Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/821,886

Reduction of Errors in Data Retrieved from a Memory Device to Apply an Error Correction Code of a Predetermined Code Rate

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 30, 2024
Priority
Dec 22, 2021 — continuation of 11/556,417 +1 more
Examiner
MCMAHON, DANIEL F
Art Unit
2111
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Micron Technology Inc.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
931 granted / 1039 resolved
+34.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1050
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
§103
29.9%
-10.1% vs TC avg
§102
22.4%
-17.6% vs TC avg
§112
31.2%
-8.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1039 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . DETAILED ACTION 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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/24/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 2, 10, 11, 15, and 16 are amended. Claims 1 – 20 are pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 10, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hyun et al., U.S. Publication 2014/0059406 (herein Hyun). Regarding claim 1, Hyun discloses: A device (figure 1), comprising: memory cells (figure 1, element 120); and a logic circuit configured to: determine first data represented by states of the memory cells (figure 3, element 306); generate second data from the first data through correction of one or more first errors in a first portion of the first data (figure 3, element 308, 310; paragraph 0155). Regarding claim 10, Hyun discloses: A method, comprising: receiving, in a device having memory cells, a request to retrieve user data from the memory cells (figure 3, element 308); determining, by the device, first data represented by states of the memory cells (figure 3, element 308); generating second data from the first data through correction of one or more first errors in a first portion of the first (figure 3, element 310). Regarding claim 15, Hyun discloses: A method, comprising: receiving, in a device having memory cells, input data to be written to the memory cells (figure 3); adding supplemental data to generate combined data including the input data and the supplemental data (figure 3, element 308, 310; paragraph 0125, 0126, 0144, 0155); generating, according to an error correction code technique, redundant data from the combined data (figure 3, element 314; paragraph 0155, 183, 184). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2 – 9, 11 – 14, and 16 – 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Closest Prior Arts of Record Yun, U.S. Publication 2014/0122974 (herein Yun), teaches: reading from a memory module which includes a plurality of memories is provided. The method includes reading data corresponding to a plurality of burst length units from the plurality of memories; correcting an error of the read data using a storage error correction code; and outputting the error corrected data by a unit of data corresponding to one burst length unit. However, Yun fails to discloses such subject matter as: generate third data from the second data through correction of one or more second errors in a second portion of the first data using an error correction code technique and redundant information contained in the second portion; receive input data to be written to the memory cells; add supplemental data according to a known pattern to generate combined data including the input data and the supplemental data; generate, according to the error correction code technique, redundant data from the combined data; and program the memory cells to have states representative of the combined data and the redundant data. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Zastrow; Lyn R. US 20150331745 A1 Machado, et al. US 20040153902 A1 Patapoutian; Ara et al. US 20150089278 A1 Nakai; Kiyoshi US 20220114049 A1 Rao; Hari M. et al. US 20110219266 A1 Golov; Gil US 10956262 B2 Ito; Yutaka et al. US 20090249148 A1 determine first data represented by states of the memory cells; and generate second data from the first data through correction of one or more first errors in a first portion of the first data Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL F MCMAHON whose telephone number is (571)270-3232. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9am - 5pm EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Featherstone can be reached at (571)270-3750. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Daniel F. McMahon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2111
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 30, 2024
Application Filed
Dec 09, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Mar 09, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 24, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 27, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12705133
DATA ROUTING FOR ERROR CORRECTION IN STACKED MEMORY ARCHITECTURES
2y 0m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12706696
TERMINAL, BASE STATION, AND COMMUNICATION METHOD
1y 11m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12699613
AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT RELIABILITY AND SAFETY DURING POWER STANDBY MODE
2y 12m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12694941
PAGE-LEVEL AND STRIPE-BASED READ ERROR HANDLING
1y 7m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12688065
LEVEL TWO FIRST-IN-FIRST-OUT TRANSMISSION
2y 3m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+2.3%)
2y 1m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1039 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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