Pseudo-erasable and rewritable write-once optical disk memory system

Abstract

A write-once, read-many optical data storage system which includes an optical disk to which data is written such that a host data system having access to the optical data storage system is enabled to access any one of a predetermined number of logical addresses for storing data at a selected logical address whether or not data had previously been stored at that logical address. The write-once optical disk includes at least one recording surface divided into a plurality of storage segments, including a plurality of sequential data storage segments, each having a host data portion and a logical address portion, and having the physical location of each said data storage segment on said optical disk represented by a physical address different from the physical address of any other data storage segment on said disk, and a plurality of sequential mapping segments, each having a logical address portion. The optical data storage system further will write each successive host data received from the host system to the host data portion of a next sequential data storage segment not previously written to, and will write to the logical address portion of said next sequential data storage segment the logical address specified by said host system for said host data. The logical address portion is further written of the next sequential unwritten mapping segment the logical address specified by said host data system for said host data.