Patents by Inventor Gregg S. Lucas
Gregg S. Lucas has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 9250676Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and devices used to protect data in a storage device. In one aspect, a method includes, performing a soft power fail operation on a section of the device, the operation including: (1) signaling a power test condition to a first controller on the storage device; (2) providing one or more controllers with power from an energy storage device, where the energy storage device is distinct from a power supply used during normal operation; (3) signaling a power fail condition to the one or more controllers on the storage device, where the one or more controllers communicate with the first controller and correspond to said section of the storage device, and where, in response to the power fail condition, each of the one or more controllers performs a data hardening operation; and (4) resuming normal operation on said section of the storage device.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2013Date of Patent: February 2, 2016Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Patent number: 9244785Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power sequencing and data hardening in a storage device. In one aspect, a method includes, in response to a first signal received by the storage device, performing a soft power fail operation on a first section of the storage device. The soft power fail operation including: (1) signaling a power fail condition to a first plurality of controllers on the storage device, where the first plurality of controllers correspond to the first section of the storage device, (2) transferring data held in volatile memory of the storage device to non-volatile memory of the storage device, and (3) removing power from the first plurality of controllers.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2013Date of Patent: January 26, 2016Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Patent number: 9244519Abstract: A storage control system, and a method of operation thereof, including: a host interface unit for receiving a host command from a host system; a power measurement hardware, coupled to the host interface unit, for reading a current value of electrical power supplied by the host system in response to the host command; and a power monitor controller, coupled to the power measurement hardware, for adjusting a bus speed for controlling data transfer through a channel shared by a number of non-volatile memory devices, the bus speed is adjusted based on the current value of the electrical power.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2013Date of Patent: January 26, 2016Assignee: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS. INC.Inventors: Robert W. Ellis, Kenneth B. DelPapa, Gregg S. Lucas
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Patent number: 9235245Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to protect data in a storage device. In one aspect, a method includes (1) powering a power control processor (PCP) (also sometimes called a storage-level microcontroller) using a first input voltage, (2) while the PCP is powered using the first input voltage: (a) operating the PCP in a first mode, and (b) enabling charging of an energy storage device, (3) after achieving a predefined internal state, which includes the energy storage device charged to a predefined level, powering the PCP using a power supply voltage distinct from the first input voltage, and (4) while the PCP is powered using the power supply voltage, operating the PCP in a second mode, where the PCP operates at a higher performance level in the second mode than in the first mode.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2013Date of Patent: January 12, 2016Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Patent number: 9214198Abstract: An electronic device includes a subsystem, a plurality of energy storage elements coupled to the subsystem through one or more switches, and a charging and monitoring apparatus for concurrently charging the plurality of energy storage elements and monitoring operability of the energy storage elements. A first subset of the energy storage elements is coupled to a first node and a second subset of the energy storage elements is coupled to a second node of a bridge circuit. A power supply provides a DC charging voltage and an AC test voltage to both the first and second subsets of the energy storage elements. A monitoring circuit produces a predefined fault signal if a predefined electrical characteristic of the first subset of the energy storage elements differs from a same predefined electrical characteristic of the second subset of the energy storage elements by more than a predefined amount.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2015Date of Patent: December 15, 2015Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLCInventors: Robert W. Ellis, Gregg S. Lucas
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Publication number: 20150338907Abstract: In remote power down control of a device configured for externally initiated remote power down, such as over a network, all externally connected sources of valid power down requests for the device is monitored; and the device is powered down in response to a combination of one of a received power down request and a time out with respect to each of the sources of valid power down requests for the device.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 29, 2015Publication date: November 26, 2015Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Louie A. DICKENS, Timothy A. JOHNSON, Craig A. KLEIN, Gregg S. LUCAS, Daniel J. WINARSKI
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Publication number: 20150318027Abstract: An electronic device includes a subsystem, a plurality of energy storage elements coupled to the subsystem through one or more switches, and a charging and monitoring apparatus for concurrently charging the plurality of energy storage elements and monitoring operability of the energy storage elements. A first subset of the energy storage elements is coupled to a first node and a second subset of the energy storage elements is coupled to a second node of a bridge circuit. A power supply provides a DC charging voltage and an AC test voltage to both the first and second subsets of the energy storage elements. A monitoring circuit produces a predefined fault signal if a predefined electrical characteristic of the first subset of the energy storage elements differs from a same predefined electrical characteristic of the second subset of the energy storage elements by more than a predefined amount.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 16, 2015Publication date: November 5, 2015Inventors: Robert W. Ellis, Gregg S. Lucas
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Patent number: 9146612Abstract: In remote power down control of a device configured for externally initiated remote power down, such as over a network, activity of all externally connected sources of valid power down requests for the device is monitored; and the device is powered down in response to a combination of one of a received power down request and an inactivity time out with respect to each of the sources of valid power down requests for the device.Type: GrantFiled: August 27, 2014Date of Patent: September 29, 2015Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Louie A. Dickens, Timothy A. Johnson, Craig A. Klein, Gregg S. Lucas, Daniel J. Winarski
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Patent number: 9129665Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable dynamic brownout adjustment in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes: (1) obtaining a set of power tolerance settings, the set of power tolerance settings used for determining whether one or more power supply voltages provided to the storage device are out of range, (2) in response to a predefined trigger, adjusting the set of power tolerance settings in accordance with one or more parameters of the storage device, (3) determining, in accordance with the adjusted set of power tolerance settings, whether the one or more power supply voltages are out of range, and (4) in accordance with a determination that the one or more power supply voltages are out of range, latching a power fail condition.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2013Date of Patent: September 8, 2015Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150248334Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable firmware reversion triggering and control in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes: (1) detecting a reversion trigger, the reversion trigger identifying a set of one or more controllers of a plurality of controllers on the storage device, and (2) in response to the reversion trigger, initiating recovery actions for each controller in the set of one or more controllers, including: for each controller in the set of one or more controllers: (a) asserting a revert signal to the controller to execute a firmware reversion for the controller, and (b) resetting the controller subsequent to asserting the revert signal to the controller.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 14, 2014Publication date: September 3, 2015Inventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Robert W. Ellis
