Storage device

Abstract

This invention relates to a storage device, comprising: a storage module for data reading / writing operations; and a control module electrically connected to the storage module. The control module controls the transmission speed of the storage device and the operation of the storage module. The control module presets a plurality of different operating modes and selects one of these modes to execute. Each operating mode corresponds to a set transmission speed for the storage device, and the transmission speed of the storage device differs from the transmission speed when the control module executes other operating modes. Through the storage device of this invention, the access performance of the storage device can be adjusted through different operating modes, thereby meeting the access requirements of various energy-intensive applications.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This case relates to a storage device, and more particularly to a storage device with adjustable power consumption and performance. Prior Technology

[0002] The evolution of storage devices from SATA to PCIe has significantly increased data transfer speeds. For example, a storage device with a PCIe 4.0 interface can achieve a transfer speed of up to 16 Gbps bandwidth on a single lane (Lane x1), far exceeding the 6 Gbps bandwidth of a SATA 3.0 interface storage device. Furthermore, storage devices with a PCIe 4.0 interface can achieve exponential increases in transfer speed by adding more lanes (x2, x4, ...).

[0003] Storage devices are powered by the system platform's power supply. However, high-speed data transmission raises another important issue: the energy demand of storage devices on the system platform's power supply increases significantly, leading to higher power consumption of the system platform. However, due to varying application environments, such as harsh high-temperature environments and power supply limitations of the system platform, current storage devices require various design modifications and extensive verification to meet different energy consumption requirements and adapt to varying environments and system platform power supply constraints. This results in poor compatibility and limited versatility of current storage devices.

[0004] Therefore, developing a storage device that overcomes the above-mentioned shortcomings is an urgent need at present. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a storage device that addresses the shortcomings of traditional storage devices, such as poor compatibility and limited versatility, which require various design modifications and extensive verification to meet different energy consumption requirements in response to power supply limitations of different environments or system platforms.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, one more general embodiment of this application is to provide a storage device comprising: a storage module for accessing and performing data reading / writing operations; and a control module electrically connected to the storage module, wherein the control module controls the transmission speed of the storage device and controls the operation of the storage module, wherein the control module presets a plurality of different operating modes and selects one operating mode to execute, each operating mode corresponding to a set transmission speed of the storage device, and the transmission speed of the storage device is different when the control module executes any operating mode than when the control module executes other operating modes. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0007] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure of the storage device in this case. Implementation

[0008] Some typical embodiments that embody the features and advantages of this case will be described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that this case can have various variations in different forms, all of which do not depart from the scope of this case, and the descriptions and drawings therein are essentially for illustrative purposes and not for limiting this case.

[0009] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure of the storage device in this case. As shown in the figure, the storage device 1 of this case can be a solid-state drive or a non-volatile memory module and includes a control module 2, a storage module 4, and a transmission interface 5. The interface specification of the transmission interface 5 can include SATA or PCIe, and the transmission interface 5 can be electrically connected to the processing unit 6 to receive external commands fv (also known as vendor commands) transmitted by the processing unit 6, wherein the processing unit 6 can be, but is not limited to, the processor of a computer motherboard.

[0010] Storage module 4 may be formed of NAND flash memory or other non-volatile memory (NVM), and storage module 4 is accessible for data reading / writing operations.

[0011] The control module 2 is electrically connected to the transmission interface 5 and the storage module 4. The control module 2 can control the transmission speed of the storage device 1 and the operation of the storage module 4. Furthermore, the control module 2 can transfer data read from the storage module 4 to the processing unit 6 via the transmission interface 5, and can also receive data and / or external commands from the processing unit 6 via the transmission interface 5. Moreover, the control module 2 has multiple preset operating modes and can select one of these modes to execute. Each operating mode corresponds to a set transmission speed for the storage device 1, and the transmission speed of the storage device 1 is different when the control module 2 executes any operating mode compared to other operating modes. Because the transmission speed of the storage device 1 differs between operating modes, the energy consumption and performance of the storage device 1 differ between operating modes in any given mode.

[0012] As can be seen from the above, the storage device 1 of this invention can utilize the control module 2 to select and execute corresponding operating modes according to the power supply limitations of different environments or different system platforms, thereby adjusting the operating performance of the storage device 1. This allows the energy consumption of the storage device 1 to be adjusted according to the power supply limitations of different environments or different system platforms. In other words, when a user needs to build a low-power system, they only need to set the storage device to a lower transmission speed operating mode as described above to meet their low-power requirements. Conversely, if there are no power consumption limitations, the user can set the storage device to a high-speed operating mode as described above. Therefore, this invention can indeed improve the compatibility of the storage device 1, reduce the hardware and software adjustment time of the storage device 1, and thus enhance the value of the storage device 1 product.

[0013] In some embodiments, the transmission interface 5 includes a plurality of transmission channels for data transmission, which can increase the data transmission speed of the storage device 1. Furthermore, in any preset operating mode of the control module 2, the control module 2 can set and change the transmission speed of the storage device 1 by adjusting the transmission interface 5, adjusting the number of transmission channels used in the transmission interface 5, adjusting the operating frequency of the storage module 4, adjusting the operating frequency of the storage device 1, adjusting the read and write speeds of the storage module 4, and / or adjusting the access method of the storage module 4, thereby achieving the goal of reducing energy consumption.

