Control channel signaling and power control with discontinuous transmissions on dedicated channels to reduce current consumption during voice calls

Methods and apparatuses for uplink and downlink wireless communication are presented. For example, a method of uplink mobile communication at a user equipment is presented, which may include compressing two consecutive voice packets having a first voice packet transmission time interval into two compressed voice packets having a second voice packet TTI. In addition, the method may include compressing signaling data corresponding to a first dedicated control channel (DCCH) TTI into compressed signaling data having a second DCCH TTI and multiplexing the two compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data to form a multiplexed packet. Furthermore, the method may include splitting the multiplexed packet into a first and second subpacket, transmitting the first subpacket during a first subpacket interval having a subpacket TTI, and transmitting the second subpacket during a second subpacket interval subsequent to the first subpacket interval, wherein the second subpacket interval has the subpacket TTI.

BACKGROUND

In some communication schemes, a transmission time interval (TTI) for packet transmission and reception may be reduced in one or both of the uplink and downlink to reduce current consumption in user equipment (UE). As the TTI is reduced, however, control signaling that is multiplexed with the reduced-TTI packets may become compromised.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, research and development continue to advance the UMTS technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications. Thus, a need exists for methods and apparatuses that improve control channel signaling and inner-loop power control in reduced-TTI communication scenarios.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one or more aspects and corresponding disclosure thereof, various aspects are described in connection with improving wireless communication functionality associated with UEs and network entities in wireless communication networks.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, a method of uplink mobile communication at a UE is presented. Such an aspect may include compressing two consecutive voice packets having a first voice packet TTI into two compressed voice packets having a second voice packet TTI. In addition, the method may include compressing signaling data corresponding to a first dedicated control channel (DCCH) TTI into compressed signaling data having a second DCCH TTI. Furthermore, the example method may include multiplexing the two compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data to form a multiplexed packet and splitting the multiplexed packet into a first subpacket and a second subpacket. Moreover, the example method may include transmitting the first subpacket during a first subpacket interval having a subpacket TTI and transmitting the second subpacket during a second subpacket interval subsequent to the first subpacket interval, wherein the second subpacket interval has the subpacket TTI.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus is presented that may include a voice packet compression component configured to compress two consecutive voice packets having a first voice packet TTI into two compressed voice packets having a second voice packet TTI. In addition, the example apparatus may include a signaling data compression component configured to compress signaling data corresponding to a first DCCH TTI into compressed signaling data having a second DCCH TTI and a multiplexing component configured to multiplex the two compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data to form a multiplexed packet. Furthermore, the example apparatus may include a packet splitting component configured to split the multiplexed packet into a first subpacket and a second subpacket. Moreover, the example apparatus may include a transmitting component configured to transmit the first subpacket during a first subpacket interval having a subpacket TTI and to transmit the second subpacket during a second subpacket interval subsequent to the first subpacket interval, wherein the second subpacket interval has the subpacket TTI.

Furthermore, the present disclosure presents an example apparatus for uplink mobile communication. The example apparatus may include means for compressing two consecutive voice packets having a first voice packet TTI into two compressed voice packets having a second voice packet TTI. In addition, the example apparatus may include means for compressing signaling data corresponding to a first DCCH TTI into compressed signaling data having a second DCCH TTI. Furthermore, the example apparatus may include means for multiplexing the two compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data to form a multiplexed packet and means for splitting the multiplexed packet into a first subpacket and a second subpacket. Additionally, the example apparatus may include means for transmitting the first subpacket during a first subpacket interval having a subpacket TTI and means for transmitting the second subpacket during a second subpacket interval subsequent to the first subpacket interval, wherein the second subpacket interval has the subpacket TTI.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method of mobile communication at a network entity is presented. In an aspect, the example method may include transmitting, at a power level, one or more packets to a UE on a downlink communication channel during a first transmission interval. In addition, the example method may include disabling inner-loop power control for the downlink communication channel over a second transmission interval. Furthermore, the example method may include receiving, during the second transmission interval, a first transmission power control (TPC) command from the UE and adjusting the power level to an adjusted power level based on the first TPC command. Additionally, the example method may include transmitting, at the adjusted power level, one or more packets to the UE on the downlink communication channel.

Moreover, the present disclosure presents a method of inner-loop power control for discontinuous wireless signal transmission, which may include transmitting, at a power level, one or more signals on a dedicated communication channel during a first transmission interval. In addition, the example method may include pausing transmission on the dedicated communication channel during a discontinuous transmission (DTX) interval following the first transmission interval. Furthermore, the example method may include receiving, during the DTX interval, a TPC command, wherein the TPC command is based on a quality metric of at least one of the one or more signals. In addition, the example method may include adjusting the power level to an adjusted power level based on the TPC command and transmitting, at the adjusted power level, one or more further signals on the dedicated communication channel during a second transmission interval following the DTX interval.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure presents methods and apparatuses for improved control channel signaling and power control that may be implemented in reduced-TTI scenarios. For example, a UE or network entity of the present disclosure may be configured to reduce the TTI of control channel signals, which may be transmitted via a dedicated control channel (DCCH). In an aspect, the reduced-TTI control channel waveform may be multiplexed with one or more data packets (e.g., voice packets) and the multiplexed waveform may be split into a plurality of subpackets. These subpackets may be separated in time by one or more discontinuous transmission (DTX) periods in the uplink or one or more discontinuous reception (DRX) periods in the downlink. For purposes of the present disclosure, this intermittent transmission of the control information in the downlink may be referred to as “intermittent transmission mode.”

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, if control information is available for transmission in the downlink, the control information is transmitted continuously in the downlink. For purposes of the present disclosure, this continuous transmission of the control information in the downlink may be referred to as “continuous transmission mode.” Alternatively, where control information is not available for transmission in the downlink, a second portion (e.g., a second half) of the multiplexed packet is removed, allowing for the DRX or DTX to be intermittently inserted into the respective downlink and/or uplink transmission schedules between data packet transmissions.

As a result, in some scenarios, the network entity may transmit control information continuously in the downlink while the uplink is only transmitting control information intermittently. In these scenarios, the network entity will not receive inner-loop power control information in the uplink during DTX periods in the uplink transmission schedule. Thus, in an aspect, during these DTX periods, a network entity of the present disclosure may unitize a previously utilized transmission power level or may adjust the previously utilized transmission power level according to one or more transmission power control (TPC) commands that were transmitted by the UE before the DTX period.

FIG. 1is a schematic diagram illustrating a system100for improved control information transmission and associated transmission power control, according to an example configuration.FIG. 1includes an example network entity104, which may communicate wirelessly with one or more UEs102over one or more wireless communication links. Furthermore, though a single network entity104is shown inFIG. 1, additional network entities may exist in system100and may communicate with UE102contemporaneously with network entity104. In an aspect, the one or more wireless communication links over which the UE102and network entity104communicate may comprise any over-the-air (OTA) communication link, including, but not limited to, one or more communication links operating according to specifications promulgated by 3GPP and/or 3GPP2, which may include first generation, second generation (2G), 3G, 4G, etc. wireless network architectures. For example, in some aspects, the one or more communication links may include an uplink communication channel108, which may carry data and/or control signaling transmitted by the UE102to the network entity104. Additionally, the one or more communication links may include a downlink communication channel110, which may carry data and/or control signaling transmitted by the network entity104to the UE102.

In an aspect, UE102may be a mobile device, such as, but not limited to, a smartphone, cellular telephone, mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or other portable networked device. In addition, UE102may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. In general, UE102may be small and light enough to be considered portable and may be configured to communicate wirelessly via an over-the-air communication link using one or more OTA communication protocols described herein. Furthermore, UE102may include an uplink transmission manager106, which may be configured to perform uplink transmissions in an intermittent or continuous transmission mode and may be configured to perform inner-loop transmission power control processes described herein.

Additionally, network entity104ofFIG. 1may include one or more of any type of network module, such as an access point, a macro cell, including a base station (BS), node B, eNodeB (eNB), a relay, a peer-to-peer device, an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server, a mobile switching center (MSC), a radio network controller (RNC), or a low-power access point, such as a picocell, femtocell, microcell, etc. Additionally, network entity104may communicate with one or more other network entities of wireless and/or core networks. In a further aspect, network entity104may include a downlink transmission manager107, which may be configured to perform downlink transmissions in an intermittent or continuous transmission mode and may be configured to perform inner-loop transmission power control processes described herein.

Additionally, system100may include any network type, such as, but not limited to, wide-area networks (WAN), wireless networks (e.g. 802.11 or cellular network), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) network, ad hoc networks, personal area networks (e.g. Bluetooth®) or other combinations or permutations of network protocols and network types. Such network(s) may include a single local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN), or combinations of LANs or WANs, such as the Internet.

Additionally, such network(s), which may include one or more network entities104, may comprise a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) system, and may communicate with one or more UEs102according to this standard. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards. By way of example, various aspects may be extended to other Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) systems such as Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) and Time-Division CDMA (TD-CDMA). Various aspects may also be extended to systems employing Long Term Evolution (LTE) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system. The various devices coupled to the network(s) (e.g., UEs102, network entity104) may be coupled to a core network via one or more wired or wireless connections.

Turning toFIG. 2, an example process200for transmitting multiplexed signaling and packet data is presented. The process200may be performed by a UE and/or network entity when the UE and/or network entity transmits data in the intermittent transmission mode of the present disclosure. Specifically, according to process200, signaling data202and voice packets (e.g., voice packet 1204and voice packet 2206) may be compressed, multiplexed, split, and interleaved with DTX or DRX intervals to form a transmission schedule that provides current savings for UEs and network entities employing the process200. In an aspect, process200may be performed by uplink transmission manager106and/or downlink transmission manager106ofFIG. 1.

In an aspect, signaling data202and two or more voice packets (e.g., voice packet 1204and voice packet 2206) may be generated for transmission over an uplink or downlink channel. Signaling data202may include signaling radio bearer (SRB) data, or any other signaling data necessary for communication of voice packets. In addition, signaling data202may initially have an associated TTI, which, in some examples, may be twice the TTI of each voice packet. In process200, for example, signaling data202may have a TTI of 40 ms, whereas voice packet 1204and voice packet 2206may have a TTI of 20 ms.

In an aspect of process200, the TTI of voice packet 1204and voice packet 2206may be compressed to form compressed voice packet 1208and compressed voice packet 2210. As shown inFIG. 2, these compressed voice packets may have a resulting TTI of half of voice packet 1204and voice packet 2206. In other words, in a non-limiting example aspect, compressed voice packet 1208and compressed voice packet210may have an associated TTI of 10 ms. In a further aspect, signaling data202may likewise be compressed (e.g., by half) to form compressed signaling data212. In other words, in a non-limiting example, where signaling data202has an associated TTI of 40 ms, the signaling data202may be compressed to 20 ms. In other examples that are not shown inFIG. 2, however, the TTI of signaling data202may be compressed to any other length, such as, but not limited to, 10 ms.

Once compressed signaling data212and compressed voice packets208and210are formed, they may be multiplexed to form a resulting multiplexed packet214, which may have an associated TTI corresponding to the TTI of compressed signaling data212and twice the TTI of compressed voice packet 1208or compressed voice packet 2210. For example, as shown inFIG. 2, where compressed signaling data212has an associated TTI of 20 ms and compressed voice packet 1208and compressed voice packet 2210have an associated TTI of 10 ms, multiplexed packet214may have an associated TTI of 20 ms.

Furthermore, once multiplexed packet214has been formed, it may be split into two or more subpackets. In an aspect, each of the subpackets may comprise a portion of the multiplexed waveform of multiplexed packet214and may have a TTI less than that of multiplexed packet214. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 2, multiplexed packet214may be split into first subpacket216and second subpacket218, which may each have an associated TTI of 10 ms, or half of the TTI associated with multiplexed packet214(i.e., 20 ms).

In a further aspect, once multiplexed packet214has been split into first subpacket216and second subpacket218, these subpackets may be interleaved with two or more transmission intervals that each comprise a DTX period (in the uplink) or a DRX period (in the downlink). For purposes of the present disclosure, such “interleaving” may refer to alternating the transmission of (or reception of) a subpacket during a first interval and the absence of transmission (or reception) during a second subperiod corresponding to the DTX or DRX period.

InFIG. 3, an example uplink transmission manager106(ofFIG. 1, for example) is presented as comprising a plurality of individual components for carrying out the one or more methods or processes described herein (e.g., process200ofFIG. 2). In some examples, uplink transmission manager106may be configured to compress voice packets and control data, multiplex the compressed waveforms into a multiplexed packet, split the multiplexed packet into subpackets, and interleave the subpackets with one or more DTX intervals.

In an aspect, uplink transmission manager106may include a voice packet compression component300, which may be configured to compress one or more voice packets from a first voice packet TTI to a second voice packet TTI. For example, voice packet compression component300may be configured to compress two consecutive voice packets having a first voice packet TTI into two compressed voice packets having a second voice packet TTI shorter than the first voice packet TTI. In an aspect, the compression may be executed via traditional compression, interleaving, and other physical layer procedures based on the second voice packet TTI. In some examples, the compression performed by voice packet compression component300may compress the one or more voice packets such that the resulting TTI of the compressed voice packets is half of the TTI of the one or more pre-compression voice packets. For instance, in an aspect, voice packet compression component300may be configured to compress one or more voice packets having a TTI of 20 ms to one or more voice packets having a 10 ms TTI.

In addition, uplink transmission manager106may include a signaling data compression component302, which may be configured to compress signaling data corresponding to a first dedicated control channel (DCCH) TTI into compressed signaling data having a second DCCH TTI. In an aspect, as a result of the compression performed by the signaling data compression component302, the second DCCH TTI of the compressed signaling data may be half of the first DCCH TTI of the pre-compression signaling data TTI.

Furthermore, uplink transmission manager106may include a multiplexing component304, which may be configured to multiplex the one or more compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data produced by voice packet compression component300and signaling data compression component302, respectively. For example, multiplexing component304may be configured to multiplex the two compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data to form a multiplexed packet. In an aspect, the multiplexed packet produced by multiplexing component304may have an associated TTI equal to the second DCCH TTI of the compressed signaling data, which may be equivalent to twice the TTI of the individual compressed voice packets.

In a further aspect, uplink transmission manager106may include a packet splitting component306, which may be configured to split the multiplexed packet produced by multiplexing component304into a plurality of subpackets. For instance, packet splitting component306may be configured to split the multiplexed packet into a first subpacket and a second subpacket. In some examples, each of the first subpacket and second subpacket may have a TTI of half of the multiplexed packet produced by multiplexing component304.

Furthermore, in an aspect, uplink transmission manager106may include a transmitting component308, which may be configured to intermittently transmit the one or more subpackets produced by packet splitting component to a network entity via an uplink communication channel. For instance, in some examples, the transmitting component may be configured to transmit the first subpacket during a first subpacket interval having a subpacket TTI. Thereafter, the transmitting component308may pause transmission for a time interval corresponding to the subpacket TTI. In an aspect, this time interval may correspond to a DTX period in the uplink. Following this transmission pause during the time interval, the UE may be configured to transmit the second subpacket during a second subpacket interval having the subpacket TTI. Again, following this transmission of the second subpacket, the transmitting component308may again pause transmission for a time interval having the subpacket TTI after transmitting the second subpacket. In an aspect, this time interval may correspond to a further DTX period between subpacket transmissions. As such, transmitting component308may alternate between transmitting subpackets and pausing all transmission to form DTX periods between subpacket transmissions.

In an additional aspect, uplink transmission manager106may include a transmission power control (TPC) command generating component310, which may be configured to generate one or more TPC commands that may be transmitted to a network entity by transmitting component308. In an aspect, TPC command generating component310may be configured to obtain a received power level of one or more transmissions (e.g., pilot signal or packet data transmissions) from a network entity. Based on the received power level, the TPC command generating component may compare the received power level to a target received power level or target received power level range to determine whether the received power level should be increased or decreased. Where the TPC command generating component310determines that the received power level should be increased or decreased, a TPC command may be generated to instruct the network entity that its transmission power is to be increased or decreased.

Through exemplary components300,302,304,306,308, and310are presented in reference to uplink transmission manager106, they are not exclusive. Instead, uplink transmission manager106may include additional or alternative components configured to perform aspects of the present disclosure and the claims recited below.

FIG. 4presents an exemplary methodology400for uplink mobile communication comprising a non-limiting set of steps represented as blocks that may be performed by one or more apparatuses described herein (e.g. user equipment102ofFIG. 1, and/or one or more components of UE102, such uplink transmission manager106and/or its subcomponents presented inFIG. 2.). In an aspect, methodology400comprises a method of interleaving one or more periods of uplink transmission with one or more DTX periods, or transmitting in an “intermittent transmission mode” in the uplink.

Methodology400may include, at block402, compressing two consecutive voice packets having a first voice packet TTI into two compressed voice packets having a second voice packet TTI. In some examples, the voice packets may be non-consecutive and/or may comprise more than two voice packets. In addition, in some examples, the first voice packet TTI may be 20 ms and the second voice packet TTI of the compressed voice packets may be 10 ms, although these represent non-limiting examples. In an aspect, block402may be performed by voice packet compression component300ofFIG. 3. In addition, at block404, methodology400may include compressing signaling data corresponding to a first DCCH TTI into compressed signaling data having a second DCCH TTI. In some examples, the first DCCH TTI may be In an aspect, block404may be performed by signaling data compression component302ofFIG. 3

Furthermore, in an aspect, methodology400may include, at block406, multiplexing the two compressed voice packets and the compressed signaling data to form a multiplexed packet. In some examples, block406may be performed by multiplexing component304ofFIG. 3. In an additional aspect, methodology400may include splitting the multiplexed packet into a first subpacket and a second subpacket at block408. In some examples, splitting the multiplexed packet may result in each of the first subpacket and the second subpacket having a subpacket TTI corresponding to the second voice packet TTI. For example, where the second voice packet TTI is 10 ms, each of the first subpacket and the second subpacket may have a corresponding TTI of 10 ms, or half of the 20 ms TTI of the multiplexed packet. In some examples, block408may be performed by packet splitting component306ofFIG. 3.

Additionally, methodology400may include, at block410, transmitting the first subpacket during a first subpacket interval having a subpacket TTI. In an aspect, the subpacket TTI may correspond to the TTI of each subpacket resulting from splitting the multiplexed packet at block408. In some examples, this subpacket TTI is 10 ms, though this exemplary value is non-limiting.

Furthermore, to interleave the transmission of the one or more subpackets with one or more DTX periods, methodology400may optionally include (as indicated by the dashed lines of block412) pausing transmission for a time interval corresponding to the subpacket TTI at block412. In an aspect, the time interval over which the transmission is paused at block412may correspond to a DTX period in the uplink transmission schedule. After pausing transmission for the time period at block412, the second subpacket may be transmitted. Thus, at block414, methodology400may include transmitting the second subpacket during a second subpacket interval subsequent to the first subpacket interval. In an aspect, the second subpacket interval may have the subpacket TTI that corresponds to the subpacket TTI of the first subpacket interval. In addition, methodology400may optionally include (as indicated by the dashed lines of block416) pausing transmission for a time interval corresponding to the subpacket TTI at block416. Like the time interval of block412, the time interval over which the transmission is paused at block416may correspond to a DTX period in the uplink transmission schedule. In an aspect, blocks410,412,414, and416may be performed by transmitting component308ofFIG. 3.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, power control procedures are presented to compensate for the lack of uplink and downlink TPC command transmission during the DTX and DRX periods inserted into the uplink and downlink transmission schedules of the UE and network entity, respectively, when operating in intermittent transmission mode. For example,FIGS. 5A and 5Beach present transmission schedule diagrams illustrating inner-loop power control procedures for uplink and downlink transmissions when both the UE and the network entity are operating in intermittent transmission mode (e.g., when DTX or DRX periods are inserted into the transmission schedule intermittently), resulting in discontinuous wireless signal transmission.

Referring toFIG. 5A, a downlink transmission schedule556corresponds to that of a network entity transmitting during a plurality of downlink slots in a downlink communication channel. Likewise, an uplink transmission schedule557corresponds to that of a UE transmitting during a plurality of uplink slots in an uplink communication channel. In an aspect of the present disclosure, the transmission power of a slot used for the transmission of signals in the uplink and downlink in the slot may be derived from the power at the end of the last slot and may be modified by one or more TPC commands. For example, the UE or network entity may simply use the same transmission power it used in a previous slot or may modify the transmission power of the previous slot by applying a TPC command on top of that previous transmission power. Example implementations of these transmission power control alternatives contemplated by the present disclosure are presented inFIGS. 5A and 5B

The TPC commands transmitted in the uplink (e.g., TPCs523,526,530, and533) and downlink (e.g., TPCs505,508,512, and515) are generated by the UE and network entity, respectively, based on the received power level of previously received signals (e.g., data and/or pilot signals) and/or a quality metric (e.g., a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) associated with these previously received signals. For example, in DL slot 2501ofFIG. 5A, the TPC command508may be generated by the network entity based on a power level or quality metric (e.g., signal-to-interference ratio (SIR)) of data518transmitted by the UE in uplink slot 0534, as indicated by line539. For purposes ofFIGS. 5A and 5B, the dot-dot-dash lines (e.g., lines539,541,542,557,559and563) represent the transmission of signals upon which a TPC command value is based. Likewise, for purposes ofFIGS. 5A and 5B, the dotted lines represent the transmission of TPC commands that are initially applied at the point on the transmission schedule556or557to which the dotted line arrow points. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 5A, TPC command508may be transmitted by the network entity in the downlink during DL slot 2501and may be received by the UE and applied to the transmission power associated with the transmission of data524during UL slot 2536.

In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the data (e.g., data506,509,518,521, and the like) ofFIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and/or6B may comprise packet data. In some examples, this packet data may include voice packet data, audio packet data, video packet data, or any other data transmitted between a network entity and a UE via one or more dedicated communication channels. For instance, the data ofFIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and/or6B may include first subpacket216or second subpacket218ofFIG. 2when the UE and/or the network entity are transmitting in intermittent transmission mode. Furthermore, as indicated in downlink transmission schedule556ofFIGS. 5A and 5Band downlink transmission schedule665ofFIGS. 6A and 6B, each downlink slot may contain both a TPC command and a pilot signal portions. In alternative downlink transmission schedule examples not presently shown, however, the any downlink transmission schedule of the present disclosure may optionally not include a dedicated pilot signal portion. Instead, in such examples, each slot of the downlink transmission schedule may include a TPC command (e.g., which may be located at the end of each slot) that serves as a pilot signal for the slot.

Furthermore, in some examples, in the uplink transmission schedules557and667ofFIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B, the “data” portions of the uplink transmission schedule may be a pilot signal portion rather than “data.” Moreover, in the downlink transmission schedules556and665ofFIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B, though three discrete portions of each DL slot are shown (TPC, data, and pilot), other portions of each DL slot may exist. For example, another data portion pay precede each TPC portion, though not shown explicitly inFIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B. In addition,

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the network entity may be scheduled to transmit a TPC command directly after a DRX period. For example, inFIG. 5A, the network entity may be scheduled to transmit TPC command512following DRX period511. However, as no signals are received in the uplink during the DRX period511, the network entity cannot base the contents of the TPC command512on such nonexistent uplink signals. As such, the network entity may instead utilize the received power level or quality metric (e.g., SNR) of uplink data to generate the TPC command following the DRX period511. For example, consider TPC command512ofFIG. 5A. During DRX period511, no uplink communications are received from the UE, as the UE has paused transmission of all signals during the DTX period527, including signals upon which TPC512may be based. In an aspect, the DRX interval511may comprise more than one DL slot or one DL slot. Likewise, the DTX interval527may comprise more than one UL slot or one UL slot, depending on the scenario.

As a result, in an aspect of the present disclosure, the network entity may generate TPC commands based on signals received by the network entity prior to the DRX period511. For example, data521of UL slot 1535and data524of UL slot 2536may be received by the network entity prior to DTX527(and during or before DRX511). In an aspect, because no TPC commands are transmitted during DTX527or received during DRX511when both the uplink and downlink are operating in intermittent transmission mode, as indicated by lines541and542, the network entity may utilize one or more of data521or data524to determine the contents of TPC command512.

Furthermore, once transmitted, the TPC command512may be received by the UE during DTX period527. In an aspect, as indicated by dotted line543, the UE may apply the TPC command512for uplink transmission of data528immediately following DTX period527. Alternatively, in some examples, rather than apply the TPC command512directly following the DTX period527, the UE may instead ignore the TPC command512and continue to apply the transmission power utilized during UL slot 2536.

Furthermore, in some inner-loop power control examples, a UE or a network entity may be configured to apply a received TPC command if the TPC command was generated based on a signal quality metric (e.g., SNR) computed while a dedicated communication channel was not in a DTX interval. In these examples, the UE or network entity may apply the TPC command to a previous transmission power that preceded the DTX interval.

For example, consider TPC512ofFIG. 5A, which may be transmitted by the network entity during DTX interval527. As indicated by lines541and542, TPC command512may be generated based on a quality metric of one or both of received data signals521and524. In an aspect, because data signals521and524are received prior to DTX interval527, the quality metrics associated with these received data signals may be computed by the network entity before DTX interval527. Once these quality metrics are generated, the network entity may generate TPC command512and transmit TPC command512to the UE during DTX interval527, during which the UE has paused all uplink transmission. In an aspect, as indicated by line543, the UE may apply TPC command512to a most recent transmission power (e.g., the transmission power immediately before DTX interval527) when the UE resumes uplink transmission of data528after DTX interval527. Additionally, although the above-recited example of inner-loop power control may be performed by a UE for uplink transmissions, the same process may be implemented by a network entity for downlink transmissions. Thus, according to the present disclosure, a UE or network entity may be configured to apply a TPC command received during a pause in transmission (e.g., a DTX interval) when the quality metric computation upon which the TPC command is based was computed before the pause in transmission (i.e., outside of a DTX interval). Such an example method is described further inFIG. 8A, below.

Turning toFIG. 5B, the downlink transmission schedule556and uplink transmission schedule557of a network entity and UE, respectively, of the present disclosure are again illustrated. As shown inFIG. 5B, the contents of TPC commands (e.g. TPC commands523,526, and530) may be generated by a UE based on one or more pilot signals (e.g., pilot signals507,510, and514) transmitted by the network entity and received at the UE.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the last TPC command transmitted by the UE before a DTX period and received by the network entity during a DTX period may be either applied by the network entity immediately following the DRX period, at a next pilot signal transmission after the DRX period, or, in some examples, the TPC command may be ignored by the network entity. For example, referring to line560, the network entity may apply the TPC command526to the transmission power directly following DRX period511. In an alternative aspect, instead of applying the TPC command526directly following the DRX period511, referring to line561, the network entity may apply the TPC command526starting at the transmission of the pilot signal514in DL slot 4503. In a further alternative aspect, referring to line562, the network entity may ignore TPC command526following DTX period511. In other words, where the network entity ignores the TPC command526, the network entity may continue to apply a transmission power level utilized before DTX period511even after receiving TPC command526.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, in some instances, a network entity may determine that no signaling information (or DCCH information) exists for transmission in the downlink during a slot. In such a scenario, the network entity may generate a downlink waveform and may simply delete alternating time periods (e.g., alternating 10 ms time periods) of the waveform to form DRX openings in the waveform. Alternatively, in another example, where the network entity determines that signaling information is available for transmission in the downlink during a slot, the network entity may not utilize intermittent transmission mode in the downlink for the slot. Instead, the network entity may continuously transmit the signaling information in the downlink regardless of whether the UE is transmitting in intermittent transmission mode in the uplink.

Such a scenario implementing this continuous transmission mode in the downlink is illustrated inFIGS. 6A and 6B. LikeFIGS. 5A and 5B,FIGS. 6A and 6Billustrate a downlink transmission schedule665of a network entity and an uplink transmission schedule667of a UE of the present disclosure. LikeFIGS. 5A and 5B, the TPC commands transmitted in the uplink (e.g., TPCs620and623) and downlink (e.g., TPCs605,608,612, and615) are generated by the UE and network entity, respectively, based on the received power level of previously received signals (e.g., data and/or pilot signals). For example, in DL slot 2601ofFIG. 6A, the TPC command608may be generated by the network entity based on the power level of data618transmitted by the UE in uplink slot 0634, as indicated by line640. Again, as isFIGS. 5A and 5B, for purposes ofFIGS. 6A and 6B, the dot-dot-dash lines represent the transmission of signals upon which a TPC command value is based. Likewise, for purposes ofFIGS. 6A and 6B, the dotted lines represent the transmission of TPC commands that are initially applied at the point on the transmission schedule665or667to which the dotted line arrow points. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 6A, TPC command608may be transmitted by the network entity in the downlink during DL slot 2601and may be received by the UE and applied to the transmission power associated with the transmission of data624during UL slot 2636.

Turning toFIG. 6A, unlikeFIG. 5A, the network entity transmits signaling data continuously, as indicated in downlink transmission schedule665. Thus, rather than inserting a DRX period into the downlink transmission schedule665, the network entity transmits signals during DL slot 3. In some aspects, these signals may include one or more TPC commands (e.g., TPC command658), downlink data (e.g., data659), and/or one or more pilot bits (e.g., pilot660). However, because the UE inFIGS. 6A and 6Bdoes not transmit signals in the uplink during DTX period627, the network entity may disable inner-loop power control (ILPC) during DL slot 3, as any signals upon which power control may be based are not received by the network entity during this DTX period627. Therefore, in an aspect, the TPC command658generated and transmitted during the interval during which ILPC is disabled (interval602) may be based on data transmitted by the UE in slots preceding the DTX period627. For example, as indicated by lines642and643ofFIG. 6A, the TPC command658may be based on a received power level of data621and/or data624, which are transmitted by the UE in previous UL slot 1635and previous UL slot 2636, respectively. In an aspect, the interval602during which ILPC is disabled may comprise more than one DL slot or one DL slot. Likewise, the DTX interval627may comprise more than one UL slot or one UL slot, depending on the scenario.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, because the UE is transmitting in intermittent transmission mode and has therefore inserted DTX period627into its uplink transmission schedule667, the UE may either utilize the TPC command(s) received from the network entity during DTX period627following the DTX period627or may simply ignore these received TPC commands. For example, TPC command658may be transmitted by the network entity and received by the UE during DTX period627. As indicated by line645ofFIG. 6A, the UE may choose to apply the contents of the TPC command658once the UE resumes transmission in the uplink at UL slot 4637. In other words, in one option, the UE may modify a previous transmission power (e.g., a transmission power level utilized during UL slot 2636) based on TPC command658for transmission of data628in the uplink. In an alternative option, in some examples, as indicated by line664inFIG. 6A, the UE may simply ignore TPC command658and may instead utilize the previous transmission power (e.g., a transmission power level utilized during UL slot 2636) when it resumes uplink transmission in UL slot 4637.

Furthermore, as illustrated inFIG. 6B, as the UE does not transmit TPC commands during DTX period627, the network entity may optionally utilize a TPC command transmitted by the UE prior to DTX period627for transmissions during interval602or may ignore this prior TPC command. For example, TPC command626may be transmitted by the UE during UL slot 2636and may be received by the network entity during interval602. In an aspect, as indicated by line674, the network entity may implement the contents of the TPC command626for transmission of data659during interval602. Alternatively, as indicated by line675, the UE may maintain a previously utilized transmission power level (e.g., a transmission power level utilized during DL slot601) for the remainder of DL slot 3 after receiving TPC command628. In this case, the UE may instead modify this previously utilized transmission power level based on the contents of the TPC command626beginning at DL slot 4603.

In another alternative, as indicated by line676, in some examples, the network entity may receive TPC command626during interval602, but may simply ignore the contents of the TPC command626. In this alternative implementation, the network entity may utilize a previously utilized transmission power level until a subsequent TPC command is received from the UE after DTX period627. In other words, in an aspect, the network entity may utilize a power level used in DL slot 2601for interval602, DL slot 4603, and potentially a portion of DL slot 5604until, as indicated by line678, the network entity receives TPC command630transmitted by UE during UL slot 4637in the uplink.

InFIG. 7, an example downlink transmission manager107(ofFIG. 1, for example) is presented as comprising a plurality of individual components for carrying out the one or more methods or processes described herein (e.g., process800ofFIG. 8A, process814ofFIG. 8B, and/or power control processes described in reference toFIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and/or6B). In some examples, downlink transmission manager106may be configured to manage transmission power control of transmissions in the downlink where TPC commands are temporarily unavailable in the uplink.

In an aspect, downlink transmission manager106may include a transmitting component702, which may be configured to transmit one or more packets to a UE on a downlink communication channel. For such transmissions, the transmitting component702may maintain a power level704for such transmissions. In an aspect, the power level704may be adjusted intermittently based on one or more TPC commands received from a UE in the uplink. In other words, transmitting component702may be further configured to transmit one or more further packets to the UE after receiving the one or more TPC commands from the UE.

In an additional aspect, downlink transmission manager107may include an inner-loop power control (ILPC) disabling component706, which may be configured to disable inner-loop power control for UE during a transmission interval. For example, the ILPC disabling component706may be configured to generate and transmit a TPC command during the transmission interval (even though the TPC command may be ignored by the UE), halt transmission of TPC commands in the downlink over the transmission interval, and/or generate the TPC command but wait to transmit the TPC command until completion of the transmission interval.

Furthermore, the downlink transmission manager107may include a TPC command receiving component708, which may be configured to receive one or more TPC commands from a UE via an uplink communication channel. In an aspect, TPC command receiving component may comprise a receiver, transceiver, or any other signal receiving component and its related circuitry. In addition, downlink transmission manager107may include a power level adjusting component710, which may be configured to adjust the power level704to an adjusted power level712based on a received TPC command.

In an additional aspect, downlink transmission manager107may include a downlink TPC command generating component714, which may be configured to generate one or more TPC commands that may be transmitted to a UE to control the transmission power of uplink communications of the UE. In an aspect, downlink TPC command generating component714may be configured to generate one or more downlink TPC commands based on one or more uplink transmissions received from the UE.

FIGS. 8A and 8Bpresent exemplary methodologies800and814for mobile communication and inner-loop power control in a wireless network environment. For instance,FIG. 8Apresents an exemplary methodology800for mobile communication at a network entity (e.g., network entity104ofFIG. 1) comprising a non-limiting set of steps represented as blocks that may be performed by one or more apparatuses or component described herein (e.g. downlink transmission manager107ofFIGS. 1 and 7). In an aspect, methodology800may include, at block802, transmitting, at a power level, one or more packets to a UE on a downlink communication channel during a first transmission interval.

Furthermore, at block804, methodology800may include disabling inner-loop power control for the downlink communication channel over a second transmission interval. In some examples, the second transmission interval may coincide, at least partially, with a period in an uplink communication channel during which the UE halts transmission. As such, disabling the inner-loop power control of the downlink communication channel at block804may include halting transmission of TPC commands on the downlink communication channel for the second transmission interval. In other examples, however, disabling the inner-loop power control may not necessarily imply that that the TPC command transmissions are halted. Instead, TPC commands may be transmitted in the downlink but may simply be ignored by the UE. Alternatively, disabling inner-loop power control for the downlink communication channel may include generating a TPC command based on previous received power levels associated with received uplink data but waiting to transmit the generated TPC command until the second transmission interval is complete.

In an additional aspect, methodology800may include, at block806, receiving, during the second transmission interval, a first TPC command from the UE. In an aspect, block808may be performed by TPC command receiving component708ofFIG. 7. In an aspect, the received TPC command may include instructions to increase or decrease a previously utilized transmission power level associated with downlink transmissions at the network entity. Accordingly, at block810, methodology800may include adjusting the power level to an adjusted power level based on the first TPC command. In some examples, block810may be performed by power level adjusting component710ofFIG. 7.

In an additional aspect, methodology800may include, at block812, transmitting, at the adjusted power level, one or more packets to the UE on the downlink communication channel. In some examples, transmitting the one or more packets to the UE at the adjusted power level may include transmitting the one or more packets during a third transmission interval following the second transmission interval. Alternatively, the TPC command may be implemented during the second transmission interval. As such, in some examples, transmitting the one or more packets to the UE at the adjusted power level comprises transmitting the one or more packets during the second transmission interval. In an aspect, block812may be performed by transmitting component702ofFIG. 7.

Furthermore, though not explicitly shown inFIG. 8, methodology800may include additional aspects. For example, methodology800may include receiving, during the first transmission interval, a second TPC command and adjusting the power level to a second adjusted power level based on the second TPC command. Additionally, methodology800may include transmitting the one or more packets at the second adjusted power level.

Moreover, methodology800may include the generation and transmission of TPC commands in the downlink for application by a UE for its uplink transmissions. For example, methodology800may further include receiving one or more uplink transmissions from a UE over an uplink communication channel. In some examples, these uplink transmissions may include uplink voice data or other uplink data. Additionally, methodology800may include generating a downlink TPC command based on at least one of the one or more uplink transmissions and transmitting the downlink TPC command to the UE during the second transmission interval.

Turning toFIG. 8B, an additional methodology814for mobile communication and inner-loop power control in a wireless network environment is presented. In an aspect, methodology814may include techniques for inner-loop power control for discontinuous wireless signal transmission by a UE (for uplink signal transmission) or a network entity (for downlink signal transmission). For example, when methodology814is employed by a UE or network entity, the UE or network entity may only apply TPC commands that are based on signal quality metrics calculated outside of a DTX interval. In other words, if a TPC command is received, but that TPC command is based on an SNR estimate computed during a DTX interval, the received TPC command may be ignored.

Methodology814may include, at block816, transmitting, at a power level, one or more signals on a dedicated communication channel during a first transmission interval. In an aspect, block816may be performed by transmitting component308ofFIG. 3or transmitting component702ofFIG. 7. In some examples, the dedicated communication channel may include a DCCH or a DPDCH, but may be any dedicated communication channel between a UE and a network entity. In addition, the first transmission interval may be an interval in a discontinuous transmission schedule of a UE or a network entity and may precede a DTX interval or any interval wherein a transmitter or receiver of the UE or network entity is inactive.

In addition, methodology814may include, at block818, pausing transmission on the dedicated communication channel during a DTX interval following the first transmission interval. In an aspect, block816may be performed by transmitting component308ofFIG. 3or transmitting component702ofFIG. 7. Moreover, methodology814may include, at block820, receiving a TPC command during the DTX interval. In addition, in an aspect of the present disclosure, the TPC command received during the DTX interval may be based on a quality metric (e.g., SNR) of at least one of the one or more signals that were transmitted during the first transmission interval. In an aspect, block820may be performed by, for example, transceiver910ofFIG. 9, below.

