US 8,213,870 Beamforming using predefined spatial mapping matrices

5 defendants · 5 suits · updated September 14, 2026

Also cited as U.S. Patent No. 8,213,870 · US8213870B2 · US 8,213,870 B2 · 8213870 · the '870 patent

Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC has filed 5 patent-infringement suits on US 8,213,870, "Beamforming using predefined spatial mapping matrices" since July 30, 2026, 3 of them in the E.D. Tex., against 5 distinct defendants including Arcadyan Technology Corporation, Calix, Inc. and Sercomm Corporation. The patent was granted July 3, 2012 on a priority date of October 15, 2007. Its abstract opens: "Systems and methods for transmitting packets to a receiver." The examiner cited 5 references during prosecution.

Assignee: Velocity Communication Technologies LLC
Priority date: October 15, 2007
Granted: July 3, 2012
Expires: October 15, 2027
Status: Active
Claims: 21 (4 independent)
Inventors: Hongyuan Zhang, Rohit U. Nabar
Full text: Google Patents

The suits

5 cases · E.D. Tex. (3) · D. Del. (2)

Filed	Defendant	Plaintiff	Court	Docket
2026-07-30	Arcadyan Technology Corporation	Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC	E.D. Tex.	5:26-cv-00102
2026-07-30	Calix, Inc.	Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC	D. Del.	1:26-cv-00937
2026-07-30	Sercomm Corporation	Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC	E.D. Tex.	5:26-cv-00101
2026-07-30	TCL Electronics Holdings Limited	Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC	E.D. Tex.	5:26-cv-00103
2026-07-30	Vistance Networks, Inc.	Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC	D. Del.	1:26-cv-00944

Docket links open the public record on CourtListener. Filing dates are the complaint's.

Independent claims

What is actually asserted, verbatim.

Claim 1

1. A method comprising: storing, in a memory, predefined spatial mapping matrices useful for transmitting data packets to a receiver; sequentially transmitting one or more of the data packets to the receiver, each act of transmitting using a different one of the predefined spatial mapping matrices stored in the memory; selecting one of the predefined spatial mapping matrices stored in the memory for use in a subsequent act of transmitting one or more additional data packets to the receiver, the selecting one of the predefined spatial mapping matrices based on a quality of reception of the one or more of the data packets sequentially transmitted to the receiver; and selecting another one of the predefined spatial mapping matrices when a packet error rate associated with the one or more additional data packets of the subsequent act of transmitting exceeds a defined error rate threshold or when a data rate of the one or more additional data packets of the subsequent act of transmitting does not meet a defined data rate threshold.

Claim 5

5. A method comprising: transmitting a sounding packet using beamforming from a transmitter for receipt by a receiver, the transmitting iteratively performed in different directions until a channel estimate is received; receiving the channel estimate from the receiver responsive to the sounding packet; and forming a beamformed channel by the transmitter based on the received channel estimate.

Claim 12

12. An apparatus comprising: one or more antennas configured for directional transmissions; memory configured to maintain a codebook having predefined spatial mapping matrices useful for beamforming; and a transmission controller configured to: iteratively transmit via the one or more antennas sounding packets in different directions using beamforming until a channel estimate is received; receive the channel estimate from a receiver responsive to one of the sounding packets; and form a beamformed channel with the one or more antennas based on the received channel estimate.

Claim 16

16. A system comprising: one or more antennas configured for directional transmissions; memory configured to maintain a codebook having predefined spatial mapping matrices; and a transmission controller configured to: directionally transmit, via the one or more antennas, a sounding packet to a receiver using one of the predefined spatial mapping matrices; and select another one of the predefined spatial mapping matrices to directionally retransmit the sounding packet in a different direction when it is determined that the sounding packet has not been received by the receiver; or form a beamformed channel based on a channel estimate obtained from the receiver responsive to the sounding packet.

Art before the examiner

20 references of record, 5 cited by the examiner.

Everything listed here was before the Office and is what a challenge must go beyond. Art the examiner never saw is where an invalidity search starts.

Examiner-cited

US20050063378A1 — Incremental redundancy transmission for multiple parallel channels in a MIMO communication system (Tamer Kadous)
US20060190245A1 — System for generating a wideband signal from a received narrowband signal (Bernd Iser)
US20070049218A1 — Precoding and SDMA support (Qualcomm Incorporated)
US20070189148A1 — Signal transmitting method (variants) and device for carrying out said method (Garmonov Alexandr V)
US20070206504A1 — Method and apparatus for calibration and channel state feedback to support transmit beamforming in a mimo system (Interdigital Technology Corporation)

Applicant-cited and other (15)

WO2001029986A1 — Optimising link quality by space and time interleaving
US20060209980A1 — Beam and power allocation method for MIMO communication system
WO2006138337A1 — Robust rank prediction for a mimo system
US20070155336A1 — Apparatus and method for eliminating multi-user interference
US20070249402A1 — Orthogonal resource reuse with sdma beams
US20080004076A1 — Base station apparatus and termnal apparatus
US20080080637A1 — System and method for performing precoding in a wireless communication system
US20080117867A1 — Techniques to provide physical resource allocation using a tree-based structure and communicate a channel quality indicator
US20080219373A1 — Codebook selection for transmit beamforming
US20080292012A1 — Multiple-input multiple-output communication method and multiple-input multiple-output communication system of enabling the method
US20080299917A1 — Closed-loop multiple-input-multiple-output scheme for wireless communication based on hierarchical feedback
WO2009051748A2 — Beamforming using predefined spatial mapping matrices
US20090129286A1 — Reducing inter-ss interference
US20090310586A1 — Cooperative Wireless Networks
US7995528B1 — Precoding with multi-user codebooks

Classification

H04B7/0417primary — Feedback systems
H04B7/0456primary — Selection of precoding matrices or codebooks, e.g. using matrices antenna weighting
H04B7/0617 — Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station using simultaneous transmission of weighted versions of same signal for beam forming
H04B7/0626 — Channel coefficients, e.g. channel state information [CSI]
H04B7/0632 — Channel quality parameters, e.g. channel quality indicator [CQI]
H04L1/0001 — Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff

Family

US8213870B2 — B2 (2012)
US9621240B1 — B1 (2017)
US20170187436A1 — A1 (2017)
US9083401B2 — B2 (2015)
US20090097395A1 — A1 (2009)
US20140146909A1 — A1 (2014)
US10200096B2 — B2 (2019)
US8644765B1 — B1 (2014)
2 foreign family members: WO2009051748A3, WO2009051748A2

Abstract

Systems and methods for transmitting packets to a receiver. In an implementation, the method includes storing, in a memory, a plurality of predefined spatial mapping matrices for use in a transmission of one or more packets to a receiver; sequentially transmitting one or more packets to the receiver, in which each of the sequential transmissions of one or more packets comprises using a different one of the plurality of predefined spatial mapping matrices stored in the memory; and selecting one of the plurality of predefined spatial mapping matrices stored in the memory for use in a subsequent transmission of one or more packets to the receiver, in which the selection of the one of the plurality of predefined spatial mapping matrices for use in the subsequent transmission is based on a quality of reception of the one or more data packets transmitted in each of the sequential transmissions.

Also asserted by Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC

US 10,200,096 — Beamforming using predefined spatial mapping matrices (5 defendants)
US 8,238,832 — Antenna optimum beam forming for multiple protocol coexistence on a wireless device (5 defendants)
US 8,260,213 — Method and apparatus to adjust a tunable reactive element (5 defendants)
US 8,265,573 — Wireless subscriber communication unit and method of power control with back-off therefore (5 defendants)
US 8,270,343 — Broadcasting of textual and multimedia information (5 defendants)
US 8,644,765 — Beamforming using predefined spatial mapping matrices (5 defendants)
US 8,675,570 — Scalable OFDM and OFDMA bandwidth allocation in communication systems (5 defendants)
US 9,083,401 — Beamforming using predefined spatial mapping matrices (5 defendants)
US 9,444,577 — Calibration correction for implicit beamformer using an explicit beamforming technique in a wireless MIMO communication system (5 defendants)
US 9,596,648 — Unified beacon format (5 defendants)

Named in one of these suits? A prior-art search is commissioned once and serves every defendant who shares it. The examiner's own search record is free on the tools page, and your first preliminary search is free — one claim, back within 24 hours — so you know whether there is art the Office never saw before anyone pays for more. Flat fees: $2,500$899 for the independent claims, $5,000$1,500 for every asserted claim.

Order a free preliminary search → How much prior art does an IPR petition need?

This page is assembled from public records — federal court dockets and the patent's own file — and is updated as the case list changes. It states what the record shows and is not an opinion on the validity or infringement of any claim. Patent data via Google Patents; docket data via CourtListener.