throbber
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`
`
`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`
`
`
`
`
`TOYOTA MOTOR CORP.,
`Petitioner,
`
`
`
`v.
`
`
`
`LEROY G. HAGENBUCH,
`Patent Owner.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case IPR2014-00123
`Patent 8,532,867
`
`Administrative Patent Judges
`JAMESON LEE, MICHAEL W. KIM and ADAM V. FLOYD
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`DECLARATION OF MICHAEL NRANIAN
`
`I, Michael Nranian, make this declaration in connection with a Decision
`
`1.
`
`instituting Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 8,532,867 in Case IPR2014-00123.
`
`2.
`
`All statements herein made of my own knowledge are true, and all statements
`
`herein made based on information and belief are believed to be true. I am over 21
`
`years of age and otherwise competent to make this declaration.
`
`3.
`
`Although I am being compensated for time in preparing this declaration, the
`
`opinions herein are my own, and I have no stake in the outcome of this inter partes
`
`review proceeding.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 1
`
`

`
`4.
`
`I have been asked to review evidence and other submissions presented by the
`
`Petitioner in these inter partes review proceedings, and provide my opinions and
`
`observations on factual issues. I have also reviewed materials specifically referenced
`
`below.
`
`5.
`
`Although I have a law degree, I have not been asked to opine on any legal
`
`issues.
`
`Background and Qualifications
`A copy of my curriculum vitae is attached hereto.
`
`Among my degrees, I possess a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer
`
`6.
`
`7.
`
`Engineering, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, and a Bachelor of Science
`
`in Chemical Engineering. I also am a licensed Professional Engineer, Certified
`
`Project Management Professional, as well as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified
`
`through the American Society for Quality and the International Quality Federation.
`
`8.
`
`I currently work as a contractor for the U.S. Army, for the Chief Scientist’s
`
`Office, in the Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center
`
`(TARDEC) in Warren, Michigan.
`
`9.
`
`Prior to my employment with the Army, I worked as a design engineer and
`
`engineering manager in the automotive industry from 1985 to 2007. This includes
`
`experience at Ford, General Motors and Allied Signal. I worked at Allied Signal from
`
`1992 to 1993, General Motors from 1993 to 1995, and Ford Motor Company from
`
`1985 to 1992, and from 1995 to 2007.
`
`10. While at Allied Signal and General Motors I worked as a Senior Project
`
`Engineer, where my work included the design and development of automotive vehicle
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 2
`
`

`
`electrical systems and architectures, electrical and data communication protocols,
`
`vehicle system diagnostics and fault codes, warnings, safety and airbag system sensing
`
`and electrical systems, sensor algorithm development, sensor fusion technologies and
`
`assessments, supplemental
`
`inflatable restraints, sensing and airbag strategy,
`
`seatbelt/restraint systems and components, pretensioners, vision systems, airbag
`
`modules, hybrid inflators, airbag suppression systems, occupant and infant/child seat
`
`sensing and detection systems, out of position occupant detection, safety component
`
`and system diagnostics, occupant ergonomic evaluations, user and occupant audio and
`
`visual
`
`interfaces and displays, vehicle crashworthiness, vehicular structural
`
`modifications, occupant
`
`injury mitigation, crash and
`
`rollover protection,
`
`electromechanical/transducer and accelerometer based sensing systems, infrared,
`
`vision, camera, sonar, acoustic, radar sensing/detection technologies and systems. I
`
`conducted numerous system and component evaluations, laboratory tests, supplier
`
`and technology assessments, quality and reliability evaluations, as well as barrier and
`
`sled tests, and developed design validation plans and reports and failure modes and
`
`effects analyses to design and develop automotive safety systems, including those
`
`involving crash pulse storage and/or diagnostics retrieval from vehicle modules,
`
`systems parameter information retrieval from vehicle modules, and those for
`
`supplemental inflatable restraints, sensing and electrical systems, sensor algorithm
`
`development, sensor fusion technologies and assessments, sensing and airbag strategy,
`
`seatbelt/restraint systems and components, warning systems, electrical interface
`
`architectures, and automotive electrical system communication protocols, and safety
`
`systems for occupant protection and injury mitigation. My responsibilities also
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 3
`
`

`
`included ensuring compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, ECE
`
`regulations, Industry Standards, Corporate Standards, and Due-Care Requirements.
`
`11. While at Ford, my experience included working as a Product Design Engineer,
`
`a Technical Specialist, a Design Analysis Engineer, and an Engineering Manager. My
`
`work included the design and development of automotive vehicle electrical systems
`
`and architectures, electrical and data communication protocols, vehicle system
`
`diagnostics and fault codes, crash pulse storage and/or diagnostics retrieval system
`
`from vehicle modules, systems parameter information retrieval from vehicle modules,
`
`supplemental inflatable restraints, sensing and electrical systems, sensor algorithm
`
`development, sensor fusion technologies and assessments, sensing and airbag strategy,
`
`seatbelt/restraint systems and components, frontal and side impact systems and
`
`components, inflatable curtain and side airbag systems, rollover systems, rollover
`
`protection and avoidance, vision systems, airbag modules, hybrid inflators, airbag
`
`suppression systems, occupant and infant/child seat sensing systems, occupant and
`
`out of position occupant sensing and detection, diagnostics of safety components and
`
`systems, critical parameter storage and retrieval, warnings, occupant ergonomic
`
`evaluations, user and occupant audio and visual interfaces and displays, vehicular
`
`compatibility analyses and assessments, seat belt and seating systems, pretensioners
`
`and tensioning systems, vehicular structural design and development, storage of fault
`
`codes and critical parameter information related to automotive vehicle systems as well
`
`as collision parameter and crash pulse storage and retrieval for automotive safety
`
`systems and the communication and retrieval of this information. This includes
`
`communication of information through automotive vehicle electrical systems and
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 4
`
`

`
`architectures, electrical and data communication protocols and interfaces, vehicle
`
`electrical networks and network interfaces. My work included the design and
`
`development of these systems to meet vehicle crashworthiness and crash performance
`
`requirements and occupant injury mitigation. My work also involved systems utilizing
`
`infrared, vision, camera, sonar, acoustic, radar sensing, monitoring, and detection
`
`technologies and systems, as well as electromechanical/transducer and accelerometer
`
`based sensing systems. I conducted numerous system and component evaluations,
`
`laboratory tests, supplier and technology assessments, quality and reliability
`
`evaluations, as well as barrier and sled tests, and I developed design validation plans
`
`and reports and failure modes and effects analyses, corporate standards and
`
`specifications, and design guidelines, to design and develop electrical networks, data
`
`storage and retrieval, data communication and critical parameter storage, collision
`
`parameter storage and retrieval for automotive safety systems for occupant protection
`
`and injury mitigation. My responsibilities also included ensuring compliance with
`
`Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, ECE regulations, Corporate Standards,
`
`Industry Standards, and Due-Care Requirements. I also conducted extensive field
`
`event analyses, forensic investigations, vehicle inspections, accident reconstructions,
`
`and determined causation and root cause analyses for hundreds of automotive
`
`accidents to provide information for improvement of designs for automotive safety
`
`systems.
`
`12.
`
`Subsequent to my employment at Ford, I worked as a Systems Engineer for
`
`Raytheon and General Dynamics, where I developed defense systems for military
`
`vehicles.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 5
`
`

`
`13.
`
`In my current position as a contractor for the US Army, I possess an Active
`
`Secret Security Clearance. My responsibilities in my current position, as well as my
`
`positions with General Dynamics and Raytheon, include working with internal
`
`scientists, researchers and technical staff, as well as outside collaborators and
`
`universities, to develop technologies, innovation, and inventions for the protection of
`
`our soldiers and the enhancement of our soldiers’ survivability in military vehicles.
`
`This includes the development and assessment of vehicle and robotic data
`
`communication and electrical system architectures, critical parameter diagnostics and
`
`storage, camera and vision systems, human interface displays, acoustic, ultrasonic, IR,
`
`radar, night vision, and electromagnetic sensing, sensor fusion, algorithm, and pattern
`
`recognition development, robotic systems, Improvised Explosive Device (IED)
`
`detection and
`
`injury mitigation systems, armor and electromagnetic armor
`
`development, electromagnetic wave sensing and frequency determination, Command,
`
`Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
`
`(C4ISR) systems development, 360 degree surveillance, active and passive safety
`
`system development and occupant injury mitigation.
`
`14. During the course of my career in automotive research, development and
`
`testing, I have designed, tested, and developed numerous vehicle electrical and sensing
`
`systems, conducted numerous crash and collision tests, and have developed and
`
`designed collision parameter and crash pulse storage and critical parameter retrieval
`
`systems for vehicle collision safety systems, airbag systems, seatbelt systems, and
`
`sensing systems, for use in automobiles. I am thoroughly familiar with the operation
`
`and functionality of crash data recording and diagnostic systems and vehicular systems
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 6
`
`

`
`critical parameter and information storage and retrieval. This includes those related to
`
`crash and impact detection and reaction systems involving accelerometers and
`
`electromechanical sensors/transducers and other technologies, as well as occupant
`
`safety systems. This includes the testing, design, and development work related to
`
`occupant injury causation, and injury mitigation in vehicles, and field analyses of
`
`product performance to improve designs and improve system performance. In short,
`
`I have years of experience working with event data recorders and specifying the
`
`design characteristics they need to possess, including which parameters are to be
`
`monitored and recorded.
`
`15.
`
`I have been qualified to testify as an expert in over 20 cases involving
`
`automotive safety and electrical systems, and the retrieval of collision parameter
`
`information and critical vehicle system parameter information in automotive crash
`
`events.
`
`16.
`
`I am a member of the Project Management Institute, American Society for
`
`Quality, International Quality Federation, and the Forensic Expert Witness
`
`Association.
`
`Materials Considered
`In preparing this Declaration, I reviewed the materials specifically identified
`
`17.
`
`herein.
`
`Overview of the Claimed Inventions
`18. The ‘867 Patent describes a comprehensive system for securely storing and/or
`
`transmitting information permitting accident reconstruction, evaluation of driver
`
`behavior, analysis of component and system diagnostic information and critical
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 7
`
`

`
`vehicle system and component parameters for potential determination of component
`
`and system design and/or manufacturing defects, and enhancements to emergency
`
`responses to a collision.
`
`19. The specification of the ‘867 Patent is generally drawn to two types of sensors:
`
`“production-related” and “vital signs.”
`
`20.
`
`Production-related sensors generally monitor a vehicle’s performance.
`
`“Production performance of the vehicle is generally evaluated in the amount of work
`
`done by the vehicle in a unit of time—e.g., miles per hour, tons per hour and the
`
`like.” Ex. 1001 at col. 1, ll. 60-63. Examples of production parameters include engine
`
`RPM, throttle position, distance travelled, ground speed and brake status. Id. at col. 6,
`
`ll. 37-49.
`
`21.
`
`“Vital signs” refer to the “health” of the vehicle, and indicate whether a
`
`“component or subassembly is operating in a … ‘critical’ state—i.e., a state that if
`
`maintained will cause the component or subassembly to fail.” Ex. 1001, col. 1, ll. 33-
`
`44. Examples of vital signs include engine oil temperature, engine oil pressure, and
`
`tire pressure. Vital signs sensors also monitor whether the vehicle is involved in a
`
`collision. Ex. 1001 at col. 1, ll. 39-44, col. 6, ll. 50-65; Figs. 1B and 1C.
`
`22. Data provided by each type of sensor are acquired by an “electronic processor
`
`on-board the vehicle,” while “[a] memory … stores the vital sign and work data
`
`acquired by the processor in a format that allows the data to be retrieved from the
`
`memory in a manner that correlates the vital sign and work data.” Id. at col. 2, l. 61 –
`
`col. 3, l. 7.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 8
`
`

