Electronic devices

Abstract

To provide an electronic device that can establish a bidirectional association relationship with external devices while recognizing that they are the same external device.SOLUTION: An electronic device includes transmitting means and receiving means. The transmitting means transmits a first association request frame to a first electronic device and transmits a second association response frame to the first electronic device. The receiving means receives a first association response frame corresponding to the first association request frame after transmitting the first association request frame and the second association response frame.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electronic apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication apparatuses having a plurality of MAC addresses exist. In a wireless communication apparatus having a plurality of MAC addresses, for example, it is possible to establish an association relationship with another wireless communication apparatus as an access point (AP), and also to establish an association relationship with still another wireless communication apparatus as a station (STA).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Conventionally, in a wireless communication apparatus having a plurality of MAC addresses, while it is possible to establish two cross association relationships of AP and STA with another wireless communication apparatus having a plurality of MAC addresses to construct a bidirectional association relationship, it has not been possible to recognize whether the two association relationships are established with the same other wireless communication apparatus or not. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus capable of establishing a bidirectional association relationship while recognizing that the relationship is with the same external apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to the embodiment, It has an access point section that establishes association relationships as an access point, and a station section that establishes association relationships as a station. Electronic devices are means of acquisition, It comprises a transmitting means and a receiving means. The acquisition means receives a notification containing first information relating to the station unit from a first electronic device having an access point unit and a station unit, and acquires the first information. The transmitting means transmits the first association request frame to the first electronic device, and, Based on the first information The second association response frame is transmitted to the first electronic device. The receiving means receives the first association response frame corresponding to the first association request frame after transmitting the first association request frame and the second association response frame. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system including an electronic device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the functional block configuration of the electronic device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example configuration of the electronic device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of the Management frame format. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship between electronic devices of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] A diagram showing the format of elements stored in the Association Request frame body. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a Co-located AP Info element created in accordance with the format of Figure 6 in the electronic device of the first embodiment. [Figure 8A] This diagram shows an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship for an electronic device in the second embodiment (in the case where AP aggregates Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req). [Figure 8B]This figure shows another example of the processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship for the electronic device of the second embodiment (in the case where STA aggregates Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req). [Figure 9] A diagram showing an example of Temporary AIDs for Association Interval elements created in the electronic device of the second embodiment. [Figure 10] A diagram showing another example of Temporary AIDs for Association Interval element as defined in the electronic device of the second embodiment. [Figure 11A] This diagram shows an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship between electronic devices in the third embodiment (in the case where STA aggregates Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req). [Figure 11B] This figure shows another example of the processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship of the electronic device of the third embodiment (in the case where (SS)P in Figure 8A aggregates Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req). [Figure 12] A diagram showing an example of a BlockAck frame that can be used in the electronic device of the third embodiment. [Figure 13A] A diagram showing an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship of an electronic device according to the fourth embodiment (case where Asoc Req is sent). [Figure 13B] This figure shows another example of the processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship between electronic devices in the fourth embodiment (case of sending an Asoc Rsp). [Figure 14] A diagram showing an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship between electronic devices according to the fifth embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) First, the first embodiment will be described. Figure 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system 100 including electronic devices (wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2) of the first embodiment. Wireless terminals 1 and 2 can be implemented as various electronic devices having wireless communication capabilities, such as personal computers like tablet PCs and notebook PCs, or smartphones. This wireless communication system 100 is established by wireless terminals 1 and 2 establishing an association relationship for wireless communication.

[0008] Wireless terminals 1 and 2 are each implemented with a functional block configuration conforming to the hierarchical model shown in Figure 2, and are assumed to have multiple MAC addresses. Each functional block with a MAC address is called a MAC functional block (a1). The multiple MAC functional blocks of each wireless terminal 1 and 2 are grouped together by their respective Abstraction functional blocks (a2), so that they can be viewed as a single MAC functional block from a higher-level functional block (a4). The Abstraction functional block is responsible for distributing frames from higher-level functional blocks to the appropriate MAC functional block based on the MAC address, and for enabling frame exchange between MAC functional blocks. The methods for distributing frames from higher-level functional blocks to the appropriate MAC functional block and the methods for frame exchange between MAC functional blocks will be described later. Below the MAC functional blocks, there are PHY functional blocks (a3). In Figure 2, (A) shows an example where one PHY functional block is provided for multiple MAC functional blocks, and (B) shows an example where multiple PHY functional blocks are provided in pairs for multiple MAC functional blocks.

[0009] Figure 3 shows an example configuration of the electronic device (wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2) of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, each of wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2 includes a transceiver unit 11 (first transmission unit 11-1, second transceiver unit 11-2) configured to transmit and receive MAC frames, a MAC function block (first MAC block 12-1, second MAC block 12-2) configured to generate the aforementioned MAC frames and perform access control for a wireless medium (air), and a host function block 13.

[0010] The transceiver unit 11, the MAC function block, and the host function block 13 may each be configured as separate individual electronic circuits, or some or all of them may be configured as a single electronic circuit. Alternatively, these may be configured by firmware or the like that is stored in a memory device and executed by a processor.

[0011] The transceiver unit 11 provides functions corresponding to the PHY function block in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 illustrates a case where a PHY function block is connected to each MAC function block in FIG. 2(B). When the PHY function block in FIG. 2(A) is shared among a plurality of MAC function blocks, the number of the transceiver unit 11 may be set to one, and the single transceiver unit 11 may be connected to each MAC function block. FIG. 3 shows an example with two MAC function blocks 12. For example, an association frame generation unit 121 (association frame generation unit 121-1, association frame generation unit 121-2) is provided in each of the MAC function blocks 12. The association frame generation unit 121 generates an Association Request frame or an Association Response frame required for executing an association process. Each MAC function block 12 is connected to the host function block 13. The host function block 13 includes the Abstraction function block in FIG. 2 and function blocks corresponding to upper layers thereof.

[0012] In this embodiment, frames from a wireless LAN system conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard are used. This IEEE 802.11 standard includes IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ax, etc., as well as future successor standards to IEEE 802.11.

