Repair system, electronic apparatus, computer program, and data restoration method

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of improving success possibility of data restoration.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus according to one side of the present disclosure is detachably connected to a recording medium. The electronic apparatus is configured to execute, as special writing processing, processing (S120, S130) of writing a plurality of pieces of special data for data restoration in the recording medium. According to the special writing processing, each of the plurality pieces of special data is written in the recording medium so as to be scattered and disposed in the recording media.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic devices and repair devices. [Background technology]

[0002] There are already known techniques for repairing damaged data in a recording medium. For example, there is already known a technique for recovering a volume table of contents (VTOC) in a magnetic disk device based on an auxiliary label (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] This technology targets magnetic disk devices that manage file management information as an area following the beginning of the magnetic disk, and at the same time store the management information of the corresponding file as an auxiliary label in the beginning area of ​​each file. The VTOC is restored by writing the auxiliary label into the VTOC as a file label. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2-62624 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the conventional technology, the management information of the file is simply placed at the beginning of the file in a data area different from the management area (e.g., VTOC) as a backup. Therefore, if the only backed-up management information in the data area is lost, the management area cannot be properly restored. In other words, the conventional technology has room for improvement in the possibility of successful data restoration.

[0006] Therefore, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is desirable to provide a technique that can improve the likelihood of successful data recovery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is an electronic device that is detachably connected to a data-writable recording medium, and includes a processing unit configured to execute a process of writing a plurality of special data for data recovery to the recording medium as a special writing process. The special writing process is a process of writing each of the plurality of special data to the recording medium so as to disperse the data within the recording medium.

[0008] By distributing the special data for data recovery in advance in the recording medium by the special writing process, even if a part of the special data is lost in the recording medium, the data recovery of the recording medium can be realized based on the remaining special data. Therefore, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the possibility of successful data recovery of the recording medium.

[0009] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of special data may include a plurality of overlapping pieces of the same special data. In this case, in the special write process, the plurality of pieces of the same special data may be written to the recording medium such that they are spaced apart from one another within the recording medium.

[0010] By distributing a plurality of identical special data in the recording medium, some of the special data Even if the data is lost, data recovery of the recording medium can be realized based on the remaining special data, increasing the possibility of successful data recovery.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a processing unit of an electronic device may execute a special write process to repair data on a recording medium having a data storage area and a management area for managing the storage location of data stored in the data storage area. In this case, in the special write process, special data for repairing the management area may be written to the data storage area. By distributing a plurality of special data in the data storage area, the possibility of properly repairing the management area is increased even if some of the special data is lost in addition to the damage to the management area.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the special data may include information for identifying the type of device using the recording medium. Alternatively, the special data may include information for identifying the data storage method on the recording medium by the device using the recording medium. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the processing unit may appropriately repair the recording medium based on the information included in the special data and prior knowledge regarding the data structure in the recording medium.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the processing unit may be configured to execute a special write process following an initialization process for the recording medium. By sporadically writing the special data following the initialization process, it is possible to appropriately prepare for data corruption (including data loss) that may occur thereafter.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the processor may be configured to repeatedly execute a write operation of generated data, which is data generated by a predetermined process, on the recording medium. The processor may be configured to write a plurality of special data to the recording medium by repeatedly executing an operation of writing one or more special data in conjunction with the write operation of the generated data. According to such a writing method, the processing load related to writing the special data can be reduced.

[0015] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the processing unit may be configured to repeatedly execute an operation of writing the video data generated based on an input signal from the camera to the recording medium as the operation of writing the generated data. By providing the technology of the present disclosure to an electronic device that records the video data, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the video data stored in the recording medium becomes impossible to view due to an inability to repair the data.

[0016] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the electronic device may further include a setting unit that sets the placement density of special data to be realized in each of the multiple areas in the recording medium based on the number of times data has been corrupted in each of the multiple areas.

[0017] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the electronic device may be configured such that the processing unit writes the special data to each of the multiple regions such that the number of special data pieces corresponding to the distribution density set by the setting unit is scattered in each of the multiple regions. By setting the density for each region in this manner, the data recovery capability can be improved.

[0018] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the electronic device may further include a data repair unit that selects a repair method based on special data in the recording medium and repairs data in the recording medium using the selected repair method.

[0019] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there may be provided a repair device that is detachably connected to a recording medium on which a plurality of special data have been written by the electronic device, the repair device including a data repair unit that selects a repair method based on the special data in the recording medium and repairs the data in the recording medium using the selected repair method. It can be executed appropriately based on special data scattered throughout the body.

[0020] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program may be provided for causing a computer to realize at least a part of the functions of the electronic device or the repair device. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program may be provided for causing a computer to execute a special write process executed by the processing unit. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program may be provided for causing a computer to realize a function as a data repair unit in the repair device.

[0021] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method may be provided for a method executed by the electronic device or repair device. For example, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented data writing method may be provided, the data writing method including a procedure for writing a plurality of special data for data repair on a data-writable recording medium, the procedure including a procedure for writing each of the plurality of special data on the recording medium so as to be scattered within the recording medium. This data writing method can improve the probability of successful data repair on the recording medium.

[0022] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there may be provided a data repair method executed by a computer, the data repair method selecting a repair method based on special data in a recording medium to which a plurality of special data have been written by the data writing method, and repairing data in the recording medium using the selected repair method. This data repair method can improve the success rate of data repair in the recording medium. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a drive recorder. [Diagram 2] 11 is a flowchart showing a format-related process executed by a control unit. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating areas generated on a recording medium by formatting. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of markers written to a recording medium. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a control unit when writing data to be saved. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a first arrangement of markers after data to be saved has been written; [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a second arrangement of markers after data to be saved has been written; [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a restoration device. [Figure 9] 11 is a flowchart showing an analysis and repair process executed by a processor of the repair device. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the control unit 10 in the second embodiment when writing data to be saved. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams regarding writing of data to be saved and a marker. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart showing a damage recording process executed by a control unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. [First embodiment] 1 is a drive recorder that is mounted on a vehicle such as a four-wheeled automobile, etc. The drive recorder 1 is disposed, for example, in a position inside the vehicle cabin that allows it to record an image of the area in front of the vehicle.

[0025] The drive recorder 1 includes a control unit 10, a camera 21, a microphone 23, an image processing circuit 25, a media reader / writer 30, a display 40, a speaker 50, and an input interface 60.

[0026] The control unit 10 includes a processor 11 and a memory 13. The processor 11 controls each part of the drive recorder 1 by executing processes according to a computer program stored in the memory 13. The processes executed by the control unit 10 described below may be understood as processes executed by the processor 11 according to the computer program.

[0027] The memory 13 includes a RAM, a ROM, and a non-volatile RAM, NVRAM. The ROM stores computer programs. The RAM is used as a working area when executing processes according to the computer programs. The NVRAM is used to store setting data.

[0028] The camera 21 is provided so as to be able to capture an image of the area in front of the vehicle. The camera 21 may include a plurality of cameras in order to capture images of a plurality of locations around the vehicle and within the vehicle cabin. The microphone 23 is provided so as to be able to collect audio in the space in which the drive recorder 1 is installed.

[0029] The image processing circuit 25 generates video data for recording including audio based on the video signal input from the camera 21 and the audio signal input from the microphone 23, and inputs the video data to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 operates to record the video data on the recording medium 35.

[0030] The recording medium 35 is a general-purpose recording medium, and is manually loaded into the media reader / writer 30 by the user. The recording medium 35 may be, for example, a recording medium incorporating a NAND type flash memory and a memory controller IC. An example of the recording medium 35 is an SD card.

[0031] The media reader / writer 30 is used by the control unit 10 to record video data on the recording medium 35 and to read out video data to be played back. The media reader / writer 30 is configured so that the recording medium 35 can be detachably attached, and is configured to read and write data from and to the recording medium 35 under the control of the control unit 10.

[0032] When writing data, the data specified by the control unit 10 is written via the media reader / writer 30 to an area in the recording medium 35 corresponding to a data storage destination address specified by the control unit 10. In the recording medium 35, the data specified by the control unit 10 can be written to a physical address corresponding to the logical address specified by the control unit 10.

[0033] The display 40 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is controlled by the control unit 10 to display various screens for the user, such as a setting screen, a playback screen, etc. The speaker 50 is controlled by the control unit 10 to output various sounds.

[0034] The input interface 60 is configured to input an operation signal from a user who operates the drive recorder 1 to the control unit 10. The input interface 60 can include an operation switch and a touch panel on the display 40 as components.

