Information processing system and information processing apparatus

ES 2 284 592 T3 description

Information processing system and information processing apparatus.

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, such as, for example, a personal computer and its peripheral devices, and to an information processing system, formed by these information processing apparatus.

In recent years, a CDR / RW (Recordable / Rewritable) disk drive has become popular as a recording and playback device, which performs data recording and playback according to a playable and recordable data disc, such as a recordable CD-R or a rewritable CD-RW.

Although such a CD-R / RW disk drive, by itself, can play a disc recorded independently, for example, in a CD-DA (Digital Audio) format, typically, the CD-R / RW disk drive is used as a peripheral device for a personal computer, as a result of being connected to a personal computer through a data interface, such as, for example, USB, SCSI, etc.

As ways of using the same, as has been well known, the application software for controlling the CD-R / RW disk drive is first installed on a personal computer. The user starts this application and performs operations on the personal computer, thus making it possible to read data from a disc loaded in the CD-R / RW disk drive connected to this personal computer, or to record data stored on the personal computer.

Also in recent years, the use of a personal computer of the type commonly referred to as a laptop has become widely used. The portable type personal computer is smaller and lighter than, for example, what is commonly called the desktop type personal computer, and furthermore it can be powered by a battery in addition to AC power, such as a charger. As a result, the portable-type personal computer is more portable, and the user may use the personal computer, for example, when on the move.

Against the background such as those described above, peripheral devices, such as, for example, the CD-R / RW disk drives described above, which are being made smaller and lighter in order to be transportable, are becoming also popular. Thus, in order to obtain greater portability, a CD-R / RW disk drive has been proposed which can be powered by a charger, a dry battery, etc.

User data transferred from the personal computer side is supposed to be recorded on a CD-R / RW disk drive which is powered, for example, by a battery. At this time, if the remaining battery level of the CD-R / RW disk drive becomes zero, and the CD-R / RW disk drive stops operating, at that time it is not possible for the personal computer side complete recording of a datapool that was currently being recorded. More specifically, it is not possible to perform, for example, a process of closing what is commonly called a session. In such a case, since there is not yet a file system on the disc for the data that has actually been recorded on the disc, the data recorded up to that point is treated as if it were not present on the disc. That is, the user data that should have been written to the disc would be lost. In particular, for a rewritable CD-RW disc, depending on the method of recording on it, unless the file system is correctly recorded in the manner described above, a case could occur in which even the data packets that were previously recorded are also not recognized and lost.

In the manner described above, in a battery powered CD-R / RW disc drive, when the remaining battery level becomes zero, the user data that has been recorded on the disc up to the present time is lost and the disc cannot be used. Therefore, there is a demand for measures to prevent this problem.

Document US-A-4 689 698 discloses a disk drive comprising a detector for detecting a voltage level of a battery and a control unit for controlling first and second drives associated with read / write operations of the unit. disk. The control unit disables the first and second drives in response to a detected drop in battery voltage level.

In view of the above-described problems, in accordance with the present invention, an information processing apparatus is provided comprising:

a connector to connect with another information processing apparatus to have the ability to perform a communication;

a power supply unit capable of internally supplying at least one battery;

a power source information creation unit for creating power source information in which predetermined information about said power source means is stored;

an information transmitter for transmitting said information from the power supply to said other information processing apparatus, through said connector; Y

ES 2 284 592 T3 a controller capable of controlling internal operations based on the control information when said control information is received which is transmitted from said other information processing apparatus through said connector, wherein said data processing apparatus the information further comprises a recording / reproducing unit for recording data on an information recording medium and / or for reading data from the information recording medium;

characterized in that said controller is configured to perform a control operation to limit a data recording operation, such that it satisfies any recording method that is possible by said recording / reproducing unit capable of recording and / or reading data, of such that it corresponds to a predetermined recording medium according to the control information sent from said other information processing apparatus, based on the content stored in said information from the power supply.

According to each of the constructions described above for the information processing system, in which information processing devices are connected to be able to communicate with each other, information is transmitted from the power supply, in which default information about the power supply is stored, from one of the information processing apparatus (first information processing apparatus) to another information processing apparatus (second information processing apparatus). At this point, since the first information processing apparatus may be battery powered, predetermined information about this power battery is also stored in the above-mentioned information of the power source.

Then, in the second information processing apparatus, based on the content stored in the information received from the power supply, it is possible to perform, for example, an internal control process and perform a control such that a predetermined operation can be obtained. in the first information processing apparatus. That is, for example, with the second information processing apparatus performing the function of a central apparatus, it becomes possible to perform an operation such that the first and second information processing apparatus are coordinated according to the level of remaining battery of the first data processor.

The invention will be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the internal construction of a CD-R / RW disk drive, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the internal construction of a central computer, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is an illustration showing a "disc at once" (DAO) recording method;

FIG. 4 is an illustration showing a "one-track" (TAO) recording method;

Fig. 5 is an illustration showing a "one time session" (SAO) recording method;

Fig. 6 is an illustration showing the structure of a command to obtain information from the battery;

Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 are illustrations showing the structure of the battery information;

Fig. 11 is an illustration showing the correspondence between the status of the power supply and the control operations of the system, in this embodiment;

Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing a process operation for performing a control operation of the system, according to the state of the power supply illustrated in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a process for determining a recording mode as a process operation for performing a system control operation corresponding to each recording mode;

Fig. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a process operation for performing a system control operation corresponding to DAO, TAO and SAO as recording modes;

Fig. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a process operation for performing a system control operation corresponding to packet recording as the recording mode; Y

Fig. 16 is a flow chart illustrating a process operation for setting a power saving mode.

ES 2 284 592 T3

An information processing system, as an embodiment of the present invention, comprises a central computer as an information processing apparatus, and a CD-R / RW disk drive, which is a recording and reproducing apparatus, which you can perform recording and playback in accordance with a CD-R and a CDRW. The CD-R / RW disk drive in this embodiment can also play read-only media in a commonly known CD format, such as CD-DA (Digital Audio), CD-ROM, etc.

In addition, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) is used here as a data interface to connect the host computer with the CD-R / RW disk drive. That is, for example, in practice a host computer 80 and a CD-R / RW disk drive 0 are physically connected to each other via a USB cable.

The descriptions that follow are provided in the following sequence.

1. Information processing system 1-1. CD-R / RW disk drive

1-2. Central computer

2. Recording method

3. BATTERY INFORMATION

Four. Operation during data recording and playback

5. Operation for each recording mode 1. Information processing system

1-1 CD-R / RW disc drive

Figure 1 illustrates the internal construction of a CD-R / RW disk drive, which is used as a peripheral device in a system of this embodiment.

In this figure, a disk 90 is a CD-R, CD-RW, CD-DA or CD-ROM type disk, which is compatible with the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, as described above.

As is well known, a CD-R is a type of only one recording, and the pits (marks of the recording) are formed as a result of a laser light at a recording level that is radiated onto the recording layer of a dye. organic. A CD-RW is a medium that can be re-recorded using a technique in which pits are formed by a phase change as a result of laser light being radiated to it. Also, CD-DA and CD-ROM are read-only, and data is recorded by physically stamped pits.

The disk 90 is driven to rotate with a constant linear velocity (CLV) or with a constant angular velocity (CAV) by means of a spindle motor 6, during a record / playback operation in a state in which the disk 90 is placed on a turntable 7 and where it is locked. Then, the pitting data (phase change pitting or organic dye change pitting (reflectance change)) on the disk 90 is read by an optical pickup 1. In the case of a CD-DA and a CD-ROM, the pits are stamped.

The spindle motor 6 is provided with a frequency generator 6a (FG) to detect the period of rotation thereof. This generator 6a outputs a pulse at intervals of a predetermined angle of rotation of the spindle motor 6.

Inside the optical pickup 1, there is formed a laser diode 4 which is the laser light source, a photodetector 5 for detecting the reflected light, an objective lens 2 which is the exit end of the laser light, and an optical system ( not illustrated) to radiate the laser light onto a recording surface of the disc, through the objective lens 2, and to guide the reflected light to the photodetector 5.

In addition, a supervisory detector 22 is also available to detect part of the output light from the laser diode 4.

The objective lens 2 is held by a biaxial mechanism 3, such that it can be moved in the tracking direction and in the focusing direction. The entire pickup 1 can move in the radial direction of the disk by means of the drive mechanism 8. The laser diode 4 of the optical pickup 1 is driven to emit a laser light in accordance with an excitation signal (excitation current) from a laser controller 18.

The light information reflected from the disk 90 is detected by the photodetector 5, and is changed to an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received, and is supplied to an RF amplifier 9.

ES 2 284 592 T3

The RF amplifier 9 comprises a current-to-voltage conversion circuit, a matrix calculation / amplification circuit, etc., in such a way that it corresponds to a current that is output from a plurality of light-receiving elements. like the photodetectors 5, and generates a necessary signal of the matrix calculation process. For example, an RF signal containing playback data, a focus error signal FE for the servo control, a tracking error signal TE, and so on, is generated.

The regenerated RF signal output from the RF amplifier 9 is fed into a binarization circuit 11, and the focus error signal FE and the tracking error signal TE are supplied to a servo processor 14.

The RF signal and the tracking error signal TE are also supplied to a transverse counter 23. In the transverse counter 23, as will be described later, based on the waveform of the tracking error signal TE, it is detected the number of tracks crossed by the point of concentration of the laser radiated on the disk 90, and the information on the number of tracks crossed is output to the servo processor 14. Information on the number of tracks traversed is used to determine, for example, the distance traveled during the search.

Furthermore, on the disc 90 such as a CD-R or a CD-RW, as is well known, grooves are formed in advance which are guides for the recording tracks, and furthermore the grooves are made to wobble (meander ) according to a signal in which the time information indicating an absolute direction on the disc is modulated in FM. Therefore, during a recording operation, it is possible to use a tracking servo based on the information of the slit, and to obtain the absolute direction of the oscillation information of the slit. The RF amplifier 9 extracts the wobble information (WOB) (ATIP signal) through a matrix calculation process and supplies this information to an address decoder 24.

In the address decoder 24, the absolute address information is obtained by demodulating the supplied wobble information (WOB) (ATIP signal), and this information is output to a system controller 10. It is also possible that the address decoder 24 extracts the various control information contained in the wobble information (WOB) (ATIP signal) and outputs it to the system controller 10.

Furthermore, by inputting the slit information into a PLL circuit, the information of the rotational speed of the spindle motor 6 is obtained, and further, by comparing that information with the information of the reference speed, it is generated and delivered as output a spindle error signal SPE.

The regenerated RF signal, obtained by the RF amplifier 9, is converted to binary by the binarization circuit 11, so that what is commonly called an EFM signal (modulation signal 8-14) is formed and this signal is supplied to an encoding / decoding section 12.

The encoding / decoding section 12 comprises a function part as a decoder during playback and a function part as an encoder during recording.

During playback, as a decoding process, such as EFM demodulation, CIRC error correction, de-interleaving, CD-ROM decoding, etc. are performed to obtain playback data that has been converted into data with CD-ROM format.

In addition, the encoding / decoding section 12 also performs a sub-code extraction process on the data read from the disk 90, and supplies TOC as the sub-code (Q data), the address information, etc., to the system controller 10.

Furthermore, the encoding / decoding section 12 generates, from a PLL process, a reproduction clock synchronized with the EFM signal, and based on the reproduction clock, performs the above-mentioned decoding process. By obtaining the information of the rotation speed of the spindle motor 6, based on the playback clock, and comparing the information with the information of the reference speed, it is possible to generate a spindle error SPE signal and output it as Exit.

During playback, the encoding / decoding section 12 stores the data that is decoded in the manner described above, in the buffer 20.

For the playback output from this disk drive, the data that is stored in the buffer memory 20 is read, and transferred to be output.

A USB interface 13 is connected to the host computer 80 via a USB bus 100, so that the recording data, the playback data, various commands, etc., are communicated to the host computer 80. Then, during the recording reproduction, the reproduction data that is decoded and stored in the buffer 20, is transferred and output to the central computer 80, through the interface section 13. A read command, a write command, and other signals from the host computer 80 are delivered to the system controller 10 through the USB interface 13.

ES 2 284 592 T3

The USB bus 100 physically connects the USB interface connector 13 of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 to the USB interface connector of the host computer 80 via a USB cable. Furthermore, as is well known, the USB interface is capable of supplying, along with data, DC power from the host computer side to the peripheral device side. Thus, as illustrated in the figure, the USB bus 100 is made up of a data bus 101 through which data is transmitted, and a power bus 102 for transmitting power.

In this case, although the USB interface is used for communication with the host computer 80, the interface is not limited to it, and SCSI, IEEE1394, ATAPI (ATA Packet Interface), interfaces (IDE), etc. can be used. .

In a case where audio data is being played, that is, in a case where CD-R (and CD-RW) playback is in progress in which audio data is recorded in the same format as In a CD-DA, a case is also possible in which, for example, the data that is decoded by the encoding / decoding section 12 and is stored in the buffer 20, are passed through the encoding / decoding section 12 (in the case of this figure), after the data has been converted into an analog audio signal through, for example, a D / A converter 40 , amplification and sound volume adjustment are effected in them by means of a variable amplifier 41, and the signal is output to a headphone terminal 42 which is an audio output terminal. The adjustment of the sound volume in the variable amplifier 41 is controlled by a system controller 10 in response, for example, to an operation performed on an operational element for volume adjustment, which is provided in the operations section 28.

On the other hand, during recording, the recording data (audio data, CD-ROM data and user data such as the various files) are transferred from the central computer 80. The recording data is sent from section 13 interface to buffer 20, whereby the data is buffered.

In this case, as a process for encoding the recording data that is in the buffer, the encoding / decoding section 12 performs a process for encoding CD-ROM format data into CD format data (when the supplied data is data CD-ROM), CIRC encoding, interleaving, subcode addition, EFM modulation, etc.

The EFM signal obtained by the encoding process, in the encoding / decoding section 12, is subjected to a process called "write equalization" in an equalizer 21, after which it is sent as WDATA write data to the controller 4 of laser, to effect the activation of the laser light emission, thus forming pits (pits by phase change or pits by dye change) corresponding to the write WDATA data, on the disk 90.

A power self-control (APC) circuit 19, is a section of the circuit to perform control so that the laser output becomes constant, regardless of temperature, etc., while monitoring the power of the laser output by means of the output of the monitoring detector 22. The target value of the laser output is supplied from the system controller 10, and the laser controller 18 is controlled so that the laser output level is at the target value.

Based on the focus error signal FE and the RF amplifier 9 tracking error signal TE, and the spindle error signal SPE of the encoding / decoding section 12 or the address decoding section 24 , and so on, servo processor 14 generates various servo drive signals, such as focus, tracking, drag, and spindle, to cause servo operation to occur.

More specifically, in response to the focus error signal FE and the tracking error signal TE, a focus drive signal FD and a follow drive signal TD are generated, which are supplied to a biaxial controller 16. The Biax driver 16 activates a focus coil and a biax drive follower coil 3 on pickup 1. As a result, a servo-tracking loop and a servo-focus loop are formed with the pickup 1, the RF amplifier 9, the servo-processor 14, the biaxial controller 16 and the biaxial mechanism 3.

Furthermore, in response to a track jump instruction from the system controller 10, the servo-tracking loop is deactivated, and a jump enable signal is output to the biaxial controller 16, so that it is performed. a track skip operation.

The servo processor 14 also supplies a spindle drive signal, generated in response to the spindle error signal SPE, to the spindle motor controller 17. In response to the spindle drive signal, the spindle motor controller 17 applies, for example, a three-phase drive signal to the spindle motor 6, so that the rotation CLV of the spindle motor 6 is effected. Furthermore, the servo-processor 14 generates a spindle activation signal in response to a spindle start / stop control signal from the system controller 10, so that operations such as start, stop, acceleration, deceleration are also performed. , etc., of the spindle motor 6, by means of the spindle motor controller 17.

ES 2 284 592 T3

Furthermore, the servo-processor 14 generates a drift activation signal based, for example, on the drift error signal obtained as lower frequency components of the tracking error signal TE, and based on the execution control of access, etc., from the system controller 10, and supplies the signal to a trawl controller 15. The drag controller 15 activates the drag mechanism 8 in response to the drag activation signal. The drive mechanism 8 is a mechanism formed by a main shaft for holding the sensor 1, a drive motor, a transmission gear, etc., (not illustrated). The drive controller 15 activates the drive mechanism 8 in response to the spindle drive signal, causing a predetermined sliding movement of the pickup 1 to be effected.

The various operations of the servo system and the recording and reproducing system, such as those described above, are controlled by the controller 10 of the microcomputer system. System controller 10 performs various processes in response to a command from central computer 80.

For example, in the case where a command is provided from the central computer 80 to request the transfer of particular data recorded on the disk 90, a search operation is performed using the specified address as the target first. That is, an instruction is delivered to the servo-processor 14 to perform an access operation of the sensor 1, in which the target is the address specified by the search order.

Thereafter, control of the operation required to transfer the data of that specified data range to the host computer 80 is performed. That is, the reading / decoding / buffering, etc., of the data on the disk is performed. 90, to transfer the requested data.

Furthermore, when a write command (write command) is issued from the host computer 80, the system controller 10 first causes the pickup 1 to move to a direction in which the writing is performed. Then, an encoding process is performed by the encoding / decoding section 12 on the data transferred from the host computer 80, in the manner described above, forming an EFM signal.

Then, the WDATA write data, on which equalization is performed in the manner described above, is supplied to the laser controller 18, causing the recording to take place.

In this case, it is possible that the system controller 10 sets a reference speed information in the servo-processor 14, and the servo processor 14 compares the set reference speed information with the decoder rotational speed information. 12, in order to generate a spindle error signal SPE. Furthermore, by changing the setting of the reference speed information, the drive speed of the disk rotation can be changed and set. That is, in the case of reproducing, the reproduction is made possible at a predetermined multiple of a unit speed, which is higher than the unit speed. At that time, the reproduction clock obtained as a result of the PLL circuit operated in the encoding / decoding section 12 being made to have a frequency corresponding to the set multiple of the unit rate, so that the treatment of the signal corresponding to the reproduction with a multiple of the unit speed.

In addition, during recording, in a case where the drive speed of the disk rotation is set as a multiple of the unit speed, which is higher than the unit speed, such as the clock for recording, a frequency corresponding to the fixed multiple of the unit speed. The encoding process of the encoding / decoding section 12 and the signal processing in the equalizer 21 are performed in accordance with this clock. Thereafter, the WDATA write data processed in this way is supplied to the laser controller 18, thereby effecting recording to the disk at a writing speed corresponding to the drive speed of the disk rotation.

An operation section 28 is formed by means of keys to perform an operation on the CD-R / RW disk drive 0. In this case, for example, a power key, an eject key, etc. are provided. Furthermore, a play key is provided for a CD-R / RW disc drive 0 of this embodiment, which can play a CD-DA by itself, without depending on control from the host computer 80. System controller 10 is provided with an operation information signal in response to an operation in this operation section 28, and system controller 10 performs a predetermined control process, as appropriate, in response to this information signal. of the operation.

