Patent ID: 6362928
Filing Date: 2002-03-26
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
An apparatus for recording digital data on and reproducing digital data from a sequential access recording medium, comprising:group conversion means for receiving input blocked data, arranging the blocked data in a predetermined order to generate grouped data, and outputting the grouped data, the blocked data having a variable-length; control means for receiving a command input together with the input blocked data and generating a control signal and management data based on the command; recording conversion means for receiving the grouped data and converting the grouped data into a recording signal based on the control signal; recording means for receiving the recording signal and recording data represented by the recording signal on a sequential access recording medium; reproducing means for reproducing from the sequential access recording medium a signal representing the data recorded in the sequential access recording medium; reproducing conversion means for receiving the reproduced signal and converting the reproduced signal into grouped data; and group reverse conversion means for receiving the grouped data output from the reproducing conversion means and reconfiguring blocked data from the grouped data, wherein the group conversion means includes: block management data generation means for receiving the management data from the control means and generating block management data with respect to the corresponding blocked data, the block management data having a variable-length and containing information concerning each blocked data; group management data generation means for receiving the management data and generating group management data containing information concerning the entire grouped data; and grouped data generation means for receiving the blocked data, the block management data, and the group management data, and generating grouped data by arranging the blocked data, the block management data, and the group management data in a predetermined order, wherein the recording conversion means comprises: first error-correction encoding means for performing error-correction encoding with respect to the grouped data; searching data generation means for generating searching data based on management data given by the control circuit; second error-correction encoding means for performing error-correction encoding with respect to the searching data; and modulation means for modulating the error-corrected encoded grouped data and the error-corrected encoded searching data to generate the recording signal, wherein the block management data generation means generates block management data corresponding to blocked data contained in one grouped data under a condition that specific different numbers are assigned to the respective block management data, and wherein the searching data generation means generates, as searching data, a number assigned to the blocked data which is first recorded in the grouped data, and information indicating whether or not the blocked data which is first recorded in the grouped data is recorded continuing from a preceding grouped data.