[0035] The drive recorder 1 of this embodiment requires a recording medium 35 for recording video data, which is its main purpose. Therefore, before using the drive recorder 1, the user manually loads the recording medium 35 into the media reader / writer 30. The recording medium 35 is initialized, i.e., formatted, before recording video data.

[0036] When a formatting instruction is input via the input interface 60 while the control unit 10 is recognizing the recording medium 35 attached to the media reader / writer 30, the control unit 10 executes the formatting-related processing shown in FIG.

[0037] When the formatting-related process starts, the control unit 10 formats the recording medium 35 (S110). Formatting may be performed, for example, to build a predetermined file system. The file system may be a dedicated file system or a general-purpose file system. By formatting, a management area 35A and a data storage area 35B are generated in the recording medium 35, for example, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0038] The management area 35A is an area for managing data stored in the data storage area 35B, and is used, for example, to store and manage the storage position of data in the data storage area 35B. The management area 35A is generated, for example, in an area following the starting address of the recording medium 35. The data storage area 35B is generated in an area following the management area 35A in the recording medium 35.

[0039] When a known file system, such as the FAT system, is adopted, depending on the format, an area including a file allocation table is generated as the management area 35A. In this case, the file allocation table stores the storage position of each data in file units in the data storage area 35B.

[0040] A characteristic feature of this embodiment is that after formatting the recording medium 35 in S110, the control unit 10 operates to write multiple markers, which are special data for data recovery, in a scattered manner within the recording medium 35, particularly within the data storage area 35B following the management area 35A, in preparation for data corruption that may occur in the recording medium 35 (S120, 130).

[0041] Specifically, the control unit 10 executes a process of determining write positions in the data storage area 35B of a plurality of markers (S120) following formatting of the recording medium 35. The control unit 10 can determine positions in the data storage area 35B to write the markers so that the markers are scattered at a preset density throughout the entire data storage area 35B, for example.

[0042] For example, the control unit 10 can determine the positions in the data storage area 35B where the markers are written so that the markers are spaced apart at regular intervals corresponding to the density. Alternatively, the control unit 10 can randomly determine the number of write positions corresponding to the product of the area size and density of the data storage area 35B using a random number generator. The determination of the write positions of the markers can be realized, for example, by determining the clusters or sectors in the data storage area 35B where the markers are written.

[0043] Thereafter, the control unit 10 executes a process of writing markers to each write position determined in the process of S120 in the recording medium 35 (S130). Figure 4 conceptually shows the data storage area 35B in which the markers are scattered. The hatched areas in Figure 4 and Figures 6 and 7 described below indicate the positions where the markers are stored.

[0044] The markers written to each write position may all be the same data. That is, multiple identical markers may be arranged in the data storage area 35B in a duplicated manner. The marker may have a header indicating that it is a marker. The marker may have data describing an identification code of the model of the drive recorder 1 (hereinafter referred to as "model ID") following the header.

[0045] Alternatively, the marker may have data describing the data storage method in the data storage area 35B, for example, data describing the type or arrangement of data to be written to the data storage area 35B. The marker may be simple data with a small amount of data, and may be data with a size smaller than the sector size in the data storage area 35B.

[0046] According to this embodiment, as described above, in addition to initializing the recording medium 35, markers for data recovery are written to the recording medium 35 sporadically throughout the entire data storage area 35B.

[0047] After executing the format-related processing, when writing the video data to be saved in the recording medium 35 to the data storage area 35B of the recording medium 35, the control unit 10 executes the processing shown in Fig. 5 to write the video data into the data storage area 35B while maintaining the marker in the recording medium 35. The video data is generated for each predetermined unit, such as a predetermined data size or a predetermined time interval. In accordance with the generation of the video data, the control unit 10 repeatedly executes the processing shown in Fig. 5.

[0048] That is, each time data to be saved in the recording medium 35 occurs, the control unit 10 starts the process shown in Fig. 5. When this process starts, the control unit 10 judges whether or not the destination area to which the data to be saved is to be written contains a marker (S210). Here, "containing a marker" means that a continuous destination area contains an area in which a marker has been written.

[0049] When the control unit 10 determines that the destination area does not include a marker (No in S210), it writes the data to be saved to the destination area (S220). On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the destination area includes a marker (Yes in S210), it generates data to be written that includes a marker in the data to be saved, and writes the generated data to be written to the corresponding destination area (S230).

[0050] As is well known, in the recording medium 35 including a flash memory, the data erase unit is larger than the sector size. Therefore, when the write destination area includes a marker, this area including the marker is erased in a predetermined erase unit, and then the marker and the data to be saved are written, thereby realizing the writing of the data to be saved while maintaining the state in which the marker is written in the recording medium 35.

[0051] In S230, the data to be written is generated so that the marker is written again at the same position, and this data can be written to the recording medium 35. Fig. 6 conceptually shows the state of the data storage area 35B when the data to be saved is written. The areas shaded in black in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 described later correspond to the areas where the data to be saved has been written.

[0052] As another example, the control unit 10 may operate to change the position of the marker in S230 so that the marker is placed at the end or beginning of the data to be saved, and write the data to be saved and the marker in the data storage area 35B.

[0053] 7, the marker is rearranged to the end of the data to be saved. By placing the marker before and after the data to be saved, the marker can indicate the delimitation of the data to be saved. In this way, the control unit 10 writes the data to be saved into the data storage area 35B so as to maintain the state in which the marker is stored.

[0054] Next, a method for recovering the recording medium 35 using the marker will be described. The data recovery of the recording medium 35 is realized, for example, by a recovery device 100 separate from the drive recorder 1. do.

[0055] 8 is configured by installing a computer program for data restoration in a general-purpose personal computer. The computer program for data restoration is provided to a user via, for example, a wide area network.

[0056] The exemplary repair device 100 includes a processor 110 , a memory 120 , a storage 130 , a user interface 140 , a communication interface 150 , and a media reader / writer 160 .

[0057] The processor 110 executes processing in accordance with a computer program stored in the storage 130. The memory 120 is used as a working area when the processor 110 executes processing.

[0058] The user interface 140 includes a display for displaying various information to the user and an input device for inputting operation signals from the user. The communication interface 150 is configured to be capable of communicating with an external server device via a wide area network.

[0059] Like the media reader / writer 30 of the drive recorder 1, the media reader / writer 160 is configured to allow the recording medium 35 to be detachably attached, and is configured to enable data reading and writing to the attached recording medium 35.

[0060] The user can remove the recording medium 35 from the drive recorder 1 and load the recording medium 35 into the media reader / writer 160 of the repair device 100, and then input a repair instruction via the user interface 140 to cause the repair device 100 to execute processing related to data repair of the recording medium 35.

[0061] When a repair instruction is input via the user interface 140, the processor 110 of the repair device 100 executes the analysis and repair process shown in Fig. 9. When the analysis and repair process starts, the processor 110 reads the marker recorded in the data storage area 35B of the recording medium 35 (S1010).

[0062] Thereafter, the processor 110 determines whether the management area 35A and the data storage area 35B in the recording medium 35 have normal data structures based on the model ID or data storage method described by the marker (S1020).

[0063] To make this determination, the computer program for data recovery may be distributed together with data describing the normal data structure in each model having the function of recording markers, or the processor 110 may obtain the data describing the normal data structure from an external server device.

[0064] Thereafter, the processor 110 analyzes the data structure in the recording medium 35 and, by comparing it with a normal data structure, determines the location of data corruption in the recording medium 35 (S1030).

[0065] If the processor 110 determines that there is no damaged portion through this analysis (No in S1040), it ends the analysis and repair process. On the other hand, if it determines that there is a damaged portion (Yes in S1040), it executes data repair process for the corresponding model and repairs the damaged portion of the data in the recording medium 35 (S1050).

[0066] Specifically, the processor 110 can repair the damaged part according to a predetermined repair method corresponding to the combination of the model, the damaged part, and the damaged state (S1050). The repair method can be defined in advance for each combination of the model, the damaged part, and the damaged state.

[0067] Repairing the damaged portion includes repairing the management area 35A and the data storage area 35B. If data corruption occurs in the management area 35A, even if the video data stored in the data storage area 35B is not damaged, it becomes impossible to identify the storage location of the video data based on the information in the management area 35A, and therefore it becomes impossible to read the video data from the recording medium 35.

