SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES TO PREVENT OVERHEATING FROM HIGH PERFORMANCE DEVICE CONFIGURATIONS IN WIRELESS NETWORKS

• US 20170164220A1
• Filed: 12/07/2015
• Published: 06/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel IP Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: ROESSEL, SABINE, PACHA, CHRISTIAN, DREWES, CHRISTIAN, HEO, YOUN HYOUNG, KOCAGOEZ, KENAN, HASHOLZNER, RALPH, WALTER, GEORG
• Granted Patent: US 9,860,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/036 Cooling arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0261 managing power supply demand, e.g. depending on battery level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A thermal finite-state-automaton includes system states and transitions between the system states. The system states may be based on a combination of network parameters for communicating through the wireless communication system and UE processing parameters. A default state is for operation of the UE at a sustainable performance configuration level for the network parameters and the UE processing parameters to maintain a UE temperature below a first temperature threshold. A high state is for operation of the UE during up to a maximum time duration at a peak performance configuration level for the network parameters and the UE processing parameters. A recovery state is for operation of the UE during at least a minimum time duration at a reduced performance configuration level for the network parameters and the UE processing parameters. An emergency shutdown state is triggerable by the UE temperature exceeding a second temperature threshold.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

a transceiver to communicate through a wireless communication system;

a thermal finite-state-automaton comprising logic, at least a portion of which includes circuitry, the thermal finite-state-automaton comprising a plurality of system states and transitions between the plurality of system states, one or more of the plurality of system states based on a combination of network parameters for communicating through the wireless communication system and UE processing parameters, the plurality of system states comprising;

a default state for operation of the UE at a sustainable performance configuration level for the network parameters and the UE processing parameters to maintain a UE temperature below a first temperature threshold;

a high state for operation of the UE during up to a maximum time duration at a peak performance configuration level for the network parameters and the UE processing parameters, the peak performance configuration level to exceed the sustainable performance configuration level;

a recovery state for operation of the UE during at least a minimum time duration at a reduced performance configuration level for the network parameters and the UE processing parameters, the reduced performance configuration level being less than the sustainable performance configuration level; and

an emergency shutdown state triggerable by the UE temperature exceeding a second temperature threshold.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the network parameters include one or more parameters selected from a group comprising a modulation type, a coding scheme, a UE category, an uplink data rate, and a downlink data rate.

3. The UE of claim 1, further comprising a system on chip (SoC), wherein the UE processing parameters include one or more parameters selected from a group comprising ambient temperature, system temperature of the SoC, junction temperature of the SoC, printed circuit board (PCB) temperature of the SoC, UE front or back skin temperature, UE internal case temperature, processing frequency of the SoC, number of activated power domains in the SoC, SoC current levels, SoC voltage levels, SoC chip process information, and SoC thermal budget.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein at least one of the default state, the high state, and the recovery state is based on a UE category associated with the UE.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to communicate a UE capability profile through the transceiver to a node in the wireless communication system to configure one or more of the plurality of system states, the UE capability profile comprising one or more of:

a default state capability profile to configure one or more of the network parameters and the UE processing parameters to maintain the UE temperature below the first temperature threshold;

a high state capability profile to configure one or more of the network parameters and the UE processing parameters to operate at the peak performance configuration level; and

a recovery capability profile to configure one or more of the network parameters and the UE processing parameters to prevent the UE temperature from exceeding the second temperature threshold.

6. The UE of claim 5, wherein the node comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) Node B (eNB) in a third generation partnership project (3GPP) network, and wherein the UE is configured to signal the UE capability profile upon attachment to the eNB.

7. The UE of claim 5, wherein at least one of the network parameters and the UE processing parameters may be further configured by a user or the wireless communication system to select one or more of the first temperature threshold, the maximum time duration, the minimum time duration, the second temperature threshold, and a presumed ambient temperature.

8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to autonomously transition between one or more of the plurality of system states without first being reconfigured by the wireless communication network.

9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UE is configured to signal, through the transceiver to the wireless communication system, a change in a power preference indicator (PPI) bit upon an autonomous transition from the high state to the emergency shutdown state before the maximum time duration lapses, or from the high state to the recovery state after the maximum time duration lapses.

10. The UE of claim 8, wherein the plurality of thermal states further comprises:

a low state for periodically alternating operation of the UE between the peak performance configuration of the high state and a lower performance configuration level; and

one or more emergency states in addition to the emergency shutdown state, and wherein the UE is configured to signal, through the transceiver to the wireless communication system using a plurality of power preference indicator (PPI) bits, an indication of an autonomous transition from the high state to one of the other plurality of system states.

11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the one or more emergency states in addition to the emergency shutdown state comprises an emergency transition to the recovery state to enable cool-down of the UE for a selected period of time until the network reconfigures the UE in the recovery state.

12. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to transition between one or more of the plurality of system states in response to being reconfigured by the wireless communication network, another UE in a device-to-device (D2D) context, or a user command.

13. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to transition between one or more of the plurality of system states based on a detected event, a selected application for execution by the UE, or a selected service provided by the wireless communication network.

14. The UE of claim 13, wherein the UE is further configured to transition between one or more of the plurality of system states according to a pre-scheduled thermal state sequence or extended discontinuous transmission mode associated with the detected event, the selected application, or the selected service.

15. The UE of claim 1, wherein a subset of interactions between the wireless communication system and the UE to indicate or cause a transition between one or more of the plurality of system states is included as a conformance test requirement for a UE category corresponding to the UE, and wherein during a conformance test of the UE, corresponding test conditions are implemented for one or more combinations of the network parameters and the UE processing parameters to confirm that the subset of interactions satisfy the conformance test requirement for the UE category.

16. A node in a mobile communication network comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receive, from a user equipment (UE), a UE capability profile comprising a plurality of sets of network parameters for communicating with the UE in corresponding thermal system states;

select a first set from among the plurality of sets of network parameters corresponding to a current thermal system state of the UE; and

configure the UE for communication through the mobile communication network based on the first set.

17. The node of claim 16, wherein the network parameters include one or more parameters selected from a group comprising a modulation type, a coding scheme, a UE category, an uplink data rate, and a downlink data rate.

18. The node of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

determine the current thermal system state based on a single bit received from the UE and a timer associated with a previous thermal system state.

19. The node of claim 18, wherein the single bit comprises a power preference indicator (PPI) bit in a long term evolution (LTE) system.

20. The node of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

determine, based on the PPI bit and a high state timer that has not elapsed, that the UE has autonomously transitioned from a high state to an emergency shutdown state.

21. The node of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

determine, based on the PPI bit and an elapsed high state timer, that the UE has autonomously transitioned from a high state to a recovery state.

22. The node of claim 16, wherein the UE capability profile comprises at least a default state profile, a high state profile, and a recovery state profile.

23. The node of claim 22, wherein the operations further comprise:

determine the current thermal system state based on a plurality of bits received from the UE,

wherein the UE capability profile further comprises one or more of a low state profile and an emergency transit to recover state profile.

24. The node of claim 22, wherein the operations further comprise:

selectively configure at least one of a high state timer value associated with the high state profile and a recovery timer associated with the recovery state profile.

25. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

radio frequency (RF) circuitry to wireless communicate with a network; and

a system on chip (SoC) configured to transition the UE between a plurality of thermal system states based on;

network parameters for communication with the network through the RF circuitry, the network parameters comprising at least a modulation type and coding scheme; and

SoC parameters comprising at least a system temperature of the SoC.

26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the network parameters further comprise a UE category, and wherein the SoC parameters further include one or more parameters selected from a group comprising junction temperature of the SoC, printed circuit board (PCB) temperature of the SoC, processing frequency of the SoC, number of activated power domains in the SoC, SoC current levels, SoC voltage levels, SoC chip process information, and SoC thermal budget.