Electronic device for wireless communication network

Abstract

An electronic device for use in a wireless communication network. The electronic equipment comprises a receiving circuit, a decryption circuit, an address conversion circuit, an encryption circuit and a transmitting circuit. The receiving circuitry is to receive a wireless packet. The decryption circuit is coupled to the receiving circuit and is configured to decrypt the received wireless packet to generate decrypted packet data. The address conversion circuit is coupled to the decryption circuit and is used for converting the information of the recorded at least one media access control address of the decrypted packet data to generate converted packet data, so that the electronic device is disguised as a wireless access point device or a site device. The encryption circuit is coupled to the address translation circuit and is configured to encrypt the translated packet data to generate an encrypted wireless packet. The transmit circuit is coupled to the encryption circuit and is configured to transmit the encrypted wireless packet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication network, and more particularly to an electronic device capable of serving as a signal enhancement / extension device and a corresponding method. Background Art

[0002] Generally speaking, wireless communication networks such as WiFi networks are now ubiquitous, and most electronic devices can use wireless communication networks for data transmission. However, as the distance between the wireless access point device and the station device in the wireless network increases, the quality of signal transmission will decrease, resulting in the inability to transmit data smoothly, and even causing the station device to be unable to receive the beacon of the wireless access point and frequently disconnect. Summary of the invention

[0003] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an electronic operation and corresponding method that can be used as a signal enhancement / extension device to solve the problems of the prior art.

[0004] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device used in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The electronic device is used to wirelessly connect between a wireless access point device and a station device, and the electronic device includes a receiving circuit, a decryption circuit, an address conversion circuit, an encryption circuit and a transmitting circuit. The receiving circuit is used to receive a wireless packet. The decryption circuit is coupled to the receiving circuit and is used to decrypt the received wireless packet to generate decrypted packet data. The address conversion circuit is coupled to the decryption circuit and is used to convert at least one media access control address information recorded in the media access control header of the decrypted packet data to generate converted packet data, so that the electronic device can disguise itself as the wireless access point device or the station device. The encryption circuit is coupled to the address conversion circuit and is used to encrypt the converted packet data to generate an encrypted wireless packet. The transmitting circuit is coupled to the encryption circuit and is used to send the encrypted wireless packet.

[0005] The embodiment of the present invention is an electronic device and method for signal enhancement of a WiFi wireless communication signal network based on media access control address translation, so as to expand the signal coverage range to assist the stability and reliability of communication between a remote wireless access point device and a station device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a signal node in a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0007] Figure 2 4 is a circuit diagram of an electronic device in a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0008] Figure 3 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless packet to be address converted according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the operation of an electronic device performing uplink and / or downlink data forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the operation of an electronic device performing uplink and / or downlink management packet forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specific embodiments

[0012] The present invention aims to provide an electronic device and method for use in a wireless communication network (such as a wireless WIFI network). The electronic device can be used as a signal booster device. The signal booster device is also called a signal extension device or a relay data transfer device, so that when the communication quality between a wireless access point device (Access Point (AP) device) and at least one station device (Station device) is poor due to reasons such as a long distance between the two, the communication quality between the wireless access point AP and at least one station device can be improved by using one or more signal boosters in the wireless communication network. It should be noted that in an embodiment of the present invention, when the electronic device is used as a signal booster device for data transfer, it is disguised as a wireless access point device for the station device, and disguised as a station device for the wireless access point device, so that the station device and the wireless access point device only perceive that they are sending data to each other, and do not perceive that they are communicating through the electronic device of the present invention.

[0013] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a signal node in a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1As shown in part (a), the wireless communication network includes a wireless access point device AP, an electronic device ED, and station devices STA1~STA5, and their approximate relative positions are shown in the figure. For example, the station devices STA1 and STA2 are closer to the wireless access point device AP, so they can directly communicate with the wireless access point device AP (such as sending and / or receiving packets / data). The station devices STA3~STA5 are farther away from the wireless access point device AP, and the coverage of the wireless access point device AP can be enhanced or extended by the electronic device ED of the present invention (as a signal enhancement device). For example, the electronic device ED can use the same identification name ID as the wireless access point device AP (such as the service area ID (SSID, Service Set Identifier), but not limited to) to disguise itself as a wireless access point device AP to communicate with the station devices STA3~STA5. In addition, the electronic device ED as a signal enhancement device can also use the same media access control address (Media Access Control (MAC) Address) as the station device (such as the station device STA4) to disguise itself as the station device STA4 to communicate with the wireless access point device AP. Since neither the wireless access point device AP nor the station device STA4 senses the existence of the electronic device ED, but only considers that they are communicating with each other, there is no need to perform additional circuit design on the hardware components of the wireless access point device AP and the station device STA4, and only the circuit operation and function of the electronic device ED located in the middle need to be designed accordingly. Therefore, the signal enhancement effect is achieved, the communication distance between the station device and the wireless access point device is expanded, and the design complexity of the entire wireless communication network is also reduced.

[0014] In addition, for example Figure 1As shown in part (b), in a wireless communication network, two or more electronic devices can also be used as signal enhancement devices to further extend the coverage of the wireless access point device. The wireless communication network of part (b) includes a wireless access point device AP, electronic devices ED1, ED2, and station devices STA1 to STA3, and their approximate relative positions are shown in the figure. For example, because the station device STA3 is far away from the wireless access point device AP, the station device STA3 can communicate with the wireless access point device AP (for example, sending and / or receiving data) through data forwarding between the two electronic devices ED1 and ED2. In this embodiment, as shown in part (b), the electronic device ED1 as a signal enhancement device can disguise itself as a wireless access point device AP to communicate data with the electronic device ED2 as a signal enhancement device, while the electronic device ED2 disguises itself as the electronic device ED1 (in other words, also disguises itself as a wireless access point device AP) to communicate with the station device STA3. Similarly, the electronic device ED2 can disguise itself as the station device STA3 to communicate with the electronic device ED1, and the electronic device ED1 can then disguise itself as the electronic device ED2 (in other words, also disguise itself as the station device STA3) to communicate with the wireless access point device AP. That is to say, the electronic devices ED1 and ED2 as signal enhancement devices can also use the same MAC address as the station device STA3 to disguise themselves as the station device STA3 to communicate with the wireless access point device AP, and can also use the identification name ID of the wireless access point device AP to disguise themselves as the wireless access point device AP to communicate with the station device STA3. Since the wireless access point device AP and the station device STA3 will not perceive the existence of the electronic devices ED1 and ED2, but only think that they are communicating with each other, there is no need to perform additional circuit design on the hardware components of the wireless access point device AP and the station device STA, and only need to design the circuit operation and function of the electronic devices ED1 and ED2 located in the middle accordingly. Therefore, the effect of signal enhancement is achieved, the communication distance between the station device and the wireless access point device is expanded, and the design complexity of the entire wireless communication network is also reduced.

[0015] In the architecture of a traditional wireless communication network, for the relay communication transmission of packets, the packets need to be reported to the upper layer (e.g., software layer) of the traditional relay device for software processing. In addition, the traditional relay device must also provide complete wireless access point functions, such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) request and other services. Compared with the architecture of the traditional wireless communication network, the electronic devices in the wireless communication network of the present disclosure are disguised as wireless access points and site devices when forwarding packets, so the wireless access points will not perceive the existence of the electronic devices used to forward data, so there is no need to report the packets to the upper layer for software processing, which greatly improves the efficiency of packet forwarding.

[0016] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of an electronic device 200 in a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the electronic device 200 as a signal enhancement device is located between the wireless access point device 205 and the station device 210 in the wireless communication network. The electronic device 200 includes a receiving circuit 2001, an address filtering circuit 2002, a decryption circuit 2003, an address conversion circuit 2004, an encryption circuit 2005, a transmitting circuit 2006 and a processing circuit 2007. The receiving circuit 2001 is used to receive wireless packets. The address filtering circuit 2002 is coupled to the receiving circuit 2001 and receives the wireless packets sent by the wireless access point device 205 and the station device 210. The decryption circuit 2003 is coupled to the address filtering circuit 2002 and is used to decrypt the received wireless encrypted packets to generate decrypted packet data. The decryption circuit 2003 can decrypt multiple wireless encrypted packets sent by multiple station devices 210 and the wireless access point device 205. In another embodiment, the address filtering circuit 2002 may be optional, that is, the wireless packet received by the receiving circuit 2001 may be directly sent to the decryption circuit 2003 .