[0068] According to this embodiment, since the management area 35A can be repaired based on the model ID or data storage method indicated by the marker, when the management area 35A is damaged, the recording medium 35 can be repaired to make the video data readable with a higher probability than before. The repair of the management area 35A can be realized based on prior knowledge of the data storage method so as to eliminate the inconsistency between the state of the data storage area 35B and the information stored in the management area 35A.

[0069] According to this embodiment, even if the video data in the data storage area 35B is corrupted, the video data can be appropriately restored using a restoration method based on prior knowledge of the data storage method, such as the recording format and data size of the video data. The restoration can be realized, for example, by removing the corrupted portion of the data and executing end-stage processing on the video data.

[0070] In addition, the restoration here does not necessarily mean completely returning the recording medium 35 to the state before the data was corrupted. The restoration here also includes removing abnormal data that prevents the recording medium 35 from being used normally and putting the recording medium 35 back into a state where it can be used normally, for example, restoring the file system.

[0071] According to another example, the processor 110 can execute the processing from S1020 onwards based on the model ID or data storage method indicated by the marker read in S1010, using an inspection program and a repair program corresponding to the model ID or data storage method.

[0072] In other words, inspection programs and repair programs may be prepared for each model or data storage method, and the processor 110 can selectively use these inspection programs and repair programs based on information obtained from the marker to repair corrupted data in the recording medium 35.

[0073] Moreover, the drive recorder 1 may include a computer program for causing the processor 11 to realize functions similar to those of the computer program for data restoration installed in the restoration device 100.

[0074] That is, the control unit 10 of the drive recorder 1 may be configured to repair the data in the recording medium 35 attached to the media reader / writer 30 by executing the analysis and repair process shown in FIG. 9 as a process according to the computer program in accordance with instructions from a user.

[0075] Alternatively, the repair device 100 may be provided at a facility of the manufacturer or seller of the drive recorder 1. A user of the drive recorder 1 can send the recording medium 35 to, for example, a facility that provides customer service. The facility can use the repair device 100 to repair the data in the recording medium 35 received from the user, and return the repaired recording medium 35 to the user.

[0076] The technology of the first embodiment may be used not only for the recording medium 35 detachable from the media reader / writer 30, but also for data recovery of the memory 13 built into the drive recorder 1. That is, a marker may be written in the memory 13, and data recovery may be realized based on the marker.

[0077] [Second embodiment] Next, the configuration of the drive recorder 1 of the second embodiment will be described. However, the drive recorder 1 of the second embodiment differs from the drive recorder 1 of the first embodiment only in the timing of writing a marker to the recording medium 35. Therefore, in the configuration of the drive recorder 1 of the second embodiment, the configuration different from the first embodiment will be selectively described below, and the description of the configuration common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0078] According to this embodiment, when an instruction to format the recording medium 35 is input, the control unit 10 of the drive recorder 1 executes only formatting of the recording medium 35. That is, the control unit 10 executes the process of S110 among the format-related processes shown in FIG. 2, but operates not to execute the processes of S120 and S130.

[0079] Instead, the control unit 10 operates to write the markers stepwise together with writing of the video data to the recording medium 35. For this reason, when writing the video data to the data storage area 35B of the recording medium 35, the control unit 10 executes the process shown in Fig. 10 instead of the process shown in Fig. 5.

[0080] That is, the control unit 10 starts the process shown in FIG. 10 each time data to be stored in the recording medium 35 occurs, and first, as in the first embodiment, determines whether the destination area to which the data to be stored is to be written contains a marker (S410).

[0081] When the control unit 10 determines that the destination area includes a marker (Yes in S410), it generates write target data by incorporating a marker into the data to be saved, similar to the processing in S230, and writes the generated write target data to the corresponding destination area (S430).

[0082] On the other hand, if the control unit 10 determines that the destination area does not include a marker (No in S410), it determines whether a marker has already been written in a predetermined range of area adjacent to the destination area (hereinafter, referred to as the adjacent area) (S450). The predetermined range is predetermined to a range according to the density of markers to be realized in the data storage area 35B.

[0083] When the control unit 10 determines that a marker is not written in the adjacent area (No in S450), it generates write target data by adding a marker to the data to be saved, and writes the generated write target data to the corresponding write destination area (S460). For example, the write target data may be data with a marker added to the beginning and / or end of the data to be saved.

