`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`AMERICAN NATIONAL MANUFACTURING INC.,
`Petitioner,
`
`V.
`
`SELECT COMFORT CORPORATION,
`Patent Owner.
`
`Case No. IPR2019—00500
`
`Patent No. 9,737,154 B2
`
`DECLARATION OF PAUL MAHONEY
`
`IN SUPPORT OF PATENT OWNER’S RESPONSE
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`Sleep Number Corp.
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`Sleep Number Corp.
`EXHIBIT 2031
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`1, Paul James Mahoney, declare as follows:
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`1.
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`I am over the age of 21 years and am fully competent to make this
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`Declaration. I make the following statements based on personal knowledge and, if
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`called to testify to them, could and would do so.
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`2.
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`I received my Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from the
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`University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio in 1966.
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`I also received a Masters in
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`Biomedical Engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in
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`1972.
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`3.
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`l was employed at Select Comfort Corporation, which is now known as
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`Sleep Number Corporation (referred to herein as “Sleep Number”), as an engineer
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`and later as Senior Product Design Engineer from June 1995 to July 201 1. Prior to
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`joining Sleep Number, I was the Director of Research and Development at Aequitron
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`Medical.
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`1 also worked as the Manager of Corporate Research Laboratories at 3M.
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`4.
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`5.
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`A copy of my current CV is attached as Appendix A.
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`While at Sleep Number, I was heavily involved in the product research,
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`development, and design of air control systems sold as part of the company’s
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`adjustable air mattress systems. Sleep Number refers to those systems as their
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`proprietary Sleep Number® beds. As part of my job, we did extensive testing on
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`different designs. We regularly used test subjects to try out new concepts or designs.
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`We also regularly received relevant customer feedback, which would inform our
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`design choices and strategies.
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`6.
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`I was an inventor in the field of adjustable mattresses.
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`I am the named
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`inventor of several United States patents, including U.S. Patent No. 5,904,172 (“the
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`‘172 Patent”), U.S. Patent No. 9,737,154 (“the ‘154 Patent”), and U.S. Patent No.
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`8,769,747 (“the ‘747 Patent”). Each of these patents is in the field of adjustable air
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`beds.
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`7.
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`The ‘172 Patent teaches a novel system for adjustable air beds that
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`allows for continuous monitoring and adjusting of the pressure in an air bladder
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`within a mattress in order to adjust the firmness for a desired user. Specifically,
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`pressure is monitored from a valve enclosure assembly, which is remotely located
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`from the
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`air bladder.
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`The pressure
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`is monitored before
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`and during
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`inflation/deflation, allowing the system to inflate/deflate the air bladder until the
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`pressure sensed within an air chamber
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`in the valve enclosure assembly is
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`substantially equal to the desired pressure, at which point inflation/deflation stops.
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`8.
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`The purpose behind adjustable air beds, and the reason Sleep Number
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`believed consumers would purchase its adjustable air beds,
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`is that users can
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`individualize or customize the mattress, as they desire,
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`to his/her preferred
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`firmness—22a, they can change the firmness at any time. As such, each user may
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`make a selection of his/her desired pressure, which I refer to as the desired pressure
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`setpoint.
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`9.
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`The degree or magnitude of pressure adjustments in an adjustable air
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`bed are very small. As an initial matter, the air bladders in the adjustable beds
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`usually have a fully deflated pressure of 0.0 or 0.05 PSI and a fully inflated pressure
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`of around 0.6 PS1. While other ranges are possible, those skilled in the art of
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`adjustable air mattresses would appreciate that each pressure adjustment would be a
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`fraction of a fraction of a PSI. For example, Sleep Number beds have sleep settings
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`or desired pressure setpoints that range from 0 to 100 in increments of 5 (i.e. 0, 5,
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`10, 15, etc.). Accordingly, a sleep setting of 0 is indicative of a fully deflated air
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`bladder, i. e. 0.0 or 0.05 PS1, and a sleep setting of 100 is indicative of a fully inflated
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`air bladder, i.e., 0.6 PSI.
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`10. We did several experiments at Sleep Number and we found that users
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`can generally appreciate the difference in firmness between pressure changes of as
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`little as 0.01 to 0.03 PSI.
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`For example, we found that users could generally
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`appreciate the difference in firmness between a sleep setting of 30 (approx. 0.18 PSI)
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`and 35 (approx. 0.21 PSI).
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`In fact, most users could tell a huge difference between
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`each sleep setting when in the 20-40 (approx. 0.12 to 0.24 PSI) sleep setting range.
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`However, due to the pressure transducers available to us it was difficult
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`to
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`consistently achieve a sleep setting with increments smaller than 0.03 PSI.
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`In
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`addition, as the pressure increased, e.g., when approaching sleep settings of 80
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`(approx. 0.48 PSI), users could not always appreciate the difference between
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`pressure adjustments smaller than 0.03 PSI. Accordingly, while different increments
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`may be used, we consistently used pressure adjustments in increments of 0.03 PSI.
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`11.
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`Through my experience in the bed industry, I understood that most
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`individuals had a predisposition to a certain firmness, e.g., sofi, medium, or firm.
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`Indeed, in my experience most users or test subjects preferred a firmness within the
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`20-40 sleep setting range, or 0.12 to 0.24 PS1.
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`It is my opinion, through my work
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`and experiences, that users often toggle between desired pressures that are very close
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`to one another.
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`In other words, a user preferring a soft to medium firmness may
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`change from a Sleep Number setting of 30 to 35 (or vice versa), which as discussed
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`above represents a very small change of .03 PSI but would be a noticeable change
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`in firmness for the user. While a user could drastically change the firmness of his/her
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`mattress by switching between a sleep setting of 20 (approx. 0.12 PSI) and 80
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`(approx. 0.48 PSI),
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`this magnitude of change was considered to be more the
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`exception than the rule. That is, the understanding of those working in the field was
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`that users who were predisposed to a generally firm mattress would not often switch
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`to a very soft setting (or vice versa). Additionally, even if a user changed from a
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`setting of 0 to 100 (or vice versa), it would only represent an approximate change of
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`0.6 PS1.
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`12. We also learned that users of adjustable air beds would find a preferred
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`or favorite sleep setting and, if the pressure of the bed was ever changed for any
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`reason, the user wanted to be able to return to his/her preferred setting with accuracy.
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`For example, if a user whose preferred sleep setting was 30 (approx. 0.18 PSI) was
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`using an adjustable air mattress system with a sleep setting set at 50 (approx. 0.3),
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`the user wanted to be able to select a sleep setting of 30 and know that the pressure
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`would be accurately adjusted down to approx. 0.18 PSI. Because of this consistency
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`of accurately achieving a particular pressure, a user could also be confident of
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`achieving a similar sleep on a different Sleep Number bed, for example while
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`traveling. Accurately achieving this pressure was especially important because, as I
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`described above, most users could appreciate a huge difference in pressures in the
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`most common sleep setting range of 20—40.
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`13.
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`The purpose of an adjustable air mattress system is to allow a user to
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`be able to easily adjust the firmness of his/her side of their bed to a desired pressure
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`setting, which may be different than the other side of the bed. Older systems, usually
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`those using blower pumps, were designed to simply allow a user to inflate or deflate
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`the air bladder within the mattress. These older systems did not include a preselected
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`pressure setting but simply allowed a user to inflate or deflate for a period of time.
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`With the introduction of preselected pressure settings, a user could select a setting
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`that would correspond to a particular pressure. However, these systems did not have
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`a way to accurately and continuously monitor the pressure during inflation or
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`deflation, and therefore consistently overshot or undershot the pressure, which
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`resulted in either ( 1) a pressure adjustment that did not accurately and consistently
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`achieve the user’s desired pressure or (2) a problem of multiple iterative adjustments
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`while attempting to achieve the desired pressure, which We called hunting or
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`pecking. Through the development of the innovative technologies disclosed in the
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`‘172, ‘154, and ‘747 Patents and described herein, we were able to solve these
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`problems. With these technologies, after a user selects a setting and the desired
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`pressure is calculated, the pressure may be consistently adjusted, either by inflation
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`or deflation, until the actual pressure is substantially equal to the desired pressure.
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`14. While inventing the technology disclosed in the ‘ 172 Patent, we wanted
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`to create a system that could achieve the desired pressure setpoint while reducing
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`costs, noise, and heat, the latter of which was generated by solenoids periodically
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`opening and closing while hunting for the correct pressure.
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`Jim Gifft, the other
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`inventor of the ‘ 172 Patent, and I designed an improved valve enclosure assembly
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`so that the pressure in the air bladder could be continuously monitored from the valve
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`enclosure, allowing the system to stop inflation/deflation when the sensed pressure
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`was substantially equal to the desired setpoint.
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`15.
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`This desire, to achieve a precise and accurate pressure adjustment so
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`that the user would be able to achieve a setting substantially close to what he/she
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`selected, became even more paramount while inventing the technology disclosed in
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`the ‘747 and ‘ 154 Patents. Accordingly, I was part of a team that designed a method
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`or system for an adjustable bed that would more accurately achieve the desired
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`inflation/deflation for each user.
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`16.
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`Generally in the adjustable air bed industry, and specifically in
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`developing the technologies disclosed in the ‘172,
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`‘747, and ‘ 154 Patents,
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`the
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`accuracy of the pressure adjustment was more important than limiting the time spent
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`achieving the desired pressure point.
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`In other words, it was understood by those in
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`the industry that it would be better to spend more time adjusting the pressure if you
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`could ensure a more accurate adjustment. Indeed, it was our understanding that users
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`consider precision or accuracy in adjustments to be of paramount
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`importance
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`because that allows users to achieve a desired firmness setting. Because, as I
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`mentioned above, it was our understanding that users could appreciate the difference
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`between even 0.03 PSI or less, it was important to achieve a pressure as close to the
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`desired pressure as possible.
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`I do not believe the user experience would have been
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`positive or successful if the adjustable air mattress system did not achieve a precise
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`and accurate pressure adjustment.
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`17.
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`The ‘ 172 Patent allows consumers to easily adjust the firmness of
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`his/her side of their bed to a desired pressure setting.
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`I believe incorporating this
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`technology was beneficial to, and desired by, consumers.
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`In fact, when we first
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`invented a new air controller incorporating this technology (which we called the
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`Stealth pump), no one at
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`the company believed that we could develop an air
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`controller with the high degree of efficiency and that was so quiet. To get people on
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`board, I snuck a Stealth pump into a meeting and let it run during the duration. At
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`the end, when I revealed that the air controller had been running the entire meeting,
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`my colleagues believed that it was worthwhile to invest in developing the Stealth
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`pump. After doing so, we believed as a company that this technology was so
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`important that Sleep Number began incorporating the ‘ 172 Patent technology into
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`more and more of Sleep Number’s air controllers over time.
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`18. When the ‘172 Patent technology was first incorporated into a Sleep
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`Number air controller for sale in 1998 (the UFCS3 pump), there was only one
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`mattress model (the Ultra) being sold with that air controller. The Stealth pump was
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`revolutionary for Sleep Number and became the new standard that we continued to
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`improve on over time. Throughout the years, Sleep Number expanded the product
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`offerings that incorporated the technology and added additional, complementary
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`technology into its air controllers.
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`In fact,
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`it was always engineering’s goal to
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`incorporate the technology into all of Sleep Number’s air controllers over time. By
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`the time I left the company in July 2011, the plan was for all mattress models to soon
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`be sold with the ‘ 172 Patent technology.
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`19.
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`The internal aspects of the enclosure of the valve enclosure assemblies
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`used in Sleep Number’s air controllers were substantially the same throughout the
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`early 20003. For example, the internal aspects ofthe enclosure ofthe valve enclosure
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`assembly sold with the 5000/6000 air controller, which we called the Pegasus and
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`which we sold between 2004 and 2008, would have been the same as the next air
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`controller we introduced, which we called the Corolla and which we began selling
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`in 2008.
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`20.
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`The ‘154 and ‘747 Patents disclose an improved pressure adjustment
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`system and method through use of algorithm that allows for more quickly and more
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`accurately reaching the user’s desired pressure.
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`I also believe incorporating this
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`technology was beneficial to, and desired by, consumers.
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`In fact, we believed as a
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`company that
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`this
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`technology was so important
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`that Sleep Number began
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`incorporating the ‘ 154 and ‘747 Patents into technology into most of Sleep Number’ 5
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`air controllers very quickly after the patents were filed. It was always engineering’s
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`goal-Ito incorporate the technology into all of Sleep Number’s air controllers over
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`time. By the time I left the company in July 2011, the plan was for all mattress
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`models to soon be sold with the ‘ 154 and ‘747 Patent technology.
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`I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
`a/
`Executedon CDC [
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`”3-1, 2019.
`
`Pafi‘ Ma
`
`ey
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`
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`10
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`PAUL JAMES MAHONEY
`WORK HISTORY
`
`1331 Dallager Ct
`Stillwater, MN 55082
`651.430.1853
`chef.paul@chef.net
`
`CHEF/OWNER, TASTE! L.L.C., STILLWATER, MN
`2013 - Present
`SENIOR PRODUCT DEVELOMENT ENGINEER, SELECT COMFORT, MINNEAPOLIS,
`MN
`1995-2012
`DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AEQUITRON MEDICAL,
`PLYMOUTH, MN
`1988-1995
`
`MANAGER OF CORPORATE RESEARCH LABORATORIES, 3M, ST. PAUL, MN
`
`EDUCATION
`
`CULINARY ARTS DEGREE, HENNIPIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE, MINNEAPOLIS, MN,
`2013
`MBA, COLLEGE OF ST. THOMAS, MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 1990
`MASTERS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, SMU, DALLAS, TEXAS, 1972
`BSEE, UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON, DAYTON OHIO, 1966
`
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`APPENDIX A
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`