PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS IN A WIRELESS CLIENT TERMINAL USING ASSISTANCE FROM A PROXY DEVICE

• US 20120173901A1
• Filed: 01/03/2011
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Soliman, Samir S., Awoniyi, Olufunmilola O.
• Granted Patent: US 8,966,292 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/182 Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Various features are provided to improve communication performance and power conservation in a client terminal by relying on the assistance of a proxy device. For instance, rather than reporting channel measurements via a primary communication channel to a network, the client terminal may be adapted to perform (a) channel measurement feedback using out-of-band signaling via the proxy device and/or (b) active synchronization with assistance of a proxy device. In this manner, the client terminal may be able to disable or reduce power consumption over a primary communication interface for the primary communication channel while utilizing a secondary communication interface to communicate with the proxy device.

Claims

1. A client terminal, comprising:

a first communication circuit for wirelessly communicating over a first communication channel;

a second communication circuit for wirelessly communicating over a second communication channel; and

a processing circuit coupled to the first communication circuit and the second communication circuit, the processing circuit adapted to;

establish communications with a proxy device over the first communication channel and the second communication channel, and

operate the first communication circuit in a power conserving mode where feedback data associated with the first communication channel bypasses the first communication circuit and is conveyed via the second communication channel.

2. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the first communication circuit conveys the feedback data with higher latency than when the second communication circuit conveys the feedback data.

3. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein transmissions via the second communication circuit take less power than equivalent transmissions via the first communication circuit.

4. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the power conserving mode the processing circuit maintains at least part of a protocol stack for the first communication circuit according to a quasi-connected mode while lower layers of the protocol stack of the first communication circuit operate according to a lowered power mode.

5. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the first communication channel operates within a wide area network.

6. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the second communication circuit is adapted for short range transmissions relative to longer range transmissions by the first communication circuit.

7. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the first communication circuit and the processing circuit are further adapted to:

monitor the first communication channel to ascertain one or more channel conditions; and

generate the feedback data based on the ascertained one or more channel conditions.

8. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is adapted to:

extract the feedback data from a buffer for the first communication circuit; and

transmit the feedback data via the second communication circuit.

9. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the first communication circuit operates according to a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) air interface standard that specifies a plurality of Radio Resource Control (RRC) modes of operation.

10. The client terminal of claim 9, wherein the power conserving mode the first communication circuit transitions from a Cell Forward Access Channel (Cell FACH) mode to an idle mode.

11. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the feedback data is representative of one or more characteristics of the first communication channel as perceived by the client terminal.

12. The client terminal of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to:

establish a communication session with a networked device via the first communication circuit, wherein periodic heartbeat signals are to be sent by the client terminal to keep the communication session alive;

send a proxy request for a proxy device to send the periodic heartbeat signals on behalf of the client terminal and monitor the communication session for a data indicator; and

switch to a lowered power mode where the first communication circuit is idled or disabled while the second communication channel is monitored for a forwarded data indicator.

13. The client terminal of claim 12, wherein the second communication circuit and processing circuit are further adapted to:

receive the forwarded data indicator via the second communication channel; and

switch to a connected mode upon receipt of the forwarded data indicator in order to receive data as part of the communication session via the first communication channel.

14. A method operational in a client terminal, comprising:

establishing wireless communications with a proxy device through a first communication circuit via a first communication channel;

establishing wireless communications with a proxy device through a second communication circuit via a second communication channel; and

operating the first communication circuit in a power conserving mode where feedback data associated with the first communication channel bypasses the first communication circuit and is conveyed via the second communication channel.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein transmissions via the second communication circuit take less power than equivalent transmissions via the first communication circuit.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first communication channel operates within a wide area network, and the second communication circuit is adapted for short range transmissions relative to longer range transmissions by the first communication circuit.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the feedback data is representative of one or more characteristics of the first communication channel as perceived by the client terminal.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the power conserving mode the processing circuit maintains at least part of a protocol stack for the first communication circuit according to a quasi-connected mode while lower layers of the protocol stack of the first communication circuit operate according to a lowered power mode.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

monitoring the first communication channel to ascertain one or more channel conditions; and

generating the feedback data based on the ascertained one or more channel conditions.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

extracting the feedback data from a buffer for the first communication circuit; and

transmitting the feedback data via the second communication circuit.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

establishing a communication session with a networked device via the first communication circuit, wherein periodic heartbeat signals are to be sent by the client terminal to keep the communication session alive;

sending a proxy request for a proxy device to send the periodic heartbeat signals on behalf of the client terminal and monitor the communication session for a data indicator; and

switching to a lowered power mode where the first communication circuit is idled or disabled while the second communication channel is monitored for a forwarded data indicator.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving the forwarded data indicator via the second communication channel; and

switching the first communication circuit to a connected mode upon receipt of the forwarded data indicator in order to receive data as part of the communication session via the first communication channel.

23. A client terminal, comprising:

means for establishing wireless communications with a proxy device through a first communication circuit via a first communication channel;

means for establishing wireless communications with a proxy device through a second communication circuit via a second communication channel; and

means for operating the first communication circuit in a power conserving mode where feedback data associated with the first communication channel bypasses the first communication circuit and is conveyed via the second communication channel.

24. The client terminal of claim 23, further comprising:

means for monitoring the first communication channel to ascertain one or more channel conditions; and

means for generating the feedback data based on the ascertained one or more channel conditions.

25. The client terminal of claim 23, further comprising:

means for extracting the feedback data from a buffer for the first communication circuit; and

means for transmitting the feedback data via the second communication circuit.

26. The client terminal of claim 23, further comprising:

means for establishing a communication session with a networked device via the first communication circuit, wherein periodic heartbeat signals are to be sent by the client terminal to keep the communication session alive;

means for sending a proxy request for a proxy device to send the periodic heartbeat signals on behalf of the client terminal and monitor the communication session for a data indicator; and

means for switching to a lowered power mode where the first communication circuit is idled or disabled while the second communication channel is monitored for a forwarded data indicator from the proxy device.

27. A processor-readable medium comprising one or more instructions operational on a client terminal, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

establish wirelessly communications with a proxy device through a first communication circuit via a first communication channel;

establish wirelessly communications with a proxy device through a second communication circuit via a second communication channel; and

operate the first communication circuit in a power conserving mode where the feedback data bypasses the first communication circuit and is conveyed to the proxy device via the second communication channel.

28. The processor-readable medium of claim 27, further comprising one or more instructions which cause the processor to:

establish a communication session with a networked device via the first communication circuit, wherein periodic heartbeat signals are to be sent by the client terminal to keep the communication session alive;

send a proxy request for a proxy device to send the periodic heartbeat signals on behalf of the client terminal and monitor the communication session for a data indicator; and

switch to a lowered power mode where the first communication circuit is idled or disabled while the second communication channel is monitored for a forwarded data indicator from the proxy device.

29. A proxy device, comprising:

a first communication circuit for wirelessly communicating over a first communication channel;

a second communication circuit for wirelessly communicating over a second communication channel; and

a processing circuit coupled to the first communication circuit and the second communication circuit, the processing circuit adapted to;

receive feedback data from a client terminal over the second communication channel, the feedback data associated with a characteristic of a first communication channel for the client terminal, and

communicate the received feedback data to a network entity on behalf of the client terminal.

30. The proxy device of claim 29, further comprising:

a network communication circuit for coupling the proxy device to the network entity, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to transfer the received feedback data from the second communication circuit to one of either the first communication circuit or the network communication circuit for transmission to the network entity.

31. The proxy device of claim 29, wherein the first communication channel operates within a wide area network and the second communication circuit is a Bluetooth compliant circuit.

32. The proxy device of claim 29, wherein the second communication circuit is adapted for short range transmissions relative to longer range transmissions by the first communication circuit.

33. The proxy device of claim 29, further comprising:

a storage device coupled to the processing circuit and adapted to implement a protocol stack buffer into which the feedback data is placed for transmission to the network entity.

34. The proxy device of claim 29, wherein the feedback data associated with a characteristic of a communication channel for the client terminal includes feedback data associated with a frequency spectrum used by the client terminal to communicate with the network entity.

35. The proxy device of claim 29, wherein the processing circuit is adapted to:

receive a request via the second communication channel to act as a proxy for the client terminal during a communication session between the client terminal and a networked device; and

transmit one or more periodic heartbeat signals to the networked device on behalf of the client terminal to keep the communication session alive via a network communication channel with the network entity.

36. The proxy device of claim 35, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to:

receive a data indicator associated with the communication session from the networked device via the network communication channel, where the data indicator is intended for the client terminal; and

forward the data indicator to the client terminal via the second communication channel.

37. A method operational in a proxy device, comprising:

receiving feedback data from a client terminal over a second communication channel with a second communication circuit, the feedback data associated with a characteristic of a first communication channel for the client terminal; and

communicating the received feedback data to a network entity on behalf of the client terminal.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

transferring the received feedback data from the second communication circuit to one of either a first communication circuit or a network communication circuit in communication with the network entity for communicating the received feedback data to the network entity.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the second communication circuit is adapted for short range transmissions relative to longer range transmissions by a first communication circuit.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the feedback data is representative of one or more characteristics of the first communication channel as perceived by the client terminal.

41. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

receiving a request via the second communication channel to act as a proxy for the client terminal during a communication session between the client terminal and a networked device; and

transmitting one or more periodic heartbeat signals to the networked device on behalf of the client terminal to keep the communication session alive via a network communication channel with the network entity.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising:

receiving a data indicator associated with the communication session from the networked device via the network communication channel, where the data indicator is intended for the client terminal; and

forwarding the data indicator to the client terminal via the second communication channel.

43. A proxy device, comprising:

means for receiving feedback data from a client terminal over a second communication channel, the feedback data associated with a characteristic of a first communication channel of the client terminal; and

means for communicating the received feedback data to a network entity on behalf of the client terminal.

44. The proxy device of claim 43, wherein the means for receiving the feedback data from the client terminal over the second communication channel includes a second communication circuit adapted for short range transmissions relative to longer range transmissions by a first communication circuit of the proxy device.

45. The proxy device of claim 43, further comprising:

means for receiving a data indicator associated with the communication session from the networked device via the network communication channel, where the data indicator is intended for the client terminal; and

means for forwarding the data indicator to the client terminal via the second communication channel.

46. A processor-readable medium comprising one or more instructions operational on a proxy device, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

receive feedback data from a client terminal over a second communication channel with a second communication circuit, the feedback data associated with a characteristic of a first communication channel of the client terminal; and

communicate the received feedback data to a network entity on behalf of the client terminal.

47. The processor-readable medium of claim 46, further comprising one or more instructions, which when executed by the processor causes the processor to:

transfer the received feedback data from the second communication circuit to one of either a first communication circuit or a network communication circuit for communication to the network entity.

48. The processor-readable medium of claim 46, further comprising one or more instructions, which when executed by the processor causes the processor to:

receive a request via the second communication channel to act as a proxy for the client terminal during a communication session between the client terminal and a networked device; and

transmit one or more periodic heartbeat signals to the networked device on behalf of the client terminal to keep the communication session alive via a network communication channel with the network entity.

49. The processor-readable medium of claim 48, further comprising one or more instructions, which when executed by the processor causes the processor to:

receive a data indicator associated with the communication session from the networked device via the network communication channel, where the data indicator is intended for the client terminal; and

forward the data indicator to the client terminal via the second communication channel.