DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1, 3-7, 9-13 and 15-18 are pending in the Instant Application.
Claims 1, 3-7, 9-13 and 15-18 are rejected (Non-Final Rejection).
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 29 April 2026 has been entered.
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, 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, 6-7, 12-13 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsiao (US 20110264847 A1), hereinafter “Hsiao”, in view of Tan (US 20190317673 A1), hereinafter “Tan,” in further view of Fontana et al. (US 2016/0139826 A1), hereinafter “Fontana”.
With regards to claim 1, Hsiao teaches A wear leveling method, used for a rewritable non-volatile memory module, wherein the rewritable non-volatile memory module comprises a plurality of physical units, and the wear leveling method comprises: ((¶0022, FIG. 4) The memory comprising of a plurality of blocks for data storage is interpreted as the claimed rewritable non-volatile memory module comprising a plurality of physical units.)
recording wear count values respectively corresponding to the plurality of physical units; ((Applicant’s Spec: ¶0051) The applicant’s specification states that "… the wear count value corresponding to one physical unit is related to the number of times the physical unit is erased, programmed, and/or read". (Hsiao: ¶0010) The erase counts selected from the spare blocks are therefore interpreted to be the wear count values respectively corresponding to the plurality of physical units.)
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value; ((¶0024) The worn-out blocks are interpreted as the claimed first physical units each with a first wear count value greater than a first threshold value. (¶0027) The total number of worn-out blocks is interpreted as the total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units.)
triggering a wear leveling operation in response to the total being greater than a second threshold value; and … ((¶0027) The total number of worn-out blocks being greater than the specific number, to then replace a spare block with a high erase count is interpreted to be the triggering of a wear leveling operation in response to the total being greater than a second threshold value.)
moving data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation, wherein a second wear count value corresponding to each of the second physical units is less than the first wear count value. ((¶0027) The data area 410 with at least one block with a low erase count is interpreted to be the claimed at least on second physical unit in the plurality of physical units. The data area blocks with low erase count replacing the spare area blocks with high erase count is interpreted to be the claimed moving of data of the at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation, wherein a second wear count value corresponding to each of the second physical units is less than the first wear count value.)
Hsiao does not teach:
moving valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation. (emphasis added)
However, Tan does teach:
moving valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation ((Abstract) The copying of valid data stored in the first physical erasing unit to the second physical erasing unit is interpreted to teach the claimed moving of valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in wear leveling operation.)
Hsiao and Tan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data disclosed by Hsiao to include valid data using the teaching of Tan. The motivation would have been to prolong the lifespan of the memory by using the physical units in the memory module as uniformly as possible. (Tan: 0004);
The combination of Hsiao and Tan do not teach:
the plurality of physical units, wherein the recorded wear count values reflect degrees of wear of the plurality of physical units respectively;
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, the average wear count value reflects an average of the recorded wear count values, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values.
However, Fontana does teach:
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value ([0036] wherein the cycle count is determined, which exceeds a cycle threshold), the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, the average wear count value reflects an average of the recorded wear count values, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values ([0036] wherein the physical unit has a high level of wear if it’s above the average).
Hsiao, Tan, and Fontana are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data disclosed by Hsiao and Tan to include obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values teaching of Fontana in order to determine the memory with high usage who would most benefit from leveling.
With regards to claim 6, modified Hsiao further teaches not triggering the wear leveling operation in response to the total being not greater than the second threshold value. ((FIG. 5) The step at 506 checks if the total number of spare blocks with erase counts greater than a first threshold. If the check at step 506 does not pass, then the wear leveling operations (steps 514, 516, 518, and 520) are not performed, and instead the step at 508 is performed.)
With regards to claim 7, Hsiao teaches a memory storage device, comprising:
a connection interface unit for connecting to a host system; ((¶0023, FIG. 4) The Host being able to send a write command to the Data storage device and its controller is interpreted as the data storage device having a claimed connection interface unit.)
a rewritable non-volatile memory module comprising a plurality of physical units; and ((¶0022, FIG. 4) The memory comprising of a plurality of blocks for data storage is interpreted as the claimed rewritable non-volatile memory module comprising a plurality of physical units.)
a memory control circuit unit connected to the connection interface unit and the rewritable non-volatile memory module, ((¶0023, FIG. 4) The controller is interpreted as the memory control circuit unit connected to the connection interface unit and the rewritable non-volatile memory module.)
wherein the memory control circuit unit is used for: recording wear count values respectively corresponding to the plurality of physical units; ((Applicant’s Spec: ¶0051) The applicant’s specification states that "… the wear count value corresponding to one physical unit is related to the number of times the physical unit is erased, programmed, and/or read". (Hsiao: ¶0010) The erase counts selected from the spare blocks are therefore interpreted to be the wear count values respectively corresponding to the plurality of physical units.)
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value; ((¶0024) The worn-out blocks are interpreted as the claimed first physical units each with a first wear count value greater than a first threshold value. (¶0027) The total number of worn-out blocks is interpreted as the total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units.)
triggering a wear leveling operation in response to the total being greater than a second threshold value; and … ((¶0027) The total number of worn-out blocks being greater than the specific number, to then replace a spare block with a high erase count is interpreted to be the triggering of a wear leveling operation in response to the total being greater than a second threshold value.)
moving data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation, wherein a second wear count value corresponding to each of the second physical units is less than the first wear count value. ((¶0027) The data area 410 with at least one block with a low erase count is interpreted to be the claimed at least on second physical unit in the plurality of physical units. The data area blocks with low erase count replacing the spare area blocks with high erase count is interpreted to be the claimed moving of data of the at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation, wherein a second wear count value corresponding to each of the second physical units is less than the first wear count value.)
Hsiao does not teach:
moving valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation. (emphasis added)
However, Tan does teach:
moving valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation ((Abstract) The copying of valid data stored in the first physical erasing unit to the second physical erasing unit is interpreted to teach the claimed moving of valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in wear leveling operation.)
Hsiao and Tan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data disclosed by Hsiao to include valid data using the teaching of Tan. The motivation would have been to prolong the lifespan of the memory by using the physical units in the memory module as uniformly as possible. (Tan: 0004);
The combination of Hsiao and Tan do not teach:
the plurality of physical units, wherein the recorded wear count values reflect degrees of wear of the plurality of physical units respectively;
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units , the average wear count value reflects an average of the recorded wear count values, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values.
However, Fontana does teach:
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value([0036] wherein the cycle count is determined, which exceeds a cycle threshold), the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, the average wear count value reflects an average of the recorded wear count values, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values ([0036] wherein the physical unit has a high level of wear if it’s above the average).
Hsiao, Tan, and Fontana are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data disclosed by Hsiao and Tan to include obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values teaching of Fontana in order to determine the memory with high usage who would most benefit from leveling.
Claim 12 is the device version of claim 6. Claim 12 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 6 above.
With regards to claim 13, Hsiao teaches a memory control circuit unit, used for controlling a rewritable non-volatile memory module, wherein the rewritable non-volatile memory module comprises a plurality of physical units, and the memory control circuit unit comprises: ((¶0023, FIG. 4) The controller is interpreted as the memory control circuit unit used for controlling a rewritable non-volatile memory module. (¶0022, FIG. 4) The memory comprising of a plurality of blocks for data storage is interpreted as the claimed rewritable non-volatile memory module comprising a plurality of physical units.)
a host interface for connecting to a host system; ((¶0023, FIG. 4) The Host being able to send a write command to the Data storage device and its controller is interpreted as the data storage device having a claimed connection interface unit.)
a memory interface for connecting to the rewritable non-volatile memory module; ((¶0023, FIG. 4) The controller being able to send write commands to the memory is interpreted as having an interface to perform the claimed connecting to the rewritable non-volatile memory module. The controller therefore is interpreted as having a claimed memory interface)
and …
wherein the memory management circuit is used for: recording wear count values respectively corresponding to the plurality of physical units; ((Applicant’s Spec: ¶0051) The applicant’s specification states that "… the wear count value corresponding to one physical unit is related to the number of times the physical unit is erased, programmed, and/or read". (Hsiao: ¶0010) The erase counts selected from the spare blocks are therefore interpreted to be the wear count values respectively corresponding to the plurality of physical units.)
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value; ((¶0024) The worn-out blocks are interpreted as the claimed first physical units each with a first wear count value greater than a first threshold value. (¶0027) The total number of worn-out blocks is interpreted as the total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units.)
triggering a wear leveling operation in response to the total being greater than a second threshold value; and … ((¶0027) The total number of worn-out blocks being greater than the specific number, to then replace a spare block with a high erase count is interpreted to be the triggering of a wear leveling operation in response to the total being greater than a second threshold value.)
moving data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation, wherein a second wear count value corresponding to each of the second physical units is less than the first wear count value. ((¶0027) The data area 410 with at least one block with a low erase count is interpreted to be the claimed at least on second physical unit in the plurality of physical units. The data area blocks with low erase count replacing the spare area blocks with high erase count is interpreted to be the claimed moving of data of the at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation, wherein a second wear count value corresponding to each of the second physical units is less than the first wear count value.)
Hsiao does not teach:
a memory management circuit connected to the host interface and the memory interface, …
moving valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation. (emphasis added)
However, Tan does teach:
a memory management circuit connected to the host interface and the memory interface, … ((¶0039-¶0040) The memory management circuit is configured to control overall operations of the memory control circuit unit. This is interpreted as the claimed memory management circuit connected to the host interface and the memory interface.)
moving valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in the wear leveling operation ((Abstract) The copying of valid data stored in the first physical erasing unit to the second physical erasing unit is interpreted to teach the claimed moving of valid data in at least one second physical unit in the plurality of physical units to at least one of the plurality of first physical units in wear leveling operation.)
Hsiao and Tan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed by Hsiao to include a memory management circuit and the moving of valid data using the teaching of Tan. The motivation would have been to prolong the lifespan of the memory by using the physical units in the memory module as uniformly as possible. (Tan: 0004);
The combination of Hsiao and Tan do not teach:
the plurality of physical units, wherein the recorded wear count values reflect degrees of wear of the plurality of physical units respectively;
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, the average wear count value reflects an average of the recorded wear count values, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values.
However, Fontana does teach:
obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value([0036] wherein the cycle count is determined, which exceeds a cycle threshold), the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, the average wear count value reflects an average of the recorded wear count values, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values ([0036] wherein the physical unit has a high level of wear if it’s above the average).
Hsiao, Tan, and Fontana are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data disclosed by Hsiao and Tan to include obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units in the plurality of physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units is greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value is between a maximum wear count value and an average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units, and the maximum wear count value is largest one of the recorded wear count values teaching of Fontana in order to determine the memory with high usage who would most benefit from leveling.
Claim 18 is the memory control unit version of claim 6. Claim 18 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 6 above.
Claims 3-5, 9-11, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsiao, in view of Tan, in further view of Fontana as applied to claims 1, 7, and 13 above, further in view of Bruce (US 6000006 A).
With regards to claim 3, Hsiao in view of Tan, in further view of Fontana, teaches all the limitations of the claim except:
obtaining the maximum wear count value and the average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units;
obtaining a first value according to a difference between the maximum wear count value and the average wear count value, wherein the first value is less than the difference; and
obtaining the first threshold value according to the average wear count value and the first value, wherein a difference between the first threshold value and the average wear count value is controlled by the first value.