[0013] Figure 4 shows an example of the Management frame format. The Management frame is used for building a BSS (Basic Service Set) and for connecting and disconnecting STAs (including APs). In addition to the Management frame, the frame format shown in Figure 4 also includes Data frames that carry packets from higher-level functional blocks, and Control frames used to control communication at the MAC level. The type of these frames is identified by the Type in the Frame Control (b11) of the MAC Header section (b1), which will be described later, and further detailed types such as Association Request are identified by the Subtype in the Frame Control.

[0014] The Management frame includes a MAC Header section (b1), a Frame Body section (b2), and an FCS (Frame Check Sequence) section (b3). The MAC Header section contains the information necessary for reception processing in the MAC function block. The Frame Body section contains information according to the frame type. The FCS section contains the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Code), which is an error detection code used to determine whether the MAC Header and Frame Body sections were received successfully.

[0015] The MAC Header contains fields such as the Frame Control field (b11) and the Duration field (b12), which are set to values ​​according to the frame type. The MAC Header also contains multiple Address fields (b13). Address 1 is set to the MAC address of the direct receiver (Receiving Address: RA). Address 2 is set to the MAC address of the direct transmitter (Transmitting Address: TA). Address 3 is set to an address such as the BSSID. If the AP is part of the BSS, the BSSID is equal to the AP's MAC address.

[0016] Additionally, the MAC Header contains a Sequence Control field (b14). The Sequence Control field is used to set the sequence number of the data to be transmitted, or the fragment number if the data is fragmented.

[0017] The Frame Control field (B11) includes fields such as Type and Subtype to indicate the frame type, as well as To DS, From DS, More Fragment, Protected Frame, and Order fields.

[0018] The bit sequence set in the Type field allows us to identify which frame type a MAC frame belongs to: a Control frame, a Management frame, or a Data frame. Furthermore, the bit sequence in the Subtype field indicates the type of MAC frame within each frame type.

[0019] Additionally, the To DS field contains information indicating whether the receiving station is a radio base station or a radio terminal, and the From DS field contains information indicating whether the transmitting station is a radio base station or a radio terminal. The More Fragment field holds information indicating whether subsequent fragment frames exist when data is fragmented. The Protected Frame field contains information indicating whether the frame is protected. The Order field contains information indicating that the order of frames should not be changed when relaying frames. Alternatively, the information in the Order field may also indicate the presence or absence of the Option fields described later.

[0020] Furthermore, the MAC Header may contain an HT (High Throughput) Control field (b15). The HT Control field exists when the Order field is set to 1 in QoS Data or Management frames. The HT Control field can be extended to a VHT (Very High Throughput) Control field or a HE (High Efficient) Control field, and each can provide notifications according to the various functions of IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, or IEEE 802.11ax, respectively.

[0021] Note that the MAC Header section is not limited to the fields mentioned above. New fields may be added to the MAC Header section when a successor standard to IEEE 802.11 is defined. Next, we will explain the process for establishing a bidirectional association relationship between wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2 so that they can each fulfill the roles of both AP and STA.

[0022] Here, the role of an AP refers to the ability to simultaneously collect packets from multiple destinations or send packets to multiple destinations using, for example, multi-user communication (hereinafter referred to as MU communication) based on IEEE 802.11ax, while the role of an STA refers to the role played by wireless terminals other than APs in the aforementioned MU communication.

[0023] Furthermore, an association is one of the connection processes in which an STA connects to an AP, or in other words, joins the BSS constructed by the AP. Typically, the AP responds to a request from the STA. If the AP approves the request (the Status Code field in the response frame is 0 (SUCCESS)), an AID is assigned to that STA. This allows the STA to send data frames within the BSS constructed by the AP.

[0024] The two MAC function blocks 12-1 and 12-2 in wireless terminal 1 are referred to as AP1 and STA1, respectively, and similarly, the two MAC function blocks 12-1 and 12-2 in wireless terminal 2 are referred to as AP2 and STA2, respectively. In other words, wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2 each have an access point section and a station section realized by MAC function blocks 12-1 and 12-2, which have different MAC addresses from each other. Hereafter, STA1 will associate with AP2, and STA2 will associate with AP1.

[0025] Due to the symmetry between wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2, we consider the case where processing starts from wireless terminal 1. An example of the processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship is shown in Figure 5. The processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship begins with the STA, which is aware of the existence and information of AP2 from the Beacon, Probe Response, and preconditions transmitted from wireless terminal 2, sending an Association Request (Asoc Req), which is an example of a Management frame, to AP2 (S11).

[0026] Here, the AP2 information includes at least the AP2's MAC address, and may also include other information necessary for the association but unknown, such as the SSID (Service Set Identifier). STA1, via Asoc Req, notifies the Capability Information, Listen Interval, and the SSID to be connected to, as well as information necessary for association and communication (such as Supported Rates and BSS Membership Selectors and Power Capability).

[0027] The association between STA1 and AP2 is initiated when STA1 sends an Asoc Req to AP2. In this embodiment, however, wireless terminal 1 also uses the Asoc Req to notify wireless terminal 2 of information about AP1. Here, AP1 information refers to the necessary information excluding the information already known, such as the MAC address and AP1's communication channel, which are required to complete the association, and the information already notified from AP1 to STA using Beacon or Probe Response (since the AP's MAC address becomes the BSSID, the AP's MAC address can be used to determine which Beacon / Probe Response it is). If there is no information to be notified, the AP1 information will be the information indicating that there is an AP1 that can be associated with the wireless terminal 1 to which STA1 belongs. This AP1 information allows wireless terminal 2 to identify that wireless terminal 1 has an access point section and a station section to which different MAC addresses are assigned. Furthermore, this AP1 information allows wireless terminal 2 to send the Asoc Req, described later, to wireless terminal 1.

[0028] As a means of notifying AP1 information using Asoc Req, possible methods include defining a new element in the Association Request frame body or utilizing the Vendor Specific element appended to the end of the Association Request frame body. Currently, in IEEE 802.11, the Element IDs for identifying elements are exhausted, so if the Element ID has the maximum value of 255, an Element ID Extension subfield is added, allowing for identification there. For example, a new Element can be defined using a value not assigned in the existing IEEE 802.11 standard as this Element ID Extension subfield. This new element or Vendor Specific element should include at least the MAC address information of AP1. If AP1 is not sending a Beacon frame, information that would normally be notified in a Beacon frame can be included. For example, when sharing an SSID between the wireless communication terminals, the SSID used by AP2 and AP1 are the same, so although it would normally be notified in a Beacon frame, it can be omitted and processed as known by STA2.

