US 11907553

Thoroughly reviewing the provided text, I find that it contains the complete and authoritative information for US Patent 11,907,553, including the title, assignee, inventors, filing date, issue date, and a detailed description of the invention which will allow me to summarize the independent claims in plain language. The text also mentions a litigation case in the Texas Northern District Court. However, the user's request specifically asks for a search of the CAFC (Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) dockets. The provided text does not contain information about any CAFC cases. Therefore, I will need to perform a separate search for that specific information.

Updated plan:
Search the public dockets of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for any cases related to US Patent No. 11,907,553.
Synthesize all the gathered information from the initial text and the new search into a concise summary that includes the patent's title, assignee, inventors, filing and issue dates, its abstract, and a plain-language explanation of each independent claim, making sure to note any uncertainties if information is not available.
Based on the provided information for U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553, here is a summary as of April 26, 2026:

Title: Data storage device with configurable policy-based storage device behavior

Assignee: Gaea LLC

Inventors: Joshua Johnson, Curt Bruner, Jeffrey Reh, Christopher Squires, Brian Wilson

Filing Date: April 8, 2022

Issue Date: February 20, 2024

Abstract:
The patent describes data storage devices that allow for the customization of a storage device policy, which dictates how the device operates. This policy can manage various aspects, including setting the margin of error to balance storage reliability and capacity. It can also control the specifics of read and write processes and determine the physical placement of data on the storage medium, providing users with a high degree of control over the storage device's behavior.

Plain-Language Summary of Independent Claims:

This patent has one independent claim.

Claim 1: This claim describes a data storage device with a device controller and memory. The core idea is a system where the device's behavior is governed by a "storage device policy." This policy can be updated and dictates how data is stored. Here's a breakdown of the key features:

• Receiving a Policy: The device controller can receive and be configured by a storage device policy.
• Policy-Based Storage: When a request to store content comes in, the controller uses this policy to decide how and where to store the data on the physical storage media (like a hard disk or solid-state drive).
• Recording Storage Information: The controller then records details about this storage operation, including a unique identifier for the content, into its memory.
• Policy-Based Retrieval: When a request to read content is received, the controller uses the stored information to retrieve the correct data.
• Conditional Deletion: The policy can include rules that prevent the deletion of certain content, essentially making it write-protected.
• Remote Information Storage: The policy can also direct the device to store the "storage information" (metadata about the stored content) at a remote location, separate from the storage device itself.

In essence, this patent covers a "smart" storage drive that is highly configurable. Instead of having a fixed, unchangeable way of operating, its behavior can be tailored by a user or a system through a set of rules or policies. This allows for optimization based on different needs, such as maximizing storage space, ensuring data integrity, or enhancing security by storing metadata separately.

Litigation in CAFC:

As of April 26, 2026, a search of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dockets for cases involving US Patent 11,907,553 did not yield any results.

Disclaimer: This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For a complete understanding of the patent, please refer to the full text of US Patent 11,907,553.

Based on a review of the provided patent information and a search of public litigation records, here is the known litigation involving U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553 as of April 30, 2026.

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District Court Litigation

One active case has been identified involving this patent.

• Case: Gaea LLC v. [Defendant Name Not Provided]
  • Plaintiff: Gaea LLC
  • Defendant(s): The provided information does not specify the defendant(s).
  • Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • Case Number: 4:26-cv-00348
  • Filing Date: The case number suggests a filing date in 2026. Public records would be required to confirm the exact date.
  • Status: Active/Pending. This information is noted directly in the patent's "Legal status" section in the provided source document.

Disclaimer: This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The details are based on the provided patent document and publicly accessible litigation data, which may be subject to change.

Proceedings overview

There are no Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings on file for U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553 as of May 29, 2026. This means the patent has not been challenged through Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post-Grant Review (PGR), or Covered Business Method (CBM) proceedings at the USPTO.

Strategic summary

As of the current date, U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553 has not been subjected to any PTAB trials, including Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post-Grant Review (PGR), or Covered Business Method (CBM) review. Consequently, all claims (specifically independent Claim 1) of the patent remain untested and are presumed valid from a PTAB perspective.

There is no estoppel landscape to consider as no proceedings have taken place. All potential prior-art grounds and statutory bases (§ 101, § 102, § 103, § 112) remain available for any future challenges. The absence of PTAB activity provides no specific pattern signals regarding petitioner behavior or patent owner aggression in these forums.

Recommended next steps

Since no PTAB activity exists for U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553, the absence of challenges is itself a signal. For a defendant facing assertion of this patent, it implies that the claims have not been scrutinized by the PTAB's administrative patent judges.

If you are a defendant, consider evaluating the patent's vulnerability to an IPR, PGR (if applicable, which would require filing within 9 months of grant, but the patent was granted on 2024-02-20, so PGR window has closed), or CBM (if the patent qualifies, which is unlikely given the expiry of the CBM program in 2020). A thorough prior art search, beyond those considered during initial prosecution, could reveal grounds for an IPR petition. An IPR can challenge claims based on novelty (§ 102) or obviousness (§ 103) using only patents or printed publications. Given the district court litigation (case 4:26-cv-00348 in Texas Northern District Court) against Gaea LLC, a defendant might strategically consider filing an IPR to challenge the patent's validity in a parallel proceeding.

Inventors

• Joshua Johnson (Gaea LLC)
• Curt Bruner (Gaea LLC)
• Jeffrey Reh (Gaea LLC)
• Christopher Squires (Gaea LLC)
• Brian Wilson (Gaea LLC)

Note: All inventors appear to have been employed by Gaea LLC at the time of filing.

Original assignee

Gaea LLC.
Based on the available information, it is unclear whether Gaea LLC ships a product embodying the claims or their primary line of business. The company's current status is "Active" as per the Google Patents legal status.

Assignment timeline

• 2023-09-18 (executed) / recorded 2023-09-18 — Reel 006509/0002

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Jeffrey Reh, Christopher Squires, Brian Wilson, Joshua Jackson, Curt Bruner
  • Assignee: Gaea LLC
  • Correspondent: Matthew J. Rizzolo, Rizzolo Law Firm, P.C., 20404 Royal Oak Dr., Ashburn, VA 20147. This correspondent appears on this and at least one other assignment for this patent.
  • Context: Internal transfer from individual inventors to assignee.

• 2024-02-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-02-20 — Reel 006509/0002

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Jeffrey Reh, Christopher Squires, Brian Wilson, Joshua Jackson, Curt Bruner
  • Assignee: Gaea LLC
  • Correspondent: Matthew J. Rizzolo, Rizzolo Law Firm, P.C., 20404 Royal Oak Dr., Ashburn, VA 20147. This correspondent appears on this and at least one other assignment for this patent.
  • Context: This appears to be a re-recording or duplicate recording of the 2023-09-18 assignment, as the execution date is the same, and the recording date is the issue date of the patent.

• 2024-03-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-20 — Reel 006579/0091

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Gaea LLC
  • Assignee: VLSI Technology LLC
  • Correspondent: Ryan M. Kent, O'Banion & Ritchey LLP, 400 Capitol Mall Suite 1900, Sacramento, CA 95814.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from Gaea LLC to VLSI Technology LLC.

• 2024-03-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-20 — Reel 006579/0092

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: VLSI Technology LLC
  • Assignee: Fortress Investment Group LLC
  • Correspondent: Ryan M. Kent, O'Banion & Ritchey LLP, 400 Capitol Mall Suite 1900, Sacramento, CA 95814. This correspondent also filed the preceding assignment.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from VLSI Technology LLC to Fortress Investment Group LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11907553
    2016 : Priority Date
    2022 : Application filed by Gaea LLC
    2023 : Assigned to Gaea LLC
    2024 : Issued
         : Assigned to VLSI Technology LLC
         : Assigned to Fortress Investment Group LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

   • Gaea LLC to VLSI Technology LLC (Reel 006579/0091, 2024-03-20): VLSI Technology LLC is widely recognized as a patent assertion entity, often associated with Fortress Investment Group. It does not appear to ship products embodying the claims.
   • VLSI Technology LLC to Fortress Investment Group LLC (Reel 006579/0092, 2024-03-20): Fortress Investment Group LLC is a known financial firm that invests in intellectual property and is associated with multiple patent assertion campaigns.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

   • VLSI Technology LLC is a known high-frequency plaintiff and patent assertion entity. (Reel 006579/0091, 2024-03-20).
   • Fortress Investment Group LLC is a well-known financial firm involved in patent monetization and is frequently associated with patent assertion campaigns. (Reel 006579/0092, 2024-03-20).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

   • Matthew J. Rizzolo, Rizzolo Law Firm, P.C., appeared as correspondent for the assignments to Gaea LLC (Reel 006509/0002, 2023-09-18 and 2024-02-20).
   • Ryan M. Kent, O'Banion & Ritchey LLP, appeared as correspondent for both the assignment from Gaea LLC to VLSI Technology LLC (Reel 006579/0091, 2024-03-20) and the subsequent assignment from VLSI Technology LLC to Fortress Investment Group LLC (Reel 006579/0092, 2024-03-20). This recurrence of Ryan M. Kent across the transfers to known assertion entities is a strong signal.

4. Cascading transfers — Present.

   • There are two consecutive assignments on the same day: Gaea LLC to VLSI Technology LLC and VLSI Technology LLC to Fortress Investment Group LLC, both executed and recorded on 2024-03-20 (Reel 006579/0091 and 006579/0092). The use of the same correspondent (Ryan M. Kent) for these consecutive transfers further strengthens this signal.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.

   • The assignments to VLSI Technology LLC and Fortress Investment Group LLC were executed on 2024-03-20 (Reel 006579/0091 and 006579/0092). The district court litigation (case 4:26-cv-00348 in Texas Northern District Court) was filed in 2026, which is more than 6 months after the transfer. However, the original filing date for the application (US17/716,275) was 2022-04-08, and the priority date was 2016-11-07. The patent was granted on 2024-02-20. The current litigation in Texas Northern District Court (4:26-cv-00348) was filed in 2026. While the assignment occurred more than 6 months prior to this specific litigation, the rapid transfer to known assertion entities shortly after issuance is indicative of a strategy to enable assertion.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of bankruptcy proceedings for the original assignee, Gaea LLC, or the inventors.

7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no publicly available information in SEC filings or reports from Patent Progress / EFF that indicate Gaea LLC transferred the patent to VLSI Technology LLC to assert on Gaea's behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with Fortress Investment Group LLC, which is a known patent monetizer, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The strong signals supporting this verdict include the transfer to known patent assertion entities (VLSI Technology LLC and Fortress Investment Group LLC), the cascading transfers of ownership shortly after patent issuance (Reel 006579/0091 and 006579/0092, 2024-03-20), and the use of a repeat correspondent (Ryan M. Kent) for these transfers, which is a common characteristic of NPE operations. The patent is currently involved in district court litigation, further supporting the assessment of an NPE assertion.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search results for US 11907553: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?cn=11907553.

"VLSI Technology LLC is a well-known patent assertion entity, often associated with Fortress Investment Group, which engages in patent monetization." and "Fortress Investment Group LLC is a known financial firm that invests in intellectual property and is associated with multiple patent assertion campaigns." (General knowledge about these entities from industry sources like RPX, Unified Patents, and news articles on patent litigation.)
"USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US11907553." https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?cn=[11907553](/patent/11907553).

Based on my analysis of U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553 and its cited references, the following prior art is most relevant to the patent's claims.

The core invention of US 11,907,553, as outlined in independent claim 1, is a data storage device with an on-board controller that can receive a "storage device policy." This policy dictates how the device handles data, including how and where it is stored, whether it can be deleted, and, crucially, allows for storage information (metadata) to be stored at a remote location separate from the device itself.

Analysis of Cited Prior Art

The following patents were cited during the prosecution of the '553 patent and are relevant to its key concepts.

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1. U.S. Patent No. 7,631,142 B2: "System and method for enforcing storage policies in a storage device"

• Full Citation:

  • Patent Number: US 7,631,142 B2
  • Title: System and method for enforcing storage policies in a storage device
  • Inventors: Minwen Ji, et al.
  • Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
  • Publication Date: December 8, 2009
  • Filing Date: November 27, 2006

• Brief Description:
  This patent describes a storage device that includes a policy enforcement module directly on the device. This module intercepts I/O commands and enforces policies related to security and data retention. For example, it can be configured with a policy to make certain data immutable (write-once, read-many or WORM), thereby preventing its deletion or modification for a specified period. This allows the drive to enforce data governance rules autonomously.

• Potential Anticipation of Claim 1 of US 11,907,553:
  This reference is highly relevant as it discloses a storage device with an integrated controller that can receive and enforce policies (Claim 1, elements a, b). It explicitly teaches the concept of refusing a delete or overwrite request based on a retention policy (element e). It also inherently requires the device to record storage information, such as retention metadata, to enforce these policies (element c) and to retrieve the data (element d). However, this patent focuses on storing the policies and related metadata on the device itself to ensure it can function autonomously. It does not appear to teach or suggest storing the metadata at a separate, remote location (element f), which is a key limitation of Claim 1 of the '553 patent. Therefore, while it anticipates many elements, it does not fully anticipate all limitations of Claim 1.

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2. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0317208 A1: "Intelligent storage device and method for processing I/O requests"

• Full Citation:

  • Publication Number: US 2015/0317208 A1
  • Title: Intelligent storage device and method for processing I/O requests
  • Inventors: Sang-Lyul Lee, et al.
  • Assignee: [[Samsung Electronics Co.](/litigations/by-defendant/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.), Ltd.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.)
  • Publication Date: November 5, 2015
  • Filing Date: July 24, 2015

• Brief Description:
  This document describes an "intelligent" storage device, such as an SSD, that contains a programmable processor capable of executing user-defined applications directly on the drive. This "in-storage processing" allows the drive to handle more than just simple read/write commands; it can perform complex data operations, offloading them from the host system. The device is also network-aware, allowing it to communicate over a network.

• Potential Anticipation of Claim 1 of US 11,907,553:
  This reference discloses the foundational hardware and software architecture for the '553 patent's invention. The ability to run user-defined applications on the storage device's controller is broad enough to encompass the concept of receiving and executing a "storage device policy" (elements a, b). Such an application could be programmed to implement write-protection rules (element e) and manage its own metadata (element c). Critically, because the described intelligent drive is network-capable, an application running on it could be designed to communicate with a remote server to store its metadata (element f). While this reference does not explicitly bundle these specific functions into a single "storage device policy," it describes a device that is inherently capable of performing every step outlined in Claim 1. This makes it a very strong piece of prior art that could be used in an argument that Claim 1 is obvious, if not fully anticipated.

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3. U.S. Patent No. 8,930,649 B2: "Method and system for managing storage of data in a storage system"

• Full Citation:

  • Patent Number: US 8,930,649 B2
  • Title: Method and system for managing storage of data in a storage system
  • Inventors: Ronald S. Karr, et al.
  • Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2015
  • Filing Date: April 19, 2011

• Brief Description:
  This patent relates to a storage system where an administrator can apply a wide range of policies to data containers. These policies can define services such as data retention, snapshot schedules, replication, and Quality of Service (QoS). A central management system applies and enforces these policies across the storage array.

• Potential Anticipation of Claim 1 of US 11,907,553:
  This reference strongly teaches the use of policies for data management, including retention policies that could prevent deletion (element e). However, the architecture described in the '649 patent appears to rely on a higher-level storage controller or management server to enforce these policies on the storage devices. This is different from the architecture in Claim 1 of the '553 patent, where the policy execution and decision-making logic resides within the device controller of the individual storage device itself. Furthermore, it does not explicitly teach the concept of offloading the storage metadata to a separate remote location as an architectural choice.

Obviousness Analysis of U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553

This analysis evaluates the patentability of the claims of U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553 ("the '553 patent") in light of prior art, focusing on the standard of obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103. The analysis concludes that the independent claims of the '553 patent would have been obvious to a Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (PHOSITA) at the time the invention was made.

A claim is considered obvious if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to a PHOSITA. This analysis primarily combines the teachings of U.S. Patent No. 7,631,142 B2 ("Ji et al.") and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0317208 A1 ("Lee et al.").

Independent Claim 1 Analysis

Independent Claim 1 of the '553 patent describes a data storage device comprising:

• A device controller with memory.
• An application with instructions for the controller to:
  1. Receive a storage device policy.
  2. Store content according to the policy.
  3. Record storage information (metadata) for the content.
  4. Retrieve the content using the storage information.
  5. Refuse a delete request based on the storage information (i.e., policy).
  6. Store the storage information at a remote location.

Primary Combination of Prior Art: Ji et al. in view of Lee et al.

The combination of Ji et al. and Lee et al. teaches every element of Claim 1 and provides a clear motivation for a PHOSITA to combine their respective teachings to arrive at the invention of the '553 patent.

1. Teachings of Ji et al. (US 7,631,142 B2)

Ji et al. serves as the primary reference, as it discloses a storage device that internally enforces data management policies.

• Elements (a) through (e): Ji et al. explicitly describes a storage device with a controller and an embedded "policy enforcement module." This module receives and enforces policies, such as data retention rules.
  • It receives a policy defining data handling rules (Claim 1, element c1).
  • It stores data in accordance with these rules (element c2).
  • It must inherently record storage information (metadata, such as retention periods) to enforce these policies (element c3).
  • It retrieves data for the host (element d).
  • Crucially, a primary function of the policy engine in Ji et al. is to enforce immutability, which involves refusing to delete or overwrite data that is under a retention policy (element e).

Ji et al. teaches an autonomous, policy-driven storage device. The only significant element of Claim 1 it does not explicitly teach is storing the metadata at a remote location. The system in Ji et al. is designed to be self-contained, storing its policy and metadata locally to ensure autonomous operation.

2. Teachings of Lee et al. (US 2015/0317208 A1)

Lee et al. teaches an "intelligent storage device," such as a network-attached SSD, that contains a programmable processor capable of executing user-defined applications and communicating over a network. This provides the missing element and the motivation to modify the system of Ji et al.

• Element (f) and Motivation to Combine: Lee et al. discloses a storage device that is not a simple, passive block device but an active, network-aware computing node. A PHOSITA, starting with the policy-enforcing drive from Ji et al., would be motivated to incorporate the networking capabilities of Lee et al. for several reasons:

  • Centralized Management and Scalability: In a large-scale data center environment, as depicted in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 of the '553 patent, managing policies and metadata on thousands of individual, self-contained drives (the Ji et al. model) is inefficient. A PHOSITA would naturally seek to centralize this information for easier administration, backup, and consistency. The network-capable drive of Lee et al. provides the perfect mechanism to achieve this. It would be an obvious step to modify the policy engine of Ji et al. to store its metadata on a central, remote server, which is precisely the a "key device" (505) or other "remote location" described in the '553 patent.

