# US 6,138,203 A · Information processing apparatus and method enabling a write-once recording medium to be utilized as a rewriteable recording medium

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- Number: US 6,138,203 A
- Document ID: US6138203A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/860,614
- Filed: 1997-09-23
- Granted: 2000-10-24
- Earliest claimed: 1995-11-10
- Assignees: Sony Corporation
- Inventors: Tatsuya Inokuchi; Osamu Udagawa; Yasuyoshi Kaneko
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US6138203A

## CPC

- G11B 27/329: {on a disc [VTOC]}
- G06F 3/0601: {Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems}
- G06F 3/0638: {Organizing or formatting or addressing of data}
- G06F 3/0653: {Monitoring storage devices or systems}
- G06F 3/0677: {Optical disk device, e.g. CD-ROM, DVD}
- G11B 7/085: with provision for moving the light beam into, or out of, its operative position {or across tracks, otherwise than during the transducing operation, e.g. for adjustment or preliminary positioning or track change or selection}
- G11B 20/10: Digital recording or reproducing
- G11B 20/1252: {for discontinuous data, e.g. digital information signals or computer program data}
- G11B 27/034: on discs (G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence)
- G11B 20/1217: {on discs}
- G11B 2020/10907: {using pseudo-overwriting, i.e. virtually or logically overwriting data on WORM media by remapping recorded blocks to alternate areas}
- G11B 2220/213: Read-only discs
- G11B 2220/218: Write-once discs
- G11B 2220/2545: CDs
- G11B: INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER (recording measured values in a way that does not require playback through a transducer G01D9/00; recording or playback apparatus using mechanically marked tape, e.g. punched paper tape, or using unit records, e.g. punched or magnetically marked cards G06K; transferring data from one type of record carrier to another G06K1/18; circuits for coupling output of reproducer to radio receiver H04B1/20; gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers or circuits therefor H04R)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)

## Abstract

An information processing apparatus and information processing method enables a write once type disc to be used as a rewritable recording medium. There can be realized an address control mechanism wherein even if the physical recording position is changed, the logical address of the same block is not changed by controlling the physical recording position on the recording medium on an imaginary address space in correspondence to the logical address. Thus the write once type recording medium can be realized as a rewritable recording medium. In addition, by monitoring the writable residual capacity, the recording medium can record data which is made or being updated in the memory.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An information processing apparatus comprising:
control means for allowing a physical position of file data which is recorded on a write-once medium to correspond to a logical position, generating a correspondence table between the logical position and the physical position thereby controlling, upon the physical position being changed, the correspondence relation between the logical position and the physical position after the change;
recording means for recording the file data in a memory and element data of the correspondence table to the write-once medium as written data;
calculating means for calculating a writable residual capacity of the medium based on a whole recordable capacity recorded on the write-once medium and a recordable residual capacity from a last physical position which is currently recorded on the write-once medium;
comparing means for comparing an amount of the written data in the memory with the writable residual capacity of the medium to determine a surplus; and
outputting means for outputting a surplus detection result when the surplus is detected,
wherein the recording means records the written data in the memory on the write-once medium when the surplus detection result is output.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the information processing apparatus provides warning means to display a predetermined display means when the surplus detection result is output.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the medium is a write once type recording medium, the written data includes format information necessary for a writable recording medium.

### Claim 4

An information processing apparatus comprising:
control means for allowing a physical position of file data which is recorded on a medium to correspond to a logical position, generating a correspondence table between the logical position and the physical position thereby controlling, upon the physical position being changed, the correspondence relation between the logical position and the physical position after the change;
recording means for recording the file data in a memory and element data of the correspondence table as written data;
calculating means for calculating a writable residual capacity of the medium;
comparing means for comparing an amount of the written data in the memory with the writable residual capacity of the medium to determine a surplus;
outputting means for outputting a surplus detection result when the surplus is detected;
file information table generating means for generating a plurality of file information tables for housing a plurality of corresponding information items showing a correspondence relation between key information showing a logical position of the file data and the physical position of the file data designated by the key information on the medium;
index table generating means for generating an index table showing file information tables respectively housing each of the key information out of the plurality of file information tables; and
control table generating means for generating a control table showing a physical recording position on the medium of the index table and the plurality of the file information table the file information, index, and control tables are controlled on the memory as data elements.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the key information is a sequence key number and a block number intrinsically attached to the file data.

### Claim 6

An information processing method comprising the steps of:
allowing a physical position of file data which is recorded on a write-once medium to correspond to a logical position, generating a correspondence table between the logical position and the physical position thereby controlling, upon the physical position being changed, the correspondence relation between the logical position and the physical position after the change;
recording the file data in a memory and element data of the correspondence table to the write-once medium as written data;
calculating a writable residual capacity on the medium based on a whole recordable capacity recorded on the write-once medium and a recordable residual capacity from a last physical position which is currently recorded on the write-once medium;
comparing the writable residual capacity on the medium with the written data amount in the memory; and
outputting a surplus detection result when the comparing means shows a surplus of the written amount,
wherein the recording means records the written data in the memory on the write-once medium when the surplus detection result is output.