US-12625777-B2 - Data backup method of storage device using sensor information, and storage device and storage system performing the same

US12625777B2US 12625777 B2US12625777 B2US 12625777B2US-12625777-B2

Abstract

In a data backup method of a storage device, environment information is received from at least one environmental sensor such that an operating environment in which the storage device is operating is monitored. An event detection signal is generated based on the environment information. In response to generating the event detection signal at least first data is immediately backed up to an external device located outside the storage device. The storage device includes a first port configured to be used to store the plurality of data in the storage device, and a second port different from the first port. In response to generating the event detection signal, the at least first data among the plurality of data are immediately output from the storage device through the second port.

Inventors

Ganggyu LEE
Insup KIM

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230707
Priority Date: 20221110

Claims (19)

1 . A data backup method of a storage device, comprising: periodically performing a backup operation, the backup operation including backing up at least a portion of a plurality of data stored in the storage device to an external device; receiving environment information from at least one environmental sensor such that an operating environment in which the storage device is operating is monitored; generating an event detection signal based on a determination that the environment information indicates that an emergency situation, in which the operating environment has changed to be out of a reference range, has occurred; and immediately outputting at least first data, among the plurality of data stored in the storage device, such that the at least first data is backed up to the external device located outside the storage device in response to the generating the event detection signal, wherein the storage device includes a storage controller including processing circuitry configured to control operations of a plurality of nonvolatile memories, a first port connected to the storage controller, and configured to be used in reading and the storing of the plurality of data in the storage device, a backup logic circuit connected to the storage controller, the backup logic circuit including processing circuitry configured to control the backup operation, and a second port different from the first port, the second port connected to the backup logic circuit, and wherein the second port is configured to provide an interface for a protocol different from a protocol of the first port, wherein, the outputting the at least first data includes outputting the at least first data from the storage device through the second port, and wherein, the first data includes backup target data collected from a first time point at which a data backup operation had most recently performed to a second time point at which the emergency situation occurred.
2 . The data backup method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one environmental sensor includes at least one of a temperature sensor or a water sensor.
3 . The data backup method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the environment information includes periodically receiving a current temperature of the operating environment from a temperature sensor.
4 . The data backup method of claim 3 , wherein generating the event detection signal includes: comparing the current temperature with a reference temperature and generating a fire detection signal representing that fire has occurred in response to the current temperature becoming higher than the reference temperature.
5 . The data backup method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the environment information includes periodically receiving a current amount of water in the operating environment from a water sensor.
6 . The data backup method of claim 5 , wherein generating the event detection signal includes: comparing the current amount of water with a reference amount of water, and generating a flooding detection signal representing that flooding has occurred in response to the current amount of water becoming larger than the reference amount of water.
7 . The data backup method of claim 1 , wherein the protocol for the second port is a communication protocol and the protocol for the first port is a data transmission protocol, and the outputting the at least first data among the plurality of data includes identifying the backup target data among the plurality of data, and immediately outputting the backup target data through the second port, the outputting based on the communication protocol.
8 . The data backup method of claim 7 , wherein the immediately outputting the at least first data among the plurality of data further includes checking whether a first network interface is operating normally, the first network interface being located outside the storage device and connecting the storage device to the external device.
9 . The data backup method of claim 8 , wherein the backup target data are transmitted to an external server through the first network interface and at least one external network in response to determining that the first network interface is operating normally, the at least one external network and the external server are located outside the storage device, the storage device is in a first space, and the external server is in a second space spaced apart from the first space.
10 . The data backup method of claim 9 , wherein the backup target data are transmitted to the external server through a second network interface and the at least one external network in response to determining that the first network interface is operating abnormally, and the second network interface is located inside the storage device.
11 . The data backup method of claim 8 , wherein the backup target data are transmitted to a secondary storage device, in response to determining that the first network interface is operating abnormally, the secondary storage device is outside the storage device, and the storage device and the secondary storage device are in a first space.
12 . The data backup method of claim 1 , further comprising: periodically outputting at least second data, among the plurality of data, from the storage device such that the at least second data is periodically backed up to the external device in response to the event detection signal not being generated.
13 . The data backup method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device is included in an autonomous driving system, and the plurality of data include at least one of data storage system for automated driving (DSSAD) or event data recorder (EDR) data that are generated and collected while the autonomous driving system is operating.
14 . A storage device comprising: a plurality of nonvolatile memories configured to store a plurality of data; a storage controller configured to control operations of the plurality of nonvolatile memories; a first port connected to the storage controller, and configured to be used to read and to store the plurality of data in the plurality of nonvolatile memories; at least one first environmental sensor configured to monitor an operating environment in which the storage device is operating; a backup logic circuit configured to control a data backup operation of backing up the plurality of data to an external device, the external device located outside the storage device; and a second port connected to the backup logic circuit, the second port configured to provide an interface for a protocol different from a protocol of the first port, wherein the backup logic circuit is configured to periodically perform the data backup operation, the data backup operation including backing up at least a portion of the plurality of data stored in the storage device to the external device; receive first environment information from the at least one first environmental sensor, generate an event detection signal based on a determination that the first environment information indicates that an emergency situation, in which the operating environment has changed to be out of a reference range, has occurred, and immediately output at least first data, among the plurality of data, from the storage device such that the at least first data is backed up to the external device in response to the generated event detection signal, the first data including backup target data collected from a first time point at which the data backup operation had most recently performed to a second time point at which the emergency situation occurred.
15 . The storage device of claim 14 , wherein the backup logic circuit is configured to further receive second environment information from at least one second environmental sensor, the at least one second environmental sensor is located outside the storage device and is configured to monitor the operating environment, and the event detection signal is generated based on the first environment information and the second environment information.
