IP Verse

Automated Device Provisioning And Activation

Patent No. US11096055 (titled "Automated Device Provisioning And Activation") was filed by Headwater Management Llc on May 23, 2019.

What is this patent about?

’055 is related to the field of wireless communication networks, specifically addressing the problem of managing network capacity and user service costs in increasingly congested wireless environments. Traditional approaches often struggle to provide flexible service plans and efficient network management, especially with the growing demand for high-bandwidth applications and the proliferation of networked devices. The patent aims to improve user experience and service provider profitability by enabling more refined service management and billing.

The underlying idea behind ’055 is to distribute service policy implementation and control from the core network to the end-user device. This is achieved by incorporating a service processor within the device that can enforce network service policies, monitor service usage, and adapt to changing network conditions. The key insight is that by moving policy enforcement to the device, the network can be simplified, and more granular control over service delivery can be achieved, leading to better resource utilization and more flexible service offerings.

The claims of ’055 focus on a wireless end-user device equipped with a WWAN modem and a secure memory storing multiple service profiles. These profiles are associated with different service plans and wireless networks, each containing a distinct set of network service policies. The core of the claim lies in the connection manager selecting an access network based on the chosen service profile and the adaptive service policy control agent enforcing these policies, particularly at the application service interface, thereby controlling network data connections for specific applications.

In practice, the invention allows a device to seamlessly switch between different service plans and networks while maintaining consistent policy enforcement. For example, a user might have one service profile for a high-bandwidth 4G network and another for a lower-bandwidth 3G network. The device intelligently selects the appropriate profile based on network availability and user preferences, ensuring that service policies are always enforced at the application level. This enables features like traffic shaping, access control, and service monitoring to be implemented directly on the device.

This approach differentiates itself from prior solutions by shifting the burden of policy enforcement from the network infrastructure to the device itself. This reduces the complexity and cost of the network while enabling more granular control over service delivery. Furthermore, the invention allows for verifiable service policy implementation, ensuring that users adhere to their chosen service plans and that service providers can accurately monitor and bill for service usage. The distributed architecture also enhances user privacy by allowing certain aspects of service usage monitoring and reporting to be controlled by the user.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the late 2000s when ’055 was filed, access networks such as wireless, cable, and DSL were pressed for user capacity. At a time when wireless network capacity was typically implemented using technologies such as MIMO, hardware or software constraints made billing for different types of service elements, such as total traffic, content downloads, application usage, information or content subscription services, people or asset tracking services, real time machine to machine information or electronic commerce transactions non-trivial.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner approved the application because all the cited prior art, whether considered individually or in combination, did not disclose the applicant's inventive claim language. The examiner determined that the claims are directed to patent-eligible subject matter and do not consider any of the pending claims to be directed to an abstract idea. The examiner found that when all of the elements of each claim are considered individually and as an ordered combination, each claim contains an inventive concept which is directed to an application, a particular application, or a special application, of the identified abstract idea. The examiner also found that issuance of a patent for any claim would not preempt the identified abstract idea, or the field of the identified abstract idea.

Claims

The patent has 13 claims, with claim 1 being independent. Independent claim 1 is directed to a wireless end-user device comprising a WWAN modem, secure memory for storing service profiles, a connection manager, and an adaptive service policy control agent. The dependent claims elaborate on and further define the elements and functionality of the wireless end-user device described in the independent claim.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Adaptive service policy control agent
(Claim 1)		“In some embodiments, aspects of the service policy (e.g., a set of policies/policy settings for the device for network services, typically referring to lower level settings, such as access control settings, traffic control settings, billing system settings, user notification settings, user privacy settings, user preference settings, authentication settings and admission control settings) that are moved out of the core network and into the end user device include, for example, certain lower level service policy implementations, service usage or service activity monitoring and reporting including, for example, privacy filtering, customer resource management monitoring and reporting including, for example, privacy filtering, adaptive service policy control, service network access control services, service network authentication services, service network admission control services, service billing, transaction billing, simplified service activation and sign up, user service usage or service activity notification and service preference feedback and other service capabilities.”A component that enforces network service policies associated with a selected service profile. These policies are enforced at an application service interface on network data connections for selected applications resident on the device.
Connection manager
(Claim 1)		“In some embodiments, a virtual network overlay includes a device service processor, a network service controller and a control plane communication link to manage various aspects of device based network service policy implementation. In some embodiments, the virtual network overlay networking solution is applied to an existing hierarchical network (e.g., for wireless services), and in some embodiments, is applied to simplify or flatten the network architecture as will be further described below. In some embodiments, the large majority of the complex data path network processing required to implement the richer service management objectives of existing hierarchical networks (e.g., for wireless services) are moved into the device, leaving less data path processing required in the edge network and in some cases even less in the core network.”A component that selects an access network connection for the WWAN modem, based on a selected one of the first and second service profiles.
First service profile
(Claim 1)		“In some embodiments, products that incorporate device assisted service policy implementation, network services and service profiles (e.g., a service profile includes a set of one or more service policy settings for the device for a service on the network) are disclosed, as described below. For example, aspects of the service policy (e.g., a set of policies/policy settings for the device for network services, typically referring to lower level settings, such as access control settings, traffic control settings, billing system settings, user notification settings, user privacy settings, user preference settings, authentication settings and admission control settings) that are moved out of the core network and into the end user device include, for example, certain lower level service policy implementations, service usage or service activity monitoring and reporting including, for example, privacy filtering, customer resource management monitoring and reporting including, for example, privacy filtering, adaptive service policy control, service network access control services, service network authentication services, service network admission control services, service billing, transaction billing, simplified service activation and sign up, user service usage or service activity notification and service preference feedback and other service capabilities.”A set of network service policies associated with a first service plan and a first wireless network, stored in a secure memory.
Second service profile
(Claim 1)		“In some embodiments, products that incorporate device assisted service policy implementation, network services and service profiles (e.g., a service profile includes a set of one or more service policy settings for the device for a service on the network) are disclosed, as described below. For example, aspects of the service policy (e.g., a set of policies/policy settings for the device for network services, typically referring to lower level settings, such as access control settings, traffic control settings, billing system settings, user notification settings, user privacy settings, user preference settings, authentication settings and admission control settings) that are moved out of the core network and into the end user device include, for example, certain lower level service policy implementations, service usage or service activity monitoring and reporting including, for example, privacy filtering, customer resource management monitoring and reporting including, for example, privacy filtering, adaptive service policy control, service network access control services, service network authentication services, service network admission control services, service billing, transaction billing, simplified service activation and sign up, user service usage or service activity notification and service preference feedback and other service capabilities.”A set of network service policies associated with a second service plan and a second wireless network, stored in a secure memory.

Litigation Cases New

US Latest litigation cases involving this patent.

Case NumberFiling DateTitle
4:25-cv-09558Nov 5, 2025Google LLC v. Headwater Research LLC
3:25-cv-07591Sep 5, 2025Apple Inc v. Headwater Research LLC
5:25-cv-07453Sep 3, 2025Google LLC v. Headwater Research LLC

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US11096055

HEADWATER MANAGEMENT LLC
Application Number
US16421121
Filing Date
May 23, 2019
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Jun 5, 2029
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents