Patent ID: 6014087
Filing Date: 2000-01-11
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
A method for contending for access to a transmission medium comprising the steps of,(a1) initiating an access entry,(a2) monitoring the transmission medium to determine when it is idle,(b) responsive to a determination that the transmission medium is not idle, waiting for the transmission medium to become idle, then transmitting a contention signal over said transmission medium for a period of time proportional to an amount of time that elapsed between the access entry and the determination that the transmission medium was idle, and(c) at the expiration of the period of time, terminating the transmission of the contention signal and then determining if the transmission medium is idle,(d) if the transmission medium is determined to be not idle, then repeat steps (a2), (b) and (c), otherwise, accessing the transmission medium.