Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/206,631

METHOD AND DEVICE WITH PAGE MIGRATION OF TIERED MEMORY SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 13, 2025
Priority
May 14, 2024 — RE 10-2024-0062962
Examiner
MACKALL, LARRY T
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 5m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
673 granted / 791 resolved
+25.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
814
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
80.9%
+40.9% vs TC avg
§102
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
§112
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 791 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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. 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. Information Disclosure Statement The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 13 May 2025 has been considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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 6-9, and 19-20 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. Claim 6 recites the limitation “when the first page is determined to be a slow memory”. It is unclear how this limitation is to be interpreted, as it is not determined whether the first page is a slow memory. It appears that the limitation should read “when the first memory is determined to be a slow memory”. Claim 8 recites, “wherein the migration request to migrate the first page to the second memory depending on whether the first page is a hot page or a cold page comprises is generated based on”. It is unclear how this claim is to be read. It appears that words are missing between “comprises” and “is generated based on”. Claim 19 recites the limitation “when the first page is determined to be a slow memory”. It is unclear how this limitation is to be interpreted, as it is not determined whether the first page is a slow memory. It appears that the limitation should read “when the first memory is determined to be a slow memory”. The term “slow” in claims 6 and 19 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “slow” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The limitation “slow memory” is indefinite because it is unclear what constitutes a slow memory, as a number of memories may be considered slow relative to another memory while also being considered fast relative to other memories. The term “fast” in claims 9 and 20 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “fast” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The limitation “fast memory” is indefinite because it is unclear what constitutes a fast memory, as a number of memories may be considered fast relative to another memory while also being considered slow relative to other memories. Claims not referred to specifically above are rejected as depending upon a rejected claim. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-5 and 10-18 allowed. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARRY T MACKALL whose telephone number is (571)270-1172. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm. 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, 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. 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. LARRY T. MACKALL Primary Examiner Art Unit 2131 8 June 2026 /LARRY T MACKALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2139
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Prosecution Timeline

May 13, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Partial Execution of a Write Command from a Host System
2y 9m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12675399
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1y 9m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12669947
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Patent 12669942
METHODS TO RE-USE STUCK CELLS IN DATA STORAGE, AND ASSOCIATED MEMORY SYSTEMS
2y 4m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12669964
SSD MANAGED HOST WRITE ATOMICITY WITH ARBITRARY TRANSFER LENGTH
1y 4m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
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
85%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+8.1%)
2y 7m (~1y 5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 791 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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