Hybrid power-saving mechanism for VoIP services

• US 8,284,707 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2007
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Cho, Dong-Ho, Kim, Doo Seok, Choi, Hyun-Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferris, Derrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Waqas, Saad A
• Application Number:
  US11/982,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20080107056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,800 Days
• Field of Search: 370/311
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An embodiment of the invention is a technique for power saving in mobile communication. At least one of a base station (BS) and a mobile station (MS) is initialized for power saving using a downlink (DL) status and an uplink (UL) status associated with the BS and the MS, respectively, during communication between the BS and the MS. A first PSC mode is entered when both the DL and UL statuses indicate a silence period. A second PSC mode is entered when at least one of the DL and UL statuses indicates a talk period.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initializing at least one of a base station (BS) or a mobile station (MS) to a hybrid power saving mode that utilizes a downlink (DL) status and an uplink (UL) status associated with the at least one of the BS or the MS during communication between the BS and the MS, wherein the DL status indicates status of an associated downlink and the UL status indicates status of an associated uplink;

entering a first Power Saving Class (PSC) mode based on both the DL status and the UL status indicating a silence period, wherein both the DL status and the UL status indicate the silence period when the at least one of the BS or the MS transmits and receives a silence insertion descriptor (SID) frame; and

entering a second PSC mode based on at least one of the DL status or the UL status-indicating a talk period,

wherein operation in the first PSC mode comprises;

maintaining a sleep interval and a listening interval according to a first power-saving mode (PSM) protocol;

updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period, maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol; and

in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period, exiting the first PSC mode and entering the second PSC mode.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein initializing comprises:

determining whether a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is desired;

determining whether a PSM is desired; and

in response to determining that the VOIP is desired and determining that the PSM is desired, setting both the DL status and the UL status to indicate the talk period.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status comprises:

buffering a received or transmitted SID frame or a received or transmitted voice packet;

in response to buffering the received or transmitted voice packet, updating one of the DL status or UL status to indicate the talk period at the BS or at the MS; and

transmitting the buffered received or transmitted SID frame or the buffered received or transmitted voice packet during the listening interval.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein updating one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS comprises:

in response to the BS transmitting the voice packet, setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period; and

in response to the BS receiving a MS transmitted voice packet, setting the UL status to the talk status.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein updating one of the DL status or the UL status at the MS comprises:

in response to the MS transmitting the voice packet, setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period; and

in response to the MS receiving a BS transmitted voice packet, setting the UL status to the talk status.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein operation in the second PSC mode comprises:

maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to a second PSM protocol; and

updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period, maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the second PSM protocol; and

in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period, exiting the second PSC mode and entering the first PSC mode.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status comprises:

updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS or at the MS.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS comprises:

in response to the BS transmitting the SID frame, setting the DL status to a silence status to indicate the silence period;

in response to the BS receiving the SID frame from the MS, setting the UL status to the silence status;

in response to the BS transmitting a voice packet, setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period; and

in response to the BS receiving a voice packet from the MS, setting the UL status to the talk status.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the MS comprises:

in response to the MS receiving the SID frame from the BS, setting the DL status to a silence status to indicate the silence period;

in response to the MS transmitting the SID frame, setting the UL status to the silence status;

in response to the MS receiving a voice packet from the BS, setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period; and

in response to the MS transmitting a voice packet, setting the UL status to the talk status.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first PSC mode supports at least one of a best effort (BE) or a non real-time variable rate (NRT-VR) connection, and the second PSC mode supports at least one of an unsolicited grant service (UGS), a real-time variable rate (RT-VR), or an extended real-time variable rate (ERT-VR) connection.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first PSC mode corresponds to a PSC type I according to an IEEE 802.16e standard and the second PSC mode corresponds to a PSC type II according to the IEEE 802.16e standard.

