Patent ID: 6954449

Claim:
A wireless communication network comprising: a plurality of mobile nodes for communicating over successive time frames each comprising a plurality of respective time slots of a same type, each mobile node comprising a transceiver, a directional antenna connected to said transceiver, and a controller connected to said transceiver and comprising a first time slot unit to schedule at least one respective time slot as a dedicated semi-permanent time slot for said mobile node to establish a communication link with each neighboring mobile node over a plurality of consecutive time frames, and while leaving at least one other time slot as an available time slot in each time frame, a second time slot unit to schedule the at least one available time slot to also serve the communication link with a neighboring mobile node based upon link communications demand, and an antenna aiming unit to aim said directional antenna toward each neighboring mobile node during communication therewith, each communication link being formed by an initiating mobile node and a receiving mobile node, the initiating mobile node transmitting a request for time slots to the receiving mobile node, the receiving mobile node transmitting a reply to the initiating mobile node, the initiating mobile node transmitting a confirmation to the receiving mobile node, and the receiving mobile node transmits the reply again if the confirmation is not received.