However, Bruce does teach:
obtaining the maximum wear count value and the average wear count value corresponding to the plurality of physical units; ((Col. 9 Ln. 39-47) The expected lifetime of the flash memory is interpreted to be the maximum wear count value. The average number of writes per block increases is interpreted to be the average wear count value.)
obtaining a first value according to a difference between the maximum wear count value and the average wear count value, wherein the first value is less than the difference; and ((Col. 9 Ln. 39-47) In order to find the total-write threshold that is "halfway between the average number of writes and the expected lifetime" it would be obvious to someone skilled in the art to first subtract the expected lifetime and the average number to receive the in-between value. Obtaining the "halfway" point of the in-between value would be done by dividing the in-between value by two, giving half of the in between value, which is a value less than the claimed difference. The half of the in-between value is interpreted as the claimed first value.)
obtaining the first threshold value according to the average wear count value and the first value, wherein a difference between the first threshold value and the average wear count value is controlled by the first value. ((Col. 9 Ln. 39-47) Once the half of the in-between value is obtained, it would be obvious to someone skilled in the art to add the average value to obtain the total-write threshold. Adding the Average value offsets the first value to be in between the expected lifetime value and the average number of writes value.)
Hsiao and Bruce are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed by Hsiao to have a maximum wear count, an average wear count, and a first value, to obtain the first threshold value using the teaching of Bruce. The motivation would have been to efficiently minimize the excess writes to flash memory. (Bruce: Col. 12 Ln. 12-21).
With regards to claim 4, Hsiao in view of Tan, in further view of Fontana, teaches all the limitations of the claim except:
wherein the step of obtaining the first value according to the difference between the maximum wear count value and the average wear count value comprises:
dividing the difference by N to obtain the first value, wherein N may be any value greater than 1.
However, Bruce does teach:
wherein the step of obtaining the first value according to the difference between the maximum wear count value and the average wear count value comprises:
dividing the difference by N to obtain the first value, wherein N may be any value greater than 1. ((Col. 9 Ln. 39-47) When obtaining the "halfway" point of the in-between value, a division by two is performed after obtaining a difference of the expected lifetime and the average number. The in-between value being divided by two is interpreted to teach the obtaining of the claimed first value by dividing the difference by N to obtain the first value, wherein N may be any value greater than 1.)
Hsiao and Bruce are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed by Hsiao to have a maximum wear count, an average wear count, and a first value to obtain the first threshold value using the teaching of Bruce. The motivation would have been to efficiently minimize the excess writes to flash memory. (Bruce: Col. 12 Ln. 12-21)
With regards to claim 5, Hsiao in view of Tan, in further view of Gong, teaches all the limitations of the claim except:
wherein the step of obtaining the first threshold value according to the average wear count value and the first value comprises:
adding the first value to the average wear count value to obtain the first threshold value.
However, Bruce does teach:
wherein the step of obtaining the first threshold value according to the average wear count value and the first value comprises:
adding the first value to the average wear count value to obtain the first threshold value. ((Col. 9 Ln. 39-47) When obtaining the total-write threshold which is the halfway point between the average number of writes and the expected lifetime, it is interpreted that a first value is used in the calculation. Adding the Average value to the first value would offset the first value to be in between the expected lifetime value and the average number of writes value. This would give the total-write threshold which is interpreted as being the claimed the first threshold value.)
Hsiao and Bruce are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor, that being wear leveling. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed by Hsiao to have an average wear count and a first value to obtain the first threshold value using the teaching of Bruce. The motivation would have been to efficiently minimize the excess writes to flash memory. (Bruce: Col. 12 Ln. 12-21).
Claim 9 is the device version of claim 3. Claim 9 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 3 above.
Claim 10 is the device version of claim 4. Claim 10 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 4 above.
Claim 11 is the device version of claim 5. Claim 11 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 5 above.
Claim 15 is the memory control unit version of claim 3. Claim 15 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 3 above.
Claim 16 is the memory control unit version of claim 4. Claim 16 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 4 above.
Claim 17 is the memory control unit version of claim 5. Claim 17 is therefore rejected under the same rationale as applied to claim 5 above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-7, 9-13 and 15-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KANNAN SHANMUGASUNDARAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7763. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM -6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Rones can be reached at (571) 272-4085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KANNAN SHANMUGASUNDARAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2168
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