Packet data recording/reproducing system

Claim 2

A method of recording input packets on a storage medium as set forth in claim 1, wherein said recording step expands the packets in time to record them on the storage medium.

Claim 4

A method of recording input packets on a storage medium as set forth in claim 3, wherein said recording step expands the packets in time to record them on the storage medium.

Claim 10

A method of recording input packets on a storage medium as set forth in claim 9, further comprising a step of adding time stamps to the input packets in place of the time stamps already added to the input packets prior to performing said reference control signal generating step.

Claim 12

A method of recording input packets on a storage medium as set forth in claim 11, further comprising a step of adding time stamps to the input packets in place of the time stamps already added to the input packets prior to performing said reference control signal generating step.

Claim 15

A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein each of the delays of preselected time corresponds to a time interval of one track.

Claim 17

A packet recording apparatus for recording packets on tracks formed in time sequence on a storage medium comprising: clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks; time stamp producing means for producing time stamps in synchronism with said arrival time control clocks for identifying arrival times of the packets to add the time stamps to the packets, respectively; and recording means for recording the packets to which said time stamps are added on the storage medium in order of arrivals of the packets so that each of the packets is recorded within a given area ranging from a reference position defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the tracks to a given position away from the reference position at a preselected distance toward the following track.

Claim 18

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein said reference position is a record-starting position defined on the one of the tracks.

Claim 19

A packet recording apparatus for recording packets on tracks formed in time sequence on a storage medium comprising: clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks; time stamp producing means for producing time stamps in synchronism with said arrival time control clocks for identifying arrival times of the packets to add the time stamps to the packets, respectively; and recording means for recording the packets to which said time stamps are added on the storage medium in order of arrivals of the packets so that each of the packets is recorded within a given area ranging from a first position to a second position across a reference position, the reference position being defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the packets, the first and second positions being defined away from the reference position at preselected distances toward the tracks preceding and following the one of the tracks, respectively.

Claim 20

A packet recording apparatus for recording input packets on a storage medium comprising: clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks which are synchronous with values of time stamps added to the input packets; recording means for recording tracks on the storage medium in time sequence to record the packets to which said time stamps are added on the storage medium in order of arrivals of the packets so that each of the packets is recorded within a given area ranging from a reference position defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the packets to a given position away from the reference position at a preselected distance toward the following track; and controlling means for controlling positions of the tracks formed on the storage medium in synchronism with said arrival time control clocks.

Claim 21

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 20, wherein said reference position is a record-starting position defined on the one of the tracks.

Claim 22

A packet recording apparatus for recording input packets on a storage medium comprising: clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks which are synchronous with values of time stamps added to the input packets; recording means for recording tracks on the storage medium in time sequence to record the packets to which the time stamps are added on the storage medium in order of arrivals of the packets so that each of the packets is recorded within a given area ranging from a first position to a second position across a reference position, the reference position being defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the packets, the first and second positions being defined away from the reference position at preselected distances toward the tracks preceding and following the one of the tracks, respectively; and controlling means for controlling positions of the tracks formed on the storage medium in synchronism with said arrival time control clocks.

Claim 23

A packet reproducing apparatus comprising: reproducing means for reproducing tracks formed in time sequence on a storage medium to reproduce packets, to which time stamps for arrival time identification are added, recorded on the tracks; clock generating means for generating clocks having a given frequency; track control means for controlling positions where the tracks are reproduced by said reproducing means in synchronism with said clocks; output control clock generating means for generating output control clocks after a delay of given time from said clocks generated by said clock generating means, respectively; comparing means comparing a value changed in synchronism with said output control clocks with one of the time stamps to provide a signal when said value coincides with said one of the time stamps; and outputting means for outputting one of the packets to which said one of the time stamp is added.

Claim 24

A packet reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 23, further comprising time stamp removing means for removing the time stamp from said one of the packets outputted from said outputting means.

Claim 25

A packet recording/reproducing apparatus comprising: recording means for recording tracks, in time sequence, on a first magnetic tape helically wrapped about a given area of a rotary drum using rotary heads disposed in the rotary drum to record input packets on the tracks in order of arrival of the input packets; reproducing means for reproducing tracks formed in time sequence on a second magnetic tape to reproduce packets recorded on the tracks of the second magnetic tape through the rotary heads of the rotary drum; clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks; first speed control means for controlling the speed of the rotary drum so as to synchronize with the arrival time control clocks every six of tracks; time stamp producing means for producing time stamps in synchronism with said arrival time control clocks to add the time stamps to the packets to be recorded on the first magnetic tape, respectively; record controlling means for controlling said recording means so that each of the packets is recorded within a one-track area, a two-track area, or a one-track over area, the one-track area ranging from a reference position defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the tracks to a given position away from the reference position at a given interval toward the following track, the two-track area ranging from a first position to a second position which are defined away from the reference position at preselected distances toward the tracks preceding and following said one of the tracks, respectively, the one-track over area ranging from a record-starting position on said one of the tracks to a predetermined position away from the record-starting position at a preselected interval toward the following tracks; clock generating means for generating clocks having a given frequency; second speed control means for controlling the speeds of the rotary drum and the second magnetic tape at six-track intervals based on signals reproduced from the second magnetic tape and said clocks generated by said clock generating means; output control clock generating means for generating output control clocks after a delay of given time from said clocks generated by said clock generating means, respectively; comparing means comparing a value changed in synchronism with said output control clocks with one of the time stamps reproduced from the second magnetic tape to provide a signal when said value coincides with said one of the time stamps; outputting means for outputting one of the packets to which said one of the time stamp is added; and time stamp removing means for removing the time stamp from said one of the packets outputted from said outputting means.

Claim 26

A packet recording/reproducing apparatus comprising: recording means for recording tracks, in time sequence, on a first magnetic tape helically wrapped about a given area of a rotary drum using rotary heads disposed in the rotary drum to record input packets on the tracks in order of arrival of the input packets; reproducing means for reproducing tracks formed in time sequence on a second magnetic tape to reproduce packets recorded on the tracks of the second magnetic tape through the rotary heads of the rotary drum; clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks which are synchronous with values of time stamps added to the packets to be recorded on the first magnetic tape; first speed control means for controlling the speed of the rotary drum so as to synchronize with the arrival time control clocks every six of tracks; record controlling means for controlling said recording means so that each of the packets is recorded within a one-track area, a two-track area, or a one-track over area, the one-track area ranging from a reference position defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the packets to a given position away from the reference position at a given interval toward the following track, the two-track area ranging from a first position to a second position which are defined away from the reference position at preselected distances toward the tracks preceding and following said one of the tracks, respectively, the one-track over area ranging from a record-starting position on said one of the tracks to a predetermined position away from the record-starting position at a preselected interval toward the following tracks; clock generating means for generating clocks having a given frequency; second speed control means for controlling the speeds of the rotary drum and the second magnetic tape at six-track intervals based on signals reproduced from the second magnetic tape and said clocks generated by said clock generating means; output control clock generating means for generating output control clocks after a delay of given time from said clocks generated by said clock generating means, respectively; comparing means comparing a value changed in synchronism with said output control clocks with one of the time stamps reproduced from the second magnetic tape to provide a signal when said value coincides with said one of the time stamps; and outputting means for outputting one of the packets to which said one of the time stamp is added.

Claim 27

In a storage medium on which tracks are formed in time sequence in synchronism with changes in value of time stamps for packet arrival time identification added to packets recorded on the storage medium, each of the packets being recorded within a one-track area, a two-track area, or a one-track over area, the one-track area ranging from a reference position defined on one of the tracks corresponding to an arrival time of each of the packets to a given position away from the reference position at a given interval toward the following track, the two-track area ranging from a first position to a second position which are defined away from the reference position at preselected distances toward the tracks preceding and following said one of the tracks, respectively, the one-track over area ranging from a record-starting position on said one of the tracks to a predetermined position away from the record-starting position toward the following tracks at a preselected interval which is greater than a width of each of the tracks.

Claim 28

A digital broadcasting receiver comprising: demodulating means for demodulating digital broadcasting signals including packets of information on a plurality of programs and time control packets each including time control information on one of the programs to provide demodulated signals; selecting means for selecting the packets of at least one of the programs from the demodulated signals from said demodulating means; identification information producing means for producing identification information serving to identify the time control packet from the packets selected by said selecting means, said identification information producing means outputting the identification information along with the packets selected by said selecting means; and decoding means for decoding the packets outputted from said identification information producing means based on the identification information.

Claim 29

A digital broadcasting receiver as set forth in claim 28, wherein said identification information is formed with a time control information identification flag which is added by said identification information producing means to a header of the time control packet.

Claim 30

A digital broadcasting receiver as set forth in claim 28, wherein said identification information producing means provides packet identifying numbers for identifying the time control packets in a given manner.

Claim 31

A digital broadcasting receiver as set forth in claim 30, wherein when said selecting means selects the packets of two or more of the programs and when the packet identifying numbers of the time control packets of the two or more selected programs are different from each other, said identification information producing means produces the identification information serving to identify the time control packet specified by given one of the packet identifying numbers.

