Wireless device performance optimization using dynamic power control

Abstract

The invention relates to wireless device performance optimization using dynamic power control. Dynamic specific absorption rate (SAR) may be achieved by monitoring and controlling power utilization over time of various radio frequency (RF) transmitting components within a mobile device. Power utilization may be tracked and modified to control time-average RF exposures within a rolling time window. An updated scrolling average of the RF transmissions may be periodically calculated based on transmission data received from the mobile device component, and the continuously updated scrolling average of the RF transmissions may be compared to a time-average power utilization limit. Based on such comparison results, the mobile device may dynamically adjust current transmissions of radio transceivers and other RF transmitting components on the mobile device.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with Chinese national application number 202010940014.7, application date September 9, 2020, and invention name “Wireless Device Performance Optimization Using Dynamic Power Control”.

[0003] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 16 / 787,617, filed on February 11, 2020, entitled “WIRELESS DEVICE PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION USING DYNAMIC POWER”, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 907,347, filed on September 27, 2019, entitled “WIRELESS DEVICE PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION USING DYNAMIC POWER”. The disclosures of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Background Art

[0004] Many computing devices, especially mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and wearable devices and accessories, can emit radio frequency (RF) energy during operation. For example, a mobile device can contain multiple different RF transmitting components, such as a Bluetooth radio transceiver, a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio transceiver, and a cellular radio component such as a long-term evolution (LTE) transceiver. Each of these RF components can emit RF energy during the transmission of wireless communications via one or more antennas, and the amount of RF energy emitted can vary during operation based on the current operating mode of the component, the number of antennas, the transmission power, and the duty cycle used during transmission.

[0005] Because of the potential harm that RF energy can cause to humans, attempts have been made to control or regulate the amount of RF emissions to which users of mobile devices may be exposed. The specific absorption rate (SAR) is a measure of the amount of energy absorbed by the human body when exposed to an RF electromagnetic field. SAR regulations have been implemented to limit the amount of RF exposure to users of mobile phones and other mobile devices. Such regulations may include establishing a maximum allowed transmit power for an RF transceiver on a mobile device, and may also take into account the amount of the user's skin (e.g., tissue volume) exposed to the RF emissions and the location of exposure on the user's body (e.g., head, body, or limbs). Summary of the invention

[0006] This article describes a technique for implementing a dynamic specific absorption rate (SAR) by monitoring and controlling the power utilization of various components in a mobile device over time. The dynamic SAR system and technology described herein can provide a selectable function for monitoring and limiting the user's exposure to RF emissions from a mobile device by tracking and implementing time-averaged RF exposure within a rolling time window. The dynamic SAR system and components within the mobile device can monitor RF energy emissions from components of the mobile device, including wireless transmissions from various radio transceivers (e.g., Bluetooth, WLAN, LTE, etc.) within the device. The specific absorption rate (SAR) can be proportional to the power conducted by the mobile device, so the dynamic SAR system within the mobile device can input the conducted power level, on-time, and off-time of the radio transceiver and other device components, and can use a control algorithm to calculate the running SAR average. The dynamic SAR system can periodically calculate an updated rolling average of RF transmissions based on transmission data received from the mobile device components. The continuously updated rolling average of RF transmissions from the device can be compared with a predetermined SAR allocation budget, and based on the comparison, the mobile device can dynamically adjust the current transmission of the radio transceiver on the mobile device to remain within the predetermined RF exposure limit of the current rolling time window.

[0007] In some embodiments, a power utilization control engine and various associated components executed in a mobile device can be used to control power utilization in a mobile device. For example, the power utilization control engine can receive power utilization data for a first time window from various components of the mobile device (such as a host driver of an RF radio component on the device). The proximity of the current user to the mobile device can also be determined, including the amount and area of ​​tissue exposed to RF energy on the user's body, and the RF energy exposure limit can be determined based on the proximity of the user to the mobile device. Then, the power utilization control engine on the mobile device can calculate the time-averaged power utilization of various components of the mobile device within the first time window based on the received power utilization data. The time-averaged power utilization of each RF component, each antenna and / or the entire mobile device can be calculated. The time-averaged power utilization value can be compared with one or more thresholds based on a predetermined RF energy exposure limit, and the power utilization of various RF transmission components on the mobile device can be adjusted based on the threshold comparison result. As described in more detail below, the dynamic adjustment performed on the RF component may include activating / deactivating different components, increasing / reducing transmission power, and increasing / reducing duty cycle.

[0008] Thus, the techniques for dynamic SAR described herein may provide several technical advantages over prior art techniques, including optimization of transmissions from a mobile device. For example, using dynamic SAR, a mobile device may dynamically increase its transmit power level above a previously allowable maximum transmit power level by continuously monitoring the current state of the RF transmit allocation within a current rolling time window, and reducing transmit power and / or duty cycle as needed. Thus, averaging the SAR over time may allow for higher peak transmit powers. The mobile device may also coordinate transceiver activation, transmit levels, and duty cycles across multiple different RF components within the mobile device (e.g., Bluetooth, WLAN, LTE, etc.) to optimize the performance of the transmit components while complying with the SAR limits of the current rolling time window.

[0009] These and other embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below.For example, other embodiments relate to systems, devices, and computer-readable media including computer-executable instructions for executing all methods described herein.

[0010] The nature and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be better understood by referring to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile device including multiple radios that transmit radio frequency energy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of an exemplary mobile device including a power utilization control engine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for controlling power utilization within an exemplary mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is an exemplary graph illustrating power utilization readings within an exemplary mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 5 is another flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique for controlling power utilization within a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 6 is an exemplary graph illustrating exemplary power utilization accumulation data within a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 7A to FIG. 7Dis an exemplary graph illustrating exemplary power utilization readings and dynamic power control modifications within a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile device and an exemplary server / service provider computer of a dynamic power utilization control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide various techniques (e.g., methods, systems, devices, computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions for performing computing functions, etc.) for optimizing the performance of wireless devices using dynamic power utilization control. Specifically, certain techniques for implementing a dynamic specific absorption rate (SAR) system are described below, including monitoring and controlling the power utilization of various RF transmission components within a mobile device over time. In some embodiments, a user's exposure to RF energy emissions from a mobile device can be limited by monitoring, tracking, and implementing time-averaged RF exposure within a rolling time window. In some embodiments, a power utilization control engine executed within a mobile device can monitor RF energy emissions from RF transmission components of the mobile device, including wireless transmissions from various radio transceivers (e.g., Bluetooth, WLAN, LTE, etc.) within the device. The power utilization control engine can periodically calculate an updated rolling average of RF transmissions based on transmission data periodically received from mobile device components. A continuously updated rolling average of RF transmissions from the device may be compared to a predetermined SAR allocation budget, and based on the comparison, the mobile device may dynamically adjust current transmissions of a radio transceiver on the mobile device in order to remain within the predetermined RF exposure limits for the current rolling time window.

