Storing a Driver for Controlling a Memory

• US 20080065814A1
• Filed: 09/12/2006
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Cornwell, Michael J., Dudte, Christopher P., Norum, Carl
• Granted Patent: US 8,001,314 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

Systems and techniques for accessing a memory, such as a NAND or NOR flash memory, involve storing an operating application for a computing device in a first memory and storing a driver containing software operable to control the first memory in a second memory that is independently accessible from the first memory. By storing the driver in a second memory that is independently accessible from the first memory, changes to the driver and/or the first memory can be made without altering the operating application.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing an operating application for a computing device in a first memory; and

storing a driver containing software operable to control the first memory in a second memory that is independently accessible from the first memory.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first memory comprises a NAND flash memory.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second memory comprises a NOR flash memory.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising loading the driver from the NOR flash memory in response to a start up of the computing device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing the driver to load the operating application.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the driver is executed from the second memory.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

loading the driver into a third memory; and

executing the driver from the third memory.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the third memory is a random access memory.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing the driver from the second memory using execution in place techniques.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing the driver for accessing user data stored on the first memory.

11. An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions for causing data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

accessing a driver stored in a first nonvolatile memory;

loading the driver into a second memory; and

executing the driver to access an application stored in a third nonvolatile memory that is independently accessible from the first nonvolatile memory.

12. The article of claim 11 wherein the first memory comprises a NOR flash.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the second memory comprises a random access memory.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the third memory comprises a NAND flash.

15. A method comprising:

producing a first plurality of computing devices having a first nonvolatile memory and a second nonvolatile memory that is independently accessible from the first nonvolatile memory, wherein the computing devices are produced using a first supply of the first nonvolatile memories;

storing an operating application in the first nonvolatile memory of each of the first plurality of computing devices;

storing a first driver, containing software for accessing the first nonvolatile memory, in the second nonvolatile memory of each of the first plurality of computing devices;

producing a second plurality of computing devices having a first nonvolatile memory and a second nonvolatile memory that is independently accessible from the first nonvolatile memory, wherein the computing devices are produced using a second supply of the first nonvolatile memories that use a different driver from the first nonvolatile memories in the first supply;

storing the operating application in the first nonvolatile memory of each of the second plurality of computing devices; and

storing a second driver, containing software for accessing the first nonvolatile memory, in the second nonvolatile memory of each of the second plurality of computing devices.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first nonvolatile memory is a NAND flash.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the second nonvolatile memory comprises a NOR flash.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the second nonvolatile memory comprises a serially connected flash.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the first driver and the second driver are each operable to control access to the operating application and user data stored on the first nonvolatile memory for the respective first and second supplies of the first nonvolatile memories.

20. A system comprising:

a first flash memory storing an operating application;

a second flash memory storing a driver operable to control access to the first flash memory;

a host processor operable to execute the driver stored in the first flash memory to control access to the first flash memory.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the host processor is operable to load the driver from the first flash memory into a random access memory.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the host processor is operable to execute the driver stored in the first flash memory using execution in place.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein the host processor is operable to use the driver to load the operating application into a random access memory connected to the host processor and to execute the operating application to control operations of the system.

24. The system of claim 20 wherein the second flash memory comprises a NOR flash memory.

25. A system comprising:

means for storing an operating application for a computing device;

means for storing a driver containing software to operable to control access to the means for storing the operating application; and

means for executing the driver to control access to the means for storing the operating application.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the means for storing the operating application further stores user data and the means for executing the driver controls access to the user data stored on the means for storing the operating application.