Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11740801, I will examine the patent citations listed for it.

Patent 11740801 Prior Art Analysis:

1. US9652376B2

• Full Citation: US9652376B2, titled "Cooperative flash memory control," filed on January 28, 2013, and issued on May 16, 2017.
• Publication/Filing Date: Filing Date: January 28, 2013.
• Brief Description: This patent describes techniques for cooperative interaction between a memory controller and a host in managing NAND flash memory. It emphasizes the memory controller storing information specific to subdivisions of memory and making this data accessible to the host. This information assists the host in making decisions about operations like garbage collection, space reclamation, and wear leveling. A key aspect is the host directly specifying physical addresses for memory operations, which can substantially remove the overhead of Flash Translation Layer (FTL) functions from the memory controller and improve performance and integration of SSDs.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US9652376B2 appears to potentially anticipate elements of Independent Claims 1, 16, and 22 of US11740801. Specifically, it details a memory controller storing subdivision-specific usage data and making it accessible to a host. The host then uses this information to issue commands directly to physical memory locations, thereby eliminating or reducing the need for FTL at the controller.
  • Claim 1: The concept of a memory controller maintaining metadata (including usage/wear information) for physical subdivisions and communicating it to a host, for the host to then issue commands to specific physical subdivisions without logical-to-physical (L2P) translation by the controller, is directly addressed.
  • Claim 16: The memory controller's architecture, including storage for metadata (usage/wear information) and an interface to send this metadata to the host, and then receiving and executing host commands on specific physical subdivisions without L2P translation, is described.
  • Claim 22: The memory system comprising a host and a memory controller, where the controller stores metadata and communicates it to the host, and the host uses this to issue commands with directly specified physical addresses, which the controller executes without L2P translation, aligns with the description in US9652376B2.

2. US9229854B1

• Full Citation: US9229854B1, titled "Cooperative flash management of memory system subdivisions", filed on October 7, 2013, and issued on January 5, 2016. (Information retrieved from Google Patents, which cites this as a priority claim for US11740801. The patent itself mentions the title).
• Publication/Filing Date: Filing Date: October 7, 2013.
• Brief Description: While the full text was not directly retrieved in this search, Google Patents indicates US11740801 claims priority from US14/047,193, which corresponds to US9229854B1. Given the title "Cooperative flash management of memory system subdivisions," it is highly likely this patent also details aspects of cooperative memory management between a host and a memory controller, similar to US9652376B2, potentially with an emphasis on various memory system subdivisions.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Without the full text, a definitive statement is difficult. However, based on its title and priority relationship, it is highly probable that US9229854B1 contains subject matter that could anticipate similar aspects of cooperative flash management, host-controller interaction, and direct physical addressing as US9652376B2, thereby potentially anticipating Independent Claims 1, 16, and 22 of US11740801.

3. US10642505B1

• Full Citation: US10642505B1, titled "Cooperative flash management of memory system subdivisions," filed on September 8, 2015, and issued on May 5, 2020. (Information retrieved from Google Patents, which cites this as a priority claim for US11740801. The patent itself mentions the title).
• Publication/Filing Date: Filing Date: September 8, 2015.
• Brief Description: Similar to US9229854B1, the full text of US10642505B1 was not directly retrieved. However, Google Patents indicates US11740801 claims priority from US14/848,273, which corresponds to US10642505B1. With the same title "Cooperative flash management of memory system subdivisions," it is very likely this patent also elaborates on the cooperative memory management techniques.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Based on its title and priority relationship, US10642505B1 is also highly probable to contain subject matter anticipating aspects of cooperative flash management, host-controller interaction, and direct physical addressing, similar to US9652376B2, and thus could potentially anticipate Independent Claims 1, 16, and 22 of US11740801.

It's important to note that US11740801 itself states that it relates to and claims priority from these earlier applications, indicating a continuation of the same inventive subject matter. Therefore, these cited patents are highly relevant as they form the family of patents leading to US11740801, and their disclosures likely cover foundational aspects of the claims in the present patent.