Power saving method of mobile telephone

[0002] This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from an application entitled METHOD FOR SAVING A POWER OF BATTERY IN A PORTABLE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Jul. 31, 1998, and there duly assigned Serial No. 98-031225.

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates to a power saving method of a mobile telephone, and more particularly, to a method for saving the power of a mobile telephone by lengthening the paging check cycle at a preset time.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0006] A mobile communication terminal using a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system checks the paging channel periodically by using a channel slot system as shown in FIG. 1. The mobile communication terminal has a parameter called a slot cycle index and checks the paging channel during one designated slot in the slot cycle. If the slot cycle of the mobile communication terminal contains 16 slots (1.28 seconds), the mobile communication terminal powers on an RF (Radio Frequency) controller only for one slot (80 milliseconds). In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the fifth slot is the one slot for checking the paging channel. Thus, the mobile communication terminal, such as a mobile telephone, supplies power to the RF controller for only one slot out of 16.

[0007] Consequently, the mobile telephone periodically checks the paging channel by supplying a power to the RF controller for one slot every 16 slots even at a time when the mobile telephone is rarely used. Consequently, since the slot cycle for checking the paging channel is short, the battery of the mobile telephone is rapidly consumed.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for saving the power of the battery in a mobile telephone by selectively varying the slot cycle for checking the paging channel at a preset time.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for reducing the power consumption of the battery in a mobile telephone by half in an idle state by doubling the paging channel slot cycle to a 32-slot cycle at a time when the mobile telephone is rarely used.

[0010] To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a power saving method of a mobile telephone, including the steps of: setting a designated power saving time period; starting the power saving function at the designated time period; designating a cycle for checking a paging channel slot, and checking the paging channel slot by supplying a power of a battery to a radio frequency control part every designated cycle.

[0011] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0012] FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of a paging channel slot mode of a general mobile communication terminal;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile telephone according to the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the control process for setting the power saving time period according to the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control process for starting the power saving function according to the present invention; and

[0016] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the control process for implementing the power saving function according to the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows a controller 10 which controls the overall operation of a mobile telephone. The controller 10 controls the power of the battery by lengthening the cycle for checking the paging channel during a preset time. A Read Only Memory (ROM) 11 stores a program executed by the mobile telephone. A Random Access Memory (RAM) 12 temporarily stores data generated when the mobile telephone implements the program. An Electrically Erasable and Programable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) 13 stores the unique identification of the mobile telephone and stores data necessary for processing a call. A key entry part 14 has numeral keys for dialing and has function keys such as a menu key and a select key. The key entry part 14 generates key data by external key manipulation and supplies the key data to the controller 10. A display 15, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) for example, displays data under the control of the controller 10. A radio frequency (RF) part 17 tuned to an RF channel amplifies a received audio signal and converts an RF signal received from an antenna 16 into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. A modulator/demodulator 18 modulates and demodulates a digital signal. A power supply 19 supplies power to the modulator/demodulator 18 and the RF part 17 under the direction of the controller 10. A timer 20 counts is present time and notifies the controller 10 of the present time.

[0018] The control process for setting the power saving time period is shown in FIG. 3. In order to set the specific time period during which the power saving function is used, for example, when the mobile phone is rarely used, the user presses the time select key. The controller 10 checks if the time select key is pressed at step 101. If it is pressed, a message requesting that the power saving time period be entered is displayed on the display 15 at step 102. The user enters the power saving time period, for example, 24:00-06:00, through the key entry part 14 at step 103. The power saving time period is stored in the RAM 12 at step 104.

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates the control process for starting the power saving function when the set power saving time period is reached. The controller 10 monitors if the present time coincides with the set power saving time period, for example, 24:00-06:00 at step 201. If not, the controller 10 clears a paging slot skip flag at step 202. If the present time coincides with the set power saving time period, the controller 10 checks if the paging slot skip flag has been set at step 203. If it has not been set, the controller 10 sets the paging slot skip flag at step 204.

[0020] FIG. 5 shows the control process for implementing the power saving function. The controller 10 checks if the paging slot skip flag has been set at step 301. If it has not been set, the controller 10 sets the paging slot flag at step 304. At step 305, the controller 10 executes the paging slot check cycle. During the one designated paging slot in the cycle, the controller 10 directs the power supply 19 to supply power to the RF part 17 and the modulator/demodulator 18 and checks the paging channel. In FIG. 1, for example, the power would be on during the fifth paging channel slot (80 milliseconds) every 16 slots (1.28 seconds).

[0021] At step 301, the controller 10 checks if the paging slot skip flag has been set. If it has, the controller 10 checks if the paging slot flag has been set at step 302. If so, the controller 10 clears the paging slot flag at step 303 and then returns to step 301 without checking the paging channel slot for the 16-slot cycle (1.28 seconds). If the paging slot flag has not been set, step 302 is followed by step 304 to set the paging slot flag. At step 305, the controller 10 controls the power supply 19 to supply a power to the RF part 17 and the modulator/demodulator 18, and implements the paging slot check routine for the designated paging channel slot (80 milliseconds). Thus the paging channel slot is checked every 32 slots (2.56 seconds). As a result, since the paging channel slot is checked not every 16 slots but every 32 slots, the power consumption of a battery can be reduced by half.

[0022] As described above, a cycle for checking a paging channel slot is lengthened to 32 slots (2.56 seconds) from 16 slots (1.28 seconds) for the set power saving time. Therefore, the power consumption of a battery is reduced and the time during which the battery can be used is lengthened.

[0023] While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated above. For example, the cycle for checking a paging channel slot may be 64 or 128 slots. Therefore, the present invention should be understood as including all possible embodiments and modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.