Patent ID: 8467364

Claim:
A method to transmit data directly between a first device and a second device in a network via a first pathway, in which the first device and the second device also communicate with a network access point via a second pathway, the method comprising: enabling the first device, which is a Dual Access Point and Station (“DAS”) device having functionality to operate both as a station and as an access point, to operate in an access point (“AP”) mode by selecting the AP mode to communicate directly with the second device via the first pathway; configuring an Association Configuration Protocol (“ACP”) configurator of the first device to configure an ACP broadcast message that includes information indicating device capabilities of the first device, wherein the ACP broadcast message includes an ACP type-length-value (“TLV”) field to indicate an open ACP window; transmitting the ACP broadcast message to the second device in a broadcast beacon via the first pathway without utilizing the second pathway and the network access point; receiving a response from the second device when the second device is capable of responding to the AP mode of a DAS-enabled device to establish a client-server pair between the first and second devices and a direct communication link via the first pathway; and exchanging data wirelessly and directly between the first device and the second device using the first pathway during a period of the open ACP window.