Method of power control and cells site selection

Abstract

A method for use in a cellular communication system is disclosed which dynamically assigns a communication device to a cell site and which dynamically assigns transmit power levels to the communication device. The method is based on measurements of interference levels at cell sites and on the path gain between the communication device and the cell site.

The invention claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of selecting an operating parameter for a device in a cellular communication system, the cellular communication system comprising one or more cell sites, each cell site having an associated interference level, the method comprising the steps of: 
 selecting at the device said operating parameter as a function of the interference level at each cell site in the cellular communications system and of the path gain between the device and each cell site.    
     
     
         2 . The method of    claim 1    wherein said operating parameter is a transmit power level used by the device when the device communicates with a cell site.  
     
     
         3 . The method of    claim 1    wherein said operating parameter is a selection of a particular one of the cell sites said device is to be assigned for communication.  
     
     
         4 . The method of    claim 1    wherein the interference level associated with a particular cell site is a function of the sum of the received power at the particular cell site from other transmitting devices.  
     
     
         5 . The method of    claim 1    wherein the device communicates with a cell site by transmitting a signal with a transmit power that is received at the cell cite with a required received power and wherein the path gain is a scale factor based on the transmit power of the device and on the required received power at the cell site.  
     
     
         6 . The method of    claim 1    wherein the function is the ratio of the interference level to the path gain between the device and each cell site.  
     
     
         7 . The method of    claim 1    wherein the path gain between the device and a particular cell site is determined by a method comprising the steps of: 
 measuring at the device a received signal of known transmitted power from the particular cell site, and  
 determining the path gain as a function of the known transmitted power and the power of the received signal.  
 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus for selecting an operating parameter for a device in a cellular communication system, the cellular communication system comprising one or more cell sites, each cell site having an associated interference level, the apparatus comprising: 
 means for transmitting signals from the device to the cells and for receiving signals at the device from said cell sites; and    means for selecting at the device said operating parameter as a function of the interference level at each cell site in the [spread spectrum] cellular communications system and of the path gain between the device and each cell site.    
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of    claim 8    wherein said operating parameter is a transmit power level used by the device when the device communicates with a cell site.  
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of    claim 8    wherein said operating parameter is a selection of a particular one of the cell sites to which the device is assigned for communication.  
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of    claim 8    wherein said interference level associated with each cell site is a function of the sum of the received power at each cell site from other transmitting devices.  
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of    claim 8    wherein the device communicates with a cell site by transmitting a signal with a transmit power that is received at the cell cite with a required received power and wherein the path gain is a scale factor based on the transmit power of the device and on the required received power at the cell site.  
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of    claim 8    wherein the function is the ratio of the interference level to the path gain between the device and each cell site.  
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of    claim 8    wherein the path gain between the device and a particular cell site is determined by an apparatus comprising: 
 means for measuring at the device a received signal of known transmitted power from the particular cell site, and  
 means for determining the path gain as a function of the known transmitted power and the power of the received signal.