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 .
Response to Amendment
This Office action is in response to Applicant' s communication filed 7/30/2026 in response to the Office action dated 3/30/2026. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-13, and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alwala (US 20210365200 A1) in view of Luo et al. (US 20230195356 A1), hereinafter Luo, and further in view of Emelyanov et al (US 11016684 B1), hereinafter Emelyanov, and Shaharabany et al. (US 20170168716 A1), hereinafter Shaharabany.
Regarding claim 1, Alwala teaches a storage device, comprising: a memory device including a plurality of memory blocks (Paragraphs 24, 28; Fig. 1, storage device 102 includes multiple blocks);
and a memory controller configured to: match sets of memory blocks in the plurality of memory blocks to respective super blocks in a plurality of super blocks (Paragraphs 33, 42; Figs. 1 and 4, controller 123 matches pairs [sets] of two blocks into respective superblocks 412),
release a matching of the selected at least one memory block from the respective super block to which the selected at least one memory block is matched (Paragraphs 43, 46; Fig. 4, unforming superblocks 412 and unassigning good blocks from superblocks to spare pool 414),
and generate at least one additional super block based on the selected at least one memory block (Paragraphs 43, 50; Fig. 4, reforming the good blocks from spare pool 414 into new superblocks).
Alwala does not explicitly teach wherein the plurality of super blocks comprise a group of metadata super blocks configured to store metadata and a group of user data super blocks configured to store user data, wherein the group of user data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space, and wherein a size of the over-provisioning space is hidden from user operation, select at least one memory block from each super block of the plurality of super blocks that does not include a bad memory block, and wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of user data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Luo teaches select at least one memory block from each super block of the plurality of super blocks that does not include a bad memory block (Paragraphs 47, 50; Fig. 2B, reallocating [including selecting] memory blocks from each full superblock 227-1, 227-4, 227-5, and 227-8 (superblocks that do not include a bad block)).
Alwala and Luo are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala to further include the selecting of memory blocks from superblocks that do not include a bad memory block according to the teachings of Luo. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the impact of bad blocks on memory system performance (Luo, Paragraph 53).
Alwala in view of Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the plurality of super blocks comprise a group of metadata super blocks configured to store metadata and a group of user data super blocks configured to store user data, wherein the group of user data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space, and wherein a size of the over-provisioning space is hidden from user operation, and wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of user data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Emelyanov teaches wherein the plurality of super blocks comprise a group of metadata super blocks configured to store metadata and a group of user data super blocks configured to store user data (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, [group of] blocks of user data are stored in separate locations of the same device from [group of] blocks of metadata), and
the group of user data super blocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, [group of] blocks of user data).
Alwala, Luo, and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov does not explicitly teach wherein the group of data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space, and wherein a size of the over-provisioning space is hidden from user operation, and wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Shaharabany teaches wherein the group of data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space (Paragraph 96, metablocks [superblocks] contain flash memory blocks, wherein a percentage of storage block capacity is over-provisioned), and
wherein a size of the over-provisioning space is hidden from user operation (Paragraph 96, over-provisioning is a percentage of total storage capacity of the storage device that is undeclared [hidden from user operation]), and
wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space (Paragraphs 59, 96; Fig. 1A, forming metablocks from sets of blocks from multiple memory devices 134, wherein the formation of blocks into metablocks and metablock pairs increases over-provisioning).
Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, and Shaharabany are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov to further include the over-provisioning according to the teachings of Shaharabany. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce write amplification and improve device endurance (Shaharabany, Paragraph 96).
Regarding claim 2, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 1, wherein the memory controller is configured to store meta data in a first set of super blocks of the plurality of super blocks and store user data in a second set of super blocks of the plurality of super blocks (Emelyanov, Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, [sets of] blocks of user data are stored in separate locations of the same device from [sets of] blocks of metadata).
Regarding claim 3, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 2, wherein the memory controller is configured to select the at least one memory block from each super block of the first set of super blocks that does not include a bad memory block (Luo, Paragraphs 48, 51-52; Fig. 2B, reallocating [including selecting] memory blocks from full superblocks 227-4, 227-1 [first set] which do not include a bad block) and
match the selected at least one memory block to a first additional super block (Alwala, Paragraphs 43, 50; Fig. 4, pairing [matching] good blocks to form new [first] superblocks).
Regarding claim 4, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 2, wherein the memory controller is configured to select the at least one memory block from each super block of the second set of super blocks that does not include a bad memory block (Luo, Paragraphs 48, 51-52; Fig. 2B, reallocating [including selecting] memory blocks from full superblocks 227-5, 227-8 [second set] which do not include a bad block) and
match the selected at least one memory block to a second additional super block (Alwala, Paragraphs 43, 48, 50; Fig. 4, pairing [matching] good blocks to form new [second] superblocks in another memory die 404).
Regarding claim 6, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 1, wherein the memory controller is configured to match the selected at least one memory block to the at least one additional super block after generating the at least one additional super block such that a number of memory blocks included in each of the plurality of super blocks is equal to a number of memory blocks included in the at least one additional super block (Alwala, Paragraphs 44, 50; Fig. 5, adding [matching] pairs of blocks to newly formed superblocks until the size of the new superblock equals the superblock threshold size 506, which dictates the size of all superblocks).
Regarding claim 7, Alwala teaches a storage device, comprising: a memory device including a plurality of memory dies (Paragraphs 28, 30; Fig. 1, storage device 102 comprises memory 110 including memory dies 112);
and a memory controller configured to: match at least one memory block included in each of the plurality of memory dies to each of a plurality of super blocks (Paragraphs 33, 42; Figs. 1 and 4, controller 123 matches pairs of two blocks into superblocks 412),
select a set of memory blocks from the group of super blocks (Paragraph 43; Fig. 4, selecting good blocks from a plurality of superblocks 412 in a die 404),
select a set of user data memory blocks from the group of user data super blocks (Paragraphs 28, 43; Fig. 4, selecting good blocks that store user data from a plurality of superblocks 412 in a separate die 404), and
generate at least one additional user data super block based on the set of memory blocks and the set of user data memory blocks (Paragraphs 28, 43, 50; Fig. 4, forming new superblocks from memory blocks that store user data from each die 404 in spare pool 414).
Alwala does not explicitly teach to store meta data in a group of metadata super blocks of the plurality of super blocks, store user data in a group of user data super blocks of the plurality of super blocks, wherein the group of user data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation, a set of metadata memory blocks from the group of metadata superblocks, release matching of the set of metadata memory blocks with the group of metadata super blocks while maintaining matching of a remainder of metadata memory blocks with the group of metadata super blocks, release matching of the set of user data memory blocks with the group of user data super blocks while maintaining matching of a remainder of user data memory blocks with the group of user data super blocks, and generate at least one additional user data super block to cause an increase in size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Luo teaches release matching of the set of memory blocks with the group of super blocks while maintaining matching of a remainder of memory blocks with the group of super blocks (Paragraphs 51-52; Fig. 2B, reallocating [releasing matching] memory blocks from superblocks 227-1, 227-4 without deconstructing the superblocks), and
release matching of the set of user data memory blocks with the group of user data super blocks while maintaining matching of a remainder of user data memory blocks with the group of user data super blocks (Paragraphs 51-52; Fig. 2B, reallocating [releasing matching] memory blocks from superblocks 227-5, 227-8 [group of user data superblocks] without deconstructing the superblocks).
Alwala and Luo are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala to further include the releasing matching of memory blocks from super blocks according to the teachings of Luo. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the impact of bad blocks on memory system performance (Luo, Paragraph 53).
Alwala in view of Luo does not explicitly teach to store meta data in a group of metadata super blocks of the plurality of super blocks, store user data in a group of user data super blocks of the plurality of super blocks, wherein the group of user data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation, a set of metadata memory blocks from the group of metadata superblocks, and generate at least one additional user data super block to cause an increase in size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Emelyanov teaches to store meta data in a group of metadata super blocks of the plurality of super blocks, store user data in a group of user data super blocks of the plurality of super blocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, blocks of user data are stored in separate locations of the same device from blocks of metadata), and
a set of metadata memory blocks from the group of metadata superblocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, storing [sets of] blocks of metadata in a separate location).
Alwala, Luo and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov does not explicitly teach wherein the group of data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation, and generate at least one additional user data super block to cause an increase in size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Shaharabany teaches wherein the group of data super blocks comprise memory blocks in an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation (Paragraph 96, metablocks [superblocks] contain flash memory blocks, wherein a percentage of storage block capacity is over-provisioned space, which is a percentage of total storage capacity of the storage device that is undeclared [hidden from user operation]), and
generate at least one additional data super block to cause an increase in size of the over-provisioning space (Paragraphs 59, 96; Fig. 1A, forming metablocks from sets of blocks from multiple memory devices 134, wherein the formation of blocks into metablocks and metablock pairs increases over-provisioning).
Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, and Shaharabany are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov to further include the over-provisioning according to the teachings of Shaharabany. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce write amplification and improve device endurance (Shaharabany, Paragraph 96).
Regarding claim 8, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 7, wherein the memory controller is configured to select the set of memory blocks and the set of user data memory blocks to be evenly distributed across the plurality of memory dies (Alwala, Paragraph 54, selecting one pair of blocks from each die [evenly distributed] to form a new superblock).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany does not explicitly teach the set of metadata memory blocks.
However, Emelyanov teaches the set of metadata memory blocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, storing [sets of] blocks of metadata in a separate location).
Alwala, Luo, Shaharabany, and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo in view of Shaharabany to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Regarding claim 9, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 7, wherein the memory controller is configured to set a number of memory blocks included in each super block of the at least one additional user data super block equal to a number of memory blocks remaining in each super block of the plurality of super blocks (Alwala, Paragraphs 28, 44, 50; Fig. 5, forming superblocks with a number of user data blocks equal to a superblock threshold 506, which dictates the size of all superblocks).
Regarding claim 10, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 7, wherein the memory controller is configured to set a number of memory blocks included in each super block of the at least one additional user data super block different from a number of memory blocks remaining in each super block of the plurality of super blocks (Alwala, Paragraphs 28, 43; Fig. 4, user data blocks are grouped into superblocks according to a minimum and maximum size range, with newly formed superblocks having a different size due to being partially populated).
Regarding claim 11, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 7, wherein the memory controller is configured to select the set of memory blocks and the set of user data memory blocks by sequentially rotating through the plurality of super blocks (Alwala, Paragraph 50; Fig. 4, selecting blocks from each die, containing superblocks, in sequence).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany does not explicitly teach the set of metadata memory blocks.
However, Emelyanov teaches the set of metadata memory blocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, storing [sets of] blocks of metadata in a separate location).
Alwala, Luo, Shaharabany, and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo in view of Shaharabany to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Regarding claim 12, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 11, wherein, after a memory block is selected from a first memory die of one super block, the memory controller is configured to select a memory block from a second memory die of another super block excluding the first memory die (Alwala, Paragraph 50; Fig. 4, after selecting a block from a die 404 containing a superblock, selecting another block from a different die 404 next in sequence containing another superblock).
Regarding claim 13, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 7, wherein the memory controller is configured to set the set of memory blocks and the set of user data memory blocks in each of remaining super blocks excluding super blocks that include bad blocks among the plurality of super blocks (Luo, Paragraphs 50-52; Fig. 2B, reallocating [setting] memory blocks within only full superblocks 227-1, 227-4, 227-6, and 227-8 (superblocks having only good blocks)).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany does not explicitly teach the set of metadata memory blocks.
However, Emelyanov teaches the set of metadata memory blocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, storing [sets of] blocks of metadata in a separate location).
Alwala, Luo, Shaharabany, and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo in view of Shaharabany to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Regarding claim 15, Alwala teaches a super block managing method of a storage device including a plurality of memory blocks (Paragraphs 24, 28; Fig. 1, storage device 102 includes multiple blocks), the method comprising:
setting a plurality of super blocks by matching sets of memory blocks of a plurality of memory blocks to respective super blocks in the plurality of super blocks (Paragraph 42; Fig. 4, matching pairs [sets] of two blocks into superblocks 412); and
generating at least one additional super block based on selected memory blocks (Paragraph 43; Fig. 4, reforming the good blocks into new superblocks), and
wherein the at least one additional super block is configured to store user data (Paragraphs 28, 43, new superblocks include good blocks which store user data).
Alwala does not explicitly teach wherein the plurality of super blocks comprise a group of metadata super blocks configured to store metadata and a group of user data super blocks configured to store user data, and wherein the group of user data super blocks comprise memory blocks assigned to an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation; selecting at least one memory block from each of the plurality of super blocks; maintaining, for each super block of the plurality of super blocks, matching of memory blocks other than the selected at least one memory block, wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of user data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Luo teaches selecting at least one memory block from each of the plurality of super blocks (Paragraph 50; Fig. 2B, reallocating [selecting] memory blocks from each full superblocks 227-1, 227-4, 227-6, and 227-8); and
maintaining, for each super block of the plurality of super blocks, matching of memory blocks other than the selected at least one memory block (Paragraph 50; Fig. 2B, reallocating memory blocks from full superblocks 227-1, 227-4, 227-6, and 227-8 without deconstructing the full superblocks).
Alwala and Luo are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Alwala to further include the selecting of memory blocks from superblocks while maintaining matching of other memory blocks according to the teachings of Luo. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the impact of bad blocks on memory system performance (Luo, Paragraph 53).
Alwala in view of Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the plurality of super blocks comprise a group of metadata super blocks configured to store metadata and a group of user data super blocks configured to store user data, and wherein the group of user data super blocks comprise memory blocks assigned to an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation; and wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of user data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Emelyanov teaches wherein the plurality of super blocks comprise a group of metadata super blocks configured to store metadata and a group of user data super blocks configured to store user data (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, [group of] blocks of user data are stored in separate locations of the same device from [group of] blocks of metadata) and
the group of user data super blocks (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, [group of] blocks of user data).
Alwala, Luo, and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Alwala in view of Luo to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov does not explicitly teach wherein the group of data super blocks comprise memory blocks assigned to an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation; and wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space.
However, Shaharabany teaches wherein the group of data super blocks comprise memory blocks assigned to an over-provisioning space that is hidden from user operation (Paragraph 96, metablocks [superblocks] contain flash memory blocks, wherein a percentage of storage block capacity is over-provisioned space, which is a percentage of total storage capacity of the storage device that is undeclared [hidden from user operation]); and
wherein the at least one additional super block is added to the group of data super blocks to cause an increase in a size of the over-provisioning space (Paragraphs 59, 96; Fig. 1A, forming metablocks from sets of blocks from multiple memory devices 134, wherein the formation of blocks into metablocks and metablock pairs increases over-provisioning).
Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, and Shaharabany are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov to further include the over-provisioning according to the teachings of Shaharabany. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce write amplification and improve device endurance (Shaharabany, Paragraph 96).
Regarding claim 16, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany teaches the method of claim 15 and first and second groups of superblocks of the plurality of superblocks (Alwala, Paragraph 42; Fig. 1, superblocks 412 across multiple memory dies 404 (first and second groups of superblocks being from different memory dies)).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany does not explicitly teach wherein a first group of super blocks of the plurality of super blocks are configured to store meta data, and a second group of super blocks of the plurality of super blocks are configured to store user data.
However, Emelyanov teaches wherein a first group of super blocks of the plurality of super blocks are configured to store meta data, and a second group of super blocks of the plurality of super blocks are configured to store user data. (Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, [groups of] blocks of user data are stored in separate locations of the same device from [groups of] blocks of metadata).
Alwala, Luo, Shaharabany, and Emelyanov are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Shaharabany to further include the storing of metadata and user data to different blocks according to the teachings of Emelyanov. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve read/write efficiency by improving the management of file system metadata and data (Emelyanov, Col. 5, lines 53-56).
Regarding claim 17, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the method of claim 16, wherein first memory blocks selected from each of the first group of super blocks are matched to a first additional super block (Alwala, Paragraphs 43, 50; Fig. 4, selecting good blocks from a plurality of super blocks 412 [first group] and pairing [matching] good blocks to form new [first] superblocks).
Regarding claim 18, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the method of claim 16, wherein second memory blocks selected from each of the second group of super blocks are matched to a second additional super block (Alwala, Paragraphs 43, 48, 50; Fig. 4, selecting good blocks from a plurality of super blocks 412 in another memory die 404 [second group] and pairing [matching] good blocks to form new [second] superblocks).
Regarding claim 19, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the method of claim 15, wherein the selecting of at least one memory block comprises selecting the at least one memory block from super blocks that do not include bad memory blocks (Luo, Paragraphs 47, 50; Fig. 2B, reallocating [including selecting] memory blocks from full superblocks 227-1, 227-4, 227-6, and 227-8 (superblocks that do not include bad memory blocks)).
Claims 5, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany as applied to claims 1, 7, and 15 above, and further in view of Matsudaira et al. (US 20150339223 A1), hereinafter Matsudaira.
Regarding claim 5, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 1, but does not explicitly teach wherein the memory controller is configured to, in response to a determination that a super block of the plurality of super blocks includes multiple bad memory blocks: relocate the multiple bad memory blocks to super blocks in the plurality of super blocks such that a number of bad blocks included in at least one super block of the plurality of super blocks is minimized.
However, Matsudaira teaches wherein the memory controller is configured to, in response to a determination that a super block of the plurality of super blocks includes multiple bad memory blocks (Paragraph 43; Figs. 8-9, step S3, determining that logical [first super] blocks 13, 14 contain multiple bad blocks):
relocate the multiple bad memory blocks to super blocks in the plurality of super blocks such that a number of bad blocks included in at least one super block of the plurality of super blocks is minimized (Paragraph 45; Figs. 8-10, step S5, changing the arrangement of [relocating] physical blocks (e.g. logical [super] blocks 13, 14 swap bad blocks with normal blocks from logical [super] blocks 5-8) such that the number of bad blocks in each logical [super] block is equalized (equal distribution of bad blocks minimizes the amount of bad blocks in each use target superblock)).
Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, Shaharabany, and Matsudaira are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany to further include the relocating of bad memory blocks according to the teachings of Matsudaira. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce variations in access speed (Matsudaira, Paragraph 49).
Regarding claim 14, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the storage device of claim 7, wherein the memory controller is configured to set the set of metadata memory blocks (Emelyanov, Col. 4, lines 7-18, 37-55; Fig. 2, storing [sets of] blocks of metadata in a separate location)
and the set of user data memory blocks among super blocks that contain no bad blocks (Luo, Paragraphs 50-52; Fig. 2B, reallocating [setting] memory blocks within only full superblocks 227-1, 227-4, 227-6, and 227-8 (superblocks having only good blocks)).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany does not explicitly teach in response to a determination that a super block contains multiple bad blocks: relocate the multiple bad blocks to the plurality of superblocks.
However, Matsudaira teaches in response to a determination that a super block contains multiple bad blocks (Paragraph 43; Figs. 8-9, step S3, determining that logical [first super] blocks 13, 14 contain multiple bad blocks):
relocate the multiple bad blocks to the plurality of superblocks (Paragraph 45; Figs. 8-10, step S5, changing the arrangement of [relocating] physical blocks (e.g. logical [super] blocks 13, 14 swap bad blocks with normal blocks from logical [super] blocks 5-8)).
Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, Shaharabany, and Matsudaira are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the storage device of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany to further include the relocating of bad memory blocks according to the teachings of Matsudaira. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce variations in access speed (Matsudaira, Paragraph 49).
Regarding claim 20, Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany teaches the method of claim 15, wherein the selecting at least one memory block includes: selecting the at least one memory block from super blocks that include no bad blocks (Luo, Paragraphs 47, 50; Fig. 2B, reallocating [including selecting] memory blocks from full superblocks 227-1, 227-4, 227-6, and 227-8 (superblocks that do not include bad memory blocks).
Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany does not explicitly teach based on a determination that a super block includes multiple bad blocks, relocating the multiple bad blocks to the plurality of superblocks such that a number of bad blocks included in one super block is minimized.
However, Matsudaira teaches based on a determination that a super block includes multiple bad blocks (Paragraph 43; Figs. 8-9, step S3, determining that logical [first super] blocks 13, 14 contain multiple bad blocks),
relocating the multiple bad blocks to the plurality of superblocks such that a number of bad blocks included in one super block is minimized (Paragraph 45; Figs. 8-10, step S5, changing the arrangement of [relocating] physical blocks (e.g. logical [super] blocks 13, 14 swap bad blocks with normal blocks from logical [super] blocks 5-8) such that the number of bad blocks in each logical [super] block is equalized (equal distribution of bad blocks minimizes the amount of bad blocks in each use target superblock)).
Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, Shaharabany, and Matsudaira are analogous art because they are in the same field of endeavor, that storage block management. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Alwala in view of Luo, further in view of Emelyanov and Shaharabany to further include the relocating of bad memory blocks according to the teachings of Matsudaira. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce variations in access speed (Matsudaira, Paragraph 49).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments (see pages 8-9 of the remarks, filed 7/30/2026) with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Alwala, Luo, Emelyanov, and Shaharabany.
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 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.
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/J.M.P./Examiner, Art Unit 2137
/Arpan P. Savla/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2137
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