Component Carrier Uplink Maximum Transmission Power Reporting Scheme For Carrier Aggregation

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe method, apparatus, and system configurations for reporting uplink maximum transmission power for each component carrier of a carrier aggregation scheme. A method includes establishing, by a user equipment (UE), a communication link with an enhanced node B (eNB) station of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network, and sending, by the UE to the eNB station, a message that includes information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/410,740, filed Nov. 5, 2010, the entire specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes, except for those sections, if any, that are inconsistent with this specification.

FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to methods, apparatus, and system configurations for reporting uplink maximum transmission power for each component carrier of a carrier aggregation scheme.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Mobile networks that facilitate transfer of information at broadband rates continue to be developed and deployed. Such networks may be colloquially referred to herein as broadband wireless access (BWA) networks and may include networks operating in conformance with one or more protocols specified by the 3.sup.rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and its derivatives, the WiMAX Forum, or the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005 Amendment), although the embodiments discussed herein are not so limited. IEEE 802.16 compatible BWA networks are generally referred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark for products that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 standards.

[0004] A variety of different device types may be used in broadband wireless technologies. Such devices may include, for example, personal computers, handheld devices, and other consumer electronics such as music players, digital cameras, etc., that are configured to communicate over the wireless broadband networks.

[0005] Carrier aggregation is a feature in emerging wireless systems that allows user equipment (UE) to concurrently utilize radio resources from multiple carrier frequencies using component carriers. Schemes for reporting of uplink maximum power transmission for individual component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme are needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

[0007] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example broadband wireless access (BWA) network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example reporting scheme for uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates another example reporting scheme for uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates yet another example reporting scheme for uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for reporting uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another method for reporting uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for scheduling resources for uplink transmission in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 8 schematically illustrates an example system that may be used to practice various embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide method, apparatus, and system configurations for reporting uplink transmission power (e.g., maximum transmission power) for individual component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme. In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments in which the subject matter of the present disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0016] Various operations are described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

[0017] For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase "A and/or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase "A, B, and/or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

[0018] The description may use the phrases "in an embodiment," or "in embodiments," which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous.

[0019] As used herein, the term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.

[0020] While example embodiments may be described herein in relation to broadband wireless access networks in general, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto and can be applied to other types of wireless networks where similar advantages may be obtained. Such networks include, but are not limited to, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs) and/or wireless wide area networks (WWANs) such as cellular networks and the like.

[0021] The following embodiments may be used in a variety of applications including transmitters and receivers of a mobile wireless radio system. Radio systems specifically included within the scope of the embodiments include, but are not limited to, network interface cards (NICs), network adaptors, base stations, access points (APs), relay nodes, enhanced node Bs, gateways, bridges, hubs and satellite radiotelephones. Further, the radio systems within the scope of embodiments may include satellite systems, personal communication systems (PCS), two-way radio systems, global positioning systems (GPS), two-way pagers, personal computers (PCs) and related peripherals, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal computing accessories and all existing and future arising systems which may be related in nature and to which the principles of the embodiments could be suitably applied.

[0022] In some embodiments, a method of the present disclosure includes establishing, by a user equipment (UE), a communication link with a base station of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network, and sending, by the UE to the base station, a message that includes information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme.

[0023] In some embodiments of the method, sending the message is performed during establishment of the communication link.

[0024] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending, by the UE to the base station, another message that includes updated information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and another value that indicates an updated uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme. In some embodiments, sending the another message is performed periodically or based on occurrence of an event.

[0025] In some embodiments, the information for the PHR includes a power headroom value that indicates a difference between the uplink maximum transmission power and an estimated transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme.

[0026] In some embodiments, the value that indicates the uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme is a quantized nominal value that is sent by the UE to the base station for the base station to schedule resources for uplink transmission by the UE.

[0027] In some embodiments, the message is a second message that is sent subsequent to a first message, the method further including sending, by the UE to the base station, the first message to report a base value of the uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the first message includes one or more bits to indicate the base value, the base value being a nominal value of the uplink maximum transmission power, and wherein the second message includes one or more bits to differentially indicate an updated value of the uplink maximum transmission power relative to the base value.

[0028] In some embodiments, sending the first message is performed during establishment of the communication link, wherein the first message includes 8 bits to indicate the base value and is sent independent of messages sent for the PHR, and the second message includes 4 bits to differentially indicate the updated value relative to the base value.

[0029] In some embodiments, the method further includes, subsequent to sending the first message, sending, by the UE to the base station, a third message to report another base value of the uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the another base value is a nominal value of the uplink maximum transmission power, and wherein the third message is sent based upon a difference between a measured uplink maximum transmission power and the reported base value being greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0030] In some embodiments, the first message, the second message, and the third message each include a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message.

[0031] Embodiments of the present disclosure further include an apparatus having an antenna, a processor configured to communicate with a base station of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network via the antenna, and a storage medium coupled to the processor, the storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that if executed by the processor, result in establishing a communication link with the base station, and sending a message that includes information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and a value that indicates an uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the information for the PHR includes a power headroom value that indicates a difference between the uplink transmission power and an estimated transmission power for the individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme.

[0032] In some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to send the message during establishment of the communication link.

[0033] In some embodiments, the apparatus of claim 12 is configured to send to the base station another message that includes updated information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and another value that indicates an updated uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme.

[0034] In some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to send to the base station the another message periodically or based on occurrence of an event.

[0035] In some embodiments, the value that indicates the uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme is a quantized nominal value that is sent to the base station for the base station to schedule resources for uplink transmission by the apparatus.

[0036] In some embodiments, the message is a second message that is sent subsequent to a first message, and the apparatus is further configured send to the base station the first message to report a base value of the uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the first message includes one or more bits to indicate the base value, the base value being a nominal value of the uplink transmission power, and wherein the second message includes one or more bits to differentially indicate an updated value of the uplink transmission power relative to the base value.

[0037] In some embodiments, the apparatus is further configured to send the first message during establishment of the communication link, wherein the first message includes 8 bits to indicate the base value and is sent independent of messages sent for the PHR, and the second message includes 4 bits to differentially indicate the updated value relative to the base value.

[0038] In some embodiments, the apparatus is further configured to, subsequent to sending the first message, send, by the UE to the base station, a third message to report another base value of the uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the another base value is a nominal value of the uplink transmission power, and wherein the third message is sent based upon a difference between a measured uplink transmission power and the reported base value being greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0039] In some embodiments, the first message, the second message, and the third message sent by the apparatus each include a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message.

[0040] In some embodiments, the uplink transmission power is a maximum transmission power.

[0041] Embodiments of the present disclosure include another method including establishing, by a base station of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network, a communication link with a user equipment (UE), receiving, by the base station from the UE, a message that includes a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme, and scheduling, by the base station, resources for uplink transmission by the UE based on the received message.

[0042] In some embodiments, receiving the message is performed during establishment of the communication link.

[0043] In some embodiments, the another method further includes receiving, by the base station from the UE, another message that includes another value that indicates an updated uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme.

[0044] In some embodiments, the another message is sent by the UE to the base station based upon a difference between the another value and the value being greater than a pre-determined threshold.

[0045] In some embodiments, the message and the another message each include a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message that is received independent of Power Headroom Reporting (PHR) received by the base station, and the value and the another value each include a quantized nominal value of the uplink maximum transmission power.

[0046] Embodiments of the present disclosure further include a system including a processor configured to communicate with user equipment (UE) via a base station of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network, and a storage medium coupled to the processor, the storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that if executed by the processor, result in establishing, by the base station, a communication link with the UE, and receiving, by the base station from the UE, a message that includes a value that indicates an uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme.

[0047] In some embodiments, the system is configured to send the message during establishment of the communication link, and the system is further configured to schedule, by the base station, resources for uplink transmission by the UE based on the received message.

[0048] In some embodiments, the system is further configured to receive, by the base station from the UE, another message that includes another value that indicates an updated uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme.

[0049] In some embodiments, the another message is sent by the UE to the base station based upon a difference between the updated uplink transmission power of the UE and the uplink transmission power received by the base station in the message being greater than a pre-determined threshold.

[0050] In some embodiments, the message and the another message received by the base station each include a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message that is received independent of Power Headroom Reporting (PHR) received by the base station, the value and the another value each include a quantized nominal value of the uplink transmission power, and the uplink transmission power is a maximum transmission power. Other embodiments may be described herein.

[0051] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example broadband wireless access (BWA) network 100 in accordance with some embodiments. The BWA network 100 may be a network having one or more radio access networks (RANs) 20 and a core network 25.

[0052] User Equipment (UE) 15 may access the core network 25 via a radio link with a base station (BS) (e.g., one of BSes 40, 42, etc.) in the RAN 20. The UE 15 may, for example, be a subscriber station that is configured to concurrently utilize radio resources across multiple carriers such as in a carrier aggregation scheme using protocols compatible with the 3GPP standards including, for example, Long Term Evolution (LTE) including LTE Advanced or variants thereof. Carrier aggregation may increase channel bandwidth by combining the capacity of several individual carriers. The aggregated carriers can be adjacent or nonadjacent and can be in a single band or in different bands. Each individual carrier may be referred to as a component carrier (CC). The UE 15 may be configured to support multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication with the BSes 40, 42. For example, multiple antennas of the UE 15 may be used to concurrently utilize radio resources of multiple respective component carriers (e.g., carriers of BSes 40, 42) of the BWA network 100. The UE 15 may be configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) (e.g., downlink) and/or Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) (e.g., uplink) in some embodiments. While FIG. 1 generally depicts the UE 15 as a cellular phone, in various embodiments the UE 15 may be a personal computer (PC), a notebook, an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a handheld mobile device, an universal integrated circuit card (UICC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), or other consumer electronics such as MP3 players, digital cameras, and the like.

[0053] The BSes 40, 42 may each be configured to provide radio resources across multiple carriers to the UE 15. According to various embodiments, the BSes 40, 42 are enhanced Node-B (eNB) stations. The eNB stations may include multiple antennas, one or more radio modules to modulate and/or demodulate signals transmitted or received on an air interface, and one or more digital modules to process signals transmitted and received on the air interface.

[0054] In some embodiments, communication with the UE 15 via RAN 20 may be facilitated via one or more nodes 45. The one or more nodes 45 may act as an interface between the core network 25 and the RAN(s) 20. According to various embodiments, the one or more nodes 45 may include a Mobile Management Entity (MME) that is configured to manage signaling exchanges (e.g., authentication of the UE 15) between the BSes 40, 42 and the core network 25 (e.g., one or more servers 50), a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW) to provide a gateway router to the Internet 55, and/or a Serving Gateway (S-GW) to manage user data tunnels between the BSes 40, 42 of the RAN 20 and the PDN-GW. Other types of nodes may be used in other embodiments.

[0055] The core network 25 may include logic (e.g., a module) to provide authentication of the UE 15 or other actions associated with establishment of a communication link to provide a connected state of the UE 15 with the BWA network 100. For example, the core network 25 may include one or more servers 50 that may be communicatively coupled to the BSes 40, 42. In an embodiment, the one or more servers 50 include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), which may be used to manage user parameters such as a user's International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), authentication information, and the like. The one or more servers 50 may include over-the-air (OTA) servers in some embodiments. In some embodiments, logic associated with different functionalities of the one or more servers 50 may be combined to reduce a number of servers, including, for example, being combined in a single machine or module.

[0056] According to various embodiments, the BWA network 100 is an Internet Protocol (IP) based network. For example, the core network 25 may be an IP based network. Interfaces between network nodes (e.g., the one or more nodes 45) may be based on IP, including a backhaul connection to the BSes 40, 42.

[0057] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example reporting scheme 200 for uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments. At 202, the UE 15 may send a message to report P.sub.CMAX, c to a base station 40. The message may include a value that indicates the uplink maximum transmission power for each active component carrier (e.g., P.sub.CMAX, c) of a carrier aggregation scheme. The message can be sent over any active component carrier between the UE 15 and the base station 40. For example, the P.sub.CMAX, c for a first component carrier (CC1) and a second component carrier (CC2) can be sent over CC1 or CC2. In some embodiments, the message is a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message. The message may be sent independent (e.g., in isolation) of other messages sent by the UE 15. In an embodiment, the message is sent independent of one or more messages to report power headroom in a Power Headroom Report (PHR). For 3GPP embodiments, the message may be sent by the UE 15 over a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0058] The message sent at 202 may include a quantized nominal value of P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component carrier. The quantized nominal value may include, for example, one or more bits that indicate the actual maximum uplink transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c (e.g., 23 dBm) for each active component carrier.

