Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/941,243

QUALITY OF SERVICE AND STREAMING ATTRIBUTES FOR A DATA STORAGE DEVICE

Non-Final OA §Other
Filed
Nov 08, 2024
Examiner
ABAD, FARLEY J
Art Unit
2181
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Storage Vectors LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
802 granted / 934 resolved
+30.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
956
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.5%
-34.5% vs TC avg
§103
56.9%
+16.9% vs TC avg
§102
15.5%
-24.5% vs TC avg
§112
11.1%
-28.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 934 resolved cases

Office Action

§Other
DETAILED ACTION Status of Application Claims 9-24 are pending in the present application. Claim Objections The numbering of claims is not in accordance with 37 CFR 1.126 which requires the original numbering of the claims to be preserved throughout the prosecution. When claims are canceled, the remaining claims must not be renumbered. When new claims are presented, they must be numbered consecutively beginning with the number next following the highest numbered claims previously presented (whether entered or not). Claims 1-8 have been cancelled, however, the numbering of claims should start with claim 1. Priority Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120 as follows: The Application Data Sheet filed on 11/08/2024 claims the benefit of an application previously filed in the United States, however the prior application filing date does not match USPTO records. Page 3 of the ADS shows prior application number 17/930,013 having a prior application filing date of 11/06/2022, however USPTO records show prior application number 17/930,013 with a filing date of 09/06/2022. Pertinent Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Sugaya et al, US 20070041295 A1, discloses the areal recording density of the third recording layer is three times or more as high as the areal recording density of the first recording layer and the second recording layer [paragraph 34]. Wyatt et al, US 20050091425 A1, discloses dynamically adjusting operation of the storage system depending on status of the data transfer [Abstract]. Albrecht et al, US 5999351, discloses a first disk surface of the disk has a first track density and a second disk surface of the disk has a second track density; wherein the second track density is preferably greater than the first track density. Each of the several heads contains a transducer to read and write information from and to the disk during the disk rotation. Under this configuration, the lower storage density first disk surface is utilized to store data that are frequently accessed while the higher storage density second disk surface is for storage capacity supplementation [Abstract]. Albrecht discloses a high-density or low-density storage section is selected, depending on the physical location of the data requested by personal computer 10, as shown in block 12. If the low-density storage section is selected, a first set of servo gain-control constants (e.g., K1 . . . Ki) and velocity profile (e.g., D1 . . . Di) are utilized to compute a control output, as depicted in block 13a [col. 6, lines 60-66]. Elhamias et al, US 20060022054 A1, discloses after the QOS negotiation between the host and the card, the host can set the card's configuration according to the host applications' needs. For instance, an MP3 application may require only require a low bit rate and low power, while an image-capture application may require the maintaining high bit rate, and so on. For example, to use the card in a first application APP 1 610, the host sets the card's QOS 611 optimized for the application: for example, it could be an application were the rate and consistency of data transfer is more important that minor amounts of error. In this case, the use of ECC could be used only in as much as it does not affect the transfer rate. At a subsequent time, the host can use the card in another application APP N 620 and resets the card's QOS 621 accordingly: For example, application APP N could require data, such as in medical imaging, to be stored at with highest integrity with speed of far less importance [paragraph 42]. Iwama, US 20060285382 A1, discloses the command for changing the first memory region P to the second region PL designates a memory capacity to be changed and its physical position on the magnetic disk 16. When it is expected that the ambient temperature T decreases below the predetermined temperature Tlim, the user inputs the command for changing the memory regions. The hard disk device 15 performs the following actions: (1) rewrite the converting table and make a correct matching between the logical addresses x and the physical addresses xp; (2) decrease a track density (or a bit density, or the number of tracks) in the region to which the second memory region PL is allocated; and (3) select a memory region (P or PL) in which data are stored according to the ambient temperature T at a time of data-storing [paragraph 31]. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 9-24 would be allowable if the claim objections are overcome AND if prior application filing date is corrected. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record taken alone or in combination fails to teach and/or fairly suggest wherein said controller can configure multiple alternatives for said first physical storage format attribute corresponding to multiple, predefined values of said areal density; responsive to said receiving, directing the controller to write data having a first areal density to a first location on the storage device, said first areal density having a minimum value of said multiple, predefined values of said areal density; receiving, at said host, a second QoS signal: and operating the host to define a streaming data range on the storage device wherein, in the streaming data range, the host directs the controller to write data having a second areal density that is a noninteger multiple, greater than 1.0, of the first areal density, in combination with other recited limitations in claim 1. The prior art of record taken alone or in combination fails to teach and/or fairly suggest wherein said controller can configure multiple alternatives for said first physical storage format attribute corresponding to multiple, predefined values of said areal density; responsive to said receiving, directing the controller to write data having a first areal density to a first location on the storage device, said first areal density having a minimum value of said multiple, predefined values of said areal density: receiving a second QoS signal: and defining a streaming data range on the storage device wherein, in the streaming data range, the host directs the controller to write data having a second areal density that is a noninteger multiple, greater than 1.0, of the first areal density, in combination with other recited limitations in claim 9. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARLEY J ABAD whose telephone number is (571)270-3425. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30 AM - 7 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, Idriss Alrobaye can be reached at (571) 270-1023. 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. /Farley Abad/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2181
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 08, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §Other (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+5.9%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 934 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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