Methods of end of life calculation for non-volatile memories
First Claim
1. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
- operating the memory system over a period of time;
maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time;
providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells;
subsequent to providing said indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime, further operating the memory system;
monitoring the usage pattern of the memory system during said further operating the memory system; and
adjusting the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on said usage pattern.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and methods are given for providing information on the amount of life remaining for a memory having a limited lifespan, such as a flash memory card. For example, it can provide a user with the amount of the memory'"'"'s expected remaining lifetime in real time units (i.e., hours or days) or as a percentage of estimated initial life. An end of life warning can also be provided. In a particular embodiment, the amount of remaining life (either as a percentage or in real time units) can be based on the average number of erases per block, but augmented by the number of spare blocks or other parameters, so that an end of life warning is given if either the expected amount of remaining life falls below a certain level or the number of spare blocks falls below a safe level.
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Citations
70 Claims
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1. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells; subsequent to providing said indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime, further operating the memory system; monitoring the usage pattern of the memory system during said further operating the memory system; and adjusting the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on said usage pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein the memory system is attached to a host and wherein the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system is additionally based on the host'"'"'s peak write rate to the memory system.
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5. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein the rewrite process of the memory cells includes being erased prior to data content being rewritten and said parameter is average number of erases to which the memory cells have been subjected.
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6. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein said parameter is a cyclic wear leveling pointer.
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7. A method operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein the indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime is provided as a percentage of total expected lifetime of the memory system.
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8. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein the indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime is provided in units of real time. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of operating a memory system having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing an indication of the expected amount of retaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein, in response to the expected amount of remaining lifetime reaching a predetermined value, the memory changes operating behavior. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of operating a system including a host and a memory system for use with the host and having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, the method comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining on the memory system a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; providing from the memory system to the host an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells; and providing status of said indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system to a user of the host, wherein said status is provided as a status bar display.
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17. A method of operating a system including a host and a memory system for use with the host and having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, the method comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining on the memory system a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; providing from the memory system to the host an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells; subsequent to providing said indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime to the host, further operating the memory system; monitoring the usage pattern of the memory system during said further operating the memory system; and adjusting the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on said usage pattern. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A method of operating a system including a host and a memory system for use with the host and having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, the method comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining on the memory system a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing from the memory system to the host an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system is additionally based on the host'"'"'s peak write rate to the memory system.
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21. A method of operating a system including a host and a memory system for use with the host and having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, the method comprising:
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operating the memory system over a period of time; maintaining on the memory system a parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells undergo during said period of time; and providing from the memory system to the host an indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the number of rewrites the memory cells, wherein the indication of the expected amount of remaining lifetime is provided in units of real time. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of operating a memory system for use with a host and having a plurality of rewritable memory cells, comprising:
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operating the memory system over a first period of time; maintaining a parameter indicative of the wear of the memory cells during said first period of time; determining an expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the wear of the memory cells during said first period of time; subsequently operating the memory system over a second period of time; maintaining the parameter indicative of the wear of the memory cells during said second period of time; and revising the expected amount of remaining lifetime of the memory system based on the value of said parameter indicative of the wear of the memory cells during said second period of time. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A method of operating one or more memory devices and a host to which the one or more memory devices are connectable, the method comprising:
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attaching a first of the memory devices to the host; operating the first memory device during a period of time while attached to the host; while said first memory device is operating, sending from the host to the first memory device a plurality of first current time values; while said first memory device is operating, maintaining on the first memory device a usage rate for the first memory device; and determining on the first memory device an indication of remaining life of the first memory device in real time units based on said plurality of first current time values and the usage rate for the first memory device. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. A method of operating one or more memory devices and a host to which the one or more memory devices are connectable, the method comprising:
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attaching a first of the memory devices to the host; operating the first memory device during a period of time while attached to the host; while said first memory device is operating, maintaining on the first memory device a wear level for the first memory device; sending from the first memory device to the host the value of the wear level of the first memory device at a plurality of first current time values; and determining on the host an indication of remaining life of the first memory device in real time units based on said plurality of first current time values and the wear level values for the first memory device. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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Specification