ADAPTIVELY LEARNING METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING A WRITE STRATEGY

Abstract

An adaptively learning method and apparatus is used for improving a write strategy for discs of the same type produced by the same manufacturer. When a write action is completed, the previous written data is reproduced for checking the write quality of the written data. If the write quality does not comply with requirements, the write strategy will be tuned and the new write strategy will be recorded into a memory for the use of next write action. In this way, the write quality of the present write action will be better than that of the previous write action so as to maintain the write quality.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a write strategy of CD-R.

FIG. 1 b is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a write strategy of CD-RW.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for improving the write quality according to prior art.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an adaptively learning method for improving a write strategy according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an adaptively learning method for improving a write strategy according to the present invention. When an optical disc is loaded in an optical disc drive to be written therein data (step 510), the type and the manufacturer of the loaded optical disc are first determined by the optical disc drive, and then a first write strategy for the loaded optical disc is located from the memory to be executed by the optical disc drive (step 515). Then, an OPC calibration is executed by the optical disc drive for setting a laser power, and data is written into the optical disc with the laser power according to the first write strategy (step 520). After the data is completely written into the optical disc (step 525), the previous written data is read out and the writing quality is checked by the optical disc drive (step 530). Then, whether the write strategy needs to be tuned or not can be determined by the optical disc drive according to the writing quality of the written data (step 535). If the writing quality is determined to be fine, there is no need to tune the write strategy, and thus the first write strategy can be used as a standard for writing this type of optical discs produced by the same manufacturer (step 550). On the contrary, if the writing quality is determined unsatisfactory, e.g. it does not comply with a certain criterion, the write strategy needs to be tuned according to the writing quality (step 540). The tuned write strategy is recorded into the memory to replace the first write strategy (step 545) and used as a standard for writing this type of optical discs produced by the same manufacture.

In Step 540 where the write strategy is tuned according to the writing quality of previously written data, a plurality of writing parameters can be adjusted in addition to laser power. For example, if the read Pit or Land length, e.g. 4.2 T, is greater than the required length, e.g. 4 T, it means the pulse width recorded in the write strategy need be decreased. Furthermore, there might be other parameters recorded in the write strategy to be checked and adjusted when necessary, for example the starting and ending points of the pulse.

Moreover, the write action defined in the present invention can be a TAO (Track At Once) write action, a SAO (Session At Once) write action, a DAO (Disc At Once) write action, or a write action of a Package Write.

In an embodiment, the first write strategy can be a preset write strategy for writing those unidentified optical discs. After an improved write strategy is obtained according to the present adaptively learning method and recorded in the memory of the optical disc drive, next loaded optical disc of the same type produced by the same manufacturer can be written under better writing conditions. Therefore, the writing quality can be improved without delaying the write action as the above-mentioned prior art does. Alternatively, the first write strategy can be a write strategy that has already been recorded in the memory for writing an identifiable disc. The write strategy can be improved by replacing the existing write strategy with a tuned write strategy according to the present adaptively learning method. Of course, the write strategy can be further improved by replacing the second write strategy with a third write strategy obtained by repeating the present adaptively learning method for another optical disc.

To sum up, the present invention provides an adaptively learning method for improving a write strategy, and the improved write strategy can be directly used for next loaded optical disc of the same type produced by the same manufacturer without stopping and restarting the write action.

The adaptively learning method of the present invention can be implemented with a control chip. The control chip reads the first write strategy from the memory, records new write strategy to the memory, and controls the optical head according to original or new write strategy.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.

Claims

1. An adaptively learning method for use in an optical disc drive to write an optical disc of a specific type produced by a specific manufacturer, comprising steps of: executing a write action to obtain a written data according to a first write strategy recorded in a memory;detecting a writing quality of the written data after the write action is completed;determining whether the first write strategy needs to be tuned or not according to the write quality of the written data; andtuning the first write strategy to result in a second write strategy and recording the second write strategy into the memory when the write quality of the written data does not comply with a preset criterion.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second write strategy replaces the first write strategy to be recorded in the memory and used for executing next write action of an optical disc of the specific type produced by the specific manufacturer.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising steps of: executing another write action to obtain another written data according to the second write strategy recorded in the memory;detecting a writing quality of the another written data after the write action according to the second write strategy is completed;determining whether the second write strategy needs to be tuned or not according to the write quality of the another written data; andtuning the second write strategy to result in a third write strategy and recording the third write strategy into the memory to replace the second write strategy when the write quality of the written data does not comply with the preset criterion.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the write action is a TAO (Track At Once) write action, a SAO (Session At Once) write action, a DAO (Disc At Once) write action, or a write action of a Package Write.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first write strategy is tuned by adjusting parameters of a laser power, the starting point of a pulse, the ending point of a pulse or the width of a pulse.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the laser power includes a Write Power, an Erase Power and/or a Bias Power.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the preset criterion is a predetermined access-failure rate.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first write strategy is a preset write strategy recorded in the memory for writing an unidentified optical disc.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first write strategy is a preset write strategy recorded in the memory for writing an optical disc of the specific type produced by the specific manufacturer.