Methods and apparatus for intelligent power reduction in communications systems
View Patent ↗Methods and apparatus for power control in a communications device are described. Bonding of channels in a modem may be dynamically adjusted responsive to user activity or demand for bandwidth. Bonded channel configurations may be adjusted to single channel configurations for low power operation. Modem configuration may be dynamically adjusted so as to maintain only required synchronization and system information to facilitate rapid data transfer resumption upon demand.
1. A method for controlling power consumption in a modem, comprising:
bonding a plurality of channels to create a first bonded channel set having a first number of channels, the first number of channels including a primary channel from which the modem derives timing related information and one or more secondary channels which are processed using the timing related information derived from the primary channel;
processing, using the derived timing related information, data received via the first bonded channel set;
receiving a request for bandwidth adjustment;
responsive to the request for bandwidth adjustment, reducing the number of channels in the first bonded channel set so as to define a second bonded channel set having only the primary channel; and
processing data provided from the second bonded channel set in the modem.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for bandwidth adjustment is associated with a requirement to reduce power consumption.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for bandwidth adjustment is associated with a requirement to reduce data throughput.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for bandwidth adjustment is generated in response to a determination that bandwidth usage on said first bonded channel set is low and is unlikely to increase for a period of time.
5. The method of claim 1 comprising:
receiving a second request for bandwidth adjustment; and
increasing the number of channels in the second bonded channel set so as to define a third bonded channel set comprising the primary channel and one or more secondary channels.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second request for bandwidth adjustment is generated in response to a determination that bandwidth usage on said second bonded channel set is likely to increase.
7. The method of claim 1 , comprising dynamically adjusting a bandwidth of a front end filter of the modem so as to facilitate processing of the second bonded channel set.
8. The method of claim 1 , comprising dynamically adjusting the clock rate of an analog-to-digital converter of said modem so as to facilitate processing of the second bonded channel set.
9. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
monitoring traffic received by said modem;
building a statistical usage model based on the monitoring; and
controlling a number of bonded channels based on the statistical usage model.
10. A device comprising:
circuitry operable to:
bond a plurality of channels to create a first bonded channel set having a first number of channels, the first number of channels including a primary channel from which the modem derives a timing related information and one or more secondary channels which are processed using the timing related information derived from the primary channel;
process, using the derived timing related information, data received via the first bonded channel set;
receive a request for bandwidth adjustment;
responsive to the request for bandwidth adjustment, reduce the number of channels in the first bonded channel set so as to define a second bonded channel set having only the primary channel; and
process data provided from the second bonded channel set in the modem.
11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the request for bandwidth adjustment is associated with a requirement to reduce power consumption.
12. The device of claim 10 , wherein the request for bandwidth adjustment is associated with a requirement to reduce data throughput.
13. The device of claim 10 , wherein the request for bandwidth adjustment is generated in response to a determination that bandwidth usage on said first bonded channel set is low and is unlikely to increase for a period of time.
14. The device of claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is operable to:
receive a second request for bandwidth adjustment; and
increase the number of channels in the second bonded channel set so as to define a third bonded channel set comprising the primary channel and one or more secondary channels.
15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the second request for bandwidth adjustment is generated in response to a determination that bandwidth usage on said second bonded channel set is likely to increase.
16. The device of claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is operable to dynamically adjust a bandwidth of a front end filter of the modem so as to facilitate processing of the second bonded channel set.
17. The device of claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is operable to dynamically adjust the clock rate of an analog-to-digital converter of said modem so as to facilitate processing of the second bonded channel set.
18. The device of claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is operable to:
monitor traffic received by said modem;
build a statistical usage model based on the monitoring; and
control a number of bonded channels based on the statistical usage model.