Wireless LAN with dynamic channel access management
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- assigning one of a plurality of stations in a wireless network that does not include a wireless access point to manage transmission traffic across the wireless network, said one station corresponding to a channel access manager (CAM); and
managing data transmissions between said plurality of stations that are sent over a wireless communication channel provided by the wireless network with the CAM.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for implementing a peer-to-peer wireless local area network (WLAN) that does not require a conventional wireless access point, yet facilitates many of the features provided by an access point, such as channel access management and Quality of Service functions. A method for dynamically selecting a Channel Access Manager (CAM) that (preferably) has the ability to communicate with the greatest number of wireless stations in a given WLAN is provided. The CAM is then used to manage channel access for the WLAN. A method for selecting one or more proxy CAMs that establish communication paths between the CAM and wireless stations with which the CAM traditionally would not be able to communicate is also provided. The invention also provides a method for resolving the issues that occur when a new station is added to the WLAN, and provides optimize routing of messages to maximize transmission bandwidths.
257 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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assigning one of a plurality of stations in a wireless network that does not include a wireless access point to manage transmission traffic across the wireless network, said one station corresponding to a channel access manager (CAM); and
managing data transmissions between said plurality of stations that are sent over a wireless communication channel provided by the wireless network with the CAM. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An article of manufacture comprising:
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a machine-readable media on which a plurality of instructions comprising a wireless network driver are stored that when executed by each of a plurality of stations in a wireless network enables management of network transmission traffic across the wireless network by performing the operations of, selecting a station from among said plurality of stations to perform network communication traffic management operations, said station comprising a channel access manager (CAM);
notifying each of said plurality of stations which station is the CAM; and
obtaining channel access authorization from the CAM prior to transmitting data between stations. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A wireless local area network (WLAN) comprising:
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a first station comprising a channel access manager (CAM) station; and
a plurality of client stations, each client station linked in wireless communication with at least one other client station and/or the CAM station, wherein the CAM station performs network transmission traffic management operations for the WLAN by controlling when transmission between client stations may occur. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification