Patent ID: 8243710

Claim:
A method comprising: maintaining at each respective node of a plurality of nodes of a wireless Local Area Network (LAN), a timer (NAV) set to a corresponding time period during which the respective node must refrain from transmitting on a channel; designating a frame as a Time Sensitive Quality of Service (TSQ) frame to be express forwarded from a first node to a second node of said plurality of nodes; incrementing a duration field of said TSQ frame by a first predetermined time increment (DT0) before the TSQ frame is forwarded by said first node; forwarding said TSQ frame by said first node to said second node; and receiving a response from said second node wherein non-forwarding neighboring nodes of said plurality of nodes each set their NAV according to a value equal to the duration field of the response, and wherein said second node attempts transmission of said TSQ frame when acknowledgement of receipt of the TSQ frame is complete.