User Equipment Power Management via Selective Cell Change Notifications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems experience high power consumption due to frequent cell change notifications in cell edge coverage areas, which inhibits the achievement of higher wireless communication quality.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for power management in user equipment (UE) that detects changes in serving cells and determines if the UE is in a low power state, suppressing unnecessary cell change notifications when the technology type of the new cell is the same as the previous cell and the UE is in a low power state, thereby preventing unnecessary state transitions and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cell change notifications are sent frequently to maintain network connectivity and coverage, then communication reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively sending cell change notifications only when necessary - specifically when the UE transitions to a cell with a different technology type or when the UE is in an active state. When the UE is in a low power state and remains in the same technology type, notifications are suppressed. This partial notification approach maintains communication reliability for important transitions while avoiding unnecessary power consumption from excessive notifications.
2Reliability
If the UE processes all cell change notifications to maintain accurate network registration, then network connectivity is improved, but battery life deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary cell change notifications from the processing queue when the UE is in a low power state and the cell technology type remains unchanged. By taking out these redundant notifications, the system maintains essential network connectivity (through processing important notifications) while eliminating wasted processing operations that would otherwise drain the battery, thereby extending battery life.
3Reliability
If the UE transitions to active state for each cell change notification, then communication quality is maintained, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by triggering UE state transitions only for significant cell changes - specifically when the technology type changes or when the UE is already in an active state. For minor cell changes within the same technology type while in low power state, the notification is suppressed and no state transition occurs. This selective approach maintains communication quality for important transitions while avoiding unnecessary power consumption from frequent state transitions.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods for power management in a wireless communication device include detecting a change in a serving cell for data communication from a first cell to a second cell; determining whether a terminal equipment (TE) is in a low power state; detecting a first technology type of the first cell and a second technology type of the second cell; determining whether the second technology type is a different technology mode than the first technology type; sending a cell change notification to a data processor associated with the TE when the second technology type is in the different technology mode than the first technology type and the TE is not in a low power state; and suppressing the sending of the cell change notification when the second technology type is not in the different technology mode and the TE is in the low power state.