Claim 32

A digital broadcasting receiver as set forth in claim 29, wherein the digital signals are formed with transport packets having program specific information of MPEG2, and wherein said time control information is provided by a program clock reference.

Claim 33

A packet recording apparatus for recording input digital signals multiplexing packets of information on at least one program, a time control packet including time control information on the program, and identification information serving to identify the time control packet, comprising: extracting means for extracting the time control information from the digital signals based on the identification information; clock generating means for generating clocks which are synchronous with input of the time control information extracted by said extracting means; reference control signal generating means for generating reference control signals in synchronism with the clocks generated by said clock generating means; and recording means for recording said digital signals on a storage medium in response to the reference control signals generated by said reference control signal generating means.

Claim 34

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 33, wherein said recording means forms tracks on the storage medium in sequence based on the reference control signals for recording thereon the digital signals.

Claim 35

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 33, wherein said identification information is formed with a time control information identification flag which is added to a header of the time control packet.

Claim 36

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 33, wherein said identification information includes a packet identifying number for identifying the time control packet.

Claim 37

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 33, wherein the digital signals are formed with transport packets of MPEG2, and wherein said time control information is provided by a program clock reference.

Claim 38

A packet recording apparatus comprising: arrival time control clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks in synchronism with input of a time reference value added to input packets; arrival time identification reference value generating means for generating arrival time identification reference values in synchronism with the arrival time control clocks generated by said arrival time control clock generating means; synchronization determining means for determining whether the arrival time control clocks are synchronous with the input of the time reference value or not, said synchronization determining means providing a first signal when the arrival time control clocks are synchronous with the input of the time reference value and a second signal when the arrival time control clocks are asynchronous with the input of the time reference value; adding means for adding the arrival time identification reference values to the input packets; switching means for switching between a first operation and a second operation, the first operation being provided in response to the first signal from said synchronization determining means to allow operations of said arrival time control clock generating means and said adding means, the second operation being provided in response to the second signal from said synchronization determining means to inhibit the operation of said arrival time control clock generating means; and recording means for recording the packets to which the arrival time identification reference values are added by said adding means on a storage medium.

Claim 39

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 38, wherein said arrival time control clock generating means includes an extracting circuit which extracts the time reference value from the packets and a feedback loop comparing a count value provided by a counter based on the time reference value with the time reference value to determine a difference therebetween to control a frequency of oscillations provided by an oscillator according to said difference to output the oscillations as said arrival time control clocks and to feedback the oscillations to the counter as being used as the time reference value in following cycles, and wherein said synchronization determining means includes an averaging circuit which averages the differences derived by arrival time control clock generating means for given number of cycles and a comparing circuit which compares an output signal from said averaging means with a given reference value to provide the first and second signals based on a result of the comparison.

Claim 40

A packet recording apparatus comprising: arrival time control clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks in synchronism with input of a time reference value added to input packets; arrival time identification reference value generating means for generating arrival time identification reference values in synchronism with the arrival time control clocks generated by said arrival time control clock generating means; lock flag producing means for producing a lock flag indicative of a synchronization condition of said arrival time control clock generating means a preselected period of time after a first one of the packets is inputted to said arrival time control clock generating means; adding means for adding the lock flag along with the arrival time identification reference values to the input packets; and recording means for recording the packets to which the arrival time identification reference values are added by said adding means on a storage medium.

Claim 41

A packet recording apparatus comprising: arrival time control clock generating means for generating arrival time control clocks in synchronism with input of a time reference value added to input packets; arrival time identification reference value generating means for generating arrival time identification reference values in synchronism with the arrival time control clocks generated by said arrival time control clock generating means; synchronization determining means for determining whether the arrival time control clocks are synchronous with the input of the time reference value or not, said synchronization determining means providing a first signal when the arrival time control clocks are synchronous with the input of the time reference value and a second signal when the arrival time control clocks are asynchronous with the input of the time reference value; adding means for adding the arrival time identification reference values to the input packets; recording means for recording the packets to which the arrival time identification reference values are added by said adding means on a storage medium; and controlling means for controlling an operation of said recording means, said controlling means supplying the packets to said adding means at all times, activating the operation of said recording means in response to the first signal from said synchronization determining means, and deactivating the operation of said recording means in response to the second signal from said synchronization determining means.

Claim 42

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 38, wherein said packets are transmitted by digital signals carrying one or more programs and said time reference value added to one of said packets.

Claim 43

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 40, wherein said packets are transmitted by digital signals carrying one or more programs and said time reference value added to one of said packets.

Claim 44

A packet recording apparatus as set forth in claim 41, wherein said packets are transmitted by digital signals carrying one or more programs and said time reference value added to one of said packets.