`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`__________________________
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`__________________________
`
`
`DELL INC., and DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC.,
`Petitioners
`v.
`AX Wireless
`Patent Owner.
`
`
`___________________
`
`IPR2024-00685
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`_____________________
`
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`OF U.S. PATENT 10,079,707
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Mail Stop PATENT BOARD
`Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
`
`

`

`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`I.
`INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1
`II. GROUNDS FOR STANDING .......................................................... 1
`III.
`IDENTIFICATION OF CHALLENGE .............................................. 1
`A. Prior Art ....................................................................................... 1
`B. Grounds For Challenge................................................................... 4
`IV.
`’707 PATENT OVERVIEW ............................................................. 4
`A. Level Of Ordinary Skill In The Art .................................................. 9
`B. Claim Construction .......................................................................10
`V. GROUND 1: COMBINATION OF HANSEN AND JULY 2005
`WWISE RENDERS CLAIMS 1-3, 5, 7-11, AND 13
`OBVIOUS. ....................................................................................10
`A. Combination Overview .................................................................10
`1. Hansen ...................................................................................10
`a. TGn Sync Proposal ..............................................................12
`b.
`January 2005 WWiSE Proposal .............................................14
`c. Hansen’s Greenfield PPDU ...................................................15
`July 2005 WWiSE....................................................................16
`2.
`3. Motivation to Combine .............................................................19
`Independent Claim 1 .....................................................................25
`1. Preamble.................................................................................26
`2.
`“Wireless OFDM Receiver” Limitations......................................28
`a. First and Second Packet Types ..............................................28
`b. “Wireless OFDM Receiver” ..................................................30
`“Packet Type” Limitations ........................................................33
`a.
`“First Packet Type” .............................................................33
`(i) Content ............................................................................33
`
`B.
`
`3.
`
`- i -
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`

`

`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`(continued)
`
`4.
`
`Page
`(ii) Order of Transmission/Reception ........................................37
`b. “Second Packet Type” ..........................................................38
`(i) Content ............................................................................38
`(ii) Order of Transmission/Reception ........................................42
`“Demodulator” Limitations .......................................................47
`a.
`“First Packet Type” - Order of Symbol Demodulation ..............50
`b. “Second Packet Type” - Order of Symbol Demodulation...........51
`c.
`“Received in a Different Order” Limitations [1K]/[1L] .............54
`Independent Claim 9 .....................................................................58
`C.
`D. Dependent Claims ........................................................................60
`1. Claims 2, 3, 10, 11 ...................................................................60
`2. Claims 5, 13 ............................................................................62
`3. Claims 7 and 8 .........................................................................63
`VI. GROUND 2: THE COMBINATION OF HANSEN, JULY 2005
`WWISE, AND CHOI RENDERS CLAIMS 1-3, 5, 7-11, AND
`13 OBVIOUS. ................................................................................64
`A. Overview and Motivation to Combine .............................................65
`B.
`Independent Claim 1 .....................................................................70
`C.
`Independent Claim 9 .....................................................................72
`D. Dependent Claims ........................................................................72
`VII. DISCRETIONARY DENIAL IS NOT APPROPRIATE. .....................72
`VIII. MANDATORY NOTICES ..............................................................74
`A. Real Party In Interest.....................................................................74
`B. Related Matters ............................................................................75
`C. Notice Of Counsel And Service Information ....................................75
`IX. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................76
`
`- ii -
`
`