[0084] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example in which the control unit 10 sequentially writes a marker together with writing data to be saved, in a method of adding a marker to the end of the data to be saved. As in the first embodiment, the blackened areas in Fig. 11A and 11B indicate the write positions of the data to be saved, and the shaded areas indicate the write positions of the marker. Fig. 11B shows a state in which further data has been written to the data storage area 35B from the state shown in Fig. 11A.

[0085] The marker is not limited to being added to the beginning and / or end of the data to be saved, but may be inserted at a midpoint between the beginning and the end of the data to be saved. In S450, a marker is written in a predetermined range of adjacent areas based on the writing position of the marker when the marker is written. , it can be determined whether a marker has already been written.

[0086] In addition, when the control unit 10 determines that a marker has already been written in the adjacent area (Yes in S450), it writes the data to be saved in the write destination area without adding a marker (S470).

[0087] Compared to the first embodiment, which performs a process in which multiple markers are scattered throughout the data storage area 35B following formatting in one go, this embodiment has the advantage that markers can be written efficiently to the data storage area 35B while distributing the processing load.

[0088] [Other embodiments] Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can adopt various aspects.

[0089] For example, in the second embodiment, the control unit 10 is configured to determine whether to write a marker together with the data to be saved based on the interval between adjacent markers. However, the control unit 10 may determine whether to write a marker probabilistically.

[0090] For example, the control unit 10 may be configured to acquire a random number instead of the process of S450, and execute a process (S460) of writing a marker together with the data to be saved to the recording medium 35 when the acquired random number is a winning value, and execute a process (S470) of writing only the data to be saved to the recording medium 35 without writing a marker when the random number is an losing value. The winning value can be set to a number according to the density of the markers to be realized in the recording medium 35.

[0091] Alternatively, in the second embodiment, the write position of the marker may be predetermined, and instead of the process of S450, the control unit 10 may execute a process of determining whether the destination area includes the predetermined write position of the marker, and if the destination area includes the write position of the marker, proceed to S460 to execute a process of writing the marker to the write position together with writing the data to be saved. If the destination area does not include the write position of the marker, the control unit 10 may execute a process of S470 to write the data to be saved to the destination area.

[0092] In addition, the density of the markers to be realized does not have to be a fixed value. For example, the density may be set to a value according to the number of occurrences of data corruption in the data storage area 35B. For example, the density may be set to a larger value as the number of occurrences of data corruption increases.

[0093] Furthermore, the density of the markers to be realized may be determined for each partition when the data storage area 35B is divided into a plurality of partitions. The density of the markers for each partition may be determined according to the number of occurrences of data corruption in the corresponding partition. In other words, the density of the markers may be set to a higher value for a partition with more data corruption.

[0094] In order to set the density of the markers according to the number of occurrences, the control unit 10 can repeatedly execute the corrupted recording process shown in Fig. 12. In the exemplary corrupted recording process, the control unit 10 determines whether data corruption has occurred in the recording medium 35 (S510).

[0095] When the control unit 10 determines that data corruption has occurred (Yes in S510), it updates the corruption history (S520) and further updates the setting value of the marker density for each partition (S530). The control unit 10 can store the number of data corruption occurrences and the setting value of the marker density for each partition in, for example, the NVRAM.

[0096] Specifically, the control unit 10 can update the number of data corruptions stored in the NVRAM so as to increase the number of data corruptions in the section where data corruption has occurred by 1 (S520), and update the setting value of the marker density to a setting value corresponding to the updated number of data corruptions (S530). The update of the number of data corruptions and the setting value in the NVRAM can be performed simultaneously.

[0097] Alternatively, the recording medium 35 may be provided with an area for storing the number of data corruption events and the marker density setting values ​​for each partition, and the control unit 10 may operate to update the number of data corruption events and the marker density setting values ​​for each partition stored in the recording medium 35.

[0098] Alternatively, the marker may be written immediately after formatting, or at a timing other than when the video data is written. For example, the marker writing process may be executed when the usage rate of the processor 11 is low.

[0099] According to the above embodiment, all the markers written in the data storage area 35B are the same data, but information that should be written in one marker may be written in multiple markers.

[0100] For example, the first information may be written in a first marker, and the second information following the first information may be written in a second marker. A plurality of first markers and a plurality of second markers may be prepared, and these plurality of first markers and second markers may be recorded in the recording medium 35 in a distributed manner, either in a certain order or in a random manner. The second marker may be located at a position away from the first marker.

[0101] The markers written in the data storage area 35B may be configured as data having different information from each other. For example, each marker may have a consecutive identification number in the arrangement order in the recording medium 35. Each marker may have information on the creation time of the corresponding marker.

[0102] Each marker may have information regarding the type of data to be stored in the area following the marker. Each marker may have information regarding the recording format of the video data to be stored in the area following the marker. Each marker may have information describing the size to the next marker.

[0103] The drive recorder 1 may employ both a method of writing markers immediately after formatting as in the first embodiment and a method of writing markers together with data to be saved as in the second embodiment. For example, a method may be considered in which markers are written to the recording medium 35 at half the target density immediately after formatting, and the remaining markers are written together with the data to be saved.

[0104] It goes without saying that the application of the technology disclosed in the above embodiment is not limited to the drive recorder 1. This technology can be applied to various electronic devices that are detachably connected to a data-writable recording medium. The recording medium is not limited to a flash memory.

[0105] The function of one component in the above embodiments may be distributed among multiple components. The functions of multiple components may be integrated into one component. Part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. At least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments. All aspects included in the technical idea identified from the wording of the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0106] 1...drive recorder, 10...control unit, 11...processor, 13...memory, 21...camera, 23...microphone, 25...image processing circuit, 30...media reader / writer, 35...recording medium, 35A...management area, 35B...data storage area, 40...display, 50...speaker, 60...input interface, 100...repair device, 110...processor, 120...memory, 130...storage, 140...user interface, 150...communication interface, 160...media reader / writer.

Claims

1. An electronic device that is detachably connected to a data-writable recording medium, a processing unit that executes a special write process for writing a plurality of pieces of special data for data recovery on the recording medium, the special write process being for writing each of the plurality of pieces of special data on the recording medium so as to disperse the data within the recording medium; An electronic device comprising:

2. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, The plurality of special data include a plurality of duplicates of the same special data, In the special writing process, a plurality of identical special data are written onto the recording medium so that the data are positioned apart from one another within the recording medium.

3. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, the recording medium includes a data storage area and a management area for managing a storage location of data stored in the data storage area; In the special write process, special data for repairing the management area is written into the data storage area as the special data.

4. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The special data includes information for identifying the type of device that uses the recording medium, or information for identifying the method of storing data on the recording medium by the device that uses the recording medium.

5. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The processing unit is configured to execute the special writing process following an initialization process on the recording medium.

6. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The processing unit repeatedly executes a write operation of generated data, which is data generated by a predetermined process, onto the recording medium, and in the special write process, the electronic device writes the multiple special data onto the recording medium by repeatedly executing an operation of writing one or more special data in conjunction with the write operation of the generated data.

7. 7. The electronic device according to claim 6, The electronic device is configured so that the processing unit repeatedly executes an operation of writing video data generated based on an input signal from a camera onto the recording medium as the operation of writing the generated data.

8. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, A setting section for setting an allocation density of the special data to be realized in each of a plurality of areas in the recording medium based on the number of times data is corrupted in each of the plurality of areas. Further comprising: An electronic device in which the processing unit writes the special data to each of the multiple areas so that the special data is scattered in each of the multiple areas in a number corresponding to the placement density set by the setting unit.

9. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, a data repair unit that selects a repair method based on the special data in the recording medium and repairs the data in the recording medium using the selected repair method; The electronic device further comprises:

10. A repair device detachably connected to the recording medium on which the plurality of special data are written by the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, A restoration device comprising: a data restoration unit that selects a restoration method based on the special data in the recording medium, and restores data in the recording medium using the selected restoration method.

11. 10. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the special write process executed by the processing unit in the electronic device according to claim 1.

12. A computer program for causing a computer to realize a function as the data recovery unit in the recovery device according to claim 10.

13. 1. A computer-implemented method for writing data, comprising the steps of: A data writing method comprising the steps of: writing a plurality of special data for data repair on a data-writable recording medium, the step of writing each of the plurality of special data on the recording medium so as to be scattered throughout the recording medium.

14. 1. A computer-implemented method for data recovery, comprising: A data repair method for selecting a repair method based on the special data in the recording medium on which the plurality of special data have been written by the data writing method according to claim 13, and repairing data in the recording medium using the selected repair method.

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