MEMORY DEVICE AND COMPUTER SYSTEM

• US 20140244904A1
• Filed: 08/02/2013
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kunimatsu, Atsushi, Shiraishi, Atsushi, KONDO, Nobuhiro
• Application Number:
  US13/957,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20140244904A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1684 using multiple buses

Abstract

A memory device according to an embodiment includes a non-volatile storage device from which data is read and to which data is written, an interface that is connected to the host device by a multiple upstream lanes and/or a multiple downstream lanes and performs data communication in both directions with the host device, and a memory controller. The memory controller changes a connection state of each lane on the basis of lane settings which are determined on the basis of at least one of an amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of data when the data is transmitted between the memory device and the host device.

Claims

1. A memory device comprising:

a non-volatile storage device from which data is read and to which data is written in response to a request from a host device;

an interface that is connected to the host device by a multiple upstream lanes and/or a multiple downstream lanes and performs data communication in both directions with the host device; and

a memory controller that controls the non-volatile storage device and the interface,

wherein the memory controller includes a lane change unit that changes a connection state of each lane on the basis of lane settings which are used for communication with the host device and are determined on the basis of at least one of an amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of data when the data is transmitted between the memory device and the host device.

2. The memory device according to claim 1,

wherein the memory controller further includes a data transmission determining unit that determines at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data on the basis of a data transmission command transmitted from the host device and determines the lane settings used for the communication with the host device on the basis of at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data, and

the lane change unit changes the connection state of the lanes on the basis of the lane settings determined by the data transmission determining unit.

3. The memory device according to claim 1,

wherein the lane change unit changes the connection state of the lanes on the basis of the lane settings transmitted from the host device.

4. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein the data transmission determining unit sets the lane settings to an initial state before the data communication with the host device, and

the data transmission determining unit changes the lane settings such that the number of lanes is more than that in the initial state when the amount of data transmitted is greater than a predetermined value or the sequentiality of the data is greater than a predetermined value.

5. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein, when the lane settings are changed such that the number of lanes is more than that in an initial state, the data transmission determining unit changes the lane settings to the initial state after the data communication is completed.

6. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein the data transmission determining unit checks whether the lane settings are in the initial state after the data communication is completed, regardless of whether the lane settings are changed during the data communication, and

the data transmission determining unit changes the lane settings to the initial state when the lane settings are not in the initial state.

7. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein the data transmission determining unit determines the lane settings before the data communication starts, and

the lane change unit changes the connection state of each lane before the data communication starts.

8. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein the data transmission determining unit determines the lane settings after the data communication starts, and

the lane change unit changes the connection state of each lane during the data communication.

9. The memory device according to claim 8,

wherein the lane change unit changes the connection state of each lane at a time when the data communication is cut off and resumes the data communication after the connection state of each lane is changed.

10. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein, when the data communication is performed to read the data, the data transmission determining unit increases the number of connections of the lanes used to read the data, thereby changing the lane settings.

11. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein, when the data communication is performed to write the data, the data transmission determining unit increases the number of connections of the lanes used to write the data, thereby changing the lane settings.

12. The memory device according to claim 2,

wherein the data transmission determining unit determines a first lane which is constantly connected and a second lane which is changed the lane settings on the basis of at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data,

the data transmission command is received by the first lane, and

when the data communication is performed, the data transmission determining unit determines whether to set the second lane as a lane which is used for communication with the host device, on the basis of at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data.

13. The memory device according to claim 1,

wherein the memory device is a UFS device, and

the host device is a UFS host that supports the UFS device.

14. The memory device according to claim 13,

wherein, when the number of lanes used for the data communication is increased, the data transmission determining unit increases the number of lanes for setting a power state of M-PHY to a Fast/Slow state.

15. A computer system comprising:

a host device; and

a memory device that performs data communication in both directions with the host device,

wherein the memory device includes;

a non-volatile storage device from which data is read and to which data is written in response to a request from a host device;

a first interface that is connected to the host device by a multiple upstream lanes and/or a multiple downstream lanes and performs the data communication with the host device; and

a memory controller that controls the non-volatile storage device and the first interface,

the memory controller includes a first lane change unit that changes a connection state of each lane in the first interface, on the basis of lane settings which are used for communication with the host device and are determined on the basis of at least one of an amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of data during the data transmission with the host device, and

the host device includes;

a second interface that is connected to the memory device by the multiple lanes and performs data communication with the memory device; and

a second lane change unit that changes the connection state of each lane in the second interface on the basis of the lane settings.

16. The computer system according to claim 15,

wherein the memory controller further includes a first data transmission determining unit that determines at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data on the basis of a data transmission command transmitted from the host device and determines the lane settings used for the communication with the host device on the basis of at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data, and

the first and second lane change units change the connection state of the lanes on the basis of the lane settings determined by the first data transmission determining unit.

17. The computer system according to claim 15,

wherein the host device further includes a second data transmission determining unit that determines at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data on the basis of a data transmission command transmitted to the memory device and determines the lane settings used for communication with the memory device on the basis of at least one of the amount of data transmitted and the sequentiality of the data, and

the first and second lane change units change the connection state of the lanes on the basis of the lane settings determined by the second data transmission determining unit.

18. The computer system according to claim 16,

wherein the first data transmission determining unit sets the lane settings to an initial state before the data communication with the host device, and

the data transmission determining unit changes the lane settings such that the number of lanes is more than that in the initial state when the amount of data transmitted is greater than a predetermined value or the sequentiality of the data is greater than a predetermined value.

19. The computer system according to claim 16,

wherein, when the lane settings are changed such that the number of lanes is more than that in the initial state, the first data transmission determining unit changes the lane settings to the initial state after the data communication is completed.

20. The computer system according to claim 16,

wherein the first data transmission determining unit checks whether the lane settings are in the initial state after the data communication is completed, regardless of whether the lane settings are changed during the data communication, and

the first data transmission determining unit changes the lane settings to the initial state when the lane settings are not in the initial state.