Patent ID: 8179845

Claim:
A method for operating a node to transmit packets in a wireless communication network comprising: determining a transmit antenna mode for a transmission between the node and at least one other node; when the transmit antenna mode is omni-directional: broadcasting a transmission schedule for the transmission omni-directionally, wherein the transmission schedule provides reserved intervals of time for the node or one or more neighboring nodes to transmit and/or receive traffic and preventing one or more other nodes from communicating or setting up new reservations for the reserved intervals of time, and determining a receive antenna mode for the transmission between the node and the at least one other node, and when the receive antenna mode is beamforming directional, re-broadcasting the transmission schedule on one or more transmitter beams, wherein the one or more transmitter beams are reciprocal to transmitter beams for directional reception of one or more communications between the node and the at least one other node, further wherein the transmission schedule provides reserved intervals of time for the node or one or more neighboring nodes to transmit and/or receive traffic; when the transmit antenna is beamforming directional, broadcasting a transmission schedule for the transmission directionally on one or more transmitter beams, wherein the transmission schedule provides reserved intervals of time for the node or one or more neighboring nodes to transmit and/or receive traffic and preventing one or more other nodes from communicating or setting UP new reservations for the reserved intervals of time; and periodically performing the determining and broadcasting operations for the transmit antenna mode and the receive antenna mode.