JP5659870B2 - Wireless communication apparatus, electronic apparatus, and simple access point determination method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication device having a simple access point function of a wireless network, an electronic device including the wireless communication device, and a method for determining a simple access point.

  Wireless LAN technologies such as 802.11a, 802.11g, and 802.11n defined by the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 Task Group, which develops standards for wireless LAN (Local Area Network), Popular at home.

802.11a is a specification for performing communication using a frequency band of 5 [GHz], and 802.11g is a specification for performing communication using a frequency band of 2.4 [GHz]. 802.11n is MIMO (Multiple Input
Multiple Output) is a wireless communication technology that extends a data transmission / reception band by combining a plurality of antennas on a transmission side and a reception side.

In the 802.11a / 11g / 11n specification, the connection form is divided into two modes, an infrastructure mode and an ad hoc mode.
The infrastructure mode is a communication mode in which there is a wireless communication device that is a wireless LAN terminal centering on an access point, and data transmission between a certain wireless communication device and another wireless communication device is performed via the access point. is there. This is a general connection form that is often used in environments such as offices and homes.

  On the other hand, the ad hoc mode is a communication mode in which there is no access point and data transmission between wireless communication devices is performed directly between the wireless communication devices. Therefore, no access point is required in the ad hoc mode. However, when performing ad hoc mode communication (hereinafter referred to as ad hoc communication) between multiple wireless communication devices, it is necessary for each wireless communication device to grasp the status of all wireless communication devices belonging to the network. In many cases, functions such as rates and authentication functions are limited and the setting method for connection is complicated, so the 802.11a / 11g / 11n specification is more popular than the role of an auxiliary communication method. Not done.

  However, in recent years, in addition to information communication terminals such as PCs (personal computers), devices equipped with a wireless LAN function have increased to small terminals such as mobile phones, digital cameras, printers, and portable audio devices. Of course, these devices can also communicate with each other via an access point, but they are used only for data communication between devices, for example, when communicating between a digital camera and a printer, they are connected via an access point. Therefore, it is more convenient to directly connect ad hoc without an access point.

  Therefore, in order to make the ad hoc mode easier to use, the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group that aims to promote the spread of wireless LAN products, wireless setting methods and connection methods for direct communication between terminals Specifications related to the above are being studied.

  For example, in Non-Patent Document 1, as a basic concept of Wi-Fi Direct, each wireless communication device is equipped with a simple access point function, and any one of the corresponding devices participating in the network is in wireless communication. It is described that the device actually operates as a simple access point. As described above, the simple access point behaves like a normal access point, so that even in the ad hoc mode, it is possible to perform the connection procedure of the maximum transmission rate and the encryption method as in the infrastructure mode.

  More specifically, in Non-Patent Document 1, each wireless communication device participating in a certain wireless LAN is defined as a P2P (Peer to Peer) device, and its network is defined as a P2P group. In the P2P group, a P2P device that actually uses the simple access point function is defined as a P2P group owner, and P2P devices other than the P2P group owner are defined as P2P clients. A procedure for determining a P2P group owner from a plurality of P2P group devices is defined as group owner negotiation.

  FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the radio communication apparatuses 100 and 200, which are two P2P devices, perform group owner negotiation after searching for a connection partner. Although wireless communication apparatuses 100 and 200 have the same configuration, here, a case where wireless communication apparatus 200 starts a search operation will be described.

  As shown in the figure, first, the wireless communication apparatus 200 transmits a probe request frame (sequence S101). Radio communication apparatus 100 that has received the probe request frame returns a probe response frame (sequence S102).

  Upon receiving the probe response frame, the wireless communication device 200 recognizes that another wireless communication device exists in a place where communication is possible, and transmits a GO (group owner) negotiation request (Negotiation Request) frame. The group owner negotiation is started (sequence S103). The GO negotiation request frame includes P2P • IE (Information Element) and WPS • IE (Wi-Fi Protected Setup Information Element). In P2P / IE, information such as group owner intent (parameter) indicating the degree of desire to become a P2P group owner, “Channel” indicating the supported channel, etc. include. Here, an integer between 0 and 15 can be set as the group owner intent value.

