Claims
- 1. A communication device comprising:
a physical medium; and a processor coupled with the physical medium, wherein the processor is adapted to
(a) receive a plurality of reservation request frames from a plurality of respective devices during a Centralized Contention Interval for a wireless communication channel; (b) decode a reservation request from each reservation request frame, and a return address of a MAC sublayer of an associated device; (c) determine at a MAC sublayer a schedule of transmission sessions for exchanging data with the respective devices as per the respective reservation requests; (d) identify one of the devices from the schedule as being the next one; (e) encode the associated return address of the next device in a polling frame; (f) acquire control of the channel; (g) transmit the polling frame over the channel while in a DCF mode; and (h) exchange data over the channel from the identified device during the respective session.
- 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further adapted to:
identify another one of the devices from the schedule as being the next one; and repeat (e) through (h).
- 3. The device of claim 1, wherein
receiving the data is to be within a SIFS of transmitting the polling frame.
- 4. The device of claim 1, wherein
the polling frame is a CTS frame.
- 5. A communication device comprising:
a physical medium; and a processor coupled with the physical medium, wherein the processor is adapted to
transmit a reservation request through a wireless communication channel during a Centralized Contention Interval; receive a polling frame through the channel while in a DCF mode; decode a return address from the polling frame; determine whether the return address matches an address of a MAC sublayer; and if so, transmit data from the MAC sublayer through the channel.
- 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further adapted to:
decode a duration of a session window from the polling frame; and discontinue transmitting data after the session window ends.
- 7. The device of claim 5, wherein
transmitting the data from the MAC sublayer is to be performed within a SIFS from receiving the polling frame.
- 8. The device of claim 5, wherein
the polling frame is a CTS frame.
- 9. An article comprising: a storage medium, said storage medium having stored thereon instructions, that, when executed by at least one device, result in:
(a) receiving a plurality of reservation request frames from a plurality of respective devices during a Centralized Contention Interval for a wireless communication channel; (b) decoding a reservation request from each reservation request frame, and a return address of a MAC sublayer of an associated device; (c) determining at a MAC sublayer a schedule of transmission sessions for exchanging data with the respective devices as per the respective reservation requests; (d) identifying one of the devices from the schedule as being the next one; (e) encoding the associated return address of the next device in a polling frame; (f) acquiring control of the channel; (g) transmitting the polling frame over the channel while in a DCF mode; and (h) exchanging data over the channel from the identified device during the respective session.
- 10. The article of claim 9, wherein the instructions further result in:
identifying another one of the devices from the schedule as being the next one; and repeating (e) through (h).
- 11. The article of claim 9, wherein
receiving the data is within a SIFS of transmitting the polling frame.
- 12. The article of claim 9, wherein
the polling frame is a CTS frame.
- 13. An article comprising: a storage medium, said storage medium having stored thereon instructions, that, when executed by at least one device, result in:
transmitting a reservation request through a wireless communication channel during a Centralized Contention Interval; receiving a polling frame through the channel while in a DCF mode; decoding a return address from the polling frame; determining whether the return address matches an address of a MAC sublayer; and if so, transmitting data from the MAC sublayer through the channel.
- 14. The article of claim 13, wherein the instructions further result in:
decoding a duration of a session window from the polling frame; and discontinuing transmitting data after the session window ends.
- 15. The article of claim 13, wherein
transmitting the data from the MAC sublayer is performed within a SIFS from receiving the polling frame.
- 16. The article of claim 13, wherein
the polling frame is a CTS frame.
- 17. A method comprising:
(a) receiving a plurality of reservation request frames from a plurality of respective devices during a Centralized Contention Interval for a wireless communication channel; (b) decoding a reservation request from each reservation request frame, and a return address of a MAC sublayer of an associated device; (c) determining at a MAC sublayer a schedule of transmission sessions for exchanging data with the respective devices as per the respective reservation requests; (d) identifying one of the devices from the schedule as being the next one; (e) encoding the associated return address of the next device in a polling frame; (f) acquiring control of the channel; (g) transmitting the polling frame over the channel while in a DCF mode; and (h) exchanging data over the channel from the identified device during the respective session.
- 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
identifying another one of the devices from the schedule as being the next one; and repeating (e) through (h).
- 19. The method of claim 17, wherein
receiving the data is within a SIFS of transmitting the polling frame.
- 20. The method of claim 17, wherein
the polling frame is a CTS frame.
- 21. A method comprising:
transmitting a reservation request through a wireless communication channel during a Centralized Contention Interval; receiving a polling frame through the channel while in a DCF mode; decoding a return address from the polling frame; determining whether the return address matches an address of a MAC sublayer; and if so, transmitting data from the MAC sublayer through the channel.
- 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:
decoding a duration of a session window from the polling frame; and discontinuing transmitting data after the session window ends.
- 23. The method of claim 21, wherein
transmitting the data from the MAC sublayer is performed within a SIFS from receiving the polling frame.
- 24. The method of claim 21, wherein
the polling frame is a CTS frame.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/233,122, filed on Sep. 18, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60233122 |
Sep 2000 |
US |