[0017] The address conversion circuit 2004 is coupled to the decryption circuit 2003, and is used to convert at least one MAC address recorded in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data to generate converted packet data, so that the electronic device 200 disguises itself as a wireless access point device 205 or a station device 210. For example, the address conversion circuit 2004 converts (or replaces) the BSSID (generally also the RA address) included in the uplink wireless encryption packet (e.g., uplink data packet) into the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205, and converts the BSSID information (generally also the TA address information) included in the downlink wireless encryption packet (e.g., downlink data packet) into the MAC address of the electronic device 200. The encryption circuit 2005 is coupled to the address conversion circuit 2004, and is used to encrypt the converted packet data to generate a re-encrypted wireless encryption packet. The encryption circuit 2005 can encrypt the packet data of multiple station devices and wireless access point devices. The transmission circuit 2006 is coupled to the encryption circuit 2005, and is used to send the re-encrypted wireless encryption packet. The processing circuit 2007 is coupled to the address filtering circuit 2002, the decryption circuit 2003, the encryption circuit 2005 and the transmitting circuit 2006, and can perform additional logic processing operations, such as installation of a key and the like.

[0018] Figure 3 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of the operation process of the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 Available for Figure 1 The wireless communication network shown is, but not limited to, Figure 3 As shown, first, the station device 210 scans for a wireless access point device 205 with a designated identification name ID. The identification name ID is, for example, the service zone ID (SSID) of the wireless access point device 205, or the WiFi network name of the wireless access point device 205 in the wireless communication network. The identification name ID may also be, for example, a basic service zone ID (BSS (Basic Service Set) ID), or a MAC address of the wireless access point device 205. In an embodiment, the station device 210 broadcasts a probe request (Probe Request), and then the station device 210 receives a probe response (Probe Response) and / or a beacon (Beacon) of the wireless access point device 205, and / or receives a probe response and / or a beacon from the electronic device 200.

[0019] In this example, for example, when the communication signal strength of the electronic device 200 is higher than the communication signal strength of the wireless access point device 205, the station device 210 will choose to connect to the electronic device 200 to perform the first wireless network connection procedure. At this time, the electronic device 200 will disguise as the wireless access point device 205 to connect to the station device 210, so the station device 210 only knows that it is to be wirelessly connected to the wireless access point device 205. In the first wireless network connection procedure, the electronic device 200 disguised as the wireless access point device 205 performs authentication (Authentication), association connection (Association), and four-way handshake (4-way handshake) with the station device 210 to negotiate and install the first key Key (B2S) that needs to be used together by the packet (such as a data packet and / or a management packet).

[0020] Almost simultaneously, when the electronic device 200 obtains the MAC address of the station device 210, it can disguise itself as the station device 210 by using the MAC address of the sending station device 210 to wirelessly connect to the wireless access point device 205 to perform the second wireless network connection procedure. The wireless access point device 205 only knows that it needs to wirelessly connect to the station device 210. In the second wireless network connection procedure, the electronic device 200 will disguise itself as the station device 210 to perform authentication, association connection, and four-way handshake with the wireless access point device 205 to negotiate and install the second key Key (B2A) that is needed to be used together for subsequent data and management packets.

[0021] After setting and installing the first key Key (B2S) and the second key Key (B2A), the electronic device 200 can forward and send the uplink and / or downlink packets between the site device 210 and the wireless access point device 205. For example (but not limited to), in the control signal and data forwarding procedure, when receiving the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) request sent by the site device 210, the electronic device 200 decodes the DHCP request and converts (replaces) the MAC address in the DHCP request to disguise. Then, the electronic device 200 encodes according to the converted MAC address to generate a disguised DHCP request, and sends the disguised DHCP request to the wireless access point device 205. Then, when receiving the DHCP response sent by the wireless access point device 205, the electronic device 200 decodes the DHCP response and converts (replaces) the MAC address in the DHCP response to disguise. Then, the electronic device 200 encodes according to the converted MAC address to generate a disguised DHCP response, and sends the disguised DHCP response to the site device 210. Similarly, when receiving the uplink data packet DATA1 sent by the site device 210, the electronic device 200 decodes the uplink data packet DATA1 and converts the MAC address therein for camouflage. Then, the electronic device 200 encodes the converted camouflaged MAC address to generate a camouflaged uplink data packet DATA1', and sends the camouflaged uplink data packet DATA1' to the wireless access point device 205. When receiving the downlink data packet DATA2 sent by the wireless access point device 205, the electronic device 200 decodes the downlink data packet DATA2 and converts the MAC address therein for camouflage. Then, the electronic device 200 encodes the converted camouflaged MAC address to generate a camouflaged downlink data packet DATA2', and sends the downlink data packet DATA2' to the site device 210. It should be noted that the above is an example of the implementation of the present invention using data packets as an example, and a person of ordinary skill in the art should be able to modify it appropriately to apply it to management packets.

[0022] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the format of a MAC frame in a wireless packet (such as a wireless data packet or a wireless management packet, but not limited thereto) to be address translated according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4As shown, the MAC frame includes a MAC header, a variable-length frame body, and a frame check sequence (FCS). The MAC header includes multiple fields such as a frame control field, a duration (Duration / ID) field, a first address field Addr1, a second address field Addr2, a third address field Addr3, a sequence control field, a fourth address field Addr4, a QoS control field, and an HT control field. The above-mentioned address fields can be used to indicate information of the wireless packet (e.g., a wireless data packet), such as information indicating an identification name (e.g., a basic service area ID (BSS (Basic Service Set) ID)), a source address (SA), a destination address (DA), a transmitter address (TA), and a receiver address (RA). Different address fields can be used to record different addresses according to different frame types. The destination address DA can be an individual address or a broadcast address, or it can be the final destination address of the MAC frame. The starting address SA may be the address of the workstation that generates the MAC frame. The transmitter address TA refers to the address used to send MAC frames on the wireless medium, and the receiver address RA refers to the address used to receive MAC frames on the wireless medium. Some frame types do not use all fields. The electronic device 200 may convert the address recorded in at least one address field in the above-mentioned MAC frame to disguise itself as a site device or a wireless access point device. In one embodiment, the wireless packet may also be a wireless management packet of a management frame. The electronic device 200 may also replace the address recorded in at least one address field in the wireless management packet to disguise itself as a site device or a wireless access point device.

[0023] Figure 5 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an operation of an electronic device 200 for forwarding uplink and / or downlink data packets according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5As shown, after the electronic device 200 has disguised itself as the wireless access point device 205, for example, when the signal strength of the electronic device 200 is higher than the signal strength of the wireless access point device 205, the site device 210 may send an uplink wireless data packet to the electronic device 200, but will not send an uplink wireless data packet to the wireless access point device 205. At this time, the uplink wireless data packet will record that its transmission direction is "to DS", for example, it is sent to the wireless access point device in the distributed system. In addition, the MAC header of the uplink wireless data packet will use the first address field Addr1 to record the BSSID, for example, the MAC address MAC_BST of the electronic device 200 is recorded at this time. The MAC header of the uplink wireless data packet will use the second address field Addr2 to record the transmitter address TA, for example, the MAC address MAC_STA of the site device 210 is recorded at this time. The MAC header of the uplink wireless data packet will use the third address field Addr3 to record the destination address DA, for example, the MAC address MAC_DA of the destination address is recorded at this time.

[0024] When the electronic device 200 (e.g., the receiving circuit 2001 and / or the address filtering circuit 2002 therein) receives the uplink wireless data packet, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the decryption circuit 2003 therein) uses the first key Key (B2S) negotiated with the station device 210 to decrypt the uplink wireless data packet. After decryption, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the address conversion circuit 2004 therein) modifies the BSSID recorded in the first address field Addr1 in the decrypted packet data to the MAC address (i.e., MAC_AP) of the wireless access point device 205. Generally speaking, the recorded BSSID at this time is also the receiver address RA (but not limited to). The data in other address fields will not be changed.