12. An apparatus comprising:

an initializer configured to initialize at least one of a base station (BS) or a mobile station (MS) to a hybrid power saving mode that utilizes a downlink (DL) status and an uplink (UL) status associated with the at least one of the BS or the MS during communication between the BS and the MS, wherein the DL status indicates status of an associated downlink and the UL status indicates status of an associated uplink;

a first controller coupled to the initializer configured to activate a first power-saving class (PSC) mode based on both the DL status and the UL status indicating a silence period, wherein both the DL status and the UL status indicate the silence period when the at least one of the BS or the MS transmits and receives a silence insertion descriptor (SID) frame; and

a second controller coupled to the initializer to activate a second PSC mode based on at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating a talk period

wherein the first controller is configured to;

maintain a sleep interval and a listening interval according to a first power-saving mode (PSM) protocol;

update at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period, maintain the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol; and

in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period, exit the first PSC mode and communicate with the second controller to activate the second PSC mode.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the initializer is configured to set both the DL status and the UL status to indicate the talk period in response to both a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and PSM being desired.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the first controller comprises:

a maintaining module configured to maintain the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol in response to both the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period; and

an updater configured to update at least one of the DL status and the UL status.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the second controller comprises:

a maintaining module configured to maintain the sleep interval and the listening interval according to a second PSM protocol in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period; and

an updater configured to update at least one of the DL status and the UL status.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the updater comprises:

a buffer configured to buffer the SID frame or a voice packet;

a status updater configured to update at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS or at the MS in response to the voice packet being buffered; and

a transmitter coupled to the buffer configured to transmit the buffered SID frame or the buffered voice packet during the listening interval.

17. An article of manufacture comprising:

a non-transitory machine-accessible medium including data that, when accessed by a machine, causes the machine to perform operations comprising;

initializing at least one of a base station (BS) or a mobile station (MS) to a hybrid power saving mode that utilizes a downlink (DL) status and an uplink (UL) status associated with the at least one of the BS or the MS during communication between the BS and the MS, wherein the DL status indicates status of an associated downlink and the UL status indicates status of an associated uplink;

entering a first Power Saving Class (PSC) mode based on both the DL status and the UL status indicating a silence period, wherein both the DL status and the UL status indicate the silence period when the at least one of the BS or the MS transmits and receives a silence insertion descriptor (SID) frame; and

entering a second PSC mode based on at least one of the DL status or the UL status-indicating a talk period,

wherein operation in the first PSC mode comprises;

maintaining a sleep interval and a listening interval according to a first power-saving mode (PSM) protocol;

updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period, maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol; and

in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period, exiting the first PSC mode and entering the second PSC mode.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17 wherein the data causing the machine to perform initializing comprises data that, when accessed by the machine, causes the machine to perform operations comprising:

determining whether a voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is desired;

determining whether a PSM is desired; and

in response to determining that the VOIP is desired and determining that the PSM is desired, setting both the DL status and the UL status to indicate the talk period.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 17 wherein the data causing the machine to perform updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status comprises data that, when accessed by the machine, causes the machine to perform operations comprising:

buffering a received or transmitted SID frame or a received or transmitted voice packet;

in response to buffering the received or transmitted voice packet, updating one of the DL status or UL status to indicate the talk period at the BS or at the MS; and

transmitting the buffered received or transmitted SID frame or the buffered received or transmitted voice packet during the listening interval.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 17 wherein the data causing the machine to perform entering the second PSC mode comprises data that, when accessed by the machine, causes the machine to perform operations comprising:

maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to a second PSM protocol; and

updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period, maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the second PSM protocol; and

in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period, exiting the second PSC mode and entering the first PSC mode.

21. An apparatus comprising:

means for initializing at least one of a base station (BS) or a mobile station (MS) to a hybrid power saving mode that utilizes a downlink (DL) status and an uplink (UL) status associated with the at least one of the BS or the MS during communication between the BS and the MS, wherein the DL status indicates status of an associated downlink and the UL status indicates status of an associated uplink;

means for entering and operating in a first Power Saving Class (PSC) mode based on both the DL status and the UL status indicating a silence period, wherein both the DL status and the UL status indicate the silence period when the at least one of the BS or the MS transmits and receives a silence insertion descriptor (SID) frame; and

means for entering and operating in a second PSC mode based on at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating a talk period,

wherein the means for operating in the first PSC mode comprises;