[0059] According to various embodiments, the message sent at 202 may be a first message sent to report P.sub.CMAX, c during establishment of a communication link, at 201, between the UE 15 and the base station 40. In some embodiments, the communication link is established between the UE 15 and the base station 40 when the UE 15 receives an IP address for use in communication with the wireless network (e.g., the BWA network 100 of FIG. 1). The message at 202 may be sent based on an event or message associated with establishment of the communication link between the UE 15 and the wireless network which the base station 40 services.

[0060] The UE 15 may determine whether a reporting condition has occurred at 250. For example, the UE 15 may calculate or otherwise determine a current P.sub.CMAX, c on a periodic or event-driven basis and compare the current P.sub.CMAX, c with a reported P.sub.CMAX, c (e.g., the last reported P.sub.CMAX, c at 202). When a difference between the current P.sub.CMAX, c and the reported P.sub.CMAX, c is greater than a predetermined threshold, another message is sent to report the current P.sub.CMAX, c. This same technique can be used to send another message at 206 to report an updated P.sub.CMAX, c and can be repeated, for example, until the UE 15 is disconnected from the wireless network. The base station 40 may schedule or otherwise allocate resources for uplink transmission by the UE 15 based on the messages received at, e.g., 202, 204, and 206 to report the P.sub.CMAX, c.

[0061] In the reporting scheme 200, the P.sub.CMAX, c may only be reported when a change to the P.sub.CMAX, c has occurred. Such reporting scheme 200 may provide reduced bandwidth usage compared to other reporting schemes where P.sub.CMAX, c is reported even when a threshold change to the P.sub.CMAX, c has not occurred.

[0062] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates another example reporting scheme 300 for uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments. In the reporting scheme 300, messages sent at 302, 304, and 306 include information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and the P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component of the carrier aggregation scheme. The information for the PHR may include, for example, a power headroom value that indicates a difference between the P.sub.CMAX, c and an estimated transmission power for each active component carrier of the carrier aggregation scheme.

[0063] According to various embodiments, the UE 15 may be configured to send a PHR message to the base station 40 during establishment of a communication link with the wireless network (e.g., the BWA network 100 of FIG. 1) at 301. The UE 15 may be configured to send additional PHR messages at 304 and 306 based on occurrence of a reporting condition. For example, the UE 15 may determine whether a reporting condition (e.g., timer, event, etc.) for PHR has occurred at 350. If the reporting condition has occurred, then the UE sends the PHR message to the base station 40 at 304. Sending of the PHR messages (e.g., at 304, 306, and so forth) may be controlled by a PHR control module disposed in the UE 15. The messages may be sent periodically or based on the occurrence of an event, or combinations thereof.

[0064] In the reporting scheme 300, the P.sub.CMAX, c may be sent with each PHR message sent by the UE 15 to the base station 40. According to various embodiments, the messages sent at 302, 304, and 306 may include a quantized nominal value of P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component carrier. In some embodiments, the messages sent at 302, 304, and 306 are MAC layer messages.

[0065] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates yet another example reporting scheme 400 for uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments. At 402, the UE 15 sends a message to report a base value of P.sub.CMAX, c to the base station 40. In some embodiments, the message is sent at 402 during establishment of a communication link, at 401, between the UE 15 and the base station 40. The base value may include a quantized nominal value of P.sub.CMAX, c.

[0066] At 403, the UE 15 determines whether a reporting condition for reporting the base value has occurred. When the UE 15 has determined that the reporting condition for reporting of the base value has occurred, the UE 15 sends another message at 408 to report an updated base value P.sub.CMAX, c, which may include another quantized nominal value of P.sub.CMAX, c. The determining at 403 may be performed until it has been determined that the reporting condition for reporting the base value has occurred (e.g., `yes` corresponding with the arrow from determining at 403 in FIG. 4), whereupon the message is sent at 408. In the depicted example flow in FIG. 4, the reporting condition for reporting of the base value is determined to have occurred subsequent to messages sent at 404 and 406, however the reporting condition for reporting of the base value may be determined to have occurred at different times including earlier and later times than what is depicted in other embodiments.

[0067] At 405, the UE 15 determines whether a reporting condition for PHR has occurred. Upon determining that the reporting condition for PHR has occurred, the UE 15 sends a message, at 404, to report a differential value of P.sub.CMAX, c together with PHR information. The message sent at 404 may include a quantized differential value of P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component carrier. The quantized differential value may include, for example, one or more bits that indicate an updated maximum uplink transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c relative to the reported base value of P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component carrier. For example, if the base value of P.sub.CMAX, c reported at 402 is 21 dBm, then the differential value can include one or more bits to indicate an updated P.sub.CMAX, c relative to the reported base value (e.g., the one or more bits can indicate a change of .+-.1, .+-.2, .+-.3 dBm, or other difference from the reported base value of +21 dBm). According to various embodiments, the messages sent to report a base value of P.sub.CMAX, c (e.g., messages sent at 402 or 408) include eight bits to indicate the nominal value of P.sub.CMAX, c and the messages sent to report a differential value of P.sub.CMAX, c (e.g., messages sent at 404 or 406) include four bits to indicate the difference from the reported value. Other numbers of bits can be used to report the base and differential values in other embodiments.

[0068] The UE 15 may send another message at 406 to report another differential value for P.sub.CMAX, c and PHR information upon again determining that a reporting condition for PHR has occurred at 405. According to various embodiments, the UE 15 may continue to report the differential value for P.sub.CMAX, c with each PHR message sent to report PHR information (e.g., each time the UE 15 determines that a reporting condition for PHR has occurred).

[0069] Although in the depicted example embodiment, the message at 408 is sent subsequent to sending a message at 404 and 406 to report a differential value of P.sub.CMAX, c in other embodiments, the message sent at 408 to update the base value P.sub.CMAX, c can be sent in cases where other numbers of messages or even no messages to report a differential value for P.sub.CMAX, c (e.g., messages sent at 404 and 406) are sent. The flow shown in reporting scheme 400 is merely one example of a possible flow in accordance with embodiments herein.

[0070] In reporting scheme 400, some aspects of reporting scheme 300 and reporting scheme 200 may be combined. For example, the messages sent, e.g., at 402 and 408, to report the base value P.sub.CMAX, c may comport with embodiments described for messages sent at 202, 204, and/or 206 in FIG. 2. The messages sent, e.g., at 404 and 406, to report the differential value P.sub.CMAX, c and PHR information may comport with embodiments described for messages sent at 302, 304, and/or 306 in FIG. 3. The determination of whether a reporting condition for reporting base value has occurred, at 403, may comport with the determination of whether a reporting condition has occurred at 250 of FIG. 2. The determination of whether a reporting condition for PHR has occurred, at 405, may comport with the determination of whether a reporting condition for PHR has occurred at 350 of FIG. 3. The reporting scheme 400 may facilitate reporting of P.sub.CMAX, c with each PHR message similar to reporting scheme 300, but using less bandwidth than the reporting scheme 300 by using a differential value to report the P.sub.CMAX, c instead of a nominal value.

[0071] The determining by the UE 15 at 403 and 405 may be continuously or periodically performed while the UE 15 is in a connected state with the base station 40. Whenever the respective reporting condition has occurred for said determining, a respective message to report a base and differential value of P.sub.CMAX, c may be sent. The techniques described in connection with reporting schemes 200, 300, and 400 may be combined in various embodiments.

[0072] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 for reporting uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments. At 502, the method 500 includes establishing a communication link with a base station (e.g., the base station 40 of FIGS. 2 and 3) of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network (e.g., the BWA network 100 of FIG. 1). For example, a UE (e.g., UE 15 of FIGS. 2 and 3) may exchange authentication information with and receive an IP address from the IP based wireless communication network for communication within the network. The UE may be in a connected state after receiving the IP address.

[0073] At 504, the method 500 further includes sending a message that includes a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component of a carrier aggregation scheme. In some embodiments, the message may comport with embodiments described for the message sent at 202 or at 204/206 in FIG. 2. In other embodiments, the message may comport with embodiments described for the message sent at 302 or at 304/306 in FIG. 3.

[0074] At 506, the method 500 further includes determining whether a reporting condition has occurred. In some embodiments, the determining may comport with embodiments described in connection with determining whether a reporting condition has occurred at 250 of FIG. 2. In other embodiments, the determining may comport with embodiments described in connection with determining whether a reporting condition for PHR has occurred at 350 of FIG. 3.