A display section 29 comprises, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). As a result of the display section 29 being operated under the control of the system controller 10, a display of the content corresponding to the current operating state occurs. In addition, the system controller 10 performs a control that is related to the activation of the LCD backlight of the display section 29.

A power supply section 30 is provided to provide each section of the internal circuitry of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 with a DC voltage that is stabilized at a predetermined voltage level of the power supply.

ES 2 284 592 T3

In this case, the DC power source that is supplied from an AC adapter, charger, or dry battery can be input to the power source section 30 of this embodiment. In the case of this embodiment, the charger and the dry battery are housed in the battery holders arranged in the main unit, where such battery holders are arranged in respectively different positions for the charger and the dry battery. Furthermore, in the case of this embodiment, a DC power supply supplied from the host computer 80 side may also be input via the power bus 102 of the USB bus 100. Then, in the power supply section 30, from among these power sources that are already physically connected, an appropriate power source is selected to provide the DC power source indoors.

However, in the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 of this embodiment, the amount of current consumption increases to 500 mA or more, for example, at the start time of the spindle motor rotation. In comparison, the power that can be supplied through the USB interface is 5 V / 500 mA. As a result, a case may occur where the power becomes insufficient in the power supply from the USB power supply, and proper operation cannot be expected. Therefore, to be absolutely safe, the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 in this embodiment is constructed so that it does not use the USB power supply in principle.

The system controller 10 is provided with a ROM 26 and a RAM 27. In the ROM 26, for example, in addition to the programs to be executed by the system controller 10, the information required for the system controller 10 to perform the various operating controls, is pre-stored. In rAm 27, there are contained various pieces of information obtained in accordance with the various control processes performed by the system controller 10.

1-2 Central computer

The construction of host computer 80 is illustrated in Figure 2 below.

The central computer 80 of this embodiment is, for example, a personal computer apparatus, in which application software is installed to control a recording and reproducing operation of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, in this personal computer apparatus. This application program makes it possible to write data transferred from the host computer 80 side onto the disc loaded in CD-R / RW disc drive 0, or to read data from a disc loaded in CD-R / RW disc drive 0 . In this embodiment, as will be described later, when communicating with CD-R / RW disk drive 0, the status of the power supply is recognized, including the remaining battery level of drive 0 of CD-R / RW disc, and based on this status of the power supply, the processes related to the various recordings and playback, and the control of the various operations of the CD-R / RW disc drive 0 are performed.

From here on, the application software will be referred to as the "control application".

Figure 2 shows the internal construction of the central computer 80.

The host computer 80 illustrated in this figure comprises a USB interface 209 as an interface for exchanging data externally. The USB interface 209 is connected to the USB bus 100, allowing mutual communication with an external device. In the case of this embodiment, the USB interface 209 is connected to the CD-R / RW disk drive 0.

The USB interface 209 converts the data received via the data bus 101 from the USB bus 100, according to a data format that conforms to internal data communication, and outputs it to a CPU 201 to via an internal bus 210.

Furthermore, the data output is input under the control of the CPU 201, a modulation process is performed therewith in accordance with the USB format, and the data is transmitted and output via the USB bus 116.

In addition, at the USB interface 209, DC power can be supplied to a peripheral device that is connected through the USB bus 100, using the power bus 102 as the transmission line. For this reason, the USB interface 209 is constructed in such a way that a DC power supply voltage supplied from a power supply section (to be described later), can be distributed and transmitted through the bus 102 feeding.

The CPU 201 performs various processes according to the programs contained, for example, in a ROM 202. In this embodiment, in order to allow the transmission and reception of various data, according to USB standards, in the ROM 202 is also stored a program to control the USB interface 209. That is, in the central computer 80, there is a set (hardware and software) that is used for the transmission and reception of data through the USB interface.

Furthermore, the CPU 201 is provided with a cache memory 201a. For example, a real cache is typically provided with a main cache within the CPU chip and a secondary cache that is arranged externally.

ES 2 284 592 T3

In this case, they are collectively illustrated as a cache.

The data, programs, etc., required for the CPU 201 to perform various processes, are contained in a RAM 203 appropriately.

A keyboard 205 and mouse 206 are connected to an input / output interface 204, and the input / output interface 204 outputs an operation signal supplied from these devices to the CPU 201. In recent years, for example, A USB interface has often been used as an interface for keyboard 205 and mouse 206, and such an interface of that operating system can also be used in this embodiment.

Furthermore, a hard disk drive 207 having a hard disk as the recording medium is connected to the input / output interface 204. In the case of this embodiment, a control application 300, described above, is installed in this hard disk unit 207, and the CPU 201 performs a control process according to the program of this control application 300, allowing perform various controls on the CDR / RW drive 0.

The CPU 201 can write or read data, programs, etc., to or from the hard disk of the hard disk drive 207, through the input / output interface 204. In this case, a display monitor 208 is also connected to the input / output interface 204 to display an image.

The internal bus 210 is formed, for example, by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnection) bus or a local bus, where the internal function circuit sections are mutually connected to each other.

In a power supply section 211, for example, a commercial AC power supply is introduced to generate a DC power supply voltage with a predetermined level, and that voltage is delivered to the output for each circuit section. internal function. Furthermore, if this host computer 80 is, for example, what is commonly called a portable type personal computer, the construction is formed in such a way that a DC voltage can be supplied from the power supply using a charger and an adapter. AC power source.

Although only USB is illustrated here as an interface possessed by host computer 80, for example, various interfaces may be employed in practice, including the IEEE 1394 interface and an interface that can be arranged in a PC card slot.

2. Recording method

A description will now be given of a recording method for the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 of this embodiment, and for a system in which the control application 300 is installed, which makes such a recording method possible. CD-R / RW drive 0.

In this embodiment, four recording methods are possible which are: one-time disk (DAO), one-time track (TAO), one-time session (SAO), and packet writing.

One-shot disc is a recording method in which writing is performed only once on a medium, that is, further recording is prohibited.

In the CD format, it is prescribed that, for example as illustrated in Figure 3, the recording is performed in order starting from the inner region side: (1) start (2) data (3) output. The start indicates the start position of the data and the exit indicates the end position of the data. In one-time disc mode, recording is done in the order: start data output.

Unlike the one-time disc mode described above, in the one-time track mode, as indicated in part (a) of Figure 4, recording is done in the order: (1) data (2) start (3) exit. However, for the start zone, in the stage before the data is written, the zone immediately before the start position of the data recording is assigned and, therefore, the order in which, for example , each zone is configured from the inner region to the outer region, it is the same as the one-time disk.

In one-time track mode, a zone formed at a [start - data - exit] is called a "session", and the write operation of the start and exit after the data has been written is called also close.

In one-time track mode, until the session is closed, additional data can be recorded, for example, as illustrated by data 1, 2 and 3 in Figure 4. However, as illustrated in part (a) of FIG. 4, a connection called a link block is formed between the data.

Furthermore, in the one-time track mode, even after the session has been closed once, it is possible to make a recording in such a way that the next session is a newly recorded addition.

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Assuming that the session in which, for example, data is recorded, as illustrated in part (a) of Figure 4, is the first session, as illustrated in part (b) of Figure 4, you can record yourself a second session following that session. However, further considering this additionally recorded session, as illustrated in the figure, in a manner similar to that described in relation to part (a) of figure 4, the recording is performed in the order: (1) data (2) start (3) exit. That is, for each session, a start and an exit are required.

In the one-time session mode, for one session, as illustrated in part (a) of FIG. 5, recording is performed in the order: (1) data (2) start (3) exit. In this regard, the one-time session mode is the same as the one-time disk mode, and no link blocks are formed between recorded tracks within a session.

Furthermore, in the one-time session mode, as illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 5, an additional session can be recorded.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a recording method called packet writing is also possible.

For example, in one-time track mode, data is written in track units (for example, in the case of audio data, the data of a piece of music), while in packet writing, writing it is done in packet units obtained, for example, by subdividing the track data.

For example, this packet writing is suitable for a case where the writing is performed using data with file units, such as text, images, etc., managed by a personal computer, and it is desired to frequently update this written data.

3. Battery information

Although the details will be described in the parts that follow, in the system of this embodiment, when the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is operating in a state that it is powered by a battery (charger or dry cell) , various power saving operations are performed according to the remaining battery level. In addition, an operation is performed to protect data recorded on a medium. These operations are possible as a result of the host computer 80 recognizing the remaining battery level of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, in accordance with the control application program 300 and performing a predetermined check on the drive 0. CD-R / RW disc capacity based on the recognized remaining battery level.

Therefore, for this purpose, a set of commands containing at least information about the remaining battery level is required to be transmitted and received between the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 and the host computer 80.

Consequently, in this embodiment, the battery information is defined.

For example, in an interface such as ATAPI, SCSI, IEEE 1394 or USB, used in various data processing devices, a set of commands conforming to the MMC (Multimedia Command Set) standard is used. The battery information is defined as a vendor exclusive order, which is unique to the vendor, and can be defined as desired, in this MMC order set.

As an order transaction by the MMC, for example, a request order is transmitted from the apparatus side, such as a controller, to the target side, and a response order responding to this request is returned on the target side. . Battery information is also transmitted in accordance with such a transaction standard. Therefore, a command to obtain battery information to request the battery information is transmitted from the host computer 80, operating as a controller, and the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, which is a target, returns a battery information page in response to this command to obtain battery information.

Fig. 6 shows an example of the data structure of the command to obtain information from the battery. As illustrated in this figure, the command to obtain information from the battery is composed, for example, by a 12-byte zone that goes from byte zero to byte eleven.

First, in the zero byte, an opcode is placed that indicates the current order type. In this case, D5h (h represents hexadecimal notation) is illustrated for example, as battery information.

The next first byte is undefined.

The 6 low-order bits (bit 5 to bit 0), of the second next byte, indicate a page code.

The battery information that can be requested by the order to obtain information from the battery, is allowed to make a plurality of pages (types) exist, according to the content of the same.

The page code specifies the above-mentioned page and, in it, a battery information page (to be described later), is indicated for example by a sequence of bits (000001).

ES 2 284 592 T3

The two high-order bits of the second byte, and the area from the third byte to the sixth byte, are undefined.

The 2-byte zone composed of the following bytes no. 7 and byte no. 8 is the allocation length. The length of the allocation limits the maximum data size of the battery information that is returned, in response, from the target.

On the target side, a response is transmitted within the range of the data size described in the allocation length. On the controller side, a memory area is allocated for the indicated data size, for example by allocation length. This prevents memory from overflowing due to a response received on the controller side, so that it may run out of capacity for the process.

In this case, the remaining area from byte 9 to byte 11 is not defined.

Next, in Figures 7 to 10 the structure of the transmitted battery information is illustrated as a response from the target side to the receipt of a command to obtain battery information, illustrated in Figure 6 described above.

For example, this battery information is made up of 42 bytes, from byte zero to byte 41, and Figures 7 to 10 show the content of each of these areas in sequence.

As illustrated in Figure 7, in the zero byte of the battery information, a page code is placed in the area of ​​the 6 low-order bits (bit 5 to bit 0) that follow the undefined area of the two higher-order bits, displaying a value that specifies the battery information page. Thus, in this case, it is stored in a similar manner to the page code of the command to get information from the battery illustrated in Fig. 6 (000001). In the next first byte, a page length is illustrated to indicate the size of the battery information data. In this case, the length of the page is equal to 28h, and for example, this value is within the range of values ​​indicated by the allocation length of the command to obtain the battery information.

In the second and subsequent bytes, the content concerning various states of the power supply is illustrated.

The second byte is a zone that indicates the type of power supply that is currently physically connected and that can be used. In this case, bit 3 is assigned to the bus power supply by the data bus connection on one of the USB / IEEE 1394 / PCMCIA lanes, and bit 2 is assigned to a dry battery. Also, bit 1 is assigned to a charger and bit 0 is assigned to an AC adapter. For example, storing "1" in each bit area illustrates that the power supply is physically connected and can be used, and storing "0" illustrates that the power supply is not physically connected and that cannot be used.

The third byte is a zone that indicates the type of power supply currently in use, and the way in which each type of power supply is assigned to the bit position is the same in the second byte. Setting "1" as the bit value indicates that the power supply assigned to that bit position is currently in use.

The fourth byte is an area that indicates the type of power supply that can be used in a case where a disk drive (in the case of this embodiment, the CD-R / RW disk drive 0), which is a target, reads data as a peripheral device of the computer. The way in which each type of power supply is assigned to the bit position is the same as in the second and third bytes. If “1” is stored in that bit position, it indicates that the power supply can be used and if “0” is stored, it indicates that that power supply cannot be used.

In addition, in each area of ​​the fifth, sixth and seventh bytes (to be described later), the way in which each type of power supply is assigned to the bit position and the significant content indicated by the value in each position bit, they are the same.

The fifth byte is an area that indicates the type of power supply that can be used in a case where the disk drive, as a peripheral device of the computer, writes the data.

The area from the sixth byte to byte no. 15 is illustrated in Figure 8.

The sixth byte is an area that indicates the type of power supply that can be used in a case where the disk drive plays a CD-DA as a peripheral device of the computer.

The seventh byte is an area that indicates the type of power supply that can be used in a case where the disc drive plays a CD-DA by itself.

The eighth byte is a zone that indicates whether or not the charger is currently being loaded. If a "1" is stored in bit position 0, this indicates that the magazine is being loaded, and if a "0" is stored, this indicates that the magazine is not being loaded.

ES 2 284 592 T3

The 3-byte area from byte nine to byte eleven is undefined.

In the total 2-byte area of ​​bytes twelve and thirteen, the capacity of the battery when fully charged is illustrated.

In this case, the 1-bit zone of bit 7 of byte twelve, which is the MSB, is a validation bit zone, and the zone is a flag indicating the validity / invalidity of the content described in the 2-byte zone of bytes twelve and thirteen.

If it is a "1", this indicates validity, and if it is a "0", this indicates invalidity.

The 15 bits from bit 6 of byte twelve to bit 0 of byte thirteen indicate the capacity of the battery when fully charged. In this case, the battery capacity value is represented in units of mA x H.

Furthermore, a validity bit is set in the start bit of each zone (which will be described in the following), thereby indicating the validity / invalidity of the illustrated content in each zone.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte fourteen and byte fifteen, the current battery capacity, that is, the remaining battery level, is shown in units of mA x H.

The area from byte sixteen to byte 29 is illustrated in Figure 9.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte sixteen and byte seventeen, for example, the time required for the charged value to change from zero remaining battery level to full charge level, is illustrated in units of minutes. This value is known in advance from the specifications, for example, of the charger and the charging circuit of the power supply section, and the value can be pre-stored, for example, in ROM, etc., within the unit. disk. Later, this stored value can be used to be stored in this area.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte eighteen and byte nineteen, the time during which operation can continue in a case where the data is to be read under predetermined conditions (disk rotation speed, luminance (lit / off) of the display section LCD backlight, etc.) that are currently set to a full load state, is illustrated in units of minutes.

In the area of ​​byte 20 and byte 21, the time during which operation can continue in a case where data is to be written under predetermined operating conditions, which are currently set to a full load state, is illustrated in units of minutes.

If the rotational speed of the disc is high or if the LCD backlight is on with high luminance, a higher amount of power is consumed and therefore the time for which operation can continue varies even at the same level. battery remaining. Therefore, the time during which operation can continue is calculated by taking into account the operating conditions involving such variations in power consumption. In this case, the elements of the operating conditions relating to the time for which it is calculated that the operation can continue are not particularly limited, and therefore, in addition, the operating conditions such as those described below can be included.

For example, in the case of CD-Rs and CD-RWs, as the reflectance of light from the signal plane differs, the laser power to radiate onto the signal plane also differs. Then, if the difference in power consumption due to the difference in laser power exerts a large influence on the time during which operation can continue, the time during which operation can continue can be determined by considering such operating conditions as one of the elements.

In the next area of ​​byte 22 and byte 23, the time during which operation can continue is illustrated in units of minutes, in a case where the playback of a CD-DA is output from a fully loaded state .

In the area below bytes 24 and 25, the time during which operation can continue in a case where data reading is performed under predetermined operating conditions, which are currently set to the current remaining battery level.

In the area of ​​bytes 26 and 27, the time during which operation can continue in a case where data writing is performed under predetermined operating conditions, which are currently set at the time, is illustrated in units of minutes. current remaining battery level.

In the area of ​​bytes 28 and 29, the time during which operation can continue in a case where the reproduction of a CD-DA is to be output from a fully loaded state is illustrated in units of minutes.

These times during which operation can continue, corresponding to the current remaining battery level and operating conditions, can be observed, for the sake of brevity, where the battery level

ES 2 284 592 T3 remaining is replaced by the time during which operation can continue. For example, if the current remaining battery level information is assumed to be available as battery information, but the time for which operation can continue is not available, and when that time for which the operation can continue is necessary, In operation, the host computer 80 must calculate that time using the remaining battery level and other parameters, causing an increase in the process in the host computer 80. Therefore, if the time during which operation can continue is contained in the battery information, as described above, it becomes possible for the central computer 80 to recognize the time during which operation can continue, referring directly to this value.

Furthermore, since the time for which operation can continue can be obtained by taking into account various operating conditions that are currently set with respect to the remaining battery level, the time is information that is more accurate than a case that is based simply on the remaining battery level.

When such information of the time during which the operation can continue is created in the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, in the ROM 26 a profile such as, for example, the amount of power consumption for each is stored in advance. of the various elements of the operating conditions. Then, when the battery information is generated, the system controller 10 reads the necessary parameter in the content of the profile contained in the ROM 26, and applies a predetermined function, for example to this parameter and the current remaining battery level, thus calculating each of the remaining battery levels described above.

Figure 10 illustrates the area from byte 30 to byte 41.

The area from byte 30 to byte 33 is currently undefined.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte 34 and byte 35, the current voltage of the charger terminal is illustrated in units of mV.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte 36 and byte 37, the current value of the current draw is shown in units of mA.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte 38 and byte 39, the current battery temperature is illustrated. In order to obtain a value to be stored therein, for example in the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 of this embodiment, a thermometric circuit is arranged to measure the temperature of the battery (particularly a charger) inside of power supply section 30.

There are various uses for the current battery temperature information. For example, the following is possible, while the magazine is being loaded into CD-R / RW disk drive 0, that the host computer performs a control so that if the temperature is high the charging current is reduced, and if the temperature is low, allow a greater amount of charging current flow.

In the 2-byte area of ​​byte 40 and byte 41, an operation prohibition temperature is illustrated.

In this case, as will be described later, a high-order bit in each area from byte 12 to byte 41 is a validation bit. Only when this validation bit is "1" will the information described in it be valid, and when it is "0", the information is not valid.

The reason a validation bit is set in the manner described above is due, for example, to reasons such as those described below.

For example, when the disk drive begins a particular predetermined operation, a relatively large load variance appears. For example, at the start time of the disc rotation, etc., as the spindle motor has started to rotate, the load becomes heavy and the terminal voltage on the charger temporarily decreases.

