Automotive computing devices with emergency power shut down capabilities
First Claim
1. An automotive computing device memory system comprising:
- non-volatile storage means for holding object store pages for an automotive computing device;
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) means, operably associated with the non-volatile storage means, for receiving object store pages;
static random access memory (SRAM) means, operably associated with the non-volatile memory and configured for connection to a battery, for preserving one or more object pages in the event of an automotive power loss;
battery means for providing backup power to the SRAM; and
circuit means for detecting a power loss and responsive thereto operably coupling the battery with the SRAM in the event of an automotive power loss.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for operating automotive computing devices are described. In one embodiment, a small amount of static RAM (SRAM) is incorporated into an automotive computing device. The SRAM is battery-backed to provide a non-volatile memory space in which critical data can be maintained in the event of a power loss. Circuitry is provided to ensure that the SRAM receives back up power from the battery at the appropriate time. Software manages the SRAM and the other storage assembly components and makes use of virtual paging or virtual addressing techniques to keep track of where various pages, including object store pages, are stored in the system. The software knows exactly where all of the object store pages are stored so that in the event of a power loss, the page locations are known and hence the pages can be used when power is restored.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. An automotive computing device memory system comprising:
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non-volatile storage means for holding object store pages for an automotive computing device;
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) means, operably associated with the non-volatile storage means, for receiving object store pages;
static random access memory (SRAM) means, operably associated with the non-volatile memory and configured for connection to a battery, for preserving one or more object pages in the event of an automotive power loss;
battery means for providing backup power to the SRAM; and
circuit means for detecting a power loss and responsive thereto operably coupling the battery with the SRAM in the event of an automotive power loss.
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2. An automotive computing device comprising:
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one or more microprocessors configured to be powered by a automotive voltage source;
static random access memory (SRAM) operably coupled with the one or more microprocessors, the SRAM being configured to receive one or more pages, under the influence of the one or more microprocessors, from one or more of non-volatile storage or volatile storage that can be carried by an automotive vehicle; and
a backup battery couplable with the SRAM to provide power in the event that the automotive voltage source drops out of regulation. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computing device comprising:
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one or more SRAMs;
one or more backup batteries; and
power control circuitry configured to;
detect when a voltage powering the one or more SRAMs has dropped out of regulation; and
automatically incorporate the one or more backup batteries to power the one or more SRAMs, wherein the computing device is compatible with an automobile. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computing system comprising:
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one or more backup batteries;
one or more SRAMs selectively couplable to the one or more backup batteries and configured to hold one or more pages that have been written to in the computing system, the one or more backup batteries being provided so that they can be coupled to the SRAM in an event of an abrupt power shut downs, wherein the computing system is compatible with an automobile. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. An automotive computing system comprising:
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one or more microprocessors configured to be powered by a vehicle voltage source;
non-volatile storage coupled with the one or more microprocessors and configured to hold one or more object store pages for the computing system;
volatile storage coupled with the one or more microprocessors and configured to hold one or more object store pages that it receives from the non-volatile storage;
static random access memory (SRAM) operably coupled with the one or more microprocessors, the SRAM being configured to receive one or more pages, under the influence of the one or more microprocessors, from one or more of the non-volatile storage or volatile storage;
a backup battery couplable with the SRAM to provide power in the event that a voltage rail associated with the voltage source drops out of regulation;
low voltage detection circuitry operably coupled with the one or more microprocessors and configured to detect when the voltage rail drops below a predetermined value and generate a signal to the one or more microprocessors indicating the same; and
power control circuitry configured to;
detect when the voltage rail drops out of regulation; and
automatically incorporate the backup battery to power the SRAM. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. An automotive computing device data preservation method comprising:
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detecting when a voltage associated with operation of an automotive vehicle drops out of regulation;
responsive to said detecting, placing an SRAM carried on the automotive vehicle in a low power state; and
backing up the SRAM with a backup battery. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. An automotive computing device data preservation method comprising:
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detecting an abrupt automotive vehicle power shut down;
responsive to said detecting, placing an SRAM carried on the automotive vehicle in a low power state; and
backing up the SRAM in its low power state with a backup battery. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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34. An automotive computing device data preservation method comprising:
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maintaining an object store for the computing device in flash memory that is carried by an automotive vehicle;
writing pages of the object store into DRAM that is carried by the automotive vehicle;
writing pages of the DRAM into SRAM that is carried by the automotive vehicle in the event the DRAM pages are attempted to be written to; and
battery-backing the SRAM in the event of an abrupt power shut down condition. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of operating an automotive computing device comprising:
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providing an automotive computing device having flash memory that can contain read only pages, DRAM for holding pages from the flash memory, and SRAM for holding DRAM pages that are written to;
detecting when a voltage powering the SRAM drops out of regulation;
placing the SRAM in a low power state responsive to said voltage dropping out of regulation; and
backing up the SRAM with a backup battery. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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Specification