METHOD FOR OPERATING A SMART ANTENNA IN A WLAN USING MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL INFORMATION

摘要

A communications device with a switched beam antenna operates in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that includes a plurality of transmitters. The switched beam antenna generates a plurality of antenna beams. A method for operating the communications device includes receiving signals from the plurality of transmitters operating within the WLAN, identifying the received signals comprising medium access control (MAC) information, and determining a quality metric for each received signal comprising MAC information (104). A transmitter is selected based on the quality metrics. The antenna beams are scanned for receiving from the selected transmitter the signals comprising MAC information. A quality metric (105) associated with each scanned antenna beam is determined. One of the scanned antenna beams is then selected for communicating with the selected transmitter based on the quality metrics.