[0029] Furthermore, if wireless terminal 2 does not have multiple MAC function blocks or cannot recognize the Element ID, the association with AP1 will not be performed and will be ignored. Figure 6 shows the format of an element that can be placed in an Association Request frame body, etc. The basic structure of the element format is as follows: First, there is an Element ID field (c1) to identify the element, followed by a Length field (c2) which represents the sum of the lengths of the subsequent fields as an octet length. If the Element ID field is 255, an Element ID Extension field (c3) is provided to extend the Element ID number. Finally, it includes an Information field (c4) which stores information about that Element ID.

[0030] The Information field may contain only one piece of information, such as an SSID Element with Element ID 0, or it may contain multiple pieces of information, such as a Power Capability with Element ID 33. In other words, it can contain any number of pieces of information, up to the maximum of one octet that can be specified in the Length field. If multiple information fields are placed after the Length field, and each information field has a fixed value, the receiving end can extract the information from each information field by defining it in advance. If you want some of the information fields to have a variable length, you can add the necessary subfields to specify the field length before the information field in question.

[0031] This section explains an example of constructing a frame using an element defined as Vendor Specific, which contains the MAC address of AP1. A Vendor Specific element is a component provided to include information that is not defined in the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard and that each vendor wishes to notify.

[0032] First, to indicate that it is a vendor-specific element, the Element ID is set to 221. Next, the Length field is set to a value that represents the length of the subsequent Organization Identifier field and Vendor-specific content field. The Organization Identifier is set to identify which organization uses it, and in this embodiment, the MAC address of AP1 is written as the Vendor-specific content.

[0033] When defining a new element, you can set the Element ID to 255 and use an unused value from the existing IEEE 802.11 standard (such as 0-8, 12, 52, etc.) for the Element ID Extension, or you can use an unused value from the existing IEEE 802.11 standard (such as 2, 8, 9, etc.) as the Element ID. In the latter case, the Element ID Extension field is not necessary. Then, name the Information field, for example, the MAC Address of Co-located AP field, and enter the MAC address of AP1 there. Since the MAC address of an AP is equivalent to the BSSID of the BSS that the AP constitutes, you can also use the Co-located BSSID field instead of the MAC Address of Co-located AP field. Since the MAC address of an AP is 6 octets, the Length field will be 7 if the Element ID Extension field is included, and 6 if the Element ID Extension field is not needed and does not exist. Furthermore, if the MAC addresses of STA1 and AP1 share a common part (for example, the beginning), instead of displaying all six octets of AP1's MAC address, a shortened display method could be considered, such as showing the common first X octets and the remaining (6-X) octets. In any case, it is sufficient that the received Asoc Req contains information that allows STA2 to generate an Asoc Req for AP1 on the receiving wireless terminal side. Figure 7 shows an example element with Element ID 255, Element ID Extension selected as, for example, 60, and containing a 6-octet MAC Address of Co-located AP field. For example, this new element could be named Co-located AP Info element (c4A).

[0034] Returning to Figure 5, we will continue explaining the processing flow for establishing bidirectional association relationships. Upon receiving the Asoc Req in (S11), AP2 receives an association request from STA1 and simultaneously learns that wireless terminal 1, which has STA1, also has AP1. As a result, AP2 sends an Association Response (Asoc Rsp), an example of a Management frame, to STA1 to complete the association with STA1 (S13). In addition, AP2 transmits new information about AP1 to STA2 for association with AP1 via the Abstraction function block (S12). The Abstraction function block manages the MAC addresses of each MAC function block using a table or the like, and is able to appropriately notify STA2 of the information received from AP2. Alternatively, a separate function block that performs Station Management Entity (SME) may be provided and used to notify information. Here, the SME is a management unit that is connected to all MAC function blocks and can transmit commands and information such as the start of association to each MAC function block.

[0035] As described above, there are many ways in which AP2 can notify STA2 of information, and this embodiment is not limited to a specific method. Also, the order of (S12) and (S13) may be reversed. Asoc Rsp notifies users of Capability Information, Status code, AID assigned from AP to STA, as well as other necessary information (such as Supported Rates and BSS Membership Selectors and EDCA Parameter Set).

[0036] STA1 processes the received Asoc Rsp, and if the Status Code value is 0, i.e., Success, then an association relationship is established between AP2 and STA1. Once the association relationship is established, data frames can be exchanged between AP2 and STA1.

[0037] Meanwhile, upon receiving information from AP1, STA2 creates and sends an Asoc Req to AP1 based on that information (S14). AP1 processes the received Asoc Req and sends the Asoc Req to STA2 (S15). STA2 processes the received Asoc Rsp, thereby completing the association between AP1 and STA2.

[0038] The Asoc Req initially transmitted by wireless terminal 1 triggers the establishment of multiple association relationships (the association relationship between AP2 and STA1, and the association relationship between AP1 and STA2), resulting in the following advantages. First, wireless terminal 2 can know that AP1 and STA1 are included in wireless terminal 1 (i.e., they are co-located). Traditionally, there is a method using neighbor reports for one AP to notify the existence of another AP, but whether they are co-located is not notified. Naturally, one AP cannot notify the information of the STA that co-locates with it, nor can an STA notify the information of the AP that co-locates with it.

[0039] Furthermore, channel scanning can be made more efficient. Conventionally, in order to establish a mutual association relationship, STA1 and STA2 each independently detect the communication channels of AP2 and AP1 and start the association process (they are not aware that they are co-located). On the other hand, in this embodiment, if one side can detect the communication channel, a frame to start the association is sent, and this triggers the completion of the association on both sides, so association can be performed more efficiently. In particular, when the PHY function block is common, there is no need to switch channels between the AP and STA each time. Also, even when there are multiple PHY function blocks, the time required for channel detection is reduced, and there is no need to consider how to handle situations where the channels of the AP and STA of the same wireless terminal overlap.

[0040] Furthermore, by having wireless terminals associate with each other, the wireless terminals that make up the mesh network can each act as access points (APs). This enables multi-user communication in various situations such as routing, route diversity, and network monitoring, and is expected to improve the time efficiency of information transmission.

