WIRELESS MASS STORAGE FLASH MEMORY

• US 20090239468A1
• Filed: 03/18/2008
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monterey Research, LLC (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Spansion LLC (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: He, Xiaojie, Racino, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,528 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1458 by checking the subject access rights
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys

Abstract

Systems and/or methods are presented that can facilitate access of a memory device by the use of wireless communication technologies. A memory module is presented which combines memory with a wireless adapter component and a memory controller component to facilitate the wireless transmission and reception of data and/or commands from and to host component that requests access to the memory and the data stored therein. The memory module can dynamically switch between one wireless communication technology to another based on signal strength, signal quality, the distance between the memory module and a host component, power usage, as well as other criteria to facilitate an optimal data transmission or throughput rate.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates wireless access of data, comprising:

a memory module comprising a plurality of memory locations to facilitate data storage, wherein the memory module facilitates wireless communication of data between the memory module and at least one host component based in part on a predetermined criteria; and

the at least one host component that facilitates communication with the memory module via a wireless connection.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data is transferred between the memory module and two or more host components at the same or substantially the same time.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory module acts as a host or central broadcasting point.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the access point (AP) component facilitates wireless communication between the memory module and a local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN).

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless adapter component that facilitates wireless communication between the memory module and the at least one host component utilizes at least one of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Zigbee, or a combination thereof, to wirelessly transfer the data between the memory module and the at least one host component.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an antenna component that facilitates the conversion of the data from electrical signals to electromagnetic waves and the conversion of electromagnetic waves to electrical signals.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a power source component, wherein the power source component facilitates the supply of power to memory module and components contained therein to facilitate the wireless transfer of the data.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a power regulator component that can facilitate the regulation of one or more voltages or currents to one or more components contained in the memory module.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

a buffer component to buffer the data to facilitate the wireless transfer of the data, or

a queuing component that facilitates queuing requests or commands associated with the wireless transfer of the data between the memory module and the at least one host component.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined criteria is related to an amount of remaining power associated with the memory module, a strength of a wireless signal between the memory module and the at least one host component, respective transmission speeds associated with different types of wireless communication, a number of host components that are in communication with the memory module, an amount of interference associated with a particular wireless communication, the signal quality of a particular wireless communication, or a combination thereof.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory module comprises at least one authentication component that facilitates restriction of access to the data, wherein access to the data is granted upon presentation of authentication credentials associated with the at least one host component.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory module comprises a cryptographic component that facilitates at least one of encryption or decryption of the data that is wireless transferred between the memory module and the at least one memory module.

14. An electronic device comprising the system of claim 1.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, the electronic device is one of a computer, a cellular phone, a digital phone, a video device, a smart card, a personal digital assistant, a television, an electronic game, a digital camera, an electronic organizer, an audio player, an audio recorder, an electronic device associated with digital rights management, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card, a trusted platform module (TPM), an electronic control unit associated with a motor vehicle, a global positioning satellite (GPS) device, an electronic device associated with an airplane, an electronic device associated with an industrial control system, a Hardware Security Module (HSM), a set-top box, a secure memory device with computational capabilities, or an electronic device with at least one tamper-resistant chip.

2. The system of claim 2, wherein data is transferred between the memory module and one host component that utilizes a wireless protocol to transfer the data between the memory module and the one host component in an ad-hoc or peer-to-peer configuration.

16. A method that facilitates wirelessly communicating data, comprising:

establishing a wireless communication link between a memory module and at least one host component based in part on a predetermined criteria to facilitate a wireless transfer of data; and

transferring the data between the memory module and the at least one host component via the wireless communication link.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

placing the memory module within wireless communication range of the at least one host component;

selecting a wireless protocol to transfer the data between the memory module and the at least one host component;

receiving authentication information from the at least one host component; and

granting access to the data associated with the memory module based on the received authentication information.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

monitoring for the availability of other wireless communication protocols;

determining the optimal wireless communication protocol available; and

selecting the optimal wireless communication protocol available to facilitate transfers between the memory module and the at least one host component.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving at least one of;

a request to read the data from the memory module, or

a request to write data to the memory module;

encrypting the data that is read from the memory module; and

decrypting the data that is written to the memory module.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the predetermined criteria is related to an amount of remaining power associated with the memory module, a strength of a wireless signal between the memory module and the at least one host component, respective transmission speeds associated with different types of wireless communication, a number of host components that are in communication with the memory module, an amount of interference associated with a particular wireless communication protocol, the signal quality of a particular wireless communication protocol, or a combination thereof.