Patents by Inventor Mark Dancho

Mark Dancho 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).

  • Patent number: 9152555
    Abstract: A system and method of data management with modular erase in a data storage system with a memory array having an erase block and a target block with the target block in a logical unit separate from the erase block including: performing an erase operation on the erase block, the erase operation having an operation matrix configured for partial erasing of the erase block; updating a command status for the erase block; enabling an intervening command on the target block based on the command status indicating an incomplete erase status with the intervening command updating the command status; performing an erase optimization based on the command status; performing an additional erase operation based on the erase optimization; and updating the command status to an erase complete status based on the additional erase operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLC.
    Inventors: James M. Higgins, Robert W. Ellis, Mark Dancho, James Fitzpatrick
  • Patent number: 9146850
    Abstract: A system and method of operation of a data storage system includes: a memory die for determining a middle read threshold; a control unit, coupled to the memory die, for calculating a lower read threshold and an upper read threshold based on the middle read threshold and a memory element age; and a memory interface, coupled to the memory die, for reading a memory page of the memory die using the lower read threshold, the middle read threshold, or the upper read threshold for compensating for a charge variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho, James M. Higgins, Robert W. Ellis
  • Publication number: 20150248326
    Abstract: Systems, methods and/or devices are used to adapt a target charge to equalize bit errors across page types for a storage medium, such as flash memory, in a storage system. In one aspect, the method includes performing a sequence of operations, including: (1) determining a first target charge, a second target charge, and a third target charge, the first, second, and third target charges used for controlling first, second, and third charge distributions, respectively, in cells of the storage medium when data is written to the cells, wherein the second charge distribution is between the first charge distribution and the third charge distribution, (2) determining a first error indicator for lower/fast pages of the storage medium, (3) determining a second error indicator for upper/slow pages of the storage medium, and (4) adjusting the second target charge in accordance with the first error indicator and the second error indicator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2015
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Li Li, Mark Dancho, James R. Tylock
  • Patent number: 9123445
    Abstract: A method of operation of a storage control system includes: determining a bit error rate of a page; calculating a slope based on the bit error rate; and adjusting a threshold voltage for the page based on the slope for reading a memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Robert W. Ellis, James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho, Michelle Martin
  • Patent number: 9092370
    Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power failure tolerant cryptographic erasure in a storage device having a first encryption key established as a current encryption key. The method includes performing a set of first stage operations including selecting first and second sets of memory blocks and obtaining a second encryption key. The method includes performing a set of second stage operations including storing, in the first set of memory blocks, first and second sets of metadata, encrypted using the second encryption key. The method includes performing a set of third stage operations, including storing, in the second set of memory blocks, the second set of metadata encrypted using the second encryption key. The method includes setting the second encryption key as the current encryption key for the plurality of memory blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLC
    Inventors: Jacob Schmier, Mark Dancho, Ryan Jones
  • Patent number: 9063844
    Abstract: A method of operation of a non-volatile memory management system includes: selecting a specific time period by a unit controller; establishing a first time pool having super blocks written during the specific time period; and promoting to a second time pool, the super blocks from the first time pool, at the lapse of the specific time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: James Higgins, James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho
  • Publication number: 20150154121
    Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power failure tolerant cryptographic erasure in a storage device having a first encryption key established as a current encryption key. The method includes performing a set of first stage operations including selecting first and second sets of memory blocks and obtaining a second encryption key. The method includes performing a set of second stage operations including storing, in the first set of memory blocks, first and second sets of metadata, encrypted using the second encryption key. The method includes performing a set of third stage operations, including storing, in the second set of memory blocks, the second set of metadata encrypted using the second encryption key. The method includes setting the second encryption key as the current encryption key for the plurality of memory blocks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Publication date: June 4, 2015
    Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC
    Inventors: Jacob Schmier, Mark Dancho, Ryan Jones
  • Publication number: 20150143068
    Abstract: A system and method of data management with modular erase in a data storage system with a memory array having an erase block and a target block with the target block in a logical unit separate from the erase block including: performing an erase operation on the erase block, the erase operation having an operation matrix configured for partial erasing of the erase block; updating a command status for the erase block; enabling an intervening command on the target block based on the command status indicating an incomplete erase status with the intervening command updating the command status; performing an erase optimization based on the command status; performing an additional erase operation based on the erase optimization; and updating the command status to an erase complete status based on the additional erase operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2013
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC
    Inventors: James M. Higgins, Robert W. Ellis, Mark Dancho, James Fitzpatrick
  • Publication number: 20150135033
    Abstract: A method of operation of a data storage system includes: monitoring a data interface bus, the monitoring by a non-volatile memory controller; activating a zero bit counter for detecting a ratio of 1's to 0's on the data interface bus; and adjusting a threshold voltage (Vth), based on the ratio of the 1's to the 0's from the zero bit counter, by the non-volatile memory controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2013
    Publication date: May 14, 2015
    Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC
    Inventors: Robert W. Ellis, James M. Higgins, Mark Dancho
  • Patent number: 9021231
    Abstract: A method of operation of a storage control system includes: partitioning logical addresses into a number of subdrives, the logical addresses associated with a memory device; and monitoring a data write measure of one of the subdrives.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Smart Storage Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Bernardo Rub, Mark Dancho, James Higgins, Ryan Jones
  • Publication number: 20150113203
    Abstract: The embodiments described herein methods and devices that enhance the endurance of a non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory). The method includes obtaining, for each of the plurality of die, an endurance metric. The method also includes sorting the plurality of die into a plurality of die groups based on their corresponding endurance metrics, where each die group includes one or more die and each die group is associated with a range of endurance metrics. In response to a write command specifying a set of write data, the method further includes writing the write data to the non-volatile memory by writing in parallel subsets of the write data to the one or more die assigned to a single die group of the plurality of die groups.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Publication date: April 23, 2015
    Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC
    Inventors: Mark Dancho, James Fitzpatrick, Li Li
  • Publication number: 20150046635
    Abstract: Systems, methods and/or devices are used to enable storage drive life estimation. In one aspect, the method includes (1) determining two or more age criteria of a storage drive, and (2) determining a drive age of the storage drive in accordance with the two or more age criteria of the storage drive.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2014
    Publication date: February 12, 2015
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho, James M. Higgins, James M. Kresse
  • Publication number: 20150043277
    Abstract: Systems, methods and/or devices are used to enable dynamic erase block grouping. In one aspect, the method includes (1) maintaining metadata for each erase block of a plurality of erase blocks in a data storage system, wherein a respective metadata for a respective erase block includes one or more characteristics of the respective erase block, (2) allocating a set of erase blocks, of the plurality of erase blocks, as unassociated erase blocks, (3) selecting two or more unassociated erase blocks in accordance with characteristics of the unassociated erase blocks so as to select unassociated erase blocks with similar characteristics, and (4) grouping the two or more unassociated erase blocks with similar characteristics to form a super block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2014
    Publication date: February 12, 2015
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho, James M. Higgins, Robert W. Ellis, Bernardo Rub
  • Publication number: 20150039842
    Abstract: A system and method of operation of a data storage system includes: a memory die for determining a middle read threshold; a control unit, coupled to the memory die, for calculating a lower read threshold and an upper read threshold based on the middle read threshold and a memory element age; and a memory interface, coupled to the memory die, for reading a memory page of the memory die using the lower read threshold, the middle read threshold, or the upper read threshold for compensating for a charge variation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2013
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Applicant: SMART Storage Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho, James M. Higgins, Robert W. Ellis
  • Publication number: 20140310494
    Abstract: A storage control system, and a method of operation thereof, including: a recycle write queue for providing a recycle write; a host write queue for providing a host write; and a scheduler, coupled to the recycle write queue and the host write queue, for scheduling the recycle write and the host write for writing to a memory device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2013
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Applicant: SMART Storage Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: James M. Higgins, James M. Kresse, Ryan Jones, Mark Dancho
  • Publication number: 20140310445
    Abstract: A storage control system, and a method of operation thereof, including: a power-down module for powering off a memory sub-system; a decay estimation module, coupled to the power-down module, for estimating a power-off decay rate upon the memory sub-system powered up, the power-off decay rate is for indicating how much data in the memory sub-system has decayed while the memory sub-system has been powered down; and a recycle module, coupled to the decay estimation module, for recycling an erase block for data retention based on the power-off decay rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2013
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Applicant: SMART Storage Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, James M. Higgins, Bernardo Rub, Ryan Jones, Robert W. Ellis, Mark Dancho, Sheunghee Park
  • Publication number: 20140244899
    Abstract: A method of operation of a storage control system includes: calculating a throttle threshold; identifying a detection point based on the throttle threshold; and calculating a number of write/erase cycles based on the detection point and the throttle threshold for writing a memory device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2013
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Jacob Schmier, Mark Dancho, James M Higgins, Ryan Jones, Robert W Ellis
  • Publication number: 20140208174
    Abstract: A method of operation of a storage control system includes: determining a bit error rate of a page; calculating a slope based on the bit error rate; and adjusting a threshold voltage for the page based on the slope for reading a memory device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Publication date: July 24, 2014
    Applicant: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Robert W. Ellis, James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho, Michelle Martin
  • Publication number: 20130061019
    Abstract: A method of operation of a storage control system includes: partitioning logical addresses into a number of subdrives, the logical addresses associated with a memory device; and monitoring a data write measure of one of the subdrives.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Applicant: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, Bernardo Rub, Mark Dancho, James Higgins, Ryan Jones
  • Publication number: 20130060994
    Abstract: A method of operation of a non-volatile memory management system includes: selecting a specific time period by a unit controller; establishing a first time pool having super blocks written during the specific time period; and promoting to a second time pool, the super blocks from the first time pool, at the lapse of the specific time period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2012
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Applicant: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: James Higgins, James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho