Flash memory detection device and detection method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a flash memory detection device and a detection method thereof. The flash memory control circuit detects the flash memory according to the detection command, responds to the fact that the flash memory is detected to be faulty, provides a corresponding indication signal, connects the input end of the memory slot to the ground, disconnects a signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot, and responds to the replacement operation that the flash memory is replaced by another flash memory. And informing the host that the flash memory is detected to be faulty and is replaced with the other flash memory through the circuit mother board.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a testing device, and in particular to a flash memory testing device and a testing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] As the capacity of a single NAND flash memory is getting larger and larger, it takes a long time to detect (sort) a single flash memory. When using a large NAND flash detection array (NAND Flash Sorting Array) for detection, even if some flash memories have been judged to have failed during the detection process, it is still necessary to wait for all flash memories to be detected before continuing to detect other flash memories. The flash memories that have been judged to have failed cannot be replaced with other flash memories for detection first, which will greatly affect the detection efficiency of the NAND flash detection array. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention provides a flash memory detection device, which can greatly improve the detection efficiency of the flash memory.

[0004] The flash memory detection device of the present invention includes a host, a circuit motherboard and at least one circuit daughterboard. The circuit motherboard is coupled to the host and provides a detection command. Each circuit daughterboard is coupled to the circuit motherboard. The circuit daughterboard includes a plurality of detection modules, and each detection module is suitable for detecting a corresponding flash memory. Each detection module includes a memory slot and a flash memory control circuit. The memory slot is suitable for inserting a flash memory. The flash memory control circuit is coupled to the circuit motherboard, detects the flash memory according to the detection command, responds that the flash memory is detected as a fault, provides a corresponding indication signal, connects the input end of the memory slot to the ground, disconnects the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot, and responds to the replacement operation of the flash memory being replaced with another flash memory, and informs the host through the circuit motherboard that the flash memory is detected as a fault and has been replaced with the above-mentioned other flash memory.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory control circuit provides an interrupt signal in response to the replacement operation, so that the circuit motherboard notifies the host that the flash memory is detected as a failure and has been replaced by the other flash memory.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory control circuit includes a controller, a first switch, a second switch, and a third switch. The controller is coupled to the circuit motherboard. The first switch is coupled between the input end of the memory slot and the ground, and the flash memory is detected as a fault and enters a conducting state. The second switch is coupled between the controller and the input end of the memory slot, and the controller provides a detection signal to the flash memory through the second switch and the memory slot to detect the flash memory. The third switch is coupled between the operating voltage and the ground, and the replacement operation enters a conducting state to provide a first interrupt signal to the controller, and the controller provides a second interrupt signal to the circuit motherboard based on the first interrupt signal, so that the circuit motherboard informs the host that the flash memory is detected as a fault and has been replaced with the above-mentioned other flash memory.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory control circuit further includes an indication circuit coupled to the controller. The controller controls the indication circuit to provide an indication signal according to the detection result of the flash memory.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the indication circuit includes a plurality of indicator lights of different colors coupled to a controller. The controller drives corresponding indicator lights according to the detection result of the flash memory to provide an indication signal.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory control circuit further includes a first resistor and a second resistor, wherein the first resistor is coupled between the first switch and the ground, and the second resistor is coupled between the operating voltage and the controller.

[0010] The present invention also provides a detection method for a flash memory detection device, the flash memory detection device includes a host, a circuit motherboard and at least one circuit daughterboard, each circuit daughterboard includes a plurality of detection modules, each detection module is suitable for detecting a corresponding flash memory, each detection module includes a memory slot suitable for inserting the flash memory, and the detection method for the flash memory detection device includes the following steps. Control each detection module to detect the corresponding flash memory according to the detection command provided by the circuit motherboard. Determine whether the flash memory is detected as a fault. If the flash memory is detected as a fault, the flash memory is detected as a fault, a corresponding indication signal is provided, the input end of the memory slot is connected to the ground, and the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot is disconnected. Determine whether to perform a replacement operation to replace the flash memory with another flash memory. If the replacement operation is performed, the replacement operation is reflected, and the host is informed through the circuit motherboard that the flash memory is detected as a fault and has been replaced with another flash memory.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection method of the flash memory detection device includes providing an interrupt signal in response to the replacement operation so that the circuit motherboard notifies the host that the flash memory is detected as faulty and has been replaced with the other flash memory.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the detection method of the flash memory detection device includes controlling the indication circuit to provide an indication signal according to the detection result of the flash memory.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the indication circuit includes a plurality of indicator lights of different colors, and the detection method of the flash memory detection device includes driving corresponding indicator lights according to the detection result of the flash memory to provide an indication signal.

[0014] Based on the above, the flash memory control circuit of the embodiment of the present invention can respond to the flash memory being detected as faulty by providing a corresponding indication signal, connecting the input end of the memory slot to the ground, and disconnecting the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot. In this way, an indication signal is provided corresponding to the detected faulty flash memory, which can indicate the flash memory that needs to be replaced, connects the input end of the memory slot to the ground, and disconnects the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot, thereby ensuring that the flash memory detection device or other flash memories are not damaged when the faulty flash memory is replaced. Compared with the flash memory detection device of the prior art, the flash memory detection device of the embodiment of the present invention can safely perform a replacement operation on the flash memory that has been detected as faulty, thereby avoiding the faulty flash memory occupying the memory slot and reducing the detection efficiency of the flash memory.

[0015] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, embodiments are given below with reference to the accompanying drawings for detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a flash memory detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a detection module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 is a flow chart of detecting flash memory according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 The present invention is a flowchart of a detection method of a flash memory detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the content of the present invention more understandable, the following embodiments are specifically cited as examples on which the present invention can be implemented. In addition, wherever possible, components / members with the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and embodiments to represent the same or similar components.

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a flash memory detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, please refer to Figure 1. The flash memory detection device 100 may include a host 102, a circuit motherboard 104, and circuit daughter boards 106-1 to 106-3. The circuit motherboard 104 couples the host 102 and the circuit daughter boards 106-1 to 106-3. The host 102 may be, for example, a computer or a laptop, but is not limited thereto. The circuit daughter boards 106-1 to 106-3 each include a plurality of detection modules 108, and may detect a plurality of flash memories (for example, NAND flash memories, but not limited thereto) at the same time. Each detection module 108 is used to detect a corresponding flash memory. In the present embodiment, the flash memory detection device includes three circuit daughter boards 106-1 to 106-3, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the flash memory detection device may also include more or fewer circuit daughter boards.

[0022] Furthermore, each detection module 108 may include a memory slot 110 and a flash memory control circuit 112, wherein the flash memory control circuit 112 couples the circuit motherboard 104 and the memory slot 110. The memory slot 110 is suitable for inserting a flash memory (e.g., a packaged flash memory), and the host 102 may control the circuit motherboard 104 to provide a detection command to the flash memory control circuit. The flash memory control circuit 112 may detect the corresponding flash memory according to the detection command, and provide an indication signal according to the detection result, for example, it may provide a corresponding indication signal (e.g., a light signal or a sound signal, but not limited thereto) when the flash memory is detected as a fault. The situation in which the flash memory is detected as a fault may include, for example, a failure to read the ID of the flash memory, too many bad memory blocks, too high current, etc., but not limited thereto.

[0023] In addition, the flash memory control circuit 112 can also respond to the flash memory being detected as faulty by connecting the input end of the memory slot 110 to the ground, and disconnecting the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot 110, so as to avoid the signal input to the input end of the memory slot 110 from damaging the flash memory detection device 100 or other flash memories when performing a replacement operation on the faulty flash memory. In addition, the flash memory control circuit 112 can also respond to the replacement operation of the faulty flash memory being replaced with another flash memory to be tested, and inform the host 102 through the circuit motherboard 104 that the faulty flash memory has been detected and replaced with another flash memory to be tested. For example, the flash memory control circuit 112 can respond to the replacement operation by providing an interrupt signal to the circuit motherboard 104, so that the circuit motherboard 104 informs the host 102 that the flash memory is detected as faulty and has been replaced with another flash memory to be tested.

[0024] As described above, the flash memory detection device 100 of the present embodiment can safely perform a replacement operation on the flash memory that is detected to be faulty, without having to wait for all the flash memories on the circuit boards 106-1 to 106-3 to be detected before detecting other flash memories to be tested. Therefore, it can effectively avoid the faulty flash memory occupying the memory slot 110 and reducing the flash memory detection efficiency.

[0025] Specifically, the detection module 108 may be implemented as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the flash memory control circuit 112 may include a controller 202, an indication circuit 204, switches SW1 to SW3, and resistors R1 and R2, wherein the controller 202 is coupled to the indication circuit 204 and the circuit motherboard 104, the switch SW2 is coupled between the controller 202 and the input end of the memory slot 110, the switch SW1 and the resistor R1 are connected in series between the input end of the memory slot 110 and the ground, the resistor R2 and the switch SW3 are coupled between the operating voltage Vdd and the ground, and the common contact of the resistor R2 and the switch SW3 is coupled to the controller 202.

