# US 6,243,338 B1 · Recording apparatus, recording method, and disc-shaped record medium

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- Number: US 6,243,338 B1
- Document ID: US6243338B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 09/149,212
- Filed: 1998-09-08
- Granted: 2001-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 1997-09-16
- Assignees: Sony Corporation
- Inventors: Norichika Mine
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US6243338B1

## CPC

- G11B 27/329: {on a disc [VTOC]}
- G11B 20/1217: {on discs}
- G11B 2020/10861: {Finalising a record carrier after a recording operation, e.g. to ensure compatibility with a ROM medium}
- G11B 2020/10916: {Seeking data on the record carrier for preparing an access to a specific address}
- G11B 2020/1277: {for managing gaps between two recordings, e.g. control data in linking areas, run-in or run-out fields, guard or buffer zones}
- G11B 2020/1285: {Status of the record carrier, e.g. space bit maps, flags indicating a formatting status or a write permission}
- G11B: INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER (recording measured values in a way that does not require playback through a transducer G01D9/00; recording or playback apparatus using mechanically marked tape, e.g. punched paper tape, or using unit records, e.g. punched or magnetically marked cards G06K; transferring data from one type of record carrier to another G06K1/18; circuits for coupling output of reproducer to radio receiver H04B1/20; gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers or circuits therefor H04R)

## Abstract

A WBBM is recorded in a lead-in area of a rewritable disc. The WBBM is a bit map that represents whether each block that is a record/reproduction data unit is a recorded block or a non-recorded block. A finalizing process for recording dummy data in the vicinity of a recorded block is performed so that a read-only disc drive can seek a block and a servo operation of the drive can be stable. At this point, with reference to the WBBM, the efficiency of the process can be improved. When a plurality of WBBMs are ring-structured and the WBBMs are successively updated, the write operation can be prevented from being concentrated to the same area. In addition, a destroyed WBBM due to a power failure or the like can be restored. The value of an update counter represents the latest WBBM.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A recording apparatus for use with a disc-shaped record medium having a user data area and a management area, comprising:
recording means for recording at least one bit map that represents whether or not each data unit for recording/reproducing has been recorded; and
processing means for recording the bit map to the management area of the disc-shaped record medium, and referencing the bit map and adding a predetermined amount of data that contains at least one of servo information and position information to a non-recorded area in the vicinity of recorded data so as to allow a reproducing apparatus that reproduces data from a read-only disc-shaped medium and obtains at least one of the servo information and the position information from a reproduced signal to reproduce data from a rewritable disc-shaped record medium,
wherein the management area includes a plurality of bit maps and an update counter, each of the bit maps has a value of an update counter that represents the number of update operations of the bit map, and
the processing means rewriting the plurality of bit maps successively and rewriting the value of the update counter of the bit map rewritten based on the number of update operations.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the processing means rewriting redundantly the plurality of bit maps at a time.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the management area includes a user data bit map which a respective bit map is paired with, and
the user data bit map represents whether or not the user data has been recorded for each record/reproduction data unit.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one bit map comprises a user data bit map, the user data bit map has a first bit and a second bit for each record/reproduction data unit, and one of the first bit and the second bit represents whether or not each record/reproduction data unit has been recorded and the other of the first bit and the second bit represents whether or not the user data has been recorded for each record/reproduction data unit.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the recording means stores bit map data corresponding to the plurality of bit maps,
the processing means performs an updating process which rewrites the bit map data whenever a write operation is performed and which records the bit map data to the management area at a predetermined timing of which a write operation and a read operation are not performed.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein the predetermined timing is an eject state of the disc-shaped record medium.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein the predetermined timing is a flush cache state.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein the predetermined timing is a background state in which a command is not received from the outside of the recording apparatus.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the processing means references the plurality of bit maps, lists up a non-recorded area in the vicinity of recorded data, and records a predetermined amount of data that contains at least one of the servo information and the position information to the verified non-recorded area after verifying the non-recorded state of the non-recorded area by reproducing the listed non-recorded area.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the processing means verifies whether or not a partial area preceded by a recorded area is a non-recorded area before performing a write operation by referencing the plurality of bit maps.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The recording apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein the processing means performs a write operation for the verified non-recorded area without performing a read operation of a read modified write operation.

### Claim 12

A recording method for use with a disc-shaped record medium having a user data area and a management area, comprising the steps of:
creating a plurality of bit maps composed of bits that represent whether or not each record/reproduction data unit has been recorded;
recording the bit maps to the management area of the disc-shaped record medium, wherein each of the bit maps has a value of an update counter that represents the number of update operations of the bit map;
referencing the bit maps and adding a predetermined amount of data that contains at least one of servo information and position information to a non-recorded area in the vicinity of recorded data so as to allow a reproducing apparatus that reproduces data from a read-only disc-shaped medium and obtains at least one of the servo information and the position information from a reproduced signal to reproduce data from a rewritable disc-shaped record medium; and
rewriting tie plurality of bit maps successively and rewriting the value of the update counter of the bit map rewritten based on the number of update operations.

### Claim 13

A disc-shaped record medium having a first rewritable area for recording user data and a second rewritable area for recording management data,
wherein at least one of servo information and position information is pre-recorded as wobbling information in a wobbling groove, and
wherein the second rewritable area has a bit map that represents whether or not each data unit for recording/reproducing for the first rewritable area has been recorded.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The disc-shaped record medium as set forth in claim 13 wherein dummy data is added in the vicinity of recorded data in the first rewritable area and the second rewritable area.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The disc-shaped record medium as set forth in claim 14 wherein the dummy data has servo information and position information which are necessary for a reproducing apparatus that reproduces data from a read-only disc-shaped medium.