IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`Petit et al.
`In re Patent of:
`8,321,213
`U.S. Patent No.:
`November 27, 2012
`Issue Date:
`Appl. Serial No.: 12/606,146
`Filing Date:
`October 26, 2009
`Title:
`ACOUSTIC VOICE ACTIVITY DETECTION (AVAD) FOR
`ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS
`
`Attorney Docket No.: 50095-0093IP2
`
`DECLARATION OF DR. THOMAS W. KENNY
`
`Declaration
`
`I hereby declare that all statements made of my own knowledge are true and
`
`that all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true. I further
`
`declare that these statements were made with the knowledge that willful false
`
`statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both,
`
`under Section 1001 of the Title 18 of the United States Code.
`
`Dated: August 31, 2022
`
`
`
`By:
`
`Thomas W. Kenny, Ph.D.
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`V. 
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION .................... 4 
`I. 
`OVERVIEW OF THE CONCLUSION FORMED ...................................... 12 
`II. 
`III.  LEVEL OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART ........................................... 12 
`IV.  LEGAL STANDARDS ................................................................................. 13 
`A.  Terminology ............................................................................................ 13 
`B.  Legal Standards for Anticipation ............................................................ 14 
`C.  Legal Standards for Obviousness ........................................................... 15 
`THE ’213 PATENT ....................................................................................... 20 
`A.  Overview of the ’213 Patent ................................................................... 20 
`B.  Prosecution History of the ’213 Patent ................................................... 24 
`VI.  SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART .............................................................. 24 
`A.  Overview of Avendano ’880 ................................................................... 24 
`B.  Overview of Hou .................................................................................... 33 
`C.  Overview of Avendano ’252 ................................................................... 36 
`VII.  GROUND 1: CLAIMS 1-3, 5-9, 12, 13 ARE RENDERED OBVIOUS BY
`AVENDANO ’880 IN VIEW OF HOU ........................................................ 42 
`A.  Combination of Avendano ’880 and Hou ............................................... 42 
`B.  Claim 1 .................................................................................................... 58 
`C.  Claim 2 .................................................................................................... 76 
`D.  Claim 3 .................................................................................................... 78 
`E.  Claim 5 .................................................................................................... 79 
`F.  Claim 6 .................................................................................................... 87 
`G.  Claim 7 .................................................................................................... 88 
`H.  Claim 8 .................................................................................................... 89 
`I.  Claim 9 .................................................................................................... 92 
`J.  Claim 12 .................................................................................................. 92 
`K.  Claim 13 .................................................................................................. 94 
`VIII.  GROUND 2: CLAIMS 4, 10, AND 11 ARE RENDERED OBVIOUS BY
`AVENDANO ’880 IN VIEW OF HOU AND AVENDANO ’252 .............. 96 
`A.  Combination of Avendano ’880, Hou, and Avendano ’252 ................... 96 
`B.  Claim 4 .................................................................................................... 98 
`C.  Claim 10 ................................................................................................105 
`D.  Claim 11 ................................................................................................107 
`
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`IX.  CONCLUSION ............................................................................................111 
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`I.
`QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
`1. My education and experience are described more fully in the attached
`
`curriculum vitae (APPLE-1004). For ease of reference, I have highlighted certain
`
`information below.
`
`2. My academic and professional background is in Physics, Mechanical
`
`Engineering, Sensing, and Robotics, with a research specialization focused on
`
`microfabricated physical sensors, and I have been working in those fields since the
`
`completion of my Ph.D. more than 32 years ago. The details of my background
`
`and education and a listing of all publications I have authored in the past 37 years
`
`are provided in my curriculum vitae, APPLE-1004. Below I provide a short
`
`summary of my education and experience which I believe to be most pertinent to
`
`the opinions that I express here.
`
`3.
`
`I received a B.S. in Physics from University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in
`
`1983, and a Ph.D. in Physics from University of California at Berkeley in 1989. I
`
`was educated as a Physicist specializing in sensors and measurement. My Physics
`
`Ph.D. thesis involved measurements of the heat capacity of monolayers of atoms
`
`on surfaces, and relied on precision measurements of temperature and power using
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`time-varying electrical signals, and also on the design and construction of
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`miniature sensor components and associated electrical circuits for conditioning and
`
`conversion to digital format.
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`
`
`
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`4.
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`After completion of my Ph.D. in Physics at U.C. Berkeley in 1989, I joined
`
`the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA, as a staff scientist, and began
`
`working on miniature sensors and instruments for small spacecraft. This work
`
`involved the use of silicon microfabrication technologies for miniaturization of the
`
`sensors, and served as my introduction to the field of micro-electromechanical
`
`systems (MEMS), or the study of very small mechanical sensors powered by
`
`electricity and used for detection of physical and chemical signals.
`
`5. While at JPL, we developed accelerometers, uncooled infrared sensors,
`
`magnetometers, seismometers, force and displacement sensors, soil chemistry
`
`sensors, miniature structures for trapping interstellar dust, and many other
`
`miniature devices. Some of these projects led to devices that were launched with
`
`spacecraft headed for Mars and for other interplanetary missions. Much of this
`
`work involved the use of physical sensors for detection of small forces and
`
`displacements using micromechanical sensors.
`
`6.
`
`I am presently the Richard Weiland Professor at the Department of
`
`Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, where I have taught for the past 28
`
`years. I am also currently the Senior Associate Dean of Engineering for Student
`
`Affairs at Stanford.
`
`7.
`
`In my role at Stanford, I supervise Ph.D. students carrying out research on
`
`design, fabrication and characterization of micromechanical devices and sensors.
`
`
`
`
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`In this research, we have developed devices for measurement of inertial forces,
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`pressure, light, temperature, and acoustic signals, as well as techniques for
`
`capturing and processing of signals and noise from sensors, with a detailed listing
`
`of the resulting publications and patents included in my CV.
`
`8.
`
`I have also been active in teaching courses at Stanford, including ME210
`
`Introduction to Mechatronics, and ME220 Introduction to Sensors. In ME220, I
`
`provide a survey of mechanisms used to transform physical phenomena into
`
`electric signals, followed by a discussion of many different categories of sensors
`
`such as pressure sensors, accelerometers, thermometers, microphones, gyroscopes,
`
`as well as sensors for chemical parameters, light, and electromagnetic phenomena.
`
`I have taught this course more than 25 times over my career at Stanford. In
`
`ME210, we provide a broad introduction to the concepts and components needed
`
`for design of autonomous mobile robots, which includes capture and processing of
`
`signals from sensors.
`
`9.
`
`I have advised 74 Ph.D. students that have completed Ph.D. degrees and
`
`many more M.S. and B.S. students in Engineering during my time at Stanford.
`
`The research carried out with these Ph.D. students routinely includes measurement
`
`of signals which contain information and noise from the background, and require
`
`development of methods for identifying the information and noise components of
`
`
`
`
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`the signal and then implementing filters, subtractions, correlations, etc., as needed
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`to produce clear signals as needed for the analysis.
`
`10.
`
`I have published over 250 technical papers in refereed journals and
`
`conferences in the field of sensors, MEMS, and measurements. I have further
`
`presented numerous conference abstracts, posters, and talks in my field. I am a
`
`named inventor on 50 patents in my areas of work.
`
`11.
`
`I served as General Chair or Technical Program Committee Chair for the
`
`International Conference on Solid State Sensors and Actuators (“Transducers”) in
`
`2003 and 2015, for the Hilton Head Workshop on Solid State Sensors and
`
`Actuators in 2002 and 2004, for the IEEE Sensors Conference in 2009 and 2010,
`
`and on technical program committees for several other conferences. These
`
`conferences included technical sessions on capture of signals in the presence of
`
`environmental noise sources, and processing to remove the portion of the signal
`
`that comes from the environmental sources. I recently completed a 6-year term as
`
`President of the Transducers Research Foundation, a private foundation that
`
`oversees technical conferences in the area of micromechanical sensors, actuators
`
`and systems, energy harvesting, microtechnologies for medicine and biology, and
`
`raises funds to support growth of the community, primarily by providing travel
`
`assistance for students to attend technical meetings.
`
`
`
`
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`12.
`
`I received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Exceptional
`
`Public Service in 2010, the IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award
`
`in 2011, and was named Fellow of the ASME in 2014. I was awarded the 2018
`
`IEEE Daniel Noble Award for Emerging Technologies. In 2022, I was elected to
`
`the National Academy of Engineering.
