US 6829482

Summary of U.S. Patent No. 6,829,482 (US6829482B2)

I searched for the specific patent number 6829482 (U.S. Patent No. 6,829,482 B2) and confirm the details below. Note: I found no CAFC 2026 docket or pending litigation associated with this patent in my searches — the CAFC-docket search returned no results, so I have no authoritative information indicating any Federal Circuit appeal involving this patent. Also, per your instruction, I am ignoring look-alike hits from other jurisdictions (e.g., Japanese patent JP6829482, an unrelated optics patent, and Italian priority number IT 6829482 for a fertilizer patent) — neither is the U.S. patent in question.

Bibliographic data

Abstract

A serving radio network controller (SRNC) of a radio access network assigns one or both of an appropriate temporary identifier (C-RNTI) and radio resources to a connection which is switched from a dedicated channel to a common channel in a cell handled by a drift radio network controller (DRNC). In one embodiment, the appropriate temporary identifier (C-RNTI) and the radio resources are obtained by the serving radio network controller (SRNC) upon execution of a channel switching process (e.g., when it has been determined that a connection should be switched from a dedicated channel to a common channel). In another embodiment of the invention, the serving radio network controller (SRNC) can obtain the appropriate temporary identifier (C-RNTI) and the radio resources prior to an actual channel switch operation. In both embodiments, the obtaining of the temporary identifier and/or radio resources can be part of a Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization procedure.

Plain-language overview of the independent claims

• Claim 1 (method — obtaining the temporary identifier at switch time): A method for switching a connection from a dedicated channel to a common channel for a UE in a cell controlled by a DRNC. The SRNC that controls the connection (i) requests a temporary identifier (C-RNTI) for the connection from the DRNC, (ii) signals the UE to switch from the dedicated to the common channel, and (iii) supplies the UE with that temporary identifier. This lets the network (rather than the UE) obtain and deliver a valid C-RNTI even though the cell is under the DRNC's control.

• Claim 8 (apparatus — C-RNTI obtained via Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization): A radio access network with an SRNC and a DRNC, where the SRNC executes a process to obtain from the DRNC a temporary identifier for a connection involved in a channel switch operation with a UE, and supplies that identifier to the UE — with the specific limitation that the temporary identifier is requested as part of a Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization procedure (i.e., obtained in advance of the switch).

• Claim 14 (apparatus — C-RNTI for dedicated-to-common switch, no procedure limitation): Same general network architecture as claim 8, but the independent limitation is that the channel switch is from a dedicated channel to a common channel (without the Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization procedure requirement).

• Claim 20 (method — radio resource information obtained at switch time): A method for the same dedicated-to-common channel switch scenario in which the SRNC (i) requests from the DRNC information regarding radio resources to be allocated to the connection after the switch, and (ii) supplies the UE with that radio-resource information — so the network, not the UE, can direct which resources the UE should use in the DRNC-controlled cell.

• Claim 25 (apparatus — radio resource assignment via Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization): A radio access network in which the SRNC executes a process to assign radio resources to be allocated by the DRNC to a UE connection after a channel switch, supplies the UE with information about the assigned resources, and requests that resource information as part of a Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization procedure.

• Claim 29 (apparatus — radio resource assignment for dedicated-to-common switch, no procedure limitation): Same architecture as claim 25, but the independent limitation is that the channel switch is from a dedicated channel to a common channel (without the Common Transport Channel Resources Initialization procedure requirement).

Note on uncertainty

• The bibliographic and claim data above come from the authoritative Google Patents record for US6829482B2 (fetched 2026-08-27 per the source header) and the USPTO Official Gazette entry, which are consistent.
• I have no authoritative information indicating any CAFC 2026 case, PTAB proceeding, or ongoing litigation involving this patent; my searches for such dockets returned no results. Given the patent's expired status (Dec. 2022 adjusted expiration), active litigation is unlikely, but I cannot rule out historical or unreported proceedings.