Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
`IPR2015-00203
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`Paper No. ________
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_______________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_____________
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`
`
`HUAWEI DEVICE USA, INC.
`Petitioner
`v.
`
`SPH AMERICA, LLC
`Patent Owner
`
`
`
`Patent No. 8,532,231
`Filing Date: Nov. 9, 2011
`Issue Date: Sept. 10, 2013
`
`Title: Apparatus for Transmitting and Receiving Data to Provide High-Speed Data
`Communication and Method Thereof
`_______________
`
`Inter Partes Review No. IPR2015-00203
`____________________________________________________________
`
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`UNDER 35 U.S.C. §§ 311-319 AND 37 C.F.R. § 42.100 ET. SEQ.
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
`IPR2015-00203
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`LIST OF EXHIBITS...................................................................................... iii 
`
`NOTICE OF LEAD AND BACKUP COUNSEL .......................................... 1 
`
`NOTICE OF EACH REAL-PARTY-IN-INTEREST ..................................... 1 
`
`NOTICE OF RELATED MATTERS ............................................................. 1 
`
`NOTICE OF SERVICE INFORMATION ...................................................... 2 
`
`STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS ........................................................ 2 
`
`GROUNDS FOR STANDING ........................................................................ 3 
`
`STATEMENT OF PRECISE RELIEF REQUESTED ................................... 3 
`
`THRESHOLD REQUIREMENT FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW ............... 4 
`
`STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR RELIEF REQUESTED ........................ 5 
`
`I. 
`
`Technical Introduction ..................................................................................... 5 
`
`A. 
`
`B. 
`
`C. 
`
`Expert Discussion of the Technology ................................................... 5 
`
`Brief Description of the ’231 Patent ..................................................... 5 
`
`Brief Description of the Prior Art ......................................................... 6 
`
`II. 
`
`Construction of the Claims .............................................................................. 9 
`
`A. 
`
`B. 
`
`C. 
`
`D. 
`
`E. 
`
`Claim Term: “signal symbol” ............................................................... 9 
`
`Claim Term: “long preamble” ............................................................. 10 
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`Claim Term: “determination unit” ...................................................... 11 
`
`Claim Term: “space time block coding” ............................................. 12 
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`Claim Term: “guard interval” ............................................................. 12 
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`III.  Claim-By-Claim Explanation of Challenges ................................................. 12 
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
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`A.  Ground 1. Claims 16 and 47 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103
`over N‘085 (Ex. 1009) in view of Alamouti (Ex. 1003). .................... 12 
`
`B. 
`
`Ground 2. Claims 35, 48-50, 54, 55, and 56 are unpatentable under 35
`U.S.C. §103 over N‘085 in view of Alamouti and the 802.11a
`Standard. .............................................................................................. 20 
`
`C.  Ground 3. Claims 20, 40, 51, and 57 are unpatentable under 35
`U.S.C. §103 over N‘085 in view of Alamouti, the 802.11a Standard
`and Aoki. ............................................................................................. 33 
`
`D.  Ground 4. Claims 20, 40, 51, and 57 are unpatentable under 35
`U.S.C. § 103 over N’085 in view of Alamouti, the 802.11a Standard,
`and Gummadi ...................................................................................... 39 
`
`E. 
`
`F. 
`
`Ground 5. Claims 16 and 47 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103
`over Liu (Ex. 1012) in view of Jeon (Ex. 1006) ................................. 43 
`
`Ground 6. Claims 35, 48-50, 54, 55, and 56 are unpatentable under 35
`U.S.C. § 103 over Liu in view of Jeon and the 802.11a Standard ...... 47 
`
`G.  Ground 7. Claims 20, 40, 51, and 57 are unpatentable under 35
`U.S.C. § 103 over Liu in view of Jeon, the 802.11a Standard and Aoki55 
`
`IV.  Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 59 
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ........................................................................ 1 
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
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`LIST OF EXHIBITS
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`1004
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`1005
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`1006
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`1007
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`Exhibit No. Exhibit
`1001
`U.S. Patent No. 8,532,231 (“the ’231 patent”)
`1002
`Declaration of Dr. Timothy Williams (“Williams Declaration”)
`S. M. Alamouti, "A Simple Transmit Diversity Technique For
`1003
`Wireless Communications," IEEE J. on Select Areas in
`Communications, Vol. 16, No. 8, October 1998. (“Alamouti”)
`Rosdahl, “High Throughput Study Group WG Report and Meeting
`Slides”, IEEE 802.11-02/532r0 (Sep. 2002) (“Rosdahl”)
`Hillman, “Minutes of High Throughput Study Group Meetings”,
`IEEE 802.11-02/607r0 (Sept. 2002) (“Hillman”)
`Jeon, et al., "Optimal Combining of STBC and Spatial Multiplexing
`for MIMO-OFDM," IEEE 802.11-03/0513r0 (Jul. 2003) (“Jeon”)
`Boer, et al., “Backwards compatibility – How to make a MIMO-
`OFDM system backwards compatible and coexistence with 11a/g at
`the link level”, IEEE 802.11-03/714r0 (Sept. 2003) (“Boer”)
`Aoki, et al., "New preamble structure for AGC in a MIMO-OFDM
`system," IEEE 802.11-04/046r1 (Jan. 2004) (“Aoki”)
`U.S. Patent 7,577,085 to Narasimhan (“N‘085”)
`IEEE 802.11a Standard (1999)
`U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0054313 (“Gummadi”)
`Liu & Li, “A MIMO System with Backwards Compatibility for
`OFDM based WLANs”, 4th IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing
`Advances in Wireless Communications, 2003. (“Liu”)
`First Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement. SPH America,
`LLC v. Huawei Technologies, Co. Ltd., et al., Case 13-CV-2323-
`
`1008
`
`1009
`1010
`1011
`1012
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`1013
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`1014
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`1015
`1016
`1017
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`1018
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`CAB-NLS (U.S. Dist. Ct. S. Cal.) filed January 3, 2014 (“Huawei
`Complaint”)
`First Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement. SPH America,
`LLC v. ZTE (USA), Inc., Case 13-CV-2326-CAB-NLS (U.S. Dist.
`Ct. S. Cal.) filed January 9, 2014 (“ZTE Complaint”)
`U.S. Provisional No. 60/500,438
`U.S. Patent No. 8,565,346 (“the ’346 patent”)
`Ware, et al., “HTSG Requirements – Scope and Purpose”, IEEE
`802.11-02/5670r0, pp. 1-8 (Sept. 2002)
`Tarokh, et al., “Space–time codes for high data rate wireless
`communication: Performance criterion and code construction",
`IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, v.44, issue 2, pp. 744-
`765 (Mar. 1998)
`Foschini “Layered Space-Time Architecture for Wireless
`Communication in a Fading Environment When Using Multi-
`Element Antennas”, Bell Laboratories Technical Journal: 41–59
`(October 1996).
`Gorokhov, et al., “MIMO-OFDM for high throughput WLAN:
`experiemental results”, IEEE 802.11-02-708rl, pp. 1-23 (Nov. 2002)
`Mahadevappa, et al. “Receiver Sensitivity Tables for MIMO-OFDM
`802.11n,” IEEE 802.11-03/845r0, pp. 1-39 (Nov. 2003)
`Yu, et al., “ETRI Proposal to IEEE 802.11 TGn”, IEEE 802.11-
`04/0922r0, pp. 1-54 (Aug. 2004)
`Yu, et al., “ETRI proposal specification for IEEE 802.11 TGn”,
`IEEE 802.11-04/0923r0, pp. 1-27 (Aug. 2004)
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`1019
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`1020
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`1021
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`1022
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`1023
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
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`NOTICE OF LEAD AND BACKUP COUNSEL
`Lead Counsel: Paul S. Hunter (Reg. No. 44,787); Tel: 858.847.6733
`
`Backup Counsel: Christopher C. Bolten (Reg. No. 61,531); Tel: 858.847.6887
`
`Backup Counsel: Troy Smith (Reg. No. 62,349); Tel: 312.832.5389
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`Address: Foley & Lardner LLP, 3579 Valley Centre Dr., Suite 300, San Diego,
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`CA 92130. FAX: 858.792.6773.
`
`Backup Counsel: Steven A. Moore (Reg. No. 55,462); Tel: 619.544.3112
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`Backup Counsel: Richard W. Thill (Reg. No. 53,686); Tel: 619.544.3124
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`Address: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 501 W. Broadway Suite 1100,
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`San Diego, CA 92101. FAX: 619.236.1995.
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`NOTICE OF EACH REAL-PARTY-IN-INTEREST
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`Real-party-in-interests for this Petition are Huawei Device USA, Inc., 5700
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`Tennyson Parkway, Suite #600, Plano, Texas 75024 and ZTE (USA), Inc., 2425
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`North Central Expressway, Suite 323, Richardson, Texas 75080 (“Petitioner”).
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`NOTICE OF RELATED MATTERS
`
`The ‘231 patent is presently the subject of several lawsuits brought by SPH
`
`America, LLC in the Southern District of California: SPH America, LLC (“SPH”)
`
`v. AT&T Mobility, LLC, Case No. 3:13-cv-02318-CAB, SPH v. Sprint Spectrum
`
`L.P., Case No. 3:13-cv-02319-CAB, SPH v. Research in Motion, Ltd., Case No.
`
`3:13-cv-02320-CAB, SPH v. Huawei Technologies, Co., LTD et al., Case No.
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`3:13-cv-02323-CAB, SPH v. T-Mobile US, Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-02324-CAB,
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`SPH v. Verizon Communications et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-02325-CAB, SPH v. ZTE
`
`(USA), Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-02326-CAB. A separate IPR, IPR2015-00221, is
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`being filed for U.S. 8,565,346, which is related to the ‘231 patent and is also in
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`these litigations.
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`NOTICE OF SERVICE INFORMATION
`
`Please address correspondence to counsel at the address above. Petitioner
`
`consents to electronic service at HuaweiSPHIPR@foley.com and
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`docket_ip@pillsburylaw.com.
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`STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS
`1. The coding scheme “space time block coding” (STBC) is prior art to the
`
`‘231 patent. (Ex. 1003, pp. 1451-1458.)
`
`2. In 2002, IEEE formed a high throughput study group (HTSG) for increasing
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`data rates beyond those of 802.11a/g. (Ex. 1004, pp. 1-47.) HTSG held a
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`meeting in Sept. 2002 and Heejung Yu from ETRI, an inventor of the ’231
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`patent, attended. (Ex. 1005, pp. 1-10.)
`
`3. In July 2003, ETRI and KAIST submitted a presentation to IEEE showing
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`MIMO transmission with spatial multiplexing, MIMO transmission with
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`STBC, and a combination of both. The three ETRI authors of the
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`presentation are named inventors of the ‘231 patent. (Ex. 1006, pp. 1-14.)
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`4. In September 2003, Agere submitted a presentation to IEEE showing a
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`frame configuration including a short preamble (ST), a first long preamble
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`with a 1.6 µsec guard interval, a legacy signal symbol (Signal), a second
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`signal symbol (Sign2) with MIMO information, and a second long preamble
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`with a 1.6 µsec guard interval. (Ex. 1007, pp. 1-26)
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`5. In January 2004, Toshiba submitted a presentation to IEEE showing a
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`modified version of Agere’s frame where a second short preamble is added
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`between the second signal symbol and the second long preamble. (Ex. 1008,
`
`p. 5) The Toshiba presentation shows guard intervals precede each long
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`preamble that follows the second signal (Sig2). (Ex. 1008, pp. 3-4.)
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`GROUNDS FOR STANDING
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`SPH alleged that the real-parties-in-interest infringed certain claims of the ’231
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`patent on January 3 and 9, 2014. (Ex. 1013, Ex. 1014). The real-parties-in-interest
`
`have not, prior to the filing of this petition, filed a civil action challenging the
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`validity of the ’231 patent. Petitioner hereby certifies that the patent for which
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`review is sought is available for inter partes review and the petitioner is not barred
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`or estopped from challenging the patent claims on the grounds identified herein.
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`STATEMENT OF PRECISE RELIEF REQUESTED
`
`Petitioner requests that Claims 16, 20, 35, 40, 47-51, and 54-57 of U.S. Patent
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`No. 8,532,231(Ex. 1001) be canceled based on the following grounds:
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`Ground 1. Claims 16 and 47 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103 over
`
`N‘085 (Ex. 1009) in view of Alamouti (Ex. 1003).
`
`Ground 2. Claims 35, 48-50, 54, 55, and 56 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C.
`
`§103 over N’085 in view of Alamouti and the 802.11a Standard (Ex. 1010).
`
`Ground 3. Claims 20, 40, 51, and 57 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103
`
`over N’085 in view of Alamouti, the 802.11a Standard, and Aoki (Ex. 1008).
`
`Ground 4. Claims 20, 40, 51, and 57 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103
`
`over N‘085 in view of Alamouti, the 802.11a Standard, and Gummadi (Ex. 1011).
`
`Ground 5. Claims 16 and 47 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103 over Liu
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`(Ex. 1012) in view of Jeon (Ex. 1006).
`
`Ground 6. Claims 35, 48-50, 54, 55, and 56 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C.
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`§103 over Liu in view of Jeon and the 802.11a Standard.
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`Ground 7. Claims 20, 40, 51, and 57 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103
`
`over Liu in view of Jeon, the 802.11a Standard, and Aoki.
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`THRESHOLD REQUIREMENT FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`A petition for inter partes review must demonstrate “a reasonable likelihood
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`that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged
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`in the petition.”1 The Petition meets this threshold. Each of the elements of
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`Claims 16, 20, 35, 40, 47-51, and 54-57 of the ’231 patent are taught as explained
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`1 Public Law 112-29, § 6(a), amending 35 U.S.C. § 314(a).
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
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`below in the proposed challenges, with an appropriate motivation to combine
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`where the proposed rejection is under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a).
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`STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR RELIEF REQUESTED
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`I.
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`Technical Introduction
`
`A.
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`Expert Discussion of the Technology
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`A technical introduction is provided in the Williams Declaration. (Ex. 1002, ¶¶
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`32-65).
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`B.
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`Brief Description of the ’231 Patent
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`The ’231 patent describes “an apparatus for transmitting and receiving data
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`while being compatible with the conventional 802.11a orthogonal frequency
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`divisional multiplexing (OFDM) method.” (1:42-45) It also describes a frame
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`generator that generates a “signal symbol [that] is configured by combining 24 bits
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`in a like manner of the conventional [IEEE 802.11a] signal symbol.” (10:43-44)
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`However, “[a]n R4 bit of four rate bits is used for distinguishing between the
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`conventional IEEE 802.11a mode and the multiple antenna OFDM mode.” (9:66-
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`10:1) If the R4 bit is set to the multiple antenna mode, “a reserved bit in the
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`conventional [signal] symbol configuration is redefined as an antenna bit A, and
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`the bit is used for discerning between [spatial division multiplexing] SDM and the
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`[space time block coding] STBC.” (9:63-65)
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`Brief Description of the Prior Art
`C.
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`Prior art discussed in this petition includes N’085 (Ex. 1009), Alamouti (Ex.
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`1003), Jeon (Ex. 1006), the IEEE 802.11a Standard (Ex. 1010), Aoki (Ex. 1008),
`
`Gummadi (Ex. 1011), and Liu (Ex. 1012).
`
`1.
`
`The N’085 Reference (Ex. 1009)
`N’085 has a priority date of June 3, 2002, which is more than 30 months prior
`
`to the Korean application filing date of December 23, 2004, to which the ’231
`
`patent claims priority. N’085 is directed to the very same problem and solution as
`
`the ’231 patent. N’085, 2:6-14 states (with emphasis added):
`
`The present high speed data wireless transmission standards in the
`802.11 family, including the commercially important IEEE 802.11a &
`802.11g standards do not account for transmit diversity. Therefore, it
`would be advantageous to incorporate transmit diversity in a
`wireless transmission system that is backwards compatible with the
`IEEE 802.11a & 802.11g standards, as well as provide for a wireless
`diversity system capable of operating in multicarrier encoding
`environments generally.
`The problem of incorporating “transmit diversity in a wireless system that is
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`backwards compatible with the IEEE 802.11a” and g is the same problem that the
`
`‘231 patent attempts to solve. Further, N’085 uses the same solution as the ’231
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`patent to insure backwards compatibility with IEEE 802.11a. N’085, 5:2-15 states
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`(with emphasis added):
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`… the Signal field 215 also includes a binary semaphore or flag
`TXDIV 217, which occupies the currently Reserved bit of the
`standards compliant Signal field 115. A TXDIV=TRUE setting
`indicates that the data packet follows the diversity data packet format
`200. The advantage of using the Reserved bit ensures that legacy
`standards compliant transceivers encountering or intercepting a
`data packet formatted in accordance with the format 200 will
`correctly train to the PLCP preamble 110 and perceive the Signal field
`215, but ignore it if the TXDIV flag 217 is set, because these legacy
`devices will perceive such packet as being erroneous and, consistent
`with existing IEEE 802.11a & 802.11g standards, will not attempt
`further decoding or recovery operations.
`The Alamouti Reference (Ex. 1003)
`2.
`
`The Alamouti Reference published in October 1998. Alamouti, which is
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`incorporated by reference in N’085 (Ex. 1009, 1:55-59), first described space-time
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`block coding and recognized that space frequency encoding and space-time block
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`coding are interchangeable (“the encoding is done in space and time (space–time
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`coding). The encoding, however, may also be done in space and frequency. Instead
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`of two adjacent symbol periods, two adjacent carriers may be used (space–
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`frequency coding).”) (Ex. 1003, p. 1453)
`
`3.
`
`The Jeon Reference (Ex. 1006)
`
`The Jeon Reference was submitted to IEEE on July 2003, which is 17
`
`months prior to the Korean priority filing of the ‘231 patent. The authors of Jeon
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`include three employees from ETRI, all named inventors of the ’231 patent, and
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`two employees from KAIST. Jeon shows MIMO transmission with spatial
`
`multiplexing, MIMO transmission with STBC, and a combination of both.
`
`4.
`
`The IEEE 802.11a Standard (Ex. 1010)
`
`The ‘231 patent acknowledges the IEEE 802.11a wireless data communication
`
`standard as “conventional.” (Ex. 1001, 1:35) The ’231 patent states the “present
`
`invention provides an apparatus for transmitting and receiving data while being
`
`compatible with the conventional IEEE 802.11a orthogonal frequency division
`
`multiplexing (OFDM) method.” (Ex. 1001, 1:42-45)
`
`5.
`
`The Aoki Reference (Ex. 1008)
`
`Aoki is a presentation given by employees of Toshiba Corp. to the IEEE in
`
`January 2004, more than 11 months before the priority filing of the ‘231 patent and
`
`more than 12 months before the filing date of the ’231 patent’s corresponding PCT
`
`application. The presentation related to increasing data speed while maintaining
`
`backwards compatibility with 802.11a. (Ex. 1008, p. 2) The presentation offered a
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`“new preamble structure” for MIMO systems. (Ex. 1008, p. 4)
`
`6.
`
`The Gummadi Reference (Ex. 1011)
`
`Gummadi claims priority to September 5, 2003, which is more than 15 months
`
`prior to the Korean priority filing of the ‘231 patent. Gummadi is entitled
`
`“Scalable and Backwards Compatible Preamble for OFDM Systems.” It is
`
`directed to estimating channels in a MIMO system. (Ex. 1011, Para. 0008) More
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`specifically, it describes the use of a “legacy signal field” and long sequences from
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`MIMO transmitters. (Ex. 1011, Para. 0034)
`
`7.
`
`The Liu Reference (Ex. 1012)
`
`Liu is an IEEE paper dated June 2003, which is 18 months prior to the Korean
`
`priority filing of the ‘231 patent. Liu describes a preamble design for a MIMO
`
`system “that is backwards compatible with its single-input single-output (SISO)
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`counterpart as specified by the IEEE 802.11a standard.” (Ex. 1012, p. 130)
`
`II.
