Method and apparatus for conserving power in portable, battery-operated radios
First Claim
1. A method for operating a portable radio that monitors a radio channel and receives message frames transmitted on the radio channel, each message frame including an identifier and control part and a messaging part, comprising the steps of:
- (a) in a first power mode where the portable radio operates at a first power level, processing an initial message frame received on the channel;
(b) storing the processed message frame;
(c) for a subsequent message frame received on the channel, comparing the message part of the subsequent message frame with at least a portion of the stored message frame;
(d) if the comparing step does not result in a match, continuing processing of the received message frame in the first power mode; and
(e) if the comparing step results in a match, entering a second power mode where the portable radio operates at a second power level lower than the first power level such that the portable radio consumes less power in the second power mode than in the first power mode and where the continued processing of the received message frame in the first power mode is not performed,wherein the portable radio continues to receive a next message frame from the radio channel at the second power level, and after receiving the next message frame, the portable radio repeats steps (c), (d), and (e).
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Accused Products
Abstract
A battery-powered portable radio conserves battery power while the radio monitors messages transmitted over a radio channel, e.g., a radio control channel, Message processing circuitry processes a detected message and stores that message in memory. Before processing a subsequently detected message, the subsequent message is compared with the stored message. It they do not match, the subsequently detected message is subjected to further processing including voting, matching, validity, checking, etc. However, if they match, the subsequent message is ignored as a redundant message and a power savings mode is entered to conserve battery power.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for operating a portable radio that monitors a radio channel and receives message frames transmitted on the radio channel, each message frame including an identifier and control part and a messaging part, comprising the steps of:
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(a) in a first power mode where the portable radio operates at a first power level, processing an initial message frame received on the channel; (b) storing the processed message frame; (c) for a subsequent message frame received on the channel, comparing the message part of the subsequent message frame with at least a portion of the stored message frame; (d) if the comparing step does not result in a match, continuing processing of the received message frame in the first power mode; and (e) if the comparing step results in a match, entering a second power mode where the portable radio operates at a second power level lower than the first power level such that the portable radio consumes less power in the second power mode than in the first power mode and where the continued processing of the received message frame in the first power mode is not performed, wherein the portable radio continues to receive a next message frame from the radio channel at the second power level, and after receiving the next message frame, the portable radio repeats steps (c), (d), and (e). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A battery-powered portable radio that monitors a radio channel and receives message frames, each message frame including an identifier and control portion and a message portion, comprising:
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transceiving circuitry transmitting and receiving radio message frames over the radio channel, each message frame including plural copies of the message, each message copy including a message field and an error checking field; a buffer storing each received message frame from the transceiving circuitry; a processor, including a memory for storing program instructions, selectively processing, at a first power level, received message frames stored in the buffer in accordance with the program instructions and storing a processed message frame; wherein the selective processing includes the processor comparing the message portion of a received message frame with at least a portion of the previously stored message frame, determining that the message portion of the received message frame does not match the portion of the previously processed message and continuing processing of the message portion of the received message frame at the first power level, and otherwise determining that at least the message portion of the received message frame matches a portion of the previously stored message frame, and operating, in response to that other determination, the radio in a battery conserving mode at a second power level less than the first power level including discontinuing further processing of the received message frame by the processor, and wherein the portable radio continues to receive a next message frame from the radio channel at the second power level, and after receiving the next message, the processor repeats the selective processing at the first power level. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A battery-operated portable radio that monitors a digital control channel for digital control messages, comprising:
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transceiving circuitry transmitting and receiving the digital control messages, each message including plural message copies, each message copy including a message field and an error checking field; integrated logic circuitry determining whether a currently received message matches a previously stored message, and if not, performing a voting operation on the currently received message using the plural copies of the currently received message to generate a voted message, determining if the voted message matches the previously stored message, and if not, checking the validity of the voted message; and a programmable processor, including a memory for storing program instructions, processing the valid voted message transmitted from the integrated logic circuitry, wherein the integrated logic circuitry uses less power than the programmable processor would use performing the voting and validity checking operations. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification