Block management for mass storage

• US 8,019,932 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2010
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Estakhri, Petro
• Primary Examiner(s): Bragdon; Reginald G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cardwell; Eric S
• Application Number:
  US12/773,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20100217925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/08 Address circuits; Decoders; Word-line control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 8/12 Group selection circuits, e.g. for memory block selection, chip selection, array selection

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention includes a nonvolatile memory system comprising nonvolatile memory for storing sector information, the nonvolatile memory being organized into blocks with each block including a plurality of sectors, each sector identified by a logical block address and for storing sector information. A controller is coupled to the nonvolatile memory for writing sector information to the latter and for updating the sector information, wherein upon updating sector information, the controller writes to the next free or available sector(s) of a block such that upon multiple re-writes or updating of sector information, a plurality of blocks are substantially filled with sector information and upon such time, the controller rearranges the updated sector information in sequential order based on their respective logical block addresses thereby increasing system performance and improving manufacturing costs of the controller.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

writing or storing information associated with a particular logical block address (LBA) in a sector location of a first group of blocks of memory, the first group of blocks of memory comprising at least one block of memory and the information comprising sector information; and

rewriting or updating the information associated with the particular LBA in a free or available sector location of the first group of blocks of memory, wherein rewriting or updating the information associated with the particular LBA comprises;

writing or storing rewritten or updated sector information in the free or available sector location of the first group of blocks of memory;

identifying the rewritten or updated sector information as being current or new;

identifying the sector information associated with the particular LBA that had been previously written or stored as old; and

writing or storing sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new, including the rewritten or updated sector information, in sector locations of a second group of blocks of memory in accordance with a sequential order of respective LBAs associated with the sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new, wherein the second group of blocks comprise at least one block of memory and each block of the second group of blocks is associated with a respective virtual logical block address (VLBA).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a particular VLBA of a particular block of the second group of blocks of memory is a function of the particular LBAs associated with the sector information written or stored in the particular block.

3. A method, comprising:

writing or storing information associated with a particular logical block address (LBA), wherein writing or storing information comprises writing or storing sector information in a sector location of a first block;

rewriting or updating the information associated with the LBA, wherein rewriting or updating the information associated with the particular LBA comprises writing or storing rewritten or updated sector information in a sector location of a second block; and

writing or storing the rewritten or updated sector information in a sector location of a third block, wherein the sector location of the third block corresponds to a location of the particular LBA in a sequence of LBAs that are associated with information written or stored in the third block wherein the third block is associated with a particular virtual logical block address (VLBA), and wherein the particular VLBA of the third block is a function of the LBAs that are associated with the information written or stored in the third block.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sector location of the first block is associated with a respective physical block address (PBA).

5. A controller configured to:

write or store information associated with a particular logical block address (LBA) in a sector location of a first block of memory communicatively coupled to the controller;

rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA in a sector location of a second block of the memory, wherein the controller being configured to rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA comprises the controller being configured to write or store rewritten or updated sector information in the sector location of the second block of the memory; and

write or store the rewritten or updated sector information in a sector location of a third block of the memory, wherein the sector location of the third block corresponds to a location of the particular LBA in a sequence of LBAs that are associated with information written or stored in the third block wherein the third block is associated with a particular virtual logical block address (VLBA), and wherein the particular VLBA of the third block is a function of the LBAs that are associated with the information written or stored in the third block.

6. A memory system comprising:

memory organized into blocks, wherein each block comprises a plurality of sector locations, wherein each of the sector locations is configured to store sector information; and

a controller configured to;

write or store information associated with a particular logical block address (LBA) in a sector location of a first block of the memory;

rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA in a sector location of a second block of the memory, wherein the controller being configured to rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA comprises the controller being configured to write or store rewritten or updated sector information in the sector location of the second block of the memory; and

write or store the rewritten or updated sector information in a sector location of a third block of the memory, wherein the sector location of the third block corresponds to a location of the particular LBA in a sequence of LBAs that are associated with information written or stored in the third block wherein the third block is associated with a particular virtual logical block address (VLBA), and wherein the particular VLBA of the third block is a function of the LBAs that are associated with the information written or stored in the third block.

7. A controller configured to:

write or store information identified by a particular logical block address (LBA) in a sector location of a first group of blocks of memory communicatively coupled to the controller, the first group of blocks of memory comprising at least one block of memory and the information comprising sector information; and

rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA in a free or available sector location of the first group of blocks of memory, wherein the controller being configured to rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA comprises the controller being configured to;

write or store rewritten or updated sector information in the free or available sector location of the first group of blocks of memory;

identify the rewritten or updated sector information as being current or new;

identify the sector information associated with the particular LBA that had been previously written or stored as old; and

write or store sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new in sector locations of a second group of blocks of memory in accordance with a sequential order of respective LBAs associated with the sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new, wherein the second group of blocks of memory comprise at least one block of memory and each of the second group of blocks is associated with a respective virtual logical block address (VLBA).

8. The controller of claim 7, wherein the controller being configured to identify the rewritten or updated sector information as being current or new comprises the controller being configured to designate the rewritten or updated sector information as being current or new.

9. The controller of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to write or store sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new in sector locations of a second group of blocks responsive to the first group of blocks being substantially filled with sector information.

10. The controller of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to write or store sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new in sector locations of a second group of blocks when the first group of blocks are filled with sector information.

11. The controller of claim 7, wherein the second group of blocks of memory comprises blocks other than blocks included in the first group of blocks of memory.

12. The controller of claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to:

associate a particular block of the first group of blocks of memory with a particular virtual logical block address (VLBA) if all of the sector information written or stored in the particular block is identified as current or new and is written or stored in accordance with a sequential ordering of the LBAs associated with the sector information written or stored in the particular block; and

not write or store the sector information written or stored in the particular block of memory of the first group of blocks and identified as current or new in sector locations of the second group of blocks.

13. The controller of claim 7, wherein the second group of blocks comprise a group of free blocks found by the controller.

14. The controller of claim 7, wherein the particular VLBA of a particular block of the second group of blocks is a function of the particular LBAs associated with the sector information written or stored in the particular block.

15. The controller of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to associate the respective VLBAs with the respective blocks of the second group of blocks.

16. A memory system comprising:

memory organized into blocks, wherein each block comprises a plurality of sector locations, wherein each of the sector locations is configured to store sector information; and

a controller configured to;

write or store information identified by a particular logical block address (LBA) in a sector location of a first group of blocks of the memory, the first group of blocks of memory comprising at least one block of memory and the information comprising sector information;

rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA in a free or available sector location of the first group of blocks of memory, wherein the controller being configured to rewrite or update the information associated with the particular LBA comprises the controller being configured to;

write or store rewritten or updated sector information in the free or available sector location of the first group of blocks of memory;

identify the rewritten or updated sector information as being current or new;

identify the sector information associated with the particular LBA that had been previously written or stored as old; and

write or store sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new in sector locations of a second group of blocks of the memory in accordance with a sequential order of respective LBAs associated with the sector information written or stored in the first group of blocks of memory and identified as current or new, wherein the second group of blocks of memory comprise at least one block of memory and further wherein the controller is further configured to associate a respective virtual logical block address (VLBA) with each of the blocks of the second group of blocks.