JPH10162402A - Optical disk drive - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To accurately calculate a laser life time from an optimum power obtained in a trial writing process and to accurately predict a life of a semiconductor laser. SOLUTION: The light emission time of recording, reproduction and erasing is obtained from the light emission time of a semiconductor laser, the number of processed recording blocks and the number of erased blocks, and the optimum power suitable for a recording medium is obtained by performing a test writing process. The effective power of each of recording, reproduction and erasure corresponding to the optimum power is calculated, and the lifetime of the semiconductor laser in each of recording, reproduction and erasure is calculated from the emission time and the effective power in each of recording, reproduction and erasure. Along with determining the effective time related to, the effective time integrated with recording, reproduction and erasing is calculated as the lifetime of the semiconductor laser, and the lifetime is compared with a threshold value for determining the lifetime of the semiconductor laser. Issue a warning if the lifetime exceeds the threshold.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical disk apparatus, and more particularly, to an optical disk apparatus capable of predicting a failure of the apparatus, in particular, predicting a failure relating to the life of a semiconductor laser and managing a warning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in a large-capacity storage device used as an external storage device for a computer such as a magnetic disk device (HDD) or an optical disk device (ODD), an MTBF (Mean) indicating reliability required by system needs is used.
Numerical values such as Time Between Failures are increasing year by year. It is becoming very difficult to improve the reliability of a drive unit such as an HDD alone due to technical backgrounds such as an increase in the number of components and an increase in the number of mechanical runs in order to realize large capacity and high functionality. I have.

[0003] Therefore, regarding the HDD, a system for predicting the failure of the HDD itself has been developed and is currently being operated. The failure prediction system for this preventive maintenance is SM
ART (Self-Monitoring, Analy
sis and Reporting Technology
HDD), which is called a system and has this function,
UANTUM is shipping the product.

[0004] In the SMART system, failure evaluation parameters (error rate due to increase in ECC, increase in defective sectors, run-out, seek failure due to run-out, retry, etc.) The threshold is set by monitoring the number of times, seek error, etc., and when the monitored parameter exceeds the threshold, a warning is issued to the host system through the interface.

[0005] The host system notifies the system administrator, backs up data, and replaces the HDD. In addition, there are movements such as performing remote maintenance on devices installed at unmanned sites via a network, and working on a part of the maintenance management system of the entire LAN system.

In this system, the reliability expressed as a statistical and average value such as MTBF estimates the reliability of a specific HDD. This makes it possible to greatly improve the reliability of the entire system by estimating individual failures from a system using a large number of HDDs such as RAID and replacing them before the failure occurs.

[0007] On the other hand, as optical disk devices (ODDs) have been developed and released for products corresponding to higher densities and higher speeds, demands for higher reliability of ODDs like HDDs have been increasing year by year. In particular, the main element that determines the failure and the life of the ODD is a semiconductor laser that is a light source for recording and reproduction, and it has become essential to predict the failure and the life of the semiconductor laser for the purpose of improving the reliability of the ODD. However, at present, there is no system for predicting the failure and life expectancy of the semiconductor laser in the ODD, and there has been a problem that a warning cannot be issued accurately.

[0008]

It is conceivable that the life of the semiconductor laser can be estimated from the reproduction power supply time, the number of recording blocks, and the like. The ambient temperature, the type of disk (for example, a magneto-optical disk or a phase change optical disk, or 1X, 2X, 3X, or 4X in the case of a 5.25-inch magneto-optical disk), and the sensitivity of the disk In fact, it is not possible to sufficiently cope with fluctuations in optical power with respect to the peripheral speed at the inner and outer circumferences of the disk.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to absorb variations in recording characteristics due to environmental temperature, type of disk, sensitivity of the disk, difference in peripheral speed between the inner and outer circumferences of the disk, and aging of the semiconductor laser itself in the optical disk apparatus. "Trial writing process" provided to stably record highly reliable data on the disk
By calculating the laser life time based on the optimum power obtained in the above, and issuing a warning when the laser life time exceeds the threshold value for the threshold value set for determining the laser life time, An object of the present invention is to provide an optical disk device capable of accurately predicting a failure relating to the life of a semiconductor laser.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical disk device according to the present invention uses an effective power obtained in a trial writing process and an erasing / recording mode specified by the host and executed by the optical disk device. An EEPROM (Electrically E) for storing the number of processed blocks
rasable and Programmable
Read only memory) and the type of disk that accepts recording and reproduction of information (for example, 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, etc. for a 5.25-inch magneto-optical disk)
A recording reference table corresponding to the above, and different recording power coefficients depending on the ambient temperature, disk sensitivity, peripheral speed, etc. required at the time of test writing, and the effective light emission of the laser which can be calculated from the recording reference table. Power, plus erase mode,
Average power determined from the pulse width in recording mode,
It has a counter that accumulates the laser emission time and an EEPROM that accumulates the value, calculates the life time of the semiconductor laser by weighting a certain coefficient to the laser emission power in each mode, and sets it for life judgment. This can be realized by issuing a warning from the optical disk device to the host when the threshold value is exceeded.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the optical disk device of the present invention. Here, 1 is an optical disk, 2 is a spindle motor, 3 is an optical head, 4
Is a host computer, 5 is a SCSI control circuit, 6 is a control circuit, 7 is a modulation circuit, 8 is a laser drive circuit, 9 is a recording table, 10 is a reproduction circuit, 11 is a demodulation circuit, 12 is a servo control circuit, and 13 is a trial. Write processing circuit, 14 is EEP
The ROM 15 represents a warning determination block.

An optical disk 1 is held by a spindle motor 2 and rotates at a constant speed. An optical head 3 has a semiconductor laser that emits laser light for recording and reproducing information, and a light from the semiconductor laser on the disk surface. And an optical system for forming a light spot of about 1 micron, and a photodetector for performing light spot control such as reproduction of information and automatic focus and track tracking using reflected light from the optical disc 1. The recording and reproduction of information on the optical disk 1 are performed.

The optical head 3 constitutes a linear motor (not shown) for driving and positioning the optical head 3 at high speed in the radial direction of the disk. Normally, the optical disk device is composed of a host computer (hereinafter abbreviated as host 4) such as a personal computer and a workstation, for example,
CSI (Small Computer System)
The host computer 4 is connected by an interface cable of an interface standard, decodes a SCSI command including a command and information data from the host 4 by a SCSI control circuit 5 in the optical disk device, and records information through a control circuit 6 including a microcomputer or the like. And perform playback and seek operations.

There are the following modes for recording and reproducing information on the disk.

(1) A reproduction mode for emitting low-output DC power for reproducing information recorded on a disk.

(2) A recording mode in which a high-power pulse emission for recording information on a disk is performed.

(3) An erasing mode for emitting high-output DC power for erasing recorded information.

(4) Trial writing processing for recording highly-reliable data on a disk with optimum power, which is executed at a predetermined fixed time interval during loading of a disk or during recording.

First, the recording operation will be described.
The recording data is issued from the host 4 in a state where the recording position information on the optical disk 1 is added, and the recording data is stored in a buffer memory (not shown) in the control circuit 6. 7 In the modulation circuit 7, the recording data is run-length limited (RL).
L) code, for example, converted to a code string corresponding to a (2, 7) RLL code or a (1, 7) RLL code,
Further, a pulse train corresponding to the mark shape formed on the recording film, for example, a pulse train corresponding to the code "1" at the time of mark position recording, and a code "1" at the time of mark edge recording.
Is converted into a pulse train corresponding to the pulse edge.

These pulse trains are guided to a laser drive circuit 8 to turn on and off a semiconductor laser on the optical head 3 to emit high-power pulses, and to record marks on the optical disc 1 by minute spots converged by the optical head 3. Is formed. In order to form this recording mark, the peak value of the high-power pulse oscillation is determined according to the recording table 9 which previously holds data corresponding to various recording media, recording zones or positions.

