Flash memory architecture with separate storage of overhead and user data
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A memory device, comprising:
- a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and
a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data;
wherein each dedicated overhead block comprises one or more pages, each page comprising a plurality of overhead segments; and
wherein each overhead segment comprises a physical block address register that cross references overhead data to user data.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A memory device has a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data. Current overhead segments of a dedicated overhead block can be consolidated and moved to a new dedicated overhead block.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data; wherein each dedicated overhead block comprises one or more pages, each page comprising a plurality of overhead segments; and wherein each overhead segment comprises a physical block address register that cross references overhead data to user data.
-
-
2. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data; wherein a dedicated overhead block comprises a first and second overhead data fields; and wherein overhead segments within the second overhead data field are not pre-assigned to specific virtual logical block addresses.
-
-
3. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data; wherein a dedicated overhead block comprises a first and second overhead data fields; and wherein the memory device is configured to store overhead data supporting a specific virtual logical block address only once within the first overhead field and to store overhead data supporting a specific virtual logical block address multiple times within the second overhead field.
-
-
4. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data; wherein a dedicated overhead block comprises a first and second overhead data fields; wherein the first overhead field and the second overhead field each comprise one or more pages of overhead segments; and wherein the memory device is configured to store a status of overhead segments within the first overhead field in an extension field at the end of each page.
-
-
5. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data; wherein a dedicated overhead block comprises a first and second overhead data fields; wherein the first overhead field and the second overhead field each comprise one or more pages of overhead segments; and wherein a first segment of each page of a second overhead data field is a status segment that comprises an update map. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
-
-
8. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for storing only user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for storing only overhead data; wherein each of the plurality of dedicated overhead blocks comprises a first overhead field and a second overhead field, the first and second overhead fields comprising a plurality of consecutively addressable overhead pages; wherein consecutively addressable segments of the consecutively addressable overhead pages within the first overhead field of a dedicated overhead block are respectively correlated to sequentially addressed virtual logical block addresses; and wherein overhead segments within the second overhead data field are not pre-assigned to specific virtual logical block addresses. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
-
11. A memory device, comprising:
-
a plurality of dedicated data blocks for only storing user data; and a plurality of dedicated overhead blocks for only storing overhead data; wherein each dedicated overhead block comprises a plurality of super overhead fields, a super overhead field comprising a whole number of pages, each super overhead field within a dedicated overhead block comprising an identical number of pages, wherein consecutive overhead segments within a page are respectively assigned to consecutively addressed virtual logical block addresses of a plurality of virtual logical blocks of user data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method of operating a memory device, comprising:
-
receiving user data from a host defined according to a first virtual logical block address; identifying a first available overhead segment of a plurality of overhead segments within a first dedicated overhead block, the first available overhead segment comprising a lowest addressable available overhead segment within the first dedicated overhead block, an available overhead segment comprising an overhead segment that is unused, non-defective, and not obsolete; storing the user data in a first dedicated data block of the memory device defined according to a first virtual physical block address; and storing an address of the first dedicated data block in a physical address register of the first available overhead segment. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification