Abstract: The client terminals in a mobile wireless communication system typically continually search and keep track of the neighbor cells surrounding the cell from which it may be receiving service. Keeping track of neighbor cells by the client terminal may require periodic measurements on the neighbor cells and these measurements contribute to power consumption in the client terminal. The power consumption for neighbor cell measurements is an important factor when the client terminal either actively receiving service from the network or in standby mode when the client terminal is not actively receiving service from the network. A method and apparatus are presented that enable the client terminal to keep track of the neighbor cells with reduced measurements and thereby with reduced power consumption.

Abstract: Channel estimation is essential in a receiver for many communication systems. In OFDM systems the channel estimation is often performed in frequency domain. Typically an FFT is used to convert a time domain signal into frequency domain signal. The sample position at which the first sample for the FFT is selected depends on the estimated timing position of the OFDM symbol boundary. Any error in the timing position estimate for the OFDM symbol boundary causes linear phase distortion in frequency domain. The linear phase distortion in frequency domain degrades the quality of channel estimation which may be performed in frequency domain. A method and apparatus are disclosed that estimate the FFT window position errors and compensate for the FFT window position error for improved channel estimation.

Abstract: In any cellular communication the network transmits broadcast information with some periodicity which is defined by the network parameters. The client terminal must acquire this system information in order to access the services from the network. The time required by the client terminal to acquire all the necessary system information to initiate network access may depend on the scheduling of the system information broadcast by the network. In some cases the scheduling information about the system information may be described in another system information message whose schedule may be fixed or known a priori. Conventional method of decoding the complete system information may involve decoding attempt for all the possible instances of transmission of the system information. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enables acquisition of the system information based on stored known instances of system information transmission. This results in reduced power consumption at the client terminal.

Abstract: In the 3GPP Long Term Evolution wireless communication system, when performing handovers, the client terminal is not required to know the Radio Frame Number of the target cell. While basic functionality of the LTE wireless communication system air interface can be maintained in the new serving cell after handover completion without knowing the Radio Frame Number of the new serving cell, it is not possible to immediately resume many other important functions of LTE wireless communication system air interface, such as CSI measurements and reporting, SRS transmission, and SPS. Such functions can only be resumed after the Radio Frame Number becomes known. Conventional methods acquire the Radio Frame Number after completion of the handover. This may delay the resumption of the CSI, SRS, and SPS functions. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable the client terminal to resume the CSI, SRS, and SPS functions immediately after handover completion.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for channel estimation in broadband wireless communication systems by using locally prevailing SINR conditions in the RF channel bandwidth. According to one aspect, the channel estimation method adapts to the local SINR across different parts of the channel bandwidth. This leads to channel estimates that are optimized to SINR conditions prevailing in different parts of the channel bandwidth. The channel estimation method described herein may result in the reduction of channel estimation errors, which in turn may lead to improved performance of a broadband wireless communication system.

Abstract: Saturation refers to the process of limiting the value of a signal to the maximum or minimum value that can be represented by a given fixed bit width representation of the signal. In fixed bit width implementations of signal processing algorithms, saturation of a signal is an important operation when the output value of a processing step exceeds the number of bits available to represent it. Saturation may be required after each elementary signal processing step. Many signal processing algorithms are often implemented in hardware. Therefore, it is important to have an efficient method that utilizes least amount of hardware to implement the saturation operation. A method and apparatus are disclosed that implement saturation function using reduced hardware requirements and reduced power consumption.

Abstract: A cover for a portable consumer electronic device is provided with an integrated mobile communication device. The integrated mobile communication device enables decoupling of the consumer electronics device from the modem used for wireless communication. This enables the certification and approval of the end consumer electronic device and the mobile wireless communication modem device to be done separately, and also enables the replacement of the mobile wireless communication modem device in an easier and less expensive manner. The user can choose among different wireless communication technologies such as 2G/3G/4G, as well as service from different network operators, without tying up the consumer electronic device with any particular mobile wireless communication modem technology or network operator. The cover includes a connector for connection between the integrated mobile communication device and the batter of the consumer electronic device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for channel estimation in broadband wireless communication systems by using locally prevailing SINR conditions in the RF channel bandwidth. According to one aspect, the channel estimation method adapts to the local SINR across different parts of the channel bandwidth. This leads to channel estimates that are optimized to SINR conditions prevailing in different parts of the channel bandwidth. The channel estimation method described herein may result in the reduction of channel estimation errors, which in turn may lead to improved performance of a broadband wireless communication system.

Abstract: Spatial Multiplexing (SM) with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) is used in many communication systems for providing high data rates. While SM-MIMO is a powerful technique for increasing the data rate and bandwidth efficiency, the decoders for SM-MIMO are highly complex. The complexity grows exponentially for optimum decoders as the number of multiplexed layers in SM-MIMO increases. Many reduced complexity suboptimal methods are used in practice that have close to optimum performance but they remain highly complex causing high power consumption which is not desirable for battery operated client terminals. Due to the parallel architecture of many of the SM-MIMO decoders, they involve computations that may eventually turn out to be redundant. A method and apparatus may include identifying and eliminating potentially redundant computations in SM-MIMO decoders based on the technique referred herein as precomputation. The removal of redundant computations enables reduced power consumption for SM-MIMO decoders.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable a client terminal to decode additional information about one or more neighboring cells while maintaining connection with a serving cell. This enables the client terminal to resume the normal user data reception and transmission faster when compared to conventional methods. A result of this is reduced latency and improved user experience under cell reselection or handover conditions, which is especially beneficial for real time services such as voice, video and media streaming.

Abstract: Wireless communication systems employ Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission and reception schemes to increase performance and the data rate of the system. A new approach for an SM-MIMO decoder that operates on the received symbols in parallel is presented. The new approach performs two different QR decompositions of the estimated channel matrix and produces two triangular matrices; one is right triangular and the other is left triangular. The modified systems of equations are processed in parallel. After each M-algorithm process has processed half of the total number of stages, total search space for the globally optimal transmitted symbol vector is reduced significantly. Finally, cumulative distance metrics are computed for the symbol sequences in the reduced search space and a global minimum is determined for the estimated transmitted symbol vector. This approach offers faster processing of the SM-MIMO signals and reduced distance metric computations and search operations.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for sharing antennas between modems for two or more different radio access technologies when two or more antennas may be present in a system. A method for coordination between the modem and the corresponding network element as well as the coordination between the two or more radio access technologies is provided. A method for determining when one of the modems does not need some of its antennas is also provided. The sharing of antennas across two or more modems enables efficient use of the antennas which is critical in small form factor mobile communication devices.

Abstract: High speed serial links are used in many applications as they provide high throughput with limited number of signals and input/output pins. Normally, the high speed links are established once at power up and rarely taken down except for maintenance purposes. When the high speed serial links are used for battery operated devices, the power consumption of these links becomes an important issue. Dynamic high speed serial link establishment and shutdown techniques are used in such application to keep the power consumption low. Frequent link establishment and shutdown may cause occasional link establishment failures leading to latencies and even complete failure to communicate between two entities. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable robust link establishment for more reliable operation and reduced latency.

Abstract: Wireless communication systems normally employ Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission and reception schemes to increase performance and the data rate of the system. Spatial Multiplexing (SM) is used in MIMO systems for increasing the data rate of the communication system by transmitting multiple data symbols on different antennas at the same time on the same frequency. The complexity of decoding spatially multiplexed signals using the optimal Maximum Likelihood (ML) algorithm is high and therefore the throughput is often limited by the processing capability of the receiver. A new approach for an SM-MIMO decoder reduces the search and sorting operations. A pre-computed list of nearest neighbors for a given modulation constellation geometry is used to reduce the search and sort operations. Sorting operations are generally difficult to parallelize leading to increased processing latency.

Abstract: In the 3GPP Long Term Evolution wireless communication system, when performing handovers, the client terminal is not required to know the Radio Frame Number of the target cell. While basic functionality of the LTE wireless communication system air interface can be maintained in the new serving cell after handover completion without knowing the Radio Frame Number of the new serving cell, it is not possible to immediately resume many other important functions of LTE wireless communication system air interface, such as CSI measurements and reporting, SRS transmission, and SPS. Such functions can only be resumed after the Radio Frame Number becomes known. Conventional methods acquire the Radio Frame Number after completion of the handover. This may delay the resumption of the CSI, SRS, and SPS functions. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable the client terminal to resume the CSI, SRS, and SPS functions immediately after handover completion.

Abstract: The client terminals in a mobile wireless communication system typically continually search and keep track of the neighbor cells surrounding the cell from which it may be receiving service. Keeping track of neighbor cells by the client terminal may require periodic measurements on the neighbor cells and these measurements contribute to power consumption in the client terminal. The power consumption for neighbor cell measurements is an important factor when the client terminal either actively receiving service from the network or in standby mode when the client terminal is not actively receiving service from the network. A method and apparatus are presented that enable the client terminal to keep track of the neighbor cells with reduced measurements and thereby with reduced power consumption.

Abstract: A cover for a portable consumer electronic device is provided with an integrated mobile communication device. The integrated mobile communication device enables decoupling of the consumer electronics device from the modem used for wireless communication. This enables the certification and approval of the end consumer electronic device and the mobile wireless communication modem device to be done separately, and also enables the replacement of the mobile wireless communication modem device in an easier and less expensive manner. The user can choose among different wireless communication technologies such as 2G/3G/4G, as well as service from different network operators, without tying up the consumer electronic device with any particular mobile wireless communication modem technology or network operator. The cover includes a connector for connection between the integrated mobile communication device and the batter of the consumer electronic device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable a client terminal to decode additional information about one or more neighboring cells while maintaining connection with a serving cell. This enables the client terminal to resume the normal user data reception and transmission faster when compared to conventional methods. A result of this is reduced latency and improved user experience under cell reselection or handover conditions, which is especially beneficial for real time services such as voice, video and media streaming.

Abstract: Modern mobile communication devices have a number of features that enable the users to stay connected with people in their contacts list. These mobile devices also keep users informed about various events such as email, text messages, etc. While these features are useful they can be intrusive or distracting under some conditions. To reduce disturbances and intrusions, various notifications that inform the user about the new events on the mobile device may be temporarily disabled. However, event notifications must be explicitly re-enabled by the user when it is free to receive the notifications. The user may forget to re-enable the event notification which may lead to missed calls, event notifications, etc. A method and apparatus are provided that disable and enable event notifications on mobile devices adaptively to allow the users to reduce the intrusiveness of the mobile device notification when not required while minimizing any missed event notifications.

Abstract: High speed serial links are used in many applications as they provide high throughput with limited number of signals and input/output pins. Normally, the high speed links are established once at power up and rarely taken down except for maintenance purposes. When the high speed serial links are used for battery operated devices, the power consumption of these links becomes an important issue. Dynamic high speed serial link establishment and shutdown techniques are used in such application to keep the power consumption low. Frequent link establishment and shutdown may cause occasional link establishment failures leading to latencies and even complete failure to communicate between two entities. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable robust link establishment for more reliable operation and reduced latency.