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Single-Chip USB Controller Reading Power-On Boot Code from Integrated Flash Memory for User Storage

  • US 20050120146A1
  • Filed: 12/02/2003
  • Published: 06/02/2005
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) single-chip flash device comprising:

  • a USB flash microcontroller having a central processing unit (CPU) for executing instructions and a random-access memory (RAM) for storing instructions for execution by the CPU;

    a serial engine in the USB flash microcontroller for receiving USB packets from a host over a host USB bus;

    a flash-memory controller in the USB flash microcontroller;

    flash mass storage blocks, coupled to the flash-memory controller, for storing non-volatile data for the host, the data in the flash mass storage blocks being block-addressable and not randomly-addressable; and

    a flash bus having parallel data lines for transferring data from the flash-memory controller to the flash mass storage blocks, the flash bus also carrying a command to the flash mass storage blocks over the parallel data lines and also carrying a flash address over the parallel data lines;

    wherein a block of data in the flash mass storage blocks is addressable by the flash-memory controller sending the command and a physical address over the parallel data lines, the command and the physical address being used to transfer the block of data over the parallel data lines as a plurality of data words transferred in a plurality of bus cycles;

    whereby the USB flash microcontroller is integrated with the flash mass storage blocks that are block-addressable.

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