Method and apparatus for managing power of WLAN module in portable terminal

1. A method for managing power of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module in a portable terminal, the method comprising:

operating the WLAN module according to a Power Save Mechanism (PSM);

determining whether the portable terminal operates in a sleep state; and

changing a duration of at least one of a beacon interval and a Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) interval of the PSM depending on whether the portable terminal operates in the sleep state.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the changing of the duration of the at least one of the beacon interval and the DTIM interval comprises:

while the portable terminal operates in the sleep state, increasing the duration of the at least one of the beacon interval and the DTIM interval; and

when the sleep state of the portable terminal ends, restoring the duration of the at least one of the beacon interval and the DTIM interval that was increased.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of whether the portable terminal operates in the sleep state comprises:

when a user's input does not occur within a predefined time, determining that the portable terminal operates in the sleep state.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein, when it has been determined that the portable terminal operates in the sleep state, determining that the portable terminal no longer operates in the sleep state when the user's input occurs or a packet is received.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of whether the portable terminal operates in the sleep state comprises:

when a user's input occurs within a predefined time, determining that the portable terminal does not operate in the sleep state.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the PSM comprises a technique in which the WLAN module repeatedly switches between an awake state where the WLAN module operates with power of a predefined level or more to transmit/receive a packet, and a sleep state where the WLAN module operates with power of less than the predefined level and so packet transmission/reception is not performed.

7. An apparatus for managing power of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module in a portable terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a host processor for detecting whether the portable terminal operates in a sleep state; and

the WLAN module that operates according to a Power Save Mechanism (PSM), and that changes a duration of at least one of a beacon interval and a Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) interval of the PSM depending on whether the portable terminal operates in the sleep state.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the WLAN module increases the duration of the at least one of the beacon interval and the DTIM interval while the portable terminal operates in the sleep state, and restores the duration of the at least one of the beacon interval and the DTIM interval that was increased when the sleep state of the portable terminal ends.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein after the host processor has determined that the portable terminal operates in the sleep state, the host processor determines the portable terminal no longer operates in the sleep state when a signal informing that the user's input occurs or a packet is received from the outside is received.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the host processor determines the portable terminal operates in the sleep state when a user's input does not occur within a predefined time.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the host processor determines the portable terminal does not operate in the sleep state when a user's input occurs within a predefined time.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the PSM comprises a technique in which the WLAN module repeatedly switches between an awake state where the WLAN module operates with power of a predefined level or more to transmit/receive a packet, and a sleep state where the WLAN module operates with power of less than the predefined level and so packet transmission/reception is not performed.