US 9332492

I'll search for this specific patent number in the USPTO database and CAFC dockets.

Let me search more specifically for any CAFC or PTAB proceedings involving this patent number.

Let me check for any PTAB/IPR or additional USPTO proceedings involving this patent.

Based on my searches of the USPTO database (via Google Patents, Justia, and the USPTO-published PDF) and CAFC/PTAB dockets, here is my summary. Note that my searches for CAFC 2026 docket entries and PTAB/IPR proceedings involving this specific patent returned no results — I found no evidence of any CAFC appeal, IPR, or PGR involving US 9332492 as of today's date.

US Patent 9,332,492 B2 — Summary

Title: Rapid acknowledgement of radio transmissions for energy minimization

Patent/Publication Number: US9332492B2 (also published as application US20140177684A1 and PCT WO2014099647A1)

Inventor: Michael Sleator

Assignee: Google Inc. (original assignee per 2012 assignment; name changed to Google LLC in 2017 — current listed assignee on Google Patents)

Filing Date: December 20, 2012 (Application No. 13/722,455; priority date also 2012-12-20)

Issue (Grant) Date: May 3, 2016

Legal Status: Active; adjusted expiration listed as 2033-02-16. Maintenance fees were paid for the 4th year (2019) and 8th year (2023), per USPTO legal-event records.

Abstract (verbatim, condensed): The disclosure relates to an acknowledgment scheme that minimizes energy requirements for acknowledging a transmission between nodes in a network. An energy-constrained node may transmit to other nodes and need only an acknowledgment from at least one proximal recipient (not necessarily the ultimate target). To minimize receiver complexity and energy, the acknowledgment scheme may employ simple on-off keying (OOK) irrespective of the modulation technique of the sending transmission. The acknowledgment comprises a series of OOK pulses sent at a specified time after receipt of the transmission, and simultaneously received acknowledgments can be processed and verified without confusion.

Independent Claims — Plain-Language Overview

There are 27 claims, of which four are independent: claims 1, 14, 18, and 23.

Claim 1 (method): A method of acknowledging a transmission using an amplitude-modulated acknowledgment, in which a sending node transmits to a first and a second receiving node, then receives acknowledgments from both substantially concurrently. The amplitudes of the two acknowledgments' modulation sequences are added together into a "combined received acknowledgment." The node then determines the modulation sequence of that combined signal and validates it. In short: overlapping acknowledgments are summed and treated as a single signal for validation.

Claim 14 (method): Similar to claim 1, but adds a specific sampling detail — the modulation sequence of the combined acknowledgment is determined starting at a sampling start time that falls within the first modulation (first pulse) of each of the two received acknowledgments. This accommodates slight timing offsets between concurrent acknowledgments.

Claim 18 (apparatus — node): A network node with a transceiver that sends a transmission to two receiving nodes and receives their acknowledgments substantially concurrently. A controller adds the amplitudes of the two modulation sequences into a combined acknowledgment, determines its modulation sequence, and validates it.

Claim 23 (apparatus — node with energy detector): A node whose energy detector receives two acknowledgments substantially simultaneously and combines (by addition) their modulation-sequence amplitudes into a combined acknowledgment signal. A controller then determines the combined signal's modulation sequence and validates it.

Key Technical Themes (from the specification)

• Acknowledgments use simple amplitude modulation (AM), specifically on-off keying (OOK), regardless of the modulation (e.g., FSK/PSK) used for the data transmission.
• Concurrent/colliding acknowledgments are additive in amplitude; because all nodes send the same predefined valid OOK pulse sequence, the summed signal still yields that same sequence, so it can be validated as if from a single node.
• Validation is sequence-matching against a predefined pattern; the sending node need not identify which node(s) acknowledged (link-based, not end-to-end, acknowledgment).
• Upon validating, the sending node can immediately enter an energy-conservation (sleep) mode, minimizing receiver idle time.
• A timing tolerance (e.g., half a bit time) defines how close acknowledgments must arrive to be processed as one; sampling occurs at nominal center bit times.

Uncertainty Notes

• I found no CAFC 2026 docket, IPR, PGR, or litigation record for this patent in my searches; absence of results suggests no such proceeding is publicly docketed, but I cannot fully rule out non-public or very recent filings.
• The "Active / expires 2033-02-16" status and maintenance-fee history come from Google Patents' mirrored USPTO legal-event data; I did not independently verify against USPTO Patent Center in this session.
• Google Patents lists the current assignee as Google LLC (via 2017 name change from Google Inc.), which matches the recorded assignment chain.