CN116744422A

CN116744422A - Wireless electronic device with total exposure rate (TER) control and method of operating the same

Info

Publication number: CN116744422A
Application number: CN202310246412.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李康敏; 俞炫硕
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-10
Filing date: 2023-03-10
Publication date: 2023-09-12

Abstract

A wireless electronic device with Total Exposure (TER) control and a method of operating the same are disclosed. An electronic device includes: a plurality of antennas; a transmitter configured to be selectively connected to at least one antenna of the plurality of antennas; and a controller configured to set a transmission power limit of the transmitter. The controller is further configured to: a residual TER value of a Total Exposure Rate (TER) measurement period is calculated based on a transmit power of a transmitter output through the at least one antenna, a power control mode of the electronic device is set based on a comparison between the residual TER value and a first reference TER value, and a transmit power limit of a target window is set based on the power control mode.

Description

Wireless electronic device with Total Exposure Rate (TER) control and method of operating the same

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application is based on and claims priority of korean patent application nos. 10-2022-0030329 and 10-2022-0075976, filed in the korean intellectual property office on 3-10 and 21-2022, respectively, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to controlling Total Exposure (TER) in a wireless electronic device.

Background

A wireless electronic device may transmit Radio Frequency (RF) signals through an antenna to communicate with another device. Electromagnetic waves generated by the transmitted RF signal may have a harmful effect on the human body. To reduce the deleterious effects of electromagnetic waves, authorized authorities have specified TER measured when an electronic device transmits RF signals. Therefore, when transmitting RF signals, the electronic device must satisfy TER specifications. TER can be calculated by an equation combining Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) measurements and Power Density (PD) measurements after normalization to their respective limits.

In order for the electronic device to meet the TER specification condition, it may be necessary to reduce the transmission power at which the electronic device transmits the RF signal. Such a decrease in transmission power may cause a decrease in communication performance of the electronic device. Therefore, there is a need for a method of minimizing degradation of communication performance of an electronic device while satisfying TER specifications.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide an electronic device capable of providing optimal communication performance while satisfying a Total Exposure (TER) specification condition.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided an electronic device including: a plurality of antennas; a transmitter configured to be selectively connected to at least one antenna of the plurality of antennas; and a controller. The controller is configured to: setting a transmission power limit of the transmitter, wherein the controller sets the transmission power limit by performing: calculating a "residual TER value" of a TER measurement period based on a transmission power of the transmitter output through the at least one antenna; setting a power control mode of the electronic device based on a comparison between the residual TER value and a first reference TER value; and setting a transmit power limit of a target window based on the power control mode.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided an electronic device including: a plurality of antennas; a transmitter configured to be selectively connected to at least one antenna of the plurality of antennas; and a controller configured to: setting a transmission power limit of a transmitter, wherein the controller sets the transmission power limit by performing: setting a TER allocation percentage for a plurality of communication networks based at least in part on whether the electronic device is using only one of the plurality of communication networks; calculating, for each of the plurality of communication networks, a residual TER value for a TER measurement period based on a transmit power of the transmitter and the TER allocation percentage; setting a power control mode of the electronic device for each of the plurality of communication networks based on a comparison of the residual TER value to a first reference TER value; and setting a transmit power limit of a target window based on the power control mode for each of the plurality of communication networks.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided an operation method of an electronic device, wherein in the operation method, a controller performs operations including: calculating a time slot TER value based on a transmission power of the electronic device; calculating a window TER value by adding together slot TER values of a plurality of slots included in the window; calculating a residual TER value of a TER measurement period based on the window TER value and a constraint TER value; setting a power control mode of the electronic device based on a comparison between the residual TER value and a first reference TER value; setting an available TER value of a target window based on the power control mode; and setting a transmit power limit for the target window based on the available TER values for the target window.

Drawings

Embodiments of the inventive concept will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication system including an electronic device according to an embodiment;

fig. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining a Total Exposure Rate (TER) measurement period of an electronic device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a more detailed structure of a controller of an electronic device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of operation of an electronic device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method performed by an electronic device to calculate a residual TER value, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method of setting a power control mode performed by an electronic device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method performed by an electronic device to set an available TER value when a power control mode is a save mode, according to an embodiment;

fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a more detailed structure of a controller of an electronic device according to another embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method of operation of an electronic device according to another embodiment;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are flowcharts illustrating in more detail a method of setting a TER allocation percentage performed by an electronic device according to another embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of operations when an electronic device is operating in a limited power mode, according to another embodiment; and

fig. 14 is a block diagram of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication system including an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1, a wireless communication system may include an electronic device 100 and a base station 200. The electronic device 100 and the base station 200 may communicate over a downlink channel 10 and an uplink channel 20.

The electronic device 100 may be a device capable of performing wireless communication, may be fixed or mobile, and may be any of various devices capable of transmitting and receiving data and control information by communicating with the base station 200. The electronic device 100 may also be referred to as a terminal equipment, a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), a User Terminal (UT), a Subscriber Station (SS), a wireless device, a handheld device, etc.

Base station 200 may generally refer to a fixed station that communicates with electronic device 100 and other base stations and exchanges data and control information by communicating with electronic device 100 and other base stations. The base station 200 may also be referred to as a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a Base Transceiver System (BTS), an Access Point (AP), etc.

The wireless communication network between the electronic device 100 and the base station 200 may support communication for multiple users by sharing available network resources among the users. For example, in a wireless communication network, information may be transmitted using various methods such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like.

The electronic device 100 may include a plurality of antennas 110, a transmitter 120, and a controller 130.

The antenna 110 may transmit RF signals through the uplink channel 20 and receive RF signals through the downlink channel 10.

The transmitter 120 may be selectively connected to at least one of the plurality of antennas 110. The transmitter 120 may output transmission power to the antenna 110 to transmit an RF signal via the antenna 110.

The controller 130 may adjust the transmission power of the transmitter 120. In other words, the controller 130 may adjust the transmission power of the transmitter 120 so that a desired RF signal may be finally output via the antenna 110. In an embodiment, the controller 130 may directly adjust the transmission power of the transmitter 120, and in another embodiment, the controller 130 may control the transmission power of the transmitter 120 through a separate Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC).

The controller 130 may be implemented using a processor, a Numerical Processing Unit (NPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), or the like.

The controller 130 may set a transmit power limit of the transmitter 120. The controller 130 may control the transmitter 120 to transmit the RF signal at a transmit power less than or equal to the transmit power limit.

The transmit power of the transmitter 120 may be adjusted based on uplink Transmit Power Control (TPC) commands transmitted from the base station 200 to the electronic device 100 over the downlink channel 10. For example, to maintain a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of an RF signal received from the electronic device 100 at a target level, the base station 200 may transmit TPC commands to the electronic device 100 based on the estimated SIR. The electronic device 100 may then adjust the transmit power of the RF signal transmitted to the base station 200 through the uplink channel 20 based on the TPC command received via the controller 130.

The transmission power of the transmitter 120 may be related to the energy radiated from the electronic device 100. That is, a strong electromagnetic wave may be generated from the electronic apparatus 100 by a Radio Frequency (RF) signal generated with high transmission power, and may have a harmful effect on a user. The detrimental effect of such electromagnetic waves on the user can be measured by a specific absorption percentage (SAR) or Power Density (PD). Further, SAR and PD measured when the electronic device 100 transmits an RF signal may be limited using a Total Exposure Rate (TER) value specification condition, and the TER value specification condition may be defined as shown in equation 1 below:

[ equation 1]

In equation 1, SAR _limit Representing SAR limits, which may be determined by authorized institutions _avr，n Average value, PD, representing SAR values measured during an nth measurement period _limit Representing PD limits that can be determined by authorized institutions, and PD _avr，m Representing PD values measured during an mth measurement periodAverage value of (2).

SAR and PD can each be calculated by using well known mathematical formulas. In this case, SAR and PD may be proportional to the transmission power of the electronic apparatus 100. Because TER is calculated as the sum of SAR and PD, TER may be proportional to the transmit power of electronic device 100. Accordingly, by increasing or decreasing the transmission power of the electronic apparatus 100, the TER measured when the electronic apparatus 100 transmits an RF signal can be increased or decreased.

In order to satisfy the TER specification condition defined by equation 1 above, the controller 130 of the electronic device 100 according to the embodiment may set the transmission power limit of the transmitter 120. To this end, the controller 130 may calculate a "residual TER value" defined herein as a TER measurement period based on the transmission power of the transmitter 120, set a power control mode of the electronic device 100 based on a comparison of the residual TER value with a first reference TER value, and set a transmission power limit of a "target window" based on the power control mode. Briefly, the residual TER value may be a measure of how close a TER measured during a TER measurement period is to a previously set "limit TER" (e.g., maximum TER). The TER measurement period and the target window are described in more detail below with reference to fig. 2 and 3, and the operation of the controller 130 is described in more detail below with reference to fig. 4 to 13.

Fig. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining a TER measurement period of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 2, it can be seen that the plurality of blocks are arranged in a horizontal direction, which is a time direction. Each block above in fig. 2 may represent a window. Each window may have a preset time period. In an example, the window may have a time period of 250 ms.

As seen by the blocks at the bottom of fig. 2, one window may be subdivided into N slots. A slot may represent a unit of time for transmitting a plurality of communication symbols.

In an embodiment, the controller 130 may calculate TER on a slot-by-slot basis based on the transmit power of the transmitter 120, and the "slot TER value" may represent the TER calculated for any given slot.

The TER measurement period may refer to a period during which TER is measured in order to determine whether a TER specified condition is satisfied. The TER measurement period may include M windows.

The TER measurement period may be set based on the communication band of the electronic apparatus 100. For example, when the communication band of the electronic device 100 is below 3 gigahertz (GHz), the TER measurement period may be 100s and include 400 windows. When the communication band of the electronic device 100 is higher than or equal to 3GHz but lower than 6GHz, the TER measurement period may be 60s and include 240 windows. When the communication band of the electronic apparatus 100 is higher than or equal to 6GHz, the TER measurement period may be 4s and may include 16 windows.

