Patent ID: 7039775
Filing Date: 2006-05-02
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A non-volatile storage device, comprising: a plurality of sectors divided into logical sectors and a plurality of additional sectors, each sector being erasable as a unit, each sector being identified with an individual physical sector address and each logical sector being identified with an individual logical sector address, each sector also including a data storing section and a control data storing section and the logical sector address for each logical sector is stored in the control data storing section, each sector further being associated with a usability flag indicating whether or not the sector is usable and an erase flag indicating whether or not erasure of the sector has been completed; a logic section that writes data into a first one of the plurality of additional sectors and erases the first one of the logical sectors when data stored in the first one of the logical sectors is updated, and changes the first one of the plurality of additional sectors to the first one of the logical sectors and changes the first one of the logical sectors that is erased into one of the plurality of additional sectors; an address conversion section that provides the individual physical sector address in response to receiving the individual logical sector address, the address conversion section including a random access mommy storing an address conversion table; and in response to a power up initialization, a control section provides the individual physical sector address of each of the plurality of additional sectors for which an erase flag indicates erasure has been completed and a usability flag indicates the sector is usable, the individual physical sector addresses provided by the control section to be used in an additional sector management list.