Mitigating impact of power imbalance on remote data rate in wireless local area network

• US 8,879,445 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2012
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sadek, Ahmed K., Mantravadi, Ashok, Kadous, Tamer Adel
• Primary Examiner(s): LEVITAN, DMITRY
• Application Number:
  US13/547,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20130107868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/328, 370/342, 370/349
• US Class Current: 370/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1692 Physical properties of the supervisory signal, e.g. acknowledgement by energy bursts
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1854 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• 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 52/325 Power control of control or pilot channels

Abstract

A method for mitigating the impact of a power imbalance on a remote data rate in a wireless local area network (WLAN) includes transmitting a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet at a first transmit power level to a remote device. The method further includes transmitting, to the remote device, a WLAN data packet at a second transmit power level that is lower than the first transmit power level of the WLAN ACK packet. Another method for mitigating the impact of a power imbalance on a remote data rate in a wireless local area network (WLAN) may include selecting a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet transmit rate independent from a rate at which a WLAN data packet is received. This method further includes transmitting, to a remote device, a WLAN ACK packet at the selected WLAN ACK packet transmit rate.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, comprising:

transmitting, by a multi-radio user equipment (UE), a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet at a first transmit power level to a WLAN access point in response to a first WLAN data packet; and

transmitting, by the multi-radio UE to the WLAN access point, a second WLAN data packet at a second transmit power level that is lower than the first transmit power level of the WLAN ACK packet.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the first transmit power level for the WLAN ACK packet according to a link quality of a broadband wireless modem of the multi-radio UE during operation of a WLAN radio of the multi-radio UE.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the first transmit power level for the WLAN ACK packet according to a level of interference to a broadband radio modem of the multi-radio UE from the WLAN ACK packet.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing an ACK power back-off level for a WLAN ACK packet transmit power level;

storing a data power back-off level for a WLAN data packet transmit power level;

transmitting the WLAN ACK packet at the first transmit power level based on the stored ACK power back-off level; and

transmitting the second WLAN data packet at the second transmit power level based on the stored data power back-off level.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

setting the stored data power back-off level according to a path-loss between a multi-radio station and a WLAN access point, an ACK packet physical layer rate and a predetermined power sensitivity of a receiver of the WLAN access point for receiving an ACK packet at the ACK packet physical layer rate.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

setting the stored data power back-off level according to a received signal strength of a wireless modem of the multi-radio UE, a path-loss between the multi-radio station and the WLAN access point, and a predetermined power sensitivity of a receiver of the WLAN access point for receiving an ACK packet at an ACK packet physical layer rate.

7. A multi-radio user equipment (UE) configured for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured;

to transmit a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet at a first transmit power level to a WLAN access point in response to a first WLAN data packet; and

to transmit, to the WLAN access point, a second WLAN data packet at a second transmit power level that is lower than the first transmit power level of the WLAN ACK packet.

8. The multi-radio UE of claim 7, in which the at least one processor is further configured to select the first transmit power level for the WLAN ACK packet according to a link quality of a broadband wireless modem of the multi-radio UE during operation of a WLAN radio of the multi-radio UE.

9. The multi-radio UE of claim 7, in which the at least one processor is further configured to select the first transmit power level for the WLAN ACK packet according to a level of interference to a broadband radio modem of the multi-radio UE from the WLAN ACK packet.

10. The multi-radio UE of claim 7, in which the at least one processor is further configured:

to store an ACK power back-off level for a WLAN ACK packet transmit power level;

to store a data power back-off level for a WLAN data packet transmit power level;

to transmit the WLAN ACK packet at the first transmit power level based on the stored ACK power back-off level; and

to transmit the second WLAN data packet at the second transmit power level based on the stored data power back-off level.

11. The multi-radio UE of claim 10, in which the at least one processor is further configured to set the stored data power back-off level according to a path-loss between the multi-radio UE and the WLAN access point, an ACK packet physical layer rate and a predetermined power sensitivity of a receiver of the WLAN access point for receiving an ACK packet at the ACK packet physical layer rate.

12. The multi-radio UE of claim 10, in which the at least one processor is further configured to set the stored data power back-off level according to a received signal strength of a wireless modem of the multi-radio multi-radio UE, a path-loss between the multi-radio multi-radio UE and the WLAN access point, and a predetermined power sensitivity of a receiver of the WLAN access point for receiving an ACK packet at an ACK packet physical layer rate.

13. A computer program product configured for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising;

program code to transmit, by a multi-ratio user equipment (UE), a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet at a first transmit power level to a WLAN access point in response to a first WLAN data packet; and

program code to transmit, by the multi-radio (UE) to the WLAN access point, a second WLAN data packet at a second transmit power level that is lower than the first transmit power level of the WLAN ACK packet.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, in which the program code further comprises program code to select the first transmit power level for the WLAN ACK packet according to a link quality of a broadband wireless modem during operation of a WLAN radio of the multi-radio UE.

15. A apparatus configured for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting, by a multi-radio user equipment (UE), a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet at a first transmit power level to a WLAN access point in response to a first WLAN data packet; and

means for transmitting, by the multi-radio UE to the WLAN access point, a second WLAN data packet at a second transmit power level that is lower than the first transmit power level of the WLAN ACK packet.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising means for selecting the first transmit power level for the WLAN ACK packet according to a link quality of a broadband wireless modem of the multi-radio UE during operation of a WLAN radio of the multi-radio-UE.

17. A method of wireless communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, comprising:

selecting, by a multi-radio user equipment (UE), a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet transmit data rate different from a data rate at which a WLAN data packet is received from a WLAN access point, in which the WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate is selected by assuming that a transmit data rate of the WLAN data packet is a lowest data rate specified in a WLAN basic service set; and

transmitting, by the multi-radio UE to the WLAN access point, a WLAN ACK packet at the selected WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate.

18. A multi-radio user equipment (UE) configured for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured;

to select a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet transmit data rate different from a data rate at which a WLAN data packet is received from a WLAN access point, in which the WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate is selected by assuming that a transmit data rate of the WLAN data packet is a lowest data rate specified in a WLAN basic service set; and

to transmit, to the WLAN access point, a WLAN ACK packet at the selected WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate.

19. A computer program product configured for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising;

program code to select, by a multi-radio user equipment (UE), a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet transmit data rate different from a data rate at which a WLAN data packet is received from a WLAN access point, in which the WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate is selected by assuming that a transmit data rate of the WLAN data packet is a lowest data rate specified in a WLAN basic service set; and

program code to transmit, by the multi-radio user equipment (UE), to the WLAN access point, a WLAN ACK packet at the selected WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate.

20. A apparatus configured for wireless communications in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the apparatus comprising:

means for selecting, by a multi-radio user equipment/UE, a wireless local area network (WLAN) acknowledgement (ACK) packet transmit data rate different from a data rate at which a WLAN data packet is received from a WLAN access point, in which the WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate is selected by assuming that a transmit data rate of the WLAN data packet is a lowest data rate specified in a WLAN basic service set; and

means for transmitting, by the multi-radio UE to the WLAN access point, a WLAN ACK packet at the selected WLAN ACK packet transmit data rate.