Fig. 3 shows a histogram of TER values measured over time. In the graph of fig. 3, the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents TER value, and each interval may correspond to a window. In this case, a "window TER value" representing a TER value calculated for one window may be calculated by adding together the slot TER values of a plurality of slots included in the window.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may calculate a residual TER value based on a comparison between the window TER value and the "limit TER value" during the TER measurement period. The restricted TER value may indicate a maximum TER value allowed during a TER measurement period. In addition, the electronic apparatus 100 may set an "available TER value", which is a maximum TER of signal energy applicable to a target window in a period immediately after the TER measurement period, based on the residual TER value.

After setting the available TER value for the target window, the electronic device 100 may include the window in the updated TER measurement period. The electronic device 100 may exclude the oldest window of the plurality of windows included in the previous TER measurement period from the updated TER measurement period. The electronic apparatus 100 may then set a window in a period immediately after the updated TER measurement period as a next target window, and set an available TER value of the next target window based on the residual TER determined for the updated TER measurement period.

For example, in fig. 3, the first TER measurement period may be from time t ₀ By time t _M And contains window W ₁ To W _M . The restricted TER value may be set in advance for the first TER measurement period. The first residual TER value may be calculated as a window W ₁ To W _M The difference between the sum of the measured TER and the limit TER value. The first residual TER value may be used to generate a signal at time t _M And t _M+1 Target window W appearing therebetween _M+1 A first available TER value of (c). Thereafter, the second TER measurement period may be time t ₁ And t _M+1 Time period in between, which includes window W _M+1 Without including window W ₁ . Subsequently, a second residual TER value may be calculated for a second TER measurement period to obtain a window W _M The target window then corresponds to the second available TER value. In the second TER measurement period, the second residual TER value may be determined using the same restricted TER value.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a more detailed structure of a controller of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 4, the controller 130 may include a residual TER value calculator 131, a power control mode setting circuit 132, and a transmission power limit setting circuit 133.

The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a residual TER value of the TER measurement period based on the transmission power of the transmitter 120. The residual TER value may be a value indicating how much less the constrained TER value is than the TER value used during the TER measurement period.

In detail, the residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a slot TER value based on the transmission power of the transmitter 120. The residual TER value calculator 131 may identify the transmission power of the transmitter 120 in a slot in which the slot TER value is to be calculated, and calculate the slot TER value based on the transmission power.

The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a window TER value based on a plurality of slot TER values. The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate the window TER value by adding together the slot TER values of a plurality of slots included in the window for which the TER value is calculated.

The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a residual TER value based on a plurality of window TER values and a constraint TER value.

The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate the accumulated TER value based on a plurality of window TER values. The accumulated TER value may be a value obtained by accumulating the TER values used during the TER measurement period. The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate the accumulated TER value by adding window TER values respectively corresponding to a plurality of windows included in the TER measurement period. In addition, the residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate the residual TER value by subtracting the accumulated TER value from the constraint TER value.

The power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the power control mode of the electronic device 100 based on the residual TER value and the first reference TER value. The first reference TER value may refer to a value used as a reference in determining whether a TER value specification condition is satisfied even when a high TER value is used in the target window. For example, the first reference TER value may be set to 10% of the limit TER value.

In detail, when the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value, the power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the power control mode based on a change in the window TER value within the TER measurement period.

The change in the window TER value within the TER measurement period may indicate whether the window TER value increased or decreased during the TER measurement period. The change in window TER value within the TER measurement period may be determined based on an overall increase/decrease in window TER value, a window TER value of an oldest window of the plurality of windows within the TER measurement period, and the like.

The change in the window TER value within the TER measurement period may be calculated based on the window TER value, the correlation coefficient between antennas 110 included in the electronic apparatus 100, and the backoff TER value.

The correlation coefficient between the antennas 110 may be a coefficient for compensating for a difference that does not occur when a first antenna used at a first interval in the TER measurement period and a second antenna used at a second interval that occurs after the first interval. In other words, the correlation coefficient between antennas may be a coefficient for compensating for a difference in TER values that occurs due to the first antenna and the second antenna transmitting signals in different directions. Accordingly, when the window TER value is calculated based on the second antenna, the window TER value calculated when the first antenna is used can be reduced or increased by multiplying the TER value calculated based on the first antenna by the correlation coefficient between antennas.

The backoff TER value may refer to the minimum TER value that is considered to be used in the window. Thus, when the window TER value of a particular window of the plurality of windows within the TER measurement period is less than the backoff TER value, the backoff TER value may be used in place of the window TER value of the corresponding window when determining a change in the window TER value within the TER measurement period.

The power control mode setting circuit 132 may set a pre-power saving mode ("pre-saving mode") to the power control mode when the window TER value is increasing within the TER measurement period. The pre-saving mode may be a mode for limiting the use of transmission power in advance in a case where the possibility that the TER value specification condition is satisfied even if a large amount of power is used during the target window but the TER value specification condition is not satisfied over time is high. Therefore, even when the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value, the power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the pre-save mode to the power control mode when the window TER value is increasing within the TER measurement period.

The power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the maximum power mode to the power control mode when the window TER value is decreasing within the TER measurement period. The maximum power mode may be a mode that allows as much transmission power as possible to be used in a case where a TER value specification condition is satisfied even when a large amount of power is used during a target window and the TER value specification condition is likely to be satisfied with the passage of time. Accordingly, when the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value and the window TER value is decreasing within the TER measurement period, the power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the maximum power mode to the power control mode.

When the residual TER value is smaller than the first reference TER value, the power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the power saving mode ("saving mode") to the power control mode. The power control mode may be a mode for restricting the use of transmission power when excess power is used in the target window and thus the TER value specification condition is likely not satisfied.

The transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the transmission power limit of the target window based on the power control mode set by the power control mode setting circuit 132.

In detail, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the available TER value of the target window based on the power control mode.

When the power control mode is the save mode, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may determine how many percent of the limit TER values correspond to residual TER values and set the available TER values to values between the minimum TER value and the backoff TER value. The minimum TER value may be a TER value corresponding to a minimum transmit power required to transmit a signal via the antenna 110.

The transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the available TER value based on the second reference TER value and the third reference TER value. The second reference TER value and the third reference TER value may be values that are used as references in determining how much transmission power the electronic apparatus 100 is to save in the save mode and in setting the available TER values. In this case, both the second reference TER value and the third reference TER value may be smaller than the first reference TER value. For example, a first reference TER value may correspond to 10% of the restricted TER value, a second reference TER value may correspond to 9% of the restricted TER value, and a third reference TER value may correspond to 3% of the restricted TER value.

When the power control mode is the save mode and the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the second reference TER value, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the backoff TER value to the available TER value. When the power control mode is the save mode and the residual TER value is smaller than the second reference TER value but greater than or equal to the third reference TER value, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set a value obtained by multiplying the ratio of the residual TER to the first reference TER value by the backoff TER value as the usable TER value. When the residual TER value is smaller than the third reference TER value, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the minimum TER value to the available TER value.

When the power control mode is the pre-save mode, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the backoff TER value to the available TER value. That is, even when the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value, in the pre-save mode, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the backoff TER value instead of the required TER value to the available TER value, thereby preventing a case where the TER value specification condition is not satisfied.

When the power control mode is the maximum power mode, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the required TER value to the available TER value. The required TER value may be a TER value corresponding to a maximum value of transmission power required when the electronic apparatus 100 transmits a signal via the antenna 110. When the electronic apparatus 100 transmits a signal using a transmission power corresponding to a desired TER value, optimal communication performance can be achieved.

The transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the transmission power limit based on the available TER value. The transmission power limit setting circuit 133 can set the transmission power limit by using equation 1 and a well-known mathematical formula for calculating the SAR value and the PD value.

When the electronic apparatus 100 according to the embodiment described above is used, by calculating the residual TER value of the TER measurement period, setting the power control mode based on the first reference TER value and the variation of the window TER value, and setting the transmission power limit based on the power control mode, it is possible to provide the optimum communication performance while satisfying the TER value specification condition.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method of operation of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 5, the controller 130 may calculate a residual TER value based on the transmission power in operation S510. The method of calculating the residual TER value performed by the controller 130 may be shown in more detail in fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method of calculating a residual TER value performed by an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 6, the controller 130 may calculate a slot TER value based on the transmission power of the transmitter 120 in operation S610. The controller 130 may calculate the slot TER value by using equation 1 above and well-known mathematical formulas for calculating SAR values and PD values.

In operation S620, the controller 130 may calculate a window TER value by adding a plurality of slot TER values together. The controller 130 may calculate the window TER value by adding together a plurality of slot TER values included in the same window.

In operation S630, the controller 130 may calculate an accumulated TER value by adding together a plurality of window TER values within the TER measurement period. For example, when one window has a length of 250ms and the TER measurement period has a length of 100s, the controller 130 may calculate the accumulated TER value by adding together 400 window TER values respectively corresponding to 400 windows included in the TER measurement period.

In operation S640, the controller 130 may calculate a residual TER value by subtracting the accumulated TER value from the limiting TER value.

Returning to fig. 5, in operation S520, the controller 130 may set a power control mode of the electronic device 100 based on the residual TER value and the first reference TER value. The method of setting the power control mode performed by the controller 130 is described in more detail with reference to fig. 7.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method of setting a power control mode performed by an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 7, the controller 130 may determine whether the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value in operation S710.

When it is determined that the residual TER value is less than the first reference TER value, the controller may perform operation S720 to set the saving mode to the power control mode.

When it is determined that the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value, the controller 130 may perform operation S730 to determine whether the window TER value is increasing.

When it is determined that the window TER value is increasing, the controller 130 may perform operation S740 to set the pre-save mode to the power control mode.

When it is determined that the window TER value is decreasing, the controller 130 may perform operation S750 to set the maximum power mode to the power control mode.

Referring back to fig. 5, the controller 130 may set a transmission power limit of the target window based on the power control mode in operation S530.

First, the controller 130 may set the available TER value of the target window based on the power control mode.

When the power control mode is the save mode, the controller 130 may set the available TER value based on the second reference TER value and the third reference TER value. The method performed by the controller 130 to set the available TER value when the power control mode is the save mode may be shown in more detail in fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a method performed by an electronic device to set an available TER value when a power control mode is a save mode, according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 8, in operation S810, the controller 130 may determine whether the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the second reference TER value.

When it is determined that the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the second reference TER value, the controller 130 may perform operation S820 to set the backoff TER value to the available TER value.

When it is determined that the residual TER value is less than the second reference TER value, the controller 130 may perform operation S830 to determine whether the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the third reference TER value.

When it is determined that the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the third reference TER value, the controller 130 may perform operation S840 to set a value obtained by multiplying a ratio of the residual TER value to the first reference TER value by the backoff TER value as the available TER value.

When it is determined that the residual TER value is less than the third reference TER value, the controller 130 may perform operation S850 to set the minimum TER value to the available TER value.

Returning to fig. 7, when the power control mode is the pre-save mode (operation S740), the controller 130 may set the backoff TER value to the available TER value. Further, when the power control mode is the maximum power mode, the controller 130 may set the available TER value to a TER value that meets specifications (e.g., regulations).

Subsequently, the controller 130 may set a transmit power limit for the target window based on the available TER values for the target window.

When the operating method of the electronic apparatus 100 according to the embodiment described above is used, by setting the transmission power limit based on the residual TER value and the variation of the window TER value in the TER measurement period, it is possible to provide the optimum communication performance while satisfying the TER value specification condition.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a more detailed structure of the controller 130' of the electronic device according to another embodiment. The controller 130' is an example of the controller 130 of fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 9, according to another embodiment, the controller 130' of the electronic device 100 may include a residual TER value calculator 131, a power control mode setting circuit 132, a transmission power limit setting circuit 133, a TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134, and a limited power mode setting circuit 135.

The limited power mode setting circuit 135 may operate before the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134, the residual TER value calculator 131, the power control mode setting circuit 132, and the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 operate. The limited power mode setting circuit 135 may determine whether the electronic device 100 is operating in the limited power mode. When the electronic device 100 needs to maintain consistent communication quality as in the call mode, the limited power mode setting circuit 135 may determine that the electronic device 100 is operating in the limited power mode.

The limited power mode setting circuit 135 may set the preset reference transmit power to the transmit power limit when the electronic device 100 is operating in the limited power mode. For example, the reference transmission power may be a transmission power corresponding to the backoff TER value.

The TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentages of the plurality of communication networks based on whether the electronic device 100 is using one communication network.

The communication network may be a network for communicating between the electronic apparatus 100 and the base station 200, between the electronic apparatus 100, or between the base stations 200 by using a fifth generation (5G) (or New Radio (NR)), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wiMAX, wiFi, CDMA, global system for mobile communications (GSM), wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), or any other suitable wireless communication technology.

The TER allocation percentage may be a percentage of the total available TER values that indicates a TER value that is usable by each of the plurality of communication networks. For example, when the electronic apparatus 100 sets the TER allocation percentage of the first communication network to 60% and sets the TER allocation percentage of the second communication network to 40%, the first communication network may use a transmission power corresponding to a maximum of 60% of the limiting TER value, and the second communication network may use a transmission power corresponding to a maximum of 40% of the limiting TER value.

When the electronic device 100 is using only one communication network, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may determine whether the electronic device 100 is operating in dual SIM mode. The dual SIM mode may be a mode in which the electronic device 100 accesses and uses each of a plurality of communication networks via a separate SIM.

The TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set a preset dual SIM TER allocation percentage to a TER allocation percentage when the electronic device 100 is operating in dual SIM mode. In this case, even when the electronic apparatus 100 is using one communication network, the dual SIM TER allocation percentage may be set so that the TER allocation percentage of the communication network being used is not set to 100%, but a part of the restricted TER value is allocated to the communication network not being used, for example, by setting the TER allocation percentage of the communication network being used to 75%, and the TER allocation percentage of the communication network not being used to 25%. This is because the speed of information exchange between different SIMs in the dual SIM mode is low.

When it is determined that the electronic device is not operating in dual SIM mode, TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage by taking into account the effects of the communication network that is not being used.

For example, in the case where the communication network that is not being used has never been used during the TER measurement period, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage of the communication network that is being used to 100% and the TER allocation percentage of the communication network that is not being used to 0%. On the other hand, when the communication network that is not being used has been used during the TER measurement period, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage of the communication network that is not being used to a value other than 0% based on the TER allocation percentage in the window immediately preceding the target window. For example, when the TER allocation percentage of the communication network used in the window immediately preceding the target window is 85%, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage of the communication network used in the target window to a value slightly higher than the TER allocation percentage in the immediately preceding window, for example, 90%.

When the electronic device 100 is using multiple communication networks, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation guide percentages for the multiple communication networks based on the TER usage percentages for the multiple communication networks in the window preceding the target window. The TER allocation guidance percentage may be a percentage that is used as a reference when setting the TER allocation percentage. When the TER usage percentage of the first network is 35% and the TER usage percentage of the second network is 55% in the window preceding the target window, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation guidance percentage of the first network to 40% and the TER allocation guidance percentage of the second network to 60%.

When the electronic device 100 is using multiple communication networks, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage for each communication network based on the corresponding TER allocation guide percentages and whether the TER allocation percentages remain converged.

Whether the TER allocation percentage remains converged may be determined based on whether the TER allocation percentage has converged in a plurality of windows within the TER measurement period.

When the TER allocation percentage does not remain converged in the case where the electronic apparatus 100 is using a plurality of communication networks, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage by adjusting the TER allocation guide percentage. In other words, the TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation percentage to converge with time.

The TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set the TER allocation guide percentage to the TER allocation percentage when the TER allocation percentage remains converged in the case where the electronic apparatus 100 is using a plurality of communication networks.

The TER allocation percentage setting circuit 134 may set an instantaneous maximum TER value and a controlled TER value for each communication network.

The instantaneous maximum TER value may be a TER value corresponding to the maximum transmit power required to transmit signals via the antenna 110, and may be adjusted and set for each communication network according to the corresponding TER allocation percentage.

The controlled TER value is a value that indicates whether additional adjustment is needed relative to the available TER values and may be set to a particular percentage (e.g., 50%) of the instantaneous maximum TER value.

The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a residual TER value of a TER measurement period for each communication network based on the transmission power of the transmitter 120 and the TER allocation percentage. In other words, the residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate residual TER values corresponding to the TER measurement periods, respectively, for each communication network.

In detail, for each communication network, the residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a slot TER value based on the transmission power of the transmitter 120, and calculate a window TER value by adding together slot TER values of a plurality of slots included in the window.

The residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate a residual TER value based on the TER allocation percentage, the window TER value, and the constraint TER value for each communication network. For each communication network, the residual TER value calculator 131 may calculate an accumulated TER value by adding together window TER values of a plurality of windows included in the TER measurement period, and then calculate the residual TER value by subtracting the accumulated TER value from a value obtained by multiplying the TER allocation percentage of the corresponding communication network by the limit TER value. Thus, unlike the embodiments described with reference to fig. 4 to 8, the residual TER value calculator 131 may individually calculate the residual TER value of each communication network by using a value obtained by multiplying the corresponding TER allocation percentage by the constraint TER value, instead of using only the constraint TER value.

The power control mode setting circuit 132 may set a power control mode of the electronic device 100 for each communication network based on the residual TER value and the first reference TER value.

The power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the power control mode individually for each communication network. For example, the power control mode setting circuit 132 may set the power control mode of the first communication network to the saving mode and the power control mode of the second communication network to the maximum power mode.

The method of setting the power control mode performed by the power control mode setting circuit 132 may be substantially the same as the method described above with reference to fig. 4 to 8.

The transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set the transmission power limit of the target window based on the power control mode for each communication network.

In detail, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may set an available TER value of the target window based on the power control mode, and set a transmission power limit based on the available TER value, for each communication network. Accordingly, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 can set the transmission power limit individually for each communication network.

The method of setting the transmission power limit performed by the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may be substantially the same as the method described above with reference to fig. 4 to 8.

After setting the available TER value based on its power control mode for each communication network, the transmission power limit setting circuit 133 may reset the minimum value among the available TER value, the instantaneous maximum TER value, and the controlled TER value to the available TER value of the corresponding communication network.

When the electronic apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of fig. 9 as described above is operated, even in the case where a plurality of communication networks are simultaneously used, by setting the transmission power limit based on the TER allocation percentage, it is possible to provide the optimum communication performance while satisfying the TER value specification condition.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart of a method of operating an electronic device including the controller 130' described above according to another embodiment.

Referring to fig. 10, in operation S1010, the controller 130' may set a TER allocation percentage based at least in part on whether the electronic device 100 is using only one communication network. The method of setting the TER allocation percentage performed by the controller 130' may be shown in more detail in fig. 11 and 12.

Fig. 11 and 12 are flowcharts illustrating in more detail a method of setting a TER allocation percentage performed by an electronic device according to another embodiment.

First, referring to fig. 11, in operation S1110, the controller 130' may determine whether the electronic device 100 is using only one communication network.

When it is determined that the electronic device 100 is using one communication network, the controller 130' may perform operation S1120 to determine whether the electronic device is operating in the dual SIM mode.

When it is determined that the electronic device 100 is operating in the dual SIM mode, the controller 130 may perform operation S1130 to set the dual SIM TER allocation percentage to the TER allocation percentage.

When it is determined that the electronic apparatus 100 is not operating in the dual SIM mode, the controller 130 may perform operation S1140 to set the TER allocation percentage by considering the influence of the communication network that is not being used.

When it is determined that the electronic apparatus 100 is not using one communication network, the controller 130' may perform operation S1210 of fig. 12.

Referring to fig. 12, the controller 130' may set a TER allocation guidance percentage in operation S1210. The controller 130' may set a TER allocation guidance percentage for the plurality of communication networks based on the TER usage percentages for the plurality of communication networks in a window preceding the target window.

In operation 1220, the controller 130' may determine whether the TER allocation percentage for each communication network remains converged.

When it is determined that the TER allocation percentage remains converged, the controller 130' may perform operation S1230 to set the TER allocation guide percentage to the TER allocation percentage.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the TER allocation percentage does not remain converged, the controller 130' may perform operation S1240 to set the TER allocation percentage by adjusting the TER allocation guide percentage.

Returning to fig. 10, the controller 130' may calculate a residual TER value based on the transmission power and the TER allocation percentage in operation S1020.

For each of the plurality of communication networks, the controller 130' may calculate a time slot TER value based on the transmit power, calculate a window TER value by summing the plurality of time slot TER values together, and calculate a residual TER value based on the TER allocation percentage, the window TER value, and the constraint TER value. In this case, the controller 130' may calculate the accumulated TER value by adding a plurality of window TER values together, and then calculate the residual TER value by subtracting the accumulated TER value from a value obtained by multiplying the TER allocation percentage of the corresponding communication network by the limit TER value.

In operation S1030, the controller 130' may set a power control mode of the electronic device 100 based on the residual TER value and the first reference TER value. The controller 130' may set a power control mode for each communication network, and a specific method of setting the power control mode may be substantially the same as that described above with reference to operation S520 of fig. 5.

In operation S1040, the controller 130' may set a transmission power limit of the target window based on the power control mode. The controller 130' may set a transmission power limit for each communication network, and a specific method of setting the transmission power limit may be substantially the same as that described above with reference to operation S530 of fig. 5.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart of operations when an electronic device is operating in a limited power mode, according to another embodiment.

Referring to fig. 13, before operation S1010 of fig. 10, the controller 130 may determine whether the electronic device 100 is operating in the limited power mode in operation S1310.

When the electronic apparatus 100 is not operating in the limited power mode, the controller 130 may perform operation S1040 of fig. 10 to set the transmission power limit of the target window by using the same method as described above with reference to fig. 10 to 12.

When the electronic device 100 is operating in the limited power mode, the controller 130 may perform operation S1320 to set the reference transmission power of the target window to the transmission power limit of the target window. In other words, when the electronic apparatus 100 is operating in the limited power mode, the transmission power limit of the target window may be set in a different manner from that described above with reference to fig. 10 to 12.

Referring to fig. 14, a wireless communication device (or User Equipment (UE)) 2000 may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) 2100, a special instruction set processor (ASIP) 2200, a memory 2300, a main processor 2400, and a main memory 2500. Two or more of the ASIC 2100, ASIP 2200, and host processor 2400 may communicate with each other. Further, at least two of the ASIC 2100, ASIP 2200, memory 2300, main processor 2400, and main memory 2500 may be embedded in a single chip.

ASIC 2100 is an integrated circuit tailored for a particular application and may include, for example, an RFIC, modulator, demodulator, etc. ASIP 2200 may support a specific instruction set for a particular application and execute instructions included in the instruction set. Memory 2300 may be in communication with ASIP 2200 and store, as a non-volatile storage, a plurality of instructions executed by ASIP 2200. For example, memory 2300 may include any type of memory accessible by ASIP 2200, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof.

The main processor 2400 may control the UE 2000 by executing a plurality of instructions. For example, the main processor 2400 may control the ASIC 2100 and the ASIP 2200, and process data received through a wireless communication network or user input to the UE 2000. Main memory 2500 may be in communication with main processor 2400 and store, as a non-transitory storage device, a plurality of instructions that are executed by main processor 2400. For example, main memory 2500 may include any type of memory accessible by main processor 2400, such as RAM, ROM, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof.

Operations of components of the electronic apparatus 100 or an operation method of the electronic apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiments may be included in at least one of the components included in the wireless communication device 2000 of fig. 14. For example, at least one operation of the electronic device 100 of fig. 1 or the operation method of the electronic device 100 may be implemented as a plurality of instructions stored in the memory 2300, and the ASIP 2200 may perform at least one operation of the electronic device 100 or the operation method by executing the plurality of instructions stored in the memory 2300. In another example, at least one operation of the electronic device 100 of fig. 1 or the method of operation of the electronic device 100 may be implemented as a hardware block and included in the ASIC 2100. In another example, at least one operation of the electronic apparatus 100 or the operation method of the electronic apparatus 100 of fig. 1 may be implemented as a plurality of instructions stored in the main memory 2500, and the main processor 2400 may perform at least one operation of the electronic apparatus 100 or the operation method of the electronic apparatus 100 by executing the plurality of instructions stored in the main memory 2500.

The embodiments have been set forth above in the drawings and specification. Although the embodiments have been described using specific terms in the present specification, these are for the purpose of explaining the technical spirit of the inventive concept and are not to limit the meaning or scope of the inventive concept set forth in the claims. Thus, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein and that other embodiments are possible that are equivalent. Therefore, the true scope of the inventive concept should be defined by the technical ideas of the appended claims.

While the present inventive concept has been particularly shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a plurality of antennas;

a transmitter configured to be selectively connected to at least one antenna of the plurality of antennas; and

a controller configured to:

the transmit power limit of the transmitter is set,

wherein the controller sets the transmit power limit by performing:

Calculating a residual rate of exposure (TER) value of a total TER measurement period based on a transmission power of the transmitter output through the at least one antenna;

setting a power control mode of the electronic device based on a comparison between the residual TER value and a first reference TER value; and

the transmit power limit of the target window is set based on the power control mode.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the TER measurement period is set based on a communication band of the electronic device.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein each of a plurality of windows within the TER measurement period consists of a plurality of time slots, and the controller is further configured to:

for each of the plurality of windows, calculating a respective slot TER value for the plurality of slots of the window based on the transmit power of the transmitter;

calculating a plurality of window TER values, wherein each window TER value of the plurality of window TER values is calculated by adding together slot TER values of a plurality of slots included in the window; and

the residual TER value is calculated based on the plurality of window TER values and a constraint TER value.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the controller is further configured to:

calculating an accumulated TER value by adding together a plurality of window TER values respectively corresponding to a plurality of windows included in the TER measurement period; and

the residual TER value is calculated by subtracting the accumulated TER value from the limit TER value.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

setting the power control mode based on a change in window TER values over the TER measurement period when the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the first reference TER value; and

when the residual TER value is less than the first reference TER value, the power control mode is set to a power save mode.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the change in the window TER value over the TER measurement period is calculated based on the window TER value, a correlation coefficient between the plurality of antennas, and a backoff TER value.

