# US 2026/0086715 A1 · Storage device including the volatile memory and operating method of storage device

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- Number: US 2026/0086715 A1
- Document ID: US20260086715A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 19/048,945
- Filed: 2025-02-09
- Published: 2026-03-26
- Earliest claimed: 2024-09-23
- Assignees: SK hynix Inc.
- Applicants: SK hynix Inc.
- Inventors: Dong-Gun KIM; Nam Hyun YUN
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260086715A1

## CPC

- G06F 3/0608: {Saving storage space on storage systems}
- G06F 3/0638: {Organizing or formatting or addressing of data}
- G06F 3/0656: {Data buffering arrangements}
- G06F 3/0659: {Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling}
- G06F 3/0673: {Single storage device}
- G06F 3/0679: {Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)

## Abstract

A storage device comprises: a compression operation unit configured to generate compression data by compressing management request data, wherein a compression size of the compression data is determined based on properties of the management request data; and a control operation unit configured to divide a plurality of physical regions in a volatile memory into first and second physical regions; assign, to the second physical regions, a plurality of selection regions based on an N reference storage space size; set a retention region based on a difference between the compression size and the reference storage space size, among the first physical regions; generate logical information indicative of the retention region; store multiple data items of the compression data and the logical information in a request selection region; and store remaining data items of the compression data in the retention region.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A storage device comprising:
volatile memory comprising a plurality of physical regions each comprising a plurality of storage space;
a compression operation unit configured to generate compression data by compressing management request data, among a plurality of write data, wherein a compression size of the compression data is determined based on properties of the management request data; and
a control operation unit configured to:
divide the plurality of physical regions into first and second physical regions;
assign, to the second physical regions, a plurality of selection regions based on an N reference storage space size in accordance with each of the plurality of write data;
set, as a retention region, M regions determined based on a difference between the compression size and the reference storage space size, among the first physical regions, when the compression size is greater than the reference storage space size;
generate logical information indicative of the retention region;
store multiple data items of the compression data and the logical information in a request selection region corresponding to the management request data, among the plurality of selection regions; and
store remaining data items of the compression data in the retention region.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein the control operation unit is further configured to:
when the compression size is less than or equal to the reference storage space size,
skip set the retention region, skip generate the logical information, and store all data items of the compression data in the request selection region.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The storage device of claim 2, wherein the control operation unit
stores number information set as a value “M” in the request selection region when the compression size is greater than the reference storage space size, and
stores the number information set as a value “0” in the request selection region when the compression size is less than or equal to the reference storage space size.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The storage device of claim 3, wherein the control operation unit
enters one of a first read mode and a second read mode based on the number information stored in the request selection region after a start of a read operation on the compression data,
sequentially reads, in the first read mode, the compression data from the request selection region, and
sequentially reads, in the second read mode, the compression data from each of the request selection region and the retention region based on the logical information stored in the request selection region.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The storage device of claim 3, wherein the control operation unit
sets multiple free regions that belong to a number of free regions, as a management region, in order to store free region information of the free regions capable of storing data, among the first physical regions, and
manages the multiple free regions set as the management region in a connection list form.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The storage device of claim 5, wherein the control operation unit
selects M regions of the free regions as the retention region based on the free region information when the compression size is greater than the reference storage space size, and
invalidates information items that belongs to the free region information and corresponds to the retention region in the management region.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The storage device of claim 6, wherein the control operation unit
enters one of a first invalidation mode and a second invalidation mode based on the number information stored in the request selection region after a start of an invalidation operation for the compression data,
invalidates, in the first invalidation mode, all data items of the compression data stored in the request selection region, and
invalidates, in the second invalidation mode, the logical information and the compression data stored in the request selection region and the retention region based on the logical information stored in the request selection region, changes the retention region into the free region, and includes the information items corresponding to the retention region in the free region information.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The storage device of claim 7, wherein the control operation unit
checks a number of the free regions, among the first physical regions, and
varies a number of regions set as the management region, among the number of free regions.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The storage device of claim 8, wherein the control operation unit comprises internal memory to which a space for storing a free region queue is assigned and which has a fast operating speed than the volatile memory, and manages multiple information items of the free region information in the free region queue by moving the multiple information items to the free region queue.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The storage device of claim 9, wherein after moving the multiple information items to the free region queue, the control operation unit
changes, into the free region, one region in which the multiple information items has been stored, among the first physical regions set as the management region, and
manages information items with regard to the changed free region in the free region queue along with the multiple information items by moving the information items to the free region queue.

### Claim 11

An operating method of a storage device comprising volatile memory comprising a plurality of physical regions each comprising a plurality of storage space, the operating method comprising:
dividing the plurality of physical regions into first and second physical regions and assigning, to the second physical regions, a plurality of selection regions based on an N reference storage space size in accordance with each of a plurality of write data;
generating compression data by compressing management request data, among the plurality of write data, wherein a compression size of the compression data is determined based on properties of the management request data;
setting, as a retention region, M regions determined based on a difference between the compression size and the reference storage space size, among the first physical regions, when the compression size is greater than the reference storage space size;
generating logical information indicative of the retention region;
storing multiple data items of the compression data and the logical information in a request selection region corresponding to the management request data, among the plurality of selection regions; and
storing remaining data items of the compression data in the retention region.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The operating method of claim 11, further comprising:
when the compression size is less than or equal to the reference storage space size,
storing all data items of the compression data in the request selection region after skipping of setting the retention region and generating the logical information.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The operating method of claim 12, further comprising:
storing number information set as a value “M” in the request selection region when the compression size is greater than the reference storage space size; and
storing the number information set as a value “0” in the request selection region when the compression size is less than or equal to the reference storage space size.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The operating method of claim 13, further comprising:
entering one of a first read mode and a second read mode based on the number information stored in the request selection region after a start of a read operation on the compression data;
sequentially reading, in the first read mode, the compression data from the request selection region; and
sequentially reading, in the second read mode, the compression data from each of the request selection region and the retention region based on the logical information stored in the request selection region.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The operating method of claim 13, further comprising:
setting multiple free regions that belong to a current number of free regions in order to store free region information of the free regions capable of storing data, among the first physical regions, as a management region, and
managing the multiple free regions set as the management region in a connection list form.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The operating method of claim 15, further comprising:
when the compression size is greater than the reference storage space size,
selecting M regions, among the free regions, as the retention region based on the free region information, and
invalidating information items that belongs to the free region information and corresponds to the retention region in the management region.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The operating method of claim 16, further comprising:
entering one of a first invalidation mode and a second invalidation mode based on the number information stored in the request selection region after a start of an invalidation operation for the compression data;
invalidating, in the first invalidation mode, all data items of the compression data stored in the request selection region; and
invalidating, in the second invalidation mode, the logical information and the compression data stored in the request selection region and the retention region based on the logical information stored in the request selection region, changing the retention region into the free region, and including the information items corresponding to the retention region in the free region information.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The operating method of claim 17, wherein the managing of the multiple free regions comprises:
checking a number of the free regions, among the first physical regions, and
varying a number of regions set as the management region, among the number of free regions.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The operating method of claim 18, wherein:
internal memory which has a faster operating speed than the volatile memory, which is physically divided, and to which a space for storing a free region queue has been assigned is further included in the storage device, and
the operating method further comprises managing multiple information items of the free region information in the free region queue by moving the multiple information items to the free region queue.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The operating method of claim 19, further comprising:
after moving the multiple information items to the free region queue,
changing, into the free region, one region in which the multiple information items has been stored, among the first physical regions set as the management region, and
managing information items with regard to the changed free region in the free region queue along with the multiple information items by moving the information items to the free region queue.