Method and apparatus for conserving power on a mobile device through motion awareness

• US 7,408,506 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2004
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Miller, John David
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen; Shelley
• Application Number:
  US10/993,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20060119508A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.17, 455/127.5, 4553431-3434, 455/574
• US Class Current: 342/357.77
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/52 Determining velocity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/06 including a wireless LAN interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• 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: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus and method for conserving power on a mobile device through motion awareness. The method includes a motion model that receives location information from one or more receivers and an accelerometer. The motion model determines whether the mobile device is in motion based on the received information. If the mobile device is in motion, a scanning rate for the one or more receivers is determined based on a velocity vector, the velocity vector being determined from the received information; the determined scanning rate is sent to the one or more receivers to enable them to operate at the determined scanning rate; and the process is repeated. If the mobile device is not in motion, the scanning operations for the one or more receivers are halted while the mobile device is stationary; scanning operations for the one or more receivers are resumed when an indication that the mobile device is moving again is received from the accelerometer; and the process is repeated.

Claims

1. A location awareness mobile device power conservation method, comprising:

receiving location information from one or more receivers in a mobile cellular communications device;

receiving a signal indicating whether or not the mobile cellular communications device is in motion from an accelerometer in the mobile cellular communications device;

determining a velocity vector from the location information received;

if the velocity vector indicates that the mobile cellular communications device is not in motion, enabling scanning operations for the one or more receivers to be halted to conserve battery power for the mobile cellular communications device while the mobile device is stationary; and

enabling scanning operations for the one or more receivers to resume when an indication that the mobile cellular communications device is moving again is received from the accelerometer;

if the velocity vector indicates that the mobile cellular communications device is in motion, setting a scanning rate for the one or more receivers to a value at least in part proportional to the magnitude of the velocity vector such that battery power consumption of the mobile cellular communications device is directly proportional to the velocity of the mobile cellular communications device; and

repeating the process until the mobile cellular communications device is placed in an off position.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling the scanning rate to be sent to the one or more receivers to enable the one or more receivers to operate at the scanning rate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more receivers comprises at least a cellular communications compliant receiver and one or more of a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) receiver, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, and any other type of receiver capable of providing location information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more receivers comprise at least a cellular communications compliant receiver and a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) receiver and wherein the location information comprises signal strength information from a plurality of wireless fidelity access points.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more receivers comprise a cellular receiver and wherein the location information comprises signal strength information from a plurality of cell towers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more receivers comprise at least a cellular communications compliant receiver and a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and the location information comprises position and velocity data derived from satellite data.

7. An apparatus for conserving power, comprising:

at least one receiver to determine location information for a mobile cellular communications device;

an accelerometer to determine whether the mobile cellular communications device is in motion;

a motion model, coupled to the at least one receiver and the accelerometer to determine a velocity vector based on the information received from the at least one receiver and the accelerometer;

a power manager coupled to the motion model to determine a scanning rate for the at least one receiver;

a scan controller, coupled to the power manager and the at least one receiver to enable or disable scanning operations for the at least one receiver based on the scanning rate, wherein when the velocity vector indicates that the mobile cellular communications device is stationary, scanning of the at least one receiver is halted to conserve battery power on the mobile cellular communications device, wherein scanning of the at least one receiver is resumed when the accelerometer triggers the motion model to indicate that the mobile cellular communications device is in motion again such that battery power consumption of the mobile cellular communications device is directly proportional to the velocity of the mobile cellular communications device; and

the scan controller further to set a scanning rate for the one or more receivers to a value, at least in part, proportional to the magnitude of the velocity vector if the velocity vector indicates that the mobile cellular communications device is in motion.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one receiver to provide always best-connected computing data to the motion model.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one receiver to provide location-aware computing data to the motion model.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the accelerometer to provide an indication of whether or not the mobile cellular communications device is in motion.

11. An article comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having a plurality of machine accessible instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by a processor, the instructions provide for;

receiving location information from one or more receivers in a mobile cellular communications device;

receiving a signal indicating whether or not the mobile cellular communications device is in motion from an accelerometer in the mobile cellular communications device;

determining a velocity vector from the location information received;

if the velocity vector indicates that the mobile cellular communications device is not in motion, enabling scanning operations for the one or more receivers to be halted to conserve battery power for the mobile cellular communications device while the mobile cellular communications device is stationary; and

enabling scanning operations for the one or more receivers to resume when an indication that the mobile cellular communications device is moving again is received from the accelerometer;

if the velocity vector indicates that the mobile cellular communications device is in motion, setting a scanning rate for the one or more receivers to a value at least in part proportional to the magnitude of the velocity vector such that battery power consumption of the mobile cellular communications device is directly proportional to the velocity of the mobile cellular communications device; and

repeating the process until the mobile cellular communications device is placed in an off position.

12. The article of claim 11, further comprising instructions for:

enabling determination of a scanning rate based on the velocity vector; and

enabling the scanning rate to be sent to the one or more receivers to enable the one or more receivers to operate at the scanning rate.

13. The article of claim 11, wherein the one or more receivers comprises at least a cellular communications compliant receiver and one or more of a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) receiver, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a cellular receiver, and any other type of receiver capable of providing location information.

14. The article of claim 11, wherein the one or more receivers comprise at least a cellular communications compliant receiver and a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) receiver and wherein the location information comprises signal strength information from a plurality of wireless fidelity access points.

15. The article of claim 11, wherein the one or more receivers comprise at least a cellular communications compliant receiver and a cellular receiver and wherein the location information comprises signal strength information from a plurality of cell towers.

16. The article of claim 11, wherein the one or more receivers comprise a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and the location information comprises position and velocity data derived from satellite data.