Patent Abstract:
A data recording apparatus automatically displays a GUI for suggesting the finalization process when the apparatus ejects a disk which has not been finalized. Since the user can eject the disk after he determines if he will make the apparatus perform the finalization process, the user, who does not fully understand the meaning of the finalization, even can decide whether he finalizes a recording medium with the DVD-R standard to enable the recording medium to be played in a device of a different standard.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a data recording apparatus; and more particularly, to an apparatus using disk media such as a Digital Versatile Disk (hereinafter referred to as “DVD”), etc., to record the data. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Recently, data recording devices using an optical disk such as DVD-RAMs, etc., have been widely used. The standards for the optical disks are divided into a rewritable type and a write-once type, wherein the rewritable type of optical disks are the disks such as DVD-RAMs on which data can be overwritten, and the write-once type of optical disks are the disks such as DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs on which data cannot be deleted once they are recorded. 
     Although users can record and delete data repeatedly on the rewritable type of recording media, the rewritable type of recording media have low compatibility with various types of DVD players. On the other hand, although the users can record data just once on the write-once type of recording media such as the DVD-R and the DVD+R, the write-once type of recording media have high compatibility with various types of DVD players. The users cannot record data on the write-once type of recording media later by executing a recording termination process so called a finalization process. However, the write-once type can be played in wide-spread DVD players (including recordable DVD players). On this account, most DVD recording and playing devices record data based on the DVD-R standard which has the highest compatibility. 
     Conventionally, to finalize a disk, 1) the user is required to determine whether or not to perform the finalization process, or 2) the finalization process is performed automatically after data is recorded (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2002-324321). 
     However, these conventional arts have problems that the concept of the finalization is difficult to understand and the user cannot play the disk on a different type of a DVD player without the finalization process. Further, a device that finalizes a disk automatically after data have been recorded has a problem that the device finalizes the disk with plentiful recordable amount left which cannot be used to record additional data. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which determines whether or not a disk has been finalized when the disk is ejected, and displays a screen for receiving commands regarding the finalization from the user by adding a GUI (Graphical User Interface), etc., on a display screen if the disk has not been finalized. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which enables the user to decide whether or not to finalize the disk by providing an explanatory notes related to the finalization, or information about the recordable amount left on the disk, etc. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which ejects the disk when a predetermined time period has passed if the GUI has not received any command from the user instructing whether or not to finalize the disk. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which ejects the disk without performing the finalization process in response to a command input for ejecting the disk from the user again if the GUI has not received any command from the user instructing whether or not to finalize the disk. 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a data recording apparatus which records data on a recording medium, the apparatus including a user input unit for receiving a user command; a recording medium control unit which controls ejection of the recording medium; a determination unit which determines whether or not the recording medium has been finalized; and a screen information adding unit for adding information on a display unit, wherein when a command for ejecting the recording medium is inputted into the user input unit, the determination unit determines whether or not the recording medium has been finalized, and the screen information adding unit displays information regarding a finalization command on the display unit if the recording medium has not been finalized. 
     As described above, in accordance with the present invention, even the user who does not fully understand what the finalization of the DVD is, can decide whether or not to finalize the disk before ejecting the disk. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that a different DVD player cannot play the disk. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram representing a structure of a data recording apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a flowchart describing a process in which a data recording apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention executes a disk ejection; 
         FIG. 3  presents a flowchart illustrating a process in which a data recording apparatus in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention performs a disk ejection; 
         FIG. 4  offers an exemplary GUI screen which a data recording apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention displays in case of a disk ejection. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, a data recording apparatus in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram representing a structure of a data recording apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The data recording apparatus in accordance with the embodiment includes a data input unit of video/audio, etc.  10 , a recording unit  20 , a disk control unit  30 , a reproduction unit  50 , an information adding unit  60 , a display unit  70 , a system control unit  80 , a disk determination unit  90 , a time measuring unit  100 , and a user input unit  110 . Although the data recording apparatus in accordance with the embodiment includes all types of devices which are able to record and play various DVD media as external recording media, the write-once type of optical disks such as DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, etc. will be mainly described below. 
     First, the operation of the apparatus when data such as video/audio, etc. is recorded will be explained. When a command for recording data is inputted into the user input unit  110  from the user, the system control unit  80  analyzes the command and output control signals for recording data to the corresponding units. Thereafter, the video/audio, etc., data inputted into the video/audio input unit  10  is compressed through a coding process by the recording unit  20  and is recorded on the recording medium  40  such as the DVD-R, DVD+R, etc. by the disk control unit  30 . 
     Hereinafter, the operation when the data recorded on the recording medium  40  are reproduced will be described. When a command for reproducing data is inputted into the user input unit  110  from the user, the system control unit  80  outputs control signals for reproducing data to the corresponding units. Then, the disk control unit  30  reads the data from the recording medium  40  to provide them to the reproduction unit  50 , and the reproduction unit  50  decodes the coded data to output them to the display unit  70  via the information adding unit  60 . At this time, the information adding unit  60  may add information on a display screen for the data to be reproduced so that the display screen overlapped by the information can be displayed on the display unit  70 . 
     Next, the flow of the process when the user attempts to eject a disk will be described with reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the operation of the data recording apparatus. 
     When the command for ejecting the disk is inputted from the user in step S 200 , the system control unit  80  makes the disk determination unit  80  determine whether or not the recording medium  40  has been finalized in step S 201  before outputting control signals for ejecting the recording medium, i.e., the disk to the disk control unit  30 . 
     That is, the disk determination unit  90  determines whether or not the recording medium  40  has been finalized based on information in the disk which the disk control unit  30  has read from the recording medium  40 . The information in the disk which is necessary to determine whether or not the recording medium  40  has been finalized may be whether or not VMG (Video Manager) exists in the logical data structure of the DVD video disk (see, e.g., DVD Specifications for Read-Only Disc Part 3; Version 1.0). 
     Here, the VMG is the information included in the DVD video zone which is one of parts of memory devices constituting a DVD disk. The VMG has copyright information about the recorded data, information for copy permission, and information for language code, etc. Existence of the VMG means that the finalization process has been already completed, and non-existence of the VMG means that the finalization process has not been performed yet. 
     In step S 201 , if the result of the determination whether or not the disk has been already finalized turns out to be “YES” in step S 201 , the system control unit  80  makes the disk control unit  30  open a tray and eject the disk  40  in step S 207 . 
     On the contrary, when the disk  40  has not been finalized, the system control unit  80  makes the information adding unit  60  add the information that asks the user if it will perform the finalization process to the display screen to be displayed by the display unit  70  in step S 202 . An example of the screen illustrating the information regarding the finalization command is shown in  FIG. 4 . To help the user to decide whether or not to execute the finalization process, this screen can additionally display information, for example, the meaning of the finalization and the recordable amount left on the disk for additional recording, etc. 
     Thereafter, the system control unit  80  determines whether or not the command for the finalization has been inputted from the user through the user input unit  110  via the screen for the finalization command in step S 203 . If the command for the finalization is inputted from the user (“YES” in step S 203 ), the system control unit  80  determines whether the user&#39;s command is to execute the finalization process in step S 205 . 
     If the user&#39;s command is not to execute the finalization process (“NO” in step S 205 ), the system control unit  80  does not execute the finalization process, and opens the tray to eject the disk via the disk control unit  30  without performing the finalization process in step S 207 . On the other hand, when the user&#39;s command is to execute the finalization process (“YES” in step S 205 ), the system control unit  80  performs the finalization process in step S 206 , opens the tray, and ejects the disk  40  in step S 207 , via the disk control unit  30 . 
     In the mean time, if the user&#39;s command for the finalization is not inputted in step S 203 (“NO” in step S 203 ), the system control unit  80  may halt while displaying the input-prompt screen. To avoid such situation, the system control unit  80  measures the display time for which the information regarding the finalization command is being displayed on the display screen by the time measuring unit  100  in  FIG. 1  in step S 202 . If the display time is not longer than a predetermined time period (“NO” in step S 204 ), the system control unit  80  waits for the command input for the finalization from the user. On the contrary, if the display time is longer than the predetermined time period (“YES” in step S 204 ), the system control unit  80  removes the GUI automatically and ejects the disk. 
     The process of measuring the display time by the time measuring unit  100  can be exemplified as follows. The system control unit  80  instructs the information adding unit  60  to add the GUI for the finalization command on the display screen, and at the same time instructs the time measuring unit  100  to start measuring the display time. After the predetermined time period has elapsed, the time measuring unit  100  informs the system control unit  80  that the predetermined time period has passed. In this case, the system control unit  80  instructs the information adding unit  60  to stop displaying the GUI for the finalization command on the display screen, opens the tray, and ejects the recording medium  40 . 
       FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the process carried out when the data recording apparatus ejects the disk. In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the disk determination unit  90  determines whether or not the recording medium  40  has been finalized in step S 301 , and opens the tray and ejects the disk  40  if the finalization process has been already performed (“YES” in step S 301 ) in step S 308 . On the other hand, if the finalization process has not been performed (“NO” in step S 301 ), the disk determination unit  90  additionally carries out the step S 302  for determining whether or not the data is recorded on the recording medium  40 . 
     If the data is not recorded on the recording medium  40 (“NO” in step S 302 ), the system control unit  80  opens the tray and ejects the disk. Otherwise, the system control unit  80  displays the GUI on the display unit  70  via the information adding unit  60  asking the user whether it should perform the finalization process. 
     If there is no command for the finalization from the user (“NO” in step S 304 ), the system control unit  80  checks if it has received the command for ejecting the disk from the user again in step S 306 . If the system control unit  80  has not received the command for ejecting the disk again (“NO” in step S 306 ), the process goes back to step S 304  and waits for the input of the finalization command from the user. If the system control unit  80  has received the command for ejecting the disk again (“YES” in step S 306 ), it opens the tray and ejects the disk without performing the finalization process in step S 308 . 
     The steps S 300 , S 305 , S 307 , and S 308  except the steps described herein are identical to the steps S 200 , S 205 , S 206 , and S 207  of the preferred embodiment represented in  FIG. 2 , respectively. 
     Although the apparatus which can record and reproduce data has been mainly described so far, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is also applicable to an apparatus for recording data only. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6