Patent ID: 8265048

Claim:
A system on chip (SOC), comprising: a media access control (MAC) device configured to control transitions of a wireless local area network (LAN) station between an active mode and a low power mode; a first timing device configured to generate a first clock signal based on timing signals from a crystal oscillator external to the SOC; and a second timing device that comprises a first oscillator, wherein the first oscillator is configured to generate an oscillator signal, wherein, during the active mode, the MAC device is configured to power up the first timing device, and cause a radio frequency (RF) transceiver external to the SOC to transmit data during a predetermined time slot (i) that is assigned to the wireless LAN station and (ii) that is not assigned to other wireless LAN stations in a LAN, and wherein, during the low power mode, the MAC device is configured to power down the first timing device, and cause the second timing device to generate the oscillator signal using the first oscillator, and wherein the MAC device is configured to i) transition the wireless LAN station to the active mode prior to a timing beacon, ii) maintain the active mode until after predetermined time slots of each of the wireless LAN stations in the LAN, and iii) transition the wireless LAN station to the low power mode a predetermined time after the predetermined time slots of each of the wireless LAN stations in the LAN.