Abstract:
A device manager receives an operation request for a memory device. The device manager suspends interrupts to be serviced and determines if there is sufficient time available to perform the requested operation. If there is sufficient time available and the device manager is in an exclusive mode, the state of the memory device is checked to determine if it is currently executing an operation. If so, this operation is suspended and the requested operation is issued to the memory device. The device manager polls the memory device to determine when the requested operation has been completed. Upon completion, the interrupts are re-enabled and control of the memory device is returned to the system.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   I. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to memory devices and particularly to single partition flash memory devices. 
   II. Description of the Related Art 
   Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include portable computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code, system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS), and other firmware can typically be stored in flash memory devices. 
   A single partition flash memory device has only one internal write charge pump. Therefore, writing data to the device, also referred to as programming, puts it into a busy state such that data cannot be read from it during the write operation. If a read operation is performed during the busy state, a logical 00 is typically returned. The busy state for a write operation may last 8–12 microseconds. 
   Similarly, initiating an erase operation of the flash memory device puts the memory device into the busy state. The device typically enters the busy state for 0.50–1.0 second during an erase operation. During this time, the device is not accessible. 
   Lack of accessibility during write and erase operations may cause a system using the flash memory device to operate slower than normal. The processor that is attempting to read the contents of the flash device must wait until the write or erase operations are complete before being able to obtain the desired data. There is a resulting need in the art for a single partition flash memory device, having multiple banks and device configurations, that permits a read operation during a write or erase operation. 
   SUMMARY 
   The present invention encompasses a method for performing a requested operation while a write or erase operation is being executed by a memory device. The method determines if time is available to perform the requested operation. If the time available is sufficient to perform the requested operation and the memory device is executing an operation, the currently executing operation is suspended. The requested operation is then issued to the memory device. 
   In one embodiment, the requested operation is a read command and the currently executing operation is a write operation (also referred to as a program operation) or an erase operation. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of one embodiment of a memory system of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a memory system of the present invention that incorporates a device manager module. 
       FIG. 3  shows a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for reading while writing to a single partition flash memory. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   The embodiments of the present invention provide a single partition flash memory device that has multiple banks and device configurations to perform a read operation during a write or erase operation. A device manager is used to control access to the memory devices during the read while write/erase operation. 
   While the subsequent discussion of the embodiments of the present invention refers to flash memory, any type of memory device that has similar characteristics may be used. For example non-volatile RAM (NOVRAM) or electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) may be used. 
     FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a memory device  100  of one embodiment of the present invention that is coupled to a controller circuit  110 . The controller circuit  110  may be a microprocessor, a processor, or some other type of controlling circuitry. The memory device  100  and the controller  110  form part of an electronic system  120 . The memory device  100  has been simplified to focus on features of the memory that are helpful in understanding the present invention. 
   The memory device includes an array of memory cells  130 . The memory cells are non-volatile floating-gate memory cells and the memory array  130  is arranged in banks of rows and columns. 
   An address buffer circuit  140  is provided to latch address signals provided on address input connections A 0 –Ax  142 . Address signals are received and decoded by a row decoder  144  and a column decoder  146  to access the memory array  130 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, with the benefit of the present description, that the number of address input connections depends on the density and architecture of the memory array  130 . That is, the number of addresses increases with both increased memory cell counts and increased bank and block counts. 
   The memory device  100  reads data in the memory array  130  by sensing voltage or current changes in the memory array columns using sense/latch circuitry  150 . The sense/latch circuitry, in one embodiment, is coupled to read and latch a row of data from the memory array  130 . Data input and output buffer circuitry  160  is included for bi-directional data communication over a plurality of data connections  162  with the controller  110 . Write circuitry  155  is provided to write data to the memory array. 
   Command control circuit  170  decodes signals provided on control connections  172  from the processor  110 . These signals are used to control the operations on the memory array  130 , including data read, data write, and erase operations. 
   Chip select generation circuitry  125  generates the chip select signals for the memory device  100 . This circuitry  125  uses the address connections  142  from the controller  110  to generate the appropriate chip select signal depending on the address present on the address connections  142 . 
   The flash memory device illustrated in  FIG. 1  has been simplified to facilitate a basic understanding of the features of the memory. A more detailed understanding of internal circuitry and functions of flash memories are known to those skilled in the art. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of another embodiment of a memory system of the present invention incorporating a device manager  200  that manages multiple memory devices  203  and  205 . In one embodiment, the memory devices  203  and  205  are flash memory devices. Alternate embodiments use other types of memory devices as noted above. 
   The device manager  200  is a low-level software module that provides an interface between a processor  210  and the memory devices  203  and  205  being managed. In an alternate embodiment, the device manager  200  is a hardware device incorporating firmware for control of the device manager  200 . For example, the device manager  200  may be an application specific integrated circuit or a field programmable gate array. 
