Appending a Ranging Waveform to a Frame to Maintain Communication Protocol Interoperability

A system comprising:

• a plurality of first communication devices that are configured to operate according to a legacy wireless communication protocol in a radio frequency channel;
• and
• a plurality of second communication devices that are configured to operate according to the legacy wireless communication protocol on the radio frequency channel, and wherein the plurality of second communication devices are further configured to transmit and receive a ranging waveform that is not defined by the legacy wireless communication protocol and which the plurality of first communication devices cannot receive and process;
• wherein a particular second communication device is configured to transmit the ranging waveform by transmitting a frame formatted according to the legacy wireless communication protocol that contains a field comprising information that indicates a time interval during which the particular second communication device transmits the ranging waveform so that first communication devices that receive and decode the frame refrain from transmitting during the time interval.

An apparatus comprising:

• a radio transceiver that is configured to transmit and receive signals in a radio frequency channel;
• a modem connected to the radio transceiver that is configured to baseband modulate signals to be transmitted according to a legacy communication protocol and to baseband demodulate received signals according to the legacy communication protocol;
• a controller connected to the modem that is configured to control the modem and the radio transceiver;
• wherein at least one of the controller or the modem is configured to generate information representing a time interval within which to wirelessly transmit a ranging waveform that is not defined by the legacy communication protocol, encode the information into a field of a frame that is formatted according to the legacy communication protocol to protect the time interval from transmissions by communication devices that operate according to the legacy communication protocol, and generates the ranging waveform for transmission during the time interval following the frame.

Logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution and when executed operable to:

• generate information representing a time interval within which to wirelessly transmit a ranging waveform that is not defined by a legacy communication protocol;
• encode the information into a field of a frame that is formatted according to the legacy communication protocol to protect the time interval from transmissions by legacy communication devices that operate according to the legacy communication protocol;
• cause transmission of the frame;
• and
• cause transmission of the ranging waveform during the time interval following the frame.