Patent ID: 7817609

Claim:
A medium access control method implemented by a mobile station enabled for wireless communications with other mobile stations in a multi-channel wireless environment, the method comprising the steps: (a) receiving over at least one wireless pre-assigned control channel status information transmitted by a plurality of other mobile stations within a local area that comprises a signal transmission range of the mobile station, the status information including information about current usage of a plurality of wireless data channels within the local area, wherein the status information transmitted from each of the other mobile stations indicates: (i) each data channel that the mobile station transmitting the status information has determined is not being used by any mobile stations within a transmission range of the mobile station transmitting the status information; (ii) each data channel that is being used by the mobile station transmitting the status information; and (iii) each data channel that the mobile station transmitting the status information has determined is being used by a different mobile station within a transmission range of the mobile station transmitting the status information but not being used by the mobile station transmitting the status information; (b) selecting from the plurality of wireless channels, in dependence on the received status information, a wireless channel for transmitting data from the mobile station to one of the plurality of other mobile stations; and (c) transmitting data from the mobile station over the selected wireless channel.