[0014] In some embodiments, the storage device 1 includes an external trigger module 3, which is electrically connected to and communicates with the control module 2. The external trigger module 3 can be controlled by the user to generate a corresponding trigger signal to the control module 2, causing the control module 2 to execute the corresponding operating mode according to the trigger signal. The external trigger module 3 includes a selection setting unit 30 and a general-purpose input / output (GPIO) pin module. The selection setting unit 30 allows the user to perform selection setting operations according to a plurality of preset operating modes of the control module 2, thereby generating a selection signal fc. The selection signal fc has a plurality of different voltage levels according to the plurality of preset operating modes of the control module 2. When the control module 2 receives the selection signal, it executes the corresponding operating mode according to the selection signal fc. The general purpose input / output (GPIO) pin module 31 is electrically connected to the selection setting unit 30 and the control module 2, and includes a plurality of GPIO pins. The GPIO pin module 31 uses the plurality of GPIO pins to transmit the selection signal fc generated by the selection setting unit 30 to the control module 2. In some embodiments, the selection setting unit 30 may be, but is not limited to, a pin header connector, a DIP switch, or a button.

[0015] In some embodiments, the external trigger module 3 further includes an LED module 32 electrically connected to the general-purpose input / output pin module 31 and includes a plurality of LEDs. The LED module 32 receives a selection signal fc generated by the selection setting unit 30 via the input / output pins. The LED module 32 further uses the plurality of LEDs to provide corresponding lighting prompts according to the operating mode selected by the selection signal fc. The plurality of LEDs will have different lighting prompts according to different operating modes, so that the user can understand which operating mode the storage device 1 is operating in based on the different lighting prompts of the LED module 32.

[0016] Of course, this invention is not limited to using hardware settings to trigger and adjust the power consumption and performance of the storage device 1, i.e., using an external trigger module 3 to select from a plurality of different operating modes preset by the control module 2. In some embodiments, the power consumption and performance of the storage device 1 can also be adjusted using software interface settings. For example, external commands transmitted by the processing unit 6 can be applied to drive the control module 2, so that the control module 2 executes the corresponding operating mode from a plurality of different operating modes according to the external commands.

[0017] In some embodiments, the control module 2 needs to switch from power off to power on via the storage device 1 each time and then select one of the multiple operating modes to execute.

[0018] In summary, this invention provides a storage device that can select and execute corresponding operating modes using a control module to adjust the performance of the storage device in response to power supply limitations in different environments or system platforms. This allows the energy consumption of the storage device to be adapted to power supply limitations in different environments or system platforms, thereby significantly improving the compatibility of the storage device, reducing hardware and software adjustment time, and ultimately enhancing the value of the storage device product.

[0019] 1: Storage device 2: Control Module 3: External trigger module 4: Storage Module 5: Transmission Interface 6: Processing Unit fv: external command 30: Select setting unit 31: General Purpose Input / Output Pin Module 32: LED Module fc: Selection signal

Claims

1. A storage device, comprising: a storage module for accessing and performing data reading / writing operations; and a control module electrically connected to the storage module, the control module controlling the transmission speed of the storage device and controlling the operation of the storage module, wherein the control module presets a plurality of different operating modes and selects one of the plurality of operating modes to execute, each operating mode correspondingly setting a transmission speed of the storage device, and the transmission speed of the storage device is different when the control module executes any of the operating modes compared to the transmission speed when the control module executes other operating modes, and the storage device uses the control module to select and execute the corresponding operating mode according to the power supply limitations of different environments or different system platforms.

2. The storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage device further includes a transmission interface electrically connected to a processing unit to receive an external command from a transmission unit.

3. The storage device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the external command is applied to drive the control module to execute the corresponding operating mode from the plurality of different operating modes according to the external command.

4. The storage device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmission interface includes a plurality of transmission channels for data transmission via the plurality of transmission channels.

5. The storage device as claimed in claim 4, wherein in any of the operating modes preset by the control module, the control module sets and changes the transmission speed of the storage device by adjusting the transmission interface, adjusting the number of transmission channels used by the transmission interface, adjusting an operating frequency of the storage module, adjusting an operating frequency of the storage device, adjusting the delayed read and write speed of the storage module, and / or adjusting the access mode of the storage module.

6. The storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage device includes an external trigger module, the external trigger module including: a selection setting unit for a user to perform a selection setting operation according to different preset operating modes of the control module, thereby generating a selection signal accordingly; and a general-purpose input / output pin module electrically connected to the selection setting unit and the control module, and including a plurality of general-purpose input / output pins, the general-purpose input / output pin module using the plurality of general-purpose input / output pins to transmit the selection signal generated by the selection setting unit to the control module, so that the control module executes the corresponding operating mode according to the selection signal.

7. The storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the selection signal has a plurality of different voltage levels depending on the plurality of different operating modes preset by the control module.

8. The storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the selection setting unit comprises a pin header connector, a DIP switch, or a button.

9. The storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the external trigger module includes an LED module electrically connected to the general purpose input / output pin module and includes a plurality of LEDs, the LED module receiving the selection signal generated by the selection setting unit via the input / output pin, and using the plurality of LEDs to provide corresponding illumination indications according to the operating mode selected by the selection signal, wherein... The multiple LED lights provide different lighting indicators depending on the different operating modes.

10. The storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control module selects one of the plurality of operating modes to execute each time the storage device is switched from off to on.

Images