Patent ID: 8249507

Claim:
A method, comprising: communicating in a wireless personal area network (WPAN) system using a low-rate quasi omni-directional communications mode implemented as TX-RX space scanning using directional antennas, and a high-rate directional communications mode with beamformed directional antennas; and wherein the quasi low-rate omni-directional communications mode using TX-RX space scanning uses a same frame to simultaneously carry control information and perform beamforming training of the directional antennas; wherein said WPAN is a piconet that includes a central station, a Piconet controller (PNC) and other station devices (DEVs) and a low-rate omni-directional mode is used only for the following set of MAC/PHY functions that are required before switching to a high-rate directional mode: omni-beacon frame with control information in low-rate mode; Low-rate association request command sent by DEV not associated to the piconet to request an association; Beamforming training frame to perform training between two DEVs; and Beamforming retraining request sent by DEVs that are associated to the piconet but lost the beamforming to the PNC and cannot use directional mode.