Command Converter Buffering for Memory Access Granularity Mismatch

The patent introduces a command converter as an intermediary device between the host processor and NAND flash memory. This converter includes a buffer that stores data and an address list that tracks storage locations. The command converter translates wide-IO interface requests into NAND-compatible commands, matching data to appropriate storage locations and combining multiple small writes into larger programmed writes. This intermediary resolves the granularity incompatibility between the wide-IO interface and NAND devices while preserving high storage capacity.

The command converter performs preliminary actions by pre-processing write requests before they reach the NAND devices. The buffer accumulates incoming data and the address list pre-organizes storage locations. Multiple small write requests are combined into larger programmed writes in advance, maximizing NAND device utilization. This preliminary processing maintains simple direct access while achieving high bandwidth utilization through intelligent data aggregation.

The command converter merges multiple small write requests into larger programmed writes. The buffer accumulates data and the address list tracks which pages need writing. Instead of immediately opening and closing pages for each small write, the converter combines requests and performs bulk programmed writes, reducing the frequency of page open/close operations. This merging strategy maintains access flexibility while significantly reducing power consumption associated with page management operations.