This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0047304 filed on Apr. 12, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to a semiconductor memory, and more particularly, relate to a storage system, a storage device, and an operation method of the storage device.
Semiconductor memories are classified into volatile memory devices, which lose data stored therein when a power supply voltage is turned off, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), and a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory devices, which retain data stored therein even when a power supply voltage is turned off, such as a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory device, a phase-change RAM (PRAM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), a resistive RAM (RRAM), and a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM).
A storage device may be a removable storage device for storing data. The storage device may communicate with a host through a universal serial bus (USB) interface. The storage device may be damaged when an over-voltage is consistently applied through the USB interface.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage system capable of notifying a user or a host that an over-voltage is received, a storage device, and an operation method of the storage device.
According to an embodiment, a storage device includes a first nonvolatile memory device that stores user data, a second nonvolatile memory device that stores status information for fault analysis, a voltage detect circuit that detects whether an input voltage received at the storage device through a connector exceeds a reference voltage and outputs an over-voltage detect signal when the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, a status display device that displays a status of the input voltage in response to a blink enable signal, and a storage controller that stores or reads the user data in or from the first nonvolatile memory device, outputs the blink enable signal to the status display device in response to the over-voltage detect signal, and stores the status information in the second nonvolatile memory device.
According to an embodiment, an operation method of a storage device includes detecting whether an over-voltage greater than a first reference voltage is received at the storage device from an external host, displaying, by a status display device, an over-voltage input status when the over-voltage is detected, storing, by a storage controller, status information in a nonvolatile memory device, and providing the over-voltage input status and the status information to the external host, and the status information includes status information of each of integrated circuits included in the storage device for fault analysis.
According to an embodiment, a storage system includes a storage device, and a host that communicates with the storage device in compliance with a universal serial bus (USB) interface standard. The storage device includes a storage controller, a connector that is connected to the host in compliance with the USB interface standard, a connector controller that is connected to the connector and communicates with the storage controller through a Peripheral Component Interconnection express (PCIe) interface, and a voltage detect circuit that determines whether an input voltage provided through the connector exceeds a reference voltage and outputs an over-voltage detect signal when the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage. In response to the over-voltage detect signal, the storage controller outputs a blink enable signal to a status display device including a light-emitting diode, writes status information for fault analysis in a nonvolatile memory device, and notifies a status of the input voltage to the host through an asynchronous event request completion. The status display device is configured to perform a blinking operation on the light-emitting diode in response to the blink enable signal.
The above and other objects and features of the present disclosure will become apparent by describing in detail embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Below, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail and clearly to such an extent that one skilled in the art easily carries out the present disclosure.
Components described in the specification by using the terms “part”, “unit”, “module”, “engine”, etc. and function blocks illustrated in drawings may be implemented with software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, the software may be a machine code, firmware, an embedded code, and application software. For example, the hardware may include an electrical circuit, an electronic circuit, a processor, a computer, an integrated circuit, integrated circuit cores, a pressure sensor, an inertial sensor, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS), a passive element, or a combination thereof.
Also, unless differently defined, all terms used herein, which include technical terminologies or scientific terminologies, have the same meaning as that understood by a person skilled in the art to which the inventive concept belongs. Terms defined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted to have meanings equal to the contextual meanings in a relevant technical field, and are not interpreted to have ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the specification.
The host 11 may control overall operations of the storage system 10. For example, the host 11 may send, to the storage device 100, a request (RQ) for storing data “DATA” in the storage device 100 or reading the data “DATA” stored in the storage device 100. In an embodiment, the host 11 may be a processor core, which is configured to control the storage system 10, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor, or may be a computing node connected through a network.
In an embodiment, the host 11 may include a host controller 12 and a host memory 13. The host controller 12 may be a device configured to control overall operations of the host 11 or to allow the host 11 to control the storage device 100. The host memory 13 may be a buffer memory, a cache memory, or a working memory that is used in the host 11.
The storage device 100 may operate under control of the host 11. The storage device 100 may include a storage controller 110, a first nonvolatile memory device 120, a voltage detect circuit 130, and a status display device 140. Under control of the host 11, the storage controller 110 may store data to the first nonvolatile memory device 120 or may read data stored in the first nonvolatile memory device 120. In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may perform various management operations for efficiently using the first nonvolatile memory device 120. In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may be a nonvolatile memory express (NVMe) controller that is based on an NVMe interface.
Under control of the storage controller 110, the first nonvolatile memory device 120 may store data or may output the stored data. In an embodiment, the first nonvolatile memory device 120 may be a NAND flash memory. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the first nonvolatile memory device 120 may include at least one of nonvolatile memory devices such as a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory device, a phase-change RAM (PRAM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), a resistive RAM (RRAM), and a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM).
The voltage detect circuit 130 may detect whether a voltage provided from the host 11 through a connector (not illustrated) is an over-voltage. For example, the voltage detect circuit 130 may detect whether an input voltage provided to the storage device 100 from the host 11 exceeds a reference voltage. When the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage (i.e., when an over-voltage is applied from the host 11 to the storage device 100), the voltage detect circuit 130 may provide an over-voltage detect signal to the storage controller 110.
In an embodiment, a voltage that is necessary for an operation of the storage device 100 may be provided through a connector (not illustrated). When a voltage being out of an allowable range of components of the storage device 100 is provided through the connector, the storage device 100 may fail to provide an intended operation. When an excessively high voltage is provided to the storage device 100, the storage device 100 may be damaged. For example, when a voltage exceeding a breakdown voltage is provided to the storage device 100, the storage device 100 may be damaged.
For example, an excessively high voltage (e.g., a surge voltage) may be applied to the storage device 100 through the connector. When the storage device 100 is damaged, the storage device 100 may abnormally operate, and data stored in the storage device 100 may be damaged. Accordingly, example embodiments of the present disclosure may protect the storage device 100 against an excessively high voltage such that the storage device 100 may not be damaged. In the present disclosure, an excessively high voltage being out of an allowable range of the storage device 100 may be referred to as an “over-voltage”.
In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may receive the over-voltage detect signal from the voltage detect circuit 130. In response to the over-voltage detect signal, the storage controller 110 may allow the status display device 140 to display an input voltage status (or an over-voltage input status or an over-voltage detect status). For example, the storage controller 110 may output a blink enable signal to the status display device 140 such that the over-voltage input status is displayed to the user.
In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may store status information of the storage controller 110 in a memory in response to the over-voltage detect signal. The status information may include information about integrated circuits included in the storage device 100. The status information may indicate current status information capable of being used for fault analysis. For example, the status information may include first status information of a power management circuit included in the storage device 100. Alternatively, the status information may include second status information of a temperature sensor included in the storage device 100.
In an embodiment, when the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the storage controller 110 may notify an input voltage status to the host 11. The storage controller 110 may notify the over-voltage input status to the host 11. For example, the storage controller 110 may notify the host 11 whether an over-voltage is received, through an asynchronous event request.
In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may send status information to the host 11. For example, when the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the storage controller 110 may update a log with the status information. The storage controller 110 may send an asynchronous event request completion to the host 11. The host 11 may send a “Get Log Page” command to the storage controller 110 in response to the asynchronous event request completion. The storage controller 110 may receive the “Get Log Page” command. The storage controller 110 may send, to the host 11, log data including the status information and a “Get Log Page” completion in response to the “Get Log Page” command.
The status display device 140 may be implemented to display an input voltage status of the storage device 100. For example, the status display device 140 may be implemented to notify the user a status of an input voltage provided from the host 11 through the connector.
In an embodiment, when the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the status display device 140 may display an over-voltage detect status under control of the storage controller 110. The user may check a connecting status of the host 11 and the storage device 100 through the status display device 140 and may perform a work such as disconnection of the host 11 from the storage device 100.
As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when an over-voltage is received from the host 11, the storage device 100 may display an over-voltage detect status to the user through the status display device 140. The storage device 100 may store status information capable of being used for fault analysis later, in the memory. The storage device 100 may notify the over-voltage detect status to the host 11 and provide the status information to the host 11. A configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the following drawings.
The storage controller 110 may be configured to process various requests from the host 11. For example, depending on a request from the host 11, the storage controller 110 may store data in the first nonvolatile memory device 120 or may read data stored therein. In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may be a nonvolatile memory express (NVMe) controller that is based on an NVMe interface.
The storage controller 110 may receive the over-voltage detect signal from the voltage detect circuit 130. For example, the storage controller 110 may recognize whether an over-voltage is received, through the over-voltage detect signal input through a general purpose input/output (GPIO) pin. The storage controller 110 may determine whether the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, based on a logic level of the over-voltage detect signal. The storage controller 110 may provide an input voltage status, which indicates whether the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, to the user through the status display device 140. The storage controller 110 may notify the input voltage status to the host 11 through the asynchronous event request completion.
Under control of the storage controller 110, the first nonvolatile memory device 120 may store data or may output the stored data. In an embodiment, the first nonvolatile memory device 120 may be a NAND flash memory.
The voltage detect circuit 130 may detect an over-voltage on a pin included in the connector 150. When an over-voltage is detected, the voltage detect circuit 130 may output the over-voltage detect signal to the storage controller 110. For example, the over-voltage detect signal may be input to the storage controller 110 through the GPIO pin.
The status display device 140 may display the input voltage status under control of the storage controller 110. In an embodiment, the status display device 140 may include a light-emitting diode (LED) for displaying the input voltage status. For example, a blinking operation of the light-emitting diode may display that the input voltage exceeding the reference voltage is received. For example, the blinking operation of the light-emitting diode may display that an over-voltage is applied from the host 11.
In an embodiment, the status display device 140 may communicate with the storage controller 110 through at least one of I2C, system management bus (SMBus), universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART), serial peripheral interface (SPI), and high-speed inter-chip (HSIC).
In an embodiment, the status display device 140 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may output an alarm by using an alarm device. Alternatively, the status display device 140 may display the input voltage status in the form of a message box or a graph, by using a display device (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)). The storage device 100 may exchange a signal with the host 11 through the connector 150. The storage device 100 may receive a power from the host 11 through the connector 150. In an embodiment, the connector 150 may be a universal serial bus (USB) port. The storage device 100 may communicate with the host 11 in compliance with a USB interface standard. In an embodiment, the connector 150 may be a thunderbolt port. The storage device 100 may communicate with the host 11 in compliance with a thunderbolt interface standard.
In an embodiment, the storage device 100 may be a removable storage device or a portable storage device for storing data. For example, the storage device 100 may be a removable solid state drive (SSD) or a portable SSD. Meanwhile, the present disclosure is not limited to the removable (or portable) SSD. For example, it should be understood that the storage device 100 is implemented by using various kinds of storage devices.
For example, it is assumed that the connector 150 is a USB port. The connector 150 may be connected with a USB cable or a USB plug being a part of a USB entity, for the purpose of the connection with a host USB entity. The connector 150 may include a plurality of exposed pins. Signals may be transmitted/received through the plurality of exposed pins, or a power may be transferred through the plurality of exposed pins. For example, the connector 150 may include pins for transferring a pair of transmit signals TX+ and TX−, a pair of receive signals RX+ and RX−, channel configuration signals CC1 and CC2, a VBUS voltage V_BUS, and a ground voltage. In an embodiment, the connector 150 may have a pin configuration according to the USB Type-C, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
When a conductive foreign material is introduced into the connector 150, with the USB plug not connected with the connector 150, or when a short circuit occurs at the USB cable connected with the connector 150, two or more of the pins included in the connector 150 may be electrically connected. The pins that are inappropriately electrically connected may cause a leakage current, and the leakage current may cause the damage of the storage device 100 or the host 11 as well as the failure of communication through the USB interface. In particular, in the case where the storage device 100 is a removable (or portable) storage device, a conductive material such as water or metal may be easily introduced into the connector 150, thereby causing the excessive power consumption or damage of the storage device 100. For example, the USB power delivery (PD) may define a delivery of a high power such as 20 V and 5 A through a VBUS pin, and when the VBUS pin and any other pin are short-circuited, the high voltage and current of the VBUS pin may be applied to the short-circuited pin. To protect the storage device 100 from the high voltage and current, the storage device 100 may include the voltage detect circuit 130.
The connector controller 160 may exchange signals with the connector 150. The connector controller 160 may exchange signals according to a first interface with the connector 150. For example, the connector controller 160 may exchange signals according to the USB interface standard or the thunderbolt interface standard with the connector 150. For example, the first interface may be one of the USB interface standard or the thunderbolt interface standard.
The connector controller 160 may communicate with the storage controller 110 through a second interface. For example, the connector controller 160 may communicate with the storage controller 110 in compliance with a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnection express) interface standard. For example, the second interface may be a PCIe interface.
In an embodiment, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal according to the first interface (or a first interface-based signal) into a signal according to the second interface (or a second interface-based signal). For example, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal complying with the USB interface standard into a signal complying with the PCIe interface standard. Alternatively, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal complying with the thunderbolt interface standard into a signal complying with the PCIe interface standard.
In an embodiment, the connector controller 160 may convert a second interface-based signal into a first interface-based signal. For example, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal complying with the PCIe interface standard into a signal complying with the USB interface standard. Alternatively, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal complying with the PCIe interface standard into a signal complying with the thunderbolt interface standard.
As described above, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal received from the host 11 through the first interface into a signal complying with the standard of the second interface so as to be output to the storage controller 110. Alternatively, the connector controller 160 may convert a signal received from the storage controller 110 through the second interface into a signal complying with the standard of the first interface so as to be output to the connector 150.
The power management integrated circuit 170 may provide a power necessary for the storage device 100 to operate, based on a power provided from the host 11 through the connector 150. For example, the power management integrated circuit 170 may receive a power (or an input voltage) through the VBUS pin of the connector 150. The power management integrated circuit 170 may supply a power necessary for each of the storage controller 110, the first nonvolatile memory device 120, the status display device 140, the connector controller 160, and the second nonvolatile memory device 180 to operate.
In an embodiment, the power management integrated circuit 170 may provide first status information depending on a request from the storage controller 110. The first status information may provide a useful means for fault analysis or debugging and may indicate information necessary to detect and correct an abnormal operation of the power management integrated circuit 170. The first status information may include pieces of information stored in a plurality of registers included in the power management integrated circuit 170. The first status information may include information about a voltage or current used within a logic block included in the power management integrated circuit 170 or information about a voltage or current of a specific node within the logic block. The first status information may include information about a general-purpose interrupt signal.
For example, the first status information may include information about levels of voltages that are generated based on the input voltage provided from the host 11 and are respectively to be provided to components of the storage device 100. The power management integrated circuit 170 may provide a first operating voltage to the connector controller 160, may provide a second operating voltage to the storage controller 110, and may provide a third operating voltage to the first nonvolatile memory device 120. Levels of the first operating voltage, the second operating voltage, and the third operating voltage may be different. The first status information may include information about the levels of the first to third operating voltages.
The power management integrated circuit 170 may operate in a normal mode or a low-power mode. For example, an operating mode of the power management integrated circuit 170 may include the normal mode and the low-power mode. The first status information may include information about an operating mode that is currently executed. The power management integrated circuit 170 may generate a power status signal PWR GOOD. The first status information may include information about the power status signal PWR GOOD. The power management integrated circuit 170 may detect an over-current or over-voltage. The first status information may include information about an over-current or over-voltage.
The second nonvolatile memory device 180 may be configured to store status information SI. The second nonvolatile memory device 180 may operate under control of the storage controller 110. For example, the status information SI may indicate information that is used in fault analysis. In detail, the status information SI may include status information of an integrated circuit included in the storage device 100.
In an embodiment, the second nonvolatile memory device 180 may include at least one of a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, an electronic fuse (eFuse), an EEPROM, a mask ROM, a serial PROM, a flash memory, a one-time programmable (OTP) memory, and a serial flash memory.
In an embodiment, the second nonvolatile memory device 180 may communicate with the storage controller 110 through at least one of I2C, SMBus, UART, SPI, and HSIC.
The CPU 111 may perform overall operations of the storage controller 110. The FTL 112 may perform various operations for efficiently using the first nonvolatile memory device 120. For example, the host 11 may manage a storage space of the storage device 100 by using logical addresses. The FTL 112 may be configured to manage address mapping between a logical address from the host 11 and a physical address of the storage device 100. The FTL 112 may perform a wear-leveling operation to prevent excessive degradation of a specific memory block among memory blocks of the first nonvolatile memory device 120. The lifetime of the first nonvolatile memory device 120 may be improved by the wear-leveling operation of the FTL 112. The FTL 112 may perform a garbage collection operation on the first nonvolatile memory device 120 to secure a free memory block.
In an embodiment, the FTL 112 may be implemented in the form of hardware or software. In the case where the FTL 112 is implemented in the form of software, a program code or information associated with the FTL 112 may be stored in the buffer memory 115 and may be executed by the CPU 111. In the case where the FTL 112 is implemented in the form of hardware, a hardware accelerator configured to perform an operation of the FTL 112 may be separately provided.
The ECC engine 113 may perform error detection and correction on data read from the first nonvolatile memory device 120. For example, the ECC engine 113 may generate an error correction code (or a parity bit(s)) for data to be written in the first nonvolatile memory device 120. The error correction code (or parity bit(s)) thus generated may be stored in the first nonvolatile memory device 120 together with the data to be written. Afterwards, when the written data are read from the first nonvolatile memory device 120, the ECC engine 113 may detect and correct an error of the read data based on the read data and the corresponding error correction code (or the corresponding parity bit(s)).
The AES engine 114 may perform an encryption operation on data received from the host 11 and may perform a decryption operation on data received from the first nonvolatile memory device 120. In an embodiment, the encryption operation and the decryption operation may be performed based on a symmetric-key algorithm.
The buffer memory 115 may be a write buffer or a read buffer configured to temporarily store data input to the storage controller 110. Alternatively, the buffer memory 115 may be configured to store a variety of information necessary for the storage controller 110 to operate. For example, the buffer memory 115 may store a mapping table that is managed by the FTL 112. Alternatively, the buffer memory 115 may store software, firmware, or information that is associated with the FTL 112.
In an embodiment, the buffer memory 115 may be an SRAM, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the buffer memory 115 may be implemented with various kinds of memory devices such as a DRAM, an MRAM, and a PRAM. For brevity of drawing and for convenience of description, an example in the buffer memory 115 is included in the storage controller 110 is illustrated in
The host interface circuit 116 may communicate with the host 11 in compliance with the given interface protocol. In an embodiment, the given interface protocol may include at least one of protocols for various interfaces such as an ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) interface, an SATA (Serial ATA) interface, an e-SATA (external SATA) interface, an SCSI (Small Computer Small Interface) interface, an SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) interface, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnection) interface, a PCIe (PCI express) interface, an NVMe (NVM express) interface, an IEEE 1394 interface, an USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, an SD (Secure Digital) card interface, an MMC (Multi-Media Card) interface, an eMMC (embedded Multi-Media Card) interface, an UFS (Universal Flash Storage) interface, an eUFS (embedded Universal Flash Storage) interface, a CF (Compact Flash) card interface, or a network interface. The host interface circuit 116 may receive a signal, which is based on the given interface protocol, from the host 11 and may operate based on the received signal. Alternatively, the host interface circuit 116 may send a signal, which is based on the given interface protocol, to the host 11.
The memory interface circuit 117 may communicate with the first nonvolatile memory device 120 in compliance with the given interface protocol. In an embodiment, the given interface protocol may include at least one of protocols for various interfaces such as a toggle interface and an open NAND flash interface (ONFI). In an embodiment, the memory interface circuit 117 may communicate with the first nonvolatile memory device 120 based on the toggle interface. In this case, the memory interface circuit 117 may communicate with the first nonvolatile memory device 120 through a plurality of channels CHs. In an embodiment, each of the plurality of channels CHs may include a plurality of signal lines configured to transfer various control signals (e.g., /CE, CLE, ALE, /WE, /RE, and R/B), data signals DQ, and a data strobe signal DQS.
In operation S120, the storage device 100 may perform a blinking operation. For example, when the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the status display device 140 may perform the blinking operation. The status display device 140 may blink the light-emitting diode periodically. The status display device 140 may notify the user that the over-voltage is input to the storage device 100, by using the blinking operation of the light-emitting diode.
In operation S130, the storage device 100 may store status information in a memory. For example, the storage controller 110 may store the status information SI in the second nonvolatile memory device 180.
In an embodiment, the storage controller 110 may request first status information to the power management integrated circuit 170. The storage controller 110 may receive the first status information from the power management integrated circuit 170. The storage controller 110 may write the first status information provided from the power management integrated circuit 170 in the second nonvolatile memory device 180.
In operation S140, the storage device 100 may perform a notify operation to the host 11. The storage device 100 may send an over-voltage input status and status information to the host 11. For example, through the asynchronous event request completion, the storage controller 110 may provide notification that the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage. The storage controller 110 may send the status information to the host 11 through the “Get Log Page” completion.
When the input voltage Vin exceeds the reference voltage Vref, the storage device 100 may perform operation S112. When the input voltage Vin is smaller than or equal to the reference voltage Vref, the storage device 100 may continuously perform operation S111.
For example, the voltage detect circuit 130 may output the over-voltage detect signal. For example, when the input voltage Vin exceeds the reference voltage Vref (i.e., when the input voltage Vin is determined as an over-voltage), the voltage detect circuit 130 may output the over-voltage detect signal to the storage controller 110. The over-voltage detect signal may be a signal for notifying the storage controller 110 that an over-voltage is received.
In an embodiment, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the over-voltage detect signal to logical low or logical high. The logical high may indicate a state where an input voltage is greater than a reference voltage, and the logical low may indicate a state where an input voltage is smaller than a reference voltage.
In an embodiment, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the over-voltage detect signal to either logical low or logical high when the input voltage is equal to the reference voltage.
In operation S113, the storage controller 110 may output the blink enable signal to the status display device 140. The storage controller 110 may output the blink enable signal to the status display device 140 in response to the over-voltage detect signal. For example, the storage controller 110 may receive the over-voltage detect signal of logical high. The storage controller 110 may output the blink enable signal to the status display device 140 in response to the over-voltage detect signal of logical high. The blink enable signal may indicate a signal allowing the status display device 140 to perform the blinking operation.
In an embodiment, operation S105 may be performed before operation S110. Because the asynchronous event request command is a timeout-free command, the storage device 100 may receive the asynchronous event request command before detecting whether an input voltage exceeds a reference voltage.
When an over-voltage is detected (i.e., when an event occurs), the storage device 100 may display an input voltage status to the user through the status display device 140 and may store the status information SI in the second nonvolatile memory device 180.
In operation S141, the storage device 100 may update a log with the status information SI. For example, the storage device 100 may update the log with the status information SI including first status information of the power management integrated circuit 170. Returning to
In operation S142, the storage device 100 may send an asynchronous event request completion for the purpose of notifying the host 11 that an event occurs. For example, the event may indicate a state where an input voltage exceeds a reference voltage.
In an embodiment, the asynchronous event request completion may include a log identifier and event type information. The storage device 100 may allow the host 11 to read the updated log through the asynchronous event request completion. For example, the log identifier and the event type information may be newly defined with regard to detecting an over-voltage.
In an embodiment, the storage device 100 may send the asynchronous event request completion including the status information SI to the host 11. In this case, a “Get Log Page” procedure to be described later may not be performed.
In operation S143, the host 11 may send a “Get Log Page” command to the storage device 100. The “Get Log Page” command may include a log identifier, a log data size, a host memory address where log data read from the storage device 100 is to be stored, etc.
In operation S144, the storage device 100 may send a “Get Log Page” completion. After the log data are written at the host memory address included in the “Get Log Page” command, the “Get Log Page” completion may be sent. For example, the log data may be written in the host memory 13 corresponding to the host memory address.
As described above, the storage device 100 may notify an abnormal power status to the host 11. For example, the storage device 100 may notify the host 11 that an over-voltage is being received. As such, the host 11 may recognize the abnormal power status of the storage device 100 and may be provided with the status information SI of the storage device 100.
In an embodiment, the status display device 140 may include a plurality of light-emitting diodes (e.g., a green light-emitting diode “G”, a red light-emitting diode “R”, and a yellow light-emitting diode “Y”) for displaying an input voltage status. The green light-emitting diode “G” may display a state where an input voltage is smaller than or equal to a first reference voltage, the red light-emitting diode “R” may display a state where the input voltage exceeds a second reference voltage, and the yellow light-emitting diode “Y” may display a state where the input voltage exceeds the first reference voltage and is smaller than or equal to the second reference voltage. An example where the status display device 140 is composed of three light-emitting diodes “G”, “R”, and “Y” is illustrated in
The status display device 140 of
In operation S212, the voltage detect circuit 130 may determine whether the input voltage Vin exceeds a second reference voltage Vref2. Here, a level of the second reference voltage Vref2 may be higher than a level of the first reference voltage Vref1. For example, the voltage detect circuit 130 may compare the input voltage Vin with the second reference voltage Vref2. When the input voltage Vin exceeds the second reference voltage Vref2, the voltage detect circuit 130 may perform operation S214. When the input voltage Vin is smaller than or equal to the second reference voltage Vref2, the voltage detect circuit 130 may perform operation S213.
For example, the first and second reference voltages Vref1 and Vref2 may indicate voltage levels determined in advance. The first and second reference voltages Vref1 and Vref2 may be determined based on a voltage level that the storage device 100 is capable of allowing.
In operation S213, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set blink information to a first value V1. For example, the blink information may be initialized to a default value indicating a normal status. When the input voltage Vin exceeds the first reference voltage Vref1 and is smaller than or equal to the second reference voltage Vref2, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the blink information to the first value V1 indicating the caution status.
In operation S214, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the blink information to a second value V2. For example, when the input voltage Vin exceeds the second reference voltage Vref2, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the blink information to the second value V2 indicating the danger status.
In operation S215, the voltage detect circuit 130 may output the over-voltage detect signal and the blink information to the storage controller 110. The over-voltage detect signal may be output when the input voltage Vin exceeds the first reference voltage Vref1. The over-voltage detect signal may be a signal for notifying the storage controller 110 that an over-voltage is received.
In an embodiment, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the over-voltage detect signal to logical low or logical high. The logical high may indicate a state where the input voltage Vin is greater than the first reference voltage Vref1, and the logical low may indicate a state where the input voltage Vin is smaller than the first reference voltage Vref1.
In an embodiment, the voltage detect circuit 130 may set the over-voltage detect signal to either logical low or logical high when the input voltage is equal to the first reference voltage Vref1.
In an embodiment, the blink information may indicate whether the input voltage Vin exceeds the second reference voltage Vref2. For example, the case where the blink information includes the first value V1 may indicate a state where the input voltage Vin exceeds the first reference voltage Vref1 and is smaller than or equal to the second reference voltage Vref2. The case where the blink information includes the second value V2 may indicate a state where the input voltage Vin exceeds the second reference voltage Vref2.
In operation S216, the storage controller 110 may output the blink enable signal and the blink information to the status display device 140. The storage controller 110 may output the blink enable signal to the status display device 140 in response to the over-voltage detect signal and may output the received blink information. For example, the storage controller 110 may receive the over-voltage detect signal of logical high and the blink information. The storage controller 110 may output the blink enable signal and the blink information to the status display device 140 in response to the over-voltage detect signal of logical high. After operation S216, the storage device 100 may perform operation S120.
For example, the status display device 140 may determine whether the blink information indicates a danger status.
When the blink information is the second value V2 (i.e., when the blink information is determined as the danger status), the status display device 140 may perform operation S223. When the blink information is not the second value V2 (i.e., when the blink information is not determined as the danger status), the status display device 140 may perform operation S222.
In operation S222, the status display device 140 may determine whether the blink information is the first value V1. For example, the status display device 140 may determine whether the blink information indicates a caution status.
When the blink information is the first value V1 (i.e., when the blink information is determined as the caution status), the status display device 140 may perform operation S224. When the blink information is not the first value V1 (i.e., when the blink information is not determined as the caution status), the status display device 140 may perform operation S225.
In operation S223, the status display device 140 may perform the blinking operation on the red light-emitting diode “R”. For example, through the blinking operation of the red light-emitting diode “R”, the status display device 140 may notify the user that the input voltage Vin exceeding the second reference voltage Vref2 is being received. For example, the status display device 140 may display a danger status to the user.
In operation S224, the status display device 140 may perform the blinking operation on the yellow light-emitting diode “Y”. For example, through the blinking operation of the yellow light-emitting diode “Y”, the status display device 140 may notify the user that the input voltage Vin exceeding the first reference voltage Vref1 and smaller than or equal to the second reference voltage Vref2 is being received. For example, the status display device 140 may display a caution status to the user.
In operation S225, the status display device 140 may perform the blinking operation on the green light-emitting diode “G”. For example, through the blinking operation of the green light-emitting diode “G”, the status display device 140 may notify the user that the input voltage Vin smaller than or equal to the first reference voltage Vref1 is being received. For example, the status display device 140 may display a normal status to the user. After operation S223, operation S224, and operation S225, operation S130 may be performed.
The fingerprint recognition sensor 291 may be implemented to recognize a fingerprint of a user. In an embodiment, the recognized fingerprint may be stored in an internal memory (i.e., the first nonvolatile memory device 220 or the second nonvolatile memory device 280) of the storage device 200 for user enrollment. A fingerprint stored in a memory may be data that are generated by encrypting or encoding (e.g., hash coding) the recognized fingerprint depending on a manner determined in advance. In an embodiment, the recognized fingerprint may be compared with the fingerprint stored in the internal memory of the storage device 200 for user authentication.
The fingerprint recognition sensor 291 may be implemented to sense an electrical characteristic difference according to ridge and valley shapes of a fingerprint. For example, the fingerprint recognition sensor 291 may be implemented to sense a capacitance difference corresponding to a fingerprint, that is, a capacitance signal and to convert the sensed capacitance signal into an electrical signal.
The fingerprint recognition controller 292 may be implemented to control overall operations of the fingerprint recognition sensor 291. In an embodiment, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may determine whether to enable the fingerprint recognition sensor 291. For example, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may enable the fingerprint recognition sensor 291 based on an operating mode of the storage device 200. The fingerprint recognition controller 292 may receive information about the operating mode of the storage device 200 from the storage controller 210. For example, when the operating mode is a security mode, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may enable the fingerprint recognition sensor 291.
Also, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may convert a received fingerprint in the form of data that is able to be enrolled at the internal memory of the storage device 200. In an embodiment, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may receive the recognized fingerprint from the fingerprint recognition sensor 291, may convert (code) the received fingerprint based on an algorithm determined in advance, and may provide the converted fingerprint to the storage controller 210 for fingerprint enrollment of the user. In an embodiment, with regard to enrolling and authenticating a user fingerprint, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may provide the storage controller 210 with data write and read requests.
Also, for fingerprint authentication, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may compare a fingerprint recognized by the fingerprint recognition sensor 291 with a fingerprint enrolled at the internal memory of the storage device 200. For example, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 may determine whether a user is legal, by receiving a sensed fingerprint from the fingerprint recognition sensor 291, reading an enrolled fingerprint of the user from the first nonvolatile memory device 220, and comparing the received fingerprint and the read fingerprint.
In an embodiment, the fingerprint recognition controller 292 and the storage controller 210 may communicate with each other through at least one of I2C, system management bus (SMBus), universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART), serial peripheral interface (SPI), and high-speed inter-chip (HSIC).
The temperature sensor 390 may detect a temperature of the storage device 300 and may provide second status information about the detected temperature to the storage controller 310. For example, the temperature sensor 390 may send the second status information to the storage controller 310 depending on a request.
In an embodiment, the storage controller 310 may request the second status information to the temperature sensor 390. The storage controller 310 may receive the second status information from the temperature sensor 390. The storage controller 310 may write the second status information provided from the temperature sensor 390 in the second nonvolatile memory device 380.
The storage controller 310 may write the status information SI including the second status information in the second nonvolatile memory device 380. The second status information stored in the second nonvolatile memory device 380 may be used for fault analysis.
The storage controller 310 may update a log with the status information SI including the second status information. The storage controller 310 may provide the status information SI including the second status information to the host 11 depending on a request from the host 11.
The power management integrated circuit 470 may include a voltage detect circuit 430. In the embodiment of
The storage device 100 of
For example, the storage controller 510 may receive first status information from the power management integrated circuit 570. The storage controller 510 may write the status information SI including the first status information in the first nonvolatile memory device 520.
The connector controller 160 of
In an embodiment, the first connector 650_1 may be a port corresponding to the first interface. For example, the first connector 650_1 may be a USB port. The second connector 650_2 may be a port corresponding to the third interface. For example, the second connector 650_2 may be a thunderbolt port.
In an embodiment, the connector controller 660 may transmit/receive a first interface-based signal through the first connector 650_1. The connector controller 660 may convert a first interface-based signal into a second interface-based signal so as to be output to the storage controller 610. The connector controller 660 may receive the second interface-based signal from the storage controller 610 and may convert the second interface-based signal into the first interface-based signal.
In an embodiment, the connector controller 660 may transmit/receive a third interface-based signal through the second connector 650_2. The connector controller 660 may convert the third interface-based signal into the second interface-based signal so as to be output to the storage controller 610. The connector controller 660 may receive the second interface-based signal from the storage controller 610 and may convert the second interface-based signal into the third interface-based signal. As described above, the storage device 600 may communicate with the host 11 through a plurality of interfaces. For example, the storage device 600 may communicate with the host 11 through the USB interface and the thunderbolt interface.
The storage device 100 of
In an embodiment, the connector 750 of
As described above, when an input voltage exceeds a reference voltage, a storage device may detect whether an over-voltage is received. When it is determined that the over-voltage is received, the storage device may provide a notification to a user through a status display device. As such, the user may check a connection status of the storage device and a host and may perform a work such as disconnection of the storage device from the host. For fault analysis, the storage device may store status information of the storage device in a second nonvolatile memory device. The storage device may provide notification that an over-voltage is received, through an asynchronous event request completion, and may provide status information to the host.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there are provided a storage system, a storage device, and an operation method of the storage device, which are capable of displaying an over-voltage input status to a user through a status display device and providing the over-voltage input status and status information to a host when an over-voltage is received from a host through a connector.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2021-0047304 | Apr 2021 | KR | national |