`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`____________________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`____________________________
`
`IAPARTMENTS, INC.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`EDST, LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`
`U.S. Patent No. 11,189,118
`____________________________
`
`Post Grant Review of U.S. Patent No. 11,189,118
`____________________________
`
`Post Grant Review No. PGR2022-00059
`
`__________________________________________________________________
`
`DECLARATION OF PHILIP C. DUMAS
`
`
`iApartments Ex. 1002
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`Page 1 of 181
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`I.
`II.
`
`Page
`
`INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 25
`QUALIFICATIONS ...................................................................................... 27
`A. Education Background And Career History ........................................... 27
`B. Patents ..................................................................................................... 28
`III. MATERIAL REVIEWED ............................................................................. 30
`IV. RELEVANT LEGAL STANDARDS ........................................................... 30
`A. Person of Ordinary Skill In The Art (POSA) ......................................... 30
`B. Prior Art .................................................................................................. 31
`C. Anticipation ............................................................................................. 32
`D. Obviousness ............................................................................................ 32
`E. Claim Construction ................................................................................. 37
`F. Written Description ................................................................................. 38
`LEVEL OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART ........................................... 39
`V.
`VI. TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND ............................................................... 39
`VII. THE ’ 118 PATENT ...................................................................................... 44
`A. Overview ................................................................................................. 44
`B. Prosecution History Of The ’118 Patent ................................................. 46
`VIII. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION .......................................................................... 50
`A. “offline door lock” .................................................................................. 51
`B. “credential device” .................................................................................. 52
`
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`IX. PRIOR ART REFERENCES ........................................................................ 53
`A. Cahill (Ex.1005) ...................................................................................... 53
`B. Kraus (Ex.1006) ...................................................................................... 55
`C. Deros (Ex.1007) ...................................................................................... 60
`D. Ho (Ex.1008) ........................................................................................... 62
`E. Wired (Ex.1013) ..................................................................................... 64
`X. ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 69
`A. Ground 1: Claims 1-20 Lack Of Written Description Of The Smart Hub
`Communicatively Coupled To A User Device Via A Non-LoRaWAN
`Communication Link .............................................................................. 75
`B. Ground 2: Claims 1-20 Are Obvious In Light Of Cahill And Deros ..... 84
`1. Motivation to Combine Cahill and Deros ........................................ 84
`a.
`LoRa WAN ............................................................................ 85
`b.
`Smart Thermostats And Other Smart Devices ...................... 87
`c.
`Smart Thermostat Hub ........................................................... 88
`d.
`Smart Hub Communicatively Couple To User Device ......... 90
`Independent Claim 1 ........................................................................ 93
`a.
`[1pre] “A system for controlling and securing a plurality of
`smart devices within a unit of a multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the system comprising:” ..................... 93
`[1a] “a smart hub comprising: one or more processors; a
`memory communicatively coupled to the one or more
`processors” ............................................................................. 95
`[1b] “a first communication interface configured to
`communicatively couple the one or more processors to a
`
`2.
`
`b.
`
`c.
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`
`d.
`
`e.
`
`f.
`
`g.
`
`Long Range (LoRa) wide area network (LoRaWAN)
`communication link; and” ..................................................... 96
`[1c] “a second communication interface configured to
`communicatively couple the one or more processors to the
`plurality of smart devices and to a user device associated with
`an occupant of the unit via a non-LoRaWAN communication
`link;” ...................................................................................... 98
`[1d] “where the one or more processors are configured to:
`receive control information via the LoRaWAN
`communication link from a property management platform
`for the multi-family residential or commercial property, the
`control information including a request for a status check
`associated with an electronic door lock,” ............................102
`[1e] “identify at least one smart device of the plurality of
`smart devices based on the control information, the at least
`one smart device including the electronic door lock, ..........104
`transmit a command derived from the control information to the at
`least one smart device via the non-LoRaWAN
`communication link” ...........................................................104
`[1f] “receive status information from the electronic door lock
`via the non-LoRaWAN communication link based on
`transmission of the command, and ......................................105
`transmit the status information to the property management platform
`for the multi-family residential or commercial property via
`the LoRaWAN communication link.” .................................105
`3. Claim 2 ...........................................................................................107
`a.
