Source: http://patents.com/us-9955420.html
Timestamp: 2019-01-23 19:54:29
Document Index: 264468406

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2011', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'Application No. 200980126649', 'Application No. 61']

US Patent # 9,955,420. Systems and methods for reducing power consumption in wireless devices - Patents.com
United States Patent 9,955,420
Banerjea April 24, 2018
A first device including a controller and a transmitter. The controller generates a communication schedule based on a profile. The communication schedule specifies a first duration to transfer data between the first device and a second device using a wireless protocol. The profile indicates (i) a start time, (ii) a duration, and (iii) a periodicity of communication between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol. The transmitter transmits the communication schedule via a message from the first device to the second device using the wireless protocol. The message is a pre-defined message specified by the wireless protocol. The pre-defined message is dedicated to communicate information about interference present in an operating environment of the first device and the second device.
Banerjea; Raja (Sunnyvale, CA)
Marvell World Trade, LTD. (St. Michael, BB)
Family ID: 1000003254452
14/938,179
US 20160066269 A1 Mar 3, 2016
14061836 Oct 24, 2013 9210655
12491167 Oct 29, 2013 8570925
61079630 Jul 10, 2008
Current CPC Class: H04W 72/12 (20130101); H04W 52/0216 (20130101); H04W 52/0212 (20130101); Y02D 70/00 (20180101)
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This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/061,836, filed on Oct. 24, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/491,167 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,570,925), filed on Jun. 24, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/079,630, filed on Jul. 10, 2008. The entire disclosures of the applications referenced above are incorporated herein by reference.
1. A first device comprising: a controller to generate a communication schedule based on a profile, wherein the communication schedule specifies a first duration to transfer data between the first device and a second device using a wireless protocol; and wherein the profile indicates (i) a start time, (ii) a duration, and (iii) a periodicity of communication between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol; and a transmitter to transmit the communication schedule via a message from the first device to the second device using the wireless protocol, wherein the message is a pre-defined message specified by the wireless protocol, and wherein the pre-defined message is dedicated to communicate information about interference present in an operating environment of the first device and the second device; transmit the message from the first device to the second device using a first wireless protocol; and subsequently communicate with the second device in accordance with the communication schedule using a second wireless protocol, wherein the first wireless protocol or the second wireless protocol includes the wireless protocol, and wherein the first wireless protocol is different than the second wireless protocol.
2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the communication schedule specifies a second duration in which not to transfer data between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol.
3. The first device of claim 2, wherein: the first device and the second device are configured to communicate in accordance with the communication schedule, and one or both of the first device and the second device are configured to enter a low power mode during the second duration.
4. The first device of claim 1, wherein: the transmitter is to transmit audio data from the first device to the second device based on the communication schedule, and the communication schedule allows transferring sufficient audio data to the second device so that the transmitter can transmit the audio data by streaming an audio signal without interruption.
5. The first device of claim 1, wherein the controller is to perform a portion of communication between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol.
6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is to transmit bulks of data from the first device to the second device at high speed using the wireless protocol.
7. The first device of claim 1, wherein the controller is to adjust communication between the first device and the second device based on the interference.
8. The first device of claim 1, wherein the controller is to schedule communication between the first device and the second device based on the interference.
9. The first device of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined message is an activity of report of a Bluetooth wireless protocol including a BT AMP protocol or a co-located interference message of an IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol including an IEEE 802.11v protocol.
10. The first device of claim 1, wherein the wireless protocol is a Bluetooth wireless protocol or an IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol.
11. A method comprising: generating, at a first device, a communication schedule based on a profile, wherein the communication schedule specifies a first duration to transfer data between the first device and a second device using a wireless protocol; and wherein the profile indicates (i) a start time, (ii) a duration, and (iii) a periodicity of communication between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol; transmitting the communication schedule via a message from the first device to the second device using the wireless protocol, wherein the message is a pre-defined message specified by the wireless protocol, and wherein the pre-defined message is dedicated to communicate information about interference present in an operating environment of the first device and the second device; transmitting the message from the first device to the second device using a first wireless protocol; and subsequently communicating with the second device in accordance with the communication schedule using a second wireless protocol, wherein the first wireless protocol or the second wireless protocol includes the wireless protocol, and wherein the first wireless protocol is different than the second wireless protocol.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the communication schedule specifies a second duration in which not to transfer data between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: communicating between the first device and the second device according to the communication schedule; and configuring one or both of the first device and the second device to enter a low power mode during the second duration.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the communication schedule allows transferring sufficient audio data to the second device, the method further comprising: transmitting audio data from the first device to the second device based on the communication schedule by streaming an audio signal without interruption.
15. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing a portion of communication between the first device and the second device using the wireless protocol.
16. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting bulks of data from the first device to the second device at high speed using the wireless protocol.
17. The method of claim 11, further comprising adjusting communication between the first device and the second device based on the interference.
18. The method of claim 11, further comprising scheduling communication between the first device and the second device based on the interference.
19. The method of claim 11, wherein the pre-defined message is an activity of report of a Bluetooth wireless protocol including a BT AMP protocol or a co-located interference message of an IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol including an IEEE 802.11v protocol.
20. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless protocol is a Bluetooth wireless protocol or an IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol.
The present invention relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to systems and methods for reducing power consumption in wireless devices.
Bluetooth AMP ("BT AMP") mates the standardization of Bluetooth with the bandwidth of IEEE 802.11. BT AMP refers to a Bluetooth protocol that uses an alternate media access controller ("MAC") and physical layer ("PHY"). BT AMP initiates the link between two devices using the Bluetooth protocol, and may use an IEEE 802.11 protocol, for example, to transport large amounts of data, such as audio or video. Above the transport level (in the OSI model) the application may use Bluetooth profiles. Bluetooth simplifies the discovery and setup of services between devices and IEEE 802.11 increases the data rate.
However, many wireless devices are battery operated. For example, from cell phones and personal digital assistants ("PDAs") to wireless speakers and mice, reducing power consumption in wireless devices remains an ongoing challenge.
Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for reducing power consumption in wireless devices. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for reducing power consumption in wireless devices comprising establishing a wireless link between a local device and a remote device, sending a message to the remote device across the wireless link, the message specifying a communication schedule, and communicating between the local device and the remote device according to the communication schedule. The communication schedule specifies time periods in which data is not transferred between the local device and the remote device, and during the time periods at least one of the local device or the remote device enters a low power mode.
In one embodiment, the local device and the remote device communicate using a BT AMP protocol.
In one embodiment, the Bluetooth profile indicates a start time, a duration, and a periodicity for communicating between the local device and the remote device.
In one embodiment, the message is an activity report, and wherein the communication schedule is sent in the activity report.
In one embodiment, communicating includes transferring audio data to the remote device based on the communication schedule, and the communication schedule transfers sufficient audio data to the remote device to stream a corresponding audio signal without interruption.
In another embodiment, the present invention includes an electronic device comprising a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and a controller configured to use the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver to establish a wireless link between the electronic device and a remote device to provide communication with the first remote device, and send a message to the remote device across the wireless link, the message specifying a communication schedule that specifies time periods in which data is not transferred between the electronic device and the remote device. Communication occurs in accordance with the communication schedule, and during the time periods at least one of the electronic device or the remote device enters a low power mode.
In one embodiment, the communication schedule is determined from a Bluetooth profile on the electronic device, and wherein the Bluetooth profile indicates a start time, a duration, and a periodicity for communicating between the electronic device and the remote device.
FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Wireless system 100 includes a wireless local device 101 and a wireless remote device 102. Local device 101 includes controller 103 coupled to transmitter 104 and receiver 105. Controller 103 is coupled to memory 106. Remote device 102 includes controller 111 coupled to transmitter 112 and receiver 113. Controller 111 is coupled to memory 114. A wireless link 115 is established between local device 101 and remote device 102 using antennas 117-118, controller 103, controller 111, transmitter 104, transmitter 112, receiver 105, receiver 113, memory 106, and memory 114. The components of local device 101 and remote device 102 shown in FIG. 1 may be illustrative of wireless systems including hardware and software for implementing a variety of wireless protocols such as a Bluetooth protocol, an 802.11 protocol, or a combination of wireless protocols such as BT AMP, for example.
