Electronic device and method for controlling communication thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018249409-A1
Application number	US-201815903245-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 23, 2018
Priority date	Feb 24, 2017
Publication date	Aug 30, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A communication control method of an electronic device includes operating the electronic device in a first mode having a first operating cycle, and measuring a location of the electronic device. The method further includes, based on a result of measuring the location of the electronic device, and while in a first measuring cycle, determining whether the electronic device is located within at least one predetermined area. Also, the method includes changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device when the electronic device is located within the at least one predetermined area. The at least one predetermined area is at least one of a geo-fence and a communication accessible area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A communication control method of an electronic device, the method comprising:
operating the electronic device in a first mode having a first operating cycle; measuring a location of the electronic device; based on a result of measuring the location of the electronic device, and while in a first measuring cycle, determining whether the electronic device is located within at least one predetermined area; and changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device when the electronic device is located within the at least one predetermined area, wherein the at least one predetermined area is at least one of a geo-fence and a communication accessible area.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device includes changing the first operating cycle of the first mode from the first operating cycle to a second operating cycle, and
wherein the second operating cycle is greater than the first operating cycle.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device includes changing the first measuring cycle of the electronic device from the first measuring cycle to a second measuring cycle, and
wherein the second measuring cycle is greater than the first measuring cycle.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
continue operating in the first mode having the first operating cycle when the electronic device is not located within the at least one predetermined area.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether a condition for second mode entry is satisfied; and operating the electronic device in a second mode when the condition for second mode entry is satisfied, wherein the condition for second mode entry condition includes a first condition where a motion of the electronic device is sensed for a specific time period through a motion sensor of the electronic device, a second condition where access point (AP) information of Wi-Fi is detected from a specific area, and/or a third condition where an other electronic device having a Bluetooth pairing history with the electronic device is connected through Bluetooth to the electronic device.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
determining whether a condition for first mode entry is satisfied; and operating the electronic device again in the first mode having the first operating cycle when the condition for first mode entry is satisfied, wherein the condition for first mode entry includes a fourth condition where another motion of the electronic device is sensed through the motion sensor, and/or a fifth condition where the motion sensor is booted up at regular intervals.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether a motion of the electronic device is detected through a motion sensor of the electronic device; and further changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device when the motion of the electronic device is not detected for a specific time period through the motion sensor.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the further changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device includes changing the first operating cycle of the first mode to a third operating cycle, and
wherein the third operating cycle is greater than the first operating cycle.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the further changing the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device includes changing the first measuring cycle of the electronic device to a third measuring cycle, and
wherein the third measuring cycle is greater than the first measuring cycle.

10 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the first mode is at least one of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode and an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) mode,
wherein the second mode is a power saving mode, wherein the first mode enables a communication module of the electronic device to be active or inactive, and wherein the second mode enables a processor of the electronic device and the communication module to be in a sleep state.

11 . An electronic device comprising:
a motion sensor; a communication module; a processor; and a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
operate the electronic device in a first mode having a first operating cycle,
measure a location of the electronic device through the communication module,
based on a result of measuring the location of the electronic device, and while in a first measuring cycle, determine whether the electronic device is located within at least one predetermined area, and
change the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device when the electronic device is located within the at least one predetermined area, and
wherein the at least one predetermined area is at least one of a geo-fence and a communication accessible area.

12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
change the first operating cycle of the first mode from the first operating cycle to a second operating cycle, and change the first measuring cycle of the electronic device from the first measuring cycle to a second measuring cycle, wherein the second operating cycle is greater than the first operating cycle, and wherein the second measuring cycle is greater than the first measuring cycle.

13 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
determine whether a condition for second mode entry is satisfied, and operate the electronic device in a second mode when the condition for second mode entry is satisfied, and wherein the condition for second mode entry includes a first condition where a motion of the electronic device is sensed for a specific time period through the motion sensor, a second condition where access point (AP) information of Wi-Fi is detected from a specific area, and/or a third condition where an other electronic device having a Bluetooth pairing history with the electronic device is connected through Bluetooth to the electronic device.

14 . The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
determine whether a condition for first mode entry is satisfied, and operate the electronic device again in the first mode having the first operating cycle when the condition for first mode entry is satisfied, and wherein the condition for first mode entry includes a fourth condition where a motion of the electronic device is sensed through the motion sensor, and/or a fifth condition where the motion sensor is booted up at regular intervals.

15 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
determine whether a motion of the electronic device is detected through the motion sensor, and further change the first operating cycle of the first mode or the first measuring cycle of the electronic device when the motion of the electronic device is not detected for a specific

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Youngha
• Kim Sungjun
• Namgoong Boram
• Shin Youngsup
• Yu Seunghyuk
• Yun Yongseob
• Lee Gwanghui

Classifications

• H04W52/0216 Primary

  using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame · CPC title

• H04W4/021 Primary

  Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences · CPC title

• H04L67/12

  specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks · CPC title

• H04W52/0254

  detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device · CPC title

• Y02D30/70

  in wireless communication networks · CPC title