`[2a] “The system of claim 1 where electronic door lock
`comprises an offline door lock and” ....................................107
`[2b] “the command is further configured to disable at least
`one access credential stored at a memory of the offline door
`lock.” ....................................................................................108
`
`b.
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`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`4. Claim 3 – “The system of claim 1 where: the one or more
`processors are configured to derive a second command from the
`control information, the second command to be transmitted to a
`second smart device of the at least one smart device via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link, the second smart device comprises
`a thermostat and the second command is configured to adjust a
`temperature setting of the thermostat, or the second smart device
`comprises a smart light fixture and the second command is
`configured to turn off or turn on the smart light fixture.” .............110
`5. Claim 4 – “The system of claim 1 where the one or more
`processors, the first communication interface, the second
`communication interface, and the memory are integrated within a
`housing of a thermostat.” ...............................................................112
`6. Claim 5 – “The system of claim 1 where the smart hub is coupled to
`electrical wiring at the multi-family residential or commercial
`property.” .......................................................................................113
`7. Claim 6 – “The system of claim 1 where the smart hub is located
`within the unit of the multi-family residential or commercial
`property.” .......................................................................................114
`8. Claim 7 ...........................................................................................114
`a.
`[7a] “The system of claim 1 where: the non-LoRaWAN
`communication link comprises at least one of a Wireless
`Fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication link, a ZigBee
`communication link, and a Bluetooth communication link,”
` .............................................................................................114
`[7b] “the second communication interface is configured to
`directly couple the one or more processors to the plurality of
`smart devices via the non-LoRaWAN communication link,
`and” ......................................................................................114
`[7c] “communicatively coupling the one or more processors
`to the user device enables user interaction with the smart
`hub.” .....................................................................................114
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
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`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`9. Claim 8 – “The system of claim 1 where the one or more processors
`are further configured to: retrieve at least a portion of access log
`information from the electronic door lock via the non-LoRaWAN
`communication link; and ................................................................115
`transmit the at least a portion of access log information to the property
`management platform for the multi-family residential or commercial
`property via the LoRaWAN communication link.” .......................115
`10. Claim 9 “The system of claim 8 where the one or more processors
`are further configured to periodically transmit requests for the
`access log information to the electronic door lock via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link.” .................................................115
`11. Claim 10 “The system of claim 8 where the control information
`received from the property management platform for the multi-
`family residential or commercial property includes a request for the
`access log information, and where the at least a portion of access log
`information is retrieved based on receipt of the request for the
`access log information.” .................................................................116
`12. Independent Claim 11 ....................................................................117
`a.
`[11pre] “A method for controlling and securing a plurality of
`smart devices within a unit of a multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the method comprising:” ..................117
`[11a] “receiving, by one or more processors of a smart hub,
`control information via a Long Range (LoRa) wide area
`network (LoRaWAN) communication link from a property
`management platform for the multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the control information including a
`request for a status check associated with an electronic door
`lock;” ....................................................................................117
`[11b] “identifying, by the one or more processors, a smart
`device of the plurality of smart devices based on the control
`information, the smart device including the electronic door
`lock;” ....................................................................................117
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`d.
`
`e.
`
`f.
`
`[11c] “transmitting, by the one or more processors, a
`command derived from the control information to the smart
`device via a non-LoRaWAN communication link, the smart
`hub configured to be communicatively coupled to a user
`device associated with an occupant of the unit via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link;” .......................................117
`[11d] “receiving, by the one or more processors, status
`information from the electronic door lock via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link based on transmission of the
`command; and” ....................................................................118
`[11e] “transmitting, by the one or more processors, the status
`information to the property management platform for the
`multi-family residential or commercial property via the
`LoRaWAN communication link.” .......................................118
`13. Claim 12 – “The method of claim 11 where the electronic door lock
`comprises an offline door lock and the command is further
`configured to disable at least one access credential stored at a
`memory of the offline door lock.” .................................................118
`14. Claim 13 – “The method of claim 11 further comprising
`transmitting a second command derived from the control
`information to a second smart device of the plurality of smart
`devices via the non-LoRaWAN communication link, where the
`second smart device comprises a thermostat and the second
`command is configured to adjust a temperature setting of the
`thermostat.” ....................................................................................118
`15. Claim 14 – “The method of claim 11 further comprising
`transmitting a second command derived from the control
`information to a second smart device of the plurality of smart
`devices via the non-LoRaWAN communication link, where the
`second smart device comprises a smart light fixture and the second
`command is configured to turn off or turn on the smart light
`fixture.” ..........................................................................................119
`
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`b.
`
`c.
`
`16. Claim 15 – “The method of claim 11 where the smart hub is located
`within a public area of the multi-family residential or commercial
`property.” .......................................................................................119
`17. Claim 16 .........................................................................................119
`a.
`[16a] “The method of claim 11 further comprising:
`transmitting a request to the smart device via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link;” .......................................119
`[16b] “receiving data from the smart device via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link subsequent to transmission
`of the request; and” ..............................................................119
`[16c] “transmitting at least a portion of the data to the
`property management platform for the multi-family
`residential or commercial property via the LoRaWAN
`communication link.” ..........................................................119
`18. Independent Claim 17 ....................................................................120
`a.
`[17pre] “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
`storing instructions that, when executed by one or more
`processors of a smart hub, cause the one or more processors
`to perform operations for controlling and securing a plurality
`of smart devices within a unit of a multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the operations comprising:” .............120
`[17a] “receiving control information via a Long Range
`(LoRa) wide area network (LoRaWAN) communication link
`from a property management platform for the multi-family
`residential or commercial property, the control information
`including a request for a status check associated with an
`electronic door lock;” ..........................................................120
`[17b] “identifying a smart device of the plurality of smart
`devices based on the control information, the smart device
`including the electronic door lock;” ....................................121
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`
`d.
`
`e.
`
`f.
`
`[17c] “transmitting a command derived from the control
`information to the smart device via a non-LoRaWAN
`communication link, the smart hub configured to be
`communicatively coupled to a user device associated with an
`occupant of the unit via the non-LoRaWAN communication
`link;” ....................................................................................121
`[17d] “receiving status information from the electronic door
`lock via the non-LoRaWAN communication link based on
`transmission of the command; and” ....................................121
`[17e] “transmitting the status information to the property
`management platform for the multi-family residential or
`commercial property via the LoRaWAN communication
`link.” ....................................................................................121
`19. Claim 18 .........................................................................................122
`a.
`[18a] “The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
`of claim 17 where the smart device comprises an offline door
`lock configurable to change between a locked state or an
`unlocked state via access credentials stored at a memory of
`the offline door lock,” ..........................................................122
`[18b] “where the command is configured to disable at least
`one access credential stored at the memory of the offline door
`lock, and” .............................................................................123
`[18c] “where the offline door lock comprises a lock processor
`configured to receive an access credential from a credential
`device and to determine validity of the received access
`credential based on the access credentials stored at the
`memory of the offlne door lock.” ........................................123
`20. Claim 19 - “The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
`of claim 17 where the operations further comprise: identifying an
`action indicated by the control information, the action to be
`performed at the smart device; and deriving the command based on
`
`b.
`
`c.
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`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`the action, where the command is executable by the smart device to
`cause performance of the action.” ..................................................125
`21. Claim 20 – “The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
`of claim 17 where the non-LoRaWAN communication link
`comprises a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication link.” .125
`C. Ground 3: Claims 1-20 Are Obvious In Light Of Kraus and Deros ....125
`1. Motivation to Combine Kraus and Deros ......................................125
`a.
`LoRa WAN ..........................................................................126
`b.
`Smart Thermostat Hub .........................................................127
`Independent Claim 1 ......................................................................129
`a.