[0075] At 508, the method 500 further includes sending another message that includes another value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component of a carrier aggregation scheme. In some embodiments, sending another message at 508 comports with embodiments described in connection with sending a message at 204 or 206 in FIG. 2. In other embodiments, sending another message at 508 comports with embodiments described in connection with sending a message at 304 or 306 in FIG. 3.

[0076] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another method 600 for reporting uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c in accordance with some embodiments. At 602, the method 600 includes establishing a communication link with a base station of an IP-based wireless communication network. The communication link may be established, for example, according to embodiments described for establishing a communication link at 502 in FIG. 5.

[0077] At 604, the method 600 further includes sending a message to report a base value of an uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component of a carrier aggregation scheme. According to various embodiments, sending the message at 604 comports with embodiments described, e.g., in connection with sending the message at 402 or 408 of FIG. 4.

[0078] At 606, the method 600 further includes determining whether a reporting condition for reporting a base value has occurred. The determining at 606 may comport with embodiments described in connection with determining at 403 of FIG. 4.

[0079] At 608, when it is determined that a reporting condition has occurred at 606, the method 600 further includes sending a message to report another base value of P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component of a carrier aggregation scheme. Sending a message at 608 may comport with embodiments described in connection with sending a message at 408 of FIG. 4. The actions at 606 and 608 may be repeated until the UE is disconnected from the network.

[0080] At 610, the method 600 further includes determining whether a reporting condition for PHR has occurred. The determining at 610 may comport with embodiments described in connection with determining at 405 of FIG. 4. The determining at 606 and 610 may occur simultaneously or in any suitable order.

[0081] At 612, when it is determined that a reporting condition for PHR has occurred, the method 600 further includes sending a message to report a PHR value and a differential value of P.sub.CMAX, c relative to a reported base value for each active component of a carrier aggregation scheme. The PHR value may include, for example, a power headroom value that indicates a difference between the P.sub.CMAX, c and an estimated transmission power for each active component carrier of the carrier aggregation scheme. The differential value may indicate an updated P.sub.CMAX, c value relative to a most recently reported base value of P.sub.CMAX, c. The actions at 610 and 612 may be repeated until the UE is disconnected from the network. The actions of methods 500 and 600 may be performed by the UE.

[0082] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for scheduling resources for uplink transmission in accordance with some embodiments. The actions of method 700 may be performed, for example, by a base station (e.g., the base station 40 of FIG. 1) of an IP based wireless communication network (e.g., the BWA network 100 of FIG. 1).

[0083] At 702, the method 700 includes establishing a communication link with user equipment (UE) (e.g., UE 15 of FIG. 1) of an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless communication network. In establishing the communication link, the base station may, for example, exchange authentication information with the UE and send an IP address to the UE for use by the UE in communication with the network.

[0084] At 704, the method 700 further includes receiving a message that includes a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component carrier of a carrier aggregation scheme. In some embodiments, the message received at 704 may correspond with the message sent at 504 in method 500 of FIG. 5. In other embodiments, the message received at 704 may correspond with the message sent at 604, 608, or 612 in method 600 of FIG. 6.

[0085] At 706, the method 700 further includes scheduling resources for uplink transmission by the UE based on the received message. For example, the resources may be scheduled based on the reported uplink maximum transmission power P.sub.CMAX, c for each active component carrier of a carrier aggregation scheme. The scheduled resources may include radio resources such as uplink component carriers for communication with the UE. Actions at 704 and 706 may be repeated until the UE has been disconnected from the network.

[0086] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented into a system using any suitable hardware and/or software to configure as desired. FIG. 8 schematically illustrates an example system 800 that may be used to practice various embodiments described herein. FIG. 8 illustrates, for one embodiment, an example system 800 having one or more processor(s) 804, system control module 808 coupled to at least one of the processor(s) 804, system memory 812 coupled to system control module 808, non-volatile memory (NVM)/storage 816 coupled to system control module 808, and one or more communications interface(s) 820 coupled to system control module 808.

[0087] In some embodiments, the system 800 may be capable of functioning as the UE 15 as described herein. In other embodiments, the system 800 may be capable of functioning as the one or more servers 50 of FIG. 1 or otherwise provide logic/module that performs functions as described for the base station herein.

[0088] System control module 808 for one embodiment may include any suitable interface controllers to provide for any suitable interface to at least one of the processor(s) 804 and/or to any suitable device or component in communication with system control module 808.

[0089] System control module 808 may include memory controller module 810 to provide an interface to system memory 812. The memory controller module 810 may be a hardware module, a software module, and/or a firmware module.

[0090] System memory 812 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, for example, for system 800. System memory 812 for one embodiment may include any suitable volatile memory, such as suitable DRAM, for example. In some embodiments, the system memory 812 may include double data rate type four synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR4 SDRAM).

[0091] System control module 808 for one embodiment may include one or more input/output (I/O) controller(s) to provide an interface to NVM/storage 816 and communications interface(s) 820.

[0092] The NVM/storage 816 may be used to store data and/or instructions, for example. NVM/storage 816 may include any suitable non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, for example, and/or may include any suitable non-volatile storage device(s), such as one or more hard disk drive(s) (HDD(s)), one or more compact disc (CD) drive(s), and/or one or more digital versatile disc (DVD) drive(s), for example.

[0093] The NVM/storage 816 may include a storage resource physically part of a device on which the system 800 is installed or it may be accessible by, but not necessarily a part of, the device. For example, the NVM/storage 816 may be accessed over a network via the communications interface(s) 820.

[0094] Communications interface(s) 820 may provide an interface for system 800 to communicate over one or more network(s) and/or with any other suitable device. In some embodiments, the communications interface(s) 820 may include a wireless network interface controller (WNIC) 824 having one or more antennae 828 to establish and maintain a wireless communication link with one or more components of a wireless network. The system 800 may wirelessly communicate with the one or more components of the wireless network in accordance with any of one or more wireless network standards and/or protocols.

[0095] For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s) 804 may be packaged together with logic for one or more controller(s) of system control module 808, e.g., memory controller module 810. For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s) 804 may be packaged together with logic for one or more controllers of system control module 808 to form a System in Package (SiP). For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s) 804 may be integrated on the same die with logic for one or more controller(s) of system control module 808. For one embodiment, at least one of the processor(s) 804 may be integrated on the same die with logic for one or more controller(s) of system control module 808 to form a System on Chip (SoC).

[0096] In various embodiments, the system 800 may be, but is not limited to, a server, a workstation, a desktop computing device, or a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop computing device, a handheld computing device, a tablet, a netbook, etc.). In various embodiments, the system 800 may have more or less components, and/or different architectures.

[0097] Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description, a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that embodiments described herein be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method comprising: establishing, by a user equipment (UE), a communication link with an enhanced node B (eNB) of an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless communication network; and sending, by the UE to the eNB, a message that includes information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the value that indicates the uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme is a quantized nominal value that is sent by the UE to the eNB for the eNB to schedule resources for uplink transmission by the UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message is performed during establishment of the communication link.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: sending, by the UE to the eNB, another message that includes updated information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and another value that indicates an updated uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein sending the other message is performed periodically or based on occurrence of an event.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for the PHR comprises a power headroom value that indicates a difference between the uplink maximum transmission power and an estimated transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme.

6. (canceled)

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is a second message that is sent subsequent to a first message, the method further comprising: sending, by the UE to the eNB, the first message to report a base value of the uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the first message comprises one or more bits to indicate the base value, the base value being a nominal value of the uplink maximum transmission power, and wherein the second message comprises one or more bits to differentially indicate an updated value of the uplink maximum transmission power relative to the base value.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: sending the first message is performed during establishment of the communication link; and wherein the first message comprises eight bits to indicate the base value and is sent independent of messages sent for the PHR, and the second message comprises four bits to differentially indicate the updated value relative to the base value.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: subsequent to sending the first message, sending, by the UE to the eNB, a third message to report another base value of the uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the other base value is a nominal value of the uplink maximum transmission power, and wherein the third message is sent based upon a difference between a measured uplink maximum transmission power and the reported base value being greater than a predetermined threshold.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first message, the second message, and the third message each comprise a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message.

11. A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna; a processor configured to communicate with an enhanced node B (eNB) of an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless communication network via the antenna; and a storage medium coupled to the processor, the storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that if executed by the processor, result in the UE: sending to the eNB a message to report a base value of an uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme; and subsequent to sending the message, sending another message that includes information for a Power Headroom Report (PHR) and a value that differentially indicates an uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme relative to the base value, wherein the base value of the uplink transmission power is reported to the eNB station for the eNB station to schedule resources for uplink transmission by the apparatus.

12. The UE of claim 11, wherein the instructions, if executed by the processor, further result in the UE: establishing a communication link with the eNB, wherein sending the message is performed during establishment of the communication link.

13. The UE of claim 11, wherein the information for the PHR comprises a power headroom value that indicates a difference between the uplink transmission power and an estimated transmission power for the individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme.

14. The UE of claim 11, wherein sending the other message is performed periodically or based on occurrence of an event.

15. (canceled)

16. The UE of claim 11, wherein the message comprises one or more bits to indicate the base value, the base value being a quantized nominal value of the uplink transmission power, and wherein the other message comprises one or more bits to differentially indicate an updated value of the uplink transmission power relative to the base value.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein: the message comprises eight bits to indicate the base value and is sent independent of messages sent for the PHR; and the another message comprises four bits to differentially indicate the updated value relative to the base value.

18. The UE of claim 16, wherein the message is a first message and the other message is a second message, and wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in the UE: subsequent to sending the first message, sending to the eNB, a third message to report another base value of the uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of the carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the another base value is a quantized nominal value of the uplink transmission power, and wherein the third message is sent based upon a difference between a measured uplink transmission power and the reported base value being greater than a predetermined threshold.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the first message, the second message, and the third message each comprise a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message.

20. The UE of claim 11, wherein the uplink transmission power is a maximum transmission power.

21. A method comprising: establishing, by an enhanced node B (eNB) of an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless communication network, a communication link with a user equipment (UE); receiving, by the eNB from the UE, a message that includes a value that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme; and scheduling, by the eNB, resources for uplink transmission by the UE based on the received message, wherein receiving the message is performed during establishment of the communication link.

22. (canceled)

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving, by the eNB from the UE, another message that includes another value that indicates an updated uplink maximum transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the another message is sent by the UE to the eNB based upon a difference between the another value and the value being greater than a pre-determined threshold.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein: the message and the another message each comprise a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message that is received independent of Power Headroom Reporting (PHR) received by the eNB; and the value and the another value each comprise a quantized nominal value of the uplink maximum transmission power.

26. An enhanced node B (eNB) comprising: a processor configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless communication network; and a storage medium coupled to the processor, the storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that if executed by the processor, result in the eNB: establishing a communication link with the UE; receiving, from the UE, a message that includes a value that indicates an uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme, wherein the message is received independent of Power Headroom Reporting (PHR) received by the eNB, wherein receiving the message is performed during establishment of the communication link; and scheduling, by the eNB, resources for uplink transmission by the UE based on the received message.

27. (canceled)

28. The eNB of claim 26, wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in the eNB: receiving, from the UE, another message that includes another value that indicates an updated uplink transmission power for individual active component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme.

29. The eNB of claim 28, wherein the another message is sent by the UE to the eNB based upon a difference between the updated uplink transmission power of the UE and the uplink transmission power received by the eNB in the message being greater than a pre-determined threshold.

30. The eNB of claim 29, wherein: the message and the another message each comprise a Media Access Control (MAC) layer message; the other message is received independent of Power Headroom Reporting (PHR) received by the eNB; the value and the other value each comprise a quantized nominal value of the uplink transmission power; and the uplink transmission power is a maximum transmission power.

31. An apparatus to be employed in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a communication module to facilitate communication using carrier aggregation over a plurality of active component carriers in a wireless communication network; and a power headroom control module to send to an enhanced node B (eNB) of the wireless communication network a message including information about power headroom and information that indicates an uplink maximum transmission power of individual active component carriers of the plurality of active component carriers, wherein the information about the power headroom indicates a difference between the uplink maximum transmission power and an estimated transmission power of the individual active component carriers.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the power headroom control module is to send to the eNB another message that includes updated information about power headroom and information that indicates an updated uplink maximum transmission power of the individual active component carriers.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the power headroom control module is to send the other message based on a timer.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the power headroom control module and the communication module are integrated in a System on Chip (SoC).

35. A UE comprising: the apparatus of claim 31; and an antenna coupled with the communication module, the antenna for use in communication with the eNB, wherein the UE is a mobile phone.