Patent Application
20150212806
The disclosure relates to a digital media storage device. More particularly, the disclosure relates to an initialization method for a digital media storage device.
As on-line networking websites become popular, people tend to share their feelings, experiences or thoughts with their friends, families, or colleges in a form of digital files, such as photos or videos. Devices (e.g., digital cameras) utilized for capturing and creating photos/videos are highly developed and improved to capture these files at very high resolutions (e.g., 13 or more mega-pixels per photo, or 1920*1080 pixels per frame of a video).
However, storage spaces within these devices are limited by storage media, which are usually memory cards installed within the devices. On the other hand, the digital cameras are usually lack of ability to connect on-line. Therefore, photos/videos captured by the digital cameras and stored in the memory cards cannot be shared or accessed easily by other users.
An aspect of the disclosure is to provide an initialization method, which is suitable for a storage device including an interface, a controller module and a memory module. The initialization method includes following steps. A vendor command is provided from a host device via the interface to trigger a first firmware stored in the controller module of the storage device, so as to activate an initialization to the storage device. A second firmware is installed into the memory module of the storage device according to an instruction inputted from the host device via the interface and delivered by the controller module. The storage device is initialized by the triggered first firmware and the second firmware.
Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide a storage device, which includes a functional module, a memory module and a controller module. The functional module is configured for performing a predetermined function. The memory module is configured for storing digital information and a second firmware to be executed for processing the digital information. The controller module is coupled to the functional module and the memory module. The controller module includes a first storage area for storing a first firmware to be executed for driving the functional module and processing an initialization process of the memory module. The first firmware is triggered to active an initialization process by receiving a vendor command from a host device. The controller module is configured to deliver an instruction provided from the host device to the memory module after the first firmware is triggered. The second firmware is generated and installed into the memory module according to the instruction after the initialization process is activated.
Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide an initialization system, which includes a storage device and a host device. The storage device includes an interface, a functional module, a memory module and a controller module. The functional module is configured for performing a predetermined function. The memory module includes a memory controller coupled to a second storage area. The second storage area configured for storing digital information and a second firmware to be executed for processing the digital information. The controller module is coupled to the interface, the functional module and the memory module. The controller module includes a first storage area for storing a first firmware to be executed for driving the functional module and processing an initialization process of the memory module. The host device is configured for providing a vender command and an instruction to the storage device via the interface. The vender command is utilized to trigger the first firmware to activate the initialization process. After the first firmware is triggered by the vendor command, the controller module is configured to deliver the instruction to the memory controller of the memory module, and the second firmware is then generated and installed into the second storage area according to the instruction.
Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the disclosure. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
Reference is made to
In the embodiment shown in
In practices, the storage device 140 includes a casing (not shown in
In this embodiment, the storage area 144 and the memory controller 145 are configured to form a memory module, which is utilized to store the digital image information IMG captured by the digital camera host. In an embodiment, the memory module can be a flash memory module, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the memory module can be a volatile memory module or a non-volatile memory module. The storage area 144 of the memory module is configured for storing the digital image information IMG and also a second firmware FW2. In some embodiments, the storage area 144 can be a flash memory unit of the memory module. In this embodiment, the storage area 144 includes a hidden region 144a and a public region 144b. In general, the flash memory unit includes many memory cells. The memory cells have different specifications, such as reliability, response time, etc. In the preferred embodiment, the memory cells with relative high reliability are assigned to implement the hidden region 144a, and the second firmware FW2 is installed and stored in the hidden region 144a. In general, the hidden region 144a is invisible to normal users and inaccessible to unauthorized application programs. On the other hand, the public region 144b is substantially visible to normal users and is accessible to most of application programs. In this embodiment, the digital image information IMG is stored in the public region 144b as shown in
The memory controller 145 is configured for receiving an instruction delivered by the controller module to installed the second firmware into the hidden region 144a of the storage area 144, this part will be particularly described later. The memory controller 145 is also configured for controlling a writing process of the digital image information IMG to the storage area 144, and controlling a reading process of the digital image information IMG from the storage area 144. The memory controller 145 is operated according to the second firmware FW2. The second firmware FW2 can be utilized for processing the writing or reading activity of the digital image information IMG in the storage area 144. For example, the second firmware FW2 includes instruction sets for accessing the storage area 144 and detail parameters (e.g., sizes, operational voltages, speeds and response times) of the storage area 144.
The wireless communication module 142 is configured for performing a wireless transmission to an external electronic device, such as a tablet computer, a smart phone or a laptop computer. The wireless communication module 142 can be utilized to share the digital image information IMG stored in the storage device 140 with the external electronic device. It should be noticed that the wireless communication module 142 described in this embodiment can be replaced by another functional module in different embodiments of the present invention.
The controller module 146 is coupled to the wireless communication module 142, the memory module (i.e., the storage area 144 and the memory controller 145) and the interface 148. The controller module 146 is utilized as a bridge to interchange information between the wireless communication module 142, the memory module (i.e., the storage area 144 and the memory controller 145) and the interface 148. The controller module 146 includes a storage area 146a for storing a first firmware FW1 to be executed for driving the wireless communication module 142 and processing an initialization process of the memory module (i.e., the storage area 144 and the memory controller 145). The storage area 146a can be a read-only memory (ROM) configured in the controller module 146.
It is noticed that, the storage device 140 in this embodiment must be initialized before it can function aforesaid operations properly (including the writing/reading process of the flash memory unit). In the embodiment, the second firmware FW2 is not existed in the storage device 140 before the storage device 140 is processed the initialization process. The second firmware FW2 is generated after the initialization process is activated.
The host device 120 of the initialization system 100 shown in
Reference is made to
At the beginning of the initialization process, as shown in
In some embodiment, the first firmware FW1 is further utilized for driving the wireless communication module 142 to perform a wireless transmission to an external electronic device, such as a tablet computer, a smart phone or a laptop computer for sharing/transmitting information.
After the first firmware FW1 is triggered by the vendor command CMD to activate the initialization process, the controller module 146 is configured to deliver an instruction INS inputted from the host device 120 via the interface 148 to the memory controller 145 of the memory module (as shown in
The instruction INS is provided by the host device 120, which can include an initialization tool in this embodiment. Contents of the instruction INS includes instruction data to trigger the initialization process and related information about the storage area 144 and the memory module, such as instruction sets for accessing the storage area 144 and detail parameters (e.g., sizes, operational voltages, speeds and response times) of the storage area 144.
As shown in
Afterward, as shown in
As shown in
Step S206b is executed for initializing (e.g., formatting, dividing the hidden region 144a and the public region 144b, configuring and/or setting up) the memory module (i.e., the storage area 144 and the memory controller 145) by the processed second firmware FW2.
Step S206c is executed for processing a setting and testing sequence onto the storage area 144 and the memory controller 145 of the memory module and other components (e.g., the interface 148 and other equivalent components) of the storage device 140, so as to finalize the initialization of the storage device 140. In some embodiment, the testing sequence includes testing, verifying, de-bugging and/or demonstrating to the storage device 140. For example, the testing sequence includes but not limited to verifying reliabilities of the hidden region 144a and the public region 144b.
In this case, referring to
In this document, the term “coupled” may also be termed as “electrically coupled”, and the term “connected” may be termed as “electrically connected”. “Coupled” and “connected” may also be used to indicate that two or more elements cooperate or interact with each other. It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second.” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
