POWER CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES FOR USE IN DEVICES WITH SELECTABLE POWER MODES

• US 20130159749A1
• Filed: 12/16/2011
• Published: 06/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Moeglein, Mark L., Jalali, Ahmad, Tian, Bin
• Granted Patent: US 9,066,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/323
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0245 according to signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Techniques are provided which may be implemented in various methods, apparatuses, and/or articles of manufacture for use in and/or with an electronic device that is operable in a plurality of selectable power modes, including at least a “higher power mode” and a “lower power mode”. In an example implementation, with an electronic device operating in a higher power mode may selectively transition to a lower power mode based, at least in part, on at least phase value obtained from a signal acquired from a ground-based transmitter. Further techniques are provided which may be implemented to allow electronic device to selectively transition from a lower power mode to one or more other selectable power modes, e.g., including various “medium power modes”, and various “higher power modes”.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

with a device operable in a plurality of selectable power modes, and with said device in a higher power mode;

obtaining one or more attribute values including a phase value from a signal acquired from a ground-based transmitter; and

in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values satisfy a profile test indicating that said device is within a characterized environment, transitioning to a lower power mode wherein at least a portion of a receiver used to acquire said signal is disabled and at least a portion of enabled device circuitry uses a timing circuit that is set based, at least in part, on at least said phase value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said transitioning said device to said lower power mode is further based, at least in part, in response to a determination that said device is in a constrained motion state.

3. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

with said device in said higher power mode, in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values fail to satisfy said profile test, characterizing a new environment to generate a new profile test for use in indicating whether said device is within said new environment based at least in part, on said one or more attribute values.

4. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

with said device in said lower power mode, in response to a determination that a transition is to occur, transitioning to a medium power mode; and

with said device in said medium power mode;

attempting to reacquire said signal;

obtaining at least a new phase value from said reacquired signal; and

resetting said timing circuit based, at least in part, on said new phase value.

5. The method of claim 4, and further comprising, with said device in said lower power mode, determining whether said transition is to occur based, at least in part, on at least one of:

a time value;

a timing accuracy value;

an inertial sensor value;

an environmental sensor value;

a battery power value;

said profile test;

a new profile test;

a position fix;

or a user input.

6. The method of claim 4, and further comprising, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtaining a strength value from said signal; and

determining whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said strength value.

7. The method of claim 6, and further comprising, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtaining at least one other strength value from at least one other signal received from at least one other ground-based transmitter; and

determining whether said device is in said constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said at least one other strength value.

8. The method of claim 4, and further comprising, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtaining a frequency Doppler value from said signal; and

determining whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said frequency Doppler value.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein said device uses less power operating in said medium power mode than while operating in said higher power mode.

10. The method of claim 1, and further comprising, selecting said signal from a plurality of signals received from a plurality of ground-based transmitters based, at least in part, on a comparison of corresponding signal stability values for said plurality of signals.

11. The method of claim 1, and further comprising at least one of:

receiving at least a portion of said profile test from at least one other device;

or

transmitting at least a portion of said profile test to at least one other device.

12. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

selecting said signal based, at least in part, on at least a portion of a base station almanac.

13. The method of claim 4, and further comprising:

enabling use of a transmitter and said receiver in said higher power mode;

disabling use of said transmitter and said receiver in said lower power mode; and

disabling use of said transmitter and enabling use of said receiver in said medium power mode.

14. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

in a medium power mode;

disabling use of a transmitter, disabling use of said receiver, and enabling use of at least one of;

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining said one or more attribute values further comprises obtaining at least one of said one or more attribute values from one or more signals from at least one of:

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

16. The method of claim 1, and further comprising, with said device in said higher power mode:

obtaining at least two phase values from at least two signals transmitted by at least two ground-based transmitters that are not co-located; and

determining whether said profile test is satisfied based, at least in part, on a difference between said at least two phase values.

17. The method of claim 1, and further comprising, with said device in said higher power mode:

enabling use of a transmitter and said receiver in said higher power mode; and

communicating with at least one other device via said transmitter.

