System and method for reducing processing requirements of modem during idle receive time
First Claim
1. A method for reducing processing requirements of a modem during idle receive time, the method comprising:
- disabling a substantial portion of receive path signal processing structures of the modem and thereafter maintaining an active connection without operation of the disabled receive path signal processing structures by maintaining output modulation by transmit path structures of the modem;
enabling the disabled receive path signal processing structures in response to a wake up event.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The computational load imposed by a software modem executed on a general purpose processor can be significantly reduced by exploiting periods during an active connection when no data is being received by the software modem. In particular, execution of many receive path signal processing algorithms can be disabled when no data is being received by the software modem. The transmit path continues output modulation as with a normal connection, so as to trick the remote modem (which may or may not be a software modem) into believing the connection is still normal. However, substantial portions of the software modem'"'"'s receive path can be disabled, thereby reducing computational load on the general purpose processor and freeing additional compute cycles for application and/or operating system program use.
60 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A method for reducing processing requirements of a modem during idle receive time, the method comprising:
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disabling a substantial portion of receive path signal processing structures of the modem and thereafter maintaining an active connection without operation of the disabled receive path signal processing structures by maintaining output modulation by transmit path structures of the modem; enabling the disabled receive path signal processing structures in response to a wake up event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method comprising:
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establishing a connection between first and second modems; communicating data over the connection; disabling a substantial portion of receive path structures of the first modem during idle receive time and thereafter maintaining the connection without operation of the disabled receive path structures by maintaining output modulation by transmit path structures of the first modem; freeing, during the disabling, processor cycles otherwise allocated to the receive path structures for non-modem computations; re-enabling the disabled receive path structures in response to a wake-up event; and continuing to communicate data over the connection after the re-enabling.
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19. A modem comprising:
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a receive path; and means for transitioning between fully-active and reduced load operating modes thereof while maintaining an active connection with remote data communications equipment, the reduced load operating mode disabling substantial portions of the receive path for an extended period while maintaining the active connection.
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20. A modem comprising:
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receive path structures including first and second portions, the first portion including disablable receive path structures implemented as software executable on a processor, means for disabling the first portion of receive path structures in response to a doze event and thereafter maintaining an active connection without operation of the disabled receive path structures by maintaining output modulation by transmit path structures; and means for re-enabling the first portion of receive path structures in response to a wake-up event. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A software implementation of a modem comprising:
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transmit path code defining a transmit path; receive path code defining a receive path having first and second portions, the first portion imposing a substantial computational load when receive path code therefor is executed and imposing negligible computational load when receive path code therefor is disabled, the second portion defining; an echo canceller coupled to the transmit path to supply an echo replica of a transmit signal for combination with a receive signal to provide an echo cancelled receive signal; an A/B signal detector coupled to receive the echo cancelled receive signal and to enable receive path code defining the first portion of the receive path in response to an A/B tone phase reversal indicative of a remote retrain wake-up event; an S signal detector coupled to receive the echo cancelled receive signal and to enable receive path code defining the first portion of the receive path in response to an S-to-S reversal indicative of a remote rate renegotiation wake-up event. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for reducing processing requirements of a modem during idle receive time, the method comprising:
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concurrently operating receive and transmit path structures of the modem during an active connection with a second modem; disabling a substantial portion of the receive path structures during the active connection while maintaining output modulation by the transmit path structures; re-enabling the disabled receive path structures in response to a wake up event. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A modem comprising:
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transmit path structures; and receive path structures, the modem having fully active and reduced computational load operating modes, wherein both the transmit and the receive path structures are active during the fully active mode, and wherein the reduced computational load operating mode disables a substantial portion of the receive path structures during an active connection with a second modem. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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40. A method for reducing modem processing requirements in a computational system, the method comprising:
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disabling a substantial portion of receive path processing and thereafter maintaining an active connection without operation of the disabled receive path processing; and re-enabling the disabled receive path processing in response to a wake up event. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. A method of operating data communications equipment, the method comprising:
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operating receive path signal processing thereof while also transmitting; disabling a substantial portion of the receive path signal processing during idle receive time while maintaining the transmitting; and re-enabling the disabled receive path signal processing in response to a wake up event.
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43. A method of reducing power consumption in a data communications device:
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disabling a substantial portion of receive path processing thereby; maintaining the disabling for an extended period despite continued arrival of received signal; maintaining transmitter output during the extended period; and re-enabling the disabled receive path signal processing in response to a wake-up event.
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44. An apparatus comprising:
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a data communications receive path, the receive path having fully active and reduced load operating modes wherein the reduced load operating mode disables a substantial portion of the receive path while maintaining an active connection without operation of the disabled receive path portion. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method of operating data communications equipment, the method comprising:
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during an active connection with remote data communications equipment, disabling a substantial portion of receive path processing thereof without buffering of receive samples for later processing by the disabled substantial portion; and maintaining transmit path output during the disabling; and re-enabling the disabled substantial portion in response to a wake up event.
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52. A data communications device having a doze mode,
wherein a substantial portion of a receive path processing is disabled during an active connection; -
wherein the active connection is maintained during the disabling; and wherein the disabled receive path portion is re-enabled in response to a wake-up event and receipt of data resumes thereafter over the active connection.
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Specification