating that the track is located at a leading position of the session is set to session start information 211 . Otherwise, a different value (e.g. “0”) is set to session start information 211 .

The track start location information 212 includes a physical address indicating a start location of the track.

The LRA 213 includes a physical address indicating a location at which valid data has been lastly recorded within the track. Valid data may be, for example, user data supplied from the host apparatus 305 . The LRA 120 and the LRA 121 shown in FIG. 1C are an example of the LRA 213 .

In the case where the present invention is applied to the BD-R specification, the term “track management information” in the present specification should be read as a “Sequential Recording Range Entry (SRR Entry)” and the term “session management information” in the present specification should be read as a “Sequential Recording Range Information”.

In the case where the data recording is performed for each ECC cluster as a minimum unit on the information recording medium 100 , the location indicated by the LRA 213 does not always match the boundary of ECC clusters.

In general, the size of data specified by the recording instruction does not match multiple integral of the size of one ECC cluster. In this case, the LRA 213 indicates an address of the last physical sector among the physical sectors in which the data specified by the recording instruction is recorded.

If the location indicated by the LRA 213 does not match the boundary of ECC clusters, padding data is recorded after the valid data so that the end of the recorded data can match the boundary of ECC clusters.

In the present embodiment, the data recording can be performed for each track. In this case, the recording of new data is started from a leading position of each track, and the new data is contiguously recorded within the track (a sequential recording). When the data recording is performed for a track, the location at which the data has been lastly recorded within the track is reflected to the LRA 213 .

When the data recording is re-started within the track, a value of the LRA 213 is checked. By checking the value of the LRA 213 , it is possible to determine a next writable address within the track.

In the case where no data is recorded within the track (e.g. immediately after the track is allocated), a predetermined value (e.g. “0”) indicating such a status can be set to the LRA 213 .

In general, a next writable address (hereinafter, “NWA”) indicates a location of a physical sector which is next to the physical sector indicated by the LRA 213 . Alternatively, in the case where the data recording is performed for each ECC cluster as a minimum unit on the information recording medium 100 , the NWA indicates a location of a leading position of an ECC cluster which is next to the ECC cluster including the physical sector indicated by the LRA 213 .

The location of the NWA is calculated according to Expression (1) below.

(a) When LRA≠0

NWA= N ×(Floor(LRA/ N )+1)

N: the number of the physical sectors included in each ECC cluster (for example, N=32).

(b) When LRA=0

NWA=(start location of the corresponding track)

where Floor(x) represents the largest integer number≦x

Hereinafter, it is assumed that the NWA indicates a leading position of the ECC cluster.

A track where it is possible to record data is referred to as an open track.

The track number of the open track is included in the header information 201 of the session management information 200 shown in FIG. 2A (for example, a first open track number 203 , a second open track number 204 , etc.).

Any track other than the open track is referred to as a closed track.

For example, a track which does not include any unrecorded area or a track designated by a user can be a closed track.

Unlike the open track, the track number of the closed track is not stored in the header information 201 of the session management information 200 .

The data recording to any closed track is prohibited.

In the case where the present invention is applied to the BD-R specification, the term “open track” in the present specification should be read as an “Open SRR” and the term “closed track” should be read as a “Closed SRR”.

By checking the open track number and the LRA 213 in the track management information 210 , it is possible to determine an unrecorded area on the information recording medium 100 .

By managing the recorded clusters for the write-once type of the information recording medium 100 , it is possible to perform a kind of random recording (i.e. recording data at an arbitrary location (physical address) on the information recording medium 100 ).

In order to realize such a random recording, it is necessary to manage unrecorded areas on the information recording medium 100 and to manage the last recorded address.

In the present embodiment, these managements are realized by utilizing the space bitmap management information 220 shown in FIG. 2C and the disc management information recorded in the disc management information area 104 and 105 .

When the random recording is performed, the space bitmap management information 220 shown in FIG. 2C is recorded in the disc management information area 104 .

FIG. 2C shows a data structure of space bitmap management information 220 . The space bitmap management information 220 includes header information 221 , managed area information 222 and space bitmap information 223 .

The header information 221 includes general information such as an identifier of the space bitmap management information 220 .

The managed area information 222 includes information which specifies an area in the user data area 108 , wherein the recorded/unrecorded status of a sector included in the area is managed by the space bitmap management information 220 . For example, the managed area information 222 includes a start location of the area and a length of the area.

The space bitmap information 223 includes information indicating whether each ECC cluster included in the area to be managed is a recorded ECC cluster or an unrecorded ECC cluster. For example, a single bit data is assigned to each ECC cluster, a predetermined value (e.g. “0”) is set to the single bit data when the ECC cluster is an unrecorded ECC cluster, and a predetermined value (e.g. “1”) is set to the single bit data when the ECC cluster is a recorded ECC cluster. This makes it possible to manage unrecorded areas for all ECC clusters in the area to be managed.

The disc management information recorded in the disc management information area 104 includes disc structure information 1100 shown in FIG. 3. The disc structure information 1100 includes last recorded address information 1107 . The last recorded address information 1107 includes a physical address indicating a location at which data has been lastly recorded within the user data area 108 .

The disc structure information 1100 further includes general information 1101 concerning an entire disc structure information 1100 , replacement management information list location information 1102 which indicates location information of the latest replacement management information list 1000 within the disc management information area 104 , 105 , user area start location information 1103 which indicates a start location of the user data area 108 , user area end location information 1104 which indicates an end location of the user data area 108 , disc management information area size 1107 b , and spare area information 1105 and spare area management information 1108 which indicates the size of the inner spare area 106 and the outer spare area 107 and an area available for replacement.

