Optical recording methods for sampled servo formats

Abstract: A method of optically recording data in data areas (4) of a disc-like recording medium (1) in which servo signal areas (3) are formed along a track (2) in alternation with the data areas (4). Parity codes (C₁,C₂) for error correction are generated and affixed in at least one direction, that is, in the column or row direction, of a two-dimensionally arrayed data block, and the two-­ dimensionally arrayed data with the affixed parity codes (C₁,C₂) are supplied sequentially to an optical pickup along one of the column and row directions so as to be recorded in respective ones of the data areas (4). The number of the data in the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data is selected to be an integer times the data number that can be recorded in each data area (4) provided on the recording medium (1), when the former is intended to be greater than or equal to the latter, or the data number that can be recorded in each such data area (4) is selected to be an integer times the number of the data in the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data when the inverse relation is intended.

Description: The invention relates to methods of optically recording data on a disc-like recording medium utilising sampled servo formats. Various methods have been proposed for recording data on disc-like recording media using an optical method. Examples of such recording media include those of the so-called read only memory or ROM type in which signals are nonrewritably formed by the supplier for supply to users, such recording media including digital audio discs such as compact discs (CDs) or video discs, those of the so-called programmable ROM or PROM type also known as direct read after write (DRAW) or write-once type in which data can be written only once by the user, and those of the so-called random access memory (RAM) type in which recorded signals can be erased and rewritten, such as optomagnetic discs. These recording media may be characterised by an extremely large recording capacity. Since these recording media have been evolved at different times, signals are generally recorded on some of these media using distinct signal formats, resulting in lack of interchangeability among these different types of recording media. Since this is troublesome to the suppliers and the users, the possibility of unifying the formats has been raised by both the users and the suppliers. As one of the techniques for implementing this unified format, it has been proposed to introduce the concept of the so-called sampling servo according to which servo signals are recorded at predetermined intervals or predetermined angles on concentric tracks or a spirally extending track on the disc, similarly to the so-called sector servo for the hard disc in the field of magnetic discs. These discrete servo signals are sampled and held during the rotational driving of the disc to effect a continuous servo control operation. Data signals are sequentially recorded between the adjoining servo signals such that the recording areas for servo signals and those for data signals are alternately provided along the track direction, that is, the scanning direction of the pickup head. The number of servo signals formed on the complete perimeter or area of the disc in the above proposed format is limited by factors such as the rotational speed of the disc or the servo control characteristics. The current practice is to provide one thousand and several hundreds of servo signals, for example, along the complete perimeter of area of the disc. It should be noted that the storage capacity of the optical disc may be as large as several hundred megabytes, for example, such that it becomes critical to take measures against occurrence of possible errors, such as burst errors. For this reason, the conventional practice is to add error detection or error correction codes to the recorded data. In our copending Japanese Patent Application No. 61-93829 and European Patent Application EP-A-0 232 093, there has been proposed a data transmission method according to which the data to be transmitted and additional information affixed to the tail of this data are arrayed two-dimensionally, and first error correction codes are formed for the data in each row (that is, the data extending in one direction) of the two dimensional array, while second error correction codes are formed for the data in each column (that is, the data extending in another direction) for providing a so-called product or matrix code configuration. During recording, data are sequentially written in the row direction of the product code for sequentially recording the readout data on the disc. For purposes of this discussion, it is now assumed that the lengths of the servo signal area and the data area of the disc are respectively equal to 2 and 16 bytes in terms of the data numbers, and that the serial length in the row direction of the product code, that is, the length of each row is equal to, for example, 52 bytes. In this case, when sequentially recording the data of the product code configuration along the row direction of the respective data areas, the points of data demarcation by the respective servo signal areas are changed from row to row such that there may be caused a situation in which data that may exist across two rows of the product code is recorded in a single data area. Thus, when a servo signal read error is caused during signal reproduction, even in cases where only one servo signal cannot be read correctly so that the data within a single data area has been regarded as an error, the error exists across two rows of the product code, so that there is a reduced error correction capability in the column direction. It has also been proposed to use a code system in which each data sector of the disc is arrayed in a two-dimensional matrix of m rows and n columns; the error correction codes are added to each data string in the row direction and the data reading and writing is performed in the column direction. Such a code system is also known as the long distance code or LDC since the length of the data string in the direction of generation of the correction codes, that is the row direction, is comparatively long, for example, about 100 bytes, the number of interleaves being m which is the number of the columns of the matrix. When the two-dimensionally arrayed data of the LDC are read out sequentially along the column direction so as to be sequentially recorded in the data areas between the servo signal areas, the data number in the data area being k, the data sequentially read by groups of m in the column direction are recorded after being divided at intervals of data lengths k. In such a case, when the read-out errors of the servo signals are produced during signal reproduction, and a servo signal cannot be read out correctly so that the data in a particular data area is determined to be in error, the error correcting capability in the row direction of the two-dimensionally arrayed data is reduced. Japanese Patent Application JP-A-60-261076 discloses a data format generating method in which a data format written on a recording medium is split equally into an integer number of data sections. First and second error correction codes are included at the end of each data section. European Patent Applications EP-A-0 019 924 and EP-A-0 155 101 disclose two-dimensional data arrays including error correction codes. In EP-A-0 019 924, first error correction codes are arranged at one side of the array, each such code being associated with a respective row of the array. The whole data array is recorded in one data area. In EP-A-0 155 101, first and second error correction codes are provided respectively for rows and columns of a data array which is respectively split up into a pair of slant tracks for recording on a magnetic tape. Japanese patent application JP-A-57/181429 describes a method of recording data on an optical disc by preforming prebits at prescribed intervals along a data recording track of an optical disc and then recording a plurality of data bits between each prebit. In accordance with the invention, there is provided an optical recording method for optically recording a data signal on a disc-like recording medium with tracks divided into sectors, each sector comprising data areas alternating with servo areas for the synchronisation of data recording in a sampled servo format, characterised by the sectors comprising at least one data area for address data and by the method comprising: formatting a block of data bytes to be recorded in a two-dimensional array of m rows and n columns; generating and adding p bytes of parity data in the row direction of the two-dimensionally arrayed block of data supplied for recording, said parity data being used for correcting a possible error in said block of data; and serially reading said two-dimensionally arrayed data and said added parity data in either said row direction or the column direction, and recording the read-out block of data in a plurality of data areas, each of which is capable of recording a prescribed number k of data bytes; wherein in a first alternative the number of the data bytes in a row or column according to the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data is an integer times the number of data bytes that can be recorded in each data area provided on said disc-like recording medium when the former is intended to be greater than or equal to the latter, or in a second alternative the number of data bytes that can be recorded in each such data area is an integer times the number of data bytes in a row or column according to the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data when the inverse relation is intended. Embodiments of the present invention, to be described in more detail hereinafter, provide for effective error correction of data recorded in data areas provided on a disc-like recording medium in alternation with servo signal areas. As a result, error correction processing of data reproduced from the recording medium can be simplified. In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, parity codes are generated and added for correcting the errors along at least one direction, that is, in the column or row directions of each two dimensionally arrayed data block. The two-dimensionally arrayed data with the addition of the parity codes are sequentially supplied along one direction of the array to an optical pickup so as to be recorded in the respective data areas. In such a case, the number of the data in the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data is selected to be an integer times the data number that can be recorded in each data area when the former is intended to be greater than or equal to the latter. When the inverse relation is intended, the data number that can be recorded in each data area is selected to be an integer times the number of the data in the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which like parts are referred to by like references, and in which: Figure 1 shows a data configuration in a product code; Figures 2A and 2B show a data format in a disc recording format; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing a disc drive in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figures 4 and 5 show respective blocks of data configured in alternative product codes; Figures 6A and 6B show the configuration of long distance coded data; and Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 show modified configurations of long distance coded data. In the accompanying drawings, there are shown preferred illustrative embodiments of the present invention in which data recording methods are applied to recording data on an opto-magnetic disc. Figure 1 shows what is called the product code design of data recorded in each sector of an opto-magnetic disc to be recorded according to one embodiment, and Figure 2 shows the recording format of the data on the opto-magnetic disc 1. Referring first to Figure 2, between servo signal areas 3 in which servo signals are recorded in the form of so-called pits, there are formed data areas 4 in which data or address information is written, these areas 3 and 4 being alternately provided along a track 2 of the opto-magnetic disc 1. The length of each servo signal area 3 and that of each data area 4 may, for example, be 2 and 13 bytes, respectively. The data recorded sequentially in each data area 4 are arrayed by the product code or matrix code configuration shown in Figure 1. The serial length of the product code in one direction, for example, in the row direction, is selected to be equal to an integral number times the length of the data area 4 between the servo signal areas 3 in Figure 2. For example, it is selected to be 52 bytes when the length of the data area 4 is 13 bytes, as in the present example. Thus, four blocks of data to be recorded in the data area 4 are arrayed in each row of the product code without excess or deficit such that no data recorded in one data area 4 will lie in two adjoining rows of the product code. The data structure for one sector, that is the product code configuration of each sector data to be recorded on the opto-magnetic disc in accordance with the product code configuration, will now be described by referring to Figure 1. In the opto-magnetic disc, a 512-byte data volume is adopted as a reference or standard unit data volume to be recorded in each sector of the recording track, in consideration that the disc is used, for example, as the data recording medium for computers. Figure 1 shows a typical data structure for the case of one sector consisting of 512 bytes. Although the valid data are the 512 bytes of data D₀ to D₅₁₁ shown in Figure 1, 16 bytes of additional information is affixed to the tail of the data D₀ to D₅₁₁ of Figure 1, making a total of 528 bytes. These 528 bytes are divided into 48 bytes for each row and arrayed two-dimensionally so that 48 bytes make up one row and 11 bytes make up one column (48 x 11 = 528). That is, the data are arrayed in a two-dimensional matrix consisting of 11 rows and 48 columns. Among the 16 additional bytes, 12 bytes represent reserve information, such as the data identification information indicating the data type or link information with the next sector. For the data of 524 bytes including the reserve area data, a 4-byte error detection code or EDC is generated and provided in the last 4-byte area of the additional 16 bytes of information, for a total of 528 bytes. For each of the 48-byte rows of data of the two-dimensionally arrayed 528 bytes of data, there is generated and affixed a first 4-byte error correcting code C₁ and, for each of the 11 bytes of column data of the resulting two-dimensionally arrayed 572 bytes of data, there is generated and affixed a second 2-byte error correcting code C₂ for forming a 13-row, 52-column product code consisting of 676 bytes. These first and second error correction codes can, for example, be respectively constituted by a C₁ (52,48) Reed Solomon code or a C₂ (13,11) Reed Solomon code. The two-dimensionally arrayed data of the product code configuration may be read sequentially in the row direction, for example, so as to be recorded in the respective data areas of the disc. The track recording format and the recording pattern on the opto-magnetic disc of the two-dimensionally arrayed data of the aforementioned product code configuration will now be described in more detail with reference to Figure 2. Referring to Figure 2, the opto-magnetic disc 1 of, for example, the so-called 5-inch type is approximately 13 cm in diameter and has a memory capacity of, for example, 300 Mbytes on each side. The disc 1 is rotated at a constant angular velocity and, assuming that a track 2 is formed for each revolution of the disc 1, data is recorded on concentric tracks or on a spirally extending track. The number of tracks 2 on each side is about 18,000 to 20,000 with each track being divided into (n + 1) sectors, such as 32 sectors. As shown to an enlarged scale in Figure 2B, the sector format is formed by alternation of the servo signal areas 3 and data areas 4 where the pits for servo control and data or address information are recorded, respectively. In the data area at the leading end of each sector, address information such as the sector addresses is recorded in the form of, for example, the aforementioned pits. The length of the servo signal area 3 and that of the data area 4 may, for example, be 2 and 13 bytes, respectively. Thus, since the data volume of the product code for one sector is 676 bytes in the present embodiment, each data sector is recorded using 52 (= 676/13) data areas 4. To the resulting data is added one data area 4 for address information recording, so that one sector is completed by 53 sets of the servo signal areas 3 and the data areas 4. It will be noted that, since the serial length in the row direction of the product code of Figure 1 is 52 bytes and the data number of one data area 4 is 13 bytes, the data of four data areas 4 is allocated to each row without deficit or excess such that no data of any one data area 4 will lie over two rows of the product code. The overall structure of the opto-magnetic disc device for realising the recording method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figure 3. Referring to Figure 3, the data to be recorded, that is, the two-dimensionally arrayed data of the aforementioned product code configuration, is read out in the row direction row by row so as to be supplied from, for example, an electronic computer to an input terminal 11, by way of an interface (not shown). The input data is supplied to a modulating circuit 12, where the data is subjected to a predetermined modulation, such as bit conversion, before being supplied to a laser driving circuit 13. To this circuit 13 are supplied mode control signals form the interface corresponding to write, read or erasure modes. In accordance therewith, the driving circuit 13 outputs signals for driving a laser diode 21 of an optical pickup 20, such that driving pulse signals having the timing of channel clocks used as reference clocks and high frequency drive signals are supplied to the laser diode 21 during data recording and erasure and during data reading, respectively. The optical pickup 20 has, in addition to the laser diode 21, a photodiode 22 and two photodetectors 23,24, each being divided into four sections, producing output signals A to D and A′ to D′ respectively. The photo-diode 22 detects the intensity of the laser light emitted by the laser diode 21. The photodetectors 23,24 detect the light reflected from the laser light by the opto-magnetic disc 1, through light sensors (not shown). One of the photodetectors senses the positive direction component while the other senses the negative direction component of the Kerr rotation angle. An electric motor 14, under the control of a servo circuit 15 which includes, for example, a phase locked loop (PLL), causes the disc 1 to revolve or rotate accurately at a prescribed angular velocity. The laser light output from the laser diode 21 is irradiated on to the opto-magnetic disc 1 while also falling on the photodiode 22. The output from the photodiode 22 which is proportional to the intensity of the laser light is supplied through a d.c. amplifier circuit 16 to a sample hold (S/H) circuit 17. In this circuit 17, a sample hold operation is performed by sampling pulses SP₄ and the output of the circuit is supplied as automatic power control (APC) pulses to the laser driving circuit 13 through an APC amplifier circuit 18. In this manner, the intensity of the laser light output from the laser diode 21 is maintained at a prescribed value. The outputs from the photodetectors 23 and 24 of the optical pickup 20, upon which the reflected laser light from the disc 1 falls, are supplied to a preamplifier 31. The sum signal of the outputs of the light receiving sections of the photodetectors 23,24, or the light detection signal S A =A+B+C+D+A′+B′+C′+D′ , inclusive of a direct current component, is directly supplied from the preamplifier 31 to a focus servo circuit 32, while another light detection signal S B =(AC- BD)+(A′C′-B′D′) formed from the outputs from the respective light receiving areas is also supplied from the preamplifier 31 to the focus servo circuit 32 through a S/H circuit 33 arranged to perform a sample hold operation by the sampling pulses SP₄. Focus servo signals generated in the focus servo circuit 32 on the basis of the signals S A and S B are supplied to the optical pickup 20 to effect focusing control in a known manner. Still another light detection signal S C =A+B+C+D+A′+B′+C′+D′ from the preamplifier 31 is supplied to a peak value detection circuit 41, S/H circuits 51, 52 and 53 and to a sampling clamp circuit 61. The light detection signal S C represents the pit or indentation pattern detection signal in the servo signal area 3 and the data area 4 of the disc 1 where only the aforementioned address information is recorded. In the peak value detection circuit 41, the peak value of the light detection signal S C is detected. In an intrinsic pattern detection circuit 42, prescribed pit patterns of the servo signal area 3 are detected, with the detected output being supplied through a delay circuit 43 to a pulse generator 44, where channel clock pulses CCK as the reference clocks timed to prescribed pits of the aforementioned pit pattern and byte clocks BYC as well as servo byte clocks SBC and sampling pulses SP₁, SP₂, SP₃, SP₄ and SP₅ are generated and output on the bases of detection outputs produced at the intrinsic pattern detection circuit 42. The channel clock pulses CCK are supplied to all the circuit blocks, although this is not shown in the drawings. The sampling pulses SP₁, SP₂ and SP₃ are supplied to the S/H circuits 51, 52 and 53, respectively. The sampling pulse SP₄ is supplied to the aforementioned S/H circuits 17 and 33, while being also supplied to sampling clamp circuits 61 and 62. It is to be noted that the sampling pulse SP₅ may be used, for example, for detecting the moving direction of the optical pickup 20. It is also to be noted that gating pulses are supplied from the pulse generator 44 to the peak value detection circuit 41 and to the intrinsic pattern detection circuit 42. In each of the S/H circuits 51, 52 and 53, a sample and hold operation of the supplied light detection signals S C is performed by the sampling pulses SP₁, SP₂ and SP₃. The signal levels output from the S/H circuit 51 and the S/H circuit 52 are compared by a comparator 54. The resulting comparison output is supplied as traverse count signals to a tracking servo/seek circuit 55, while also being supplied to a multiplexer 56. From the multiplexer 56, the signal from the S/H circuit 51 or 52 having a higher level is output and supplied to a subtraction circuit 57. In the subtraction circuit 57, a difference signal between the signal from the multiplexer 56 and that from the S/H circuit 53 is formed and supplied as the tracking error signal to the tracking servo/seek circuit 55. Both the tracking control and the feed control of the optical pickup 20 are performed in the tracking servo/seek circuit 55. The light detection signal S C and a light detection signal S D = (A+B+C+D) - (A′+B′+C′+D′) are respectively supplied from the preamplifier 31 to the sampling clamp circuits 61 and 62. The light detection signal S D represents the detection signal of the data written in the data areas 4 of the disc 1. On the other hand, the light detection signal S C supplied to the sampling clamp circuit 61 is the address detection signal written into the area 4 once for each sector in the form of the aforementioned pits. In the sampling clamp circuits 61 and 62, the signals are clamped by the sample pulses SP₄ before being supplied to a multiplexer 63. The changeover/selection operation of the multiplexer 63 is controlled by control signals from a sync detection/address decoding circuit 64. It may be assumed, for example, that the light detection signal S C is supplied through the sampling clamp circuit 61 and the multiplexer 63 to an analog/digital (A/D) converter 65 for conversion into digital data and the thus converted digital data is supplied to a demodulating circuit 66. In this case, the output from the demodulating circuit 66 is supplied to the sync detection/address decoding circuit 64 for detecting the sync signals and decoding the address information. The arrangement is such that, in accordance with the address information of the data to be read that is supplied through an interface from the computer, the multiplexer 63 is changed over when the address information coincides with the actual address, whereby the light detection signal S D for the data area 4 is supplied through the A/D converter 65 to the demodulating circuit 66, and data produced as a result of the demodulation processing, including bit conversion, is output at an output terminal 67. The output data is then supplied through an associated interface to an electronic computer. During data writing, control signals are supplied from the sync detection/address decoding circuit 64 to the modulating circuit 12 and the data to be written is supplied from the modulating circuit 12 to the laser drive circuit 13 in accordance with these control signals. It should be noted that the changeover control operation for the multiplexer 63 does not occur in one area 4 but occurs necessarily within the scanning time for the servo signal area 3. This is because the two-dimensionally arrayed data of the product code may be divided by the length of the data area 4 without producing data fragments such that it becomes unnecessary to make recording of the data and address information in an admixture in the data area 4. In such manner, the changeover switching operation between the data and the address information during reproduction does not occur in the data areas between the servo signals, such that, even when the data transfer rate is increased due to an increased disc speed, a changeover operation between the address and data signals can be performed with sufficient allowance. Figure 4 shows a product coded data configuration to be recorded in one sector according to a modified embodiment of the present invention. The length of the servo signal area and that of the data area on the track of the opto-magnetic disc used as the recording medium are set to 2 and 16 bytes, respectively. Referring to Figure 4, 16 bytes of additional information is added to the tail of the 512-byte one-sector of valid data D₀ to D₅₁₁ to give a sum total of 528 bytes that are divided at intervals of 44 bytes for providing a two-dimensionally arrayed matrix data formed by 44 bytes in the row direction and 12 bytes in the column direction. It is to be noted that, in similar manner to the above-described embodiment of Figure 1, 16 bytes of additional information is formed by 12 bytes of reserve information and a 4-byte error detection code EDC. A 4-byte first error correction code C₁ is generated and added to each 44-byte row of the thus produced two-dimensionally arrayed data, while a 2-byte second error correction code C₂ is generated and added per each 12-byte column for forming the product code composed of the 14-row 48-column two-dimensionally arrayed data. The first and second error correction codes may, for example, be respectively constituted by C₁ (48,44) or C₂ (14,12) Reed Solomon codes. The two-dimensional data array having the aforementioned product code configuration is read row by row along the row direction so as to be sequentially recorded in the