PORTABLE ROUTER WITH VARIABLE WI-FI TRANSMISSION POWER, AND METHOD OF REDUCING POWER CONSUMPTION THEREOF

• US 20130258922A1
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Published: 10/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Young Seo Park
• Inventors: PARK, Young Seo
• Application Number:
  US13/620,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20130258922A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/16 Deriving transmission power values from another channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/267 taking into account the information rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/28 using user profile, e.g. mobile speed, priority or network state, e.g. standby, idle or non transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/38 TPC being performed in particular situations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/46 in multi hop networks, e.g. wireless relay networks
• 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: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

There are provided a portable router with variable Wi-Fi transmission power and a method of reducing power consumption thereof. The portable router includes: a cellular modulation and demodulation unit converting cellular signals into cellular data packet signals; a gateway unit converting the cellular data packet signals into Wi-Fi data packet signals; a Wi-Fi modulation and demodulation unit converting the Wi-Fi data packet signals into Wi-Fi signals based on preset communication protocols; a power amplification unit amplifying transmission power of the Wi-Fi signals; and a transmission power control unit controlling a gain of the power amplification unit, depending on cellular throughput based on the cellular signals and Wi-Fi throughput based on the Wi-Fi signals.

Claims

1. A portable router, comprising:

a cellular modulation and demodulation unit converting cellular signals into cellular data packet signals;

a gateway unit converting the cellular data packet signals from the cellular modulation and demodulation unit into Wi-Fi data packet signals;

a Wi-Fi modulation and demodulation unit converting the Wi-Fi data packet signals from the gateway unit into Wi-Fi signals based on preset communication protocols;

a power amplification unit amplifying transmission power of the Wi-Fi signals from the Wi-Fi modulation and demodulation unit; and

a transmission power control unit controlling a gain of the power amplification unit, depending on cellular throughput based on the cellular signals and Wi-Fi throughput based on the Wi-Fi signals.

2. The portable router of claim 1, wherein the gateway unit detects the cellular throughput from the input cellular data packet signals and detects the Wi-Fi throughput from the output Wi-Fi data packet signals.

3. The portable router of claim 2, wherein the gateway unit determines whether a difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is lower than a preset allowable value and when it is determined that the difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the preset allowable value, determines whether the cellular throughput is higher than the Wi-Fi throughput and whether the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the cellular throughput.

4. The portable router of claim 3, wherein the power amplification unit includes a plurality of first to n-th power amplifiers connected to each other in parallel for multiple-input multiple-output.

5. The portable router of claim 4, wherein the transmission power control unit determines whether power is supplied from the outside based on received power information and operation mode information to control the gain of the power amplification unit to have a maximum power gain corresponding to a preset maximum power when the operation mode is in a maximum power mode in which the power is supplied from the outside, determines whether the received operation mode is in a power saving mode or a variable power mode when the operation mode is not in the maximum power mode to control the gain of the power amplification unit to a power saving gain corresponding to a preset saving power when the power is not supplied from the outside and the operation mode is in the power saving mode, and variably controls the gain of the power amplification unit according to a result of a comparison between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput from the gateway unit when the power is not supplied from the outside and the operation mode is in variable power mode.

6. The portable router of claim 4, wherein the transmission power control unit includes:

a power determiner determining whether the power is supplied from the outside based on the received power information;

an operation mode determiner determining whether the operation mode is in the power saving mode or in the variable power mode based on the received operation mode information;

a throughput determiner comparing the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput from the gateway unit; and

a gain controller controlling the gain of the power amplification unit to the maximum power gain corresponding to the preset maximum power when the operation mode is in the maximum power mode in which the power is supplied from the outside, controlling the gain of the power amplification unit to the power saving gain corresponding to the preset saving power when the power is not supplied from the outside and the operation mode is in the power saving mode, and variably controlling the gain of the power amplification unit according to the result of the comparison between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput when the power is not supplied from the outside and the operation mode is in the variable power mode.

7. The portable router of claim 5, further comprising an internal power supply unit storing the power from the outside to supply preset internal power,

wherein the internal power supply unit provides power supply information having information on whether the power is supplied from the outside.

8. The portable router of claim 6, wherein the gain controller controls the gain of the power amplification unit to a gain corresponding to a preset output power when the difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is lower than the preset allowable value in the variable power mode.

9. The portable router of claim 8, wherein the gain controller controls the gain of the power amplification unit to a gain corresponding to power one level higher than that of a current power level in the case in which the current power is between the preset saving power and the maximum power, when the difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the preset allowable value and the cellular throughput is higher than the Wi-Fi throughput, in the variable power mode.

10. The portable router of claim 9, wherein the gain controller controls the gain of the power amplification unit to the gain corresponding to power one level lower than that of the current power level in the case in which the current power is between the preset saving power and the maximum power, when the difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the preset allowable value and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the cellular throughput, in the variable power mode.

11. A method of reducing power consumption in a portable router including a transmission power control unit controlling transmission power of Wi-Fi signals, the method comprising:

controlling Wi-Fi transmission power gain to a maximum power gain corresponding to a preset maximum power by performing a maximum power mode when power is supplied from the outside depending on determination as to whether the power is supplied from the outside based on received power information and operation mode information;

controlling the Wi-Fi transmission power gain to a power saving gain corresponding to a preset saving power by performing a power saving mode when the received operation mode is in a power saving mode in which the power is not supplied from the outside; and

variably controlling the Wi-Fi transmission power gain according to a result of a comparison between cellular throughput and Wi-Fi throughput by performing a variable power mode when the operation mode is in the variable power mode in which the power is not supplied from the outside.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein in the performing of the variable power mode, the Wi-Fi transmission power gain is controlled to a gain corresponding to a preset output power when a difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is lower than a preset allowable value, in the variable power mode.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein in the performing of the variable power mode, the Wi-Fi transmission power gain is controlled to a gain corresponding to power one level higher than that of a current power level in the case in which the current power is between preset saving power and maximum power, when the difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the preset allowable value and the cellular throughput is higher than the Wi-Fi throughput, in the variable power mode.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein in the performing of the variable power mode, the Wi-Fi transmission power gain is controlled to a gain corresponding to power one level lower than that of the current power level in the case in which the current power is between the preset saving power and the maximum power, when the difference between the cellular throughput and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the preset allowable value and the Wi-Fi throughput is higher than the cellular throughput, in the variable power mode.