18. An apparatus for use in a device operable in a plurality of selectable power modes, the apparatus comprising:

with said device in a higher power mode;

means for obtaining one or more attribute values including a phase value from a signal acquired from a ground-based transmitter; and

means for transitioning to a lower power mode in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values satisfy a profile test indicating that said device is within a characterized environment, wherein in said lower power mode at least a portion of a receiver used to acquire said signal is disabled and at least a portion of enabled device circuitry uses a timing circuit that is set based, at least in part, on at least said phase value.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said means for transitioning said device to said lower power mode is further based, at least in part, in response to a determination that said device is in a constrained motion state.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising, with said device in said higher power mode:

means for characterizing a new environment to generate a new profile test for use in indicating whether said device is within said new environment based at least in part, on said one or more attribute values, in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values fail to satisfy said profile test.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising:

with said device in said lower power mode, in response to a determination that a transition is to occur, means for transitioning to a medium power mode; and

with said device in said medium power mode;

means for attempting to reacquire said signal;

means for obtaining at least a new phase value from said signal; and

means for resetting said timing circuit based, at least in part, on said new phase value.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, and further comprising, with said device in said lower power mode, means for determining whether said transition is to occur.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, and further comprising, with said device in said medium power mode:

means for obtaining a strength value from said signal; and

means for determining whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said strength value.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, and further comprising, with said device in said medium power mode:

means for obtaining at least one other strength value from at least one other signal received from at least one other ground-based transmitter; and

means for determining whether said device is in said constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said at least one other strength value.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, and further comprising, with said device in said medium power mode:

means for obtaining a frequency Doppler value from said signal; and

means for determining whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said frequency Doppler value.

26. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising:

means for selecting said signal from a plurality of signals received from a plurality of ground-based transmitters based, at least in part, on a comparison of corresponding signal stability values for said plurality of signals.

27. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising at least one of:

means for receiving at least a portion of said profile test from at least one other device;

or means for transmitting at least a portion of said profile test to at least one other device.

28. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising:

means for selecting said signal based, at least in part, on at least a portion of a base station almanac.

29. The apparatus of claim 21, and further comprising:

means for enabling use of a transmitter and means for said receiver in said higher power mode;

means for disabling use of said transmitter and means for disabling use of said receiver in said lower power mode; and

means for disabling use of said transmitter and means for enabling use of said receiver in said medium power mode.

30. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising:

with said device in a medium power mode;

means for disabling use of a transmitter;

means for disabling use of said receiver, and means for enabling use of at least one of;

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

31. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising:

means for obtaining at least one of said one or more attribute values from one or more signals from at least one of;

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

32. The apparatus of claim 18, and further comprising, with said device in said higher power mode:

means for obtaining at least two phase values from at least two signals transmitted by at least two ground-based transmitters that are not co-located; and

means for determining whether said profile test is satisfied based, at least in part, on a difference between said at least two phase values.

33. A device operable in a plurality of selectable power modes, the device comprising:

a receiver;

a timing circuit; and

a processing unit to, with said device in a higher power mode;

obtain one or more attribute values including a phase value from a signal acquired via said receiver from a ground-based transmitter; and

in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values satisfy a profile test indicating that said device is within a characterized environment, transition said device to a lower power mode wherein at least a portion of said receiver is disabled and at least a portion of enabled device circuitry uses said timing circuit that is set based, at least in part, on at least said phase value.

34. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further, transition said device to said lower power mode based further, at least in part, in response to a determination that said device is in a constrained motion state.

35. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further:

with said device in said higher power mode, in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values fail to satisfy said profile test, characterize a new environment to generate a new profile test for use in indicating whether said device is within said new environment based at least in part, on said one or more attribute values.

36. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further:

with said device in said lower power mode, in response to a determination that a transition is to occur, transition to a medium power mode; and

with said device in said medium power mode;

attempt to reacquire said signal via said receiver;

obtain at least a new phase value from said signal; and

reset said timing circuit based, at least in part, on said new phase value.

37. The device of claim 36, said processing unit to further, with said device in said lower power mode, determine whether said transition is to occur based, at least in part, on at least one of:

a time value;

a timing accuracy value;

an inertial sensor value;

an environmental sensor value;

a battery power value;

said profile test;

said new profile test;

a position fix;

or a user input.

38. The device of claim 36, said processing unit to further, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtain a strength value from said signal; and

determine whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said strength value.