`[1pre] “A system for controlling and securing a plurality of
`smart devices within a unit of a multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the system comprising:” ...................129
`[1a] “a smart hub comprising: one or more processors; a
`memory communicatively coupled to the one or more
`processors;” ..........................................................................130
`[1b] “a first communication interface configured to
`communicatively couple the one or more processors to a
`Long Range (LoRa) wide area network (LoRaWAN)
`communication link; and” ...................................................132
`[1c] “a second communication interface configured to
`communicatively couple the one or more processors to the
`plurality of smart devices and to a user device associated with
`an occupant of the unit via a non-LoRaWAN communication
`link;” ....................................................................................135
`[1d] “where the one or more processors are configured to:
`receive control information via the LoRaWAN
`communication link from a property management platform
`for the multi-family residential or commercial property, the
`
`2.
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
`d.
`
`e.
`
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
`
`
`f.
`
`g.
`
`control information including a request for a status check
`associated with an electronic door lock,” ............................136
`[1e] “identify at least one smart device of the plurality of
`smart devices based on the control information, the at least
`one smart device including the electronic door lock, transmit
`a command derived from the control information to the at
`least one smart device via the non-LoRaWAN
`communication link,” ..........................................................138
`[1f] “receive status information from the electronic door lock
`via the non-LoRaWAN communication link based on
`transmission of the command, and transmit the status
`information to the property management platform for the
`multi-family residential or commercial property via the
`LoRaWAN communication link.” .......................................139
`3. Claim 2 ...........................................................................................140
`a.
`[2a] “The system of claim 1 where electronic door lock
`comprises an offline door lock and” ....................................140
`[2b] “the command is further configured to disable at least
`one access credential stored at a memory of the offline door
`lock.” ....................................................................................141
`4. Claim 3 – “The system of claim 1 where: the one or more
`processors are configured to derive a second command from the
`control information, the second command to be transmitted to a
`second smart device of the at least one smart device via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link, the second smart device comprises
`a thermostat and the second command is configured to adjust a
`temperature setting of the thermostat, or the second smart device
`comprises a smart light fixture and the second command is
`configured to turn off or turn on the smart light fixture.” .............142
`5. Claim 4 – “ The system of claim 1 where the one or more
`processors, the first communication interface, the second
`
`b.
`
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`communication interface, and the memory are integrated within a
`housing of a thermostat.” ...............................................................145
`6. Claim 5 – “ The system of claim 1 where the smart hub is coupled
`to electrical wiring at the multi-family residential or commercial
`property.” .......................................................................................147
`7. Claim 6 – “The system of claim 1 where the smart hub is located
`within the unit of the multi-family residential or commercial
`property.” .......................................................................................148
`8. Claim 7 ...........................................................................................148
`a.
`[7a] “The system of claim 1 where: the non-LoRaWAN
`communication link comprises at least one of a Wireless
`Fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication link, a ZigBee
`communication link, and a Bluetooth communication link,”
` .............................................................................................148
`[7b] “the second communication interface is configured to
`directly couple the one or more processors to the plurality of
`smart devices via the non-LoRaWAN communication link,
`and” ......................................................................................149
`[7c] “communicatively coupling the one or more processors
`to the user device enables user interaction with the smart
`hub.” .....................................................................................150
`9. Claim 8 – “The system of claim 1 where the one or more processors
`are further configured to: retrieve at least a portion of access log
`information from the electronic door lock via the non-LoRaWAN
`communication link; and transmit the at least a portion of access log
`information to the property management platform for the multi-
`family residential or commercial property via the LoRaWAN
`communication link.” .....................................................................151
`10. Claim 9 – “The system of claim 8 where the one or more processors
`are further configured to periodically transmit requests for the
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
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`access log information to the electronic door lock via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link.” .................................................151
`11. Claim 10 – “The system of claim 8 where the control information
`received from the property management platform for the multi-
`family residential or commercial property includes a request for the
`access log information, and where the at least a portion of access log
`information is retrieved based on receipt of the request for the
`access log information.” .................................................................152
`12. Independent Claim 11 ....................................................................153
`a.
`[11pre] “A method for controlling and securing a plurality of
`smart devices within a unit of a multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the method comprising:” ..................153
`[11a] “receiving, by one or more processors of a smart hub,
`control information via a Long Range (LoRa) wide area
`network (LoRaWAN) communication link from a property
`management platform for the multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the control information including a
`request for a status check associated with an electronic door
`lock;” ....................................................................................153
`[11b] “identifying, by the one or more processors, a smart
`device of the plurality of smart devices based on the control
`information, the smart device including the electronic door
`lock;” ....................................................................................153
`[11c] “transmitting, by the one or more processors, a
`command derived from the control information to the smart
`device via a non-LoRaWAN communication link, the smart
`hub configured to be communicatively coupled to a user
`device associated with an occupant of the unit via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link;” .......................................154
`[11d] “receiving, by the one or more processors, status
`information from the electronic door lock via the non-
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
`Declaration of Philip C. Dumas
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`
`f.
`
`LoRaWAN communication link based on transmission of the
`command; and” ....................................................................154
`[11e] “transmitting, by the one or more processors, the status
`information to the property management platform for the
`multi-family residential or commercial property via the
`LoRaWAN communication link.” .......................................154
`13. Claim 12 – “The method of claim 11 where the electronic door lock
`comprises an offline door lock and the command is further
`configured to disable at least one access credential stored at a
`memory of the offline door lock.” .................................................154
`14. Claim 13 – “The method of claim 11 further comprising
`transmitting a second command derived from the control
`information to a second smart device of the plurality of smart
`devices via the non-LoRaWAN communication link, where the
`second smart device comprises a thermostat and the second
`command is configured to adjust a temperature setting of the
`thermostat.” ....................................................................................154
`15. Claim 14 – “The method of claim 11 further comprising
`transmitting a second command derived from the control
`information to a second smart device of the plurality of smart
`devices via the non-LoRaWAN communication link, where the
`second smart device comprises a smart light fixture and the second
`command is configured to turn off or turn on the smart light
`fixture.” ..........................................................................................155
`16. Claim 15 – “The method of claim 11 where the smart hub is located
`within a public area of the multi-family residential or commercial
`property.” .......................................................................................155
`17. Claim 16 .........................................................................................155
`a.
`[16a] “The method of claim 11 further comprising:
`transmitting a request to the smart device via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link;” .......................................155
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
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`b.
`
`c.
`
`b.
`
`[16b] “receiving data from the smart device via the non-
`LoRaWAN communication link subsequent to transmission
`of the request; and” ..............................................................155
`[16c] “transmitting at least a portion of the data to the
`property management platform for the multi-family
`residential or commercial property via the LoRaWAN
`communication link.” ..........................................................156
`18. Independent Claim 17 ....................................................................156
`a.
`[17pre] “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
`storing instructions that, when executed by one or more
`processors of a smart hub, cause the one or more processors
`to perform operations for controlling and securing a plurality
`of smart devices within a unit of a multi-family residential or
`commercial property, the operations comprising:” .............156
`[17a] “receiving control information via a Long Range
`(LoRa) wide area network (LoRaWAN) communication link
`from a property management platform for the multi-family
`residential or commercial property, the control information
`including a request for a status check associated with an
`electronic door lock;” ..........................................................157
`[17b] “identifying a smart device of the plurality of smart
`devices based on the control information, the smart device
`including the electronic door lock;” ....................................157
`[17c] “transmitting a command derived from the control
`information to the smart device via a non-LoRaWAN
`communication link, the smart hub configured to be
`communicatively coupled to a user device associated with an
`occupant of the unit via the non-LoRaWAN communication
`link;” ....................................................................................157
`[17d] “receiving status information from the electronic door
`lock via the non-LoRaWAN communication link based on
`transmission of the command; and” ....................................157
`
`c.
`
`d.
`
`e.
`
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`PGR – Patent No. 11,189,118
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`
`f.
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
`[17e] “transmitting the status information to the property
`management platform for the multi-family residential or
`commercial property via the LoRaWAN communication link”
` .............................................................................................157
`19. Claim 18 .........................................................................................158
`a.
`[18a] “The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
`of claim 17 where the smart device comprises an offline door
`lock configurable to change between a locked state or an
`unlocked state via access credentials stored at a memory of
`the offline door lock,” ..........................................................158
`[18b] “where the command is configured to disable at least
`one access credential stored at the memory of the offline door
`lock,” ..................................................................