By using the disc management information area size 1107 b , it is possible to change the size of the disc management information area for each information recording medium. Further, by using the disc management information area size 1107 b , it is possible to change the temporal disc management information area described above in the inner spare area 106 and the outer spare area 107 .

By using the spare area information 1105 , it is possible to change the size of the spare area for each information recording medium. For example, it is possible to set the size of the inner spare area 106 or the size of the outer spare area 107 to zero.

The spare area management information 1108 includes next available location information indicating a next available location in the inner spare area 106 and the outer spare area 107 .

In each spare area, a sequential recording is performed in the same way in each track. The next available location in each spare area performs the similar function as the NWA in each track. The recording of new data to each spare area is performed sequentially from the location indicated by the next available location information.

The disc structure information 1100 further includes session management information location information 1109 which indicates location information of the latest session management information 200 in the disc management information areas 104 and 105 , and space bitmap management information location information 1110 which indicates location information of the latest space bitmap management information 220 in the disc management information areas 104 and 105 .

As described above, by using the session management information 200 or the space bitmap management information 220 , it is possible to manage the status of unrecorded physical sectors on the information recording medium 100 . Accordingly, it is possible to selectively use one of the session management information 200 and the space bitmap management information 220 for its purposes. Alternatively, it is possible to use both information. The information concerning a method for managing unrecorded areas is included in the recording mode information 1106 of the disc structure information 1100 .

The disc management information area 105 is an extended area which is used to record duplication of the disc management information recorded in the disc management information area 104 or is used to record the information which cannot be recorded in the disc management information area 104 in updating the disc management information. Hereinafter, the detailed description of the disc management information area 105 will be omitted. This is similar to the temporal disc management information recorded in the spare area.

In the example shown in FIG. 1C, the user data recorded in the user data area 108 is managed by a file system. A space managed by the file system is referred to as a volume space 109 .

A plurality of logical sectors are assigned to the volume space 109 . Each logical sector is identified by address information such as a logical sector number (hereinafter, “LSN”).

In the description below, it is assumed that information recorded in the information recording medium 100 as the volume/file structure of the file system (e.g. descriptor, pointer, metadata partition and metadata file) has a data structure defined in the ISO/IEC 13346 standard or the UDF (Universal Disc Format) specification, unless it is explicitly described on the contrary. Of course, it is possible to use a file system other than those described above.

The information recording medium 100 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C is described as an information recording medium having a single recording layer. However, the information recording medium 100 may have two or more recording layers.

FIG. 4 shows a data structure of an information recording medium 100 b having two recording layers.

In FIG. 4, L 0 denotes a first layer and L 1 denotes a second layer. Each of the first and second layers has almost the same structure as the information recording medium 100 . Specifically, the lead-in area 101 is located in an inner-most periphery of the first layer and the lead-out area 103 a is located in an inner-most periphery of the second layer. Further, the outer area 103 b is located in an outer-most periphery of the first layer and the outer area 103 c is located in an outer-most periphery of the second layer. The lead-in area 101 , the outer area 103 b , the lead-out area 103 a and the outer area 103 c includes a disc management information area 104 , 105 , 104 a and 105 a , respectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the spare areas 106 , 106 a , 107 and 107 a are provided. As described above, it is possible to change the size of each spare area for each information recording medium. It is also possible to provide an additional temporal disc management information area in each spare area. The user data areas 108 and 108 a are logically treated as a single volume space having contiguous logical addresses.

Thus, it is possible to logically treat an information recording medium having a plurality of recording layers as an information recording medium having a single recording layer. Hereinafter, an information recording medium having a single recording layer is described. It is possible to apply the description of the information recording medium having a single recording layer to an information recording medium having a plurality of recording layers. Therefore, an information recording medium having a plurality of recording layers is referred to only when a special description is required.

1-2. Pseudo-Overwrite Recording

The replacement information is described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

The replacement information is defined as a replacement management information list (or a defect list) including replacement management information (or a defect list entry). The replacement management information (or the defect list entry) includes original location information indicating a location of a cluster in which a defect occurs on the information recording medium (i.e. a defective cluster) and replacement location information indicating a location of a replacement cluster which is used instead of the defective cluster.

The present invention enables recording a replacement cluster in the user data area.

Further, the present invention realizes a pseudo-overwrite recording on a write-once information recording medium using the replacement information.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the data area 102 includes the inner spare area 106 , the user data area 108 and the outer spare area 107 .

At least a part of the inner spare area 106 and the outer spare area 107 is used as an area for replacement recording of the data to be recorded in the user data area 108 .

For example, when there exists a defective cluster in the user data area 108 , at least a part of the inner spare area 106 and the outer spare area 107 is used as an area for recording a replacement cluster with which the defective cluster is replaced.

Alternatively, at least a part of the inner spare area 106 and the outer spare area 107 can be used as an area for recording the updated data in the pseudo-overwrite recording described below.

The replacement recording, which is the combination of the replacement information with the spare area, is performed as well as a verify process.

The verify process is a process including the steps of reproducing data immediately after the data is recorded, comparing the reproduced data with the recorded data and determining whether or not the data is recorded correctly based on the comparison result. Such a process including these steps is called a verify-after-write process.

When an error occurs during the verify process (i.e. it is determined that the data is not recorded correctly), a replacement recording is performed. Specifically, the defective cluster is replaced by a replacement cluster and the data is recorded in the replacement cluster.

The replacement cluster is recorded in the inner spare area 106 (or the outer spare area 107 ) or the user data area 108 .