`
`Construction of the Claims2
`For purposes of this petition, the claim terms are presumed to take on their
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`ordinary and customary meaning, except as pointed out in the following. The ’231
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`patent specifically states: “The present invention provides an apparatus for
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`transmitting and receiving data while being compatible with the conventional
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`IEEE 802.11a orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) method.” (Ex.
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`1001, 1:42-45, emphasis added.) Thus, the terms of the ’231 patent should be read
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`in context of the “conventional” IEEE 802.11a standard. (Ex. 1002, ¶¶ 68-75)
`
`A.
`
`Claim Term: “signal symbol”
`
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`2 Petitioner reserves the right to propose different terms for claim construction and
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`different claim constructions in the related district court cases listed above.
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`The’231 patent directly refers to a “signal symbol” by the same convention
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`used in the 802.11a Standard, which is “SIGNAL” in all capital letters. (See, e.g.,
`
`Ex, 1001, Figs. 5 and 6, and 7:61) According to the ‘231 patent:
`
`The signal symbol generated by the frame generator comprises a
`transmit mode identifier for determining whether a transmit mode is a
`single antenna transmit mode or a multiple-input/multiple-output
`(MIMO) mode.
`(Ex, 1001, 3:54-57, emphasis added.)
`
`The transmit mode identifier uses an R4 bit of the signal symbols in a
`frame of IEEE 802.11a. A reserved bit of the signal symbol is used
`as a bit for determining whether the transmit mode uses a spatial
`division multiplexing (SDM) method or a space-time block code
`(STBC) method.
`(Ex, 1001, 3:58-63, emphasis added)
`
`Thus, in the context of the claims of the ’231 patent, the term “signal symbol”
`
`would be understood by a person of skill in the art to mean the SIGNAL of the
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`802.11a standard with the reserved bit R redefined as an antenna bit A and encoded
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`to indicate whether space time block coding or space division multiplexing is used.
`
`(Ex. 1002, ¶¶ 76-84; See, Ex. 1010, p. 13)
`
`B.
`
`Claim Term: “long preamble”
`
`The claims of the ‘231 patent recite “long preamble,” including both a “first
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`long preamble” and a “second long preamble.” The term “long preamble” is a
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
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`term of art used in the 802.11a standard. (Ex. 1002, ¶85) In the context of the
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`patent, a “first” long preamble refers to an 802.11a frame structure used for
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`channel estimation of signals from an antenna. (Ex. 1002, ¶¶86-88) A second long
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`preamble refers to a frame structure used for multiple-input/multiple-output
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`(MIMO) channel estimation on subcarriers of signals from a second antenna. (Ex.
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`1002, ¶89; Ex. 1001, 6:24-27)
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`C.
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`Claim Term: “determination unit”
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`Claims 16, 20, 35, and 40 of the ‘231 patent include “determination unit.” For
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`example, Claim 16 states that “a determination unit [is] configured to determine,
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`based on information in the signal symbol, whether the frame is transmitted using
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`space time block coding.” (Ex. 1001, 16:1-3) The term “determination unit” only
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`appears in the claims of ‘231 patent. There is no written description for the term
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`“determination unit” in the specification of the ‘231 patent. The specification does
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`describe allocating the reserved bit in the legacy signal symbol to determine
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`whether the frame is transmitted using space time block coding (STBC). (Ex. 1001,
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`9:62-65.) However, the specification does not describe a unit or device that
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`performs this function. Based on the context of the claim and the knowledge of a
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`person of skill in the art, the term “determination unit” should be interpreted to
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`mean a device that determines if the frame is transmitted using STBC based on
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`information in the signal symbol. (Ex. 1002. ¶90)
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`Claim Term: “space time block coding”
`D.
`
`All of the subject claims use the term “space time block coding” (STBC).
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`STBC is a term of art in telecommunications. A STBC system transmits multiple
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`copies of the same stream over multiple antennas. The copies are received by one
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`or more antennas and combined to generate an optimal signal. (Ex. 1002, ¶91)
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`E.
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`Claim Term: “guard interval”
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`A guard interval is a term of art in telecommunications that refers to one or
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`more bits in a frame used to ensure that distinct transmissions do not interfere with
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`one another. (Ex. 1002, ¶¶93-96)
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`III. Claim-By-Claim Explanation of Challenges
`
`A. Ground 1. Claims 16 and 47 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C.
`§103 over N‘085 (Ex. 1009) in view of Alamouti (Ex. 1003).
`
`As detailed below, Claims 16 and 47 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103 by
`
`N’085 in view of Alamouti. Annotated Fig. 2 of N’085, provided below, shows
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`the correspondence to claim terms of Claim 16. The claim charts that follow
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`provide additional details of how N’085 and Alamouti show the features recited by
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`Claims 16 and 47.
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`Patent No. 8,532,231 - Petition For Inter Partes Review
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`Fig. 2 of N’085
`
`
`“Short preamble”
`and “1st long
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`preamble”
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`
`
`
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`“signal symbol”
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`“2nd long preamble”
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`“data symbols”
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`
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`
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`Claim Terms
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`The N’085 reference discusses space frequency encoding, but does not use the
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`term “space time block coding.” Alamouti, however, describes space time block
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`coding. One of skill in the art would appreciate the ability to select either space
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`frequency encoding or space-time block coding. Alamouti, which is incorporated
`
`by reference in N’085 (Ex. 1009, 1:55-59), recognized such as a choice (“the
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`encoding is done in space and time (space–time coding). The encoding, however,
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`may also be done in space and frequency. Instead of two adjacent symbol periods,
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`two adjacent carriers may be used (space–frequency coding).”) (Ex. 1003, p. 1453;
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`Ex. 1002, ¶¶108-110) Accordingly, one of skill in the art would have been
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`motivated to combine the N’085 reference with the space-time block coding of
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`Alamouti. (Ex. 1002, ¶¶139-143)
`
`’231 Claim 16
`16. A receiving apparatus
`in a wireless
`communication system,
`the apparatus comprising:
`
`a receiving unit
`configured to receive a
`frame comprising
`sequentially
`
`N’085 and Alamouti
`“FIG. 5 shows a transceiver 500 adapted for wireless
`data transmission consistent with the present invention
`as well as IEEE 802.11a & 802.11g standards,
`incorporating the transmitter 300 and receiver 400.”
`(Ex. 1009, 9:61-64; Ex. 1002, ¶128)
`Fig. 4 shows receiver 400. Fig. 2 shows a data packet
`that is received by a receiving unit.
`“As shown in FIG. 4, a receiver logic unit 422 is
`communicatively coupled to the output of the
`conversion unit 415 to monitor the frequency domain
`composite signal 417 to recognize and even decode
`certain portions of a data packet or PLCP frame, such
`as the PLCP preamble 110 and the Signal field 115 or
`215.” (Ex. 1009, 9:4-9; Ex. 1002, ¶128)
`
`
`a short preamble,
`
`a first long preamble,
`
`a signal symbol,
`
`a second long preamble,
`
`
`The PLCP preamble110 has “10 short training
`symbols.” (Ex. 1009, 3:48-54)
`“The PLCP preamble 110 in this embodiment is used
`for the same receiver training purposes as described
`above with reference to FIG. 1.” (Ex. 1009, 4:64-66;
`Ex. 1002, ¶¶131,136)
`The PLCP preamble110 has “two long training
`symbols” (Ex. 1009, 3:54-58; Ex. 1002. ¶131)
`“The Signal field 215, which immediately follows the
`standards compliant PLCP preamble 110, is generally
`similar to the Signal field 115 described above.” (Ex.
`1009, 4:66-5:2; Ex. 1002, ¶132)
`“Immediately following the Signal field 215 is the
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`’231 Claim 16
`
`and a data symbol,
`
`wherein the short
`preamble comprises a
`symbol for
`synchronization; and
`
`a determination unit
`configured to determine,
`based on information in
`the signal symbol,
`whether the frame is
`transmitted using space
`time block coding.
`
`N’085 and Alamouti
`packet format 200 is a second training preamble 218.”
`(Ex. 1009, 5:56-57; Ex. 1002, ¶133-134)
`“In the present embodiment, though not required, the
`second preamble 218 includes two long training
`symbols in sequence.” (Ex. 1009, 6:1-3)
`“Referring to FIG. 2, immediately following the
`second preamble is the data field 250 of the data
`packet 200 of the present embodiment.” (Ex. 1009,
`6:14-16; Ex. 1002, ¶135) See also 120 and 220 in
`Figure 2 of N’085.
`“The PLCP preamble 110 includes 10 short training
`symbols in order for an incident receiver to self-adjust
`the gain of the received baseband signal so that the
`received signal's amplitude is within the optimal range
`for analog-to-digital conversion, recover OFDM
`symbol timing and initiate coarse carrier signal
`frequency acquisition as is well known in the art.” (Ex.
`1009, 3:48-54; Ex. 1002, ¶136)
`“The Signal field 215 also includes a binary
`semaphore or flag TXDIV 217, which occupies the
`currently Reserved bit of the standards compliant
`Signal field 115. A TXDIV=TRUE setting indicates
`that the data packet follows the diversity data packet
`format 200.” (Ex. 1009, 5:2-9; Ex. 1002, ¶137-143)
`“As shown in FIG. 4, a receiver logic unit 422 is
`communicatively coupled to the output of the
`conversion unit 415 to monitor the frequency domain
`composite signal 417 to recognize and even decode
`certain portions of a data packet or PLCP frame, such
`as the PLCP preamble 110 and the Signal field 115 or
`215. … The receiver 400 next receives the Signal field
`115 shown in FIG. 1 or 215 shown in FIG. 2. The
`receive logic unit 422 perceives and decodes the
`Signal field, and if it fails to detect the TXDIV 217
`flag being set in the Signal field (step 705), the
`receiver logic unit 422 assumes that a standards
`compliant PLCP frame according to frame format 100
`is being received and conventional reception and
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`’231 Claim 16
`
`N’085 and Alamouti
`processing techniques consistent with the IEEE
`802.11a & 802.11g standards will be employed. …
`If, however, the TXDIV flag 705 is perceived as set by
`the receiver logic unit 422, it assumes the inbound data
`packet presented by the frequency domain composite
`signal 417 emanates from a TX diversity transmitter
`and assumes the inbound data packet is formatted in
`accordance with format 200 (FIG. 2), and begins
`second transmission unit retraining (steps 710-728 of
`FIG. 7) and recovery of the Service field 120 using
`space-frequency encoding.” (Ex. 1009, 9:4-34)
`“[T]he encoding is done in space and time (space–time
`coding). The encoding, however, may also be done in
`space and frequency. Instead of two adjacent symbol
`periods, two adjacent carriers may be used (space–
`frequency coding).” (Ex. 1003, p. 1453)
`
`
`
`Thus, as shown in the above chart, N’085 describes a data frame with a short
`
`preamble, a first long preamble, a signal symbol, a second long preamble, and a
`
`data symbol, as required by Claim 16. Claim 16 also recites a “determination unit”
`
`to determine “based on information in the signal symbol, whether the frame is
`
`transmitted using space time block coding.” N’085 discloses that signal field 215
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`has a “semaphore” or “flag” that when set indicates the data packet follows a
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`“diversity data packet format.” (Ex. 1009, 5:2-9 and 9:4-34) Hence, exactly as
`
`Claim 16, N’085 determines transmission diversity, e.g., use of MIMO
`
`transmitters, based on information in the “signal symbol.” (Ex. 1002, ¶132)
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`Independent Claim 47 includes features that are similar to those in Claim 16.
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`Independent Claim 47 is directed to a method of receiving the frame described
`
`in Claim 16. In addition, Claim 47 incudes “estimating a channel between a
`
`transmitter and a receiver using the second long preamble to demodulate the data
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`field.” N’085 describes estimating a channel using the second long preamble in
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`the same way as Claim 47. (Ex. 1009, 6:1-34)
`
`’231 Claim 47
`47. A wireless
`communication method,
`comprising:
`receiving a frame
`comprising:
`
`N’