Method of controlling channel access

• US 9,585,166 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Seok, Yong Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): HENSON, JAMAAL R
• Application Number:
  US14/713,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20150305064A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/006 in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/08 Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of controlling channel access in a WLAN system, comprising receiving, from an access point, a first channel access control message sent to stations located in some area through a directional antenna of the access point, and attempting to access a channel according to the first channel access control message. The method enables coexistence of several users and improves scalability of a wireless system.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a channel access in a wireless local area network system, the method comprising:

receiving, by an accessing station, a channel access message from an access point, the channel access message including a category field and a channel access control mode, the category field indicating that a format of the channel access message is structured for a sectored channel access to allow a channel access of one or more groups of stations based on a plurality of geographical sectors that are partitions of a coverage area of the access point; and

transmitting, by the accessing station, data based on the channel access control mode,

wherein the channel access control mode has a single bit, the channel access control mode being set to zero to indicate that the accessing station is allowed to transmit data in an allowed sector among the plurality of geographical sectors, the channel access control mode being set to one to indicate that the accessing station is allowed to transmit data in all of the plurality of geographical sectors.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel access message is transmitted by the access point through a directional beam that covers the allowed sector.

3. A device for a wireless local area network, the device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory operatively coupled with the processor and storing instructions that when executed by the processor causes to the device to;

receive a channel access message from an access point, the channel access message including a category field and a channel access control mode, the category field indicating that a format of the channel access message is structured for a sectored channel access to allow a channel access of one or more groups of stations based on a plurality of geographical sectors that are partitions of a coverage area of the access point; and

transmit data based on the channel access control mode,

wherein the channel access control mode has a single bit, the channel access control mode being set to zero to indicate that the accessing station is allowed to transmit data in an allowed sector among the plurality of geographical sectors, the channel access control mode being set to one to indicate that the accessing station is allowed to transmit data in all of the plurality of geographical sectors.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the channel access message is transmitted by the access point through a directional beam that covers the allowed sector.