16 . The storage device of claim 14 , wherein the backup logic circuit is located inside the storage controller.
17 . The storage device of claim 14 , wherein the first port is configured to receive a main power, and the second port is configured to receive a secondary power.
18 . The storage device of claim 14 , further comprising: a third port different from the first port and the second port, and wherein the first port is configured to receive a main power, and the third port is configured to receive a secondary power.
19 . A data backup method of a storage device included in an autonomous driving system, comprising: periodically receiving at least one of a current temperature of an operating environment or a current amount of water in the operating environment from at least one environmental sensor; periodically performing a backup operation, the backup operation including outputting at least first data, among a plurality of autonomous driving-related data stored the storage device, such that the at least first data among the plurality of autonomous driving-related data stored in the storage device are backed up to an external device located outside the storage device; generating a fire detection signal representing that fire has occurred in the autonomous driving system in response to the current temperature becoming higher than a reference temperature or generating a flooding detection signal representing that flooding has occurred in the autonomous driving system in response to the current amount of water becoming larger than a reference amount of water; and immediately outputting at least second data, among the plurality of autonomous driving-related data, in response to at least one of the generated fire detection signal or the generated flooding detection signal such that the at least second data among the plurality of autonomous driving-related data are immediately backed up to the external device, the second data includes backup target data collected from a first time point at which the outputting of the at least first data had most recently performed to a second time point at which the at least one of the generated fire detection signal or the generated flooding detection signal occurred, wherein the storage device includes a storage controller including processing circuitry configured to control operations of a plurality of nonvolatile memories, a first port connected to the storage device and configured to be used to read and to store the plurality of autonomous driving-related data in the storage device, a backup logic circuit connected to the storage controller, the backup logic circuit including processing circuitry configured to control the backup operation, and a second port different from the first port, the second port connected to the backup logic circuit and configured to be used to back up the plurality of autonomous driving-related data to the external device, wherein the second port is configured to provide an interface for a protocol different from a protocol of the first port, and wherein the immediately outputting the at least second data among the plurality of autonomous driving-related data includes identifying the backup target data among the plurality of autonomous driving-related data, checking whether a first network interface operates normally, the first network interface located outside the storage device, included in the autonomous driving system, and configured to be used for an external communication, in response to determining that the first network interface is operating normally, immediately outputting the backup target data through the second port to transmit the backup target data to an external server through the first network interface and at least one external network, the external server and the at least one external network being located outside the autonomous driving system, and in response to determining that the first network interface is operating abnormally, immediately outputting the backup target data to a secondary storage device through the second port, the secondary storage device being located outside the storage device and being included in the autonomous driving system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority under 35 USC § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0149657 filed on Nov. 10, 2022 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field Example embodiments relate generally to semiconductor integrated circuits, and more particularly to data backup methods of storage devices using sensor information, storage devices performing the data backup methods, and storage systems performing the data backup methods. 2. Description of the Related Art One or more semiconductor memory devices may be used in data storage devices. Examples of such data storage devices include solid state drives (SSDs). These types of data storage devices may have various design and/or performance advantages over hard disk drives (HDDs). Examples of potential advantages include the absence of moving mechanical parts, higher data access speeds, stability, durability, and/or low power consumption. Various systems, e.g., a laptop computer, a car, an airplane, a drone, etc., have adopted SSDs for data storage. For example, SSDs are included in autonomous vehicles (or systems) and are used to store various data generated during driving of the autonomous vehicles. SUMMARY At least one example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a data backup method of a storage device capable of efficiently backing up data internally stored in the storage device when an emergency situation such as fire or flooding occurs. At least one example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a storage device performing the data backup method and a storage system performing the data backup method. According to example embodiments, in a data backup method of a storage device, the method may include receiving environment information from at least one environmental sensor such that an operating environment in which the storage device is operating is monitored; generating an event detection signal based on a determination that the environment information indicates that an emergency situation, in which the operating environment has changed to be out of a reference range, has occurred; and immediately outputting at least first data, among a plurality of data stored in the storage device, such that the at least first data is backed up to an external device located outside the storage device in response to the generating the event detection signal. The storage device includes a first port configured to be used to in the storing of the plurality of data in the storage device, and a second port different from the first port, and wherein, in response to generating the event detection signal, the outputting the at least first data among the plurality of data are immediately includes outputting the at least first data from the storage device through the second port. According to example embodiments, a storage device includes a plurality of nonvolatile memories, a storage controller, a first port, at least one first environmental sensor, a backup logic circuit and a second port. The plurality of nonvolatile memories store a plurality of data. The storage controller controls operations of the plurality of nonvolatile memories. The first port is connected to the storage controller and is configured to be used to store the plurality of data in the plurality of nonvolatile memories. The at least one first environmental sensor monitors an operating environment in which the storage device is operating. The backup logic circuit controls a data backup operation of backing up the plurality of data to an external device. The external device is located outside the storage device. The second port is connected to the backup logic circuit, and is different from the first port. The backup logic circuit may be configured to receive first environment information from the at least one first environmental sensor, generate an event detection signal based on a determination that the first environment information indicates that an emergency situation, in which the operating environment has changed to be out of a reference range, has occurred, and immediately output at least first data, among the plurality of data, from the storage device such that the at least first data is backed up to the external device in response to the generated event detection signal. According to example embodiments, in a data backup method of a storage device included in an autonomous driving system, the method may include periodically receiving at least one of a current temperature of an operating environment or a current amount of water in the operating environment from at least one environmental sensor; periodically outputting at least first data, among a plurality of autonomous driving-related data stored the storage device, such that the at least first data among the plurality of autonomous driving-related data stored in the stora