US 11849337

US Patent 11849337, titled "Method and apparatus for processing bandwidth intensive data streams using virtual media access control and physical layers," was issued to Xifi Networks R and D Inc. on December 19, 2023, following a filing date of August 11, 2023. The sole inventor listed is Sai C. Manapragada.

The patent is currently active and is involved in litigation, including a PTAB case (IPR2025-01203) which is pending and instituted, and a US case filed in the Texas Eastern District Court (2:24-cv-01057).

Abstract:
The patent describes a wireless networking system featuring an application layer with one or more applications requiring specific wireless bandwidth. It employs first and second wireless transceiver resources, each linked to an actual MAC and PHY layer, and possessing distinct bandwidth availabilities. A processing layer evaluates these bandwidth requirements and availabilities. This processing layer includes a bandwidth allocator designed to assign portions of the actual bandwidths of both transceivers to virtual MAC and virtual PHY layers, thereby fulfilling the application layer's wireless bandwidth requirement.

Independent Claim Overview (Claim 1):

Claim 1 outlines a method for enhancing the performance of a wireless networking device. It involves:

1. Connecting Interfaces: An application interface (for a first application with a data stream and bandwidth need) is connected to a processing interface. First and second actual MAC and PHY interfaces are also connected to the processing interface, each associated with a wireless transceiver. These transceivers are suitable for wireless local area networks, have specific bandwidth availabilities, and operate in different frequency bands.
2. Virtualization in Processing Interface: The processing interface creates at least one virtual MAC interface and first and second virtual PHY interfaces. These virtual PHY interfaces continuously feed information about the bandwidth availabilities of the actual transceivers back to the virtual MAC interface during operation.
3. Dynamic Transceiver Selection and Data Preparation (Transparently): The processing interface is configured to, in a manner transparent to any higher network layers:
   • Identify available portions of the actual bandwidths of the first and second transceivers.
   • Select the transceiver with the most available bandwidth.
   • Prepare the first data stream for transmission to a recipient from the selected transceiver, utilizing a specific subset of frequencies corresponding to its identified available bandwidth.
   • Cause this prepared data stream to be transmitted from the selected transceiver to at least partially meet the first application's bandwidth requirement.
4. Adaptive Switching to Unselected Transceiver: If the initially unselected wireless transceiver subsequently gains more bandwidth availability than the currently selected one, the processing interface is adapted to, also transparently to higher layers:
   • Identify available bandwidth portions of the unselected transceiver and select it.
   • Prepare the data stream for transmission from this newly selected (previously unselected) transceiver, using a specific frequency subset of its available bandwidth, without requiring the recipient to disassociate from the actual MAC and PHY interfaces of any wireless transceiver.
   • Cause this prepared data stream to be transmitted to the recipient from the new transceiver, again without requiring recipient disassociation, to continue satisfying the application's bandwidth requirement.
5. Simultaneous Bandwidth Utilization: The patent specifies that the wireless networking device's use of the selected and unselected transceivers' bandwidth does not prevent other wireless networking devices from simultaneously using the remaining portions of the bandwidth availabilities of those transceivers for data transmission.