Patent ID: 7764653

Claim:
A method implemented by a listening AP operating in a plurality of access points (APs) for autonomously determining its respective coverage, the method comprising: receiving packets from other APs, wherein at least one of the received packets is a loud packet, wherein the loud packet is an eligible data packet transmitted at the maximum power level attainable by a transmitting AP at a configurable random time interval; determining whether a path loss estimation timer is expired; on a condition that the timer has not expired, for each received packet: determining whether the transmitting AP is in a list of existing AP's known to the listening AP; adding the transmitting AP to a list of new APs known to the listening AP on a condition that the transmitting AP is not in a list of existing APs known to the listening AP; measuring the received power of the packet; comparing the received power of the packet to a largest N measured received powers for the transmitting AP, wherein N is less than a total number of packets received; recording the received power of the packet in the largest N measured received powers on a condition that the received power of the packet is in the largest N measured received powers of the transmitting AP; on a condition that the timer has expired, for each existing and new AP known to the listening AP; averaging the N measured received powers for the existing or new AP; subtracting the result of the averaging from the maximum transmit power of the existing or new AP; updating a path loss estimate for the existing or new AP; and calculating a range of the listening AP from the path loss estimates.