Wireless LAN Access Limiter for Inter-Terminal Communication Control

The patent introduces a router as an intermediary device between wireless LAN terminals. The router acts as the default gateway for all terminals, forcing all inter-terminal communications to pass through it. This mediator enables access control functionality while maintaining efficient direct communication between terminals by routing traffic through the gateway for monitoring and control purposes.

The patent extracts the access control functionality from the access point and relocates it to a separate router device. This separation allows the access point to remain simple and unchanged, while the router handles all access limiting functions. The access point continues its basic function of wireless signal management without the added complexity of access control logic.

The router serves as an intermediary that enables efficient traffic handling. Local communications between terminals are routed through the router but can be forwarded directly between terminals without consuming excessive access point bandwidth. The router monitors and controls access while allowing efficient local traffic flow, preventing bandwidth overload on the access point.