`

`Exhibit
`1001
`1002
`1003
`
`1004
`1005
`1006
`
`1007
`1008
`1009
`1010
`1011
`1012
`
`1013
`
`1014
`1015
`
`1016
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`EXHIBIT LIST
`
`Reference
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`File History of the ’707 patent
`Declaration of Thomas LaPorta, Ph.D. in Support of Inter Partes
`Review of U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Thomas LaPorta
`U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0182017 to Hansen, et al (“Hansen”)
`IEEE 802.11-05/0149r5, “WWiSE Proposal: High Throughput
`Extension to the 802.11 Standard” to Kose, et al, uploaded and
`publicly available on July 9, 2005 (“July 2005 WWiSE”)
`Declaration of James L. Lansford, Ph.D.
`U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0243774 to Choi, et al (“Choi”)
`U.S. Provisional Application 61/235,909 (“the ’707 Provisional”)
`U.S. Patent 8,737,189 to Hansen, et al (“Hansen Patent’)
`U.S. Provisional Application 60/653,429 (“Hansen Provisional”)
`IEEE 802.11-04/0889r3, “TGn Sync Proposal Technical
`Specification” to Mujtaba, uploaded and publicly available on
`January 20, 2005
`IEEE 802.11-04/0886r6, “WWiSE Proposal: High Throughput
`Extension to the 802.11 Standard” to Hansen, et al, uploaded and
`publicly available on January 6, 2005 (“January 2005 WWiSE”)
`U.S. Patent Publication 2007/0115802 to Yu (“Yu”)
`IEEE Std. 802.11a-1999, “Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access
`Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications: High-
`Speed Physical Layer in the 5 GHz Band”, approved September 16,
`1999 (“802.11a”)
`Declaration of David Ringle for 802.11a-1999 - IEEE Standard for
`Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems –
`LAN/MAN Specific Requirements - Part 11: Wireless Medium
`Access Control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specifications:
`
`- iii -
`
`

`

`
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`Exhibit
`
`Reference
`High-Speed Physical Layer in the 5 GHz Band, date of publication
`December 30, 1999
`IEEE Std. 802.11n-2009, “Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access
`Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications:
`Amendment 5: Enhancements for Higher Throughput” (“802.11n”)
`Editor for G.9960, “ITU-T Recommendation G.9960 Next
`Generation Wire-line Based Home Networking Transceivers-
`Foundation”, ITU-T SG15/Q4, January 2009, as filed in file wrapper
`of the ’707 patent
`Intellon Corporation, “G.hn: Extended PHY frame header,” ITU-T
`SG15/Q4, 09XC-119, Xian, China, July 2009, as filed in file wrapper
`of the ’707 patent
`CopperGate Communication, “G.hn: Using Two Symbols for the
`Header of a PHY frame on Coax,” ITU-T SG15/Q4, 09XC-100,
`Xian, China July 2009, as filed in file wrapper of the ’707 patent
`J. Lörincz, et al, “Physical Layer Analysis of Emerging IEEE 802.11n
`WLAN Standard”, 8th International Conference Advanced
`Communication Technology (February 20-22, 2006); added to IEEE
`Xplore May 8, 2006
`R. Van Nee, et al., “OFDM for Wireless Multimedia
`Communications”, Artech House Publishers (2000)
`A. Bahai, et al., “Multi-Carrier Digital Communications Theory and
`Applications of OFDM”, Springer (2004)
`D. Tse, et al., “Fundamentals of Wireless Communication”,
`Cambridge University (2005)
`J. Heiskala, et al., “OFDM Wireless LANs: A Theoretical and
`Practical Guide”, Sams Publishing (2002)
`RESERVED
`J. Cox, “Stage Set for Compromise on IEEE High-Speed Wireless”,
`Network World (March 21, 2005)
`1028 M. Reardon, “New Wi-Fi Standard Takes the Slow Road”, CNET
`(May 20, 2005)
`
`1017
`
`1018
`
`1019
`
`1020
`
`1021
`
`1022
`
`1023
`
`1024
`
`1025
`
`1026
`1027
`
`- iv -
`
`

`

`
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`Exhibit
`1029
`
`1030
`
`Reference
`S. Mujtaba, et al., IEEE 802.11-05/786r0, “TGn Sync, WWiSE, and
`Mitmot Closing Report”, presentation submission, submitted and
`publicly available on July 21, 2005.
`S. Coffey, IEEE 802.11-05/0737r0, “WWiSE IEEE 802.11n
`Proposal”, presentation submission, submitted and publicly available
`on July 9, 2005
`1031 M. Gast, “802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide”,
`O’Reilly (2002)
`Infringement Contents with Appendices served in AX Wireless LLC v.
`Dell Inc. et al., and AX Wireless LLC v. HP Inc., U.S. District Court
`Eastern District of Texas, Case Numbers 2:22-cv-00277 and 2:22-cv-
`00279, November 3, 2022
`U.S. Patent 7,415,074 (Appendix C to DELL-1007)
`A. Stephens, “802.11 ‘Decrypted’”, ACM SIGCOMM Computer
`Communication Review, Vol. 35, No. 2 (April 2005) (Appendix D to
`Lansford Declaration, DELL-1007).
`R. Kay, “Sidebar: The Battle for 11n”, ComputerWorld (March 13,
`2006)
`“‘WWiSE’ Consortium, Motorola Team on Proposal for IEEE
`802.11n”, Wireless Design Online (February 24, 2005)
`1037 WWiSE Industry Organization Press Release, “‘WWiSE’ Consortium
`and Motorola Team to Offer Enhanced Proposal for IEEE 802.11n”
`(February 24, 2005); archived on April 6, 2005 at
`https://web.archive.org/web/20050406073808/http://www.wwise.org/
`pressreleasefeb23.htm.
`IEEE 802.11-04/422r4, “New Participant Orientation”, presentation
`submission (July 2004) (Appendix A to Lansford Declaration, DELL-
`1007)
`IEEE 802.11-04/736r1, “Approved Minutes of the IEEE P802.11 Full
`Working Group”, Minutes (July 2004) (Appendix B to Lansford
`Declaration, DELL-1007)
`B. O’Hara, The IEEE 802.11 Handbook, Standards Information
`Network, IEEE Press, 1999
`
`1032
`
`1033
`1034
`
`1035
`
`1036
`
`1038
`
`1039
`
`1040
`
`- v -
`
`

`

`
`
`Exhibit
`1041
`
`1042
`
`1043
`
`1044
`
`1045
`
`1046
`
`1047
`
`1048
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`Reference
`Jan. 11, 2024 Letter from Sarah Piepmeier letter to Kevin Wheeler
`regarding Dell Stipulation
`Sixth Amended Docket Control Order, AX Wireless LLC v. Dell Inc.
`et al., No. 2:22-cv-00277-RWS-RSP (E.D. Tex. Feb. 26, 2024), ECF
`No. 171
`Third Amended Docket Control Order, AX Wireless LLC v. Lenovo
`Grp. Ltd., No. 2:22-cv-00280-RWS-RSP (E.D. Tex. Oct. 31, 2023),
`ECF No. 130
`Docket Control Order, LightGuide, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al.,
`No. 2:22-cv-00433-RWS-RSP (E.D. Tex. May 15, 2023)
`Docket Control Order, Textron Innovations Inc., v. SZ DJI Tech. Co.,
`Ltd, et al., No. 2:22-cv-0351-RWS-RSP (E.D. Tex. May 11, 2023)
`“Time to Milestones – Judges: Robert W. Schroeder, III Case
`Filing Date: On or After Jan. 1st, 2008,” Docket Navigator
`Dell’s Opposed Motion for Stay Pending IPR, AX Wireless LLC v.
`Dell Inc. et al., No. 2:22-cv-00277-RWS-RSP (E.D. Tex. Mar. 13,
`2024), ECF No. 179
`Comparison between the current Petition and petition in IPR2023-
`01136
`
`
`
`- vi -
`
`

`

`
`I. Introduction
`Dell Inc. and Dell Technology Inc. (collectively “Dell” or “Petitioner”)
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`petition for inter partes review (“IPR”) of U.S. Patent 10,079,707 (“the ’707
`
`patent”; DELL-1001) claims 1-3, 5, 7-11, and 13.
`
`II. Grounds For Standing
`Dell certifies the ’707 patent is available for IPR, and Dell is not barred or
`
`estopped from requesting IPR.
`
`Identification Of Challenge
`III.
`A. Prior Art
`The ’707 patent claims priority through a series of continuations to U.S.
`
`Patent 9,584,262, filed August 20, 2010. The ’707 patent also claims benefit to
`
`Provisional Application 61/235,909, filed August 21, 2009 (“’707 Provisional”;
`
`DELL-1009). Petitioner does not acquiesce that the ’707 patent is entitled to
`
`priority to any of these prior applications. Regardless, each reference was
`
`published or issued prior to August 21, 2009.
`
`1.
`
`U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0182017 to Hansen, et al (“Hansen”;
`
`DELL-1005), published August 17, 2006, is prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C.
`
`§102(b).
`
`2.
`
`“WWiSE Proposal: High throughput extension to the 802.11
`
`Standard” to Kose, et al (“July 2005 WWiSE”; DELL-1006) is prior art under
`
`- 1 -
`
`

