US 12114177

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 12114177:

Patent Number: US12114177B2

Title: Method and apparatus for processing bandwidth intensive data streams using virtual media access control and physical layers

Assignee: Xifi Networks R and D Inc

Inventors: Sai C. Manapragada

Filing Date: March 13, 2024

Issue Date: October 8, 2024

Abstract:
The patent describes a wireless networking system that includes an application layer with one or more applications having specific wireless bandwidth requirements. It utilizes at least two wireless transceiver resources, each linked to an actual Media Access Control (MAC) layer and Physical (PHY) layer, and each possessing a certain bandwidth availability. A processing layer evaluates these bandwidth requirements and availabilities. This processing layer incorporates a bandwidth allocator that assigns portions of the available bandwidths from the actual MAC and PHY layers to virtual MAC and virtual PHY layers. This allocation aims to satisfy the bandwidth requirements of the application layer.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claim:

Independent Claim 1:
This claim describes a method for improving the performance of electronic circuitry, particularly in a wireless networking device. The method involves:

1. Providing a Processing Interface: This interface connects to the application interface of a wireless networking device, where a first application generates a data stream with a specific bandwidth need.
2. Connecting Actual MAC and PHY Interfaces: Three separate actual MAC (Media Access Control) interfaces are connected to the processing interface, and three corresponding actual PHY (Physical) interfaces are connected to the MAC interfaces.
3. Associating Wireless Transceivers: Three wireless transceivers (suitable for Wi-Fi), each with its own bandwidth capacity and operating in different frequency bands (at least two bands are distinct), are associated with the actual PHY interfaces.
4. Forming Virtual Layers and Monitoring: Within the processing interface, at least one virtual MAC interface and at least one resource monitoring interface are created. The resource monitoring interface continuously feeds information about the bandwidth availability of the transceivers back to the virtual MAC interface.
5. Transparent Operation by the Processing Interface: The processing interface operates transparently to layers above it in the networking device, performing the following steps:
   • Establishing Associations: It requests or creates three associations between a recipient (another device) and each of the three actual MAC and PHY interfaces.
   • Identifying and Evaluating Bandwidth for Transmission: It identifies a portion of the first wireless transceiver's bandwidth (a set of resources) and checks if any of those resources are unavailable. The first data stream is then transmitted to the recipient using only the available resources within that identified portion, without requiring the recipient to disconnect from any of the three actual MAC/PHY associations. This transmission at least partially fulfills the first application's bandwidth need. Importantly, using this portion of bandwidth does not prevent other parts of the wireless networking device from using the remaining frequencies of the first transceiver for other data transfers simultaneously.
   • Identifying and Evaluating Bandwidth for Reception: Similarly, it identifies a portion of the second wireless transceiver's bandwidth (a set of resources) and checks for unavailable resources. A second data stream is then received from the recipient using only the available resources within that identified portion, again without requiring disassociation. This reception at least partially satisfies the bandwidth need for the second data stream. This also does not prevent other parts of the wireless networking device from using the remaining frequencies of the second transceiver for other data transfers simultaneously.

Litigation/Legal Status (as of April 26, 2026):
The patent record indicates active litigation for this patent family, with a US case filed in the Texas Eastern District Court (Case: 2:24-cv-01057) and a PTAB case IPR2025-01270 filed, which is currently pending and instituted. While the patent family has litigation, no direct cases specifically referencing US12114177 were found in the scheduled dockets of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for 2026.