Packet addressing programmable dual port memory devices and related methods
View Patent ↗In a packet addressing method, one or more memory blocks are selected from a plurality of memory blocks and one or more data I/O pads are selected from a plurality of data I/O pads via which data input or output to/from the selected memory blocks are loaded, memory cell data output from the selected memory blocks are sequentially output to the selected data I/O pads, and data input to the selected data I/O pads are sequentially input to the selected memory blocks, so that read and write operations are independently accomplished in each of data I/O pads. The data I/O width can be adjusted according to the word length which is selectively set up, and power consumption can be reduced due to partial activation of the memory block.
1. A memory device comprising:
a plurality of memory cells that are grouped into a plurality of memory blocks;
a plurality of data input/output pads;
at least one decoder that is configured to select one or more of the memory blocks and one or more of the data input/output pads in response to at least one input signal; and
a plurality of switches that are configured to selectively transfer data between the selected data input/output pads and at least some of the memory cells in the selected memory blocks based on the decoder selections;
wherein the data input/output pads sequentially transfer sequentially addressed data to or from at least some of the memory cells in the selected one or more memory blocks, and
wherein the at least one input signal comprises a word length signal that selects one or more of the memory blocks and a selection signal that selects one or more of the data input/output pads.
2. The memory device of claim 1 , wherein a write operation is initiated to write data to some of the plurality of memory cells from a first group of the selected data input/output pads before completion of a read operation which reads data from other of the plurality of memory cells to a second group of the selected data input/output pads.
3. The memory device of claim 1 , further comprising an internal bus that couples data between the plurality of data input/output pads and the plurality of memory cells.
4. The memory device of claim 1 , wherein the word length signal specifies the burst length of the memory cell data transferred between the memory cells of the selected memory blocks and the selected data input/output pads.
5. The memory device of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of parallel-to-serial converter units that are configured to transfer memory cell data in the selected memory blocks to the selected data input/output pads via respective of the plurality of switches.
6. The memory device of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of serial-to-parallel converter units that are configured to transfer data received from the selected data input/output pads via respective of the plurality of switches to the memory cells in the selected memory blocks.
7. A packet addressing type memory device comprising:
a plurality of memory blocks comprising a plurality of memory cells;
a word length decoder that is configured to decode a word length signal that selects a predetermined one of the memory blocks;
a plurality of data input/output pads that sequentially transfer sequentially addressed data to or from memory cells in the selected memory block;
a data input/output pad decoder that is configured to decode a selection signal that selects a group of the data input/output pads; and
a plurality of switches and an internal bus that are configured to selectively transfer data between the selected data input/output pads and the selected memory block.
8. The memory device of claim 7 , wherein a write operation is initiated to write data to some of the plurality of memory cells from a first group of the selected data input/output pads before completion of a read operation which reads data from other of the plurality of memory cells to a second group of data input/output pads.
9. The memory device of claim 7 , wherein the word length signal comprises at least one most significant bit of an address signal provided to the memory device.
10. The memory device of claim 7 , wherein memory cell data corresponding to a burst length are output to the data input/output pads determined by the word length signal.
11. The memory device of claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of parallel-to-serial converter units that are configured to transfer memory cell data in the selected memory blocks to the selected data input/output pads.
12. The memory device according to claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of serial-to-parallel converter units that are configured to transfer data received from the selected data input/output pads.
13. A method of transferring data between a plurality of memory blocks of a memory device and a plurality of data input/output pads, the method comprising:
selecting at least one of the memory blocks in response to a first word length signal;
selecting at least one of the data input/output pads in response to a first selection signal;
converting parallel data output from a plurality of memory cells within each of the selected memory blocks into serial data; and
sequentially outputting the serial data to the selected data input/output pads.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the data from each of the selected memory blocks is output in sequential address order.
15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
selecting at least one of the memory blocks in response to a second word length signal;
selecting, in response to a second selection signal, one or more of the data input/output pads that are different than the data input/output pads selected in response to the first selection signal;
converting serial data received from the one or more data input/output pads selected in response to the second selection signal into parallel data; and
writing the parallel data to the memory cells in the memory blocks selected in response to the second word length signal.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein a write command that is associated with the step of writing the parallel data to the memory cells in the memory blocks selected in response to the second word length signal is received prior to the step of sequentially outputting the serial data to the selected data input/output pads.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the word length signal corresponds to at least one most significant hit of an address signal received by the memory device.