Patent Application
20080094745
A general architecture that implements the various feature of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention.
Various embodiments according to the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In general, according to one embodiment of the invention, a playback equipment comprising:
a recording section which records information on a magnetic disc;
a motor which rotates the magnetic disc;
a nonvolatile memory which stores information in a recording area;
a display section which displays the information on a screen;
a playback section which performs a playback process in response to the above information; and a control section which increases speed of the motor in a stepwise fashion and supplies the information stored in the nonvolatile memory to one of the display section and playback section in a preset period of time after an operation signal from an operating section is received and controls the motor to rotate at constant speed after the preset period of time has elapsed.
According to one embodiment of this invention, a playback equipment and a supplying method for the playback equipment are provided which can simultaneously attain start-up of the operation of a hard disc driver and the long service life of a battery.
According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a playback equipment which includes a recording section (20, 21, 22) which records information on a magnetic disc (C: 20), a motor (21) which rotates the magnetic disc, a nonvolatile memory (B: 19) which stores information in a recording area, a display section (11) which displays the information on a screen, a playback section (25) which performs a playback process in response to the above information, and a control section (13, 24) which increases speed of the motor (21) in a stepwise fashion and supplies the information stored in the nonvolatile memory to the display section or playback section in a preset period of time (T1) after an operation signal from an operating section (13) is received and controls the motor to rotate at constant speed after the preset period of time has elapsed.
As a result, in a playback equipment having a hard disc driver or the like, a playback equipment and a supplying method for the playback equipment are provided which can simultaneously attain start-up of the operation of the hard disc driver and the long service life of a battery.
Next, one embodiment of this invention is explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Playback Equipment According to One Embodiment of this Invention>
(Configuration)
First, the configuration and operation of a playback equipment according to one embodiment of this invention are explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
That is, as shown in
(Basic Operation)
The above playback equipment 1 plays back a voice file and the like according to the basic operation as described below. A voice file and image information such as an MP3 file (as one example) stored in the HDD medium 20 contained in the HDD section 16 according to an address specified by the present management information are transferred to the built-in volatile memory 15 or the like under the control of the control section 12 according to the operations of playback and selection of music and the power supply switch of the operating section 13 by the user.
That is, as one example, when data is transferred from the HDD section 16 to the volatile memory 15 or the like of the terminal host, the data is transferred to the volatile memory 15 and a stop command used to stop supply of power of the HDD at the time of completion of transfer and data required when the HDD is next started are notified from the control section 12 to the HDD controller 18 in the HDD section 16.
The controller 18 on the HDD side which has received the notification transfers data required for next transfer to the nonvolatile memory 19 provided therein and sets the HDD medium C into the stop state immediately after completion of transfer. Further, supply of power of the HDD section 16 from the terminal host 14 is temporarily stopped by use of the switch 24.
Further, the control section 12 extracts voice information (moving image information, still image information and the like) stored in the volatile memory 15 and the like, performs the extending process and performs the demodulating process by use of the MPEG decoder function by the playback section 25 to output a played-back voice signal to an external terminal (not shown).
In addition, the control section 12 turns ON the power supply switch of the HDD section 16 again before data items of the volatile memory 15 and the like are used up according to an operation signal by the playback operation of the operating section 13 by the user, requests the HDD section 16 to transfer data and then performs the succeeding data transfer process and playback process.
<Data Reading Process for Preventing Voltage Drop at HDD Starting Time>
Data Reading Process According to Flowchart of
Next, one example of the data reading process for preventing a voltage drop at the HDD starting time in the above playback equipment is explained in detail by use of the flowchart.
The steps in the flowcharts of
First, in the playback equipment 1, it is determined under the control of the control section 12 whether or not the power supply switch (not shown) of the operating section 13 of the user is turned ON or data transfer is required (step S11). That is, it is determined not only whether or not the power supply switch is turned ON but also whether or not data transfer is required when the voice file stored in the volatile memory 15 becomes insufficient or the user depresses the playback switch while the HDD medium 20 is being stopped after the required data transfer is completed as described before.
The control section 12 detects that the power supply switch is turned ON or that data transfer becomes necessary because the voice file stored in the volatile memory 15 becomes insufficient. Then, it increases the drive current to the motor 21 in a stepwise fashion by adjusting the drive current of the driver 22 during a preset period of time T1 as shown in
Thus, a lowering in the power supply voltage V1 based on a rapid increase in the consumption current I1 at time tα as shown in
The data reading process for preventing occurrence of the voltage lowering at the HDD starting time in one embodiment of this invention prevents occurrence of the above problem. Specifically, both of the starting of the operation of the hard disc driver and the long service life of the battery can be simultaneously attained by increasing the drive current supplied to the motor 21 in a stepwise fashion by the operation of the control section 21 to prevent a rapid lowering in the power supply voltage of the battery section 23.
Next, the transfer process of data (voice file, moving image file, still image file, management information and the like) from the nonvolatile memory B19 to the volatile memory A15 is performed during the period of time T1 under the control of the control section 12 (step S14). Then, data of the volatile memory A15 is subjected to the extending process under the control of the control section 12 and data (voice file, moving image file, still image file, management information and the like) is supplied to the display section 11 and playback section 25 (step S15).
As a result, for example, even when the HDD medium 20 is not rotated at a sufficiently high rotation speed immediately after the power supply switch is turned ON, a menu screen or the like can be instantly displayed on the display section 11 based on still image information or the like supplied from the nonvolatile memory B19.
Further, if it is determined in the step S13 that the preset time T has elapsed, it becomes possible to supply data from the HDD medium 20. As a result, data is supplied from the HDD medium 20 to the volatile memory A15 under the control of the control section 12 (step S16). Further, data of the volatile memory A15 is extended and then supplied to the display section 11 and/or playback section 25 (step S17). After this, data is supplied from the HDD medium 20 to the nonvolatile memory B19 as required (step S18). Next, the power supply switch of the HDD section 16 is turned OFF according to the condition such as elapse of the set time or the like (step S19).
The flowcharts shown in
Thus, a playback equipment is realized which can simultaneously attain both of the long service life of the battery and starting of the operation of the hard disc driver by increasing the rotation speed of the HDD medium 20 in a stepwise fashion to prevent occurrence of a rapid lowering in the power supply voltage at the HDD start time.
Data Reading Process According to Flowchart of
Further, it is also preferable to perform the above data reading process only when the power supply voltage of the battery section 23 is lower than a preset value instead of normally performing the process. The explanation for the steps in the flowchart of
That is, in the step S21, only when the power supply voltage of the battery section 23 is lower than a preset value, the process after the step S12 is performed. In the step S21, if the power supply voltage of the battery section 23 is set at sufficiently high voltage, the drive current of 100% is supplied from the driver 22 to the motor 21 to instantly set the rotation speed of the HDD medium 20 to a value of 100% (step S22). After this, necessary data can be read out from the HDD medium and supplied to the display section 11 and playback section 25 via the volatile memory A15 by performing the process following after the step S16. Thus, when the power supply voltage of the battery section 23 is set at sufficiently high voltage, a stable display process and playback process can be performed even if necessary data is not stored in the nonvolatile memory B19.
According to the various embodiments described above, the person in the art can realize the invention. However, it is easy for the person in the art to think out various modifications of the above embodiments and those who have no inventive ability can apply this invention to various embodiments. Therefore, this invention extends to a wide range which is not inconsistent with the principle disclosed and the novel feature and is not limited to the above embodiments.
While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-287970 | Oct 2006 | JP | national |