In the manner described above, depending on the working state of the disk drive, there are cases where some of the states related to the power supply are not stable. For example, in a case where, based on the current state of the power supply detected in this state, various information such as described above is created and stored in the battery information, these pieces of information are not they are reliable. Even if, for example, the central computer 80 performs control based on this information, this can lead to abnormal operation.

Consequently, in this embodiment, in the manner described above, in the case of a situation in which the current information value has low reliability, a "0" is set in the validation bit, so that the information is invalid. As a result, a system malfunction is prevented from occurring. This is done by the system controller 10 by monitoring the current operating status.

Furthermore, in the battery information illustrated in Figures 7 to 10, a particular grouping of zones always starts from the position of evenly numbered bytes (even addresses). The reason for this is that they exist

Some personal computers, which function as controllers, cannot process data from an area with an odd-numbered address, and this is taken into consideration.

For example, in the system of this embodiment, it is assumed that the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is connected as a peripheral device to the central computer 80, and that in the central computer 80 the control application 300 is activated. , so that control of CD-R / RW disc drive 0 is possible.

In this state, when it becomes necessary for the host computer 80 to recognize the status of the power supply in the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, the battery information illustrated in FIG. 6 is transmitted to the drive 0 of CD-R / RW disc via USB 100 bus. On the CD-R / RW drive 0 side, when an order to obtain information from the battery is received, the information corresponding to the current state of the power supply is stored in each area of ​​the structure illustrated in the figures. 7 to 10, thus creating the battery information. This information from the battery is then transmitted to the central computer 80.

In the central computer 80, by identifying the content stored in the received battery information, it is possible to recognize the current state of the power supply of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0. Then, as will be described in the following, the operation of the system is controlled in accordance with the recognized state of the power supply of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0. That is, the operation of the host computer 80 itself is controlled, and the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is controlled.

Four. Operation during data recording and playback

Figure 11 illustrates the content of the control to be performed by the host computer 80 during recording and playback, according to the state of the power supply of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0.

CD-R / RW drive 0 power supply status is classified into power supply by connection of AC adapter and battery power supply (one charger and one dry battery, respectively). As also described above, this embodiment is formed such that USB power is not used.

The power supply has a constant and stable performance when using the connection of an AC adapter. Therefore, as illustrated in the figure, in this state, a read / write permission mode is set. That is, the host computer 80 sets a mode in which both reading and writing data to and from the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 are possible.

Furthermore, in this state, no power saving mode is set. When a power saving mode is not set, the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 operates at the highest performance possible in the specification.

In this embodiment, the host computer 80 performs a control such that the performance of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is forcibly decreased by means of a power saving mode (to be described later). The four operations that are controlled by this power saver are the rotational speed of the disk, the access speed, the electronic volume (variable amplifier 41) of the headphone output, and the luminance of the LCD backlight. .

For example, in the case of the first stage, relative to the speed of rotation of the disc during recording and playback, it is possible to set the highest rotation speed of the disc that is allowed, in such a way that it corresponds to the mode of recording. current operation and with the environment. The "access speed" in this case refers to the rotary drive speed of the drive motor arranged in the drive mechanism 8, and the rotary drive speed of this drive motor can also be rotated at the maximum speed that is specified. allow in terms of the specification. Furthermore, the electronic volume can be adjusted up to the maximum level, for example as a variable range. In addition, the backlight of the LCD screen can also be turned on at its maximum brightness.

In comparison, in a state in which the power is supplied with a battery, the control is performed as follows, taking into consideration the fact that the remaining battery level will decrease as the usage time passes.

At this point, in the case of the battery, the range of times during which operation can continue, corresponding to the remaining battery level, is divided into the first to fourth stages. In this case, the limits between the first to fourth stages are determined by means of a limit value 1, a limit value 2 and a limit value 3 which are predetermined.

The first stage is in the range of the limit value 1 or more, including a state of full charge, in which a sufficient battery level remains. Therefore, the first stage is a stage in which the time during which the operation can continue can also be sufficiently ensured.

The second stage is a range less than or equal to limit value 1, and is greater than or equal to limit value 2. The second stage still has a sufficient remaining battery level, although it is less than in the first stage, and the time

ES 2 284 592 T3 during which operation can continue, which is the degree that is not a problem for normal recording and reproduction, is assured.

The third stage is in a range less than or equal to limit value 2, and is greater than or equal to limit value 3, and corresponds to a state in which the remaining battery level decreases to a degree such that the time during which can continue operation, which is sufficient for normal use, can not be assured.

The fourth stage is at a level less than or equal to the limit value 3, and is in a state in which the remaining battery level decreases to such an extent that the time for which operation can continue, which is sufficient to complete the recording. / data playback in progress, cannot be assured.

In the first stage state, the host computer 80 sets the read / write permission mode. That is, both an operation to read the data, reproduced from the disk loaded in the CDR / RW disk drive 0, on the side of the host computer 80, and an operation to write the data transferred from the host computer 80 to the disc.

Furthermore, in the case of battery drive, a power saving mode is set in which the power consumption of the battery is reduced. Also, in this power saving mode, the power control level is changed according to the stage, and in the first stage, the first level power saving mode is set.

In the first-level power saving mode, the overall performance is decreased, so that the power consumption is lower than the power consumption of the full power state, in which the power saving mode is not set.

In this embodiment, when the power save mode is set to decrease the performance of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, operations such as those described below are performed on the CD-R / RW disk drive 0. R / RW.

One is to decrease the rotational speed of the disc. For example, if a change is made from a state in which the disk rotates at a speed of 8x to one in which the speed is 4x, the rotational speed of the spindle motor 6 decreases correspondingly, and the amount of consumption energy is reduced.

Another is a decrease in access speed.

The "access speed" referred to in the present description means the rotational speed of the motor, called "drive motor" which is constitutive of the drive mechanism 8. That is, if the rotational speed of the drive motor decreases, the speed of movement in the radial direction of the disk of the optical pickup 1 decreases, and the speed of a search operation decreases. Also in this case, the power consumption is reduced by an amount corresponding to the decreased rotational speed of the motor drive.

Furthermore, the volume of the sound that is set by an electronic volume of the variable amplifier 41 is limited to a particular predetermined level. This makes it possible to reduce the energy consumed by the variable amplifier 41.

Then, the luminance of the backlight of the display section 29, which comprises an LCD, is lowered, or the backlight is turned off. In addition, since the LCD backlight requires a relatively large amount of current, it is possible to effectively reduce power consumption by controlling this backlight.

In the first energy-saving mode described above, for example, in the case of a rotational speed of the disk, a rotational speed that is lower, by one step, than the maximum allowed rotational speed when a mode is not set. for energy saving, it is assumed to be the upper limit of the speed, and for the access speed, (the rotational speed of the trolling motor), similarly, a rotational speed is set that is lower, for example , on a step. Also, for the electronic volume level, it is assumed that a predetermined level that is lower than the maximum level, by one step, is the adjustable upper limit level. Also with regard to the LCD backlight, a luminance is set that is dimmer by one notch than full output. In the manner described above, performance can be lowered.

In the state of the second stage, the setting of the read / write permission mode is the same as in the first stage, but for a power saving mode, the second level power saving mode is set.

In the second-level power saving mode, a level is set that is stepwise lower than the stage level of each performance, such as the above-described disk rotation speed, access speed, limiting the volume level, and the luminance of the LCD backlight.

For example, as regards the speed of rotation of the disk, if a speed of 2x is set in the first stage, a speed of 1x will be set in the second stage, which is lower than a speed of 2x. Furthermore, as regards the LCD backlight, if for example the luminance is lowered to about 50% in the first stage, in the second stage the luminance will be lowered to about 20% (or the light

ES 2 284 592 T3 back of the LCD at this stage). In this way, in the second level power saving mode, the power consumption is further reduced than in the first level power saving mode.

For example, in the first level power saving mode, the overall power consumption only needs to be reduced more than in the unfixed power saving mode, and in the second level power saving mode, the overall power consumption of Power only needs to be reduced more than in top-notch power saving mode. Consequently, the combination of the level of each performance is desired, with the result that, for example, there may be a performance present that is common between the time of the unset power saving mode, the first power saving mode. level and second level power saving mode.

More specifically, for example in relation to the LCD backlight, it is possible that the LCD backlight is on during the time of the first-level power save mode, and that the backlight is off both during the power save mode. first-level power saving mode as well as second-level power saving mode.

Furthermore, for example in relation to the rotational speed of the disk, it is possible that the highest speed is allowed during the time of the unset power saving mode and the first level power saving mode, and that the speed decrease only after reaching the second level power saving mode.

In addition to each of the above-described operating items (disk rotation speed, access speed, volume, and LCD backlight), if there are operations such that a power saving effect is obtained by changing the power level performance, these can be included as control objects using a power saving mode.

In the third stage, a mode is set in which read-only is allowed, that is, data writing to the disk is prohibited.

For CD-Rs and CD-RWs, in the manner described above, a session must be closed by writing a start block and an output block finally when writing to them, that is, by writing a system of files on disk. For example, if the remaining battery level becomes zero in the middle of recording and recording is stopped, a shutdown process cannot be performed under the control of the host computer 80. This leads to the destruction of the session in which the data has been recorded up to that moment, or to the destruction of the disk medium itself.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as will be described below, in a case where the remaining battery level (the time for which operation can continue) becomes too low when the fourth stage is reached, it is rejected the operation and the closing process is forcibly performed, so that before proper recording can no longer be performed due to insufficient remaining battery level, At least the data that has been recorded up to that point will be protected.

The aforementioned prohibition on writing is a procedure for preparation for that purpose.

