US 6891807

Let me run additional targeted searches for CAFC 2026 dockets and USPTO records.

US Patent 6,891,807 B2 — Summary

Bibliographic data (confirmed via Google Patents, USPTO.report, and Justia)

Abstract (verbatim)

"A method and apparatus is provided for the time-based provisioning of wireless devices. A network access point monitors operation of wireless devices within a service region. When provisioning logic is activated at the network access point, the access point determines if the tracked parameter (such as power on or the onset of signal transmission) of the wireless device occurs within a designated time interval from the time of the provisioning activation. If the tracked device qualifies, the network access point proceeds with provisioning the device. In one system embodiment, the network access point tracks the power on time of wireless devices. When a wireless device to be authorized is powered on, the provisioning logic at the network access point notes the power on time. The user then activates the provisioning access at the network access point, and the network access point provisions the wireless device if it is recently powered on."

Plain-language overview of independent claims

The patent has 71 claims; there are five independent claims (1, 17, 33, 46, 59):

• Claim 1 (process): A provisioning method in which an access point connected to a network has logic that determines when a wireless device powered on. The user powers on the device, activates a time interval (e.g., presses a button on the access point), and provisioning is initiated only if the device's power-on occurred within that interval. Devices powered on too long before activation are denied.
• Claim 17 (system): A time-based network access provisioning system with a network access point that tracks operation of a wireless device, plus provisioning logic that provisions the device only if the tracked operation falls within an activatable time interval.
• Claim 33 (process, broader variant): Similar to claim 1 — an access point determines the time of power-on, checks whether the device was powered within a specified interval, and initiates provisioning if the powering occurred within that interval.
• Claim 46 (process, signal-based variant): Covers a wireless device having a transmitted signal. The access point has an activatable provisioning time interval, and provisioning is initiated if the wireless device's signal transmission to the access point begins during that interval (i.e., the qualifying event is onset of transmission rather than power-on).
• Claim 59 (apparatus): A network access point comprising a network connection, a receiver for input signals from at least one wireless device, means for provisioning access, and a time-based interval that selectably allows provisioning if a received input signal occurs within the interval.

Common theme across all independent claims: access to the network is granted based on when the device powers on or begins transmitting relative to a user-activated time window at the access point, avoiding the need to manually enter a MAC address or use a device UI. Dependent claims add conventional limitations (device types such as IEEE 802.11/Bluetooth™ devices, MAC-address-based access control lists, encryption/key exchange, LAN/Internet connectivity). Note: claims 24 and 64 contain the apparent typographical error "greeter than the time interval" (clearly intended as "greater").

CAFC 2026 docket search — result and uncertainty

I searched for CAFC 2026 appeal dockets referencing 6,891,807 / 6891807 and found no CAFC 2026 docket entries. I cannot confirm any pending or decided Federal Circuit appeal for this patent in 2026. What I did find:

• District-court litigation is extensive but at the trial level, not CAFC. The Stanford NPE Litigation Database lists cases such as CommWorks Solutions, LLC v. Ubee Interactive Holding Corp. (6:23-cv-00064, W.D. Tex., filed Feb. 1, 2023) and CommWorks Solutions, LLC v. Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (2:20-cv-00159, E.D. Tex., filed May 27, 2020).
• Google Patents' litigation feed (Unified Patents data) lists numerous 2020–2026 district court cases in Texas Eastern, Texas Western, Virginia Eastern, Delaware, New York Southern, California Central, and Alabama Northern involving this patent — but those are district-court filings, not CAFC matters.
• The patent is expired (April 2023), which limits but does not preclude post-expiry litigation over past damages.

Caveat: My CAFC docket search returned empty results, and I did not access the USPTO Patent Center or PACER directly. If you need authoritative confirmation of whether any CAFC appeal (e.g., from the 2023–2026 district court cases) exists, that should be verified against the Federal Circuit's public docket (PACER/CM/ECF) or USPTO records directly.