Patent ID: 8276054

Claim:
A wireless communication system comprising: a first communication station configured to operate according to a first communication protocol; and a second communication station capable of operating according to both the first communication protocol and a second communication protocol; wherein when the second communication station transmits a packet according to the second communication protocol, at least a first signal field compliant with the first communication protocol and a second signal field compliant with the second communication protocol are attached to a header of the packet, the first signal field including a parity bit, wherein the first signal field includes a rate field and a length field representing a transmission rate and a packet length of the packet, and wherein when the second communication station receives a packet from another communication station, the second communication station performs a parity check on the first signal field of the packet, and when no parity error is detected, the second communication station further checks whether the rate field in the first signal field of the packet includes a bit sequence representing one predetermined specific value.