IP Library Granted Patent US 11,720,163
Granted Patent B2
US 11,720,163 · App. 17/870,696 · Granted Aug 8, 2023

Providing energy information to memory

Inventors: Greg Blodgett (Nampa, ID); Daniele Balluchi (Cernusco Sul Naviglio, IT); Danilo Caraccio (Milan, IT); Graziano Mirichigni (Vimercate, IT)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
G06F1/3275G06F1/305G06F1/3212G06F11/3062G06F13/1668G11C5/142G11C5/144G11C11/4072G11C11/4074G11C16/20G11C16/30
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,720,163
App. No.
17/870,696
Granted
Aug 8, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods for providing energy information to memory. An embodiment includes determining, by a host, that a charge level of an energy source coupled to the host has reached or exceeded a threshold value, and transmitting, from the host to a memory device coupled to the host, signaling indicative of an energy mode for the memory device, wherein the signaling is transmitted based at least in part on determining that the charge level of the energy source has reached or exceeded the threshold.

Claims (41)

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a host, that a charge level of an energy source coupled to the host has fallen below a threshold value;

transmitting, from the host to a memory device coupled to the host, signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on for the memory device, wherein the signaling is transmitted based at least in part on determining that the charge level of the energy source has fallen below the threshold value; and

performing, by the memory device upon receiving the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on, an error correction operation on data stored in the memory device that is different than an error correction operation performed on the data prior to the memory device receiving the signaling.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on comprises a single data bit.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the method includes determining, by the host, an age of the energy source; and

the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on is transmitted based at least in part on the determined age of the energy source.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on comprises setting a flag.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on comprises clearing a flag.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes cycling, by the host, power to the memory device upon transmitting the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on to the memory device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes transmitting, by the host, a hardware reset signal to the memory device upon transmitting the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on to the memory device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes performing, by the memory device upon receiving the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on, less error correction operations on the data stored in the memory device than were performed on the data prior to the memory device receiving the signaling.

9. A method, comprising:

performing, by a memory device, a first error correction operation on data stored in the memory device;

receiving, by the memory device from a host coupled to the memory device after performing the first error correction operation, signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on for the memory device;

determining, by the memory device, to perform a power loss protection operation based at least in part on the signaling received from the host;

performing, by the memory device, the power loss protection operation; and

performing, by the memory device upon performing the power loss protection operation, a second error correction operation on the data stored in the memory device, wherein the second error correction operation is different than the first error correction operation.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the power loss protection operation is a sudden power off recovery operation.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the power loss protection operation protects the data stored in the memory device against an unexpected power loss.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the power loss protection is performed on all the data stored in the memory device.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the power loss protection is performed on only a portion of the data stored in the memory device.

14. A system, comprising:

a memory device;

a processor;

a controller coupled to the processor, wherein at least one of the processor or controller is configured to determine that an energy source coupled with the processor is removable; and

an interface coupled with the controller and configured to transmit, to the memory device, signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on for the memory device, wherein the signaling is transmitted based at least in part on the processor or controller determining that the energy source coupled with the processor is removable;

wherein the memory device is configured to perform, upon receiving the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on, an error correction operation on data stored in the memory device that is different than an error correction operation performed on the data prior to the memory device receiving the signaling.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein:

the at least one of the processor or controller is configured to determine that the energy source coupled with the processor is not removable; and

the interface is configured to transmit, to the memory device, signaling indicative to turn power loss protection off for the memory device based at least in part on the processor or controller determining that the energy source coupled with the processor is not removable.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on comprises a Boolean value.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the Boolean value is representative to enable turning power loss protection on.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the Boolean value is representative to disable turning power loss protection off.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein:

at least one of the processor or controller is configured to determine that the energy source coupled with the processor is not currently charging; and

the interface is configured to transmit, to the memory device, the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on for the memory device based at least in part on the processor or controller determining that the energy source is not currently charging.

20. The system of claim 14 , wherein:

at least one of the processor or controller is configured to determine that the energy source coupled with the processor is not an unlimited energy source; and

the interface is configured to transmit, to the memory device, the signaling indicative to turn power loss protection on for the memory device based at least in part on the processor or controller determining that the energy source is not an unlimited energy source.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 21, 2022
From: BLODGETT, GREG; BALLUCHI, DANIELE; CARACCIO, DANILO; MIRICHIGNI, GRAZIANO
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 060585/0497 →