System for eco-friendly management of connected devices

• US 9,060,318 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2009
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Nair, Biju, Heistad, Christopher A., Lovato, Darryl
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, STEVEN H D
• Application Number:
  US12/545,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20110044177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,125 Days
• Field of Search: 370/331, 370/338, 455/456, 455/414, 340/539
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/26 by agreed or negotiated communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• 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 and method for a connected wireless device to hand off from one network to another based on empirical data gathered from real live networks regarding the grade of service available on the network. The invention uses this information in combination with the user'"'"'s choice of a preferred type of network connection to intelligently manage and conserve device battery life.

Claims

1. A method of managing wireless network connections and device radios signals in an active transmission device, and for managing and conserving battery life in the active transmission device, wherein the active transmission device includes, multiple radio transceivers, a user interface, and software for managing radio control and radio connectivity, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) searching an access method preference and priority list;

(b) turning on the device radios signals associated with the active transmission device next appearing in the access method preference and priority list;

(c) searching to locate a network with which to connect that is available in a particular area based on the device location on a true grade of service map;

(d) connecting to a found network using the associated device radios;

(e) turning off device radios not involved in the network connections using the device location information;

(f) aggregating actual reports from a plurality of active transmission devices, wherein the actual reports comprise data points that include connection method, device battery level, signal strength, provider, location, and type of active transmission device; and

(g) updating said true grade of service map based on the actual reports aggregated in step (f), wherein the actual reports further include a RSSI of the broadcast signal, carrier-to-interferer ratios or equivalents thereof, effective data rates, throughput, network capacity, dropped connection, type of device upon which the measurement was made, a carrier being used when creating the measurement, and the date of measurement.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of:

(h) classifying given device locations on said true grade of service map as good, fair, or poor connection locations and representing each classification by a color code on the map.

3. The method of claim 1, further including the step of:

(i) customizing said true grade of service map for the performance of a particular user device.

4. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of:

(j-1) determining whether a wireless connected device in a GPS location is powered on and its radios signals turned on;

(j-2) searching for a Cell ID or BSID available in the particular area based on the device location on said true grade of service map;

(j-3) turning off the device radios if no Cell ID or BSIDs are detected in the area using the device location information;

(j-4) recording the Cell ID or BSID of any detected Cell ID or BSID as well as the time of detection;

(j-5) searching for other Cell IDs or BSIDs for a predetermined period of time;

(j-6) recording the ID and time of detection of any second Cell ID or BSID detected;

(j-7) calculating the speed of motion (velocity) of the connected device;

(j-8) continuing normal device operation if the computed speed is not greater than terrestrial speeds; and

(j-9) turning off the device radios if the calculated speed is greater than terrestrial speeds.

5. The method of claim 4, further including the step of providing a graphic map based on changes in network coverage over time in the GPS location.

6. The method of claim 4, whereby the GPS location and velocity are used to predict imminent network failure and provide alternatives.

7. The method of claim 5, further including the step of directing the device user to improved network coverage using the predicted network boundaries and GPS data.

8. The method of claim 1, further including the step of:

(k) intelligently balancing a selected network connection and corresponding device radio according to available battery life.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network connections and corresponding device radios have differing bandwidth capabilities and consume power at different rates.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the grade of service map is dynamically updated based on the network connections and corresponding device radios in addition to previous connections from the connected device.

11. The method of claim 4, further including the step of:

(l) detecting and reporting the device status when it is no longer moving and/or at ground level based on GPS location information.

12. The method of claim 4, further including the step of:

(m) automatically predicting network failure of a specific network enabled device based on correlated statistics created from said true grade of service map; and

(n) providing a warning of imminent coverage drop.