[0041] If a frame is transmitted via uplink MU communication, the STA is the MAC function block that should process that frame; if a frame is transmitted via downlink MU communication, the AP is the MAC function block that should process that frame. However, the Abstraction function block is responsible for deciding which MAC function block to distribute the data input from these higher-level function blocks to. The Abstraction function block manages the MAC addresses of each MAC function block using tables or similar methods, and by establishing some rules or policies regarding distribution, it can distribute data from higher-level function blocks to the appropriate MAC function block.

[0042] As described above, the electronic device of this embodiment can establish a bidirectional association relationship while recognizing that it is with the same external device. (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. Since this embodiment is basically based on the first embodiment, the differences will be explained here.

[0043] Figures 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating, respectively, an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship in the electronic devices (wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2) of this embodiment. The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that, while the first embodiment transmitted Asoc Rsp from AP2 to STA1 and Asoc Req from STA2 to AP1 separately, this embodiment combines Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp into the same physical packet (physical frame). Figure 8A shows an example where AP2 aggregates Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req and transmits them to wireless terminal 1 using either unicast or multiplexing. On the other hand, Figure 8B shows an example where STA2 aggregates Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req and transmits them to wireless terminal 1 using either unicast or multiplexing. Referring to Figures 8A and 8B, the processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship in this embodiment will be explained. As with the first embodiment, we will consider the case where processing starts from wireless terminal 1.

[0044] In this embodiment as well, the processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship begins with STA1, which is aware of the existence and information of AP2 from the Beacon, Probe Response, and preconditions transmitted from wireless terminal 2, sending an Asoc Req to AP2 (S21).

[0045] Upon receiving an Asoc Request from STA1, AP2 can determine from the information of AP1 contained in the Asoc Request that the wireless terminal 1 possessing STA1 also possesses AP1. AP2 creates an Asoc Request to complete the association with STA1. Furthermore, AP2 transmits the acquired information of AP1 so that STA2 can begin the association process with AP1 (S22).

[0046] As in the first embodiment, if the wireless terminal 2 does not have multiple MAC function blocks or cannot recognize the Element ID, the association with AP1 is not performed and is ignored, and the process is terminated. Frame multiplexing methods include frame aggregation, frequency multiplexing which transmits frames using different frequency bandwidths, spatial division multiplexing which transmits using multiple antennas, code multiplexing which transmits using different codes, and orthogonal frequency multiplexing which transmits frames using different subcarriers even within the same frequency bandwidth. In the current step of the processing flow (S22), since the association is not yet complete, there may be information that is necessary for multiplexing but has not been shared. For example, when multiplexing Asoc Rsp to STA1 and Asoc Req to AP1 using frequency multiplexing or spatial multiplexing in the IEEE 802.11ax standard, the configuration will be downlink (DL) multiplexing. In this case, AID information is required in the HE-SIG-B included in the PHY header to indicate the destination of each resource unit or each stream, but AID information is information shared through association. Therefore, if there is missing information, consider assigning temporary values ​​using the frame delivered in the previous step (S21).

[0047] Taking the assignment of temporary AID values ​​to achieve multiplex transmission during the association process as an example, a new element called "Temporary AIDs for Association Interval" is created. In this element, to identify the frame in which the Asoc Rsp to STA1 and the Asoc Req to AP1 are multiplexed, the wireless terminal 1 on the STA1 / AP1 side specifies the AID to be temporarily assigned to each and includes it in the Asoc Req sent from STA1 to AP2. If this temporary AID is to be taken from the conventional AID range of 1 to 2007, it is desirable to exclude any AIDs that have already been assigned when making the selection.

[0048] For example, suppose STA1 specifies in its Asoc Req (Temporary AIDs for Association Interval element) that STA1 should use 2001 as its temporary AID and AP1 should use 2002 as its temporary AID. AP2 receives and decodes the Asoc Req, and if STA1 specifies AID 2001 and AP1 specifies AID 2002 in the HE-SIG-B field, AP2 understands that the transmitted multiplexed packets can be received and decoded on the STA1 / AP1 wireless terminal side. For example, if we consider orthogonal frequency division multiple access (CDI) as a multiplexing scheme, we can send an Asoc Rsp addressed to STA1 using a subcarrier group 1 (also known as Resource Unit (RU) 1) and an Asoc Req addressed to AP1 using a different subcarrier group 2 (also known as RU2). By specifying in the HE-SIG-B field of the PHY header of these multiplexed packets that the PHY payload (i.e., MAC frame) addressed to AID=2001 uses subcarrier group 1 and the PHY payload addressed to AID=2002 uses subcarrier group 2, STA1 or AP1 can receive the respective PHY packets and decode the desired PHY payload.

[0049] Since the AID used in HE-SIG-B is limited to a value range from 1 to 2007, 11 bits are sufficient. Therefore, each AID specified in Temporary AIDs for Association Interval element should also be represented by up to 11 bits. For example, to distinguish whether a temporary AID is for AP or STA, an AP / STA Indication subfield could be created. If this subfield is 1, it would be for AP; if it is 0, it would be for STA. A subfield for writing the temporary AID could then be created. In that case, it would look like Figure 9.

[0050] This method is only applicable when assigning two temporary AIDs, but this limitation can be removed by making the Temporary AIDs for Association Interval field (c4B) variable length. Also, this representation method does not explicitly indicate that STA1 has AID=2001 and AP1 has AID=2002, so AP2 needs to associate AID=2001 for STA with STA1 and AID=2002 for AP1, in conjunction with the MAC Address of Co-located AP element mentioned earlier. Alternatively, the MAC address of STA1 and its temporary AID, and the MAC address of AP1 and its temporary AID can be notified. In this case, the MAC Address of Co-located AP element mentioned earlier is not needed because it is notified in the element in question. Here, the DL MU's PHY packet contains a value called BSS_COLOR in IEEE 802.11ax to identify the BSS. If AP2 multiplexes and sends Asoc Rsp packets from AP2 to STA1 and from STA2 to AP1, for example, the BSS_COLOR of the multiplexed PHY packet should use the BSS_COLOR used by AP2.

[0051] As a result, the information necessary to construct HE-SIG-B is obtained, making frequency multiplexing and spatial multiplexing available. In this way, even before the association is completed, various multiplexing techniques can be used by assigning temporary values.

[0052] Returning to Figures 8A and 8B, we will continue our explanation of the process flow for establishing bidirectional association relationships. When AP2 performs aggregation (Figure 8A), STA2, having received information from AP1, uses that information to either notify AP2 of the information necessary for generating Asoc Req, or sends an Asoc Req addressed to AP1 to AP2 (S23).

[0053] The information required to generate an Asoc Request can be obtained by referring to, for example, the parameters of the MLME-ASSOCIATE.request primitive input from the SME to the MLME (MAC sublayer management entity) in the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard. Here, when AP2 receives information for an Asoc Request, it creates an Asoc Request on behalf of STA2 addressed to AP1. As a result, AP2 can consolidate the Asoc Request and Asoc Rsp together with the Asoc Rsp it created itself.

[0054] On the other hand, when STA2 performs aggregation (Figure 8B), AP2 passes to STA2 the information necessary for generating Asoc Rsp or the Asoc Rsp to be sent to STA1, in addition to the information notification from AP1 (S23'). Similarly, STA2 can aggregate Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp together with the Asoc Req it has created.

[0055] AP2 or STA2, which has aggregated the Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req, transmits them to the wireless terminal 1 using either unicast or multiplexing, as described above (Figure 8A: (S24), Figure 8B: (S24')). Here, we will describe an example of transmission using frame aggregation. When Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req frames are aggregated to form an A-MPDU (Aggregate MAC Protocol Data Unit) and transmitted, the first field of the Asoc Rsp's MAC header, Address 1, contains the MAC address of STA1 as the Receiver Address (RA), the next field, Address 2, contains the MAC address of AP2 as the Transmitter Address (TA), and Address 3 contains the MAC address of AP2 as the BSSID. The MAC header of Asoc Req contains the MAC address of AP1 as the RA in Address 1, the MAC address of STA2 as the TA in Address 2, and the MAC address of AP1 as the BSSID in Address 3. In this case, because the RA of the leading Asoc Rsp is specified as STA1, STA1 will receive and decode this A-MPDU.

[0056] Conversely, when STA2 transmits an A-MPDU, it is preferable to place the Asoc Req first, followed by the Asoc Rsp. This way, because the RA of the leading Asoc Req is designated to AP1, AP2 will receive and decode this A-MPDU.

[0057] Figure 10 shows an example where frames are aggregated in the order of Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req. Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req are connected as MPDUs (d1) with their boundaries defined by MPDU delimiters (DLM) (d11). The MPDU delimiter has a length of 4 octets and consists of the MPDU length, an 8-bit CRC, and a Delimiter Signature indicating that it is an MPDU delimiter.

[0058] The above example describes a scenario where the destination address is correctly specified in the MAC headers of both the aggregated Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req. However, this can be achieved by utilizing the characteristics that "Asoc Rsp is a frame that should be processed by the STA" and "Asoc Req is a frame that should be processed by the AP." Alternatively, as mentioned above, it is not always necessary for the frames to be aggregated as in the above example, by including the correct information for the intended receiving terminal (STA or AP) in the element. For example, even if AP1 receives an Asoc Rsp and AP1 is specified in the RA, it is usually the STA, not the AP, that processes the Asoc Rsp, and since the STA is aware that the same wireless terminal contains both the AP and the STA, AP1 can pass the Asoc Rsp to STA1 even if AP1 is the TA.

[0059] Furthermore, by creating a new Receiver Address of This Association Frame element and specifying the original MAC address, i.e., the MAC function block, that will receive the association frame containing that element in its Information field, and storing it in the frame body of the association frame whose destination normally changes along the way (for example, Asoc Req if Asoc Rsp is followed by Asoc Req), even if AP1 is specified in the RA of the MAC header of Asoc Req, when processing the MAC frame, AP1's MAC function block can pass Asoc Rsp, or information extracted from within the Asoc Rsp frame, to STA1's MAC function block, allowing STA1's MAC function block to process it as if it had received Asoc Rsp, and thus determining that the association process with AP2 has ended (including, if the Status Code in Asoc Rsp is 0 (SUCCESS), using the AID assigned by the AID field with AP2 in the future).

[0060] Returning to Figures 8A and 8B, we will continue our explanation of the process flow for establishing bidirectional association relationships. Frames transmitted by AP2 or STA2 may be received correctly by STA1 and AP1 respectively, or they may be received by an incorrect MACMAC function block, such as AP1 receiving an Asoc Rsp and STA1 receiving an Asoc Req. In the latter case, AP1 and STA1 cannot process the received frame and therefore forward it to another MAC function block via an Abstraction function block or the like (Figure 8A: (S25), Figure 8B: (S25')).

[0061] In this case, the frame may be forwarded to another MAC function block in the form of a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU), or in the form of a MAC service data unit (MSDU), or at the level of specific information. When forwarding to another MAC function block in the form of an MPDU, the input may be made via an interface with the PHY of the other MAC function block. This is to be governed by rules, and in this embodiment, it is sufficient that the desired information is accurately notified to the other MAC function block, and the method is not limited.

[0062] If the frame cannot be processed by all available MAC function blocks, it is discarded. STA1 processes the received Asoc Rsp, thereby completing the association between AP2 and STA1. Similarly, STA2 processes the received Asoc Rsp, thereby completing the association between AP1 and STA2.

[0063] As described above, in the electronic device of this embodiment, in addition to the first embodiment, frames are aggregated and multiplexed for transmission, thus achieving greater efficiency. (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described. Since this embodiment is basically based on the second embodiment, the differences will be explained here.

[0064] Figures 11A and 11B show, respectively, examples of processing flows related to the establishment of bidirectional association relationships in the electronic devices (wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2) of this embodiment. The difference between this embodiment and the second embodiment is that, in the second embodiment, the Asoc Req transmitted from STA1 triggered the start of the processing flow for the association to be executed, whereas in this embodiment, this Asoc Req is omitted. Therefore, in this embodiment, wireless terminal 1 operates similarly to wireless terminal 2 in the second embodiment, and wireless terminal 2 operates similarly to wireless terminal 1 in the second embodiment.

[0065] In this embodiment, it is assumed that AP1 is aware of the existence and information of STA2, and even though it has not received an Asoc Request from STA2, wireless terminal 1 sends an Asoc Rsp to STA2 as the destination. In other words, (S21) shown in Figures 8A and 8B in the second embodiment is omitted.

[0066] Here, we consider that the existence and information of STA2 can be known by using Beacons or Probe Responses, or by preconditions. When notifying information via Beacon or Probe Response, Vendor Specific information can be used, or a completely new element can be added. This allows information about other STAs or APs present in the wireless terminal to be notified. If the existence of APs / STAs present in the wireless terminal is known by preconditions, for example, a rule can be established that a wireless terminal added to the network must have two MAC function blocks, with their MAC addresses differing by 1, and the AP's MAC address being smaller (closer to 0). In this case, the MAC address of the AP of the newly added wireless terminal can be obtained from the address field in the MAC header that notifies the TA or BSSID by receiving a Beacon, etc. For example, if the precondition is that there is at least one more MAC function block as an STA, then the MAC address of that other STA's MAC function block can be determined to be the AP's MAC address with the last digit raised by 1.

[0067] Wireless terminal 1 transmits Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp to wireless terminal 2. Figures 11A and 11B show an example in which STA1 (Figure 11A) or AP1 (Figure 11B) aggregates and transmits these association frames. Alternatively, as in the first embodiment, AP1 may transmit Asoc Rsp and STA1 may transmit Asoc Req.

[0068] When STA aggregates and transmits (Figure 11A), AP1 transmits the Asoc Rsp frame or the information necessary for its generation to STA1 (S31). On the other hand, when AP1 aggregates and transmits (Figure 11B), STA1 transmits the Asoc Req frame or the information necessary for its generation to AP1 (S31').

[0069] From this point onward, the order of wireless terminals 1 and 2 is reversed compared to the second embodiment, and the flow proceeds similarly (S32[S32'], S33[S33']). Finally, AP2 sends an Asoc Rsp to STA1, and the association relationship is established (S34[S34']). Here, information (flags) indicating the result of the establishment of the association relationship between AP1 and STA2 may be added to this Asoc Rsp. For example, a new element called Status Code of The Other Association can be defined, assigned values ​​in the same way as the regular Status Code field, and the contents of the Status Code of the Asoc Rsp received from AP1 to STA2 can be copied and placed inside. For example, if the Status Code of the Asoc Rsp from AP1 to STA2 is 0, indicating Success, a similar value can be placed in the Status Code of The Other Association element and included in the Asoc Rsp from AP2 to STA1. In this method using this element, in the example in Figure 11A, STA1 needs to notify AP1 of the result of the association relationship between AP1 and STA2 (S35). As a result, AP1 can determine that the Asoc Rsp transmitted from AP1 to STA2 was correctly received by STA2, and that an association relationship between AP1 and STA2 has been established. In this way, wireless terminal 1 can determine that an association relationship with wireless terminal 2 has been established based on the transmission of the Asoc Rsp.

[0070] Alternatively, AP1 may be configured to know that STA2 has successfully received the Asoc Rsp sent from AP1 to STA2 by sending an Ack or BlockAck to the Asoc Req+Asoc Rsp (where + means aggregation or multiplexing) sent from AP1 to STA2. In normal operation, for management frames that specify a unicast MAC address as the RA, the receiving side sends an Ack frame after the SIFS (Short Interframe Space) of the management frame. SIFS is the minimum frame interval required when switching between transmission and reception is performed, and for example, in the case of IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN used with a 20MHz channel interval in the 5GHz band, this value is 16us. In the diagrams showing frame exchange so far (Figures 5, 8A, and 8B), the transmission of the Ack frame or BlockAck frame described later after this SIFS is omitted. Management frames such as Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp are transmitted with a fixed time and a random backoff period that is longer than this SIFS. Therefore, an Ack frame is also sent for frames transmitted in the form of Asoc Req + Asoc Rsp. In this case, as shown in the example in Figure 11A, the Ack frame is sent from AP2 to STA1, so STA1 needs to notify AP1 that the Asoc Rsp from AP1 to STA2 has been correctly received by STA2 (since the Ack is received after the SIFS of the Asoc Req + Asoc Rsp transmission, the notification from STA1 to AP1 occurs at that time instead of (S35)).

[0071] In the case where two frames, Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp, are aggregated, an Ack frame should ideally be sent for each individual MAC frame. Therefore, it is also possible to respond using a form that applies IEEE 802.11ax Multi-STA BlockAck. For example, this BlockAck frame is as shown in Figure 12. The BA Type subfield of the BA Control field (e1) may define a new BlockAck variant, but here we will explain using the case where IEEE 802.11ax Multi-STA BlockAck is used. In Multi-STA BlockAck, the value of the BA Type subfield is 11. The BA Information field (e2) is in units of Per AID TID Info subfields. The first Per AID TID Info subfield (e21) notifies an Ack addressed to STA1, and the second Per AID TID Info subfield (e22) notifies an Ack addressed to AP1. Each RA field contains the respective MAC address. The Multi-STA BlockAck as a whole will have an RA (Router Advertisement) placed in the address field at the beginning of the MAC header, and this RA will contain the broadcast address. Therefore, since AP1 and STA1 will each receive and obtain delivery confirmation for the Multi-STA BlockAck, notification from STA1 to AP1 is not necessary, as with element or Ack (as in (S35), notification from STA1 to AP1 is not necessary). Each AID TID Info subfield is further divided into subfields for AID11, Ack Type, and TID, but these are set to 2045 for AID11, 0 for Ack Type, and 15 for TID, regardless of whether it is addressed to STA1 or AP1. This is the same as the method used in UORA, which will be described later, to send an Ack response in the form of a Multi-STA BlockAck to management frames sent by each STA that is not connected.By sending such a Multi-STA BlockAck, STA1 can determine that the Asoc Request sent from STA1 to AP2 has been received by AP2, as its MAC address is listed in the RA subfield of the Per AID TID Info subfield. Similarly, AP1 can determine that the Asoc Request sent from AP1 to STA2 has been received by STA2, as its MAC address is listed in the RA subfield of the Per AID TID Info subfield, and can conclude that the association process with STA2 has been completed. If either of the Per AID TID Info subfields is missing, it means that the frame was not received by the wireless terminal 2. Therefore, frame retransmission will occur as appropriate.

[0072] Conversely, if the wireless terminal 1 cannot confirm that an association relationship has been established between AP1 and STA2, AP1 will need to retransmit the Asoc Rsp. However, several procedures can be applied to determine the process by which AP1 retransmits the Asoc Rsp.

[0073] For example, if an ACK is expected for (S32) [in the case of Figure 11A] and this is used to decide whether to retransmit, STA1 notifies AP1 whether or not an ACK was received for the Asoc Rsp after a certain time (SIFS time) following the transmission of the frame in (S32). As a result, AP1 can also find out whether or not an ACK was received for the Asoc Rsp, and if not, it proceeds with the retransmission process for the Asoc Rsp (more precisely, it obtains a transmission opportunity based on CSMA / CA and transmits it. The same applies hereafter).

[0074] Furthermore, if an ACK is expected for (S32') [in the case of Figure 11B] and this ACK is used to determine whether to retransmit, AP1 is the one that receives this ACK. Therefore, if no ACK is received after a certain period of time (SIFS time) following the transmission of the frame in (S32'), the Asoc Rsp retransmission process will begin.

[0075] Alternatively, if a Multi-STA BlockAck is expected for (S32) or (S32') and a retransmission decision is made using it, this Multi-STA BlockAck can be received by both AP1 and STA1. Therefore, if AP1 does not receive the Multi-STA BlockAck itself after a certain period of time (SIFS time) following the transmission of the frame in (S32) or (S32'), or if AP1's MAC address cannot be detected in the RA subfield of the Per AID TID Info subfield of the Multi-STA BlockAck, AP1 will proceed with the retransmission process of the Asoc Rsp.

[0076] Alternatively, if notified by Asoc Rsp in (S34) [in the case of Figure 11A], AP1 receives notification from STA1 of the contents indicated in the Asoc Rsp in (S34) (Status Code of The Other Association element or ACK bit) (rather than receiving notification of whether or not an ACK was received for the Asoc Rsp sent in (S32)). If it is determined that an association has not been established between AP1 and STA2 as a result, AP1 proceeds with the retransmission process of the Asoc Rsp.

[0077] In this embodiment, regarding the fact that Asoc Rsp is sent from AP1 to STA2 without the Asoc Req, it is important to explicitly inform AP1 if STA2 cannot accept the Asoc Rsp, for example, if STA2 has already established an association relationship with another AP. This is to avoid AP1 repeatedly sending Asoc Rsp to STA2, with which it cannot form an association.

[0078] Next, regarding the above, we will describe a method using the Disassociation frame (DisAsoc), which is different from the method described so far of using the Status Code of The Other Association element to overwrite the Status Code of Asoc Rsp with any other appropriate Status Code that signifies failure, rather than copying 0 (success).

[0079] By using DisAsoc, an STA can notify an AP with which it has an association relationship of the termination of the relationship. DisAsoc includes a Reason Code field in the frame body. Notifying the reason for withdrawing the association relationship using this Reason Code field helps AP1, which receives DisAsoc, to make an appropriate decision afterward. For example, there is a Reason Code of 12, BSS_TRANSITION_DISASSOC, which represents the reason why the STA wants to move to another AP. In this way, the AP with which it currently has an association relationship can be notified of the termination of the relationship along with the reason. In addition to using values ​​defined in existing reason codes, if you want to notify the STA's reason for refusal in this embodiment, you may define new reason codes in the reserved reason codes 0, 67-65 535. For example, if STA2 has already established an association relationship with another AP and therefore cannot establish an association relationship with AP1, a new reason code meaning STA_ASSOCIATED can be defined, for example, as 67. Then, a DisAsoc frame with reason code 67 can be used to notify AP1 of this.

[0080] As described above, in the electronic device of this embodiment, the transmission of Asoc Req from STA1 in the second embodiment (Figure 8A: (S21), Figure 8B: (S21')) can be omitted. (Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. Since this embodiment is basically based on the third embodiment, the differences will be explained here.

[0081] Figures 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating, respectively, an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship in the electronic devices (wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2) of this embodiment. The difference between this embodiment and the third embodiment is that, in the third embodiment, processing is initiated by an Asoc Req and an Asoc Rsp from the wireless terminal 1, but in this embodiment, only one of these is transmitted.

[0082] In other words, in this embodiment, one of the Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp that are sent in (S32) [Figure 11A] or S32' [Figure 11B] in the third embodiment described above is not sent. It is clear that if one is not sent, the information that should be notified will be missing in each case. Conversely, if this missing information can be shared between the two parties, it is possible to establish an association relationship without sending one of the parties.

[0083] Examples of missing information include the MAC address of STA1 if an Asoc Request is not sent, while in the case of an Asoc Rsp, the AID assigned to STA2 might be missing. Regarding how to share this information if one of the Asoc Requests or Asoc Rsp is not sent, for example, this information could be treated as common information depending on the preconditions, or this information could be shared in advance using Beacons or Probe Responses.

[0084] Furthermore, the association frame information of the non-sender may be shared with the association frame information or known information of the sender, or it may be possible to calculate it from the association frame information or known information of the sender through rule-based methods. For example, HT Capability can be considered as information that can be shared between Asoc Rsp and Asoc Req. Also, if the MAC addresses of AP1 and STA1 are agreed to be sequential, the MAC address of STA1 can be calculated from the MAC address of AP1, and conversely, the MAC address of AP1 can be calculated from the MAC address of STA1.

[0085] Furthermore, the information of the non-transmitting party may be added to the association frame of the transmitting party as a new element or vendor-specific element. In this way, wireless terminal 1 can determine that a bidirectional association relationship (between AP1-STA2 and between AP2-STA1) has been established with wireless terminal 2 based on the reception of an Asoc Rsp from wireless terminal 2 in response to an Asoc Req (between AP2-STA1) transmitted to wireless terminal 2, or it can determine that a bidirectional association relationship (between AP1-STA2 and between AP2-STA1) has been established with wireless terminal 2 based on the reception of an Asoc Rsp (between AP2-SPA1) from wireless terminal 2 after transmitting an Asoc Rsp (between AP1-SPA2) to wireless terminal 2. On the other hand, wireless terminal 2 can determine that a bidirectional association relationship (between AP1-STA2 and between AP2-STA1) has been established with wireless terminal 1 based on the transmission of an Asoc Rsp to wireless terminal 1 in response to an Asoc Req (between AP2-STA1) received from wireless terminal 1, or it can determine that a bidirectional association relationship (between AP1-STA2 and between AP2-STA1) has been established with wireless terminal 1 based on the transmission of an Asoc Rsp (between AP2-STA1) to wireless terminal 1 after receiving an Asoc Rsp (between AP1-STA2) from wireless terminal 1. As described above, in the electronic device of this embodiment, the transmission of Asoc Req and Asoc Rsp from the wireless terminal 1 in the third embodiment (Figure 11A: (S32), Figure 11B: (S32')) can be set to either Asoc Req only (Figure 13A: (S42)) or Asoc Rsp only (Figure 13B: (S42')).

