System and method of page buffer operation for memory devices
First Claim
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1. A method for controlling a plurality of flash memory devices connected with a controller through a common bus, each of the plurality of flash memory devices having a page buffer and memory cells, the controller having a data storage, the method comprising:
- finding at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices, wherein finding at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices comprises finding at least one flash memory device having a page buffer not storing data;
writing data from the data storage of the controller to the page buffer of the at least one accessible flash memory devices; and
reading back the data at a later time from the page buffer of the at least one accessible flash memory device to the data storage of the controller, before programming the data from the page buffer into the memory cells of the at least one accessible flash memory device.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for using page buffers of memory devices connected to a memory controller through a common bus. A page buffer of a memory device is used as a temporary cache for data which is written to the memory cells of the memory device. This can allow the memory controller to use memory devices as temporary caches so that the memory controller can free up space in its own memory.
117 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for controlling a plurality of flash memory devices connected with a controller through a common bus, each of the plurality of flash memory devices having a page buffer and memory cells, the controller having a data storage, the method comprising:
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finding at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices, wherein finding at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices comprises finding at least one flash memory device having a page buffer not storing data; writing data from the data storage of the controller to the page buffer of the at least one accessible flash memory devices; and reading back the data at a later time from the page buffer of the at least one accessible flash memory device to the data storage of the controller, before programming the data from the page buffer into the memory cells of the at least one accessible flash memory device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for controlling a plurality of flash memory devices connected with a common bus, each of the devices having a page buffer and memory cells, the apparatus having a data storage, the apparatus being configured to:
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find at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices by finding at least one flash memory device having a page buffer not storing data; write data from the data storage to the page buffer of the at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices; and read back the data at a later time from the page buffer of the at least one accessible flash memory device to the data storage, before programming the data from the page buffer into the memory cells of the at least one accessible device. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A system comprising:
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a plurality of devices connected with a common bus, each of the devices having a page buffer and memory cells; and a memory controller for controlling the plurality of devices, the memory controller being configured to; find at least one accessible flash memory device of the plurality of flash memory devices by finding at least one flash memory device having a page buffer not storing data; write data from a data storage of the controller to the page buffer of a at least one accessible device; and read back the data at a later time from the page buffer of the at least one accessible device to the data storage of the controller, before programming the data from the page buffer into the memory cells of the at least one accessible device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification