JP3129378B2 - Recording / playback device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a magneto-optical disk (recording medium).
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of inputting character information (information of a song title, an artist, and the like) related to an audio signal to be recorded on a body .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, there are the following methods for inputting character information such as a song title and an artist. For example, a Roman character input kana-kanji conversion method (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 3-106864, when converting to a different character (for example, when converting from the “Katakana input” mode to the “Kanji / Hiragana” mode), the input is first displayed and designated by the original character string and then converted After designating a desired word or phrase, it is converted into a desired character expression using a conversion key or the like.

On the other hand, there are the following recording / reproducing apparatuses capable of inputting character information such as a song title and an artist, related to an audio signal to be recorded on a magneto-optical disk, in katakana. That is, the modulated audio signal obtained by compressing the audio signal to be recorded, compensating for vibration proof, performing error correction coding and modulating is recorded on the magneto-optical disk, and the reproduced modulated audio signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical disk is complemented. As a recording / reproducing system of a magneto-optical disk for outputting a reproduced audio signal obtained by performing demodulation, error correction decoding, vibration proof compensation and expansion, there is a mini disk (hereinafter sometimes referred to as MD). In such a system, character information related to the audio signal to be recorded is converted to ASCII code (American Standard Code for Inform).
ation Interchange, US standard information exchange code. Since this system employs a system for recording in the form of "ASCII code"), it is necessary to input this into alphabets, convert it to ASCII code, and record it on the MD, even if it is in katakana notation.

[0004]

The above-mentioned prior art has mainly the following problems. Since there are many conversion results, many conversion operations must be performed until the desired character string is reached. There is the complexity of having to enter katakana characters in alphabets, even though you want to record them directly in katakana characters.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus which can input character information related to an audio signal to be recorded on a magneto-optical disk in katakana and can read the character information in katakana. And

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a recording / reproducing apparatus having the following configuration. (1) In a recording apparatus for encoding an audio signal to be recorded and recording the encoded audio signal on a recording medium, an operation unit for inputting character information related to the audio signal to be recorded as katakana character information; ASCII) code, and a code in an ASCII code table at both the front and rear of the katakana character information.
One special symbol code other than alphabets and numbers
And a character code conversion unit arranged and output for recording in a predetermined area of the recording medium. (2) In a reproducing apparatus for reproducing a recording medium on which an encoded audio signal is recorded and outputting a reproduced audio signal obtained by decoding the audio signal, the reproduced audio signal is recorded in a predetermined area of the recording medium. Reads the character information converted to ASCII (ASCII) code, and among the character information, it is a code in the ASCII code table, and one special symbol code other than alphabets and numerals is provided for each of the front and rear parts.
A reproduction apparatus comprising: a character code conversion unit that converts the character information surrounded by the special symbol code into katakana character information and outputs the converted character information if it is arranged .

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an MD recording format, FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining ASCII-Kana automatic conversion, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a list of characters that can be input in the character information recording operation, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process of inputting voiced and semi-voiced katakana characters, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a process of converting ASCII to katakana characters, FIG. 8 is an ASCII code table, and FIG. 9 is an ASCII-Katakana character code conversion table.

As shown in FIG. 1, an MD apparatus A embodying the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention comprises an AD converter 1, an audio compression encoder / decoder 2, an anti-vibration memory controller 3,
Buffer memory 4, EFM (Eight to Fourteen Modulat)
ion)) / CIRC (Cross Interleave Reed-Solomon Cod
e) Encoder / decoder 5, head drive circuit 6, recording magnetic head 7, spindle motor 8, optical pickup 9, objective lens 10, feed motor 11, RF amplifier 1
2, address decoder 13, servo control circuit 14, system controller 15, display unit 16, operation unit 17, DA
It comprises a converter 18. MD in the figure is a mini disk.
The audio compression encoder / decoder 2 has an audio compression encoding function (at the time of recording) and an audio expansion decoding function (at the time of reproduction). Further, the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5 has an error correction coding / EFM modulation function (during recording) and
It has an FM demodulation and error correction decoding function (at the time of reproduction). Further, the operation unit 17 includes operation buttons and a jog dial as described later. The display unit 16 is an LCD (liquid crystal) display, and can display a maximum of 32 characters of character information.

Next, regarding the operation of the MD apparatus A,
The description will be made in the order of (1) voice recording operation, (2) voice reproduction operation, (3) character recording operation, and (4) character reproduction operation.

(1) Audio recording operation An analog audio signal to be recorded is AD-converted by an AD converter 1 and supplied to an audio compression encoder / decoder 2 as a digital audio signal. The audio compression encoder / decoder 2 converts this digital audio signal into an ATRAC (Adaptive TR) signal.
An encoding operation for voice compression encoding is performed according to an ansform Acoustic Coding method, and about 1/5 of the original signal information amount.
The compressed digital audio signal obtained by compression is output intermittently to the buffer memory 4 via the vibration-proof memory controller 3 and temporarily stored therein.

As will be described later, when the recording magnetic head 7 magneto-optically records the modulated audio signal on the MD, the vibration-proof memory controller 3 causes the optical pickup 9 and the recording magnetic head 7 to be inoperative due to external vibration. When a so-called off-track occurs due to easy vibration and a partial dropout of the modulated audio signal recorded on the MD occurs, the recording magnetic head 7 is moved to the MD track position where the sound skipping occurs. The signal is returned instantaneously, and the modulated audio signal of that portion is overwritten again (recorded again; compensated for vibration proof). Therefore, the compressed audio signal which is the original signal of the modulated audio signal required for the overwriting and is temporarily recorded in the buffer memory 4. The system controller 15 controls the operation so that the digital audio signal is read out from the buffer memory 4 to the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5 again. It is. For such vibration proof compensation, the vibration proof memory controller 3 converts the compressed digital voice signal obtained by reducing the transfer rate of the compressed digital voice signal supplied thereto from the voice compression encoder / decoder 2 to about Ｅ into the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5. Output to

The anti-vibration memory controller 3 outputs the compressed digital audio signal stored in the buffer memory 4 to the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5 at the same signal rate as before compression in accordance with the read control of the system controller 15. The EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5 performs an interleaving process and a process of generating and adding an error correction code to the compressed digital audio signal read from the buffer memory 4 in accordance with the encoding control of the system controller 15, and then performs EFM modulation. The obtained modulated audio signal is output to the head drive circuit 6.

The head drive circuit 6 amplifies the modulated audio signal by a predetermined amount and supplies it to the recording magnetic head 7. The recording magnetic head 7 performs magneto-optical recording of the modulated audio signal on the MD. Further, the system controller 15 controls the servo control circuit 1 according to the output signals supplied from the vibration-proof memory controller 3 and the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5.
4 to control the rotation speed of the spindle motor 8 at a constant rotation angular speed, and outputs a display signal to the display unit 16 for displaying the above-described series of recording operation states. The system controller 15 executes such a series of recording operations based on operation control signals such as start and stop supplied by a specific key input operation among a large number of keys of the operation unit 17. Thus, the audio signal can be recorded on the MD.

(2) Audio Reproduction Operation The audio signal recorded on the MD by the above-mentioned (1) recording operation is reflected light obtained by irradiating the MD from the optical pickup 9 via the objective lens 10 with laser light. Can read this. The signal thus read is supplied from the optical pickup 9 to the RF amplifier 12 and amplified there by a predetermined amount.
3, output to the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5 and the servo control circuit 14, respectively. Address decoder 1
Reference numeral 3 decodes only the address data from the reproduction signal supplied from the RF amplifier 12 and outputs it to the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5. The EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5 demodulates the reproduction signal supplied from the RF amplifier 12 in accordance with the address data supplied from the address decoder 13 and then performs error correction decoding processing and deinterleaving processing on the compressed digital audio. The signals are continuously output to the buffer memory 4 via the anti-vibration memory controller 3 and sequentially stored therein.

As described above, when reading the modulated audio signal magneto-optically recorded on the MD with the optical pickup 9, the vibration-proof memory controller 3 inadvertently vibrates due to external vibration. When a so-called off-track occurs and a partial loss (dropout) of the reproduced signal read from the MD occurs, the optical pickup 9 is returned to the track position of the MD on which the off-track has occurred instantaneously, and the modulation of the part is performed again. The operation of the system controller 15 is controlled so that the audio signal is read and the compressed digital audio signal stored in the buffer memory 4 is read out to the audio compression encoder / decoder 2 instead of the signal having the partial loss. The anti-vibration memory controller 3 performs EFM / CIR
A compressed digital audio signal whose transfer rate is reduced to about ２ from the compressed digital audio signal supplied thereto from the C encoder / decoder 5 is output to the audio compression encoder / decoder 2.

The compressed digital audio signal stored in the buffer memory 4 is supplied to the audio compression encoder / decoder 2 in accordance with the read control of the vibration-proof memory controller 3 of the system controller 15. The audio compression encoder / decoder 2 performs decoding for expanding and decoding the digital audio signal, and expands the information to about five times the information amount of the audio-compressed signal to return to the original digital audio signal.
This digital audio signal is output to the DA converter 18 and output as an analog signal obtained by DA conversion.

The system controller 15 drives and controls the servo control circuit 14 in accordance with each output signal supplied from the RF amplifier 12 via the anti-vibration memory controller 3, the EFM / CIRC encoder / decoder 5, and the servo control circuit 14. A feed motor for controlling the rotation speed of the spindle motor 8 and moving the optical pickup 9 to the off-track position in order to return the optical pickup 9 to the track position where the off-track occurs when the above-mentioned off-track occurs 11 and controls the display unit 16 to output a display signal indicating the above-described series of playback operation states, and starts the playback operation from the operation unit 17.
A designation signal for designating an operation such as a stop is input. Also,
The system controller 15 also has a function of a character code converter 22 described later. Thus, the audio signal can be reproduced from the MD.

(3) Character recording operation The MD device A has an editing function in addition to recording and reproduction. The editing function has five more functions ("TITLE
(Title) ”,“ JOIN ”,“ DIVI ”
DE (separate) "," RENUM (rearrange) ",
"ERASE".

Among them, "TITLE (title)" allows a title to be assigned to each disc or song. The attached title can be displayed on the display unit 16 and confirmed. Incidentally, album names, song names, and the like are written in advance on MD software marked with [character information / English] and can be displayed.

The operation unit 17 includes operation buttons and a jog dial. The operation buttons include basic operation buttons (“PLAY (playback)”, “STOP / C
ANCEL (stop / cancel) ”,“ PAUSE / SC
ROLL (pause / character feed) "," EJECT (discharge disk) "," AUTO SEARCH / CU
RSOR (heading / cursor movement) ”,“ REC (recording) ”6 operation buttons), numeric keys (“ 1 ”to“ 1 ”
0 "," +10 "/" 0 ")," TRACK MARK "
ING (track marking), “PLAY MODE”
(Play mode selection), "TITLE (disc name / song name)", "EDIT (edit mode selection)," ENTER
(Execute) "," REPEAT (repeated) "," SET
(Set) "and" DISPLAY / CHARA (display switching / character selection) ".

By using this "TITLE (title)" function, it is possible to give a recorded song or MD a name of up to 32 characters. Available characters are katakana, uppercase and lowercase. If a name is assigned to each song, the selected song is displayed on the display unit 16 by name, so that the content can be easily checked.

Next, a procedure using the "TITLE (title)" function will be described.

When a set MD is to be assigned to a recording MD, the apparatus A is temporarily stopped. When assigning a song name, a song number is selected and reproduced (see FIG. 4A).

The indicator (not shown) on the jog dial for pressing the "TITLE" button changes from red to green (see FIG. 4B).

[DISPLAY / C]
Press the "HARA" button. Each time you press, "Katakana" →
It switches in the order of “uppercase” → “lowercase” → “katakana” (see FIG. 4C). See FIG. 5 for a list of characters that can be entered. To switch the character selection range (Katakana, uppercase, lowercase) (feed forward), use “PAU
Press the "SE / SCROLL" button. Also, keep turning the jog dial to select a character. Also, if you make a mistake, you can correct it before pressing the "ENTER" button. To modify the last character, use "STOP / CANCE
Press the "EL" button. Since the character is canceled, replace the correct character. To correct the characters in the middle, select "AUT
Press the "O SEARCH / CURSOR" button, and move the cursor to the character to be corrected. Press the “STOP / CANCEL” button to delete. If you want to change the character, re-enter the correct character.

Enter a name. Turn the jog dial to move the cursor to the character you want to write, and
Press the "T" button (see FIGS. 4D and 4E).

Press the "ENTER" button.
Will be recorded. When "UTOC Writing" on the display 16 disappears, recording is completed. While "UTOC Writing" is displayed,
The MD device A is not shaken or vibrated.
Incidentally, UTOC is an abbreviation for User Table Of Contents. Thus, the character information (Katakana, capital letters,
Lowercase letters) can be recorded.

(4) Character Reproduction Operation With respect to the character reproduction operation, when reproducing the MD, the reproduction control of the system controller 15 moves the optical pickup 9 to the UTOC area of the MD and reproduces the character information recorded therein. By displaying this on the display unit 16, character information (Katakana, uppercase and lowercase letters) can be reproduced. Regarding the contents of the UTOC, when a new disc is inserted, the set is turned on with the disc inserted, and the UT
The contents of the OC are written into the buffer memory 4. And M
At the time of D reproduction, data is read from the buffer memory 4 as necessary and reproduced by the display unit 16.

By the way, character information (Katakana / uppercase / lowercase) used in the above-described character recording operation
As shown in FIG. 2, is recorded in the UTOC area in the MD including a TOC area (lead-in area), a UTOC area, an audio recording area (program area), and a lead-out area. Incidentally, the combined area of the UTOC area and the audio recording area is referred to as a recordable area (recordable area). The area including the TOC area (lead-in area), the recordable area, and the lead-out area is called an information area (information area). More specifically, the UTOC area is composed of three clusters of one to three clusters, and each cluster is composed of 32 sectors from sector 0 to sector 31. Then, sector 0 constituting one cluster
Is data related to track addresses, and sector 1 is ASCII
Data relating to the title (disk / track), data relating to the recording date and time are recorded in the sector 2, sector 3 is undecided, and sector 4 is the title (ISO 885).
9 / SHIFT-JIS). Sectors 5 to 7 are undecided, sectors 8 to 31
Is unused. By the way, (1) In the case of pits (= lead-in area of pre-mastered disk (reproduction-only MD) / recordable disk (recording / reproduction MD)) ... 1 cluster = 36 sectors, the breakdown of which is Main Data =
32 sectors; Audio Data, Sub Data = 4 sectors; Reserv
ed, Linking = 0 sector; No Linking. Also, (2)
In the case of a group (UTOC area / audio recording area / lead-out area of a recordable disc): 1 cluster = 36 sectors, of which Main Data = 32
Sector; Audio Data, Sub Data = 1 sector; Reserved,
Linking = 3 sectors; Run-in, Linking and Run-out Data
(In order to implement intermittent recording, recording is performed in class units, and clusters are connected to each other (= 3 sectors of Linking (linking area) are used to complete EFM interleaving).

Thus, the input uppercase / lowercase characters (the katakana character string (upper), uppercase character string (middle), and lowercase character string (lower) shown in FIG. Since the characters correspond to all the characters described in the ASCII code table shown in Fig. 8, they are recorded in sector 1 in one cluster of the UTOC area. The characters in the katakana character string (upper row) are recorded in sector 4 in one cluster in the UTOC area.

Now, in order to record and reproduce character information using the MD recording and reproducing apparatus A described above, it is general to convert the character information into ASCII code for recording and reproducing. As shown in FIG. 8, for the ASCII code, a character set in which the above-mentioned uppercase and lowercase characters are coded with 8 bits obtained by adding a parity bit to a 7-bit ISO code is defined. ing. However, the characters of the above katakana character strings are not coded.

Therefore, in order to obtain compatibility with other MD recording / reproducing apparatuses that do not have the katakana character recording / reproducing function, the characters of the katakana character string input by the MD recording / reproducing apparatus A are stored in one cluster of the UTOC area. It is necessary to record the characters in this katakana character string in ASCII and record them in sector 1 in one cluster of the UTOC area (Katakana-ASCII conversion). When the MD recorded with katakana characters by the MD recording / reproducing apparatus A is reproduced by another MD recording / reproducing apparatus having no katakana character recording / reproducing function, the ASCII recorded in the sector 1 in one cluster of the UTOC area is used. It is possible to read out the coded katakana characters and display the contents in an uppercase alphabetic string. When the MD in which the katakana characters are recorded by the MD recording / reproducing apparatus A is reproduced by the MD recording / reproducing apparatus A, the UTOC area is read. Sector 4 in one cluster
It is needless to say that the Katakana character recorded in the file can be read out and the content can be displayed by the Katakana character (ASCII to Katakana conversion).

Here, the conversion means 20 for performing the above-described katakana-to-ASCII conversion and the ASCII-to-katana conversion.
Will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the conversion means 20 includes an operation unit 21 having the same functions as the operation unit 17 described above, a character code conversion unit 22 for performing Katakana-ASCII conversion and ASCII-Katakana conversion, It comprises a character recording / reproducing unit 23 having the same function as the recording / reproducing system of the device A, and a display unit 24 having the same function as the display unit 16 described above. 25 is MD.

At the time of recording, the character code conversion unit 22 is used when a character is input from the operation unit 21 in the katakana character string, the uppercase character string, and the lowercase character string shown in FIG. Outputs character data obtained by converting to ASCII code. In the case of a katakana character string input, katakana characters are temporarily converted to uppercase and lowercase letters according to the ASCII-Katakana character code conversion table shown in FIG. Outputs character data obtained by converting to codes.

The character code conversion unit 22 reads the MD2
When the ASCII-coded character data recorded in sector 1 in one cluster of the UTOC area obtained by reproducing No. 5 is supplied, it is once converted to uppercase and lowercase strings. It is determined whether or not these uppercase letters and lowercase letters correspond to the ASCII-Katakana character code conversion table shown in FIG. 9, and those that can be recognized as katakana characters are output as katakana characters (ascii-encoded). When the input character data is supplied, it is determined whether the input phrase is a katakana character or a phrase input as an ASCII code. If the characters cannot be recognized as katakana characters, they are output as they are as uppercase and lowercase characters. When the katakana character data recorded in sector 4 in one cluster of the UTOC area obtained by reproducing the MD 25 is supplied, the katakana character data is temporarily converted to uppercase and lowercase strings, and 9 is output as katakana characters corresponding to the ASCII-Katakana character code conversion table.

For this purpose, a special symbol code (for example, "@") in the ASCII code table shown in FIG. 8 is used as a control symbol (control code), and this control symbol is used at the beginning and end (unit of phrase) of the katakana character. Placed and recorded (for example,
"＾ jazz ＾" etc.). Therefore, at the time of reproduction, the AS shown in FIG.
The Katakana notation is checked according to the CII-Katakana character code conversion table, and if there is no inconsistency in the phrase, it is regarded as a Katakana character.

More specifically, the conversion process from ASCII to katakana characters is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG.
Numeral 2 reads the character data reproduced from the MD 25 using ASCII codes, and detects whether or not the head (start) of the control symbol is included in the ASCII coded character data (200 to 220). If the head of the control symbol is included, it is detected whether or not the tail of the control symbol is included in the character data (230). If the head of the control symbol is not included, this character data is output as ASCII-coded uppercase and lowercase characters (240). After that, if the character data includes the end of the control symbol, it is detected whether or not it can be converted to the katakana character of the character data surrounded by the two control symbols. (230, 250, 270). Character data that cannot be converted into katakana characters surrounded by two control symbols are output as ASCII-coded uppercase and lowercase characters (290). If the character data does not include the tail of the control symbol, it is detected whether the input of the character data has been completed (260). When the input of the character data has been completed, the character data is output as ASCII-encoded uppercase and lowercase characters (290), and the uppercase and lowercase character data are output. Is output.

As described above, the character code converter 22
During recording, when characters are input from the operation unit 21 in the uppercase and lowercase strings of the katakana character strings, uppercase and lowercase strings shown in FIG. Output character data. In the case of a katakana character string input, katakana characters are temporarily converted to uppercase and lowercase letters according to the ASCII-Katakana character code conversion table shown in FIG. Outputs character data obtained by converting to codes. In this case, the cloud point is selected by “Katakana” + “″”, and the semi-voice point is selected by “Katakana” + “°”. In addition, these selected characters are not directly converted by phrases, but are directly input one by one in katakana characters.

In the input processing of the katakana characters accompanied by the voiced and semi-voiced characters, a method of inputting "" and "°" independently is adopted. If the character cannot be formed, it is invalid.

More specifically, the processing is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, it is determined whether or not the immediately preceding character is a katakana character (100, 110).
As a result of this determination, in the case of katakana characters, it is determined whether or not the current input is semi-voiced point data (120). If not mosquitoes <br/> Tacana character 110 to determine whether voiced or semi-voiced sound mark data (130), voiced or semi-voiced sound mark data
If not, the input processing is performed as it is (170). 1
If it is 30 or data of voiced or semi-voiced point, invalid input processing
(180). Results of semi-voiced sound mark data determination 120 as described above, characters entered before one in the case of semi-voiced sound mark data "c", "human", "off", "f", either "ho"
It is determined whether there is (140). If so, it is turbid
Point input processing is performed (170), and "pa", "pi",
One of "P", "Pe", and "Po" is output. 14
0, otherwise the input is invalidated (18)
0). If the data is not half-stagnation data at 120, it is determined whether or not the current input is cloud-stagnation data (150). 150
If the data is not clouded point data, use normal katakana characters.
Then, the input processing is directly performed (170). If the data is the cloud point data at 150, the characters entered immediately before are "U", "K", "K", "K", "K", "K",
“Sa”, “shi”, “su”, “se”, “so”, “ta”,
"J", "T", "T", "G", "C", "H",
Determine whether it is "F", "He", or "E"
(160). If so, the input process of the cloud point
We (170), “V”, “G”, “G”, “G”,
"Ge", "go", "the", "ji", "zu", "ze",
"Zo", "Da", "ヂ", "ヅ", "De", "Do",
One of "ba", "bi", "bu", "be", and "bo" is output. 160, otherwise invalid input processing
(180). That is, 1 following the 120 semi-voiced sound discrimination
Even in the case of 50 voiced dots, those that cannot be recognized as semi-voiced and voiced characters are output as normal katakana characters.

[0041]

As described above, the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is an audio / video apparatus generally used in a magneto-optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording / reproducing a sound signal and related character information on / from a magneto-optical disk. Katakana input and katakana display can be performed while maintaining compatibility with a system that records and reproduces character information related to signals by ASCII code.
Compared to a general device that cannot input Japanese character information without alphabet input, Japanese character information can be input in katakana (of course, Japanese character information can also be input in alphabet), so it is extremely easy to use. effective. Further, even if a magneto-optical disk in which Japanese character information is recorded by katakana input using the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is reproduced by a magneto-optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus that cannot input katakana, the katakana input character information is expressed in alphabetical notation. There is an effect that can be displayed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an MD recording format.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining ASCII-Kana automatic conversion;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a character information recording operation.

FIG. 5 is a list of characters that can be input in a character information recording operation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an input process of a voiced and semi-voiced katakana character;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a conversion process from ASCII to katakana characters.

FIG. 8 is an ASCII code table.

FIG. 9 is an ASCII-Katakana character code conversion table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 Character code conversion unit (conversion means) 25, MD magneto-optical disk, mini disk A Recording / reproducing device

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for encoding an audio signal to be recorded and recording the encoded audio signal on a recording medium, comprising: an operation unit for inputting character information related to the audio signal to be recorded as katakana character information; In addition to converting to ASCII (ASCII) code, a code in the ASCII code table, one special symbol code other than alphabets and numerals, is arranged at both the front and rear parts of the katakana character information. A character code conversion unit that outputs the character code for recording in a predetermined area of the recording medium. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the special symbol code is $. 3. A reproducing apparatus for reproducing a recording medium on which an encoded audio signal is recorded and outputting a reproduced audio signal obtained by decoding the audio signal, wherein the reproduced audio signal is recorded in a predetermined area of the recording medium. The character information converted to the ASCII (ASCII) code is read out, and the character information is a code in the ASCII code table, and one special symbol code other than the alphabet and the numeral is provided at each of the front part and the rear part. A reproduction apparatus comprising: a character code conversion unit that converts the character information surrounded by the special symbol code into katakana character information and outputs the converted character information if it is arranged . 4. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the special symbol code is $.