WO2013008153A2

WO2013008153A2 - Method and apparatus for controlling transmission power

Info

Publication number: WO2013008153A2
Application number: PCT/IB2012/053443
Authority: WO
Inventors: Petteri Kalle Kela; Tommi Tapani Kangassuo; Petteri Mika Heinonen; Jonathan KEAST
Original assignee: Renesas Mobile Corp
Current assignee: Renesas Electronics Corp
Priority date: 2011-07-08
Filing date: 2012-07-05
Publication date: 2013-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 2014-01-08
Also published as: WO2013008153A3

Abstract

A method and apparatus for uplink transmission power control in discontinuous data transfer is provided. A transmission power is calculated based on currently used bandwidth(S21), and a check is made as to whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power(S22).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING TRANSMISSION POWER Technical Field

The present application relates generally to an apparatus and method for controlling transmission power. In embodiments, the invention has particular application to uplink transmission power control in discontinuous data transfer.

Background

The following meanings for the abbreviations used in this specification apply:

3 GPP The 3rd Generation Partnership Project

BS Base Station

CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check

DCI Downlink Control Information

E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identity

RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

SRS Sounding Reference Symbol

TPC Transmission Power Control

UE User Equipment

According to 3 GPP, Technical Specification 36.213 V9.3.0 (September 2010); 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical layer procedures (Release 9), hereinafter "document [1]", the setting of the UE Transmit power -fpusc_H for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission in subframe i is defined by: ^PUSCH ( = min{ _CMAX,101og₁₀( PUSCH (0) + PUSCH

[dBm] where,

· P_CMAx i^{s me} configured UE transmitted power.

• ^M _PUSCH( is ^me bandwidth of the PUSCH resource assignment expressed in number of resource blocks valid for subframe i.

• ^po puscH U) is ^a parameter composed of the sum of a cell-specific nominal component P_{0 NOMINAL PUSCH} U) provided from higher layers for j=0 and 1 and a UE-specific component P_{0 UE PUSCH} (j) provided by higher layers for j=0 and

1. For PUSCH (re)transmissions corresponding to a semi-persistent grant then j=0, for PUSCH (re)transmissions corresponding to a dynamic scheduled grant then j=l and for PUSCH (re)transmissions corresponding to the random access response grant then j=2. P_{Q UE PUSCH} (2) = 0 and ^O_NO_MIN_AL__PUSC_H (²) = ^o_PRE + ^ PREAMBLE _ Msg 3 ' where the parameter

PREAMBLE INITIAL RECEIVED TA GET POWER ( _{Ο ΡΚΕ}) ^{A N D} ^Δ PREAMBLE _M_Sg3 ∞^Q signalled from higher layers.

• For j =0 or 1, a e {o, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, l} is a 3-bit cell-specific parameter provided by higher layers. For j=2, a (j) = 1. · PL is the downlink pathloss estimate calculated in the UE in dB and PL = referenceSignalPower - higher layer filtered RSRP, where referenceSignalPower is provided by higher layers.

• Δ_τ ( _jplO_jlog _o((2^M™¾ _i)/3™^)for K_s =1.25 and 0 for K_s =0 where K_s is given by the UE-specific parameter deltaMCS-Enabled provided by higher layers o MPR = 0_CQ[ I N_RE for control data sent via PUSCH without UL-SCH data and∑K_r IN_gz for other cases.

^■ where C is the number of code blocks, K_r is the size for code block r , 0_CQI is the number of CQI bits including CRC bits and N_RE is the number of resource elements determined as PUSCH -initial PUSCH -initial

^ RE ^{~ 1V1} sc ^■ -' " symb o β = β for control data sent via PUSCH without UL-SCH data and 1 for other cases.

<5_pusc_H is a UE-specific correction value, also referred to as a TPC command and is included in PDCCH with DCI format 0 or jointly coded with other TPC commands in PDCCH with DCI format 3/3A whose CRC parity bits are scrambled with TPC-PUSCH-RNTI. The current PUSCH power control adjustment state is given by f(i) which is defined by: o / (0 = f(i -i) + S_PUSCH (i - K_PUSCH ) if accumulation is enabled based on the UE-specific parameter Accumulation-enabled provided by higher layers or if the TPC command <5_PUSCH is included in a PDCCH with DCI format 0 where the CRC is scrambled by the Temporary C-RNTI

^■ where _Y1j_SCH (i - K_PUSCH) was signalled on PDCCH with DCI format 0 or 3/3 A on subframe i - K_PUSCH , and where f(0) is the first value after reset of accumulation.

^■ The value of K_PUSCH is

• For FDD, ^^ = 4

• For TDD UL/DL configurations 1-6, K_PUSCH is given in Table 5.1.1.1-1 in document [1].

• For TDD UL/DL configuration 0 o If the PUSCH transmission in subframe 2 or 7 is scheduled with a PDCCH of DCI format 0 in which the LSB of the UL index is set to 1 ,

K PUSCH ^~ 7 o For all other PUSCH transmissions, ^PUSCH is given in Table 5.1.1.1-1 in document [ 1 ] .

The UE attempts to decode a PDCCH of DCI format 0 with the UE's C-RNTI or SPS C-RNTI and a PDCCH of DCI format 3/3 A with this UE ' s TPC-PUSCH-RNTI in every subframe except when in DRX

If DCI format 0 and DCI format 3/3 A are both detected in the same subframe, then the UE shall use the <5_PUSCH provided in DCI format 0.

<5pusc_H = 0 dB for a subframe where no TPC command is decoded or where DRX occurs or i is not an uplink subframe in TDD.

The <5_PUSCH dB accumulated values signalled on PDCCH with DCI format 0 are given in Table 5.1.1.1-2 in document [1]. If the PDCCH with DCI format 0 is validated as a SPS activation or release PDCCH, then <5_PUSCH is OdB.

The <5_PUSCH dB accumulated values signalled on PDCCH with DCI format 3/3 A are one of SETl given in Table 5.1.1.1-2 in document [ 1 ] or SET2 given in Table 5.1.1.1-3 in document [ 1 ] as determined by the parameter TPC-Index provided by higher layers.

If UE has reached maximum power, positive TPC commands shall not be accumulated ^■ If UE has reached minimum power, negative TPC commands shall not be accumulated

^■ UE shall reset accumulation

• when P_{0 UE} usc_H value is changed by higher layers

• when the UE receives random access response message / (0 = <5_PUSCH (i - ^PUSCH ) if accumulation is not enabled based on the UE- specific parameter Accumulation-enabled provided by higher layers

^■ where _Y1jSCH (i - K_PUSCH) was signalled on PDCCH with DCI format 0 on subframe i - K_PTKr„ ■ The value of K_PUSCH is

For FDD, K_PUSCH

• For TDD UL/DL configuration 0 o If the PUSCH transmission in subframe 2 or 7 is scheduled with a PDCCHof DCI format 0 in which the LSB of the UL index is set to 1 ,

K PUSCH ^~ 7 o For all other PUSCH transmissions, K_PUSCH is given in Table 5.1.1.1-1 in document [ 1 ] .

The <5_PUSCH dB absolute values signalled on PDCCH with DCI format 0 are given in Table 5.1.1.1-2 in document [1]. If the PDCCH with DCI format 0 is validated as a SPS activation or release PDCCH, then <5_PUSCH is OdB. ^■ f(i) = f(i - l) for a subframe where no PDCCH with DCI format 0 is decoded or where DRX occurs or i is not an uplink subframe in TDD. o For both types of /(*) (accumulation or current absolute) the first value is set as follows:

^■ If Po UE puscH value is changed by higher layers, / (o) = o

Else y(0) ^^rampup ^m g2

o where S_msg2 is the TPC command indicated in the random access response, and o P_rampup is provided by higher layers and corresponds to the total power ramp-up from the first to the last preamble.

As described above, f(i) is the current power control adjustment state accumulated from received TPC commands.