`

`
`pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. §102(b) because the document was available and accessible to
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`the public on July 9, 2005. (See DELL-1007, ¶24.) July 2005 WWiSE was a
`
`submission made to Task Group n (“TGn”) of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local
`
`Area Networks (“WLAN”) Working Group. During the 2004-2005 timeframe,
`
`IEEE Working Group members could provide submissions. (DELL-1007, ¶15.)
`
`Members made these submissions through the IEEE 802 Wireless World website,
`
`http://802wirelessworld.com. (DELL-1007, ¶16; DELL-1038 (New Participant
`
`Orientation Slides), 35-37; DELL-1039 (July 2004 Meeting Minutes), 5.)
`
`All submissions were accessible to any member of the public after free
`
`registration through the Wireless World website. (DELL-1007, ¶18; DELL-1038
`
`(New Participant Orientation Slides), 25-30 (describing process of becoming a
`
`member).) After creating an account, an individual could view the “Working
`
`Group Document Listing” and download any submissions that had been uploaded.
`
`(DELL-1038 (New Participant Orientation Slides), 35; DELL-1007, ¶18.)
`
`Submissions were also publicly available to any member of the public via FTP at
`
`ftp.wirelessworld.com. (DELL-1007, ¶19; DELL-1038 (New Participant
`
`Orientation Slides), 35 (describing process for creating a free account).) The FTP
`
`server’s address and login credentials were also publicly available. (DELL-1007,
`
`¶19, citing DELL-1033 and DELL-1034)).
`
`- 2 -
`
`

`

`In mid-2007, the IEEE’s current Mentor website (“Mentor”) replaced the
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`
`
`Wireless World website. (DELL-1007, ¶21.) Prior submissions uploaded to the
`
`Wireless World server were added to Mentor shortly after its creation. (DELL-
`
`1007, ¶21.) The uploaded documents retained their original submission upload
`
`dates. (DELL-1007, ¶21.) Mentor and all its documents have been freely available
`
`to members of the public since soon after its creation in 2007 and before August
`
`21, 2009. (DELL-1007, ¶21.) Entries in Mentor were and remain searchable by
`
`year, task group, title, or other parameters. (DELL-1007, ¶22.)
`
`July 2005 WWiSE was uploaded to the IEEE database on July 9, 2005, at
`
`which time it would have been available to interested members of the public
`
`through the Wireless World website or by FTP. (DELL-1007, ¶¶18-29, 24.) After
`
`mid-2007 and before August 21, 2009, July 2005 WWiSE would have been
`
`available to interested members of the public through Mentor. (DELL-1007, ¶¶18-
`
`18, 21, 24.) Interested members of the public would have been aware of the
`
`proposals made to IEEE by WWiSE because they were frequently discussed in
`
`2004 and 2005 in industry publications. (See, e.g., DELL-1021, DELL-1027,
`
`DELL-1035; DELL-1036; DELL-1037.)
`
`For at least these reasons, July 2005 WWiSE was publicly accessible prior to
`
`the earliest possible priority date of the ’707 patent to a person of ordinary skill in
`
`- 3 -
`
`

`

`
`the art (“POSITA”) exercising reasonable diligence. See GoPro, Inc. v. Contour IP
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`Holding LLC, 908 F.3d 690, 693 (Fed. Cir. 2018).
`
`3.
`
`U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0243774 to Choi, et al (“Choi”;
`
`DELL-1008), published November 3, 2005, is prior art under 35 U.S.C. §102(b).
`
`None of the applied references were cited in or discussed during prosecution
`
`of the ’707 patent or cited in or discussed during prosecution in any of the patents
`
`to which the ’707 patent claims priority, weighing heavily against discretionary
`
`denial under 35 U.S.C. §325(d).
`
`B. Grounds For Challenge
`
`Claims
`1-3, 5, 7-11, 13
`1-3, 5, 7-11, 13
`
`Prior Art
`Hansen and July 2005 WWiSE
`Hansen, July 2005 WWiSE, and Choi
`
`Ground
`1 103
`2 103
`
`’707 Patent Overview
`The ’707 patent is “directed toward header repetition in a communications
`
`IV.
`
`environment.” (DELL-1001, 1:27-30.) The ’707 patent describes four different
`
`header configurations, illustrated in Figure 1. The value of D in Figure 1
`
`corresponds to the number of repetitions of the header and the value of H in Figure
`
`1 corresponds to the number of symbols required for a single header (e.g., whether
`
`the header is extended). In the first example where H=1 and D=1, the packet
`
`- 4 -
`
`

