Storage device with buffer control unit

• US 7,818,477 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Manabu, Toyama, Masayuki, Nakanishi, Masahiro, Izumi, Tomoaki, Kasahara, Tetsushi, Tamura, Kazuaki, Matsuno, Kiminori
• Primary Examiner(s): Kindred; Alford W
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, RICHARD B
• Application Number:
  US11/909,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20090019194A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• Field of Search: 710/52, 713/300, 713/340, 714 1- 3, 714 5- 7, 714/9, 714/15, 714 18- 20, 714/22, 714/24, 714/100, 711100-103, 711/106, 711/154, 711/156
• US Class Current: 710/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1441 Resetting or repowering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0658 Controller construction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0676 Magnetic disk device

Abstract

When a control unit (160) in a storage device (100) detects that a write end command or a data amount to be written has been transmitted from a host device (110), the control unit (160) saves control information required for writing data in a control information save memory (142). The control unit (160) also saves data which has not been written in storage medium into a buffer save memory (152) from a data buffer (151) and releases the busy state for the host device (110). The control unit (160) writes the saved data into a storage medium (120). Even if the power is turned OFF before completion of write, write can be performed into the storage medium (120) by using the saved data when the power is turned ON next time.

Claims

1. A storage device, comprising:

a storage medium composed of a nonvolatile flash memory for storing data;

a buffer control unit including a data buffer for temporarily retaining data to be written transmitted from a host device and a nonvolatile buffer save memory for saving data of said data buffer;

a control unit for controlling said buffer control unit; and

a control information retaining unit for retaining control information including address information provided from the host device and information for writing data into said storage medium,

wherein said control information retaining unit includes;

a register for temporarily retaining the control information; and

a nonvolatile control information save memory for saving information of said register, and

wherein said control unit saves write data retained in said data buffer into said nonvolatile buffer save memory when the host device issues an end command of writing data,

wherein said control unit saves the control information retained in said register into said nonvolatile control information save memory,

wherein said control unit stores the write data in said storage medium based on information regarding the write data obtained from said host device, and

wherein said control unit informs said host device of completion of writing after completion of saving the data.

2. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein the information regarding the write data obtained from said host device is information showing a termination of data writing.

3. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein the information regarding the write data obtained from said host device is information showing a preliminarily specified data size.

4. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein said control unit includes a voltage detection unit for detecting dropping of a power voltage, and

wherein said control unit saves the write data retained in said data buffer into said nonvolatile buffer save memory when dropping of the power voltage is detected by said voltage detection unit during writing the write data transmitted from said host device into said storage medium.

5. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein said control information includes information of writing area address in said storage medium.

6. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein said nonvolatile control information save memory is a nonvolatile memory in which data can be written faster than said storage medium.

7. The storage device according to claim 6,

wherein said nonvolatile control information save memory is composed of a ferroelectric memory.

8. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein said nonvolatile buffer save memory is a nonvolatile memory in which data can be written faster than said storage medium.

9. The storage device according to claim 8,

wherein said nonvolatile buffer save memory is composed of a ferroelectric memory.

10. The storage device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a nonvolatile save flag set when data is saved into said nonvolatile buffer save memory,

wherein said control unit sets said save flag when data is saved into said nonvolatile buffer save memory, and clears the save flag when writing of said saved data into said storage medium is completed.

11. The storage device according to claim 10,

wherein said control unit reads said save flag at the time when power is supplied, writes said write data retained in said data save buffer into said storage medium when said save flag is set, and clears said save flag when writing is completed.

12. The storage device according to claim 10,

wherein said control unit reads said save flag at the time when power is supplied, confirms a size of data of writing data retained in said data save buffer when said save flag is set, writes the data into said storage medium in predetermined unit, and discards data retained in said data save buffer when a size of remaining writing data is less than a predetermined size.

13. The storage device according to claim 10,

wherein said save flag is integrally configured with said nonvolatile buffer save memory.

14. The storage device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a nonvolatile save flag set when information of said register is saved into the nonvolatile control information save memory,

wherein said control unit sets said save flag when control information of the register is saved into said nonvolatile control information save memory, and clears the save flag when writing of data into said storage medium is completed with using said saved control information.

15. The storage device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a nonvolatile save flag,

wherein said control unit sets said save flag when data is saved into said nonvolatile buffer save memory and said control information is saved into said nonvolatile control information save memory, and

wherein said control unit clears the save flag when writing of data into said storage medium is completed with using said saved control information.

16. The storage device according to claim 1,

wherein said nonvolatile buffer save memory and said nonvolatile control information save memory are configured in the same nonvolatile memory,

wherein data is saved into buffer save areas, and

wherein the control information is saved into a control information save area, respectively.