CTNF 18/887,906 CTNF 68700 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. 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. Election/Restrictions 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of “ Species I , Subspecies I encompassing Claims 1, 3-4, 9-16, and 19-21 ” in the reply filed on 03 April 2026 is acknowledged. Accordingly, claims 5-8, 17 and 18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to one or more non-elected inventions/ species/subspecies, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 17 September 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner. Drawings 06-22-07 The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include one or more reference characters not mentioned in the description. Note, for instance, 607 (shown twice in FIG. 6A , and once in each of FIGS. 6B, 6C and 7 ). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) and/or an amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Specification 07-29 AIA The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: a. In lines 6-7 of claim 21 , “a preamplifier” should be changed to --the preamplifier-- in order to refer back to that already set forth in line 12 of base claim 20. b. In line 7 of claim 21 , “an actuation controller” should be changed to --the actuation controller-- in order to refer back to that already set forth in line 12 of base claim 20. c. In line 7 of claim 21 , “a motor controller” should be changed to --the motor controller-- in order to refer back to that already set forth in lines 12-13 of base claim 20. d. In lines 7-8 of claim 21 , “sensor circuitry” should be changed to --the sensor circuitry-- in order to refer back to that already set forth in line 13 of base claim 20 . Appropriate correction is required. 06-31 AIA The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. 07-30-03-h AIA Claim Interpretation 07-30-03 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f): (f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. 07-30-05 The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: (A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function; (B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and (C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function. Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 3 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Hanson (US 4,633,350) . With respect to claims 1, 3, 12 and 13 , Hanson (US 4,633,350) teaches a data storage system (FIG. 1, for instance) comprising a main printed circuit board (55) comprising at least one system controller circuitry (see line 49 in column 3, for instance, i.e., “hard disk controller board 55”); and a plurality of stacked (dependent upon viewer perspective) storage devices (10 and 10a), each storage device mechanically and electrically connected (via 52 and 53, for instance) with the main printed circuit board at or near a longitudinal end of the storage device (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance); wherein the system controller circuitry is centrally positioned on the main printed circuit board such that each electrical transmission line length (length of 52 and length of 53, respectively) between a respective storage device and the system controller circuitry is substantially equivalent (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance) [ as per claim 1 ]; wherein the plurality of storage devices comprises a plurality of hard disk drives (see lines 53-62 in column 2, for instance) [ as per claim 2 ]; wherein the data storage system further comprises a plurality of flexible interposer circuit boards (includes 52 and 53, for instance, see lines 45-52 in column 3, for instance, i.e., “ribbon connector cables”) each configured to electrically connect a corresponding connector of the main printed circuit board with a corresponding board-to-board connector of a storage device of the plurality of storage devices (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance); wherein each connector of the main printed circuit board is one from a group consisting of a board-to-flex connector, a non-floating board-to-board connector, a floating board-to-board connector, and a compression-type connector (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance, i.e., at least a board-to-flex connector) [ as per claim 12 ]; and wherein the data storage system further comprises a plurality of flexible interposer circuit boards (includes 52 and 53, for instance, see lines 45-52 in column 3, for instance, i.e., “ribbon connector cables”) each configured to electrically connect a corresponding connector of the main printed circuit board with a corresponding board-to-flex connector of a storage device of the plurality of storage devices (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance); wherein each connector of the main printed circuit board is one from a group consisting of a board-to-flex connector, a non-floating board-to-board connector, a floating board-to-board connector, and a compression-type connector (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance, i.e., at least a board-to-flex connector) [ as per claim 13 ]. With respect to claim 14 , Hanson (US 4,633,350) teaches a data storage system (FIG. 1, for instance) comprising a main printed circuit board (55) comprising at least one system controller circuitry (see line 49 in column 3, for instance, i.e., “hard disk controller board 55”); and a plurality of stacked (dependent upon viewer perspective) hard disk drives (10 and 10a), each hard disk drive mechanically and electrically connected (via 52 and 53, for instance) with the main printed circuit board at or near a longitudinal end of the hard disk drive (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance); wherein the system controller circuitry is positioned on the main printed circuit board such that each electrical transmission line length (length of 52 and length of 53, respectively) between a respective hard disk drive and the system controller circuitry is substantially equivalent (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 