Also, as described above, there are limitations in E-UTRAN if the UE has reached a maximum or a minimum power. In particular, TPC commands shall not be accumulated to the current power control adjustment state in certain situations. Namely:

• If UE has reached maximum power, positive TPC commands shall not be accumulated; and

· If UE has reached minimum power, negative TPC commands shall not be accumulated. In practice, this means that f(i) is not accumulated with TPC commands, if the output power calculation has reached the upper or lower limit with the previous power control adjustment state f(i-l). In order to calculate the UE Transmit power, the parameter _PUSCH (z^') is needed, which is a resource allocation-dependent parameter. As mentioned above, P_USCH( is the bandwidth of the PUSCH resource assignment expressed in number of resource blocks valid for subframe i. In a similar manner, according to document [1], the setting of the UE Transmit power ^PUCCH for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission in subframe i is defined by:

^PUCCH (0 = min [^PCMAX , ^O PUCCH + ^pl + h(n_CQI , n_HARQ )+ A_{F PUCCH} (F)+ g(i)} [dBm] where

P_CMAX is the configured UE transmitted power.

The parameter Δ_{Ρ PUCCH} (.F) is provided by higher layers. Each Δ_{Ρ PUCC}H (-F) value corresponds to a PUCCH format (F) relative to PUCCH format l a, where each PUCCH format (F ) is defined in Table 5.4-1 of 3GPP TS 36.211. h (n_CQI , II_HARQ ) is a PUCCH format dependent value, where n_CQ1 corresponds to the number of information bits for the channel quality information and n_HARQ is the number of HARQ bits. o For PUCCH format 1,1a and lb h[n_CQ_j, n_HARQ )= 0 o For PUC C H format 2 , 2 a , 2b and normal cyc li c pre fix

101og₁₀ if n_CQI > 4

0 otherwise o For PUCCH format 2 and extended cyclic prefix n, CQI "HARQ

10 log 10 iin_CQI+n_HARQ>4

h[n, CQI ' ⁿHARQ j V

0 otherwise

• puccH is ^a parameter composed of the sum of a cell-specific parameter po NOMINAL PUCCH provided by higher layers and a UE-specific component P_{0 UE PUCCH} provided by higher layers.

• <5pucc_H is ^a UE-specific correction value, also referred to as a TPC command, included in a PDCCH with DCI format 1A/1B/1D/1/2A/2/2B or sent jointly coded with other UE-specific PUCCH correction values on a PDCCH with DCI format 3/3A whose CRC parity bits are scrambled with TPC-PUCCH- RNTI. o The UE attempts to decode a PDCCH of DCI format 3/3A with the UE's TPC-PUCCH-RNTI and one or several PDCCHs of DCI format 1A/1B/1D/1/2A/2/2B with the UE's C-RNTI or SPS C-RNTI on every subframe except when in DRX. o If the UE decodes a PDCCH with DCI format 1A/1B/1D/1/2A/2/2B and the corresponding detected RNTI equals the C-RNTI or SPS C- RNTI of the UE, the UE shall use the <5_PUCCH provided in that PDCCH. else

^■ if the UE decodes a PDCCH with DCI format 3/3 A, the UE shall use the <5_PUCCH provided in that PDCCH else the UE shall set <5_PUCCH = 0dB.

M-l

o g(z^') = g(i - 1) + 8_PUCCH (i - k_m ) where g(i) is the current PUCCH power m=0

control adjustment state and where g(o) is the first value after reset.

^■ For FDD, M = 1 and k₀ = 4. For TDD, values of M and k_m are given in Table 10.1-1 of document [1].

The <5_PUCCH dB values signalled on PDCCH with DCl format

1A/1B/1D/1/2A/2/2B are given in Table 5.1.2.1-1. If the PDCCH with DCl format 1/1 A/2/2A/2B is validated as an SPS activation PDCCH, or the PDCCH with DCl format 1A is validated as an SPS release PDCCH, then <5_PUCCH is OdB.

The <5_PUCCH dB values signalled on PDCCH with DCl format

3/3A are given in Table 5.1.2.1-1 or in Table 5.1.2.1-2 of document [1] as semi-statically configured by higher layers.

If _UE pucc_H value is changed by higher layers, g (0) = 0

Else

• g(9) = P_rampup + ⁸ms_g2 o where S_msg2 is the TPC command indicated in the random access response, and o P_rampup is the total power ramp-up from the first to the last preamble provided by higher layers.

If UE has reached maximum power, positive TPC commands shall not be accumulated.

If UE has reached minimum power, negative TPC commands shall not be accumulated.

UE shall reset accumulation

• when P_{0 UE} ucc_H value is changed by higher layers • when the UE receives a random access response message

^■ g(i) = g(i - l) if i is not an uplink subframe in TDD.

The network may send TPC commands for PUCCH in DCI format 3/3A even if there is no PUCCH transmissions occurring. In order to check if maximum or minimum PUCCH transmission power has been reached according to document [1], P_UCCH (^⁷) i^s needed.

Further, according to document [1], the setting of the UE Transmit power i¾_RS for the Sounding Reference Symbol transmitted on subframe i is defined by:

¾s ( = min{i^> _CMAX, ¾s _OFF_SET + 101og₁₀ ( _SRS) + /0 p_USCH (j) + a(j) - PL + f(i)} [dBm] where

• -P_CMAX is ^me configured UE transmitted power.

• For K_§ = 1.25 , -^_{SRS OFFSET} is ^a 4-bit UE specific parameter semi- statically configured by higher layers with ldB step size in the range [-3, 12] dB.

• For K_s = 0 , _{SRS OFFSET} is ^a 4-bit UE specific parameter semi- statically configured by higher layers with 1.5 dB step size in the range [-10.5,12] dB

• ^MSRS is ^me bandwidth of the SRS transmission in subframe i expressed in number of resource blocks.

• f(i) is the current power control adjustment state for the PUSCH, as described above.

• P_USCH ) ^and o (j) are parameters as defined above, where 7 = 1. As mentioned above, according to document [1], a TPC command for PUSCH can be included in PDCCH with DCI format 0 or jointly coded with other TPC commands in PDCCH with DCI format 3/3A whose CRC parity bits are scrambled with TPC-PUSCH-R TI.

However, if a TPC command is received in PDCCH with DCI format 3/3A, there may be a case in which a PUSCH resource assignment is not received for the same subframe in DCI format 0. If the UE receives a TPC command for PUSCH, it shall adjust the uplink power control state accordingly. This requires certain parameters to calculate the limits for accumulation when transmission power has reached the maximum or minimum power. If the UE receives a TPC command for PUCCH, it shall adjust the uplink power control state accordingly. This requires certain parameters to calculate the limits for accumulation.

However, if there is no UL allocation for PUSCH transmission or there is no PUCCH transmission for the given subframe for which the accumulation is set, not all the parameters required for transmit power calculation are present. If it is not checked or is checked with incorrect parameters whether maximum/minimum transmission power level limits have been reached or not for uplink power control adjustment state, the following PUSCH transmissions may be sent with invalid transmission power.

Summary

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling transmission power, the method comprising: calculating, on a processor at a user equipment, a transmission power based on currently used bandwidth, and checking, on the processor at the user equipment, whether a transmission power limit has been reached by the calculated transmission power. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for controlling transmission power, the apparatus comprising: a processing system constructed and arranged to cause: a user equipment to calculate a transmission power based on currently used bandwidth, and the user equipment to check whether a transmission power limit has been reached by the calculated transmission power.

The processing system may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for controlling transmission power, the apparatus comprising: a processing system constructed and arranged to: calculate a transmission power based on channel format and bit number dependent values, and check whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling transmission power, the method comprising: calculating a transmission power based on channel format and bit number dependent values, and checking whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power.

The bit number dependent values may be based on for example a number of information bits for channel quality information. Alternatively or additionally, the bit number dependent values may be based on for example a number of HARQ bits (which may for example be 1 or 2 depending on the number of codewords or blocks present). Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features, details and advantages will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of example embodiments which is to be taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a signalling diagram for a method for calculating the transmission power;

Fig. 2 shows a diagram illustrating a change of transmission power over time;

Fig. 3 shows a diagram illustrating a change of transmission power over time where the transmission power reaches a maximum transmission power;

Fig. 4 shows a diagram illustrating a change of transmission power over time where the transmission power reaches a minimum transmission power;

Fig. 5 shows schematically an example of an apparatus according to certain embodiments of the present invention; and Fig. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of an example of a method according to certain embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the following, embodiments of the present invention are described by referring to general and specific examples of the embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the description is given by way of example only, and that the described embodiments are by no means to be understood as limiting the present invention thereto. In the following description of embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is described as being applied to UTRAN/E-UTRAN. However, it is noted that this is merely an example and that the invention is applicable to other radio access technologies using network controlled power adjustment.

"Wireless devices" include in general any device capable of connecting wirelessly to a network, and includes in particular mobile devices including mobile or cell phones (including so-called "smart phones"), personal digital assistants, pagers, tablet and laptop computers, content-consumption or generation devices (for music and/or video for example), data cards, USB dongles, etc., as well as fixed or more static devices, such as personal computers, game consoles and other generally static entertainment devices, various other domestic and non-domestic machines and devices, etc. The term "user equipment" or UE is often used to refer to wireless devices in general, and particularly mobile wireless devices.

In broad terms, the UE of specific embodiments calculates its uplink transmission power and the eNodeB can adjust the UEs transmission power by sending Transmission Power Control (TPC) commands that accumulate to the power control adjustment state used in the calculation, with the behaviour of the power control adjustment state being changed as described herein. Fig. 1 illustrates a method for calculating a transmission power. As shown in

Fig. 1, the UE first calculates the transmission power and uses the calculated transmission power for signalling on shared/control channels, i.e. PUSCH or PUCCH. Additionally, transmission power can be calculated for the Sounding Reference Symbol (SRS) transmission. Then, the base station sends to the UE a TPC command. Based on the TPC command, the UE re-calculates the transmission power and uses the re-calculated transmission power for PUSCH, PUCCH and SRS signalling.

Fig. 2 illustrates the change of the transmission power over time. As shown in Fig. 2, the TPC command is added to the current transmission power and thus the transmission power rises. Fig. 3 shows a case in which the transmission power reaches a maximum transmission power. As is shown in Fig. 3, although the TPC commands are received and should be added to the current transmission power, the TPC commands (i.e. the power control adjustment state) cannot be accumulated to the transmission power, once the maximum transmission power has been reached. Thus, TPC commands are not accumulated when the power calculation has reached the maximum power limit.

In a similar manner, Fig. 4 shows a case in which the transmission power reaches a minimum transmission power. As is shown in Fig. 4, although the TPC commands are received and should be added to the current transmission power, the TPC commands (i.e. the power control adjustment state) cannot be accumulated to the transmission power if the minimum transmission power has been reached. Thus, TPC commands are not accumulated when power calculation has reached the minimum power limit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in order to check if the maximum or minimum transmission power has been reached for PUSCH, which limits the accumulation of the power control adjustment state as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the transmission power for PUSCH can be calculated based on a predefined resource block assignment for currently used bandwidth. The predetermined resource block assignment is, for example, a minimum/maximum resource block assignment.

When checking if the maximum power limit has been reached, the minimum resource block assignment can be used. Further, when checking if minimum power limit has been reached, the maximum resource block assignment can be used.

One option can be to use the previous resource block allocation for the calculation. Another option is to use the previously stored PUSCH transmission power with accumulation added from a received TPC command. As described above, the network may send TPC commands for PUSCH in DCI format 3/3A without the uplink resource block allocation in DCI format 0. For example, TPC commands for PUSCH can be based on SRS transmissions. In order to check if the maximum or minimum PUSCH transmission power has been reached according to the above described formula defined in document [1], _PUSCH (z^') is needed. However, as mentioned above, there might be cases in which M_FlJSCH (z) is not received. Thus, there might be a case in which not all parameters for controlling the transmission power are assigned.

According to embodiments of the present invention, there are proposed three methods in order to check whether a minimum or maximum transmission power has been reached. In the first method, a predefined bandwidth-dependent value is used. The value can be for example a maximum or minimum value for resource block assignment. That is, when checking if the maximum transmission power limit has been reached, a minimum resource block assignment can be used for example, and when checking if the minimum transmission power limit has been reached, a maximum resource block assignment can be used for example.

In the second method, the latest resource block assignment for PUSCH is used in the calculation. In the third method, the latest calculated PUSCH transmission power accumulated with received TPC command is used.

Accordingly, a base station can safely update accumulated power control adjustment with DCI formats 3 and 3A without granting uplink allocations to the UE. The UE can properly limit power control adjustment accumulation so that the predicted calculated transmission power does not cross its limits even when resource block allocations are not received.

In the case of PUCCH, there are also proposed three methods in order to check whether a minimum or maximum transmission power has been reached.

In the first method, predefined PUCCH format and bit number dependent values are used. The values can be such that they will result in the maximum or minimum value for h and forA_{p PUCCH} (.F) . That is, when checking if the maximum transmission power limit has been reached, minimum values for h and Δ_{ρ PUCCH} (.F) can be used for example, and when checking if the minimum transmission power limit has been reached, maximum values can be used for example.

In the second method, the latest h and Δ_{ρ PUCCH} (.F) values for PUCCH in the calculation are used.

In the third method, the latest calculated PUCCH transmission power accumulated with received TPC command is used. Fig. 5 shows schematically an example of an apparatus according to certain embodiments of the present invention. One option for implementing this example apparatus would be by way of a component in a handset such as user equipment according to E-UTRA . Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, the example apparatus 10 comprises at least one processor 11 and at least one memory 12 including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform calculating a transmission power based on currently used bandwidth, and checking whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power. According to another embodiment, the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform calculation a transmission power based on channel format and bit number dependent values.

Additionally, the apparatus may comprise a transceiver unit (not shown) configured to receive a TPC command from a base station and to send various data to the base station. In the foregoing exemplary description of the apparatus, only the units that are relevant for understanding the principles of the invention have been described using functional blocks. The apparatus may comprise further units that are necessary for its respective operation. However, a description of these units is omitted in this specification. The arrangement of the functional blocks of the devices is not construed to limit the invention, and the functions may be performed by one block or further split into sub-blocks.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of an example of a method according to certain embodiments of the present invention. That is, as shown in Fig. 6, this example method comprises calculating, at step S21 , a transmission power based on currently used bandwidth or based on channel format and bit number dependent values, and checking, at step S22, whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power. Additionally, the method may include receiving (not shown) a TPC command from a base station and sending (not shown) various data to the base station.

One option for performing the example of a method according to certain embodiments of the present invention would be to use the apparatus as described above or a modification thereof which becomes apparent from the embodiments as described above. For the purpose of the present invention as described herein above, it should be noted that

- method steps likely to be implemented as software code portions and being run using a processor or several processors at a user equipment (as examples of devices, apparatus and/or modules thereof, or as examples of entities including apparatus and/or modules therefore), are software code independent and can be specified using any known or future developed programming language as long as the functionality defined by the method steps is preserved;

- generally, any method step is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the embodiments and its modification in terms of the functionality implemented;

- method steps and/or devices, units or means likely to be implemented as hardware components at the above-defined apparatuses, or any module(s) thereof, (e.g. devices carrying out the functions of the apparatus according to the embodiments as described above) are hardware independent and can be implemented using any known or future developed hardware technology or any hybrids of these, such as MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), CMOS (Complementary MOS), BiMOS (Bipolar MOS), BiCMOS (Bipolar CMOS), ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic), TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic), etc., using for example ASIC (Application Specific IC (Integrated Circuit)) components, FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Arrays) components, CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) components or DSP (Digital Signal Processor) components;

- devices, units or means (e.g. the above-defined apparatuses and user equipments, or any one of their respective units/means) can be implemented as individual devices, units or means, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed fashion throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device, unit or means is preserved;

- an apparatus may be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of an apparatus or module, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as software in a (software) module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution/being run on a processor or on several processors;

- a device may be regarded as an apparatus or as an assembly of more than one apparatus, whether functionally in cooperation with each other or functionally independently of each other but in a same device housing, for example.

In general, it is to be noted that respective functional blocks or elements according to above-described aspects can be implemented by any known means, either in hardware and/or software, respectively, if it is adapted to perform the described functions of the respective parts. The mentioned method steps can be realized in individual functional blocks or by individual devices, or one or more of the method steps can be realized in a single functional block or by a single device. Generally, any method step is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the present invention. Devices and means can be implemented as individual devices, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed fashion throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device is preserved. Such and similar principles are to be considered as known to a skilled person.

Software in the sense of the present description comprises software code as such comprising code means or portions or a computer program or a computer program product for performing the respective functions, as well as software (or a computer program or a computer program product) embodied on a tangible medium such as a computer-readable (storage) medium having stored thereon a respective data structure or code means/portions or embodied in a signal or in a chip, potentially during processing thereof. The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the invention. Further embodiments of the invention are envisaged. It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling transmission power, the method comprising:

calculating, on a processor at a user equipment, a transmission power based on currently used bandwidth, and

checking, on the processor at the user equipment, whether a transmission power limit has been reached by the calculated transmission power.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating a transmission power is based on a predefined resource block assignment.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, comprising:

calculating a minimum transmission power based on a maximum resource block assignment, and

checking whether a minimum transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated minimum transmission power .

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, comprising:

calculating a maximum transmission power based on a minimum resource block assignment, and

checking whether a maximum transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated maximum transmission power.

5. A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transmission power is calculated based on a previous resource block assignment.

6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmission power is calculated based on a previously calculated transmission power accumulated with a transmission power control command received from a base station.

7. Apparatus for controlling transmission power, the apparatus comprising: a processing system constructed and arranged to cause:

a user equipment to calculate a transmission power based on currently used bandwidth, and

the user equipment to check whether a transmission power limit has been reached by the calculated transmission power.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged such that the calculating a transmission power is based on a predefined resource block assignment.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to cause:

checking whether a minimum transmission power limit has been reached based on the minimum calculated transmission power .

10. Apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to cause:

checking whether a maximum transmission power limit has been reached based on the maximum calculated transmission power.

11. Apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to cause:

calculating the transmission power based on a previous resource block assignment.

12. Apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 11, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to cause: calculating the transmission power based on a previously calculated transmission power accumulated with a transmission power control command received from a base station.

13. Apparatus for controlling transmission power, the apparatus comprising:

a processing system constructed and arranged to:

calculate a transmission power based on channel format and bit number dependent values, and

check whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged such that the calculating a transmission power is based on predefined values dependent on channel format and bit number.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to:

calculate a minimum transmission power based on maximum values dependent on channel format and bit number, and

check whether a minimum transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated minimum transmission power.

16. Apparatus according to any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to:

calculate a maximum transmission power based on minimum values dependent on channel format and bit number, and

check whether a maximum transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated maximum transmission power.

17. Apparatus according to any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to: calculate the transmission power based on previous channel format and bit number dependent values.

18. Apparatus according to any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the processing system is constructed and arranged to:

calculate the transmission power based on a previous calculated transmission power accumulated with a transmission power control command received from a base station.

19. A method for controlling transmission power, the method comprising:

calculating a transmission power based on channel format and bit number dependent values, and

checking whether a transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated transmission power.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the calculating a transmission power is based on predefined values dependent on channel format and bit number.

21. A method according to claim 19 or claim 20, comprising:

calculating a minimum transmission power based on maximum values dependent on channel format and bit number, and

checking whether a minimum transmission power limit has been reached based on the calculated minimum transmission power.

22. A method according to any of claims 19 to 21, comprising:

calculating a maximum transmission power based on minimum values dependent on channel format and bit number, and

23. A method according to any of claims 19 to 22, comprising: calculating the transmission power based on previous channel format and bit number dependent values.

24. A method according to any of claims 19 to 23, comprising:

calculating the transmission power based on a previous calculated transmission power accumulated with a transmission power control command received from a base station.