As wireless networks evolve and grow in complexity, there are ongoing challenges in reliably communicating large amounts of data over the air interface(s) of the wireless network. For example, a wireless network may include one or more access nodes, such as base stations, for providing wireless voice and data service to numerous wireless devices in various coverage areas of the one or more access nodes. As is known to those having ordinary skill in the art, the air interface deployed by access nodes is typically divided into radio frames, each of which contains a plurality of subframes within a specified time period, each subframe containing resource elements organized into resource blocks. In time-duplexed long-term evolution (TD-LTE) networks, for instance, each subframe within a frame may be allocated towards uplink transmissions, i.e. transmissions from a wireless device to an access node, or downlink transmissions, i.e. transmissions from the access node to the wireless device. Various arrangements of uplink and downlink subframes in different ratios (along with certain special subframes) have been prescribed by LTE standards, and are hereinafter referred to as frame configurations. Consequently, to balance the requirements of the numerous wireless devices connecting to network nodes, different frame configurations (comprising different ratios of uplink-to-downlink resources) may be dynamically implemented within the wireless network. Such network-initiated variations in the availability of uplink resources can adversely affect wireless devices transmitting on the uplink channel by, for instance, interfering with uplink transmission power control (TPC) of these wireless devices.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds