Medium access control layer that encapsulates data from a plurality of received data units into a plurality of independently transmittable blocks
First Claim
1. A method of a station for operating in a network, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a media access control (MAC) layer, a plurality of high level data units from a high level layer;
encapsulating content from the plurality of high level data units into sub-frames;
grouping a plurality of the sub-frames that belong to a same session as a stream of sub-frames;
dividing the stream of sub-frames into a plurality of segments, each segment forming part of a physical layer (PHY) block;
generating a low level data unit for transmission by a physical layer, the low level data unit containing one or more PHY blocks; and
providing the low level data unit from the MAC layer to the physical layer for transmission over a shared communications medium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of operating in a network in which a plurality of stations communicate over a shared medium, comprising providing a physical layer (e.g., PHY) for handling physical communication over the shared medium; providing a high level layer (e.g., PAL) that receives data from the station and supplies high level data units (e.g., MSDUs) for transmission over the medium; providing a MAC layer that receives the high level data units from the high level layer and supplies low level data units (e.g., MPDUs) to the physical layer; at the MAC layer, encapsulating content from a plurality of the high level data units; dividing the encapsulated content into a plurality of pieces (e.g., segments) with each piece capable of being independently retransmitted; and supplying low level data units containing one or more of the plurality of pieces.
419 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of a station for operating in a network, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a media access control (MAC) layer, a plurality of high level data units from a high level layer; encapsulating content from the plurality of high level data units into sub-frames; grouping a plurality of the sub-frames that belong to a same session as a stream of sub-frames; dividing the stream of sub-frames into a plurality of segments, each segment forming part of a physical layer (PHY) block; generating a low level data unit for transmission by a physical layer, the low level data unit containing one or more PHY blocks; and providing the low level data unit from the MAC layer to the physical layer for transmission over a shared communications medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system in which a plurality of stations communicate over a powerline communications medium, comprising:
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one station of the plurality of stations configured to operate according to a protocol that includes; a physical layer configured to handle physical communication over the powerline communications medium, a high level layer configured to receive data from the one station and further configured to provide high level data units for transmission over the powerline communications medium, and a media access control (MAC) layer configured to receive the high level data units from the high level layer and further configured to provide low level data units to the physical layer; wherein the one station if further configured to; receive, at a MAC layer, high level data units from the high level layer; encapsulate content from a plurality of the high level data units into sub-frames; group a plurality of the sub-frames that belong to a same session as a stream of sub-frames; divide the stream of sub-frames into a plurality of segments, each segment forming part of a physical layer (PHY) block; generate a low level data unit for transmission by the physical layer, the low level data units containing one or more PHY blocks; and provide the low level data unit from the MAC layer to the physical layer for transmission over a shared communications medium.
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Specification