Intelligent power and control policy for automotive applications
First Claim
1. A method for use in a device communicatively coupled to an automotive area network (AAN) associated with a vehicle, the method comprising:
- obtaining, by a processor, input from the vehicle, the input indicating a current operating environment of the vehicle;
obtaining, by the processor, a control policy indicating a balance between power usage of the device and a performance level of the device for at least the current operating environment;
controlling, by the processor, a power state of at least a physical layer (PHY) portion of a communications interface of the device based on the input from the vehicle and the control policy; and
dynamically rebalancing the power usage and performance level of the device over time to account for changes in the operating environment of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In automotive networking applications, data about vehicle'"'"'s environment is used in conjunction with a control policy to manage the performance and power usage of a networked device. The control policy can dynamically adjust the balance between link power and performance of the device'"'"'s communications interface by taking into account the vehicles current situation and user preferences, e.g. location, destination, speed, and sensor status. In at least one disclosed implementation, controlling the balance between link power and performance of networked devices is important in maximizing power savings without unacceptably decreasing network performance.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for use in a device communicatively coupled to an automotive area network (AAN) associated with a vehicle, the method comprising:
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obtaining, by a processor, input from the vehicle, the input indicating a current operating environment of the vehicle; obtaining, by the processor, a control policy indicating a balance between power usage of the device and a performance level of the device for at least the current operating environment; controlling, by the processor, a power state of at least a physical layer (PHY) portion of a communications interface of the device based on the input from the vehicle and the control policy; and dynamically rebalancing the power usage and performance level of the device over time to account for changes in the operating environment of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system including multiple devices coupled to an automotive area network (AAN) associated with a vehicle, the system comprising:
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a controlled device coupled to the AAN via a communications interface; a controller comprising; memory storing one or more control policies; a vehicle network interface coupled to receive input from the vehicle, the input indicating a current operating environment of the vehicle; a processor configured to control a power state of the communications interface of the controlled device based on the input from the vehicle and the one or more control policies; and the processor further configured to dynamically balance a power usage and a performance level of the controlled device, over time, to account for changes in the operating environment of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A communications link controller for use in an automotive area network (AAN) associated with a vehicle, and including a device having a communications interface to be controlled, the communications link controller comprising:
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memory configured to store one or more control policies; a vehicle interface configured to receive input from the vehicle, the input indicating a current operating environment of the vehicle; a processor configured to control a power state of the communications interface of the device based on the input from the vehicle and the one or more control policies; and the processor further configured to dynamically balance a power usage and a performance level of the communications interface, over time, to account for changes in the operating environment of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification