Patent Description:
Embodiments herein generally relate to communications between devices in broadband wireless communications networks.

In a broadband wireless communications network that implements time division duplexing (TDD), it may be possible to configure different cells with different TDD configurations. In some cases, a small cell such as a picocell may be configured with a different TDD configuration than that of a macrocell within or near which the small cell is located. Further, according to some implementations, the TDD configuration for the macrocell may be static while the small cell TDD configuration may be dynamically selected based on traffic conditions within the small cell. For example, in a Time-Division Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE) wireless network (also sometimes referred to as an LTE TDD wireless network), an evolved node B (eNB) serving a picocell may dynamically select a TDD configuration for the picocell based on the relative amounts of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic in the picocell.

If the TDD configurations of any two particular cells differ, then the transmission directions within those respective cells may differ during some sub-frames. Namely, during some sub-frames, UL transmissions may be performed in one cell while DL transmissions are performed in the other cell. In the case of a macrocell implementing a TDD configuration that differs from the TDD configuration of a small cell within or near the macrocell, the opposite transmission directions during such sub-frames may tend to cause mutual interference between the macrocell and the small cell if the macrocell and the small cell use adjacent respective frequency channels. Particularly, DL transmissions in the macrocell may tend to interfere with UL transmissions in the small cell, and DL transmissions in the small cell may tend to interfere with UL transmissions in the macrocell.

Document <CIT> represents relevant prior art.

Various embodiments may be generally directed to techniques for adjacent channel interference mitigation. In one embodiment, for example, a user equipment (UE) may comprise logic, at least a portion of which is in hardware, the logic to associate the UE with a pico evolved node B (eNB) in a time-division duplex (TDD) picocell, identify an incongruent uplink (UL) sub-frame for the picocell, and select an enhanced UL transmit power for the incongruent UL sub-frame. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Various embodiments may comprise one or more elements. An element may comprise any structure arranged to perform certain operations. Each element may be implemented as hardware, software, or any combination thereof, as desired for a given set of design parameters or performance constraints. Although an embodiment may be described with a limited number of elements in a certain topology by way of example, the embodiment may include more or less elements in alternate topologies as desired for a given implementation. It is worthy to note that any reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," and "in various embodiments" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

The techniques disclosed herein may involve transmission of data over one or more wireless connections using one or more wireless mobile broadband technologies. For example, various embodiments may involve transmissions over one or more wireless connections according to one or more 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technologies and/or standards, including their revisions, progeny and variants. Various embodiments may additionally or alternatively involve transmissions according to one or more Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)/High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and/or GSM with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system (GSM/GPRS) technologies and/or standards, including their revisions, progeny and variants.

Examples of wireless mobile broadband technologies and/or standards may also include, without limitation, any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) <NUM> wireless broadband standards such as IEEE <NUM> and/or <NUM>. 16p, International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-ADV), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and/or WiMAX II, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) <NUM> (e.g., CDMA2000 1xRTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, CDMA EV-DV, and so forth), High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network (HIPERMAN), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Packet Access (HSOPA), High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technologies and/or standards, including their revisions, progeny and variants.

Some embodiments may additionally or alternatively involve wireless communications according to other wireless communications technologies and/or standards. Examples of other wireless communications technologies and/or standards that may be used in various embodiments may include, without limitation, other IEEE wireless communication standards such as the IEEE <NUM>, IEEE <NUM>. 11a, IEEE <NUM>. 11b, IEEE <NUM>, IEEE <NUM>. 11n, IEEE <NUM>. 11u, IEEE <NUM>. 11ac, IEEE <NUM>. 11ad, IEEE <NUM>. 11af, and/or IEEE <NUM>. 11ah standards, High-Efficiency Wi-Fi standards developed by the IEEE <NUM> High Efficiency WLAN (HEW) Study Group, Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) wireless communication standards such as Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Direct Services, Wireless Gigabit (WiGig), WiGig Display Extension (WDE), WiGig Bus Extension (WBE), WiGig Serial Extension (WSE) standards and/or standards developed by the WFA Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) Task Group, machine-type communications (MTC) standards such as those embodied in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) <NUM>, 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) <NUM>, and/or 3GPP TS <NUM>, and/or near-field communication (NFC) standards such as standards developed by the NFC Forum, including any revisions, progeny, and/or variants of any of the above. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In addition to transmission over one or more wireless connections, the techniques disclosed herein may involve transmission of content over one or more wired connections through one or more wired communications media. Examples of wired communications media may include a wire, cable, metal leads, printed circuit board (PCB), backplane, switch fabric, semiconductor material, twisted-pair wire, co-axial cable, fiber optics, and so forth.

<FIG> illustrates an operating environment <NUM> such as may be representative of various embodiments. In operating environment <NUM>, an eNB <NUM> generally provides wireless service to user equipment (UEs) <NUM> within a macrocell <NUM>, while an eNB <NUM> generally provides wireless service to UEs <NUM> within a small cell <NUM> located within the macrocell <NUM>. In some embodiments, small cell <NUM> may comprise a picocell. Other examples of small cell <NUM> may include, without limitation, a microcell, a femtocell, or another type of smaller-sized cell. In various embodiments, eNB <NUM> and eNB <NUM> may communicate over a backhaul <NUM>. In some embodiments, backhaul <NUM> may comprise a wired backhaul. In various other embodiments, backhaul <NUM> may comprise a wireless backhaul. It is worthy of note that although small cell <NUM> is located within macrocell <NUM> in the example of <FIG>, the embodiments are not so limited. In some embodiments, small cell <NUM> may comprise a neighboring cell of macrocell <NUM>, or may simply be located relatively close to macrocell <NUM>.

In various embodiments, operating environment <NUM> may comprise a portion of an LTE radio access network (RAN), such as an E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, operating environment <NUM> may comprise a portion of an RAN that employs time-division duplexing (TDD). For example, in various embodiments, operating environment <NUM> may comprise a portion of an LTE TDD wireless network. In some embodiments, according to a TDD implementation in operating environment <NUM>, eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> may communicate with UEs <NUM> and <NUM> according to one or more defined TDD configurations. In various embodiments, each such TDD configuration may specify the direction in which wireless communications are to be performed on a given wireless channel during each portion of each timing frame or other defined time interval. More particularly, for each portion of a given timing frame or other defined time interval, a TDD configuration may specify whether transmissions on a wireless channel are to be performed in the uplink (UL) direction or the downlink (DL) direction during that portion. For example, if a TDD configuration for eNB <NUM> specifies that DL transmissions are to be performed on a wireless channel during a particular sub-frame, then eNB <NUM> may be operative to transmit to one or more UEs <NUM> over the wireless channel during that sub-frame. The embodiments are not limited to this example.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a TDD configuration <NUM> that may be implemented by an eNB such as eNB <NUM> and/or eNB <NUM> of <FIG> in some embodiments. According to TDD configuration <NUM>, a timing frame <NUM> is sub-divided into ten sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>. In various embodiments, timing frame <NUM> may comprise a duration of <NUM>, and each of sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may comprise a respective duration of <NUM>. In some other embodiments, timing frame <NUM> may comprise a different duration and/or a different number of sub-frames <NUM>. Further, in various embodiments, the durations of some sub-frames <NUM> may differ from the durations of other sub-frames <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, TDD configuration <NUM> may assign some sub-frames <NUM> for UL transmissions and assign other sub-frames for DL transmissions. In this example, sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM> are designated as UL sub-frames, while sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM> are designated as DL sub-frames. TDD configuration may also sub-divide some sub-frames, and designate some portions within those sub-frames for UL transmissions while designating other portions within the same sub-frames for DL transmissions. In the example of <FIG>, sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> comprise special sub-frames that may be sub-divided into UL and DL portions. If, in an example embodiment, eNB <NUM> of <FIG> implements TDD configuration <NUM>, then eNB <NUM> may transmit to one or more UEs <NUM> over a wireless channel during sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and/or <NUM>-<NUM>, and/or during portions of sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM> and/or <NUM>-<NUM>, and may receive transmissions from one or more UEs <NUM> over the wireless channel during sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and/or <NUM>-<NUM>, and/or during other portions of sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM> and/or <NUM>-<NUM>.

Returning to <FIG>, in some embodiments, eNB <NUM> and eNB <NUM> may implement a same TDD configuration, such as the example TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG>. However, in various embodiments, it may be desirable that eNB <NUM> implement a different TDD configuration than eNB <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, a balance between UL and DL traffic within small cell <NUM> may be different than a balance between UL sub-frames and DL sub-frames according to a TDD configuration implemented by eNB <NUM>. In an example embodiment, there may be significantly more DL traffic than UL traffic in small cell <NUM>. In such a case, the even balance between UL and DL sub-frames defined by TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG> may be sub-optimal for use in small cell <NUM>. Thus, in such a case, it may be desirable to implement a different TDD configuration in small cell <NUM>, according to which more time resources are allocated for DL transmissions than are allocated for UL transmissions.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a TDD configuration <NUM> that may be implemented in small cell <NUM> in some embodiments. More particularly, TDD configuration <NUM> may comprise an example of a TDD configuration that allocates more time resources for DL transmissions than for UL transmissions. In the aforementioned example in which there is significantly more DL traffic than UL traffic in small cell <NUM> of <FIG>, TDD configuration <NUM> may allocate resources in a manner that better reflects the UL/DL traffic balance within small cell <NUM>. In TDD configuration <NUM>, sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM> are each designated as DL sub-frames. Sub-frame <NUM>-<NUM> is designated as a special sub-frame, and only sub-frame <NUM>-<NUM> is designated as a UL sub-frame. In contrast to TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG>, which features an even balance between UL and DL allocations, TDD configuration <NUM> heavily favors DL allocations. Thus, TDD configuration <NUM> may be more optimal for implementation in small cell <NUM> of <FIG> if there is substantially more DL traffic in small cell <NUM> than there is UL traffic.

It is worthy of note that TDD configuration <NUM> merely comprises one example of an alternate TDD configuration that might be implemented in small cell <NUM>, and the embodiments are not limited to this particular example. Further, the scenario in which small cell <NUM> comprises substantially more DL traffic than UL traffic is merely one example of a scenario in which a TDD configuration other than TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG> might be preferable for implementation within small cell <NUM>. In various other embodiments, small cell <NUM> may comprise substantially more UL traffic than DL traffic, or there may be other reasons why it may be preferable to implement an alternate TDD configuration in small cell <NUM>. Furthermore, the TDD configuration implemented in macrocell <NUM> may not necessarily be one that features an even balance between UL and DL allocations.

Returning to <FIG>, in some embodiments, the TDD configuration for macrocell <NUM> may be statically defined, while the TDD configuration for small cell <NUM> may be dynamic. In various embodiments, eNB <NUM> may dynamically select the TDD configuration for small cell <NUM> based on traffic characteristics within small cell <NUM>. In some embodiments, a TDD configuration dynamically selected by eNB <NUM> for small cell <NUM> may differ from a static TDD configuration for macrocell <NUM>. For example, in various embodiments, macrocell <NUM> may be statically configured with TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG>, while eNB <NUM> may dynamically select TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG> for small cell <NUM> based on traffic conditions within small cell <NUM>. During some sub-frames in some embodiments in which eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> implement different TDD configurations, eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> may communicate in opposite directions. For example, if eNB <NUM> implements TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG> and eNB <NUM> implements TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG>, then during sub-frames <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM>, eNB <NUM> may receive UL transmissions from UEs <NUM> while eNB <NUM> sends DL transmissions to UEs <NUM>. The embodiments are not limited to this example.

As previously noted, a particular TDD configuration such as TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG> or TDD configuration <NUM> of <FIG> may specify the directions for wireless communications over a particular wireless channel. In operating environment <NUM>, eNB <NUM> may utilize a different frequency channel to communicate with UEs <NUM> than eNB <NUM> utilizes to communicate with UEs <NUM>. However, in various embodiments, eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> may utilize respective frequency channels that are adjacent to each other. In some such embodiments, the use of adjacent frequency channels may tend to result in mutual interference between communications in macrocell <NUM> and communications in small cell <NUM> during some sub-frames. More particularly, the use of adjacent frequency channels may tend to result in mutual interference in sub-frames during which the transmission direction in macrocell <NUM> is opposite that in small cell <NUM>. In sub-frames during which macrocell transmissions are performed in the DL direction and small cell transmissions are performed in the UL direction, DL transmissions in macrocell <NUM> may tend to interfere with UL transmissions in small cell <NUM>. Similarly, in sub-frames during which macrocell transmissions are performed in the UL direction and small cell transmissions are performed in the DL direction, DL transmissions in small cell <NUM> may tend to interfere with UL transmissions in macrocell <NUM>.

Disclosed herein are techniques for mitigating interference between adjacent wireless communications channels. According to such techniques, the transmit powers of one or more transmissions performed in a small cell such as small cell <NUM> may be adjusted in order to reduce the likelihood and/or degree of interference between transmissions in the small cell and transmissions in a macrocell near or within which it resides, such as macrocell <NUM>. In various embodiments, the techniques may additionally involve adjusting the transmit powers of one or more transmissions performed in the macrocell. In some embodiments in which a TDD configuration for the small cell can be dynamically selected, an adjacent channel association bias may be introduced that increases the tendency of UEs to associate with the small cell, thus allowing more traffic to make use of the dynamic TDD configuration capabilities of the small cell. At the same time, the adjacent channel association bias may reduce the amount of traffic handled by the macrocell, and in various embodiments, the reduced load may enable the macrocell eNB to refrain from performing potentially interfering DL transmissions during some sub-frames.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus <NUM>. Apparatus <NUM> may be representative of an eNB, such as eNB <NUM> of <FIG>, that may implement adjacent channel interference mitigation techniques in some embodiments. As shown in <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> comprises multiple elements including a processor circuit <NUM>, a memory unit <NUM>, a communications component <NUM>, and a power management component <NUM>. The embodiments, however, are not limited to the type, number, or arrangement of elements shown in this figure.

In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise processor circuit <NUM>. Processor circuit <NUM> may be implemented using any processor or logic device, such as a complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, an x86 instruction set compatible processor, a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets, a multi-core processor such as a dual-core processor or dual-core mobile processor, or any other microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU). Processor circuit <NUM> may also be implemented as a dedicated processor, such as a controller, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, a chip multiprocessor (CMP), a co-processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, a media processor, an input/output (I/O) processor, a media access control (MAC) processor, a radio baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), and so forth. In one embodiment, for example, processor circuit <NUM> may be implemented as a general purpose processor, such as a processor made by Intel® Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif.

In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise or be arranged to communicatively couple with a memory unit <NUM>. Memory unit <NUM> may be implemented using any machine-readable or computer-readable media capable of storing data, including both volatile and non-volatile memory. For example, memory unit <NUM> may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase change or ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing information. It is worthy of note that some portion or all of memory unit <NUM> may be included on the same integrated circuit as processor circuit <NUM>, or alternatively some portion or all of memory unit <NUM> may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium, for example a hard disk drive, that is external to the integrated circuit of processor circuit <NUM>. Although memory unit <NUM> is comprised within apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>, memory unit <NUM> may be external to apparatus <NUM> in various embodiments.

In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise a communications component <NUM>. Communications component <NUM> may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions operative to send messages to one or more remote devices and/or to receive messages from one or more remote devices. In various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send and/or receive messages over one or more wired connections, one or more wireless connections, or a combination of both. In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may additionally comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions operative to perform various operations in support of such communications. Examples of such operations may include selection of transmission and/or reception parameters and/or timing, packet and/or protocol data unit (PDU) construction and/or deconstruction, encoding and/or decoding, error detection, and/or error correction. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise a power management component <NUM>. Power management component <NUM> may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions operative to determine transmit powers for messages sent by communications component <NUM>. In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine such transmit powers based on information received from one or more remote devices. In various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may additionally or alternatively be operative to determine transmit powers to be used by one or more remote devices in sending messages to apparatus <NUM>.

<FIG> also illustrates a block diagram of a system <NUM>. System <NUM> may comprise any of the aforementioned elements of apparatus <NUM>. System <NUM> may further comprise a radio frequency (RF) transceiver <NUM>. RF transceiver <NUM> may comprise one or more radios capable of transmitting and receiving signals using various suitable wireless communications techniques. Such techniques may involve communications across one or more wireless networks. Exemplary wireless networks include (but are not limited to) cellular radio access networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs), wireless metropolitan area network (WMANs), and satellite networks. In communicating across such networks, RF transceiver <NUM> may operate in accordance with one or more applicable standards in any version.

In some embodiments, system <NUM> may comprise one or more RF antennas <NUM>. Examples of any particular RF antenna <NUM> may include, without limitation, an internal antenna, an omnidirectional antenna, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, an end-fed antenna, a circularly polarized antenna, a micro-strip antenna, a diversity antenna, a dual antenna, a tri-band antenna, a quad-band antenna, and so forth. In various embodiments, RF transceiver <NUM> may be operative to send and/or receive messages and/or data using one or more RF antennas <NUM>.

During operation, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may generally be operative to implement a radio access network cell within which it provides service to one or more remote devices such as UEs. In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may comprise an eNB that serves UEs within a small cell, such as a picocell. In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may be operative to communicate with UEs in the small cell according to a TDD configuration for the small cell. In some embodiments, the small cell that apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> serves may be located within or near a macrocell that operates on an adjacent frequency channel. In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may be operative to communicate with a macrocell eNB <NUM> that serves the macrocell.

In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> from macrocell eNB <NUM>. Macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> may comprise information describing a TDD configuration according to which macrocell eNB <NUM> communicates with UEs in its macrocell. In various embodiments, macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> may comprise an identifier (ID) for a particular TDD configuration, the details of which may already known to apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, memory unit <NUM> may comprised stored information describing various possible TDD configurations and specifying their respective IDs. In various other embodiments, macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> may comprise information that in itself specifies the details of a TDD configuration of the macrocell. For example, in some embodiments, macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> may specify, for each sub-frame of a defined wireless communications timing frame, whether communications performed in the macrocell during that sub-frame are performed in the UL direction, the DL direction, or both. In various embodiments, the TDD configuration of the macrocell may be static.

In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine a TDD configuration for a small cell served by apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>. In various embodiments, the TDD configuration for the small cell may be dynamically selected, based on traffic characteristics in the small cell. For example, in some embodiments, if there is a significantly larger amount of DL traffic in the small cell than there is UL traffic, a TDD configuration may be selected for the small cell that allocated more sub-frames for DL communications than it allocates for UL communications. In various embodiments, power management component <NUM> and/or one or more other components of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may select the TDD configuration for the small cell. In some other embodiments, the TDD configuration for the small cell may be selected by an external device and reported to apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>. For example, in various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send traffic information to macrocell eNB <NUM> that describes the traffic in the small cell, and macrocell eNB <NUM> may be operative to select the TDD configuration for the small cell and send a message to apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> that comprises an ID for the selected TDD configuration. Power management component <NUM> may then be operative to determine the TDD configuration for the small cell based on the ID comprised in the received message. The embodiments are not limited to this example.

In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to identify one or more incongruent sub-frames of a small cell served by apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>. Herein, the term "incongruent sub-frame" denotes a sub-frame during at least a portion of which a communications direction in a small cell is different than a communications direction in an adjacent-channel macrocell within or near which the small cell is located. An "incongruent UL sub-frame" is defined as a sub-frame during which communications are in the UL direction in the small cell but, during at least a portion of the sub-frame, are in the DL direction in the adjacent-channel macrocell. Similarly, an "incongruent DL sub-frame" is defined as a sub-frame during which communications are in the DL direction in the small cell but, during at least a portion of the sub-frame, are in the UL direction in the adjacent-channel macrocell. In various embodiments, the incongruent sub-frames identified by power management component <NUM> may include one or more incongruent UL sub-frames and/or one or more incongruent DL sub-frames. In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine the one or more incongruent sub-frames by comparing the TDD configuration of the macrocell with the TDD configuration of the small cell.

In various embodiments, in response to identifying one or more incongruent DL sub-frames, power management component <NUM> may be operative to select a reduced DL transmit power for use in transmitting DL messages <NUM> sent during those sub-frames. In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine the reduced DL transmit power by reducing a standard DL transmit power by a particular margin. For example, in various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine the reduced DL transmit power by subtracting <NUM> dB from a standard DL transmit power. The embodiments are not limited to this example.

In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to use the reduced DL transmit power to send one or more DL messages <NUM> during one or more of the incongruent DL sub-frames. In various embodiments, by reducing the transmit power with which it sends DL messages <NUM> during incongruent DL sub-frames, communications component <NUM> may reduce the tendency of those DL messages <NUM> to interfere with UL communications sent to macrocell eNB <NUM> by UEs in the macrocell that macrocell eNB <NUM> serves.

In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> to one or more small cell UEs, such as a UE <NUM>. Small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> may comprise information describing the selected TDD configuration according to which UEs in the small cell are to communicate with apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>. In various embodiments, small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> may simply comprise a TDD configuration ID, while in some other embodiments, small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> may comprise information that in itself specifies the details of the selected TDD configuration for the small cell.

In various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to provide the one or more small cell UEs with additional information that they can use to implement further interference mitigation techniques. More particularly, in some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send information that enables one or more small cell UEs to identify one or more incongruent UL sub-frames and perform interference mitigation techniques during those incongruent UL sub-frames. For example, in various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to provide one or more UEs such as UE <NUM> with incongruent UL sub-frame information <NUM> that identifies one or more incongruent UL sub-frames for the small cell. In some other embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to provide the one or more UEs with macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> and small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>, and those UEs may be operative to identify the one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on the macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> and the small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>. In yet other embodiments, the UEs may be operative to receive macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> directly from macrocell eNB <NUM>, to receive small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> from apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>, and to identify the one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on the macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> and the small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>.

In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to select one or more UL power control parameter values <NUM> for application by one or more small cell UEs, such as UE <NUM>. In various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send UL power control parameter values <NUM> to small cell UEs by including UL power control parameter values <NUM> in incongruent UL sub-frame information <NUM> and or DL messages <NUM>. In some other embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send UL power control parameter values <NUM> in separate, dedicated messages. In various embodiments, UL power control parameter values <NUM> may comprise values for UL power control parameters that small cell UEs are to apply in order to implement enhanced UL transmit powers during incongruent UL sub-frames.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus <NUM>. Apparatus <NUM> may be representative of a UE, such as a UE <NUM> of <FIG> and/or UE <NUM> of <FIG>, that may implement adjacent channel interference mitigation techniques in various embodiments. As shown in <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> comprises multiple elements including a processor circuit <NUM>, a memory unit <NUM>, a communications component <NUM>, and a power management component <NUM>. The embodiments, however, are not limited to the type, number, or arrangement of elements shown in this figure.

In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise processor circuit <NUM>. Processor circuit <NUM> may be implemented using any processor or logic device. Examples of processor circuit <NUM> may include, without limitation, any of the examples previously presented with respect to processor circuit <NUM> of <FIG>.

In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise or be arranged to communicatively couple with a memory unit <NUM>. Memory unit <NUM> may be implemented using any machine-readable or computer-readable media capable of storing data, including both volatile and non-volatile memory. Examples of memory unit <NUM> may include, without limitation, any of the examples previously presented with respect to memory unit <NUM> of <FIG>. It is worthy of note that some portion or all of memory unit <NUM> may be included on the same integrated circuit as processor circuit <NUM>, or alternatively some portion or all of memory unit <NUM> may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium, for example a hard disk drive, that is external to the integrated circuit of processor circuit <NUM>. Although memory unit <NUM> is comprised within apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>, memory unit <NUM> may be external to apparatus <NUM> in some embodiments.

In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise a communications component <NUM>. Communications component <NUM> may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions operative to send messages to one or more remote devices and/or to receive messages from one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to send and/or receive messages over one or more wired connections, one or more wireless connections, or a combination of both. In various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may additionally comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions operative to perform various operations in support of such communications. Examples of such operations may include selection of transmission and/or reception parameters and/or timing, packet and/or protocol data unit (PDU) construction and/or deconstruction, encoding and/or decoding, error detection, and/or error correction. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> may comprise a power management component <NUM>. Power management component <NUM> may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions operative to determine transmit powers for messages sent by communications component <NUM>. In various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine such transmit powers based on information received from one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may additionally be operative to determine received signal strengths for one or more signals received from one or more remote devices.

<FIG> also illustrates a block diagram of a system <NUM>. System <NUM> may comprise any of the aforementioned elements of apparatus <NUM>. System <NUM> may further comprise an RF transceiver <NUM>. RF transceiver <NUM> may comprise one or more radios capable of transmitting and receiving signals using various suitable wireless communications techniques. Such techniques may involve communications across one or more wireless networks. Examples of such wireless networks may include, without limitation, any of the examples previously presented with respect to RF transceiver <NUM> of <FIG>. In communicating across such networks, RF transceiver <NUM> may operate in accordance with one or more applicable standards in any version.

In various embodiments, system <NUM> may comprise one or more RF antennas <NUM>. Examples of RF antenna(s) <NUM> may include, without limitation, any of the examples previously presented with respect to RF antenna(s) <NUM> of <FIG>. In various embodiments, RF transceiver <NUM> may be operative to send and/or receive messages and/or data using one or more RF antennas <NUM>.

In some embodiments, system <NUM> may comprise a display <NUM>. Display <NUM> may comprise any display device capable of displaying information received from processor circuit <NUM>. Examples for display <NUM> may include a television, a monitor, a projector, and a computer screen. In one embodiment, for example, display <NUM> may be implemented by a liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED) or other type of suitable visual interface. Display <NUM> may comprise, for example, a touch-sensitive display screen ("touchscreen"). In various implementations, display <NUM> may comprise one or more thin-film transistors (TFT) LCD including embedded transistors. The embodiments, however, are not limited to these examples.

During operation, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may generally be operative to detect one or more eNBs based on reference signals received from the one or more eNBs, associate with a selected one of the one or more eNBs, and obtain wireless connectivity via the selected eNB. In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may be operative to select the eNB with which it associates based on the respective signal strengths with which it receives the reference signals from the one or more eNBs. In various embodiments, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may implement an eNB selection procedure that features an adjacent channel association bias. In some embodiments in which apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> selects between a macrocell eNB and a small cell eNB that operate on adjacent frequency channels, the adjacent channel association bias may increase the tendency of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> to select the small cell eNB.

In various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive a reference signal <NUM> from a macrocell eNB <NUM>, which may be the same as or similar to eNB <NUM> of <FIG> and/or macrocell eNB <NUM> of <FIG>. In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive a reference signal <NUM> from a small cell eNB <NUM>, which may operate on frequency channel that is adjacent to that used by the macrocell eNB <NUM>, and which may be the same as or similar to eNB <NUM> of <FIG> and/or apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>. In various embodiments, reference signals <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise channel state information (CSI) reference signals. In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine a received signal strength <NUM> for reference signal <NUM> and a received signal strength <NUM> for reference signal <NUM>. In various embodiments, received signal strengths <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise respective powers with which apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> receive reference signals <NUM> and <NUM>.

In some embodiments, having detected macrocell eNB <NUM> and small cell eNB <NUM> based on respective reference signals <NUM> and <NUM>, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine whether to associate with macrocell eNB <NUM> or to associate with small cell eNB <NUM>. More particularly, in various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to select between macrocell eNB <NUM> and small cell eNB <NUM> based on received signal strengths <NUM> and <NUM>. In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative simply to compare received signal strength <NUM> with received signal strength <NUM>, and select the eNB corresponding to the greater of the two received signal strengths. However, in various other embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to determine that macrocell eNB <NUM> and small cell eNB <NUM> operate on adjacent frequency channels, and may be operative to apply an adjacent channel association bias to its eNB selection procedure. In some such embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to apply the adjacent channel association bias by incrementing received signal strength <NUM> by some amount, such as <NUM> dB, before comparing it with received signal strength <NUM>. It will be appreciated that numerous other approaches may be used in order to implement an adjacent channel association bias during selection between eNBs, and the embodiments are not limited to this example.

In various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to select small cell eNB <NUM> for association. In some embodiments, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> may be operative to communicate with small cell eNB <NUM> according to a TDD configuration for the small cell. In various embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> from small cell eNB <NUM> that describes the TDD configuration for the small cell. In some embodiments, small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> may simply comprise a TDD configuration ID, while in various other embodiments, small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> may comprise information that in itself specifies the details of the TDD configuration for the small cell.

In some embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to identify one or more incongruent UL sub-frames for the small cell. In various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to identify the one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on information received from small cell eNB <NUM>. In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive incongruent UL sub-frame information <NUM> from small cell eNB <NUM> that specifies one or more incongruent UL-sub-frames, and power management component <NUM> may be operative to identify the one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on the incongruent UL sub-frame information <NUM>. In various other embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> from small cell eNB <NUM> that describes a TDD configuration for a macrocell within or near which the small cell is located, and power management component <NUM> may be operative to identify the one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on the macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> and the small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>. In yet other embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> directly from macrocell eNB <NUM>, to receive small cell TDD configuration information <NUM> from small cell eNB <NUM>, and to identify the one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on the macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> and the small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>.

In some embodiments, in response to identifying one or more incongruent UL sub-frames, power management component <NUM> may be operative to implement an enhanced UL transmit power for use in transmitting UL messages <NUM> sent during those sub-frames. In various embodiments, power management component <NUM> may be operative to apply one or more UL power control parameter values in order to implement the enhanced UL transmit power. In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to receive UL power control parameter values <NUM> from small cell eNB <NUM>, and power management component <NUM> may be operative to apply the received UL power control parameter values <NUM> in order to implement the enhanced UL transmit power.

In some embodiments, the UL power control parameter values may comprise values for fractional UL power control parameters. In various embodiments, for example, power management component <NUM> may be operative to apply values for a target received power parameter P<NUM> and/or a compensation factor parameter α in order to implement an enhanced UL transmit power for sending UL messages <NUM> during one or more incongruent UL sub-frames. In an example embodiment, power management component <NUM> may be operative to increment the target received power parameter P<NUM> by a defined margin, such as <NUM> dB. In some embodiments, communications component <NUM> may be operative to use the enhanced UL transmit power to send one or more UL messages <NUM> to small cell eNB <NUM> during one or more of the incongruent UL sub-frames. In various embodiments, by increasing the transmit power with which it sends UL messages <NUM> during incongruent UL sub-frames, communications component <NUM> may reduce the tendency of DL transmissions of a surrounding or neighboring macrocell to interfere with those UL messages <NUM>.

Operations for the above embodiments may be further described with reference to the following figures and accompanying examples. Some of the figures may include a logic flow. Although such figures presented herein may include a particular logic flow, it can be appreciated that the logic flow merely provides an example of how the general functionality as described herein can be implemented. Further, the given logic flow does not necessarily have to be executed in the order presented unless otherwise indicated. In addition, the given logic flow may be implemented by a hardware element, a software element executed by a processor, or any combination thereof.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow <NUM>, which may be representative of the operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein. More particularly, logic flow <NUM> may be representative of operations that may be performed in some embodiments by a small cell UE, such as a UE <NUM> of <FIG>, UE <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>. As shown in logic flow <NUM>, association with a pico eNB in a TDD picocell may be performed at <NUM>. For example, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to associate with small cell eNB <NUM>, which may comprise a pico eNB in a TDD picocell. At <NUM>, TDD configuration information for the picocell may be received. For example, communications component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to receive small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>. At <NUM>, an incongruent UL sub-frame may be identified. For example, power management component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to identify one or more incongruent UL sub-frames based on small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>. At <NUM>, an enhanced UL transmit power may be used to send a UL message during the incongruent UL sub-frame. For example, communications component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to use an enhanced UL transmit power to send a UL message <NUM> during an incongruent UL sub-frame. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow <NUM>, which may be representative of the operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein. More particularly, logic flow <NUM> may be representative of operations that may be performed in various embodiments by a small cell eNB, such as eNB <NUM> of <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or small cell eNB <NUM> of <FIG>. As shown in logic flow <NUM>, a TDD configuration for a picocell may be determined at <NUM>. For example, power management component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to determine a TDD configuration for a picocell served by apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM>. At <NUM>, TDD configuration for an adjacent-channel macrocell may be received. For example, communications component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to receive macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> from macrocell eNB <NUM>, which may serve an adjacent-channel macrocell. At <NUM>, an incongruent DL sub-frame may be identified. For example, power management component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to identify an incongruent DL sub-frame based on macrocell TDD configuration information <NUM> and small cell TDD configuration information <NUM>. At <NUM>, a reduced DL transmit power may be used to send a DL message during the incongruent DL sub-frame. For example, communications component <NUM> of <FIG> may be operative to use a reduced DL transmit power to send a DL message <NUM> during the incongruent DL sub-frame. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of a storage medium <NUM>. Storage medium <NUM> may comprise any non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or machine-readable storage medium, such as an optical, magnetic or semiconductor storage medium. In various embodiments, storage medium <NUM> may comprise an article of manufacture. In some embodiments, storage medium <NUM> may store computer-executable instructions, such as computer-executable instructions to implement one or more of logic flow <NUM> of <FIG> and logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>. Examples of a computer-readable storage medium or machine-readable storage medium may include any tangible media capable of storing electronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. Examples of computer-executable instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, and the like.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of a communications device <NUM> that may implement one or more of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, and storage medium <NUM> of <FIG>. In various embodiments, device <NUM> may comprise a logic circuit <NUM>. The logic circuit <NUM> may include physical circuits to perform operations described for one or more of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, and logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, for example. As shown in <FIG>, device <NUM> may include a radio interface <NUM>, baseband circuitry <NUM>, and computing platform <NUM>, although the embodiments are not limited to this configuration.

The device <NUM> may implement some or all of the structure and/or operations for one or more of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, storage medium <NUM> of <FIG>, and logic circuit <NUM> in a single computing entity, such as entirely within a single device. Alternatively, the device <NUM> may distribute portions of the structure and/or operations for one or more of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, storage medium <NUM> of <FIG>, and logic circuit <NUM> across multiple computing entities using a distributed system architecture, such as a client-server architecture, a <NUM>-tier architecture, an N-tier architecture, a tightly-coupled or clustered architecture, a peer-to-peer architecture, a master-slave architecture, a shared database architecture, and other types of distributed systems.

In one embodiment, radio interface <NUM> may include a component or combination of components adapted for transmitting and/or receiving single carrier or multi-carrier modulated signals (e.g., including complementary code keying (CCK) and/or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) although the embodiments are not limited to any specific over-the-air interface or modulation scheme. Radio interface <NUM> may include, for example, a receiver <NUM>, a frequency synthesizer <NUM>, and/or a transmitter <NUM>. Radio interface <NUM> may include bias controls, a crystal oscillator and/or one or more antennas <NUM>-f. In another embodiment, radio interface <NUM> may use external voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), surface acoustic wave filters, intermediate frequency (IF) filters and/or RF filters, as desired. Due to the variety of potential RF interface designs an expansive description thereof is omitted.

Baseband circuitry <NUM> may communicate with radio interface <NUM> to process receive and/or transmit signals and may include, for example, an analog-to-digital converter <NUM> for down converting received signals, a digital-to-analog converter <NUM> for up converting signals for transmission. Further, baseband circuitry <NUM> may include a baseband or physical layer (PHY) processing circuit <NUM> for PHY link layer processing of respective receive/transmit signals. Baseband circuitry <NUM> may include, for example, a medium access control (MAC) processing circuit <NUM> for MAC/data link layer processing. Baseband circuitry <NUM> may include a memory controller <NUM> for communicating with MAC processing circuit <NUM> and/or a computing platform <NUM>, for example, via one or more interfaces <NUM>.

In some embodiments, PHY processing circuit <NUM> may include a frame construction and/or detection module, in combination with additional circuitry such as a buffer memory, to construct and/or deconstruct communication frames. Alternatively or in addition, MAC processing circuit <NUM> may share processing for certain of these functions or perform these processes independent of PHY processing circuit <NUM>. In some embodiments, MAC and PHY processing may be integrated into a single circuit.

The computing platform <NUM> may provide computing functionality for the device <NUM>. As shown, the computing platform <NUM> may include a processing component <NUM>. In addition to, or alternatively of, the baseband circuitry <NUM>, the device <NUM> may execute processing operations or logic for one or more of apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> and/or system <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, logic flow <NUM> of <FIG>, storage medium <NUM> of <FIG>, and logic circuit <NUM> using the processing component <NUM>. The processing component <NUM> (and/or PHY <NUM> and/or MAC <NUM>) may comprise various hardware elements, software elements, or a combination of both. Examples of hardware elements may include devices, logic devices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits, processor circuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), memory units, logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips, chip sets, and so forth. Examples of software elements may include software components, programs, applications, computer programs, application programs, system programs, software development programs, machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces, application program interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code, computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodiment is implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may vary in accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computational rate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design or performance constraints, as desired for a given implementation.

The computing platform <NUM> may further include other platform components <NUM>. Other platform components <NUM> include common computing elements, such as one or more processors, multi-core processors, co-processors, memory units, chipsets, controllers, peripherals, interfaces, oscillators, timing devices, video cards, audio cards, multimedia input/output (I/O) components (e.g., digital displays), power supplies, and so forth. Examples of memory units may include without limitation various types of computer readable and machine readable storage media in the form of one or more higher speed memory units, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase change or ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or optical cards, an array of devices such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) drives, solid state memory devices (e.g., USB memory, solid state drives (SSD) and any other type of storage media suitable for storing information.

Device <NUM> may be, for example, an ultra-mobile device, a mobile device, a fixed device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile computing device, a smart phone, a telephone, a digital telephone, a cellular telephone, user equipment, eBook readers, a handset, a one-way pager, a two-way pager, a messaging device, a computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a server, a server array or server farm, a web server, a network server, an Internet server, a work station, a mini-computer, a main frame computer, a supercomputer, a network appliance, a web appliance, a distributed computing system, multiprocessor systems, processor-based systems, consumer electronics, programmable consumer electronics, game devices, display, television, digital television, set top box, wireless access point, base station, node B, subscriber station, mobile subscriber center, radio network controller, router, hub, gateway, bridge, switch, machine, or combination thereof. Accordingly, functions and/or specific configurations of device <NUM> described herein, may be included or omitted in various embodiments of device <NUM>, as suitably desired.

Embodiments of device <NUM> may be implemented using single input single output (SISO) architectures. However, certain implementations may include multiple antennas (e.g., antennas <NUM>-f) for transmission and/or reception using adaptive antenna techniques for beamforming or spatial division multiple access (SDMA) and/or using MIMO communication techniques.

The components and features of device <NUM> may be implemented using any combination of discrete circuitry, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logic gates and/or single chip architectures. Further, the features of device <NUM> may be implemented using microcontrollers, programmable logic arrays and/or microprocessors or any combination of the foregoing where suitably appropriate. It is noted that hardware, firmware and/or software elements may be collectively or individually referred to herein as "logic" or "circuit.

It should be appreciated that the exemplary device <NUM> shown in the block diagram of <FIG> may represent one functionally descriptive example of many potential implementations. Accordingly, division, omission or inclusion of block functions depicted in the accompanying figures does not infer that the hardware components, circuits, software and/or elements for implementing these functions would be necessarily be divided, omitted, or included in embodiments.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of a broadband wireless access system <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, broadband wireless access system <NUM> may be an internet protocol (IP) type network comprising an internet <NUM> type network or the like that is capable of supporting mobile wireless access and/or fixed wireless access to internet <NUM>. In one or more embodiments, broadband wireless access system <NUM> may comprise any type of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based wireless network, such as a system compliant with one or more of the 3GPP LTE Specifications and/or IEEE <NUM> Standards, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

In the exemplary broadband wireless access system <NUM>, radio access networks (RANs) <NUM> and <NUM> are capable of coupling with evolved node Bs (eNBs) <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, to provide wireless communication between one or more fixed devices <NUM> and internet <NUM> and/or between or one or more mobile devices <NUM> and Internet <NUM>. One example of a fixed device <NUM> and a mobile device <NUM> is device <NUM> of <FIG>, with the fixed device <NUM> comprising a stationary version of device <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> comprising a mobile version of device <NUM>. RANs <NUM> and <NUM> may implement profiles that are capable of defining the mapping of network functions to one or more physical entities on broadband wireless access system <NUM>. eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise radio equipment to provide RF communication with fixed device <NUM> and/or mobile device <NUM>, such as described with reference to device <NUM>, and may comprise, for example, the PHY and MAC layer equipment in compliance with a 3GPP LTE Specification or an IEEE <NUM> Standard. eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> may further comprise an IP backplane to couple to Internet <NUM> via RANs <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Broadband wireless access system <NUM> may further comprise a visited core network (CN) <NUM> and/or a home CN <NUM>, each of which may be capable of providing one or more network functions including but not limited to proxy and/or relay type functions, for example authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) functions, dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) functions, or domain name service controls or the like, domain gateways such as public switched telephone network (PSTN) gateways or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) gateways, and/or internet protocol (IP) type server functions, or the like. However, these are merely example of the types of functions that are capable of being provided by visited CN <NUM> and/or home CN <NUM>, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. Visited CN <NUM> may be referred to as a visited CN in the case where visited CN <NUM> is not part of the regular service provider of fixed device <NUM> or mobile device <NUM>, for example where fixed device <NUM> or mobile device <NUM> is roaming away from its respective home CN <NUM>, or where broadband wireless access system <NUM> is part of the regular service provider of fixed device <NUM> or mobile device <NUM> but where broadband wireless access system <NUM> may be in another location or state that is not the main or home location of fixed device <NUM> or mobile device <NUM>.

Fixed device <NUM> may be located anywhere within range of one or both of eNBs <NUM> and <NUM>, such as in or near a home or business to provide home or business customer broadband access to Internet <NUM> via eNBs <NUM> and <NUM> and RANs <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and home CN <NUM>. It is worthy of note that although fixed device <NUM> is generally disposed in a stationary location, it may be moved to different locations as needed. Mobile device <NUM> may be utilized at one or more locations if mobile device <NUM> is within range of one or both of eNBs <NUM> and <NUM>, for example. In accordance with one or more embodiments, operation support system (OSS) <NUM> may be part of broadband wireless access system <NUM> to provide management functions for broadband wireless access system <NUM> and to provide interfaces between functional entities of broadband wireless access system <NUM>. Broadband wireless access system <NUM> of <FIG> is merely one type of wireless network showing a certain number of the components of broadband wireless access system <NUM>, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Some embodiments may be implemented, for example, using a machine-readable medium or article which may store an instruction or a set of instructions that, if executed by a machine, may cause the machine to perform a method and/or operations in accordance with the embodiments. Such a machine may include, for example, any suitable processing platform, computing platform, computing device, processing device, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, or the like, and may be implemented using any suitable combination of hardware and/or software. The machine-readable medium or article may include, for example, any suitable type of memory unit, memory device, memory article, memory medium, storage device, storage article, storage medium and/or storage unit, for example, memory, removable or non-removable media, erasable or non-erasable media, writeable or re-writeable media, digital or analog media, hard disk, floppy disk, Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW), optical disk, magnetic media, magneto-optical media, removable memory cards or disks, various types of Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a tape, a cassette, or the like. The instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, encrypted code, and the like, implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpreted programming language.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with <NUM> C. § <NUM>(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment. In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein," respectively. Moreover, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

Claim 1:
User equipment, UE, (<NUM>), comprising:
logic, at least a portion of which is in hardware, the logic to associate the UE with a small cell evolved node B, eNB (<NUM>), in a time-division duplex, TDD, small cell,
identify, based on information received from the small cell eNB (<NUM>), a subframe during which communications are in an uplink, UL, direction according to a TDD configuration of the small cell and in which communications are in a downlink, DL, direction of a TDD configuration of an adjacent-channel macrocell during at least a portion of the subframe,
receive one or more UL power control parameter values from the small cell eNB, wherein the UL power control parameter values are configured in order to implement an increased UL transmit power to mitigate interference caused by the communications in the DL direction,
and, in response to identifying the subframe during which the communications are in the UL direction according to the TDD configuration of the small cell and in which the communications are in the DL direction of the TDD configuration of the adjacent-channel macrocell, implement the increased UL transmit power in the subframe.