JP3024898B2 - Information recording / reproducing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to a connection between an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing information on a disk-shaped recording medium or a card-shaped recording medium to / from which an information recording medium is detachable, and a host control apparatus. It relates to means to facilitate.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART In recent years optical disk, the recording density is high, the life of the medium for recording can be reproduced in a non-contact is long, the random access has a performance much faster etc. than on a medium such as a tape, playback-only machine Many proposals have been made, such as CDs, VLPs, and image files, data files, and document files as recording / reproducing devices. In particular, the data file may be a large-capacity information portable medium under the control of a number of operating system software (hereinafter referred to as OS) by a specific computer maker such as UNIX, MS-DOS, or Macintosh, or a fixed magnetic disk. Used as an alternative to

In order to connect and use the information recording / reproducing apparatus with many kinds of OSs as described above, a device driver for recognizing the information recording / reproducing apparatus is registered in each OS, and the information recording / reproducing apparatus is registered. Is used as a memory from which data can be read and written on each OS. The present invention relates to an improvement in the connectivity between the information recording / reproducing device and the host control device.

Hereinafter, an example of a conventional information recording / reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a conventional information recording / reproducing apparatus, showing an example of a general configuration of an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus which is an information recording / reproducing apparatus. Hereinafter, an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus will be described as an example of an information recording / reproducing apparatus.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 91 denotes a disk-shaped recording medium (hereinafter referred to as an optical disk) which is a medium on which data can be recorded and reproduced; 92, a recording / reproducing head which is the recording / reproducing means for recording or reproducing; , A disk motor 94 for controlling the position of the recording / reproducing head 92, and 95 a recording / reproducing head 9
Demodulation of signal reproduced by recording and reproducing head 92
A signal processing unit 96 for performing modulation for recording by the control unit 96 is a device control unit for issuing commands to the disk motor 93, a recording / reproducing head control unit 94, and a signal processing unit 95, and 96-1 is a ROM 96 as control software storage means. The CPU 96-2, which is a control means for executing the control software of the information recording / reproducing apparatus stored in -5, temporarily stores information transferred from the host computer to the optical disk 91 and information transferred from the optical disk 91 to the host computer. RAM, 96-3
ECC performs error correction information generation and the like on information to be recorded on the optical disk at the time of recording, and ECC performs error correction of data from the optical disk at the time of reading. 96-4 denotes a disk motor 93, a recording / reproducing control unit 94, and a signal processing unit 95. A control signal input / output unit 97 is connected to the host computer 98, for example.

Referring to the drawings, a method of setting the conventional optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above to a usable state under a specific OS will be described in US Pat. CO
A description will be given using a Macintosh OS manufactured by MPUTER as an example.

In order to connect the optical disk recording / reproducing device to the host computer 98, a device driver corresponding to each OS is required. This device driver executes read / write processing of a logical format corresponding to each OS and exchanges an optical disk which is a feature of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus, in order to make the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus usable on each OS. It has functions such as executing processing accompanying disk exchange in such a case, and is essential software when peripheral devices such as an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus are used on each OS.

In the case of a Macintosh OS, a device driver stored in a file format in system information in a system boot device is read and registered in the OS,
The device driver recorded on the optical disk formatted for Macintosh is read out and registered on the OS to make the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus usable on the Macintosh OS.

FIG. 10 illustrates a procedure for registering a device driver so that a conventional optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus can be used with a Macintosh OS.

First, in step 101, when the power of the host computer 98 and the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus is turned on, in step 102, the boot ROM for starting up the system in the host computer is operated.
In step 103-1, a command to read data from sector 0 of the optical disc is issued in step 103-1 to perform registration processing of a device driver stored on the optical disc 91 of the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus connected in 03. In response to this read command, the CPU 96-1 in the device control section 96 checks whether or not an optical disk is mounted.
The recording / reproducing head 92 is moved to the track including the sector 0 to the recording / reproducing head control unit 94, and the data read from the sector 0 is transferred to the host computer 98 by controlling the signal processing unit 95, the device control unit 96, and the interface unit 97. I do. If the optical disk 91 is not mounted or the data cannot be normally read from the sector 0, the read command to the sector 0 in the step 103-1 does not end normally but ends abnormally. In step 103-2, it is determined whether or not the read command to the sector 0 in step 103-1 has been normally completed. If the command has been normally completed, the start position and the length of the device driver recorded in the information of the sector 0 are determined. Based on the information, a read command for reading a device driver is issued in step 103-4, and the device control section 96 reads the information of the specified sector from the optical disk and transfers it to the host computer 98 to be recorded on the optical disk 91. Device driver is registered on the OS.
If the device driver cannot be registered from the optical disk in step 103, the device driver is already registered in step 103 in order to perform the device driver registration process stored in the system information in the system boot device in step 104. It is determined in step 104-1 whether or not the registration has been completed.
In step 104-2, it is determined whether or not a device driver file exists in the system information in the system boot device. If so, the device driver is read from the system information in step 104-3 and registered in the OS. Is done. If the device driver has been registered in step 103, the registration of the device driver from the system information in step 104 is not executed.

Step 103 or step 104
If the registration of the device driver on the OS fails in step (1), the device driver of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus is not registered as shown in step 105.
03 or if the registration of the device driver in step 104 is successful, the device driver is normally registered as shown in step 106 and
The subsequent processing is continued. If the device driver of the optical disk recording / reproducing device is not registered as shown in step 105, the optical disk recording / reproducing device cannot be used on the OS thereafter.

[0012]

However, in the configuration of the conventional information recording / reproducing apparatus described above, in the case of the information recording / reproducing apparatus to which the information recording medium can be detached, the information recording medium is not mounted when the system is started. At that time, the process of registering the device driver from the information recording / reproducing device in step 103 cannot be executed normally. Further, in order to store the device driver in the system information in the system boot device, it is necessary to previously store the device driver for the information recording / reproducing device distributed in a floppy disk or the like in the system information in the system boot device in advance. If this device driver file is not included in the system information, the device driver for the information recording / reproducing device cannot be registered on the OS because the device driver cannot be normally read from the system information. The playback device cannot be used on the OS.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and in order to realize easier connectivity to a host computer, a desired operating system can be realized simply by electrically connecting an apparatus to the host computer.
It becomes available in the environment, not via the information recording medium
It is also possible to always keep the information in volatile memory up to date
And to provide an information recording and reproducing apparatus comprising.

[0014]

In order to achieve this object, an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is connected to a host controller.
Information is recorded on the information recording medium or is the information recording medium
Information recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing information from
Transfer to the control software that controls the playback device and the host controller
Non-volatile storage means for storing specific information
Control to execute the control software stored in the storage means
Means and recording information for recording on the information recording medium or
Temporary storage for temporarily storing information read from an information recording medium
Means, non-volatile storage means and temporary storage means.
Selecting means for connecting to the higher-level control device;
Rewriting means for rewriting the information of the step, the information recording medium
The information of the non-volatile storage means is rewritten by the information of (1 ).

[0015]

Also, a control software for controlling the information recording / reproducing apparatus is provided.
Software and specific information to be transferred to the host controller
Non-volatile storage means, and the non-volatile storage means
Control means for executing control software, and information recorded on an information recording medium.
Read from recording information or information recording medium for recording
Temporary storage means for temporarily storing the stored information, and a non-volatile storage means.
Select the stage and the temporary storage means to connect to the host controller.
Selection means, a plurality of non-volatile storage means and a plurality of non-volatile
Switching means for switching the storage means .

[0017]

[Action] If the optical disk in the information recording and reproducing apparatus during system startup of the host computer by a configuration described above is mounted, reads the device driver from the information recording medium or nonvolatile memory, in a state in which the information recording medium is not loaded The information recording medium can operate not only to read out the device driver from the nonvolatile memory and register the device driver on the OS.
The information read from the
The information in the non-volatile memory via the
Always keep up to date with improvements due to performance and performance improvements.
It becomes possible .

Further, the host computer O
Even when S is different or when an unrelated information recording medium is inserted by mistake, the operation is performed so that a plurality of nonvolatile memories are switched by manual or automatic scanning to transfer those which can be recognized by the host computer.

With such a configuration and operation, the device driver can be registered even when the information recording medium is not mounted in the information recording / reproducing apparatus at the time of starting the system of the host computer. There is no need to save the device driver in the system information in the boot device, and the information recording / reproducing device can be electrically connected to the host computer by using a connector. Can be used from
In addition, the device driver needs to be modified by improving function and performance.
It is also possible to always keep the latest state in accordance with good quality, and the use range of the device can be expanded.

[0020]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is an optical disk which is a medium capable of recording and reproducing the data, 2 is a recording / reproducing head for recording or reproducing, 3 is a disk motor for rotating the optical disk, and 4 is a recording for controlling the position of the recording / reproducing head 2. A reproducing head controller 5 for demodulating a signal reproduced by the recording / reproducing head 2 and a signal processor for performing modulation for recording by the recording / reproducing head 2;
Is a device control unit for issuing commands to the disk motor 3, recording / reproducing head control unit 4, and signal processing unit 5, and 6-1 is a ROM.
A CPU for executing control software of the information recording / reproducing apparatus stored in 6-5, a RAM for temporarily storing information from a host computer or information read from an optical disk and transferred to the host computer, and 6-3 for recording. ECC performs error correction information on information to be recorded on the optical disk at the time of writing, and ECC performs error correction of data from the optical disk at the time of reading, and 6-4 denotes a disk motor 3, a recording / reproducing head control unit 4, a signal processing unit 5, and the like. Is a control signal input / output unit to which is connected, 6-6 is a nonvolatile memory, 6-7 is 6-2
A selection switch 7 for selecting a RAM and a 6-6 nonvolatile memory is an interface unit for communicating with the host computer 8.

[0022] For the information recording and reproducing apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention constructed as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described how to connect and its host computer.

FIG. 2 shows, as an example, a device driver registration procedure for enabling an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus to be used with the above-mentioned OS for Macintosh.
This is described using the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

First, in step 21, when the host computer 8 and the optical disk recording / reproducing device are turned on, in step 22, a boot ROM for starting up the system in the host computer is started.
In step 23-1, a command to read data from sector 0 is issued in step 23-1 in order to perform registration processing of a device driver stored on the optical disk 1 of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus connected in the step (1). CPU6-1 of the apparatus controlling section 6 for this read command, transfers the data of the sector 0 from the nonvolatile memory 6-6 in step 23- 2. In Step 23-2 Step 23- 3 based on the information about the starting position and length of the device driver that is recorded in the acquired sector 0 information in a read command for the device driver read is issued, the apparatus control unit 6 transfer information of the device driver from the nonvolatile memory 6-6 in step 23-4. The information transferred at this time is originally the same as the information recorded at the position on the optical disk indicated by the recorded content of the sector 0 of the optical disk 1, and is incorporated when the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus is manufactured. Is what it is. With the above configuration, the device driver registration in step 23 is normally executed. Therefore, in step 24, the process of reading the device driver from the system information in the system boot device determines in step 24-1 whether the device driver has been registered. Since the device driver has already been registered in step 23, the process proceeds to step 26, and the device driver is always read from the optical disk recording / reproducing device and normally registered on the OS. It is not necessary to save the device driver beforehand. Therefore, the user can immediately connect the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus to the host computer and immediately put the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus in a usable state.
Furthermore, since the setting can be completed even if the disk including the device driver information is not at hand, the system including the host computer and the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus can be easily set by simply preparing an unused disk. is there. The optical disk device having the structure shown in FIG.
In non-volatile memory with battery backup
By using a writable type such as RAM, optical
Disk or read the information in the RAM6-2 CPU6-
1 to a nonvolatile memory and distribute the distributed optical disc.
Information in the non-volatile memory through the
It is also possible to always keep it up to date with improvements
You.

The arrangement of each information on the optical disk and the nonvolatile memory will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of main information on the optical disc, and is a conceptual arrangement of information in which a disk-shaped physical shape is arranged in a line in units of sectors. D0 is a device driver position information area, D1 is a disk management information area,
D2 indicates a device driver area, and D3 indicates a data area. Here, D0 is an area called sector 0 in the present invention, and is a specific area D such as the innermost circumference and the outermost circumference of the disk.
0 indicates where the device driver information is located on the optical disk, in a combination of the first sector and the last sector or the combination of the first sector and the information length. In the figure, the head sector means the head sector n of the D2 area, and device driver information is recorded in a recording area up to the sector P thereafter. The disc management information area D1 stores information indicating what kind of information is recorded in the data area D3, and alternative information indicating a position where a part of the information that could not be normally recorded in the data area is rewritten. Area. D3 is an area where the user can freely record and reproduce data and programs, and occupies the largest area among the above-mentioned areas D0 to D3 on which recording and reproduction of the optical disk is possible. Has about capacity.
The other area has a capacity of several KB to several tens KB.

FIG. 4 shows an arrangement of main information on the nonvolatile memory 6-6 according to the present invention in the same manner as described above. M0 indicates a device driver position information area, M1 indicates a disk management information area, M2 indicates a device driver area, and M3 indicates an unused area. 3 and 4, D0 and M0 correspond, but the content of the information is different because the indicated position information is different. D1 and M1 are disk management information, and information about the memory arrangement in the non-volatile memory is recorded in M1 in the same manner as the management information form of D1, but the capacity of D3 and M3 is much larger in the optical disk. Therefore, M1 has a small amount of information. D2 and M2 are device driver information having the same contents. However, the information of D2, which is improved in accordance with the improvement of performance and function, can be redistributed by an optical disk, but the content of M0 remains the information incorporated when the apparatus was manufactured.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the device driver registration processing procedure using the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG. The difference from the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is that in steps 53-2 and 53-6, it is determined whether or not the optical disk is mounted, and the branch processing is performed based on the determination result.

First, in step 51, when the power of the host computer 8 and the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus is turned on, in step 52, a boot ROM for starting the system in the host computer is activated. In order to perform the registration processing of the device driver stored on the optical disk 1 of the apparatus, a command to read data from the sector 0 is issued in step 53-1. In response to the read command, in step 53-2, the CPU 6-1 in the apparatus control section 6 outputs a switch (not shown) for detecting that the cartridge containing the optical disk has been normally mounted in the apparatus. Focus control for causing the light spot to follow the optical disc from the recording / reproducing head control unit 34;
The optical disk is normally operated by one or more of the signals indicating that the respective control systems of the track following control are operating normally and that the sector information from the signal processing unit 35 is normally read. Check that it has been attached.
If no optical disk is loaded, step 53
-3, the data of sector 0 is transferred from the non-volatile memory 6-6. When the optical disc 1 is mounted,
The recording / reproducing head 2 is supplied to the recording / reproducing head controller 4 in sector 0.
And controls the signal processing unit 5, the device control unit 6, and the interface unit 7 to transfer the data read from the sector 0 to the host computer 8. In step 53-5, a read command for reading the device driver is issued based on the information on the start position and the length of the device driver recorded in the information on sector 0 obtained in step 53-3 or step 53-4. In step 53-6, the device controller 6 checks whether or not the optical disk is loaded. If the information of the sector specified in step 53-5 is not loaded, the device controller 6 returns to step 53-5. At 7, the data is transferred from the nonvolatile memory 6-6. When the optical disc 1 is loaded, the recording / reproducing head 2 is moved to a track including the designated sector by the recording / reproducing head controller 4 and the signal processor 5, the device controller 6, the interface 7
To transfer the data read from the designated sector to the host computer 8. Step 53 according to the above configuration
Is normally executed, the reading of the device driver from the system information in the system boot device in step 54 is performed in step 5.
At 4-1 it is determined whether or not the device driver has been registered. Since the device driver has already been registered at step 53, the process proceeds to step 56. The device driver is always read from the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus and normally registered on the OS. Therefore, it is not necessary to save the device driver in advance in the system information in the system activation device. As described above, the presence or absence of the optical disk is detected, the nonvolatile memory 6-6 and the RAM 6-2 are selected, and the information is transferred to the host computer. In addition to the effect that the setting can be completed even if the disk is not at hand, the device driver of this example is distributed using the optical disk when the device driver is revised or improved, so it is started with the optical disk mounted. That way you can always use the latest device drivers.

In the process of reading a device driver recorded on the optical disk 1 and registering it on the OS of the host computer, it is possible to confirm whether the mounted optical disk is usable on a specific OS such as a Macintosh. Yes, if it can be used, the subsequent use can be continued. If it cannot be used, a process of formatting into a logical format usable by the OS can be performed. Therefore, only the same information as the device driver information read from the optical disc 1 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 6-6 in advance, and in order to perform data recording and reading operations, which are a general usage pattern, other operations are required. It also has the effect that no software is required.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The configuration of this embodiment is the same as the first and second embodiments. In the second embodiment, data is read from the optical disc 1 and transferred in response to a read command issued when the system is started from the host computer 8 depending on whether the optical disc 1 is loaded or the optical disc 1 A part of the information recorded on the memory is stored in the nonvolatile memory 6-6, and the apparatus control unit 6 controls whether the information is transferred from the nonvolatile memory 6-6. However, even when the optical disk 1 is mounted on the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus, a unique command for reading out the information stored in the non-volatile memory 6-6 and transferring the information to the host computer 8 is prepared.
Issues this unique command, the non-volatile memory 6-
6 can be configured to transfer data,
Device driver settings can be speeded up.

In FIG. 6, first, at step 61,
When the power of the host computer 8 and the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus are turned on, a boot ROM for starting the system in the host computer is started in step 62, and in step 63, the nonvolatile memory of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus connected or the A process based on a command from the host computer is performed in order to select a device driver registration process stored in the device driver. FIG. 6 shows a case where the nonvolatile memory is selected. In step 64, a series of device driver reading processing is performed, and in step 63-1 a command to read data from sector 0 is issued. In response to the read command, the CPU 6 in the device control unit 6 in step 63-2.
-1 transfers the data of sector 0 from the nonvolatile memory 6-6. Based on the information on the start position and length of the device driver recorded in the information on sector 0 acquired in step 63-3, a read command for reading the device driver is issued, and the device control unit 6 proceeds to step 63-3.
-4, the device driver information is transferred from the nonvolatile memory 6-6. The information transferred at this time is basically the same as the information originally recorded at the position on the optical disk indicated by the recorded content of the sector 0 of the optical disk 1, and the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus was manufactured. It is built in at the stage. Since the device driver registration in step 64 is normally executed according to the above configuration, it is determined in step 65 whether the device driver has been registered. Since the device driver has already been registered in step 64, the process proceeds to step 66 and the device driver always proceeds to the optical disk. Since the data is read out from the recording / reproducing device and is normally registered on the OS, it is not necessary to save the device driver in advance in the system information in the system boot device. Thereafter, in the case of the present embodiment, in step 68, the selection switch is switched to the RAM side in order to secure the normal recording / reproducing operation on the optical disk, and the registration processing of the device driver ends. Due to this, in addition to the effect of simplifying the setting similar to that of the above-described embodiment, the data is read from the optical disk at the time of a cold start such as when the power is simply opened / closed due to the convenience of the host computer side, and the instantaneous power failure and the warming by the reset switch are performed. At the time of start or the like, it is possible to realize a more advanced usage such as securing high-speed processing by reading from a nonvolatile memory.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 has the same configuration as FIG. 1 except for the fixed switch 6-8. The feature of this embodiment is that the first to third embodiments deliberately perform the information transfer process at the time of startup only for the optical disc,
The configuration is such that it can be fixed only to the non-volatile memory by the user's will, and the other configurations and operations are the same as those in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, the operation when the fixed switch 6-8 is set to the nonvolatile memory instruction is shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The operation when the fixed switch 6-8 is set to the optical disk instruction can select the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 of the conventional example. For example, when the user obtains an improved device driver, or when the user does not want to register the optical disk device on the OS even if the optical disk device is connected to the host computer, the processing speed can be compared by connecting two optical disk devices. usable the hand when performing, those that can be used when you wish to carried out disable the other.

Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8 differs from FIG. 7 in that the nonvolatile memory is 6-6.
a, 6-6b, and 6-6c, and the number of selection switches 6-7a is the number obtained by adding 1 for RAM to the number of nonvolatile memories.
Further, as described in the fourth embodiment, when it is assumed that the fixed switch is fixed to some non-volatile memory for a special purpose, the fixed switch 6-8a having the same designated number as the selected number of the selector switch is required. Can be provided. In the case of the present embodiment, it is possible to connect to a plurality of host computers having different OSs to realize the simplification of the setting which is an effect of the present invention. Plural nonvolatile memories 6-6a to 6-6
As a method for selecting c, the selection switch can be selected by making a determination in the CPU 6-1 according to a command from the host computer. Further, the user can specify one of the RAM and the plurality of nonvolatile memories by operating the fixed switch. Further, the selection can be automatically set by controlling the CPU 6-1 and sequentially switching and scanning the selection switches until the host computer can recognize them. However, in this case, it is necessary to have a function of repeating until the host computer can recognize it on the OS. After the start-up process, it is necessary to return the selection switch to the RAM as described with reference to FIG. 2 and the like and connect an optical disk at the time of normal recording and reproduction. It is within the scope of the present invention to be able to select a non-volatile memory by a command from the host computer even during normal recording and reproduction when the data is stored in a non-volatile memory. A response can be realized.

According to the above configuration, even when connecting to a plurality of types of host computers, it is possible to use the optical disk device by a very simple operation without being aware of the difference in the type of OS. This is very effective in expanding the range of use.

As in the case of FIG . 1, in the optical disk device having the structure shown in FIG. 8, the nonvolatile memory is a writable type such as a RAM with a battery backup, so that the information in the RAM 6-2 read from the optical disk can be read by the CPU.
It is also possible to record the information in the non-volatile memory via 6-1 and to always keep the information in the non-volatile memory up to date through the distributed optical disc in accordance with the improvement by the function and performance improvement.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the description is made using a nonvolatile memory. However, the information holding means is not limited. For example, an electrically erasable and writable ROM may be used. A RAM, an information recording medium, or the like that holds a battery or a battery can be considered as a usable holding unit. Furthermore, the device driver information has been described as an example of information stored in the nonvolatile memory, but all information of the control program such as the OS of the host computer or application software used by the host computer, or
It is also effective to save some information and use it at startup.

By dividing the area in the same non-volatile memory, it is also possible to save a part of the data recorded on the control software and the medium and the data of the application. Furthermore, although the selection means has been described using switches, any means that realizes the same function may be used, and those realized by electronic means such as a logic circuit and processing on software are also within the scope of the present invention. Similarly, the fixing means is not limited to an independent switch, but may be realized by a combination of operation of other switches such as a power switch and a disk ejection switch and software.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described using an information recording / reproducing apparatus using an optical disk, the present invention is not limited to this, and a removable disk-shaped magnetic recording medium having a similar shape, a card, It is obvious that the present invention can be applied to an apparatus using another type of information recording medium such as a tape.

[0039]

As described above, the present invention provides a host control device.
Connected to and record information on the information recording medium or record information
In an information recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing information from a medium,
Control software for controlling the information recording / reproducing device and the host controller
Non-volatile storage means for storing specific information to be transferred
And execute the control software stored in the nonvolatile storage
Control means for performing the recording, and recording information for recording on the information recording medium.
Information or information read from an information recording medium
Temporary storage means, non-volatile storage means and temporary storage means
Selecting means for selecting a non-volatile memory and connecting to the host controller;
Rewriting means for rewriting information in the storage means of
The information in the non-volatile storage means is written by the information in the recording medium.
It has a configuration to replace
When an optical disk is loaded in the information
The device from the information recording medium or the non-volatile memory.
Read the driver and check that the information recording medium is not
Device driver from the nonvolatile memory
To register the device driver on the OS.
Not only can be made from
The output information can be recorded in non-volatile memory, and distributed information
Device driver in the non-volatile memory via the recording medium
Always up-to-date with improvements from functions and performance improvements
It is also possible to expand the range of use of the device.

Further, a plurality of similar nonvolatile memories are provided,
By providing switching means for switching between the plurality of non-volatile storage means manually or by scanning means for sequentially scanning until recognizable depending on the type of host computer, even when connecting to a plurality of types of host computers, the OS The optical disk device can be used by only a very simple operation without being aware of the difference in type, and this is very effective in further expanding the range of use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to first, second, and third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a device driver registration procedure using the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an arrangement of information on an optical disk.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an arrangement of information on a nonvolatile memory according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a device driver registration procedure using an optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a device driver registration procedure using an optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a conventional optical disk recording and reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a device driver registration procedure using an optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus in a conventional embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical disk 2 Recording / reproducing head 3 Disk motor 4 Recording / reproducing head controller 5 Signal processing unit 6 Device controller 6-1 CPU 6-2 RAM 6-3 ECC 6-4 Control signal input / output unit 6-5 ROM 6-6 Non-volatile memory 6-7 Selection switch 6-8 Fixed switch 7 Interface unit 8 Host computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI G11B 20/10 G06F 9/06 420A (72) Inventor Seizou Tsuji 1006 Ojidoma, Kazuma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Atsushi Furuike 2-124 Higashi-Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo MIC Associates Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Michio Fujii 2-124 Higashi-Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo MIC Associates Co., Ltd. 56) References JP-A-7-191835 (JP, A) JP-A-5-81012 (JP, A) JP-A-6-44064 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , (DB name) G06F 3/06 G06F 13/14 G11B 20/10 G06F 9/06

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A is connected to a host control apparatus such as a host computer, the information recording and reproducing apparatus for reproducing information of information on the information recording medium from the recording or information recording medium, wherein the control software for controlling the information recording and reproducing apparatus Top
Non-volatile storage of specific information to be transferred to the control unit
Storage means, control means for executing control software stored in the nonvolatile storage means, temporary storage means for temporarily storing record information for recording on the information recording medium or information read from the information recording medium , selection means for selecting and said temporary storage means and the storage means of the non-volatile connected to the host controller, and rewriting means for rewriting the information of the non-volatile memory means
The non-volatile storage means according to the information of the information recording medium.
An information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized by rewriting information of a row . 2. A host control device such as a host computer.
Connected to and record information on the information recording medium or record information
An information recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing information from a medium, comprising: control software for controlling the information recording / reproducing apparatus;
Non-volatile storage of specific information to be transferred to the control unit
Executing the control software stored in the storage means and the non-volatile storage means
Control means, and recording information or information recording for recording on an information recording medium.
Selecting temporary storage means for temporarily storing information read from the medium, the non-volatile storage means and the temporary storage means;
Selection means connected to the higher-level control device; a plurality of nonvolatile storage means; and the plurality of nonvolatile storages
An information recording / reproducing apparatus having switching means for switching means . 3. An information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said switching means is switched by a command from a higher-level control device. 4. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising designation means for fixing said switching means. 5. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a mounting detecting unit configured to detect mounting of the information recording medium, wherein the selecting unit is controlled by the mounting detecting unit. The information read from the information storage medium in response to the read command is transferred from the temporary storage means, and when the information storage medium is not mounted, the information is read from the nonvolatile storage means in response to the read command from the host device. 3. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the read information is transferred. 6. The higher-level control device includes a command control input for switching by a higher-level control device, wherein the selector is controlled by a command from the higher-level control device to read information from the nonvolatile storage device or the temporary storage device. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the information is transferred to the information recording / reproducing apparatus. 7. A fixing means for fixing the selection means to one side, and reads information from the non-volatile storage means or information from the temporary storage means according to a state of the fixing means and transfers the information to a higher-level control device. Claim 1.
Alternatively, the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to 2. 8. An information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising scanning means for sequentially switching said switching means. 9. An information recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 information stored in the nonvolatile storage means, characterized in that a part of the information to be stored in at least the information recording medium. 10. The information recording method according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the non-volatile storage means is identification information for recognizing and registering at least one or more of the information recording / reproducing devices with the higher-level control device. 3. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is information to be stored in a medium. 11. Information stored in a nonvolatile storage means is operating system software for a host control device,
3. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information recording / reproducing apparatus is a higher-level control apparatus control program such as application software.