   The device manager  200 , as a software module, can be stored in one of the flash memories  203  or  205  or some other memory of the system. The processor  210  can execute the device manager  200  by reading the code from that particular memory device. In alternate embodiments, other control circuits execute the device manager  200 . 
   The memory system illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in one embodiment, operates in two modes: exclusive and non-exclusive. In the exclusive mode, all flash memory access requests are input through the device manager  200 . In the non-exclusive mode, software applications access the flash memory directly without going through the device manager  200 . Alternate embodiments may use different modes including additional modes beyond the two modes described. 
   Using the exclusive mode, the device manager ( 200 ) is involved in the operation of the read while write/erase method of the present invention. Since software applications access the flash memory  203  and  205  through the device manager  200 , the device manager  200  can track the state of all the managed flash memory devices  201  and  205 . When the device manager  200  receives an interrupt from the processor  210  or other interrupting device, the device manager  200  is able to service the interrupt (e.g., issue a write operation to a memory device) and place the flash memory back into its read array mode after the interrupt has been serviced. As is well known in the art, the read array mode allows the memory to be treated as a normal memory by the processor. 
   If the device manager  200  is in the non-exclusive mode when it receives an interrupt, it does not know in what state the flash memories  203  and  205  have been placed. In this case, an application could be interrupting the device manager  200  to perform a read command to the flash device  203  or  205  while the flash device is executing an erase or write operation. However, the non-exclusive mode gives the system processor and operating system full control of when the next task is accomplished by a memory device  203  or  205 . 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for reading while writing/erasing to a single partition flash memory. The device manager, the system processor, and/or other system control circuitry may execute this method. 
   The time available to perform the requested instruction sequence (e.g., read, write, erase, or other task) is determined  300 . This time does not have to include the time required to actually complete the requested operation. For example, the requested operation may be suspended due to external interrupts. 
   The time available may be determined by calculating the number of processor clock cycles required to accomplish the requested instruction sequence. Since the length of each clock cycle is known, the number of clock cycles required for the instruction sequence can be multiplied with the cycle time to determine the time required for a requested instruction sequence. 
   For example, if a read operation has been requested by an application, 8–12 microseconds may be required. If an erase operation has been requested, 0.5–1.0 second may be needed. These times are for purposes of illustration and the present invention is not limited to any one range of times for any operation. 
   In a multi-tasking environment, each task is allocated a fixed amount of processor time (i.e., time-slice) before it is pre-empted for the next scheduled task. Operating systems are able to report the amount of time a current task has before its time-slice is expired. This “time-available-left” is compared with the calculated “time required” for the requested instruction sequence. If there is sufficient time remaining  305  (i.e., time-available-left&gt;time required), the operation continues. Otherwise, control returns to the system  325  until there is sufficient time to perform the requested instruction sequence. 
   If there is sufficient time to perform the instruction sequence, the interrupts to the device manager are suspended  303  while the method is executed. This prevents the methods of the present invention from being interrupted while executing. 
   It is determined if the device manager is operating in the exclusive or non-exclusive mode  309 . This is determined by the receipt of the requested operation. If the requested operation is addressed to the device manager directly, the device manger is in the exclusive mode. 
   If the requested operation is addressed to one of the memory devices, the device manager is in the non-exclusive mode. In this case, an executing erase operation in the addressed memory device is suspended  311 . The interrupts are then re-enabled  323  and control is passed back to the system  325 . 
   If the device manager is operating in the exclusive mode  309 , the device manager performs a status check of the memory device to which the requested operation is intended  313 . This is accomplished, as is well known in the art, by reading the status register of the memory device. 
   If the memory device is busy, a busy status is returned to the device manager. If the memory device is idle, an idle status is returned. The form of these status indicators is different for various memory device manufacturers and the present invention is not limited to any one status indicator. For example, one busy status indicator might be a word of data wherein bit  7  is set to a logical 1. An idle status would then set that same bit to a logical 0. 
   If the memory device is busy executing an operation (e.g., write, erase)  315 , that operation is suspended  317 . The requested operation (e.g., read command) is then issued  319  to the memory device&#39;s control register. The memory device is then polled periodically to determine when the requested operation has been completed  321 . In an alternate embodiment, the memory device is polled a periodically. The device manager polled waiting for a response to the requested operation. For example, if the requested operation is a read command, the device manager is waiting for the return of data from the memory device. 
   When the polling returns an indication that the read command has been completed, the interrupts are re-enabled  323 . Control of the memory devices is then passed back to the system  325 . 
   In summary, the embodiments of the present invention assure the success of a read command by suspending any operation being executed by the memory devices. This prevents the application initiating the read command from obtaining a busy response from the flash device. 
   Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.