Quality of service scheme for collision-based wireless networks

摘要

A method for enabling different priority messages in a contention-based wireless network where units use a common channel. Relative to high priority messages, if the channel is not busy when a message is ready for transmission, then the message is transmitted immediately. When the channel is busy, the message is not transmitted until the channel becomes available and a selected back-off period (while the channel is available) expires. Back off periods are illustratively randomly selected by the units. Low priority messages are similarly not transmitted when the channel is busy, and additionally are not transmitted for a preselected pre-emption interval when the channel is available to high priority messages but not to low priority messages. Like with high priority messages, low priority messages that not transmitted when ready are held back a back-off period before they are transmitted.