Features and advantages of the present invention include sending a message from the local device 101 to the remote device 103 across the wireless link 115 to reduce power consumption in either or both of the devices. In one embodiment, the message may specify a communication schedule. The communication schedule, in turn, may specify the timing of transmissions. For example, a communication schedule may specify time periods during which data is, and is not, transferred between the local device 101 and the remote device 102. Accordingly, if the local device 101 and the remote device 102 communication (e.g., transfer data) according the communication schedule, either or both devices may enter a low power state during the time periods when data is not being transferred.
An example of a wireless system 100 shown in FIG. 1 may be a BT AMP system, for example. A BT AMP system 100 may include a Bluetooth MAC/PHY and an 802.11 MAC/PHY, which are illustrated generally as wireless controllers, transmitters, and receivers in FIG. 1, but are understood by those skilled in the art to include specific hardware and software. For instance, in BT AMP system 100 the memory 106 may include a program 107 representing an application layer, for example. In one embodiment of the present invention, program 107 may include one or more Bluetooth profiles 108 and scheduler 109. A Bluetooth profile is a wireless interface specification for Bluetooth-based communication between devices. A Bluetooth profile may reside at the application layer on top of BT AMP MAC and PHY. Different profiles 108 may be used for establishing wireless communications with different types of Bluetooth enabled remote devices, and may include information for specifying how data is transferred between the local device 101 and the remote device 102. For example, if the remote device 102 is an audio/video device, profile 108 may be an Audio Video Remote Control Profile ("AVRCP"). In one embodiment, the profile 108 may indicate the data rate required for remote device 102 and/or what transmission time intervals may be used for communicating between local device 101 and remote device 102. The profile 108 may also indicate, amongst other things, a start time, duration, and periodicity of the communication between local device 101 and remote device 102, for example. In this example, the scheduler 109 may use information from the profile 108 to generate a communication schedule. For example, scheduler 109 may determine transmission intervals from the profile 108 to generate a communication schedule to instruct the remote device 102 when data transmissions are to occur. Communication schedules may be sent from local device 101 to remote device 102 to control power usage in either or both devices. Accordingly, either, or both, local device 101 and remote device 102 may include low power modes 110 and 116, respectively, for powering down one or more portions of either device during time periods when data is not being transferred as determined by the profile 108, for example.
In one embodiment, the communication schedule may be transmitted using a pre-existing message specified by the wireless protocol being used for the wireless link 115. For example, in some wireless protocols, specific messages are used to communicate interference which may be present in the operating environment of the local device 101 and the remote device 102. For example, the Bluetooth protocol includes activity reporting which allows wireless communication to take into account certain types of interference. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the message for carrying the communication schedule is an activity report of the Bluetooth protocol. For example, the message specifying the communication schedule may be sent in an activity report of the BT AMP protocol. As another example, IEEE 802.11v includes co-located interference messaging to prevent simultaneous transmission of multiple radios on a single system. In this case, IEEE 802.11v includes a co-located interference message that may be sent from local device 101 to remote device 102 to identify time periods in which transmissions are not exchanged between local device 101 and remote device 102 so that multiple radios in the same device do not interfere with each other (e.g., if a BT transmission is occurring in a BT AMP system, the 802.11 transmission may be shut down so the two protocols do not interfere with each other). Accordingly, another embodiment of the present invention includes sending a communication schedule in an interference message of an 802.11 protocol. In other wireless protocols, other pre-existing messages, such as interference messages, may be used for sending communication schedules.
Communication schedules may be used to control power in the local device 101 and remote device 102. For example, remote device 102 may have a requirement of receiving 100 kbits every 100 ms and a capability to receive data at a rate of 20 Mbits/second. The communication schedule may schedule a 5 ms interval to transfer 100 kbits every 100 ms period. During the other 95 ms of time, local device 101 may utilize a low power mode 110 and shut down one or more portions of electronics in local device 101 to save power (e.g., transmitter 104 and receiver 105 may be turned off). Similarly, during the other 95 ms of time, one or more portions of electronics in remote device 102 (e.g., transmitter 112 and receiver 113) may be disabled using low power mode 116 to save power, for example. Accordingly, scheduling time for communications allows either, or both, local device 101 and remote device 102 to schedule time periods in which one or more portions of the local device 101 and remote device 102 may be turned off in order to save power.
In some applications, some remote devices may not be capable of scheduling communications as specified in the communication schedule. Accordingly, in one embodiment, remote device 102 may periodically send a request-to-send message to local device 101. The request-to-send message may indicate that remote device 102 is ready to receive data from local device 101, for example. Local device 101 may be transitioning in and out of a low power mode based on the communication schedule. Accordingly, local device 101 may respond to the request-to-send message from the remote device 102 with a clear-to-send message if the request-to-send message is received by local device 101 when local device 101 is not in low power mode. A clear-to-send message may indicate that local device 101 has received the request-to-send message. If remote device 102 receives the clear-to-send message, it may prepare itself to receive data from local device 101. After sending the clear-to-send message, and possibly after an additional wait time, local device 101 may start sending data, for example.
Music player 201 includes controller 103, memory 106, and antenna 117 which are utilized to communicate with the remote wireless devices (e.g., audio amplifiers 202-203). In this embodiment, music player 201 utilizes BT AMP transceiver 205 to transmit and receive signals from audio amplifiers 202-203. Music player 201 utilizes scheduler 109 to generate communication schedules for the transmission of audio data. Scheduler 109 may use one or more profiles 108 (e.g., AVRCP) for sending audio data to audio amplifiers 202-203 using the BT AMP protocol. Timer 221-223 may be time synchronization field ("TSF") timers that maintain the timing for the communication schedules. CODEC 204 may be used to generate the audio data to be sent to audio amplifiers 202-203, for example.
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The scheduler 109 may generate a communication schedule specifying 2 ms to transmit left channel data to audio amplifier 202 and 2 ms to transmit right channel data to audio amplifier 203, and 96 ms of power save time. The communication schedule may be sent in an activity report to each amplifier. The parameters of the message are: 1. Start time: The time when the interference starts based on a local timer 2. Duration: The duration active traffic can last for 3. Periodicity: The periodicity of the traffic. In this case, the information in the activity report for each amplifier may be as follows. Activity Report Message for Audio Amplifier 202
The low power mode 110 may be used to put music player 201 in a sleep mode during the 96 ms power save period. In this situation, timer 221 may need to remain active in order to determine when music player 201 is to "wake up" from the sleep mode and again transmit audio data. During the power save period, audio amplifiers 202 and 203 may disable transceivers 208 and 213, respectively, and/or other circuitry which is not needed in order to reduce power at the remote devices.
FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 of reducing power consumption in wireless devices according to one embodiment of the invention. At 301, a wireless link is established between a local device and a remote device. At 302, a communication schedule is generated. The communication schedule may be generated based on a profile available to the local device, which may be a Bluetooth profile, for example. If BT AMP is being used within the local device, a profile may be used to determine the amount of data required by one or more remote devices for a particular time period. The data rate capabilities may be used to determine when the local device may send a burst of data to a remote device. At 303, the communication schedule is embedded in a pre-existing message of a wireless protocol. The pre-existing message may be an interference message for example, which may be used by the protocol to adjust communications based on interference patterns but is being used in this embodiment for sending the communication schedule, for example. This message may also be an activity reporting message, for example. At 304, the message is sent from the local device to remote device. The message may communicate information to the remote device concerning, for example, start times, duration, and periodicity of the transmissions from the local device to the remote device. At 305, the local device communicates with the remote device according to the communication schedule in the message. This may include periodically alternating between transmitting for a time period and not transmitting for a time period. At 306, the local device or remote device, or both, may enter a low power mode by shutting down power to one or more circuit components in the respective system. The local device may be utilizing IEEE 802.11g to transport the data at a high data rate such that the remote device receives the required amount of data in short bursts, and during the remainder of the communication time period portions of the circuitry of the local device and the remote devices may be turned off or configured in a low quiescent current state. A low power mode may be used to save power during these time periods.
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