`
`13. Among the publications listed in my CV, there are several which are
`
`specifically relevant to the subject matter of this declaration. For example, in the
`
`paper titled “Measurement of the Noise of a Geophone in the Presence of Large
`
`Background Signals” (Rev. Sci. Instrum. 69, 2767-2772 (1998)), we present a
`
`method for using a pair of sensitive vibration sensors (“geophones”) operated at
`
`the same time to enable a determination of the background vibration signals
`
`detected by both sensors and the internal fundamental noise in each sensor. Since
`
`both sensors are mounted on the same surface and observing the same seismic
`
`background signals, the portion of the signal coming from the background is highly
`
`correlated, whereas the portion of the signal associated with the fundamental noise
`
`in each sensor is uncorrelated. We use measurements of the correlation between
`
`the signals from the two sensors to distinguish the seismic background signal from
`
`the sensor noise signal. To extract the sensor noise signal, we utilize the
`
`correlation coefficients to subtract out the correlated portion due to true ground
`
`motion, allowing clearer identification of the inherent noise of each sensor, even in
`
`
`
`
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`cases where the ground motion signals are much larger than the noise of the
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`sensors. A similar technique is used in “A High-Precision, Wide-Bandwidth
`
`Micromachined Tunneling Accelerometer” (JMEMS, 10,425 (2001)), for example.
`
`14.
`
`In the paper titled “Ultraminiature Encapsulated Accelerometers as a Fully-
`
`Implantable Sensors for Implantable Hearing Aids”, (Biomedical MicroDevices 9,
`
`939 (2007)), we designed and developed a novel ultraminiature accelerometer
`
`which could be mounted on the eardrum, allowing electrical measurement of
`
`acoustic signals using the mechanical elements of the ear, and enabling signal
`
`delivery to the cochlea that bypassed the mechanical elements in the middle ear. In
`
`general, the publications presented in my CV describe careful measurements of
`
`small signals from micromechanical devices, followed by amplification, filtering
`
`and processing to suppress or remove contributions from uninteresting background
`
`sources.
`
`15.
`
`I have previously served as an expert on a patent infringement case
`
`involving the mounting and use of pressure sensors on guidewire catheters for
`
`cardiovascular procedures that included a number of sensing aspects, such as
`
`recording static and dynamic pressure signals, and compensating for electrical and
`
`mechanical errors. I have also previously served as an expert on a patent
`
`infringement case involving the design and use of miniature inertial sensors. That
`
`case involved the design and operations of micromechanical sensors, and
`
`
`
`
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`particularly the use of inertial sensors for detection of states of movement and rest.
`
`I have also served as an expert in a patent infringement case involving the use of
`
`sensors on athletic shoes for determining athletic performance. More recently, I
`
`served as an expert in a patent infringement case involving optical proximity
`
`sensors in smartphones and in a case involving technologies related to
`
`physiological sensors for measurement of parameters such as heart rate. My CV,
`
`APPLE-1004, includes a full listing of all cases in which I have testified at
`
`deposition or trial in the preceding four years.
`
`16.
`
`I have been retained on behalf of Apple Inc. to offer technical opinions
`
`relating to U.S. Patent No. 8,321,213 (“the ’213 patent”) and prior art references
`
`relating to its subject matter. I have reviewed the ’213 patent, relevant excerpts of
`
`the prosecution history of the ’213 patent. I have also reviewed the following prior
`
`art references:
`
`Prior Art Reference
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,194,880 B2 (“Avendano ’880”)
`U.S. App. No. 11/699,732 (“Avendano Priority Application”)
`U.S. Patent No. 7,155,019 B2 (“Hou”)
`U.S. Patent No. 8,204,252 B1 (“Avendano ’252”)
`
`
`
`17. Counsel has informed me that I should consider these materials through the
`
`lens of one of ordinary skill in the art related to the ’213 patent at the time of the
`
`
`
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`earliest possible priority date of the ’213 patent, and I have done so during my
`
`review of these materials. The application leading to the ’213 patent was filed on
`
`October 26, 2009 and claims the benefit of priority to a provisional application
`
`filed October 24, 2008 (“Critical Date”). Further, application leading to the ’213
`
`patent is a continuation-in-part of two applications filed May 25, 2007 and June 13,
`
`2008, respectively. Counsel has informed me that the Critical Date represents the
`
`earliest possible priority date to which the challenged claims of ’213 patent are
`
`entitled, and I have therefore used that Critical Date in my analysis below.
`
`18.
`
`I have no financial interest in the party or in the outcome of this proceeding.
`
`I am being compensated for my work as an expert on an hourly basis. My
`
`compensation is not dependent on the outcome of these proceedings or the content
`
`of my opinions.
`
`19.
`
`In writing this declaration, I have considered the following: my own
`
`knowledge and experience, including my work experience in the fields of
`
`mechanical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering, and electrical
`
`engineer; my experience in teaching those subjects; and my experience in working
`
`with others involved in those fields. In addition, I have analyzed various
`
`publications and materials, in addition to other materials I cite in my declaration.
`
`20. My opinions, as explained below, are based on my education, experience,
`
`and expertise in the fields relating to the ’213 patent. Unless otherwise stated, my
`
`
`
`
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`testimony below refers to the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the fields as of
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`the Critical Date, or before. Any figures that appear within this document have
`
`been prepared with the assistance of Counsel and reflect my understanding of
`
`the ’213 patent and the prior art discussed below.
`
`II. OVERVIEW OF THE CONCLUSION FORMED
`21. This declaration explains the conclusions that I have formed based on my
`
`analysis. To summarize those conclusions, based upon my knowledge and
`
`experience and my review of the prior art publications listed above, I believe that:
`
` Claims 1-3, 5-9, 12, and 13 are rendered obvious by Avendano ’880 in view
`
`of Hou.
`
` Claims 4, 10, and 11 are rendered obvious by Avendano ’880 in view of
`
`Hou and Avendano ’252.
`
`III. LEVEL OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART
`In my opinion, one of ordinary skill in the art relating to, and at the time of,
`
`22.
`
`the invention of the ’213 patent would have been someone with at least a bachelor
`
`of science in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science,
`
`mechanical engineering, or a related discipline, with at least two years of relevant
`
`experience in a field related to acoustics, speech recognition, speech detection, or
`
`signal processing. A greater amount of education, i.e., a doctorate in electrical
`
`engineering, computer engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, or
`
`
`
`
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`a related discipline would also qualify for the hypothetical person of ordinary skill
`
`in the art in lieu of fewer years of work experience. Additional education or
`
`industry experience may compensate for a deficit in one of the other aspects of the
`
`requirements stated above.
`
`23. Based on my experiences, I have a good understanding of the capabilities of
`
`one of ordinary skill. Indeed, I have taught, participated in organizations, and
`
`worked closely with many such persons over the course of my career. Based on
`
`my knowledge, skill, and experience, I have an understanding of the capabilities of
`
`one of ordinary skill. For example, from my industry experience, I am familiar
`
`with what an engineer would have known and found predictable in the art. From
`
`teaching and supervising my post-graduate students, I also have an understanding
`
`of the knowledge that a person with this academic experience possesses.
`
`Furthermore, I possess those capabilities myself.
`
`IV. LEGAL STANDARDS
`A. Terminology
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that the best indicator of
`
`24.
`
`claim meaning is its usage in the context of the patent specification as understood
`
`by one of ordinary skill. I further understand that the words of the claims should
`
`be given their plain meaning unless that meaning is inconsistent with the patent
`
`specification or the patent’s history of examination before the Patent Office.
`
`
`
`
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`Counsel has also informed me, and I understand that, the words of the claims
`
`should be interpreted as they would have been interpreted by one of ordinary skill
`
`at the time of the invention was made (not today). Because I do not know at what
`
`date the invention as claimed was made, I have used the earliest possible priority
`
`date of the ’213 patent as the point in time for claim interpretation purposes. That
`
`date was October 24, 2008, the Critical Date.
`
`B.
`Legal Standards for Anticipation
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that documents and
`
`25.
`
`materials that qualify as prior art can render a patent claim unpatentable as
`
`anticipated. I am informed by Counsel and understand that all prior art references
`
`are to be looked at from the viewpoint of a person of ordinary skill in the art.
`
`26.
`
`I am informed by Counsel and understand that a challenged claim is
`
`unpatentable as “anticipated” under 35 U.S.C. § 102 if it is determined that all the
`
`limitations of the claim are described in a single prior art reference. I am informed
`
`by Counsel and understand that, to anticipate a claim, a prior art reference must
`
`disclose, either expressly or inherently, each and every limitation of that claim and
`
`enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention.
`
`27.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that in an inter partes
`
`review, “the petitioner shall have the burden of proving a proposition of
`
`
`
`
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`unpatentability,” including a proposition of anticipation, “by a preponderance of
`
`the evidence.” 35 U.S.C. §316(e).
`
`C. Legal Standards for Obviousness
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that documents and
`
`28.
`
`materials that qualify as prior art can render a patent claim unpatentable as
`
`obvious. I am informed by Counsel and understand that all prior art references are
`
`to be looked at from the viewpoint of a person of ordinary skill in the art at the
`
`time of the invention, and that this viewpoint prevents one from using his or her
`
`own insight or hindsight in deciding whether a claim is obvious.
`
`29.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that a claim is unpatentable
`
`for obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 (in the pre-AIA form of that statute that
`
`applies to the ’213 patent) “if the differences between the subject matter sought to
`
`be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have
`
`been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill
`
`in the art to which said subject matter pertains.” I am informed by Counsel and
`
`understand that obviousness may be based upon a combination of references. I am
`
`informed by Counsel and understand that the combination of familiar elements
`
`according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than
`
`yield predictable results. However, I am informed by Counsel and understand that
`
`
`
`
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`a patent claim composed of several elements is not proved obvious merely by
`
`demonstrating that each of its elements was, independently, known in the prior art.
`
`30.
`
`I am informed by Counsel and understand that when a patented invention is
`
`a combination of known elements, a court must determine whether there was an
`
`apparent reason to combine the known elements in the fashion claimed by the
`
`patent at issue by considering the teachings of prior art references, the effects of
`
`demands known to people working in the field or present in the marketplace, and
`
`the background knowledge possessed by a person having ordinary skill in the art.
`
`31.
`
`I am informed by Counsel and understand that a patent claim composed of
`
`several limitations is not proved obvious merely by demonstrating that each of its
`
`limitations was independently known in the prior art. I am informed by counsel for
`
`the Patent Owner and understand that identifying a reason those elements would be
`
`combined can be important because inventions in many instances rely upon
`
`building blocks long since uncovered, and claimed discoveries almost of necessity
`
`will be combinations of what, in some sense, is already known. I am informed by
`
`Counsel and understand that it is improper to use hindsight in an obviousness
`
`analysis, and that a patent’s claims should not be used as a “roadmap.”
`
`32.
`
`I am informed by Counsel and understand that an obviousness inquiry
`
`requires consideration of the following factors: (1) the scope and content of the
`
`prior art; (2) the differences between the claims and the prior art; (3) the level of
`
`
`
`
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`ordinary skill in the pertinent art; and (4) any objective indicia of non-obviousness,
`
`such as commercial success, long-felt but unresolved need, failure of others,
`
`industry recognition, copying, and unexpected results. I understand that the
`
`foregoing factors are sometimes referred to as the “Graham factors.”
`
`33.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that an obviousness
`
`evaluation can be based on a combination of multiple prior art references. I
`
`understand that the prior art references themselves may provide a suggestion,
`
`motivation, or reason to combine, but that the nexus linking two or more prior art
`
`references is sometimes simple common sense. I have been informed by Counsel
`
`and understand that obviousness analysis recognizes that market demand, rather
`
`than scientific literature, often drives innovation, and that a motivation to combine
`
`references may be supplied by the direction of the marketplace.
`
`34.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that if a technique has been
`
`used to improve one device, and a person of ordinary skill at the time of invention
`
`would have recognized that it would improve similar devices in the same way,
`
`using the technique is obvious unless its actual application is beyond his or her
`
`skill.
`
`35.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that practical and common
`
`sense considerations should guide a proper obviousness analysis, because familiar
`
`items may have obvious uses beyond their primary purposes. I have been
`
`
`
`
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`informed by Counsel and understand that a person of ordinary skill looking to
`
`overcome a problem will often be able to fit together the teachings of multiple
`
`prior art references. I have been informed by Counsel and understand that
`
`obviousness analysis therefore takes into account the inferences and creative steps
`
`that a person of ordinary skill would have employed at the time of invention.
`
`36.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that a proper obviousness
`
`analysis focuses on what was known or obvious to a person of ordinary skill at the
`
`time of invention, not just the patentee. Accordingly, I understand that any need or
`
`problem known in the field of endeavor at the time of invention and addressed by
`
`the patent can provide a reason for combining the elements in the manner claimed.
`
`37.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that a claim can be obvious
`
`in light of a single reference, without the need to combine references, if the
`
`elements of the claim that are not found explicitly or inherently in the reference
`
`can be supplied by the common sense of one of skill in the art.
`
`38.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that secondary indicia of
`
`non-obviousness may include (1) a long felt but unmet need in the prior art that
`
`was satisfied by the invention of the patent; (2) commercial success of processes
`
`covered by the patent; (3) unexpected results achieved by the invention; (4) praise
`
`of the invention by others skilled in the art; (5) taking of licenses under the patent
`
`by others; (6) deliberate copying of the invention; (7) failure of others to find a
`
`
`
`
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`solution to the long felt need; and (8) skepticism by experts. I understand that
`
`evidence of secondary indicia of non-obviousness, if available, should be
`
`considered as part of the obviousness analysis.
`
`39.
`
`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that there must be a
`
`relationship between any such secondary considerations and the invention, and that
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`contemporaneous and independent invention by others is a secondary consideration
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`supporting an obviousness determination.
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`40.
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`In sum, my understanding is that prior art teachings are properly combined
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`where one of ordinary skill having the understanding and knowledge reflected in
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`the prior art and motivated by the general problem facing the inventor, would have
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`been led to make the combination of elements recited in the claims. Under this
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`analysis, the prior art references themselves, or any need or problem known in the
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`field of endeavor at the time of the invention, can provide a reason for combining
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`the elements of multiple prior art references in the claimed manner.
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`41.
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`I have been informed by Counsel and understand that in an inter partes
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`review, “the petitioner shall have the burden of proving a proposition of
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`unpatentability,” including a proposition of obviousness, “by a preponderance of
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`the evidence.” 35 U.S.C. §316(e).
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`V. THE ’213 PATENT
`A. Overview of the ’213 Patent
`42. Prior to the Critical Date of the ’213 patent, numerous products,
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`publications, and patents existed that implemented or described the functionality
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`claimed in the ’213 patent. Specifically, it was well established to use a pair of
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`physical microphones to construct a pair of virtual microphones, such that one of
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`the virtual microphones is more sensitive to speech than the other. Further, it was
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`also well established to generate such virtual microphones by delaying and filtering
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`signals received from the physical microphones, and forming various combinations
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`of the delayed and filtered signals. Further still, it was also well established to
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`detect voice activity by comparing the virtual microphones to one another to
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`identify characteristics indicative of speech. Further still, it was also well
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`established to use adaptive filters and other signal processing elements to
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`implement these techniques. The methodology of the ’213 patent was therefore
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`well-known in the prior art as of the Critical Date. Further, to the extent there was
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`any problem to be solved in the ’213 patent, it had already been solved in the prior
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`art systems before the Critical Date of the ’213 patent as I discuss below.
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`43. The ’213 patent describes the problem of pollution of the speech signal
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`captured by a single microphone with noise from one or more noise sources in the
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`environment, and describes that single-microphone systems can be improved
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`through the use of additional non-acoustic sensors for determining when speech is
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`being produced. APPLE-1001, 1:23-46. However, “an acoustic-only system is
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`desired in some cases (e.g., for reduced cost, as a supplement to the non-acoustic
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`sensor, etc.).” Id., 1:44-46. As I discuss below, systems with two or more
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`microphones that were capable of detecting the presence or absence of speech—
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`and therefore providing improved performance relative to the single-microphone
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`systems identified in the ’213 patent—were well-known in the prior art.
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`44. The ’213 patent “relates to noise suppression systems, devices, and methods
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`for use in acoustic applications.” Id., 1:16-18. In at least some of the
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`embodiments described in the ’213 patent, a system constructs “virtual
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`microphones ... using two or more omnidirectional microphones and associated
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`signal processing,” and “detects voice activity by generating a ratio of the energies
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`of the virtual microphones, and comparing that ratio to a threshold.” Id., 3:55-7:7,
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`18:32-35.
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`45.
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`In general, the ’213 patent describes generating each of a first virtual
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`microphone (V1) and a second virtual microphone (V2) by obtaining signals from
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`two physical microphones, applying various filters to the signals, and forming
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`various combinations of the filtered signals. Id., 5:20-6:19, FIGS. 3-4.
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`46.
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` As an example, with reference to FIG. 4, the ’213 patent describes that first
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`virtual microphone (V1) is generated by (i) applying a delay filter (z-γ) to a signal
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`that is output from a first physical microphone (O1), (ii) applying a calibration filter
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`(α(z)) and an adaptive filter (β(z))