Apparatus and method for identifying device type of serially interconnected devices

• US 8,010,710 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NovaChips Canada Inc. (NovaChips Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Mosaid Technologies Incorporated (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Inventors: Sumi, Shuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Kindred; Alford W
• Assistant Examiner(s): ABAD, FARLEY J
• Application Number:
  US11/692,326
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,616 Days
• Field of Search: 710/3, 710/1, 710/8, 710/9, 710/10, 710/104, 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1694 Configuration of memory controller to different memory types
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4243 with synchronous protocol

Abstract

A memory controller is unaware of device types of a plurality of memory devices in a serial interconnection configuration. Possible device types include, e.g., random access memories (DRAM, SRAM, MRAM) and NAND-, NOR- and AND-type Flash memories. Each device has device type information on its device type. Each device is capable of performing a “+1” to an input search number. First, the memory controller sends a specific device type (“don'"'"'t care”) and an initial search number. Each device performs the “+1” calculation. The last device provides the memory controller with an Nד+1” search number from which the memory controller can recognize the total number of devices in the serial interconnection configuration. Thereafter, the memory controller sends a pre-determined device number for device type matching. Each device performs device type match determination of “previous match”, “present match” and “don'"'"'t care match” and based on the match determination, the input search number is or is not modified and propagated through the devices. From the propagated search number, the memory controller can identify the device type of each device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a signal provider for providing an initial serial input signal including a search device type and a search number;

a signal receiver for receiving a final serial output signal containing a device type determination result; and

a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each of the semiconductor memory devices having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, and a device type, the device type being related to the semiconductor memory;

each i-th semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, where i is one to N, being configured to receive the initial serial input signal or a serial input signal from a previous semiconductor memory device, each i-th semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices being configured to provide a serial output signal including an intermediate search device type and an intermediate search number as the serial input signal for the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device except for the i=N-th semiconductor memory device for providing the final serial output signal, each i-th semiconductor memory device including

a device type determiner for comparing the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device to the search device type or the intermediate search device type, to provide a device type determination,

a number modifier for modifying the search number or the intermediate search number in response to the device type determination to provide an output search number with or without being modified to the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device or the signal receiver,

a device type modifier for modifying the search device type or the intermediate search device type to an other device type in response to the device type determination to provide an output search device type with or without being modified to the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device or the signal receiver, the output search number and the output search device type corresponding to the serial output signal or the final serial output signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices have unidentified device types, the device types of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration being either identical or mixed.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each i-th semiconductor memory device comprises:

a serial input connection and a serial output connection, the serial input connection of each i-th semiconductor memory device is coupled to the serial output connection of an (i−

1)-th semiconductor memory device or the signal provider, the serial output connection of each i-th semiconductor memory device being coupled to the serial input connection of the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device or the signal receiver.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the device type modifier comprises:

a device type replacer for replacing the search device type or the intermediate search device type with a pre-defined device type that matches any one of the device types, as the output search device type.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each i-th semiconductor memory device further comprises:

an information combiner for combining the output search number and the output search device type.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration are any one of random access memories and Flash memories.

7. A method for identifying a device type of a semiconductor memory device in a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each semiconductor memory device having a semiconductor memory associated therewith and a device type as a reference device type for being determined, the device type being based on the semiconductor memory, the method comprising:

sending a serial input signal including a search device type and a search number to an i-th semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, where i can be 1 to N;

determining the device type at the i-th semiconductor memory device by comparing the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device to the search device type, and providing a device type determination result from the comparison;

modifying the search number in response to the device type determination result, to provide an output search number with or without being modified to the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device;

modifying the search device type to an other device type in response to the device type determination result, to provide an output search device type with or without being modified to the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device, the output search number and the output search device type being provided in a serial output signal; and

receiving the serial output signal from the i=N-th semiconductor memory device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices have identical device types or mixed device types in the serial interconnection configuration that are unidentified.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of modifying the search device type comprises:

replacing the search device type with a pre-defined device type that matches any device type, as the output search device type.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

combining the output search number and the output search device type; and

outputting the combined output search number and output search device type.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of outputting comprises:

transmitting the combined output search number and output search device type to the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of transmitting the combined output search number and output search device type comprises:

transmitting the combined output search number and output search device type from the N-th semiconductor memory device in the serial interconnection configuration.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of receiving comprises:

receiving the serial output signal from the N-th semiconductor memory device in the serial interconnection configuration, the received serial output signal containing the combined output search number and output search device type.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

recognizing an address of the i-th semiconductor memory device in the serial interconnection configuration in response to the output search number of the serial output signal.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of determining comprises:

receiving a reference device type associated with the i-th semiconductor memory device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of determining comprises:

comparing the search device type with the reference device type to provide a comparison result as the device type determination result.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

holding the comparison result, thereby indicating a previous match between the reference device type and the search device type.

18. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

holding the device type determination result, thereby indicating a previous match between the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device and the search device type.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining whether the step of modifying the search number is performed in response to the held device type determination result.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of modifying the search number comprises:

performing a calculation of the search number with a pre-defined number to provide a modified search number as the output search number.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of determining comprises:

skipping the step of modifying the search number in response to the previous match.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of determining comprises:

skipping the step of modifying the search number in response to the previous match.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of determining comprises:

skipping the step of modifying the received device type in response to the previous match.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device based on the search device type and the reference device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device, thereby providing a present match between the search device type and the reference device type.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

determining whether the step of modifying the search number is skipped, in response to the present match.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

determining whether the step of modifying the search device type is skipped, in response to the present match.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

in response to the present match, determining (i) whether the step of modifying the search device type is skipped; and

(ii) whether the step of modifying the search number is skipped.

28. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining whether the step of modifying the search device type is performed in response to the held device type determination result.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of determining comprises:

skipping the step of modifying the search device type in response to the previous match.

30. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of sending the serial input signal is repeated with reference to other device type information.

31. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

defining the number of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration,

wherein after the number of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration is defined, the steps of sending, determining, transmitting and receiving are performed.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the step of defining comprises:

sending a pre-defined device type and an initial search number to a first semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, the pre-defined device type matching any device type;

modifying the search number by each of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices;

receiving the output search number from the N-th semiconductor memory device in the serial interconnection configuration; and

recognizing the number of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices from the received output search number.

33. An apparatus for identifying a device type of a semiconductor memory device in a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each of the semiconductor memory devices having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, and a device type, the device type being related to the semiconductor memory, at least one semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices being configured to determine the device type of the at least one semiconductor memory device to provide a device type determination result, the device type determination result being transmitted to either a subsequent semiconductor memory device or the apparatus, the at least one semiconductor memory device including:

a device type determiner for providing a device type determination by comparing the device type of the at least one semiconductor memory device to a search device type, a number modifier for modifying a search number in response to the device type determination to provide an output search number with or without being modified, and

a device type modifier for modifying the search device type to an other device type in response to the device type determination to provide an output search device type with or without being modified, the output search device type and the output search number corresponding to the device type determination result,

the apparatus comprising;

a signal sender for sending a serial input signal including the search device type and the search number to the at least one semiconductor memory device;

a determiner for determining the device type of the at least one semiconductor memory device that receives the serial input signal; and

a signal receiver for receiving a serial output signal from the N-th semiconductor memory device, the received serial output signal containing the device type determination result.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices have identical device types or mixed device types that are unidentified.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the signal sender comprises:

a provider for providing information on the search device type and the search number.

36. An apparatus for identifying a device type of a semiconductor memory device in a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each of the semiconductor memory devices having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, and a device type, the device type being related to the semiconductor memory, at least one semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices being configured to determine the device type of the at least one semiconductor memory device to provide a device type determination result, the device type determination result being transmitted to either a subsequent semiconductor memory device or the apparatus, the semiconductor memory device including:

a device type determiner for providing a device type determination by comparing the device type of the at least one semiconductor memory device to a search device type,

a number modifier for modifying a search number in response to the device type determination to provide an output search number with or without being modified, and

a device type modifier for modifying a search device type to an other device type in response to the device type determination to provide an output search device type with or without being modified, the output search device type and the output search number corresponding to the device type determination result,

the apparatus being configured to identify a number of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration and to be responsive to the identification of the number of the semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration, the apparatus comprising;

a sender for sending a serial input signal including the search device type and the search number to the at least one semiconductor memory device;

a receiver for receiving a serial output signal from the N-th semiconductor memory device, the serial output signal containing the device type determination result; and

,

a determiner for determining the device type of the at least one semiconductor memory device that receives the serial input signal in response to the device type determination result.

37. An apparatus for communicating with a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each semiconductor memory device having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, and a device type, the device type being related to the semiconductor memory, each i-th semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, where i can be 1 to N, being configured to a compare the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device to information data to provide a comparison result, to modify the information data in response to the comparison result, and to provide a device type determination result containing the information data to an (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device or the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a signal provider for providing a serial input signal including the information data to a first semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, the information data including a search device type and a search number that are modifiable by each i-th semiconductor memory device in response to the comparison result by each i-th semiconductor memory device;

a signal receiver for receiving a serial output signal from the N-th semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, the serial output signal containing the device type determination result; and

a recognizer for recognizing a total number of the semiconductor memory devices of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in response to the search number, and identifying the device type in the serial interconnection configuration in response to the total number, the search device type and the search number.

38. A semiconductor memory device configured in a serial interconnection of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each of the semiconductor memory devices having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, and a device type, the device type being related to the semiconductor memory, the serial interconnection of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices being coupled to an external device for providing information data including a search device type and a search number, the semiconductor memory device comprising:

a determiner for comparing the device type of the semiconductor memory to the search device type and providing a determination result in response to the information data provided by the external device or a previous semiconductor memory device;

a modifier for modifying the search device type and the search number in response to the determination result; and

a transmitter for transmitting a combination of the search device type and the search number to a subsequent semiconductor memory device.

39. The semiconductor memory device of claim 38, wherein the modifier comprises:

a number modifier for modifying the received search number in response to the device type determination result, thereby providing an output search number with or without being modified.

40. The semiconductor memory device of claim 39, wherein the modifier further comprises:

a device type modifier for modifying the received search device type in response to the determination result, thereby providing an output search device type with or without being modified.

41. The semiconductor memory device of claim 40, further comprising:

a device type replacer for replacing the received search device type with a pre-defined device type that matches any one of the device types, as the output search device type.

42. A machine-readable medium storing commands and instructions which, when executed, cause a processor to perform a method of identifying a device type of a semiconductor memory device in a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each semiconductor memory device having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, and a device type, the device type being determined by the semiconductor memory, the method comprising:

sending a serial input signal including device type information to an i-th semiconductor memory of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, where i can be 1 to N, the device type information including a search device type and a search number;

determining the device type at the i-th semiconductor memory device that receives the device type information by comparing the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device to the search device type and providing a device type determination result from the comparison;

modifying the search number in response to the device type determination result to provide an output search number with or without being modified to an (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device or the processor;

modifying the search device type to an other device type in response to the device type determination result to provide an output search device type with or without being modified to the (i+1)-th semiconductor memory device or the processor, the output search number and the output search device type being provided in a serial output signal; and

receiving the serial output signal from the i=N-th semiconductor memory device at the processor.

43. The machine-readable medium of claim 42, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying the number of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices in the serial interconnection configuration,

wherein the step of identifying the number is performed before the steps of sending, determining, modifying the search number, modifying the search device and receiving.

44. A machine-readable medium storing commands and instructions which, when executed, cause a processor to perform a method for modifying received information in a semiconductor memory device of a serial interconnection configuration of first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, N being an integer greater than one, each of the semiconductor memory device having a semiconductor memory associated therewith, a device type, the device type being related to the semiconductor memory, the method comprising:

receiving the information including a search device type and a search number at an i-th semiconductor memory device of the first to N-th semiconductor memory devices, where i can be one to N;

determining the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device by comparing the search device type to the device type of the i-th semiconductor memory device, and providing a device type determination result from the comparison;

modifying the search device type and the search number in response to the device type determination result to provide a modified search device type and a modified search number; and

transmitting the modified device type and the modified search number.