US 5,206,850 A · Optically writable record of digital information and recording apparatus therefor

Abstract

An optically writable record of digital information is provided on an optically writable record disk having a reflection factor substantially higher than seventy percent, and is composed of first digital information including a plurality of program data and respective address data indicative of the individual addresses of the respective program data and being recorded with the latter sequentially along a first track in a first annular recording area of the record disk, and second digital information including table-of-contents data, identifying the plurality of program data, respectively, and being recorded sequentially along a second track which is in a second annular recording area of the record disk and which has a concluding end contiguous to a starting end of the first track so that, upon playback of the digital information record, the table-of-contents data and the plurality of program data and respective address data can be reproduced successively without interruption by a standardized compact disk player.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A digital information record comprising:

an optically writable record disk having a reflection factor substantially higher than seventy percent, first digital information including a plurality of program data and respective address data indicative of the individual addresses of the respective program data and being recorded with the latter sequentially along a first track in a first area of said record disk, second digital information including table-of-contents data identifying said plurality of program data, respectively, and being recorded sequentially along a second track which is in a second area of said record disk, said second area being contiguous with said first area and having a recording capacity greater than that required for said second digital information, and said second digital information being recorded at least in part more than once along said second track so as to fully occupy said second area and thereby cause said second track to have a concluding end contiguous to a starting end of said first track so that, upon playback of the digital information record, said table-of-contents data and said plurality of program data and respective address data can be reproduced successively without interruption.

An apparatus for optically recording digital information on a record disk, comprising:

a source of first digital information including a plurality of program data and address data indicative of individual addresses of said program data, respectively;
means for generating table-of-contents data in response to said address data for identifying said plurality of program data, respectively;
means for rotatably mounting the record disk;
an optical unit movable radially in respect to the rotatably mounted record disk and including laser recording means for scanning first and second spiral tracks in first and second annular recording areas which are contiguously arranged on the record disk as the record disk is rotated and said optical unit is moved radially to cause said laser recording means to radially traverse said first and second annular recording areas, respectively;
means for supplying said first digital information to said laser recording means during the scanning of said first spiral track for the recording of said plurality of program data and respective address data sequentially along said first spiral track in said first recording area;
memory means for storing said table-of-contents data during said recording of the respective program data and address data in said first recording area;
means for repeatedly reading said table-of-contents data from said memory means and supplying the same to said laser recording means for recording by the latter along said second spiral track in said second recording area as said laser recording means radially traverses said second recording area with said second recording area having a recording capacity greater than that required for said table-of-contents data;
means operative during the traversing of said second recording area for detecting a beginning portion of said first recording area;
and
controller means programmed to halt said reading from said memory means only upon said detecting of the beginning portion so that recording of said table-of-contents data is controlled to avoid a non-recorded region between an end of said second spiral track and the beginning of said first spiral track.

7 more elements

An apparatus for optically recording digital information on a record disk, comprising:

a source of first digital information including a plurality of program data and address data indicative of individual addresses of said program data, respectively;
means for generating table-of-contents data in response to said address data for identifying said plurality of program data, respectively;
means for rotatably mounting the record data;
an optical unit movable radially in respect to the rotatably mounted record disk and including laser recording means for scanning first and second spiral tracks in first and second annular recording areas on the record disk as the latter is rotated and said optical unit is moved radially to cause said laser recording means to radially traverse said first and second annular recording areas, respectively;
means for supplying said first digital information to said laser recording means during the scanning of said first spiral track for the recording of said plurality of program data and respective address data sequentially along said first spiral track in said first recording area;
memory means for storing said table-of-contents data during said recording of the respective program data and address data in said first recording area;
means for reading said table-of-contents data from said memory means and supplying the same to said laser recording means for recording by the latter along said second spiral track in said second recording area as said laser recording means radially traverses said second recording area;
means operative during the traversing of said second recording area for detecting the beginning portion of said first recording area including laser reproducing means for scanning said recording areas on the record disk in advance of said laser recording means;
and
controller means programmed to halt said reading from said memory means in response to selected address data in said first digital information reproduced by said laser reproducing means when scanning said beginning portion of said first recording area so that recording of said table-of-contents data is controlled to avoid a non-recorded region between an end of said second spiral track and the beginning of said first spiral track.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Optically writable record of digital information and recording apparatus therefor

Life of this patent

Optically writable record of digital information and recording apparatus therefor

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims13