Patent ID: 7826438

Claim:
A circuit for transmitting information over a network, the circuit comprising: a) a transmitter configured to transmit said information over a channel in said network, and retain access to said channel until either said information transmitted over said channel is acknowledged by a receiving station, or for at least a first predetermined period of time following transmission of said information, whichever is shorter; b) a detector configured to determine a type for said information; c) transmitter instruction logic receiving a timeout signal and comprising acknowledgement detection logic that determines whether said information transmitted over said channel is acknowledged within said first predetermined period of time, and, when said information transmitted over said channel is not acknowledged by said receiving station within said first predetermined period of time following transmission of said information, said transmitter instruction logic instructs said transmitter to: i) retransmit said information when said information has a first type, or ii) wait for a second predetermined period of time before attempting to retransmit said information when said information has a second type; and d) at least one timer that generates said timeout signal when said first predetermined period of time expires, said timeout signal comprising one of (i) a first timeout signal corresponding to a first value for said first predetermined period of time when said channel is in use, and (ii) a second timeout signal corresponding to a second value for said first predetermined period of time when said channel is not in use, said first and second predetermined periods of time being different from each other.