Patent ID: 8625497

Claim:
A wireless communication station (STA) arranged to operate in a network in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard in which channel access is distributed and controlled by network allocation vectors (NAVs), the wireless communication station comprising a wireless network interface arranged to: transmit an initial frame to reserve a wireless channel for a duration indicated in the initial frame; transmit data frames to one or more other wireless communication stations during the duration of the reservation; transmit an end frame within the duration after receipt of an acknowledgement of the data frames, the end frame configured to release any unused excess time of the reservation that is remaining after transmission of the end frame, the end frame being transmitted only when sufficient time within the reservation remains; and refrain from transmitting the end frame when insufficient time for transmission of the end frame within the reservation remains after transmission of the data frames, wherein the wireless network interface is to transmit the initial frame when a NAV of the wireless communication station is not active and is to refrain from transmitting the initial frame when the NAV of the wireless communication station is active, wherein the initial frame is configured to set a NAV of the one or more other communication stations that receive the initial frame, wherein the end frame is arranged to release the NAV of the one or more other communication stations and allow the one or more other communication stations to begin contention-based channel access, and wherein when a time needed for the transmission of the data frames exceeds the duration of the reservation, the wireless network interface is further arranged to limit transmission of the data frames to the duration of the reservation.