[0026] The controller 202 can receive the detection command provided by the circuit motherboard 104 through the bus, and provide a detection signal to the flash memory 206 through the input end of the memory slot 110 according to the detection command to detect the flash memory 206, and drive at least one of the red light-emitting diode R, green light-emitting diode G or blue light-emitting diode B in the indication circuit 204 according to the detection result of the flash memory 206 as an indication signal. For example, when the flash memory 206 is detected to be good, the green light-emitting diode G can be driven to emit light, and when the flash memory 206 is detected to be faulty, the red light-emitting diode R can be driven to emit light to indicate that the flash memory 206 is a faulty flash memory and can be replaced with other flash memories to be tested. Among them, when the flash memory 206 is detected to be faulty, the controller 202 can turn on the switch SW1 and turn off the switch SW2 to connect the input end of the memory slot 110 to the ground, and disconnect the signal transmission path between the controller 202 and the memory slot 110.

[0027] In addition, the switch SW3 can enter the on state in response to the replacement operation of the flash memory 206. For example, the memory slot 110 can provide a control signal to the switch SW3 in response to the replacement operation of the flash memory 206 (the memory slot 110 can include a switch control circuit, which can sense the replacement operation and control the on state of the switch SW3 accordingly) to control the switch SW3 to enter the on state, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the switch SW3 can also be implemented as a physical button, for example. The switch SW3 can receive the replacement operation and be turned on, and pull the common point of the resistor R2 and the switch SW3 down to a low voltage level.

[0028] In this embodiment, during the replacement operation, the switch SW3 responds to the replacement operation and enters the on state, and the interrupt signal S1 provided by the common contact of the switch SW3 and the resistor R2 will change from a high voltage level to a low voltage level. After the replacement operation is completed, the switch SW3 is restored to the off state, and the interrupt signal S1 is correspondingly restored to a high voltage level. The controller 202 can know that the flash memory 206 is a faulty flash memory 206 according to the voltage level change of the interrupt signal S1, and generate an interrupt signal S2 to the circuit motherboard 104, so that the circuit motherboard 104 informs the host 102 that the flash memory 206 is detected as a fault and has been replaced with another flash memory to be tested. In this way, the host 102 can control the circuit motherboard 104 to issue a detection command to detect the replaced flash memory to be tested. In addition, in some embodiments, the resistors R1 and R2 can also be omitted.

[0029] The process steps for testing flash memory can be as follows: Figure 3 As shown, first, the host confirms the grading (BIN) condition of the flash memory to be tested (step S302), and then generates various test parameters for grading (step S304), and then loads the parameters to the mass production fixture control software tool (step S306), so as to control the circuit motherboard 104 to issue a detection command to control each detection module of the circuit daughter board to perform flash memory detection (step S308). The controller of each detection module of the circuit daughter board detects the flash memory according to the detection command (step S310), and provides the detection result, so as to classify according to the detection result (step S312).

[0030] Furthermore, it can be seen from the above embodiments that the detection method of the flash memory detection device can be as follows: Figure 4 As shown. First, each detection module is controlled to detect the corresponding flash memory according to the detection command provided by the circuit motherboard (step S402), and then, it is determined whether the flash memory is detected as a fault (step S404). If the flash memory is not detected as a fault, return to step S402 to continue the detection of the flash memory, and if the flash memory is detected as a fault, it can be reflected that the flash memory is detected as a fault, provide a corresponding indication signal, connect the input end of the memory slot to the ground, and disconnect the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot (step S406). For example, the indication circuit can be controlled to provide an indication signal according to the detection result of the flash memory, wherein the indication circuit can, for example, include a plurality of indicator lights of different colors, and driving different indicator lights according to the detection result of the flash memory can provide an indication signal corresponding to the detection result. Afterwards, it can be determined whether to perform a replacement operation (step S408). If the replacement operation is not performed, the process returns to step S408. If it is determined that the replacement operation is performed, the circuit motherboard can inform the host that the flash memory is detected as faulty and has been replaced with another flash memory (step S410). For example, an interrupt signal can be provided in response to the replacement operation so that the circuit motherboard informs the host that the flash memory is detected as faulty and has been replaced with another flash memory.

[0031] In summary, the flash memory control circuit of the embodiment of the present invention can provide a corresponding indication signal in response to the flash memory being detected as faulty, connect the input end of the memory slot to the ground, and disconnect the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot. In this way, an indication signal is provided corresponding to the detected faulty flash memory, which can indicate the flash memory that needs to be replaced, connect the input end of the memory slot to the ground, and disconnect the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot, so as to ensure that the flash memory detection device or other flash memories are not damaged when the faulty flash memory is replaced. Compared with the flash memory detection device of the prior art, the flash memory detection device of the embodiment of the present invention can safely perform a replacement operation on the flash memory that has been detected as faulty, thereby avoiding the faulty flash memory occupying the memory slot and reducing the detection efficiency of the flash memory.

[0032] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above by way of embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A flash memory detection device, It is characterized in that include: Host; A circuit motherboard, coupled to the host, and providing a detection command; as well as At least one circuit daughter board is coupled to the circuit mother board, the circuit daughter board includes a plurality of detection modules, each detection module is suitable for detecting a corresponding flash memory, each detection module includes: A memory slot, suitable for inserting the flash memory; as well as The flash memory control circuit is coupled to the circuit motherboard, detects the flash memory according to the detection command, responds that the flash memory is detected as faulty, provides a corresponding indication signal, connects the input end of the memory slot to the ground, disconnects the signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot, responds to the replacement operation of the flash memory being replaced with another flash memory, and informs the host through the circuit motherboard that the flash memory is detected as faulty and has been replaced with the other flash memory.

2. The flash memory detection device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The flash memory control circuit provides an interrupt signal in response to the replacement operation, so that the circuit motherboard notifies the host that the flash memory is detected as a failure and has been replaced by the other flash memory.

3. The flash memory detection device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The flash memory control circuit comprises: A controller, coupled to the circuit motherboard; A first switch, coupled between the input terminal of the memory slot and the ground, responding to the flash memory being detected as a fault and entering a conducting state; a second switch coupled between the controller and an input terminal of the memory slot, wherein the controller provides a detection signal to the flash memory through the second switch and the memory slot to detect the flash memory; and The third switch is coupled between the operating voltage and the ground, and responds to the replacement operation to enter a conducting state to provide a first interrupt signal to the controller. The controller provides a second interrupt signal to the circuit motherboard based on the first interrupt signal, so that the circuit motherboard informs the host that the flash memory is detected as a fault and has been replaced with the other flash memory.

4. The flash memory detection device according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The flash memory control circuit also includes: The indication circuit is coupled to the controller, and the controller controls the indication circuit to provide the indication signal according to the detection result of the flash memory.

5. The flash memory detection device according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The indicating circuit comprises: A plurality of indicator lights of different colors are coupled to the controller, and the controller drives corresponding indicator lights according to the detection result of the flash memory to provide the indication signal.

6. The flash memory detection device according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The flash memory control circuit also includes: A first resistor coupled between the first switch and the ground; and The second resistor is coupled between the operating voltage and the controller.

7. A detection method for a flash memory detection device, It is characterized in that The flash memory detection device comprises a host, a circuit motherboard and at least one circuit daughterboard, the circuit daughterboard comprises a plurality of detection modules, each detection module is suitable for detecting a corresponding flash memory, each detection module comprises a memory slot suitable for inserting the flash memory, and the detection method of the flash memory detection device comprises: Controlling each detection module to detect the corresponding flash memory according to a detection command provided by the circuit motherboard; Determining whether the flash memory is detected as a fault; If the flash memory is detected as a fault, responding that the flash memory is detected as a fault, providing a corresponding indication signal, connecting the input end of the memory slot to a ground, and disconnecting a signal transmission path connected to the input end of the memory slot; determining whether to perform a replacement operation of replacing the flash memory with another flash memory; and If the replacement operation is performed, in response to the replacement operation, the circuit motherboard notifies the host that the flash memory is detected as faulty and has been replaced with the other flash memory.

8. The detection method of the flash memory detection device according to claim 7, It is characterized in that include: In response to the replacement operation, an interrupt signal is provided so that the circuit motherboard notifies the host that the flash memory is detected as a failure and has been replaced by the other flash memory.

9. The detection method of the flash memory detection device according to claim 7, It is characterized in that include: The indicating circuit is controlled to provide the indicating signal according to the detection result of the flash memory.

10. The detection method of the flash memory detection device according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The indicating circuit includes a plurality of indicating lights of different colors, and the detection method of the flash memory detection device includes: The corresponding indicator light is driven according to the detection result of the flash memory to provide the indication signal.

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