When the optical disk 1 is a magneto-optical disk,
The recording film is formed of a perpendicular magnetization film, and the portion heated to the Curie point by the high-power light pulse is oriented in the direction of the magnetic field of an external magnetic field generator (not shown) arranged opposite to the optical head 3. A recording mark is formed in the form in which the recording mark is formed.

Next, the reproducing operation will be described. At the time of reproduction, the optical head 3 is positioned at a track on the optical disk 1 specified by a reproduction command from the host 4, and a signal is reproduced from the track. First, the semiconductor laser on the optical head 3 emits low-power DC light and is incident on the recording film on the optical disk 1. The reflected light from the recording film is photoelectrically converted by a photodetector through an optical system arranged in the optical head 3 and is input to the reproducing circuit 10 as an electric signal.

The reproducing circuit 10 includes an automatic gain control circuit, a waveform equalizing circuit, a binarizing circuit, and a PLL (Phase Locke).
d Loop) circuit and a discrimination circuit, and converts the reproduced signal into data discriminated binary data.
The binarized data is input to the demodulation circuit 11, where (2, 7)
The RLL code or (1, 7) RLL code is demodulated to demodulate the original data. The demodulated data is guided to the control circuit 6 and transferred from the SCSI control circuit 5 to the host 4 in response to a reproduction command from the host 4.

In the photodetector in the optical head 3, in addition to the reproduction signal, an automatic focus (AF) signal for controlling the focus of the light spot on the recording film and a track tracking (TR) for performing track tracking control for positioning an arbitrary track. A signal can be detected, and an auto focus signal and a track tracking signal for controlling these light spots are guided to the servo control circuit 12. The servo control circuit 12 includes an error signal generation circuit, a phase compensation circuit, and a drive circuit, and performs recording and reproduction of information by positioning the optical head 3 on an arbitrary track.

In the case of a magneto-optical disk, thermal recording is used.
Since the recording temperature is as low as about 200 ° C. as compared with other recording films, normal recording may not be performed depending on the environmental temperature and the like. As a countermeasure against this, fluctuation of the thickness of the recording film
There is a “test writing process” for detecting a change in recording sensitivity to a recording medium, such as a change in environmental temperature or a variation in device characteristics, and recording a proper recording mark.

The technique of the trial writing process is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-363.
No. 77 is well known and well known. The outline of the technical contents of the test writing process is as follows. The test writing pattern composed of the densest pattern and the sparsest pattern of the recording marks is recorded in advance at a predetermined fixed time interval when the recording medium is exchanged or when the recording is performed. The recording is performed while sequentially updating the recording power on the test track, which is arranged at a predetermined position. Thereafter, the test write pattern recorded on the test track is reproduced, and the difference between the center level of the densest pattern and the center level of the sparse pattern in the reproduced signal is detected. The recording power when the difference becomes 0 is optimized. Power.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the control circuit 6
The test writing processing circuit 13 guides the test writing pattern (the combination pattern of the densest pattern and the sparse pattern) to the laser drive circuit 8 according to the instruction. As an example of the test writing pattern, when mark edge recording is performed using the (1, 7) RLL code, the densest pattern is a repetition pattern of a recording mark and a gap pattern of 3 Tw (mark) -3 Tw (gap). The pattern is a repeated pattern in which the pattern of the recording mark and the gap is 8 Tw (mark) -8 Tw (gap). Here, Tw represents a data window width (clock width). In other words, the test writing pattern is (record mark-3Tw having a pulse width of 3 Tw).
A dense pattern in which a pattern consisting of (a gap having a width of 8 Tw) is repeated a plurality of times, and a sparse pattern in which a pattern consisting of (a recording mark having a pulse width of 8 Tw−a gap having a width of 8 Tw) is repeated a plurality of times. It is a combination pattern.

Considering the case where the power of the test writing pattern is large, the densest pattern at this time has a recording mark width wider than 3 Tw and a corresponding gap width narrower than 3 Tw. As a result, the center level of the reproduction signal of the densest pattern becomes higher. On the other hand, since the width of the recording mark and the gap in the sparsest pattern is 8 Tw wider than that in 3 Tw, even if the power is large, the center level of the reproduced signal is not so high.
Then, the difference between the center levels of the reproduced signals of the densest pattern and the sparse pattern becomes large.

On the other hand, if the recording is performed with the optimum power, the recording state is such that the recording mark width is 3 Tw and the gap width is 3 Tw in the densest pattern.
The center level of the reproduced signal is a reproduced output when the width of the mark is equal to the width of the gap. Similarly, in the sparsest pattern, the mark and the gap become 8 Tw, and the reproduced output is obtained when their widths are equal. Then, the difference between the center levels of the reproduced signals of the densest pattern and the sparsest pattern becomes zero.

As in the case of recording, by oscillating the semiconductor laser at a high output, a test write pattern is recorded on a test track arranged on the optical disk 1 while sequentially updating (variable) the recording power. When determining the variable recording power for test writing in order to obtain the optimum power, the data of the recording table 9 (for example, a predetermined voltage value to be applied, which is specific to each recording medium, and the power for varying the power) If the data is determined by the product of the coefficients, the data in the recording table 9 is a fixed value for a specific disk. Therefore, the effective recording power can be updated by changing only the power coefficient.

The execution time of the test writing process is monitored as a time interval, and the power coefficient is monitored. When the change in the power coefficient is large, the interval is short (for example, 1 minute or 5 minutes), and when the change is small, it is long. It is also possible to vary the interval (for example, 10 minutes). For example, when the recording medium is a magneto-optical disk, it is susceptible to the rise in temperature of the device due to the start-up of the device. Even if it is executed, the optimum power obtained each time will change.

Next, the optical head 3 is positioned on the test track for reproduction, and the test writing pattern is reproduced. The reproduced test writing pattern is input to the reproducing circuit 10 and installed in the reproducing circuit 10, for example, a BPF (Band Pa).
ss Filter) circuit detects the center level of the densest pattern and the center level of the sparse pattern.
The output of the PF circuit is guided to the test write processing circuit 13 to detect the difference, and reports the recording power at which the difference becomes 0 to the control circuit 6 as the optimum power. By this trial writing process, it is possible to record a highly accurate recording mark by always setting the optimum power.

In recent years, optical disk devices have been increasingly used as external storage devices for computers,
High-performance products corresponding to higher speeds have been developed and sold, and the demand for the reliability of the device has been increasing year by year as in the case of the magnetic disk device (HDD). Therefore, regarding the progressive failure of the head, the disk, the mechanism, and the like which can be predicted by the HDD, the failure evaluation parameters (error rate by increase of ECC, increase of defective sector, run-out, seek failure by run-out, The number of retries, seek error, etc. are monitored and thresholds are set. If the monitored parameter exceeds the thresholds, a warning is issued to the host system through the interface. It becomes necessary.

In particular, since a semiconductor laser is used as a recording / reproducing light source in an optical disk device, a semiconductor laser often becomes a major factor in determining the life and failure of the device, and there is a means for realizing a life expectancy for this semiconductor laser. It becomes necessary. In FIG. 1, an EE for statistically storing the number of execution operations for realizing life expectancy and failure prediction.
PROM14 (Electrically Eras)
able and Programmable Rea
d Only Memory), and this EEPR
Using the data of the OM 14, a warning determination block 15 for issuing a warning to the host 4 when a threshold value set in the control circuit 6 is exceeded is provided.

This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a specific memory block of the EEPROM 14 of FIG. 1 and a warning determination block 15 controlled by a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as “microcomputer”) in the control circuit 6. Since the microcomputer in the control circuit 6 controls all operations of the optical disk device, the number of times each operation is executed can be accumulated and accumulated by the microcomputer.

The memory blocks concretely stored in the EEPROM 14 include, for example, (1) laser ON time, (2) number of write blocks, (3) number of erase blocks, (4) number of replacement blocks, and (5) read. Number of blocks,
(6) ECC operation block count, (7) ECC uncorrectable block count, (8) ID read retry count, (9) AF
Error / retry count, (10) TR error / retry count, (11) seek error / retry count, (12)
There are load count and (13) load error / retry count.

(1) Cumulative counting result of time during which the semiconductor laser emits light irrespective of recording, reproducing, erasing, seeking, etc., and (2) Cumulative write block issued by the host 4 to the device. The number (3) is the cumulative number of erase blocks similarly issued by the host 4 to the device, and (1) to (3) are used for calculating the laser life.
(4) is the number of blocks for which replacement processing was requested at the time of recording.
The quality of the recording system can be determined based on the ratio of (2) and (4). (5) is the cumulative number of read blocks issued by the host 4 to the device, and is used for ECC (Er
rr Correction Code) and the number of blocks successfully read. (6) represents the number of blocks that were not recovered by ECC during reproduction, and the quality of the reproduction system can be determined by the ratio of (5) and (6) and the ratio of (5) and (7).

(8) represents the number of times the ID arranged for each sector could not be read or the number of times the ID could be read by retry during operations such as recording, erasing, reproducing, and seeking. (9) represents the number of errors or the number of retries performed during AF (auto focus) control during operations such as recording, erasing, reproducing, and seeking. Similarly, (10) indicates the number of errors or retries that occurred in TR (track tracking) control, and (11) indicates the number of errors or retries that occurred in seek control. be able to.

Finally, (12) indicates the number of times a recording medium has been loaded (inserted) into the apparatus, (13) indicates the number of times a load error has occurred or the number of load retries, and (12)
From the ratio of (13) and (13), the quality of the mechanical system mainly including the loader can be determined. As described above, (4) to (13) are used for failure determination of the device.

Regarding the life expectancy of the semiconductor laser, which is the gist of the present invention, the life of the semiconductor laser is determined by the accumulated light emission time and the light emission power during light emission.
4 memory blocks, (1) the number of write blocks, (3) the number of erase blocks,
Is required.

Generally speaking, the laser emission time in each of recording, reproduction and erasing can be obtained from the numerical values of the above (1), (2) and (3), and furthermore, it is obtained by the trial writing process. The emission power can be obtained from the optimum power in each case. At this time, the power is a constant value for reproduction and erasure, but the effective power is obtained from the peak power and the pulse width duty for the recording power. As described above, the effective light emission power and the light emission time are obtained, the light emission power is obtained by the ratio of the reference power (generally, the reproduction power), and the life of the semiconductor laser is finally converted into the effective light emission time. To determine its life.

The data of the above (1) in the memory block is read in the warning judgment block 15 and the cumulative time for emitting the effective power corresponding to the read power is calculated.

The data of the above (2) is similarly read in the warning judgment block 15, and the accumulated time for emitting the effective power corresponding to the recording power is calculated. Since the effective power at the time of recording relating to the life is represented by the average power, the average value can be obtained from the peak power value and the duty of the pulse width at that time, and the effective power can be obtained by the product of the peak power value and the average value. Although the peak power value varies depending on the type of recording medium used, the recording position, and the environmental temperature, a ZCAV (ZoneCond) corresponding to each recording medium is used.
In the case of recording at (Stand Angular Velocity), it can be calculated from the product of the recording power table corresponding to the zone and the power coefficient obtained by the test writing process.

The recording pulse width (single pulse or multipulse) depends on the type of recording medium to be used, the recording position when recording by ZCAV, and the sector format of the recording medium (for example, 1024 bytes / sector or 51 bytes).
(2 bytes / sector), but since the pulse width of each pulse can be known in advance from the device side, the number of processing blocks per recording position (zone) executed after the recording medium is loaded into the device must be calculated from the contents of the memory block. Thereby, the effective power and the execution time at the time of recording can be calculated more accurately. This process needs to be calculated each time the test writing process is executed and each time the recording condition such as the recording position changes.

