GB2519741A

GB2519741A - Internet repeater apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2519741A
Application number: GB1316393.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas Gebbett
Original assignee: WEDGE IT COM Ltd
Current assignee: WEDGE IT COM Ltd
Priority date: 2013-09-15
Filing date: 2013-09-15
Publication date: 2015-05-06
Also published as: GB201316393D0

Abstract

An internet repeater apparatus for receiving and transmitting HTTP packet data is disclosed. It comprises two communications ports controlled by a microprocessor 40. The first port receives data transmitted from an internet data transmission device such as a router under a first set of internet security protocol passcodes. The second port transmits data to devices connected on a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) under a second different set of internet security protocol passcodes. The first and second ports may be wireless communication ports. The apparatus may function as a firewall, with data received on the first port being filtered according to rules which may relate to content or the time of day. Preferably, the repeater apparatus establishes a connection to the router, stores the router transmission passcodes, changes the transmission passcodes of the router, re-establishes communication with the router using the new passcodes, and transmits filtered data to the LAN using the original passcodes. Sets of instructions may be stored which emulate the operations required to change the internet security protocol passcodes of one or more different devices. A method of establishing a LAN comprising the provision of such apparatus is also disclosed.

Description

INTERNET REPEATER APPARATUS

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to an internet repeater apparatus and to a method of establishing a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and finds particular, although not exclusive, utility in the filtering of internet data to LANs or WLANs based upon either the content of the data or a time based criteria.

It is widely recognised that there is a considerable amount of material available on the internet that is undesirable to be seen by young persons or in a work environment. It is further widely recognised that excessive access to the internet is not desirable either in the home or workplace environment.

Generally the filtering of internet data within a LAN or WLAN is achieved by placing software filters on each computer within the LAN or WLAN.

Such a method of filtering suffers a number of disadvantages.

It is necessary to add a software filter to each new computer as it is added to the network.

It is also necessary to update and maintain the filters on each computer within the network.

Such a system does not limit internet access to devices such as tablet or mobile devices which do not have software filters.

Finally this method of filtering is challenging for many people with limited computer and software setup skills.

It would therefore be desirable to have an improved apparatus and method for filtering of internet data.

In a first aspect, the invention provides an internet repeater apparatus, for use in receiving and transmitting HTTP packet data, comprising two communications ports under the control of a microprocessor, wherein the first communication port receives data transmitted from an internet data transmission device under a first set of internet security protocol passcodes and then the second communication port transmits data to devices connected on a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) under a second different set of internet security protocol passcodes.

It is to be understood that the principle of this invention is the same whether the data is transmitted wirelessly or in a wired manner. The transmission medium just represents the means of transmitting the data, the invention relates to the apparatus and method of filtering the data, howsoever it is transmitted.

The microprocessor may be configured to filter the data received on the first communications port and to transmit only the filtered data through the second communication port, thus blocking undesirable material from being transmitted or blocking all material to a specific receiving device, based upon the time of day.

In this manner, the internet filtering is provided at the source of transmission rather than at each individual device which receives the data.

This has the advantage that is it easier to configure the network security settings since this is done on just one device, the repeater apparatus.

The microprocessor may be configured to store a sequence of instructions which emulate the manual sequence of operations required to change the internet security protocol passcodes of the internet data transmission device.

In this way the microprocessor may be able change the internet security protocol passcodes of the internet data transmission device such that other devices that

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previously received internet data from the transmission device are no longer able to receive internet data.

Alternatively, the microprocessor device may be configured to store multiple sequences of instructions which emulate the manual sequence of operations required to change the internet security protocol passcodes of multiple different internet data transmission devices.

In this way the microprocessor device could be configured at run-time to operate with the specific internet data transmission device which provides connection to the internet for the LAN or WLAN.

The microprocessor device may be configured to filter the data, such that not all of the data received by the apparatus is transmitted on to the LAN or WLAN. In this way certain data may be blocked from being transmitted according to a set of pre-defined rules stored in memory associated with the microprocessor.

Alternatively, the rules to determine the data that is to be transmitted through the apparatus may be based upon rules provided to the microprocessor by a device external to the apparatus. This has the advantage that the rules to determine the data content that is blocked or allowed to pass can be constantly updated.

The external device providing the rules to determine the content that is transmitted or blocked may be provided by a remote computer server which communicates to the microprocessor over the internet.

The rules to determine the transmission or blocking of internet data through the apparatus to the LAN or WLAN may be based upon the time of day. This has the advantage that access to the internet can be blocked for children when they should be sleeping or doing their homework etc. The rules to determine the transmission or blocking of internet data through the apparatus to the LAN or WLAN based upon the time of day may be further determined by the specific MAC address of the device on the LAN or WLAN.

This has the advantage that specific devices may be allowed access to the internet or blocked from accessing the internet based upon the time of day. For example it would be possible to block a device with a MAC address indicating that the device was owned by a child, from accessing internet data between the hours of 9PM and 8AM, whilst allowing the access to the internet to another device on the same LAN or WLAN when the MAC address of that device indicated that the device was used by an adult.

In a first aspect of the invention the internet security protocol comprises an SSID code and a WPA code, however other internet security protocols are also useful.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a method of establishing a LAN or WLAN network comprising the steps of connection to an internet transmission device, storing the router transmission passcodes, changing the router transmission passcodes of the router, re-establishing communication with the router using the new transmission passcodes, filtering the data received from the router according to pre-determined rules and re-transmitting this filtered data to a LAN or WLAN using the original stored transmission passcodes.

It will be understood by the skilled person that such equipment allows for an easy way to setup a LAN or WLAN network such that internet content is limited according to the content of the material.

It is further understood by the skilled person that such equipment allows for an easy way to setup a LAN or WLAN network such that internet access is limited according to the time of day for a specific device on the LAN or WLAN network.

The above and other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. This description is given for the sake of example only, without limiting the scope of the invention. The reference figures quoted below refer to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of the electronic components and configuration of the apparatus.

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally or spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

It is to be noticed that the term "comprising", used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising a means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B. Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term "connected", used in the description, should not be interpreted as being restricted to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device A connected to a device B" should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output A and an input B which may be a path including other devices or means. "Connected" may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical or electrical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention.

Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may refer to different embodiments. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics of any embodiment or aspect of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

Similarly it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form yet further embodiments, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this

description.

In the discussion of the invention, unless stated to the contrary, the disclosure of alternative values for the upper or lower limit of the permitted range of a parameter, coupled with an indication that one of the values is more highly preferred than the other, is to be construed as an implied statement that each intermediate value of said parameter, lying between more preferred and the less preferred of said alternatives, is itself preferred to said less preferred value and also to each value lying between said less preferred value and said intermediate value.

The invention will now be described by a detailed description of several embodiments of the invention. It is clear that other embodiments of the invention can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit or technical teaching of the invention, the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

Figure 1 is an electronic schematic of the internet repeater apparatus.

The power supply module 10 comprises electronic components to step the voltage down from the incoming supply voltage to a voltage suitable for the electronic components used for the internet data transmission and filtering.

Internet data is received through a wireless module 30.

Receiving of data for the wireless module 30 is improved by the use of an aerial 20.

Internet data is communicated trom either the wireless module 30 to the microprocessor 40.

It is to be understood that other programmable devices such as a microcontroller could be used instead of a microprocessor.

The microprocessor 40 will communicate with and receive instructions and store data in local memory connected to the microprocessor.

The local memory comprises an EEPROM 50, FLASH memory 60 and SDRAM memory 70.

Other types of memory and different configurations of memory are also useful.

The microprocessor 40 may also be connected to a wired internet connection.

A wired internet connection would typically comprise connectors 80, magnetic filters 90, and an Ethernet PHY/Switch 100.

To operate the apparatus: the microprocessor 40 first establishes a connection to an internet transmission device, through either the wired connection components 80, 90, 100 or through the wireless connection components 20,30.

The microprocessor 40 stores the router transmission passcodes in one of the memory devices 50, 60, 70.

The microprocessor 40 undertakes a series of commands emulating the usual method of changing the router transmission passcodes of the router (internet transmission device). The usual method of changing the passcodes on the router is through inputs from the keyboard and mouse and the preferred embodiment emulates these inputs, although other means of changing the router passcodes are possible and can also be emulated. These emulation commands are stored in one of the device memories 50,60,70.

The microprocessor 40, re-establishing communication with the router using the new transmission passcodes.

The microprocessor 40, filtering the data received from the router through either the wired connection 80,90, 100 or the wireless connection 20,30 according to pre-determined rules stored in device memory 50, 60, 70.

The filtering of the data will be according to rules stored in device memory 50, 60, 70 or according to rules established over an internet connection through either the wired connection 80,90,100 or the wireless connection 20,30.

The filtering of the data will also be based upon the time of day as determined by a real-time clock 110 and communicated to the microprocessor 40. The time of day filtering may be unique to each device connected to the LAN or WLAN based upon its unique MAC address.

The microprocessor 40 re-transmits this filtered data to a LAN or WLAN, through either the wired connection 80,90,100 or a wireless connection 20,30 using the original transmission passcodes stored in device memory 50,60,70.