MEMORY-ACCESS METHOD USING BATCH COMMAND QUEUE AND ASSOCIATED CONTROLLER

• US 20160077759A1
• Filed: 06/12/2015
• Published: 03/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Inventors: Hsiao, Chih-Hsiang, LI, Yun-Ching
• Granted Patent: US 9,886,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1668 Details of memory controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0685 Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/1063 Control signal output circuits, e.g. status or busy flags, feedback command signals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A controller and a memory-access method for use in the controller are provided. The controller includes a sensor-processing system, and the sensor-processing system includes a memory, and a buffer, wherein the controller is coupled to an external memory and a sensor. The method includes the steps of: gathering the sensor data from the sensor and writing the gathered sensor data into the memory; writing information associated with the sensor data into the buffer; determining whether a fill level of the buffer has reached a predetermined threshold; and retrieving the sensor data from the memory and writing the retrieved sensor data to the external memory according to the information associated with the stored sensor data in the buffer when it is determined that the fill level has reached the predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. A controller, comprising:

a sensor-processing system, comprising;

a memory;

a buffer; and

a processor, configured to gather the sensor data from at least one sensor, store the sensor data into the memory, and write information associated with the stored sensor data in the buffer; and

a control unit, configured to determine whether a fill level of the buffer has reached a predetermined threshold,

wherein when the control unit determines that the fill level has reached the predetermined threshold, the controller retrieves the sensor data from the memory and writes the retrieved sensor data to an external memory according to the information associated with the stored sensor data in the buffer.

2. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold is programmable.

3. The controller as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a memory controller for controlling access to the external memory; and

an infrastructure communicating between the memory controller and the sensor-processing system,

wherein the control unit transmits the retrieved sensor data and the information associated with the retrieved sensor data to the memory controller through the infrastructure, and the memory controller writes the retrieved sensor data into the external memory according to the information associated with the retrieved sensor data.

4. The controller as claimed in claim 3, wherein the information associated with the sensor data comprises a first memory address where the sensor data is stored in the memory.

5. The controller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the information further comprises a tag and a size of each piece of the sensor data.

6. The controller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control unit further writes pointer information associated with the sensor data, and a total size of the sensor data in the buffer.

7. The controller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control unit further writes each data-access request corresponding to the sensor data into a batch command queue in the buffer, and the control unit retrieves the batch command queue and transmits the batch command queue to the memory controller when the controller determines that the fill level has reached the predetermined threshold.

8. The controller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control unit further turns off power to the external memory when the fill level of the buffer has not reached the predetermined threshold, and the control unit further turns on power to the external memory before the memory controller writes the retrieved sensor data to the external memory.

9. The controller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control unit further turns off power to the external memory and the infrastructure upon completion of writing the sensor data to the external memory.

12. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller further comprises a memory controller for controlling access to the external memory, and an infrastructure communicating between the memory controller and the sensor-processing system, and the method further comprises:

transmitting the retrieved sensor data and the information associated with the retrieved sensor data to the memory controller through the infrastructure;

writing the retrieved sensor data into the external memory according to the information associated with the retrieved sensor data by the memory controller

17. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

turning off power to the external memory and the infrastructure when the fill level of the buffer has not reached the predetermined threshold; and

turning on power to the external memory and the infrastructure before the memory controller writes the retrieved sensor data to the external memory.

18. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising:

turning off power to the external memory and the infrastructure upon completion of writing the sensor data to the external memory.

10. A memory-access method for use in a controller, wherein the controller memory, and a buffer, wherein the controller is coupled to an external memory and a sensor, the method comprising:

gathering the sensor data from the sensor and writing the gathered sensor data into the memory;

writing information associated with the sensor data into the buffer;

determining whether a fill level of the buffer has reached a predetermined threshold; and

retrieving the sensor data from the memory and writing the retrieved sensor data to the external memory according to the information associated with the stored sensor data in the buffer when it is determined that the fill level has reached the predetermined threshold.

11. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the predetermined threshold is programmable.

13. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the information associated with the sensor data comprises a first memory address where the sensor data is stored in the memory.

14. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the information further comprises a tag and a size of each piece of the sensor data.

15. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

writing pointer information of the sensor data, and the total size of the sensor data in the buffer.

16. The memory-access method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

writing each data-access request corresponding to the sensor data into a batch command queue in the buffer; and

retrieving the batch command queue and transmitting the batch command queue to the memory controller when it is determined that the fill level has reached the predetermined threshold.