Furthermore, methodology814may include adjusting the power level to an adjusted power level based on the TPC command at block822. In some examples, the adjusted power level may comprise a transmission power level that is greater than or less than a previously applied transmission interval (e.g., a last-applied transmission power level before a DTX interval). In an aspect, block822may be performed by power level adjusting component710ofFIG. 7. In an additional aspect, methodology814may include at block824, transmitting, at the adjusted power level, one or more further signals on the dedicated communication channel during a second transmission interval following the DTX interval. In an aspect, block824may be performed by transmitting component308ofFIG. 3or transmitting component702ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus900employing a processing system914. In some examples, the processing system914may comprise a UE (e.g., UE102ofFIG. 1) or a component of a UE or a network entity (e.g., network entity104) or a component thereof. In this example, the processing system914may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus902. The bus902may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system914and the overall design constraints. The bus902links together various circuits including one or more processors, represented generally by the processor904, computer-readable media, represented generally by the computer-readable medium906, and an uplink transmission manager106(seeFIGS. 1 and 3) or downlink transmission manager107(seeFIGS. 1 and 7), which may be configured to carry out one or more methods or procedures described herein. In an aspect, the uplink transmission manager106or downlink communication manager107and the components therein may comprise hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software that may be configured to perform the functions, methodologies (e.g., methodology400ofFIG. 4 or 800ofFIG. 8), or methods presented in the present disclosure.

The bus902may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further. A bus interface908provides an interface between the bus902and a transceiver910. The transceiver910provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. Depending upon the nature of the apparatus, a user interface912(e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided.

The processor904is responsible for managing the bus902and general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium906. The software, when executed by the processor904, causes the processing system914to perform the various functions described infra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium906may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor904when executing software. In some aspects, at least a portion of the functions, methodologies, or methods associated with the uplink transmission manager106or the downlink transmission manager107may be performed or implemented by the processor904and/or the computer-readable medium906.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. By way of example and without limitation, the aspects of the present disclosure illustrated inFIG. 10are presented with reference to a UMTS system1000employing a W-CDMA air interface. A UMTS network includes three interacting domains: a Core Network (CN)1004, a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN)1002, and User Equipment (UE)1010(e.g., which may be UE102ofFIG. 1). In this example, the UTRAN1002provides various wireless services including telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and/or other services. The UTRAN1002may include a plurality of Radio Network Subsystems (RNSs) such as an RNS1007, each controlled by a respective Radio Network Controller (RNC) such as an RNC1006. Here, the UTRAN1002may include any number of RNCs1006and RNSs1007in addition to the RNCs1006and RNSs1007illustrated herein. Each of these RNCs may be the network entity104ofFIG. 1. The RNC1006is an apparatus responsible for, among other things, assigning, reconfiguring and releasing radio resources within the RNS1007. The RNC1006may be interconnected to other RNCs (not shown) in the UTRAN1002through various types of interfaces such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, or the like, using any suitable transport network.

Communication between a UE1010and a Node B1008(which may be the network entity104ofFIG. 1) may be considered as including a physical (PHY) layer and a medium access control (MAC) layer. Further, communication between a UE1010and an RNC1006by way of a respective Node B1008may be considered as including a radio resource control (RRC) layer. In the instant specification, the PHY layer may be considered layer 1; the MAC layer may be considered layer 2; and the RRC layer may be considered layer 3. Information hereinbelow utilizes terminology introduced in Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification, 3GPP TS 25.331 v9.1.0, incorporated herein by reference.

The geographic region covered by the SRNS1007may be divided into a number of cells, with a radio transceiver apparatus serving each cell. A radio transceiver apparatus is commonly referred to as a Node B in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), or some other suitable terminology. For clarity, three Node Bs1008are shown in each SRNS1007; however, the SRNSs1007may include any number of wireless Node Bs. The Node Bs1008provide wireless access points to a core network (CN)1004for any number of mobile apparatuses. Examples of a mobile apparatus include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, or any other similar functioning device. The mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. In a UMTS system, the UE1010may further include a universal subscriber identity module (USIM)1011, which contains a user's subscription information to a network. In addition, UE1010may include uplink transmission manager106, the composition and functionality of which are described throughout the present disclosure (see, e.g.,FIGS. 1-4). For illustrative purposes, one UE1010is shown in communication with a number of the Node Bs1008. The downlink (DL), also called the forward link, refers to the communication link from a Node B1008to a UE1010, and the uplink (UL), also called the reverse link, refers to the communication link from a UE1010to a Node B1008.

The core network1004interfaces with one or more access networks, such as the UTRAN1002. As shown, the core network1004is a GSM core network. However, as those skilled in the art will recognize, the various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented in a RAN, or other suitable access network, to provide UEs with access to types of core networks other than GSM networks.

The core network1004includes a circuit-switched (CS) domain and a packet-switched (PS) domain. Some of the circuit-switched elements are a Mobile services Switching Centre (MSC), a Visitor location register (VLR) and a Gateway MSC. Packet-switched elements include a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). Some network elements, like EIR, HLR, VLR and AuC may be shared by both of the circuit-switched and packet-switched domains. In the illustrated example, the core network1004supports circuit-switched services with a MSC1012and a GMSC1014. In some applications, the GMSC1014may be referred to as a media gateway (MGW). One or more RNCs, such as the RNC1006, may be connected to the MSC1012. The MSC1012is an apparatus that controls call setup, call routing, and UE mobility functions. The MSC1012also includes a visitor location register (VLR) that contains subscriber-related information for the duration that a UE is in the coverage area of the MSC1012. The GMSC1014provides a gateway through the MSC1012for the UE to access a circuit-switched network1016. The core network1004includes a home location register (HLR)1015containing subscriber data, such as the data reflecting the details of the services to which a particular user has subscribed. The HLR is also associated with an authentication center (AuC) that contains subscriber-specific authentication data. When a call is received for a particular UE, the GMSC1014queries the HLR1015to determine the UE's location and forwards the call to the particular MSC serving that location.

The core network1004also supports packet-data services with a serving GPRS support node (SGSN)1018and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)1020. GPRS, which stands for General Packet Radio Service, is designed to provide packet-data services at speeds higher than those available with standard circuit-switched data services. The GGSN1020provides a connection for the UTRAN1002to a packet-based network1022. The packet-based network1022may be the Internet, a private data network, or some other suitable packet-based network. The primary function of the GGSN1020is to provide the UEs1010with packet-based network connectivity. Data packets may be transferred between the GGSN1020and the UEs1010through the SGSN1018, which performs primarily the same functions in the packet-based domain as the MSC1012performs in the circuit-switched domain.