`

`
`includes a “preamble followed by a header followed by a payload.” (DELL-1001,
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`5:50-53.) This example represents a simple “one-part” header field. In the second
`
`example where H=1 and D=2, the packet includes a preamble followed by a header
`
`that is repeated, which is followed by the payload. (DELL-1001, 5:50-53.) This
`
`“repeated header” example includes a “two-part” header field with each part
`
`carrying the same information. (DELL-1001, 5:53-56.)
`
`’707 Patent, Figure 1
`
`
`
`
`
`In the third example where H=2 and D=1, the packet includes a preamble
`
`and a header followed by a header extension and the payload. (DELL-1001, 5:56-
`
`- 5 -
`
`

`

`
`58.) This “extended header” example is also a “two-part” header field but in this
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`example the two parts carry different information. (See, e.g., DELL-1001, 5:64-
`
`67.) And in the fourth example where H=2 and D=2, the packet includes a
`
`preamble, a header which is repeated, and a header extension which is also
`
`repeated, followed by the payload. (DELL-1001, 5:58-61.) This “repeated,
`
`extended header” example is a “four-part” header field with the first and second
`
`parts carrying the same information and the third and fourth parts carrying the
`
`same information. (DELL-1001, 5:60-62.) In the Notice of Allowance, the
`
`Examiner pointed to the third and fourth example as the basis for allowance,
`
`finding the “prior art of record fails to disclose the first header field (i.e., Figure 1
`
`“(3)”) and the second header field (i.e., Figure 1 “(4)”). (DELL-1002 (NOA), 2.)
`
`
`
`The extended and/or repeated headers of the ’707 patent can be used in
`
`communications systems such as ITU G.9960 (G.hn) and IEEE 802.11 that use
`
`“frame-based (or packet-based) transmission to communication [sic] between two
`
`or more users over a shared channel based on Orthogonal Frequency Division
`
`Multiplexing (OFDM1).” (DELL-1001, 1:34-44; see also, id., 4:32-49.) The ’707
`
`patent acknowledges that, prior to its earliest possible priority date, G.9960 “has
`
`defined two overlapped baseband bandplans, 50MHz-PB and 100MH-PB” and the
`
`
`1 An acronym list is provided in Appendix B.
`
`- 6 -
`
`

`

`
`“possibility of having narrower bandplans such as 25 MHz-PB and 12.5 MHz-PB
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`are under discussion.” (DELL-1001, 2:16-20; See also, id., 1:56-59 (noting that
`
`G.9960 “should be familiar to those skilled in the art”).) Thus, the ’707 patent
`
`admits the existing ITU G.9960 standard supported two channel bandwidthsone
`
`at least two times wider than the other.
`
`
`
`The generic transceiver 200 described for use in these systems includes
`
`header assembly module 220, modulation module 230, demodulation module 240,
`
`transmitter 250, encoding module 260, decoding module 270, receiver 280, and
`
`controller/processor 290. (DELL-1001, 6:13-21; Figure 2 below.)
`
`- 7 -
`
`

`

`
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`’707 patent, Figure 2
`
`
`
`
`
` Applicant, Applied Transform, LLC, did not invent the concept of
`
`extending the header of an OFDM packet, nor did the Applicant invent the concept
`
`of repeating the OFDM packet header. To the contrary, these two concepts were
`
`publicly disclosed and openly discussed prior to August 21, 2009, during
`
`development of the ITU-T G.hn (next generation home network technology)
`
`standardsa fact PO openly admits in its provisional application. (See DELL-
`
`1009, 21-22; DELL-1019; DELL-1020; DELL-1003, ¶¶37-38.)
`
`- 8 -
`
`

`

`The ITU-T G.hn standards group was not the only standards group openly
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`
`
`discussing the concepts of repeating and extending a physical layer header prior to
`
`the earliest possible priority date of August 2009. Four years before ITU-T G.hn
`
`considered these concepts, the IEEE 802.11 TGn working group discussed similar
`
`proposals from the TGn Sync and WWiSE industry groups during development of
`
`the IEEE 802.11n standard. (DELL-1012, 133:7-134:2 (disclosing a 2 symbol
`
`(“extended”) header); DELL-1006, 69:16-19, 67:1-69:17 (Figures 007-Figure 016,
`
`illustrating duplicate SIG-N header fields); DELL-1003, ¶38.)
`
`The challenged claims of the ’707 patent therefore do nothing more than co-
`
`opt ideas disclosed in standards submissions from other companies and wrap these
`
`ideas onto a broadly recited, yet extremely well-known, wireless OFDM
`
`transceiver architecture.
`
`A. Level Of Ordinary Skill In The Art
`A POSITA at the time of the purported invention would have had at least a
`
`master’s degree in electrical engineering or similar discipline, and/or two to three
`
`years of experience working or conducting research in the field of wireless
`
`communication protocols, or an equivalent combination of education and
`
`experience. (DELL-1003, ¶62.)
`
`- 9 -
`
`

`

`
`
`U.S. Patent 10,079,707
`IPR2024-00685
`
`B. Claim Construction
`Claim terms are typically given their ordinary and customary meanings as
`
`understood by a POSITA at the time of the invention. Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415
`
`F.3d 1303, 1312-16 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc). Petitioner does not believe it is
`
`necessary for the Board to expressly construe any term for the purpose of this IPR
`
`proceeding. See Vivid Techs., Inc. v. Am. Sci. & Eng’g, Inc., 200 F.3d 795, 803
`
`(Fed. Cir. 1999).
`
`V. GROUND 1: Combination of Hansen and July 2005 WWiSE Renders
`Claims 1-3, 5, 7-11, and 13 Obvious.
`A. Combination Overview
`1. Hansen
`Hansen is U.S. Patent Publication of Application 11/151,772 which matured
`
`into U.S. Patent 8,737,189 (“Hansen Patent”; DELL-1010). Hansen relates to
`
`“compromise greenfield preambles for 802.11n.” (DELL-1005, ¶7.)
`
`Hansen explained that IEEE 802.11 task group N (“TGn”) was “chartered to
`
`develop a standard to enable WLAN devices to achieve throughput rates beyond
`
`100 Mbits/s” which will “be documented in IEEE resolution 802.11n.” (DELL-
`
`1005, ¶9.) According to Hansen, one objective of TGn was to “enable WLAN
`
`devices compatible with IEEE 802.11n to also interoperate with IEEE 802.11
`
`devices that are not compatible with IEEE 802.11n” (referred to as “legacy”
`
`devices). (DELL-1011, ¶38; see also, DELL-1005, ¶32, DELL-1005, ¶¶1, 6
`
`- 10 -
`
`

`

`
`(incorporating Hansen Provisional by reference).) This “backward compatible”
`
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`access is referred to as “mixed mode access.” (DELL-1005, ¶32.) In mixed mode
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`access, a physical layer frame includes “legacy” information for non-IEEE 802.11n
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`compatible devices and 802.11n information for IEEE 802.11n compatible devices.
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`(See DELL-1005, ¶32.)
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`TGn also recognized IEEE 802.11n-compatible devices that only
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`communicate with other IEEE 802.11n-compatible devices can operate in a
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`greenfield access mode. (DELL-1005, ¶32.) In greenfield mode, the physical layer
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`frame (packet) does not require inclusion of the “legacy” information and can
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`therefore be shortened to omit that information, further improving throughput. (See
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`DELL-1005, ¶27; see, e.g., DELL-1011, ¶55 (describing efficiency gain with
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`greenfield); DELL-1005, ¶¶1, 6.)
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`Two competing proposals emerged in TGn as “candidates for incorporation
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`in IEEE 802.11n.” (DELL-1005, ¶9.) The first proposal, from the TGn Sync
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`industry group, provided a mechanism to support mixed mode access but did “not
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`provide a mechanism to support greenfield access.” (DELL-1005, ¶33.) The
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`second proposal, from the Worldwide Spectrum Efficiency (WWiSE) industry
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`group, provided mechanisms to support both greenfield and mixed mode access.
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`(See, e.g., DELL-1006, 67:1-69:7 (depicting mixed mode and greenfield training
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`structures).) Hansen sought to bridge the gap between these two competing
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`proposals. (See, e.g., DELL-1005, Title, ¶¶7, 11, 27.)
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` TGn Sync Proposal2
`a.
`Hansen first describes the mixed mode physical protocol data unit (PPDU)
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`preamble and header from the TGn Sync proposal. (See DELL-1005, ¶¶61-76.)
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`This preamble and header 402, illustrated below for a single spatial stream,
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`comprises a legacy (L) portion to be used by non-802.11n devices and a High
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`Throughput (HT) portion to be used by 802.11n devices. (DELL-1005, ¶61, Figure
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`4a, compare DELL-1012, 131:10-13, 121:1-2 (Figure 55).) The legacy portion
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`includes a 24-bit (one symbol) header field (L-SIG), shaded pink in annotated
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`Figure 4a (below, middle) and illustrated in Figure 4b (below, top). (DELL-1005,
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`¶¶62, 66, compare DELL-1012, 131:10-13, 121:1-2 (Figure 55).)
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`2 A copy of the January 2005 TGn Sync proposal forming the basis of
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`Hansen’s discussion is provided as DELL-1012. (See DELL-1007, ¶31 (discussing
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`the public availability of the January 2005 TGn Sync Proposal on January 20,
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`2005); DELL-1003, ¶69.)
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`Hansen, Annotated Figures 4b (top), 4a (middle), 4c (bottom)
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`
`
`
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`The HT portion includes a 48-bit, two symbol header field (HT-SIG), shaded
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`blue in annotated Figure 4a (above, middle) and illustrated in annotated Figure 4c
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`(above, bottom). (See DELL-1005, ¶¶62, 67 (HT-SIG header field “for mixed
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`mode access in accordance with a TGn Sync proposal”); compare DELL-1012,
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`134:1-2 (Figure 62), 121:1-2 (Figure 55).) The part of HT-SIG (shaded green in
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`annotated Figure 4c above, bottom), corresponding to one symbol in the
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`transmitted PPDU, includes length and modulation and coding scheme (MCS)
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`fields. (See DELL-1005, ¶67; DELL-1012, 134:1-2 (mapping first 24 bits of HT-
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`SIG field to first symbol.) The TGn Sync proposal refers to this part of the HT-SIG
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`header field as HT-SIG1. (DELL-1012, 134:1-2.) The second part (shaded red in
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`annotated Figure 4c above, bottom), corresponding to a second symbol in the
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`transmitted PPDU, includes, among other fields, the advanced coding, sounding
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`packet, number of HT-LTF, and 20/40 bandwidth fields. (See DELL-1005, ¶67;
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`DELL-1012, 134:1-2 (mapping second 24 bits of HT-SIG field to second symbol).)
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`The TGn Sync proposal refers to this part of the HT-SIG header field as HT-SIG2.
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`(DELL-1012, 134:1-2.) For ease of discussion, Petitioner adopts the HT-SIG1 and
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`HT-SIG2 terminology used in the TGn Sync proposal to refer to the separate parts
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`of the two-part HT-SIG header field.
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`b. January 2005 WWiSE Proposal3
`Unlike the TGn Sync proposal, the January 2005 WWiSE proposal
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`
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`referenced in Hansen includes PPDUs for both mixed mode and greenfield access.
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`(See, e.g., DELL-1013, 50:16-52:7 (Figures 007-016).) The training and header
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`fields 502 for an exemplary January 2005 greenfield PPDU are illustrated in Figure
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`
`3 A copy of the WWiSE proposal by Hansen which forms the basis of
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`Hansen’s WWiSE discussion, is provided as DELL-1013. (See DELL-1007, ¶¶25-
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`26 (discussing the public availability of the January 2005 WWiSE proposal);
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`DELL-1003, ¶74.) Petitioner refers to this version of the WWiSE proposal as the
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`“January 2005 WWiSE” proposal to distinguish it from the July 2005 WWiSE
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`proposal used as a reference in Petitioner’s Grounds.
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`5a below (top) for a single spatial stream. (DELL-1005, ¶77.) Training and header
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`fields 502 include a Signal-N header field 508 (shaded pink), illustrated in Figure
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`5b below (bottom). (DELL-1005, ¶¶77, 79, compare DELL-1013, 50:16-18
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`(Figure 007), 53:8-10.)
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`
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`Hansen, Excerpt for Annotated Figure 5a (top), Figure 5b (bottom)
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`c. Hansen’s Greenfield PPDU
`Hansen next presents a “compromise” PPDU that combines WWiSE’s
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`concept of a greenfield PPDU with a TGn Sync-style format for HT fields.
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`(Compare DELL-1005, Figures 4a, 5a, and 6a.) By using TGn Sync’s HT-SIG
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`field, the “compromise” PPDU also includes a “sounding field”, not present in the
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`January 2005 WWiSE proposal. (See DELL-1005, ¶27.) The training and header
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`fields of Hansen’s “compromise” greenfield PPDU are illustrated in the excerpt
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`from Figure 6a below showing a single spatial stream. (See DELL-1005, ¶¶87-
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`110.) Hansen’s training and header fields include short and long training fields
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`(HT-STF/HT-LTF) and a Signal*-N1 field 612 (shaded pink). (DELL-1005, ¶87.)
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`The Signal*-N1 field 612 is “represented as described in Fig. 4c” which, as
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`discussed above, discloses the two-part extended HT-SIG field (shaded green (first
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`part) and shaded red (second part)) from the TGn Sync proposal. (DELL-1005, ¶97
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`(“the Signal*-N field be [sic] represented as described in FIG. 4c”).) The
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`embodiment using the header field (HT-SIG) from Figure 4c in Figure 6a’s
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`preamble and training fields is referred to herein as “Hansen’s ‘compromise’
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`greenfield PPDU.”
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`
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`Hansen, Excerpt from Annotated Figure 6a (top); Figure 4c (bottom)
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`2. July 2005 WWiSE
`July 2005 WWiSE is a proposal submitted to the TGn working group by the
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`WWiSE industry group building on the January 2005 proposal discussed in
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`Hansen. (DELL-1006, 1.) Specifically, July 2005 WWiSE adds an extended range
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`(ER) capability for 802.11n compliant devices. (DELL-1006, 1, 31, 46-48, 50, 67-
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`70.)
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`
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`The format of a July 2005 WWiSE greenfield PPDU, illustrated in Figure
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`001 below, consists of a preamble, the Signal-N field (also referred to as SIG-N),
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`and data. (DELL-1006, 58:17-19.)
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`
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`
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`July 2005 WWiSE’s SIGNAL-N (SIG-N) field “is separately defined for a
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`mandatory standard configuration and an optional ‘extended communication
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`range’ configuration (ER).” (DELL-1006, 69:10-11.) In the mandatory standard
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`configuration (also referred to as normal range (NR)), “SIG-N is composed of a
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`single MIMO-OFDM symbol that provides all length and configuration
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`parameters” associated with the greenfield PPDU. (DELL-1006, 69:13-14.)
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`
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`In the extended range configuration (ER), “SIG-N is composed of two
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`consecutive MIMO-OFDM symbols: The SIG-N MIMO-OFDM symbol is
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`followed by a second MIMO-OFDM symbol, denoted as ER-SIG-N.” (DELL-
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`1006, 69:16-18.) July 2005 WWiSE refers to this two-symbol SIG-N field as “the
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`long SIG-N field format.” (DELL-1006, 50:9-10.) The second OFDM symbol
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`(designated ER-SIG-N) in the long SIG-N field duplicates (repeats) the
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`information carried in the SIG-N symbol, as illustrated in Figure 011 below.
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`(DELL-1006, 68:1-2 (referencing the “optional duplicate SIG-N”, designated as
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`ER-SIG-N); see also, Figures 007-016 (including the “optional duplicate SIG-N
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`for extended range communication”).)
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`
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`July 2005 WWiSE, Figure 011
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`Additionally, July 2005 WWiSE applies a frequency permutation on the
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`subcarrier indices of the OFDM data symbols composing SIG-N to derive the
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`frequency domain OFDM symbol ER-SIG-N. (DELL-1006, 69:18-25.)
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`
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`July 2005 WWiSE also added a one-bit field to the SIG-N field, the REXT
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`bit, to indicate whether the device was operating in standard configuration or ER
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`configuration. (DELL-1006, 69:30-31, 70:6-7.) July 2005 WWiSE explains that
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`“Extended Range (ER) capable devices are devices which support the optional
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`Extended Range MCS, in addition to the Normal Range (NR) MCS, and the long
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`SIG-N field format.” (DELL-1006, 50:9-11.) ER frames (PPDUs) “shall be
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`transmitted with the long SIG-N field format and the REXT bit set to value 1.”
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`(DELL-1006, 50:12-13.) For NR frames (PPDUs), the optional repeated header
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`symbol (ER-SIG-N