Nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability
First Claim
1. A nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability, comprising:
- a plurality of clusters, each of said clusters having a plurality of sectors;
each of said clusters having a cluster information sector for storing management information relative to the respective one of said clusters, said cluster information sector holding attribute information for said cluster information sector;
each of said clusters having a data area including data sectors for storing user data, said data area being at a location other than said cluster information sector, each of said data sectors holding attribute information for said data sectors; and
a cluster information copy sector in said data area in a first one of said clusters for storing a copy of said management information relative to a second one of said clusters, said cluster information copy sector holding an identifier of the second cluster and attribute information for said cluster information copy sector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability includes a plurality of clusters each having a plurality of sectors, each of the sectors holding the attribute information for identification. A cluster information sector is placed at the top of a cluster to which it belongs. A data sector is placed in a data area which is the region other than the top of the cluster. A controller connected to the nonvolatile memory creates a cluster information copy sector when erasing a cluster, and reconstructs cluster management information from the cluster information copy sector when initializing a cluster, thereby forming a cluster information sector. Accordingly, endurance against failure such as power failure in a solid state file apparatus using the nonvolatile memory is improved.
148 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability, comprising:
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a plurality of clusters, each of said clusters having a plurality of sectors; each of said clusters having a cluster information sector for storing management information relative to the respective one of said clusters, said cluster information sector holding attribute information for said cluster information sector; each of said clusters having a data area including data sectors for storing user data, said data area being at a location other than said cluster information sector, each of said data sectors holding attribute information for said data sectors; and a cluster information copy sector in said data area in a first one of said clusters for storing a copy of said management information relative to a second one of said clusters, said cluster information copy sector holding an identifier of the second cluster and attribute information for said cluster information copy sector.
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2. A nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability, comprising:
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a plurality of clusters, each of said clusters having a plurality of sectors; each of said clusters having a cluster information sector for storing management information relative to the respective one of said clusters, said cluster information sector holding a cluster erase count, a bad sector map and attribute information for said cluster information sector; and each of said clusters having a data area including data sectors for storing user data, said data area being at a location other than said cluster information sector, each of said data sectors holding attribute information for said data sectors. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability, comprising:
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a plurality of clusters, each of said clusters having a plurality of sectors; each of said clusters having a cluster information sector for storing management information relative to the respective one of said clusters, said cluster information sector holding attribute information for said cluster information sector; each of said clusters having a data area including data sectors for storing user data, said data area being at a location other than said cluster information sector, each of said data sectors holding attribute information for said data sectors; each of said clusters having a plurality of blocks, each of said blocks being a physical erase unit and including a plurality of pages; a predetermined one of said pages of a first portion of said blocks included in a given one of said clusters being allocated to a first portion of said cluster information sector of the given cluster, a predetermined one of said pages of a second portion of said blocks included in the given cluster being allocated to a second portion of said cluster information sector of the given cluster; and said management information for the given cluster being written in duplicate in the first and second portions of said cluster information sector of the given cluster. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A method of controlling a solid state file apparatus having a controller and a nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability, said nonvolatile memory having a plurality of clusters, each of said clusters having a cluster information sector for storing management information relative to the respective one of said clusters, said cluster information sector holding attribute information for said cluster information sector, each of said clusters having a data area including data sectors for storing user data, said data area being at a location other than said cluster information sector, each of
said data sectors holding attribute information for said data sectors, said method comprising the steps of: -
reading said management information in said cluster information sector of a first one of said clusters prior to erasure of the first cluster; writing, in a cluster information copy sector in said data area of a second one of said clusters other than the first cluster, an identifier of the first cluster and said management information in said cluster information sector of the first cluster, and setting in the second cluster attribute information for said cluster information copy sector. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 15)
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12. A method of controlling a solid state file apparatus having a controller and a nonvolatile memory with flash erase capability, said nonvolatile memory having a plurality of clusters, each of said clusters having a cluster information sector for storing management information including a bad sector map for the respective one of said clusters, said cluster information sector holding attribute information for said cluster information sector, each of said clusters having a data area including data sectors for storing user data, said data area being at a location other than said cluster information sector, each of said data sectors holding attribute information for said data sectors, said method comprising the steps of:
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writing said user data into a first one of said clusters; and writing, when a bad sector in a given one of said clusters is detected, an identifier of the given cluster, an identifier of said bad sector, and an cluster erase count into a bad information sector of the first cluster, and setting in the first cluster attribute information for said bad information sector. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 16)
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Specification