Title of Invention

REPRODUCTION APPARATUS

Abstract "REPRODUCTION APPARATUS" There is disclosed a reproduction apparatus, comprising a reading section for reading data from a recording medium; an analyzer for analyzing the data read by the reading section to separate, from the data, an audio data group having a plurality of types of audio data and a display data group having a plurality of types of display data, thereby acquiring audio reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality of types of audio data and display reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality of types of display data; an audio selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of audio data in accordance with an audio data selection signal; a display selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of display data in accordance with a display data selection signal; an audio reproducer for reproducing the audio data selected by the audio selector; a display processor for reproducing the display data selected by the display selector; and a phase controller for controlling the audio reproducer and the display processor in accordance with the audio reproduction time information and the display reproduction time information so that a reproduction time for the audio data selected by the audio selector corresponds to a reproduction time for the display data selected by the display selector.
Full Text

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention relates to a reproduction apparatus for reproducing the
data stored in a recording medium. This application is divided out of Indian Patent
Application No. 1850/CAL/96 (hereinafter referred to as "parent application").
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART:
Recently, laser disks and video CDs (compact disks) have been input into practical use as optical
recording media for storing multi-media data including
moving picture data, audio data and sub-picture data.
Among these media, video CDs are used for storing
moving picture data on a CD, having a memory capacity of
about 600 megabytes and originally used for storing
digital audio data, using MPEG. MPEG is a technology for
compressing moving picture data at a high ratio. Many
laser disks used in a variety of fields, for example,
laser disks used in "karaoke" bars to show the singer the
lyrics of the song are being replaced with video CDs.
Today, active studies are being conducted to
improve the memory capacity of optical disks. In order
to raise the memory capacity of optical disks, the diame-
ter D of a light spot on the optical disk needs to be
reduced. Where the wavelength of the laser light is k
and the numerical aperture of the objective lens is NA,
the diameter D of the light, spot is in proportion to
λ/NA. That is, the memory capacity can be higher as the
wavelength k is smaller and the numerical aperture NA is
greater.

When a lens having a greater numerical aperture
is used, frame aberration caused by tilt, which is the
relative angle of the optical axis of the optical beam
with respect to the surface of the optical disk, increas-
es as described in, for example, the United States Patent
No. 5,235,581. In order to prevent the frame aberration,
the thickness of the transparent substrate needs to be
reduced. A thinner substrate has a lower mechanical
strength, which can be effectively compensated for by
reinforcing the substrate with another substrate. The
reinforcement is more effective when the two substrates
have an identical thickness and are formed of an identi-
cal material.
Digital video disks (hereinafter, referred to as
"DVDs") are also being developed today. For reading data
from the DVD, a semiconductor laser for generating red
light having a wavelength of as short as 650 nm and an
optical system including an objective lens having a
numerical aperture of as great as 0.6 mm are used. A DVD
having a 120 mm diameter for storing 5 gigabyte data on
one side has been proposed by using the above-mentioned
semiconductor laser and optical system in combination
with a substrate having a thickness of as small as
0.6 mm.
Memory disks having such a large memory capacity
show their specific value in the field of multimedia, in
which a plurality of moving picture data, a plurality of
audio data, a plurality of graphic data and the like are
reproduced through dialogue with the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the parent application there is provided a recording medium, e.g.
in the form of an optical disc, comprising:
an audio data group having a plurality of types of audio data;
audio reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each of
the plurality of types of audio data;
a display data group having a plurality of types of display data; and
display reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each
of the plurality of types of display data,
wherein the audio reproduction time information and the display reproduction
time information are operatively interrelated to permit synchronized reproduction of a
selected one of the plurality of types of audio data and a selected one of the plurality
of types of display data, and said recording medium is capable of
interacting/cooperating with a reproduction apparatus which comprises:
a reading section for reading data from a recording medium;
an analyzer for analyzing the data read by the reading section to separate, from
the data, an audio data group and a display data group, thereby acquiring audio
reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality
of types of audio data included in the audio data group and display reproduction time
information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality of types of display
data included in the display data group;
an audio selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of audio data in
accordance with an audio data selection signal:

a display selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of display data in
accordance with a display data selection signal;
an audio reproducer for reproducing the audio data selected by the audio
selector;
a display processor for reproducing the display data selected by the display
selector; and
a phase controller for controlling the audio reproducer and the display
processor in accordance with the audio reproduction time information and the display
reproduction time information so that a reproduction time for the selected audio data
corresponds to a reproduction time for the selected display data.
In one embodiment of the invention, the audio
data group includes audio data corresponding to a first
language and audio data corresponding to a second lan-
guage different from the first language, and the display
data group includes display data representing character
information corresponding to at least one of the first
language and the second language.
In another embodiment of the invention, at least
one of the plurality of types of display data includes
bit map data.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the
bit map data is variable-length data.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the
bit map data is run-length-coded data.

According to the present invention there is provided a reproduction apparatus,
comprising:
a reading section for reading data from a recording medium;
an analyzer for analyzing the data read by the reading section to separate, from
the data, an audio data group having a plurality of types of audio data and a display
data group having a plurality of types of display data, thereby acquiring audio
reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality
of types of audio data and display reproduction time information for regulating a time
to reproduce each of the plurality of types of display data;
an audio selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of audio data in
accordance with an audio data selection signal;
a display selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of display data in
accordance with a display data selection signal;
an audio reproducer for reproducing the audio data selected by the audio
selector;
a display processor for reproducing the display data selected by the display
selector; and
a phase controller for controlling the audio reproducer and the display
processor in accordance with the audio reproduction time information and the display
reproduction time information so that a reproduction time for the audio data selected
by the audio selector corresponds to a reproduction time for the display data selected
by the display selector.
In one embodiment of the invention, the audio
data group includes audio data corresponding to a first
language and audio data corresponding to a second lan-
guage different from the first language, and the display-
data group includes display data representing character
information corresponding to at least one of the first
language and the second language.
In another embodiment of the invention, at least

one of the plurality of types of display data includes
bit map data.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the
bit map data is variable-length data.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the
bit map data is run-length-coded data, and the reproduc-
tion apparatus further comprises a run length decoder for
run-length-decoding the bit map data.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the
display data selection signal depends on the audio data
selection signal.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the
audio data group includes audio data corresponding to a
first language and audio data corresponding to a second
language different from the first language, and when the
audio data selection signal indicates that the audio data
corresponding to the first language is selected, the
display selection signal indicates that the display data
corresponding to the first language is selected.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the
phase controller adjusts the reproduction time for the
display data in relation with the audio data so that the
audio data and the display data are synchronized with
each other.
Thus, the invention described herein makes
possible the advantages of (1) providing a recording
medium and reproduction apparatus for displaying display

data synchronously with reproduction of audio data, (2)
providing a recording medium and reproduction apparatus
usable for a plurality of languages, and (3) providing a
recording medium and reproduction apparatus for display-
ing character data and also graphical image patterns.
These and other advantages of the present inven-
tion will become apparent to those skilled in the art
upon reading and understanding the following detailed
description with reference to the accompanying figures.
ACCOMPANYING
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE/DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a structure of data which can be
recorded to a recording medium according to the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a first example according to the present
invention;
Figure 3 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a second example according to the present
invention;
Figure 4 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a third example according to the present
invention;..
Figure 5 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a fourth example according to the present
invention;

Figure 6 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a fifth example according to the present
invention;
Figure 7 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a sixth another example according to the
present invention; and
Figure 8 is a block diagram of a reproduction
apparatus in a seventh example according to the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, the present invention will be
described by way of illustrative examples with reference
to the accompanying drawings.

Various types of data can be recorded in a
recording medium as one data file. For example, audio
data and display data for one title can be recorded as
one data file. Each data file includes a plurality of
types of audio data and a plurality of types of display
data. The plurality of types of audio data include, for
example, audio data in a plurality of languages such as
Japanese audio data and English audio data. The plurali-
ty of types of display data include, for example, charac-
ter data in a plurality of languages such as Japanese
character data and English character data, and also
include graphic data.
A unit of data obtained by dividing the audio

data or the display data stored in each data file by a
unit of a prescribed time period t is referred to as a
"pack". A plurality of types of audio data are packed
type by type, whereas a plurality of types of display
data are packed as one pack regardless of the type.
The audio data can be coded with one of several
different systems such as the linear PCM system used for
CDs or the like, the MPEG audio system which is an
international standard, and the AC3 system used for DVDs
or the like. The audio data is recorded in the recording
medium in the state of being coded.
(Recording medium: example 1)
Hereinafter, a first example of a recording
medium according to the present invention will be de-
scribed .
Figure 1 shows a structure of data to be recorded
in a recording medium in the first example. In this
example, the structure of the data corresponding to
three tunes (i.e., three data files) to be recorded in
the recording medium will be described.
Recording data 101 to be recorded into the
recording medium includes volume information 102 and a
plurality of files.
In the volume information 102, physical manage-
ment information of each file regarding the recording
medium, such as the recording start address and data size
of each file is stored.

Each of the plurality of files includes a manage-
ment information file 104 and a data file group 105.
The management information file 104 includes a
plurality of units of file attribute information 110. In
each unit of file attribute information 110, information
on the attributes of the corresponding data file among
the three data files is described. In the example shown
in Figure 1, the units of file attribute information
110(1) through 110(3) regarding the three data files are
described in the management information file 104.
Each unit of file attribute information 110 in-
cludes title attributes, audio data management informa-
tion 111, and display data management information 112.
In the title attributes, attributes of the data
file such as the name of the title, the order of repro-
duction, and reproduction time are described.
In the audio data management information 111,
management information on the audio data such as the
number of types of audio data, information on the types
of audio data, and reproduction time is recorded.
Recorded in, for example, the audio data management
information 111 regarding title 1 shown in Figure 1 are
(1) information that the number of the types of audio
data is 4 and (2) information on the types of audio data,
i.e., the information that represents that Japanese audio
information, English audio information, French audio
information, and German audio information are stored.
Also recorded in audio data management information 111 is
information representing the data format of the audio

data. The information representing the data format is
used to, for example, identify one of the coding systems
among the linear PCM, MPEG audio, and AC3 systems, which
was used for coding the audio data.
In the display data management information 112,
management information on the display data such as the
number of types of display data, information on the types
of display data, and reproduction time is recorded.
Recorded in, for example, the display data management
information 112 regarding title 1 shown in Figure 1 are
(1) information that the number of the types of display
data is 7 and (2) information on the types of display
data, i.e., the information that represents that Japanese
character information 1, English character information 2,
French character information 3, and German character
information 4, musical note information, logo information
and graphic information are stored. Also recorded in the
display data management information 112 is information
representing the data format of the display data. The
information representing the data format is used to, for
example, determine whether the display data (bit map
data) has been compression-coded using run length coding
or the like or non-compression-coded.
By referring to the management information file
104, a reproduction apparatus can identify the number of
titles stored in the recording medium, names of the
titles, the reproduction time, the types of the audio
data, whether display data is stored or not, the types of
the display, and the like.
When a plurality of types of display data are

stored in the recording medium, the reproduction appara-
tus can selectively output one of the plurality of types
of display data. The plurality of types of display data
can include character information in a plurality of lan-
guages. When such a recording medium is combined with a
reproduction apparatus having a function of selectively
outputting the character information in any one of a
plurality of languages, a multi-lingual system is real-
ized.
The data file group 105 includes a plurality of
data files 120 which respectively correspond to the
titles. In the example shown in Figure 1, the data files
120(1) through 120(3) correspond to the three titles.
Each data file 120 includes a plurality of
recording units 121. Each of the plurality of recording
units 121 includes packs each obtained by dividing the
audio data or the display data by a unit of prescribed
time period t. A plurality of types of audio data are
packed type by type, but a plurality of types of display
data are packed as one pack regardless of the type.
Accordingly, each recording unit 121 includes one display
data pack 123 and a plurality of audio data packs 125.
The plurality of audio data packs 125 will be collective-
ly referred to as an audio data pack group 124.
As described later in detail, the display data
pack 123 includes a display data group 135, which in-
cludes a plurality of types of display data 152.
In the case where character information and
simple graphic data are displayed as display data in a

liquid crystal display provided in a reproduction appara-
tus, the amount of the display data is smaller than the
amount of the audio data. The reason is that the amount
of the plurality of types of display data becomes
substantially equal to the amount of one audio data pack
by being packed into one pack. This facilitates manage-
ment of the data amount performed pack by pack.
The display data pack 123 includes a header 134.
In the header 134, management information for the display
data pack 123 is described. Each audio data pack 125 in-
cludes a header 132. In the header 132, management
information for the audio data pack 125 is described.
The reproduction apparatus analyzes the header of
each pack to identify an attribute of the pack. For
example, the reproduction apparatus analyzes the headers
132 of the plurality of audio data packs 125 to select
one audio data pack 125 of a prescribed type, and repro-
duces the selected audio data pack 125. Regarding the
display data, the reproduction apparatus separates the
display data pack 123 from the rest of the recording unit
121 and then analyzes the header 134 of the display data
pack 123. Thus, the reproduction apparatus selects
display data 152 of a prescribed type among the plurality
of types of display data 152 and reproduces the selected
display data 152. By performing selection of audio data
and display data in the separate processes as described
above, the audio data and display data can be selected
independently.
The recording unit 121 further includes a repro-
duction control pack 122, in which control information on

reproduction of data packs is stored. The reproduction
control pack 122 includes a header 130 and control
information 131. Described in the header 130 are, for
example, a start code for identifying the start of the
reproduction control pack 122, an identification code for
identifying that the pack is the reproduction control
pack 122, the number of packs included in the recording
unit 121, system information such as a data transfer rate
and a buffer memory size required for data reproduction,
and a data length of the control information 131.
Described in the control information 131 are, for exam-
ple, reproduction control information used for normal
reproduction, such as reproduction time, and data re-
trieval control information used for special reproduc-
tion, such as the address to be read next during the fast
reproduction.
The audio data pack 125 will now be described in
detail. Each audio data pack 125 includes the header 132
and an audio data stream 133. Described in the header
132 are, for example, a start code for identifying the
start of the audio data pack 125, an identification code
for identifying that the pack is the audio data pack 125,
an audio data identification code for identifying the
type of the audio data included in the audio data pack
125, reproduction time information 150, data format
identification information for identifying the data
format of the audio data stream 133, and a data length of
the audio data stream 133.
The reproduction apparatus identifies an audio
data pack 125 of a prescribed type by referring to the
audio data identification code stored in the header 132.

Thus, the audio data pack 125 storing, for example, the
Japanese audio data can be selectively reproduced. The
audio data stream 133 has been coded with the linear PCM,
MPEG audio, AC3 system or the like. The reproduction
apparatus identifies the data format of the audio data
stream 133 by referring to the data format identification
information stored in the header 132. In accordance with
the data format thereof, an appropriate reproduction
system of the audio data stream 133 can be selected. As
a result, audio data of a plurality of data formats can
be reproduced by one reproduction apparatus.
The display data pack 123 will now be described
in detail. The display data pack 123 includes the header
134 and a display data group 135. The display data group
135 includes the plurality of types of display data 152.
Described in the header 134 are, for example, a start
code for identifying the start of the display data pack
123, an identification code for identifying that the pack
is the display data pack 123, reproduction time informa-
tion 151, and a data length of the display data group
135.
The reproduction time information 151 stored in
the display data pack 123 and the reproduction time
information 150 stored in the audio data pack 125 are
used to reproduce and output the display data and the
audio data synchronously with each other. The reproduc-
tion time information 151 represents the time to repro-
duce the display data pack 123, and the reproduction time
information 150 represents the time to reproduce the
audio data pack 125. The reproduction apparatus controls
the display data and the audio data to be output

synchronously with each other by comparing the reproduc-
tion time information 151 stored in the display data pack
123 and the reproduction time information 150 stored in
the audio data pack 125.
As described above, the display data group 135
includes the plurality of types of display data 152, for
example, character information in a plurality of languag-
es such as Japanese character information, English
character information, French character information, and
German character information, as well as musical note
information, logo information and graphic information.
Each of the plurality of types of display data
152 includes an identification code 137, data format
identification information 138, a data length 139, and
bit map data 140. The identification code 137 is used
for identifying the type of the display data 152. The
data length 139 represents the length of the bit map data
140 described thereafter. By using the identification
code 137 and the data length 139, a desired type of
display data 152, for example, display data representing
a Japanese character string or display data representing
a musical note may be reproduced. The data format
identification information 138 is used for determining
whether the bit map data 140 has been compression-coded
using run length coding or non-compression-coded. The
reproduction apparatus selects an appropriate reproduc-
tion system in accordance with the data format identified
by referring to the data format identification informa-
tion 138. Thus, the bit map data 140 can be reproduced
and output regardless of the data format.

The audio data can represent a plurality of
languages such as Japanese, English and French. The
present invention is not limited to the types or number
of types of audio data.
The display data can represent a plurality of
character strings in a plurality of languages such as
Japanese and English. The display data can represent a
musical note corresponding to the audio data reproduced
simultaneously therewith. The display data can represent
a graphic such as a logo. The present invention is not
limited to the types or number of types of display data.
The recording medium according to the present
invention can store a plurality of types of audio data
and a plurality of types of display data in a recording
unit within a unit of prescribed time period t. For
example, when character strings in a plurality of lan-
guages of a plurality of countries are recorded in the
recording medium as display data, such a recording medium
can be commonly supplied in the plurality of countries.
From the viewpoint of software producers, such a
common recording medium has a significant effect of
eliminating a complicated procedure of producing, supply-
ing and managing software in correspondence with each of
a plurality of languages and of allowing them to produce,
supply and manage software common for the plurality of
languages.
From the viewpoint of users, such a common
recording medium, which allows them to select any of the
plurality of languages, provides a high quality user

interface.
The display data is usable for displaying graph-
ics, such as a logo, as well as characters. For example,
by reproducing the display data representing the sheet
music or musical notes of a tune stored as the audio data
synchronously with the audio data, the sheet music or
musical notes can be displayed while the tune is played.
Thus, a higher quality user interface can be provided.
The time period t used as a unit for packing is
arbitrary. For example, the time period t can be 0.5 /
second. />
The start of each pack can be matched with the
start of a recording sector having a capacity of, for
example, 2048 bytes. Thus, the recording position on the
recording medium can be managed more easily.
The size of the display data pack 123 is arbi-
trary. For example, the data size can be about 2048
bytes.
The size of the display data group 135 is arbi-
trary. It is preferable that the size of the display
data pack 123 and the size of the display data group 135
have a specific relationship. For example, when the size
of the display data pack 123 is about 2048 bytes, the
size of the display data group 135 is preferably about
2019 bytes. When the size of the display data group 135
is less than 2019 bytes, the size of the display data
group 135 is preferably adjusted by inserting stuffing
data or the like.

In the first example of a recording medium
according to the present invention, data for one title is
recorded as one data file. The present invention is not
limited to such a system. Data for one title can be
divided and recorded into a plurality of data files. In
such a case, information regarding the division (for
example, relationship between the plurality of data
files) is described in the management information file
104.
The header 134 of the display data pack 123, the
header 130 of the reproduction control pack 122, and the
header 132 of the audio data pack 125 which are described
in detail above are only exemplary, and the present
invention is not limited to such structures for the
headers. In these headers, information regarding other
data packs can be described.
(Recording medium: example 2)
A second example of a recording medium according
to the present invention will now be described.
A recording medium in the second example accord-
ing to the present invention has a structure similar to
that of the recording medium in the first example. In
the second example also, the display data pack 123 and
the audio data packs 125 are recorded in the recording
medium as shown in Figure 1. The recording medium in the
second example is different from the recording medium in
the first example in that at least one of the plurality
of types of display data 152 included in the display data
group 135 is character information corresponding to the
audio data. For example, when Japanese audio data is

recorded, a Japanese character string can be recorded as
at least one of the plurality of types of display data
152 in the display data group 135. For example, lyrics

or liner notes in the same language as that of the music
software can be recorded as display data 152. According-
ly, data in a plurality of languages can be stored in one
recording medium as display data.
From the viewpoint of software producers, such a
common recording medium has a significant effect, for
example, as described in the first example. From the
viewpoint of users, such a common recording medium, which
allows them to selectively display lyrics of a song in
any of the plurality of languages, provides a high
quality user interface.
(Recording medium: example 3)
A third example of a recording medium according
to the present invention will now be described.
A recording medium in the third example according
to the present invention has a structure similar to that
of the recording medium in the first example. In the
third example also, the display data pack 123 and the
audio data packs 125 are recorded in the recording medium
as shown in Figure 1. The recording medium in the third
example is different from that of the first example in
that the display data is level-sliced bit map data which
is generated by run length coding. The bit map data has
been coded using an MR or MMR coding, both of which are
standard coding systems for level sliced image data By
using such coded display data, redundancy of information
can be efficiently reduced. Thus, a limited recording

capacity in the recording medium can be effectively used.
Such effective use of the recording capacity increases,
for example, available recording time, data amount allo-
cated for audio data, and types of recordable display
data. The bit map data can be coded using any run length
coding system in lieu of the MR or MMR coding. In the
recording medium in the third example, data format
identification information 138 is not required.
The recording medium in the third example can
additionally have a start code for identifying the start
of each type of display data 152 in the display data
group 135. In this case, one type of the display data
152 can be selected without the data length 139 repre-
senting the length of the following bit map data 140.
In the first through third examples, the audio
data can be compression-coded or non-compression-coded.
There is no specific limitation regarding the coding
system.
An optical disk can be used as the recording
medium, but the recording medium according to the present
invention is not limited to an optical disk.
When an optical disk is used as the recording
medium, the optical disk can have a thickness of 0.6 mm,
but a recording medium according to the present invention
can have an arbitrary thickness.
An optical disk used as the recording medium can
be a one-sided optical disk which allows data to be
recorded on one side or a two-sided optical disk which

allows data to be recorded on two sides. Alternatively,
an optical disk allowing data to be recorded in a plural-
ity of layers can be used.
Data to be recorded to the recording medium can
include video data or any other type of data.
Reproduction apparatus>
Hereinafter, a reproduction apparatus according
to the present invention will now be described with
reference to Figures 2 through 8.
(Reproduction apparatus: example 1)
Figure 2 shows a structure of a first example of
a reproduction apparatus according to the present inven-
tion. The reproduction apparatus in the first example
(Figure 2) reproduces audio data and display data stored
in an optical disk 201. The optical disk 201 is a
recording medium according to the present invention,
which has the structure shown in Figure 1.
The operation of the reproduction apparatus in
the first example (Figure 2) will now be described.
Data recorded to the optical disk 201 is read by
a reading head 202. A reproduction signal processor 203
demodulates the read data and performs error correction.
The data processed by the reproduction signal processor
203 is first accumulated in a memory 204. The memory 204
is used for stabilizing the effective speed of data
transfer to improve the data transfer efficiency. The
data accumulated in the memory 204 are sequentially input
to a demultiplexer 205.

The demultiplexer 205 identifies audio data and
display data included in the recorded data and outputs
the audio data and the display data separately. As
described above, the optical disk 201 stores data as
shown in Figure 1. The demultiplexer 205 identifies the
identification code described in the header 132 of each
of the plurality of audio data packs 125 and the identi-
fication code described in the header 134 of the display
data pack 123 to separate the audio data and the display
data from each other. The audio data packs 125 separated
from the display data packs 123 by the demultiplexer 205
are input to an audio data selector 207. The display
data pack 123 separated from the audio data pack 125 by
the demultiplexer 205 is input to an display data selec-
tor 206.
The audio data selector 207 selectively outputs
one audio data pack 125 out of the plurality of types of
audio data packs 125 in accordance with a control signal
generated by a first external control signal generator
212. For example, when the audio data packs 125 corre-
sponding to a plurality of languages such as Japanese,
English, French and German are stored as shown in Figure
1, the audio data selector 207 selectively outputs the
audio data pack 125 corresponding to one specific lan-
guage (for example, English) out of the plurality of
languages.
The audio data selector 207 identifies the types
of the audio data packs 125 by referring to the identifi-
cation code stored in the header 132 of each audio data
pack 125 to selectively output the audio data pack 125 of
a specific type.

The selection of the audio data pack 125 can be
performed by any appropriate method. For example, the
user can input a command representing the type of the
desired audio data pack 125 from outside the reproduction
apparatus so that the audio data pack 125 of the type
corresponding to the command can be selected. Alterna-
tively, the type of the audio data pack 125 to be select-
ed can be fixed in advance.
The audio data pack 125 selected by the audio
data selector 207 is reproduced by an audio reproducer
208 and output by a speaker 210.
The display data selector 206 selectively outputs
one type of display data 152 out of the plurality of
types of display data 152 included in the display data
group 135 in accordance with a control signal generated
by a second external control signal generator 213. For
example, when the plurality of types of display data 152
corresponding to a plurality of languages such as Japa-
nese, English, French and German are stored as shown in
Figure 1, the display data selector 206 selectively
outputs one type of display data 152 corresponding to one
specific language (for example, English) out of the
plurality of types of display data 152.
The display data selector 206 identifies the
types of display data 152 by referring to the identifica-
tion code 137 stored in each type of the display data 152
and selectively outputs the bit map data 140 correspond-
ing to the selected display data 152.
The selection of the display data 152 can be per-

formed by any appropriate method. For example, the user
can input a command representing the desired type of
display data 152 from outside the reproduction apparatus
so that the display data 152 of the type corresponding to
the command can be selected. Alternatively, the type of
the display data 152 to be selected can be fixed in
advance.
The bit map data 140 corresponding to the desired
type of display data 152 selected by the display data
selector 206 is processed by a bit map display processor
209 and displayed by a liquid crystal display 211.
In the reproduction apparatus in the first
example (Figure 2), a specific type of display data 152
can be selectively displayed from a recording medium
storing a plurality of types of display data 152. For
example, when a plurality of types of display data 152
corresponding to a plurality of languages are stored in
the optical disk, the type of display data 152 specified
by a control signal generated by a second external
control signal generator 213 is selectively displayed.
Thus, software corresponding to a plurality of languages
can be processed by one reproduction apparatus.
In the case where character data is recorded into
a recording medium using a prescribed character code, the
character data can be recorded at a high compression
ratio. However, in order to process software correspond-
ing to a plurality of languages, a reproduction apparatus
needs to have a ROM for storing a plurality of look-up
tables respectively corresponding to the plurality of
languages. Storing a plurality of look-up tables enlarg-

