US 6430408

Analysis of U.S. Patent 6430408: A System for Market-Based Allocation of Wireless Network Resources

Washington D.C. - A detailed analysis of United States Patent 6430408, titled "Allocating antenna-provided communications services," reveals a method for managing wireless network traffic by creating a market-based system for enhanced services. This patent, issued on August 6, 2002, describes a dynamic bidding and pricing mechanism to allocate limited network resources, such as higher bandwidth or improved signal quality, to mobile users who value them most.

The patent was originally assigned to Motorola, Inc., and now lists Google Technology Holdings LLC as the current assignee. The inventor is Jheroen Pieter Dorenbosch. The application for this patent was filed on May 16, 2000.

Abstract of the Invention

The official abstract describes a communications system comprising an antenna and at least one mobile unit. The core of the invention is a method to establish a price that a mobile unit is willing to pay to receive an "enhanced communications service." Upon agreement, the antenna provides this enhanced service to the mobile unit that pays the established price.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

The patent includes several independent claims, which define the core scope of the invention. In essence, they describe different facets of a system where network services are treated as commodities that can be bought and sold.

Claim 1 outlines a method for a communications system to allocate enhanced services by first transmitting an initial price to multiple mobile units. The system then receives responses from units willing to pay that price. Critically, if too many or too few users accept the offer, the system adjusts the price and re-transmits it until a "market-clearing price" is achieved, at which point the service is provided to the accepting mobile units. This establishes a dynamic pricing model based on supply and demand.

Claim 2 details a different approach: an auction-based system. The network transmits a message to mobile units indicating that an enhanced service is available for bidding. Mobile units can then submit bids, and the system allocates the service to one or more of the bidding units based on the content of those bids, presumably to the highest bidders.

Claim 4 presents a broader method for allocating enhanced services by establishing a price a mobile unit will pay through receiving bids from one or more mobile units and then allocating the service based on those bids.

Claim 6 focuses on the specific "enhanced service" of improving a mobile unit's connection by physically altering the antenna's signal. It describes a method where, after a price is established and accepted, the system provides the enhanced service by extending a lobe from the antenna's signal pattern toward the specific mobile unit, thereby improving its signal quality.

Claim 10 introduces a peer-to-peer marketplace. It describes a method where a first mobile unit can establish a price to pay a second mobile unit that currently possesses an enhanced service. The second mobile unit can then agree to release that service "in favor of" the first mobile unit, effectively allowing users to trade network resources amongst themselves.

Claim 11 describes the capabilities of a mobile unit designed to operate in this system. The device includes a transceiver, a means to receive notifications that an enhanced service is available for bid, a means for placing a bid at a certain price, and a means to receive the service if the bid is accepted by the system.

Claim 13 details a mobile unit that can establish a price it is willing to pay for an enhanced service characterized by an improved signal-to-noise ratio. The unit is equipped to then receive this enhanced service when the communications system extends an antenna lobe toward it.

A search of the dockets for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for the year 2026 did not reveal any cases specifically citing patent number 6430408.