Patent ID: 7649911

Claim:
A method of handling data packets in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), comprising: (a) contending by a plurality of nodes in the network for control of a medium over which data is to be transmitted; (b) establishing control of the medium by a first node of the plurality of nodes in the network by said contention in step (a), and while the first node has contention control of the medium, transmitting a first data packet from that first node to a second node of the plurality of nodes in the network; (c) receiving the transmitted first data packet at the second node while the first node remains in contention control of the medium; (d) generating a combined data/acknowledgement packet by the second node in response to the first data packet which contains both an acknowledgement of receipt of the first data packet by the second node and also a second data packet intended for delivery to the first node from the second node; and (e) transmitting the combined data/acknowledgement packet from the second node to the first node while the first node remains in contention control of the medium.