DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
Claims 1-8 are allowed.
Claims 9-20 are rejected.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 9-17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (U.S. PGPub No. 2021/0034513) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. PGPub No. 2023/0107988).
Claim 9
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
A method of operating a storage system that includes a host and a storage device, the method comprising: in response to a first request from the host, transmitting, by the storage device, a first response notifying the host that an exception event has occurred in the storage device; P. 0156 the storage device 1200 may notify the host 1100 that a flush operation is required, by setting a particular bit (e.g., bit[5]) of an exception event status field; P. 0154 storage device 1200 may receive first data DT1 corresponding to a first logical block address LBA1 from the host 1100
transmitting, by the host and to the storage device, a second request to check that the exception event occurred in the storage device; […] P. 0157 The host 1100 may check the exception event status field of the attributes through a query request
[…] querying, by the host, the storage device for the device-filled-ratio; P. 0077 the storage device 1200 may set information about a ratio of a current available capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB at an available turbo write buffer size field (e.g., “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize”); P. 0165 host 1100 read “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize” using the Query UPIU
transmitting, by a storage controller in the storage device and to the host, a calculated device-filled-ratio in response to the querying; and P. 0165 the storage device 1200 may inform the host 1100 of the remaining (or free) capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB in response to a request of the host 1100
transmitting, by the host and to the storage device, an unmap command and target logical block addresses based on the calculated device-filled-ratio, wherein the storage controller configured to control the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices. P. 0119 when the user data written in the turbo write buffer TWB are flushed, a logical address of the flushed user data may be maintained, and a physical address may be changed
Kim’513 does not teach the storage device responding to a host inquiry with information indicating the exception event is associated with a device fill ratio.
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
[…] in response to the second request, transmitting, by the storage device and to the host, a second response including information indicating that the exception event is associated with a device-filled-ratio of a storage space of a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices in the storage device; […] P. 0138 The operation state of the memory device 150 may be determined at a predetermined ratio of data usage throughout the storage capacity, The memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity; P. 0154 When the operation state of the memory device is under urgent state, the third information 02h may be delivered to the host in response to the host’s inquiry (see P. 0151)
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application to include the invention of Kim’513 with the transmitting an unmap command with logical addresses based on a fill ratio, and determining the corresponding physical addresses taught by Kim’988.
The motivation being to avoid deteriorating performance of the memory system during the host’s idle state (see Kim’988 P. 0032)
The systems of Kim’513 and Kim’988 are analogous because they are from the “same field of endeavor” and from the same “problem solving area.” Namely, they are both from the field of memory systems.
Therefore it would have been obvious to combine Kim’513 with Kim’988 to obtain the invention as recited in claims 9-18.
Claim 10
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein the host and the storage device are configured to communicate with each other according to universal flash storage (UFS) standards. P. 0036 the host 1100 may communicate with the storage device 1200 based on a universal flash storage (UFS) interface or protocol
Claim 11
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
The method of claim 10, wherein the first response corresponds to a response UFS protocol information unit (UPIU) according to the UFS standards, wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event occurred by setting an exception event alert bit to a first value, and wherein the exception event alert bit is included in a device information field of the response UPIU. P. 0156 the storage device 1200 may notify the host 1100 that a flush operation is required, by setting a particular bit (e.g., bit[5]) of an exception event status field. The host 1100 may check the particular value (e.g., bit[5]) of the exception event status, determine that a flush operation is required, and set particular fields (e.g., “fTurboWriteBufferFlushEn” and “fTurboWriteBufferFlushDuringHibernate”) of the flag of the storage device 1200
Claim 12
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
The method of claim 10, wherein the second response corresponds to a query response UFS protocol information unit (UPIU) according to the UFS standards, and wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event is associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space by using one of reserved bits of an exception event control attribute of the query response UPIU. P. 0151 a host that is associated with a memory system can send an inquiry to the memory system, and the memory system can respond to the host’s inquiry in a predetermined format; P. 0154 When the operation state of the memory device is the urgent state, the memory system may pass to the host third information 02h showing that a background operation is required; P. 0138 memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity
Claim 13
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
The method of claim 12, wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event is associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space by: assigning one bit of the one of reserved bits of the exception event control attribute of the query response UPIU to indicate that the storage device is fully filled; and setting the one bit to a first value. P. 0151 a host that is associated with a memory system can send an inquiry to the memory system, and the memory system can respond to the host’s inquiry in a predetermined format; P. 0154 When the operation state of the memory device is the urgent state, the memory system may pass to the host third information 02h showing that a background operation is required; P. 0138 memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity
Claim 14
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
The method of claim 10, wherein the second response corresponds to a query response UFS protocol information unit (UPIU) according to the UFS standards, and P. 0036 the host 1100 may communicate with the storage device 1200 based on a universal flash storage (UFS) interface or protocol
wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event is associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space by using one of reserved bits of an exception event status attribute of the query response UPIU. P. 0156 the storage device 1200 may notify the host 1100 that a flush operation is required, by setting a particular bit (e.g., bit[5]) of an exception event status field; P. 0077 the storage device 1200 may set information about a ratio of a current available capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB at an available turbo write buffer size field (e.g., “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize”); P. 0165 host 1100 read “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize” using the Query UPIU
Claim 15
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
The method of claim 14, wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event is associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space by: assigning one bit of the one of reserved bits of the exception event status attribute of the query response UPIU to indicate that the storage device is fully filled; and P. 0063 Communication between the host 102 and the memory system 110 can be formatted into UPIU; P. 0123 the memory system 110 may send an operation state of the memory device 150 to the host 120; P. 0138 memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity
setting the one bit to a first value. P. 0154 When the operation state of the memory device is the urgent state, the memory system may pass to the host third information 02h showing that a background operation is required
Claim 16
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
The method of claim 10, wherein querying the device-filled-ratio includes: transmitting, by the host, a query request including a universal flash storage (UFS) attribute associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space, and P. 0077 the storage device 1200 may set information about a ratio of a current available capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB at an available turbo write buffer size field (e.g., “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize”); P. 0165 host 1100 read “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize” using the Query UPIU
wherein transmitting the calculated device-filled-ratio to the host includes transmitting, by the storage controller, a query response including the calculated device-filled-ratio to the host. P. 0165 the storage device 1200 may inform the host 1100 of the remaining (or free) capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB in response to a request of the host 1100
Claim 17
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
The method of claim 16, wherein the query request corresponds to a query request UFS protocol information unit (UPIU) according to the UFS standards, and wherein the host is configured to: set a query function of the query request UPIU to a standard read request; and P. 0165 host 1100 read the available turbo write buffer size field “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize” by using the Query UPIU
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
define the UFS attribute associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space by using reserved identification numbers of the query request UPIU, wherein the query response corresponds to a query response UPIU, and P. 0154 Based on the operating state of the memory device, the memory system may pass to the host third information 02h showing that a background operation is required
wherein the storage controller is configured to transmit the calculated device-filled-ratio the host by using reserved identification numbers of the query response UPIU. P. 0158 manual garbage collection command (Manual GC) may be issued after the host recognizes the operating state of the memory device
Claim 19
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
A storage system comprises: a storage device including a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices and P. 0234 and FIG. 1 storage device 1200 may have a plurality of turbo write buffers; P. 0041 turbo write buffer TWB may correspond to a portion of the nonvolatile memory device 1220
a storage controller configured to control the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices; and P. 0034 and FIG. 1 storage device 1200 may include a controller 1210
a host configured to control the storage device by communicating with the storage device, wherein the storage controller is configured to: FIG. 1 host 1100 and storage device 1200
transmit a first response notify the host that an exception event has occurred in the storage device in response to a first request from the host; […] P. 0156 the storage device 1200 may notify the host 1100 that a flush operation is required, by setting a particular bit (e.g., bit[5]) of an exception event status field; P. 0154 storage device 1200 may receive first data DT1 corresponding to a first logical block address LBA1 from the host 1100
[…] calculate a device-filled-ratio of the nonvolatile memory devices in response to a query associated with the device-filled-ratio; P. 0165 storage device 1200 may write information about the remaining free capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB to an available turbo write buffer size field (e.g., “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize”) of the attributes
transmit the calculated device-filled-ratio to the host; and P. 0165 the storage device 1200 may inform the host 1100 of the remaining (or free) capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB in response to a request of the host 1100
deallocate physical block addresses corresponding to target logical block addresses in response to an unmap command and the target logical block addresses from the host.
Kim’513 does not teach the storage device responding to a host inquiry with information indicating the exception event is associated with a device fill ratio.
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
A storage system comprises: a storage device including a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices and a storage controller configured to control the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices; and
[…] transmit, to the host, a second response including information indicating that the exception event is associated with a device-filled-ratio of a data storage space of the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices in the storage device, in response to a second request for checking the exception event; […] P. 0138 The operation state of the memory device 150 may be determined at a predetermined ratio of data usage throughout the storage capacity, The memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity; P. 0154 When the operation state of the memory device is under urgent state, the third information 02h may be delivered to the host in response to the host’s inquiry (see P. 0151)
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application to include the invention of Kim’513 with the transmitting an unmap command with logical addresses based on a fill ratio, and determining the corresponding physical addresses taught by Kim’988.
The motivation being to avoid deteriorating performance of the memory system during the host’s idle state (see Kim’988 P. 0032)
The systems of Kim’513 and Kim’988 are analogous because they are from the “same field of endeavor” and from the same “problem solving area.” Namely, they are both from the field of memory systems.
Therefore it would have been obvious to combine Kim’513 with Kim’988 to obtain the invention as recited in claims 19-20.
Claim 20
Kim (2021/0034513) teaches:
The storage system of claim 19, wherein the host and the storage device are configured to communicate with each other according to universal flash storage (UFS) standards, wherein the first response corresponds to a response UFS protocol information unit (UPIU) according to the UFS standards, P. 0036 the host 1100 may communicate with the storage device 1200 based on a universal flash storage (UFS) interface or protocol; P. 0165 host 1100 reads “dAvailableTurboWriteBufferSize” using the Query UPIU
wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event that occurred of the host by setting an exception event alert bit to a first value, the exception event alert bit being included in a device information field of the response UPIU, wherein the second response corresponds to a query response UPIU according to the UFS standards, and P. 0156 the storage device 1200 may notify the host 1100 that a flush operation is required, by setting a particular bit (e.g., bit[5]) of an exception event status field
Kim (2023/0107988) teaches:
wherein the storage controller is configured to notify the host that the exception event is associated with the device-filled-ratio of the storage space by using one of reserved bits of an exception event control attribute of the query response UPIU. . P. 0151 a host that is associated with a memory system can send an inquiry to the memory system, and the memory system can respond to the host’s inquiry in a predetermined format; P. 0154 if the memory device is in an urgent operating state, the memory system may pass to the host third information 02h showing that a background operation is required; P. 0138 memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (U.S. PGPub No. 2021/0034513) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. PGPub No. 2023/0107988) in view of Kuzmin et al. (U.S Patent No. 9229854)
Claim 18
The systems of Kim’513 and Kim’988 not explicitly teach determining the physical
addresses corresponding to logical addresses in an unmap command.
Kuzmin (9229854) teaches:
The method of claim 9, further comprising deallocating, by the storage device, physical
block addresses corresponding to the target logical block addresses in response to the unmap
command. Col. 5 lines 24-51 a host may direct garbage collection with host-originated
access requests; Col. 41 lines 12-34 host software requires logical addresses to perform
relocation (it is obvious a host transmitted garbage collection command would include a
logical address); Col. 18 line 1-41 a memory controller can still implement address
translation; Col. 45 line 12-65 with the target physical addresses identified, the storage
server schedules memory operations such as garbage collection
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing
date of the application to include the invention of Kim’513 and Kim’988 with the transmitting an unmap command with logical addresses based on a fill ratio, and determining the corresponding
physical addresses taught by Kuzmin
The motivation being reduced latency and increased efficiency in memory access (see
Kuzmin Col. 10 line 50 – Col. 11 line 27)
The systems of Kim’513, Kim’988 and Kuzmin are analogous because they are from the
“same field of endeavor” and from the same “problem solving area.” Namely, they are both from
the field of memory systems.
Therefore it would have been obvious to combine Kim’513 and Kim’988 with Kuzmin to
obtain the invention as recited in claim 18.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claims 1-8 are allowed.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “in response to a first request from the host, transmitting, by the storage device, a first response notifying the host that an exception event has occurred in the storage device;
transmitting, by the host and to the storage device, a second request to check that the exception event occurred in the storage device;
in response to the second request, transmitting, by the storage device and to the host, a second response including information indicating that the exception event is associated with a device-filled-ration of a storage space of a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices in the storage device;
querying, by the host, the storage device for a device-filled-ratio of a storage space of a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices in the storage device;
transmitting, by a storage controller in the storage device, the calculated device-filled-ratio to the host in response to the querying, wherein the storage controller is configured to control the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices;
transmitting, by the host and to the storage device, an unmap command and target logical block addresses based on the calculated device-filled-ratio; and
deallocating, by the storage device, physical block addresses corresponding to the target logical block addresses in response to the unmap command”
Said limitation is taught by the specification of the instant application as originally filed at least at [P. 0147, 0161, 0180, 0225 and 0226 and FIG. 13]. Said limitations, in combination with the other recited limitations of claim 1, are not taught or suggested by the prior art of record.
The closest prior art of record is Kim (2021/0034513) which teaches a host querying a storage device for a ratio of the current available capacity of a turbo write buffer, the storage device responding and the host reading the ratio through a query UPIU, the storage device signaling a flush operation is needed by setting field of an exception status which is checked by the host; Kuzmin (9229854) which teaches host directed garbage collection based on a ratio of released space and valid data; and Kim (2023/0107988) which teaches a storage device notifying the host of different levels of urgent states when the fill ratio reaches certain percentages, where an urgent state signals garbage collection is needed. None of the references teach a system with a host and storage device, wherein the storage device transmits a first request, then the storage device responds with an exception, the host then transmits a check for the exception, with the storage device responding with a fill ratio of the storage space, the host then querying for the fill ratio, a controller in the storage device responding with a fill ratio, and the host sending an unmap command with a range of logical addresses based on the fill ratio, and the storage device deallocating those addresses.
Claims 2-8 depend from claim 1, and are considered allowable for at least the same reasons as claim 1.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states on page 9 “Although Kim '988 discloses that the operation state might be an urgent state based on the percentage of data storage, Kim '988 has not been shown to disclose or suggest the urgent state is an exception event, let alone disclose or suggest the transmission of a response including information indicating that the urgent state is associated with the percentage of data storage.”
The examiner respectfully notes, the claim describes the second response transmission from storage device to the host as “information indicating that the exception event is associated with a device-filled-ratio”. This was interpreted as any information that ties the fill ratio of a storage to an exception. In regards to the argument that Kim’988 does not disclose the urgent state is an exception event, the rejection was under a combination of Kim’513 and Kim '988. While Kim’988 does not explicitly state the urgent state as an exception, it is tied to a need for garbage collection (see 0141), which is similar to Kim’513 setting an exception event field to indicate a flush operation is needed (see 0156-157). In regards to the argument Kim '988 does not teach a response indicating the urgent state is related to a fill ratio, P. 0154 states:
Based on the operating state of the memory device, the memory system may pass to the host third information 02h showing that a background operation is required, and no background operation may deteriorate the performance of the memory system. Referring to FIG. 8 , the third information may correspond to a fourth level or a fifth level (GC Level 4 or 5) among the garbage collection levels (GC Levels). When the operation state of the memory device is under the pre-urgent state or the urgent state, the third information 02h may be delivered to the host
this explicitly describes the host being notified of an urgent state through third information 02h. P. 0138 states
The four operation states of the memory device 150 may depend on a size of available storage space in the memory device 150. For example, the operation state could be a clean state until data is stored up to 80% of the entire storage capacity of the memory device 150. When data occupies 80% to 90% of the entire storage capacity, the operation state could become the pre-urgent state. The memory device 150 might be in an urgent state when data is stored in 90% to 100% of the entire storage capacity, while being in a dead state when data occupies 100% of the entire storage capacity. The operation state of the memory device 150 may be determined at a predetermined ratio of data usage throughout the storage capacity, but the predetermined ratio may be changed according to the design of the memory device or the request of the host engaged with the memory system
this explicitly describes the urgent state being connected to a fill ratio of the storage capacity.
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states on page 10 “However, the alleged benefit (avoiding deteriorating performance) is associated with the host's idle state. Thus, the alleged benefit is not tied to the urgent state of Kim '988, which the Office equates with the claimed exception event associated with a device-filled-ratio. Thus, the purported advantage offered by the Office is unrelated to the features of Kim '988 the Office alleges would have been obvious to combine with Kim '513.”
The examiner respectfully notes Kim’988 paragraph 0123 states “memory system 110 may send an operation state of the memory device 150 to the host 120 and ask the host 120 to send an instruction or a command for allowing a garbage collection (GC) when the host 120 is in an idle state”. One of the operation states is the urgent state (see P. 0138), showing that urgent states are tied to performing garbage collection when the host is idle. Another benefit to combine Kim’513 and Kim '988 is to prevent a storage system in an urgent state from reaching the dead state, where new data cannot be programmed without an erase operation, by signaling for garbage collection to be performed while in an urgent state (See P. 0141-142)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jang et al. (U.S. PGPub No. 2022/0253239) teaches reconfiguring a turbo write buffer TWB depending on operation state of device, where attributes in hint information include a ratio of a current available capacity of the turbo write buffer TWB.
Boenapalli et al. (U.S. PGPub No. 2025/0103232) teaches determining an occupancy percentage in a single die, and move data based on the occupancy percentage.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHANIE WU whose telephone number is (571)272-0257. The examiner can normally be reached 1pm to 6pm, and 10pm to 1am Eastern time (10am to 3pm, and 7pm to 10pm Pacific time).
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/STEPHANIE WU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2133
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