Memory system and control method thereof

Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery – Pulse or data error handling – Memory testing

Reexamination Certificate

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

C714S723000, C365S201000, C711S103000

Reexamination Certificate

active

07958411

ABSTRACT:
A memory system includes a nonvolatile memory including blocks as data erase units, a measuring unit which measures an erase time at which data in each block is erased, a block controller having a block table which associates a state value indicating one of a free state and a used state with the erase time for each block, a detector which detects blocks in which rewrite has collectively occurred within a short period, a first selector which selects a free block having an old erase time as a first block, a second selector which selects a block in use having an old erase time as a second block, and a leveling unit which moves data in the second block to the first block if the first block is included in the blocks detected by the detector.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4924251 (1990-05-01), Ishimura et al.
patent: 5172338 (1992-12-01), Mehrotra et al.
patent: 5379262 (1995-01-01), Okamoto et al.
patent: 5485595 (1996-01-01), Assar et al.
patent: 6081447 (2000-06-01), Lofgren et al.
patent: 6421279 (2002-07-01), Tobita et al.
patent: 7283397 (2007-10-01), Harari et al.
patent: 7496811 (2009-02-01), Kanno
patent: 7551478 (2009-06-01), Kanno
patent: 2002/0003252 (2002-01-01), Iyer
patent: 2004/0083335 (2004-04-01), Gonzalez et al.
patent: 2007/0075686 (2007-04-01), Togashi et al.
patent: 2007/0130496 (2007-06-01), Kanno
patent: 2008/0205145 (2008-08-01), Kanno et al.
patent: 2009/0132891 (2009-05-01), Kanno
patent: 2009/0177944 (2009-07-01), Kanno
patent: 2009/0183052 (2009-07-01), Kanno et al.
patent: H2-292798 (1990-12-01), None
patent: 06-250798 (1994-09-01), None
patent: H7-56780 (1995-03-01), None
patent: 8-16482 (1996-01-01), None
patent: 11-096779 (1999-04-01), None
patent: 2000-20252 (2000-01-01), None
patent: 2002-24077 (2002-01-01), None
patent: 2002-133887 (2002-05-01), None
patent: 2003-308242 (2003-10-01), None
David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, “Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface”, Morgan Kaufman Pub, 2004, p. 540-544.
Neal Mielke et al., “Flash EEPROM Threshold Instabilities due to Charge Trapping During Progam/Erase Cycling”, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability, vol. 4 No. 3, Sep. 2004, pp. 335-344.
Neal Mielke et al., “Recovery Effects in the Distributed Cycling of Flash Memories”, 44thAnnual International Reliabiliity Physics Symposium, 2006, pp. 29-35.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/552,442, filed Sep. 2, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/552,403, filed Sep. 2, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/552,330, filed Sep. 2, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/552,461, filed Sep. 2, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,228, filed Aug. 31, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/542,222, filed Aug. 17, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,126, filed Aug. 28, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,139, filed Aug. 28, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,193, filed Aug. 31, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,127, filed Aug. 28, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,270, filed Aug. 31, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/529,192, filed Aug. 31, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/555,274, filed Sep. 8, 2009, Kanno, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/563,856, filed Sep. 21, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/566,236, filed Sep. 24, 2009, Yano, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/713,631, filed Feb. 26, 2010, Fukutomi, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/513,860, filed May 7, 2009, Nagadomi, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/883,796, filed Sep. 16, 2010, Fukutomi, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 12/884,844, filed Sep. 17, 2010, Yano, et al.
Supplementary Search Report issued on Mar. 3, 2011, in counterpart European Patent Application No. 08810558 (8 pages).

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for the USA inventors and patents. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Memory system and control method thereof does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Memory system and control method thereof, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Memory system and control method thereof will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2722121

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.