Method and apparatus for dynamically configuring redundant area of non-volatile memory

• US 20050002234A1
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genesys Logic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Genesys Logic Incorporated
• Inventors: Yang, Cheng-Chih
• Granted Patent: US 7,187,613 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 365/185.90
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/82 for EEPROMs

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for dynamically configuring the redundant areas of a non-volatile memory. The method configures each page of a memory into a plurality of data areas and a plurality of redundant areas. The redundant areas interleave the data areas, or are arranged behind any data area. The system information and the status information is programmed into each data area of the page according to the original status information, so as to allow the flash drive to load a data area and an associated redundant area for each access operation with a smaller buffer.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically configuring a plurality of redundant areas of a non-volatile memory, said non-volatile memory comprising a plurality of blocks, with each block having a plurality of pages, said method comprising:

reading an original status information of each memory block;

configuring each page of each block into a plurality of data areas and a plurality of redundant areas; and

programming the status information in the redundant areas according to the original status information.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said configuring step further comprises interleaving said redundant areas with said data areas.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said non-volatile memory is accessed by the size of the data area.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a step of accessing a page of said pages with a plurality of separate accesses for said data areas of said page.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said non-volatile memory is a flash memory.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said configuring step comprises allocating said redundant areas adjacently and allocating said data areas behind said redundant areas.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each page comprises four data areas and four associated redundant areas.

8. A USB flash drive, comprising:

a flash memory; and

a USB controller, comprising;

a ROM, preprogrammed with a firmware;

a RAM;

a buffer unit;

a microprocessor, coupled to said ROM, said RAM, and said buffer unit;

a serial interface engine, coupled to said buffer unit;

a USB physical layer circuit, coupled to said serial interface engine for transceiving a USB differential signal; and

a direct memory access unit, coupled to said buffer unit and said flash memory, for accessing said flash memory,

wherein said microprocessor cooperates with said firmware to access a page in said flash memory with a plurality of burst accesses.

9. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 8, wherein said flash memory comprises a plurality of blocks, and each blocks comprises a plurality of pages.

10. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 8, further comprising an error correction code unit, coupled to said direct memory access unit and said buffer, for correcting errors.

11. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 8 further comprising an EEPROM, coupled to said controller, for storing basic setting.

12. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 8, wherein said buffer unit comprises a pair of buffers for ping-pong buffering.

13. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 9, wherein each page comprises a plurality of data areas and a plurality of redundant areas, and wherein said redundant areas associate with said data areas respectively.

14. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 9, wherein each page comprises a plurality of data areas and a plurality of redundant areas, and wherein each redundant area is arranged behind an associated data area of said data areas.

15. The USB flash drive as claimed in claim 14, wherein each redundant area comprises a status byte.

16. A method for dynamically configuring redundant areas of a non-volatile memory, said non-volatile memory comprising a plurality of blocks, with each block having a plurality of pages, said method comprising the steps of:

configuring each page into a plurality of data areas and a plurality of redundant areas;

interleaving said redundant areas with said data areas; and

programming a status information into each redundant area.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said redundant areas interleave with said data areas.

18. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said non-volatile is accessed by the size of the data area.

19. The method as claimed in claim 16 further comprising a step of accessing a page with with a plurality of separate accesses for said data areas of said page.

20. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein each page comprises four data areas and four redundant areas.