Prior art

Based on an analysis of the claims and specification of U.S. Patent No. 12,265,715, the following prior art references are identified as most relevant to the patent's claims of a storage device with a configurable, policy-based controller.

Note: The provided patent text for US 12,265,715 does not include a "References Cited" section, which would list the prior art considered by the USPTO examiner during prosecution. Therefore, this analysis is based on a search for technologically similar patents that would likely have been considered as relevant prior art.

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Analysis of Key Prior Art

1. U.S. Patent 9,116,732 B1: "Storage device with internal data migration engine"

• Full Citation: US Patent 9,116,732 B1, "Storage device with internal data migration engine," issued to Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
• Filing Date: June 28, 2012
• Issue Date: August 25, 2015
• Brief Description: This patent describes a hybrid storage device, combining non-volatile semiconductor memory (like flash) and a magnetic disk into a single unit. The device includes an internal controller that autonomously manages data placement. It monitors data usage patterns and uses internal policies to migrate data blocks between the flash and disk storage tiers to optimize performance. For example, frequently accessed data ("hot" data) is moved to the faster flash memory, while less frequently used data is kept on the higher-capacity magnetic disk.
• Potential Anticipation of US 12,265,715 Claims:
  • Claims 1 and 8 (Method and Apparatus): This patent appears to disclose the core elements of these claims. It describes a "storage device" with a "device controller" that receives storage requests. The controller makes a decision on where to store the data ("selecting one of the storage locations") based on an internal policy (e.g., data usage characteristics). It then stores the content and updates its internal mapping tables ("records storage information... that indicates the selected location").
  • Claim 15 (Non-Transitory Medium): By describing the firmware and algorithms executed by the internal controller, the patent implicitly discloses the software instructions on a non-transitory medium.
  • Distinguishing Feature: The primary distinction for US 12,265,715 lies in the configurability and source of the storage policy. The '715 patent's specification extensively details a system where a user or external device can define, update, and load a "storage device policy" onto the device controller (FIG. 8C, 10A). The policy can be based on user-defined trade-offs between reliability, capacity, and security. In contrast, US 9,116,732 B1 describes policies that are more intrinsic to the drive's firmware, primarily focused on performance optimization based on observed I/O, rather than being directly and flexibly configured by an external entity for a variety of criteria.

2. U.S. Patent 8,589,615 B1: "Method and apparatus for policy-based data placement in a tiered storage system"

• Full Citation: US Patent 8,589,615 B1, "Method and apparatus for policy-based data placement in a tiered storage system," issued to EMC Corporation.
• Filing Date: September 1, 2009
• Issue Date: November 19, 2013
• Brief Description: This patent details a storage system with multiple tiers of storage (e.g., high-speed flash, mid-tier SAS drives, and high-capacity SATA drives). A central storage controller or processor implements a policy engine that automatically migrates data "slices" between these tiers. The policies are based on factors like data access frequency, age, and I/O patterns to ensure that the most active data resides on the fastest storage.
• Potential Anticipation of US 12,265,715 Claims:
  • Claims 1 and 8 (Method and Apparatus): This reference teaches the concept of using a policy to select a storage location for content. It describes a controller that receives requests, consults a policy, and stores data accordingly. However, the architecture is different. The '615 patent describes a storage system controller that manages an array of separate storage devices. This contrasts with the '715 patent, which locates the policy engine and decision-making intelligence within the individual "device controller" (130) of a single storage drive (100). The '715 patent envisions the drive itself as an autonomous, network-addressable device, whereas the '615 patent describes a more traditional architecture where individual drives are managed by a higher-level controller.
  • Claim 15 (Non-Transitory Medium): Similar to the analysis for Claims 1 and 8, this patent discloses the necessary software, but for a system-level controller, not for an application running on the storage device's own controller as claimed in the '715 patent.

3. U.S. Patent 7,634,629 B1: "Storage device with policy-based data management"

• Full Citation: US Patent 7,634,629 B1, "Storage device with policy-based data management," issued to NetApp, Inc.
• Filing Date: June 30, 2006
• Issue Date: December 15, 2009
• Brief Description: This patent describes a network-attached storage (NAS) device, often called a filer or storage appliance, that manages data based on defined policies. The policies can govern data retention, data protection schemes (e.g., RAID levels, mirroring), and other management tasks. A policy engine within the storage appliance's operating system applies these rules when data is stored or accessed.
• Potential Anticipation of US 12,265,715 Claims:
  • Claims 1, 8, and 15: This patent is less relevant for direct anticipation because, like the EMC patent, its point of invention is at the storage system or appliance level, not at the individual drive controller level. The "device controller" in the '715 patent is the component that directly manages the physical storage media (FIG. 6). The "storage device" in the '629 patent is a complex server that contains multiple disk drives. While it uses policies to manage data, it does so from a host-level system, which then sends standard block-level commands to the individual drives. This architecture does not teach a device controller within the drive itself retrieving and executing a storage policy to select a physical location on its own media. The novelty of patent 12,265,715 is predicated on this intelligence being embedded within the drive, making the drive itself a configurable, policy-aware endpoint.