Patent ID: 7295542

Claim:
In mixed IEEE 802.11 networks, a method for preventing beacon delays, the method comprising: establishing communications between an IEEE 802.11e access point (QAP) and at least one IEEE 802.11 station (STA); determining a safety interval with an endpoint; generating red-zone transmissions having durations that extend into a red zone; and, in response to the red-zone transmissions, preventing STAs from transmitting a message having a length that exceeds the safety interval endpoint; wherein establishing communications between a QAP and at least one STA additionally includes establishing communication between the QAP and at least one IEEE 802.11e quality of service STA (QSTA); and, wherein generating red-zone transmissions includes a combination of: sending a plurality of transmissions from the QAP having a PIFS interval between transmissions; and, the QAP polling QSTAs; and, the QSTAs transmitting messages that terminate prior to the safety interval endpoint.