Patent ID: 7617352
Filing Date: 2009-11-10
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A memory controller for accessing a flash memory having a plurality of physical blocks each including a plurality of pages and in which stored data is erased in a unit of the physical block, based on a host address which is in a unit of a sector, supplied from a host computer, comprising: search means for searching a start page in the physical block corresponding to the host address supplied from the host computer; determining means for determining whether a first page of a page or pages corresponding to the host address supplied from the host computer is either one of the searched start page and a page located after the searched start page, or not; write means for writing data supplied from the host computer into the page or pages corresponding to the host address supplied from the host computer when the determining means determines that the first page of a page or pages corresponding to the host address supplied from the host computer is the searched start page or the page located after the searched start page; and start page information write means which writes start page information into a redundant area of the start page which is searched by the search means, the start page information representing a page which is next to a last page of the page or pages into which data will be written by the write means and become a new start page after the data is written by the writing means; wherein the start page being a page next to the last page of a page or pages into which the data supplied from the host computer is written; and the search means searching the start page by referring to the start page information written in the redundant area.