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Patent number: 9122636Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power sequencing and data hardening in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes determining whether a power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than an over-voltage threshold. The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the power supply voltage is higher than the over-voltage threshold, performing a power fail operation, the power fail operation including: (1) signaling a power fail condition to a plurality of controllers on the storage device, (2) transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory, and (3) removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2013Date of Patent: September 1, 2015Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Lace J. Herman, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150170716Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable dynamic brownout adjustment in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes: (1) obtaining a set of power tolerance settings, the set of power tolerance settings used for determining whether one or more power supply voltages provided to the storage device are out of range, (2) in response to a predefined trigger, adjusting the set of power tolerance settings in accordance with one or more parameters of the storage device, (3) determining, in accordance with the adjusted set of power tolerance settings, whether the one or more power supply voltages are out of range, and (4) in accordance with a determination that the one or more power supply voltages are out of range, latching a power fail condition.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: June 18, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150153799Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to protect data in a storage device. In one aspect, a method includes (1) powering a power control processor (PCP) (also sometimes called a storage-level microcontroller) using a first input voltage, (2) while the PCP is powered using the first input voltage: (a) operating the PCP in a first mode, and (b) enabling charging of an energy storage device, (3) after achieving a predefined internal state, which includes the energy storage device charged to a predefined level, powering the PCP using a power supply voltage distinct from the first input voltage, and (4) while the PCP is powered using the power supply voltage, operating the PCP in a second mode, where the PCP operates at a higher performance level in the second mode than in the first mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: June 4, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150153800Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power inrush management of storage devices (e.g., DIMM devices). In one aspect, the method includes, for at least one storage device populated in a slot of a plurality of storage device slots, the plurality of storage device slots configured to be populated by two or more storage devices: (1) detecting a unique location associated with the storage device, (2) determining a time delay for the storage device in accordance with the unique location associated with the storage device, and (3) delaying at least one power-on operation of the storage device by the time delay for the storage device.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: June 4, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150153802Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and devices used to protect data in a storage device. In one aspect, a method includes, performing a soft power fail operation on a section of the device, the operation including: (1) signaling a power test condition to a first controller on the storage device; (2) providing one or more controllers with power from an energy storage device, where the energy storage device is distinct from a power supply used during normal operation; (3) signaling a power fail condition to the one or more controllers on the storage device, where the one or more controllers communicate with the first controller and correspond to said section of the storage device, and where, in response to the power fail condition, each of the one or more controllers performs a data hardening operation; and (4) resuming normal operation on said section of the storage device.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: June 4, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150149700Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable performing supervisory functions for a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), at a controller in the DIMM. The method includes upon power-up, determining a power supply voltage provided to the DIMM. In accordance with a determination that power supply criteria are satisfied, the method includes: (1) performing one or more power-up operations, including initiating a usage counter, (2) monitoring a temperature of the DIMM, (3) monitoring the DIMM for occurrence of one or more of a set of predetermined trigger events, and (4) in response to detecting one of the set of predetermined trigger events, logging information corresponding to the detected predetermined event.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: May 28, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150149825Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power fail latching based on monitoring multiple power supply voltages in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes: (1) determining whether a first power supply voltage provided to the storage device is out of range for a first time period, (2) determining whether a second power supply voltage provided to the storage device is out of range for a second time period, and (3) in accordance with a determination that at least one of the first power supply voltage is out of range for the first time period and the second power supply voltage is out of range for the second time period, latching a power fail condition.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: May 28, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150149806Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power sequencing and data hardening in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes determining whether a power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than an over-voltage threshold. The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the power supply voltage is higher than the over-voltage threshold, performing a power fail operation, the power fail operation including: (1) signaling a power fail condition to a plurality of controllers on the storage device, (2) transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory, and (3) removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: May 28, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Lace J. Herman, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150135008Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power sequencing and data hardening in a storage device. In one aspect, a method includes, in response to a first signal received by the storage device, performing a soft power fail operation on a first section of the storage device. The soft power fail operation including: (1) signaling a power fail condition to a first plurality of controllers on the storage device, where the first plurality of controllers correspond to the first section of the storage device, (2) transferring data held in volatile memory of the storage device to non-volatile memory of the storage device, and (3) removing power from the first plurality of controllers.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: May 14, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Gregg S. Lucas, Kenneth B. Delpapa, Robert W. Ellis
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Publication number: 20150127999Abstract: The embodiments described herein include a method and device for adjusting trip points within a storage device. The method includes: obtaining one or more configuration parameters; and based on the one or more configuration parameters, determining a trip voltage. The method also includes comparing the trip voltage with an input voltage. The method further includes triggering a power fail condition in accordance with a determination that the input voltage is less than the trip voltage.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2013Publication date: May 7, 2015Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLCInventors: Kenneth B. Delpapa, Gregg S. Lucas, Robert W. Ellis