Information recording medium information recording method and information recording/reproduction system

Information recording medium, information recording method, and information recording/reproducing system

<p>1a. . . Information recording/reproduction system</p><p>100. . . Data recording area</p><p>100a. . . Capacity space</p><p>100b. . . Logical capacity space</p><p>101. . . Defect Management Information Area</p><p>102. . . 1st spare area</p><p>103. . . Capacity structure area</p><p>104. . . Basic file structure area</p><p>105. . . Data area</p><p>106. . . File structure area</p><p>107. . . Unassigned area</p><p>108. . . Second spare area</p><p>109. . . Capacity structure area</p><p>110#3. . . Spare sector</p><p>111#2. . . Spare sector</p><p>112#1. . . Spare sector</p><p>113. . . Spatial bit mapping area</p><p>114. . . File entry area</p><p>115. . . Root directory area</p><p>116. . . File entry area</p><p>117. . . Sector</p><p>118. . . Defective sector</p><p>130. . . Defect management information</p><p>131SDL. . . Description code</p><p>132. . . The spare area is filled with flags</p><p>133. . . Location information</p><p>134#1. . . Replace entry</p><p>135#2. . . Replace entry</p><p>136. . . Location information</p><p>137. . . Location information</p><p>138. . 1st fill flag</p><p>139. . . 1st fill flag</p><p>141. . . Description label</p><p>142. . . File attributes</p><p>143. . . Location information</p><p>153. . . Second spare area</p><p>154. . . Data area</p><p>155. . . File structure area</p><p>158. . . Second spare area</p><p>161. . . Main capacity description code sequence</p><p>162. . . Logical capacity integrity description code</p><p>164. . . File collection description code</p><p>181. . . Disc status</p><p>182. . . Disc status</p><p>191. . . Disc data structure</p><p>192. . . Disc data structure</p><p>200. . . System control device</p><p>201. . . System control partition</p><p>202. . . Memory circuit</p><p>204. . . Optical disc drive</p><p>205. . . Drive control partition</p><p>206. . . Memory circuit</p><p>211. . . File structure operation partition</p><p>212. . . Spare extension area detection partition</p><p>213. . . File move operation partition</p><p>214. . . Allocation zone of spare extension area</p><p>215. . . Spare area extension determines partition</p><p>216. . . Command state operation partition</p><p>217. . . Spare extension area</p><p>221. . . File structure memory</p><p>222. . . Bit-mapped memory</p><p>223. . . Data memory</p><p>224. . . Spare area information memory</p><p>231. . . Number of remaining spare areas report partition</p><p>232. . . Spare area assignment zone</p><p>233. . . Number of remaining spare areas to detect partitions</p><p>234. . . Defective sector operating partition</p><p>235. . . Data write control partition</p><p>236. . . Data reading control partition</p><p>241. . . Defect management information memory</p><p>242. . . Data memory</p><p>800. . . Data recording area</p><p>800a. . . Capacity space</p><p>800b. . . File data space</p><p>801. . . Defect Management Information Area</p><p>802. . . Spare area</p><p>803. . . FAT area</p><p>804. . . Root directory area</p><p>810#1. . . Spare sector</p><p>814. . . Defective sector</p><p>832#1. . . Replace entry</p><p>833. . . Location information</p><p>834. . . Location information</p>

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of an optical disc data recording area 100 according to an example of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing the structure of an information recording/reproducing system 1a according to an example of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an agreement diagram showing the procedure of a format operation;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc after a format is operated;

Figure 5 is a protocol diagram showing the procedure of a data writing operation;

6A-6C are protocol diagrams showing the procedure of an operation, and the operation is used to determine whether the first spare area 102 must be extended;

FIG. 7 is a protocol diagram showing a procedure of an operation, and the operation is used to extend the first spare area 102 and the second spare area 108;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of an optical disc data recording area 100 according to an example of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a protocol diagram showing a process of data writing operation, and the operation is used to record files on the optical disc;

FIG. 10 is a protocol diagram showing a process of operation, and the operation is executed when the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device;

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an operation, and the operation is used to update the capacity structure area 103 and 109 and a basic file structure area 104;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the structure of the data recording area 800 of a conventional optical disc; and

FIG. 13 is a protocol diagram showing the procedures of a traditional format operation and a traditional data writing operation.

Background of the invention

1. Field of Invention: The present invention relates to an information recording medium, an information recording method and an information recording/reproducing system, in which the reliability of data recording can be increased by dynamically extending the spare area according to the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors.

2. Relevant technical description: an optical disc is an information recording medium with a sector structure. In recent years, as the recording density and capacity of optical discs have increased, ensuring the reliability of optical discs has become more important.

Traditionally, a defect management method known in the art is used to manage defective sectors of optical discs (that is, sectors that cannot be used for data recording/reproduction). A spare area is provided on the disc in advance. When a defective sector exists on the optical disc, another sector in the spare area is used to replace the defective sector. Therefore, the reliability of the optical disc is ensured. This defect management method is described in ISO/IEC10090, the international standard organization for 90mm optical discs.

The traditional defect management method described in ISO/IEC10090, the international standard organization for 90mm optical discs, will now be summarized with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. 12 shows the structure of the data recording area 800 of a conventional optical disc.

The data recording area 800 includes a plurality of sectors. Each of these multiple sectors is assigned a physical sector number (hereinafter referred to as "PSN").

The data recording area 800 includes a defect management information area 801, a spare area 802 and a capacity space 800a. The capacity space 800a is arranged immediately after the spare area 802, and is defined as an area where user data can be recorded. Each sector included in the capacity space 800a is assigned a logical sector number (hereinafter referred to as "LSN").

The size of the spare area 802 is determined in advance. To change the size of the spare area 802, a special command must be used to change the data structure of the replacement information stored in the defect management information area 801 through the physical format utility software. This operation will be referred to as an initial operation hereinafter.

Figure 13 shows the procedures of a traditional format operation and a traditional data writing operation. These operations are performed by a system control device and an optical disc drive device. The optical disc drive device is connected to the system control device. The system control device is, for example, a computer system.

The format operation includes steps S901-S903 shown in FIG. 13. The data writing operation includes steps S904-S911. In FIG. 12, each reference number beginning with "S" next to an arrow indicates a recording operation corresponding to a step shown in FIG. 13.

When an optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device, the optical disc drive device reads the defect management information area 801 and recognizes the replacement information showing that the spare sector has replaced the defective sector (step S901).

The system control device executes a FAT/root directory generation operation, issues a WRITE command, and transmits data to the optical disc drive device (step S902).

The optical disc drive device uses the format common software to recognize the physical structure of the optical disc, and records the data transmitted by the system control device from the beginning of the capacity space 800a (step S903). Therefore, a FAT area 803 and a directory area 804 are configured to start at the beginning of the capacity space 800a. The operation of this logical format is similar to that of a file system in MS-DOS format. Therefore, the area from the root directory area 804 to the end of the disc is treated as a file data space 800b, and the file data space 800b is managed by FAT.

Now, we will describe the data writing operation for recording data (File-a) under the root directory.

The system control device executes the data (File-a) recording operation, issues a WRITE command, and transmits the data to the optical disc drive device (step S904). The location where the data should be recorded is specified by an LSN.

The optical disc drive device records the data transmitted by the system control device in a sector, where the sector obtains the assigned LSN (step S905). Whether the data has been correctly recorded is determined by reading the recorded data and comparing the read data with the transmitted data. When the data is not recorded correctly, the sector that is assigned the designated LSN is detected as a defective sector. Defective sectors are mainly caused by dirt or dust attached to the disc.

For example, assume that sector b (sector 814) shown in FIG. 12 has been detected as a defective sector. In this case, the optical disc drive device records the data that should be recorded in the defective sector 814 in the #1 spare sector 810 of the spare area 802, and generates #1 replacement entry 832 as defect management information, where #1 replaces the entry Item 832 shows that #1 spare sector 810 has replaced defective sector 814, and record #1 replacement entry 832 in defect management information area 801 (step S906).

#1 The replacement entry 832 includes location information 833 to display the location of the defective sector; and location information 834 to display the location of the spare sector to replace the defective sector. Each of the location information 833 and 834 is represented by a PSN.

When the system control device instructs the optical disc drive to read data from the defective sector 814, the optical disc drive refers to #1 instead of entry 832 to perform address conversion, and reads data from the #1 spare sector 810.

Therefore, by using a spare sector to replace a defective sector, the reliability of the optical disc can be ensured. In addition, because this defective sector replacement operation is performed by the optical disc drive device, it can ensure that the system control device always records data at a location corresponding to the designated LSN. Therefore, the system control device can treat the optical disc as a flawless medium.

Then, the system control device executes a directory recording operation, issues a WRITE command and transmits data to the optical disc drive device (step S907).

The optical disc drive device updates the root directory information recorded in the root directory area 804 according to the data sent by the system control device (step S908).

The system control device executes a FAT recording operation, issues a WRITE command and transmits data to the optical disc drive device (step S909).

The optical disc drive device updates the FAT information recorded in the FAT area 803 according to the data sent by the system control device (step S910). Therefore, the data (File-a) is registered under the root directory.

The optical disc drive device records the updated defect management information in the defect management information area 801. This type of recording is executed when there is no data recording command from the system control device for several seconds.

In the aforementioned traditional defect management method, the size of a spare area is fixed. Therefore, if there is a defective sector that exceeds the size of the replacement area, even when an unassigned area that can be used for recording still exists on the optical disc, data cannot be recorded on the optical disc. If you want to record data on the disc, you must change the size of the spare area by executing another startup operation of the disc. In this case, because the LSN assignment of the entire area of the capacity space needs to be changed, the data recorded in the capacity space must be backed up to another medium before the start operation is performed.

In particular, when the optical disc is used in consumer equipment, the user may manipulate the optical disc when eating food, or children may accidentally touch the surface of the optical disc, so the defective sectors on the optical disc may be more than the manufacturer expected .

Summary of Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors includes: a first spare area including a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors; a defect management information area , To manage the use of spare sectors to replace defective sectors; and a capacity space that can record user data. The capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally allocated, where the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors. The location information showing the location of the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area separate from the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area continuous with the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, each of the first spare area and the second spare area is assigned a physical sector number. The physical sector number assigned to the first spare area is smaller than the physical sector number assigned to the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area includes a plurality of spare sectors. Each of the multiple spare sectors is assigned a physical sector number. According to the descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the plurality of spare sectors, one spare sector of the plurality of spare sectors replaces the spare sector.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area may extend along the direction of decreasing physical sector numbers.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is allocated outside the capacity space.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is allocated within the capacity space. The location information showing the location of the second spare area is recorded in a basic file structure management area to manage a basic file structure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors includes: a first spare area including a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors; a defect management information Zone, to manage the use of spare sectors to replace defective sectors; and a capacity space for recording user data. The capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally allocated, where the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors. Information showing the number of spare areas available for use in the first spare area and information showing the number of spare areas available for use in the second spare area are recorded in the defect management information area.

In an example of the present invention, the information on the number of available spare areas in the first spare area includes a replacement entry, and the replacement entry indicates that one of the spare sectors in the first spare area has replaced the defective sector. The information on the number of available spare areas in the second spare area includes the size of the second spare area and a replacement entry, and the replacement entry shows that one of the spare sectors in the second spare area has replaced the defective sector.

In an example of the present invention, the information about the number of spare areas available for use in the first spare area includes a first fill flag, and the first fill flag indicates whether there are any available for use in the first spare area Spare sector. The information on the number of spare areas available for use in the second spare area includes a second fill flag, and the second fill flag indicates whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the second spare area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an information recording method for recording information on an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors is provided. The information recording medium includes: a first spare area including a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors; a defect management information area to manage the use of spare sectors to replace the defective sectors; And a capacity space that can record user data, where the capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally referred to, and the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace one of the multiple sectors with a defective sector . The information recording method includes the following steps: (a) Obtain information showing the consumption status of the first spare area; (b) Determine whether to additionally assign a second spare area according to the information showing the consumption status of the first spare area; c) When it is decided to allocate a second spare area additionally, make a part of the capacity space available as the second spare area; and (d) record the information showing a position of the second spare area in the defect management information area .

In an example of the present invention, a first fill flag indicating whether there are any available spare sectors in the first spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. Step (a) includes the following steps: Determine whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the first spare area by referring to the first fill flag.

In an example of the present invention, a replacement entry indicating that the defective sector has been replaced by a spare sector of the first spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. Step (a) includes the following steps: Determine whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the first spare area by referring to the substitution entry.

In an example of the present invention, step (c) includes the following steps: (c-1) reduce the capacity space; and (c-2) assign to an area located on the outer circumference side immediately after the reduced capacity space As the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, step (c) includes the following steps: assigning a part of a logical capacity space of the capacity space as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, step (c) includes the following steps: move the data recorded in one part of the logical capacity space of the capacity space to another part of the logical capacity space, and then assign the logical capacity This part of the space is used as the second spare area.

In an embodiment of the present invention, step (d) includes the following steps: before recording the information showing the location of the second spare area in the defect management information area, detecting whether there is a defect in that part of the available capacity space Sector.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area separate from the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area continuous with the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, each of the first spare area and the second spare area is assigned a physical sector number. The physical sector number assigned to the first spare area is smaller than the physical sector number assigned to the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area includes a plurality of spare sectors. Each of the multiple spare sectors is assigned a physical sector number. According to the descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the plurality of spare sectors, one spare sector of the plurality of spare sectors replaces the defective sector.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area may extend along the direction of decreasing physical sector numbers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an information recording method for recording information on an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors is provided. The information recording medium includes: a first spare area including a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors; a defect management information area to manage the use of spare sectors to replace the defective sectors; And a capacity space that can record user data, where the capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally referred to, and the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace one of the multiple sectors with a defective sector . The information recording method includes the following steps: (a) obtain information showing the consumption status of the second spare area; (b) determine whether to allocate a second spare area additionally according to the information showing the consumption status of the second spare area; c) When it is decided to allocate a second spare area additionally, make a part of the capacity space available as the second spare area; and (d) record the information showing a position of the second spare area in the defect management information area .

In an example of the present invention, the second fill flag indicating whether there are any available spare sectors in the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. Step (a) includes the following steps: Determine whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the second spare area by referring to the second fill flag.

In an example of the present invention, a replacement entry indicating that the defective sector has been replaced by a spare sector of the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. Step (a) includes the following steps: Determine whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the first spare area by referring to the substitution entry.

In an example of the present invention, step (c) includes the following steps: (c-1) reduce the capacity space; and (c-2) assign to an area located on the outer circumference side immediately after the reduced capacity space As the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, step (c) includes the following steps: assigning a part of a logical capacity space of the capacity space as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, step (c) includes the following steps: move the data recorded in one part of the logical capacity space of the capacity space to another part of the logical capacity space, and then assign the logical capacity This part of the space is used as the second spare area.

In an embodiment of the present invention, step (d) includes the following steps: before recording the information showing the location of the second spare area in the defect management information area, detecting whether there is a defect in that part of the available capacity space Sector.

In an example of the present invention, step (d) includes the following steps: after recording the information showing the location of the second spare area in the defect management information area, reset the second fill flag to show whether the second spare area is There are any spare sectors available for use in the memory.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area separate from the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area continuous with the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, each of the first spare area and the second spare area is assigned a physical sector number. The physical sector number assigned to the first spare area is smaller than the physical sector number assigned to the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area includes a plurality of spare sectors. Each of the multiple spare sectors is assigned a physical sector number. According to the descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the plurality of spare sectors, one spare sector of the plurality of spare sectors replaces the defective sector.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area may extend along the direction of decreasing physical sector numbers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an information recording/reproducing system for an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors is provided. The information recording medium includes: a first spare area including a spare sector to replace one of the multiple sectors with a defective sector; a defect management information area to manage the use of the spare sector to replace the defective sector; And a capacity space that can record user data, where the capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally assigned, and the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors Area. The information recording/reproducing system includes: a remaining spare area quantity detecting partition to obtain information showing the consumption status of the first spare area; a spare area extension to determine the partition based on the information showing the consumption status of the first spare area Decide whether to additionally assign a second spare area; a spare extension area is assigned a partition so that when it is decided to additionally allocate a second spare area, a part of the capacity space can be used as the second spare area; and The spare area is assigned to the partition to record and display the location information of a position of the second spare area in the defect management information area.

In an example of the present invention, the first fill flag indicating whether there are any available spare sectors in the first spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. The remaining spare area quantity detection partition determines whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the first spare area by referring to the first fill flag.

In an example of the present invention, a replacement entry indicating that the defective sector has been replaced by a spare sector of the first spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. The remaining spare area quantity detection partition determines whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the first spare area by referring to the substitution input item.

In an example of the present invention, the allocation partition of the spare extension area reduces the capacity space, and an area located immediately after the reduced capacity space and on the outer circumference side is assigned as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, a part of a logical capacity space of the assigned capacity space of the spare extension area is assigned as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the allocation partition of the spare extension area moves the data recorded in one part of the logical capacity space of the capacity space to another part of the logical capacity space, and then assigns the logical capacity space This part is used as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area separate from the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area continuous with the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, each of the first spare area and the second spare area is assigned a physical sector number. The physical sector number assigned to the first spare area is smaller than the physical sector number assigned to the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area includes a plurality of spare sectors. Each of the multiple spare sectors is assigned a physical sector number. According to the descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the plurality of spare sectors, one spare sector of the plurality of spare sectors replaces the defective sector.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area may extend along the direction of decreasing physical sector numbers.

In an example of the present invention, the information recording/reproducing system includes a recording device to record information on the information recording medium; and a control device to control the recording device. The recording device includes a remaining spare area report partition to report information showing the consumption status of the first spare area to the control device, wherein the information is obtained from the remaining spare area quantity detection partition.

In an example of the present invention, the information showing the consumption status of the first spare area includes information showing the remaining amount of the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the information showing the consumption status of the first spare area includes information showing an error status in response to a data recording command.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an information recording/reproducing system for an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors is provided. The information recording medium includes: a first spare area including a spare sector to replace one of the defective sectors in the plurality of sectors; a defect management information area to manage the use of spare sectors to replace the defective sectors; And a capacity space that can record user data, where the capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally referred to, and the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace one of the multiple sectors with a defective sector . The information recording/reproducing system includes: a remaining spare area quantity detecting partition to obtain information showing the consumption status of the second spare area; a spare area extension to determine the partition based on the information showing the consumption status of the second spare area Decide whether to additionally assign a second spare area; a spare extension area is assigned a partition so that when it is decided to additionally allocate a second spare area, a part of the capacity space can be used as the second spare area; and The spare area is assigned to the partition to record and display the location information of a position of the second spare area in the defect management information area.

In an example of the present invention, the second fill flag indicating whether there are any available spare sectors in the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. The remaining spare area quantity detection partition determines whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the second spare area by referring to the second fill flag.

In an example of the present invention, a replacement entry indicating that the defective sector has been replaced by a spare sector of the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area. The remaining spare area quantity detection partition determines whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the second spare area by referring to the substitution input item.

In an example of the present invention, the allocation partition of the spare extension area reduces the capacity space, and an area located immediately after the reduced capacity space and on the outer circumference side is assigned as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, a part of a logical capacity space of the assigned capacity space of the spare extension area is assigned as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the allocation partition of the spare extension area moves the data recorded in one part of the logical capacity space of the capacity space to another part of the logical capacity space, and then assigns the logical capacity space This part is used as the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the spare extension area is assigned to the partition. After recording the information showing the location of the second spare area in the defect management information area, the second fill flag is reset to indicate whether the second spare area is There are any spare sectors available for use.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area separate from the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area is assigned to an area continuous with the first spare area.

In an example of the present invention, each of the first spare area and the second spare area is assigned a physical sector number. The physical sector number assigned to the first spare area is smaller than the physical sector number assigned to the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the second spare area includes a plurality of spare sectors; each of the plurality of spare sectors is assigned a physical sector number; and is assigned to the plurality of spare sectors respectively In the descending order of the physical sector numbers of the spare sectors, one of the spare sectors replaces the defective sector. In an example of the present invention, the second spare area may extend along the direction of decreasing physical sector numbers.

In an example of the present invention, the information recording/reproducing system includes a recording device to record information on the information recording medium; and a control device to control the recording device. The recording device includes a remaining spare area report partition to report information showing the consumption status of the second spare area to the control device, wherein the information is obtained from the remaining spare area quantity detection partition.

In an example of the present invention, the information showing the consumption status of the second spare area includes information showing the remaining amount of the second spare area.

In an example of the present invention, the information showing the consumption status of the second spare area includes information showing an error status in response to a data recording command.

Therefore, the invention described herein achieves the following advantages: providing an information recording medium, an information recording method, and an information recording/reproducing system, in which the spare area can be dynamically extended according to the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors to increase data recording Reliability.

Once the following detailed description is read and understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art should understand this and other advantages of the present invention.

Schematic description

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of an optical disc data recording area 100 according to an example of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing the structure of an information recording/reproducing system 1a according to an example of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an agreement diagram showing the procedure of a format operation;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc after a format is operated;

Figure 5 is a protocol diagram showing the procedure of a data writing operation;

6A-6C are protocol diagrams showing the procedure of an operation, and the operation is used to determine whether the first spare area 102 must be extended;

FIG. 7 is a protocol diagram showing a procedure of an operation, and the operation is used to extend the first spare area 102 and the second spare area 108;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of an optical disc data recording area 100 according to an example of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a protocol diagram showing a process of data writing operation, and the operation is used to record files on the optical disc;

FIG. 10 is a protocol diagram showing a process of operation, and the operation is executed when the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device;

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an operation, and the operation is used to update the capacity structure area 103 and 109 and a basic file structure area 104;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the structure of the data recording area 800 of a conventional optical disc; and

FIG. 13 is a protocol diagram showing the procedures of a traditional format operation and a traditional data writing operation.

Good example description

An information recording medium of the present invention includes a first spare area, wherein the first spare area includes a spare sector to replace a defective sector; a defect management information area to manage the use of a spare sector to replace a defective sector; And a capacity space that can record user data.

The capacity space is configured as a second spare area that can be additionally allocated, and the second spare area includes a spare sector to replace a defective sector. When the defective sector replacement operation runs out of all the spare sectors previously provided in the first spare area, a part of the capacity space is made available as the second spare area. Therefore, by additionally assigning a second spare area when necessary, even when there are more defective sectors than the disc manufacturer expected, the defect-free nature of the disc can still be ensured.

The location information showing the location of the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area.

Examples of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 is an example of assigning the second spare area within the capacity space by updating the file structure. Example 2 is an example of assigning the second spare area outside the capacity space by updating the capacity structure and file structure.

(Example 1)

Fig. 2 shows the structure of an information recording/reproducing system 1a according to an example of the present invention. The information recording/reproducing system 1a records information on the information recording medium, and reproduces the information recorded on the information recording medium. The information recording medium can be any kind of rewritable optical disc, such as DVD-RAM.

The following description assumes that the information recording medium is a rewritable optical disc, in which files managed by the file structure defined in ECMA167 can be recorded/reproduced in units of sectors. In the following, such a rewritable optical disc will be referred to simply as an optical disc.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information recording/reproducing system 1a includes a system control device 200 and an optical disc drive device 204. The system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204 are connected to each other via an input/output bus 203.

The system control device 200 includes a system control partition 201 for processing file structure information and a memory circuit 202. The system control partition 201 can be constructed by, for example, a microprocessor, where the microprocessor includes a control program and a memory for storing operation results.

The system control partition 201 includes: a file structure operation partition 211 to perform a one-bit mapping operation to manage an unassigned area of a logical capacity space; a spare extension area to detect the partition 212 to check whether it is determined to be assigned As an additional spare area, one of the areas has been used; a file moving operation partition 213 is used to assign an additional spare area by moving a file recorded in one area to another area, where the area is determined to become the required area. Assigned as an additional spare area; a spare extension area is assigned to the partition 214 to register an additional spare area in a file structure; a spare area extension determines the partition 215 to determine whether the spare area should be used based on the number of remaining spare areas Subject to extension; a command state operating partition 216 to recognize whether a defective sector was detected during data recording by the execution result of a WRITE command; and a spare extension area to issue a partition 217 to indicate that it is an optical disc drive device 204 Extend a spare area to update defect management information.

The memory circuit 202 includes a file structure memory 221, a one-bit mapping memory 222, a data memory 223, and a spare area information memory 224 to store information indicating the number of remaining spare areas and display the spare area The location information.

The optical disc drive device 204 includes a drive control partition 205 to perform a defect management operation and control the recording/reproduction of data to and from the optical disc; and a memory circuit 206. The drive control partition 205 can be constructed by, for example, a microprocessor, where the microprocessor includes a control program and a memory to perform arithmetic operations.

The drive control partition 205 includes: a remaining spare quantity report partition 231 to report the size of the spare area that can be replaced; a spare area allocation partition 232 to update defect management information according to a spare area extension command from the system control device 200 ; A remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233, which uses one of the defect-based management information areas to replace the input item to detect the area that can be replaced by the spare area; a defective sector operation partition 234 to assign the detection during data recording A defective sector is assigned to a spare sector in the spare area, and data is recorded in the spare sector; a data write control partition 235 to control data recording to the optical disc; and a data read control partition 236 to Control the reproduction of the data on the disc.

The memory circuit 206 includes a defect management information memory 241 for storing defect management information, and a data memory 242.

Now, referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, a format operation performed on an optical disc according to the present invention will be described.

Fig. 4 shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc after the format operation. The data recording area 100 includes a plurality of sectors. Each of these multiple sectors is assigned a PSN.

The data recording area 100 includes a defect management information area 101, a first spare area 102 and a capacity space 100a.

The defect management information 130 is recorded in the defect management information area 101. The defect management information 130 includes an SDL description code 131 to identify SDL information; a spare area is filled with a flag 132; location information 133 to display the location of the second spare area 108; and #1 replaces the entry 134 to display a The defective sector has been replaced by a spare sector.

The spare area fill flag 132 includes a first fill flag 138 of the first spare area 102 and a second fill flag 139 of the second spare area 108. The first full flag 138 indicates whether there are any spare sectors available for use in the first spare area 102. The second fill flag 139, when reset, indicates that there are no available spare sectors in the second spare area 108, or no second spare area 108 is assigned.

Hereinafter, the location information 133 showing the location of the second spare area 108 will be referred to simply as "second spare area location information 133". The second spare area location information 133 is represented by, for example, the PSN of the first sector included in the second spare area 108 and the PSN of the last sector including the second spare area 108.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the second spare area has not yet been assigned to the data recording area 100. In this case, the second spare area location information 133 has a value (for example, a NULL value), and the value shows "the second spare area has not been assigned to the data recording area 100."

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the number of replacement entries included in the defect management information 130 is one. The defect management information 130 may include some replacement input items, and the number of the replacement input items is equal to the number of spare sectors replacing defective sectors. Therefore, when the number of spare sectors to replace defective sectors is N, the defect management information 130 may include #1-#N replacement entries. Here, N can be any integer. #1-#N Replacement input items each of the replacement input items includes position information 136 showing the position of the defective sector, and position information 137 showing the position of the spare sector to replace the defective sector. Each of the location information 136 and 137 is represented by, for example, a PSN.

The size of the first spare area 102 is fixed. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the first spare area 102 includes three spare sectors 110-112, that is, #1 spare sector to #3 spare sector. Each of the spare sectors 110-112 is used to replace a defective sector. The number of spare sectors included in the first spare area 102 is not limited to three. The first spare area 102 may include any number of spare sectors.

The capacity space 100a is arranged immediately after the first spare area 102 and is defined as an area where user data can be recorded. Each sector included in the capacity space 100a is assigned a logical sector number. The capacity space 100a includes a capacity structure area 103, a logical capacity space 100b and a capacity structure area 109.

Figure 3 shows the procedure of a format operation. The format operation is executed by the system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204.

The format operation includes steps S301-S307 shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, each reference number that is located next to an arrow and starts with "S" represents a recording operation, and the recording operation corresponds to a step shown in FIG. 3.

When the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device 204, the defect management information 130 is read from the defect management information area 101. The defect management information 130 is stored in the defect management information memory 241.

The remaining spare quantity report partition 231 and the remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 refer to the defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241, as described below.

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 recognizes the location information of the first and second spare areas and the consumption status of the first and second spare areas (step S301). The consumption status of each spare area is recognized by, for example, retrieving one of the replacement entries recorded in the defect management information area 101 to replace the entry, wherein the replacement entry has the minimum address of a spare sector Information (such as physical sector number).

The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Get Spare Info command to the optical disc drive device 204 to query the spare area information (step S302).

The remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports the spare area information to the system control device 200 based on the defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 (step S303). The spare area information includes location information 133 for displaying the location of the second spare area. The spare area information is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

The file structure operation partition 211 executes a capacity structure/basic file structure generation operation, issues a WRITE command, and transmits data to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S304). The data is immediately stored in the file structure memory 221, and then transferred from the file structure memory 221 to the data memory 242.

The data writing control partition 235 starts to record the data stored in the data memory 242 from the beginning of the capacity space 100a (that is, the sector assigned LSN "0") (step S305). Therefore, the capacity structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 are assigned to start at the beginning of the capacity space 100a.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, a fixed capacity description code index, a capacity description code sequence, a file set description code, a file entry for the system stream directory and the system stream directory are recorded in the capacity structure area 103.

The basic file structure area 104 includes a spatial bit mapping area 113, a file entry area 114, a directory area 115, and a file entry area 116.

A spatial bit mapping is recorded in the spatial bit mapping area 113. The space bit mapping is a series of bits showing the allocation status of each sector of the logical capacity space 100b. By reference space bit mapping, the consumption status of each sector of the logical capacity space 100b can be checked.

The location information and management information of the root directory area 115 are recorded in the file input area 114.

The name of the file recorded below the root directory and the location information of the file entry of each such file are recorded in the root directory area 115.

A file input item designated by the system stream directory is recorded in the file input item area 116. The stream location information to be registered in the second spare area of the system stream directory is managed by this file entry. The file input item includes a description tag 141 identifying the file input item, a file attribute 142, and a location information 143 showing the location of the second spare area 108.

Hereinafter, the location information 143 showing the location of the second spare area 108 will be referred to simply as "second spare area location information 143". The second spare area location information 143 is represented by, for example, the LSN of the first sector included in the second spare area 108 and the size of the second spare area 108.

In the format operation, information equivalent to the second spare area location information 133 included in the defect management information 130 is recorded in the file entry area 116 as the second spare area location information 143. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the second spare area location information 133 has a NULL value, as discussed above. Therefore, the second spare area location information 143 also has a NULL value.

Whether the data transmitted from the system control device 200 is correctly recorded in the capacity structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 is by reading the recorded data, and by comparing the read data with the transmitted data (that is, stored in the data memory) Body 242), to decide. This decision is performed by the defective sector operation partition 234.

For example, when the data transmitted from the system control device 200 is not correctly recorded in the root directory area 115, the root directory area 115 is detected as a defective sector. In this case, the defective sector operation partition 234 uses one of the available spare sectors included in the first spare area 102 to replace the root directory area 115, and the spare sector has the largest address ( That is #1 spare sector 112). Therefore, the data that should be recorded in the root directory area 115 is recorded in the #1 spare sector 112 of the first spare area 102. In addition, the defective sector operation partition 234 generates #1 replacement entry 134 to show that the root directory area 115 has been replaced by #1 spare sector 112, and stores #1 replacement entry 134 in the defect management information memory 241 (step S306).

The defect sector operation partition 234 records the updated defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 (step S307). This type of recording is executed immediately after step S306, or when there is no command to record data from the system control device 200 after a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 seconds).

As mentioned above, in the operation of the optical disc format, the second spare area location information 133 consistent with that recorded in the defect management information area 101 is recorded in the basic file structure area 104 as the second spare area location information 143. By executing the aforementioned format operation on a used disc, the used disc can be reused. This is because even if all the information in the capacity space 100a is eliminated, the information in the second spare area is still stored in the defect management information area 101.

The second spare area location information 143 is managed by the system control device 200, and the second spare area location information 133 is managed by the optical disc drive device 204. It must be ensured that the location information 143 and 133 are always consistent with each other. The following will explain the countermeasures that can be taken when the information 143 and 133 are inconsistent with each other, and a method to recover the inconsistency between the information 143 and 133.

Now, referring to Figures 1, 2, and 5, we will explain the data writing operation of recording a file called "File-a" below the root directory of the formatted disc.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc after the data writing operation.

Figure 5 shows a procedure of data writing operation. The data writing operation is executed by the system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204.

The data writing operation includes steps S401-S417 shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 1, each reference number located next to an arrow and beginning with "S" represents a recording operation, and the recording operation corresponds to a step shown in FIG. 5.

When the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device 204, the defect management information operation that is the same as the format operation is executed to start the operation as one of the optical disc drive device 204 (step S401).

The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Read command to the optical disc drive device 204 to start the operation as one of the system control devices 200 (step S402).

The data read control partition 236 regenerates the data in the capacity structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 according to the address specified by the Read command, and transmits the reproduced data to the file structure memory 221 (step S403).

The file structure operation partition 211 analyzes the capacity structure and the basic file structure based on the data sent to the file structure memory 221. Therefore, the file structure operation partition 211 recognizes the logical capacity space 100a based on the data reproduced from the capacity structure area 103, and recognizes the location and size of the unassigned area 107 based on the data reproduced from the spatial bit mapping area 113. The data reproduced in the directory area 115 recognizes the directory structure, and the second spare area location information 143 is recognized based on the data reproduced from the file entry area 116 (step S402).

The file structure operation partition 211 generates data of a file called "File-a", and stores the data in the data memory 223. In addition, the file structure operation partition 211 generates data of a file input item, and stores the data in the file structure memory 221. The file structure operation partition 211 issues a write command and each data to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S404). The Write command is used to record the address of each data in the unassigned area 107 recognized in step S402.

The data stored in the data memory 223 and the data stored in the file structure memory 221 are transmitted to the data memory 242. The data is written into the control partition 235, and the individual data sent to the data memory 242 is recorded in a data area 105 and a file structure area 106 according to the address specified by the Write command (step S405).

The defective sector operation partition 234 performs a replacement operation by the same method as described in the description of the format operation. For example, suppose that sector b (sector 118) shown in FIG. 1 is detected as a defective sector. In this case, the defective sector operation partition 234 records the data that should be recorded in the defective sector 118 in the #2 spare sector 111 of the first spare area 102, generating #2 replacement entry 135 to display the defective sector 118 is replaced by the #2 spare sector 111, and the #2 replacement input item 135 is recorded in the defect management information memory 241 (step S406).

To register the file (File-a) under the root directory, the data recorded in the root directory area 115 must be updated. The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Write command and sends data to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S407).

Data writing control partition 235 refers to #1 instead of entry 134, converts the address of the root directory area 115 specified by the Write command to the address of #1 spare sector 112, and records the data sent by the system control device 200 in # 1 spare sector 112 (step S408).

Spare area extension decision The partition 215 determines whether the first spare area 102 must be extended based on the consumption status of the first spare area 102. There are many methods that can be used for this type of decision. The details of these methods will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6A-6C.

Here, an example of these determination methods will be explained. For example, the spare area extension determination partition 215 sends a Get Event Status Notification command to the optical disc drive device 204. This command is used to query the consumption status of the first spare area 102. In response to this query, when the optical disc drive device 204 reports shortage information, the spare area extension decision partition 215 determines that the first spare area 102 must be extended, where the shortage information shows that the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is less than a predetermined size (eg 1 million bytes (MB)) (step S409).

In response to the command sent from the system control device 200 in step S409, the remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 calculates the remaining quantity of the first spare area 102 based on the information stored in the replacement input item of the defect management information memory 241 ( For example, the number of spare sectors in the first spare area 102 available for replacement). If the remaining amount is less than the predetermined size, the remaining spare area quantity detecting partition 233 instructs the remaining spare quantity reporting partition 231 to report the shortage information to the system control device 200. The remaining spare quantity report section 231 reports the shortage information to the system control device 200 (step S410).

In the example shown in FIG. 1, when data is recorded in the data area 105, the defective sector 118 is detected, and the #2 spare sector 111 is used to replace the defective sector 118. Therefore, the #3 spare sector 110 is the only spare sector in the first spare area 102 that can be used for replacement. Then, if another defective sector occurs, the first spare area 102 will be exhausted, and no replacement operation can be performed. Therefore, the remaining spare quantity report section 231 reports the shortage information to the system control device 200.

To enlarge the spare area, the file entry area 116 must be updated to display the position information 133 of the location of the second spare area 108 and the space bit mapping area 113.

The system control device 200 recognizes the unassigned area 107 based on the data reproduced from the spatial bit mapping area 113, and determines that the area is reserved as an additional spare area (that is, the second spare area 108 is assigned The district). The system control device 200 updates the data stored in the file structure memory 221 to register the extended spare area, and updates the data stored in the bit-mapped memory 222, so that the second spare area 108 is to be assigned to that area Wait for the sector to become "assigned".

The system control device 200 issues a Write command, and transmits the data for the file entry area 116 stored in the file structure memory 221 to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S411). The optical disc drive device 204 updates the file entry area 116 by recording the data sent by the system control device 200 in the file entry area 116 (step S412).

The system control device 200 issues an Alloc Spare command, and transmits data for updating the position information 133 of the second spare area to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S413).

The optical disc drive device 204 updates the second spare area location information 133 stored in the defect management information memory 241 based on the data sent by the system control device 200 (step S414).

Through the operations of steps S412 and S414, the second spare area 108 can be used as an additional spare area of the optical disc drive device 204. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the second spare area 108 includes #4 spare sector 122 to #6 spare sector 120. The number of spare sectors included in the second spare area 108 is not limited to three. The second spare area 108 may include any number of spare sectors.

The file structure operation partition 211 transmits the data for the spatial bit mapping area 113 stored in the file structure memory 221 to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S415).

The data writing control operation 235 updates the spatial bit mapping area 113 by recording the data sent by the system control device 200 in the spatial bit mapping area 113 (step S416).

The defect sector operation partition 234 records the data stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 by the method described above for the procedure of the demonstration format operation (step S417).

As mentioned above, in the data writing operation for recording files on the optical disc, the first spare area 102 can be extended based on the consumption state of the first spare area 102 (that is, the second spare area 108 is additionally assigned). Therefore, the reliability of data records can be increased without performing a start-up operation.

When recording a file on the optical disc, the file structure operation partition 211 can determine the location of the recordable data, starting from the sector with the smallest LSN in sequence. In this way, data is preferentially recorded on the inner circumference of the optical disc, so that it is less likely that data is recorded in the second spare area and will extend to one area, so the spare area can be easily extended without moving files.

Although the foregoing example illustrates an optical disc including the first spare area, the present invention can also be applied to an optical disc in which the first spare area does not exist. For example, when there is no defective sector, the second spare area may not be assigned, but when a defective sector appears, the second spare area is additionally assigned. With this defect management method, an effect similar to that achieved in the previous example can be obtained.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6A-6C, a method for determining whether to extend the first spare area 102 will be described below. This method can additionally be used to determine whether the second spare area 108 must be extended.

6A-6C are protocol diagrams showing an operation procedure, and the operation determines whether the first spare area 102 must be extended. This operation is executed by the optical disc drive device 204 and the system control device 200.

FIG. 6A shows an operation performed when an optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device 204.

As mentioned above, when an optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device 204, the file structure operation partition 211 regenerates the capacity structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104, and instructs the data read control partition 236 to transfer the reproduced data to the file structure memory 221 ( Step S402 in Figure 5).

The file structure operation partition 211 analyzes the basic file structure based on the data sent to the file structure memory 221. Therefore, the file structure operation partition 211 calculates the size of the area available for recording in the logical capacity space 100b based on the data reproduced from the spatial bit mapping area 113. The zone size is calculated by, for example, adding up the number of sectors in the unassigned zone 107. The calculation result is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Get Spare Info command to the optical disc drive device 204 to query the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 (step S601).

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 uses the method described in the description of the format operation to calculate the remaining quantity of the first spare area 102 (for example, the number of spare sectors available for replacement), and the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports The calculation result is sent to the system control device 200 (step S602). Information showing the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

The spare area extension decision partition 215 calculates the ratio (A/B) of the remaining number (A) of the first spare area 102 to the area size (B) of the logical capacity space 100b available for recording (A/B), and if the ratio (A/ B) If it is less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 0.5%), it is determined that the first spare area 102 should be extended (step S603).

Once the optical disc is inserted, the decision operation shown in Figure 6A is executed before data is recorded. The decision operation has the following characteristics: the procedure of the decision operation is simple and the construction of the decision operation is easy.

Figure 6B shows one of the operations performed when the file is recorded. In the operation shown in FIG. 6B, when a file is recorded on the optical disc, it is determined whether the first spare area 102 must be extended before the file is recorded. This determination is performed based on the size of the data to be recorded and the remaining amount of the first spare area 102. The file structure operation partition 211 stores the data to be recorded on the optical disc in the data memory 223 and calculates the size of the data. The calculation result is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Get Event Status Notification command to the optical disc drive device 204 to query the consumption status of the first spare area 102 (step S604).

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 calculates the remaining quantity of the first spare area 102 by the method described in the description of the format operation. If the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is less than a predetermined size (for example, 1 MB), the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports the shortage information showing the shortage of the first spare area 102 to the system control device 200 (step S605). The shortage information is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

The spare area extension decision partition 215 determines whether the first spare area 102 should be extended based on the size of the data to be recorded and the shortage information (step S606). For example, when the size of the data to be recorded is greater than the remaining amount of the first spare area 102, the spare area extension decision partition 215 determines that the first spare area 102 should be extended.

If the decision operation shown in Fig. 6B is used, the allocation area can be designated according to the size of the file to be recorded. Therefore, this operation has the following characteristics: assuming that the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors is statistically substantially constant, the reliability of data recording can be reasonably ensured.

Figure 6C shows an operation performed during data transmission.

When recording a file on a disc, the data of the file is divided into multiple data segments. For example, when data with a size of 1MB is recorded on an optical disc, the data is divided into multiple data segments, and the size of each data segment is 32 kilobytes (kB).

A write command is issued for each data segment. Therefore, each data segment is sent from the system control device 200 to the optical disc drive device 204.

In the operation shown in FIG. 6C, each time a data segment is transmitted, it is determined whether the first spare area 102 should be extended.

The file structure operation partition 211 sends a Write command to the optical disc drive device 204 for each data segment (step S607).

The data writing control partition 235 records the data segment sent by the system control device 200 in a predetermined sector, and when a defective sector is detected, the defective sector operation partition 234 performs a replacement operation for the defective sector .

When the recording operation for the data segment is completed, the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports Status information to the system control device 200, where the Status information displays the execution result of the Write command (step S608). The Status information contains information showing the number of defective sectors that occurred during data transmission.

The command status operation partition 216 receives Status information from the optical disc drive device 204, and stores information indicating the number of defective sectors that occurred during data transmission in the spare area information memory 224. The spare area extension determination partition 215 determines whether any defective sectors occur during data transmission based on the information stored in the spare area information memory 224. If any defective sectors occur, the spare area extension decision partition 215 determines the number of defective sectors that the first spare area 102 should extend (step S609).

The decision operation shown in Fig. 6C has the following characteristics: the area available for recording of the optical disc can be effectively used. This is because every time a defective sector is detected, the spare area can be extended, so the size of the area assigned as the spare area can be reduced.

In the aforementioned determination operation, the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports the remaining quantity of the spare area to the system control device 200, which can be executed in any type. For example, the remaining quantity of the spare area can be represented by the type of a flag or the type of a remaining quantity value.

Next, a method for extending the first spare area 102 and the second spare area 108 will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7.

FIG. 7 is a protocol diagram showing a procedure of an operation in which the operation is used to extend the first spare area 102 and the second spare area 108. This operation is executed by the optical disc drive device 204 and the system control device 200.

When the spare area extension determination partition 215 determines that the first spare area 102 (or the second spare area 108) should be extended, the spare extension area detects the partition 212 based on the second spare area location information 143 stored in the file structure memory 221 , Determine the area to be assigned as an additional spare area (step S701).

When the second spare area 108 is assigned for the first time, the second spare area 108 can be assigned to any area of the logical capacity space 100b. However, when a large file size of continuous data, such as audio and video data (AV data), is recorded on an optical disc, a larger continuous unassigned area 107 must be assigned. Therefore, when the second spare area 108 is assigned for the first time, the second spare area 108 is preferably assigned starting from the end of the logical capacity space 100a.

The spare sectors included in the second spare area 108 are used in an order, so that the spare sectors that obtain the larger LSN will be used before the spare sectors that obtain the smaller LSN are used. use.

When the second spare area 108 is extended, the second spare area 108 extends in the direction in which the LSN decreases. When the second spare area 108 is extended, the area assigned as an additional spare area may be a continuous area with the second spare area 108 or a separate area from the second spare area 108.

The file structure operation partition 211, based on the spatial bit mapping information stored in the bit mapping memory 222, determines whether to assign the unassigned area as an additional spare area (step S702). If the zone is not assigned, the procedure proceeds to step S704, and if the zone is assigned, the procedure proceeds to step S704 via step S703. This is because when the area to be assigned as an additional spare area is assigned (that is, when the data has been recorded in the area), the data must be moved to another area before the area can be used as an additional spare area. Location.

The file moving operation partition 213 executes a file moving operation (step S703). In particular, the file moving operation partition 213 checks the file structure of all files on the optical disc to determine the data recorded in the area. Next, the file movement operation partition 213 uses the spatial bit mapping information to search for an area, in which the data recorded in the area to be assigned as an additional spare area can be moved to the area, and the data can be moved according to the attributes of the data. , And update the information of the file structure to manage the moved data (step S703). In this way, an additional spare area is assigned.

Although not shown in FIG. 7, the spare extension area assignment partition 214 instructs the optical disc drive device 204 to check whether the area to be assigned as an additional spare area has any defective sectors. When the area has any defective sectors, the spare extension assignment partition 214 instructs the spare extension detection partition 212 to increase the size of the extra area, and the control of the program returns to step S701. Therefore, the program is executed again from step S701.

When the area to be assigned as an additional spare area does not have defective sectors, the spare extension area allocation partition 214 issues a Write command and sends data to update the file entry area 116 stored in the file structure memory 221 (Step S704).

The data is written into the control partition 235 to record the data sent by the system control device 200 in the file entry area 116 (step S705). Therefore, the position information 143 of the second spare area recorded in the file entry area 116 is updated.

The spare extension area issuing partition 217 issues a command to extend the spare area by using an Alloc Spare command. Specifically, the spare extension area issuing partition 217 issues an Alloc Spare command, and transmits data for updating the second spare area location information 133 to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S706).

The data is written into the control partition 235, and the second spare area location information 133 stored in the defect management information memory 241 is updated based on the data sent by the system control device 200 (step S707).

Therefore, when any data is recorded in the area to be allocated as an additional spare area, the data recorded in the area to be allocated as an additional spare area is moved to another by analyzing the information in the file structure Area. In this way, even when data has been recorded in a spare area to be extended into, the spare area can still be extended.

When an area to be assigned as an extra spare area has any defective sectors, the size of the extra spare area is increased according to the number of defective sectors. Therefore, it is possible to reliably ensure that a spare area has the required size.

Next, the following will describe countermeasures that can be taken when the second spare area location information 143 managed by the system control device 200 and the second spare area location information 133 managed by the optical disc drive device 204 are inconsistent with each other, and a countermeasure for The method of replying to the inconsistency between information 143 and 133.

In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the sector a (sector 117) of the data area 105 has been detected as a defective sector, and the sector 117 has been replaced by the #4 spare sector 122. In this case, #4 spare sector 122 is designated by two LSNs. The first LSN is one of the LSNs (here, LSN=n) sequentially assigned to the capacity space 100a from the beginning of the capacity space 100a. The second LSN refers to the LSN allocated to the defective sector 117 to be replaced (here, LSN=m).

When the second spare area location information 143 managed by the system control device 200 and the second spare area location information 133 managed by the optical disc drive device 204 are inconsistent with each other, the system control device 200 can issue a Write command to the sector with LSN n . When the recording operation is executed, the data recorded in the #4 spare sector 122 is overwritten. Therefore, the data of the file named "File-a" was destroyed.

In order to avoid a fatal accident of destroying the data of a file, the optical disc drive device 204 recognizes the sectors included in the second spare area 108 by referring to the second spare area location information 133. When requested to record data in a sector included in the second spare area 108, the optical disc drive device 204 reports error information to the system control device 200 and does not perform a recording operation corresponding to the request. The error information is displayed for The recording request of the second spare area 108 is prohibited. In this way, the data of a file can be prevented from being destroyed due to the inconsistency between the second spare area location information 133 and the second spare area location information 143.

When the system control device 200 receives the error information, the system control device 200 preferably performs an operation to make the second spare area location information 133 and the second spare area location information 143 agree. For example, as described in the description of the format operation above, the system control device 200 can obtain the second spare area location information 133 based on the information reproduced from the defect management information area 101, and update the record in the file entry based on the location information 133 The location information 143 of the second spare area of the area 116, and the spatial bit mapping stored in the bit mapping memory 222 is updated based on the location information 143 at the same time.

Before updating the location information of the second spare area 143, it is best to confirm that the newly registered file entry is used as an area of the second spare area 108. Except for the spare area, it is not used for other purposes, as in the previous section of the extended spare area. As described in the description of the operation. This confirmation can be performed by checking all file structures.

The foregoing example in which the location information 133 and 143 are inconsistent with each other is an exemplary case in which the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the defect management information area 101 is larger than the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the file entry area 116.

When the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the defect management information area 101 is smaller than the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the file entry area 116, the inconsistency between the location information 133 and 143 can be detected, and the location information 133 and 143 also become consistent with each other.

For example, as one of the system control devices 200 starts to operate, the system control device 200 can obtain the location information 133 based on the data reproduced from the basic file structure area 104, and at the same time obtain the location information 143 by querying the spare area information. By comparing the location information 133 with the location information 143, the inconsistency between the location information 133 and 143 can be detected.

When the discrepancy between the location information 133 and 143 is detected, the system control device 200 uses an Alloc Spare command to instruct the optical disc drive device 204 to correctly update the location information of the second spare area.

(Example 2)

In Example 2, an example in which the second spare area 108 is allocated outside the capacity space 100a will be described below.

In Example 2, an information recording/reproducing system 1b is used. The configuration of the information recording/reproducing system 1b is the same as the configuration of the information recording/reproducing system 1a shown in FIG. 2, and therefore will not be described below.

Both the system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204 are connected to the input/output bus 203 via a SCSI or ATAPI interface. Commands and data are exchanged between the system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204.

The system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204 can be integrated into a single device. In this case, the interface between the system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204 can be a simplified dedicated interface.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of an optical disc data recording area 100 according to an example of the present invention. In Figure 8, reference number 181 represents the state of the disc after format operation, reference number 182 represents the state of the disc after recording a file called "File-a" on the disc after the data writing operation, and reference number 183 represents The state of the disc after recording a file called "File-b" in the disc data writing operation.

Fig. 9 is a protocol diagram showing a data writing operation for writing files to an optical disc.

The data writing operation shown in FIG. 9 includes: step S807, to calculate the consumption status of a spare area; step S809, to determine the additional allocation of a spare area based on the calculated consumption status; step S811, to make the capacity space One part can be used as a spare area; and in step S817, the area that can be used as a spare area is registered. These steps are the same as those of the data writing operation described in Example 1.

It will now be explained that when the optical disc is in the state indicated by the reference number 181 in FIG. 8, the data writing operation of a file (File-a) on the optical disc is recorded. After this data writing operation, the state of the optical disc changes from the state indicated by the reference number 181 in FIG. 8 to the state indicated by the reference number 182 in FIG. 8. With this data writing operation, the second spare area 153 is newly assigned. The state of the optical disc indicated by reference number 181 is the same as the state of the optical disc shown in FIG. 4.

When the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device 204, it starts to operate as one of the optical disc drive devices 204, and the remaining spare area quantity detecting partition 233 obtains information showing the consumption status of the first spare area 102 (step S801).

For example, the remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 can obtain information showing the consumption status of the first spare area 102 by referring to the spare area fill flag 132. The first fill flag 138 is set to show that all the spare sectors in the first spare area 102 are used (that is, there are no spare sectors in the first spare area 102 for replacement).

In the first spare area 102, spare sectors are used sequentially, starting from the spare sector assigned the largest physical sector number. In other words, the spare sector replaces the defective sector in the descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the spare sector. This sequence of using spare sectors is also used in the second spare area 108.

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 can also retrieve one of the replacement entries recorded in the defect management information area 101. The replacement entry has the minimum position information of a spare area (such as physical sector number). ) To obtain information showing the consumption status of the first spare area 102 based on the retrieved location information of the spare sector of the replacement entry. Therefore, the remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233, based on the retrieved replacement input item spare sector location information and the size of the first spare area 102, can know the available spare fans in the first spare area 102 The number of districts. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the size of the first spare area 102 is determined in advance. Therefore, the remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 can know the number of spare sectors available for use in the first spare area 102 based on the retrieved location information of the spare sector of the replacement entry.

Therefore, the information showing the consumption status of the first spare area 102 may be the first fill flag 138 or the number of spare sectors available for use in the first spare area 102.

As one of the system control devices 200 starts to operate, the file structure operation partition 211 sends a Read command to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S802).

The data read control partition 236 reproduces the data recorded in the capacity structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 according to the address specified by the Read command, and returns the reproduced data to the system control device 200 (step S803).

The file structure operation partition 211 receives the reproduced data from the optical disc drive device 204, and analyzes the basic file structure based on the reproduced data (step S802).

The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Write command, and transmits the data of the file (File-a) to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S804).

The data written in the control zone 235 records the data sent by the system control device 200, and is stored in the data zone 105 and the optical disc drive device 106 (step S805).

When any defective sector is detected in the data writing operation of step S805, the defective sector operation partition 234 performs a replacement operation to replace the defective sector with a spare sector of the first spare area 102 (step S806 ).

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 obtains information showing the consumption status of the first spare area 102 based on the information of the defect management information memory 241 updated in step S806 (step S807).

When the first spare area 102 is exhausted, the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 notifies the system control device 200 of information indicating that the first spare area 102 is exhausted (step S810). Such notification can be achieved by, for example, sending back "return error" to the system control device 200 as the Status information of the Write command sent in step S804.

The spare area extension decision partition 215 recognizes the exhaustion of the first spare area 102 by operating the partition 216 in the command state, and decides to allocate the second spare area 153 to one of the outermost circumferences of the data recording area by reducing the capacity space 100a Area (step S809).

Because the second spare area is assigned to one of the data recording areas 100 where the PSN is the largest, the second spare area location information 133, for example, is only represented by the PSN of the first sector included in the second spare area 108 .

The spare extension area allocation partition 214 instructs the optical disc drive device 204 to update the capacity structure areas 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area 104 by using a Read command and a Write command to allocate an area, and by reducing the capacity space 100a. The second spare area 153 is assigned to the area immediately after the outer circumference of the capacity space 100a (step S811).

The data writing control partition 235 and the data reading control partition 236 update the capacity structure areas 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area 104 according to the commands (step S812). Hereinafter, the details of the update operation shown in steps S811 and S812 will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

The spare extension area issuing partition 217 instructs the optical disc drive device 204 to register the newly assigned area as the second spare area 153 by using an Alloc Spare command (step S813). In addition, a Format Unit command can be used instead of the Alloc Spare command.

The spare area allocation partition 232 recognizes that the second spare area has not been assigned by using the second spare area location information 133 stored in the defect management information memory 241, and updates the second spare area stored in the defect management information memory 241 The location information 133 is used to newly allocate the second spare area 153 based on an Alloc Spare command (or FormatUnit command), and reset the second fill flag 139 of the second spare area 153 (step S814). Because the second spare area 153 is allocated outside the capacity space, the sectors of the second spare area 153 do not have an LSN.

The defect sector operation partition 234 records the updated defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 (step S817). Immediately after step S813, or when there is no data recording command from the system control device 200 after a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 seconds), such recording is executed immediately.

Therefore, the optical disc drive device 204 and the system control device 200 cooperate with each other to additionally allocate the second spare area 153, thereby increasing the reliability of data recording.

The second spare area 153 can be assigned to an area separate from the first spare area 102 or to an area contiguous to the first spare area 102.

For example, the second spare area 153 is assigned to an area including a sector, where the sector is assigned a physical sector number, and the physical sector number is greater than any sector in the first spare area 102 Sector number. When the second spare area 153 includes a plurality of spare sectors, one of the spare sectors corresponding to the spare sector replaces the defective sector according to the descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the spare sectors.

In addition, as shown by the reference number 182 in FIG. 8, the capacity space 100a is reconfigured to include the capacity structure area 103, the basic file structure area 104, the data area (File-a) 105, and the file structure area (File-a) 106. The unassigned area 151 and the capacity structure area 152, and at the same time save these files that have been recorded on the optical disc.

In this way, the capacity space 100a is reconfigured so that the second spare area 153 is assigned outside the capacity space 100a. In this way, there is no need to perform operations to avoid the inconsistency between the second spare area location information 133 recorded in the defect management information area 101 and the second spare area location information 143 recorded in the file entry area 116, as described above for Example 1.

In addition, in Example 2, there is no need to record the location information of the second spare area in the basic file structure area 104. In this way, there is no need to provide a special data structure to the file system. Therefore, when the optical disc once assigned to the second spare area is reused, after a logical format, not only for the file system described in this example, but also for the more frequently received The FAT system used can re-use the CD, where the FAT system is used for, for example, MS-DOS.

The size of the second spare area 153 can be determined according to the consumption state of the first spare area 102. For example, if in step S810, when the size of the spare sector available for replacement in the first spare area 102 is reduced to 1 MB or less, the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports the exhaustion of the first spare area 102 to the system For the control device 200, the second spare area 153 can be allocated in units of 1MB blocks.

When ECC (Error Correction Code) is configured in units of blocks of 16 sectors, an ECC block contains 16 sectors. Then, the replacement of defective sectors can be performed in units of ECC blocks instead of sector blocks. By performing the replacement operation in units of ECC blocks, it is no longer necessary to recalculate the ECC, so the recording/reproducing system can be simplified.

Preferably, the smallest unit in which the second spare area can be extended is determined in advance. For example, it may be determined to extend the second spare area in units of 32ECC blocks (1MB). In this case, compared to the case where the spare area is extended in units of blocks of 2 to 3 sectors, the probability of exhaustion of the spare area can be reduced. In addition, by extending the second spare area in units of ECC blocks, it is convenient to replace defective sectors in units of ECC blocks.

The description code recorded in the capacity structure area 103 and defined in the ECMA167 standard, the basic file structure area 104, the file structure area (File-a) 106 and the capacity structure area 152 can be recorded on the optical disc according to a distributed configuration.

Now, the operation of recording a file (File-b) on a data writing operation of the optical disk when the optical disk is in the state shown by the reference number 182 in FIG. 8 will be described. With this data writing operation, the state of the optical disc changes from the state shown by the reference number 182 in FIG. 8 to the state shown by the reference number 183 in FIG. 8. With this data writing operation, an additional spare area is assigned to a zone, and the zone is continuous with the assigned second spare area 153. Therefore, the second spare area 158 is assigned, and it is obtained by extending the second spare area 153.

Therefore, the second spare area 153 can extend in the direction in which the physical sector number decreases.

The data writing operation of the file (File-b) on the optical disc is also executed according to steps S801-S817 in FIG. 9.

The operations of steps S801-S803 are the same as the operations of the above-mentioned steps, so they will not be described below.

The file structure operation partition 211 issues a Write command, and transmits the data of the file (File-b) to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S804).

The data writing control partition 235 records the data sent by the system control device 200 in the data area 154 and the file structure area 155 (step S805).

When any defective sector is detected in the data writing operation of step S805, the defective sector operation partition 234 performs a replacement operation to replace the defective sector with the spare sector of the second spare area 153 (step S806). A replacement entry showing that the defective sector has been replaced by a spare sector is generated, and before the replacement entry is recorded in the defect management information area 101, the replacement entry is stored in the defect management information memory 241.

If all the spare sectors of the second spare area 153 are used, the defective sector operation partition 234 sets the second fill flag 139 of the spare area fill flag 132.

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 obtains information showing the consumption status of the second spare area 153 (step S807). The method of obtaining and displaying the consumption state of the second spare area 153 is similar to the aforementioned method of obtaining the information displaying the consumption state of the first spare area 102.

When the second spare area 153 is exhausted, the remaining spare quantity report partition 231 notifies the system control device 200 of information showing that the second spare area 153 is exhausted (step S810).

