Patent ID: 8873484

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a beamforming mode detection logic configured to select a beamforming mode based, at least in part, on a packet received from a wireless device, wherein the beamforming mode comprises one or both of a beamformer mode and a beamformee mode, wherein the beamforming mode detection logic is configured to select the beamformer mode when a packet payload comprises a steering matrix; a beamformee unit configured to derive steering information from channel related information in the packet when the beamformee mode is selected; a beamformer unit configured to provide weights from the steering matrix to a transmitter performing transmit beamforming on a subsequent packet being transmitted to the wireless device when the beamformer mode is selected; and wherein the beamforming mode detection logic routes at least part of the packet to one or both of the beamformee unit and the beamformer unit based, at least in part, on the selected beamforming mode.