Communication state transitioning control

• US 10,548,080 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2014
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Maruti, Koc, Ali T., Vannithamby, Rath
• Primary Examiner(s): Roudani, Oussama
• Application Number:
  US14/231,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20140211679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,129 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0222 in packet switched networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe devices, methods, computer-readable media and systems configurations for managing state transitions of communication circuitries in wireless networks. Embodiments manage radio resource control (RRC) state transitions and/or discontinuous reception (DRX) state transitions. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

memory circuitry to store a configuration parameter received in a radio-resource control (RRC) message; and

processing circuitry, coupled with the memory circuitry, to

set a timer to a state-transition disable period that is based on the configuration parameter;

trigger the timer in response to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) state transition;

suppress transmission of a request for a second DRX state transition if the timer has not expired,

wherein the second DRX state transition includes a transition from a first DRX configuration having first DRX parameters to a second DRX configuration having second DRX parameters,

wherein the second DRX parameters include at least one DRX parameter different from the first DRX parameters, the at least one DRX parameter to include a length of a power-down period, a length of a power-up period, a number of on cycles between switching cycle lengths, or a number of off cycles between switching cycle lengths; and

communication-state circuitry to transmit the request based on an expiration of the timer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second DRX state transition is to transition the apparatus into a power-saving state.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second DRX state transition is to transition the apparatus out of a power-saving state.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment and further comprises:

one or more sensors configured to determine environmental conditions and/or location information related to the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one DRX parameter is a cycle length.

5. A method comprising:

processing a radio resource control (RRC) message to identify a configuration parameter;

setting a timer of a user equipment (UE) to a state-transition disable period that is based on the configuration parameter;

initiating the timer in response to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) state transition;

suppressing a request for a second DRX state transition based on the timer, wherein the second DRX state transition includes a transition from a first DRX configuration having first DRX parameters to a second DRX configuration having second DRX parameters,

wherein the second DRX parameters include at least one DRX parameter different from the first DRX parameters, the at least one DRX parameter to include a length of a power-down period, a length of a power-up period, a number of on cycles between switching cycle lengths, or a number of off cycles between switching cycle lengths; and

transmitting the request based on an expiration of the timer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the RRC message is received as part of an RRC configuration process.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second DRX state transition is to transition to a power-saving state.

8. One or more non-transitory computer readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to:

detect a configuration parameter provided to the UE by an eNB as part of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration process;

configure a timer with a state-transition disable period that is based on the configuration parameter;

transmit, to the eNB, a request for a first discontinuous reception (DRX) state transition;

initiate the timer in response to the first DRX state transition;

suppress a pending request for a second DRX state transition that corresponds to a transition to a power-saving state until the timer expires,

wherein the second DRX state transition includes a transition from a first DRX configuration having first DRX parameters to a second DRX configuration having second DRX parameters,

wherein the second DRX parameters include at least one DRX parameter different from the first DRX parameters, the at least one DRX parameter to include a length of a power-down period, a length of a power-up period, a number of on cycles between switching cycle lengths, or a number of off cycles between switching cycle lengths; and

transmit the pending request based on an expiration of the timer.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the first and second DRX configurations are associated with different power-saving states.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the second DRX state transition is to transition the UE into a power-saving state.

11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the second DRX state transition is to transition the UE out of a power-saving state.