Method, system and apparatus for controlling power consumption of a mobile terminal

• US 9,924,463 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2016
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: Burnet, Craig, Kelin, Timur, Hsu, Chia-Chun
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US15/250,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20160374025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 568 Days
• Field of Search: 455574, 455571, 455572, 327544
• 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 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Techniques and examples pertaining to controlling power consumption of a mobile terminal are described. First information regarding at least one aspect of a mobile terminal, as sensed by the at least one sensor, may be received. Second information related to the first information may be transmitted to a remote terminal. Third information may be received from the remote terminal. The third information may be determined by the remote terminal based at least in part on the second information, information about data to be transmitted to or from the mobile terminal, one or more wireless communication variables, or a combination thereof. At least one operational parameter of a wireless transceiver of the mobile terminal may be controlled based on the third information.

Claims

1. A method of controlling power consumption of a mobile terminal, comprising:

receiving first information from at least one sensor regarding two or more aspects of a plurality of aspects of the mobile terminal sensed by the at least one sensor, the plurality of aspects comprising a charge level of a power supply of the mobile terminal, a temperature of the power supply, and an amount of passage of time since the power supply was previously charged by an external power supply;

transmitting second information related to the first information to a remote terminal;

receiving third information from the remote terminal, the third information determined by the remote terminal based at least in part on the second information, information about data to be transmitted to or from the mobile terminal, one or more wireless communication variables, or a combination thereof; and

controlling at least one operational parameter of a wireless transceiver of the mobile terminal based on the third information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the first information from the at least one sensor regarding the two or more aspects of a plurality of aspects of the mobile terminal sensed by the at least one sensor comprises receiving the first information from one or more sensors of a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors comprising:

a charge sensor configured to sense the charge level of the power supply of the mobile terminal;

a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature of the power supply;

a timer configured to measure the amount of passage of time since the power supply was previously charged by the external power supply;

a transmit power sensor configured to measure an amount of radio frequency (RF) power emitted by a transmitter section of the wireless transceiver of the mobile terminal; and

a location sensor configured to determine a geographic location of the mobile terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the second information to the remote terminal comprises:

identifying, based on the first information, a plurality of operational parameters of the wireless transceiver, including the at least one operational parameter, that are adjustable to control an amount of power consumption of the wireless transceiver; and

transmitting, to the remote terminal, information regarding the plurality of operational parameters as the second information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifying of the plurality of operational parameters of the wireless transceiver comprises identifying the plurality of operational parameters associated with a transmitter section of the wireless transceiver.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifying of the plurality of operational parameters of the wireless transceiver comprises identifying the plurality of operational parameters associated with a receiver section of the wireless transceiver.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the third information comprises a respective range of values for each of the at least one operational parameter of the wireless transceiver.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling of the at least one operational parameter of the wireless transceiver of the mobile terminal comprises controlling a transmitter section of the wireless transceiver in terms of bandwidth, modulation, error correction coding, transmit power, scheduling, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling of the at least one operational parameter of the wireless transceiver of the mobile terminal comprises controlling a receiver section of the wireless transceiver in terms of bandwidth, modulation, error correction coding, scheduling, or a combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the data to be transmitted to or from the mobile terminal comprises information about one or more data streams and contents of the one or more data streams transmitted to and from the mobile terminal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless communication variables comprise one or more bandwidth requirements, a quality of a radio link for wireless transmission to and from the mobile terminal, or a combination thereof.

11. A method of controlling power consumption of a plurality of mobile terminals, comprising:

wirelessly receiving respective second information from each of the plurality of mobile terminals, the respective second information related to respective first information on two or more aspects of a plurality of aspects of the respective mobile terminal sensed by corresponding at least one sensor;

selecting at least one operational parameter for the plurality of mobile terminals based on a combination of the second information received from the plurality of mobile terminals, information about data to be transmitted to or from the plurality of mobile terminals, and one or more wireless communication variables, the at least one operational parameter being associated with a respective wireless transceiver of each of the plurality of mobile terminals and adjustable to control an amount of power consumption of the respective wireless transceiver; and

wirelessly transmitting information about the at least one operational parameter as third information to the plurality of mobile terminals,

wherein the plurality of aspects comprise a charge level of a power supply of the respective mobile terminal, a temperature of the power supply, and an amount of passage of time since the power supply was previously charged by an external power supply.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one sensor corresponding to each of the plurality of mobile terminals comprises one or more sensors of a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors comprising:

a charge sensor configured to sense the charge level of the power supply of the respective mobile terminal;

a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature of the power supply;

a timer configured to measure the amount of passage of time since the power supply was previously charged by the external power supply;

a transmit power sensor configured to measure an amount of radio frequency (RF) power emitted by a transmitter section of the respective wireless transceiver of the respective mobile terminal; and

a location sensor configured to determine a geographic location of the respective mobile terminal.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the third information comprises a respective range of values for each of the at least one operational parameter associated with the respective wireless transceiver of each of the plurality of mobile terminals.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one operational parameter comprises one or more operational parameters associated with a transmitter section of the respective wireless transceiver of each of the plurality of mobile terminals in terms of bandwidth, modulation, error correction coding, transmit power, scheduling, or a combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one operational parameter comprises one or more operational parameters associated with a receiver section of the respective wireless transceiver of each of the plurality of mobile terminals in terms of bandwidth, modulation, error correction coding, scheduling, or a combination thereof.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

a wireless transceiver comprising a transmitter section configured to wirelessly transmit data and a receiver section configured to wirelessly receive data;

a power supply configured to store a charge of electricity and power the wireless transceiver;

at least one sensor coupled to sense two or more aspects of a plurality of aspects of the apparatus; and

a processor coupled to the wireless transceiver, the processor configured to perform operations comprising;

receiving first information from the at least one sensor regarding the two or more aspects of the apparatus sensed by the at least one sensor, the plurality of aspects comprising a charge level of the power supply, a temperature of the power supply, and an amount of passage of time since the power supply was previously charged by an external power supply;

transmitting, via the wireless transceiver, second information related to the first information;

receiving, via the wireless transceiver, third information related to the second information, information about data to be transmitted to or from the wireless transceiver, one or more wireless communication variables, or a combination thereof; and

controlling at least one operational parameter of the wireless transceiver based on the third information.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or more sensors of a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors comprising:

a charge sensor configured to sense the charge level of the power supply;

a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature of the power supply;

a timer configured to measure the amount of passage of time since the power supply was previously charged by the external power supply;

a transmit power sensor configured to measure an amount of radio frequency (RF) power emitted by the transmitter section of the wireless transceiver; and

a location sensor configured to determine a geographic location of the apparatus.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, in transmitting the second information to the remote terminal, the processor is configured to perform operations comprising:

identifying, based on the first information, a plurality of operational parameters associated with either or both of the transmitter section and the receiver section of the wireless transceiver, including the at least one operational parameter, that are adjustable to control an amount of power consumption of the wireless transceiver; and

transmitting, via the wireless transceiver, information regarding the plurality of operational parameters as the second information.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the third information comprises a respective range of values for each of the at least one operational parameter of the wireless transceiver, wherein the information about the data to be transmitted to or from the wireless transceiver comprises information about one or more data streams and contents of the one or more data streams transmitted to and from the wireless transceivers, and wherein the one or more wireless communication variables comprise one or more bandwidth requirements, a quality of a radio link for wireless transmission to and from the wireless transceiver, or a combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, in controlling the at least one operational parameter of the wireless transceiver, the processor is configured to control either or both of the transmitter section and the receiver section of the wireless transceiver in terms of one or more of bandwidth, modulation, error correction coding, transmit power, and scheduling.