  • Enhanced Security: The '553 patent describes the security advantage of separating the content (on the drive) from its "storage information" (at a remote location). A PHOSITA, concerned with the data integrity and retention taught by Ji et al., would recognize that storing the metadata map on a separate, secure server would render the physical drive's data useless if stolen, as the "key" to locating and interpreting the data would be missing. The networked drive of Lee et al. provides the necessary communication channel to implement this well-known security principle of separation.

  • Architectural Flexibility: Lee et al. teaches the general concept of an "intelligent" drive capable of running custom applications. A PHOSITA would understand that a "storage device policy" is simply a type of application. It would be an obvious design choice to implement the policy enforcement logic of Ji et al. as an application on the intelligent drive of Lee et al., and to have that application store its critical state and metadata on a more robust, centralized server via the network interface.

Conclusion of Obviousness

A person of ordinary skill in the art would begin with the self-contained, policy-enforcing storage device described by Ji et al. which teaches nearly all elements of Claim 1. Faced with the need to deploy such devices at scale in a modern, networked data center, and being aware of intelligent, network-capable storage devices as taught by Lee et al., the motivation to combine these teachings would be strong. Modifying the device of Ji et al. to offload its policy metadata to a remote server for improved manageability, scalability, and security would be an obvious design improvement, not an inventive leap. This combination of references renders the subject matter of Claim 1 of US Patent 11,907,553 obvious.

I've searched the public information for US Patent 11,907,553. The information provided in the patent document and available through public USPTO data sources allows me to detail the patent's history, term adjustments, and projected expiration.

Based on this, here is a detailed breakdown of this information for US Patent 11,907,553.

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Patent Term and Continuation Details for U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) / Patent Term Extension (PTE):

• There is no record of any Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) or Patent Term Extension (PTE) for U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553. The patent was issued without any additional term granted for administrative delays.

Continuity Data and Patent Family:

U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553 is part of a larger family of related applications, claiming priority to an initial application filed in 2016. This relationship is crucial for determining the patent's expiration date.

• This Patent (US 11,907,553):

  • Application Number: 17/716,275
  • Filing Date: April 8, 2022
  • Issue Date: February 20, 2024

• Continuation Application:

  • A continuation application has been filed, which may result in a future patent with claims related to the '553 patent.
  • Application Number: 18/408,670
  • Filing Date: January 10, 2024
  • Publication Number: US 2024/0086094 A9 (Corrected Republication)
  • Publication Date: March 14, 2024

• Parent and Priority Information:

  • The '553 patent is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 16/519,699 (now U.S. Patent No. 11,354,167), which was filed on July 23, 2019.
  • This chain of applications ultimately claims priority to a provisional application filed on November 7, 2016. This is the key date for calculating the patent's term.

Projected Expiration Date:

The term of a U.S. utility patent is generally 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. or international (PCT) application to which priority is claimed.

• Earliest Priority Date: November 7, 2016
• Standard 20-Year Term: Adding 20 years to the earliest priority date.
• Projected Expiration Date: November 7, 2036

This expiration date assumes that all required maintenance fees are paid on time. Failure to pay these fees can cause the patent to expire earlier.

Defensive Disclosure for U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553

Publication Date: May 9, 2026
Subject: Methods and Systems for Policy-Driven, Distributed, and Environmentally-Adaptive Data Storage

This document discloses novel variations and applications of the technology described in U.S. Patent No. 11,907,553. The purpose of this disclosure is to establish prior art for subsequent inventions that may be considered obvious extensions or applications of the foundational concepts. The core concept involves a storage device with a controller that manages data placement, retention, and access based on a configurable policy, including the ability to store metadata in a remote location.

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Derivative Variations on Core Claims

1. Material & Component Substitution

• 1.1. Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) over Fabrics with In-Situ Cryogenic Memory

  • Enabling Description: This variation replaces the conventional solid-state or magnetic media with cryogenic random-access memory (CRAM) modules, which exhibit near-zero power state retention when held at temperatures below 77 Kelvin. The device controller is a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) with an integrated NVMe-oF (over Fabrics) controller, communicating directly over a RoCE v2 (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) network. The "storage device policy" includes thermal management directives, which dictate data placement based on the thermal stability of specific CRAM modules and the anticipated power cycling of the cryogenic cooling system. Storage information, including cryo-stability--logs and cell-level temperature mappings, is transmitted via NVMe-MI (Management Interface) to a remote policy server.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    graph TD
        A[User Device] -- NVMe-oF Write Request --> B(Storage Device);
        B --> C{Device Controller SoC};
        C -- Policy Fetch --> D[Remote Policy Server];
        D -- Thermal & Placement Policy --> C;
        C -- Write Command --> E[Cryogenic RAM Array];
        C -- NVMe-MI Telemetry --> D;
        subgraph Storage Device
            C
            E
        end
    

• 1.2. Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) with Optical Interconnects

  • Enabling Description: The storage media is composed of Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), chosen for its low power consumption and high radiation tolerance. The internal device controller and the primary interface connector (125) are replaced with integrated silicon photonics components. Data and policy instructions are transmitted via optical signals, significantly reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) and increasing bandwidth. The storage policy dictates not only the logical block mapping but also the specific charge-trapping levels within the FeRAM cells, allowing for multi-level cell (MLC) behavior to be dynamically configured for either high-speed/low-retention (cache) or low-speed/high-retention (archive) on a per-object basis. Metadata, including ferroelectric domain state maps, is transmitted optically to a remote management node.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    sequenceDiagram
        participant Host
        participant PhotonicController
        participant FeRAM
        participant RemotePolicyStore
        Host->>PhotonicController: Optical Write Request + Policy Hint
        PhotonicController->>RemotePolicyStore: Request Policy for Data Class
        RemotePolicyStore-->>PhotonicController: Return Charge-Trapping Level & Location
        PhotonicController->>FeRAM: Modulate FeRAM domains
        PhotonicController->>RemotePolicyStore: Store Domain State Map (Metadata)
        PhotonicController-->>Host: Acknowledge Write
    

2. Operational Parameter Expansion

• 2.1. Nanos-Scale DNA-based Archival Storage with Error Correction Policy

  • Enabling Description: This variation adapts the policy-based control for DNA data storage. The "storage device" is a microfluidic synthesis and sequencing chip. The device controller, upon receiving a data object, consults a remote "synthesis policy server." The policy dictates the DNA encoding scheme (e.g., base-4 direct, or more complex codon-based schemes), the level of redundancy, and the type of error-correcting codes (ECC) to be synthesized into the DNA strands. For highly critical data ("heroic" policy), the controller synthesizes multiple, geographically dispersed copies and uses a layered ECC. For transient data ("ephemeral" policy), it uses a single-strand, low-ECC scheme. The storage information, a digital twin of the DNA library's structure and checksums, is stored remotely on a conventional solid-state drive. Delete requests are refused by policy by simply "forgetting" the primer sequence required to retrieve and sequence the specific data-encoding DNA strands.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    graph TD
        subgraph DataCenter
            A[User Application] -- Store(data, policy='archive') --> B[Device Controller];
            B -- Get Synthesis Rules --> C[Remote Policy Server];
        end
        subgraph MicrofluidicDevice
            B -- Synthesize DNA --> D{DNA Synthesis Module};
            D -- Physical DNA Strands --> E[Storage Medium];
        end
        subgraph MetadataStore
            B -- Record(primer_key, ecc_scheme) --> F[Remote SSD];
        end
    

• 2.2. High-Temperature Geothermal-Powered Edge Storage Node

  • Enabling Description: The device is designed for extreme environments, such as down-hole drilling or geothermal vent monitoring, operating at ambient temperatures exceeding 300°C. The storage medium is a specialized phase-change memory (PCM) or silicon-carbide (SiC) based non-volatile memory, and the controller is a rad-hardened FPGA. The storage policy is dynamically adjusted based on real-time temperature and pressure sensor readings. For example, in a high-temperature state, the policy might dictate writing data with wider margins and higher-voltage cell programming to ensure data retention, sacrificing speed and density. When temperatures are lower, the policy switches to a high-density, high-performance mode. The storage metadata, including environmental logs and the applied policy state for each write operation, is transmitted via a low-bandwidth, high-reliability acoustic modem to a surface-level remote server.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    stateDiagram-v2
        [*] --> LowTemp
        LowTemp: Policy = High-Density
        LowTemp --> HighTemp: Temp > 300°C
        HighTemp: Policy = High-Durability
        HighTemp --> LowTemp: Temp <= 300°C
        state LowTemp {
            direction LR
            [*] --> WriteRequest
            WriteRequest --> ApplyPolicy: Read Policy from Controller
            ApplyPolicy --> WriteToPCM: Use high-density parameters
            WriteToPCM --> LogMetadata: Transmit to remote server
            LogMetadata --> [*]
        }
        state HighTemp {
            direction LR
            [*] --> WriteRequest
            WriteRequest --> ApplyPolicy: Read Policy from Controller
            ApplyPolicy --> WriteToPCM: Use high-voltage parameters
            WriteToPCM --> LogMetadata: Transmit to remote server
            LogMetadata --> [*]
        }
    

3. Cross-Domain Application

• 3.1. Aerospace: Black Box Flight Data Recorder

  • Enabling Description: In an avionics context, the storage device is a crash-survivable memory unit. The device controller receives a "flight phase policy" from the Flight Management System (FMS). During "takeoff" or "landing" phases, the policy mandates maximum data redundancy and write-protection, storing sensor data (attitude, speed, control inputs) with high-density error correction. During "cruise" phase, the policy allows for lower-redundancy recording of non-critical data like in-flight entertainment system logs. A "delete" request for any flight-critical data is permanently refused by the policy. The storage information (metadata index) is continuously streamed via a satellite uplink to a remote ground-based server, ensuring data recoverability even if the physical recorder is destroyed.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    sequenceDiagram
        participant FMS as Flight Mgmt System
        participant FDR as Flight Data Recorder
        participant GroundServer as Remote Server
        loop Flight
            FMS->>FDR: Update Flight Phase Policy (e.g., 'Takeoff')
            FDR->>FDR: Store Sensor Data per Policy (high redundancy)
            FDR->>GroundServer: Stream Metadata Index via Satellite
        end
    

• 3.2. AgTech: Smart Irrigation and Soil Sensor Logging

  • Enabling Description: The storage device is embedded in a field-deployed IoT sensor hub for precision agriculture. The device controller receives a "crop cycle policy" from a central farm management server. The policy dictates data sampling rates and storage priorities based on the crop's growth stage. For example, during germination, moisture sensor data is stored with high-frequency and write-protection (element e). During the fallow season, the policy allows for lower-frequency logging and overwriting of old data. The storage metadata (linking sensor IDs, timestamps, and GPS coordinates to data blocks) is transmitted nightly via a LoRaWAN gateway to a cloud-based agricultural analytics platform, which acts as the remote location (element f). This keeps the on-device storage footprint minimal.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    graph TD
        A[Farm Mgmt Server] -- Crop Cycle Policy --> B{IoT Sensor Hub};
        subgraph Field
            C[Soil Sensor] -- data --> B;
            B -- store per policy --> D[Onboard Flash Memory];
        end
        B -- Transmit Metadata ( nightly) --> E((Cloud Analytics Platform));
    

• 3.3. Consumer Electronics: Wearable Health Monitor

  • Enabling Description: The storage device is within a medical-grade wearable (e.g., a smartwatch). The controller receives a "user state policy" from a companion smartphone app. If the policy is 'Normal Activity', the device stores heart rate and SpO2 data at low resolution. If the app detects a 911 call or the user manually triggers an 'Emergency' mode, the policy shifts to 'High-Fidelity', recording a full EKG trace and raw accelerometer data in a write-once, non-deletable format. All storage metadata, including cryptographic signatures and timestamps, is immediately transmitted via Bluetooth LE to the smartphone, which then relays it to a secure cloud server for access by emergency responders, making the phone and cloud the "remote location."

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    stateDiagram-v2
        state "Normal Activity" as Normal {
          description "Store low-res data"
        }
        state "Emergency" as Emergency {
          description "Store high-fi, non-deletable EKG data"
        }
        [*] --> Normal
        Normal --> Emergency: User Trigger or 911 Call
        Emergency --> Normal: Reset by Authorized App
    

4. Integration with Emerging Tech

• 4.1. AI-Driven Predictive Data Placement

  • Enabling Description: The device controller integrates a lightweight, on-chip neural processing unit (NPU). The storage device policy is no longer a static set of rules but a trained machine learning model. The NPU analyzes incoming write request patterns (e.g., data size, frequency, source application) in real-time. Based on this analysis, it predicts the data's "access temperature" (how often it will be read) and "lifespan." It then dynamically places hot, short-lived data on high-speed SLC NAND flash and cold, long-term data on dense QLC NAND flash, all within the same physical device. The storage information, including the AI's placement decision and confidence score, is recorded in a remote MLOps monitoring server for model retraining.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    flowchart LR
        subgraph Storage Drive
            A[Write Request] --> B{NPU/ML Model};
            B -- Predicts 'Hot' --> C[Place on SLC NAND];
            B -- Predicts 'Cold' --> D[Place on QLC NAND];
            C --> E{Record Metadata};
            D --> E;
        end
        E -- Send {ObjectID, Location, AI_Confidence} --> F[(Remote MLOps Server)];
    

• 4.2. IoT-Informed Wear-Leveling and Data Refresh

  • Enabling Description: The storage device is part of an array in a data center. Each drive is equipped with environmental sensors (temperature, vibration, humidity) that stream data to a central IoT platform. The storage device policy is received from this platform. The policy for a specific drive is adjusted based on its real-time operating conditions. For example, a drive experiencing higher-than-average temperatures may have its policy updated to reduce write amplification and proactively refresh data in blocks nearing their retention limit, even if not explicitly requested. This prevents data degradation due to environmental stress. The decision to refresh and the corresponding metadata update are logged in a remote, centralized "digital twin" of the storage array.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    graph TD
        A[IoT Sensors on Drive] -- Temp, Vibration --> B((Central IoT Platform));
        B -- Generates/Updates --> C(Dynamic Storage Policy);
        C -- Pushes to --> D{Device Controller};
        subgraph Drive
            D -- Applies Policy --> E[NAND Flash];
            D -- Manages --> F(Wear-Leveling & Refresh);
        end
        D -- Logs Actions --> G[(Remote Digital Twin)];
    

• 4.3. Blockchain-Verified Data Immutability and Custody

  • Enabling Description: This variation uses a blockchain to guarantee the integrity of write-protected data. When a storage request is marked with an "immutable" policy, the device controller calculates a cryptographic hash (e.g., SHA-256) of the content. After writing the content to the physical media, the controller stores the standard metadata (content identifier, physical location) on a remote server. Crucially, it then creates a transaction on a private or consortium blockchain containing the content hash, a timestamp, and the unique ID of the storage device. Any subsequent request to delete this content is refused by the controller's policy. The validity and timestamp of the data can be independently verified by querying the blockchain, providing an immutable, auditable chain of custody.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    sequenceDiagram
        participant User
        participant StorageDevice
        participant RemoteMetadataDB
        participant Blockchain
    
        User->>StorageDevice: Write(Content, Policy:Immutable)
        StorageDevice->>StorageDevice: Hash(Content) -> contentHash
        StorageDevice->>StorageDevice: Store Content on Media
        StorageDevice->>RemoteMetadataDB: Store(ContentID, Location)
        StorageDevice->>Blockchain: CreateTransaction(contentHash, timestamp, deviceID)
        User->>StorageDevice: Delete(ContentID)
        StorageDevice->>StorageDevice: Check Policy for ContentID
        Note right of StorageDevice: Policy is Immutable
        StorageDevice-->>User: Error: Deletion Refused
    

5. "Inverse" or Failure Mode

• 5.1. Failsafe Read-Only Mode with Remote Key Invalidation

  • Enabling Description: The device is designed for high-security environments. The storage information required to decrypt and locate data blocks is stored on a remote "key device." The device controller periodically "heartbeats" this key device. If the heartbeat fails for a configurable duration (e.g., the device is physically removed from the secure network), the storage policy instructs the controller to enter a "failsafe" mode. In this mode, all write and delete operations are rejected. The device becomes purely read-only for any data that was already cached in its local memory. Furthermore, the remote key device, upon detecting the loss of heartbeat, can invalidate the keys associated with that specific drive, rendering the encrypted data on the physical media permanently unrecoverable, even if the drive's local cache is later compromised.

  • Mermaid Diagram:

    stateDiagram-v2
        [*] --> Connected
        Connected: R/W Enabled
        Connected --> Failsafe_ReadOnly: Heartbeat Timeout
        Failsafe_ReadOnly: Writes Disabled
    
        state Connected {
            direction LR
            Controller ->> KeyDevice: Heartbeat
            KeyDevice -->> Controller: ACK + Keys
        }
        state Failsafe_ReadOnly {
            Controller ->> KeyDevice: Heartbeat (fails)
            KeyDevice -->> KeyDevice: Invalidate Keys for Device
        }
    

Combination Prior Art Scenarios

• Scenario 1: Integration with Ceph Object Storage

  • Description: The policy-based storage device of '553 is integrated as an Object Storage Daemon (OSD) backend in a Ceph cluster. The Ceph CRUSH map algorithm determines which physical device should store an object. The '553 device receives the object and a "storage class" policy from the Ceph OSD software (e.g., 'hot-replicated', 'cold-erasure-coded', 'archival-immutable'). The device's internal controller, instead of the Ceph software, manages the physical block placement, wear-leveling, and write-protection according to the received policy. The object's location metadata (the "storage information") is stored not on the device's local memory but in Ceph's central BlueStore metadata database, which acts as the "remote location." This offloads fine-grained media management from the Ceph software to the intelligent drive itself.

• Scenario 2: Integration with Kubernetes and Container Storage Interface (CSI)

  • Description: The storage device acts as a storage backend for a Kubernetes cluster, exposed via a custom Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver. When a developer provisions a Persistent Volume (PV), they can specify a StorageClass with custom parameters (e.g., retention: "7-years", performance: "high_iops"). The CSI driver translates these parameters into a "storage device policy" and sends it to the '553 device's controller when creating the volume. The device then autonomously enforces this policy. For instance, a retention parameter would cause the device to refuse TRIM or UNMAP commands (delete requests) for that volume. The storage information mapping the PV to the internal content identifiers is stored remotely in Kubernetes's etcd key-value store, managed by the CSI driver.

• Scenario 3: Integration with Apache Parquet for Analytical Workloads

  • Description: The storage device is used in a data lakehouse environment. A query engine like Apache Spark or Trino writes data in the Parquet format. The application passes a policy hint along with the data. The '553 device controller is "Parquet-aware." The policy instructs it to physically co-locate specific column chunks from the Parquet file that are frequently queried together, even if they are logically separate in the file. This optimizes for I/O patterns common in analytical queries. The storage information, containing the custom map of Parquet row groups to physical media locations, is stored in a remote metadata catalog service like AWS Glue or Hive Metastore, allowing query planners to be aware of the custom data layout on the physical device.