Patent ID: 7948934

Claim:
A method for facilitating coexistence of wireless technologies competing for the same bandwidth in which (a) a first wireless network is based on a time-slotted medium access mechanism and includes a configurable frame with at least a beacon, a Contention Access Period, a Contention Free Period, and, optionally, an inactive period, and (b) a second wireless network is based on a time-slotted medium access mechanism, uses slot pair channels with each slot of the pair being about half the slot pair length, periodically scans time slots for interference, and uses free time slots, the method comprising: with a first component residing in the first wireless network, initializing the first wireless network with a superframe period based on a superframe period of the second wireless network and communicating information over the first wireless network within the Contention Free Period of the superframe period of the first wireless network; and with a second component residing in the second wireless network, communicating information over the second wireless network within the Contention Access Period of the superframe period, the Contention Free Period and the Contention Access Period being distinct regions of the superframe period of the first wireless network.