[0025] Next, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the encryption circuit 2005 therein) uses the second key Key (B2A) negotiated with the wireless access point device 205 to re-encrypt the decrypted and address-converted packet data to generate a re-encrypted packet. The electronic device 200 (e.g., the transmitting circuit 2006 therein) sends the re-encrypted packet. In this way, when the wireless access point device 205 receives the re-encrypted packet, it will be found that the BSSID recorded therein is the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205, and the transmitter address TA (generally also the start address SA, but not limited to) is the MAC address of the station device 210. Therefore, the wireless access point device 205 will determine that this is an uplink wireless data packet from the station device 210. Next, the wireless access point device 205 will use the second key Key (B2A) negotiated with the electronic device 200 disguised as the station device 210 to decrypt the re-encrypted wireless data packet to obtain the data of the wireless data packet from the station device 210.

[0026] In addition, for the transmission of downlink data packets, please continue to refer to Figure 5 . After the electronic device 200 has disguised itself as the wireless access point device 205, the wireless access point device 205 sends a downlink wireless data packet or broadcasts a downlink wireless data packet. At this time, the receiver address RA (generally also the destination address DA, but not limited to) of the packet used for sending or broadcasting will be equal to the MAC address MAC_STA of the station device 210 or equal to the MAC address used for broadcasting. Since the station device 210 is connected to the electronic device 200 through a network, the downlink wireless data packet is received by the electronic device 200, and the station device 210 will not respond to the downlink wireless data packet. At this time, the downlink wireless data packet will record that its transmission direction is "from DS", for example, it is sent from a wireless access point device in a distributed system. In addition, the MAC header of the downlink wireless data packet will use the first address field Addr1 to record the receiver address RA, for example, the MAC address MAC_STA of the station device 210 is recorded at this time. The MAC header of the downlink wireless data packet will use the second address field Addr2 to record the BSSID, for example, the MAC address MAC_AP of the wireless access point device 205 is recorded at this time. The MAC header of the downlink wireless data packet uses the third address field Addr3 to record the start address SA. For example, the MAC address MAC_SA of the start address is recorded at this time.

[0027] When the electronic device 200 (e.g., the receiving circuit 2001 and / or the address filtering circuit 2002 therein) receives the downlink wireless data packet, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the decryption circuit 2003 therein) will use the second key Key (B2A) negotiated with the wireless access point device 205 to decrypt the downlink wireless data packet. Then, after the decryption is completed, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the address conversion circuit 2004 therein) modifies the BSSID recorded in the second address field Addr2 in the decrypted packet data to the MAC address (i.e., MAC_BST) of the electronic device 200. The data in other address fields will not be changed.

[0028] Next, the electronic device 200 (for example, the encryption circuit 2005 therein) uses the first key Key (B2S) negotiated with the station device 210 to re-encrypt the decrypted and address-converted packet data to generate a re-encrypted packet. The electronic device 200 (for example, the transmitting circuit 2006 therein) sends the re-encrypted packet. In this way, when the station device 210 receives the re-encrypted packet, it will be found that the receiver address RA therein is the MAC address MAC_STA of the station device 210, and the BSSID records the MAC address of the electronic device 200. Therefore, the station device 210 will determine that this is a downlink wireless data packet sent from the electronic device 200 (disguised as a wireless access point device 205 at this time). Next, the station device 210 will use the first key Key (B2S) negotiated with the electronic device 200 (for example, the decryption circuit 2003 therein) to decrypt the re-encrypted wireless data packet to obtain the data of the wireless data packet from the wireless access point device 205.

[0029] Figure 6 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an operation of an electronic device 200 performing uplink and / or downlink management packet forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6As shown, after the electronic device 200 has disguised itself as the wireless access point device 205, for example, when the signal strength of the electronic device 200 is higher than the signal strength of the wireless access point device 205, the site device 210 may send an uplink wireless management packet to the electronic device 200, but will not send an uplink wireless management packet to the wireless access point device 205. At this time, the uplink wireless management packet will record that its transmission direction is "to DS", for example, it is sent to the wireless access point device in the distributed system. In addition, the MAC header of the uplink wireless management packet will use the first address field Addr1 to record the BSSID, for example, at this time, the MAC address MAC_BST of the electronic device 200 is recorded. The MAC header of the uplink wireless management packet will use the second address field Addr2 to record the transmitter address TA, for example, at this time, the MAC address MAC_STA of the site device 210 is recorded. The MAC header of the uplink wireless management packet uses the third address field Addr3 to record the destination address DA. For example, what is recorded at this time is the MAC address MAC_BST of the electronic device 200 (because the electronic device 200 has been disguised as a wireless access point device 205, the site device 210 will determine that the electronic device 200 to which it is connected is a wireless access point device 205).

