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AppleGranted patentNetworks & wirelessInterest 4/10

Apple patents Wi-Fi method to speed up secure connection setup

Apple has been granted a patent for a way to simplify how devices and Wi-Fi routers agree on security settings. Instead of sending long lists of encryption options, the devices use short pointers to reference specific security methods, which reduces the amount of data needed to establish a connection.

Why it mattersThis technical improvement could make the process of connecting to Wi-Fi networks slightly faster and less congested by streamlining the initial security handshake.

In the filing’s own words

Some aspects of this disclosure include a system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method, and/or computer program product and/or combinations and/or sub-combinations thereof, for implementing multi-credential mapping mechanisms in wireless communication networks, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN). The multi-credential mapping mechanisms can use pointer schemes for communicating multiple credentials (e.g., Authentication and Key Managements (AKMs) and ciphers) in the wireless communication networks. The multi-credential mapping mechanisms can reduce congestion in the communication medium and improve the communications between an access point (AP) and stations (STAs).

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate over a wireless network; and a processor, communicatively coupled to the transceiver, and configured to: receive, using the transceiver and from a second electronic device, a first information element (IE) comprising a first set of pointers indicating a first set of security suites; transmit, using the transceiver and to the second electronic device, a second IE comprising a second set of pointers indicating a second set of security suites selected from the first set of security suites indicated in the first IE received from the second electronic device; receive, using the transceiver and from the second electronic device, a response indicating that the second electronic device confirms the second set of security suites; and use the second set of security suites to secure communications with the second electronic device.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Pointer mechanisms for communicating authentication and key management (AKM) and ciphers
Patent number
US12745081B2
Application number
18899976
Filed
Sep 27, 2024
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
12
Claims
20

Classified under

H04W 12/06 Electricity & electronicsH04W 12/0433 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.