Similarly, the data of (3) is read by the warning determination block 15 and the accumulated time for emitting the effective power corresponding to the erasing power is calculated. The peak power value at the time of erasing is a high-output DC power, which emits light for a time corresponding to the data area of the sector format. The recording power table at the time of test writing and the power coefficient obtained by the test writing process at the same time as the recording It can be calculated from the product.

The cumulative light emission time corresponding to the above (2) and (3) is weighted with a coefficient in order to convert the cumulative light emission time into the life, and the effective time is calculated. In the recording of (2), the effective power in consideration of the pulse width duty is <Pwr>, and the recording power emission time is T
Assuming that wr, life coefficient is α, and reproduction power is Prd, the effective time <Twr> at the time of recording is represented by <Twr> = (<Pwr> / Prd) × α × Twr. Here, the life of the laser is determined by the reproduction D
Since the time is generally represented by the time at the C power, the effective time is obtained based on the reproduction power Prd.

The erasing power at the time of erasing (3) is set to Per.
(Erase power is a constant DC power), and assuming that the erasing power emission time is Ter, as in (2), the effective time at erasing <Ter> is: <Ter> = (Per / Prd) × α × Ter Can be represented by Here, the life coefficient α is a value determined from the type of laser, head characteristics, and the like, and 1>α>
Takes a value of 0. Usually, the effective time is shorter than the time obtained by multiplying the time actually required for recording and erasing by the proportional coefficient standardized by Prd.

Therefore, assuming that <Trd> is the effective time during which normal reproducing power is emitted, such as during reproduction or seek, the effective time obtained by adding (1), (2) and (3) is <Tt
total> is <Ttotal> = <Trd> + <Twr> + <Ter
> And is accumulated as the life time for the warning judgment.
This value is compared with a threshold value set for warning determination, and if the threshold value is exceeded, a warning is issued from the optical disk device side to the host 4.

This threshold is an initial value (for example, 20,000 hours)
Is set in advance, and an arbitrary value can be set for the threshold value of the warning determination block 15 in the control circuit 6 from the host 4.

Normally, the threshold value for judging the laser life is statistically averaged in consideration of variations in individual characteristics of the semiconductor laser and variations in head light utilization efficiency (ratio of laser light emission power to power on the optical disk surface). I have to set a value. With such a unique threshold, even if the judgment is valid for one device, there is no problem in using the laser for other devices, but the head was replaced because a warning was issued,
The task of laser replacement occurs, which causes a problem that the cost of the apparatus increases.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of one method for solving this problem. In the figure, after the execution of the normal processing, when a warning judgment indicating that the execution time has exceeded the threshold is issued, the host 4 executes a self-diagnosis mode (this self-diagnosis execution mode is stored in the memory block 14). , Which is a mode other than the execution time determination mode based on the above (2) to (7) related to the calculation of the life of the laser). In this case, the host 4 executes the self-diagnosis mode of the apparatus, and determines the quality of the recording system or the reproduction system from the above (2) to (7) of the memory block of the EEPROM 14 after the execution, and determines OK (the quality is good). In the case of “good”, the threshold value of the set execution time is changed, and normal processing is continued under the newly set threshold value.

If the determination is NO (whether the recording system and the reproduction system are good or bad), a warning is issued again and the host 4
With a message such as optical head replacement.

If the self-diagnosis execution mode is not set, a warning is issued immediately and the same processing as described above is performed.

Although the numerical values (8) to (11) are not directly related to the laser life, they can be used in other judging systems for judging the quality of servo. Similarly, the above (12) and (13) can be used in other determination systems for determining the quality of a mechanical system mainly including a loader.

The optical disk device is connected to an upper-level host via an interface cable to exchange information, and the interface is SCSI or ATA.
There is a PI (ATA Packet Interface).

