# US 10,481,796 B2 · Method for screening bad data columns in data storage medium

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- Number: US 10,481,796 B2
- Document ID: US10481796B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/028,891
- Filed: 2018-07-06
- Published: 2018-11-01
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2016-05-11
- Assignees: Silicon Motion, Inc.
- Applicants: Silicon Motion, Inc.
- Inventors: Sheng-Yuan Huang; Yu-Ping Chang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10481796B2

## CPC

- G06F 3/0604: {Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management}
- G06F 3/0619: {in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors}
- G06F 3/0644: {Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools}
- G06F 3/0679: {Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]}
- G11C 29/44: Indication or identification of errors, e.g. for repair
- G11C 29/52: Protection of memory contents; Detection of errors in memory contents
- G11C 29/804: {to prevent clustered faults}
- G11C 29/76: {using address translation or modifications}
- G11C 2029/4402: {Internal storage of test result, quality data, chip identification, repair information}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G11C: STATIC STORES (semiconductor memory devices H10B)

## Abstract

A method for screening bad data columns in a data storage medium comprising a plurality of data columns includes: labeling or recording a plurality of bad data columns as a bad data column group, wherein the bad data columns are selected from the data columns in the data storage medium, each of the bad data column groups labels or records a position and a number of the bad data columns; determining whether the total number of the bad data columns is greater than a total number of the bad data column groups; and if yes, labeling or recording any two bad data columns of the bad data columns spaced apart by P data columns as one of the bad data column groups, wherein P is a positive integer.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for screening bad data columns in a data storage medium comprising a plurality of data columns, the method comprising steps of:
labeling or recording a plurality of bad data columns as a bad data column group, wherein the bad data columns are selected from the data columns in the data storage medium, each of the bad data column groups labels or records a position and a number of the bad data columns;
determining whether the total number of the bad data columns is greater than an upper limit of the bad data column groups; and
labeling or recording any two bad data columns of the bad data columns spaced apart by P data columns as one of the bad data column groups, based on the determining being yes, wherein P is a positive integer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method for screening bad data columns according to claim 1, wherein the bad data column groups are recorded in a bad column table.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method for screening bad data columns according to claim 1, further comprising a step of:
adjusting the value of P by one.