Method and device for performing wi-fi aware communication

Abstract

A method of a first electronic device for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, may comprise the steps of: alternately and repeatedly allocating a first channel, for receiving beacons from an access point (AP), to resources of a first section, and a second channel, for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device, to resources of a second section; receiving beacons from the AP through the first channel, in the resources of the first section, and performing communication with the second electronic device through the second channel, in the resources of the second section; upon detecting that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost, determining a reception time point for receiving the next beacon after the last lost beacon, on the basis of information received from the AP; and, if the determined reception time point comes during a resource of the second section, performing channel-switching from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception time point.

Description

Method and device for performing Wi-Fi aware communication

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for Wi-Fi aware communication between electronic devices.

[0002] Recently, with the advancement of wireless technology, wired networks are being replaced by wireless networks, which are widely used by many people. In other words, since wireless technology can overcome the mobility limitations of wired networks, many technologies utilizing wireless networks are being actively researched.

[0003] Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), also known as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), allow users to access the Internet via mobile devices, laptops, and other devices within a certain distance of an Access Point (AP). With the widespread adoption of mobile devices, WLANs, with their potential as open wireless networks, are rapidly expanding. Wi-Fi is now used to provide high-speed data services to entire cities, including schools, airports, hotels, and offices.

[0004] The Internet is evolving from a human-centric network where humans create and consume information to an Internet of Things (IoT) network where information is exchanged and processed between distributed components such as objects. The Internet of Everything (IoE) technology, which combines IoT technology with big data processing technology through connections to cloud servers, is also emerging. To implement the IoT, technological elements such as sensing technology, wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required. Recently, technologies such as sensor networks for connecting objects, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, and Machine-Type Communication (MTC) are being researched.

[0005] In an IoT environment, intelligent IT (Internet Technology) services can be provided that collect and analyze data generated from connected objects, creating new value in human life. IoT, through the convergence and integration of existing IT (information technology) technologies with various industries, can be applied to fields such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart or connected cars, smart grids, healthcare, smart appliances, and advanced medical services.

[0006] Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Aware is a technology that extends Wi-Fi capabilities by enabling devices to quickly discover, connect, and exchange data with other Wi-Fi devices without the need for traditional network infrastructure, an Internet connection, or a GPS signal. Wi-Fi Aware can provide the ability for devices to discover and connect directly to each other without requiring any other type of connection. Wi-Fi Aware can also be referred to as neighbor aware networking (NAN).

[0007] The present disclosure proposes a method for allocating adaptive resources in Wi-Fi aware communication.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of a first electronic device performing Wi-Fi Aware communication may include the steps of: alternately and repeatedly allocating a first channel for receiving a beacon from an access point (AP) to a resource of a first period, and a second channel for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device to a resource of a second period; receiving a beacon from the access point (AP) through the first channel in the resource of the first period, and performing communication with the second electronic device through the second channel in the resource of the second period; determining a reception time of a next beacon after the last lost beacon based on information received from the access point (AP) when it is detected that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost; and performing channel switching from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception time when the determined reception time exists among the resources of the second period.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second interval may be longer than the first interval, and the predetermined number of times may be determined based on the number of beacons lost in the resources of the plurality of alternately repeated first intervals. Furthermore, the predetermined number of times may be determined based on the number of beacons lost in the resources of the plurality of alternately repeated first intervals and the second interval.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of the first electronic device performing Wi-Fi Aware communication may further include the step of switching the channel to a second channel after receiving the next beacon of the last lost beacon by switching to the first channel.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the step of switching channels to the first channel may include transmitting a hold action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device, and the step of switching channels to the second channel may include transmitting a resume action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of a first electronic device performing Wi-Fi Aware communication may further include the step of maintaining a first channel regardless of channel assignment until receiving the next beacon, if the reception time of the next beacon of the determined last lost beacon is before a predetermined time.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes a transceiver; and a control unit. The control unit may be configured to alternately and repeatedly allocate a first channel for receiving a beacon from an access point (AP) to a resource of a first section, and a second channel for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device to a resource of a second section, receive a beacon from the access point (AP) through the first channel in the resource of the first section, perform communication with the second electronic device through the second channel in the resource of the second section, and, when it is detected that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost, determine a reception time of a next beacon after the last lost beacon based on information received from the access point (AP), and, when the determined reception time exists among the resources of the second section, perform channel switching from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception time.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second interval may be characterized as being longer than the first interval. Furthermore, the predetermined number of times may be determined based on the number of beacons lost from the resources of the multiple first intervals that are alternately repeated.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined number of times may be determined based on the number of beacons lost from the resources of the first and second intervals that are alternately repeated.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit may be configured to switch the channel to a second channel after receiving the next beacon of the last lost beacon by switching to the first channel.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit may be configured to transmit a hold action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device when switching channels to the first channel, and to transmit a resume action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device when switching channels to the second channel.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit may be configured to maintain the first channel regardless of channel assignment until the next beacon is received, if the reception time of the next beacon of the determined last lost beacon is before a predetermined time.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device can perform a method of adaptively scheduling a channel during Wi-Fi aware communication, thereby preventing a connection interruption with an access point (AP) and improving communication efficiency.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating Wi-Fi Aware connectivity of wireless stations (STAs) connected to another access point (AP) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 2a illustrates the operation of an access point (AP) and a wireless station (STA) to establish an initial Wi-Fi connection.

[0022] Figure 2b illustrates the operation between wireless stations (STAs) for an initial Wi-Fi Aware connection.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining resource allocation for an AP channel and an Aware channel of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating resource allocation for an AP channel and an Aware channel including an extended Aware channel section of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 9a and FIG. 9b are diagrams for explaining resource allocation of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware connected to the same access point (AP) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of adaptively scheduling a channel during Wi-Fi aware communication of a wireless station (STA) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a wireless station (STA) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0033] In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains and are not directly related to the present disclosure will be omitted. This is to more clearly convey the gist of the present disclosure without obscuring it by omitting unnecessary explanations.

[0034] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Furthermore, the dimensions of each component do not entirely reflect its actual size. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing are assigned the same reference numbers.

[0035] The advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. The embodiments of the present disclosure are provided only to make the present disclosure complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

[0036] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the processing flowchart drawings and combinations of the flowchart drawings can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create a means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the functions in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item that includes an instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0037] Since the computer program instructions may be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, a series of operational steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create a computer-executable process, so that the instructions that cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to perform the steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s) may also be able to provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0038] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions described in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks depicted in succession may actually be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on their respective functions.

[0039] Here, the term '~ unit' used in the present embodiment means software or hardware components such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the '~ unit' performs certain roles. However, the '~ unit' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~ unit' may be configured to be on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to play one or more processors. Accordingly, according to some embodiments, the '~ unit' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided within the components and '~ units' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ units' or further separated into additional components and '~ units'. Additionally, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to activate one or more CPUs within the device or secure multimedia card. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the '~parts' may include one or more processors.

[0040] The term "terminal" or "device" used herein may refer to a mobile station (MS), user equipment (UE), user terminal (UT), wireless terminal, access terminal (AT), terminal, subscriber unit (SS), subscriber station (SS), wireless device, wireless communication device, wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), mobile node, mobile, or other terms. Various embodiments of the terminal may include a cellular telephone, a smart phone having a wireless communication function, a personal digital assistant (PDA) having a wireless communication function, a wireless modem, a portable computer having a wireless communication function, a photographing device such as a digital camera having a wireless communication function, a gaming device having a wireless communication function, a music storage and playback home appliance having a wireless communication function, an internet home appliance capable of wireless internet access and browsing, as well as portable units or terminals integrating combinations of such functions. In addition, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, an M2M (Machine to Machine) terminal, an MTC (Machine Type Communication) terminal / device. In this specification, the terminal may also be referred to as an electronic device or simply a device.

[0041] The exemplary embodiments are described below for simplicity only with respect to Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems. It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are equally applicable to other wireless networks (e.g., cellular networks, pico-networks, femto-networks, satellite networks), as well as systems that utilize signals of one or more wired standards or protocols (e.g., Ethernet and / or HomePlug / PLC standards). As used herein, the terms "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi®" may include communications governed by the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, BLUETOOTH®, HiperLAN (a set of wireless standards primarily used in Europe and comparable to the IEEE 802.11 standards), and other technologies having a relatively short radio propagation range. Accordingly, the terms "WLAN" and "WiFi" may be used interchangeably herein. Additionally, while described below with respect to an infrastructure WLAN system including one or more Access Points (APs) and a plurality of wireless stations (STAs), the exemplary embodiments are equally applicable to other WLAN systems including, for example, multiple WLANs, peer-to-peer (or independent basic service set) systems, Wi-Fi Direct systems, and / or hotspots.

[0042] Additionally, while the present disclosure describes the exchange of data frames between wireless devices, the exemplary embodiments may be applied to the exchange of any data unit, packet, and / or frame between wireless devices. Thus, the term "frame" may include any frame, packet, or data unit, such as, for example, protocol data units (PDUs), media access control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs), and physical layer convergence procedure protocol data units (PPDUs). The term "A-MPDU" may mean aggregated MPDUs.

[0043] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, circuits, and processes, to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. The term "connected," as used herein, means directly connected or connected via one or more intervening components or circuits. The term "connected access point (AP)" refers to an access point (AP) with which a given wireless station (STA) is currently associated and / or connected (e.g., there is an established communication channel or link between the access point (AP) and the given wireless station (STA). Furthermore, in the following description and for purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that such specific details may not be necessary to practice the exemplary embodiments. In other instances, well-known circuits and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.

[0044] Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Aware is a technology that extends Wi-Fi capabilities by enabling devices to quickly discover, connect, and exchange data with other Wi-Fi devices without the need for traditional network infrastructure, an Internet connection, or a GPS signal. Wi-Fi Aware can provide the ability for devices to discover and connect directly to each other without requiring any other type of connection. Wi-Fi Aware can also be referred to as neighbor aware networking (NAN).

[0045] Wi-Fi Aware networking can operate by forming clusters with nearby devices or by creating a new cluster if the device is the first in the area. Applications can use the Wi-Fi Aware application programming interface (API) to communicate with the Wi-Fi Aware system service, which manages the device's Wi-Fi Aware hardware. For example, Wi-Fi Aware network connections can support higher throughput at longer distances than Bluetooth connections. For example, Wi-Fi Aware network connections can be useful for apps that share large amounts of data between users, such as photo sharing apps.

[0046] BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) refers to a technology that operates at lower power than the existing Bluetooth (or Bluetooth Classic) and can be used in electronic devices such as smart bands, watches, and beacons.

[0047] The operating principles of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In the following description of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of related known functions or configurations will be omitted if they are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the terms described below are defined based on the functions of the present disclosure and may vary depending on the intent or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, their definitions should be based on the overall content of this specification.

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system (100) including an access point (AP) and a wireless station (STA).

[0049] Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless system (100) is illustrated as including an access point (AP) (110, 115), a wireless station (STA) (120, 125), and a wireless local area network (WLAN) (150).

[0050] A wireless communication system (100) may be formed by one or more access points (APs) (110, 115) that provide a wireless communication channel or link to one or more wireless stations (STAs) (120, 125).

[0051] The WLAN (150) may be formed by a plurality of Wi-Fi access points (APs) (110, 115) that may operate according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards (or other suitable wireless protocols). Therefore, for simplicity, only two access points (APs) (110, 115) are illustrated in FIG. 1, but it should be understood that the WLAN (150) may be formed by any number of access points, such as the access point (AP) (110).

[0052] Access points (APs) (110, 115) are assigned unique media access control (MAC) addresses. In FIG. 1, the WLAN (150) is depicted as an infrastructure basic service set (BSS), but in other exemplary embodiments, the WLAN (150) may be an independent basic service set (IBSS) network, or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network (e.g., operating according to Wi-Fi Direct protocols).

[0053] A wireless station (STA) (120, 125) may be any suitable Wi-Fi enabled wireless device or electronic device, including, for example, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet device, a laptop computer, etc. The wireless station (STA) (120, 125) may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, an electronic device, or any other suitable terminology. For at least some embodiments, the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) may include one or more transceivers, one or more processing resources (e.g., processors), one or more memory resources, and a power source (e.g., a battery). Memory resources may include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., one or more non-volatile memory elements, such as erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard drive, etc.) that store instructions for performing the operations described in the present invention.

[0054] An access point (AP) (110, 115) may be any suitable device that allows one or more wireless devices to connect to a network (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and / or the Internet) via the access point (AP) (110, 115) using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or any other suitable wireless communication standards. For at least one embodiment, the access point (110) may include one or more transceivers, one or more processing resources (e.g., processors), one or more memory resources, and a power source. The memory resources may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for performing the operations described herein.

[0055] For an access point (AP) (110, 115) and / or a wireless station (STA) (120, 125), one or more transceivers may include Wi-Fi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, cellular transceivers, and / or other suitable radio frequency (RF) transceivers for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals. Each transceiver may communicate with other wireless devices in distinct operating frequency bands and / or using distinct communication protocols. For example, a Wi-Fi transceiver may communicate within the 2.4 GHz frequency band and / or within the 5 GHz frequency band in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. The cellular transceivers may communicate within various RF frequency bands according to the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol described by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) (e.g., about 700 MHz to about 3.9 GHz), according to the 5G protocol, and / or according to other cellular protocols (e.g., the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) protocol). In other embodiments, the transceivers may be any technically feasible transceivers, such as ZigBee transceivers described by the ZigBee specification, WiGig transceivers, and / or HomePlug transceivers described in specifications from the HomePlug Alliance.

[0056] Additionally, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can discover each other and connect directly using the Wi-Fi Aware networking method without any other type of connection between the devices. The procedure for Wi-Fi Aware (or NAN) connection is described below in FIG. 2b.

[0057] According to one embodiment, each wireless station (STA) (120, 125) connected to an access point (AP) (110, 115) in a WLAN (100) may use a different wireless channel to communicate, and the wireless stations (STA) (120, 125) may use a different wireless channel to communicate with each other. The wireless channel refers to a frequency band connected to a wireless access point as a path for transmitting a wireless signal between a transmitter and a receiver. Wireless frequencies are classified into 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and 2.4 GHz uses 1 to 14 channels, and 5 GHz uses 7 to 196 channels.

[0058] According to one embodiment, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a first channel (channel 36 of 5 GHz) may be used for communication between access point 1 (AP1) (110) and wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), a second channel (channel 52 of 5 GHz) may be used for communication between access point 2 (AP2) (115) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125), and a third channel (channel 14 of 2.4 GHz) (or channel 149 of 5 GHz) may be used for communication between wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125).

[0059] Additionally, in the present invention, the channel used by the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) for communication with the access point (AP) (110, 115) may be referred to as an AP channel, and the channel used for communication between wireless stations (STA) may be referred to as an Aware channel.

[0060] According to one embodiment, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) may allocate an AP channel (e.g., Ch. 36) to resources of a section (hereinafter, referred to as an AP section) for communicating with access point 1 (AP1) (110), and may allocate an Aware channel (e.g., Ch. 6) to resources of a section (hereinafter, referred to as an Aware section) for communicating with wireless station 2 (STA2) (125). In this case, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) may receive an AP beacon from access point 1 (AP1) (110) through the AP channel during the AP section, and may then switch channels to the Aware channel during the Aware section to transmit and receive signals with wireless station 2 (STA2) (125).

[0061] FIG. 2A illustrates the operations of an access point (AP) (110, 115) and a wireless station (STA) (120, 125) for establishing an initial Wi-Fi connection. According to FIG. 2A, a wireless station (STA) (120, 125) may transmit or broadcast probe requests to the access point (AP) (110, 115) (S201). For example, the probe request may indicate a number of communication capabilities supported by the wireless station (STA) (120, 125). When the access point (AP) (110, 115) receives a probe request from the wireless station (STA) (120, 125), the access point (AP) (110, 115) may respond by transmitting a probe response that mirrors the information provided in the probe request, intersecting the capabilities supported by the access point (AP) (110, 115) (S202). Thereafter, when the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) receives a probe response from the access point (AP) (110, 115), the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) may transmit an authentication request to the access point (AP) (110, 115) (S203). For example, the authentication request may trigger a low-level authentication mechanism described by the IEEE 802.11 standard. The access point (AP) (110, 115) may complete the authentication process by responding to the authentication request by transmitting an authentication response back to the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) (S204).

[0062] Once the authentication procedure is completed, the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) may transmit an association request to the access point (AP) (110, 115) (S205). For example, the association request may include one or more requested capabilities (e.g., according to the IEEE 802.11 standard) to be used for data communications between the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) and the access point (AP) (110, 115). If the access point (AP) (110, 115) can support the requested capabilities indicated in the association request, the access point (AP) (110, 115) may generate an association ID (AID) for the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) and transmit an association response back to the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) (S206).

[0063] Next, the access point (AP) (110, 115) may initiate a handshake operation to generate dynamic keys to be used for encrypting and decrypting data communications between the two devices. For example, the handshake operation may correspond to a four-way handshake, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard, whereby the wireless station (STA) (120) and the access point (AP) (110, 115) exchange Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) encapsulation over Local Area Network (EAPoL) frames to generate the actual encryption key (e.g., Pairwise Transient Key, PTK) for performing wireless encryption and / or other encryption keys to be used for data encryption (and decryption). Once the handshake is complete, the wireless station (STA) (120, 125) is connected to the access point (AP) (110, 115).

[0064] FIG. 2b illustrates the operation of wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) for an initial Wi-Fi Aware connection.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 2b, according to one embodiment, when wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) decide to proceed with a Wi-Fi Aware (or NAN) connection, STA1 (110) may transmit a discovery beacon message to wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) for synchronization (S211). A discovery beacon may include at least one of a frame control (FC) field indicating a function of a signal (e.g., a beacon), a broadcast address, a media access control (MAC) address of an electronic device that transmitted at least one discovery beacon, a cluster identifier, a sequence control field, a time stamp for a beacon frame, a discovery beacon interval field indicating a transmission interval of at least one discovery beacon, or capability information of an electronic device that transmitted at least one discovery beacon. According to one embodiment, at least one discovery beacon may include at least one proximity network-related information element.

[0066] Wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) can retransmit a discovery beacon message to wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) (S212).

[0067] Wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) may transmit a synchronization beacon message to wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) (S213). At least one synchronization beacon may be a signal for maintaining synchronization (e.g., time clock synchronization) between electronic devices included in a cluster. At least one synchronization beacon may include at least one piece of information related to synchronization between electronic devices. For example, at least one synchronization beacon may include at least one of a frame control (FC) field indicating a function of a signal (e.g., a beacon), a broadcast address, a media access control (MAC) address of an electronic device that transmitted at least one synchronization beacon, a cluster identifier, a sequence control field, a time stamp for a beacon frame, a beacon interval field indicating an interval between start points of synchronized communication sections, or capability information of the electronic device that transmitted at least one synchronization beacon. At least one synchronization beacon may include an information element related to at least one proximity network, and may include, for example, content related to a service that can be provided based on a proximity network. The operations of S211 to S213 may be classified into a synchronization step.

[0068] Thereafter, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) transmits a service discovery frame publish (SDF (service discovery frame) publish) message to wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) for service discovery (S214), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can transmit an SDF follow-up message to wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) (S215). The operations of S211 to S213 can be classified as a service discovery phase.

[0069] Wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may transmit a data path request message to wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) for NAN data path (NDP) setup (S216), and wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) may transmit a data path response message to wireless station 2 (STA2) (125). Wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may transmit a data path confirm message to wireless station 2 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) may transmit a data path key installment message to wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) (S219). Wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may establish a NAN connection (S220).

[0070] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining resource allocation for an AP channel and an Aware channel of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0071] Access point 1 (AP1) (110), access point 2 (AP2) (115), wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIG. 3 are connected and linked as described in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, and FIG. 2b.

[0072] Among the access points (APs) (110, 115), access point 1 (AP1) (110) can broadcast beacons (301, 303, 305, 307, 309, 311) through a first AP channel, and access point 2 (AP) (115) can broadcast beacons (321, 323, 325, 327, 329, 331) through a second AP channel. In the present invention, the beacons broadcast by the access points (APs) may be referred to as AP beacons.

[0073] The broadcasting of beacons by access points (APs) (110, 115) is defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, when a beacon is transmitted, the access point (AP) (110, 115) includes identification information such as its own SSID (service set identifier) ​​and BSSID (basic service set identifier), as well as frequency information responsible for transmitting / receiving data, frequency type information, etc. in a beacon frame and broadcasts it at a specific cycle. The specific cycle for broadcasting the beacon frame is indicated as a beacon interval in the upper part of the beacon frame. The specific cycle may vary slightly depending on the manufacturer and may be freely set by the user.

