US 7323671

Let me run a few more targeted searches on the CAFC docket and recent litigation involving this patent.

US Patent 7,323,671 — Search Results & Summary

Search notes / scope

• I searched for the exact number 7323671 (US utility patent, application 11/029,103). I excluded one hit for the unrelated French application FR7323671A (a 1973 thermoplastic-molding patent family), since it is a different jurisdiction/number, per your instruction not to return similar numbers.
• CAFC 2026 dockets: My searches of CAFC 2026 appeal dockets for this patent returned no results (searches for 7323671 CAFC 2026 docket appeal, "Re Secured Networks" "7323671" appeal Federal Circuit, and the district-court case numbers returned empty). I found no evidence of a Federal Circuit appeal in 2026 involving this patent. I could not access the USPTO/CAFC docket systems directly in this session, so I cannot rule out an entry my search engine did not index — treat the "no CAFC 2026 docket" finding as low-confidence negative.

Core bibliographic data (verified against Google Patents and Justia)

Assignment chain (per USPTO assignment records via Google Patents/Plainsite): ESS Technology, Inc. (Apr. 18, 2005) → Imperium (IP) Holdings (Jul. 21, 2008) → Pictos Technologies Inc. (name changes 2020/2021) → Re Secured Networks LLC (Jul. 21, 2022 — current listed assignee). The patent has been involved in district-court litigation (Texas Eastern Dist. Ct. 4:21-cv-00376; Delaware Dist. Ct. 1:24-cv-00187) and a PTAB IPR (IPR2021-00436, filed then settled), per the litigation links on the Google Patents page — but again, none of that is a 2026 CAFC matter.

Independent claims — plain-language overview

I confirmed two independent claims from the Justia copy of the patent (claims 1 and 14). The full claims set was not included in the source text provided, so I cannot verify whether additional independent claims (e.g., a fabrication-method claim, which the specification suggests exists) are present — noted as uncertainty.

• Claim 1 — Image sensor integrated circuit (apparatus): A CMOS image-sensor IC comprising: photodetectors (e.g., pinned photodiodes); sense nodes (e.g., floating diffusions); transfer devices (e.g., transfer gates) that control electron transfer from each photodetector to its corresponding sense node; reset devices (reset transistors) for the sense nodes; row/column circuitry (decoders); signal devices (source-follower and row-select transistors); and variable voltage circuitry with a voltage selector (e.g., a register or fuse) that determines the control voltage of the control signal applied to the transfer gates. In plain terms: the transfer-gate drive voltage is made programmable/adjustable on-chip so the pixel can be tuned after manufacture to compensate for process variation — ensuring complete charge transfer (no image lag) while still blocking leakage when off.
• Claim 14 — Computer-readable medium (article): A computer-readable medium (e.g., a layout, tapeout, or other design data) containing a description of the image sensor integrated circuit of claim 1's type, including the same variable-voltage circuitry with a voltage selector determining the transfer-device control voltage. In plain terms: the claim covers the design files/tapeout embodying the tunable-transfer-gate sensor, not the physical chip.

Dependent claims (verified fragments) add: voltage selector controlled by a fuse (claim 2) or register (claim 3); a second voltage selector for the reset-device control signal (claim 4); control signal generated off-chip (claim 5); an on-chip DAC generating the control signal (claim 6); and a waveform adjustor setting rise/fall times of the transfer-gate pulse (claims 7–8); with parallel dependent claims (15–21) for the computer-readable medium.

Sources

• Google Patents: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7323671/en (full text; title, dates, assignee chain, litigation/PTAB links, status)
• Justia Patents: https://patents.justia.com/patent/7323671 (claims text; inventors; examiner; attorney; classification)
• USPTO assignment record (via Plainsite): https://www.plainsite.org/patents/assignment.html?id=[3166826](/patent/3166826) (assignment from the five inventors to ESS Technology, Inc., Apr. 18, 2005)

Confidence statement

High confidence on title, inventors, assignee chain, filing/issue dates, abstract, and the existence/content of independent claims 1 and 14. Medium confidence on the complete claim inventory (the full claims section was not in my source text, so a method claim may also be independent). Low confidence / no verified finding on any CAFC 2026 docket entry — I found none in web searches and could not query the CAFC docket database directly.