The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 15, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 21, 1998
Jay Arnold Foster, Austin, TX (US);
Xircom, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for reducing power consumption of an auto-negotiating ethernet transceiver by enabling a driver for the transceiver to alternate between a typical higher-power energy consumption mode to a lower-power energy consumption mode when a network link is no longer detected by the transceiver. A new algorithm is included within the driver which is activated by the driver detecting the absence of the network link. The driver causes the portable computer to send instructions to the ethernet transceiver so that the transceiver continues to check for the network link. If the network link is not detected, the driver causes the ethernet transceiver to power down into a lower power consumption mode for a specific period of time. After the period of time has elapsed, the driver causes the ethernet transceiver to enter a normal higher power consumption mode during which the ethernet transceiver again checks for the network link. This process repeats itself until the portable computer is shut down or the network link is reestablished.