Patent ID: 7970540

Claim:
A method of vehicular wireless communication over a Dedicated Short Range Communication service band using an integrated coordinating access point, said method comprising the steps of: dividing the service band into a control channel for transmitting a safety communication, and a service channel for transmitting a non-safety communication; defining an integrated coordinating access point that is both a coordinating access point and a service access point that transmits and receives non-safety communications, and the integrated coordinating access point operates on both the control channel and the service channel; subdividing the control channel into intervals of time, wherein one interval is a safety exchange interval in a contention-free period of time and each registered vehicle transmits a safety communication at a predetermined time during the safety exchange interval, and the predetermined time is determined by the integrated coordinating access point; determining if the vehicle is within communications range of an integrated coordinating access point service region; determining if the vehicle is registered with the integrated coordinating access point, if the vehicle is within the communications range of the integrated coordinating access point, wherein the integrated coordinating access point maintains a list of registered vehicles, and registering the vehicle with the integrated coordinating access point if not registered; determining if a current time is within the safety exchange interval in the contention-free period of time in the control channel, and transmitting the safety communication by each registered vehicle during the safety exchange interval at the predetermined time for each registered vehicle, if the current time is within the safety exchange interval of the contention-free period; determining if the safety communication exchange by every registered vehicle is completed, and permitting the vehicle to leave the control channel if the safety communication exchange is complete; and determining if a current time is within a contention period, and transmitting the non-safety communication if the current time is within the contention period.