The pseudo-overwrite recording is defined as a method for mapping a physical address at which the data is actually recorded to another physical address, such that it can be seen as if the logical address at which the data is recorded is not changed.

When the overwrite of new data is instructed to a logical address at which data is recorded, a physical address corresponding to the logical address is replaced by a separate physical address and the new data is written into an ECC cluster on the separate physical address. Then, the ECC cluster before overwrite is mapped to the ECC cluster (replacement cluster) in which the new data is recorded.

The replacement cluster used in the pseudo-overwrite recording is recorded in the spare area or the user data area.

As the replacement information for performing such a mapping process, the replacement management information list 1000 shown in FIG. 5A is used.

By performing such a mapping process, it is possible to realize that it can be seen as if the data is overwritten, although the data is not actually overwritten. Hereinafter, this recording method is referred to as a pseudo-overwrite recording.

FIG. 5A shows a data structure of a replacement management information list 1000 which is replacement information according to the present invention. The replacement management information list 1000 is used to map the location of the defective cluster to the location of the replacement cluster. The replacement management information list 1000 includes header information 1001 and a plurality of replacement management information 1010 (e.g. replacement management information # 1 , # 2 , # 3 . . . ).

The header information 1001 includes the number of the replacement management information included in the replacement management information list 1000 . The replacement management information includes information indicating the mapping described above.

FIG. 5B shows a data structure of the replacement management information 1010 . The replacement management information 1010 includes status information 1011 , original location information 1012 and replacement location information 1013 .

The status information 1011 includes status information concerning the mapping described above. For example, the status information indicates a type or an attribute of the replacement management information 1010 , the valid/invalid status of the original location information 1012 and the replacement location information 1013 and like.

The original location information 1012 indicates a location of original information (e.g. a defective cluster).

The replacement location information 1013 indicates a location of replacement information (e.g. a replacement cluster).

In the pseudo-overwrite recording, the location of the ECC cluster before overwrite is indicated by the original location information 1012 , and the location of the ECC cluster after overwrite is indicated by the replacement location information 1013 . Thus, the location of the ECC cluster before overwrite is mapped to the location of the ECC cluster after overwrite.

Herein, the original location 1012 and the replacement location information 1013 registered in the replacement management information 1010 may be represented by a physical address (e.g. PSN) of the first sector in the corresponding ECC cluster. This is because a mapping is performed as a unit of ECC cluster in the defective management and the pseudo-overwrite recording.

In the conventional linear replacement method, the replacement cluster is recorded in the spare area. Accordingly, in every case, the information indicating a location of the ECC cluster in the spare area is set to the replacement location information 1013 .

On the other hand, in the present invention, the location at which the replacement cluster can be recorded is not limited to the location in the spare area. It is possible to record the replacement cluster in the user data area. Accordingly, the information indicating a location of the ECC cluster in the spare area or the information indicating a location of the ECC cluster in the user data area may be set to the replacement location information 1013 .

Thus, the replacement location information 1013 may indicate a location of the ECC cluster recorded in one of two areas (i.e. the spare area and the user data area). In order to determine whether the replacement location information 1013 indicates a location of the ECC cluster in the spare area or a location of the ECC cluster in the user data area, information indicating one of the two cases may be defined. Such information may be incorporated into the status information 1011 .

1-3. Recording/Reproduction Apparatus

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of an information recording/reproduction apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The information recording/reproduction apparatus 300 includes a host apparatus 305 and a drive apparatus 310 .

The host apparatus 305 can be, for example, a computer system or a personal computer.

The drive apparatus 310 can be, for example, any one of a recording apparatus, a reproduction apparatus and a recording/reproduction apparatus. The information recording/reproduction apparatus 300 as a whole also can be called any one of a recording apparatus, a reproduction apparatus and a recording/reproduction apparatus.

The host apparatus 305 includes a system control section 301 and a memory circuit 302 . The host apparatus 305 may further include magnetic disc apparatus 304 such as a hard disc drive. The components in the host apparatus 305 are connected to each other via an I/O bus 303 .

The system control section 301 can be implemented, for example, by a microprocessor including a system control program and a memory for operation. The system control section 301 controls various processes and performs various operations such as recording/reproduction of a volume structure/file structure of a file system, recording/reproduction of a metadata partition/file structure described below, recording/reproduction of files and recording/reproduction of the lead-in/lead-out areas.

The memory circuit 302 is used to operate information such as a volume structure, a file structure, a metadata partition/file structure and files, and is used to temporarily store them.

The drive apparatus 310 includes a drive control section 311 , a memory circuit 312 , and a recording/reproduction section 314 . The components in the drive apparatus 310 are connected to each other via an internal bus 313 .

The drive control section 310 can be implemented, for example, by a microprocessor including a drive control program and a memory for operation. The drive control section 310 controls various processes and performs various operations such as recording/reproduction of the disc management information area and the spare area and the pseudo-overwrite recording/reproduction.

The system control section 301 and drive control section 310 shown in FIG. 6 can be implemented by a semiconductor integrated circuit such as an LSI. Alternatively, they can be implemented by a general processor and a memory (e.g. a ROM).

A program is stored in the memory (e.g. a ROM). The program is executable by a computer (e.g. a general processor). This program may represent a reproduction process and/or a recording process according to the present invention described above or described below. A computer (e.g. a general processor) performs the reproduction process and/or the recording process according to the present invention in accordance with the program.

The memory circuit 312 is used to operate data concerning the disc management information area and the spare area and data transferred to the drive apparatus 310 , and is used to temporarily store them.

1-4. Procedure of Recording Process (1)

With reference to FIG. 7, the data structure of the information recording medium 100 after performing a format process according to the present embodiment of the invention will be described below.

Track # 1 401 , track # 2 402 and track # 3 403 are allocated in the user data area 108 .

A volume space 109 is allocated in the user data area 108 . A volume structure area 410 , a physical partition 420 and a volume structure area 411 are allocated in the volume space 109 .

In the physical partition 420 , a metadata partition 430 is included. The metadata partition 430 is defined in a pseudo-overwrite method in version 2.5 or higher version of the UDF specification.

In the metadata partition 430 , a metadata file 440 is recorded. In order to simplify the description, the description of a metadata mirror file is omitted below. The metadata mirror file is a duplication of metadata file 440 . The metadata mirror file can be also recorded.

A FE (Metadata file) 441 is recorded. The FE (Metadata file) 441 is a file entry (FE) indicating a recording location of the metadata file 440 in the physical partition 420 .

The information on the file structure such as a file entry (FE) indicating a recording location of a user data file or a directory, is located in the metadata partition 430 (i.e. the metadata file 440 ).

In FIG. 7, only the ROOT directory is recorded. In the metadata file 440 , only a file set descriptor 433 FE and an FE (ROOT) 442 are recorded. In order to simplify the description, it is assumed that a directory file is included in each FE.

It is assumed that the state shown in FIG. 7 is a state in which any replacement recording has not been performed yet. The management of unrecorded areas in the metadata partition 430 may be performed using a metadata bitmap (not shown) as defined in version 2.5 of the UDF specification.

Alternatively, it is possible to perform the management of unrecorded areas in the metadata partition 430 by the LRA 405 in the track # 1 while maintaining unrecorded areas in the metadata partition 430 unrecorded.

The method for allocating tracks is not limited to the method shown in FIG. 7. For example, more tracks can be allocated. It is possible to add a new track when it is required, while maintaining the state of the last track in the user data area such that the new track can be added to the last track.

Next, with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 8A, the procedure of the data recording process will be described below.

Herein, a case where a data file (File-a) is to be recorded in the information recording medium 100 is described as an example.

A plurality of physical addresses are assigned to the data area 102 of the information recording medium 100 . A plurality of logical addresses are assigned to the user data area 108 of the information recording medium 100 . It is assumed that a corresponding relationship between the plurality of logical addresses and the plurality of physical addresses is predetermined.

Each of the plurality of logical addresses is represented by a logical sector number (LSN) or a logical block address (LBA). Each of the plurality of physical addresses is represented by a physical sector number (PSN) or physical block address (PBA). Further, it is assumed that at least one track is allocated in user data area 108 .

(Step S 101 ) Prior to recording the data file (File-a), the drive control section 311 performs a preparation process for the data recording. Such a preparation process for the data recording is performed, for example, when the information recording medium 100 is loaded into the drive apparatus 310 .

For example, the drive control section 311 reads the latest disc management information from the disc management information area 104 (or the disc management information area 105 ) of the information recording medium 100 .

The drive control section 311 obtains the user area start location information 1103 , the user area end location information 1104 , the spare area information 1105 and like from the disc management information in order to determine a primary logical address-physical address mapping indicating the corresponding relationship between the plurality of logical addresses and the plurality of physical addresses assigned to the user data area 108 .

Hereinafter, the drive control section 311 performs translation between the logical address and primary physical address in accordance with the primary logical address-physical address mapping.

The drive control section 311 obtains track management information included in the disc management information area 104 .

(Step S 102 ) The drive control section 311 receives a recording instruction from the host apparatus 305 . The recording instruction includes a logical address indicating a location at which data is to be recorded. This logical address is represented, for example, by a logical sector number (LSN) or a logical block address (LBA). The recording instruction may include a single logical address indicating a location at which single data is to be recorded, or it may include a plurality of logical addresses indicating a plurality of locations at which a plurality of data are to be recorded respectively.

The logical address included in the recording instruction is determined, for example, by the host apparatus 305 based on a logical address indicating a location at which data is to be recorded the next time (i.e. a logical next writable address (a logical NWA)).

The logical NWA is output from the drive apparatus 310 to the host apparatus 305 in response to a request from the host apparatus 305 to the drive apparatus 310 , for example.

The logical NWA is obtained by translating the NWA determined by Expression (1) described above in accordance with the primary logical address-physical address mapping. This translation is performed by the drive control section 311 . The procedure for determining the NWA and the logical NWA will be described later in detail in embodiment 2 of the invention.

The system control section 301 of the host apparatus 305 generates and updates file system information as necessary in order to record data file (File-a). For example, the system control section 301 generates an FE (File-a) for the data file (File-a) and updates the ROOT directory which is a parent directory of the data file (File-a) using the memory circuit 302 .

The generated FE (File-a) for the data file (File-a) and the updated ROOT directory are recorded in the information recording medium 100 by outputting the recording instruction from the host apparatus 305 to the drive apparatus 310 . Thus, the latest file system information is reflected on the information recording medium 100 .

If necessary, the host apparatus 305 inquires the drive apparatus 310 using a predetermined command as to whether or not there is any remaining unrecorded area for performing a replacement recording.

The instructions from the host apparatus 305 to the drive apparatus 310 may be a standardized command such as a SCSI multi-media command.

For example, a request for the logical NWA may be a READ TRACK INFORMATION command, and a recording instruction may be a WRITE command.

(Step S 103 ) The drive control section 311 translates the logical address included in the recording instruction received in step S 102 into a physical address in accordance with the primary logical address-physical address mapping.

