DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the following communication: the response filed 7/17/26. The changes and remarks disclosed therein have been considered.
Claim(s) status: 1-20 pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
The claim(s) is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 14: it appears that “calculating an updated set of configuration setting values” in line(s)11 was meant to be -- calculating the updated set of configuration setting values --.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-16, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Melik-Martirosian (US 2012/0239991) in view of Avraham et al. (US 2019/0189202 “Avraham”).
Regarding claim 1, Melik-Martirosian discloses a method comprising:
receiving (fig. 1), by one or more processing devices (“processor of controller 101” fig. 1 para 0023), a request to perform an adjustment operation (“controller 101 is configured to adjust memory operating conditions” para 0024, i.e. based on the request that was sent; Abstract) on one or more configuration setting values (memory parameter(s), i.e. operating conditions such as read levels and/or program verify levels; para 0024, 0052-0053) of a memory device (103; fig. 1);
calculating one or more updated configuration setting values (updated memory parameter(s) are calculated by figuring out new memory parameter(s); para 0050-0051) by applying a multiplier value (multiples of any incremental value; para 0036) to the one or more configuration setting values (the incremental value applied to the memory parameter(s) to calculate updated memory parameter(s); para 0036, 0050-0051) based on a configuration adjustment definition (memory parameter(s) adjustments defined according to possible adjustments based on number of program/erase cycles and/or retention time; fig.4) associated with the one or more configuration setting values (i.e. memory parameter(s)), wherein the multiplier value (multiples of any incremental value) is associated with a number of memory operations performed (a number of program/erase cycles; para 0036, 0051) on the memory device (103); and
storing (i.e. setting) the one or more updated configuration setting values (setting the adjusted memory operating conditions, i.e. “test modes accessible via the test register [106] may be used to input or modify certain programming conditions of flash memory 103” para 0030, 0040) to one or more corresponding configuration registers (106; para 0040).
Melik-Martirosian does not expressly disclose wherein the configuration adjustment definition is based on an incremental change value associated with an expected slope of change for the one or more configuration values.
Avraham discloses wherein the configuration adjustment definition (Equation 1; para 0038) is based on an incremental change value (changes in increments of wordline address Δx; para 0038+), associated with an expected slope of change (slope = Δy/Δx; para 0039) for the one or more configuration values (optimal threshold voltage(s); para 0037+).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to recognize that the device of Melik-Martirosian is modifiable as taught by Avraham for the purpose of facilitating data accessing schemes by achieving threshold voltage adjustments (para 0002+ of Avraham), which is common and well known in the art for providing optimal biasing throughout the lifetime of the memory.
Regarding claim 2, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein the request comprises an indication of the multiplier value (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 3, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein the request comprises the number of memory operations performed on the memory device (para 0024), the method further comprising: determining whether the number of operations satisfies a threshold criterion associated with the one or more configuration setting values (S502; fig. 5); and responsive to determining that the number of memory operations satisfies the threshold criterion (Yes at S502; fig. 5), calculating the multiplier value in view of the number of memory operations (S503; fig. 5).
Regarding claim 4, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein determining the configuration adjustment definition associated with the one or more configuration setting values comprises: determining one or more configuration adjustment definitions associated with one or more corresponding configuration setting values (fig. 4); and calculating the updated one or more configuration setting values by applying the multiplier value to each configuration adjustment definition (para 0050-0051, 0055).
Regarding claim 5, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein the request comprises an identifier associated with the one or more configuration setting values (para 0050), and wherein the one or more configuration setting values comprises a subset of a total number of configuration setting values of the memory device (para 0036).
Regarding claim 6, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, further comprising: determining the one or more configuration setting values in view of the identifier in the request (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 7, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein the one or more configuration setting values comprises a total number of configuration setting values for the memory device (para 0036).
