Methods and apparatus for touch temperature management based on power dissipation history

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a technique for touch temperature management of a wireless communications device based on power dissipated over time, and possibly internal temperature readings. For example, the information about power dissipated over time can be utilized along with monitored internal temperatures of a device's internal circuitry to reduce transmit power and / or data rates as required in order to keep a surface temperature of the wireless device below a specified limit. A knowledge of how the device's touch temperature varies with the dissipated power and a knowledge of the power dissipation history can be utilized to determine when to reduce the transmit power in order to avoid overheating (e.g., exceeding the touch temperature limit).

Description

[0001] Claim Priority Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119 [0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 386,060, filed September 24, 2010, entitled "Touch temperature management algorithm based on power dissipation history and internal temperature readings," which provisional application has been assigned To the assignee of the present application, it is hereby expressly incorporated by reference. technical field [0003] In general, certain aspects of the invention relate to wireless communications, and in particular, to methods and apparatus for touch temperature management of wireless communications devices based on power consumption history. Background technique [0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system r...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, existing methods for measuring touch temperature can often be expensive and inefficient

[0008] Methods known in the art for limiting the touch temperature of a wireless communication device may throttle, for example, transmit power and / or data rate prematurely or more often than needed

These methods may not even be aware of touch temperature, and transmit power and data rates may be throttled based on one or more internal integrated circuit (IC) temperatures observed in the wireless device

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