Suspended baseband state

• US 10,588,170 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2017
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pollack, Daniel B., Manepalli, Venkateswara Rao, Xing, Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Gil H.
• Application Number:
  US15/702,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20180352587A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) device and associated methods for entering a suspended baseband state in response to a signal strength indicator falling below a threshold. A UE engages in an active connection with a remote server, which may be a transmission control protocol (TCP) push connection. A baseband layer of the UE determines that the signal strength indicator has fallen below a threshold, and transmits a notification to an application layer of the UE to suspend the connection. The baseband layer may later determine that the signal strength has risen above a second threshold, whereby the UE may resume the suspended connection. The UE may maintain state information associated with the connection during the suspended state, such that the UE may resume the suspended connection without reestablishing a new connection with the remote server.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

by a user equipment device (UE) engaging in an active connection with a remote server;

determining, by a baseband layer of the UE, that a signal strength indicator associated with the active connection has fallen below a first threshold;

in response to determining that the signal strength indicator has fallen below the first threshold, transmitting, by the baseband layer to an application layer of the UE, a notification to suspend the connection, wherein the application layer is configured to cause the UE to suspend transmission of keep alive signaling to the remote server while the connection is suspended, and wherein state information associated with the connection is maintained by the UE while the connection is suspended;

while the connection is suspended, determining, by the baseband layer, that the signal strength indicator has risen above a second threshold; and

resuming the connection in response to the determination that the signal strength indicator has risen above the second threshold, wherein resuming the connection comprises sending a keep alive message to the remote server to determine if the connection is still active.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the method further comprises initiating procedures to establish a new connection with the remote server based on a determination that the connection is not still active.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein resuming the connection comprises resuming communications with the remote server without reestablishing the connection.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein, while the connection is suspended, the application layer is configured to suspend one or more of:

sending messages to buffers for transmission;

retransmitting failed transmissions;

transmitting filter updates to the remote server;

or

transmitting token requests to the remote server.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the connection is a transmission control protocol (TCP) push connection.

6. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

employing a timeout procedure whereby messages in a message queue are removed from the message queue if the messages have not been successfully sent after a predetermined timeout duration, wherein the timeout duration is increased when the connection is suspended.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

determining that the UE is in a location associated with intermittent reductions of signal strength,

wherein said determining that the signal strength indicator has fallen below the first threshold is performed in response to the determination that the UE is in the location associated with intermittent reductions of signal strength.

8. A user equipment device (UE), comprising:

a radio;

a baseband processor (BB) operatively coupled to the radio; and

an application processor (AP) operatively coupled to the BB;

wherein the UE is configured to;

engage in an active connection with a remote server;

determine, by the BB, that a signal strength indicator associated with the active connection has fallen below a first threshold;

in response to determining that the signal strength indicator has fallen below the first threshold, transmit, by the BB to the AP, a notification to suspend the connection, wherein the AP is configured to cause the UE to suspend transmission of keep alive signaling to the remote server while the connection is suspended, and wherein state information associated with the connection is maintained by the UE while the connection is suspended;

while the connection is suspended, determine, by the BB, that the signal strength indicator has risen above a second threshold; and

resume the connection in response to the determination that the signal strength indicator has risen above the second threshold, wherein resuming the connection comprises sending a keep alive message to the remote server to determine if the connection is still active.

9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UE is further configured to:

initiate procedures to establish a new connection with the remote server based on a determination that the connection is not still active.

10. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UE is further configured to:

while resuming the connection, request a same IP address that was used to initiate the connection.

11. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UE is further configured to:

determine that the UE is in a location associated with intermittent reductions of signal strength,

wherein said determining that the signal strength indicator has fallen below the first threshold is performed in response to the determination that the UE is in the location associated with intermittent reductions of signal strength.

12. The UE of claim 8,

wherein, while the connection is suspended, the AP is configured to suspend one or more of:

sending messages to buffers for transmission;

retransmitting failed transmissions;

transmitting filter updates to the remote server;

or

transmitting token requests to the remote server.

13. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UE is further configured to:

employ a timeout procedure whereby messages in a message queue are removed from the message queue if the messages have not been successfully sent after a predetermined timeout duration, wherein the timeout duration is increased when the connection is suspended.

14. The UE of claim 8,

wherein the connection is a transmission control protocol (TCP) push connection.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium that stores program instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment device (UE), cause the UE to:

engage in an active connection with a remote server;

determine, by a baseband layer of the UE, that a signal strength indicator associated with the active connection has fallen below a first threshold;

in response to determining that the signal strength indicator has fallen below the first threshold, transmit, by the baseband layer to an application layer of the UE, a notification to suspend the connection, wherein, while the connection is suspended, transmission by the UE of keep alive signaling to the remote server is suspended by the application layer, and wherein state information associated with the connection is maintained by the UE while the connection is suspended;

while the connection is suspended, determine, by the baseband layer, that the signal strength indicator has risen above a second threshold;

resume the connection in response to the determination that the signal strength indicator has risen above the second threshold; and

while resuming the connection, send a keep alive message to the remote server to determine if the connection is still active.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to:

initiate procedures to establish a new connection with the remote server based on a determination that the connection is not still active.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to:

while resuming the connection, request a same IP address that was used to initiate the connection.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 15,

wherein, while the connection is suspended, the program instructions are further executable to cause the application layer to suspend one or more of:

sending messages to buffers for transmission;

retransmitting failed transmissions;

transmitting filter updates to the remote server;

or

transmitting token requests to the remote server.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to:

employ a timeout procedure whereby messages in a message queue are removed from the message queue if the messages have not been successfully sent after a predetermined timeout duration, wherein the timeout duration is increased when the connection is suspended.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to:

determine that the UE is in a location associated with intermittent reductions of signal strength,

wherein said determining that the signal strength indicator has fallen below the first threshold is performed in response to the determination that the UE is in the location associated with intermittent reductions of signal strength.