# US 2021/0240352 A1 · Electronic device, computer system, and control method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0240352 A1 - Document ID: US20210240352A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/235,144 - Filed: 2021-04-20 - Published: 2021-08-05 - Earliest claimed: 2018-03-26 - Assignees: Toshiba Memory Corporation - Applicants: Toshiba Memory Corporation - Inventors: Tetsuya SUNATA; Daisuke Iwai; Kenichiro Yoshii - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210240352A1 ## CPC - G06F 3/0608: {Saving storage space on storage systems} - G06F 3/064: {Management of blocks} - G06F 3/0658: {Controller construction arrangements} - G06F 3/0679: {Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]} - G06F 12/0246: {in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory} - G06F 2212/1044: Space efficiency improvement - G06F 2212/2022: Flash memory - G06F 2212/7201: Logical to physical mapping or translation of blocks or pages - G06F 2212/7205: Cleaning, compaction, garbage collection, erase control - G06F 2212/7208: Multiple device management, e.g. distributing data over multiple flash devices - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a nonvolatile memory that includes blocks and a controller. The controller transmits information to the host. The information indicates a first logical address range corresponding to cold data stored in the nonvolatile memory, and a processing amount for turning a cold block that comprises the cold data into a block to which data is writable. The controller reads the cold data from the nonvolatile memory in accordance with a read command that is received from the host and designates the first logical address range, and transmits the read cold data to the host. The controller writes, to the nonvolatile memory, the cold data that is received with a write command designating the first logical address range from the host. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic device connectable to a host, the electronic device comprising: a nonvolatile memory that includes blocks; and a controller electrically connected to the nonvolatile memory, wherein when the electronic device is connected to the host, the controller is configured to transmit first information to the host, the first information indicates a first logical address range and second information about a cold block, the first logical address range corresponds to cold data stored in the nonvolatile memory, and the cold block includes the cold data. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the second information about the cold block based on an amount of valid data in the cold block. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the second information about the cold block includes a processing amount for turning the cold block into a block to which data is writable. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second information about the cold block includes an amount of invalid data in the cold block. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the amount of invalid data indicates a storage capacity collected by a GC operation designating the cold block as a GC source block. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is connected to the host based on NVMe standard. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: transmit, to the host, information that indicates the first logical address range corresponding to a first physical memory area in the nonvolatile memory when the cold data is stored in the first physical memory; and read the cold data from the nonvolatile memory in accordance with a read command that is received from the host and designates the first logical address range, and transmit the read cold data to the host. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: transmit, to the host, information that indicates the first logical address range corresponding to a first physical memory area in the nonvolatile memory when the cold data is stored in the first physical memory; and write, to a second physical memory area in the nonvolatile memory, the cold data that is received with a write command designating the first logical address range from the host. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the write command comprises information that indicates that data to be written is cold data. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first logical address range is specified by a starting logical address of the first logical address range, and a number of logical blocks included in the first logical address range. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein an access frequency to the first logical address range is lower than a threshold. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the cold block is a block erased a number of times smaller than a threshold, or a block of which an erasing sequence number is smaller than a particular number, and the cold data is valid data in the cold block. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein when the electronic device is connected to the host, the controller is further configured to: transmit, to the host, information that indicates a processing amount for turning one or more cold blocks in the nonvolatile memory into one or more blocks to which data is writable, in response to an inquiry received from the host; and execute a process for turning the one or more cold blocks into one or more blocks to which data is writable in response to a request received from the host. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein when the electronic device is connected to the host, the controller is further configured to transmit to third information to the host when invalid data amount included in one or more cold blocks in the nonvolatile memory exceeds a threshold, wherein the third information indicates that the invalid data amount exceeds the threshold or performing a process for turning the one or more cold blocks into one or more blocks to which data is writable is needed. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein when the electronic device is connected to the host, the controller is further configured to: read second data from the nonvolatile memory in accordance with a read command that is received from the host and designates the second logical address range, and transmit the read second data to the host, the second logical address range comprising the first logical address range and one or more logical addresses preceding or following the first logical address range; and write, to the nonvolatile memory, the second data received with a write command designating the second logical address range from the host. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein when the electronic device is connected to the host, the controller is further configured to: transmit, to the host, information that indicates a third logical address range corresponding to third data and a processing amount for turning a block comprising the third data into a block to which data is writable, wherein the third data is stored in the nonvolatile memory and is to be moved for data retention; read the third data from the nonvolatile memory in accordance with a read command that is received from the host and designates the third logical address range, and transmit the read third data to the host; and write, to the nonvolatile memory, the third data that is received with a write command designating the third logical address range from the host. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein when the electronic device is connected to the host, the controller is further configured to: read the cold data from the nonvolatile memory; issue, to a second electronic device, a write command for writing the read cold data that designates the first logical address range; invalidate the cold data stored in the nonvolatile memory when the cold data is written to a second nonvolatile memory in the second electronic device in accordance with the issued write command; and notify the host that the cold data corresponding to the first logical address range is stored in the second electronic device.