[0020] Thus, using the various features and techniques described herein, a mobile device can automatically control its transmission capabilities and other functions in order to keep the RF energy exposure to the user below a predetermined limit of a rolling time window. By receiving and analyzing data from the radio transceiver and other RF components on the mobile device, the device can determine the user's RF exposure within the most recent previous time window. In the event that the user's RF exposure approaches the limit of the rolling time window or the transmission limit, the mobile device can reduce the transmission power, duty cycle, and / or turn on or off various transceivers as needed to ensure that the user's RF exposure remains below the limit. In other cases, if the RF user's RF exposure is far below the limit of the rolling time window, the mobile device can increase the transmission power and / or duty cycle to provide a higher quality transmission capability.

[0021] Figure 11 is a diagram showing an environment 100 with a mobile device 110 including multiple radio components, each of which transmits radio frequency (RF) energy. In this example, the mobile device 110 may be, for example, a smart phone 110 operated by a user. As shown in this example, the smart phone 110 has at least three different RF transmitting components: a Bluetooth radio transceiver, a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio transceiver, and a cellular (e.g., LTE) radio transceiver. In this example, each radio transceiver may include one or more antennas that work in coordination to establish wireless connections, transmit / receive data packets, and provide desired network functions to various mobile applications and communication capabilities of the smart phone 110. In addition, the different radio transceivers on the mobile device 110 may operate separately and independently, so that a first radio component (e.g., a Bluetooth transceiver) may not know or be able to discover the current operating mode or transmit / receive status of other radio components (e.g., WLAN and LTE transceivers) installed on the device, and vice versa. Although this example shows only three radio transceivers as the only RF transmitting components, in other examples, the mobile device 110 may include more or fewer RF transmitting components, and it should be noted that not all RF transmitting components need to be radio transceivers.

[0022] As described above, each radio transceiver of the smartphone 110 shown in this example can transmit RF energy in the form of an RF electromagnetic field. The amount of RF energy transmitted from a radio transceiver at a particular time can vary based on factors such as the current operating mode (e.g., activated / deactivated, transmit / receive, etc.), transmit power, and transmit duty cycle. Figure 1 An exemplary power utilization graph is shown for each of the three radio transceivers in smartphone 110. Since these radio transceivers operate individually and independently from one another, they may all be actively transmitting and therefore emitting RF energy simultaneously, and thus the total RF energy emitted from smartphone 110 at a particular time may be determined by aggregating the RF emissions from the individual components.

[0023] The techniques described in more detail below relate to monitoring and controlling RF transmissions from radio transceivers (and / or other RF transmission components) within the mobile device 110. For example, in some embodiments, the power utilization of each of the radio transceivers in the mobile device 110 may be periodically or continuously monitored, and the power utilization readings may be used to calculate a running average of the RF transmissions from the mobile device 110 during a time window. The running average of the RF transmissions within the current time window may be compared to one or more RF transmission thresholds to determine whether to adjust the operation of the radio transceivers. For example, when the time-averaged power transmissions of the radio transceivers in the mobile device 110 approach an upper limit of the time window, one or more of the radio transceivers may be reconfigured to reduce the duty cycle and / or transmission power. If the time-averaged power transmission exceeds an additional higher threshold, one or more of the radio transceivers may be temporarily stopped or turned off to avoid exceeding the allowable RF transmission limit within the time window. In contrast, when the time-averaged power transmission is below certain thresholds of the current time window, the transmission power and / or duty cycle of one or more radio transceivers may be increased to improve transmission power and quality. Additionally, coordination between different radio transceivers may be supported, for example, temporarily deactivating one radio transceiver in order to maintain (or even increase) the transmission power of a higher priority radio transceiver (or a higher priority transmission).

[0024] In this example, the user of the mobile device is also shown. As described above, the RF exposure limit and the corresponding threshold value may be based not only on the amount of RF energy emitted by the mobile device, but also on the proximity of the mobile device 110 to the user, which may include data such as the amount of tissue exposed to the RF emission and the area (or part) of the user exposed to the RF emission. Therefore, in at least some embodiments described below, the mobile device 110 may be configured to use a mobile sensor and an orientation sensor to determine when the mobile device 110 is held by the user, attached to the user's body, or otherwise on the user's body. The mobile device 110 may also determine or calculate the distance between the mobile device 110 (or a specific antenna of the RF transmitter) and the user, the amount of tissue on the user exposed to the RF emission, and the part or area of ​​the user's body exposed to the RF emission (e.g., head, body and / or limbs), so that some or all of this data can be used to determine the appropriate RF energy exposure limit for the user at a particular time.

[0025] Figure 2is a block diagram illustrating components of a dynamic specific absorption rate (SAR) control system 200 implemented within a mobile device 210. In this example, the dynamic SAR system 200 may be implemented using a power utilization control engine 220 that executes within the mobile device 210 and communicates with one or more radio components 230 of the mobile device 210, transmission and power utilization limit data 240 that may be preconfigured and / or received from an external source, and proximity sensors, movement sensors, and orientation sensors 250.

[0026] The power utilization control engine 220 may be implemented as a dedicated software component (e.g., within a mobile operating system) and / or as a combination of dedicated hardware and software within the mobile device 210. As shown in this example, the power utilization control engine 220 may be configured to access and communicate with a host driver of one or more radio components within the mobile device 210 to retrieve power utilization data from the host driver of the radio component 230, and to send instructions to the radio component 230 via the host driver to modify the transmission parameters and / or functions of the radio component 230. In this example, the mobile device 210 includes three radio components, a Bluetooth component 230a, a WLAN component 230b, and an LTE component 230c, each of which may include a separate processor and / or memory architecture, and each radio component may wirelessly transmit / receive data via a set of dedicated antennas 235. Although only three different RF transmit components 230 are shown in this example, in other embodiments, additional RF transmit components (e.g., near field communication controllers, broadcast radio components, microwave transmitters, satellite communication systems, etc.) and / or various different combinations of RF transmit components 230 may be used.

[0027] As discussed in more detail below, the power utilization control engine 220 can be configured to track and monitor the power utilization of the various RF transmit components 230 within the mobile device 210. A time-averaged power utilization can be generated for the current time window, which can be periodically updated based on new transmission data received from the components 230, and the power utilization control engine 220 can use the time-averaged power data to enforce RF transmission limits on the mobile device 210. In some cases, the limits can be stored as RF transmission limits and / or power utilization limits 240, which can be pre-configured into the mobile device 210 and / or received from an external server or service to enforce a set of transmission policies and / or RF transmission policies on the mobile device 210.

[0028] In addition to the RF transmission and / or power utilization limits 240 that may be determined based on regulatory agencies, standards committees, or based on network-level or organizational-level policies, the power utilization control engine 220 may also store and use optimization modes and / or a set of configuration parameters to customize the power utilization control function. In certain embodiments, various optimization modes may be supported, including a transmission power optimization mode in which the rate within the transmission range may be maximized, or a delay optimization mode in which the transmission power is limited but the transmission is not delayed for any radio component. Another example of a configuration parameter may be an operating mode. In some embodiments, four separate operating modes may be supported: Mode 0, in which the transmit power is limited by an initial transmit upper limit (SAR (TX CAP), the transmit duty cycle is not limited, and TDMTx is in an off mode (existing mode); Mode 1, in which the transmit power is limited by SAR (TX CAP), the transmit duty cycle is TDMTx Type 1, and TDMTx is in an on mode (existing mode); Mode 2, in which the transmit power is dynamically limited to MIN (PPR, CLM), which may be defined as the minimum between PPR (which may be a per-rate transmit power limit compatible with EVM and mask) and CLM (which may correspond to the minimum between the compliance limit associated with the current country and channel but not including SAR regulations), and in which the transmit duty cycle is TDMTx Type 1, so that Mode 2 is optimized for maximum transmit power (e.g., may operate at (Tx Power>SAR) if power budget utilization permits; and Mode 3, in which the transmit power is limited by SAR (TX CAP), the transmit duty cycle is TDMTx Type 1, and TDMTx is in an on mode (existing mode). CAP) limits, and the transmission duty cycle is dynamic, so that Mode 3 is optimized for minimal latency and muting due to WLAN simultaneous dual band (SDB), and Mode 3 can allow simultaneous transmissions from WLAN radio components if power budget utilization allows. Other types of configuration parameters may include data defining the range of RF emission limits (e.g., per antenna, per radio component, per device), the length of the time window, and / or the length of the time increment for updating the time-averaged power utilization data. Additional configuration parameters may include priorities between different radio components and / or different communication modes, so that if it is determined that power utilization is to be reduced, a specific radio component can be selected based on the priority data.

[0029] The power utilization control engine 220 may also communicate with one or more sensors 250 of the mobile device 210 to detect the operation of the device and the proximity of the device 210 relative to the user. As described above, the RF exposure limits and corresponding thresholds may be based on factors such as the proximity of the mobile device 110 to the user, the amount of tissue of the user exposed to RF emissions, and the area (or part) of the user's body (e.g., head, body, or limbs) exposed to RF emissions. Thus, the power utilization control engine 220 may access one or more device movement sensors, position sensors, and / or orientation sensors to determine when the mobile device 210 is held by the user, attached to the user's body, or otherwise on the user's body, as well as the distance between the mobile device 210 (or a specific antenna of an RF transmitter) and the user, the amount of tissue on the user's body exposed to RF emissions from the mobile device 210, and the specific part of the user's body exposed to RF emissions.

[0030] Figure 3 2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for controlling power utilization within a mobile device. As described below, the operations in the process may be performed by a mobile device 210, such as a smart phone or other mobile device executing a power utilization control engine 220. Figure 2 However, it should be understood that the process of monitoring power utilization between RF transmit components of mobile device 210, comparing the time-averaged power utilization data to a threshold value based on RF transmit limits, and then determining and implementing modifications to the RF transmit components of mobile device 210 as described herein is not limited to the above-mentioned specific computing environment and system, but can be performed in various other computing environments and systems.

[0031] In block 301, the power utilization control engine 220 of the mobile device 210 may receive updated power utilization data from one or more RF transmission components operating within the mobile device. The mobile device component from which the data is received in block 301 may include any of the radio transceiver components 230 of the mobile device 210, such as a Bluetooth radio component, a WLAN radio component, an LTE (or other cellular) wireless broadband radio component, an NFC controller, etc. Figure 2 As shown, data may be retrieved via a host device driver installed on the mobile device 210 and associated with each radio component. As described above, the specific absorption rate (SAR) may be proportional to the power conducted by the mobile device component, and thus the power utilization control engine 220 may retrieve data including conducted power levels, on-times, and off-times from each of the radio transceiver 230 and / or other RF transmitting device components.

[0032] As described below, the power utilization data received in block 301 may be used to repeatedly calculate a dynamic SAR average within a rolling time window. Thus, the power utilization control engine 220 may be configured to retrieve the power utilization data in block 301 based on a predetermined time interval within the rolling time window. In various embodiments, power utilization data samples may be collected every 0.1 second, 0.2 second, 0.5 second, 1 second, etc. For example, when a 0.1 second sampling time and a rolling window averaging time of 100 seconds are used, 1000 stored sequential samples may be retrieved to generate the current dynamic SAR average, 600 sequential samples may be used for a rolling window averaging time of 60 seconds, 300 sequential samples may be used for a rolling window averaging time of 30 seconds, and so on. In some embodiments, when samples are collected from multiple different RF components 230 in block 301, the power utilization control engine 220 may be configured to specifically request data from a specific sampling time and / or verify the set associated with the data sample to ensure that the power utilization data samples received from different RF components 230 correspond to the same time interval. Thus, the power utilization control engine 220 may recalculate the current SAR utilization (or current power utilization) at the end of each monitoring period. In addition, it may be advantageous to collect and process power utilization data samples in real time or near real time so that any subsequent modifications to the power utilization of the RF components may be performed in response to the most recent power utilization data collected by the device.

[0033] In block 302, the power utilization control engine 220 may calculate time-averaged power utilization data using the data retrieved in multiple iterations of block 301. As described above, the number of samples used in block 302 to calculate the time-averaged power utilization of a particular RF component 230 may depend on the sampling rate (e.g., 0.1 seconds, 0.5 seconds, etc.) and the length of the rolling window averaging time (e.g., 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 100 seconds, etc.).

[0034] In some embodiments, the techniques for dynamic SAR and power utilization control described herein may be applied to a single RF component 230. Thus, block 302 may involve averaging the previous N samples of power utilization data from a single RF component 230. However, in other examples, such as when the mobile device 210 includes multiple RF components 230 that may operate simultaneously and / or when a single RF emission limit / threshold may be applied to multiple RF components 230 or to the entire mobile device 210, then block 302 may include time-averaging the power utilization data from multiple different RF components 230. In some embodiments, a separate time-averaged power utilization value may be generated for each different RF component 230 in block 302, and then the different time-averaged values ​​may be summed or aggregated in block 302 to determine a time-averaged power utilization value for the mobile device 210 as a whole.

[0035] In some embodiments, the power budget utilization during a particular monitoring period may be calculated using the following formula:

[0036]

[0037] Umon Pave Plim

[0038] In this formula,

[0039] Pave = average power per monitoring period

[0040] Px = transmission power

[0041] Tx = duration of transmission at power Px

[0042] Plim = current SAR power limit

[0043] Tmon = monitoring window duration, and

[0044] Umon = SAR utilization rate in each monitoring cycle.

[0045] Brief reference Figure 4A and Figure 4B , two example graphs depicting power utilization readings within mobile device 210 are shown. In these examples, lines 401a and 401b represent real-time power utilization data samples collected in block 301, while curves 402a and 402b correspond to time-averaged power utilization data generated in block 302. As shown in these examples, a large temporary increase or decrease in power utilization of RF components may have a relatively small real-time impact on the time-averaged power utilization data, depending on the length of the rolling window averaging time. As described below, this may allow for a temporary increase in transmit power and / or duty cycle in order to optimize transmission quality without exceeding the RF emission limits of the current rolling time window.

