Silicon Motion Assigned Nine Patents

Caching and reading data
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,779,022) developed by Shen, Yang-Chih, Taipei, Taiwan, and Hsu, Che-Wei, Taichung, Taiwan, for a “methods for caching and reading data to be programmed into a storage unit and apparatuses using the same.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method for caching and reading data to be programmed into a storage unit, performed by a processing unit, including at least the following steps. A write command for programming at least a data page into a first address is received from a master device via an access interface. It is determined whether a block of data to be programmed has been collected, where the block contains a specified number of pages. The data page is stored in a DRAM, (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and cache information is updated to indicate that the data page has not been programmed into the storage unit, and to also indicate the location of the DRAM caching the data page when the block of data to be programmed has not been collected.“

The patent application was filed on June 12, 2015 (14/738,464).

Storage device and data accessing
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,779,017) developed by Wang, Chi-Lung, and Huang, Chia-Ta, Zhubei, Taiwan, for a “data storage device and data accessing method thereof.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device including a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory includes a plurality of dies having a plurality of columns, wherein each of the columns is constituted by a plurality of sectors. The controller performs a read operation or a write operation from a first column to an Nth column in response to a read command or a write command, and skips at least two columns within the range of the first column to the Nth column according to a first bad column data set, wherein the first bad column data set has a starting address and the number of columns.“

The patent application was filed on March 17, 2016 (15/073,062).

Data maintenance for error correction and storage device
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,778,867) developed by Lin, Wen-Sheng, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for a “data maintenance method for error correction and data storage device using the same.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device including a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory has a plurality of single-level-cell units and a plurality of triple-level cell units. The controller performs a first predetermined number of read processes on a second predetermined number of specific single-level-cell units to program data stored in the second predetermined number of specific single-level-cell units into a specific triple-level cell unit of the triple-level cell units and determines whether any of the second predetermined number of specific single-level-cell units has not been read successfully by any of the read processes when the specific triple-level cell unit cannot be read successfully.“

The patent application was filed on January 28, 2016 (15/009,503).

Storage device and data access
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,766,974) developed by Hsiao, Li-Shuo, Chiayi, Taiwan, and Cheng, Chang-Kai, Hsinchu, Taiwan, for a “data storage device and data access-method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present invention provides a data-storage device including a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory includes a plurality of blocks, and each of the blocks has a plurality of pages, wherein each of the pages has a plurality of sub-pages and a plurality of spare areas, each of the spare areas is arranged to store a spare data sector, and the spare data sector respectively corresponds to the sub-pages. The controller is arranged to access the sub-pages according to the spare data sector.“

The patent application was filed on November 19, 2014 (14/547,412).

Flash memory control
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,760,433) developed by Yang, Tsung-Chieh, Hsinchu, Taiwan, for a “flash memory control apparatus utilizing buffer to temporarily storing valid data stored in storage plane, and control system and control method thereof .“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A flash memory controlling apparatus includes a data read/write interface and a controller. The data read/write interface is arranged to couple a first flash memory and a second flash memory, wherein the first flash memory includes a first storage plane and a first buffer, and the second flash memory includes a second storage plane and a second buffer. When the read/write interface couples the first flash memory and the second flash memory, the controller is arranged to temporary store a plurality of valid data stored in the first storage plane into the second buffer. After an erase cycle is performed on the first storage plane, the controller further programs the plurality of valid data temporarily stored in the second buffer into the first storage plane.“

The patent application was filed on March 24, 2015 (14/666,320).

Storage devices and data maintenance
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,747,173) developed by Ke, Kuan-Yu, Zhubei, Taiwan, for a “data storage devices and data maintenance methods .“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device is provided. The data storage device includes a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory includes a plurality of blocks. Each block includes a plurality of pages. when the data storage device is resumed from a power-off event, the controller selects a first block which was written last before the power-off event among the plurality of blocks and writes data of a plurality of first pages of the first block into a plurality of second pages of the first block.“

The patent application was filed on November 8, 2016 (15/345,785).

Storage device and data maintenance
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,741,451) developed by Chen, Ching-Ke, Taichung, Taiwan, Chou, Po-Sheng, Toufen Township, Taiwan, and Shen, Yang-Chih, Taipei, Taiwan, for a “data storage device and data maintenance method thereof.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device including a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory includes a plurality of chips, each of the chips includes a plurality of pages, the pages are arranged to assemble into a super block, the pages of the super block are numbered 0.about.X from top to bottom of the super block, the pages with number 0.about.Y-1 constitute a data area, and the pages with numbers Y.about.X constitute a RAID parity area. The controller corrects data of the data area according to data of the RAID parity area when the data in the data area cannot be successfully read.“

The patent application was filed on May 13, 2015 (14/711,472).

Storage device and flash memory control
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,727,271) developed by Lin, Chien-Cheng, Yilan, Taiwan, Liang, Chia-Chi, Taichung, Taiwan, Huang, Chang-Chieh, Zhubei, Taiwan, and Lee, Jie-Hao, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for a “data storage device and flash memory control method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device with flash memory and a flash memory control method are disclosed, in which the flash memory includes multi-level cells, (MLCs) and single-level cells, (SLCs). A microcontroller is configured to use the random access memory to cache data issued from the host before writing the data into the flash memory. The microcontroller is further configured to allocate the blocks of the flash memory to provide a first run-time write block containing multi-level cells and a second run-time write block containing single-level cells. Under control of the microcontroller, each physical page of data uploaded from the random access memory to the first run-time write block contains sequential data, and random data cached in the random access memory to form one physical page is written into the second run-time write block.“

The patent application was filed on February 21, 2017 (15/437,543).

Storage device and flash memory control
Silicon Motion, Inc., Jhubei, Taiwan, has been assigned a patent (9,720,820) developed by Chu, Po-Chia, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Lin, Yen-Hung, New Taipei, Taiwan, for a “data storage device and flash memory control method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A flash memory control technique with wear leveling between the different blocks of the flash memory. By a controller managing the blocks of a flash memory within a data storage device, some of the blocks are pushed into a spare queue waiting to be allocated as data blocks or system blocks. When the number of blocks within the spare queue is lower than a clean threshold and any block within the spare queue has an erase count greater than an overused lower threshold, the controller performs a garbage correction operation with wear leveling between the different blocks.“

The patent application was filed on April 17, 2014 (14/255,165).