INTERFERENCE MANAGEMENT UTILIZING HARQ INTERLACES

• US 20090082027A1
• Filed: 09/17/2008
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Black, Peter J., Nanda, Sanjiv, Yavuz, Mehmet, Mohanty, Bibhu
• Granted Patent: US 9,078,269 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/244 Interferences in heterogeneous networks, e.g. among macro and femto or pico cells or other sector / system interference [OSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference

Abstract

Interference that occurs during wireless communication may be managed through the use of fractional reuse and other techniques. In some aspects fractional reuse may relate to HARQ interlaces, portions of a timeslot, frequency spectrum, and spreading codes. Interference may be managed through the use of a transmit power profile and/or an attenuation profile. Interference also may be managed through the use of power management-related techniques.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

determining a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

sending at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising specifying which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, the method further comprising specifying which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

6. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

an interference controller configure to determine a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

a communication controller configured to send at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the communication controller is further configured to receive information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising specifying which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, wherein the interference controller is further configured to specify which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

11. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for determining a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

means for sending at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for sending is configured to receive information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for determining is further configured to specify which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, wherein the means for determining is further configured to specify which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

16. A computer-program product, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising codes for causing a computer to;

determine a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

send at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

17. The computer-program product of claim 16, further comprising codes for causing a computer to receive information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

18. The computer-program product of claim 16, further comprising codes for causing a computer to specify which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

19. The computer-program product of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, the codes for causing a computer to specify which of the uplink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

20. The computer-program product of claim 16, wherein:

the quantity of uplink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

21. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving an indication that specifies how many uplink HARQ interlaces of a set of uplink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

selecting a subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining uplink interference on each of the uplink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the uplink HARQ interlaces have lower uplink interference.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the determination of the uplink interference comprises monitoring the uplink HARQ interlaces.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining uplink interference on the subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces;

sending information indicative of the uplink interference to a network node that sent the indication; and

receiving an adjusted indication as a result of sending the information.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising employing discontinuous transmission to restrict uplink-related communication to the selected subset of uplink HARQ interlaces.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the access point is restricted to not provide, for at least one node, at least one of the group consisting of:

signaling, data access, registration, and service.

28. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

a communication controller configured to receive an indication that specifies how many uplink HARQ interlaces of a set of uplink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

an interference controller configured to select a subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining uplink interference on each of the uplink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the uplink HARQ interlaces have lower uplink interference.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein:

the interference controller is further configured to determine uplink interference on the subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces;

the communication controller is further configured to send information indicative of the uplink interference to a network node that sent the indication; and

the communication controller is further configured to receive an adjusted indication as a result of sending the information.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the communication controller is further configured to employ discontinuous transmission to restrict uplink-related communication to the selected subset of uplink HARQ interlaces.

33. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving an indication that specifies how many uplink HARQ interlaces of a set of uplink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

means for selecting a subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining uplink interference on each of the uplink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the uplink HARQ interlaces have lower uplink interference.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein:

the means for selecting determines uplink interference on the subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces;

the means for receiving sends information indicative of the uplink interference to a network node that sent the indication; and

the means for receiving receives an adjusted indication as a result of sending the information.

37. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the means for receiving employs discontinuous transmission to restrict uplink-related communication to the selected subset of uplink HARQ interlaces.

38. A computer-program product, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising codes for causing a computer to;

receive an indication that specifies how many uplink HARQ interlaces of a set of uplink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

select a subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

39. The computer-program product of claim 38, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining uplink interference on each of the uplink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the uplink HARQ interlaces have lower uplink interference.

40. The computer-program product of claim 38, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the uplink HARQ interlaces.

41. The computer-program product of claim 38, further comprising codes for causing the computer to:

determine uplink interference on the subset of the uplink HARQ interlaces;

send information indicative of the uplink interference to a network node that sent the indication; and

receive an adjusted indication as a result of sending the information.

42. A method of communication, comprising:

determining a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

sending at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising receiving information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces is based on downlink traffic associated with the access points and/or how many of the access points are deployed.

45. The method of claim 42, further comprising specifying which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, the method further comprising specifying which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

47. The method of claim 42, wherein:

the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

48. The method of claim 42, wherein at least one of the plurality of access points is restricted to not provide, for at least one node, at least one of the group consisting of:

signaling, data access, registration, and service.

49. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

an interference controller configured to determine a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

a communication controller configured to send at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the communication controller is further configured to receive information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

51. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces is based on downlink traffic associated with the access points and/or how many of the access points are deployed.

52. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the interference controller is further configured to specify which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

53. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, wherein the interference controller is further configured to specify which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

54. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein:

the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

55. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for determining a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

means for sending at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for sending is configured to receive information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces is based on downlink traffic associated with the access points and/or how many of the access points are deployed.

58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for determining is configured to specify which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

59. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, and wherein the means for determining is configured to specify which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

60. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein:

the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points comprises a first portion of a set of HARQ interlaces assigned to a macro access point; and

a second portion of the set of HARQ interlaces assigned to the macro access point are designated for macro coverage.

61. A computer-program product, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising codes for causing a computer to;

determine a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces that may be used by any one of a plurality of access points, where the determined quantity is less than a quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces allocated for all of the access points; and

send at least one message comprising an indication of the designated quantity to the access points.

62. The computer-program product of claim 61, further comprising codes for causing the computer to receive information relating to interference associated with at least one of the access points, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces comprises adapting the quantity based on the received information.

63. The computer-program product of claim 61, wherein the determination of the quantity of downlink HARQ interlaces is based on downlink traffic associated with the access points and/or how many of the access points are deployed.

64. The computer-program product of claim 61, further comprising codes for causing the computer to specify which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by at least one of the access points.

65. The computer-program product of claim 61, wherein at least a portion of the access points are neighboring access points, further comprising codes for causing the computer to specify which of the downlink HARQ interlaces are to be used by the neighboring access points on a mutually exclusive basis to mitigate interference on at least a portion of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

66. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving an indication that specifies how many downlink HARQ interlaces of a set of downlink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

selecting a subset of the downlink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining downlink interference on each of the downlink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the downlink HARQ interlaces have lower downlink interference.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the determination of the downlink interference comprises receiving channel quality or data rate information from an access terminal associated with the access point.

69. The method of claim 66, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

70. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

determining downlink interference on the subset of the downlink HARQ interlaces;

sending information indicative of the downlink interference to a network node that sent the indication; and

receiving an adjusted indication as a result of sending the information.

71. The method of claim 66, further comprising employing discontinuous transmission to restrict downlink-related communication to the selected subset of downlink HARQ interlaces.

72. The method of claim 66, wherein the access point is restricted to not provide, for at least one node, at least one of the group consisting of:

signaling, data access, registration, and service.

73. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

a communication controller configured to receive an indication that specifies how many downlink HARQ interlaces of a set of downlink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

an interference controller configured to select a subset of the downlink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

74. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining downlink interference on each of the downlink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the downlink HARQ interlaces have lower downlink interference.

75. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

76. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the communication controller is further configured to employ discontinuous transmission to restrict downlink-related communication to the selected subset of downlink HARQ interlaces.

77. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving an indication that specifies how many downlink HARQ interlaces of a set of downlink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

means for selecting a subset of the downlink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining downlink interference on each of the downlink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the downlink HARQ interlaces have lower downlink interference.

79. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the downlink HARQ interlaces.

80. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the communication controller is further configured to employ discontinuous transmission to restrict downlink-related communication to the selected subset of downlink HARQ interlaces.

81. A computer-program product, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising codes for causing a computer to;

receive an indication that specifies how many downlink HARQ interlaces of a set of downlink HARQ interlaces may be used by an access point; and

select a subset of the downlink HARQ interlaces to use based on the indication.

82. The computer-program product of claim 81, wherein the selection of the subset comprises:

determining downlink interference on each of the downlink HARQ interlaces; and

determining which of the downlink HARQ interlaces have lower downlink interference.

83. The computer-program product of claim 81, wherein the selection of the subset comprises communicating with a neighboring access point to select mutually exclusive ones of the downlink HARQ interlaces.