Disk device assigned id codes for storage areas of a storage device

Abstract

A disk device can include a controller configured to transmit first commands in response to second commands from a host, the first commands to assign at least one identification (ID) code to at least one of a plurality of storage areas in a storage device, the second commands including the at least one ID code; wherein the controller transfers data between the host and the storage device using the ID codes.

1 . A disk device, comprising:
 a controller configured to transmit first commands in response to second commands from a host, the first commands to assign at least one identification (ID) code to at least one of a plurality of storage areas in a storage device, the second commands including the at least one ID code; wherein   the controller transfers data between the host and the storage device using the ID codes.   
     
     
         2 . The disk device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the controller is configured to request ID codes already assigned to storage areas of the storage device.   
     
     
         3 . The disk device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the controller is configured to receive ID codes already assigned to storage areas transmitted from the storage device.   
     
     
         4 . The disk device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the controller includes a controller memory to store ID codes received in second commands from the host.   
     
     
         5 . The disk device of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the controller memory comprises a non-volatile memory.   
     
     
         6 . The disk device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the controller is configured to translate the commands from the host from one format into a second format for the storage device.   
     
     
         7 . The disk device of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the first format is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) format; and   the second format is selected from an ATA format, including SATA format.   
     
     
         8 . A disk device, comprising:
 a plurality of storage areas, each storage area having a corresponding programmable identification (ID) code; and   a controller configured to program the ID codes for the storage areas in response to first commands from a host, and transfer data between the host and the storage device using the ID codes.   
     
     
         9 . The disk device of  claim 8 , wherein:
 at least two of the storage areas are formed in same storage device.   
     
     
         10 . The disk device of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the storage device is selected from: a hard disk driver and a solid state drive.   
     
     
         11 . The disk device of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the plurality of storage areas comprise at least one storage device; and   the controller is configured to determine if the storage device includes a single storage area or plural storage areas in response to a first command from the host.   
     
     
         12 . The disk device of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the plurality of storage areas comprise at least one storage device; wherein   the storage device is initialized into one of at least two modes of operation in response to a mode indication, the storage areas of the storage device having different maximum sizes in the different modes of operation.   
     
     
         13 . The disk device of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the mode indication is selected from: a state of a switch in the storage device; a selection input from the controller; a selection input from the host; and a value stored in a non-volatile store.   
     
     
         14 . The disk device of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the controller includes a controller memory configured to store ID codes.   
     
     
         15 . The disk device of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the controller is further configured to re-connect to the host in response to receiving a restart signal with a first command, and identify storage areas using the ID codes stored in the controller memory.   
     
     
         16 . A method, comprising:
 in response to a first command from a host, generating a second command for application to at least one storage device to assign at least one identification (ID) code to any of a plurality of storage areas in the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 assigning the at least one ID code includes assigning a same ID code to multiple storage areas to merge the multiple storage areas into one larger storage area.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 assigning the at least one ID code includes assigning a different ID code to one of multiple storage areas having the same ID code, to split a larger storage area into smaller storage areas with different ID codes.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further including:
 transferring data between the at least one storage device and the host using the ID codes.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further including:
 translating the commands from the host from one format into a second format for application to the at least one storage device.