Patent · US Expired

Method for wear leveling in a flash EEPROM memory

US5341339A · kind A · utility

346Cited by
13References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 1, 1993
Grant dateAug 23, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 1, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2212/7211
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

In a process for cleaning up a flash EEPROM memory array separated into blocks which may be separately erased, in which process all valid data is first written to other blocks of the array, and then the block is erased, the improvement including the step of determining a block to clean up based on a comparison of the number of invalid sectors each block includes and the number of switching operations which each block has undergone.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.