Patent ID: 8451816
Filing Date: 2013-05-28
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. An apparatus, comprising: a PHY (PHYsical layer) receiver that includes a plurality of PHY receiver portions respectively to support the communications with at least one additional apparatus and in accordance with each of a plurality of communication system types; and a MAC (Medium Access Controller), directly coupled to the PHY receiver at a MAC/PHY interface, to support a plurality of different operational modes corresponding respectively to the plurality of communication system types; and wherein: the apparatus operative to monitor beacons simultaneously broadcast from and simultaneously received from the at least one additional apparatus corresponding to each of the plurality of different operational modes; a first of the plurality of different operational modes is a wireless local area network (WLAN) operational mode; a second of the plurality of different operational modes is a piconet/PAN (Personal Area Network) operational mode; the MAC initially operative in accordance with a first of the plurality of different operational modes; and the MAC subsequently operative in accordance with a second of the plurality of different operational modes.