(Step S 104 ) The drive control section 311 determines a track (an open track) of the at least one track allocated in the user data area 108 based on the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction and the track management information 210 (FIG. 2B) included in the disc management information.

The drive control section 311 determines a physical address indicating a location at which data is to be recorded the next time (i.e. NWA) within the determined track, based on LRA 213 within the determined track. This NWA is a next writable address determined in accordance with Expression (1) described above.

The NWA may be determined in step S 104 . Alternatively, the NWA may be determined in other steps other than step S 104 (e.g. in the preparation process for the data recording described above).

By calculating the NWA using the LRA, it is not necessary to hold the information on the NWA in the track management information. As a result, it is possible to simplify the data structure of the track management information.

(Step S 105 ) The drive control section 311 determines whether or not the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction is less than the NWA.

When it is determined that the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction is less than the NWA, the recording instruction is determined as a recording instruction for the recorded area in the user data area 108 . In this case, the process proceeds to step S 106 . Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S 108 .

(Step S 106 ) The drive control section 311 determines data to be recorded. When the data recording is performed as a unit of ECC cluster in the information recording medium 100 , the drive control section 311 determines the data specified by the recording instruction as the data to be recorded. For example, if the recording location and the size of the data specified by the recording instruction match a boundary of the ECC clusters, then an entire ECC cluster is rewritten. In this case, the drive control section 311 determines the data itself specified by the recording instruction as the data to be recorded.

If it does not match any boundary of the ECC clusters, then the drive control section 311 performs a read-modify-write process described below. In this case, the drive control section 311 determines the data as a unit of ECC cluster which is obtained during the read-modify-write process as the data to be recorded.

(Step S 107 ) The drive control section 311 determines the recording location of the data determined in step S 106 . Specifically, the drive control section 311 determines a specific location in the user data area 108 , which is other than the location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction, as the recording location of the data determined in step S 106 .

The specific location may be the NWA within the track determined in step S 104 .

Alternatively, the specific location may be a location indicated by an NWA within an open track which is different from the track determined in step S 104 . In this case, it is preferable that the NWA within the open track is an NWA which indicates a location which is closest to the location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction.

(Step S 108 ) The drive control section 311 determines whether or not the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction is equal to the NWA.

When it is determined that the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction is equal to the NWA, the recording instruction is determined as a recording instruction to the location indicated by the NWA. That is, the data recording instructed by the recording instruction is determined as an appending recording (a new recording). In this case, the process proceeds to step S 109 . Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S 111 .

(Step S 109 ) The drive control section 311 determines data to be recorded. Specifically, the drive control section 311 determines the data specified by the recording instruction as the data to be recorded.

Then, the drive control section 311 determines whether or not the end of the data specified by the recording instruction matches a boundary of the ECC clusters. If it does not match the boundary of the ECC clusters, padding data (e.g. data consisting of one or more “00”h) is inserted such that the end of the data after insertion matches the boundary of the ECC clusters. In this case, the drive control section 311 determines the data after insertion as the data to be recorded.

(Step S 110 ) The drive control section 311 determines the recording location of the data determined in step S 106 . Specifically, the drive control section 311 determines the location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction (i.e. the location indicated by the NWA), as the recording location of the data determined in step S 106 .

(Step S 1 ) The drive control section 311 performs an error process.

(Step S 112 ) The drive control section 311 performs a recording process for the determined recording location.

When the determination result in step S 105 is “Yes”, the drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to record the data determined in step S 106 at the recording location determined in step S 107 .

When the determination result in step S 108 is “Yes”, the drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to record the data determined in step S 109 at the recording location determined in step S 110 .

Further, the drive control section 311 performs a verify process for the recorded data to determine whether or not the data recording has succeeded. If the data recording has succeeded, then the process proceeds to step S 113 .

If the data recording has failed, then an unrecorded area in the spare area (e.g. the inner spare area 106 ) or the user data area 108 is allocated as a replacement cluster, and the data is recorded in the replacement cluster.

After the data recording has finally succeeded, the process proceeds to step S 113 .

For example, the processes of step S 106 and step S 112 described above is performed as a read-modify-write process (hereinafter RMW process).

According to the RMW process, firstly, the drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to reproduce the data recorded in the ECC cluster including a physical sector at a location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction, and it stores the data reproduced from the ECC cluster in the memory circuit 312 (i.e. “read” process).

There is a possibility that the ECC cluster to be reproduced is replaced with a replacement cluster at the time when the reproduction process is performed. The drive control section 311 refers to the replacement management information list 1000 , and, if necessary, it controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to reproduce the data recorded in the replacement cluster. The procedure of the data reproduction referring to the replacement management information list 1000 will be described later.

Secondly, the drive control section 311 replaces the data recorded in the physical sector at the location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction among the data reproduced from the ECC cluster with the data included in the recording instruction (i.e. “modify” process). As a result, the data to be recorded in the replacement cluster is obtained.

The drive control section 311 performs a read process and a modify process in step S 106 .

FIG. 8B shows the steps performed when the read process and the modify process are performed in step S 106 shown in FIG. 8A. Each step shown in FIG. 8B is performed by the drive control section 311 of the drive apparatus 310 .

(Step S 151 ) The drive control section 311 determines whether or not the ECC cluster including the location specified by the recording instruction has been already replaced by an replacement cluster. Such a determination is made, for example, by retrieving the replacement management information list 1000 .