In the present invention, a method for issuing a warning when a SCSI interface is connected will be specifically described. To issue a warning when the above threshold value is exceeded after processing by a recording, erasing or reproducing command, the status byte is reported to the host 4 via the data bus in the STATUS phase. Specifically, the CHECKCONDITION bit, which is defined by the status byte and indicates that the command has been abnormally terminated due to an error or abnormal state, is set to "1".
Report as

After receiving this status, the host 4
By issuing a QUEST SENSE command, detailed information on the error is obtained. SENSE in the SENSE data transferred by the control circuit 6 at the request of the host
KEY is (1) h (= RECOVERD ERROR)
And the command is executed normally. By doing so, even if a laser life warning is issued, the optical disk device does not immediately become an error and does not accept higher-level commands, but the host 4 makes a final determination.

Further, by defining a detailed error code relating to the laser life in the additional sense information in the SENSE data, it is necessary to perform self-diagnosis in the case of the first warning or to replace the head in the last warning. You can know whether it is a warning to do. Further, there is a demand that a warning is not issued even if the threshold value is exceeded, depending on the use situation. In this case, MODE SELECT from the host
It is possible to stop issuing a warning by a T command. Further, the LOG SENSE command (4D) h of the group command 2 can be used to read the statistical information data from the memory block of the EEPROM 14 via the SCSI interface.

From the statistical information, a part other than the laser which is likely to fail can be specified, and the host can perform preventive maintenance of the apparatus. Here, SCSI is used as the interface
However, it goes without saying that a similar effect can be obtained with other interfaces.

In the above description, the means for displaying the warning regarding the life of the semiconductor laser is described, for example, by displaying the screen on the host via the interface. However, the display is performed through various lamps provided in advance in the apparatus itself. Is also possible. An optical disk device or a magnetic disk device has a READY lamp (normally green) and a BUSY lamp (normally red) for displaying the operation state of the device.

Since these are controlled by the control circuit 6, when a warning relating to the life of the semiconductor laser, which is the gist of the present invention, is determined, it can be displayed via these lamps. The lamp is caused to emit light in a specific pattern that is impossible in the operation state of the device. By doing so, the abnormality of the device can be known not only from the screen display by the host, but also from the lamp of the device itself.

To summarize the above description, the present invention can also adopt the following embodiments.

The optical disk device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a threshold value for judging the life can be set from an upper host.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a self-diagnosis is carried out by comparing a threshold value for judging the life with the life time, and judging whether the operation of recording, reproduction or erasing is right or wrong when the threshold is exceeded. An optical disc device that determines its operation status, updates the threshold value if it is good, sets a new threshold value and continues normal processing, and issues a warning if it is not.

The optical disk device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation of the lifetime of the semiconductor laser is performed from the following relationship.

Life time = <Trd> + <Twr> + <Ter><Trd> is a normal reproduction power P such as during reproduction or seek.
rd is the effective time during which light is emitted, and <Twr> is the effective time during recording, where <Pwr> is the effective power in consideration of the pulse width duty, Twr is the recording power emission time, and α is the life coefficient. Twr> = (<Pwr> / Prd) × α × Twr, where <Ter> is an effective time at the time of erasing, and if erasing power is Per and erasing power emission time is Ter, then <Ter> = (Per / Prd) ) × α × Ter where the life coefficient α is a value determined from the type of laser, head characteristics, and the like, and takes a value of 1>α> 0.

The optical disk device according to claim 3, having a function of displaying externally that the semiconductor laser has exceeded its life time.

As a function of displaying to the outside, R
An optical disk device that uses an EADY lamp or a BUSY lamp and emits light in a specific pattern to report to the outside that the semiconductor laser has exceeded its lifetime.

The optical disk device according to claim 3, wherein a SCSI interface is connected as an interface, and a status byte is reported to a host in a STATUS phase when a warning is issued as information on the lifetime. CHECK in status byte at this time
The CONDITION bit is set to "1".

