DETAILED ACTION
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 Arguments
The office action is responding to the arguments filed on 03/05/2026. Claims 1
-20 are pending.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2,7-9,11-12,14-15 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KWAK et al. (US 20220137817 A1) in view of Bhardwaj et al. (US 20210397562 A1) hereinafter KWAK and Bhardwaj.
Regarding claim 1, KWAK teaches A method of controlling A storage device, comprising: grouping one or more memory blocks in which physical addresses are continuous, among a plurality of memory blocks included in the storage device; (see Fig 2, paragraph [0006] and [0060], illustrates storage device controller grouping data sequentially in physical areas of memory system)
generating a plurality of zones by mapping continuous physical addresses of grouped memory blocks to continuous logical addresses; (see Fig 2, paragraph [0061], illustrates namespace is divided into zones where data is stored sequentially in consecutive logical address of blocks)
controlling sequential write operations using write pointers indicating a logical address of a region in which data is to be written in a next order in each of the plurality of zones; (see Fig 5A, paragraph [0082], illustrates memory controller may write data within zone based on write pointer position)
determining invalid zones in which all stored data is invalid data, among the plurality of zones; (see Fig 15, paragraph [0134], illustrates determination of valid or invalid data in the zones)
determining a utilization rate of a storage space of the storage device; determining a write pointer threshold based on the utilization rate; (see Fig 9B and 10, paragraph [0096], illustrates making determination of physical write pointer (PWP) reaching the threshold of utilization or in other words full)
controlling the storage device to erase all memory blocks included in only the one or more target zones. (see Fig 3, paragraph [0071], illustrates memory system performs erase operation for the full zone switching zone to empty zone)
KWAK teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space above. However, KWAK does not explicitly teach dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and
On the other hand, Bhardwaj which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and (see Fig 3 and 4, paragraph [0019] and [0021] and [0051], illustrates write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management. Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping)
Both KWAK and Bhardwaj relate to storage device with plurality of
zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK teaches storage device with
plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer
threshold. On the other hand, Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality
of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine maximum value of
write pointer threshold and write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management and Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by Bhardwaj, to enable controller to select a zone where write pointer may point to greater than threshold of full capacity for reset or clear. The combined system of KWAK - Bhardwaj allows more efficient (faster) read, write, and erase operations and reduces the need for over-provisioning of memory blocks to various applications (by reducing the number of blocks that otherwise would store invalid data and which have to be factored in when memory is allocated to the applications) as mentioned in paragraph [0019]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK - Bhardwaj improves efficiency of (faster) read, write, and erase operations. See Bhardwaj, paragraph [0019].
Regarding claim 2, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, wherein determining the write pointer threshold comprises: determining the write pointer threshold such that the write pointer threshold is monotonically decreased depending on the utilization rate
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, wherein determining the write pointer threshold comprises: determining the write pointer threshold such that the write pointer threshold is monotonically decreased depending on the utilization rate. (see Fig 4, paragraph [0098], illustrates write pointer movement based on available space. In other words, write pointer (WP) threshold can be determined based on utilization or available space of zones)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 1 is equally applicable to claim 2.
Regarding claim 7, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, wherein determining the utilization rate comprises: determining, as the utilization rate, a ratio of a size of a space in which valid data and invalid data are stored in the storage device and a size of a total storage space
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, wherein determining the utilization rate comprises: determining, as the utilization rate, a ratio of a size of a space in which valid data and invalid data are stored in the storage device and a size of a total storage space. (see Fig 9B and 13, paragraph [0097], illustrates valid and invalid including dummy pages attributes to available space for write pointer to determine the ratio of available storage space)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 1 is equally applicable to claim 7.
Regarding claim 8, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, wherein among the invalid zones, an invalid zone in which the write pointer does not have a maximum value includes an empty region
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, wherein among the invalid zones, an invalid zone in which the write pointer does not have a maximum value includes an empty region. (see Fig 8B, paragraph [0093], illustrates invalid pages doesn’t change the position of logical write pointer LWP which also includes empty pages)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 1 is equally applicable to claim 8.
Regarding claim 9, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining full zones in which the write pointer value has a maximum value, among the plurality of zones; and
controlling the storage device to copy valid data, among data stored in the full zones, to a reset zone and to erase all memory blocks included in the full zones
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining full zones in which the write pointer value has a maximum value, among the plurality of zones; and (see Fig 5B, paragraph [0044], illustrates write pointer indicates maximum value for the zone being full)
controlling the storage device to copy valid data, among data stored in the full zones, to a reset zone and to erase all memory blocks included in the full zones. (see Fig 1C, paragraph [0057], illustrates memory system copies valid data to empty memory block and perform erase operation on memory block copied from)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 1 is equally applicable to claim 9.
Regarding claim 11, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the storage device to erase all memory blocks included in only the one or more target zones is performed by providing the storage device with commands supported by a Nonvolatile Memory Express (NVMe) Zoned Namespace (ZNS) interface
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the storage device to erase all memory blocks included in only the one or more target zones is performed by providing the storage device with commands supported by a Nonvolatile Memory Express (NVMe) Zoned Namespace (ZNS) interface. (see Fig 2, paragraph [0060], illustrates data storage device may include zoned namespace and NVMe protocol)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 1 is equally applicable to claim 11.
Regarding claim 12, KWAK teaches A method of controlling a storage device, comprising: from a storage space of the storage device, generating a plurality of zones in which each zone is configured to be independently reset and (see Fig 2, paragraph [0061] and [0063], illustrates erase operation is done on erase unit blocks independently)
only sequential write operations are allowed; (see Fig 2, paragraph [0061], illustrates namespace is divided into zones where data is stored sequentially in consecutive logical address of blocks)
determining invalid zones in which all stored data is invalid data, among the plurality of zones; determining a size of free space of the storage device; (see Fig 1B, paragraph [0055], illustrates determining invalid data in the in the memory block and determining capacity or free space in the block)
determining a threshold of a write progress rate of a zone based on the size of the free space; (see Fig 3, paragraph [0072], illustrates reaching a threshold value based on write or active zone)
controlling a reset of only the one or more target zones. (see Fig 3, paragraph [0071], illustrates memory system performs erase operation for the full zone switching zone to empty zone)
KWAK teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space above. However, KWAK does not explicitly teach dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and
On the other hand, Bhardwaj which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and (see Fig 3 and 4, paragraph [0019] and [0021] and [0051], illustrates write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management. Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping)
Both KWAK and Bhardwaj relate to storage device with plurality of
zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK teaches storage device with
plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer
threshold. On the other hand, Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality
of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine maximum value of
write pointer threshold and write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management and Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by Bhardwaj, to enable controller to select a zone where write pointer may point to greater than threshold of full capacity for reset or clear. The combined system of KWAK - Bhardwaj allows more efficient (faster) read, write, and erase operations and reduces the need for over-provisioning of memory blocks to various applications (by reducing the number of blocks that otherwise would store invalid data and which have to be factored in when memory is allocated to the applications) as mentioned in paragraph [0019]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK - Bhardwaj improves efficiency of (faster) read, write, and erase operations. See Bhardwaj, paragraph [0019].
Regarding claim 14, KWAK teaches A method of operating a storage device, comprising: generating a plurality of erase unit regions, each of which is configured to be independently erased from a storage space of a nonvolatile memory device included in the storage device; (see Fig 2, paragraph [0061] and [0063], illustrates erase operation is done on erase unit blocks independently)
determining invalid regions in which all stored data is invalid data, among the plurality of erase unit regions; (see Fig 1B, paragraph [0055], illustrates determining invalid data in the in the memory block and determining capacity or free space in the block)
determining a utilization rate of the storage space of the nonvolatile memory device; (see Fig 9B and 10, paragraph [0096], illustrates making determination of physical write pointer (PWP) reaching the threshold of utilization or in other words full)
determining a threshold of a write progress rate of an erase unit region among the erase unit regions based on the utilization rate; and ; (see Fig 3, paragraph [0072], illustrates reaching a threshold value based on write or active zone)
controlling the nonvolatile memory device to perform an erase operation only the one or more target regions. (see Fig 3, paragraph [0071], illustrates memory system performs erase operation for the full zone switching zone to empty zone)
KWAK teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space above. However, KWAK does not explicitly teach dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and
On the other hand, Bhardwaj which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and (see Fig 3 and 4, paragraph [0019] and [0021] and [0051], illustrates write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management. Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping)
Both KWAK and Bhardwaj relate to storage device with plurality of
zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK teaches storage device with
plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer
threshold. On the other hand, Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality
of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine maximum value of
write pointer threshold and write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management and Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by Bhardwaj, to enable controller to select a zone where write pointer may point to greater than threshold of full capacity for reset or clear. The combined system of KWAK - Bhardwaj allows more efficient (faster) read, write, and erase operations and reduces the need for over-provisioning of memory blocks to various applications (by reducing the number of blocks that otherwise would store invalid data and which have to be factored in when memory is allocated to the applications) as mentioned in paragraph [0019]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK - Bhardwaj improves efficiency of (faster) read, write, and erase operations. See Bhardwaj, paragraph [0019].
Regarding claim 15, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 14. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14, wherein determining the threshold comprises: determining the threshold such that the threshold is monotonically decreased depending on the utilization rate
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 14, wherein determining the threshold comprises: determining the threshold such that the threshold is monotonically decreased depending on the utilization rate. (see Fig 4, paragraph [0098], illustrates write pointer movement based on available space. In other words, write pointer (WP) threshold can be determined based on utilization or available space of zones)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 14 is equally applicable to claim 15.
Regarding claim 17, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 14. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining full regions in which data is stored in an entire region, among the plurality of erase unit regions; and performing a garbage collection operation on the full regions
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining full regions in which data is stored in an entire region, among the plurality of erase unit regions; and performing a garbage collection operation on the full regions. (see Fig 1B, paragraph [0055], illustrates garbage collection operation when the block is full)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 14 is equally applicable to claim 17.
Regarding claim 18, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 14. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14, wherein determining the utilization rate comprises: determining, as the utilization rate, a ratio of a size of a space in which valid data and invalid data are stored in the nonvolatile memory device and a size of a total storage space
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 14, wherein determining the utilization rate comprises: determining, as the utilization rate, a ratio of a size of a space in which valid data and invalid data are stored in the nonvolatile memory device and a size of a total storage space. (see Fig 9B and 13, paragraph [0097], illustrates valid and invalid including dummy pages attributes to available space for write pointer to determine the ratio of available storage space)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK with Bhardwaj as set forth in claim 14 is equally applicable to claim 18.
Claim(s) 3-6,10,13,16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being
unpatentable over KWAK in view of Bhardwaj and further in view of SURIANARAYANAN et al. (US 20230076985 A1) hereinafter SURIANARAYANAN.
Regarding claim 3, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, wherein determining the write pointer threshold comprises: determining the write pointer threshold as a first maximum value when the utilization rate is equal to or less than a threshold utilization rate; and
determining the write pointer threshold as a value smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate. and
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, wherein determining the write pointer threshold comprises: determining the write pointer threshold as a first maximum value when the utilization rate is equal to or less than a threshold utilization rate; and (see Fig 2A, paragraph [0040], illustrates determination of maximum value of write pointer threshold based on available block in the zone 206)
determining the write pointer threshold as a value smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate. and (see Fig 2B, paragraph [0040], illustrates closed state in the active zone when it reaches a threshold of available resources and write pointer WP reflects with correct state)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
Applicant’s filing to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj for the reasons set forth in claim 1
above. In addition, KWAK, Bhardwaj and SURIANARAYANAN are considered analogous arts, because they all relate to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK – Bhardwaj combination
teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer threshold. On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine maximum value of write pointer threshold and determining if it exceeds threshold of available resources. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as
taught by SURIANARAYANAN, to enable determining maximum value of write pointer threshold and determining if it exceeds threshold of available resources. The combined system of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN allows the controller to be configured to set a free space threshold value for an amount of free space that each super device of the plurality of super devices can have as mentioned in paragraph [0005]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN improves the write performance. See SURIANARAYANAN, paragraph [0003].
Regarding claim 4, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj and further in view of SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 3. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 3, wherein determining the write pointer threshold as the value
smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate comprises:
determining the write pointer threshold such that the write pointer threshold is monotonically decreased depending on the utilization rate
On the other hand, KWAK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 3, wherein determining the write pointer threshold as the value
smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate comprises:
determining the write pointer threshold such that the write pointer threshold is monotonically decreased depending on the utilization rate. (see Fig 4, paragraph [0098], illustrates write pointer movement based on available space. In other words, write pointer (WP) threshold can be determined based on utilization or available space of zones)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN as set forth in claim 3 is equally applicable to claim 4.
Regarding claim 5, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj and further in view of SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 3. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 3, wherein determining the write pointer threshold as the value
smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate comprises:
determining the write pointer threshold such that the write pointer threshold is linearly decreased depending on the utilization rate when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate.
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The
method of claim 3, wherein determining the write pointer threshold as the value
smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate comprises:
determining the write pointer threshold such that the write pointer threshold is linearly decreased depending on the utilization rate when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate. (see Fig 2B, paragraph [0044], illustrates when resource availability is decreased to a threshold level, write pointer WP threshold decreases as well linearly towards the Closed state)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN as set forth in claim 3 is equally applicable to claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj and further in view of SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 5. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 5, wherein determining the write pointer threshold as the value
smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate comprises:
determining the write pointer threshold as a minimum value when the utilization rate has a second maximum value.
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The
method of claim 5, wherein determining the write pointer threshold as the value
smaller than the first maximum value when the utilization rate exceeds the threshold utilization rate comprises:
determining the write pointer threshold as a minimum value when the utilization rate has a second maximum value. (see Fig 2B, paragraph [0044], illustrates when utilization rate reaches to second threshold or full state, write pointer points to ZCAP)
The same motivation that was utilized for combining KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN as set forth in claim 3 is equally applicable to claim 6.
Regarding claim 10, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 1. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of memory blocks includes physical memory blocks that are accessible to each other in parallel.
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of memory blocks includes physical memory blocks that are accessible to each other in parallel. (see Fig 2A, paragraph [0037], illustrates data can be written within zones in sequential order or in parallel fashion)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
Applicant’s filing to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj for the reasons set forth in claim 1
above. In addition, KWAK, Bhardwaj and SURIANARAYANAN are considered analogous arts, because they all relate to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK – Bhardwaj combination teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer threshold. On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to write data in sequential order or in parallel fashion. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by SURIANARAYANAN, to enable writing data in sequential order or in parallel fashion. The combined system of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN allows the controller to be configured to set a free space threshold value for an amount of free space that each super device of the plurality of super devices can have as mentioned in paragraph [0005]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN improves the write performance. See SURIANARAYANAN, paragraph [0003].
Regarding claim 13, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 12. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 12, wherein determining the threshold comprises: determining the threshold such that the threshold is monotonically increased according to the size of the free space
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 12, wherein determining the threshold comprises: determining the threshold such that the threshold is monotonically increased according to the size of the free space. (see Fig 4, paragraph [0066], illustrates free space threshold value depends on free space size of the storage device)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
Applicant’s filing to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj for the reasons set forth in claim 12
above. In addition, KWAK, Bhardwaj and SURIANARAYANAN are considered analogous arts, because they all relate to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK – Bhardwaj combination teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer threshold. On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space and free space threshold value depends on free space size of the storage device. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by SURIANARAYANAN, to enable free space threshold value which depends on free space size of the storage device. The combined system of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN allows the controller to be configured to set a free space threshold value for an amount of free space that each super device of the plurality of super devices can have as mentioned in paragraph [0005]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN improves the write performance. See SURIANARAYANAN, paragraph [0003].
Regarding claim 16, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 14. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of erase unit regions includes a plurality of physical memory blocks that are accessible to each other in parallel
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of erase unit regions includes a plurality of physical memory blocks that are accessible to each other in parallel. (see Fig 2A, paragraph [0037], illustrates data can be written within zones in sequential order or in parallel fashion)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
Applicant’s filing to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj for the reasons set forth in claim 14
above. In addition, KWAK, Bhardwaj and SURIANARAYANAN are considered analogous arts, because they all relate to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK – Bhardwaj combination teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer threshold. On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to write data in sequential order or in parallel fashion. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by SURIANARAYANAN, to enable writing data in sequential order or in parallel fashion. The combined system of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN allows the controller to be configured to set a free space threshold value for an amount of free space that each super device of the plurality of super devices can have as mentioned in paragraph [0005]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN improves the write performance. See SURIANARAYANAN, paragraph [0003].
Regarding claim 19, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 14. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14, further comprising: mapping continuous physical addresses included in each of the plurality of erase unit regions to continuous logical addresses among logical addresses of a host
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 14, further comprising: mapping continuous physical addresses included in each of the plurality of erase unit regions to continuous logical addresses among logical addresses of a host. (see Fig 2, paragraph [0037] and [0039], illustrates sequential or continuous writes in logical erase blocks mapped sequentially)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
Applicant’s filing to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj for the reasons set forth in claim 14
above. In addition, KWAK, Bhardwaj and SURIANARAYANAN are considered analogous arts, because they all relate to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK – Bhardwaj combination teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer threshold. On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space and sequential or continuous writes in logical erase blocks mapped sequentially. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by SURIANARAYANAN, to enable sequential or continuous writes in logical erase blocks mapped sequentially. The combined system of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN allows the controller to be configured to set a free space threshold value for an amount of free space that each super device of the plurality of super devices can have as mentioned in paragraph [0005]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN improves the write performance. See SURIANARAYANAN, paragraph [0003].
Regarding claim 20, KWAK in view of Bhardwaj teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space in claim 14. However, KWAK - Bhardwaj combination does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14, further comprising: mapping continuous physical addresses included in each of the plurality of erase unit regions to random logical addresses among logical addresses received from a host
On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches The method of claim 14, further comprising: mapping continuous physical addresses included in each of the plurality of erase unit regions to random logical addresses among logical addresses received from a host. (see Fig 2, paragraph [0049], illustrates programming sequentially in physical blocks after receiving LBA from host which maybe in any order)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
Applicant’s filing to combine KWAK with Bhardwaj for the reasons set forth in claim 14
above. In addition, KWAK, Bhardwaj and SURIANARAYANAN are considered analogous arts, because they all relate to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space. KWAK – Bhardwaj combination teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space to determine write pointer threshold. On the other hand, SURIANARAYANAN teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space and programming sequentially in physical blocks after receiving LBA from host which maybe in any order. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine KWAK – Bhardwaj combination with SURIANARAYANAN by incorporating storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space, as taught by SURIANARAYANAN, to enable programming sequentially in physical blocks after receiving LBA from host which maybe in any order. The combined system of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN allows the controller to be configured to set a free space threshold value for an amount of free space that each super device of the plurality of super devices can have as mentioned in paragraph [0005]. Therefore, the combination of KWAK – Bhardwaj - SURIANARAYANAN improves the write performance. See SURIANARAYANAN, paragraph [0003].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 03/05/2026 have been fully considered but they
are not persuasive.
Applicant’s first argument is claims 1,12 and 14 amendments mapping by
Primary reference KWAK and secondary reference HELMICK in page 8 of the response: In the Office Action, the Examiner agreed that Kwak does not disclose selecting a target zone in which a write pointer value is greater than the write pointer threshold, among the invalid zones. The Examiner then asserted that selecting block/zone which is full in capacity according to Helmick may correspond to selecting a target zone in which a write pointer value is greater than the write pointer threshold, among the invalid zones. See the Examiner's opinion copied below.
KWAK teaches storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space above. However, KWAK does not explicitly teach selecting a target zone in which a write pointer value is greater than the write pointer threshold, among the invalid zones; and
On the other hand, HELMICK which also relates to storage device with plurality of zones having write pointer for realizing free space teaches selecting a target zone in which a write pointer value is greater than the write pointer threshold, among the invalid zones; and (see Fig 3A and 3B, paragraph [0043] and [0049]- [0051], illustrates controller 308 may select block or zone which may be full in capacity where write pointers (WP) may point to zone capacity and that zone capacity may include s, controller may select a of full capacity for reset or clear)
Pages 4 and 5 of the Office Action
However, Helmick does not disclose the claimed combination including "dividing the invalid zones to one or more target zones each having a write pointer value greater than the write pointer threshold and one or more non-target zones each having a write pointer value equal to or less than the write pointer threshold; and controlling the storage device to erase all memory blocks included in only the one or more target zones." Therefore, Helmick does not cure the deficiencies of Kwak
In summary, applicant argued that primary reference KWAK and secondary reference HELMICK do not teach amended limitation dividing or grouping target zone based on invalid zones being more or less than a threshold value. The amendment necessitates adding secondary reference Bhardwaj in this regard. For further clarification examiner cites portion from Bhardwaj. Also, for applicant’s understanding examiner would like to explain the teachings of Bhardwaj and examiner’s interpretation in more detail here. See Fig 3 and 4, paragraph [0019] and [0021] and [0051], Bhardwaj teaches write pointer (WP) are defined by starting of valid LBA of the zone and zones are grouped or divided based on EC (erase count) threshold above and below by controller zone aware memory management. Examiner considers zone grouping based on EC threshold is similar to invalid threshold grouping. In the cited portion, Bhardwaj clearly teaches controller may group or divide zones based on erase count invalidity being less or more than a threshold number. Thus, the rejection of amended claims 1,12 and 14 are maintained.
Conclusion
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/S.K.C./Examiner, Art Unit 2132
/HOSAIN T ALAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2132
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