If the replacement management information 1010 which indicates the location specified by the recording instruction as original location is found, it is determined that the ECC cluster has been already replaced by the replacement cluster and the process proceeds to step S 152 A. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S 152 B.

By holding the determination result of step S 151 as a value of the internal variable, it is possible to refer to the value of the internal variable. By referring to the value of the internal variable, if necessary, in the steps other than step S 151 , it is possible to determine whether or not the ECC cluster including the location specified by the recording instruction has been already replaced by a replacement cluster. This makes it possible to avoid repeatedly performing the same process. For example, if the determination result of step S 151 is “Yes”, then the value of “1” may held as the value of the internal variable, and if the determination result of step S 151 is “No”, then the value of “0” may held as the value of the internal variable.

(Step S 152 A) The drive control section 311 determines whether or not the RMW process is required. For example, if the location and the size specified by the recording instruction matches a boundary of the ECC clusters, then drive control section 311 determines that the RMW process is not required. If the location and the size specified by the recording instruction do not match any boundary of the ECC clusters, then drive control section 311 determines that the RMW process is required.

If it is determined that the RMW process is required, then the process proceeds to step S 153 . Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S 157 .

Similar to step S 151 , by holding the determination result of step S 152 A as a value of the internal variable, it is possible to refer to the value of the internal variable. By referring to the value of the internal variable, if necessary, in the steps other than step S 152 A, it is possible to determine whether or not the RMW process is required.

(Step S 152 B) The drive control section 311 determines whether or not the RMW process is required. The process of step S 152 B is the same as the process of step S 152 A.

(Step S 153 ) The drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to reproduce the data recorded in the replacement cluster indicated by the replacement management information 1010 found in step S 151 , instead of the ECC cluster including the location specified by the recording instruction, and stores the reproduced data in the memory circuit 312 .

(Step S 154 ) The drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to reproduce the data recorded in the ECC cluster including the location specified by the recording instruction, and stores the reproduced data in the memory circuit 312 .

(Step S 155 ) The drive control section 311 replaces the reproduced data by the data specified by the recording instruction so as to generate a modified data.

(Step S 156 ) The drive control section 311 determines the modified data as the data to be recorded in the information recording medium 100 .

(Step S 157 ) The drive control section 311 determines the data specified by the recording instruction as the data to be recorded in the information recording medium 100 .

Thus, the read process and the modify process are completed.

Thirdly, the drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to record the data obtained as a result of the modify process (i.e. the data to be recorded in the replacement cluster) in a location of the original ECC cluster (i.e. “write” process). The drive control section 311 performs write process in step S 112 .

However, in the present invention, since the information recording medium is a write-once recording medium, it is not possible to actually record the data in a location of the original ECC cluster.

Accordingly, in the present invention, an unrecorded area in the spare area such as the inner spare area 106 or the user data area 108 is allocated as a replacement cluster, and the updated data is recorded in the replacement cluster.

Further, the drive control section 311 performs a verify process to determine whether or not the data recording has succeeded. When it is determined that the data recording has succeeded, the process proceeds to step S 113 .

When it is determined that the data recording has failed, an unrecorded area in the spare area such as the inner spare area 106 or the user data area 108 is allocated as a further replacement cluster, and the data is recorded in the further replacement cluster.

After the data recording has finally succeeded, the process proceeds to step S 113 .

When the area specified by the recording instruction corresponds to an entire ECC cluster, the entire ECC block is rewritten. In this case, the read process described above is not required.

(Step S 113 ) The drive control section 311 generates replacement management information 1010 in accordance with the process in step S 112 , and stores the replacement management information 1010 in memory circuit 312 . For example, in step S 112 , when the drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to record data at a specific location in the user data area 108 wherein the specific location is any location other than the location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction, the drive control section 311 generates replacement management information 1010 which maps the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction to a physical address indicating the specific location.

It is possible to determine whether or not the replacement management information 1010 having the original location information 1012 , which indicates the same location as the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction, is found in the existing replacement management information list 1000 by retrieving the existing replacement management information list 1000 .

If it is found, the drive control section 311 updates the replacement management information 1010 so as to set the physical address indication of the specific address as a new replacement location information 1013 .

If it is not found, the drive control section 311 generates new replacement management information 1010 and adds the new replacement management information 1010 to the replacement management information list 1000 .

Next, the drive control section 311 sorts the replacement management information list 1000 . For example, the drive control section 311 sorts the replacement management information list 1000 by the status information 1011 , and then sorts it by the physical address indicated by the original location information 1012 .

Thus, a new replacement management information list 1000 including the replacement management information 1010 which maps the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction to the physical address indicating the specific location is generated.

(Step S 114 ) The drive control section 311 updates the disc management information to reflect the recording process described above. For example, the drive control section 311 updates the last recorded address information 1107 . In addition, the drive control section 311 updates the LRA 213 in each track management information 210 corresponding to the tracks in which data have been recorded to reflect the latest recording status.

Further, the drive control section 311 generates the new disc management information including the updated information such as the new replacement management information list 1000 and track management information 210 . In addition, the drive control section 311 sets the replacement management information list location information 1102 and the session management information location information 1109 included in the new disc management information to indicate the latest recording location of the new replacement management information list 1000 and track management information 210 on the information recording medium 100 .

The drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to record the new disc management information in a predetermined area (e.g. a temporal disc management information area) on the information recording medium 100 . Thus, the disc management information is updated to reflect the latest status.

When the data recording is completed, the drive apparatus 310 can notify the host apparatus 305 of the result of the recording process. The result of the recording process is, for example, information indicating that the data recording has succeeded or failed.

