Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120083237 | FALL DETECTION SYSTEM USING A COMBINATION OF ACCELEROMETER, AUDIO INPUT AND MAGNETOMETER - A wearable device for detecting a user state is disclosed. The wearable device includes an accelerometer for measuring an acceleration of a user, a magnetometer for measuring a magnetic field associated with the user's change of orientation, a microphone for receiving audio, a memory for storing the audio, and at least one processor communicatively connected to the accelerometer, the magnetometer, the microphone, and the memory. The processor is identified to declare a measured acceleration as a suspected user state, and to categorize the suspected user state based on the stored audio as one of an activity of daily life (ADL), a confirmed user state, or an inconclusive event. | 04-05-2012 |
20130246839 | DYNAMIC HIGHER-LEVEL REDUNDANCY MODE MANAGEMENT WITH INDEPENDENT SILICON ELEMENTS - A Solid-State Disk (SSD) controller enables dynamic higher-level redundancy mode management with independent silicon elements to provide graceful degradation as non-volatile (e.g. flash) memory elements fail during operation of an SSD implemented by the controller. Higher-level error correction provides correction of lower-level uncorrectable errors. If a failure of one of the non-volatile memory elements is detected, then the higher-level error correction is dynamically transitioned from operating in a current mode to operating in a new mode. The transition includes one or more of reducing free space available on the SSD, rearranging data storage of the SSD, recovering/storing failed user data (if possible), and determining/storing revised higher-level error correction information. Operation then continues in the new mode. If another failure of the non-volatile memory elements is detected, then another transition is made to another new mode. | 09-19-2013 |
20130290618 | HIGHER-LEVEL REDUNDANCY INFORMATION COMPUTATION - Higher-level redundancy information computation enables a Solid-State Disk (SSD) controller to provide higher-level redundancy capabilities to maintain reliable operation in a context of failures of non-volatile (e.g. flash) memory elements during operation of an SSD. A first portion of higher-level redundancy information is computed using parity coding via an XOR of all pages in a portion of data to be protected by the higher-level redundancy information. A second portion of the higher-level redundancy information is computed using a weighted-sum technique, each page in the portion being assigned a unique non-zero “index” as a weight when computing the weighted-sum. Arithmetic is performed over a finite field (such as a Galois Field). The portions of the higher-level redundancy information are computable in any order, such as an order based on order of read operation completion of non-volatile memory elements. | 10-31-2013 |
20140047170 | MAINTAINING ORDERING VIA A MULTI-LEVEL MAP OF A SOLID-STATE MEDIA - Described embodiments provide a media controller that processes requests including a logical address and address range. A map of the media controller determines physical addresses of a media associated with the logical address and address range of the request. The map is a multi-level map having a plurality of leaf-level map pages that are stored in the media, with a subset of the leaf-level map pages stored in a map cache. Based on the logical address and address range, it is determined whether a corresponding leaf-level map page is stored in the map cache. If the leaf-level map page is stored in the map cache, a cache index and control indicators of the map cache entry are returned in order to enforce ordering rules that selectively enable access to a corresponding leaf-level map page based on the control indicators and a determined request type. | 02-13-2014 |
20140047210 | TRIM MECHANISM USING MULTI-LEVEL MAPPING IN A SOLID-STATE MEDIA - Described embodiments provide a media controller that receives requests that include a logical address and address range. In response to the request, the media controller determines whether the received request is an invalidating request. If the received request type is an invalidating request, the media controller uses a map to determine one or more entries of the map associated with the logical address and range. Indicators in the map associated with each of the map entries are set to indicate that the map entries are to be invalidated. The media controller acknowledges to a host device that the invaliding request is complete and updates, in an idle mode of the media controller, a free space count based on the map entries that are to be invalidated. The physical addresses associated with the invalidated map entries are made available to be reused for subsequent requests from the host device. | 02-13-2014 |
20140068176 | LOOKUP ENGINE WITH PIPELINED ACCESS, SPECULATIVE ADD AND LOCK-IN-HIT FUNCTION - Described embodiments provide a lookup engine that receives lookup requests including a requested key and a speculative add requestor. Iteratively, for each one of the lookup requests, the lookup engine searches each entry of a lookup table for an entry having a key matching the requested key of the lookup request. If the lookup table does not include an entry having a key matching the requested key, the lookup engine sends a miss indication corresponding to the lookup request to the control processor. If the speculative add requestor is set, the lookup engine speculatively adds the requested key to a free entry in the lookup table. Speculatively added keys are searchable in the lookup table for subsequent lookup requests to maintain coherency of the lookup table without creating duplicate key entries, comparing missed keys with each other or stalling the lookup engine to insert missed keys. | 03-06-2014 |
20140130188 | Techniques For Secure Storage Hijacking Protection - A hijack-protected, secure storage device requires proof that the user has actual physical access to the device before protected commands are executed. Examples of protected commands include attempts to change storage device security credentials of the device, erasure of protected portions of the device, and attempts to format, sanitize, and trim the device. Various techniques for proving the actual physical possession include manipulating a magnet to control a magnetic reed switch located within the device, operating a momentary switch located within the device, altering light reaching a light sensor located within the device (such as by opening or shutting a laptop cover to change ambient light reaching the sensor), and manipulating a radio-transmitting device (such as a cell phone) near the storage device for detection of the manipulation by a compatible radio receiver located within the device. | 05-08-2014 |
20140181370 | METHOD TO APPLY FINE GRAIN WEAR LEVELING AND GARBAGE COLLECTION - An apparatus includes a non-volatile memory and a controller. The controller is coupled to the non-volatile memory and configured to (i) measure a rate of free space consumption in the non-volatile memory, (ii) measure a rate of free space production in the non-volatile memory, and (iii) adjust a rate of a recycling process in response to the measured rate of free space consumption and the measured rate of free space production. | 06-26-2014 |
20140215123 | Controller-Opaque Communication with Non-Volatile Memory Devices - The disclosure is directed to a system and method for controlling a non-volatile memory (NVM) device with controller-opaque commands issued by a host. A device controller is configured to receive a command script from a host. The device controller executes one or more commands of the command script including sending one or more operations of the command script to a NVM device in communication with the device controller. The device controller is enabled to provide at least a portion of the one or more operations from the command script to be executed by the NVM device without any embedded knowledge by the device controller of the actions of and/or consequences of the operations, thereby allowing the host to access NVM commands that are not necessarily supported by the device controller. | 07-31-2014 |
20140237166 | HIGHER-LEVEL REDUNDANCY INFORMATION COMPUTATION - Higher-level redundancy information computation enables a Solid-State Disk (SSD) controller to provide higher-level redundancy capabilities to maintain reliable operation in a context of failures of non-volatile (e.g. flash) memory elements during operation of an SSD. A first portion of higher-level redundancy information is computed using parity coding via an XOR of all pages in a portion of data to be protected by the higher-level redundancy information. A second portion of the higher-level redundancy information is computed using a weighted-sum technique, each page in the portion being assigned a unique non-zero “index” as a weight when computing the weighted-sum. Arithmetic is performed over a finite field (such as a Galois Field). The portions of the higher-level redundancy information are computable in any order, such as an order based on order of read operation completion of non-volatile memory elements. | 08-21-2014 |
20140258587 | SELF RECOVERY IN A SOLID STATE DRIVE - An apparatus having a nonvolatile memory and a controller. The memory stores information in multiple pages. The information includes data units and headers. Each data unit is associated with a respective identifier in an address space of the apparatus and a respective location in the memory, has a respective header having the respective identifier, and is associated with a respective time stamp. Multiple headers include ones of the time stamps. The controller is configured to (i) read information stored in the pages, (ii) determine an order in which the data units were written based on the time stamps, (iii) locate based on the order (a) each last-written occurrence of the respective identifiers and (b) the respective locations of the data units associated with the last-written occurrences, and (iv) rebuild a map of the controller according to the respective locations of each last-written occurrence of each respective identifier. | 09-11-2014 |
20140258769 | PARTIAL R-BLOCK RECYCLING - An apparatus includes a non-volatile memory and a controller. The non-volatile memory includes a plurality of R-blocks. The controller is coupled to the non-volatile memory. The controller is configured to (i) write data using the R-blocks as a unit of allocation and (ii) perform recycling operations selectively on either an entire one of the R-blocks or a portion less than all of one of the R-blocks. | 09-11-2014 |
20140351486 | VARIABLE REDUNDANCY IN A SOLID STATE DRIVE - An apparatus comprising a memory and a controller. The memory may be configured to process a plurality of read/write operations. The memory comprises a plurality of memory modules each having a size less than a total size of the memory. The controller is configured to provide a first redundancy scheme when user data occupies less than a preconfigured limit and a second redundancy scheme that protects less than all of the user data when the user data occupies greater than the preconfigured limit. | 11-27-2014 |
20140365164 | FALL DETECTION SYSTEM USING A COMBINATION OF ACCELEROMETER, AUDIO INPUT AND MAGNETOMETER - A wearable device for detecting a user state is disclosed. The wearable device includes an accelerometer for measuring an acceleration of a user, a magnetometer for measuring a magnetic field associated with the user's change of orientation, a microphone for receiving audio, a memory for storing the audio, and at least one processor communicatively connected to the accelerometer, the magnetometer, the microphone, and the memory. The processor is identified to declare a measured acceleration as a suspected user state, and to categorize the suspected user state based on the stored audio as one of an activity of daily life (ADL), a confirmed user state, or an inconclusive event. | 12-11-2014 |
20140379959 | MAP RECYCLING ACCELERATION - An apparatus having a processor and a circuit is disclosed. The processor is generally configured to initiate an operation to recycle a plurality of source blocks in a memory that is nonvolatile. The circuit is generally configured to (i) search through a first of a plurality of levels in a map that defines a plurality of translations between a plurality of logical addresses used at an interface to a computer and a plurality of physical addresses used in the memory and (ii) notify the processor in response to a detection in the first level of one or more of the source blocks to be recycled that contain valid data. | 12-25-2014 |
20150033065 | SOLID STATE DRIVE EMERGENCY PRE-BOOT APPLICATION PROVIDING EXPANDED DATA RECOVERY FUNCTION - An apparatus includes a non-volatile memory and a controller. The non-volatile memory includes a user area and a non-user area. The user area is generally enabled to store and retrieve data in a logical block address space of a host. The non-user area stores a failure-specific recovery routine. The controller may be communicatively coupled to the non-volatile memory. The controller is generally enabled, when operationally coupled to the host, (i) to respond to host commands to read and to write data into the user area of the non-volatile memory and (ii) upon detection of a predefined failure of a controller boot process, to respond to host read requests by returning the failure-specific recovery routine stored in the non-user area of the non-volatile memory. | 01-29-2015 |
20150067349 | VIRTUAL BANDS CONCENTRATION FOR SELF ENCRYPTING DRIVES - An apparatus includes a storage device and a host device. The storage device may be configured to encrypt and decrypt user data during write and read operations, respectively. The host device is communicatively coupled to the storage device. The host device may be configured to execute the write and read operations by concentrating a first number of virtual bands into a second number of real bands, wherein said second number is smaller than said first number. | 03-05-2015 |
20150082124 | SPATIALLY DECOUPLED REDUNDANCY SCHEMES FOR A SOLID STATE DRIVE (SSD) - An apparatus comprising a memory and a controller. The memory may be configured to process a plurality of read/write operations. The memory may comprise a plurality of memory modules each having a size less than a total size of the memory. The controller may be configured to write user data using a redundancy scheme. Information about the redundancy is (i) stored in a location separate from the data and (ii) used to recover potentially corrupted user data. | 03-19-2015 |