Power management in a portable communication device based on radio configuration version

Abstract

A portable communication device transmits, to a communication network, a radio configuration (RC) request indicator requesting assignment of a power saving radio configuration for reverse link transmissions. The power saving radio configuration is one of a plurality of radio configurations including the power saving radio configuration and at least one other radio configuration defined by a communication standard different than the communication standard defining the power saving radio configuration. Average power consumption at the portable device when the portable communication device participates in the call using the power saving radio configuration is less than if the other radio configuration is used for the call.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process for power management performed in a portable communication device capable of operating in accordance with any one of a plurality of radio configurations, each radio configuration defining a set of traffic channel formats characterized by physical layer parameters including at least data rates and spreading rates, the process comprising:
 determining a remaining battery charge is below a threshold;   transmitting, in response to the determining step, a radio configuration request indicator to a base station to request assignment of a first power saving radio configuration of the plurality of radio configurations, the first power saving radio configuration resulting in less power consumption for reverse link transmissions than at least one other radio configuration of the plurality of radio configurations; and   receiving an assignment of a second power saving radio configuration that is different than the first power saving radio configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 measuring the remaining charge of a battery within the portable communication device.   
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting a battery level indicator indicating the remaining battery charge.   
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein battery level indicator is transmitted within a Status Message using a dedicated channel. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the assigned second power saving radio configuration results in use of more communication resources than the at least one other radio configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the assigned second power saving radio configuration is selected from the group consisting of RC1 and RC2 and the at least one other radio configuration is selected from the group consisting of RC3 and RC4. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 forming a request message to include the radio configuration request indicator; and   transmitting the request message to the base station.   
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein forming the request message comprises forming a Service Request Message based on a Service Configuration record. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein forming the request message comprises forming a Short Message Service (SMS) message. 
     
     
         10 . A portable communication device capable of operating in accordance with any one of a plurality of radio configurations, each radio configuration defining a set of traffic channel formats characterized by physical layer parameters including at least data rates and spreading rates, the portable communication device comprising:
 a transmitter configured to transmit a radio configuration request indicator to a base station to request assignment of a first power saving radio configuration for reverse link transmissions, the first power saving radio configuration resulting in less power consumption for reverse link transmissions than at least one other radio configuration of the plurality of radio configurations; and   a receiver configured to receive an assignment of a second power saving radio configuration that is different than the first power saving radio configuration.   
     
     
         11 . The portable communication device of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a controller configured to determine a remaining battery charge is below a threshold and to generate the first power saving radio configuration in response to determining the remaining battery charge is below the threshold.   
     
     
         12 . The portable communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a battery level indicator indicating the remaining battery charge. 
     
     
         13 . The portable communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the assigned second power saving radio configuration results in use of more communication resources than the at least one other radio configuration. 
     
     
         14 . The portable communication device of  claim 13 , wherein the assigned second power saving radio configuration is selected from the group comprising RC1 and RC2 and the another radio configuration is selected from the group comprising RC3 and RC4. 
     
     
         15 . The portable communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to form a request message to include the radio configuration request indicator and wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the request message to the base station. 
     
     
         16 . The portable communication device of  claim 15 , wherein the request message comprises a Service Request Message based on a request record. 
     
     
         17 . The portable communication device of  claim 15 , wherein the request message comprises a Short Message Service (SMS) message. 
     
     
         18 . A base station configured to provide wireless services to a portable communication device capable of operating in accordance with any one of a plurality of radio configurations, each radio configuration defining a set of traffic channel formats characterized by physical layer parameters including at least data rates and spreading rates, the base station comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive a radio configuration request indicator from a portable communication device, the radio configuration request indicator requesting assignment of a first power saving radio configuration for reverse link transmissions, the first power saving radio configuration resulting in less average power consumption at the portable communication device than at least one other radio configuration; and   a controller configured to assign a second power saving radio configuration that is different than the first power saving radio configuration to the portable communication device based on the radio configuration request indicator received from the portable communication device.   
     
     
         19 . The base station of  claim 18 , wherein the controller is further configured to assign the second power saving radio configuration based further on a remaining user capacity of the base station. 
     
     
         20 . The base station of  claim 18 , wherein the controller is further configured to assign the second power saving radio configuration based further on remaining battery charge of a battery within the portable communication device. 
     
     
         21 . A portable communication device capable of operating in accordance with any one of a plurality of radio configurations, the portable communication device comprising:
 a controller configured to determine that an emergency call has been initiated;   a transmitter configured to transmit, in response to the determination that the emergency call has been initiated, a revision value identifying a mobile protocol revision to a base station, the mobile protocol revision associated with a first power saving radio configuration for reverse link transmissions, the first power saving radio configuration resulting in less average power consumption at the portable communication device than another radio configuration associated with another mobile protocol revision; and   a receiver configured to receive an assignment of a second power saving radio configuration that is different than the first power saving radio configuration.   
     
     
         22 . The portable communication device of  claim 21 , wherein the first mobile protocol revision is defined by an IS-95 CDMA communication standard and the another mobile protocol revision is defined by an IS-2000 CDMA communication standard.