Such a notification can be sent to the host apparatus 305 at a predetermined timing. For example, it is possible to send this notification to the host apparatus 305 at the timing of the end of step S 108 or at the timing when an error occurs in step S 112 . Alternatively, it is possible to send this notification before the data recording is actually completed. For example, it is possible to send a notification indicating that the data recording is completed to the host apparatus 305 at the timing when the interpretation of the received record instruction is completed correctly.

In the replacement recording process, it is possible to retrieve an unrecorded area in a direction along which the PSNs are increased from the location of the original ECC cluster. If the unrecorded area is found during the retrieval, the unrecorded area is allocated as a replacement cluster.

Alternatively, it is possible to first retrieve an unrecorded area in a track including the original ECC cluster, and then retrieve an unrecorded area for each track in a direction along which the PSNs are increased from the track.

When the retrieval for the unrecorded area reaches the end of the user data area 108 without finding any unrecorded area, it is possible to retrieve an unrecorded area in the outer spare area 107 following the user data area 108 .

Further, the retrieval for the unrecorded area reaches the end of the outer spare area 107 without finding any unrecorded area, it is possible to retrieve an unrecorded area in a direction along which the PSNs are increased from a predetermined location at the inner side of the information recording medium 100 (e.g. a leading position of the inner spare area 106 or a leading position of the user data area 108 or a location apart from its leading position by a predetermined distance).

In steps S 105 and S 108 of the procedure of the recording process, it is determined whether the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording or an appending recording by comparing the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction with the NWA.

The reason why it is determined whether the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording or an appending recording based on such a comparison is that the information recording medium 100 is a write-once recording medium and that a sequential recording is performed for the write-once recording medium.

The replacement recording method using the user data area described above according to the present invention is applicable to any rewritable optical disc. However, in order to determine whether the data recording is a overwrite recording or an appending recording (or a new recording) for the rewritable optical disc, a more complex process is required. This is because, in the case of the rewritable optical disc, it is possible to randomly rewrite data at an arbitrary location on the optical disc.

When the drive apparatus manages an unrecorded area on the rewritable optical disc as described in the embodiment above, it is necessary to manage replacement management information corresponding to all ECC clusters on the rewritable optical disc using the SDL, as described in the background art of the present specification, for example. Further, in order to determine whether the data recording for recording data at a certain location in the user data area is an overwrite recording or a new recording, it is necessary to retrieve an entire replacement management information list 1000 , for example. Similarly, in order to determine whether or not an ECC cluster is used as a replacement cluster, it is necessary to retrieve an entire replacement management information list 1000 . The amount of such a retrieving process is increased as the size of the replacement management information list 1000 is increased. This should be a problem since the capacity of the optical disc is being increased more and more.

On the other hand, in the present invention, since the information recording medium 100 is a write-once recording medium, it is ensured that every area in a track which has an address less than the NWA is an unrecorded area.

Accordingly, by performing the comparison described in steps S 105 and S 108 , it is possible to easily determine whether the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording or an appending recording, regardless of the size of the replacement management information list 1000 . Further, it is possible to easily select a replacement cluster since the replacement cluster can be selected from any location after the NWA.

The pseudo-overwrite recording in a random recording method for a write-once optical disc is performed in a similar way as the rewritable optical disc.

Further, in order to perform the random recording method for the write-once optical disc, a special structure such as the space bitmap management information 220 is required. The management of the unrecorded area for the random recording method using the space bitmap management information 220 requires significantly greater processing load to the drive control section 311 , compared to the management of the unrecorded area for the sequential recording method.

In particular, in the sequential recording method, it is possible to limit the number of open tracks to a predetermined number (for example, four at maximum) so that the utilization of a file system is not reduced.

In this case, the number of open tracks depends on the structure of the file system, and it is independent from the capacity of the optical disc. On the other hand, the size of the space bitmap management information 220 is increased as the capacity of the optical disc is increased. As a result, the processing load is also increased.

Thus, the effect of the present invention for performing a pseudo-overwrite in the sequential recording method is very significant for the optical disc, since the capacity of the optical disc is being increased more and more.

One feature of the present invention is to determine an NWA in accordance with LRA 213 included in the latest track management information 210 and expression (1) in order to determine whether the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording or an appending recording.

By recording the LRA 213 , which has been updated as a result of the data recording, on the disc, it is possible to reduce the time required to find the latest LRA 213 when the information recording medium 100 is loaded into the drive apparatus 310 .

By calculating the NWA using the LRA 213 , it is not necessary to hold information on the NWA in the track information. As a result, it is possible to simplify the data structure of the track management information.

In order to determine whether the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording or an appending recording without using a method according to the present invention, the following procedure is required, for example.

Specifically, the procedure includes the steps of determining a track including a physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the recording instruction, sequentially checking ECC clusters from a leading position of the determined track, and determining whether or not each of the ECC clusters is recorded.

If the ECC cluster is in a recorded state at a location indicated by the recording instruction, then it is determined that the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording.

However, it is not preferable to perform such a procedure since the amount of the required processing is increased as the size of the track is increased.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether the data recording is a pseudo-overwrite recording or an appending recording, regardless of the size of the track.

Further, since LRA 213 is included in the track management information 210 , it is possible to easily determine an NWA as well as the determination of a track in which the data is to be recorded when the drive apparatus 310 receives the recording instruction.

FIG. 9 shows a data structure on the information recording medium 100 after the data file has been recorded in accordance with the procedure of the data recording.