After the host has received the status byte,
An optical disk device in which the SENSE KEY in the SENSE data issued by the device to the host in response to the REQUESTSENSE command issued by the host is set to (1) h.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the MODE
An optical disc device capable of switching warning issuance by a SELECT command.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the statistical information data (information on the life of the semiconductor laser, information on the good / bad operation of the recording / reproducing / erasing system, information on the good / bad of the servo-related information, loader, Can be read via the interface, and any part in the device can be specified and determined from the statistical information, and preventive maintenance of the device by the host is possible. Optical disk device.

[0073]

As is apparent from the above description, in the optical disk device, the environmental temperature, the type of the disk, the sensitivity of the disk, the difference in the peripheral speed between the inner and outer circumferences of the disk, and the aging of the semiconductor laser itself, etc. Includes all recording characteristic fluctuation components,
To calculate the effective laser life time based on the optimum power obtained in the trial writing process provided to stably record highly reliable data on the disk, and to determine the laser life time By issuing a warning when the set threshold is exceeded, it is possible to accurately predict the life of the semiconductor laser, to ensure an effective equipment life, and to greatly improve the reliability of the equipment. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a memory block and a warning determination block of the EEPROM.

FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart relating to a warning determination.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical disk 2 Spindle motor 3 Optical head 4 Host computer 5 SCSI control circuit 6 Control circuit 7 Modulation circuit 8 Laser drive circuit 9 Recording table 10 Reproduction circuit 11 Demodulation circuit 12 Servo control circuit 13 Test writing processing circuit 14 EEPROM 15 Warning judgment block

Claims (3)

[Claims] An information mark is recorded on a recording medium by using a semiconductor laser as a light source, modulating the semiconductor laser and outputting a high-power pulse light, and reproducing the information mark with a constant low-output reproducing power. An optical disc device for erasing the information mark with a high output erasing power of the semiconductor laser, wherein a time during which the semiconductor laser emits light, a number of processed recording blocks, and a number of processed erase blocks are detected and recorded. The light emission time in each of reproduction and erasing is obtained, the test writing process is performed while varying the recording power, and the optimum power suitable for the recording medium is obtained at regular time intervals. The effective power of each of the erasures is calculated, and the recording, reproduction, and the effective power are calculated from the light emission time and the effective power in each of the recording, reproduction, and erasure. And the effective time related to the life of the semiconductor laser in each of the erasing and erasing is calculated, and the effective time obtained by integrating recording, reproduction and erasing is calculated as the life time of the semiconductor laser, and the life time and the life of the semiconductor laser are determined. An optical disk drive that issues a warning when the life time exceeds the threshold value by comparing the threshold value with the threshold value. 2. A semiconductor laser as a light source, modulating the semiconductor laser to record an information mark on a recording medium with high-power pulse light, reproducing the information mark with a constant low-output reproduction power, and An optical disc device for erasing the information mark by a high output erasing power of the semiconductor laser, wherein an effective time related to the life of the semiconductor laser is obtained from a light emission time and a light emission power of the semiconductor laser, and a life time is obtained. When the life time exceeds the threshold value, a warning is issued, the number of write blocks, the number of erase blocks, the number of blocks requiring replacement processing during recording, Number of blocks, ECC
A self-diagnosis mode is provided for judging whether a recording system, a reproduction system, or an erasure system is operating properly based on the number of operating blocks and the number of ECC uncorrectable blocks. Determining whether the recording system, the reproducing system or the erasing system is operating properly, and when the operation is determined to be good, changing the threshold value of the life determination and setting a new threshold value. Optical disk device. 3. A semiconductor laser as a light source, modulating the semiconductor laser to record an information mark on a recording medium by high-power pulse light, reproducing the information mark with a constant low-output reproduction power, and An optical disc device for erasing the information mark by a high output erasing power of the semiconductor laser, wherein an effective time related to the life of the semiconductor laser is obtained from a light emission time and a light emission power of the semiconductor laser, and a life time is obtained. An optical disc device for comparing a threshold value for judging the life of the semiconductor laser and issuing a warning when the life time exceeds the threshold value, and reporting the warning to a host through an interface; .