Research in Motion Corporation

Blackberry Corporation

Tom Nagy

Leonardo Salomone

Arjuna Sivasithambaresa

Matt Milardovic

Leonardo Jose Silva Salomone

Arjuna Sivasithambaresan

Thomas Charles Nagy

A mobile device sends to a message a wireless network. The message indicates a plurality of different protocol types of broadcast messages to be processed as broadcast-to-unicast messages during a low power mode of operation of the mobile device. The protocol type of a given broadcast message is identifiable in a protocol identifier field of the broadcast message. The mobile device maintains its wireless receiver in a powered down state during the low power mode of operation while broadcast messages are broadcasted from the wireless network. For each broadcast message of each said indicated protocol type provided in the message sent to the wireless network, the mobile device monitors to receive via the wireless receiver a unicast message from the wireless network. The mobile device identifies broadcast message information of the broadcast message within the unicast message.

Methods and apparatus for reducing power consumption for mobile devices using broadcast-to-unicast message conversion

Techniques for use in communicating messages to a mobile device operative in a wireless network are described. A communication network receives a broadcast message which includes a protocol type identifier in a protocol type identifier field. The communication network identifies whether the protocol type of the broadcast message matches one of a plurality of protocol types stored in association with an identification of the mobile device. If the protocol type of the broadcast message matches one of the stored protocol types, then the communication network produces, from the broadcast message, a unicast message which includes information from the broadcast message, and causes the unicast message to be sent to the mobile device in the wireless network.

Methods and apparatus for use in reducing power consumption in battery-powered mobile communication devices in wireless local area networks (WLANs) are described. In one illustrative example, a mobile device in a WLAN is configured to normally refrain from receiving broadcast messages so that it may remain in a low power mode of operation. A network server is configured to convert broadcast messages into unicast messages for receipt by the mobile device only if the message or protocol type of the broadcast message is one in which the mobile device needs to process. As the mobile device is still configured to receive unicast messages, it will receive and decode such a unicast message and process the broadcast information within it accordingly. Advantageously, battery power is conserved at the mobile device.

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Waterloo, Canada

Matt Milardovic