es the hardware and thus increases the production cost.
If a reproduction apparatus is provided for each of the
plurality of languages, reproduction apparatuses of
different types need to be produced separately. This
raises the production cost and requires complicated and
troublesome supply and management procedures.
By contrast, a recording medium according to the

present invention can store bit map data in lieu of
character data as display data. A reproduction apparatus
according to the present invention selectively reproduces
bit map data corresponding to a specific language out of
bit map data stored in the recording medium corresponding
to a plurality of languages. According to the present
invention, a significant benefit can be obtained in that
one reproduction apparatus which can support a plurality
of languages without enlarging the hardware is produced
and supplied.
Since the bit map data is used as display data,
graphic patterns such as sheet music of music software
can be displayed relatively easily as well as character
data. Thus, the reproduction apparatus according to the.
present invention can provide a high quality user inter- face.
(Reproduction apparatus: example 2)
Figure 3 shows a structure of a second example of
a reproduction apparatus according to the present inven-
tion. In the reproduction apparatus in the second
example (Figure 3), a prescribed type of audio data pack
125 is selected by the audio data selector 207, and a
prescribed type of display data 152 is selected by the

display data selector 206 as in the reproduction appara-
tus in the first example (Figure 2). The reproduction
apparatus in the second example (Figure 3) is different
from the reproduction apparatus in the first example
(Figure 2) in including a reference clock generator 302
and a phase controller 301.
The phase controller 301 controls an audio repro-
ducer 308 for reproducing the selected audio data pack
125 and a bit map display processor 309 for displaying
the selected display data 152. Thus, the phase control-
ler 301 controls the reproduction time of the audio data
and the reproduction time of the display data in accor-
dance with a reference clock generated by the reference
clock generator 302.
In other words, the phase controller 301 controls
the audio reproducer 308 and the bit map display proces-
sor 309 so that the display data is displayed in the same
time period in which the audio data is reproduced. For
example, when the audio data pack 125 is 0.5 second long,
the phase controller 301 controls the bit map display
processor 309 so that the display data 152 corresponding
to the selected audio data pack 125 is displayed for 0.5
second. Furthermore, the phase controller 301 controls
the audio reproducer 308 and the bit map display proces-
sor 309 so that when the audio reproducer 308 starts
reproducing the subseguent audio data pack 125, the bit
map display processor 309 simultaneously starts display-
ing the subseguent display data 152 corresponding to the
above-mentioned subsequent audio data pack 125.
By reproducing the audio data and the display

data synchronously with each other, the display data can
be displayed as a moving picture. For example, data
representing lyrics or sheet music of a tune can be
displayed along with the tune represented by the audio
data. Thus, the reproduction apparatus in the second
example (Figure 3) provides a high quality user inter-
face.
(Reproduction apparatus: example 3)
Figure 4 shows a structure of a third example of
a reproduction apparatus according to the present inven-
tion. In the reproduction apparatus in the third example
(Figure 4), a prescribed type of audio data pack 125 is
selected by the audio data selector 207, and a prescribed
type of display data 152 is selected by the display data
selector 206 as in the reproduction apparatus in the
first example (Figure 2). The reproduction apparatus in
the third example (Figure 4) is different from the repro-
duction apparatus in the first example (Figure 2) in that
the bit map data 140 included in the selected display
data 152 is decoded using run length decoding.
A run length decoder 401 decodes the bit map data
140 included in the display data 152 coded by run length
coding. A memory 402 accumulates the decoded bit map
data 140 therein. A driver 403 drives the liquid crystal
display 211 based on the information accumulated in the
memory 402 to display the display data 152.
In the reproduction apparatus in the third
example (Figure 4), display data efficiently coded by run
length coding can be decoded to be displayed. Such a
reproduction apparatus can reproduce data efficiently

stored in a recording medium having a limited memory
capacity.
Any appropriate system can be used for run length
coding. For example, MR or MMR system can be used, both
of which are standard systems for level-sliced image
data.
(Reproduction apparatus: example 4)
Figure 5 shows a structure of a fourth example of
a reproduction apparatus according to the present inven-
tion. In the reproduction apparatus in the fourth
example (Figure 5), the bit map data 140 of the desired
display data 152 is decoded by the run length decoder 401
as in the reproduction apparatus in the third example
(Figure 4). The reproduction apparatus in the fourth
example (Figure 5). is different from the reproduction
apparatus in the third example (Figure 4) in including a
reference clock generator 502 and a phase controller 501.
The phase controller 501 controls an audio
reproducer 508 for reproducing the selected audio data
pack 125 and a driver 503 for displaying the selected
display data 152. Thus, the phase controller 501 con-
trols the reproduction time of the audio data and the
reproduction time of the display data in accordance with
a reference clock generated by the reference clock
generator 502.
In other words, the phase controller 501 controls
the audio reproducer 508 and the driver 503 so that the
display data is displayed in the same time period in
which the audio data is reproduced. For example, when

the audio data pack 125 is 0.5 second long, the phase
controller 501 controls the driver 503 so that the
display data 152 corresponding to the selected audio data
pack 125 is displayed for 0.5 second. Furthermore, the
phase controller 501 controls the audio reproducer 508
and the driver 503 so that when the audio reproducer 508
starts reproducing the subsequent audio data pack 125,
the driver 503 simultaneously starts displaying the
following display data 152 corresponding to the above-
mentioned subsequent audio data pack 125.
By reproducing the audio data and the display
data synchronously with each other, the display data can
be displayed as a moving picture. For example, data
representing lyrics or sheet music of a tune can be
displayed along with the tune represented by the audio
data. Thus, the reproduction apparatus in the fourth
example (Figure 5) provides a high quality user inter-
face.
(Reproduction apparatus: example 5)
Figure 6 shows a structure of a fifth example of
a reproduction apparatus according to the present inven-
tion. In the reproduction apparatus in the fifth example
(Figure 6), the bit map data 140 of a prescribed type of
display data 152 is decoded by the run length decoder 401
as in the reproduction apparatus in the third example
(Figure 4). The reproduction apparatus in the fifth
example (Figure 6) is different from the reproduction
apparatus in the third example (Figure 4) in that a
second external control signal generator 601 operates in
a different manner from the second external signal
generator 213.

The second external control signal generator 601
outputs a second external control signal, which depends
on a first external control signal output by the first
external control signal generator 212 for selecting the
audio data.
For example, when the first external control
signal generator 212 outputs a first external control
signal which instructs the audio data selector 207 to
select English audio data, the second external control
signal generator 601 outputs a second external control
signal which instructs the display data selector 206 to
select display data representing an English character
string.
In the reproduction apparatus in the fifth
example (Figure 6), the display data depending on the
selected audio data can be selectively displayed. For
example, when audio data representing an English song is
selected, display data representing an English character
string can be displayed. Thus, software corresponding to
a plurality of languages can be processed by one
reproduction apparatus.
The second external control signal generator 601
can output a second external control signal in accordance
with a command which is input from outside the reproduc-
tion apparatus in the fifth example (Figure 6). For
example, the second external control signal generator 601
can be set so that display data corresponding to the
audio data is automatically selected to be displayed
unless the user inputs a command, and so that when the
user inputs a command, a specific type of display data

corresponding to the command is selectively displayed.
Thus, the reproduction apparatus in the fifth example
(Figure 6) provides a high quality user interface.
(Reproduction apparatus: example 6)
Figure 7 shows a structure of a sixth example of
a reproduction apparatus according to the present inven-
tion. In the reproduction apparatus in the sixth example
(Figure 7), the bit map data 140 of a prescribed type of
desired display data 152 is decoded by the run length
decoder 401, and the reproduction time for the audio data
and the reproduction time for the display data are
controlled by the phase controller 501 as in the
reproduction apparatus in the fourth example (Figure 5).
The reproduction apparatus in the sixth example (Figure
7) is different from the reproduction apparatus in the
fourth example (Figure 5) in that a second external
control signal generator 601 operates in a different
manner from the second external signal generator 213.
The second external control signal generator 601
outputs a second external control signal, which depends
on a first external control signal output by the first
external control signal generator 212 for selecting the
audio data.
For example, when the first external control
signal generator 212 outputs a first external control
signal which instructs the audio data selector 207 to
select English audio data, the second external control
signal generator 601 outputs a second external control
signal which instructs the display data selector 206 to
select display data representing an English character

string.
In the reproduction apparatus in the sixth
example (Figure 7), the display data depending on the
selected audio data can be selectively displayed. For
example, when audio data representing an English song is
selected, display data representing an English character
string can be displayed. Thus, software corresponding to
a plurality of languages can be processed by one
reproduction apparatus.
By reproducing the audio data and the display
data synchronously with each other, the display data can
be displayed as a moving picture. For example, data
representing lyrics or sheet music of a tune can be
displayed along with the tune represented by the audio
data. Thus, the reproduction apparatus in the sixth
example (Figure 7) provides a high quality user inter-
face.
The second external control signal generator 601
can output a second external control signal in accordance
with a command which is input from outside the reproduc-
tion apparatus in the sixth example (Figure 7). For
example, the second external control signal generator 601
can be set so that display data corresponding to the
audio data is automatically selected to be displayed
unless the user inputs a command, and so that when the
user inputs a command, a specific type of display data
corresponding to the command is selectively displayed.
Thus, the reproduction apparatus in the sixth example
(Figure 7) provides a higher quality user interface.

(Reproduction apparatus: example 7)
Figure 8 shows a structure of a seventh example
of a reproduction apparatus according to the present
invention. The reproduction apparatus in the seventh
example (Figure 8) reproduces audio data and display data
stored in an optical disk 801. The optical disk 801 is
a recording medium according to the present invention,
which has the structure shown in Figure 1.
The operation of the reproduction apparatus in
the seventh example (Figure 8) will be described with
reference to Figures 1 and 8.
A system controller 825 is provided for control-
ling each of a plurality of sections in the reproduction
apparatus shown in Figure 8. The system controller 825
outputs a control signal for controlling each section of
the reproduction apparatus in accordance with an external
control signal input by the user and control information
stored in the optical disk 801.
Data recorded to the optical disk 801 is read by
a reading head 802. The reading head 802 reads data in
accordance with an actuator 803 which is controlled by
the system controller 825. The read data is demodulated
and treated with error correction by a reproduction
signal processor 804. A data divider 805 divides the
data output from the reproduction signal processor 804
into the volume information 102, the management informa-
tion file 104, and data files 120 in accordance with an
instruction from the system controller 825. The volume
information 102 is input to a volume information proces-
sor 808. The management information file 104 is input to

a management information file processor 807. Each data
file 120 is input to a buffer memory 806.
When reproduction of the optical disk 801 starts,
the volume information 102 is first identified by the
volume information processor 808. Then, based on the
volume information 102 identified, an address in the
optical disk 801 at which the management information file
104 is recorded is specified.
The system controller 825 controls the actuator
803 to read the management information file 104 recorded
in the specified address. The management information
file 104 read by the actuator 803 is analyzed by the
management information file processor 807. By this
analysis, the titles stored in the optical disk 801,
reproduction time, the number of types of audio data,
whether display data is stored or not, the types of
display data, and the like are identified. Such
information is provided to the user. For example, such
information is displayed on a liquid crystal display 820.
The liquid crystal display 820 is controlled by the
overall control signal output from the system controller
825.
Referring to such information, a request for
selecting a desired type of audio data and display data
is input to the reproduction apparatus by, for example,
the user. Then, the request is supplied to the system
controller 825 as an external control signal.
The system controller 825 drives an audio data
selection control signal generator 814 for generating a

control signal for selecting audio data and also drives
a display data selection control signal generator 815 for
generating a control signal for selecting display data.
Selection of audio data and display data will be de-
scribed later.
When an external control signal is not generated
by the user or the like, audio data and display data can
be selected based on a prescribed initial condition.
The external control signal includes information
which specifies the title to be reproduced. Such infor-
mation is identified by the system controller 825. Then,
the system controller 825 controls the actuator 803 to
read the data file 120 storing the title specified by the
external control signal from the optical disk 801. The
read data file 120 is accumulated in the buffer memory
806.
The system controller 825 monitors the amount of
data occupying the buffer memory 806 and controls data
reading so as to avoid underflow or overflow of the
buffer memory 806. By using the buffer memory 806 in
this manner, the effective speed of data transfer can be
stabilized and the data transfer efficiency can be
improved.
The data file 120 accumulated by the buffer
memory 806 is input to a pack analyzer 809. The pack
analyzer 809 analyzes the recording unit 121 included in
the data file 120 to divide the recording unit 121 into
the reproduction control pack 122, the display data pack
123, and the audio data pack group 124. Each pack or the

pack group is analyzed by identifying the start of the
pack with the start code included in the header of the
pack and analyzing the rest of the information stored in
the header. The recording unit 121 is divided into the
packs 122, 123 and 124 by identifying the identification
code stored in the header of each pack or the pack group.
The reproduction time information 150 stored in the
header 132 of each audio data pack 125 and reproduction
time information 151 stored in the header 134 of the
display data pack 123 are input to a phase controller
823.
The reproduction control pack 122 separated from
the rest of the recording unit 121 is input to a
reproduction control analyzer 810. The reproduction
control analyzer 810 reads the system information,
reproduction control information, and data retrieval
information described in the reproduction control pack
122. Such information is input to the system controller
825. The system controller 825 controls reproduction, by
referring to such information.
The audio data pack group 124 is input to an
audio data selector 811. The audio data selector 811
selectively outputs a prescribed audio data pack 125 out
of the plurality of audio data packs 125 included in the
audio data pack group 124 in accordance with a control
signal output from an audio data selection control signal
generator 814. The prescribed audio data pack 125 is
identified by referring to an audio data identification
code described in the header 130. For example, when
reproduction of Japanese audio data is requested, the
audio data pack 125 storing the Japanese audio data is

identified by referring to the audio data identification
code, and the identified audio data pack 125 is selec-
tively output.
The audio data pack 125 selectively output is
reproduced by an audio reproducer 821 and is output to a
speaker 822 as an audio signal. The audio reproducer 821
identifies the data format of the audio data stream 133
by referring to data format identification information
stored in the header 130 of the audio data pack 125, and
reproduces the audio data in accordance with the data
format. Thus, data coded with one of a plurality of
coding systems such as the linear PCM, MPEG audio, or AC3
systems can be reproduced by one audio reproducer 821.
The display data pack 123 separated from the rest
of the recording unit 121 is input to a display data
analyzer 813 and also to a display data selector 812.
The display data analyzer 813 analyzes the identification
code 137, the data format identification information 138
and the data length 139 of each of a plurality of types
of display data 152 of the display data group 135 includ-
ed in the display data pack 123. Thus, the types of the
display data such as Japanese character data, English
character data, and musical note data are identified.
Also, the data format which indicates whether the bit map
data of each type of display data has been compression-
coded by using run length coding or non-compression-coded
is identified.
The display data selector 812 selectively outputs
a desired type of display data 152 based on an analysis
result of the , display data analyzer 813 and a control

signal generated by the display data selection control
signal generator 815. The display data analyzer 813
controls a switch 816 in accordance with the analysis
result. When the display data 152 has been run-length-
coded, the switch 816 is controlled to cause the display
data 152 to be input to a run length decoder 817. The
display data 152 which has been run-length-coded is
decoded by the run length decoder 817. The bit map data
140 of the decoded display data 152 is accumulated in a
memory 818. When the bit map data 140 of the display
data 152 has been non-compression-coded, the switch 816
is controlled to cause the display data 152 to be input
to the memory 818 and bypass the run length decoder 817.
The bit map data 140 of the display data 152
accumulated in the memory 818 is input to a driver 819.
The driver 819 drives the liquid crystal display 820 so
that the bit map data 140 is displayed by the liquid
crystal display 820.
The audio reproducer 821 and the driver 819 are
controlled by the phase controller 823. The phase
controller 823 controls the reproduction time for the
audio data and the reproduction time for the display data
in accordance with the reproduction time information 150
in the audio data pack 125, the reproduction time infor-
mation 151 of the display data pack 123, and a reference
clock generated by a reference clock generator 824. In
other words, the phase controller 823 controls the audio
reproducer 821 and the driver 819 so that the reproduc-
tion time for the audio data and the reproduction time
for the display data, corresponding to the audio data,
match.

The audio data and the display data are synchro-
nized by adjusting the reproduction time for the display
data so as to be synchronized with the reproduction time
for the audio data. The reproduction time for the
display data is adjusted by using the memory 818.
The display data can be characters or simple
graphic information such as musical notes. The charac-
ters and the graphic information are displayed in a
liquid crystal display. Accordingly, the amount of the
display data is smaller than that of the audio data. The
display data can be displayed by a simpler process than
reproduction of the audio data. The display data can be
transferred and also processed in a shorter period of
time than the display data, thereby allowing the repro- duction time for the display data to be adjusted in rela-
tion to the reproduction time for the audio data. As a
result, the audio data and the display data can be
synchronized with each other.
Since the amount of the display data is smaller
than that of the audio data as described above, the size
of the buffer memory 818 which is required for adjusting
the reproduction time for the display data can be smaller
than the size of the buffer memory which is required for
adjusting the reproduction time for the audio data.
Accordingly, the production cost of the reproduction
apparatus in the seventh example (Figure 8) can be re-
duced.
By reproducing the audio data and the display
data synchronously with each other, the display data can
be displayed as a moving picture. For example, data

representing lyrics or sheet music of a tune can be
displayed along with the tune represented by the audio
data. Thus, the reproduction apparatus in the seventh
example (Figure 8) provides a high quality user inter-
face.
In the above-described reproduction apparatuses
according to the present invention, the optical disks 201
and 801 can be replaced with an arbitrary recording
medium. The present invention is not limited to any
specific type of recording medium.
The optical disks 201 and 801 can each have a
thickness of 0.6 mm, but a recording medium according to
the present invention can have an arbitrary thickness.
An optical disk used as the recording medium can
be a one-sided optical disk which allows data to be
recorded on one side or a two-sided optical disk which
allows data to be recorded on two sides. Alternatively,
an optical disk allowing data to be recorded in a plural-
ity of layers can be used.
The reproduction apparatus can include a single
reading head 202 or a plurality of reading heads 202.
When a plurality of reading heads 202 are provided, the
data can be read in parallel.
The reproduction apparatus can be a recording and
reproduction apparatus additionally having a function of
recording data onto the recording medium.
The audio data can be compression-coded or non-

compression-coded. Regarding the compression coding
system, there is no specific limitation.
The liquid crystal displays 211 and 820 can be
replaced with an arbitrary display which can display bit
map data. The present invention is not limited to any
specific type of display.
The data to be recorded in the recording medium
can include video data or any other type of data.
By a recording medium and a reproduction appara-
tus according to the present invention, display data can
be displayed synchronously with the audio data
corresponding to the display data, based on information
on reproduction time for the audio data and information
on reproduction time for the display data. For example,
lyrics or sheet music of a tune can be displayed along
the tune represented by the audio data. As appreciated
from this, a reproduction apparatus according to the
present invention provides a high quality user interface.
Furthermore, when a recording medium and a
reproduction apparatus according to the present invention
are used, one of a plurality of types of audio data can
be selectively reproduced, and one of a plurality of
types of display data can be selectively displayed. By
this function, for example, an English character string
can be displayed while music software in English is
reproduced, and a Japanese character string can be
displayed while music software in Japanese is reproduced.
Thus, software corresponding to a plurality of languages
can be processed by one reproduction apparatus.

From the viewpoint of software producers, such a
common recording medium has a significant effect of
eliminating a complicated procedure of producing, supply-
ing and managing software in correspondence with each of
a plurality of languages and of allowing them to produce,
supply and manage software common for the plurality of
languages more efficiently. From the viewpoint of users,
such a common recording medium, which allows them to
select any of the plurality of languages, is easier to
use.
Moreover, a recording medium and a reproduction
apparatus according to the present invention use bit map
data as display data. Since a ROM for storing a look-up
table, which is required when a character code is used,
can be eliminated, the scale of the circuitry of the
reproduction apparatus can be smaller. A smaller size of
the circuitry becomes more advantageous as the reproduc-
tion apparatus supports more languages. The use of bit
map data provides another advantage that data represent-
ing logos or musical notes, which cannot be represented
by a character code, can be displayed.
Various other modifications will be apparent to
and can be readily made by those skilled in the art
without departing from the scope and spirit of this
invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the
scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the
description as set forth herein, but rather that the
claims be broadly construed.

WE CLAIM:
1. A reproduction apparatus, comprising:
a reading section for reading data from a recording medium;
an analyzer for analyzing the data read by the reading section to separate, from
the data, an audio data group having a plurality of types of audio data and a display
data group having a plurality of types of display data, thereby acquiring audio
reproduction time information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality
of types of audio data and display reproduction time information for regulating a time
to reproduce each of the plurality of types of display data;
an audio selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of audio data in
accordance with an audio data selection signal;
a display selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of display data in
accordance with a display data selection signal;
an audio reproducer for reproducing the audio data selected by the audio
selector; a display processor for reproducing the display data selected by the display
selector; and
a phase controller for controlling the audio reproducer and the display
processor in accordance with the audio reproduction time information and the display
reproduction time information so that a reproduction time for the audio data selected
by the audio selector corresponds to a reproduction time for the display data selected
by the display selector.

2. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the audio data
group comprises audio data corresponding to a first language and audio data
corresponding to a second language different from the first language, and the
display data group comprises display data representing character information
corresponding to at least one of the first language and the second language.
3. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of types of display data comprises bit map data.
4
4. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the bit map data
is variable-length data.
5. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the bit map data
is run-length-coded data, and the reproduction apparatus is provided with a run
length decoder for run-length-decoding the bit map data.
6. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display data
selection signal depends on the audio data selection signal.
7. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the audio data
group comprises audio data corresponding to a first language and audio data
corresponding to a second language different from the first language, and in the
event of the audio data selection signal indicating selection of the audio data
corresponding to the first language, the display selection signal is caused to
indicate selection of the display data corresponding to the first language.

8. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the phase
controller is adapted to adjust the reproduction time for the display data in
relation with the audio data so that the audio data and the display data are
synchronized with each other.
9. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the
plurality of types of audio data is packed into an audio data pack having a
prescribed size, and the display data group is packed into a display data pack
having the prescribed size.
10. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the audio
reproduction time information is provided in header information of the audio data
pack, and the display reproduction time information is provided in header
information of the display data pack.
11. A reproduction apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the analyzer is
adapted to acquire the audio reproduction time information by analyzing the
header information in the. audio data pack, and is adapted to acquire the display
reproduction time information by analyzing the header information in the display
data pack.



ABSTRACT
"REPRODUCTION APPARATUS"
There is disclosed a reproduction apparatus, comprising a reading section for
reading data from a recording medium; an analyzer for analyzing the data read by the
reading section to separate, from the data, an audio data group having a plurality of
types of audio data and a display data group having a plurality of types of display data,
thereby acquiring audio reproduction time information for regulating a time to
reproduce each of the plurality of types of audio data and display reproduction time
information for regulating a time to reproduce each of the plurality of types of display
data; an audio selector for selecting one of the plurality of types of audio data in
accordance with an audio data selection signal; a display selector for selecting one of
the plurality of types of display data in accordance with a display data selection signal;
an audio reproducer for reproducing the audio data selected by the audio selector; a
display processor for reproducing the display data selected by the display selector; and
a phase controller for controlling the audio reproducer and the display processor in
accordance with the audio reproduction time information and the display reproduction
time information so that a reproduction time for the audio data selected by the audio
selector corresponds to a reproduction time for the display data selected by the display
selector.

Documents:

530-KOL-2003-(04-09-2012)-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

530-KOL-2003-(11-05-2012)-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

530-kol-2003-abstract.pdf

530-kol-2003-claims.pdf

530-KOL-2003-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

530-kol-2003-description (complete).pdf

530-kol-2003-drawings.pdf

530-KOL-2003-EXAMINATION REPORT 1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-examination report.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 1-1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 1.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 13.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 2-1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 2.pdf

530-KOL-2003-FORM 3 1.2.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 3-1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 3.pdf

530-KOL-2003-FORM 5 1.2.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 5-1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-form 5.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GPA 1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-gpa.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-ABSTRACT.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-CLAIMS.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-DRAWINGS.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-FORM 1.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-FORM 2.pdf

530-KOL-2003-GRANTED-SPECIFICATION.pdf

530-kol-2003-notarial certificate.pdf

530-kol-2003-priority document.pdf

530-KOL-2003-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT .1.2.pdf

530-kol-2003-reply to examination report-1.1.pdf

530-kol-2003-reply to examination report.pdf

530-kol-2003-specification.pdf

530-kol-2003-translated copy of priority document.pdf


Patent Number 253163
Indian Patent Application Number 530/KOL/2003
PG Journal Number 27/2012
Publication Date 06-Jul-2012
Grant Date 29-Jun-2012
Date of Filing 13-Oct-2003
Name of Patentee MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO. LTD.
Applicant Address 1006 OHAZA KADOMA, KADOMA-SHI, OSAKA 571, JAPAN
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 HIDEKI FUKUDA 3-9-406, MOKENZAKA KATANO-SHI, OSAKA , JAPAN
2 YOSHIHISA FUKUSHIMA 6-14-C-508, SEKIME, JOTO-KU, OSAKA-SHI OSAKA, JAPAN
3 KAZUHIRO YAMANISHI 6-63, TAMATE-CHO KASHIWARA-SHI, OSAKA, JAPAN
PCT International Classification Number H04N 1/00
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 7-275318 1995-10-24 Japan