means for maintaining a sleep interval and a listening interval according to a first power-saving mode (PSM) protocol; and

means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

means for maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period; and

means for exiting the first PSC mode and entering the second PSC mode in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the means for initializing comprises:

means for determining whether a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is desired;

means for determining whether a PSM is desired; and

means for setting both the DL status and the UL status to indicate the talk period in response to determining that the VOIP is desired and determining that the PSM is desired.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status comprises:

means for buffering a received or transmitted SID frame or a received or transmitted voice packet;

means for updating one of the DL status or UL status to indicate the talk period at the BS or at the MS in response to buffering the received or transmitted voice packet; and

transmitting the buffered received or transmitted SID frame or the buffered received or transmitted voice packet during the listening interval.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS comprises:

means for setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period in response to the BS transmitting the voice packet; and

means for setting the UL status to the talk status in response to the BS receiving a MS transmitted voice packet.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the MS comprises:

means for setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period in response to the MS transmitting the voice packet; and

means for setting the UL status to the talk status in response to the MS receiving a BS transmitted voice packet.

26. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the means for operating in the second PSC mode comprises:

means for maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to a second PSM protocol; and

means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

means for maintaining the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the second PSM protocol in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period; and

means for exiting the second PSC mode and entering the first PSC mode in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status comprises:

means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS or at the MS.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the means for updating at least one of the DL status or the UL status at the BS comprises:

means for setting the DL status to a silence status to indicate the silence period in response to the BS transmitting the SID frame;

means for setting the UL status to the silence status in response to the BS receiving the SID frame from the MS;

means for setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period in response to the BS transmitting a voice packet; and

means for setting the UL status to the talk status in response to the BS receiving a voice packet from the MS.

29. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the means for updating one of the DL and UL statuses at the MS comprises:

means for setting the DL status to a silence status to indicate the silence period in response to the MS receiving the SID frame from the BS;

means for setting the UL status to the silence status in response to the MS transmitting the SID frame;

means for setting the DL status to a talk status to indicate the talk period in response to the MS receiving a voice packet from the BS; and

means for setting the UL status to the talk status in response to the MS transmitting a voice packet.

30. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the first PSC mode supports at least one of a best effort (BE) or a non real-time variable rate (NRT-VR) connection, and the second PSC mode supports at least one of an unsolicited grant service (UGS), a real-time variable rate (RT-VR), or an extended real-time variable rate (ERT-VR) connection.

31. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the first PSC mode corresponds to a PSC type I according to an IEEE 802.16e standard and the second PSC mode corresponds to a PSC type II according to the IEEE 802.16e standard.

32. A mobile station (MS) comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and receiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals to and from a base station (BS) in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) wireless communication; and

a power saving controller, the power saving controller comprising;

an initializer configured to initialize the MS to a hybrid power saving mode that utilizes a downlink (DL) status and an uplink (UL) status, wherein the DL status indicates status of an associated downlink and the UL status indicates status of an associated uplink,

a first controller coupled to the initializer configured to activate a first power-saving class (PSC) mode based on both the DL status and the UL status indicating a silence period, wherein both the DL status and the UL status indicate the silence period when the MS transmits and receives a silence insertion descriptor (SID) frame; and

a second controller coupled to the initializer configured to activate a second PSC mode-based on at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating a talk period,

wherein the first controller is configured to;

maintain a sleep interval and a listening interval according to a first power-saving mode (PSM) protocol;

update at least one of the DL status or the UL status;

in response to both of the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period, maintain the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol; and

in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period, exit the first PSC mode and communicate with the second controller to activate the second PSC mode.

33. The MS of claim 32 wherein the first controller comprises:

a maintaining module configured to maintain the sleep interval and the listening interval according to the first PSM protocol in response to both the DL status and the UL status indicating the silence period; and

an updater configured to update one of the DL and UL statuses.

34. The MS of claim 32 wherein the second controller comprises:

a maintaining module configured to maintain the sleep interval and the listening interval according to a second PSM protocol in response to at least one of the DL status or the UL status indicating the talk period; and

an updater configured to update one of the DL and UL statuses.