Regarding claim 9, Melik-Martirosian discloses a method comprising:
monitoring (“monitor a circuit characteristic of flash memory 103 (for example, P/E cycle or retention time)” fig. 5 para 0050), by one or more processing devices (“processor of controller 101” fig. 1 para 0023), a number of programming operations (a value of P/E cycle or retention time) performed on memory cells (controller 101 monitors the value performed reaching a limit/range; para 0050) of a memory device (103; fig. 1);
determining (S502; fig. 5) whether the number of memory operations performed (i.e. the value of P/E cycle or retention time performed) on the memory cells of the memory device (103) satisfies a threshold criterion (i.e. by reaching the limit/range to cause a trigger event; para 0051) associated with one or more configuration setting values (memory parameter(s), i.e. operating conditions such as read levels and/or program verify levels; para 0024, 0052-0053) of the memory device (103); and
responsive (Yes S502; fig. 5) to determining that the number of memory operations performed (i.e. the value of P/E cycle or retention time performed) on the memory cells of the memory device (103) satisfies the threshold criterion (step S502, controller 101 determines that the memory block has reached the limit and/or entered the range; para 0050), sending a request to the memory device to cause the memory device (“on determining the parameter a command is sent to the memory circuit [i.e. controller 101 of the memory device 103]” Abstract) to perform an adjustment operation (“controller 101 is configured to adjust memory operating conditions” para 0024, i.e. based on the request) on the one or more configuration setting values (i.e. memory parameter(s)) of the memory device using a multiplier value (multiples of any incremental value; para 0036) associated with the one or more configuration setting values (i.e. memory parameter(s)).
Melik-Martirosian does not expressly disclose wherein the configuration adjustment definition is based on an incremental change value associated with an expected slope of change for the one or more configuration values.
Avraham discloses wherein the configuration adjustment definition (Equation 1; para 0038) is based on an incremental change value (changes in increments of wordline address Δx; para 0038+), associated with an expected slope of change (slope = Δy/Δx; para 0039) for the one or more configuration values (optimal threshold voltage(s); para 0037+).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to recognize that the device of Melik-Martirosian is modifiable as taught by Avraham for the purpose of facilitating data accessing schemes by achieving threshold voltage adjustments (para 0002+ of Avraham), which is common and well known in the art for providing optimal biasing throughout the lifetime of the memory.
Regarding claim 10, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, further comprising:
causing the memory device to store (i.e. setting) one or more updated configuration setting values (updated memory parameter(s) calculated by figuring out new memory parameter(s); para 0050-0051) to one or more corresponding configuration registers (106; para 0040), wherein the one or more updated configuration setting values are based on the one or more configuration setting values and the multiplier value (fig. 4, further para 0036, 0050-0051.
Regarding claim 11, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, further comprising:
determining the multiplier value in view of a range of the number of programming operations (para 0043), wherein the multiplier value indicates an adjustment factor for the memory device to apply to an adjustment definition (memory parameter(s) adjustments defined according to possible adjustments based on number of program/erase cycles and/or retention time; fig.4) associated with the one or more configuration setting values; and
sending an indication of the multiplier value to the memory device in the request (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 12, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein the request specifies that memory device is to perform the adjustment operation on all configuration setting values of the memory device (para 0048).
Regarding claim 13, Melik-Martirosian discloses the method, wherein the request comprises an identifier associated with the one or more configuration setting values (para 0050), and wherein the one or more configuration setting values comprises a subset of a total number of configuration setting values of the memory device (para 0036).
Regarding claim 14, Melik-Martirosian discloses a system comprising:
a memory device (103; fig. 1); and
a processing device (“processor of controller 101” fig. 1 para 0023), operatively coupled (i.e. via interface 105; fig. 1) with a memory device (103) to perform operations comprising:
receiving (via host device 104; fig. 1) a request (i.e. instructions) to perform an adjustment operation (“controller 101 is configured to adjust memory operating conditions” para 0024, i.e. based on the request) on a set of configuration setting values (memory parameter(s), i.e. operating conditions such as read levels and/or program verify levels; para 0024, 0052-0053) for a memory device (103);
calculating an updated set of configuration setting values (updated memory parameter(s) are calculated by figuring out new memory parameter(s); para 0050-0051) by applying a multiplier value (multiples of any one of an incremental value or a specific value; para 0036, 0039) to the set of configuration setting values (the incremental value applied to the memory parameter(s) to calculate updated memory parameter(s); para 0036, 0050-0051) based on a configuration adjustment definition (memory parameter(s) adjustments defined according to possible adjustments based on number of program/erase cycles and/or retention time; fig.4) associated with one or more configuration setting values (i.e. for the program verify levels, values of 20 mV, 30 mV, 100 mV, 500 mV, etc.; para 0036) of the set of configuration setting values (i.e. memory parameter(s)); and
calculating an updated set of configuration setting values (another updated memory parameter(s) are calculated by figuring out new memory parameter(s); para 0055) by applying a multiplier value (multiples of any other one of the incremental value or the specific value; para 0036, 0039) to the configuration adjustment definition (i.e. the possible adjustments based on number of program/erase cycles and/or retention time; fig.4), wherein the multiplier value (multiples of any incremental value) is associated with a number of programming operations performed (a number of program/erase cycles; para 0036, 0051, 0055) on the memory device (103); and
storing (i.e. setting) the updated set of configuration setting values (setting the adjusted memory operating conditions, i.e. “test modes accessible via the test register [106] may be used to input or modify certain programming conditions of flash memory 103” para 0030, 0040) to a set of corresponding configuration registers (106; para 0040).
Melik-Martirosian does not expressly disclose wherein the configuration adjustment definition is based on an incremental change value associated with an expected slope of change for the one or more configuration values.
Avraham discloses wherein the configuration adjustment definition (Equation 1; para 0038) is based on an incremental change value (changes in increments of wordline address Δx; para 0038+), associated with an expected slope of change (slope = Δy/Δx; para 0039) for the one or more configuration values (optimal threshold voltage(s); para 0037+).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to recognize that the device of Melik-Martirosian is modifiable as taught by Avraham for the purpose of facilitating data accessing schemes by achieving threshold voltage adjustments (para 0002+ of Avraham), which is common and well known in the art for providing optimal biasing throughout the lifetime of the memory.
Regarding claim 15, Melik-Martirosian discloses the system, wherein the request comprises an indication of the multiplier value (fig. 6).
Regarding claim 16, Melik-Martirosian discloses the system, wherein the request comprises the number of memory operations performed on the memory device (para 0024), and wherein the processing device is to perform further operations comprising: determining whether the number of memory operations satisfies a threshold (S602; fig. 6); and responsive to determining that the number of programming operations satisfies the threshold (Yes S602; fig. 6), calculating the multiplier value in view of the number of memory operations (S603; fig. 6).
Regarding claim 18, Melik-Martirosian discloses the system, wherein the request comprises an identifier associated with the set of configuration setting values (para 0050), and wherein the set of configuration setting values comprises a subset of a total number of configuration setting values of the memory device (para 0036).
Regarding claim 19, Melik-Martirosian discloses the system, wherein the processing device is to perform further operations comprising: determining the set of configuration setting values in view of the identifier in the request (fig. 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 8, 17, 20 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure does not teach or suggest the claimed invention having the following limitation, in combination with the remaining claimed limitations.
With respect to dependent claim 8, the prior art fails to teach or suggest the claimed limitations, namely the configuration adjustment definition is a polynomial equation comprising a plurality of operands, wherein a first operand of the plurality of operands comprises a default configuration setting value, wherein a second operand of the plurality of operand comprises the incremental change value modified by the multiplier value.
With respect to dependent claim 17, the prior art fails to teach or suggest the claimed limitations, namely calculating the updated set of configuration setting values by applying the multiplier value to each configuration adjustment definition of the set of configuration adjustment definitions.
With respect to dependent claim 20, the prior art fails to teach or suggest the claimed limitations, namely the configuration adjustment definition is a polynomial equation comprising a plurality of operands, wherein a first operand of the plurality of operands comprises a default configuration setting value, wherein a second operand of the plurality of operand comprises the incremental change value modified by the multiplier value.
The allowable claims are supported in at least fig. 3 and paragraph [0044] of the instant application.
Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the pending claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UYEN SMET whose telephone number is (571) 272-2267. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9 AM-5 PM.
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/UYEN SMET/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2824______
Prosecution Insights