Patent ID: 8203945

Claim:
A method of transferring data between a plurality of terminals that communicate via a common communication channel in a wireless network, each terminal being adapted to cover a coverage area, the method including: a step of sending a request-to-send data signal, RTS, from a first terminal to a second terminal located in a coverage area of the first terminal to advise the second terminal that the first terminal is requesting to send data; a step of sending a clear-to-send data signal, CTS, from the second terminal to the first terminal to advise the first terminal that the second terminal is available to receive the data; a step of receiving the clear-to-send data signal, CTS, by a third terminal in a coverage area of the second terminal, the third terminal not having received the request-to-send data signal, RTS, from the first terminal; and upon receiving the clear-to-send data signal, a step of sending a request-to-receive data signal, RTR, from the third terminal, to advise other terminals located in a coverage area of the third terminal that the third terminal is available to receive data from one of such other terminals during transfer of data from the first terminal to the second terminal, wherein the other terminals are terminals other than the first terminal and the second terminal, and wherein the clear-to-send data signal, CTS, specifies the intended recipient of that signal, and the request-to-receive data signal, RTR, specified specifies the identity of the third terminal but no intended recipient of that signal.