Efficient communication power usage

• US 7,669,070 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2007
• Issued: 02/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Proctor, David Walter, Asmi, Yasser
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, DENNIS
• Application Number:
  US11/674,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20080195879A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/310, 713/320, 713/322, 713/323, 713/324
• US Class Current: 713/324
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode

Abstract

A media player may be adapted to organize and display nearby media device information between communicating media devices before a complete connection is established. In one embodiment, a sleep message is received telling the receiving device to turn off the receiving function for a period of time or until a point in the future to conserve energy.

Claims

1. A method of conserving power in a portable media device that receives messages from a sending device comprising:

receiving a wireless sleep message wherein the wireless sleep message is a sending device-initiated message that instructs the portable media device that another message will not be arriving for a given period of time;

storing communication session data related to an in-progress data communication session from the sending device that communicated the sleep message;

turning off a wireless receiving function in the portable media device for a sleep period wherein the sleep period is less than or equal to the given period of time; and

turning on the wireless receiving function in the portable media device after the sleep period.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein turning on the wireless receiving function in the portable media device after the period of time further comprises entering into a same receiving mode that was turned off.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing a sending function in the portable media device to operate.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling the turning off of the wireless receiving function when the portable media device is connected to a non-battery power source.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling the turning off of the wireless receiving function when the portable media device is receiving communications from more than one sender.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating from the portable media device an acknowledgment that the wireless message that another message will not be arriving for the given period of time has been received.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising if the wireless receiving function cannot be turned off, not communicating an acknowledgement from the portable media device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically turning on the receiving function in the portable media device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the stored communication session data to assist turning on the wireless receiving function in the portable media device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless sleep message further comprising a time synchronization element.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the given period of time is created taking into account the data flow rate and the time necessary to restart the wireless receiving function in the portable media device.

12. A media device for use with bundled media content in communication with a sending device comprising:

a network card for wirelessly transmitting communications and data from the media device and wirelessly receiving communications and data from the sending device;

a memory coupled to the network card for storing the communications and data from the sending media device;

a processor coupled to the network card and the memory for executing computer executable code, the processor being configured according to the computer executable code, the computer executable code comprising code for;

receiving a wireless sleep message from the sending device wherein the wireless sleep message instructs the media device that another message will not be arriving for a given period of time;

storing data regarding a current data communication session between the sending device and the media device;

turning off a wireless receiving function in the network card for a sleep period when the device is operating on battery power only, wherein the sleep period is less than or equal to the given period of time; and

turning on the wireless receiving function in the network card after the sleep period using the stored communication session data to assist turning on the wireless receiving function to restore the current data communication session.

13. The media device of claim 12, the computer executable code further comprising code for disabling turning off the wireless receiving function when the receiving media device is receiving communications from more than one sender.

14. The media device of claim 12, wherein the wireless sleep message further comprising a time synchronization element.

15. The media device of claim 12, the computer executable code further comprising code for communicating an acknowledgment from the receiving device that the wireless message that another message will not be arriving for the given period of time has been received.

16. A computer readable storage medium configured in accordance with computer executable instructions, the computer executable instructions comprising code for:

receiving a wireless sleep message at a receiving device incorporating the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the wireless sleep message instructs the receiving device that another message will not be arriving for a given period of time;

storing data regarding a communication session between a source of the wireless sleep message and the receiving device including a sender id and a last packet id;

turning off a wireless receiving function in the receiving device for a sleep period wherein the sleep period is less than or equal to the given period of time; and

turning on the wireless receiving function in the receiving device after the sleep period using the stored communication session data to assist turning on the wireless receiving function.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising code for disabling turning off the wireless receiving function if the receiving device is connected to a non-battery power source or-if the receiving device is receiving communications from more than one sender.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising code for communicating an acknowledgment from the receiving device that the wireless message that another message will not be arriving for the given period of time has been received.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the wireless sleep message further comprising a time synchronization element.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein authentication associated with turning on the wireless receiving function and subsequently re-establishing the communications session after the sleep period is abbreviated if the first received packet contains a sender id that matches the stored sender id and the packet id is the expected packet id in relation to the stored packet id.