US 10292138

Here is a concise summary of US Patent 10,292,138:

US Patent 10,292,138 Summary

• Title: Determining buffer occupancy and selecting data for transmission on a radio bearer
• Assignee: Intellectual Ventures II LLC [cite: Current Assignee]
• Inventor: Timothy J. Speight [cite: Inventor]
• Filing Date: June 9, 2017, for application number US15/618,669 [cite: Filing date]
• Issue Date: May 14, 2019 [cite: Publication date, Application granted]
• Abstract: A user equipment (UE) determines and transmits to a network buffer occupancy for one or more radio bearers. The UE then selects data for transmission from these radio bearers using a single received allocation of uplink resources. This data selection process occurs in two iterations: a first iteration where data is selected from a subset of radio bearers based on received parameters, and a second iteration where selection is based on buffered data for respective radio bearers. The UE then transmits a signal including the selected data. [cite: Abstract]

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Independent Claim 1 (User Equipment - UE):
  This claim describes a User Equipment (UE) with a processor, a transmitter, and receiving circuitry. The UE is configured to perform several steps:

  1. Receive specific parameters related to multiple radio bearers.
  2. Determine how full its buffers are for each of these radio bearers.
  3. Send a message to the network communicating these buffer occupancies.
  4. Receive a single instruction from the network for how much uplink transmission capacity it has been allocated.
  5. Select data from its various radio bearers for transmission, using this single allocation. This selection involves two stages:
     • In the first stage (iteration), data is chosen from a particular group (subset) of radio bearers based on the parameters the UE initially received.
     • In the second stage (iteration), the selection of data considers the actual amount of data waiting in the buffers for each respective radio bearer.
  6. Transmit the selected data.

• Independent Claim 8 (Method performed by a UE):
  This claim outlines a method executed by a User Equipment (UE) that largely mirrors the functionality of Claim 1. The method involves:

  1. Receiving parameters for multiple radio bearers.
  2. Using a processor to determine buffer occupancies for these radio bearers.
  3. Using a transmitter to send a message to the network detailing these buffer occupancies.
  4. Receiving a single allocation of uplink resources.
  5. Using the processor to select data from the radio bearers for transmission based on this single allocation, employing a two-iteration process:
     • The first iteration involves selecting data from a subset of radio bearers based on the received parameters.
     • The second iteration involves selecting data based on the buffered data for the individual radio bearers.
  6. Using the transmitter to send a signal containing the selected data.

Litigation Status:

The patent US10292138 is listed as having expired as of May 8, 2026. [cite: Anticipated expiration, Status]
While the patent family has a history of litigation in various US District Courts (e.g., Texas Western, Texas Northern, New Jersey, Texas Eastern) and PTAB proceedings (IPR2023-00020, IPR2025-00343, IPR2022-01127) [cite: Family has litigation], the provided information does not indicate any active dockets specifically in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for the year 2026.