Partial block data programming and reading operations in a non-volatile memory
First Claim
1. A method of simultaneously storing original and replacement data in a non-volatile memory system, comprising:
- identifying the original and replacement data by the same logical address, and distinguishing the replacement data from the original data by keeping track of the relative times that the original and replacement data have been programmed into the memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Data in less than all of the pages of a non-volatile memory block are updated by programming the new data in unused pages of either the same or another block. In order to prevent having to copy unchanged pages of data into the new block, or to program flags into superceded pages of data, the pages of new data are identified by the same logical address as the pages of data which they superceded and a time stamp is added to note when each page was written. When reading the data, the most recent pages of data are used and the older superceded pages of data are ignored. This technique is also applied to metablocks that include one block from each of several different units of a memory array, by directing all page updates to a single unused block in one of the units.
77 Citations
3 Claims
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1. A method of simultaneously storing original and replacement data in a non-volatile memory system, comprising:
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identifying the original and replacement data by the same logical address, and distinguishing the replacement data from the original data by keeping track of the relative times that the original and replacement data have been programmed into the memory.
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2. In a non-volatile memory system having a plurality of blocks of memory storage elements that are individually organized into a plurality of pages of memory storage elements, a method of substituting new data for superceded data within at least one page of one of the plurality of blocks while data in at least another page of said one block is not replaced, comprising:
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programming the new data into at least one page of said one or another of the plurality of blocks, identifying the at least one page of superceded data and the at least one page of new data by a common logical address, and recording a relative time of programming the new and the superceded data. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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Specification