Prior art — US Patent 9002795

The most relevant prior art for US patent 9002795 will be identified by examining the "Citations (26)" section of the patent itself, as this lists the references considered by the patent examiner during prosecution. A detailed analysis of each cited patent will be provided below, focusing on its potential to anticipate the claims of US9002795 under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Prior Art References and Potential Anticipation:

Here's an analysis of the patent citations listed in US9002795:

US5166936A: Automatic hard disk bad sector remapping
- Publication Date: November 24, 1992
- Filing Date: July 20, 1990
- Description: This patent describes a method for automatically remapping bad sectors on a hard disk drive. When a write error occurs, the bad sector is remapped to a spare sector, and subsequent read/write operations are directed to the spare.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This patent generally relates to managing storage media and dealing with defects. While it discusses remapping bad sectors, it does not appear to teach the core inventive concept of US9002795, which is the allocation of object attributes to different media zones based on access frequency. Therefore, it is unlikely to anticipate any claims of US9002795 directly. It might be considered relevant background art for the general concept of storage device management (e.g., as mentioned in claim 7 regarding remapped sectors).
US5475540A: Magnetic data storage disk drive with data block sequencing by using ID fields after embedded servo sectors
- Publication Date: December 12, 1995
- Filing Date: June 4, 1991
- Description: This patent focuses on improving data block sequencing and access time in a magnetic disk drive by utilizing ID fields after embedded servo sectors.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference is primarily concerned with low-level data sequencing and physical layout for performance within a disk drive. It does not appear to address object-based storage, i-node attribute separation, or allocation based on access frequency. Therefore, it is unlikely to anticipate any claims of US9002795 directly.
US20020159362A1: An optical disk having an attribute which designates whether a recording area permits rewriting or not
- Publication Date: October 31, 2002
- Filing Date: October 5, 1992
- Description: This patent application describes an optical disk where a recording area has an attribute indicating whether it permits rewriting or not.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference introduces the concept of associating an "attribute" with a recording area, specifically for writability. While US9002795 also uses "attributes" for media zones, the nature of these attributes (storage performance, access frequency) and their application to object-based i-node allocation are different. It does not appear to teach the specific allocation method of US9002795, so direct anticipation is unlikely. However, it could be considered relevant for the broad concept of storing attributes related to storage media.
US5963937A: Format conversion of storage data using an efficient division of data
- Publication Date: October 5, 1999
- Filing Date: August 30, 1995
- Description: This patent details a method for efficient format conversion of storage data by dividing the data.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This patent is directed to data format conversion and efficient division of data. While US9002795 mentions data format conversion in the data channel (claim 6), the core invention of object-based allocation of i-node attributes based on access frequency is not addressed here. It is unlikely to anticipate any claims of US9002795.
US6128717A: Method and apparatus for storage application programming interface for digital mass storage and retrieval based upon data object type or size and characteristics of the data storage device
- Publication Date: October 3, 2000
- Filing Date: January 20, 1998
- Description: This patent describes a storage API that allows for storage and retrieval based on data object type, size, and characteristics of the storage device.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is a highly relevant reference. It introduces the concept of an API that considers "data object type or size and characteristics of the data storage device" for storage and retrieval. This aligns with the object-based nature of US9002795 and the use of requested storage attributes. Specifically, the idea of considering "characteristics of the data storage device" could broadly encompass the "zone attributes of storage performance" in US9002795. Depending on the specific details of "data object type" or "characteristics" described in US6128717A, it could potentially anticipate elements of claim 1 related to sending a data object with attributes and the storage device considering those attributes for allocation. However, the explicit separation of i-node attributes based on access frequency into physically separate zones as taught in US9002795, particularly the distinction between "less frequently accessed portion of the storage media comprises i-node write attributes" and "more frequently accessed portion of the storage media comprises i-node read attributes," might differentiate US9002795.
US20010018727A1: Information recording method, information recording device, and information storage medium
- Publication Date: August 30, 2001
- Filing Date: September 18, 1998
- Description: This patent application generally describes an information recording method, device, and storage medium.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: Without more specific details about the content, it's difficult to assess the exact relevance. However, the title suggests a broad scope. Unless it specifically teaches object-based storage with attribute-driven allocation based on access frequency, it's unlikely to anticipate US9002795.
US6826613B1: Virtually addressing storage devices through a switch
- Publication Date: November 30, 2004
- Filing Date: March 15, 2000
- Description: This patent describes a system for virtually addressing storage devices through a switch.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This patent focuses on network-level virtual addressing of storage devices. It does not appear to relate to the internal object-based allocation mechanisms or i-node attribute management of US9002795, so it is unlikely to anticipate any claims.
US6601101B1: Transparent access to network attached devices
- Publication Date: July 29, 2003
- Filing Date: March 15, 2000
- Description: This patent describes a method for transparently accessing network-attached devices.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: Similar to the previous entry, this patent focuses on network access to storage. It does not address the specific object-based allocation or i-node attribute management of US9002795.
US6823398B1: File system management embedded in a storage device
- Publication Date: November 23, 2004
- Filing Date: March 31, 2000
- Description: This patent describes a storage device with embedded file system management.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is a highly relevant reference. The concept of "file system management embedded in a storage device" directly relates to the object-based storage device (OSD) described in US9002795, where low-level storage functions are moved into the storage device itself. Depending on the details of how this embedded file system manages data, it could potentially anticipate elements of claim 1. If it teaches the use of media zones with differing performance attributes and the allocation of portions of files (analogous to i-node attributes) based on some criteria related to those attributes, it could be a strong anticipating reference. However, the explicit teaching of access frequency as the basis for separating i-node read and write attributes into physically separate zones would be a key differentiator for US9002795.
US20020095546A1: Method, system, and program for writing files to zone formatted storage media to improve data transfer rates
- Publication Date: July 18, 2002
- Filing Date: December 8, 2000
- Description: This patent application describes writing files to zone-formatted storage media to improve data transfer rates.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is another highly relevant reference. It teaches the use of "zone formatted storage media" and allocating files to these zones to "improve data transfer rates." This directly addresses the concept of media zones with differing attributes (e.g., performance, which includes data transfer rates) and allocating data based on these attributes, as taught in US9002795. Depending on whether "files" can be interpreted to include components like i-nodes or their attributes, and if there's any teaching of access frequency as the allocation criterion, this could be a strong anticipatory reference for claim 1, particularly for the general idea of allocating based on zone attributes.
US20020078066A1: Data storage system including a file system for managing multiple volumes
- Publication Date: June 20, 2002
- Filing Date: December 18, 2000
- Description: This patent application describes a data storage system with a file system managing multiple volumes.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference is more focused on multi-volume file system management. It's unlikely to anticipate the specific i-node attribute allocation based on access frequency as described in US9002795.
US6745285B2: System and method for synchronizing mirrored and striped disk writes
- Publication Date: June 1, 2004
- Filing Date: December 18, 2000
- Description: This patent describes a system and method for synchronizing mirrored and striped disk writes.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This patent deals with RAID-like data redundancy techniques. It does not appear to teach the object-based i-node attribute allocation of US9002795.
WO2003027856A1: Pooling and provisionig storage resources in a storage network
- Publication Date: April 3, 2003
- Filing Date: September 28, 2001
- Description: This international application describes pooling and provisioning storage resources in a storage network.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference focuses on network-level storage resource management. It is unlikely to anticipate the specific object-based i-node attribute allocation of US9002795.
US20030088591A1: Data storage device with deterministic caching and retention capabilities to effect file level data transfers over a network
- Publication Date: May 8, 2003
- Filing Date: October 31, 2001
- Description: This patent application describes a data storage device with deterministic caching and retention for file-level data transfers over a network.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This patent introduces file-level data transfers and caching, which has some overlap with object-based storage in a broad sense. However, the specific allocation of i-node attributes based on access frequency to physically separate zones is not explicitly taught, making direct anticipation unlikely.
JP2003153185A: Information recording apparatus and control method thereof
- Publication Date: May 23, 2003
- Filing Date: November 15, 2001
- Description: This Japanese patent describes an information recording apparatus and its control method.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: Without a translation and detailed analysis, it's difficult to definitively assess relevance. However, the general title suggests a broad scope, and specific anticipation of US9002795's claims is unlikely without a clear teaching of object-based i-node attribute allocation based on access frequency.
US6850969B2: Lock-free file system
- Publication Date: February 1, 2005
- Filing Date: March 27, 2002
- Description: This patent describes a lock-free file system.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This patent focuses on concurrency control within a file system. It does not appear to address the object-based allocation or i-node attribute management of US9002795.
JP2004086512A: Communication quality setting device, method and program
- Publication Date: March 18, 2004
- Filing Date: August 27, 2002
- Description: This Japanese patent describes a communication quality setting device, method, and program.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference relates to communication quality, not directly to internal storage allocation based on object attributes or i-node access frequency.
US20040043755A1: Communication quality setting apparatus
- Publication Date: March 4, 2004
- Filing Date: August 27, 2002
- Description: This patent application describes a communication quality setting apparatus.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: Similar to JP2004086512A, this relates to communication quality and is unlikely to anticipate US9002795.
US20040054648A1: Method for creation and management of virtual volumes for DBMs
- Publication Date: March 18, 2004
- Filing Date: September 17, 2002
- Description: This patent application describes a method for creating and managing virtual volumes for Database Management Systems (DBMs).
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference focuses on virtual volume management, which is a higher-level abstraction than the physical allocation of i-node attributes within a storage device. It is unlikely to anticipate the specific claims of US9002795.
US20040059759A1: Persistent unique and flexible object addressing mechanism for data in a part memory and part disk environment
- Publication Date: March 25, 2004
- Filing Date: September 23, 2002
- Description: This patent application describes a persistent, unique, and flexible object addressing mechanism for data in a hybrid memory/disk environment.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference is highly relevant as it explicitly discusses "object addressing mechanism for data" and could potentially be a strong anticipatory reference. The "object addressing" aligns with the object-based nature of US9002795. If the "flexible" aspect of the addressing mechanism or the "attributes" within the object imply consideration of access patterns or storage characteristics for placement, it could potentially anticipate claim 1. The key differentiator for US9002795 would be the specific teaching of distinguishing between i-node read and write attributes and allocating them to physically separate zones based on access frequency.
US20040221118A1: Control of access to data content for read and/or write operations
- Publication Date: November 4, 2004
- Filing Date: January 29, 2003
- Description: This patent application describes the control of access to data content for read and/or write operations.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This reference deals with access control. While US9002795 differentiates between read and write attributes, the context is allocation, not access control. It is unlikely to anticipate US9002795.
US7124272B1: File usage history log for improved placement of files in differential rate memory according to frequency of utilizations and volatility of allocation space
- Publication Date: October 17, 2006
- Filing Date: April 18, 2003
- Description: This patent describes using a file usage history log to improve file placement in "differential rate memory" based on "frequency of utilizations" and "volatility of allocation space."
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is an extremely relevant reference and a very strong potential anticipatory reference for claim 1 of US9002795. It explicitly teaches:
  - "Improved placement of files in differential rate memory" (analogous to multiple media zones with differing zone attributes of storage performance).
  - "According to frequency of utilizations" (directly corresponding to "one or more i-node attribute access frequencies" and allocating based on access frequency).
  - "Volatility of allocation space" could relate to the characteristics influencing where "write attributes" might be placed.
    The key question for anticipation would be whether "files" in this patent explicitly encompass "i-node attributes" and whether the "differential rate memory" inherently provides physically separate zones for these attributes, and specifically for "i-node write attributes" and "i-node read attributes" as distinct categories with different access frequencies. If the file usage history log can be applied to i-node attributes to determine their access frequency for placement, this reference could potentially anticipate claim 1.
US20050102297A1: Directory system
- Publication Date: May 12, 2005
- Filing Date: November 12, 2003
- Description: This patent application describes a directory system.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is a general reference to directory systems. Unless it specifically details how directory information (like i-node attributes) is allocated based on access frequency to different storage zones, it is unlikely to anticipate US9002795.
JP2005196625A: Information processing system and management apparatus
- Publication Date: July 21, 2005
- Filing Date: January 9, 2004
- Description: This Japanese patent describes an information processing system and management apparatus.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: Similar to other Japanese patents without specific details, it's hard to assess direct relevance. Unlikely to anticipate without clear teaching of the claimed invention.
US7096336B2: Information processing system and management device
- Publication Date: August 22, 2006
- Filing Date: January 9, 2004
- Description: This patent describes an information processing system and management device.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: Similar to the previous Japanese patent, a general title makes specific anticipation difficult to determine without detailed content.
JP2005228404A: Data recording apparatus, data recording method, and recording / reproducing system
- Publication Date: August 25, 2005
- Filing Date: February 12, 2004
- Description: This Japanese patent describes a data recording apparatus, data recording method, and recording/reproducing system.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: General description, unlikely to anticipate without specific teaching of US9002795's claims.
JP2005338985A: Storage area management method and system
- Publication Date: December 8, 2005
- Filing Date: May 25, 2004
- Description: This Japanese patent describes a storage area management method and system.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: "Storage area management" is relevant, but again, without specific details of managing i-node attributes based on access frequency to physically separate zones, it's difficult to assess direct anticipation.
US7194594B2: Storage area management method and system for assigning physical storage areas to multiple application programs
- Publication Date: March 20, 2007
- Filing Date: May 25, 2004
- Description: This patent describes a storage area management method and system for assigning physical storage areas to multiple application programs.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is related to managing storage for applications and assigning physical storage areas. While it mentions "assigning physical storage areas," the key would be whether this assignment is specifically for i-node attributes and based on access frequency to physically separate zones with differing performance characteristics. It could be relevant for the broad concept of intelligent storage allocation but may not directly anticipate the specific distinctions of US9002795.
US20060288156A1: OSD deterministic object fragmentation optimization in a disc drive
- Publication Date: December 21, 2006
- Filing Date: June 16, 2005
- Description: This patent application describes OSD deterministic object fragmentation optimization in a disc drive.
- Potential Anticipated Claims: This is a highly relevant reference, as it explicitly mentions "OSD" (Object-based Storage Device) and "object fragmentation optimization." The filing date is also very close to US9002795. While it focuses on fragmentation optimization, the underlying OSD architecture, and its awareness of objects and their characteristics, could potentially overlap with the broader concepts of US9002795. If "fragmentation optimization" implicitly involves placing parts of objects (including metadata like i-nodes) in different zones based on usage patterns or performance requirements, it could anticipate elements of claim 1. However, the specific teaching of separating i-node read and write attributes based on their access frequency to physically distinct zones would still need to be present for direct anticipation of the unique aspects of claim 1.

Summary of Most Relevant Prior Art:

Based on the analysis, the most relevant prior art references that could potentially anticipate claim 1 of US9002795, due to their explicit discussion of object-based storage, attribute-driven allocation, zoned media, or allocation based on usage frequency, are:

US6128717A: Method and apparatus for storage application programming interface for digital mass storage and retrieval based upon data object type or size and characteristics of the data storage device
US6823398B1: File system management embedded in a storage device
US20020095546A1: Method, system, and program for writing files to zone formatted storage media to improve data transfer rates
US20040059759A1: Persistent unique and flexible object addressing mechanism for data in a part memory and part disk environment
US7124272B1: File usage history log for improved placement of files in differential rate memory according to frequency of utilizations and volatility of allocation space
US20060288156A1: OSD deterministic object fragmentation optimization in a disc drive

Among these, US7124272B1 appears to be the strongest candidate for anticipating claim 1 due to its explicit teaching of allocating data based on "frequency of utilizations" to "differential rate memory," which closely aligns with the core inventive concept of US9002795 regarding i-node attribute allocation based on access frequency to different media zones. The other highlighted references establish the broader context of object-based storage, embedded file systems, and zoned media, which are foundational to US9002795. The key differentiator for US9002795 in relation to these references would lie in the specific and explicit teaching of separating i-node write attributes and i-node read attributes and allocating them to physically separate media zones based on their distinct access frequencies.