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 .
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.
Claim(s) 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fair et al. (US 2014/0156600).
Consider claim 1, Fair et al. discloses a storage system comprising: a storage system comprising: a processor; and a memory, the memory being configured to store: a first control program, a second control program in a control layer different from that of the first control program, first format management information configured to be referred to by the first control program and manage a format state of each storage area of a storage device by a first management unit, and second format management information configured to be referred to by the second control program and manage the format state of each storage area of the storage device by a second management unit, (Fig. 1 and 2, [0021]-[0029], [0033], [0036], [0046]-[0049], [0059], Fair et al. discloses a system where foreign storage volumes are assimilated into a native storage array. The operating system has multiple layers including the storage manager layer, RAID and FLAC layer and storage driver layers. The storage manager, RAID and FLAC layers manage the storage.), the processor being configured to, in registering a volume: set a region in the storage device, the region being assigned to the volume, to a formatted state in the first format management information according to the first control program, and set an actual format state of the region in the storage device, the region being assigned to the volume, in the second format management information according to the second control program, (Fig. 1 and 2, [0021]-[0029], [0033], [0036], [0046]-[0049], [0059], Fair et al. discloses that a foreign array can be presented as native to hosts while the volumes are actually still in the foreign format state. The storage manager, RAID and FLAC layers manage the foreign volumes to present a native format until full assimilation is complete.).
As for the limitations: “when deleting the volume, the processor: sets the region of the volume in the storage device, the region being assigned to the volume, to an unformatted state in one of the first format management information and the second format management information, and maintains the region of the volume in the storage device, the region being assigned to the volume, in a formatted state in an other of the first format management information and the second format management information.”. This limitation is a contingent limitation in a method claim. “The broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met.”, See MPEP 2111.04 II. Contingent Limitations.
Claim 11 is the method claim to system claim 10 above and is rejected using the same rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The applicant has incorporated allowable subject matter into the independent claims.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MICHAEL ALSIP whose telephone number is (571)270-1182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Reginald G. Bragdon can be reached at (571)272-4204. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL ALSIP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2139
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