  Receiving the GO negotiation request frame, wireless communication apparatus 100 returns a GO negotiation response (Negotiation Response) frame (sequence S104). Similar to the GO negotiation request frame, the GO negotiation response frame includes a group owner intent value, “Channel”, and the like in P2P / IE.

  The wireless communication apparatus 200 that has received the GO negotiation response frame determines the P2P group owner according to the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, and notifies the wireless communication apparatus 100 of the result using the GO negotiation completion (Negotiation Confirmation) frame (sequence). S105). Further, the wireless communication apparatus 100 that has received the GO negotiation request frame also determines the P2P group owner according to the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, the wireless communication devices 100 and 200 individually determine the P2P group owner by the same procedure. Hereinafter, the operation of radio communication apparatus 200 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, radio communication apparatus 200 determines whether or not group owner intent value x1 of radio communication apparatus 100 is equal to group owner intent value x2 of the own apparatus (step ST101). If they are not equal (step ST101: No), the magnitude relationship between x1 and x2 is determined (step ST102), and the wireless communication device with the larger group owner intent value is set as the P2P group owner (steps ST102 to ST104). ). That is, if the group owner intent value x2 of the wireless communication device 200 is larger (step ST102: Yes), the wireless communication device 200 becomes the P2P group owner (step ST103), and the group owner intent value x1 of the wireless communication device 100 If it is larger (step ST102: No), radio communication apparatus 100 is set as the P2P group owner (step ST104).

  When the group owner intent values of the two wireless communication apparatuses 100 and 200 are equal (step ST101: Yes), it is determined whether or not they are less than 15 (step ST105). If it is less than 15 (step ST105: Yes), the wireless communication device having a tie break bit (Tie Break Bit) value of 1 is set as the P2P group owner (step ST106).

  Here, the tie break bit value means that the wireless communication device that issues the GO negotiation request is set to 1 or 0 at random, and is sent in the GO negotiation request frame.In the GO negotiation response frame, the GO negotiation request frame It is a value that is set to toggle and return the included tie break bit value.

  Therefore, when the group owner intent value of the wireless communication devices 100 and 200 is less than 15 and the same, when the wireless communication device 200 sets the tie break bit value to 1 when transmitting the GO negotiation request frame, the wireless communication device When 200 becomes a P2P group owner and is set to 0, the wireless communication device 100 becomes a P2P group owner.

  When the group owner intent values of the two radio communication apparatuses 100 and 200 are both 15 (step ST105: No), the P2P group owner determination procedure is determined to be unsuccessful (step ST107).

  As described above, the wireless communication device serving as a simple access point can be determined by the connection method described in Non-Patent Document 1, and P2P communication between devices can be performed without an access point terminal device.

  Now, P2P group owners take over the access point functions. In other words, compared to P2P clients, such as assigning addresses to connected wireless communication devices (P2P clients), synchronizing with beacon signals, and mediating data communication between wireless communication devices via simple access points With big processing.

  In addition, since the P2P group owner must manage various types of information related to each connected P2P client, it must hold a memory for managing the information inside the apparatus.

  Information about the P2P client includes the allocated address, the transmission rate information supported by the client, the presence / absence of security, and the power management method. These are pieces of information that must be individually managed for each client when communicating with the client.

  In a simple example, one terminal is an 802.11b terminal that only supports transmission rates up to 11Mbps, while another terminal supports the 802.11g standard and supports transmission rates up to 54Mbps. This is the case. In this case, it is necessary to hold the maximum transmission rate information of each terminal and perform communication at a transmission rate corresponding to each.

  Therefore, in order to configure a network group to which many P2P clients can be connected, the P2P group owner needs a memory area to hold a lot of client information, so the more memory area of the P2P group owner is, Many P2P clients can be connected, that is, the number of clients allowed is large.

  For example, when there is only one client allowed by the P2P group owner, two-to-one P2P communication is possible, but after configuring the network group with two units, other clients join the network group. I can't do it.

  For this reason, for example, the maximum number of clients cannot be assumed in a usage situation that makes use of the characteristics of an ad hoc network, for example, when several game terminals repeatedly join or leave the network dynamically. It is desirable to select a device that allows connection as the P2P group owner.

  As described above, in order to ensure greater scalability of the entire network, a device with a sufficient number of clients should be a P2P group owner.

  However, as described above, P2P devices connected to an ad hoc network include many small devices such as digital cameras and printers. Or it may be a network of only small devices. In many cases, these small devices do not have sufficient communication processing capacity and a large amount of resources (memory capacity) inside, and thus a memory capacity for managing a sufficient number of client information cannot be secured in many cases.

  In the group owner negotiation described in Non-Patent Document 1, the group owner intent value and tie break bit value of each P2P device is used as a criterion for determining the P2P group owner, and the allowable number of clients is considered. Not. Therefore, after the P2P group is formed, there is a possibility that the number of clients that can participate in the network may be limited due to the insufficient number of clients allowed by the P2P group owner.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple access point in a wireless network formed by a plurality of wireless communication devices having a simple access point function of a wireless network. This is to reduce the possibility that the number of clients that can participate in the network is limited due to the lack of the allowable number of clients of the wireless communication apparatus.

The present invention is a method for determining the simple access point between a plurality of wireless communication devices having a simple access point function of a wireless network, and is stored between each of the two wireless communication devices forming the wireless network. A degree of desiring to become a simple access point determined based on a predetermined criterion stored in each of the first wireless communication device and the two wireless communication devices a second step of replacing the intent value indicating the two wireless communication devices, the client allowable number information and intent value of the own device, and based on the client allowable number information and intent value of the remote system is the method of determining the simple access point and a third step of determining the self-device or a partner device as a simple access point
In addition, the present invention is a wireless communication device having a simple access point function of a wireless network, between a transmission processing capability information storage unit that stores transmission processing capability information and another wireless communication device that forms a wireless network. Means for determining the own device or the counterpart device as a simple access point, and the means becomes a simple access point determined based on a predetermined criterion and means for obtaining the client allowable number information of the counterpart device It means for obtaining intent value of the remote device indicating the degree desired to client allowable number information and intent value of the own device, and based on the client allowable number information and intent value of the remote device, a simplified access point A wireless communication device having means for determining.

[Action]
According to the present invention, when determining a simple access point between two wireless communication devices having a simple access point function of a wireless network, the client allowable number information and the intent value are exchanged, and the client allowable number of the own device is exchanged. Based on the information and the intent value, the transmission processing capability information of the counterpart device, and the intent value , the local device or the counterpart device is determined as a simple access point.

  According to the present invention, in a wireless network formed by a plurality of wireless communication devices having a simple access point function of a wireless network, a client that can participate in the network due to an insufficient number of clients of the wireless communication device that has become a simple access point. The possibility of the number of being limited can be reduced.

It is a block diagram of an electronic device provided with a wireless communication device of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows group owner negotiation of the radio | wireless communication apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which determines a group owner in the group owner negotiation shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the group owner negotiation of the conventional radio | wireless communication apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which determines a group owner in the group owner negotiation shown in FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration and schematic operation of electronic device equipped with wireless communication device>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic apparatus including a wireless communication apparatus 1 and an image processing apparatus 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the wireless communication device 1 conforms to the IEEE802.11 standard.

  The wireless communication device 1 includes a bus 10, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 connected to the bus 10, a memory 12, an external I / F (interface) 13 such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus), and a MAC (Media Access Control). ) H / W (hardware) 14 is provided. The memory 12 includes firmware 17 executed by the CPU 11, ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various fixed data, and RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as a work area when the CPU 11 operates. The wireless communication device 1 also includes a PHY (physical layer) unit 15 connected to the MAC H / W 14 and an antenna 16 connected to the PHY unit 15. The wireless communication device 1 includes a clock generation unit, a power supply unit, and the like in addition to these, but these general components are omitted.

  The firmware 17 is necessary to control the wireless LAN protocol, such as the communication protocol control unit 17a that generates a transmission data frame based on the data received from the external I / F 13, and the parameter analysis unit 17b that analyzes received information. The function that becomes is implemented. Note that some of these functions may be provided in the image processing apparatus 2.

  The PHY unit 15 includes a baseband unit 15a and an RF (Radio Frequency) unit 15b. The baseband unit 15a performs a modulation process of data from the MAC H / W 14 at the time of transmission, and performs a demodulation process of data from the RF unit 15b at the time of reception. The RF unit 15b converts the baseband signal from the baseband unit 15a into a radio frequency signal and transmits it to the antenna 16 at the time of transmission, and converts the radio frequency signal from the antenna 16 into a baseband signal at the time of reception. Send to unit 15a.

  The image processing apparatus 2 includes a bus 20, a CPU 21 connected to the bus 20, a memory unit 22, an image input unit 23, an image output unit 24, an image processing unit 25, and an external I / F 26 such as a USB. Although not shown, the image processing apparatus 2 includes a power supply unit that selectively supplies a DC conversion output of AC power supplied from a commercial AC power supply or DC power output from a built-in battery to each unit. I have. DC power can also be supplied from the image processing device 2 to the wireless communication device 1 by USB bus power.

  The CPU 21 controls the entire image processing apparatus 2 and the like. The memory unit 22 includes a firmware that is executed by the CPU 21 and a ROM that stores various types of fixed data, and a RAM that is a work area when the CPU 21 operates.

  The image input unit 23 reads an image of a document and converts it into image data. The image output unit 24 prints an image based on the image data. The image processing unit 25 performs predetermined image processing on the image data generated by the image input unit 23. The external I / F 26 transmits / receives data to / from the external I / F 13 of the wireless communication device 1.

  When the wireless communication device 1 sends data to the wireless communication device of the communication partner, first, the firmware 17 generates a data frame based on the image data input from the external I / F 13 and sends it to the MAC H / W 14 hand over. The MAC H / W 14 performs MAC layer processing such as addition of a wireless communication header on the input data frame, and passes it to the PHY unit 15. In the PHY unit 15, the input 0 or 1 digital data is subjected to modulation processing or the like by the baseband unit 15a, converted into a radio frequency signal by the RF unit 15b, and then transmitted through the antenna 16.

  When the wireless communication device 1 receives data from the counterpart wireless communication device, the radio frequency signal received by the antenna 16 is converted into a baseband signal by the RF unit 15b, and 0 or 1 by the baseband unit 15a. The digital data is transferred to the MAC H / W 14, and the data frame is analyzed by the firmware 17 and sent to the image processing apparatus 2 via the external I / F 13.

<Group Owner Negotiation>
As the firmware 17, the program and data necessary for executing group owner negotiation compliant with Wi-Fi Direct are installed as in the conventional apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure for determining a P2P group owner with another wireless communication apparatus 3 having the same configuration in the wireless communication apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. Here, a case where the wireless communication apparatus 1 starts a search operation will be described. Note that the wireless communication device 1 previously inputs control information such as the group owner intent value 12a and the client allowable parameter 12b to the memory 12 through, for example, the external I / F 13, and holds the control information. When the user becomes the P2P group owner, the client management information 12c is written. The same applies to the wireless communication device 3.

  Here, the client allowable parameter 12b is the number of clients that can be managed when the device becomes GO, and this number greatly depends on the amount of memory that can be secured in the device. The client management information 12c includes an address allocated at the time of connection, transmission rate information supported by the client, presence / absence of security, a power management method, and the like. These are obtained after establishing a connection by exchanging information with each other. Then, it is stored and managed for each client in the area secured in the memory 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, first, the wireless communication device 1 transmits a probe request frame (sequence S1). The wireless communication device 3 that has received the probe request frame returns a probe response frame (sequence S2). When the wireless communication device 1 recognizes that another wireless communication device exists at a communicable location by receiving the probe response frame, the wireless communication device 1 starts a group owner negotiation by transmitting a GO negotiation request frame ( Sequence S3). The wireless communication device 3 that has received the GO negotiation request frame returns a GO negotiation response frame (sequence S4).

  Next, the wireless communication apparatus 1 transmits a device maximum client number information request (Request Device Max Clients Info) frame (sequence S5). This frame is a frame for requesting the wireless communication device 3 to transmit information on the maximum number of clients that can be connected, that is, client allowable parameters, and transmitting the client allowable parameters of the wireless communication device 1. The wireless communication apparatus 3 that has received the device maximum client number information request frame transmits the device maximum client number information response (Response Device Max Clients Info) frame including the client allowable parameter (sequence S6).