9-11, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hanson (US 4,633,350) . With respect to claims 9-11 and 19 , Hanson (US 4,633,350) teaches the data storage system as detailed in paragraph 10, supra. With respect to claim 20 , Hanson (US 4,633,350) teaches a data storage system (FIG. 1, for instance) comprising a main printed circuit board (55) comprising at least one system controller circuitry (see line 49 in column 3, for instance, i.e., “hard disk controller board 55”); and multiple stacked (dependent upon viewer perspective) hard disk drives (10 and 10a), each hard disk drive mechanically and electrically connected (via 52 and 53, for instance) with the main printed circuit board at or near a longitudinal end of the hard disk drive (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance), wherein the system controller circuitry is positioned on the main printed circuit board such that each electrical transmission line length (length of 52 and length of 53, respectively) between a respective hard disk drive and the system controller circuitry is substantially equivalent (as shown in FIG. 1, for instance). Hanson (US 4,633,350), however, remains silent as to each hard disk drive comprising “a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, a plurality of head sliders, each head slider housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, one or more actuators configured for moving the head sliders to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 9 , “a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, means for housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, means for moving the read-write transducers to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 19 , or “disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, means for storing data by reading from and writing to a disk medium of the disk media, means for moving the means for storing to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 20 ; the main printed circuit board further comprising “a plurality of independent system controller circuitry, each system controller circuitry configured for operating with a corresponding logical unit of memory corresponding to the plurality of storage devices” as per claim 10 ; and the flexible interposer circuit boards alternatively being “solid interposer circuit boards” as per claim 11 . Official notice is taken of the fact that a hard disk drive comprising a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, a plurality of head sliders (or “means for housing”), each head slider housing a read-write transducer (or “means for storing data”) configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, one or more actuators (or “means for moving”) configured for moving the head sliders to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry is a notoriously old and well known hard disk drive configuration. Official notice is also taken of the fact that it is notoriously old and well known in the art to have a main printed circuit board further comprise a plurality of independent system controller circuitry, each system controller circuitry configured for operating with a corresponding logical unit of memory corresponding to the plurality of storage devices, in the same field of endeavor, for the purpose of enabling independent storage device activation and/or control. Hanson (US 4,633,350) teaches “the lines 52 and 53 are shown as ribbon connector cables, connected to a hard disk controller board 55, although various other electrical communication arrangements may be utilized in such a system, such as printed circuits or combinations of printed circuits and short ribbon cable jumpers” (see lines 47-52 in column 3, for instance). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have had each hard disk drive of Hanson (US 4,633,350) comprise “a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, a plurality of head sliders, each head slider housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, one or more actuators configured for moving the head sliders to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 9 , “a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, means for housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, means for moving the read-write transducers to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 19 , or “disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, means for storing data by reading from and writing to a disk medium of the disk media, means for moving the means for storing to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 20 ; the main printed circuit board of Hanson (US 4,633,350) further comprise “a plurality of independent system controller circuitry, each system controller circuitry configured for operating with a corresponding logical unit of memory corresponding to the plurality of storage devices” as per claim 10 ; and the flexible interposer circuit boards of Hanson (US 4,633,350) alternatively be “solid interposer circuit boards” as per claim 11 . The rationale is as follows: One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had each hard disk drive of Hanson (US 4,633,350) comprise “a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, a plurality of head sliders, each head slider housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, one or more actuators configured for moving the head sliders to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 9 , “a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, means for housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the plurality of disk media, means for moving the read-write transducers to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including power large scale integrated (PLSI) circuitry, a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 19 , or “disk media rotatably mounted on a motor spindle, means for storing data by reading from and writing to a disk medium of the disk media, means for moving the means for storing to access portions of the disk media, and electronics including a preamplifier, an actuation controller, a motor controller, and sensor circuitry” as per claim 20 since each is a notoriously old and well known hard disk drive configuration, and selecting a known hard disk drive configuration on the basis of its suitability for the intended use is considered to be within the level of ordinary skill in the art. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had the main printed circuit board of Hanson (US 4,633,350) further comprise “a plurality of independent system controller circuitry, each system controller circuitry configured for operating with a corresponding logical unit of memory corresponding to the plurality of storage devices” as per claim 10 since such enables independent storage device activation and/or control. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had the flexible interposer circuit boards of Hanson (US 4,633,350) alternatively be “solid interposer circuit boards” as per claim 11 since Hanson (US 4,633,350) recognizes that “various other electrical communication arrangements… such as printed circuits.” 07-21-aia AIA Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hanson (US 4,633,350) in view of Carteau et al. (US 5,506,750) . Hanson (US 4,633,350) teaches the data storage system as detailed in paragraph 10, supra. Hanson (US 4,633,350), however, remains silent as to “wherein: the plurality of HDDs comprises a first grouping of four stacked HDDs connected with one lateral side of the main PCB and a second grouping of four stacked HDDs connected with the other lateral side of the main PCB; and each electrical transmission line length between a respective HDD and the system controller circuitry is less than 100 millimeters.” Carteau et al. (US 5,506,750) teach that a first grouping of four stacked hard disk drives (101-104) connected with one lateral side of a main printed circuit board (CDA 1 ) and a second grouping of four stacked hard disk drives (109-112) connected with the other lateral side of the main printed circuit board (as shown in FIG. 5, for instance) is a notoriously old and well known data storage system configuration. Official notice is taken of the fact that it is notoriously old and well known in the data storage system art to modify the parameters of data storage system components during the course of routine optimization/experimentation. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have had the plurality of hard disk drives of Hanson (US 4,633,350) comprise a first grouping of four stacked hard disk drives connected with one lateral side of the main printed circuit board and a second grouping of four stacked hard disk drives connected with the other lateral side of the main printed circuit board as taught/suggested by Carteau et al. (US 5,506,750), and to have had each electrical transmission line length between a respective hard disk drive of Hanson (US 4,633,350) as modified by Carteau et al. (US 5,506,750) and the system controller circuitry be less than 100 millimeters. The rationale is as follows: One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had the plurality of hard disk drives of Hanson (US 4,633,350) comprise a first grouping of four stacked hard disk drives connected with one lateral side of the main printed circuit board and a second grouping of four stacked hard disk drives connected with the other lateral side of the main printed circuit board as taught/suggested by Carteau et al. (US 5,506,750) since such is a notoriously old and well known data storage system configuration, and selecting a known data storage system configuration on the basis of its suitability for the intended use is considered to be within the level of ordinary skill in the art. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had each electrical transmission line length between a respective hard disk drive of Hanson (US 4,633,350) as modified by Carteau et al. (US 5,506,750) and the system controller circuitry be less than 100 millimeters since such a range, absent any criticality (i.e., unobvious and/or unexpected result(s)), is generally achievable through routine optimization/experimentation, and since discovering the optimum or workable ranges, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, involves only routine skill in the art, In re Aller , 105 USPQ 233 (CCPA 1955). Moreover, in the absence of any criticality (i.e., unobvious and/or unexpected result(s)), the parameter set forth above would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, In re Woodruff , 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Pertinent Prior Art 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This includes Hanson (US 4,912,580), Hanson (US 5,122,914), Hirano et al. (US 5,206,772), Michaud et al. (US 5,731,951), Wendel et al. (US 7,167,359), Starr et al. (US 7,583,507), and Chen (US 11,259,435), which each individually teaches an arrangement of storage devices in a data storage system . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 4, 16 and 21 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Craig A. Renner whose telephone number is (571) 272-7580. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM. 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, Steven Lim can be reached at (571) 270-1210. 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. /CRAIG A. RENNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 2 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 3 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 4 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 6 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 7 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 8 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 9 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 10 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 11 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 12 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 13 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 14 Art Unit: 2688 Application/Control Number: 18/887,906 Page 15 Art Unit: 2688
Prosecution Insights