DISCONNECTION TECHNIQUES IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

• US 20090221277A1
• Filed: 02/29/2008
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Palm, Inc. (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kumar, Pradeep, Fomin, Yury
• Application Number:
  US12/040,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20090221277A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• 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 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/30 Connection release
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus includes a host, and a communications control module. The communications control module exchanges information with a communications network, such as a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network. The host determines whether a termination condition exists. Based on this determination, the communications control module performs a signaling connection release indication procedure when a termination condition exists.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

operating in a connection mode with a communications network

determining whether a termination condition exists;

based on the determination, performing a signaling connection release indication procedure when a termination condition exists;

operating in an idle mode with the communications network after completion of the Signaling Connection Release Indication procedure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining comprises determining whether any pending calls with the communications network exist.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining comprises determining whether any communications applications are running.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining comprises concluding that a terminating condition exists when there is an absence of pending calls with the communications network and there are no communications applications running.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining comprises concluding that a termination condition exists when there is an absence of pending calls with the communications network and an e-mail application is the only running communications application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said operating in the connection mode comprises having a radio resource control (RRC) protocol with the communications network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the signaling connection release indication procedure comprises sending the communications network a SIGNALLING CONNECTION RELEASE INDICATION message.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a message to a control module across a host controller interface (HCI) to initiate the signaling connection release indication procedure.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a host, and a communications control module;

wherein the communications control module is to exchange information with a communications network; and

wherein the host is to determine that a termination condition exists, and based on the determination, the communications control module is to perform a signaling connection release indication procedure.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said host is to determine that a terminating condition exists when there is an absence of pending calls with the communications network and there are no communications applications running.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said host is to determine that a termination condition exists when there is an absence of pending calls with the communications network and an e-mail application is the only running communications application.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the communications network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a host controller interface (HCI) to provide for the exchange of information between the host and the communications control module.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the host is to send a message to the communications control module across the HCI, the message to initiate the signaling connection release indication procedure.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the communications control module is to send the communications network a SIGNALLING CONNECTION RELEASE INDICATION message when performing the signaling connection release indication procedure.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the host is to perform one or more user applications.

18. An article, comprising a machine-readable storage medium containing instructions that if executed enable a system to:

operate in a connection mode with a communications network

determine whether a termination condition exists;

based on the determination, perform a signaling connection release indication procedure when a termination condition exists; and

operate in an idle mode with the communications network after completion of the Signaling Connection Release Indication procedure.

19. The article of claim 18, wherein the machine-readable storage medium contains instructions that if executed enable a system to conclude that a terminating condition exists when there is an absence of pending calls with the communications network and there are no communications applications running.

20. The article of claim 18, wherein the machine-readable storage medium contains instructions that if executed enable a system to conclude that a termination condition exists when there is an absence of pending calls with the communications network and an e-mail application is the only running communications application.