The spare area extension determination partition 215 recognizes the exhaustion of the second spare area 153 by operating the partition 216 in the command state, and decides to newly assign an additional spare area to a continuous area with the second spare area 153 (step S809).

The spare extension area allocation partition 214 instructs the optical disc drive device 204 to update the capacity structure areas 103 and 152 and the basic file structure area 104 by using a Read command and a Write command to allocate additional spare areas by reducing the capacity space 100a (Step S811).

The data writing control partition 235 and the data reading control partition 236 update the capacity structure areas 103 and 152 and the basic file structure area 104 according to the commands (step S812).

The spare extension area issues a partition 217 to instruct the optical disc drive device 204 to register the newly assigned area and the second spare area 153 as the new second spare area 158 (step S813).

The spare area allocation partition 232 recognizes that the second spare area 153 has been allocated by using the second spare area location information 133 stored in the defect management information memory 241, and checks the second fill flag 139. Then, the spare area allocation partition 232 updates the second spare area location information 133 stored in the defect management information memory 241 to extend the second spare area in the direction of decreasing the physical sector number, and when the second spare area 153 is When the second full flag 139 is set, the second full flag 139 is reset (step S814). Therefore, a spare sector available in the second spare area 158 can be used to replace one of the spare sectors.

The defect sector operation partition 234 records the updated defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 (step S817). When there is no data recording command from the system control device 200 after a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 seconds), such recording is executed.

Therefore, through the cooperation of the optical disc drive device 204 and the system control device 200, the second spare area can be extended according to the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors.

FIG. 10 is a protocol diagram showing a procedure of an operation in which the operation is executed when the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device. In this procedure, once the disc is inserted, the consumption status of the spare area is checked. Therefore, whether an additional spare area must be assigned is determined according to the consumption status of the spare area.

In the following description of FIG. 10, the term "spare area" means "first spare area 102", "second spare area 153" or "second spare area 158" shown in FIG. 8.

The file structure operation partition 211 sends a Get Spare Info command to the optical disc drive device 204 to query the consumption status of the spare area (step S821). The file structure operation partition 211 can also use a Read DVD Structure command instead of Get Spare Info information.

The remaining spare area quantity detection partition 233 obtains information showing the consumption status of the spare area (step S807). The information showing the consumption status of the spare area includes, for example, the size of the area that can be used for replacement in the spare area.

The remaining spare quantity report partition 231 reports information showing the consumption status of the spare area to the system control device 200 (step S810).

The spare area extension decision partition 215 decides whether to assign an additional spare area according to the consumption status of the spare area. For example, when the size of the area available for replacement in the spare area is less than or equal to a predetermined size (for example, 1 MB), the spare area extension determination partition 215 decides to newly assign an additional spare area (step S809).

The operations of the steps S811-S817 shown in FIG. 10 are the same as the operations of the steps S811-S817 shown in FIG. 9 and therefore will not be described below.

Therefore, through the cooperation of the optical disc drive device 204 and the system control device 200, before data is recorded, a spare area with an optimal size can be assigned according to the consumption state of the spare area.

The operation of an update capacity structure area 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area 104 will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11. The update operation is performed by the allocation partition 214 of the spare extension area. In FIG. 11, each reference number beginning with "S" represents a step of the update operation.

Figure 11 shows in more detail, that is, in the description of the code level, as shown by the reference numbers 191 and 192, the data structure of the optical disc in the state represented by the reference numbers 181 and 182, respectively, in Fig. 8, which illustrates the code level definition Based on the ECMA167 standard.

The capacity structure area 103 is arranged along the inner circle of the capacity space 100a. A defining capacity space 100a becomes the main capacity description code sequence 161 of a logical space, a logical capacity integrity description code 162 having the integrity information of the logical capacity space 100a, and a fixed capacity description code showing the position where the capacity structure starts to be read The index and a file set description code 164 are recorded in the capacity structure area 103.

When a file set description code is defined as a file structure according to ECMA167, in the example shown in FIG. 11, a file set description code is defined as a capacity structure for discussion.

The capacity structure area 109 is arranged on the outermost circumference of the capacity space 100a. A fixed capacity description code index 165 and a reserved capacity description code sequence 156 are recorded in the capacity structure area 109.

The basic file structure area 104 includes a spatial bit mapping area 113, a file entry area 114, and a root directory area 115. A spatial bit mapping for managing the unassigned area of the logical capacity space 100b is recorded in the spatial bit mapping area 113. The file input items of the root directory are recorded in the file input item area 114. The information of the root directory is recorded in the root directory area 115.

The spare extension area assignment partition 214 retrieves the size and location of the unassigned area 107 based on the information reproduced from the spatial bit mapping area 113.

When the unassigned area 107 larger than the size of the extra spare area to be assigned as the second spare area 153 exists at the end of the logical capacity space 100b (that is, along the outermost section of the logical capacity space 100b), The spare extension area allocation partition 214 updates the space bit mapping area 113 to reduce the size of the extra spare area of the logical capacity space 100b (step S101).

When the unassigned area 107 larger than the size of the extra spare area does not exist, a file moving operation (step S703 in FIG. 7) is executed. Therefore, the data of one file that has been recorded is moved to another area.

The spare extension area assignment partition 214 updates and moves the reserved capacity description code sequence 156 and the fixed capacity description code indicator 165 so that the second spare area 153 can be assigned (steps S102 and S103).

The spare extension area assignment partition 214 updates the main capacity description code sequence 161 and the logical capacity integrity description code 162 to define a reduced logical capacity space (steps S104 and S105).

Finally, the spare extension area allocation partition 214 updates a fixed capacity description code indicator 163 to activate the updated capacity structure and the updated file structure (step S106).

Therefore, by making a part of the capacity space 100a available for use, a zone can be assigned, in which the second spare zone 153 is assigned.

In the information recording medium of the present invention, the capacity space that can record user data is allocated as a second spare area and is additionally allocated. Therefore, the spare area can be dynamically extended according to the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors. Therefore, even when there are more defective sectors than expected, the reliability of data recording can be ensured without performing a start-up operation.

Because the spare area can be extended according to the occurrence frequency of defective sectors, the amount of user data that can be recorded in the logical capacity space can be maximized.

When data is recorded in an area to be allocated as an additional spare area, the additional spare area can be allocated after moving the data to another area. Therefore, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the area to which an additional spare area can be assigned.

Those skilled in the art should be able to understand and easily implement various other modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, this article does not mean that the scope of additional patent applications is limited to the description stated herein, but the scope of such patent applications should have broad meaning.

Symbol description of main components

1a. . . Information recording/reproduction system

100. . . Data recording area

100a. . . Capacity space

100b. . . Logical capacity space

101. . . Defect Management Information Area

102. . . 1st spare area

103. . . Capacity structure area

104. . . Basic file structure area

105. . . Data area

106. . . File structure area

107. . . Unassigned area

108. . . Second spare area

109. . . Capacity structure area

110#3. . . Spare sector

111#2. . . Spare sector

112#1. . . Spare sector

113. . . Spatial bit mapping area

114. . . File entry area

115. . . Root directory area

116. . . File entry area

117. . . Sector

118. . . Defective sector

130. . . Defect management information

131SDL. . . Description code

132. . . The spare area is filled with flags

133. . . Location information

134#1. . . Replace entry

135#2. . . Replace entry

136. . . Location information

137. . . Location information

138. . 1st fill flag

139. . . 1st fill flag

141. . . Description label

142. . . File attributes

143. . . Location information

153. . . Second spare area

154. . . Data area

155. . . File structure area

158. . . Second spare area

161. . . Main capacity description code sequence

162. . . Logical capacity integrity description code

164. . . File collection description code

181. . . Disc status

182. . . Disc status

191. . . Disc data structure

192. . . Disc data structure

200. . . System control device

201. . . System control partition

202. . . Memory circuit

204. . . Optical disc drive

205. . . Drive control partition

206. . . Memory circuit

211. . . File structure operation partition

212. . . Spare extension area detection partition

213. . . File move operation partition

214. . . Allocation zone of spare extension area

215. . . Spare area extension determines partition

216. . . Command state operation partition

217. . . Spare extension area

221. . . File structure memory

222. . . Bit-mapped memory

223. . . Data memory

224. . . Spare area information memory

231. . . Number of remaining spare areas report partition

232. . . Spare area assignment zone

233. . . Number of remaining spare areas to detect partitions

234. . . Defective sector operating partition

235. . . Data write control partition

236. . . Data reading control partition

241. . . Defect management information memory

242. . . Data memory

800. . . Data recording area

800a. . . Capacity space

800b. . . File data space

801. . . Defect Management Information Area

802. . . Spare area

803. . . FAT area

804. . . Root directory area

810#1. . . Spare sector

814. . . Defective sector

832#1. . . Replace entry

833. . . Location information

834. . . Location information