Renesas Technology Corp.

Hitachi Ulsi Systems Co., Ltd.

Solid State Storage Solutions LLC

Other

Renesas Electronics Corporation

Emergence Memory Solutions, Inc.

Fumio Hara

Shigemasa Shiota

Hiroyuki Goto

Hirofumi Shibuya

Yasuhiro Nakamura

Kinji Mitani

The present invention provides a memory system which contributes to improvement in efficiency of a data process accompanying a memory access. A memory system has a rewritable nonvolatile memory, a buffer memory, and a controller. The controller controls, in response to an access request from an external apparatus, first data transfer between the controller and the external apparatus, second data transfer between the controller and the nonvolatile memory, and third data transfer between the controller and the buffer memory, controls transfer from the controller to the buffer memory in the third data transfer and transfer from the buffer memory to the controller in a time sharing manner, and enables the first data transfer or the second data transfer to be performed in parallel with the transfer carried out in the time sharing manner.

Memory system with improved efficiency of data transfer between host, buffer, and nonvolatile memory

A memory system permitting a number of alternative memory blocks to be made ready in order to extend the rewritable life and thereby contributing to enhanced reliability of information storage is to be provided. The memory system is provided with a nonvolatile memory having a plurality of data blocks in predetermined physical address units and a controller for controlling the nonvolatile memory in response to an access request from outside. Each of the data blocks has areas for holding a rewrite count and error check information regarding each data area. The controller, in a read operation on the nonvolatile memory, checks for any error in the area subject to the read according to error check information and, when there is any error, if the rewrite count is greater than a predetermined value, will replace the pertinent data block with another data block or if it is not greater, correct data in the data block pertaining to the error.

Nonvolatile memory system

The reliability of data is significantly increased without considerably increasing costs by performing minor data corrections within an information storage device and performing major error corrections in an information processing device. When a request to transfer user data for reading is issued from an information processing device, a control circuit transfers the user data and management data to an error detection circuit, which checks the user data for errors. If the user data contains no error, the control circuit notifies the information processing device that the user data can be transferred, and transfers it to the information processing device. If the user data contains errors, an X count error position and correction data calculation circuit uses the user data and the management data to calculate correction locations and correction data, and judges whether the correction locations are correctable. If uncorrectable (there are more correction locations than X locations), the control circuit notifies the information processing device that the user data is uncorrectable, and then transfers the user data and the management data to the information processing device.

Nonvolatile memory apparatus and data processing system

The invention is directed to largely improve reliability by surely protecting data on the basis of an emergency stop request even during a data transfer process. The invention provides a data memory system taking the form of a memory card or the like. When an emergency stop signal requesting an emergency stop is received from an information processor of a host during a read/write data transfer process, a control circuit immediately stops the transfer process and notifies the information processor of end of the read data transfer. At this time, the end of read data transfer is notified irrespective of whether the transfer is finished normally or abnormally. Even when a read data transfer request is received again from the information processor after notifying the information processor of the end of read data transfer, without transferring data, a controller notifies the information processor of an untransferable state of read data.

The present invention provides a memory device that can flexibly decide the data to be preread. The memory device according to the present invention includes: a nonvolatile memory; a buffer memory having a higher access speed than the nonvolatile memory; and a control circuit. The control circuit creates a preread data management table that associates a logical address of preread data specified by a preread command inputted from the outside and a buffer memory address for storing the preread data. Moreover, the control circuit reads data specified by the command from the nonvolatile memory and stores it in the buffer memory as preread data. When a logical address specified in a read command inputted from the outside matches a logical address associated by the preread data management table, the control circuit outputs corresponding preread data from the buffer memory.

Memory device with preread data management

Production cost for a semiconductor data storage apparatus is significantly reduced by using the same controller to support an external analog module and an internal analog module. In a data processing system, a controller is provided with switching elements composed of fuses. Switching between the external analog module composed of an external power supply circuit, an external power supply monitor circuit, and a clock generator element and the internal analog module composed of an internal power supply circuit, an internal power supply monitor circuit, and a self-excited oscillator circuit is performed by arbitrarily disconnecting the fuses. For example, when an internal power supply voltage Vddgenerated by the external power supply monitor circuit is supplied to the controller or the like, the fuse is disconnected. Thus, measures can be taken in accordance with a purpose by, e.g., selecting the external analog module when an interleave operation is used.

Semiconductor data storage apparatus

A memory system contributes to improvement in efficiency of a data process accompanying a memory access. The memory system has a rewritable nonvolatile memory, a buffer memory, and a controller. The controller controls, in response to an access request from an external apparatus, first data transfer between the controller and the external apparatus, second data transfer between the controller and the nonvolatile memory, and third data transfer between the controller and the buffer memory, controls transfer from the controller to the buffer memory in the third data transfer and transfer from the buffer memory to the controller in a time sharing manner, and enables the first data transfer or the second data transfer to be performed in parallel with the transfer carried out in the time sharing manner.

Memory system comprising a controller managing independent data transfer between input-output terminal, synchronous dynamic random access memory, and flash memory

It is aimed to detect, notify, and save an abnormal area in semiconductor memory for greatly improving reliability. An inside of semiconductor memories provided for a memory card comprises a user area, a substitution area, an area substitution information storage area, and a management area. An inside of semiconductor memories comprises a user area, a substitution area, and a management area. The user area is a data area a user can use. The substitution area is substituted when an error occurs in the user area. The area substitution information storage area stores area substitution area information. The management area stores substitution information. The information processing section performs substitution on two levels as follows. When detecting an operation indicating a symptom of failure in a semiconductor memory area, the information processing section performs area substitution during an idle state of the memory card. When detecting a faulty operation in an area, the information processing section immediately performs area substitution.

Nonvolatile memory

A memory system is provided which contributes to improvement in efficiency of a data process accompanying a memory access. A memory system has a rewritable nonvolatile memory, a buffer memory, and a controller. The controller controls, in response to an access request from an external apparatus, first data transfer between the controller and the external apparatus, second data transfer between the controller and the nonvolatile memory, and third data transfer between the controller and the buffer memory, controls transfer from the controller to the buffer memory in the third data transfer and transfer from the buffer memory to the controller in a time sharing manner, and enables the first data transfer or the second data transfer to be performed in parallel with the transfer carried out in the time sharing manner.

Growing community of inventors

Higashikurume, Japan

Fumio Hara