Apparatus and methods for managing access and update requests in a wireless network
First Claim
1. A method of reducing power consumption of mobile devices used within a wireless network, said mobile devices each comprising a first protocol and a second related protocol, the method comprising:
- receiving requests according to said first protocol from respective ones of said mobile devices; and
issuing responses to said requests according to said first protocol, said issuing causing respective ones of said mobile devices to avoid invoking said second protocol for at least a period of time;
wherein said second protocol would be invoked by said mobile devices but for said issued responses; and
wherein said avoidance of said second protocol causes a reduction in power consumption within said mobile devices as compared to a power consumption associated with operating according to said second protocol.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus that enable a wireless network to detect and manage impending congestion events caused by a plurality of mobile devices attempting to access the network in a brief space of time. In one embodiment, the network comprises a 3g (UMTS) cellular network, and includes a congestion management and avoidance entity that preemptively triggers a collision mode upon detecting an impending congestion event. This mode advantageously reduces processing burden on the base station by causing the mobile devices (UEs) to halt current access attempts, and invoke a multiple access scheme (e.g., wait a random amount of time before attempting further access attempts). The comparatively early detection and avoidance of collisions reduces the mobile device'"'"'s power consumption, while addressing congestion events early in the wireless communication process so as to maintain optimal network conditions.
32 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A method of reducing power consumption of mobile devices used within a wireless network, said mobile devices each comprising a first protocol and a second related protocol, the method comprising:
-
receiving requests according to said first protocol from respective ones of said mobile devices; and issuing responses to said requests according to said first protocol, said issuing causing respective ones of said mobile devices to avoid invoking said second protocol for at least a period of time; wherein said second protocol would be invoked by said mobile devices but for said issued responses; and wherein said avoidance of said second protocol causes a reduction in power consumption within said mobile devices as compared to a power consumption associated with operating according to said second protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A method of reducing the power consumption of mobile devices used within a wireless network, said mobile devices each comprising a first protocol and a second protocol, said first protocol having a first power consumption associated therewith, and said second protocol having a second, greater power consumption associated therewith, the method comprising:
-
receiving a plurality of requests issued by respective ones of said mobile devices according to said first protocol; and spoofing collisions of said requests by sending responses to said issuing mobile devices that are indicative of a collision; wherein said spoofing causes said issuing mobile devices to enter an operational mode for at least a period of time that does not utilize said second protocol; and wherein without said spoofing, said second protocol would be utilized. - View Dependent Claims (7)
-
-
8. A mobile device, comprising:
-
a processor; at least one wireless interface in data communication with the processor; and logic in data communication with the processor and the at least one wireless interface, the logic configured to; transmit a request configured according to a random access procedure; receive a congestion event signal indicative of a spoofed collision of the transmitted request; and enter a power saving operational mode, based at least in part on the received response, for a prescribed duration of time which postpones the random access procedure. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
-
11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured for use in a mobile device comprising instructions which are configured to, when executed by a processor:
-
send a random access request, according to a location update procedure; receive a response indicative of a random access collision with at least one mobile device; and responsive to the response indicative of the random access collision, disable random access request operation for a duration of time; wherein the disabled random access request operation results in a reduction in power consumption by the mobile device. - View Dependent Claims (12)
-
-
13. An apparatus for reducing power consumption in a mobile device, the apparatus comprising:
-
a processor; one or more wireless interfaces in data communication with the processor; logic in data communication with the one or more wireless interfaces and the processor, the logic configured to; receive a plurality of requests issued by a respective plurality of mobile devices; repeat the received requests to a base station; and when the plurality of requests exceeds a first threshold within a first time interval; send a plurality of responses comprising a spoofed indication of a collision, where the plurality of responses are configured to disable subsequent mobile device requests for a period of time; and disable the logic configured to repeat the received requests for the period of time. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which are configured to, when executed by a processor:
-
receive access requests from a plurality of mobile devices; repeat the received access requests to a base station; and when the received access requests exceed an acceptable threshold; disable further access requests from at least a subset of the plurality of mobile devices; and where the subset of the plurality of mobile devices responsively initiate a reduced power consumption operational mode. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
-
Specification