[0046] In some embodiments, additional techniques may be used to track the transmission power of the WLAN RF component 230b. For example, modern WLAN radio components may not always remain on the same channel, but may maintain multiple connections (e.g., infrared + Apple Wireless Direct (AWDL) / Near Neighbor Awareness Network (NAN)) and perform off-channel scanning and roaming between different APs, resulting in changes in SAR limits. External events such as head / body detection and LTE-COEX, BT-COEX may also affect the SAR limit of the WLAN radio component. Therefore, in general, the SAR limit (or power utilization limit) of each frame may be different. In addition, the WLAN radio component 230b may be transmitted on one chain or any combination of chains in the chain and may use different antennas. The SAR limit of each antenna can be defined, and therefore the Tx power usage of each antenna can be tracked in such cases. In addition, in order to adapt to all requirements based on available capabilities, the power utilization control engine in the mobile device can track the total transmission time and the Tx power increment of each packet from the actual SAR limit when transmitting. In such cases, the SAR utilization rate for each monitoring period may be calculated using the following formula (which may be calculated per antenna for each RF component 230):

[0047]

[0048] In this formula,

[0049] Plim = SAR limit

[0050] ΔP = frame Tx power increment from SAR limit

[0051] T = duration of monitoring period

[0052] tx = frame duration

[0053] Additionally, the SAR budget utilization of the SDB WLAN system can be calculated based on each set of monitoring cycle samples of both radio components collected within the duration of each antenna's observation window (twin) using the following formula:

[0054]

[0055] In this formula,

[0056] SAR = SAR utilization rate

[0057] Twin = observation window duration

[0058] U1x,T1x = SAR utilization rate per monitoring cycle and its duration of sampling radio part 1

[0059] U2x,T2x = SAR utilization rate per monitoring cycle and its duration for sampling radio part 2

[0060] SAR utilization data for each antenna 235 and each monitoring period may be collected and stored by the power utilization control engine 220 for the observation window duration (Twin). During each monitoring period, the collected data may include a timestamp, a period duration, a total transmission duration during the period, a SAR limit during the period (e.g., which may be expressed in mW and which may be averaged or a minimum value may be selected), an actual transmission duty cycle during the period (as a percentage %), a SAR utilization during the period (as a percentage %), and a cumulative transmission power consumption relative to the SAR limit, which may be calculated using the following formula:

[0061]

[0062] In this formula,

[0063] Plimx = SAR limit

[0064] Px,Tx = frame power and duration

[0065] Additionally, the power utilization control engine 220 may calculate and store, for each antenna, the following data, averaged over the duration of the observation window and aggregated for all radio components connected to the antenna: SAR budget utilization (as %), total Tx duty cycle (as %), and total Tx duration (seconds).

[0066] In block 303, the power utilization control engine 220 may compare the time-averaged power utilization data for the current rolling time window to one or more thresholds based on applicable RF exposure limits. Since the specific absorption rate (SAR) may be proportional to the power utilized by the mobile device 210, the power utilization control engine 220 may use the time-averaged power utilization data as a proxy to determine whether the mobile device 210 complies with applicable SAR limits. As described above, in various embodiments, the SAR limit may be a per-antenna power utilization limit, a per-radio power utilization limit, and / or a per-device power utilization limit.

[0067] In addition, the SAR limit of RF energy exposure to the user may depend on the proximity and position of the mobile device 210 relative to the user. Therefore, block 303 may also include selecting an appropriate threshold value based on the current proximity and positioning of the mobile device 210. For example, the power utilization control engine 220 may access current device usage data and device sensors 250, such as position sensors, movement (e.g., acceleration) sensors, and orientation sensors (e.g., gyroscope sensors) to determine whether the mobile device is being held by the user, attached to the user's body, or otherwise on the user's body. The power utilization control engine 220 may also use sensor data to determine the specific distance of the device and / or a specific antenna 235 from the user's skin, as well as the area / part of the user (e.g., head, body, limbs, etc.) that the user is exposed to RF emissions. For example, for a smart phone 210 with the ability to determine when a user is holding and speaking directly into the phone's microphone or listening from a speaker, the power utilization control engine 220 may use this ability to determine when the user's head is exposed to RF emissions, rather than the user's body or limbs, and may apply an appropriate threshold value.

[0068] In some cases, the power utilization control engine 220 may determine in block 303 that the proximity and positioning of the mobile device 210 relative to the user has changed during the current rolling time window. For example, assuming a rolling window averaging time of 60 seconds is being used, the power utilization control engine 220 may detect that the user has raised the mobile device 210 to his / her head within the last 20 seconds, but that the mobile device 210 was in the user's pocket within the previous 40 seconds. In some embodiments, when a change in the proximity and positioning of the mobile device 210 is detected during the rolling window, the power utilization control engine 220 may simply reset the data and start a new rolling calculation. However, in other embodiments, the power utilization control engine 220 may calculate the real-time dynamic threshold based on the available data within the previous rolling time window. For example, the dynamic power utilization threshold may be determined based on: (a) a first threshold associated with a first location / proximity of the mobile device 210, (b) an amount of time that the mobile device 210 was within a recent rolling window of the first location / proximity, (c) a second threshold associated with a second location / proximity of the mobile device 210, (b) an amount of time that the mobile device 210 was within a recent rolling window of the second location / proximity, and so on.

[0069] See again Figure 4A and Figure 4B In the two graphs shown in these examples, the straight horizontal lines 403a, 403b, and 404b may represent the time-averaged power utilization thresholds for the rolling time window. Figure 4AIn the example, immediately after each update calculation of the time-averaged power utilization in block 302, the resulting current time-averaged value 402a may be compared with the power utilization threshold 403a. Figure 4A In the example shown, the time-averaged power utilization value 402a fluctuates but always remains below the threshold value 403a, even when the current power utilization value 401a exceeds the threshold value 403a. As shown in this example, in response to receiving an updated power utilization data reading corresponding to a new recent time interval, the power utilization control engine 220 may first generate a set of updated power utilization data readings by replacing the oldest power utilization data reading from a previous group corresponding to the first time window within the plurality of power utilization data readings with the updated power utilization data reading, and then calculate an updated time-averaged power utilization based at least in part on the set of updated power utilization data readings.

[0070] exist Figure 4B , another example is shown in which multiple different thresholds 403b and 404b may be used to allow the power utilization control engine 220 to better optimize and fine-tune the transmission parameters and capabilities of the mobile device 210. For example, in Figure 4B , immediately after each updated calculation of the time-averaged power utilization in block 302, the resulting current time-averaged value 402b may be compared to the first power utilization threshold 403b. If the current time-averaged value 402b exceeds the first threshold 403b, the subsequent adjustment to the RF component 230 may be a relatively small reduction in transmission power or duty cycle, etc., while if the current time-averaged value 402b exceeds both the first threshold 403b and the second threshold 404b, the modification to the RF component 230 may be a larger reduction in transmission power or duty cycle, deactivation of one or more RF components 230 or antennas 235, etc. Alternatively, if the current time-averaged value 402b is below both the first threshold 403b and the second threshold 404b, the modification to the RF component 230 may correspond to an increase in transmission power and / or duty cycle in order to improve transmission performance and signal quality. Although two different thresholds 403b and 404b are used in this example, it should be understood that three or more different thresholds may be used to better optimize and fine-tune the performance of the RF component 230 while continuously monitoring the applicable RF exposure limit of the current rolling window to prevent the RF component 230 from exceeding the limit.

[0071] In block 304, the power utilization control engine 220 may determine whether to modify the operation of one or more RF components 230 on the device based on a comparison of the time-averaged power utilization data for the current rolling time window with one or more thresholds based on applicable RF exposure limits. For example, if the power utilization control engine 220 determines that the current power utilization data of the mobile device 210 is at or near an optimal performance level, the power utilization control engine 220 may use locally based rules to determine that the operation of the RF components 230 should not be modified (304: No).

[0072] In contrast, if the power utilization control engine 220 identifies one or more potential optimizations (304: yes), the power utilization control engine 220 may determine the specific RF components 230 in block 305. As described above, the potential RF component 230 modifications determined in block 305 may include one or more of: turning up or down the transmit power level for the specific RF components 230 and / or antennas 235, turning up or down the transmit duty cycle for the specific RF components 230 and / or antennas 235, or activating or deactivating the specific RF components 230 and / or antennas 235. A set of logic rules stored and / or executed by the power utilization control engine 220 may be used to determine a set of RF component 230 modifications to be performed in block 305 based on the time-averaged power utilization data in the current rolling window and based on various thresholds. In addition, the power utilization control engine 220 may retrieve and use relevant data such as predetermined optimization modes, configuration settings, prioritization data, etc. to determine the specific RF component 230 modifications to be performed.

[0073] For example, briefly refer to Figure 5 , which shows another flow chart illustrating various techniques for determining specific RF component 230 modifications to be performed in block 305. Specifically, 501-504 illustrate specific determination techniques, related underlying data, and standards that may be used to determine which RF component 230 modifications should be applied in block 305. It should be understood that different subsets of these techniques, data, and / or standards for determining RF component 230 modifications may be used in different embodiments and for different mobile devices 210.

[0074] In block 501, the power utilization control engine 220 may determine specific components on the mobile device 210 that are to receive power utilization modifications. As described above, such components may include any RF transmit components operating on the mobile device 210, including, but not limited to, the various radio transceivers 230 and / or radio antennas 235. In some cases, the RF emission limits may be antenna-specific limits or radio-specific limits, so the determination of the specific components in block 501 may simply correspond to the same components that were subject to the threshold comparison in block 303. In other cases, the RF emission limits (and corresponding power utilization limits) may be associated with the mobile device 210 as a whole (or at least a plurality of different RF components 230). In such cases, the power utilization control engine 220 may use configuration data that identifies priorities between the different RF components 230, indicating which components cause a transmit power reduction or duty cycle reduction first, which components are deactivated first, and which components do not cause any performance degradation, deactivation, etc.

[0075] In block 502, the power utilization control engine 220 may select one or more of the antennas 235 within the selected RF section 230 on which to apply the modification. In the case where only one antenna 235 is used by a particular RF section 230, that antenna may be selected by default. In other cases, logic rules may be used to select one or more specific antennas 235 on which to apply the modification. Additionally, in some cases, the modification may include switching from one antenna to another in response to a certain threshold comparison to the current SAR budget utilization.

[0076] In block 503, the power utilization control engine 220 may retrieve a particular type of optimization mode and / or other configuration settings that may be used to determine modifications to the RF components 230. In certain embodiments, two selectable optimization modes may be supported: a transmission power optimization mode in which the rate within the transmission range may be maximized, or a delay optimization mode in which the transmission power is limited but the transmission is not delayed. Other types of configuration parameters retrieved in block 504 may include priority data between different RF components 230, antennas 235, and / or different types of communications, mobile applications, or communication modes / protocols.

[0077] In block 504, the power utilization control engine 220 may ultimately determine specific RF components 230, antennas 235, and specific power utilization modifications based on analyzing the data received in blocks 501-503 and applying logic rules to the data. As described above, the power utilization modifications determined for specific RF components 230 and antennas 235 may include turning up or down the transmit power level, turning up or down the transmit duty cycle, activation or deactivation of specific components, etc. This determination may be performed based on a set of logic rules stored and / or executed by the power utilization control engine 220, based on the time-averaged power utilization data in the current rolling window, and based on various thresholds, using relevant data such as optimization modes, configuration settings, prioritization data, etc.

[0078] In block 505, the modifications to the RF components 230 and / or antenna 235 determined in block 504 may be implemented, effectively modifying the power utilization of those components. Figure 5 In block 505 of , the power utilization control engine 220 may access the selected RF component 230 via its corresponding host driver to transmit modifications to the RF component 230 and / or antenna 235. Instructions for modifying transmission behavior or capabilities may take the form of transmission parameters and / or functions transmitted to the RF component 230, such as updated transmission power levels, updated duty cycle parameters, component or antenna activation or deactivation instructions, etc., which may be transmitted as parameters via an application programming interface (API) or other interface.

[0079] Figure 6 is a graph showing an example of power utilization accumulation data within a mobile device 210. The example may correspond to an RF component 230 such as an LTE radio component 230c having two antennas 235c, each of which may support both 2G network and 5G network communications. In this example, the initial transmit power (TXpower) may be defined as the minimum between the PPM (which may be the per-rate transmit power limit compatible with the EVM and mask) and the CLM (which may correspond to the compliance limit associated with the current country and channel but not including SAR regulations), and the initial transmit cap (TX CAP) may correspond to the entry in the graph for that antenna.

[0080] In this example, the SAR budget utilization of antenna 0 in period 611 can be calculated as TXpower(601) / TXCAP(601), which corresponds to the ratio of TX power to TX CAP. In addition, the TX CAP(601) of antenna 0 at this point in time is based on at least the following items: network (2G), user exposure type (head|body), LTE state, and MIMO / SISO / SDB. Similarly, the SAR budget utilization of antenna 1 in period 616 can be calculated as TXpower(607) / TX CAP(607), which similarly corresponds to the ratio of TX power to TX CAP. In addition, similarly, the TX CAP(607) of antenna 1 at this point in time is based on at least the following items: network (2G), user exposure type (head|body), LTE state, and MIMO / SISO / SDB.

[0081] Referring now to time period 613 for antenna 0, the SAR budget utilization for antenna 0 during this time period can be calculated as TXpower(605) / TX CAP(605), which again corresponds to the ratio of TX power to TX CAP, and the TX CAP(605) at this point in time for antenna 0 is based on at least the following terms: network (5G), user exposure type (head|body), LTE state, and MIMO / SISO. In contrast, the SAR budget utilization for antenna 0 during this time period is equal to zero(0) / TX CAP(607).

[0082] Referring now to time period 615 for antenna 0, the SAR budget utilization for antenna 0 during that time period may be calculated as ((TXpower(604) / TX CAP(604))+((TXpower(606) / TX CAP(606)). In this case, both TX CAP(604) and TX CAP(606) for antenna 0 are based on at least the following: network (2G), user exposure type (head|body), LTE status, and MIMO / SISO / SDB.

[0083] FIG. 7A to FIG. 7D is an exemplary graph showing power utilization readings and dynamic power control modifications within a mobile device. 7A to 7C , three separate points in time (Time 0, Time 1, and Time 2) are identified corresponding to time intervals during which power utilization data can be retrieved and at which a resulting set of modifications can be determined and applied to the RF components.

