Patent ID: 9609664
Date: 2017-03-28
CPC Classifications: H04W

Claim:
1. A method for accessing a wireless medium in a wireless local area network, the method comprising: receiving, by a station, from an access point (AP), a beacon frame for a restricted medium access to groups of stations in order to spread uplink access attempts of the groups of stations over a period of time, the beacon frame including group indication information and channel access information, the group indication information including information indicating a plurality of station groups that are associated with the AP and are allowed to access an uplink channel, the channel access information indicating a plurality of communication phases, each of the plurality of communication phases associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of station groups; determining by the station, that the station belongs to one of the plurality of station groups; and accessing, by the station, the uplink channel for uplink transmission during a communication phase for the station group to which the station belongs, wherein the beacon frame is periodically transmitted by the AP with a period of a beacon interval, wherein each of the plurality of communication phases occurs at a different time from the other of the plurality of communication phases within the beacon interval, wherein each of the plurality of station groups is allowed to access the uplink channel only during an associated communication phase of the beacon interval, and wherein the station is not allowed to access the uplink channel during a communication phase for any station group to which the station does not belong.