Patent ID: 7924864
Filing Date: 2011-04-12
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. An apparatus comprising: a joining unit configured to cause a mobile station of a wireless network to join a selected clique, the selected clique being one of a plurality of existing cliques or a newly created clique, wherein the selected clique comprises at least the mobile station and wherein each mobile station in the selected clique is configured to hear all other stations within the selected clique; a communication unit configured to cause communication with a server and to receive a unique value within the selected clique that is assigned by the server to the mobile station when the mobile station joins the selected clique, the unique value being used to determine a rank associated with the mobile station within the selected clique, the communication unit being further configured to receive information in a system map that defines information associated with each of the plurality of cliques and all of the mobile stations in the network, and a listening unit configured to, upon receipt of a predefined signal, cause transmission to begin based on an order determined by the rank of the mobile station in the selected clique.