  The wireless communication device 1 that has received the device maximum client number information response frame determines the P2P group owner by the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, and notifies the wireless communication device 3 of the result by the GO negotiation completion frame (sequence S7). ). Further, the wireless communication device 3 also determines the P2P group owner by the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the operation of the wireless communication device 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the wireless communication device 1 determines whether or not the group owner intent value y1 of its own device and the group owner intent value y2 of the wireless communication device 3 are equal (step ST1). If it is determined that they are not equal (step ST1: No), the magnitude relationship between y1 and y2 is determined (step ST2), and the wireless communication device with the larger group owner intent value is set as the P2P group owner (step ST2). ST2-ST4). That is, if the group owner intent value y1 of the own device is larger (step ST2: No), the own device is set as the P2P group owner (step ST4), and the group owner intent y2 value of the wireless communication device 3 is larger. If this is the case (step ST2: Yes), the wireless communication device 3 is set as the P2P group owner (step ST3).

  When the group owner intent values of the wireless communication apparatuses 1 and 3 are equal (step ST1: Yes), it is determined whether or not the allowable client numbers of both apparatuses, that is, the maximum number of connectable clients is equal (step ST5). If it is determined that they are not equal (step ST5: No), the wireless communication device with the larger number of allowed clients is set as the P2P group owner (steps ST6 to ST8). That is, if the client allowable number n1 of the own device is larger (step ST6: No), the own device becomes the P2P group owner (step ST8), and if the client allowable number n2 of the wireless communication device 3 is larger (step ST6). : Yes), the wireless communication device 3 is set as the P2P group owner (step ST7).

  If it is determined that the client allowable numbers of both apparatuses are equal (step ST5: Yes), it is determined whether the group owner intent value of both apparatuses is less than 15 (step ST9). If it is less than 15 (step ST9: Yes), the wireless communication device whose tie break bit value is 1 is set as the P2P group owner (step ST10), and if it is 15 (step ST9: No), P2P The procedure for determining the group owner is determined to be a failure (step ST11).

  In this figure, steps ST1 to ST4 and ST9 to ST11 are the same as steps ST101 to ST104 and ST105 to ST107 in FIG. 5, respectively. That is, it can be said that the process of the flowchart of this figure is obtained by inserting steps ST5 to ST8 between step ST101: Yes and step ST105 of the conventional process shown in FIG.

  As described above, when the wireless communication device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention determines the P2P group owner with the other wireless communication devices 3, if both group owner intent values are the same, both client allowable numbers Since the device having the larger allowable number of clients is the P2P group owner, the device having the larger allowable number of clients can be selected as the P2P group owner even if the group owner intent value is the same. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the number of clients that can participate in the network is limited due to the lack of the client allowable number of the device that has become the P2P group owner. Further, each of the wireless communication device 1 and the wireless communication device 3 can determine the same wireless communication device as the P2P group owner.

  Here, if the operations of the wireless communication apparatuses 1 and 3 are normal, the P2P group owners determined by each of them should be the same. Therefore, in the unlikely event that the P2P group owner determined by the wireless communication device 3 and the P2P group owner notified by the wireless communication device 1 in the GO negotiation completion frame do not match, the wireless communication device 1 notifies The P2P group owner can be employed, or an error notification can be transmitted to the wireless communication apparatus 1.

  In the procedure shown in FIG. 2, the client allowable parameters are exchanged by exchanging the device maximum client number information request frame and the device maximum client number information response frame, but the client of the wireless communication apparatus 1 is included in the GO negotiation request frame. By including the allowable parameters and including the client allowable parameters of the wireless communication device 3 in the GO negotiation response frame, the client allowable parameters are exchanged when the GO negotiation request frame and the GO negotiation response frame are exchanged, and the device maximum client The exchange of the number information request frame and the device maximum client number information response frame can be omitted.

  After the P2P group owner is determined by the procedure shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication device is newly moved to a position where it can communicate with each wireless communication device forming the P2P group, and the wireless communication device becomes the P2P group owner. If desired, a group owner negotiation is performed between the wireless communication device and the P2P group owner, and a new P2P group owner is determined.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, a network group including a plurality of wireless communication devices, and one of the selected wireless communication devices in the network group can access infrastructure communication as a P2P group owner. In a network group that performs ad hoc net communication that plays a role like a point, each wireless communication device holds a group owner intent value indicating the degree of owner desire and a client allowable parameter indicating the allowable number of clients. When the tent value and client acceptable parameters are exchanged between wireless communication devices, and the exchanged group owner intent values are equal, the exchanged client acceptable parameters are compared, and the wireless communication device with the larger number of allowable clients is assigned to the P2P group owner Since, also a group owner intent values are the same, it is possible to select a client allowed a large number of wireless communication devices to P2P group owner. As a result, among the multiple wireless communication devices that form a network group, the wireless communication device that can connect the largest number of clients becomes the P2P group owner. Thus, the possibility that the number of clients that can participate in the network is limited can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, in the group owner negotiation, when the wireless communication devices 1 and 3 exchange group owner intent values and the group owner intent values of both devices are equal, based on the allowable number of clients. Although the P2P group owner is determined, the P2P group owner may be determined only by exchanging and comparing the client allowable parameters without exchanging and comparing the group owner intent values. In this configuration, the P2P group owner can be determined purely based on the allowable number of clients without being affected by the group owner intent value, so the client of the wireless communication device that became the P2P group owner The possibility of limiting the number of clients that can participate in the network due to the lack of the allowable number can be further reduced.

  1, 3 ... Wireless communication device, 2 ... Image processing device, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... Memory, 12a ... Group owner intent value, 12b ... Client acceptable parameter, 12c ... Client management information, 17 ... Firmware, 17a ... Communication protocol Control unit, 17b ... parameter analysis unit, S3 ... sequence for sending group owner negotiation request frame, S4 ... sequence for sending group owner negotiation response frame, S5 ... sequence for sending device maximum client number information request frame, S6 ... device Sequence for transmitting maximum client number information response frame, S7... Sequence for transmitting group owner negotiation complete frame.

Wi-FiPeer-to-Peer (P2P) Technical Specification Version 1.00

Claims (7)

A method of determining the simple access point between a plurality of wireless communication devices having a simple access point function of a wireless network,
A first step of exchanging client allowable number information stored between two wireless communication devices forming a wireless network;
A second step of exchanging intent values indicating a degree of desire to become a simple access point determined based on a predetermined criterion stored in each of the two wireless communication devices;
The said two radio communication device, the client allowable number information and intent value of the own device, and based on the client allowable number information and intent value of the remote device to determine its own device or other unit as a simple access point A method for determining a simple access point comprising three steps. In the simple access point determination method according to claim 1,
A method for determining a simple access point, wherein the first step and the second step are performed simultaneously . In the simple access point determination method according to claim 1 ,
A simple access point determination method for sequentially executing the first step and the second step. In the determination method of the simple access point as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 ,
The third step is a step of determining the magnitude relationship between the intent value of the counterpart device and the intent value of the own device, and when it is determined that the intent values are not equal, the wireless communication with the larger intent value the apparatus simplified access points, when it is determined that the intent values are equal, the method of determining the simple access point wireless communication devices it is often client allowable number and a step of a simple access point ing. In the determination method of the simple access point as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
In the first step, one wireless communication device makes a request for client allowable number information and a notification of client allowable number information of the own device to the other wireless communication device, and the other wireless communication device And a method of determining a simple access point comprising a step of transmitting client allowable number information in response to the request . A wireless communication device having a simple access point function of a wireless network ,
A transmission processing capability information storage unit for storing transmission processing capability information;
Means for determining the own device or the partner device as a simple access point with another wireless communication device forming the wireless network, the means for acquiring the client allowable number information of the partner device; Means for obtaining the intent value of the partner device indicating the degree of desirability of becoming a simple access point determined based on the criteria, the client allowable number information and intent value of the own device, and the client allowable number of the partner device Means for determining a simple access point based on information and an intent value . An electronic device comprising the wireless communication device according to claim 6 .

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