Referring to FIG. 9, data file (File-a) 460 is described as an example of the data file. It is assumed that a defective cluster # 1 and a defective cluster # 2 are detected in the data file (File-a) 460 in the procedure of the data recording.

The disc management information including replacement management information indicating a replacement of the defective cluster # 1 with a replacement cluster # 1 and a replacement management information indicating a replacement of the defective cluster # 2 with a replacement cluster # 2 is recorded in the disc management information area 104 .

As shown in FIG. 9, the replacement cluster # 1 is recorded in the inner spare area 106 and the replacement cluster # 2 is recorded in the user data area 108 .

The content of the data file (File-a) 460 is updated by the pseudo-overwrite recording. Specifically, an overwritten cluster # 3 and an overwritten cluster # 4 correspond to the updated portions of the data file (File-a) 460 according to the pseudo-overwrite recording.

The new data updated by the pseudo-overwrite recording is recorded in a replacement cluster # 3 assigned as the substitute for the overwritten cluster # 3 and is recorded in a replacement cluster # 4 assigned as the substitute for the overwritten cluster # 4 . The corresponding replacement information is recorded in the disc management information area 104 .

As shown in FIG. 9, the replacement cluster # 3 is assigned in the inner spare area 106 and the replacement cluster # 4 is assigned in the user data area 108 .

1.5 Procedure of Reproduction Process (1)

With reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 10, a reproduction process for a file is described. Herein, a reproduction process for the data file (File-a) 460 shown in FIG. 9 is described as an example.

(Step S 201 ) Prior to performing a reproduction process, the drive control section 311 performs a preparation process for the data reproduction. Such a preparation process for the data reproduction is performed, for example, when the information recording medium 100 is loaded into the drive apparatus 310 .

For example, the drive control section 311 reads disc management information from the disc management information area 104 (or the disc management information area 105 ) of the information recording medium 100 .

The drive control section 311 obtains user area start location information 1103 , user area end location information 1104 , spare area information 1105 and like from the disc management information to generate a primary logical address-physical address mapping indicating the corresponding relationship between the plurality of logical addresses and the plurality of physical addresses assigned to the user data area 108 .

Hereinafter, the drive apparatus 310 performs translation between the logical address and the primary physical address in accordance with primary logical address-physical address mapping.

(Step S 202 ) The system control section 301 outputs a reproduction instruction to the drive apparatus 310 to reproduce an AVDP recorded at a predetermined location (e.g. LSN=256) of the information recording medium 100 .

The AVDP is a data structure defined by the UDF specification as an anchor point of the file system information. The AVDP is recorded in the volume structure area 410 and the volume structure area 411 .

(Step S 203 ) The system control section 301 obtains location information of a main volume descriptor sequence 410 A recorded in the volume structure area 410 from the AVDP. The system control section 301 outputs an instruction to the drive apparatus 310 to reproduce the main volume structure 410 A.

Further, the system control section 301 obtains location information (LSN) of an FE (metadata file) 441 by retrieving the data structure from the reproduced main volume descriptor sequence 410 A in steps.

(Step S 204 ) The system control section 301 reproduces a file structure. In order to reproduce the file structure, the system control section 301 outputs a reproduction instruction to the drive apparatus 310 based on the obtained location information (LSN) of the FE (metadata file) 441 to reproduce the FE (metadata file) 441 .

The system control section 301 obtains location information of a metadata file 440 from the reproduced FE (metadata file) 441 . As a result, it is possible to access the metadata file 440 .

(Step S 205 ) In accordance with the procedure of the data reproduction based on the UDF specification, the FDS 433 , the FE (ROOT) 442 , the FE (File-a) 443 and the data file (File-a) 460 are reproduced in this order. The description of the reproduction of the directory file is omitted.

In each step in the reproduction process described above, a reproduction instruction is output from the host apparatus 305 to the drive apparatus 310 . The drive control section 311 of the drive apparatus 310 receives the reproduction instruction from the host apparatus 305 , and performs a reproduction process in accordance with the reproduction instruction.

The reproduction instruction includes a logical address indicating a location from which data is to be reproduced. The logical address is, for example, represented by a logical sector number (LSN). Alternatively, the logical address may be represented by a logical block address (LBA). The reproduction instruction is, for example, a READ command.

The drive control section 311 translates the logical address included in the reproduction instruction into a physical address in accordance with the primary logical address-physical address mapping (for example, see FIG. 12).

The drive control section 311 determines whether or not the replacement management information 1010 having the original location information 1012 , which indicates the same location as the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the reproduction instruction, is found in the replacement management information list 1000 by retrieving the replacement management information list 1000 .

If it is found, the drive control section 311 refers to the replacement location information 1013 of the replacement management information 1010 and controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to reproduce data from the location indicated by the replacement location information 1013 .

If it is not found, the drive control section 311 controls the recording/reproduction section 314 to reproduce data from the location indicated by the physical address corresponding to the logical address included in the reproduction instruction. The reproduced data is sent back to the host apparatus 305 .

1-6. Procedure of Recording Process (2)

FIG. 11 shows a data structure of the replacement management information 1010 B. The replacement management information 1010 B is a different embodiment of the replacement management information 1010 shown in FIG. 5B.

As shown in FIG. 11, the status information 1011 of the replacement management information 1010 B includes three information, i.e. Flag 1 , Flag 2 and Flag 3 .

Flag 1 is information for classifying the replacement management information 1010 B. Flag 1 includes information indicating whether the replacement information is for the purpose of the replacement recording or for the purpose of the designation of the defective cluster.

Flag 2 is information on the recording location of the replacement cluster managed by the replacement manageme