[0084] First reference Fig. 7A, in which a 25% transmit duty cycle may be used at 3 dB above the TX CAP limit, and the TX CAP limit may be 50% of the power budget utilization. To better illustrate the techniques herein, it may be assumed that if all transmit levels in this example are 3 dB above the TX CAP limit, then: it may be assumed that the RF components are at 50% of the power budget utilization just before time 0, at time 1 and time 2, the RF components are at a 25% duty cycle every second, and the cumulative power budget utilization (or SAR budget utilization) of antenna 0 may be 50% of its maximum allowed power utilization for the previous second, and 50% of its maximum allowed power utilization for the previous 60 seconds. Then, at time 2, the cumulative power budget of antenna 0 will be 50% for the previous second and 50% for the previous 60 seconds.

[0085] refer to Figure 7B , in which it may again be assumed that all transmission levels are 3 dB above the TX CAP limit. Then, again, assume that the RF components are at 50% of the power budget utilization just before time 0, and at time 0 and time 1, the RF components may be at a 25% transmit duty cycle. At time 1, the RF components 230 in this example are shown as transitioning to a 100% transmit duty cycle. Thus, at time 1, the power budget utilization of antenna 0 will be 50% for the previous second and 50% for the previous 60 seconds. At time 2, the power budget utilization of antenna 0 will be 200% for the previous second and 52.5% for the previous 60 seconds.

[0086] refer to Figure 7C , in which it can again be assumed that all transmission levels are 3 dB above the TX CAP limit, and it can also be assumed that there are no transmissions before time 0 (and therefore the power budget utilization is 0%). At time 1, the RF component 230 has been transmitting at a 100% duty cycle for one second. Therefore, at time 1, the power budget utilization of antenna 0 will be 200% for the previous second and 3.33% for the previous 60 seconds, and the power budget utilization of antenna 1 will be 0% for the last second and will also be 0% for the previous 60 seconds. Then, at time 2 (one second later than time 1), the power budget utilization of antenna 0 will be 0% for the previous second and 3.33% for the previous 60 seconds, and the power budget utilization of antenna 1 will be 200% for the previous second and 3.33% for the previous 60 seconds.

[0087] refer to Fig.7D A fourth example in FIG. 4 shows antenna diversity in an implementation where antenna 1a and antenna 1b are both connected to core 1 (eg, via a 1P2T or SPDT switch). Fig.7D The vertical line in represents the diversity switching point. Prior to the diversity switching point, the RF component has a 50% power budget utilization on both antennas 1a and 1b before the time shown in the figure, and the RF component is at a transmit duty cycle of 12.5%, which is 3dB above the TX cap on all 4 chains before switching, resulting in a stable 50% power budget utilization on each antenna before the switching point. Then, at the diversity switching point, the RF component 230 is modified to move all transmissions from antenna 1a to antenna 1b. In this case, while still 3dB above the TX cap on all cores, the RF component can move to a transmit duty cycle of 100% on 2G and a duty cycle of 50% on 5G, resulting in a power budget utilization of 300% on antenna 0 and antenna 1b. Then, at Fig.7D At the end of the waveform in (e.g., one second after the switching point), antenna 0 is at 300% of its power budget utilization for the previous second and 54.2% for the previous 60 seconds, antenna 1a is at 49.1% for the first 60 seconds, and antenna 1b is at 300% of its power budget utilization for the previous second and 5% for the first 60 seconds.

[0088] Figure 8 Components of a mobile device and a server / service provider computer of a dynamic power utilization control system 800 according to at least one embodiment are shown. As described above, the dynamic power utilization control system 800 may also be referred to as a system for dynamically controlling specific absorption rate (dynamic SAR). The system 800 may include a user device 802 (e.g., a mobile device) and / or a server / service provider computer 804 that may communicate with each other via a network 806 using any suitable communication protocol.

[0089] In some examples, network 806 may include any one or combination of many different types of networks, such as wired networks, the Internet, wireless networks, cellular networks, and other private networks / public networks. Although the illustrated example represents a user device 802 that communicates with a service provider computer 804 via network 806, the technology may also be applied to an instance in which the user device 802 interacts with the service provider computer 804 via a landline, via a public telephone booth, or in any other appropriate manner. It should be understood that the technology may be applied to other client / server arrangements and non-client / server arrangements (e.g., locally stored applications, etc.). For example, in some embodiments, a portion or all of the subcomponents of the power utilization control engine 820 discussed in more detail below may be operated completely or partially away from the user device 802 on the service provider computer. In addition, the user device 802 may access the functions of the service provider via a user interface and / or API provided by the components of the service provider 804.

[0090] As described above, the user device 802 may be configured to execute or otherwise manage applications or instructions for performing dynamic power utilization control of various power transmitting components within the mobile device (e.g., radio components, transmitters, antennas, etc.). The mobile device 802 may be any type of computing device, such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone), a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a thin client device, a smart watch, a wireless headset, etc.

[0091] In an exemplary configuration, the user device 802 may include at least one memory 810 and one or more processing units (or processors) 822. The processor 822 may be implemented in hardware, computer executable instructions, or a combination thereof as appropriate. The computer executable instructions or firmware implementation of the processor 822 includes computer executable instructions or machine executable instructions written in any suitable programming language to perform the various functions described.

[0092] The memory 810 can store program instructions that can be loaded and executed on the processor 822 and data generated during the execution of these programs. Depending on the configuration and type of the mobile device 802, the memory 810 may be a volatile memory (such as a random access memory (RAM)) and / or a non-volatile memory (such as a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.). The mobile device 802 may also include additional removable storage devices and / or non-removable storage devices 824, including but not limited to magnetic storage devices, optical disks and / or tape storage devices. The disk drive and its associated non-transitory computer-readable medium can provide a non-volatile storage device for computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computing device. In some specific implementations, the memory 820 may include a variety of different types of memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or ROM. Although the volatile memory described herein may be referred to as RAM, any volatile memory that will not retain the data stored therein after being unplugged from the host and / or power supply is appropriate.

[0093] Removable and non-removable memory 810 and additional storage device 824 are examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media. For example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media may include volatile or non-volatile, removable or non-removable media, which are implemented by any method or technology to store information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Memory 820 and additional storage device 824 are examples of non-transitory computer storage media. Additional types of computer storage media that may be present in mobile device 802 may include, but are not limited to: phase change RAM (PRAM), SRAM, DRAM, RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disk (DVD) or other optical storage device, cassette, tape, disk storage device or other magnetic storage device or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by mobile device 802. Any combination of the above should also be included in the scope of non-transitory computer-readable storage media.

[0094] Alternatively, the computer-readable communication medium may include computer-readable instructions, program modules, or other data transmitted within a data signal such as a carrier wave or other transmission means. However, as used herein, computer-readable storage media does not include computer-readable communication media.

[0095] The mobile device 802 may also include a communication connection 826 that allows the computing device 802 to communicate with a data repository, another computing device or server, a user terminal, and / or other devices via one or more networks. Such networks may include any one or combination of many different types of networks, such as a wired network, the Internet, a wireless network, a cellular network, a satellite network, other private networks, and / or public networks, or any combination thereof. The mobile device 802 may also include I / O devices 828, such as a touch input device, an image capture device, a video capture device, a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a voice input device, a display, a speaker, a printer, and the like.

[0096] Turning to the contents of the memory 810 in more detail, the memory 810 may include an operating system 830 and / or one or more applications or services for implementing the features disclosed herein. The memory 810 may include a data repository 832 that may be configured to store, for example, power utilization limits and readings from various components of the mobile device 802, as well as configuration data, optimization modes, etc. that may be used by the power utilization control engine 820 to provide dynamic power utilization control functionality on the mobile device 802.

[0097] In some examples, the power utilization control engine 820 can be configured to access host device drivers associated with mobile device components such as radio components, antennas, battery components, and other power transmitting components of the mobile device 802 (and / or peripheral devices associated with the user device 802). As part of providing dynamic specific absorption rate (SAR) functionality, the power utilization control engine 804 can be configured to retrieve power utilization readings, for example, from the data repository 832 and / or directly from the host device driver, and access configuration / mode data, transmission or RF energy absorption limit data, etc.

[0098] In some aspects, the service provider computer 804 may also be any suitable type of computing device, such as but not limited to mobile devices, laptop computers, desktop computers, server computers, thin client devices, tablet computers, etc. In addition, it should be noted that in some embodiments, the service provider computer 804 is executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a hosted computing environment. The hosted computing environment may include one or more fast supply and release computing resources, which may include computing, networking and / or storage devices. The hosted computing environment may also be referred to as a cloud computing environment. In some examples, the service provider computer 804 may communicate with the mobile device 802 via a network 806. The service provider computer 804 may include one or more servers, which may be arranged into clusters, server farms, or individual servers that are not associated with each other. These servers may be configured to implement the functions described herein as part of an integrated distributed computing environment.

[0099] In an exemplary configuration, the service provider computer 804 may include at least one memory 840 and one or more processing units (or processors) 842. The processor 842 may be implemented in hardware, computer executable instructions, firmware, or a combination thereof, as appropriate. The computer executable instructions or firmware implementation of the processor 842 includes computer executable instructions or machine executable instructions written in any suitable programming language to perform the various functions described.

[0100] The memory 840 can store program instructions that can be loaded and executed on the processor 842 and data generated during the execution of these programs. Depending on the configuration and type of the service provider computer 804, the memory 840 may be volatile (such as RAM) and / or non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.). The service provider computer 804 or server may also include an additional storage device 844, which may include a removable storage device and / or a non-removable storage device. The additional storage device 844 may include, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage device, an optical disk, and / or a tape storage device. The disk drive and its associated computer-readable medium can provide a non-volatile storage device for computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computing device. In some specific implementations, the memory 840 may include a variety of different types of memory, such as SRAM, DRAM, or ROM.

[0101] The memory 840 and the additional storage device 844 (whether removable or non-removable) are examples of computer-readable storage media. For example, computer-readable storage media may include volatile or non-volatile, removable or non-removable media, which are implemented in any method or technology for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. The memory 840 and the additional storage device 844 are examples of computer storage media. Other types of computer storage media that may be present in the service provider computer 804 may include, but are not limited to: PRAM, SRAM, DRAM, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD or other optical storage device, cassette, magnetic tape, disk storage device or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by the service provider computer 804. Combinations of any of the above should also be included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0102] Alternatively, the computer-readable communication medium may include computer-readable instructions, program modules, or other data transmitted within a data signal such as a carrier wave or other transmission means. However, as used herein, computer-readable storage media does not include computer-readable communication media.

[0103] The service provider computer 804 may also include communication connections 846 that allow the service provider computer 804 to communicate with a stored database, another computing device (e.g., user device 802), or a server, user terminal, and / or other devices on the network 806. The service provider computer 804 may also include I / O devices 848, such as a keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, display, speakers, printer, etc.

[0104] Turning to the contents of memory 840 in more detail, memory 840 may include an operating system 850, one or more data repositories, and / or one or more applications, modules, or services for implementing the features disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the service provider may include one or more modules configured to retrieve or determine optimization patterns and / or additional configuration data for additional networks to be transmitted to user device 802 and / or associated user devices. For example, the service provider computer 804 may push such transmission power optimization and configuration parameters to a network of associated computers in order to implement and update a particular dynamic SAR (or dynamic power utilization control) strategy at a network level or an organizational level.

[0105] The mobile device 802 can be configured with a power utilization control engine 820 to implement the techniques and functions of dynamic SAR described herein. Figure 8 Although not shown in the figure, the mobile device 802 may also include additional underlying hardware and software components and modules to support power utilization control functions, including device sensors for detecting the proximity and orientation of the device relative to the device user (e.g., the device is away from the user, the device is held near the body, the device is held near the head, etc.) at specific times that can be associated with the power utilization of various device radio components and other components. Thus, the user device 802 can capture device movement data, location, orientation data, usage data, and user interaction data from the device sensors and other components, and analyze the data in conjunction with the power utilization readings received from the various device components. Based on the analysis techniques that can be executed within the various modules of the mobile device 802, the current time-averaged RF energy user exposure can be determined, and the operation and power utilization of various device components (e.g., radio components, antennas, etc.) can be modified to simultaneously optimize transmission capabilities and compliance with dynamic SAR limits.

[0106] In some embodiments, an application executed on a user's device may be used to perform some or all of the operations described herein. Circuits, logic modules, processors, and / or other components may be configured to perform the various operations described herein. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that such configuration may be accomplished by design, setup, interconnection, and / or programming of specific components, depending on the specific implementation, and again depending on the specific implementation, the configured components may be reconfigurable or not reconfigurable for different operations. For example, a programmable processor may be configured by providing appropriate executable code; a dedicated logic circuit may be configured by appropriately connecting logic gates and other circuit elements; and so on.

[0107] Any software component or function described in this patent application can be implemented as a software code executed by a processor, which uses any suitable computer language, such as, for example, Java, C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, or a scripting language such as Perl or Python using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The software code can be stored on a computer-readable medium as a series of instructions or commands to achieve storage and / or transmission. Suitable non-transient computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic media (such as a hard drive or floppy disk), or optical media (such as a compact disk (CD) or DVD (digital versatile disk)), flash memory, etc. The computer-readable medium may be any combination of such storage devices or transmission devices.

[0108] Computer programs incorporating various features of the present disclosure may be encoded on various computer-readable storage media; suitable media include disks or tapes, optical storage media such as compact disks (CDs) or DVDs (digital versatile disks), flash memory, etc. Computer-readable storage media encoded with program code may be packaged with compatible devices or provided separately from other devices. In addition, program code may be encoded and transmitted via wired optical and / or wireless networks (including the Internet) that conform to a variety of protocols, thereby allowing distribution, for example, via Internet downloads. Any such computer-readable medium may reside in or be located in a single computer product (e.g., a solid-state drive, a hard drive, a CD, or an entire computer system), and may be present in or located in different computer products within a system or network. The computer system may include a monitor, a printer, or other suitable display for providing any results mentioned herein to a user.

[0109] References to "a," "an," or "the" are intended to mean "one or more," unless expressly indicated to the contrary. Use of "or" is intended to mean an "inclusive or" rather than an "exclusive or," unless expressly indicated to the contrary. Reference to a "first" component does not necessarily require that a second component be provided. Furthermore, reference to a "first" component or a "second" component does not limit the referenced components to specific locations, unless expressly stated. The term "based on" is intended to mean "based, at least in part, on."

[0110] All patents, patent applications, publications, and specifications mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. No admission is made that any document is prior art.

[0111] In addition, as described above, one aspect of the present technology is to collect and use data that can be obtained from various sources to improve transmission capabilities and limit radio frequency (RF) energy exposure to device users. The present disclosure contemplates that, in some instances, such collected data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, device usage data and patterns, phone numbers, email addresses, twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records related to the user's health or fitness level (e.g., vital sign measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying information or personal information.

[0112] The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data in the present technology can be used to benefit users. For example, personal information data can be used to determine application and personnel recommendations for sharing content that users are more interested in. Therefore, the use of such personal information data enables users to more effectively control the sharing of content. In addition, the present disclosure also anticipates other uses of personal information data that benefit users. For example, device usage patterns and / or health and fitness data can be used to provide insights into the user's overall health status, or can be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue health goals.

[0113] This disclosure envisions that entities responsible for collecting, analyzing, disclosing, transmitting, storing or otherwise using such personal information data will comply with established privacy policies and / or privacy practices. Specifically, such entities should implement and adhere to privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be easily accessible to users and should be updated as the collection and / or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable purposes of the entity and not shared or sold outside of these legitimate uses. In addition, such collection / sharing should be performed after receiving informed consent from the user. In addition, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to defend and secure access to such personal information data and ensure that others who have access to personal information data comply with their privacy policies and processes. In addition, such entities may subject themselves to third-party assessments to demonstrate their compliance with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adjusted to specific types of personal information data collected and / or accessed, and to applicable laws and standards including specific considerations of jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, the collection or access of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy practices should be maintained in each country for different types of personal data.

[0114] Regardless of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes in which users selectively block the use or access of personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware elements and / or software elements may be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, with respect to shared content objects, the technology of the present invention may be configured to allow users to choose to "opt in" or "opt out" at any time during or after registration for a service to participate in the collection of personal information data. As another example, users may choose not to provide data corresponding to their previous interactions with various applications, as well as their shared preferences and / or historical user interactions. In yet another example, users may choose to limit the length of time for maintaining previous application interactions and shared data, or completely prohibit the collection and tracking of personal data. In addition to providing "opt-in" and "opt-out" options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications related to access or use of personal information. For example, users may be notified that their personal information data will be accessed when downloading an application, and then reminded again just before the personal information data is accessed by the application.

[0115] In addition, it is an object of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risks can be minimized by limiting data collection and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect the privacy of users. De-identification can be facilitated by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of stored data (e.g., collecting location data at the city level rather than at the address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data between users), and / or other methods when appropriate.

[0116] Thus, while the present disclosure broadly covers the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that various embodiments may also be implemented without access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology will not fail to function properly due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. For example, suggestions for sharing applications and people may be selected and provided to a user based on non-personal information data or an absolute minimum amount of personal information, such as content requested by a device associated with the user, other non-personal information available to the content sharing system, or publicly available information.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device, comprising: One or more processors for a power utilization control engine, the one or more processors configured to: receiving power utilization data of the first radio component for a time window, receiving power utilization data of the second radio component for the time window, and A power utilization modification instruction is sent to the first radio or the second radio based at least in part on a time-averaged power utilization of at least the first radio and the second radio within the time window.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to calculate a time-averaged power utilization value based at least in part on the power utilization data of the first radio component for the time window and the power utilization data of the second radio component for the time window.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 2 , wherein the time-averaged power utilization value indicates the time-averaged power utilization of at least the first radio component and the second radio component during the time period, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to send the power utilization modification instruction based at least in part on the time-averaged power utilization value.

4. A wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured to update the time-averaged power utilization value for the additional time window based at least in part on the power utilization data of the first radio component for the additional time window and the power utilization data of the second radio component for the additional time window.

5. A wireless communication device according to claim 4, wherein the time-averaged power utilization value and the updated time-averaged power utilization value indicate the time-averaged power utilization of at least the first radio component and the second radio component within a rolling time window including the time window and the additional time window, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to send one or more power utilization modification instructions including the power utilization modification instruction based at least in part on the time-averaged power utilization value and the updated time-averaged power utilization value.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the received power utilization data for the first radio component for the time window indicates a transmit power utilization of the first radio across the time window, and wherein the received power utilization data for the second radio component for the time window indicates a transmit power utilization of the second radio across the time window.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the first radio component comprises one of a Bluetooth radio transceiver, a wireless LAN radio transceiver, or a cellular radio transceiver, and wherein the second radio component comprises the other of the Bluetooth radio transceiver, the wireless LAN radio transceiver, or the cellular radio transceiver.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the power utilization modification instructions include instructions for adjusting a transmit power level.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the power utilization modification instructions include instructions for adjusting a transmission duty cycle.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to send additional power utilization modification instructions to a third radio based at least in part on the time-averaged power utilization of at least the first radio and the second radio within the time window.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to: obtaining priority information of the first radio component and the second radio component; and The sending a power utilization modification instruction to the first radio or the second radio based at least in part on the priority information.

12. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a power utilization control engine, cause the one or more processors to: receiving power utilization data of the first radio component for a time window, receiving power utilization data of the second radio component for the time window, and A power utilization modification instruction is sent to the first radio or the second radio based at least in part on a time-averaged power utilization of at least the first radio and the second radio within the time window.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein the power utilization modification instructions include instructions for adjusting a transmission power level.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein the power utilization modification instructions include instructions for adjusting a transmit duty cycle.

15. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 12, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the power utilization control engine, cause the one or more processors to: Based at least in part on the time-averaged power utilization of at least the first radio and the second radio within the time window, additional power utilization modification instructions are sent to a third radio.

16. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the additional power utilization modification instructions comprise: Component start command or component shutdown command.

17. One or more computer-readable storage media according to claim 12, wherein the first radio component includes one of a Bluetooth radio transceiver, a wireless local area network radio transceiver, or a cellular radio transceiver, and wherein the second radio component includes the other of the Bluetooth radio transceiver, the wireless local area network radio transceiver, or the cellular radio transceiver.

18. A device comprising: one or more radio components; as well as a power utilization control engine coupled to the one or more radio components, and the power utilization control engine is configured to: Power utilization data is retrieved from the one or more radios, and at least one instruction is sent to modify a transmission parameter of at least one radio of the one or more radios in response to a time-averaged power utilization within a time window obtained based on the power utilization data from the one or more radios.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the power utilization control engine is configured to update the time-averaged power utilization for a subsequent time window based on the power utilization data from the one or more radio components, and to send at least one additional instruction in response to the updated time-averaged power utilization to modify the transmission parameters of the at least one radio component among the one or more radio components.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the transmission parameter is a transmission power level, a transmission duty cycle, or a component switching state.

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