7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to:

setting a pre-save mode to the power control mode when the window TER value is increasing within the TER measurement period; and

When the window TER value is decreasing within the TER measurement period, a maximum power mode is set to the power control mode.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein,

the controller is further configured to:

setting an available TER value for the target window based on the power control mode, and

the transmit power limit is set based on the available TER value.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

setting the available TER value based on a second reference TER value and a third reference TER value when the power control mode is a power saving mode;

setting the available TER value to a backoff TER value when the power control mode is a pre-save mode; and

setting a desired TER value to the available TER value when the power control mode is a maximum power mode; and

wherein the second reference TER value is less than the first reference TER value, and

the third reference TER value is less than the second reference TER value.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to:

when the power control mode is a power saving mode:

When the residual TER value is greater than or equal to the second reference TER value, setting the available TER value to the backoff TER value;

when the residual TER value is smaller than the second reference TER value but greater than or equal to the third reference TER value, setting a value obtained by multiplying a ratio of the residual TER value to the first reference TER value by the backoff TER value as the usable TER value; and

when the residual TER value is less than the third reference TER value, the available TER value is set to a minimum TER value.

11. An electronic device, comprising:

a plurality of antennas;

a controller configured to:

setting a transmit power limit of the transmitter;

setting a Total Exposure Rate (TER) allocation percentage for a plurality of communication networks based at least in part on whether the electronic device is using only one of the plurality of communication networks;

calculating, for each of the plurality of communication networks, a residual TER value for a TER measurement period based on a transmit power of the transmitter and the TER allocation percentage;

setting a power control mode of the electronic device for each of the plurality of communication networks based on a comparison between the residual TER value and a first reference TER value; and

The transmit power limit of a target window is set based on the power control mode for each of the plurality of communication networks.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to:

determining whether the electronic device is operating in dual SIM mode when the electronic device is using only one communication network;

setting the TER allocation percentage by taking into account the effect of a communication network not being used when the electronic device is not operating in the dual SIM mode; and

when the electronic device is operating in the dual SIM mode, a preset dual SIM TER allocation percentage is set to the TER allocation percentage.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to:

setting a TER allocation guidance percentage for a plurality of communication networks based on a TER usage percentage for the plurality of communication networks in a window preceding the target window when the electronic device is using the plurality of communication networks; and

the TER allocation percentage is set based on the TER allocation guide percentage and whether the TER allocation percentage remains converged.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to:

when the electronic device is using the plurality of communication networks:

setting the TER allocation percentage by adjusting the TER allocation guide percentage when the TER allocation percentage does not remain converged; and

setting the TER allocation guide percentage to the TER allocation percentage when the TER allocation percentage remains converged.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to:

calculating a time slot TER value for each of the plurality of communication networks based on a transmit power of the at least one of the plurality of antennas;

calculating a window TER value by adding together, for each of the plurality of communication networks, the time slot TER values of a plurality of time slots included in the window; and

for each of the plurality of communication networks, calculating the residual TER value based on the TER allocation percentage, the window TER value, and a constraint TER value.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to:

Calculating an accumulated TER value by adding together window TER values respectively corresponding to a plurality of windows included in the TER measurement period for each of the plurality of communication networks; and

for each of the plurality of communication networks, calculating the residual TER value by subtracting the cumulative TER value from a value obtained by multiplying the TER allocation percentage for that communication network by the restricted TER value.

17. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to:

setting an instantaneous maximum TER value and a controlled TER value for each of the plurality of communication networks;

setting an available TER value of the target window based on the power control mode for each of the plurality of communication networks; and

the transmit power limit is set for each of the plurality of communication networks based on the available TER value.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to: after setting the available TER value based on the power control mode, resetting a minimum value among the available TER value, the instantaneous maximum TER value, and the controlled TER value to the available TER value for each of the plurality of communication networks.

19. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to:

before determining whether the electronic device is using only one communication network, determining whether the electronic device is operating in a limited power mode, and setting a preset reference transmit power to the transmit power limit when the electronic device is operating in the limited power mode.

20. A method of operation of an electronic device, wherein the electronic device includes a plurality of antennas, a transmitter configured to be selectively connected to at least one of the plurality of antennas, and a controller configured to set a transmit power limit of the transmitter, the method of operation comprising:

performing, by the controller, operations comprising:

calculating a total slot exposure (TER) value based on a transmit power of the electronic device;

calculating a window TER value by adding together slot TER values of a plurality of slots included in the window;

calculating a residual TER value of a TER measurement period based on the window TER value and a constraint TER value;

setting a power control mode of the electronic device based on a comparison between the residual TER value and a first reference TER value;

Setting an available TER value of a target window based on the power control mode; and

the transmit power limit of the target window is set based on the available TER values of the target window.