Patent 12190198

Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 12190198, I will examine the patent citations listed within the document and focus on those that appear to most directly relate to the core concepts of virtualizing MAC/PHY layers and allocating bandwidth across multiple transceivers operating in different frequency bands.

The core concepts of independent Claim 1 of US12190198 revolve around:

  • A processing interface interacting with an application requiring bandwidth.
  • The use of first and second actual MAC and PHY interfaces.
  • First and second wireless transceivers suitable for WLAN, operating in different frequency bands, and having distinct bandwidth availabilities.
  • A virtual MAC interface within the processing interface.
  • A resource monitoring interface providing bandwidth availability to the virtual MAC.
  • The virtual MAC making transparent allocation decisions regarding the bandwidth availabilities to satisfy the application's requirement, including requesting or creating associations for a recipient with the actual MAC and PHY interfaces.

Based on the titles and available information within the patent document's "Citations" section, the following five references are selected as particularly relevant. For each, the full citation, publication/filing date, a brief description, and an assessment of its potential anticipation of Claim 1 of US12190198 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 are provided.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US12190198

  1. US20090034460A1

    • Full Citation: US20090034460A1 (Moratt, Yoav). "Dynamic bandwidth allocation for multiple virtual MACs." Assignee: Yoav Moratt.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2009-02-05; Filing Date: 2007-07-31.
    • Brief Description: This patent application discloses a method and apparatus for dynamic bandwidth allocation for multiple virtual Media Access Control (MAC) entities within a single wireless communication device. It involves providing multiple virtual MACs, receiving bandwidth requirements from at least one virtual MAC for wireless communication, and dynamically allocating bandwidth from a single physical layer to satisfy these requirements.
    • Potential Anticipation of Claim 1: This reference is highly relevant as it explicitly teaches "multiple virtual MACs" and "dynamic bandwidth allocation" in a wireless communication context. It potentially anticipates elements of Claim 1 related to P1 (processing interface interacting with an application having a bandwidth requirement), P5a (at least one virtual MAC interface), and P5cii (virtual MAC making allocation decisions to satisfy bandwidth requirements). However, it specifies allocation from a "single physical layer", which could differentiate it from Claim 1's requirement for "first and second actual MAC interfaces" and "first and second actual PHY interfaces" with "first and second wireless transceivers" emitting in "different bands of frequencies" (P2, P3, P4).

  2. US8363597B2

    • Full Citation: US8363597B2 (Tenny et al.). "MAC architectures for wireless communications using multiple physical layers." Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2013-01-29; Filing Date: 2009-04-09.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes systems and methods where a Media Access Control (MAC) layer can utilize multiple Physical (PHY) layers. Specifically, a first MAC layer is coupled to a first PHY layer, and a second MAC layer is coupled to a second PHY layer. The first MAC layer is configured to aggregate portions of bandwidth from both the first and second PHY layers to conduct a wireless communication. The MAC layers may be adapted for different wireless technologies (e.g., WLAN and WWAN).
    • Potential Anticipation of Claim 1: This reference is exceptionally relevant to Claim 1. It directly addresses the use of "multiple physical layers" and a "MAC layer" aggregating bandwidth from these multiple PHY layers. This anticipates P2 (connecting first and second actual MAC interfaces), P3 (connecting first and second actual PHY interfaces), P4 (associating transceivers with actual PHYs, having bandwidth, and operating in different bands, implied by "different wireless technologies"), and P5cii (making allocation decisions via aggregation to satisfy bandwidth requirements). While it doesn't explicitly use "virtual MAC," the aggregating MAC layer performs a functionally equivalent role to a virtual MAC managing underlying physical resources. The mention of "different wireless technologies (e.g., WLAN and WWAN)" strongly implies operation in "different bands of frequencies," thus potentially anticipating nearly all elements of Claim 1.

  3. US20140003449A1

    • Full Citation: US20140003449A1 (Grandhi et al.). "Bandwidth Virtualization." Assignee: Broadcom Corporation.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2014-01-02; Filing Date: 2012-06-28.
    • Brief Description: This patent application discloses a system and method for bandwidth virtualization. It describes forming a virtual link by aggregating resources from different frequency bands. Bandwidth requests for a data flow are mapped to this virtual link, and a portion of the available virtual link is allocated to the data flow if the request can be met.
    • Potential Anticipation of Claim 1: This reference is highly relevant due to its focus on "bandwidth virtualization" and "aggregating resources from different frequency bands." This directly supports elements of Claim 1 such as P4 (different frequency bands, multiple resources) and P5cii (allocation decisions for bandwidth availabilities). The concept of a "virtual link" directly relates to the virtual MAC/PHY layers described in US12190198 (P5a). It also covers P1 by mapping "bandwidth requests for a data flow" to the virtual link. Although its publication date (2014-01-02) is after US12190198's priority date (2013-10-30), its filing date (2012-06-28) is earlier, making it potential prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2). The combination of multi-band aggregation and virtualized resource allocation makes this a very strong anticipatory reference for Claim 1.

  4. US8565178B2

    • Full Citation: US8565178B2 (Hwang et al.). "Method and apparatus for wireless communication on multiple spectrum bands." Assignee: [[Samsung Electronics Co.](/litigations/by-defendant/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.), Ltd.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.)
    • Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2013-10-22; Filing Date: 2010-12-03.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a method and apparatus for wireless communication utilizing multiple spectrum bands. The method involves establishing a connection with an access point through a first spectrum band, and if an additional spectrum band is available, establishing a supplementary connection through that additional spectrum band, which may be in a different frequency range. Data is then transmitted and/or received using both spectrum bands.
    • Potential Anticipation of Claim 1: This reference teaches the use of "multiple spectrum bands" and transmitting/receiving data over them, directly relevant to P4 (first and second transceivers emitting in different bands) and the general concept of leveraging multiple wireless resources. While it suggests combining bandwidth for data transfer, it does not explicitly detail a "virtual MAC" layer or dynamic allocation based on application requirements (P5a, P5b, P5c) as clearly as US12190198. It primarily addresses the physical layer capability of utilizing multiple bands. It could anticipate aspects of P4 and broadly P1, but the specific virtualization and explicit bandwidth allocation logic of the virtual MAC for distinct application requirements in Claim 1 might distinguish it.

  5. US20110128919A1

    • Full Citation: US20110128919A1 (Choi et al.). "Device and method for selecting transceiver in mobile communication system." Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2011-06-02; Filing Date: 2009-11-30.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a device and method for selecting a transceiver in a mobile communication system. The device includes multiple transceivers that communicate in different communication systems. A controller manages these transceivers, selecting at least one for communication based on communication characteristics and transceiver information, then facilitating data transmission and reception through the chosen transceiver(s).
    • Potential Anticipation of Claim 1: This reference discloses a "plurality of transceivers that communicate in different communication systems," which is relevant to P4 (different frequency bands and multiple transceivers). The "controller" selecting transceivers based on "communication characteristics and transceiver information" performs functions analogous to the "resource monitoring interface" (P5b) and making "allocation decisions" (P5cii) within the virtual MAC context of US12190198. The "communication characteristic" could encompass a bandwidth requirement, linking to P1. While it does not explicitly use "virtual MAC" terminology, its controller performs a similar function of managing and allocating multiple physical layer resources. This reference could anticipate several elements related to the management and selection of multiple transceivers across different systems based on operational conditions.

In summary, US8363597B2 and US20140003449A1 are particularly strong prior art for Claim 1 of US12190198 due to their explicit disclosures regarding managing or aggregating multiple physical layers/frequency bands and virtualizing/allocating bandwidth to meet demands. The other listed patents also present relevant disclosures concerning multi-band operation and transceiver management.

Generated 5/20/2026, 6:46:09 PM