[0086] (Fifth embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. Since this embodiment is basically based on the first to fourth embodiments, the differences will be explained here. Figure 14 shows an example of a processing flow for establishing a bidirectional association relationship in the electronic devices (wireless terminal 1 and wireless terminal 2) of this embodiment.

[0087] As shown in Figure 14, in this embodiment, there are multiple wireless terminals 2 (wireless terminals 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N). Although Figure 14 shows an example assuming there are multiple wireless terminals 2 in the second embodiment (Figure 8A), the method of this embodiment can be applied to all of the first to fourth embodiments described above.

[0088] First, the RA of the MAC frame transmitted from wireless terminal 1 is set to the broadcast address, and an association frame is broadcast to wireless terminals 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N (S51). When broadcasting, the information portion of the association frame addressed to each of the wireless terminals 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N may be multiplexed, or a new element may be created in a single frame that includes information for each of the wireless terminals 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N and their respective destinations.

[0089] Wireless terminals 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N, which receive association frames transmitted by broadcast, will also receive information addressed to other terminals. Therefore, they check the Association Request (RA), extract the information addressed to themselves (or to all wireless terminals), and proceed with the subsequent processing (in the example in Figure 14, this is the process of returning the Asoc Rsp in (S54)).

[0090] Frames from wireless terminals 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N are transmitted to wireless terminal 1 via MU communication. To achieve this, a temporary AID is defined, or UORA (Uplink OFDMA-based Random Access) is used. When defining a temporary AID, it is assumed that there are frames sent from the AP to multiple STAs before MU communication takes place. Note that these do not necessarily have to be association frames; they can also be Beacon frames or Probe frames used to distribute temporary AIDs.

[0091] Furthermore, when frames are aggregated using UL MU, the AP needs to send a trigger frame. Wireless terminals with frames to send to the AP will send their frames a certain time after receiving the trigger frame (after SIFS). Here, UORA refers to UL OFDMA that can be implemented without specifying a terminal as the RU. An STA with a transmission frame decides whether or not to send to an RU without an AID specified, in the same manner as random access in CSMA / CA. If two or more terminals select the same RU and send, all transmissions will fail due to a collision. If the RU's AID is 2045, a terminal with no assigned AID can use it. A terminal with no assigned AID can only send one management frame as the RU. The AP sets the AID to 2045 in the Multi-STA BlockAck frame and puts the MAC address of the successfully received terminal in the area that normally displays the BlockAck bitmap, as a substitute for an ACK to the successfully received terminal. This allows the AP to have frames sent simultaneously from multiple STAs even before association.

[0092] As described above, the electronic device of this embodiment makes it possible to efficiently establish bidirectional association relationships with multiple external devices. According to the electronic devices of the embodiments described above, the efficient association of two electronic devices enables bidirectional MU communication, which cannot be achieved with a one-way relationship between electronic devices, thereby improving the time efficiency of information transmission.

[0093] Furthermore, this makes it easier to achieve simultaneous transmission and reception requests in mesh networks for routing, route diversity, and network monitoring. While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0094] 1,2...Wireless terminals, 11...Transmitting / receiving unit, 12...MAC function block, 13...Host function block, 100...Wireless communication system, 121...Association frame generation unit.

Claims

1. An electronic device having an access point unit that establishes an association relationship as an access point, and a station unit that establishes an association relationship as a station, An acquisition means that receives a notification from a first electronic device having the access point unit and the station unit, including first information relating to the station unit, and acquires the first information; A transmission means that transmits a first association request frame to the first electronic device and transmits a second association response frame to the first electronic device based on the first information, Receiving means that, after transmitting the first association request frame and the second association response frame, receives the first association response frame corresponding to the first association request frame, An electronic device equipped with the following.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a first association relationship with the first electronic device, based on the first association request frame and the first association response frame, and a second association relationship with the first electronic device, based on the second association response frame, can be established simultaneously.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmitting means transmits a physical frame including the first association request frame and the second association response frame to the first electronic device.

4. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising control means for determining that an association relationship with the first electronic device has been established based on the transmission of the first association response frame.

5. The transmitting means transmits the first association request frame by broadcast. The first association request frame is received by the first electronic device and the second electronic device, The receiving means receives the first association response frame from the first electronic device and receives an association response frame corresponding to the first association request frame from the second electronic device. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. Information relating to the second association response frame is transferred from the access point unit to the station unit within the device, The physical frame is transmitted to the access point of the first electronic device by the transmission means provided in the station section of the device. The electronic device according to claim 3.

7. Information relating to the first association request frame is transferred from the station unit to the access point unit within the device, The physical frame is transmitted to the station unit of the first electronic device by the transmission means provided in the access point unit of the device. The electronic device according to claim 3.

8. The electronic device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first association response frame is transmitted from the access point unit of the first electronic device to the station unit of the device itself.

9. An electronic device having an access point unit that establishes an association relationship as an access point, and a station unit that establishes an association relationship as a station, Notification means for transmitting a notification to a first electronic device having the access point unit and the station unit, which includes first information relating to the station unit of the device, Receiving means for receiving a first association request frame from the first electronic device and a second association response frame generated based on the first information from the first electronic device, A transmission means that, after receiving the first association request frame and the second association response frame, transmits a first association response frame corresponding to the first association request frame, An electronic device equipped with the following.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein a first association relationship with the first electronic device based on the first association request frame and the first association response frame, and a second association relationship with the first electronic device based on the second association response frame, can be established simultaneously.

11. The electronic device according to claim 6 or 10, wherein the receiving means receives a physical frame including the first association request frame and the second association response frame from the first electronic device.

12. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the first association response frame is transmitted from the access point unit of the device to the station unit of the first electronic device.

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