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Filed on behalf of:
`
`SCHOFIELD
`
`Terence J. Linn
`
`Timothy A. Flory
`VAN DYKE, GARDNER,
`
`LINN & BURKHART, LLP
`
`2851 Charlevoix Drive, S.E.
`PO. Box 888695
`
`Grand Rapids, Michigan 49588-8695
`(616) 975-5500
`(616) 975-5505 (fax)
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES
`
`(Administrative Patent Judge Sally C. Medley)
`
`JOSEPH SCOTT STAM, JON HAROLD BECHTEL,
`and JOHN KING ROBERTS
`
`Junior Party
`(Patent 5,837,994),
`
`V.
`
`KENNETH SCHOFIELD, MARK L. LARSON,
`and KEITH J. VADAS
`
`Senior Party
`(Application 09/441,34l).
`
`Patent Interference No. 105,325
`
`DECLARATION OF DR. NIALL LYNAM
`
`I, Dr. Niall Lynam, do hereby depose and testify as follows:
`
`1.
`
`I am employed as Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of
`
`Donnelly Corporation (“Donnelly”), also known as Magna Donnelly, the real party in
`
`interest of the Senior Party Schofield, Larson, and Vadas, in this Interference No.
`
`105,325. Donnelly is engaged in the business of designing and developing automotive
`
`MAGNA 2006
`MAGNA 2006
`TRW v. Magna
`TRW V_ Magna
`IPR2014-00265
`|PR2014-00265
`
`SCHOFIELD EXHIBIT 1015
`STAM v. SCHOFIELD
`
`INTERFERENCE NO. 105,325
`
`

`

`components, and is a tier one supplier to the automotive industry and automobile
`
`manufacturing companies worldwide. In my position as Senior Vice President and Chief
`
`Technical Officer, I have been involved for many years in the design and development of
`
`Donnelly’s products, including its camera-based products. Over the years, I have also
`
`been involved in the development, design, and manufacture of accessories and
`
`components for automotive vehicles.
`
`2.
`
`I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Mathematics
`
`in 1975 from the University College Dublin.
`
`I remained enrolled at University College
`
`Dublin as a postgraduate student and was conferred with a Ph.D. in 1981.
`
`3.
`
`While I was enrolled at the University College Dublin in the late 19703, I
`
`was involved in research projects involving lighting, optics, and electronic circuitry.
`
`4.
`
`I joined Donnelly Mirrors Ltd., a related company to Donnelly, in 1980 as
`
`a research scientist. In 1984, I transferred to Donnelly as a principal scientist in Applied
`
`Research. In 1985, I was appointed Manager of Applied Research and, in 1986, I joined
`
`Donnelly’s Corporate Management Team. In 1992, I was appointed Vice President,
`
`Corporate R & D. In 1995, I was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Technical
`
`Officer. Throughout my career with Donnelly, and its related companies, I have been
`
`involved in the development of new products including components for automobiles.
`
`5.
`
`I am familiar with patents in general, and with the preparation and
`
`prosecution of patent applications as well as the enforcement of patents. Although I am
`
`not a licensed patent agent, I have been involved in the preparation and prosecution of
`
`numerous patent applications and have participated in interviews in the United States
`
`Patent and Trademark Office with patent examiners during the course of prosecution of
`
`

`

`patent applications owned by Donnelly.
`
`I am a named inventor on more than 100 United
`
`States patents that are owned by Donnelly and, as such, I am familiar with claim
`
`language and claim construction.
`
`6.
`
`I have reviewed and am familiar with United States Patent No. 5,877,897,
`
`owned by Donnelly, and the prosecution history of the ‘897 patent.
`
`I am familiar with
`
`the subject matter disclosed within the ‘897 patent.
`
`7.
`
`I am also familiar with Counts 1 and 2 in Patent Interference No. 105,325
`
`and the subject matter of Counts l and 2.
`
`8.
`
`In my opinion, a person that is of ordinary skill in the art of the subject
`
`matter of Counts 1 and 2 of Patent Interference No. 105,325 would have a Bachelor’s
`
`Degree in electrical engineering, or a Bachelor’s Degree in mechanical engineering with
`
`experience in controls and/or logic circuits, or a Bachelor’s Degree in science with
`
`experience in physics, or equivalent thereof. One of ordinary skill in the art would have
`
`at least two years of experience in the field of the subject matter, such as two or more
`
`years of experience in the field of automobile imaging systems or vision systems or the
`
`like. One of ordinary skill in the art would be familiar with photosensor arrays and their
`
`parts and operation and related optics, and the use of logic circuits and systems to receive
`
`and respond to output signals from photosensor arrays.
`
`9.
`
`In my opinion, one skilled in the art would recognize that the subject
`
`matter disclosed in the ‘897 patent encompasses Count 1 of Patent Interference No.
`
`105,325.
`
`10.
`
`In my opinion, one skilled in the art would understand from the disclosure
`
`of the ‘897 patent that in any instance in which a photosensor array 32 is used in an
`
`

`

`automobile installation of those disclosed systems, the photosensor array 32 would have
`
`associated with it a lens 30. Consistently in the disclosure throughout the ‘897 patent, the
`
`disclosure of the photosensor array 32 is associated with a lens 30, which is configured to
`
`image the predetermined field of View onto the respective photosensor array. This
`
`includes the disclosure associated with Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 6, Figure 6A, Figure
`
`6B, Figure 7, Figure 9, Figure 10, Figure 10A, and the written description included at
`
`Column 9, lines 13-26; Column 11, lines 4-20; Column 16, lines 21-39; Column 22, lines
`
`47-57; Column 26, lines 7-26; Column 27, lines 28-31; Column 31, lines 51-62; column
`
`33, lines 24-47.
`
`11.
`
`The disclosure at Column 34, lines 3-6 that a photosensor array 32 may be
`
`located in both of the external side View mirrors 4 and 5 of the vehicle would be
`
`understood by one skilled in the art as including a lens with the photosensor array 32 in
`
`each of the external side View mirrors 4 and 5. Moreover, the 08/478,093 application
`
`discloses an example of a suitable photosensor array with a lens integrally disposed at the
`
`photosensor array (the VLSI Vision Limited (VVL) Single Chip Video Camera Model
`
`#ASIS 1011; Exhibit 1013, column 13, lines 42—44). One skilled in the art thus would
`
`understand that the operation of the control system for its intended purpose requires the
`
`association of the photosensor array with at least one lens, and that the disclosure at
`
`Column 34, lines 3-6 of a photosensor array 32 in both of the external side view mirrors 4
`
`and 5 includes a lens as well as a photosensor array at both of the external side view
`
`mirrors 4 and 5.
`
`12.
`
`The disclosure in the ‘897 patent of an exemplary preferred embodiment
`
`including a lens 30 associated with a photosensor array 32 would enable one skilled in
`
`

`

`the art to make and use a system that included a photosensor array 32 and a lens 30 in
`
`both of the external side View mirrors 4 and 5, whereby the logic and control circuit may
`
`control the state of the headlamps in response to inputs from both photosensor arrays.
`
`Furthermore, Figure 6B discloses a control system in which headlight control inputs are
`
`provided from multiple sources, in that a photosensor array 32 with lens 30 is used to
`
`control headlight switches 29, while manual vehicle light switches 43 and sensitivity
`
`control circuit 41 are also used to control headlight switches 29. (Note Column 33, lines
`
`48-64.) Thus, one skilled in the art, upon review of the ‘897 patent, would know to use
`
`two photosensor arrays with associated lenses as two headlight control inputs for the
`
`control system.
`
`13.
`
`The system disclosed in the ‘897 patent discloses the determining of peak
`
`values and average values of light imaged onto the photosensor array, and discloses the
`
`controlling of the vehicle headlights as a fimction of the determined peak values and
`
`average values. For example, and as set forth at Column 34, lines 29-64 of the ‘897
`
`patent, the logic and control circuit determines a background forward light signal (Em)
`
`and, if the background forward light signal is less than a threshold level (BN), processes a
`
`sub-array (S(x)) within the array of the photosensor to determine and identify peak light
`
`levels to determine and identify if there are headlights or taillights in the forward field of
`
`view. The outputs of pixels within the sub-array and array are thus processed to
`
`determine if any of the pixels are sensing a vehicle light source in the forward field of
`
`view. The logic and control circuit sets the headlamp state in response to the
`
`determination. The ‘897 patent thus discloses the controlling of the headlamps as a
`
`function of the relative output of the pixels imaging the external sources of light by
`
`

`

`processing outputs of the pixels in the sub-array or sub-arrays to determine if any of the
`
`pixel outputs (relative to the other pixel outputs) are indicative of a headlamp or taillight
`
`in the forward field of view. (Note for example, Figures 13A through D, Figure 7, Figure
`
`8A; Column 25, lines 8-13; Column 26, lines 1-6 and 45-47; Column 36, lines 10-12 and
`
`2 1 -23).
`
`14.
`
`The disclosure in the ‘897 patent taken as a whole and including
`
`disclosure of an exemplary preferred embodiment including a lens 30 associated with a
`
`photosensor array or image sensor 32, as previously discussed herein, would enable one
`
`of ordinary skill in the art to make and use a system that includes two photosensor arrays
`
`and two lenses, whereby the logic and control circuit controls the headlamps as a function
`
`of the relative output of the pixels imaging the external sources of light. Thus, the ‘897
`
`patent discloses enabling descriptive support for every requirement of Count 1.
`
`15.
`
`In my opinion, one skilled in the art would recognize that the subject
`
`matter disclosed in the ‘897 patent encompasses Count 2 of Patent Interference No.
`
`1 05 ,325.
`
`16.
`
`In my opinion, one skilled in the art would understand from the disclosure
`
`of the ‘897 patent that the disclosed optical system is configured to selectively transmit
`
`one or more predetermined spectral bands of light onto the image sensor. The optical
`
`systems described in the ‘897 patent, such as for example at column 15 , line 58 through
`
`column 16, line 15, include the disclosure of a system having a photosensor array 32 that
`
`is responsive to or senses both visible light and near infrared illumination. One skilled in
`
`the art would understand that, if the photosensor array or image sensor is responsive to a
`
`particular spectral band or spectral bands, the lens would be selected to transmit light
`
`

`

`onto the image sensor that at least partially or substantially encompasses the particular
`
`spectral band or bands at which the image sensor is sensitive.
`
`17.
`
`Examples of the normalized spectral response for two suitable versions of
`
`photosensor arrays are shown in Figures 11A and 11B of the ‘897 patent. Both figures
`
`show that the photosensor arrays are selectively responsive to spectral bands at least
`
`partially encompassing visible light and near infrared light. The ‘897 patent states that it
`
`is preferred to have a photosensor that has a peak spectral response at the near infrared
`
`range of the spectrum (such as shown in Figure 11A). Such a peak spectral response is
`
`preferred so that the image sensor is particularly sensitive to the near infrared
`
`illumination provided by vehicle headlights in the field of View. Thus, a lens would be
`
`selected to transmit light in at least the visible spectral band and/or the near infrared
`
`spectral band onto at least a portion of the image sensor.
`
`18.
`
`Furthermore, the ‘897 patent discloses, such as at column 18, lines 7-39,
`
`the use of spectral filters (such as absorption or interference type filters) to filter light
`
`incident on at least a portion of the image sensor. The 08/478,093 application provides
`
`specific examples of interference type spectral filters. (Exhibit 1013, column 18, lines
`
`11-17.) Such spectral filters function to allow a selected spectral band of light (such as,
`
`for example, near infrared light and/or infrared light and/or the like) to pass therethrough,
`
`while at least partially filtering or attenuating other light. Because headlamps of vehicles
`
`emit significant levels of near infrared illumination (see, for example, column 16, lines
`
`12-15 of the ‘897 patent), one skilled in the art would understand from the disclosure of
`
`the ‘897 patent that the spectral filters disclosed in the ‘897 patent would be used with the
`
`forward facing image sensor to enhance the determination and identification of
`
`

`

`headlamps and taillights in the forward field of view. Therefore, at least a portion of the
`
`image sensor of the control system of the ‘897 patent is associated with spectral
`
`selectivity to enhance imaging determination and identification of light sources and, thus,
`
`to enhance determination and identification of headlights and taillights in the field of
`
`view.
`
`19.
`
`In my opinion, one skilled in the art would understand from the disclosure
`
`of the ‘897 patent how the optical system described in the ‘897 patent can be configured
`
`to image light within a predetermined spectral band onto particular portions of the image
`
`sensor. For example, and as shown in Figures 4A and 4B and described at column 34,
`
`lines 43-64 of the ‘897 patent, the image array has sub-arrays that represent
`
`corresponding areas of the forward field of view image. The lens images or focuses the
`
`light information from the field of view onto the image sensor and its sub-arrays (see, for
`
`example, column 9, lines 24-26 of the ‘897 patent). The ‘897 patent discloses how the
`
`optical system can be spectrally selective to image light within a predetermined spectral
`
`band or bands onto particular portions or sub-arrays of the image sensor.
`
`20.
`
`In my opinion, one skilled in the art would understand from the disclosure
`
`of the ‘897 patent that the image processing system processes output signals of the image
`
`sensor and provides a control signal as a function of the output signal of one or more
`
`pixels within one of the portions relative to the output signals of other pixels within the
`
`same portion. The system disclosed in the ‘897 patent discloses the determining of peak
`
`values and average values of light imaged onto the sub-arrays of the photosensor array,
`
`and discloses the controlling of the vehicle headlights as a function of the determined
`
`peak values and average values. For example, and as set forth at column 34, lines 29-64
`
`

`

`of the ‘897 patent, the logic and control circuit determines a background forward light
`
`signal (BLFt) and, if the background forward light signal is less than a threshold level
`
`(BN), processes the pixel outputs of a sub-array (S(x)) within the array of the photosensor
`
`to determine and identify peak light levels, in order to determine and identify if there are
`
`headlights or taillights in the forward field of View.
`
`21.
`
`The outputs of pixels within the sub-array are thus processed to determine
`
`if any of the pixels within the sub-array are sensing a vehicle light source in the forward
`
`field of view. The logic and control circuit sets the high beam state of the headlamps in
`
`response to the determination. The ‘897 patent thus discloses the controlling of the high
`
`beam state of the headlamps as a function of the output of one or more pixels within one
`
`of the portions or sub—arrays relative to the output of other pixels within the same portion
`
`by processing the outputs of pixels in the sub-array or sub-arrays to determine if any of
`
`the pixel outputs (relative to the other pixel outputs in the sub-array) are indicative of a
`
`headlamp or taillight in the forward field of view.
`
`22.
`
`The disclosure in the ‘897 patent taken as a whole and including
`
`disclosure of an exemplary preferred embodiment including a lens 30 associated with a
`
`photosensor array or image sensor 32, as previously discussed herein, would enable one
`
`of ordinary skill in the art to make and use a system that selectively transmits one or more
`
`predetermined spectral bands of light onto the image sensor and images light within one
`
`or more predetermined spectral bands onto particular portions or sub-arrays of the image
`
`sensor, whereby the logic and control circuit controls the high beam state of the
`
`headlamps as a function of the output of one or more pixels within one of the portions
`
`

`

`relative to the output of other pixels within the same portion. Thus, the ‘897 patent
`
`discloses enabling descriptive support for every requirement of Count 2.
`
`23.
`
`In signing this Declaration, I recognize that the Declaration will be filed as
`
`evidence in a contested case before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the
`
`United States Patent and Trademark Office.
`
`I also recognize that I may be subject to
`
`cross-examination in the case and that cross-examination will take place within the
`
`United States. If cross-examination is required of me, I will appear for cross-examination
`
`within the United States during the time allotted for cross-examination.
`
`I hereby declare that all statements made herein of my own knowledge are true;
`
`that all statements made herein on information and belief are believed to be true; and,
`
`further, that these statements were made with the knowledge that willful false statements
`
`and the like are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under Section 1001 of Title
`
`18 of the United States Code.
`
`Further Affiant sayeth not.
`
`Dated: NoowQA/c 14-
`
`
`
`fltMmQSNQM-V
`
`9‘0 O < '
`
`Dr. Niall Lynam
`
`10
`
`

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