Patent ID: 7463200

Claim:
A wireless communication node in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication node having a receiver portion and a transmitter portion for simultaneously receiving and transmitting, the receiver portion and the transmitter portion tuning over a range of overlapping frequencies, the wireless communication node comprising: a substantially omni-directional antenna coupled to the receiver portion and the transmitter portion, the substantially omni-directional antenna configured to transmit using the transmitter portion during a first interval; and a pair of directional antennae coupled to the receiver portion and the transmitter portion, the pair of directional antennae configured to simultaneously receive using the receiver portion while transmitting with the substantially omni-directional antenna using the transmitter portion during the first interval, wherein the substantially omni-directional antenna is further configured to receive using the receiver portion during a second interval and the pair of directional antennae is further configured to simultaneously transmit using the transmitter portion while receiving with the substantially omni-directional antenna using the receiver portion during the second interval.