39. The device of claim 38, said processing unit to further, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtain at least one other strength value from at least one other signal received from at least one other ground-based transmitter; and

determine whether said device is in said constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said at least one other strength value.

40. The device of claim 36, said processing unit to further, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtain a frequency Doppler value from said signal; and

determine whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said frequency Doppler value.

41. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further, select said signal from a plurality of signals received from a plurality of ground-based transmitters based, at least in part, on a comparison of corresponding signal stability values for said plurality of signals.

42. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further, receive at least a portion of said profile test from at least one other device via said receiver.

43. The device of claim 33, and further comprising a transmitter, and said processing unit to further initiate transmission of at least a portion of said profile test to at least one other device via said transmitter.

44. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further, select said signal based, at least in part, on at least a portion of a base station almanac.

45. The device of claim 36, and further comprising a transmitter, and said processing unit to further:

enable use of said transmitter and said receiver in said higher power mode;

disable use of said transmitter and said receiver in said lower power mode; and

disable use of said transmitter and enable use of said receiver in said medium power mode.

46. The device of claim 33, said processing unit to further place said device in a medium power mode by disabling use of a transmitter, disabling use of said receiver, and enabling use of at least one of:

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

47. The device of claim 33, and further comprising at least one of:

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor; and

said processing unit to further;

obtain at least one of said one or more attribute values from one or more signals from at least one of;

said inertial sensor;

or said environmental sensor.

48. The device of claim 33, with said device in said higher power mode, said processing unit to further:

obtain at least two phase values via said receiver from at least two ground-based transmitters that are not co-located; and

determine whether said profile test is satisfied based, at least in part, on a difference between said at least two phase values.

49. An article comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein computer implementable instructions executable by a processing unit of a device operable in a plurality of selectable power modes to;

with said device in a higher power mode;

obtain one or more attribute values including a phase value from a signal acquired from a ground-based transmitter; and

in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values satisfy a profile test indicating that said device is within a characterized environment, transition said device to a lower power mode wherein at least a portion of a receiver used to acquire said signal is disabled and at least a portion of enabled device circuitry uses a timing circuit that is set based, at least in part, on at least said phase value.

50. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, transition said device to said lower power mode based further, at least in part, in response to a determination that said device is in a constrained motion state.

51. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to:

with said device in said higher power mode and in response to a determination that said one or more attribute values fail to satisfy said profile test;

characterize a new environment to generate a new profile test for use in indicating whether said device is within said new environment based at least in part, on said one or more attribute values.

52. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to:

with said device in said lower power mode, in response to a determination that a transition is to occur, transition said device to a medium power mode; and

with said device in said medium power mode;

attempt to reacquire said signal;

determine at least a new phase value for said signal; and

reset said timing circuit based, at least in part, on said new phase value.

53. The article device of claim 52, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtain a strength value from said signal; and

determine whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said strength value.

54. The article device of claim 53, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtain at least one other strength value for at least one other signal received from at least one other ground-based transmitter; and

determine whether said device is in said constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said at least one other strength value.

55. The article device of claim 52, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, with said device in said medium power mode:

obtain a frequency Doppler value from said signal; and

determine whether said device is in a constrained motion state based, at least in part, on said frequency Doppler value.

56. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, select said signal from a plurality of signals received from a plurality of ground-based transmitters based, at least in part, on at least one of:

a comparison of corresponding signal stability values for said plurality of signals;

or a base station almanac.

57. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, initiate at least one of:

obtaining at least a portion of said profile test from at least one other device;

or providing at least a portion of said profile test to at least one other device.

58. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to further obtain at least one of said one or more attribute values from one or more signals from at least one of:

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

59. The article device of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to:

initiate enabling use of a transmitter and said receiver in said higher power mode;

disabling use of said transmitter and said receiver in said lower power mode; and

disabling use of said transmitter and enabling use of said receiver in said medium power mode.

60. The article of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, with said device in a medium power mode, initiate:

disabling use of a transmitter, disabling use of said receiver, and enabling use of at least one of;

an inertial sensor;

or an environmental sensor.

61. The article of claim 49, said computer implementable instructions being further executable by said processing unit to, with said device in said higher power mode:

obtain at least two phase values from at least two signals transmitted by at least two ground-based transmitters that are not co-located; and

determine whether said profile test is satisfied based, at least in part, on a difference between said at least two phase values.