Apparatus and method for dual-mode operation

• US 8,891,442 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clearwire Ip Holdings LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Clearwire Ip Holdings LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Lan, Wei-Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsiung, Hai-Chang
• Application Number:
  US12/495,154
• Publication Number:
  US 20100329181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,967 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A system, computer-readable medium, and method of operating a dual-mode WiMAX and CDMA communications device capable of operating in a CDMA mode or a WiMAX mode includes receiving a first base station (BS) location message from the BS and storing the received location as a current BS location. The BS location is compared to stored region coordinates for the different regions, and the comparison is used to determine a particular region in which the dual-mode device is currently located. Analysis determines whether a WiMAX market is located within the particular region. If no WiMAX markets are located, the dual-mode device is operated in the CDMA mode. If one or more WiMAX markets are located within the particular region, a determination is made as to whether the BS location is within a WiMAX market and, if so, the dual-mode device is placed in a WiMAX mode of operation. Battery power is conserved by avoiding WiMAX transmission when WiMAX service is not available at the current BS location.

Claims

1. A method of operating a dual-mode communications device capable of operating in a first mode corresponding to a first type network or a second mode corresponding to a second type network different from the first type network, the method comprising:

receiving, in the dual-mode device, a first base station (BS) location message via the first type network from a first BS, and storing a first BS location in the first BS location message as a current BS location in a memory device operatively coupled to a processor arranged in the dual-mode device;

comparing, using the processor, the stored first BS location to a plurality of region coordinates stored in the memory device and corresponding to a plurality of different regions;

storing pre-determined geographical coordinates defining locations of one or more markets for the second type network in a region table in a database;

using the comparison result to determine a particular region of the plurality of different regions in which the dual-mode device is currently located;

comparing, using the processor, the stored pre-determined geographical coordinates of the locations of the one or more markets for the second type network with the region coordinates of the particular region of the plurality of different regions in which the dual-mode device is currently located;

if the location of no market of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, operating the dual-mode device in the first mode; and

if the location of at least one of the one or more markets of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, determining whether the stored first BS location is geographically located within a coverage area of the at least one of the one or more markets for the second type network and, in response to said determination, either placing the dual-mode device in a second mode of operation or placing the dual-mode device in the first mode.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the stored current BS location in the memory device responsive to receiving a second BS location message from a second BS different from the first BS.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said updating is carried out periodically via continuous reception of coordinate information from a serving BS via a first mode overhead broadcast message.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising using the updated current BS location to determine whether the dual-mode device is operating in a region different than the particular region, wherein, if so, the method further comprises:

determining, using the processor, whether a different market for the second type network is located within the different region, wherein, if no markets for the second type network are located within the different region, operating the dual-mode device in the first mode,

wherein, if the second BS is located within the different market for the second type network, turning on a second mode transceiver in the dual-mode device and joining a second type network located therein.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the dual-mode device is placed in the second mode of operation, the processor controls a second mode transceiver arranged in the dual-mode device to be placed in an ON condition.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the dual-mode device is not in the second mode of operation, the processor controls a second mode transceiver arranged in the dual-mode device to be maintained in an OFF condition until the dual-mode device is located within said one of the one or more markets for the second type network.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising conserving a battery charge of the dual-mode device by maintaining a second mode transceiver arranged therein in an OFF condition until the dual-mode device is located within a market for the second type network.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising placing the second mode transceiver in an ON condition only when the dual-mode device is located within the market for the second type network.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising initializing the current BS location to zero in the memory device upon initial power-up of the dual-mode device and before said receiving the first base station (BS) location message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said storing the first BS location as the current BS location in the memory device comprises storing a latitude and longitude corresponding to the first BS location.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more markets for the second type network are represented by a different rectangular-shaped area, wherein second type network market coordinates are stored in the memory device and are each represented by an associated diagonal line of an associated rectangular-shaped area.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining whether one or more markets for the second type network are located within the particular region comprises evaluating a second type network counter value stored in a database in the memory device and associated with the particular region and, if said second type network counter value is non-zero, searching a second type network coverage map table stored in the database.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein, if no markets for the second type network are located within the particular region, the dual-mode device is operated in the first mode, and the method further comprises determining whether a third type network service is available and, if available, joining the third type network service.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the third type network service is an Evolution Data Only (EDVO) service type.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mode is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mode.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the second mode is a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) mode.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein, responsive to being outside the second type network markets, a decision to not operate the dual mode communications device in the second mode conserves a battery charge of a device battery.

18. A method of operating a dual-mode communications device capable of operating in a first mode corresponding to a first type network or a second mode corresponding to a second type network different from the first type network, the method comprising:

receiving, in the dual-mode device, a first base station (BS) location message via the first type network from a first BS, and storing a first BS location in the first BS location message as a current BS location in a memory device operatively coupled to a processor arranged in the dual-mode device;

comparing, using the processor, the stored first BS location to a plurality of region coordinates stored in the memory device and corresponding to a plurality of different regions;

using the comparison result to determine a particular region of the plurality of different regions in which the dual-mode device is currently located;

determining, using the processor, whether a location of any of one or more markets for the second type network is geographically located within the particular region based on pre-determined geographical coordinates defining locations and coverage areas of the one or more markets for the second type network;

if the location of no market of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, operating the dual-mode device in the first mode; and

if the location of at least one of the one or more markets of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, determining whether the stored first BS location is geographically located within the coverage area of the at least one of the one or more markets for the second type network and, in response to said determination, either placing the dual-mode device in a second mode of operation or placing the dual-mode device in the first mode,

wherein each of the plurality of different regions is represented by a different rectangular-shaped area, wherein the plurality of region coordinates stored in the memory device are each represented by an associated diagonal line of an associated rectangular-shaped area.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said processor determines whether the stored first BS location is within the associated rectangular-shaped area by using coordinates of the associated diagonal line.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein each associated diagonal line is represented by a first latitude and longitude corresponding to a first corner of the rectangular-shaped area and a second latitude and longitude corresponding to a second corner of the rectangular-shaped area diagonally opposed to the first corner.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, for each of the plurality of different regions, the associated first latitude and longitude and the associated second latitude and longitude are stored in a database arranged in the memory device.

22. A dual-mode communications apparatus capable of selectively operating in a first type network mode in a first type network or a second type network mode in a second type network different from the first type network, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory device configured to store a region table comprising geographic information corresponding to a plurality of regions, a second type network coverage table comprising geographic information defining locations of one or more second type network markets, and a current base station (BS) location therein;

a first mode transceiver configured to transmit and receive information over a first type network; and

a second mode transceiver configured to selectively transmit and receive data over a second type network;

wherein the processor is configured to;

receive and compare the current BS location with an updated BS location received over the first type network and, in response to said comparison, to determine a particular region in the plurality of regions in which the apparatus is currently operating,

determine whether a location of at least one of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region,

if the location of the at least one of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region, determine whether the apparatus is currently operating within a coverage area of the at least one of the one or more second type network markets, and

if the apparatus is currently operating within the coverage area of said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, cause the second mode transceiver to transmit and join a second type network associated therewith.

23. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the second type transceiver to be maintained in an “

OFF”

condition unless the processor determines that the apparatus is operating in said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, said determination being made by comparing the current BS location to geographic information stored in the second type network coverage table.

24. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 23, wherein, responsive to the processor determining that the apparatus is operating in said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, the processor is further configured to cause the second type transceiver to transition to an “

ON”

condition.

25. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 24, wherein, responsive to the processor determining that the apparatus is no longer operating in said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, the processor is further configured to cause the second mode transceiver to transition to the “

OFF”

condition.

26. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 24, wherein said processor and said transceiver are configured to transmit and to scan for and join a second type network when said transceiver is in said “

ON”

condition.

27. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein the current BS location is received by the first mode transceiver via a periodic first type overhead broadcast message.

28. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, further comprising a battery operatively coupled to the processor, the CDMA transceiver, and the second mode transceiver,

wherein the processor is further configured to conserve a battery charge of the battery by maintaining the second mode transceiver in an OFF condition unless the processor determines that the current BS is located within said at least one of the one or more second type network markets.

29. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured during execution of a power-on sequence to initialize the current BS location to zero in the memory device.

30. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured to maintain the second mode transceiver in a current operating state if the updated BS location received over the first type network has not changed from the current BS location stored in the memory device.

31. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to evaluate whether to change the second mode transceiver to a different operating state if the updated BS location received over the first type network is different than the current BS location stored in the memory device.

32. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein if the apparatus is not currently operating within said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, the processor is further configured to cause the first mode transceiver to transmit and maintain communications over the first type network and to transition the second mode transceiver to an OFF condition.

33. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 32, wherein when the apparatus is not currently operating within said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, the processor is further configured to determine whether a third type network service is available, and, if the third type network service is available, to join the third type network service and to enable communications by the apparatus therewith.

34. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 33, wherein the third type network service is an Evolution Data Only (EDVO) service type.

35. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first mode is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mode.

36. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein the second mode is a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) mode.

37. A dual-mode communications apparatus capable of selectively operating in a first type network mode in a first type network or a second type network mode in a second type network different from the first type network, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory device configured to store a region table comprising geographic information corresponding to a plurality of regions, a second type network coverage table comprising geographic information defining locations and coverage areas of one or more second type network markets, and a current base station (BS) location therein;

a first mode transceiver configured to transmit and receive information over a first type network;

a second mode transceiver configured to selectively transmit and receive data over a second type network; and

wherein the processor is configured to;

receive and compare the current BS location with an updated BS location received over the first type network and, in response to said comparison, to determine a particular region in the plurality of regions in which the apparatus is currently operating,

determine whether a location of at least one of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region,

if the location of the at least one of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region, determine whether the apparatus is currently operating within the coverage area of the at least one of the one or more second type network markets, and

if the apparatus is currently operating within the coverage area of said at least one of the one or more second type network markets, to cause the second mode transceiver to transmit and join a second type network associated therewith,

wherein the memory device is configured to store the geographic information corresponding to the plurality of regions in the region table, and the geographic information defining locations of the one or more second type network markets in the second type network coverage table as a plurality of data entries each representing an associated rectangular area.

38. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 37, wherein each of the associated rectangular areas is represented by a different diagonal line.

39. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 38, wherein each different diagonal line is represented by a first latitude and longitude corresponding to a first corner of the associated rectangular-shaped area, and a second latitude and longitude corresponding to a second corner of the associated rectangular-shaped area diagonally opposed to the first corner.

40. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 38, wherein said processor determines a current operating region by comparing the current BS location with coordinates of diagonal lines stored in the memory device.

41. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 40, wherein said processor determines whether a second type network market is encompassed within the current operating region by evaluating a second type network index value associated with the current operating region.

42. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 41, wherein said processor determines that the current operating region encompasses a second type network market if the second type network index value associated with the current operating region has a non-zero value.

43. The dual-mode communications apparatus of claim 41, wherein said processor determines whether the current BS location is within a second type network market by comparing the current BS location with coordinates of diagonal lines associated with the second type network market and stored in the memory device.

44. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer readable code embodied thereon which, when executed by a processor arranged in a dual-mode communications device capable of operating in a first mode corresponding to a first type network or a second mode corresponding to a second type network different from the first type network, causes the processor to carry out a plurality of operations comprising:

receiving, in the dual-mode device, a first base station (BS) location message via the first type network from a first BS, and storing a first BS location in the first BS location message as a current BS location in a memory device;

storing pre-determined geographical coordinates defining locations of one or more markets for the second type network in a region table in a database;

comparing the stored first BS location to a plurality of region coordinates stored in the memory device and corresponding to a plurality of different regions;

using the comparison result to determine a particular region of the plurality of different regions in which the dual-mode device is currently located;

determining whether the location of any of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region by using the stored pre-determined geographical coordinates;

if the location of no market of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, operating the dual-mode device in the first mode; and

if the location of at least one of the one or more markets of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, determining whether the stored first BS location is geographically located within a coverage area of the at least one of the one or more second type network markets and, in response to said determination, either placing the dual-mode device in a second mode of operation or placing the dual-mode device in the first mode.

45. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 44, wherein the first mode is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mode.

46. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 44, wherein the second mode is a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) mode.

47. A method of operating a dual-mode communications device capable of operating in a first mode corresponding to a first type network or a second mode corresponding to a second type network different from the first type network, the method comprising:

receiving, in a processor, a device position from a GPS receiver arranged in the dual-mode communications device;

storing pre-determined geographical coordinates defining locations and coverage areas of one or more markets for the second type network in a region table in a database;

comparing the received device position with a plurality of region coordinates stored in a memory device operatively coupled to the processor and corresponding to a plurality of different regions;

using the comparison result to determine a particular region of the plurality of different regions in which the dual-mode device is currently located;

determining, using the processor and the stored pre-determined geographical coordinates, whether the location of any of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region;

if the location of no market of the second type network is geographically located within the particular region, operating the dual-mode device in the first mode; and

if the location of at least one of the one or more second type network markets is geographically located within the particular region, determining whether the received device position is geographically located within the coverage area of the at least one of the one or more second type network markets and, in response to said determination, either placing the dual-mode device in a second mode of operation or placing the dual-mode device in the first mode.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the first mode is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mode.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the second mode is a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) mode.

50. A memory for storing data for access by an application program being executed by a processor in a dual-mode communications apparatus capable of selectively operating in a first mode in a first type network or a second mode in a second type network different from the first type network, the memory comprising:

a data structure stored in said memory, said data structure including information resident in a database used by said application program and including;

a region table comprising geographic information corresponding to a plurality of regions and, for each region of the plurality of regions, an associated second type counter that identifies a number of second type network markets located within each corresponding region;

a second type network coverage table comprising geographic information defining locations of one or more second type network markets in terms of a diagonal line of a certain geometrical representation of a corresponding second type network market;

a current base station (BS) location; and

an updated BS location,

wherein said application program is configured to compare the current BS location to the geographic information corresponding to the plurality of regions to determine a particular region of the plurality of regions in which the dual-mode communications apparatus is currently located, and compare the geographic information defining the locations of the one or more second type network markets with the geographic information of the particular region to determine whether a second type network market is geographically located within the particular region.

51. The memory of claim 50, wherein the geographic information for each of the plurality of regions is included in the data structure as latitude and longitude coordinates that define a diagonal line of an associated rectangular-shaped area.

52. The memory of claim 50, wherein the geographic information corresponding to the one or more second type network markets is included in the data structure as associated latitude and longitude coordinates that define a diagonal line of a rectangular representation of a second type network market.

53. The memory of claim 50, wherein the first mode is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mode.

54. The memory of claim 50, wherein the second mode is a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) mode.

55. A method of updating functionality and data stored in a dual-mode communications device capable of operating in a first network mode or a second network mode different from the first network mode, the method comprising:

sending program instruction updates to the dual-mode device over a first type communications link from a base station (BS); and

sending data updates to the dual-mode device over the first type communications link from the BS, wherein the data updates comprise;

a plurality of region coordinates corresponding to a plurality of different regions each having an associated second type counter associated therewith, and

a plurality of second type network market geographical coordinates defining locations of one or more second type network markets,

wherein each of the plurality of region coordinates and each of the plurality of second type network geographical coordinates are represented by associated rectangular areas defined by endpoint coordinates of a diagonal line associated therewith,

wherein the dual-mode communications device is configured to compare the plurality of second type network geographical coordinates defining the locations of the one or more second type network markets with the region coordinates of a particular region of the plurality of different regions in which the dual-mode communications device is currently located to determine whether a second type network market is geographically located within the particular region.