Optical disk for use in an optical data recording and/or reproducing apparatus

Claim 2

The optical disk as claimed in claim 1, wherein said access mode registration area (27) records access mode data which represents the number of optical heads for use in the optical data recording and reproducing apparatus, the number of data volumes of the optical disk, and a sector recording order and/or track recording and sector recording units.

Claim 3

The optical disk as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said optical disk is provided with a pair of a side-A recording film (3A) and a side-B recording film (3B) physically coupled to each other by means of an adhesive layer (73).

Claim 4

The optical disk as claimed in claim 3, wherein said recording films are formed with spiral tracks, the direction of the spiral track formed on the side-A recording film being reverse to that on the side-B recording film.

Claim 5

The optical disk as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein said side-A recording film is physically coupled to said side-B recording film with a sector phase alignment such that the relation in phase between a reference sectors (S0) of the side-A recording film and the side-B recording film is shifted in position by a specified distance.

Claim 6

The optical disk as claimed in claim 5, wherein said volume management area records therein in a pre-pit form a sector phase alignment identification signal representing whether or not the sector phase alignment is set up.

Claim 7

The optical disk as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein said volume management area records therein data representing whether the optical disk conforms to a one-volume format or a two-volume format.

Claim 8

An optical data recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing data, compatible with any of a single-sided optical disk having a single recording film and a double-sided optical disk having two recording films, each recording film formed thereon with a recording track divided into a plurality of sectors each serving as a unit for recording and reproducing data, said optical disk being put in a disk cartridge (23) having a discrimination sensor hole for discriminating a recording film surface, said optical data recording and reproducing apparatus comprising: optical disk rotating means (2) for forwardly and reversely rotating said optical disk loaded thereon; cartridge loading means (24) for loading said disk cartridge onto said optical disk rotating means (2); recording film surface detection means (28) for detecting a loading condition of a recording film of said optical disk onto said optical disk rotating means (2) by detecting the sensor hole of said disk cartridge; optical head means (4A, 4B) for recording and/or reproducing a data signal on and/or from the recording film surface by applying a laser beam to the recording film surface; servo means (6A, 6B) for focusing and tracking the laser beam from said optical head means onto a specified track; track search means (5, 9) for searching a target track by controlling the transport of said optical head means; signal reproduction means (7A, 7B) for amplifying a reproduction signal reproduced by means of said optical head means; ID reproduction means (10A, 10B) for reading a sector address from an output of said signal reproduction means (7A, 7B); sector recording and reproduction control means (11A, 11B) for starting recording and reproduction of data by detecting a target sector address upon coincidence of the sector address output of said ID reproduction means (10A, 10B) with the target sector address; data recording and reproduction means (12A, 12B) for effecting data recording and reproduction on the target sector of the recording film surface by an output data of said sector recording and reproduction control means; laser drive means (8A, 8B) for modulating a laser beam of said optical head means by an output of said data recording and reproduction means; and apparatus control means (18) for controlling the data recording and reproduction on said optical disk by issuing a control command signal to each of said means and watching the condition of each of said means, wherein said apparatus control means (18) detects each recording film surface facing an optical head by means of said recording film surface detection means (28) to thereby rotate said optical disk rotating means forwardly or reversely, and said track search means searching a volume management area of the recording film surface, said data recording and reproduction means recording access mode data in an access mode registration area of each recording film surface of said optical disk, wherein said access mode data is composed of the number of optical heads of the optical data recording and reproducing apparatus, the number of data volumes of the optical disk, and a sector recording order and/or track recording and sector recording units for prescribing a volume format of said optical disk.

Claim 9

The optical data recording and reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said double-sided optical disk is formed by physically coupling a side-A recording film with a side-B recording film.

Claim 10

The optical data recording and reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein said apparatus control means (18) detects each recording film surface facing the optical head when an unused new optical disk is loaded in said apparatus.

Claim 11

The optical data recording and reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein said volume management area of the optical disk includes the sector recording access mode registration area to record the access mode data, wherein said apparatus further comprises storage means (19) for storing data read from said access mode registration area by said data recording and reproduction means, and wherein said data recording and reproduction means reads the access mode registration area, storing the sector recording access mode data into said storage means, thereafter checking compatibilities between the optical disk and the apparatus, and ejecting the optical disk by driving said cartridge loading means when the optical disk is not compatible with the apparatus.

Claim 12

An optical data recording and reproduction apparatus for recording and reproducing data, compatible with a single-sided optical disk having one recording film and a double-sided optical disk having a pair of recording films, each recording film being formed thereon with a track divided into sectors each serving as a unit for recording and reproducing data, each optical disk being provided with a data recording area for recording data and a volume management area including a sector recording access mode registration area serving to record access mode data comprised of the number of optical heads of the optical data recording and reproduction apparatus, the number of data volumes on the optical disk, and a sector recording order and/or track recording and sector recording units for prescribing a volume format as put in a cartridge having a recording surface discrimination sensor hole, said optical data recording and reproduction apparatus comprising: optical disk rotating means capable of rotating forwardly and reversely as loaded with said optical disk; cartridge loading means for loading the cartridge onto said optical disk rotating means; recording film surface detection means for detecting the loading condition of the side-A recording film surface and the side-B recording film surface onto a rotary shaft of said optical disk rotating means by detecting the sensor hole of the cartridge; first and second optical heads for recording and reproducing a data signal on the side-A recording film and the side-B recording film by applying a laser beam to the recording film surfaces; first and second servo means for a focus and tracking servo control of the laser beam from each of the optical heads on a specified track; track search means for searching a target track by means of the optical heads; first and second signal reproduction means for amplifying reproduction signals reproduced by means of said first and second optical heads; first and second ID reproduction means for reading a sector address from an output of said signal reproduction means; first and second sector recording and reproduction control means for starting data recording and reproduction by detecting a target sector upon coincidence of a sector address output of said ID reproduction means with a target sector address; first and second data recording and reproduction means for effecting data recording and reproduction on the target sector on each of the side-A recording film and the side-B recording film according to an output of said sector recording and reproduction control means; first and second laser drive means for modulating laser beams of the optical heads with an output of said data recording and reproduction means; signal selection means for coupling first and second outputs of said data recording and reproduction means selectively to said first and second laser drive means and coupling first and second outputs of said signal reproduction means selectively to said first and second ID reproduction means and to said first and second data recording and reproduction means; and apparatus control means for controlling the data recording and reproduction on the optical disk by issuing a control command signal to each of said means and watching the condition of each of the means, wherein said apparatus control means discriminates between the single-sided optical disk and the double-sided optical disk through the sensor hole of the cartridge by said recording film surface detection means, and said apparatus control means recording and reproducing data by activating the optical head facing the recording surface in the case of the single-sided optical disk or making the optical disk rotating means rotate forwardly or reversely according to a vertical insertion condition of the-cartridge by detecting the optical head facing the side-A recording film and the head facing the side-B recording film in the case of the double-sided optical disk, said track search means searching the volume management areas of the side-A recording film and the side-B recording film, and said data recording and reproduction means operating to read the access mode registration data from the access mode registration area in the volume management area to thereby perceive a volume format of the optical disk to record and reproduce data.

Claim 13

The optical data recording and reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 12 further comprising storage means for storing data read out of the access mode registration area by said data recording and reproduction means.

Claim 14

The optical data recording and reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein said double-sided optical disk is formed by physically coupled a side-A recording film with a side-B recording film.

Claim 15

The optical data recording and reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 12, compatible with an optical disk formed by physically coupling a side-A recording film with a side-B recording film as put in a cartridge having a sensor hole for discriminating between the side-A recording film surface and the side-B recording film surface, wherein said apparatus control means rotates said optical disk rotating means forwardly or reversely by detecting the optical head facing the side-A and side-B recording film surfaces through the sensor hole of the cartridge by said recording film surface detection means thereby to switch a signal path between said first and second data recording and reproduction means and said first and second laser drive means and a signal path between said first and second signal reproduction means, said first and second ID reproduction means, and said first and second data recording and reproduction means to allow data recording and reproduction to be achieved correctly even when the cartridge is inserted invertedly.