`
`23. The specification of the ‘867 Patent further states that, “[w]hen taken as
`
`disparate items, tracking either vital signs or production parameters [but not both]
`
`gives only a partial picture of a vehicle’s operation.” Id. at col. 2, ll. 11-13. By
`
`correlating these two categories of sensor data in a memory, such as data surrounding
`
`detection of a collision, more complete analyses of the vehicle’s “state of health” can
`
`be achieved. Id. at col. 2, l. 15 – col. 3, l. 21.
`
`24. Values of production-related parameters are continuously captured into a
`
`memory, wherein the oldest data are overwritten by the newest data. See, e.g., id. at
`
`Figs. 5A, 5B, col. 10, l. 7 – col. 11, l. 30 (listing “production-related parameters
`
`exemplify[ing] the type of vehicle parameters that are monitored, temporarily stored in
`
`memory and then permanently stored with vital sign data when a failed mode is
`
`detected”), col. 11, ll. 31-56 (describing data capture and decreasing resolution for
`
`older data), col. 12, ll. 54-58 (“As the data ages, the chronology memory 83 retains
`
`smaller fractions of the originally sampled data. When the data is approximately 606
`
`minutes old (as measured by vehicle operation time), it is no longer stored.”).
`
`Therefore, chronological records of the most current critical vehicle parameters are
`
`continuously stored in a first memory and overwrite older vehicle information with
`
`updated information, and when a failure mode is detected or when a collision event
`
`occurs, the chronological records of the latest updated critical parameter information
`
`is permanently stored in a second memory. Also, chronological records of the critical
`
`vehicle parameter information can continue to be permanently stored in the second
`
`memory even after a collision event or other failure mode occurs. These critical
`
`vehicle parameters can later be retrieved for analysis.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 9
`
`

`
`25. The specification notes that the “[t]he production-related parameters that
`
`provide useful chronologic[al] information for diagnosing the cause of a failure mode
`
`are in three categories—i.e., engine, position and relative speed of the vehicle, and
`
`load.” Ex. 1001, col. 9, ll. 63-67. I note that a crash would be considered a failure
`
`mode of the vehicle. Further, in regards to the first category of “useful
`
`chronologic[al] information,” i.e., “engine,” the specification further identifies “Engine
`
`throttle position” as one of three enumerated types engine information to be
`
`monitored and stored when a failure mode occurs. Id. at col. 10, ll. 12-18.
`
`26.
`
`In the event that the failure mode of the vehicle is a crash, the specification
`
`notes that braking “information can be particularly useful in connection with
`
`diagnosing a crash condition. For example, if the brakes are applied, what was the
`
`vehicle speed on brake application? … Over what distance were the brakes applied,
`
`and what was vehicle speed on release or [sic, of] brakes?” Ex. 1001, col. 10, l. 51 –
`
`col. 11, l. 3. Accordingly, the specification teaches the importance of capturing data
`
`for a combination of both pre-crash vehicle speed and brake usage, and the skilled
`
`artisan would understand the value of collecting such information at least for the
`
`purpose of evaluating driver behavior. The skilled artisan also would see that throttle
`
`position data could provide similarly useful information, e.g., did the driver open the
`
`throttle (as opposed to depressing the brake pedal) during the time preceding a crash
`
`of the vehicle?
`
`27.
`
`In further regards to braking data, the specification states that “[t]wo types of
`
`sensors can be employed. One is a simple on/off status sensor. The other type of
`
`sensor senses the degree of braking by sensing the pressure of the fluid in the
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 10
`
`

`
`hydraulic brake lines.” Ex. 1001, col. 10, ll. 51-55. The on/off brake sensor would
`
`generally indicate whether or not the driver applied pressure to the service brake. A
`
`brake pressure sensor would generally indicate the relative degree to which the driver
`
`engaged the brake, at least over a period of time of relatively constant temperature
`
`(the temperature issue being discussed further below).
`
`28. Additionally, in the context of a crash scenario, the specification states that
`
`“[t]he status of the operator’s seat belt is also a particularly useful parameter….” Ex.
`
`1001, col. 11, ll. 4-8. The safety belt status of an occupant in a vehicle involved in a
`
`collision generally will bear on the extent of an injury to the occupant.
`
`29.
`
`In view of the foregoing, the specification focuses in on the types of vehicle
`
`production-related parameter data that Mr. Hagenbuch believed to be important (and
`
`I agree with Mr. Hagenbuch) to monitor and capture in the event of a collision, which
`
`parameters include, at least, braking, velocity, throttle position and seat belt status.
`
`30. The specification further addresses the importance of “continuing to gather
`
`data and store data to the memories … so long as the value of the vital sign parameter
`
`exceeds a critical value,” and, in the event of a crash event, the specification
`
`recognizes that “all data that is collected during a crash event may be useful in
`
`diagnosing the cause,” and, thus, “data would continue to be transferred to the
`
`memory … until the vehicle cam [sic, came] to a standstill (i.e., the data from the
`
`accelerometer … goes to zero).” Ex. 1001, col. 25, ll. 22-37. By continuing to gather
`
`data during the crash event following detection of a collision, important information
`
`relating to, inter alia, the severity of the collision, can be acquired.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 11
`
`

`
`31.
`
`In further regards to the memory structures disclosed by the ‘867 Patent, the
`
`specification teaches the use of a data compression scheme and a dual memory. As
`
`taught by the specification, in one embodiment, “inputs from the sensors for the
`
`production-related parameters … are recorded in the RAM 47 that is continually
`
`updated. The reading interval for these inputs is a minimum four times a second,
`
`with the amount of data then stored to memory diminishing with time from when the
`
`reading was taken. In other words, readings taken most recently in the memory 83,
`
`and readings taken some time ago are gradually deleted from memory.” Ex. 1001, col.
`
`11, ll. 22-30. Put another way, “[a]s the data ages, the chronology memory 83 retains
`
`smaller fractions of the originally sampled data.” Id. at col. 12, ll. 54-56.
`
`32.
`
`In regards to the second memory concept, “[v]ehicle default modes which
`
`could result in vehicle production work related inputs being recorded to the separate
`
`default mode memory [include a] [v]ehicle crash as detected by the on-board
`
`accelerometer…. If a crash of the vehicle … is detected then readings [stored in
`
`memory 83] are recorded to the memory 85, along with vehicle deceleration
`
`measurement in gravity units.” Id. at col. 11, l. 57 – col. 12, l. 3 (emphasis added);
`
`accord id. at col. 25, ll. 22-38. To the extent that the terms “capturing” or “recording”
`
`(or variants thereof) are used in the claims of the ‘867 Patent, I understand that the
`
`Board has construed those terms to be synonymous with one another, and, that both
`
`terms “mean ‘to store data into memory.’” Decision at 13. In my opinion, the person
`
`having ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, would have understood
`
`the terms “capturing” and “recording” to have a more specific definition. Generally,
`
`any microprocessor that receives data from a sensor will hold that data element in a
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 12
`
`

`
`memory, if only until the next sampling of the sensor, in which case the date element
`
`may be immediately overwritten. However, in contrast to this momentary placement
`
`of data in memory, the skill artisan would understand that an event data recorder
`
`stores data for later use, as opposed to a data sample being placed in memory for
`
`mere instantaneous comparison to some reference point and if criteria for data
`
`storage are not met, otherwise not preserved for some substantial period of time. A
`
`skilled artisan understands that event data recorders deliberately protect data deemed
`
`important from being immediately overwritten. While captured data may be
`
`eventually overwritten (e.g., as in a circular buffer), the skilled artisan would
`
`understand the importance of preserving such data for some period of time such that
`
`a “snap shot” of the data may be taken in the event that a collision is detected and the
`
`data may be preserved by some means (be it by disabling the overwrite or by
`
`transferring the data to a separate memory address that where it will not be
`
`overwritten, and, thus, preserved for analysis). Consistent with the foregoing is the
`
`“Dictionary of Computer and Internet Words,” which defines “storage” as “[t]he
`
`places that hold computer information for subsequent use or retrieval.” Ex. 2063 at
`
`259 (emphasis added).
`
`33. All claims of the ‘867 Patent require monitoring, capturing and recording some
`
`combination of vital sign and production-related parameters, including monitoring
`
`and capturing at least the following four types of production-related parameters:
`
`ground speed; throttle position; brake on/off status; and seat belt status. These
`
`parameters are important to diagnosing the cause and/or severity of a collision.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 13
`
`

`
`34. With respect to vital signs, the claims require monitoring and recording vital
`
`sign parameters, including at least monitoring “information indicative of a change in
`
`the velocity of the vehicle.” The claims also require “detecting a collision … based on
`
`information obtained by monitoring one or more of the vital sign parameters.” Claim
`
`1 additionally requires recording “values of one or more of the vital sign parameters
`
`over a finite period of time after detection of the collision,” while claim 15 requires “a
`
`second memory adapted to receive … information indicative of a change in the
`
`velocity of the vehicle” and “recording into the second memory … vital signs … over
`
`a finite period of time after detection of the collision….”
`
`35.
`
`In accordance with independent claim 1, three actions must be taken in relation
`
`to detecting a collision: (1) “recording into a permanent memory values of three or
`
`more of the production-related parameters of the vehicle captured over a finite period
`
`of time before detection of the collision”; (2) “recording into a permanent memory …
`
`values of one or more of the vital sign parameters over a finite period of time after
`
`detection of the collision”; and (3) “automatically transmitting a distress signal … in
`
`response to detecting the collision....” Similarly in accordance with claim 15, the
`
`claimed apparatus requires that “a processor … detect[s] whether the vehicle has been
`
`involved in a collision,” and, in response to such collision detection that: (1) “the
`
`processor caus[es] recording into the second memory … vital signs … over a finite
`
`period of time after detection of the collision”; (2) “the processor … further caus[es]
`
`transfer of [production-related data captured in the first memory over a finite period
`
`of time before detection of the collision] to the second memory”; and (3) “a
`
`transmitter … automatically send[s] a wireless distress signal….”
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 14
`
`

`
`36.
`
`I note that the monitoring, capturing and recording of pre-collision-detection
`
`data can have a number of benefits. For example, the pre-collision production-related
`
`data may be used for purposes of accident reconstruction, driver behavior, culpability
`
`assessment, analysis of component and system diagnostic information and vehicle
`
`system and component parameters for evaluation of system and component
`
`performance and also for potential determination of component and system design
`
`and/or manufacturing defects which may or may not be related to the cause of the
`
`accident. Further, data such as pre-collision ground speed and whether the driver
`
`engaged the brake may be informative on the issue of driver culpability. Data such as
`
`vehicle critical parameters related to component and system diagnostic information
`
`can provide information related to design or manufacturing defects and can be used
`
`to inform the public and/or recall and repair vehicles that may pose a potential safety
`
`risk.
`
`37. The recording of vital sign parameters after detection of a collision, including
`
`data indicative of the change in the velocity of the vehicle, provides a measure of the
`
`severity of the collision, and the potential assessment of occupant injury based on
`
`collision severity. Generally, a collision in which the change in velocity occurs over a
`
`shorter time period is more severe than a collision in which the same change in
`
`velocity occurs over a longer time period. Similarly, measuring acceleration following
`
`detection of a collision will provide an indication of collision severity. And, in
`
`general, data which provides the basis for discriminating the occurrence of a collision,
`
`if continued to be monitored and stored following detection of a collision, will also
`
`provide an indication of the severity of a collision.
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 15
`
`

`
`38.
`
`In addition, once a vehicle crash is detected, the retention of data related to
`
`collision discrimination is generally useful in understanding automotive safety system
`
`performance, and provides real world feed-back for assessment of vehicle safety
`
`system performance and the potential
`
`improvements of current and future
`
`automotive safety system designs. While the independent claims do not expressly
`
`require the transmission of data indicating the severity of a collision, in my opinion,
`
`the claim inherently enables the benefit that would be obtained by transmitting
`
`collision severity information such that first responders and other medical personnel
`
`would have a more complete set of information in order to enhance the quality of an
`
`emergency response. I note that transmitting additional information relating to the
`
`potential severity of a collision and/or the risk of potentially serious injury is provided
`
`in the dependent claims (e.g., claim 5 which is drawn to signaling whether a seat belt
`
`was fastened prior to detection of a collision).
`
`Level of Ordinary Skill and the Relevant Art
`39. Mr. McNamara appears to contend that the patentability of the inventions
`
`claimed by the ‘867 Patent should be evaluated from the perspective of a person
`
`having ordinary skill in the art of “automotive electronics.” Ex. 1010 at ¶ 16. In my
`
`opinion, the field of “automotive electronics” is an overly broad characterization of
`
`the field of endeavor of the claimed inventions, such that it is unlikely that a given
`
`person could have “ordinary skill” in every facet of automotive electronics. It is
`
`further my opinion that the field of endeavor of the claimed inventions relates more
`
`specifically to processing vehicle dynamics data and critical important information
`
`pertinent to accident events and taking actions in response to the detection of
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 16
`
`

`
`circumstances indicating a collision (e.g., storing data for later retrieval and
`
`automatically transmitting information that the vehicle has been involved in a collision
`
`as well as the real-time monitoring of, continuous collection of, and permanent
`
`storage of critical vehicle parameter information relating to the crash event).
`
`40. The broad field of automotive electronics embraces a wide array of distinct
`
`sub-disciplines and can refer to virtually any electronic component or system of an
`
`automobile, including, but not limited to:
`
`a.
`
`Engine control units, which, inter alia, include control systems for
`
`air/fuel ratio, ignition timing, idle speed, valve timing (combustion chamber
`
`intake and exhaust), engine cooling system, fuel injection and lubrication;
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
`Transmission electronics;
`
`Chassis electronics, which include, inter alia, anti-lock braking systems,
`
`traction control systems, brake distribution systems and brake stability control,
`
`rollover prevention and electronic stability control;
`
`d.
`
`Safety electronics, which include, inter alia, front and side impact sensing,
`
`detection and discrimination, as well as roll-over sensing, detection and
`
`discrimination, air bag, seat belt load variable load limiting, seat belt
`
`pretensioning and tensioning, inflatable curtain deployment systems, occupant
`
`sensing, child and infant seat sensing, and occupant position and occupant out-
`
`of-position sensing systems, emergency brake assist, collision avoidance
`
`systems and automatic collision notification systems;
`
`e.
`
`Electronic driver assistance systems, which include, inter alia, cruise
`
`control, lane assist, blind spot detection and parking assistance systems;
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 17
`
`

`
`f.
`
`Electronic passenger comfort systems, which include, inter alia, climate
`
`control;
`
`g.
`
`Electronic “infotainment systems,” which include, inter alia, navigation
`
`and multimedia systems;
`
`h.
`
`i.
`
`Electronic module diagnostic and parameter recording systems;
`
`Electronic vehicular system architectures and data communication
`
`interfaces;
`
`j.
`
`Safety system algorithm development and strategy;
`
`System diagnostics, fault code detection, and warnings; and
`
`k.
`l.
`41. The field of automotive electronics is one having within it a fairly broad array
`
`Electronic event data recording systems.
`
`of sub-specializations. For example, a person having ordinary skill in the art of
`
`infotainment systems is not necessarily going to have ordinary skill in the art of safety
`
`system development and design and event data recording systems.
`
`42.
`
`In my opinion, a person having ordinary skill in the art pertinent to the claimed
`
`inventions, namely, monitoring
`
`and processing
`
`vehicle dynamics
`
`and
`
`acceleration/deceleration data pertinent to the determination and discrimination of
`
`accident events and taking actions in response to the detection of circumstances
`
`indicating a collision (e.g., discrimination of a crash event, storing of critical parameter
`
`data for later retrieval, and automatically transmitting information indicating that the
`
`vehicle has been involved in a collision), would have had experience in the testing,
`
`design and development of automotive crash sensing related to vehicular front
`
`impacts, side impacts, and rollovers, as well as the algorithm and strategy development
`
`Owner Ex 2064 page 18
`
`

`
`for proper discrimination of collision events and their relationship to the mitigation of
`
`occupant injury risk to ensure that, overall, the collision detection and notification
`
`vehicular safety systems provide substantial societal benefits, mitigate risks, and do
`
`not do more harm than good.
`
`Overview of the Asserted References
`Aoyanagi
`43. Aoyanagi purports to disclose “an apparatus

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

Still Working On It

This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.

Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.

throbber

A few More Minutes ... Still Working

It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.

Thank you for your continued patience.

This document could not be displayed.

We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

Set your membership status to view this document.

With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll get a whole lot more, including:

  • Up-to-date information for this case.
  • Email alerts whenever there is an update.
  • Full text search for other cases.
  • Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.

Become a Member

One Moment Please

The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.

Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.

Your document is on its way!

If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.

Sealed Document

We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.

If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.


Access Government Site

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket