Patent · US Expired

Write-many memory device and method for limiting a number of writes to the write-many memory device

US7000063B2 · kind B2 · utility

62Cited by
17References
45Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 5, 2001
Grant dateFeb 14, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 12, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C16/22
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The preferred embodiments described herein provide a write-many memory device and method for limiting a number of writes to the write-many memory device. In one preferred embodiment, a write-many memory device is provided comprising a plurality of blocks of memory, each block being limited to N number of writes. Data can be stored in a block of memory only if there has been fewer than N number of writes to the block. In another preferred embodiment, a write-many memory device is provided comprising a plurality of blocks of memory, wherein each block comprises a first sideband field storing data indicating whether the block is free and a second sideband field storing data indicating how many times the block has been written into. The first and second sideband fields are used in a method for limiting a number of writes to the write-many memory device. Other preferred embodiments are provided, and each of the preferred embodiments can be used alone or in combination with one another.

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