respective 16-byte data areas of the disc. In the embodiment of Figure 4, since the data number in each data area is 16 bytes and the serial length of data string length of the product code in the row direction is 48 bytes, three consecutive data areas can be allotted to each row without data excess or deficiency such that no data in any one data area is situated across two rows of the product code. Figure 5 shows another product coded data configuration with a data size of 1024 bytes. In this embodiment, 16 bytes of additional information are added to the former half 512 bytes of data and the latter half 512 bytes of data of the 1024 bytes of data, with the resulting 1056 bytes of data being arranged in a 44-column, 24-row two-dimensional data matrix or array. In the present embodiment, the additional 16 bytes of information for the former half 512 bytes of data and the additional 16 bytes of information for the latter half 512 bytes of data are provided in the latter portion of the last row (24th row) of the 44-column, 24-row two-dimensionally arrayed data. In similar manner to the embodiment of Figure 4, a first error correction code, such as a C₁ (48,44) Reed Solomon code, is generated and affixed to each row and a second error correction code, such as C₂ (26,24) Reed Solomon code, is generated and affixed to each column of the two-dimensional data array such that the product code is formed by a sum total of 1248 bytes in a 48-column, 26-row, two-dimensional data array. It is to be noted that three consecutive data areas can be allotted to each row of the product code such that no data of the product code of one data area is arrayed across two rows. The serial length in the row direction of the product code in terms of bytes can be selected to be a numerical figure having a large number of divisors, such as the above 48 bytes having eight divisors, namely 24, 16, 12, 8, 6, 4, 3 and 2, for dealing more readily with a situation which might arise when a change has been caused in the disc format, above all, in the interval between servo signals or in the number of data in the data area. For example, in the case of a disc of, for example, 3.5-inch (19 cm) type, when it is desired to select the number of servo signals per disc revolution so as to be approximately equal to that of the aforementioned 5-inch (13 cm) type, such as about 1300 to 1400 per revolution, the interval between the respective servo signals will become narrower because of the generally smaller track diameter so that it becomes difficult to record data of as many as 16 bytes in each data area. For this reason, it may become necessary to change the format so that the number of recording bytes for the data area is equal to, for example, 12 bytes. Even when the format is changed in this manner, the byte number of 48 of the serial length in the row direction of the product code can be divided by the byte number of 12 which is the data number of the data area after such format change such that each row data can be allocated to the four data area without excess or deficit. In Figures 6 to 10, modified code configurations are shown, in which a block of data is to be recorded in each sector of the disc like recording medium. Each such code configuration is known as a long distance code or LDC. In Figures 6A and 6B, there is shown an example of a data structure in which 512 bytes of data are recorded in each sector. In Figure 6A, there is shown a data configuration for one sector and, in Figure 6B, a portion of the data zone shown in Figure 6A is shown on an enlarged scale, wherein SV represents an interval between adjoining servo signals. In Figures 6A and 6B, the valid data has 512 bytes, to the tail of which 16 bytes of additional information is affixed to give a sum-total of 528 bytes, which are then divided into groups of 4 bytes in accordance with the data number of each column and arrayed two-dimensionally so that 4 bytes make up one column and 132 bytes make up one row (4 x 132 = 528). Examples of the additional information of 16 bytes include reserve information such as link information with the next sector or data identification information showing the data kinds or types, and an error detection code EDC generated for the aforementioned 512 bytes of data. To each 132 bytes of row data of the 528-byte two-dimensionally arrayed data, a 16-byte error correction code ECC is generated and added to give 592 bytes of data which are arrayed in the so-called long distance code or LDC composed of 4 rows and 148 columns. The error correction code may, for example, be constituted by a C (148,132) Reed Solomon code. The two-dimensionally arrayed data of the LDC configuration is read in the column direction and sequentially recorded in the respective data areas 4 on the disc. It will be noted that, between the serial length m (equal to 4 bytes) in the column direction of the two-dimensionally arrayed data and the number k (equal to 16 bytes), there exists a relation in which one of k or m is equal to an integer times the other. In the present case, k is equal to four times m ( k = 4 m ). As a result, the data in one data area 4 is allocated to four data columns of the two-dimensional data array without excess or deficit, such that, when the servo signals cannot be read and the data in one data area 4 is considered to be in error, there does not arise a situation in which the error data passes over to the next column beyond the boundary of the four columns of the data array; accordingly, the number of error symbols to be corrected may be prevented from increasing so that deterioration in the error correction ability may be reduced. It should be noted that the track recording format as well as the recording pattern on the opto-magnetic disc, on which are recorded the two-dimensionally arrayed data of the LDC configuration, are similar to those shown in Figure 2. Thus, in the long distance code configuration of the present embodiment, since the volume of the data per sector of the two-dimensional data array is 592 bytes, each sector data is recorded using 37 data areas 4 to which one data area 4 is added for recording the address information. In such manner, one sector is constituted by 38 sets of the servo area 3 and the data areas 4. Since the data number m in the column direction of the two-dimensional data array of Figure 6 is 4 bytes, while the data number k of one data area 4 is 16 bytes, the data formed by groups of 4 columns may be allotted in each data area 4 without excess or deficit. In such manner, one servo signal SV is placed at each fourth column of the two-dimensional data array, as shown by broken lines in Figure 6B. Thus, even when it is impossible to read out the servo signals, for example, the data can be rearranged relatively easily for performing error correction as desired. Several other embodiments for arranging the block of data into a long distance code will be hereinafter described. For simplicity of description, an opto-magnetic disc 1 having a recording format similar to that shown in Figure 2 is used as the recording medium, and the length k of the data area 4 interposed between the adjoining servo signal areas 3 is set so as to be equal to 16 bytes. Figure 7 shows the data configuration according to a second embodiment for long distance coding, with the data size for one sector being 1024 bytes. Referring to Figure 7, 16 bytes of additional information is affixed to the tail of a valid one-sector data group of 1024 bytes to give 1040 bytes, which are then divided into groups of 8 bytes along the column direction. In such manner, there is formed a two-dimensional data array consisting of 8 bytes in the column direction and 130 bytes in the row direction. In similar manner to the embodiment shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the 16 bytes of additional information is constituted by, for example, the reserve information and an error detection code EDC. A 16-byte error correction code ECC such as a (146,130) Reed Solomon code, is generated and affixed to each 130-byte row of the thus-produced two-dimensional data array for constituting the so-called LDC data. The two dimensional data array of the LDC configuration is sequentially read out in the column direction so as to be sequentially recorded in each 16-byte data area 4 of the disc. In the embodiment of Figure 7, since the serial length m of the two-dimensional data array is 8 bytes and the length k of the data array is 16 bytes, the relation m : k = 1:2 applies so that two columns of the two-dimensional data array can be allocated to each data area without excess or deficit. The servo signal SV is then allocated to each two columns of the two-dimensional data array, as indicated by the broken lines in Figure 7. When the size of the data to be recorded in one sector is 2048 bytes, the data number m for one column may be set to 16 bytes, as in a further embodiment shown in Figure 8. In this embodiment, 16 bytes of additional information, which includes an error detection code (EDC) is added to the 2048 bytes of data to give a total of 2064 bytes. A 16-byte error correction code ECC is generated and affixed to each 129-byte row of the data array. The data number k (16 bytes) is equal to the data number m (16 bytes) in the column direction (m: k = 1:1) so that each column of the two-dimensional data array may be allotted to each data area without excess or deficit, while each servo signal SV is allocated to each column of the data array as indicated by the broken lines shown in Figure 8. Figure 9 shows an example of the data structure for a case in which the size of the data recorded in each sector is 4096 bytes. In this example, 32 bytes of additional information, including the error detection code (EDC) is added to the 4096 bytes of data such that the resulting 4128 bytes of data is formed into a 32-row, 129-column two-dimensional data matrix or array. In such a case, since the data number in the column direction is 32 bytes, which is twice the data number k of 16 bytes of the data area 4, each data column of the two-dimensional data array is allocated to two data areas 4 without excess or shortage, while two servo signals SV are allotted to each column of the data array as indicated by the broken lines in Figure 9. It will be noted that each column data number can be set to any other value than that specified above. For example, in a modification shown in Figure 10, 16 bytes of additional information, including the error detection code (EDC) is added to a 512-byte one-sector data group to give 528 bytes of data, which are then divided by groups of 8 bytes and arranged sequentially in the column direction to form an 8-row, 66-column two-dimensional data array. To each 66-byte row of the data array, a 16-byte error correction code ECC, such as a (82,66) Reed Solomon code is generated and affixed for forming an 8-row, 82-column two-dimensional data array. With the data number k of each data area 4 of the opto-magnetic disc recording medium 1 being equal to 16 bytes, the length m in the column direction of the two-dimensional data array is 8 bytes so that the relation m : k = 1:2 applies, and hence two data columns of the two-dimensional data array can be allotted to each data area without excess or deficit. Thus the two data columns can be allocated to each data area so that each servo signal SV is allotted to two data columns of the data array as indicated by the broken lines shown in Figure 10. Various modifications can be made to the arrangements described above. For example, the present invention can be applied to disc-like recording media other than opto-magnetic discs. The lengths in the row and column directions of the data array or the length of the data signal area are not limited to the specific values of the above embodiments but can be arbitrarily set on the condition that the ratio of m : k is equal to a ratio of 1 to an integer. It will be seen from the above that, when a read-out error of the servo signal has been caused such that the data of a given data area is considered to be in error, the error range can be confined within the extent of the least number of columns or rows of the two-dimensional data array, so that the error correcting ability is correspondingly improved. When a read-out error of the servo signal has been caused and the error information is transmitted to an error correction processing unit, the error is not situated across two rows or columns, so that data handling for error correction is facilitated. In addition, since the total number of the two-dimensional array may be divided by the data number of the data area so that no data fragments are produced, address and data signals are not recorded in an admixture in the data area such that it becomes unnecessary to perform a switching operation between the address and data signals at the time of reproduction.

Claims: An optical recording method for optically recording a data signal on a disc-like recording medium (1) with tracks (2) divided into sectors, each sector comprising data areas (4) alternating with servo areas (3) for the synchronisation of data recording in a sampled servo format, characterised by the sectors comprising at least one data area for address data and by the method comprising: formatting a block of data bytes to be recorded in a two-dimensional array of m rows and n columns; generating and adding p bytes of parity data (C1) in the row direction of the two-dimensionally arrayed block of data supplied for recording, said parity data (C1) being used for correcting a possible error in said block of data; and serially reading said two-dimensionally arrayed data and said added parity data (C1) in either said row direction or the column direction, and recording the read-out block of data in a plurality of data areas (4), each of which is capable of recording a prescribed number k of data bytes; wherein in a first alternative the number of the data bytes in a row or column according to the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data is an integer times the number of data bytes that can be recorded in each data area (4) provided on said disc-like recording medium (1) when the former is intended to be greater than or equal to the latter, or in a second alternative the number of data bytes that can be recorded in each such data area (4) is an integer times the number of data bytes in a row or column according to the direction of reading of the two-dimensionally arrayed data when the inverse relation is intended. A method according to claim 1, wherein in the second alternative said integer is 1, 2, 3, or 4. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein in the first alternative n + p = i*k , where i is a plural integer and reading is in row direction A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein further parity data (C2) is generated and included in said two-dimensionally arrayed data for correcting possible errors of the block of data in the column direction of the two-dimensionally arrayed data. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, for harmonising the servo characteristics with the effect of interleaving on burst errors, the number of data bytes in the column direction of said two-dimensionally arrayed data is selected to be 4, 8, 16, 32 or 48 bytes when the number of data that can be recorded in each data area (4) is equal to 16 bytes. A method according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein, for harmonising the servo characteristics with the error correcting ability of further parity data (C2) generated and added in the column direction of said two-dimensionally arrayed data, the number of data bytes in the row direction is set so as to be equal to 48 bytes when the number of data that can be recorded in each data block is equal to 16 bytes. A method according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 5, wherein the number of the parity data (C1) generated and added along the row direction of said two-dimensionally arrayed data is equal to 16 bytes. A method according to claim 3, claim 4 or claim 6, wherein the number of the parity data (C1) generated and added in the row direction of said two-dimensionally arrayed data is 4 bytes and the number of the further parity data (C2) generated and added in the column direction is 2 bytes.

Inventors: OGAWA HIROSHI C O PATENTS DIVI, SAKO YOICHIRO C O PATENTS DIVI, TSUKAMURA YOSHIHIRO C O PATENT, OGAWA, HIROSHI C/O PATENTS DIVISION, SAKO, YOICHIRO C/O PATENTS DIVISION, TSUKAMURA, YOSHIHIRO C/O PATENTS DIVISION
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G11B20
IPC codes: G11B20