The UMTS air interface is a spread spectrum Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) system. The spread spectrum DS-CDMA spreads user data through multiplication by a sequence of pseudorandom bits called chips. The W-CDMA air interface for UMTS is based on such direct sequence spread spectrum technology and additionally calls for a frequency division duplexing (FDD). FDD uses a different carrier frequency for the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) between a Node B1008and a UE1010. Another air interface for UMTS that utilizes DS-CDMA, and uses time division duplexing, is the TD-SCDMA air interface. Those skilled in the art will recognize that although various examples described herein may refer to a WCDMA air interface, the underlying principles are equally applicable to a TD-SCDMA air interface.

Referring toFIG. 11, an access network1100in a UTRAN architecture is illustrated. The multiple access wireless communication system includes multiple cellular regions (cells), including cells1102,1104, and1106, each of which may include one or more sectors. The multiple sectors can be formed by groups of antennas with each antenna responsible for communication with UEs in a portion of the cell. For example, in cell1102, antenna groups1112,1114, and1116may each correspond to a different sector. In cell1104, antenna groups1118,1120, and1122each correspond to a different sector. In cell1106, antenna groups1124,1126, and1128each correspond to a different sector. The cells1102,1104and1106may include several wireless communication devices, e.g., User Equipment or UEs, which may be in communication with one or more sectors of each cell1102,1104or1106, and may represent UE102ofFIG. 1having an uplink transmission manager106as described herein. For example, UEs1130and1132may be in communication with Node B1142, UEs1134and1136may be in communication with Node B1144, and UEs1138and1140can be in communication with Node B1146. Here, each Node B1142,1144,1146is configured to provide an access point to a core network1004(seeFIG. 10) for all the UEs1130,1132,1134,1136,1138,1140in the respective cells1102,1104, and1106.

As the UE1134moves from the illustrated location in cell1104into cell1106, a serving cell change (SCC) or handover may occur in which communication with the UE1134transitions from the cell1104, which may be referred to as the source cell, to cell1106, which may be referred to as the target cell. Management of the handover procedure may take place at the UE1134, at the Node Bs corresponding to the respective cells, at a radio network controller1006(seeFIG. 10), or at another suitable node in the wireless network. For example, during a call with the source cell1104, or at any other time, the UE1134may monitor various parameters of the source cell1104as well as various parameters of neighboring cells such as cells1106and1102. Further, depending on the quality of these parameters, the UE1134may maintain communication with one or more of the neighboring cells. During this time, the UE1134may maintain an Active Set, that is, a list of cells that the UE1134is simultaneously connected to (i.e., the UTRA cells that are currently assigning a downlink dedicated physical channel DPCH or fractional downlink dedicated physical channel F-DPCH to the UE1134may constitute the Active Set).

The modulation and multiple access scheme employed by the access network1100may vary depending on the particular telecommunications standard being deployed. By way of example, the standard may include Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). EV-DO and UMB are air interface standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000 family of standards and employs CDMA to provide broadband Internet access to mobile stations. The standard may alternately be Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) employing Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA, such as TD-SCDMA; Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) employing TDMA; and Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, and Flash-OFDM employing OFDMA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, and GSM are described in documents from the 3GPP organization. CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from the 3GPP2 organization. The actual wireless communication standard and the multiple access technology employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

FIG. 12is a block diagram of a Node B1210in communication with a UE1250, where the Node B1210may be the network entity104inFIG. 1having the downlink transmission manager107, and the UE1250may be the UE102inFIG. 1having the uplink transmission manager106. In the downlink communication, a transmit processor1220may receive data from a data source1212and control signals from a controller/processor1240. The transmit processor1220provides various signal processing functions for the data and control signals, as well as reference signals (e.g., pilot signals). For example, the transmit processor1220may provide cyclic redundancy check (CRC) codes for error detection, coding and interleaving to facilitate forward error correction (FEC), mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM), and the like), spreading with orthogonal variable spreading factors (OVSF), and multiplying with scrambling codes to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates from a channel processor1244may be used by a controller/processor1240to determine the coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes for the transmit processor1220. These channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal transmitted by the UE1250or from feedback from the UE1250. The symbols generated by the transmit processor1220are provided to a transmit frame processor1230to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor1230creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with information from the controller/processor1240, resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter1232, which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplifying, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for downlink transmission over the wireless medium through antenna1234. The antenna1234may include one or more antennas, for example, including beam steering bidirectional adaptive antenna arrays or other similar beam technologies.

At the UE1250, a receiver1254receives the downlink transmission through an antenna1252and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver1254is provided to a receive frame processor1260, which parses each frame, and provides information from the frames to a channel processor1294and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor1270. The receive processor1270then performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor1220in the Node B1210. More specifically, the receive processor1270descrambles and despreads the symbols, and then determines the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the Node B1210based on the modulation scheme. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel processor1294. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data, control, and reference signals. The CRC codes are then checked to determine whether the frames were successfully decoded. The data carried by the successfully decoded frames will then be provided to a data sink1272, which represents applications running in the UE1250and/or various user interfaces (e.g., display). Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor1290. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor1270, the controller/processor1290may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames.

In the uplink, data from a data source1278and control signals from the controller/processor1290are provided to a transmit processor1280. The data source1278may represent applications running in the UE1250and various user interfaces (e.g., keyboard). Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the Node B1210, the transmit processor1280provides various signal processing functions including CRC codes, coding and interleaving to facilitate FEC, mapping to signal constellations, spreading with OVSFs, and scrambling to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates, derived by the channel processor1294from a reference signal transmitted by the Node B1210or from feedback contained in the midamble transmitted by the Node B1210, may be used to select the appropriate coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes. The symbols produced by the transmit processor1280will be provided to a transmit frame processor1282to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor1282creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with information from the controller/processor1290, resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter1256, which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplification, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for uplink transmission over the wireless medium through the antenna1252.

The uplink transmission is processed at the Node B1210in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE1250. A receiver1235receives the uplink transmission through the antenna1234and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver1235is provided to a receive frame processor1236, which parses each frame, and provides information from the frames to the channel processor1244and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor1238. The receive processor1238performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor1280in the UE1250. The data and control signals carried by the successfully decoded frames may then be provided to a data sink1239and the controller/processor, respectively. If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receive processor, the controller/processor1240may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames.

The controller/processors1240and1290may be used to direct the operation at the Node B1210and the UE1250, respectively. For example, the controller/processors1240and1290may provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. The computer readable media of memories1242and1292may store data and software for the Node B1210and the UE1250, respectively. A scheduler/processor1246at the Node B1210may be used to allocate resources to the UEs and schedule downlink and/or uplink transmissions for the UEs.

Several aspects of a telecommunications system have been presented with reference to an HSPA system. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards.