Data communication network

• US 6,487,657 B1
• Filed: 02/18/1999
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: No Wires Needed BV (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Brockmann, Ronald Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Darrow, Justin T.
• Application Number:
  US09/252,308
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: 380/33, 380/270, 380/271, 380/277, 380/279, 713/154, 713/155, 713/163, 713/201, 455/3.01, 455/3.02, 455/3.05, 455/3.06
• US Class Current: 713/154
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/22 Arrangements for preventing the taking of data from a data transmission channel without authorisation means for verifying the identity or the authority of a user of a secure or secret communication system H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/354 for supporting virtual local area networks [VLAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/065 for group communications cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management involving conference or group key H04L9/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/041 Key generation or derivation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

The invention relates to a data communication network suitable for the exchange of data between computers, which network comprises at least one substantially wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and access points distributed over an area of coverage for linking the computers comprised in the minimally one LAN, with the network. The minimally one wireless LAN is virtual and the data traffic with the computers belonging to that particular LAN is individualized by encoding the data exchanged between the computers and the access points by using for each LAN a unique key.

Claims

1. A data communication network suitable for the exchange of data between computers, which network comprises at least one substantially wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and access points distributed over an area covered by the network for linking the computers with the network, wherein the data traffic with the computers belonging to the wireless LAN is individualized by encoding data exchanged between a computer and its access point with a unique data key that defines the wireless LAN within the network, characterized in that the wireless LAN is virtual, and that every access point possesses a filter unit applied to unique keys associated with data traffic for excluding data destined for a computer belonging to a LAN other than computers that are a part of the virtual LAN accessible through the particular access point associated with the filter unit.

2. A data communication network according to claim 1, characterized in that the filter unit is equipped to delete from the data traffic predetermined types of data.

3. A data communication network according to claim 1, characterized in that every computer in a wireless LAN is provided with a device for rejecting messages sent by other computers.

4. A data communication network according to claim 1, characterized in that each computer is provided with one or more additional keys for encoding and decoding the data traffic destined from a group of computers, or for all computers in the same virtual LAN.

5. A data communication network according to claim 1, characterized in that every computer is provided with its own unique key for data communication with an access point.

6. A data communication network according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the data communication network is equipped to generate the unique key at a time when data traffic between one or more computers from a LAN and the network is established.

7. A data communication network according to claim 6, characterized I that the generation of the unique key occurs with a public key algerithm.