Flash Memory Controller Simulating Rewritable Disc via Logical Block Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rewritable digital versatile disc (DVD) drives are bulky, power-intensive, and have slow access speeds, making them inconvenient for small devices like netbooks, and existing flash memory solutions lack data rewritability.
Innovation Solution
A flash memory storage system comprising a flash memory chip, a connector, and a controller that configures logical blocks and maps them to physical blocks, allowing the system to simulate a rewritable disc device by identifying and responding to rewritable disc commands from a host system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rewritable DVD drive is used, then data storage capacity and rewritability are improved, but device volume and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical optical pickup system of traditional DVD drives with a solid-state flash memory storage system. The flash memory controller simulates DVD drive functionality through software/firmware, eliminating mechanical components entirely. This substitution achieves the same data storage and rewriting capabilities without the bulky mechanical structure, directly resolving the contradiction between functionality and device volume.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a rewritable DVD drive is used, then data storage capacity and rewritability are improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The solid-state flash memory system replaces the power-intensive mechanical optical pickup and motor systems of DVD drives. Flash memory requires minimal power for read/write operations compared to the optical lasers and mechanical components of DVD drives, thereby maintaining data storage and rewritability while dramatically reducing power consumption.
3Quantity of substance
If a rewritable DVD drive is used, then data storage capacity is improved, but access speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical seeking and optical reading system of DVD drives with electronic access to flash memory. Flash memory provides direct electronic access to stored data without mechanical movement, resulting in significantly faster access speeds while maintaining large storage capacity. The controller manages data operations to simulate DVD protocols, ensuring compatibility while delivering superior speed performance.
4Volume of moving object
If a USB storage device simulating CD-ROM is used, then device volume and power consumption are reduced, but data rewritability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The flash memory controller is designed to simulate multiple disc device types (CD-ROM, DVD-RW, etc.) through software/firmware configuration. The same compact flash memory hardware can be programmed to present different device identities and support different operation modes including read-only and rewritable modes, thereby achieving multi-functionality that resolves the contradiction between compact size and data rewritability.
Data Source
AI summary
A flash memory storage system including a flash memory chip, a connector, and a controller is provided. The flash memory chip has a plurality of physical blocks. The connector is configured to couple to a host system. The controller is coupled to the flash memory chip and the connector. The controller configures a plurality of logical blocks and maps the logical blocks to a portion of the physical blocks. In addition, the controller identifies rewritable disc commands from the host system and writes data from the host system into the physical blocks mapped to the logical blocks according to the rewritable disc commands. Thereby, a rewritable disc device is simulated by using the flash memory storage system.