Patent ID: 8428263
Filing Date: 2013-04-23
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A claimed wireless local-area network (LAN) device for performing wireless communications in a wireless network, the claimed wireless LAN device comprising: a wireless communications interface composed of a wireless station interface and a wireless access point interface; memory storing claimed-device identification information including a basic service set identifier (BSSID) established for said claimed wireless LAN device and therein identifying said claimed wireless LAN device on the wireless network; a central processing unit configured to function as a communications circuit having software for performing, via said wireless communications interface, wireless communications enabling relaying of wireless packets on the wireless network, a wireless LAN device detector for probe-request/probe-response based detecting, via said wireless communications interface, of whether a different wireless LAN device is within wireless reception range of said claimed wireless LAN device and if so, whether that different wireless LAN device is wireless distribution system (WDS)-compliant, a setting circuit having software for obtaining, if said wireless LAN device detector has detected that a different wireless LAN device is within wireless reception range of said claimed wireless LAN device and the different wireless LAN device is WDS-compliant, different-device identification information from the different wireless LAN device, the different-device identification information including a BSSID established for the different wireless LAN device and therein identifying the different wireless LAN device to said claimed wireless LAN device, comparing the different-device identification information with said claimed-device identification information, and based on a relationship in predetermined BSSID-corresponding magnitudes for said claimed wireless LAN device and for the different wireless LAN device, determining a virtual access-point-station relationship according to which said setting circuit virtually configures said claimed wireless LAN device either as a station or as an access point, the virtual access-point-station relationship conditioning an asymmetric protocol between said claimed wireless LAN device and the different wireless LAN device, wherein when according to the virtual access-point-station relationship said setting circuit virtually configures said claimed wireless LAN device as a station, said wireless station interface functions as a station, and when according to the virtual access-point-station relationship said setting circuit virtually configures said claimed wireless LAN device as an access point, said wireless access point interface functions as a wireless access point, and an execution circuit having software for executing the asymmetric protocol based on the virtual access-point-station relationship determined by said setting circuit, said execution circuit including a sharing circuit having software for generating a predetermined encryption key and sharing the predetermined encryption key with the different wireless LAN device; wherein said communications circuit, in relaying wireless packets, encrypts the packets using the shared encryption key.