Patent ID: 8094577

Claim:
A method of transmitting and receiving data at a device based on a centralized Media Access Control (MAC), the method comprising: determining a channel status with respect to a communication path using a corresponding device and a communication path using a relay device; selecting at least one communication path between the communication path using the corresponding device and the communication path using the relay device, based on the channel status; and transmitting and receiving the data via the selected at least one communication path, wherein the transmitting and the receiving comprises: transmitting, via the selected at least one communication path, the data at a starting point in time of a relay Channel Time Allocation (CTA) that is allocated to the device; and transmitting, via another communication path that is different from the selected at least one communication path, the data after a predetermined data sensing time is elapsed from a starting point in time of a subsequent relay CTA that is allocated to the device, when the other communication path different is selected.