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 .
This is a FINAL OFFICE ACTION in response to the amendment /remarks filed 09/01/2026. Claims 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19 and 21 are canceled.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17 and 20 are pending in the Application, of which Claims 1, 8 and 15 are independent.
Continuity/ Priority Information
The present Application 19052307 filed 02/13/2025 claims foreign priority to TAIWAN Application 114100202, filed 01/03/2025.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1, 8 and 15, “when the soft decoding process is passed” change to “when the soft decoding process passes” to express active voice, as to more clearly define the means that performs the function. Appropriate correction is required.
Any Claims not specifically mentioned above are also objected due to their dependency on an objected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 8 and 15, the incorporation of the limitation into the claims “adding a number of errors when the soft decoding process is passed and an elapsed time indicated by the timer is less than a threshold time” is a new matter, which was not described in the specification as originally filed. The specification describes in passim “increasing the number of errors”.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 8 and 15, the limitation “adding a number of errors when the soft decoding process is passed and an elapsed time indicated by the timer is less than a threshold time” renders the claims indefinite. It is unclear whether the errors are intentionally inserted into the memory or they are a result of failures in memory.
Any Claims not specifically mentioned above are rejected due to their dependency on a rejected claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see amendment /remarks filed 09/01/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17 and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CHU et al. (Pub. No. US 20180336960), have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of DONG et al. (PgPub. US 20250156269), as set forth in the present office action, below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by DONG et al. (PgPub. US 20250156269) Date Filed: 2024-08-23.
Regarding independent Claims 1, 8 and 15, DONG discloses a soft decoding method, an electronic device, and a storage medium, comprising:
a connection interface unit coupled to a host system, a rewritable non-volatile memory module comprises a plurality of physical units, and a memory control circuit unit, coupled to the connection interface unit and the rewritable non-volatile memory module; [0100] As shown in FIG. 7, An electronic device 70 includes a storage 71 and a processor 72 coupled to each other. The processor 72 is configured to execute a program instruction stored in the storage 71 to realize the operations of the methods above. In some embodiments, the electronic device 70 may include, but is not limited to a microcomputer and a server.
setting a timer after powering on, associated with a first physical unit; [0079] As shown in FIG. 6, At block S31, the initial hard read is performed on the storage device. [0081] Before performing the initial hard read on the storage device, parameters are initialized. Trigger_soft_retry is set as 0, read_cnt is set as 0, and buffer_num is set as 0. [0082] The trigger_soft_retry indicates whether the soft decoding process of a repeated read needs to be triggered. The read_cnt indicates how many times of hard read have been performed during a statistic period. The buffer_num is a number of the counting units.
performing a read operation on the first physical unit wherein the read operation comprises a hard decoding process; At block S32, in response to a last hard read being failed, a repeated hard read is performed on the storage device. At block S33, a hard decoding is performed based on the read data of the hard read and whether the hard decoding is successful or not is determined.
performing a soft decoding process when the hard decoding process fails, and adding a number of errors when the soft decoding process passes and an elapsed time indicated by the timer is less than a threshold time; [0090] At block S34, the soft-decoding reference data is determined based on the read data of the initial hard read and the read data of the repeated hard read. [0091] After the hard decoding of each hard read is failed in the read retry, the LLR is estimated based on existing read information. [0092] At block S35, the soft decoding is performed based on the soft-decoding reference data and whether the soft decoding is successful or not is determined.
marking the first physical unit as a bad physical unit when the number of the errors is greater than a threshold number of times. [0093] In response to the soft decoding being successful, block S36 is executed. In response to the soft decoding being failed, block S37 is executed. [0096] In response to the time of the repeated hard read does not reach the preset number of times, a next hard read is performed. That is, block S32 is executed. In response to the time of the repeated hard read reaches the preset number of times, block S38 is executed. [0097] At block S38, a next stage is entered.
Regarding Claims 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, DONG discloses “resetting the timer” [0077] In some embodiments, the soft decoding method further includes the operations as follows. The initial hard read (i.e., the default read) “resetting the timer” is performed on the storage device and a hard decoding is performed based on a read data of the initial hard read. In response to the hard decoding being failed, at least one repeated hard read (i.e., read retry) is performed on the storage device. In response to a hard decoding of a read data of at least one repeated hard read being failed, the soft-decoding reference data is determined based on the read data of the initial hard read and the read data of the repeated hard read.
Prior Art References Cited
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See References Cited on PTO-892 form.
US 20210350857 Parthasarathy et al. [0107] FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration in which the soft bit data 173 is selectively read based on classifying 215 the quality of the hard bit data 177. Alternatively, the soft bit data 173 can be read regardless of the quality of the hard bit data 177; and the classification/prediction 215 of the quality of the hard bit data 177 can be used to determine whether to decode 219 the hard bit data 177 with the soft bit data 173, or to decode 223 the hard bit data 177 without using the soft bit data 173.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES C KERVEROS whose telephone number is (571)272-3824. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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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.
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/JAMES C KERVEROS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2111
Date: October 14, 2026
Final Rejection 20261001
JAMES C. KERVEROS
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2111
James.Kerveros@USPTO.GOV
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