WO1992009146A1

WO1992009146A1 - Battery saver for a communication device

Info

Publication number: WO1992009146A1
Application number: PCT/US1991/007455
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert E. Stengel; Francis R. Yester
Original assignee: Motorola, Inc.
Priority date: 1990-10-31
Filing date: 1991-10-10
Publication date: 1992-05-29

Abstract

A communication device (200) capable of operating in a communication system (100) having a control system which generates information signals with redundant information is disclosed. The communication device comprises: a receiver (214) for receiving the information signals; a circuit which can determine the signal quality of the received information signals (234); and a controller (226) which decodes the received information signals, and further compares the signal quality of the information signals with a predetermined value, and decides if the received signal quality is at least equal to the predetermined value in order to only decode a portion of the information signal. Upon the communication device decoding a portion of the information signal, the communication device (200) is placed in a battery saving mode in order to conserve battery life.

Description

BATTERY SAVER FOR A COMMUNICATION DEVICE

Technical Field This invention relates generally to the field of communication systems, and more particularly to communication devices which can enter into a battery saving mode.

Background Communication systems, as they are known in the art, include systems such as radio communication, paging, cellular telephone, and other similar types of systems. It is common for communication systems such as these to generate information signals which are redundant in nature due to the addition of error correction and detection bits, the addition of redundant information packets, and other similar techniques that help increase the probability of communication devices which are utilizing the system to receive the transmitted information. In trunked radio system specifically, a trunked central controller sends information signals in the form of signalling words to a plurality of radios which are part the system in order to coordinate their activities. The central controller will ordinarily create convolutional coded signalling words which contain error correction bits, and error detection bits. The central controller also duplicates the signalling words in order to increase the chances of the radios in the system receiving the information signals. This is especially helpful in radio communication systems which are prone to interference.

Trunked radio systems, as they are known in the art, allocate communication resources amongst users of the system. A resource controller or control system (also commonly referred to as the trunked central controller) for a trunked radio system transmits control information to trunked radios which are on the system, usually over a control resource (also known as the control channel). A trunked portable radio receiving a particular control channel detects instructions from the central controller that might, for example, instruct the radio to shift to a particular communication channel (repeater) whereupon the radio (subscriber unit) can transmit and receive voice and/or data information on the particular channel which has been assigned. Other trunked systems, for example, may not utilize a dedicated control channel and transmit the control information over all the repeaters (or channels) available in the system.

In a trunked system, such as the SMARTNET™ trunked radio system manufactured by Motorola, Inc., signalling words (normally referred to as outbound signalling words hereafter referred to as OSWs) are generated by the system central controller and are then transmitted over the control channel continuously to all of the portable radios in the system. The OSWs inform specific radios or groups of radios when to move to one of the channels available on the system, and also informs the radios of other important system information. The OSWs are comprised of a string of data bits which carry system information to the radios. The portable radios on a trunked system spend a great deal of the time receiving the information on from the control channel and decoding the received information in order to determine if any information is directed to the specific radio. When the system is in an idle state, all radios in the system have their receivers monitoring the control channel for information.

In the SMARTNET™ system the outbound signalling words (OSWs) generated by the central controller have redundant data bits in the form of error correction and detection bits which approximately double the length of each of the OSW packets. The OSWs are then run through a convolutional algorithm such as is known in the art, which makes each OSW a 1/2 rate convolutional code data string. By having a 1/2 rate convolutional code, the system increases the correction of burst errors of up to 19 consecutive bits. The central controller will also normally repeat each of the OSW packets several times in order to increase the chances of reception by the portable radios. While the addition of redundant error correction/detection bits, and the repetition of the OSWs increase the chances for the radios in the system to receive the OSWs, even under noisy channel environments, they decrease the battery life of the radios since the radios need to spend a great deal of time receiving redundant information. Since under normal system conditions the radio frequency channels are normally "clean" enough for the radios to receive the OSWs without any problems, a need exists for a way of minimizing the amount of time radios spend decoding the OSWs in order to gather all the information the radios require, and thereby extending the battery life of the radios.

Summary of the Invention

Briefly, according to the invention, a communication device decodes only a portion of the redundant information signals which are received when the signal quality of the received signal is of a level at least equal to a predetermined value.

In one aspect of the present invention the communication device goes into a battery saving mode for a predetermined period of time upon decoding the portion of the information signals. In still another aspect of the present invention, the communication device enters the battery saving mode only after determining that the decoded information signals are not directed to the device.

A method for receiving data from information signals is also disclosed which comprises the steps of: receiving at the communication device the information signals, determining the signal quality of the received signals, comparing the quality of the received signals to a predetermined value, and decoding only a portion of the received signals when the signal quality of the received signals is at least equal to the predetermined value.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram of a trunked radio system which can utilize the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a portable radio in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3a is a diagram of a typical trunking word structure.

Fig. 3b is an illustration of a 1/2 rate convolutional code.

Fig. 3c is an exploded view of both even and odd information and parity bits segments which make up the OSW packet.

Fig. 3d is an illustration of an OSW packet in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3e is a diagram showing how any continuous bit stream portion can be used to get all the information required by the radio in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3f is a battery saver mode flow diagram in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to Fig. 1 , a representation of a trunked communication (radio) system 100 according to the present invention is shown. The trunked radio system 100 consists of a control system which is commonly referred to as a central controller 104, preferably a SMARTNET™ central controller manufactured by Motorola, Inc. which controls the assignment of repeaters 106, which are preferably MSF 5000™ repeaters manufactured by Motorola, Inc. to different groups of communication devices or as they are referred to subscriber units 200. To better understand the system 100, an example of the sequence of events for a standard radio group call will be described. When one of the subscriber units (portable radios) 200 (i.e. in radio group A) that is in the system 100 presses his push-to-talk button (PTT), a burst of data is transmitted by the radio to the central controller 104 via the system control channel 108. The data sent is normally referred to as an inbound signalling word or ISW, which in this case constitutes a request for a voice channel. Preferably, any of the repeaters 106 except the one acting as the control channel 108 can be a voice/data channel 106. The central controller 104 upon reception of the ISW reviews the status of all the repeaters 106 and assigns an unused repeater 106 by sending an information signal, or as it is more commonly referred to, an outbound signalling word (OSW) via the control channel 108 directing all radios 200 in group A to a frequency corresponding to one of the repeaters 106 (i.e. repeater No.1 or also known as channel No.1). The outbound signalling word is received by all radios 200, but only the radios 200 in group A will be transferred to repeater No.1 (106). Since the OSW contains information regarding which radios 200 the information is for, the other radios 200 in the system will continue to monitor the control channel 108 for OSWs, until they receive an OSW which is directed to them. The individual radio 200 which activated the PTT is now able to talk to any radio 200 in his group over repeater No.1 (106).

Other implementations of trunked radio systems for use with the current invention can include systems 100 which do not have a dedicated control channel 108, but use each of the channels 106 in the system to transmit the necessary system control information. Other systems which can utilize the present invention can include cellular telephone systems, paging systems, and other closely related systems which transmit information signals to communication devices.

The present invention utilizes the fact that the central controller 104 continuously generates OSWs to the radios 200, with a lot of the bits which make up the OSWs being redundant error correcting or detection bits, and also the fact that the OSW packets are duplicated several times by the central controller 104 in order to increase the chances of reception by the radios 200. A radio 200 by first measuring the signal quality of the received information signals (OSWs), preferably by a conventional method such as by measuring the signal strength of the received signals. The signal strength measurement is then compared to a predetermined level which is preferably stored in the radio 200 to determine if the signal level is strong enough for the radio to decode a portion of the received information signals. Other methods of measuring the signal quality of the incoming signals include determining the signal to noise ratio of the incoming signals, determining the bit error rate of the incoming information signals, and other similar methods known in the art. Once the portion of the information signal is decoded the radio 200 can go into a battery saving mode in order to substantially increase the radios 200 battery life. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional portable radio

200 capable of operating in a trunked system 100. In accordance with the present invention, the radio 200 includes a receiver 214, and an antenna switch 210 to selectively couple the antenna 212 to either the receiver 214 or transmitter 208. Both the receiver 214 and transmitter 208 are of conventional design as known in the art. To receive a message, a radio frequency signal is routed from the antenna 212 to the receiver 214. The receiver provides radio information signals to the controller 226 in the form of data messages via line 216. The receiver 214 can also provide voice messages via line 218 which are coupled to amplifier 220 for presentation to the speaker 224. The amplifier's 220 gain can be controlled by the controller 226 via line 222. The radio 200 includes a control means such as a controller 226. The controller 226 preferably comprises a MC68HC11 F1 microcontroller, having on-chip timer circuitry, control circuitry, memory, serial interface, I/O lines, and capability of interfacing to external memory devices if necessary. The controller 226 processes the incoming received signals from the receiver 214 via line 236. The controller 226 acts as a decoder by decoding the the received information signals (OSWs) using conventional decoding software which is known in the art. The decoding software is stored in memory which is part of the controller 226. The decoder could also be implemented using a separate microprocessor and appropriate software which would be coupled to the receiver. The decoder software can be controlled by controller 226 using an executive radio software routine which is also stored in controller 226.

OSWs are continuously being generated by the system central controller 104, and transmitted preferably over the control channel 108, which the receiver 214 receives. The OSW usually contains information relating to what radios the signalling word is addressed to, type of call, channel assignment, and other related information. Each OSW packet generated by the system central controller 104 usually takes no more than 23 milliseconds to complete, and are continuously ongoing. Once a radio 200 detects that an OSW is directed to it, it will go to the channel 106 which it is been assigned to, and stay until instructed to go back to the control channel 108.

The present invention utilizes the fact that only a portion of the OSWs need to be decoded by the radio controller 226 in order for the radio 200 to decode all the data contained in the OSWs (information signals). This is due to the fact that the OSWs are 1/2 rate convolutional packets, and also that the system duplicates the OSWs several times. By utilizing a conventional signal quality measurement circuit 234 such as a conventional signal strength measurement circuit which can determine the signal quality of the incoming received signals a better probability can be had that the portion of the decoded OSWs are free from errors, and thereby can be relied on. The signal strength measurement circuitry 234 is coupled to receiver 214 via line 238 and to controller 226 via line 236, in order for the controller 226 to decide if the signal strength of the incoming signal is above the stored threshold. The signal strength circuit 234 can also be implemented as part of the receiver 214. The controller 226 compares the signal quality in this case the signal strength of the incoming signals with a predetermined value stored in controller 226. Once a radio 200 determines that the signal strength of the received information signal is at least equal to the value stored in the controller 226, the controller 226 actuates the decoder software to decode only a portion of the incoming signals. The controller 226 can also decided only to decode a portion of the received signals only when the received signals is not directed to the specific radio 200. The signal quality measurement circuit 234 can use other criteria for determining the signal quality of the received signals such as by comparing the bit error rates of the incoming signals to a predetermined rate threshold, and other similar techniques known in the art.

The controller 226 can place the radio 200 in a battery saving mode upon decoding the portion of the received information signals for a predetermined period of time. The predetermined period of time can be stored in the controller 226, and can be a conventional count down timer. The battery saver mode could be any of those know in the art. A suitable battery saving technique that could be used with the present invention is U.S. Patent 4,381 ,552 by Nocillini, which discloses a "Standby Mode Controller Utilizing Microprocessor" which is hereby incoφorated by reference. Preferably, the battery saving mode can include turning the receiver 214, transmitter 208, and any other circuits in the radio 200 "off or into a standby low current drain condition using the controller 226 which would stay on in order to bring the radio 200 back on after a predetermined period of time. The controller 226 can have I/O lines which can control the power to each of the circuits in the radio 200. The greater the number of circuits in the radio 200 which are turned off, or put into standby modes, the greater the battery savings while in the battery saving mode. A simple battery saving mode can include just not receiving any information for a period of time (turning the receiver 214 off), thereby saving current by staying in a standby mode. Another battery saving technique can be to stop decoding the received information signals by halting the decoding program which is stored in controller 226. By going into the battery saver mode, the portable radio 200 can consume much less power and conserve its battery life. The only circuitry that would preferably be required to be left "on" would be the timer and other associated circuitry found in the controller 226. Preferably, the radio 200 will go into the battery saver mode for a predetermined period of time which would preferably be no longer than approximately 20 millisecond in duration. The actual duration in the battery saving mode will depend mostly on the repetition rate of the incoming redundant information signals. Alternatively, the duration the radio 200 stays in the battery saver mode could be sent via the information signals themselves, and be decoded by the radio controller 226. In this method the system controller 104 could determine how long to keep particular radios 200 in the battery saver mode.

The present invention can be incorporated into a transceiver by including a transmitter 208. To transmit inbound information signals (ISWs) to the central controller 104, the radio controller 226 sends data messages via line 228 which are then transmitted by transmitter 208. Alternatively, voice messages can be transmitted as well. The radio user speaks into microphone 202 after "keying up" the transmitter by pressing the push-to-talk (PTT) 232 which activates transmitter 208. The voice message gets amplified by amplifier 204 which can be controlled by the controller via line 230. The voice messages are then coupled to transmitter 208 via line 206.

Fig. 3a illustrates a 38 bit trunking word which is the building block for the 84 bit OSWs (information signals) which are generated by the system controller 104. The 38 bit trunking word includes 27 bits of actual message information (data), which consists of; the radio group (e.g. fleet, subfleet) the message is for, the type of message, and the channel information. The other 11 bits of the trunking word are mainly used for error detection and are generated using a conventional error detection algorithm which is known in the art.

Fig. 3b shows how the 38 bit trunking word is increased to a 76 bit word having error correction bits of redundancy by taking the previous trunking word shown in Fig. 3a and performing an "exclusive OR" of l_n the top row, and I_n+1 middle row, which yields a result of Pn (parity) bottom row, which is a 1/2 rate convolutional code as known in the art of -n and *n+1.

Fig. 3c shows the 76 bit convolutional code of Fig. 3b broken down into 4 segments of 19 bits, the first segment being the even information bits, the second segment being the odd information bits, the third being the even parity bits, and the bottom segment being the odd parity bits. The parity bits being picked from the convolutional code result of Fig. 3b (Pn) and the information bits being the 37 information bits of Fig. 3a. Fig. 3d shows how the 76 bits of Fig. 3c are made into the standard 84 bit long OSW used in system 100 by appending 8 synchronization bits to the 76 previous bits. The synchronization bits are used by the radios 200 in order to synchronize the incoming OSW data bits. The central controller 104 generates the OSWs and sends them to the control channel 108 for transmission once they have been generated. It takes approximately 23 milliseconds to transmit an OSW packet as shown in Fig. 3d. The OSW is comprised of 8 synchronization bits, 19 even information bits, 19 even parity bits, 19 odd information bits, and 19 odd parity bits. The interleaving of the even information, even parity, odd information, and odd parity bits results in correction for a burst error of up to 19 consecutive bits, with a one incorrect out of four algorithm. This is due to the built- in code redundancy of the generated OSWs. Fig. 3e shows that by taking any continuous 38 bits (any adjacent 19 bit blocks) portion of the incoming OSW packets all the required information can be decoded by the radio 200. This is due to the fact that the 84 bit OSWs have been previously convoluted from the original 38 bit trunking word (Fig. 3a). The radio 200 first determines the signal quality of the received signals and determines by way of the signal strength circuitry 234 if the signal strength is equal to or above the required threshold which is preferably stored in controller 226. If the signal quality is good enough, then the radio 200 can decode any continuous 38 bits and enter a battery savings mode as long as the decoded information is not directed to the particular radio 200. For example, the radio 200 can once it has determined that the signal strength of the received signals is of a sufficient level, the decoder would turn "on" under the control of controller 226 to detect odd information, odd parity of OSW #1 , and sync, even information, and even information for OSW #2. If the unit information that is decoded by controller 226 from OSW #2 is for some other radio 200, the radio can be placed in a battery saving mode until the next OSW approximately 23 milliseconds later. If the decoded data is directed to radio 200 it can act upon the information, for example, go to one of the voice channels 106.

Fig. 3f shows a typical flow of how the radio 200 would detect the OSWs and go into the battery savings mode. In this figure the detection is done across two consecutive duplicate OSWs. Preferably, a typical cycle would start (assuming the radio was starting out coming out of a "sleep mode" or battery saving condition) by the receiver going through an approximately 3 millisecond warm-up period which is depicted as Tw. The three milliseconds allows the receiver to turn on and be ready to receive information. After the warm-up period the radio receives the OSW information for 23 milliseconds at which time the radio 200 determines the signal quality of the received signal and decodes the information in order to decide if the information is for the particular radio 200. If the information contained in the OSW is not for the radio 200 the radio goes into a battery saving mode or TOFF period which lasts for approximately 20 milliseconds as long as the quality of the incoming signal was at least equal to a predetermined value stored in controller 226. The cycle is continuously repeated as long as the signal to noise ratio (signal quality) is at least equal to the stored threshold and the decoded information is not directed to the particular radio. If the signal to noise ratio is below the threshold, the radio 200 will continue to receive the incoming signals determine the signal quality, and decode the information, until at which point the signal quality has improved. Also, if the decoded OSW signal is directing the radio 200 to one of the voice channels 106 the process is halted until the radio returns from the channel 106 to monitor the control channel 108 once again.

For a portable radio 200 having a 1-9-90 duty cycle (1% transmit, 9% receive, and 90% standby) a battery drain reduction of approximately 20 to 35% can be achieved by use of the present invention. This is due to the fact that the radio 200 can be almost totally turned off for 20 milliseconds and turned on for 26 milliseconds.

In summary, the radio 200 receives the incoming information signals (OSWs), then determines the signal quality of the received OSWs. The quality of the received signals is then compared to a predetermined value by the radio control means, controller 226. If the quality is at least as good as the stored value, the controller 226 only decodes a portion of the received signals and goes into a battery saving mode. Preferably, the battery saving mode includes turning off all the circuits in the radio 200 except for the controller 226 which is running a timer. Once the timer expires, the radio powers back up and begins to receive control channel 108 information (OSWs) once again. The above mentioned cycle is repeated until information is decoded which is directed to the radio 200. The portion of the information signals which are decoded contain all the data required by the radio. This data includes all the information carried by the 27 message bits.

The present invention can also be implemented on different types of communication systems such as systems were the radio signalling information is sent over all of the voice/data channels 106 and systems which use other forms of signalling information schemes. For example, the present invention can be applied to DIGITAL PRIVATE LINE™ (also known as DPL™) or similar coded squelch signalling systems, where there is redundant information in the signalling word. The DPL™ code is a (23,12) cyclic code which provides a private line for radio receivers. DPL™ coded squelch allows radios to stay in a squelched position until the receiver detects a valid DPL™ code, informing the radio 200 that the message is directed to it. Of the 23 bits 12 bits are information bits and 11 are parity bits, thereby the same process as described above can be implemented. Synchronization can take place by running the repeater 106 DPL™ code generators continuous (with or without activity) thereby providing a synchronization for the portable radios.

One skilled in the art can see that by designing different bit orders for the OSWs which are generated by the central controller 104, greater battery improvements can be reached with slight degradation in overall system performance (i.e. receiver warm-up times, etc.). Other methods of using the present invention can be designed in order to maximize battery savings on specific systems. By knowing the specifics of the particular system at hand, an OSW bit pattern can be developed which can maximize battery life for the communication devices (radios) 200 in the system 100.

While the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the broad scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

Claims

cairns

1. A communication device for use in a communication system having a control system which generates information signals with redundant information, comprising: a receiver for receiving the information signals; a means for determining the signal quality of the received information signals; a decoder for decoding the received information signals; and a control means for comparing the signal quality of the received information signals with a predetermined value and for actuating the decoder in order to decode only a portion of the received information signals when the signal quality of the received information signals is at least equal to the predetermined value.

2. A communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the control means places the communication device in a battery saving mode for a predetermined period of time upon decoding the portion of the received information signals.

3. A communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the communication device is a portable radio and the communication system is a trunked communication system.

4. A communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the control means compares the decoded portion of the received information signals to determine if the information is for the communication device.

5. A communication device according to claim 4, wherein the control means places the communication device in a battery saving mode for a predetermined period of time upon determining that the portion of the received information signals is not directed to the communication device.

6. In a communication system having a control system which generates information signals with redundant information, and having at least one communication device, a method for receiving data from information signals comprising the steps of: receiving at the communication device the information signals; determining the signal quality of the received information signals; comparing the signal quality of the received information signals to a predetermined value; and decoding only a portion of the received information signals when the signal quality of the received information signals is at least equal to the predetermined value in order to recover all the data contained in the information signals.

7. A method for receiving data from information signals according to claim 6, comprising the further step of: placing the communication device in a battery saving mode for a predetermined period of time upon decoding the portion of the received information signals.

8. A method for receiving data from information signals according to claim 6, comprising the further step of: determining if the decoded information signal is for the communication device.

9. A portable radio for use in a trunked communication system having a control system which generates information signals with redundant information, comprising: a receiver for receiving the information signals; a means for determining the signal quality of the received information signals; a decoder for decoding the received information signals; and a control means for comparing the signal quality of the received information signals with a predetermined value and for actuating the decoder in order to decode only a portion of the received information signals when the signal quality of the received information signals is at least equal to the predetermined value and placing the portable radio in a battery saving mode for a predetermined period of time upon decoding the portion of the received information signals.

10. A portable radio according to claim 9, wherein the signal quality of the received information signals is determined by measuring the signal to noise ratio of the received information signals.