[0030] When the electronic device 200 (e.g., the receiving circuit 2001 and / or the address filtering circuit 2002 therein) receives the uplink wireless management packet, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the decryption circuit 2003 therein) uses the first key Key (B2S) negotiated between the electronic device 200 and the station device 210 to decrypt the uplink wireless management packet. After decryption, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the address conversion circuit 2004 therein) modifies the BSSID recorded in the first address field Addr1 in the decrypted packet to the MAC address (i.e., MAC_AP) of the wireless access point device 205. Generally speaking, the recorded BSSID is also equal to the receiver address RA (but not limited to), and modifies the destination address DA recorded in the third address field Addr3 to the MAC address (i.e., MAC_AP) of the wireless access point device 205. The data in other address fields will not be changed.

[0031] Next, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the encryption circuit 2005 therein) uses the second key Key (B2A) negotiated with the wireless access point device 205 to re-encrypt the decrypted and address-converted packet data to generate a re-encrypted packet. The electronic device 200 (e.g., the transmitting circuit 2006 therein) sends the re-encrypted packet. In this way, when the wireless access point device 205 receives the re-encrypted packet, it will find that the BSSID information and the destination address DA recorded therein are the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205, and the transmitter address TA (generally also the start address SA, but not limited to) is the MAC address of the station device 210. Therefore, the wireless access point device 205 will determine that this is an uplink wireless management packet from the station device 210. Next, the wireless access point device 205 will use the second key Key (B2A) negotiated with the electronic device 200 disguised as the station device 210 to decrypt the re-encrypted wireless management packet to obtain the data of the wireless management packet from the station device 210.

[0032] In addition, as for the transmission of downlink management packets, the same Figure 6 As shown, after the electronic device 200 has disguised itself as the wireless access point device 205, the wireless access point device 205 sends a downlink wireless management packet or broadcasts a downlink wireless management packet. At this time, the receiver address RA (generally also the destination address DA, but not limited) of the packet used for sending or broadcasting will be equal to the MAC address MAC_STA of the station device 210 or the MAC address used for broadcasting. At this time, since the station device 210 is connected to the electronic device 200, the downlink wireless management packet is received by the electronic device 200, and the station device 210 will not respond to the downlink wireless management packet. At this time, the downlink wireless management packet will record that its transmission direction is "from DS", for example, it is sent from the wireless access point device in the distributed system. In addition, the MAC header of the downlink wireless management packet will use the first address field Addr1 to record the receiver address RA, for example, the MAC address MAC_STA of the station device 210 is recorded at this time. The MAC header of the downlink wireless management packet uses the second address field Addr2 to record BSSID information, for example, the MAC address MAC_AP of the wireless access point device 205 is recorded at this time. The MAC header of the downlink wireless management packet uses the third address field Addr3 to record the information of the start address SA, for example, the MAC address MAC_AP of the wireless access point device 205 is recorded at this time.

[0033] When the electronic device 200 (e.g., the receiving circuit 2001 and / or the address filtering circuit 2002 therein) receives the downlink wireless management packet, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the decryption circuit 2003 therein) will use the second key Key (B2A) negotiated and used with the wireless access point device 205 to decrypt the downlink wireless management packet. Then, after the decryption is completed, the electronic device 200 (e.g., the address conversion circuit 2004 therein) modifies the BSSID recorded in the second address field Addr2 and the start address SA recorded in the third address field Addr3 in the decrypted packet data to the MAC address (i.e., MAC_BST) of the electronic device 200. The data in other address fields will not be changed.

[0034] Next, the electronic device 200 (for example, the encryption circuit 2005 therein) uses the first key Key (B2S) negotiated with the station device 210 to re-encrypt the decrypted and address-converted packet data to generate a re-encrypted packet. The electronic device 200 (for example, the transmitting circuit 2006 therein) sends the re-encrypted packet. In this way, when the station device 210 receives the re-encrypted packet, it will be found that the receiver address RA therein is the MAC address MAC_STA of the station device 210, and the BSSID and the start address SA are all recorded as the MAC address of the electronic device 200. Therefore, the station device 210 will determine that this is a downlink wireless management packet sent from the electronic device 200 (disguised as a wireless access point device 205 at this time). Next, the station device 210 will use the first key Key (B2S) negotiated with the electronic device 200 (for example, the decryption circuit 2003 therein) to decrypt the re-encrypted wireless management packet to obtain the data of the wireless management packet from the wireless access point device 205.

[0035] According to the above, in the embodiment of the present invention, for an uplink wireless packet (e.g., an uplink data packet or an uplink management packet), the address conversion circuit 2004 is used to modify the BSSID of at least one address field in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded MAC address of the electronic device 200 (i.e., MAC_BST) to the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205 (i.e., MAC_AP), so as to generate the converted packet data, and the data of other address fields will not be changed. For a downlink wireless packet (e.g., a downlink data packet or a downlink management packet), the address conversion circuit 2004 is used to modify the MAC address information of the wireless access point device 205 (i.e., MAC_AP) recorded in at least one address field in the decrypted packet data to the MAC address of the electronic device 200 (i.e., MAC_BST), and the data of other address fields will not be changed. Through the above-mentioned bidirectional decryption operation, address conversion operation, and encryption operation, the electronic device 200 can achieve the effect of simultaneously disguising as the wireless access point device 205 and the station device 210.

[0036] In addition, it should be noted that the networking operations such as authentication, association connection and four-way handshake between the electronic device 200 and the wireless access point device 205 do not need to wait until the site device 210 and the electronic device 200 are connected to the network before starting, and these networking operations can also be performed synchronously.

[0037] In addition, it should be noted that the functions and operations actually possessed by the electronic device 200 may be equivalent to the functions and operations of the wireless access point device. For example, in addition to the aforementioned signal enhancement / extension function, the electronic device 200 may also have other different functions, such as it may also be used as a basic site device (not disguised as other site devices at this time) to network with a wireless access point device, support other mesh networking protocols, etc.

[0038] also, Figure 2 The circuit elements included in the electronic device 200 shown may be implemented by pure hardware circuit elements, pure software elements, or both hardware and software elements.

[0039] In summary, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device 200 in the wireless communication network is used to wirelessly connect between the wireless access point device 205 and the station device 210. The electronic device 200 includes a receiving circuit 2001, a decryption circuit 2003, an address conversion circuit 2004, an encryption circuit 2005 and a transmitting circuit 2006. Figure 2The address filtering circuit 2002 may be optional or may also be integrated into the receiving circuit 2001. The receiving circuit 2001 is used to receive wireless packets. The decryption circuit 2003 is coupled to the receiving circuit 2001 and is used to decrypt the received wireless packet to generate decrypted packet data. The address conversion circuit 2004 is coupled to the decryption circuit 2003 and is used to convert at least one MAC address recorded in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data to generate converted packet data, so that the electronic device 200 disguises itself as a wireless access point device 205 or a station device 210. The encryption circuit 2005 is coupled to the address conversion circuit 2004 and is used to encrypt the converted packet data to generate an encrypted wireless packet. The transmitting circuit 2006 is coupled to the encryption circuit 2005 and is used to send the encrypted wireless packet.

[0040] For example, the received wireless packet is an uplink wireless packet, and the address conversion circuit 2003 is used to convert the basic service area identification name of the at least one MAC address in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded MAC address of the electronic device 200 to the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205, so as to generate the converted packet data. The encryption circuit 2005 encrypts the converted packet data to generate the encrypted wireless packet. The transmitting circuit 2006 is used to send the encrypted wireless packet to the wireless access point device 205. In addition, the address conversion circuit 2004 can also be used to convert the destination address of the at least one MAC address in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded MAC address of the electronic device 200 to the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205, so as to generate the converted packet data.

[0041] In addition, for example, if the received wireless packet is a downlink wireless packet, the address conversion circuit 2004 is used to convert the basic service area identification name of the at least one MAC address in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded MAC address of the wireless access point device 205 to the MAC address of the electronic device 200, so as to generate the converted packet data. The encryption circuit 2005 encrypts the converted packet data to generate the encrypted wireless packet, and the transmission circuit 206 is used to send the encrypted wireless packet to the station device. In addition, the address conversion circuit 2004 can also be used to convert the starting address of the at least one MAC address in the MAC header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded MAC address of the wireless access point device 205 to the MAC address of the electronic device 200, so as to generate the converted packet data.

[0042] In addition, the wireless packet may also be, for example, a dynamic host configuration protocol request packet or a dynamic host configuration protocol retry packet. For the wireless access point device 205, the electronic device 200 performs a signal enhancement operation to disguise itself as the station device 210. For the station device 210, the electronic device 200 performs the signal enhancement operation to disguise itself as the wireless access point device 205. In one embodiment, when the communication signal strength of the electronic device 200 is higher than the communication signal strength of the wireless access point device 205, the electronic device 200 may perform the signal enhancement operation to disguise itself as the station device 210 and the wireless access point device 205. In addition, in the wireless communication network, the first key negotiated between the electronic device 200 and the wireless access point device 205 is different from the second key negotiated between the electronic device 200 and the station device 210. In addition, in the wireless communication network, the electronic device 200 disguises itself as the wireless access point device 205 by using the MAC address of the wireless access point device 205 to communicate with the station device 210. The electronic device 200 disguises itself as the station device 210 by using the MAC address of the station device 210 to communicate with the wireless access point device 205 .

[0043] The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims of the present invention should fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electronic device used in a wireless communication network, used for wirelessly connecting between a wireless access point device and a station device, the electronic device comprising: A receiving circuit, used for receiving wireless packets; a decryption circuit, coupled to the receiving circuit, for decrypting the wireless packet to generate decrypted packet data; an address conversion circuit, coupled to the decryption circuit, for converting at least one media access control address recorded in a media access control header of the decrypted packet data to generate converted packet data so that the electronic device disguises itself as the wireless access point device or the station device; An encryption circuit, coupled to the address conversion circuit, configured to encrypt the converted packet data to generate an encrypted wireless packet; as well as The transmitting circuit is coupled to the encryption circuit and is used for sending the encrypted wireless packet.

2. An electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless packet is an uplink wireless packet, the address conversion circuit is used to convert the basic service area identification name of the at least one media access control address in the media access control header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded media access control address of the electronic device to the media access control address of the wireless access point device to generate the converted packet data; and the encryption circuit encrypts the converted packet data to generate the encrypted wireless packet, and the transmitting circuit is used to send the encrypted wireless packet to the wireless access point device.

3. An electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the address conversion circuit is also used to convert the destination address of at least one media access control address in the media access control header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded media access control address of the electronic device to the media access control address of the wireless access point device to generate the converted packet data.

4. An electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless packet is a downlink wireless packet, the address conversion circuit is used to convert the basic service area identification name of the at least one media access control address in the media access control header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded media access control address of the wireless access point device to the media access control address of the electronic device to generate the converted packet data; and the encryption circuit encrypts the converted packet data to generate the encrypted wireless packet, and the transmitting circuit is used to send the encrypted wireless packet to the site device.

5. An electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the address conversion circuit is also used to convert the starting address of at least one media access control address in the media access control header of the decrypted packet data from the recorded media access control address of the wireless access point device to the media access control address of the electronic device to generate the converted packet data. 6 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless packet is a dynamic host configuration protocol request packet or a dynamic host configuration protocol retry packet.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein for the wireless access point device, the electronic device operates through signal enhancement to disguise as the station device, and for the station device, the electronic device operates through the signal enhancement to disguise as the wireless access point device.

8. An electronic device according to claim 7, wherein in the wireless communication network, when the communication signal strength of the electronic device is higher than the communication signal strength of the wireless access point device, the electronic device will perform the signal enhancement operation to disguise itself as the site device and disguise itself as the wireless access point device.

9. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein in the wireless communication network, a first key negotiated between the electronic device and the wireless access point device is different from a second key negotiated between the electronic device and the station device.

10. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein in the wireless communication network, the electronic device disguises itself as the wireless access point device by using the media access control address of the wireless access point device to communicate with the site device, and the electronic device disguises itself as the site device by using the media access control address of the site device to communicate with the wireless access point device.

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