LOAD-ADAPTIVE UPLINK TRANSMIT POWER

• US 20100167780A1
• Filed: 11/30/2009
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Attar, Rashid Ahmed Akbar, Ghosh, Donna, Lott, Christopher Gerard
• Granted Patent: US 8,725,190 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/522
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1825 Adaptation of specific ARQ protocol parameters according to transmission conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/286 during data packet transmission, e.g. high speed packet access [HSPA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/343 taking into account loading or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal

Abstract

An access terminal of a wireless communication system includes: an antenna; a transceiver; a load level monitor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to receive, from the transceiver via the antenna, and analyze indications of reverse link wireless network traffic load over a period of time in a region of the wireless network containing the access terminal; a load level module configured to combine the indications over the period of time to determine a load level associated with the access terminal; and a transmission module configured to cause the transceiver to change from transmitting data packets in accordance with a first value of a transmission characteristic to transmitting data packets in accordance with a second value of the transmission characteristic in response to the load level being below a first load threshold value.

Claims

1. An access terminal of a wireless communication system, the access terminal comprising:

an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless communications;

a transceiver coupled to the antenna;

a load level monitor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to receive, from the transceiver via the antenna, and analyze indications of reverse link wireless network traffic load over a period of time in a region of the wireless network containing the access terminal;

a load level module communicatively coupled to the load level monitor and configured to combine the indications over the period of time to determine a load level associated with the access terminal; and

a transmission module, communicatively coupled to the load level module and the transceiver, configured to cause the transceiver to change from transmitting data packets in accordance with a first value of a transmission characteristic to transmitting data packets in accordance with a second value of the transmission characteristic in response to the load level being below a first load threshold value.

2. The access terminal of claim 1 wherein the second value is such that the data packets transmitted in accordance with the second value will have a lower-delay termination target than the packets transmitted in accordance with the first value.

3. The access terminal of claim 2 wherein the transmission characteristic is a transmit power used by the transceiver to transmit data packets, and wherein the second value is higher than the first value.

4. The access terminal of claim 3 wherein the transmission module is configured to cause the transceiver to transmit data packets at a power level that is less than or equal to a transmit power limit value.

5. The access terminal of claim 4 wherein the transmit power limit value is a ratio relative to a traffic-to-pilot ratio, and wherein the access terminal is configured to wirelessly receive the transmit power limit value via the antenna and store the transmit power limit value.

6. The access terminal of claim 2 wherein the transmission module is further configured to transmit third data packets from the access terminal using the first value in response to the load level being above a second threshold level.

7. The access terminal of claim 6 wherein the first threshold load level and the second threshold load level are equal.

8. The access terminal of claim 2 wherein the transmission module is configured to determine that transmitting the second data packets using a lower-delay termination target is permitted.

9. The access terminal of claim 1 wherein the load level module is configured to average the indications over the period of time to determine the load level associated with the access terminal.

10. A load-adaptive method of transmitting information in a wireless network from an access terminal, the method comprising:

transmitting first data packets from the access terminal using a transmission characteristic of a first value;

receiving, at the access terminal, indications of reverse link wireless network traffic load over a period of time in a region of the wireless network containing the access terminal;

combining the indications over the period of time to determine a load level associated with the access terminal;

determining whether the load level is below a first threshold load level; and

transmitting second data packets from the access terminal using a transmission characteristic of a second value in response to the load level being determined to be below the first threshold level.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the combining comprises averaging.

11. The method of claim 11 wherein the second data packets are transmitted with a lower-delay termination target than the first packets.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the transmission characteristic is a transmit power used by the access terminal to transmit data packets, and wherein the second value is higher than the first value.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the second value is less than or equal to a transmit power limit value.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the transmit power limit value is a ratio relative to a traffic-to-pilot ratio, and wherein the method further comprises wirelessly receiving the transmit power limit value at the access terminal.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

determining, with the transmission characteristic at the second value, whether the load level is above a second threshold load level; and

transmitting third data packets from the access terminal using the transmission characteristic of the first value in response to the load level being determined to be above the second threshold level.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first threshold load level and the second threshold load level are equal.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising determining that transmitting the second data packets using a lower-delay termination target is permitted.

19. A computer program product comprising:

a processor-readable medium storing processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to;

transmit first data packets from an access terminal of a wireless communication network using a transmit power of a first value;

receive indications of reverse link wireless network traffic load over a period of time in a region of the wireless communication network containing the access terminal;

combine the indications over the period of time to determine a load level associated with the access terminal; and

transmit second data packets from the access terminal using a transmit power of a second value, higher than the first value, in response to the load level being below the first threshold level.

20. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to transmit the second data packets such that the second value is less than or equal to a transmit power limit value.

21. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the transmit power limit value is a ratio relative to a traffic-to-pilot ratio.

22. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the second value is sufficiently high to reduce a termination goal of the second data packets relative to the first data packets.

23. The computer program product of claim 19 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to reduce the transmit power to transmit third data packets, after the second data packets, from the access terminal using the transmit power of the first value in response to the load level being above the second threshold level while transmitting the second data packets.

24. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the first threshold load level and the second threshold load level are equal.

25. The computer program product of claim 19 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to inhibit transmission of the second data packets at the transmit power of the second level unless an indication is received that using a higher transmit power by the access terminal is permitted.

26. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the instructions configured to cause the processor to combine the indications are configured to cause the processor to average the indications.

27. An access terminal configured to provide a load-adaptive termination goal, the access terminal comprising:

an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless communications;

a transceiver coupled to the antenna;

transmitting means, communicatively coupled to the transceiver, for transmitting first data packets in accordance with a first termination goal in response to a traffic load of a wireless network associated with the access terminal being below a first threshold and for transmitting second data packets in accordance with a second termination goal in response to the traffic load of the wireless network being above a second threshold, the first termination goal being lower than the second termination goal.

28. The access terminal of claim 27 wherein the transmitting means are configured to transmit the first data packets with a higher transmit power level than the second data packets.

29. The access terminal of claim 27 wherein the transmitting means are configured to transmit the first data packets at a power level up to a transmit power limit value.

30. The access terminal of claim 29 wherein the transmit power limit value is a ratio relative to a traffic-to-pilot ratio, and wherein the access terminal further comprises receiving means for receiving the transmit power limit value via the antenna and the transceiver and storing the transmit power limit value.

31. The access terminal of claim 27 wherein the transmitting means are further for changing from transmitting the second data packets to transmitting the first data packets in response to the traffic load being above the second threshold.

32. The access terminal of claim 27 wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are equal.

33. The access terminal further comprising load means, communicatively coupled to the transmitting means, for averaging indications over time of traffic load of the wireless network associated with the access terminal and providing an indication of the traffic load to the transmitting means.