Power control in wireless networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10045302-B2
Application number	US-201514853854-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2015
Priority date	Sep 16, 2014
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for wireless communication are provided. In one aspect, the apparatus is configured to measure an energy level of a transmission channel. The apparatus is configured to compare the measured energy level to a first threshold energy level. The first threshold energy level corresponds to a first state of the transmission channel. The apparatus is configured to determine whether to transmit data in the transmission channel based on the comparison. The apparatus is configured to reduce a transmission power of the apparatus and transmit the data in the transmission channel at the reduced transmission power when the measured energy level is greater than the first threshold energy level.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of wireless communication by a wireless device, comprising:
measuring an energy level of a transmission channel on which the wireless device wants to transmit data, the transmission channel being used by at least one other wireless device;
comparing the measured energy level to a first threshold energy level, wherein the first threshold energy level corresponds to a first state of the transmission channel and to an energy detection threshold level associated with a clear channel assessment;
determining whether to transmit the data in the transmission channel based on the comparison of the measured energy level to the first threshold energy level, wherein a determination to transmit the data in the transmission channel is based on the measured energy level being greater than the first threshold energy level; and
transmitting the data in the transmission channel at a reduced transmission power based on when the measured energy level of the transmission channel exceeds the energy detection threshold level of the clear channel assessment indicating that the transmission channel is busy,
wherein the data is transmitted at the reduced transmission power in the transmission channel to increase transmission channel reuse in a wireless local area network (WLAN).

2. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the reduced transmission power is a function of a difference between the measured energy level and the first threshold energy level, and the first threshold energy level is associated with the WLAN associated with the wireless device.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising comparing the measured energy level to a second threshold energy level, wherein the second threshold energy level corresponds to a second state of the transmission channel,
wherein the determination to transmit the data in the transmission channel is further based on the measured energy level being greater than the first threshold energy level and less than the second threshold energy level, and
wherein a determination to refrain from transmitting the data in the transmission channel is based on the measured energy level being greater than the second threshold energy level.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining further comprises determining a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) at a second wireless device to which the data is to be transmitted; and
wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the data in the transmission channel at the reduced transmission power based on when the measured energy level of the transmission channel exceeds the energy detection threshold level of the clear channel assessment indicating that the transmission channel is busy and based on when the SINR is greater than a threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining further comprises determining an expected modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index at a second wireless device to which the data is to be transmitted; and
wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the data in the transmission channel at the reduced transmission power based on when the measured energy level of the transmission channel exceeds the energy detection threshold level of the clear channel assessment indicating that the transmission channel is busy and based on when the expected MCS index is greater than a threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining further comprises comparing the reduced transmission power to a minimum power threshold; and
wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the data in the transmission channel at the reduced transmission power based on when the measured energy level of the transmission channel exceeds the energy detection threshold level of the clear channel assessment indicating that the transmission channel is busy and based on when the reduced transmission power is greater than the minimum power threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining whether to transmit the data is based on the measured energy level even when a preamble is received from another wireless device in an overlapping basic service set.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a message, wherein the message comprises at least one of the first threshold energy level, a second threshold energy level, or instructions for the wireless device to operate in a reduced power mode when the measured energy level is greater than the first threshold energy level.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the message is received in a beacon message or a management frame.

10. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for measuring an energy level of a transmission channel on which the apparatus wants to transmit data, the transmission channel being used by at least one other wireless device;
means for comparing the measured energy level to a first threshold energy level, wherein the first threshold energy level corresponds to a first state of the transmission channel and to an energy detection threshold level associated with a clear channel assessment;
means for determining whether to transmit the data in the transmission channel based on the comparison of the measured energy level to the first threshold energy level, wherein a determination to transmit the data in the transmission channel is based on the measured energy level being greater than the first threshold energy level; and
means for transmitting the data in the transmission channel at a reduced transmission power based on when the measured energy level of the transmission channel exceeds the energy detection threshold level of the clear channel assessment indicating that the transmission channel is busy,
wherein the data is transmitted at the reduced transmission power in the transmission channel to increase transmission channel reuse in a wireless local area network (WLAN).

11. The apparatus of claim 10 ,
wherein the reduced transmission power is a function of a difference between the measured energy level and the first threshold energy level, and the first threshold energy level is associated with a wireless local area network (WLAN) associated with the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising means for comparing the measured energy level to a second threshold energy level, wherein the second threshold energy level corresponds to a second state of the transmission channel,
wherein the determination to transmit the data in the transmission channel is further based on the measured energy level being greater than the first threshold energy level and less than the second threshold energy level, and
wherein a determination to refrain from transmitting the data in the transmission channel is based on the measured energy level being greater than the second threshold energy level.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the means for determining is further configured to determine a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) at a wireless device to which the data is to be transmitted; and
wherein the means for transmitting is configured to transmit the data in the transmission channel at the reduced transmission power based on when the measured energy level of the transmission channel exceeds the energy detection threshold level of the clear channel assessment indicating that the transmission channel is busy and based on when the SINR is greater than a threshold.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the means for determining is further configured to determine an expected modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index at a wireless device to which the data is to be transmitted; and
wherein the means for transmitting

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Barriac Gwendolyn Denise
• Cherian George
• Merlin Simone
• Zhou Yan

Classifications

• H04W52/28

  using user profile, e.g. mobile speed, priority or network state, e.g. standby, idle or non-transmission · CPC title

• H04W52/241

  taking into account channel quality metrics, e.g. SIR, SNR, CIR or Eb/lo · CPC title

• H04W52/245

  taking into account received signal strength · CPC title

• H04W52/0261 Primary

  managing power supply demand, e.g. depending on battery level · CPC title

• H04L1/0009

  by adapting the channel coding (H04L1/1812 takes precedence) · CPC title