Data reproducing apparatus

Claim 1

A data reproducing apparatus which reproduces data by conducting erasure correction of an error in the data by use of an error pointer, the erasure correction being conducted while the data is decoded, said apparatus comprising: a data recording medium for storing data with a specified predetermined modulation system, the data being coded with a dropout pointer signal and a modulated rule violation signal; data reading means for reading the data stored in said data recording medium as a binary code; data demodulating means for demodulating the data read by said data reading means with a demodulation system corresponding to the predetermined modulation system and thus generating demodulated data; dropout pointer signal generating means for supervising an envelope of the data which has been read but not yet converted into a binary code and generating a dropout pointer signal when the envelope is below a predetermined level; modulated rule violation signal generating means for supervising the binary code and generating a modulation rule violation signal when the binary code violates a modulation rule of the predetermined modulation system; select signal generating means for generating a select signal in synchronization with one symbol of the demodulated data; dividing means for dividing the demodulated data on a symbol-by-symbol basis by use of said select signal; time division multiplexing means for time-division-multiplexing the demodulation data of one symbol and both the dropout pointer signal and modulated rule violation signal concerning the demodulated data in a specified order determined by said select signal into a time division multiplex signal and transmitting bit-serially the signal through a data line, said time-division-multiplexing being executed with a transmitting clock faster than a demodulated clock with which said timing of data demodulating is controlled; and decoding means connected downstream of said time division multiplexing means through the data line for decoding both the dropout pointer signal and modulated rule violation signal, said decoding means for dividing the time division multiplex signal into the demodulated data, the dropout pointer signal, and the modulated rule violation signal, and conducting error detection and correction including erasure correction of the demodulated data by use of the dropout pointer signal and the modulated rule violation signal, and decoding the demodulated data.