Access point device, wireless terminal device, and wireless communication method

Abstract

The present technology relates to an access point device, a wireless terminal device and a wireless communication method which make it possible to perform secure communication between access point devices. A transmission control unit performs control such that device identification information of an AP of an AP MLD of the transmission control unit, which is to be used for TDLS communication with an AP of another AP MLD, is transmitted to the AP of the other AP MLD. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a wireless communication system in which each of two AP MLDs and a non-AP MLD are configured to be connectable via two links, the APs of the two AP MLDs communicate with one another by TDLS, and seamless roaming is performed between the APs of the two AP MLDs.

Description

Access point device, wireless terminal device, and wireless communication method

[0001] The present technology relates to an access point device, a wireless terminal device, and a wireless communication method, and more particularly to an access point device, a wireless terminal device, and a wireless communication method that enable secure communication between access point devices.

[0002] Multi-link operation (MLO), a wireless communication method using multiple links, is being considered as a transmission method that requires high transmission speeds, such as transmission of 8K video and XR (Extended Reality) video. A link is a wireless transmission path used for transmitting data between two communication devices. Each link used in MLO is selected from multiple independent wireless transmission paths divided, for example, in the frequency domain. For example, each link used in MLO is selected from multiple channels included in one of frequency bands such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, and the 920 MHz band.

[0003] A device that supports MLO is called an MLD (Multi-link Device). An MLD is a logical entity that contains multiple STAs (stations) and has only one SAP (Service Access Point) to the upper layer. Among MLDs, an MLD in which each STA is an AP (Access Point) is called an AP MLD, and an MLD in which each STA is not an AP is called a Non-AP MLD.

[0004] To clarify that each STA included in an MLD is an entity within the MLD, if the STA is an AP, it is referred to as an AP affiliated with AP MLD, and if the STA is not an AP, it is referred to as a Non-AP STA affiliated with Non-AP MLD.

[0005] A method has been proposed that utilizes this MLD architecture to define an AP MLD that includes multiple APs in distant locations (non-colocated) and perform seamless roaming (switching AP connections).

[0006] For example, a method has been proposed for seamless roaming between APs belonging to a single mobility domain (SMD) AP MLD (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0007] Duncan Ho, et al., “Seamless Roaming for UHR,” IEEE 802.11-22 / 1910r3, Mar. 12, 2023

[0008] However, to achieve seamless roaming, connection-related information such as authentication key information must be exchanged between the roaming source AP and the roaming destination AP. Therefore, the method described in Non-Patent Document 1 assumes that the communication path between the roaming source AP and the roaming destination AP is secure. If a secure communication path cannot be established in the wireless section between the roaming source AP and the roaming destination AP, information about the connection between both the roaming source AP and the roaming destination AP may be leaked at the same time, or roaming may become difficult to implement. Therefore, there is a demand for a method that enables secure communication between access point devices, but this demand has not yet been fully met.

[0009] The present technology has been made in view of such circumstances, and makes it possible to perform secure communication between access point devices.

[0010] An access point device according to a first aspect of the present technology is an access point device that includes a transmission control unit that controls transmission of device identification information of the access point device, which is used for peer-to-peer communication with other access point devices, to the other access point devices.

[0011] A wireless communication method according to a first aspect of the present technology is a wireless communication method that includes controlling an access point device to transmit device identification information of the access point device, which information is used for peer-to-peer communication with another access point device, to the other access point device.

[0012] In a first aspect of the present technology, control is performed so that device identification information of one's own access point device, which is used for peer-to-peer communication with another access point device, is transmitted to the other access point device.

[0013] A wireless terminal device according to a second aspect of the present technology is a wireless terminal device that includes a communication control unit that, when an access point device connected to the wireless terminal device is switched, decrypts encrypted data transmitted from the switched access point device using communication information used for communication with the access point device before the switch.

[0014] A wireless communication method according to a second aspect of the present technology is a wireless communication method that includes, when an access point device to which a wireless terminal device is connected is switched, decrypting encrypted data transmitted from the switched access point device using communication information used for communication with the access point device before the switch.

[0015] In a second aspect of the present technology, when the access point device connected to the wireless terminal device is switched, encrypted data transmitted from the access point device after the switch is decrypted using communication information used for communication with the access point device before the switch.

[0016] The access point device according to the first aspect of the present technology and the wireless terminal device according to the second aspect can be realized by causing a computer to execute a program.

[0017] In addition, in order to realize the access point device of the first aspect and the wireless terminal device of the second aspect of the present technology, a program to be executed by a computer can be provided by transmitting it via a transmission medium or by recording it on a recording medium.

[0018] 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an embodiment of a wireless communication system to which the present technology is applied; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an AP MLD; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a NON-AP MLD; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a roaming source processing unit; FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a roaming destination processing unit; FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating roaming processing; FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating roaming source processing; FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating roaming destination processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating roaming request processing; FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of computer hardware; FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the present technology is applied; FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example schematic configuration of an in-vehicle device to which the present technology is applied; FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example schematic configuration of a wireless AP to which the present technology is applied;

[0019] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present technology (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described. The description will be made in the following order: 1. One embodiment (wireless communication system) 2. Computer 3. Application example

[0020] 1. One embodiment Configuration example of a wireless communication system FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of one embodiment of a wireless communication system to which the present technology is applied.

[0021] The wireless communication system 10 is configured so that two AP MLDs 11-1 and 11-2 can connect to one Non-AP MLD 12 via two links 21 and 22, respectively, and performs seamless roaming in MLO. Note that, hereinafter, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between the AP MLDs 11-1 and 11-2, they will be collectively referred to as the AP MLD 11.

[0022] The AP MLD 11 (access point device) is a wireless communication device equivalent to a base station that supports MLO. The non-AP MLD 12 is a wireless terminal device that supports MLO. The non-AP MLD 12 can be connected to the AP MLD 11 via links 21 and 22. The links 21 and 22 may be two channels selected from the same frequency band or two channels selected from different frequency bands.

[0023] 1, the number of links connecting the AP MLD 11 and the non-AP MLD 12 is two, but it can be any number greater than or equal to 1. The number of AP MLDs 11 connected to the non-AP MLD 12 is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

[0024] <Configuration Example of AP MLD> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the AP MLD 11 in FIG.

[0025] The AP MLD 11 includes a communication unit 41, a control unit 42, and a storage unit 43. The communication unit 41 is configured using one or more LSIs (Large Scale Integration), and includes two APs 51-1 and 51-2, a common data processing unit 52, a communication control unit 53, and a communication storage unit 54.

[0026] The AP 51-1 is an AP belonging to the AP MLD 11 and is configured with an antenna 60-1, an amplifier 61-1, a wireless interface 62-1, a signal processor 63-1, and an individual data processor 64-1. The AP 51-1 is connectable to other AP MLDs 11 and non-AP MLDs 12 via a link 21.

[0027] The AP 51-2 is an AP belonging to the AP MLD 11 and is configured with an antenna 60-2, an amplifier 61-2, a wireless interface 62-2, a signal processor 63-2, and an individual data processor 64-2. The AP 51-2 is connectable to other AP MLDs 11 and non-AP MLDs 12 via a link 22.

[0028] Because the APs 51-1 and 51-2 have the same configuration, hereinafter, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between the APs 51-1 and 51-2, they will be collectively referred to as the AP 51. Similarly, the antennas 60-1 and 60-2, the amplifiers 61-1 and 61-2, and the wireless interface units 62-1 and 62-2 will be collectively referred to as the antenna 60, the amplifier 61, and the wireless interface unit 62, respectively. Similarly, the signal processing units 63-1 and 63-2 and the individual data processing units 64-1 and 64-2 will be collectively referred to as the signal processing unit 63 and the individual data processing unit 64, respectively.

[0029] The amplifier 61 has a transmission amplifier that amplifies a transmission signal supplied from the wireless interface unit 62, and a reception amplifier that amplifies a reception signal that is a signal received by the antenna 60. The transmission signal amplified by the transmission amplifier is transmitted from the antenna 60. The reception signal amplified by the reception amplifier is supplied to the wireless interface unit 62. Some of the components of the amplifier 61 may be provided outside the amplifier 61. For example, some of the components of the amplifier 61 can be included in the wireless interface unit 62.

[0030] The radio interface unit 62 has a transmitting radio interface unit and a receiving radio interface unit. The transmitting radio interface unit performs digital-to-analog signal conversion, filtering, up-conversion, and phase control on the symbol stream supplied from the signal processing unit 63 to generate a transmission signal. The transmitting radio interface unit supplies the transmission signal to the amplifier unit 61. The receiving radio interface unit performs down-conversion, filtering, and analog-to-digital signal conversion on the reception signal supplied from the amplifier unit 61 to generate a symbol stream. The receiving radio interface unit supplies the symbol stream to the signal processing unit 63.

[0031] The signal processing unit 63 includes a transmission signal processing unit and a reception signal processing unit. The transmission signal processing unit performs encoding, interleaving, modulation, etc. on the MAC (Media Access Control) frame supplied from the individual data processing unit 64, and adds a physical header to generate a symbol stream. The signal processing unit 63 supplies the symbol stream to the transmission radio interface of the radio interface unit 62. The reception signal processing unit analyzes the physical header of the symbol stream supplied from the reception radio interface unit of the radio interface unit 62, and performs demodulation, deinterleaving, decoding, etc. on the symbol stream to generate a MAC frame. At this time, the signal processing unit 63 estimates complex channel characteristics and performs spatial separation processing as necessary. The signal processing unit 63 supplies the generated MAC frame to the individual data processing unit 64.

[0032] The individual data processing unit 64 performs channel access operations based on carrier sensing. The individual data processing unit 64 performs sequence management of transmission packets, control information, and management information for wireless communication only via the link 21 (22) corresponding to the individual data processing unit 64, which are supplied from the communication control unit 53. The individual data processing unit 64 performs encryption, modulation, etc. on the transmission packets, control information, and management information, adds a MAC header and error detection code, and generates a MAC frame (PSDU (Physical Service Data Unit)). The individual data processing unit 64 performs processing such as concatenating multiple generated MAC frames, and supplies them to the signal processing unit 63. The individual data processing unit 64 supplies to the signal processing unit 63 MAC frames containing transmission packets, control information, and management information common to wireless communication via the links 21 and 22, which are supplied from the common data processing unit 52.

[0033] The individual data processing unit 64 performs MAC header disconnection, analysis such as demodulation and decoding, error detection, and retransmission requests on the MAC frames supplied from the signal processing unit 63. Of the data packets obtained as a result of analyzing the MAC frames, the individual data processing unit 64 supplies, as received packets, data packets intended solely for wireless communication via the link 21 (22) corresponding to that individual data processing unit 64 to the communication control unit 53. Of the data packets obtained as a result of analyzing the MAC frames, the individual data processing unit 64 supplies, as received packets, data packets common to wireless communication via the links 21 and 22 to the common data processing unit 52.

[0034] The common data processing unit 52 performs sequence management of transmission packets, control information, and management information that are common to wireless communications via links 21 and 22 and are supplied from the communication control unit 53. The common data processing unit 52 performs encryption, modulation, etc. on the transmission packets, control information, and management information, adds a MAC header and error detection code, and generates a MAC frame. The common data processing unit 52 performs processing such as concatenating the generated multiple MAC frames, and supplies them to the individual data processing units 64-1 and 64-2. The common data processing unit 52 supplies the received packets supplied from the individual data processing units 64-1 and 64-2 to the communication control unit 53.

[0035] The communication control unit 53 controls the operation of each unit of the communication unit 41 and the exchange of information between each unit, thereby controlling wireless communication with other AP MLDs 11 and non-AP MLDs 12 .

[0036] Specifically, the communication control unit 53 supplies data packets supplied from the control unit 42 to the communication storage unit 54 as transmission packets for storage. The communication control unit 53 supplies received packets supplied from the individual data processing unit 64 or the common data processing unit 52 to the communication storage unit 54 for storage. The communication control unit 53 reads transmission packets specific to each AP 51 from the communication storage unit 54 and supplies them to the individual data processing unit 64 of that AP 51 as transmission packets for wireless communication only via the link 21 (22) corresponding to that AP 51. The communication control unit 53 generates control information and management information common to the APs 51 to notify other AP MLDs 11 and non-AP MLDs 12 and supplies the information to the common data processing unit 52. The communication control unit 53 generates control information and management information specific to each AP 51 to notify other AP MLDs 11 and non-AP MLDs 12 and supplies the information to the individual data processing unit 64 of that AP 51.

[0037] As described above, the communication control unit 53 performs, for example, roaming processing for seamless roaming between other AP MLDs 11 and exchanges data with the non-AP MLD 12 .

[0038] The communication storage unit 54 stores information used by the communication control unit 53. The communication storage unit 54 stores transmission packets supplied from the communication control unit 53. The communication storage unit 54 stores reception packets supplied from the communication control unit 53.

[0039] The control unit 42 controls the entire AP MLD 11. For example, the control unit 42 reads out a received packet from the communication storage unit 54 via the communication control unit 53 and supplies it to the storage unit 43 for storage. The control unit 42 generates a data packet to be transmitted to another AP MLD 11 or a non-AP MLD 12 and supplies it to the storage unit 43 for storage. The control unit 42 reads out the data packet from the storage unit 43 and supplies it to the communication control unit 53, thereby causing the data packet to be transmitted as a transmission packet.

[0040] The control unit 42 may perform part of the control by the communication control unit 53 in place of the communication control unit 53. For example, the control unit 42 may directly exchange data packets with the common data processing unit 52 or the individual data processing unit 64. The communication control unit 53 and the control unit 42 may be integrated.

[0041] The storage unit 43 stores information used by the communication unit 41 and the control unit 42. For example, the storage unit 43 stores received packets received by the communication unit 41 and data packets generated by the control unit 42. The storage unit 43 may perform part of the operation of the communication storage unit 54 in place of the communication storage unit 54. The storage unit 43 and the communication storage unit 54 may be integrated. The storage unit 43 may directly exchange data packets with the communication storage unit 54, the common data processing unit 52, and the individual data processing unit 64.

[0042] The number of APs included in the AP MLD 11 can be any number equal to or greater than 1. When the AP MLD 11 includes APs in a number greater than the number of antennas, some of the APs included in the AP MLD 11 may share the same antenna via a frequency division unit.

[0043] <Configuration Example of NON-AP MLD> FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the NON-AP MLD 12 in FIG.

[0044] The NON-AP MLD 12 includes a communication unit 141, a control unit 142, and a storage unit 143. The communication unit 141 is configured with one or more LSIs, and includes two Non-AP STAs 151-1 and 151-2, a common data processing unit 152, a communication control unit 153, and a communication storage unit 154.

[0045] The non-AP STA 151-1 is a non-AP STA that belongs to the non-AP MLD 12 and is configured with an antenna 160-1, an amplifier 161-1, a wireless interface 162-1, a signal processor 163-1, and an individual data processor 164-1. The non-AP STA 151-1 is connectable to the AP MLD 11 via a link 21.

[0046] The non-AP STA 151-2 is a non-AP STA that belongs to the non-AP MLD 12 and is configured with an antenna 160-2, an amplifier 161-2, a wireless interface 162-2, a signal processor 163-2, and an individual data processor 164-2. The non-AP STA 151-2 is connectable to the AP MLD 11 via a link 22.

[0047] Since the non-AP STAs 151-1 and 151-2 have the same configuration, hereinafter, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between the non-AP STAs 151-1 and 151-2, they will be collectively referred to as the non-AP STAs 151. Similarly, the antennas 160-1 and 160-2, the amplifiers 161-1 and 161-2, and the wireless interface units 162-1 and 162-2 will be collectively referred to as the antenna 160, the amplifier 161, and the wireless interface unit 162, respectively. Similarly, the signal processing units 163-1 and 163-2 and the individual data processing units 164-1 and 164-2 will be collectively referred to as the signal processing unit 163 and the individual data processing unit 164, respectively.

[0048] The processing by the amplifier 161, the wireless interface 162, and the signal processor 163 is similar to the processing by the amplifier 61, the wireless interface 62, and the signal processor 63 in Fig. 2, respectively, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. The processing by the individual data processor 164 and the common data processor 152 is similar to the processing by the individual data processor 64 and the common data processor 52, respectively, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0049] Similar to the communication control unit 53, the communication control unit 153 controls the operation of each unit of the communication unit 141 and the exchange of information between each unit, thereby controlling wireless communication with the AP MLD 11. In this way, the communication control unit 153 exchanges data with the AP MLD 12.

[0050] The processing of the communication storage unit 154 is similar to the processing of the communication storage unit 54, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] The control unit 142 controls the entire NON-AP MLD 12. For example, the control unit 142 reads out a received packet from the communication storage unit 154 via the communication control unit 153 and supplies it to the storage unit 143 for storage. The control unit 142 generates a data packet to be transmitted to the AP MLD 11 and supplies it to the storage unit 143 for storage. The control unit 142 reads out the data packet and supplies it to the communication control unit 153, thereby causing the data packet to be transmitted as a transmission packet.

[0052] Similar to the control unit 42, the control unit 142 may perform part of the control by the communication control unit 153 instead of the communication control unit 153. The communication control unit 153 and the control unit 142 may be integrated. The processing of the storage unit 143 is the same as the processing of the storage unit 43, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0053] The number of NON-AP STAs included in the Non-AP MLD 12 can be any number equal to or greater than 1. When the Non-AP MLD 12 includes more NON-AP STAs than the number of antennas, some of the NON-AP STAs included in the NON-AP MLD 12 may share the same antenna via a frequency division unit.

[0054] <Configuration Example of Roaming Source Processing Unit> FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the roaming source processing unit when the communication control unit 53 functions as a roaming source processing unit that executes roaming source processing of roaming from the AP 51 of its own AP MLD 11 to the AP 51 of another AP MLD 11, part of the roaming processing.

[0055] The roaming source processing unit 170 in FIG. 4 is made up of a selection unit 171 , an acquisition unit 172 , a transmission control unit 173 , a reception control unit 174 , a generation unit 175 , and an encryption unit 176 .

[0056] The selection unit 171 controls the AP 51 to receive a BTM (Basic Service Set (BSS) transition management) query transmitted from a non-AP STA 151 connected to the AP 51 of its own AP MLD 11. The BTM query includes roaming destination information regarding the roaming destination AP 51 of another AP MLD 11, and is information requesting roaming to the roaming destination AP 51. The selection unit 171 selects a roaming destination AP 51 from among the APs 51 that can communicate with the non-AP STA 151, based on the roaming destination information included in the received BTM query.

[0057] The acquisition unit 172 acquires communication environment information of the AP 51 from which its own AP MLD 11 has roamed, which has received the BTM query. The communication environment information includes, for example, information on SNonce and ANonce, device identification information that identifies the corresponding AP 51 (or the AP MLD 11 that contains it), information on Cipher Suite, information on PMK (Pairwise Master Key), information on GMK (Group Master Key), etc. The information on SNonce and ANonce is transmitted, for example, from the Non-AP STA 151. The device identification information, information on Cipher Suite, information on PMK, and information on GMK are stored, for example, in the communication storage unit 54 and are read out from the communication storage unit 54.

[0058] The device identification information is at least one of information related to the MAC address of the AP 51 (or the AP MLD 11 that includes the AP 51) to be identified and information related to the BBSID. The information related to the MAC address of the AP 51 includes, for example, at least one of the MAC address of the AP 51 and the MAC address of the AP MLD 11 that includes the AP 51. The device identification information may include the BSSID of the AP 51 (or the AP MLD 11 that includes the AP 51) that communicates with the AP 51 to be identified using TDLS (Tunneled Direct Link Setup).

[0059] The transmission control unit 173 controls the roaming source AP 51 so as to transmit a TDLS request including the device specifying information acquired by the acquisition unit 172 to the AP 51 selected by the selection unit 171 .

[0060] The transmission control unit 173 also controls the roaming source AP 51 to transmit communication information encrypted by the encryption unit 176 to the AP 51 selected by the selection unit 171. The communication information is information used for communication between the roaming source AP 51 and the non-AP STA 151, and high security is required for communication of the communication information. The communication information includes authentication key information related to at least one of a pairwise transient key (PTK), a group temporal key (GTK), and a tunneled direct-link setup peer key (TPK) used for communication by TDLS in the non-AP STA 151. The information related to the PTK is, for example, information necessary for generating the PTK. The communication information may include data that the roaming source AP 51 planned to transmit to the non-AP STA 151.

[0061] The reception control unit 174 controls the roaming source AP 51 so as to receive a TDLS response transmitted from the roaming destination AP 51 in response to the TDLS request transmitted by the transmission control unit 173. This TDLS response includes device identification information that identifies the roaming destination AP 51.

[0062] The generation unit 175 generates a TPK to be used for TDLS communication with the roaming destination AP 51, based on the device identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 172 and the device identification information received under the control of the reception control unit 174. The encryption unit 176 encrypts communication information using the TPK generated by the generation unit 175.

[0063] <Configuration example of roaming destination processing unit> Figure 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the roaming destination processing unit when the communication control unit 53 functions as a roaming destination processing unit that executes roaming destination processing of roaming from the AP 51 of another AP MLD 11 to the AP 51 of its own AP MLD 11, part of the roaming processing.

[0064] The roaming destination processing unit 190 in FIG. 5 is made up of an acquisition unit 192, a transmission control unit 193, a reception control unit 194, a generation unit 195, and a decoding unit 196.

[0065] 4 , the acquisition unit 192 acquires communication environment information of the AP 51-2 that is the roaming destination of the own AP MLD 11. The transmission control unit 193 controls the roaming destination AP 51 so that it transmits a TDLS response including the device identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 192 to the roaming source AP 51 of the other AP MLD 11 that has transmitted the TDLS Request.

[0066] The reception control unit 194 controls the roaming destination AP 51 so as to receive a TDLS Request transmitted from the roaming source AP 51. The reception control unit 194 controls the roaming destination AP 51 so as to receive encrypted communication information transmitted from the roaming source AP 51.

[0067] Similar to the generation unit 175, the generation unit 195 generates a TPK to be used for communication by TDLS with the roaming source AP 51, based on the device identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 192 and the device identification information received under the control of the reception control unit 194. As a result, the TPK to be used for communication by TDLS is shared between the roaming source AP 51 and the roaming destination AP 51-2.

[0068] The decryption unit 196 uses the TPK generated by the generation unit 195 to decrypt the encrypted communication information received under the control of the reception control unit 194. This communication information is used for communication with the non-AP MLD 12 after roaming.

[0069] <Description of Roaming Process> FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the roaming process performed by the wireless communication system 10 of FIG.

[0070] In the example of FIG. 6, roaming processing involves roaming from the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2 to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1.

[0071] 6, before the roaming process, the AP 51-2 of the roaming source AP MLD 11-2 transmits data encrypted using communication information to the non-AP STA 151-2. In step S21, the non-AP STA 151-2 receives the encrypted data transmitted by the process of step S11. The communication control unit 153 decrypts the encrypted data using the communication information.

[0072] Then, at the start of the roaming process, in step S22, the communication control unit 153 controls the non-AP STA 151-2 to transmit a BTM query requesting roaming to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2, which is the roaming source, to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2. This BTM query includes roaming destination information regarding the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1, which is the roaming destination. In step S12, the selection unit 171 of the AP MLD 11-2 controls the AP 51-2 to receive the BTM query transmitted by the processing of step S22. Then, the selection unit 171 selects the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 as the roaming destination based on this BTM query.

[0073] In step S13, the transmission control unit 173 controls the AP 51-2 to transmit a TDLS Request including the device specifying information acquired by the acquisition unit 172 to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 selected by the selection unit 171.

[0074] In step S31, the reception control unit 194 of the AP MLD 11-1 controls the AP 51-2 to receive the TDLS Request transmitted by the processing of step S13. In step S32, the transmission control unit 193 controls the AP 51-2 to transmit a TDLS response including the device identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 192 to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2 that transmitted the TDLS Request.

[0075] In step S14, the reception control unit 174 controls the AP 51-2 to receive the TDLS response transmitted in the process of step S32. In step S15, the transmission control unit 173 controls the AP 51-2 to transmit a TDLS Setup Confirm to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 selected by the selection unit 171. In step S33, the reception control unit 194 controls the AP 51-2 to receive the TDLS Setup Confirm transmitted in the process of step S15. The processes of steps S13 to S15 and steps S31 to S33 complete the setting of TDLS communication between the AP 51-2 of the roaming source AP MLD 11-2 and the AP 51-2 of the roaming destination AP MLD 11-1.

[0076] After the setting of communication by TDLS is completed, in step S16, the generation unit 175 generates a TPK based on the device specifying information acquired by the acquisition unit 172 and the device specifying information received under the control of the reception control unit 174. In step S34, the generation unit 195 generates a TPK in the same way as the generation unit 175, based on the device specifying information acquired by the acquisition unit 192 and the device specifying information received under the control of the reception control unit 194. In this way, the TPK is shared between the AP 51-2 of the roaming source AP MLD 11-2 and the AP 51-2 of the roaming destination AP MLD 11-1.

[0077] In step S17, the transmission control unit 173 controls the AP 51-2 to transmit communication information encrypted by the encryption unit 176 using the TPK generated by the processing of step S16 to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 selected by the selection unit 171. In step S35, the reception control unit 194 controls the AP 51-2 to receive the encrypted communication information transmitted by the processing of step S17. The decryption unit 196 uses the TPK generated by the processing of step S34 to decrypt the encrypted communication information received under the control of the reception control unit 194, thereby obtaining the communication information. This completes the roaming processing.

[0078] After the roaming process is completed, in step S36, the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 transmits data encrypted using the communication information obtained by the decryption unit 196 to the non-AP STA 151-2. This data is, for example, data included in the communication information that the roaming source AP 51 was scheduled to transmit to the non-AP STA 151. In step S23, the non-AP STA 151-2 receives the encrypted data transmitted by the process of step S36. The communication control unit 153 decrypts this encrypted data using the communication information used to decrypt the data received by the process of step S21.

[0079] As described above, the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2 at the roaming source and the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 at the roaming destination configure communication via TDLS before roaming and share the TPK. Therefore, the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2 at the roaming source and the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 at the roaming destination can share communication information through secure communication via TDLS using the TPK. Therefore, the non-AP STA 151-2 can receive and decrypt data from the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 without having to newly connect to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 at the roaming destination and regenerate communication information. As a result, seamless roaming from the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-2 to the AP 51-2 of the AP MLD 11-1 can be performed.

[0080] <Explanation of Roaming Source Processing> Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the roaming source processing by the roaming source processing unit 170 in Fig. 4. This roaming source processing is started when, for example, a BTM query is transmitted from the non-AP STA 151.

[0081] In step S111, the selection unit 171 controls the AP 51 to receive the BTM query transmitted from the non-AP STA 151. In step S112, the selection unit 171 selects the AP 51 of another AP MLD 11 as a roaming destination based on the BTM query received by the processing of step S111.

[0082] In step S113, the acquisition unit 172 acquires communication environment information of the roaming source AP 51 that received the BTM query in the processing of step S111. In step S114, the transmission control unit 173 controls the roaming source AP 51 to transmit a TDLS Request to the AP 51 selected as the roaming destination in the processing of step S112. This TDLS Request includes device identification information from the communication environment information acquired in the processing of step S113.

[0083] In step S115, the reception control unit 174 controls the roaming source AP 51 to receive a TDLS response transmitted from the roaming destination AP 51 in response to the TDLS Request transmitted in step S113. In step S116, the transmission control unit 173 controls the roaming source AP 51 to transmit a TDLS Setup Confirm to the AP 51 selected as the roaming destination in step S112.

[0084] In step S117, the generation unit 175 generates a TPK based on the device identification information included in the communication environment information acquired in the processing of step S113 and the device identification information included in the TDLS Request received in the processing of step S115.

[0085] In step S118, the encryption unit 176 encrypts the communication information using the TPK generated in the process of step S117. In step S119, the transmission control unit 173 controls the roaming source AP 51 to transmit the communication information encrypted in the process of step S118 to the AP 51 selected as the roaming destination in the process of step S112. Then, the roaming source process ends.

[0086] <Explanation of Roaming Destination Processing> Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the roaming destination processing by the roaming destination processing unit 190 of Fig. 5. This roaming destination processing is started, for example, when a TDLS Request is transmitted from the AP 51 of another AP MLD 11 of the roaming source in the processing of step S114 of Fig. 7.

[0087] In step S131 of Fig. 8, the reception control unit 194 controls the AP 51-2 to receive the TDLS Request transmitted in the process of step S114 of Fig. 7. In step S132, the acquisition unit 192 acquires communication environment information of the roaming destination AP 51 that received the TDLS Request in the process of step S131.

[0088] In step S133, the transmission control unit 193 controls the roaming destination AP 51 to transmit a TDLS response including device identification information from the communication environment information acquired in the processing of step S132 to the roaming source AP 51 that has transmitted the TDLS Request. This TDLS response is received in the processing of step S115.

[0089] In step S134, the reception control unit 194 controls the roaming destination AP 51 to receive the TDLS Setup Confirm sent in the process of step S116. In step S135, the generation unit 195 generates a TPK based on the device identification information included in the TDLS Request received in the process of step S131 and the device identification information of the communication environment information acquired in the process of step S132. This TPK is the same as the TPK generated in the process of step S117.

[0090] In step S136, the reception control unit 194 controls the roaming destination AP 51 to receive the encrypted communication information transmitted in the process of step S119. In step S137, the decryption unit 196 uses the TPK generated in the process of step S135 to decrypt the encrypted communication information received in the process of step S136 to obtain communication information. This communication information is used to encrypt data when the roaming destination AP 51 transmits the data to the non-AP STA 151. After the process of step S137, the roaming destination process ends.

[0091] <Explanation of Roaming Request Processing> FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the roaming request processing by the non-AP MLD 12. As shown in FIG.

[0092] In step S151 of FIG. 9, the communication control unit 153 acquires information indicating the communication environment, such as the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of wireless communication with the connectable AP 51, and determines the AP 51 to roam to based on the information.

[0093] In step S152, the communication control unit 153 controls the non-AP STA 151 to transmit a BTM query including information about the roaming destination AP 51 as roaming destination information to the roaming source AP 51. This BTM query is received by the processing of step S111 in FIG. 7.

[0094] In step S153, the communication control unit 153 determines whether or not encrypted data has been received using communication information from the roaming destination AP 51 by controlling the non-AP STA 151. If it is determined in step S153 that encrypted data has not yet been received, the communication control unit 153 waits until encrypted data is received.

[0095] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S153 that encrypted data has been received, the process proceeds to step S154. In step S154, the communication control unit 153 decrypts the received encrypted data using the communication information. Then, the roaming request process ends.

[0096] The TPK does not have to be generated using both the device identification information of the roaming destination and the device identification information of the roaming source, as long as it is generated based on at least one of these.

[0097] As described above, the transmission control unit 173 (193) controls the transmission of the device identification information of the AP 51 of its own AP MLD 11, which is used for TDLS communication with the AP 51 of another AP MLD 11, to the AP 51 of the other AP MLD 11. Therefore, for example, the generation units 175 and 195 can share the TPK by generating the TPK using the device identification information of at least one of the APs 51. Therefore, secure TDLS communication can be performed between the APs 51 of the two AP MLDs 11 using this TPK. This allows, for example, communication information requiring high security to be transmitted from the roaming source AP 51 to the roaming destination AP 51 using this communication. As a result, seamless roaming is possible.

[0098] The non-AP MLD 12 may newly connect to the AP MLD 11 at the roaming destination and generate communication information again. The number of links for TDLS communication between APs 51 may be multiple. Communication between AP MLDs 11 may be peer-to-peer communication other than TDLS communication.

[0099] This technology can also be applied to APs and NON-AP STAs that perform wireless communication using a single link.

[0100] <2. Computer> <Example of Computer Configuration> The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. When the series of processes is executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed from a program recording medium into a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware, a general-purpose personal computer, or the like.

[0101] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer that executes the above-described series of processes by a program.

[0102] A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 801 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 802 , and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 803 are interconnected by a bus 804 .

[0103] An input / output interface 805 is further connected to the bus 804. An input unit 806 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and an output unit 807 including a display, a speaker, etc., are connected to the input / output interface 805. Information related to the present technology may be output or displayed from the output unit 807. Information related to the present technology may be input from the input unit 806, and confirmation or a response to the information output or displayed on the output unit 807 may be input. In addition, a storage unit 808 including a hard disk or nonvolatile memory, a communication unit 809 including a network interface, etc., and a drive 810 that drives removable media 811 are connected to the input / output interface 805.

[0104] In the computer configured as above, the CPU 801 performs the above-described series of processes by, for example, loading a program stored in the storage unit 808 into the RAM 803 via the input / output interface 805 and the bus 804 and executing the program. For example, the CPU 801 may execute a processing program corresponding to the flowcharts of Figures 6 to 9 of the present technology.

[0105] The program executed by the CPU 801 is provided, for example, by being recorded on a removable medium 811 or via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital broadcasting, and is installed in the storage unit 808.

[0106] The program executed by the computer may be a program that processes in chronological order according to the order described in this specification, or may be a program that processes in parallel or at the required timing, such as when called.

[0107] 3. Application Examples The present technology can be applied to various products. For example, the Non-AP MLD 12 in FIG. 3 may be realized as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet PC (Personal Computer), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, or a digital camera; a fixed terminal such as a television receiver, a projector, a printer, a digital scanner, or a network storage; or an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation device or a drive recorder. The Non-AP MLD 12 may also be realized as an M2M (Machine-to-Machine Communication) terminal or an IoT (Internet of Things) terminal, such as a smart meter, a vending machine, a remote monitoring device, or a POS (Point of Sale) terminal. Furthermore, the Non-AP MLD 12 may be a wireless communication module (e.g., an integrated circuit module configured on a single die) mounted on these terminals.

[0108] 2 may be realized as a wireless LAN AP (wireless base station) with or without router functionality. The AP MLD 11 may also be realized as a mobile wireless LAN router. The AP MLD 11 may also be realized as a cellular communication base station or femtocell. Furthermore, the AP MLD 11 may be a wireless communication module (e.g., an integrated circuit module configured on a single die) mounted on these devices.

[0109] <Configuration example of smartphone> Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a smartphone 900 to which the present technology is applied. Fig. 11 is described as a configuration example of the smartphone 900, but the present technology is not limited to this, and may be a configuration example of the various devices and functions described above.

[0110] The smartphone 900 includes a processor 901, a memory 902, a storage 903, an external connection interface 904, a camera 906, a sensor 907, a microphone 908, an input device 909, and a display device 910. The smartphone 900 also includes a speaker 911, a wireless communication interface 913, an antenna switch 914, an antenna 915, a bus 917, a battery 918, and an auxiliary controller 919. The smartphone 900 may include all or some of the above.

[0111] The processor 901 may be, for example, a CPU or a SoC (System on Chip), and controls the functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 900.

[0112] The memory 902 includes RAM and ROM, and stores programs and data executed by the processor 901 .

[0113] The storage 903 includes a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk.

[0114] The external connection interface 904 is an interface for connecting an external device such as a memory card or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) device to the smartphone 900 .

[0115] The camera 906 has an imaging element such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image.

[0116] The sensor 907 includes a group of sensors such as a positioning sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

[0117] The microphone 908 converts the sound input to the smartphone 900 into an audio signal.

[0118] The input device 909 includes, for example, a touch sensor that detects a touch on the screen of the display device 910, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch, and accepts operations or information input from the user.

[0119] The display device 910 has a screen such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or a quantum dot (QD) display, and displays the output image of the smartphone 900.

[0120] The speaker 911 converts the audio signal output from the smartphone 900 into sound.

[0121] The wireless communication interface 913 supports one or more wireless LAN standards such as IEEE802.11a, 11b, 11g, 11ac, 11ad, 11ax, 11ay, 11be, 11bn, and successor standards thereof, and performs wireless communication.

[0122] The wireless communication interface 913 communicates with other devices via a wireless LAN AP in infrastructure mode, and directly with other devices in ad hoc mode or a direct communication mode such as Wi-Fi Direct.

[0123] Unlike ad hoc mode, in Wi-Fi Direct, one of the two terminals acts as an AP, but communication is carried out directly between the terminals.

[0124] The wireless communication interface 913 typically includes a baseband processor, an RF (Radio Frequency) circuit, a power amplifier, etc. The wireless communication interface 913 may be a one-chip module that integrates a memory that stores a communication control program, a processor that executes the program, and related circuits.

[0125] The wireless communication interface 913 may support other types of wireless communication methods, such as a short-range wireless communication method such as Bluetooth, a proximity wireless communication method such as NFC, or a 3GPP (registered trademark) cellular communication method such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and 6G, in addition to the wireless LAN method. The wireless communication interface 913 may be a one-chip module that supports multiple wireless communication methods, or may be a combination of modules that support some of the wireless communication methods.

[0126] The antenna switch 914 switches the connection destination of the antenna 915 between multiple circuits included in the wireless communication interface 913 (for example, circuits for different wireless communication methods, or transmission system circuits and reception system circuits).

[0127] The antenna 915 has a single or multiple antenna elements (e.g., multiple antenna elements constituting a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antenna, or multiple antenna elements constituting an array antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals via the wireless communication interface 913.

[0128] 11 , the smartphone 900 may include multiple antennas (for example, a wireless LAN antenna, a proximity wireless communication antenna, and a cellular communication antenna). In this case, the antenna switch 914 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 900.

[0129] The bus 917 connects the processor 901, memory 902, storage 903, external connection interface 904, camera 906, sensor 907, microphone 908, input device 909, display device 910, speaker 911, wireless communication interface 913, and auxiliary controller 919 to each other.

[0130] The battery 918 supplies power to each block of the smartphone 900 shown in FIG. 11 via a power supply line partially indicated by a dashed line in the figure. The auxiliary controller 919 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 900, for example, in sleep mode. The battery 918 may also be charged via the external connection interface 904. The battery 918 may also have a function that allows reading information regarding the remaining amount of power, the cumulative power-on time, or the cumulative amount of power supply, and the processor 901, the wireless communication interface 913, or the auxiliary controller 919 may control any of the functions of the above-described embodiments based on the information read from the battery 918.

[0131] 11 , for example, the communication control unit 153 in FIG. 3 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 913. For example, a processing program corresponding to the flowchart in FIG. 9 may be executed in the wireless communication interface 913. Furthermore, at least some of these functions may be implemented in the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919.

[0132] The smartphone 900 may operate as a wireless AP (software AP) by the processor 901 executing an AP function at the application level. The wireless communication interface 913 may have a wireless AP function. The processor 901 or the wireless communication interface 913 may have a tethering function that uses a wireless LAN system and a cellular communication system, and may transmit payload data received via the cellular communication system via the wireless LAN system, or may transmit payload data received via the wireless LAN system via the cellular communication system. The smartphone 900 may have a tethering function enabled by user input.

[0133] Furthermore, the smartphone 900 may be provided with a biometric authentication unit (fingerprint authentication, palm shape authentication, voice authentication, blood vessel authentication, face authentication, iris authentication, retina authentication). In this case, the wireless communication interface 913 in which the communication control unit 153 in Fig. 3 is implemented is configured to receive power supply from the same battery 918 as the display device 910, the speaker 911, and at least one of the biometric authentication unit.

[0134] Furthermore, in the smartphone 900, information is displayed on at least one of the display device 910 and the speaker 911 based on communication with an external device via the wireless communication interface 913. At this time, information relating to the present technology may be output as information from at least one of the display device 910 and the speaker 911. Furthermore, the input device 909 may be configured to input a confirmation or response to the information output from at least one of the display device 910 and the speaker 911.

[0135] <Configuration example of in-vehicle device> Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle device 920 to which the present technology is applied. Fig. 12 is described as an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle device 920, but the configuration is not limited to this and may be an example of the configuration of the various devices and functions described above.

[0136] The in-vehicle device 920 is configured to include a processor 921, a memory 922, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) module 924, a sensor 925, a data interface 926, a content player 927, and a storage medium interface 928. The in-vehicle device 920 is also configured to include an input device 929, a display device 930, a speaker 931, a wireless communication interface 933, an antenna switch 934, an antenna 935, and a battery 938. The in-vehicle device 920 may be configured to include all or some of the above.

[0137] The processor 921 may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls the navigation function and other functions of the in-vehicle device 920. The processor 921 can also control the vehicle's driving system, such as the brake, accelerator, or steering, based on information obtained through communication based on the present technology.

[0138] The memory 922 includes RAM and ROM, and stores programs and data executed by the processor 921 .

[0139] The GNSS module 924 measures the position (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the in-vehicle device 920 using GNSS signals received from GNSS satellites.

[0140] The sensor 925 includes a group of sensors such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a millimeter wave radar, a camera (an imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS), and a barometric pressure sensor.

[0141] The data interface 926 is connected to an in-vehicle network 941 via a terminal (not shown), for example, and acquires data generated on the vehicle side, such as vehicle-side data.

[0142] The content player 927 plays content stored on a storage medium (e.g., a CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 928 or content received via the wireless communication interface 933 .

[0143] The input device 929 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a button, or a switch that detects a touch on the screen of the display device 930, and accepts operations or information input from the user. For example, the input device 929 may be configured to input a confirmation or response to information output from at least one of the display device 930 and the speaker 931.

[0144] The display device 930 has a screen such as an LCD, OLED display, or QD display, and displays images of navigation functions or content being played, as well as information related to the present technology.

[0145] The speaker 931 outputs the navigation function, the audio of the content being played, or information related to the present technology.

[0146] Note that the navigation function and the function of the content player 927 are optional in the in-vehicle device 920. The navigation function and the content player 927 may be removed from the configuration of the in-vehicle device 920.

[0147] The wireless communication interface 933 supports one or more wireless LAN standards such as IEEE802.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, 11ad, 11ax, 11ay, 11be, 11bn, and successor standards thereof, and performs wireless communication.

[0148] The wireless communication interface 933 communicates with other devices via a wireless LAN AP in infrastructure mode, and directly with other devices in ad hoc mode or a direct communication mode such as Wi-Fi Direct.

[0149] Unlike ad hoc mode, in Wi-Fi Direct, one of the two terminals acts as an AP, but communication is carried out directly between the terminals.

[0150] The wireless communication interface 933 typically includes a baseband processor, an RF circuit, a power amplifier, etc. The wireless communication interface 933 may be a one-chip module that integrates a memory that stores a communication control program, a processor that executes the program, or related circuits.

[0151] The wireless communication interface 933 may support other types of wireless communication methods in addition to the WLAN method, such as a short-range wireless communication method such as Bluetooth, a proximity wireless communication method such as NFC, or a 3GPP cellular communication method such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and 6G. The wireless communication interface 933 may be a one-chip module that supports multiple wireless communication methods, or may be a combination of modules that support some of the wireless communication methods.

[0152] The antenna switch 934 switches the connection destination of the antenna 935 between multiple circuits included in the wireless communication interface 933 (for example, circuits for different wireless communication methods, or transmission system circuits and reception system circuits).

[0153] The antenna 935 has a single or multiple antenna elements (e.g., multiple antenna elements constituting a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antenna, or multiple antenna elements constituting an array antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals via the wireless communication interface 933.

[0154] 12, the in-vehicle device 920 may include multiple antennas (for example, an antenna for wireless LAN, an antenna for a close-proximity wireless communication system, and an antenna for a cellular communication system). In this case, the antenna switch 934 may be omitted from the configuration of the in-vehicle device 920.

[0155] The battery 938 supplies power to each block of the in-vehicle device 920 shown in Fig. 12 via a power supply line partially indicated by a dashed line in the figure. The battery 938 may also store power supplied from the vehicle side. Alternatively, the in-vehicle device 920 may not be equipped with a battery and may instead use power supplied from the vehicle side via a voltage regulator or a capacitor.

[0156] 12, for example, the communication control unit 153 in FIG. 3 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 933. For example, a processing program corresponding to the flowchart in FIG. 9 may be executed in the wireless communication interface 933. Furthermore, at least a part of these functions may be implemented in the processor 921.

[0157] 2 and may provide a wireless connection to a terminal owned by a user in the vehicle. For example, the wireless communication interface 933 may connect the in-vehicle device 920 to other peripheral devices, and the in-vehicle device 920 may use CarPlay (registered trademark) or Android Auto (registered trademark). Note that the wireless communication interface 933 may connect the in-vehicle device 920 to other peripheral devices using a short-range wireless communication method, infrastructure mode, or a wireless LAN method using Wi-Fi Direct.

[0158] The in-vehicle device 920 may operate as a wireless AP (software AP) by the processor 921 executing an AP function at the application level. The wireless communication interface 933 may have a wireless AP function. The processor 921 or the wireless communication interface 933 may have a tethering function that uses a wireless LAN system and a cellular communication system, and may transmit payload data received via the cellular communication system via the wireless LAN system, or may transmit payload data received via the wireless LAN system via the cellular communication system. The in-vehicle device 920 may have the tethering function enabled by user input.

[0159] Furthermore, the present technology may be realized as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 940 including one or more blocks of the above-described in-vehicle device 920, an in-vehicle network 941, and a vehicle-side module 942. The vehicle-side module 942 may generate vehicle-side data such as vehicle speed information, engine rotation speed information, information about the vehicle-side battery, or malfunction information, and output the generated data to the in-vehicle network 941, and the processor 921 or the wireless communication interface 933 may control any of the functions of the above-described embodiments based on the vehicle-side data acquired via the in-vehicle network 941.

[0160] <Configuration example of wireless AP> Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless AP 950 to which the present technology is applied. Fig. 13 is described as an example configuration of the wireless AP 950, but is not limited to this, and may be an example configuration of the various devices and functions described above.

[0161] The wireless AP 950 includes a controller 951, a memory 952, an input device 954, a display device 955, a network interface 957, a wireless communication interface 963, an antenna switch 964, and an antenna 965. The wireless AP 950 may include all or some of the above.

[0162] The controller 951 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP (Digital Signal processor) and operates various functions of the IP (Internet Protocol) layer and higher layers of the wireless AP 950 (e.g., access restriction, routing, encryption, firewall, and log management).

[0163] The memory 952 includes RAM and ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 951 and various control information (for example, a terminal list, a routing table, an encryption key, security settings, and logs).

[0164] The input device 954 includes, for example, buttons and switches, and receives operations from the user. For example, the input device 954 may be configured to input a confirmation or response to information output from the display device 955. Furthermore, the input device 954 may be configured to input, by user operation, switching the wireless function on / off and switching between the router function and the access point function.

[0165] The display device 955 includes an LED lamp or the like and displays the operation status of the wireless AP 950. The display device 955 may also display information related to the present technology.

[0166] The network interface 957 is a wired communication interface for connecting the wireless AP 950 to a wired communication network 958. The network interface 957 may have multiple connection terminals. The network interface 957 may output payload data included in a wireless signal input from the wireless communication interface 963 as a wired signal, or may receive payload data output as a wireless signal from the wireless communication interface 963 as a wired signal. The network interface 957 may input and output wired signals in parallel with or independently of the wireless communication interface 963 inputting and outputting wireless signals. The wired communication network 958 may be a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a WAN (Wide Area Network).

[0167] The wireless communication interface 963 supports one or more wireless LAN standards, such as IEEE 802.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, 11ad, 11ax, 11ay, 11be, 11bn, and their successor standards, and provides wireless connection to nearby terminals as an AP. When the wireless AP 950 is installed in a cellular communication base station or a femtocell, the wireless communication interface 963 may support other types of wireless communication systems, such as 3GPP cellular communication systems such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and 6G, in addition to the wireless LAN system. The wireless communication interface 963 may be a one-chip module that supports multiple wireless communication systems, or a combination of modules that support some of the wireless communication systems.

[0168] The wireless communication interface 963 typically includes a baseband processor, an RF circuit, a power amplifier, and the like.

[0169] The wireless communication interface 963 may be a one-chip module that integrates a memory that stores a communication control program, a processor that executes the program, or related circuits.

[0170] The antenna switch 964 switches the connection destination of the antenna 965 between multiple circuits included in the wireless communication interface 963 (for example, circuits for different wireless communication methods, or transmission system circuits and reception system circuits).

[0171] The antenna 965 has a single or multiple antenna elements (for example, multiple antenna elements constituting a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antenna, or multiple antenna elements constituting an array antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals via the wireless communication interface 963.

[0172] 13, for example, the communication control unit 53 in FIG. 2 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 963. For example, a processing program corresponding to the flowcharts in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be executed in the wireless communication interface 963. Furthermore, at least a part of these functions may be implemented in the controller 951.

[0173] The above-described embodiment shows an example for realizing the present technology, and the matters in the embodiment correspond to the matters specifying the invention in the claims. Similarly, the matters specifying the invention in the claims correspond to the matters in the embodiment of the present technology having the same title. However, the present technology is not limited to the embodiment, and can be realized by applying various modifications to the embodiment without departing from the gist of the present technology.

[0174] Furthermore, part or all of the information processing device described in the above embodiments may be realized, for example, as a semiconductor chip (IC (Integrated Circuit)) having a wireless communication control function. Also, it may be realized by a single semiconductor chip equipped with multiple functions, such as a SoC (System on Chip), or by combining multiple semiconductor chips each having a single function, such as a processor. Furthermore, it may be realized by combining multiple SoCs, or by combining a semiconductor chip with a single function and a SoC. It may also be realized by a semiconductor chip such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) dedicated to realizing each unit, or by a combination of a general-purpose processor with software or firmware, or by a semiconductor chip such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0175] Furthermore, the processing procedures described in the above embodiments may be regarded as a method having a series of these procedures, or as a program for causing this computer to execute these procedures or a recording medium for storing that program.

[0176] Examples of the recording medium that can be used include a CD (Compact Disc), an MD (Mini Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a memory card, and a Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc.

[0177] In this specification, a system refers to a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (components), etc.), regardless of whether all of the components are contained in the same housing. Therefore, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device housed in a single housing with multiple modules, are both systems.

[0178] Furthermore, the effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0179] The embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present technology.

[0180] For example, the present technology can be configured as a cloud computing system in which a single function is shared and processed collaboratively by a plurality of devices via a network.

[0181] Furthermore, each step described in the above flowchart can be executed by one device, or can be shared and executed by a plurality of devices.

[0182] Furthermore, when one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in that one step can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by multiple devices.

[0183] The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0184] The present technology may have the following configurations: (1) An access point device comprising: a transmission control unit that controls transmission of device identification information of its own access point device, used for peer-to-peer communication with another access point device, to the other access point device. (2) The access point device described in (1) above, further comprising: a generation unit that generates a key to be used for the peer-to-peer communication based on the device identification information of its own access point device. (3) The access point device described in (2) above, further comprising: a reception control unit that controls reception of device identification information of the other access point device from the other access point device, wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the key using the device identification information of the other access point device received under control of the reception control unit. (4) The access point device described in (2) or (3) above, further comprising: an encryption unit that encrypts communication information to be used for communication with a wireless terminal device using the key generated by the generation unit, wherein the transmission control unit also controls transmission of the communication information encrypted by the encryption unit to the other access point device. (5) The access point device according to (4), wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of PTK, GTK, and TPK. (6) The access point device according to (4) or (5), wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of the PTK, GTK, and TPK. (7) The access point device according to (2) or (3), further comprising a decryption unit that decrypts communication information encrypted by the other access point device and used for communication with a wireless terminal device, using the key generated by the generation unit. (8) The access point device according to (7), wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of the PTK, GTK, and TPK. (9) The access point device according to (7) or (8), wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of the PTK, GTK, and TPK.(10) The access point device according to any one of (1) to (9), wherein the device identification information is configured to be at least one of information related to a MAC address of the access point device to be identified and a BSSID. (11) The access point device according to (10), wherein the device identification information is information for identifying one of a plurality of access points included in the access point device, and the information related to the MAC address includes at least one of a MAC address of the access point identified by the device identification information and a MAC address of the access point device that includes that access point. (12) The access point device according to (10) or (11), wherein the device identification information is configured to include a BBSID of the access point device that performs the peer-to-peer communication with the access point device to be identified. (13) The access point device according to any one of (1) to (12), further comprising: a selection unit that selects the other access point device as a roaming destination access point device from access point devices that can communicate with the wireless terminal device based on roaming destination information regarding a roaming destination access point device transmitted from a wireless terminal device connected to the access point device itself, wherein the transmission control unit is configured to control transmission of the device identification information of the access point device itself to the other access point device selected by the selection unit. (14) The access point device according to any one of (1) to (13), wherein the peer-to-peer communication is TDLS communication. (15) A wireless communication method, including: an access point device controlling transmission of device identification information of the access point device itself, used for peer-to-peer communication with another access point device, to the other access point device.(16) A wireless terminal device comprising: a communication control unit that, when an access point device connected to its own wireless terminal device is switched, decrypts encrypted data transmitted from the new access point device using communication information used for communication with the previous access point device. (17) The wireless terminal device according to (16), wherein the communication information is information regarding at least one of a PTK, a GTK, and a TPK. (18) The wireless terminal device according to (16) or (17), wherein the communication control unit is also configured to control transmission of information regarding the new access point device to the previous access point device. (19) A wireless communication method including: when an access point device connected to its own wireless terminal device is switched, a wireless terminal device decrypts encrypted data transmitted from the new access point device using communication information used for communication with the previous access point device.

[0185] 11-1, 11-2 AP MLD, 12 Non-AP MLD, 51-2, 51-2 AP, 153 Communication control unit, 171 Selection unit, 173 Transmission control unit, 174 Reception control unit, 175 Generation unit, 176 Encryption, 193 Transmission control unit, 194 Reception control unit, 195 Generation unit, 196 Decryption unit

Claims

1. An access point device having a transmission control unit that controls the transmission of device identification information of its own access point device, used for peer-to-peer communication with other access point devices, to the other access point devices.

2. The access point device according to claim 1, further comprising: a generation unit that generates a key to be used in the peer-to-peer communication based on the device identification information of the access point device itself.

3. The access point device according to claim 2, further comprising a reception control unit that controls the reception of device identification information of the other access point device from the other access point device, and the generation unit is configured to generate the key using the device identification information of the other access point device received under the control of the reception control unit.

4. The access point device according to claim 2, further comprising an encryption unit that encrypts communication information used for communication with a wireless terminal device using the key generated by the generation unit, and wherein the transmission control unit also controls the communication information encrypted by the encryption unit to be transmitted to the other access point device.

5. The access point device according to claim 4, wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of PTK, GTK, and TPK.

6. An access point device according to claim 4, wherein the communication information is configured to include data that was scheduled to be transmitted by the access point device itself.

7. The access point device according to claim 2, further comprising a decryption unit that decrypts communication information encrypted by the other access point device and used for communication with a wireless terminal device, using the key generated by the generation unit.

8. The access point device according to claim 7, wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of PTK, GTK, and TPK.

9. The access point device according to claim 7, wherein the communication information is configured to include data that was to be transmitted by the other access point device.

10. The access point device according to claim 1, wherein the device identification information is configured to be at least one of information relating to the MAC address of the access point device to be identified and a BSSID.

11. The access point device according to claim 10, wherein the device identification information is information that identifies one of a plurality of access points equipped in the access point device, and the information regarding the MAC address is configured to include at least one of the MAC address of the access point identified by the device identification information and the MAC address of the access point device that is equipped with that access point.

12. The access point device according to claim 10, wherein the device identification information is configured to include the BBSID of the access point device that performs the peer-to-peer communication with the access point device being identified.

13. An access point device according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit that selects the other access point device as the roaming destination access point device from among access point devices that can communicate with the wireless terminal device based on roaming destination information regarding the roaming destination access point device transmitted from the wireless terminal device connected to the access point device itself, and the transmission control unit is configured to control the transmission of the device identification information of the access point device itself to the other access point device selected by the selection unit.

14. The access point device according to claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer communication is TDLS communication.

15. A wireless communication method including controlling an access point device to transmit device identification information of the access point device used for peer-to-peer communication with another access point device to the other access point device.

16. A wireless terminal device having a communication control unit that, when the access point device connected to the wireless terminal device is switched, decrypts encrypted data sent from the new access point device using communication information used for communication with the previous access point device.

17. The wireless terminal device according to claim 16, wherein the communication information is information relating to at least one of PTK, GTK, and TPK.

18. The wireless terminal device according to claim 16, wherein the communication control unit is also configured to control the transmission of information relating to the post-switching access point device to the pre-switching access point device.

19. A wireless communication method including, when an access point device connected to a wireless terminal device is switched, decrypting encrypted data transmitted from the switched access point device using communication information used for communication with the access point device before the switch.

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