Ubuntu Says I am Connected, But Actually Not

[EggMasta]

I am running Ubuntu 9.10 on my HP Pavillion DV7 1243cl. My wireless card model is Atheros AR928x. For the past few weeks, I have had zero problems with my wireless connections. But recently, ever since the Connection Manager icon appears in my toolbar (The middle one here http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8246/screenshotoi.png) I have been having problems. After about 15 minutes or so, my connections would just fail and I would be unable to access the internet (even my router). But what confuses me is that linux seems to believe that during this time I actually AM connected to the internet, as it keeps telling me my signal strength. I am also sure it is not my connection, because during these periods I can still get wireless on my other machine.

Any help would be amazing