Also, in the third stage, the second-level power saving mode that has been set in the second stage is set similarly. In addition to this, a warning for the fact that the remaining battery level of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 has become zero, in a predetermined display form, occurs on the operation screen ( GUI screen or Graphical User Interface) of the control application displayed on the display monitor 208 of the host computer 80. In this embodiment, at the third stage or lower, battery power is not recommended, and a prompt is presented to the user to connect an AC adapter or replace the battery (this includes the case where, for For example, from a state in which power is provided by a charger, a battery is charged to change the power source).

Then, in the fourth stage, for example in the case of the moment of recording, the above-described forced closing process is carried out. Furthermore, although it is not illustrated in this case, for example in the case of recording, a data reading operation is stopped at the time when the reading of a particular track (data) is completed.

In the manner described above, in this embodiment, the performance of the device is changed and controlled for energy saving reasons according to the state of the power supply, and an operation, for example, prohibit operation, is to be obtained. data writing presentation of the closing process notice, thus protecting the data recorded on the disc.

As power saving modes, two levels are provided, that is, the first level power saving mode and the second level power saving mode, the performance of which is lower than that of the first level power saving mode. according to the remaining battery level. In other words, the emphasis is placed on extending battery life, so that, for example, as long as the remaining battery level remains acceptable, the user does not have the burden to set the performance status, which is relatively satisfactory. according to the first level power saving mode, and when the remaining battery level is not acceptable, a lower performance is set according to the first level power saving mode. That is, during the battery drive time, while achieving energy savings, operation is performed with the most satisfactory performance possible.

ES 2 284 592 T3

The number of steps of the remaining battery level and the number of steps of the power save mode, illustrated in Fig. 11, can be subdivided.

Fig. 12 shows a process operation for realizing control of the host computer 80, according to the state of the power supply of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 illustrated in Fig. 11.

Fig. 12 is also a flow chart illustrating a processing operation when the host computer 80 recognizes the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 as a peripheral device, when this process is performed and performs recording and playback. In this case, this is mainly a process for controlling the CDR / RW disc drive 0 so that when the CD-R / RW disc drive 0 is performing recording or playback, a power saving operation is obtained from according to the CDR / RW drive 0 power supply status.

This process is performed by the CPU 201 of the central computer 80, in accordance with the program of the control application 300. Furthermore, when the process illustrated in this figure is performed, the central computer 80 has recognized the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 as a peripheral device. Although not illustrated in this figure as a program of the control application 300, a battery information command is transmitted at intervals of a predetermined period of time, and the battery information returned in response is received, monitoring thus continuously the status of the power supply on the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 side.

In the process illustrated in this figure, for example in step S101, the read / write permission mode is set, and this process continues in subsequent processes.

After step S101, for example in step S102, it is determined whether or not the type of power supply currently used is an AC adapter. This can be determined by the content of the third byte (figure 7) of the battery information.

When a result of "YES" is obtained in step S102, it is determined that the power is currently supplied by an AC adapter. Thus, in this case, the process continues to step S103, whereby a power saving mode is not set, and the process returns to step S102.

In contrast, when a result of "NO" is obtained in step S102, it is determined that a battery (a charger or a dry battery) is currently used as the power source. In this case, the process continues in step S104.

In step S104, a comparison is made between the time Trm during which the operation can continue and the limit value 1, at the current remaining battery level, so that a determination is made to see whether or not the expressed relationship is obtained. by Trm> limit value 1.

The Trm time during which operation can continue with the current remaining battery level can be recognized by referring to one of the 2-byte zones (figure 9) of the [byte 24 - byte 25], [byte 26 -byte 27], and [byte 28 - byte 29], according to which the current read / write / audio read data operation takes place.

When a result of Si is obtained in step S104, the process continues in step S105, and the state of the power supply at this time corresponds to the first step described in relation to figure 11. Therefore, in this case , the first level power saving mode has to be set. To this end, the CPU 201 of the host computer 80 transmits a command such that the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 performs the first-level power saving mode operation. On the CD-R / RW drive 0 side, the internal operation is controlled in response to the received command, causing the operation with the first-level power saving mode to be performed.

As a result of the process of, for example, step S105, in this case, on the display monitor 208 of the host computer 80, a display is produced showing that the first-level power saving mode has been set. Alternatively, on a continuous basis, for example for CD-R / RW disk drive 0 power supply status, the type of power supply currently being used and the remaining battery level can be displayed, and, In addition, the status of the loading progress can be displayed.

In this case, referring to the flow chart of Fig. 16, a description is given of an example of a process operation for setting the operation of the energy saving mode of the first level, which is the process of step S105, in CD-R / RW drive 0.

In this case, initially, in step S501 an instruction is issued to the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 to change the rotational speed of the disk, for recording or playback at a predetermined speed. For this purpose, for example, a request command is transmitted to the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, which specifies a predetermined speed of rotation of the disk, which is lower than the speed of rotation of the disk that has been set so far. . In response to this command, the CD-R / RW disc drive 0 system controller 10 decreases the rotational speed of the disc during recording or playback. For example, the value of the reference speed of the PLL circuit, which is within the encoding / decoding section 12, is changed and set, and in the case of the

In particular for recording, a clock frequency corresponding to this rotational speed of the disk is set. As a result, it becomes possible to properly record data on the disk, at a transfer speed corresponding to the reduced rotational speed of the disk.

Here, in a case where, for example, the rotational speed of the disk of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is decreased, for example during recording, the data writing speed on the disk on the side of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 also decreases correspondingly. Therefore, in this case, the recording data transferred from the host computer 80 also needs to correspond to the rotational speed of the disk. Consequently, in the subsequent step S502, a data transfer rate corresponding to the rotational speed of the disk is set, which is set and changed in the step S501. Thereafter, the data is sent from the USB interface 13 at a data transfer rate that was set in step S502.

In the next step S503, a command is transmitted to specify a decrease in the access speed, that is, a decrease in the rotational speed of the drive motor, and is output to the CD-R disk drive 0 / RW. In the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 system controller 10, the drive current of the drive motor of the drive mechanism 8 is controlled so that the rotational speed of the drive motor specified by this is reached. order received.

Then, in the next step S504, a command is transmitted to specify to decrease the luminance of the LCD backlight of the display section 29 to a predetermined level. Furthermore, when the LCD backlight is to be turned off, this command may also specify to turn off. In CD-R / RW disk drive 0, control is performed in display section 29, so that the luminance of the LCD backlight specified by the received command is obtained.

Then, when the process ends up to step S504, a status display is produced to inform the user of the fact that, for example, the first level power saving mode is currently set, in a predetermined display form, by For example, on the presentation screen, which is presented on the presentation monitor by the control application. For example, by looking at this display, the user may confirm that reduced performance, for example on CD-R / RW disk drive 0, has been caused by entering power save mode.

As described above, according to the process illustrated in FIG. 16, a command to specify a particular performance is transmitted from the host computer 80 and, on the CDR / RW disk drive 0 side, a control is performed. internal so that the performance specified by the order received is obtained. As a result, a power saving mode operation is obtained for CD-R / RW disk drive 0.

When the power saving mode is set, for example, a command may be defined to instruct the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 to perform an operation in the power saving mode, and this command may be transmitted. In this case, the order content specifies the power saving mode level. On the other hand, in CD-R / RW disk drive 0 the control is performed to decrease, in a batch process manner, the rotational speed of the disk, the access speed, the backlight of the LCD, etc., in accordance with the power saving level specified by the power saving mode request order.

The description now returns to figure 12.

When a result of "NO" has been obtained in step S104, the process continues in step S106. A case where a result of "NO" is obtained in step S104 is a case where a lower stage than the first one illustrated in Fig. 11 is reached.

In step S106, a comparison is made between the time Trm during which the operation can continue, and the limit value 2, to determine whether or not the relationship expressed by Trm> limit value 2 is true.

When a "YES" has been obtained in step S106, it is assumed that the state of the power supply is that of the second stage illustrated by figure 11. Thus, in this case, the process continues in step S107, where the second level power saving mode is set.

The actual process illustrated in step S107 may be similar to the process operation flow as described in connection with FIG. 15. However, in the process of step S107, for example, a lower level than in the case of the process of step S105 is set at the performance level of a predetermined operation between each operation, such as the speed of rotation of the disk, the access speed, limiting the volume level, and lowering the luminance (off) of the LCD backlight.

In contrast, when a result of "NO" is obtained in step S106, and the remaining battery level is set lower than in the second step, the process continues in step S108.

As also described above with respect to Fig. 11, in the third stage, it is not recommended that the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 be operated by the battery, and a warning display occurs.

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Thus, in step S108, a screen control process is performed so that a warning presentation is produced informing the fact that the remaining battery level has dropped, on the operation screen, by the control application. , displayed on the display monitor 208. In this case, for the content of the notice, the user is also advised to connect an AC charger or replace the battery.

The process of the subsequent step S109 is a process performed when the recording data is transferred from the host computer 80 and the recording of the data is performed by the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, and the process is not performed in the state at hand. the one that is performing the data reading (reproducing) operation, as the process illustrated in this figure proceeds.

In step S109, the recording data contained in the cache memory 201a, owned by the CPU 201, is written and transferred to the CD-R / RW drive 0. As an example, if the data recording has been done by packet writing, this process reads all the data to be written to disk by writing packets from the cache and transfers them to CD-R disk drive 0 / RW. In CD-R / RW disk drive 0, this transferred data is recorded on the disk, thus completing the recording of the data of a packet (of a file) on the disk.

Then, in step S110, it is determined whether or not the AC adapter has been connected or the battery has been replaced or not. For this determination process, for example, reference is made to the type of power supply currently being used, described in the third byte (figure 7) of the battery information, or to the current remaining battery level in the [ byte 14 - byte 15] of the battery information.

For example, if an AC adapter is connected, the fact that the AC adapter is the power source currently in use is described in the third byte of the battery information, and if the battery is replaced, the remaining battery level value of the battery information bytes [byte 14 - byte 15] is changed to a higher value.

When a result of "YES" has been obtained in step S110 above, the process returns to step S102. As a result, the transfer of recording data from the host computer 80 to the CDR / RW disk drive 0 is allowed, which is prohibited as a result of the process of step S109 above. Furthermore, the energy saving mode that had been set up to that point is released.

In contrast, when a result of "NO" has been obtained in step S110, the process continues in step S111. In step S111, the permission mode is set to a mode in which recording (writing) of the data on the disk is prohibited, and only reading of the data is allowed. As a result, from here on, writing data from host computer 80 to CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is prohibited, and this state continues, for example, until the AC adapter is connected and released. the energy saving mode, or until the battery is replaced and thereby a state is reached in which the condition expressed by the time Trm is satisfied during which operation can continue> limit value 2.

Then, in the next step S112, it is determined again whether or not the AC adapter has been connected or whether or not the battery has been replaced.

For example, if in this case the connection of the AC adapter has not been made and the battery has not been replaced, and when a result of "NO" is obtained in the previous step S112, the process continues in the step S113, where makes a comparison between the time Trm during which the operation can continue and the limit value 3, also in this case, to determine if the relation of the time Trm during which the operation can continue> the limit value 3 is satisfied.

Then, as long as the third step is kept by having obtained the result of "NO" in step S113, the process returns to step S112. That is, in the third stage, all the recording data from cache 201a is transferred to CD-R / RW disk drive 0, and waiting for the connection of the AC adapter or the replacement of the battery. , it is done in a state where subsequent writing is prohibited.

Then, when the AC adapter is connected or the battery replacement is performed in this state, and when a result of "YES" is obtained in step S112, the process returns to step S101.

Furthermore, if the remaining battery level decreases to such an extent that the state of the power supply reaches the fourth stage illustrated in Fig. 11, under a state in which the state of the third stage continues in the manner described above, a result of "NO" is obtained in step S113 and the process returns to step S114.

Step S114 is a process corresponding to recording and, as described in Fig. 11, a forced closing process is performed. To this end, the CPU 201 of the host computer 80 creates a file system of the data that has been written to disk as a session at that time, and performs a closing process so that the file system is recorded. That is, in order to finally record on the disk an area of ​​a session formed by start block - data - output block, the necessary data (file system, etc.) are transferred to CD-R drive 0 / RW, and recording is performed on the disc.

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If data recording has been performed instead of, for example, the process of step S114 above, the reproduction may end when the host computer 80 has completed reading the data, for example, from a particular file (or track).

5. Operation in each recording mode

Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the description of the process in a case in which the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 of the host computer 80 performs recording and playback and of the system comprising the CDR / RW disk drive 0 RW.

However, as recording methods, as described above, there are four recording methods: one-time disk (DAO), one-time track (TAO), one-time session (SAO), and packet writing. Therefore, as a recording mode, there are four modes: DAO mode, TAO mode, SAO mode, and packet writing mode. The time in which an operation is actually performed according to the process illustrated in Fig. 12 is only the time of the packet writing mode, and in the DAO, TAO and SAO modes, the operations are somewhat different.

This is due to the following reasons that, for example in packet writing, additional recording is possible with relatively small-sized data units such as data packets, while, for example in DAO and SAO modes the session is It closes when a start block data output block data write time is performed continuously, and therefore the disk rotation speed (recording speed) cannot be changed in the middle of recording. Furthermore, in TAO mode, as long as the session is not closed, additional writing can be done to the disk in units of tracks. However, as the tracks normally have a relatively large data size, and the disc rotation speed (recording speed) cannot be changed in the middle of recording this track, and also for this reason, a recording operation is necessary. control that differs from that during data writing.

Therefore, hereinafter, a description is given of a control operation of the host computer 80 based on the state of the power supply, corresponding to each actual recording mode, of the CD-R / disk drive 0. RW.

For this description, reference will be made to the flowcharts of Figures 13 to 15. It is assumed that the process illustrated in these figures is also performed by the CPU 201, in accordance with the program such as that of the control application 300. It is also assumed that the process illustrated in these figures starts from the state in which the CD-R / RW disk drive uses a battery as a power source.

Initially, during recording, in order for the host computer 80 to perform the control corresponding to the state of the power supply (remaining battery level) of the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, a determination is made of the method current recording time, according to the process of FIG. 13. This process can be performed at a predetermined time corresponding, for example, to the recording start time.

In this case, initially, it is determined in step S201 whether or not the current recording mode is DAO mode. If the current recording mode is determined to be DAO mode, the process continues in the DAO mode management process.

When it is determined that the current recording mode is not DAO mode and a result of "NO" is obtained in step S201, the process continues in the next step S202, where it is determined whether the current recording mode is TAO mode. . When a result of "YES" is obtained in this step, the process continues in a TAO mode management process. If a result of "NO" has been obtained, the process continues to the next step S203.

In step S203, it is determined whether the recording mode is the SAO mode. If a result of "YES" is obtained, the process continues in an SAO mode management process. If a result of "NO" has been obtained, the recording method is assumed to be the remaining packet writing mode, and the process continues in a packet writing mode management process.

FIG. 14 illustrates the control operations of the DAO mode management process, the TAO mode management process and the SAO mode management process.

In each of the DAO, TAO and SAO recording modes, for example in the manner described in relation to Figures 3, 4 and 5, as a recording is carried out with a respectively different method, the control of the data writing differs, but the control operation corresponding to the state of the power supply is substantially the same. Consequently, for the convenience of the descriptions, a process is illustrated.

At this point, initially, in step S301 a comparison is made between the time Trm during which the operation corresponding to the current remaining battery level can continue and the limit value A, to determine whether or not the state of Trm has been reached. > limit value A. In this case, limit value A corresponds to limit value 1 illustrated, for example, in figure 11.

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When a result of "YES" has been obtained in step S301, the process continues to step S302, where the first-level power saving mode described in connection with, for example, Fig. 11 is set, and is displayed the state of the mode set on the display monitor 208. The process for setting the power saving mode is the same in this case as the process of step S105, for example, of Fig. 12.

In contrast, when a result of "NO" is obtained, the process continues to step S303, where the second-level power saving mode is set, and the state of this mode is displayed as output.

Then, after the process of these steps S302 and S303 is finished, the process continues to step S304.

In step S304, a comparison is made between the time Trm, during which the operation can continue, and the limit value B, to determine whether or not the state of Trm> limit value B has been reached. limit B is a value lower than limit value A, that is, it corresponds to a remaining battery level that is lower than limit value A. Furthermore, in the case of being in DAO mode, or in SAO mode, a value corresponding to the period of time required to record a session that is to be recorded from now on is set. Also in the case of being in TAO mode, a value corresponding to the period of time required to record a track to be recorded from here on is set. This is calculated by the CPU 201 using, for example, the recording speed (disk rotation speed) which is set as the current performance and data size for a session or for a track. However, if a high degree of precision is not required, an average value can be taken in advance.

In this case, if a result of "YES" has been obtained in step S304, depending on the current remaining battery level, how it is possible to write data for a session or for a track, the process continues in step S309, where starts a data writing process. Once the data writing process has started in step S309, the data will be written for a disk (in the case of DAO mode), for a session (in the case of SAO mode) and for a track (in the case of SAO mode). case of TAO mode), for example with the rotational speed (recording speed) of the disc corresponding to the current state of the current power saving mode.

In contrast, when a result of "NO" has been obtained in step S304, that is, when it is determined depending on the current remaining battery level, that it is not possible to write the data of a session or a track, the process continues. in step S305, where a warning presentation occurs. That is, the fact that the remaining battery level is insufficient is output, and in this case, a message is displayed to warn the connection of an AC adapter or the replacement of the battery.

Then, in the following steps S306 and S307, it waits for the connection of an AC adapter or for the replacement of the battery.

In this case, in step S306, a determination is made whether or not an AC adapter has been connected. When a result of "YES" is obtained, the process first proceeds to step S308, where if a power saving mode has been set in accordance with the process up to that time, this power saving mode is released, after which the process continues in step S309, where a data writing process is started. In contrast, when a result of "NO" is obtained, the process continues to step S307, where a determination is made to see whether or not the battery replacement has been performed.

When it is determined in step S307 that the battery replacement has been performed and a result of "YES" has been obtained, the process returns to step S301. In contrast, when a result of "NO" has been obtained, the process continues to step S310.

In step S310, a mode is set in which only reading is allowed and writing is prohibited. This process prevents data writing to the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 disk from starting in a case where the connection of an AC adapter and the replacement of the battery have not been performed, in a a state in which the battery level is low, and the closure of the data recording of a session or a track cannot be ensured. As a result of prohibiting the start of data writing in this way, in the case of DAO mode, data recording for a disc is not started and canceled. In the case of TAO and SAO modes, recording of the data for a track and for a session, respectively, does not start and is canceled.

Fig. 15 shows a control operation for a packet writing mode management process. As also described above, the packet writing mode management process is also illustrated by a control process during recording and playback illustrated in FIG. 12 above. In this case, the description will be made in little detail as it is limited only to the packet writing mode management process.

In this case, initially, in step S401, during the time Trm during which operation can continue, corresponding to the current operating state and the remaining battery level and with the limit value 1 (see FIG. 11), it is determined if the relation Trm> limit value 1 is true. If a result of “YES” is obtained in this step, it is assumed that the current state of the power supply is at the level of the remaining battery of the first stage (see figure 11) during battery power and therefore , the process continues to step S403, where the power saving mode is set and this power saving mode is displayed.

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In contrast, when a result of "NO" is obtained in step S403, since the state of the power supply is assumed to be in a stage equal to or lower than that of the second stage during battery power, the process continues. at step S403, where the second level power saving mode is set and this power saving mode is displayed.

After the process of steps S402 and S403 is performed, the process continues at step S404.

In step S404, with respect to the time Trm during which the operation can continue and the limit value 2, it is determined whether the relationship Trm> limit value 2 is true.

When a result of "YES" is obtained in this step, it is assumed that the state of the power supply is in the first stage or in the second stage during battery power.

In this case, the process continues to step S409, where a data writing process is started. The data writing process in this case is a process to write data from a packet to a disk. Then, in the next step S410, the recording data is transferred from the cache memory 201a of the host computer 80 to the CD-R / RW disk drive 0, and a wait is made to be able to finish writing this transferred data in the disk.

When it is determined in step S410 above that data writing has not finished yet, the process returns to step S401, where a comparison is made between the time Trm during which operation can continue in the middle of this data recording process. , and the limit value 1, 2 or 3, and a control process corresponding to the result of this comparison is carried out.

Then, if the data writing is finished in a state in which, for example, the second stage (Fig. 11) is kept as the remaining battery level, a result of "YES" is obtained in step S410, and the control exits this processing routine.

When a result of "NO" has been obtained in step S404, the state of the power supply is in a lower stage than the third stage, and in this case, the process continues in the process of step S405 and subsequent stages.

In step S405, a warning display showing that the remaining battery level has become insufficient is produced on the operation screen of the display monitor 208. For the current notice display, as described above, a message is produced to ask the user to connect an AC adapter or replace the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 battery.

Then, in the process of the following steps S406 and S407, for example, in practice a wait is made for the connection of the AC adapter or for the replacement of the battery, within a predetermined period of time.

When the AC adapter is connected, a result of "YES" is obtained in step S406. In this case, the process continues to step S408, where the second energy saving mode which has been set in the advance of the process so far is released. Thereafter, the process continues to the data writing process of step S409.

If the battery has been replaced, in step S407 a result of "YES" is obtained and the process returns to step S401.

In contrast, when the AC adapter connection has not been made and the battery has not been replaced, a result of "NO" is obtained in step S407, and the process continues to the process of step S411 and subsequent steps.

In step S411, a determination is made to see whether recording data has currently been stored in the cache 201a. When it is determined that the recording data is stored, the process of step S412 writes all the data into the cache, and the process continues with step S413. In contrast, when it is determined in step S411 that the recording data has not been stored and a result of "NO" has been obtained, step S412 is skipped and the process continues in step S413.

In step S413, a mode is set in which only reading is allowed and writing is prohibited. As a result, further writing of packet data is prohibited, and, for example, even when the user performs a write operation of a new packet at the host computer 80, it will be canceled.

In the next step S414, a determination is made to see whether the relationship of the time Trm during which the operation can continue> limit value 3 is true. The limit value 3 in this case is a value that is a boundary between the third stage and the fourth stage during battery power. In particular, in this case, the value can be determined based on the time Trm during which the operation can continue, which is sufficient to record the data of a packet, in such a way that it corresponds to the packet writing.

When a "YES" is obtained as a result in step S414, the control exits this process once and, for example, the process returns to the initial step S401. As a result, for example in process steps S401 to S407, if the AC adapter is connected, the power saving mode is released, and data writing becomes possible. If the battery is replaced and the status of the second stage or higher power supply is maintained, the

ES 2 284 592 T3 possible a data writing process in a state in which the first or second power saving modes is set.

In contrast, when it is determined in step S414 that a result of "NO" has been obtained and the state of the fourth stage power supply is reached, the process continues in step S415, where a closing process is performed. forced.

As can be understood from the above description, in this embodiment, in a state in which the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 is powered by the battery, a power saving mode is initially set, and the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 performance is fixed lower than it is, for example, when an AC adapter is connected. Furthermore, in this power saving mode the performance can be decreased in a stepwise manner according to a decrease in the remaining battery level, thus further reducing the power consumption.

Then, when the remaining battery level drops to such an extent that the time for which the CD-R / RW disc drive 0 can continue to operate becomes very short, a warning display is first produced so as to request the user to connect an AC adapter or replace the battery, and a recording prohibition mode is set. As a result, for example in the case of DAO, TAO or SAO, at this stage the start of data recording of a session (for a disc) or in track units is prohibited. Also, in packet writing, when the remaining battery level becomes even lower in this state and the remaining battery level decreases to such an extent that the time during which operation can continue, which is sufficient to Recording data of a packet again, for example, even when it is contrary to the user's intentions, a forced closing process is performed on the packet data that has been recorded up to that point.

As a result of obtaining such operations, in this embodiment, the time during which the operation can continue can be increased, and the destruction of the data that has been recorded on the disk is prevented. In this embodiment, a transmission and reception of a battery information command is performed in a system in which the central computer 80 and the CD-R / RW disk drive 0 are connected to each other through an interface. of data, and based on this, the central computer 80 controls these operations.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a recording and reproducing apparatus for media such as a CD-R / RW disk drive is used. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a disk drive having a recording and reproducing function that is compatible with, for example, only CD-R or CD-RW. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a recording and reproducing apparatus capable of recording and reproducing corresponding to media including, for example, MO discs, magnetic tape, magnetic discs, other than CD-R and CD- RW. Furthermore, in response to this, whenever the recording method changes according to the medium, a closing process corresponding to this recording method can be performed.

Furthermore, for example, the present invention can be applied to a system formed as a combination of a peripheral device other than the recording and reproducing apparatus and a central computer.

As described in the present invention, in an information processing operation in which a central computer, such as an information processing apparatus and peripheral devices, are connected so that they can effect communication, the state of the power supply on the peripheral device side can be output to the central computer by means of, for example, transmission and reception of the battery information. Then, based on the content of this battery information, the central computer performs control so that various operations, including an operation for recording and reproducing data, are performed as appropriate.

As a result, in the present invention, for example, when the peripheral device side is battery-powered, it becomes possible to obtain proper system operation, corresponding to the remaining level of this battery, and the functions of the system are improved.

In this case, the battery information is made to contain the time for which operation can continue, corresponding to the predetermined operating conditions, during battery power. That is, this can be viewed as information such that the remaining battery level is converted into time during which operation can continue. As a result, for example, the host computer side need not be provided with the construction to calculate the time during which operation can continue based on the remaining battery level, and the process load on the host computer can be reduced. correspondingly.

Furthermore, for this time during which operation can continue, the power consumption of various operating states on the peripheral device side is taken into account, including the activation speed of a recording medium, in addition to the battery level. remaining and, therefore, the precision of the same becomes greater.

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Furthermore, the type of power supply currently being used and the temperature information of the power supply are contained in the battery information, making diversified control based on this information possible.

Also, on the host computer side, when it is determined that the remaining battery level (the time during which operation can continue) in the peripheral device is less than or equal to a predetermined level based on the content stored in the information of the received battery, a control is carried out in the central computer so that a warning is issued. As a result, for example, it becomes possible for the user to recognize that the remaining battery level has become zero. Thus, it is possible to ensure a safety state of the power supply, for example by connecting an AC adapter or replacing a battery when the remaining battery level is still sufficient to such an extent that recording and playback of data is performed if no problem. As a result, this prevents the case where the remaining battery level becomes zero, for example in the middle of recording and playback of the data, and the playback and recording of the data is stopped improperly.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the central computer performs a control such that the operation of limiting the recording corresponding to the remaining battery level is performed, in such a way, for example, that it conforms to a recording method in the device. peripheral.

As a result, in the present invention, it is possible to prevent data recorded on a recording medium from being destroyed in accordance with the characteristics of the recording method.

For the control corresponding to the remaining battery level during a recording operation, in a case where it is determined that the remaining battery level of the peripheral device is less than or equal to a predetermined level, for example based on the content stored in the battery information received, and that there is recording data to be transferred to the peripheral device side, all the remaining recording data in the data transfer memory (cache memory) is transferred to the peripheral device and recorded therein, so that subsequent recording of the data in the peripheral device is stopped.

As a result, for example thereafter, when a shutdown process is necessary as a result of which the remaining battery level becomes almost zero, the shutdown process can be performed immediately. This makes it possible to prevent the destruction of the data that is recorded on the recording medium. For example, when transferring the recording data is performed in a state in which the remaining battery level is low, there are cases where the reading and transfer of all data written in the data transfer memory when the Remaining battery level becomes zero and operation stops, not done in time. In this case, the data is not properly written to the disc and the process ends.

On the host computer side as the information processing apparatus of the present invention, when it is determined that the remaining battery level of the peripheral device is less than or equal to a predetermined level, based on the content stored in the battery information received, for example when it is determined that the remaining battery level has decreased to such an extent that data recording cannot be performed at one time, a control process is carried out so that a closing process is carried out for the data that has been recorded in the recording medium up to that moment. That is, a force shutdown process is performed before the remaining battery level reaches zero. As a result, the data that has been written to the disk up to that point is properly managed as recorded. That is, the data recorded on the recording medium is protected.

In this way, in the present invention, an operation of the system that until now has been considered that does not exist can be obtained, through the transmission and reception of information of the battery that shows the state of the power supply, between the device peripheral and central computer. In particular, an operation for protecting the data recorded on a recording medium is obtained, which corresponds to the remaining battery level of the recording and reproducing apparatus.

Many different embodiments of the present invention can be constructed without departing from the scope of the present invention as claimed. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. Rather, the present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent configurations included within the scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter. The scope of the following claims is to be in accordance with the broadest possible interpretation to encompass such equivalent modifications, structures, and functions.