[0074] While the above specific cycle is preferably approximately 100 to 200 ms, Fig. 3 illustrates that access points (APs) (110, 115) alternately broadcast beacons at a cycle of 100 TU (time units) (= 1,024 ms). All wireless devices located around an access point (AP) (110, 115) broadcasting beacons at the above specific cycle can collect the beacons broadcast by the AP through scanning.

[0075] According to one embodiment, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) may transmit at least one discovery beacon to wireless station 2 (STA2) via an Aware channel in accordance with the NAN standard. Alternatively, wireless station 1 (STA1) may transmit at least one synchronization beacon and / or at least one service discovery frame to wireless station 2 (STA2) within a discovery window (DW) occupying 16 time units (TUs) in accordance with the NAN standard.

[0076] According to one embodiment, at least one service discovery frame may be a signal for advertising a service among at least one electronic device within a cluster and exchanging information related to the service based on a proximity network. According to the NAN standard, at least one service discovery frame may be a vendor-specific public action frame and may include various fields. For example, at least one service discovery frame may include at least one information element related to a proximity network.

[0077] According to one embodiment, a wireless station (STA) may allocate resources to an AP channel for Wi-Fi communication with an access point (AP), and the resources allocated to the AP channel may be referred to as an AP section (340, 343, 350, 353). In addition, a wireless station (STA) may allocate resources to an Aware channel for Aware communication with other wireless stations (STA), and the resources allocated to the Aware channel may be referred to as an Aware section (341, 345, 351, 355).

[0078] A wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi communication can operate 1 slot as 16 TUs. For example, the wireless station (STA) can allocate AP channels and Aware channels to resources of 128 TUs (8 slots). Furthermore, the wireless station (STA) can alternately allocate resources to the AP channel and Aware channel. The number of resources allocated to the AP channel and Aware channel may be the same or different.

[0079] As illustrated in FIG. 3, when a wireless station (STA) (120, 125) allocates an AP channel and an Aware channel to resources of 128 TUs (8 slots) each, channel switching can occur four times during 512 TUs. In addition, a wireless station (STA) can receive a beacon from an AP through the AP channel in the AP section, and can receive a beacon or service frame from another wireless station (STA) through the Aware channel in the Aware section. For example, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) can receive beacons (301, 303, 307) broadcast by access point 1 (AP1) (110) through the first AP channel in AP sections (340, 343), but cannot receive beacons (305, 309, 311) broadcast by access point 1 (AP1) (110) in Aware sections (341, 345) because the channel has been switched to the Aware channel.

[0080] Similarly, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can receive beacons (321, 327) broadcast by access point 2 (AP2) (115) through the second AP channel in AP sections (350, 353), but cannot receive beacons (323, 325, 329) broadcast by access point 2 (AP2) (115) in Aware sections (351, 355) because the channel is switched to the Aware channel. Accordingly, when the AP section and the Aware section are each 128 TU, and the cycle of broadcasting AP beacons from the access point (AP) is 100 TU, the wireless station (STA) can receive one or two AP beacons during one AP section, and can miss one or two AP beacons during one Aware section.

[0081] If a wireless station (STA) does not receive an AP beacon for a predetermined number of consecutive times (e.g., 8) after being associated with an access point (AP), the wireless station (STA) may consider itself to have moved away from the access point (AP) and may discontinue its association with the access point (AP).

[0082] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating resource allocation for an AP channel and an Aware channel including an extended Aware section of a Wi-Fi Aware device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0083] In Fig. 4, a resource allocation method including an extended Aware interval is proposed to improve the quality of service (QOS) between Aware connections in Wi-Fi Aware devices.

[0084] Access point 1 (AP1) (110), access point 2 (AP2) (115), wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIG. 4 are connected and linked as described in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, and FIG. 2b.

[0085] A wireless station (STA) can allocate more resources to the Aware channel than to the AP channel to improve service quality by increasing data throughput with other Wi-Fi Aware connected wireless stations (STAs). Referring to FIG. 4, for example, a wireless station (STA) can allocate resources to the AP channel and the Aware channel in a ratio of 7:12. That is, the wireless station (STA) can operate the AP section and the Aware section in a ratio of 7:12. The ratio of 7:12 resources allocated to the AP channel and the Aware channel is an example and may vary. In addition, even if the Aware section is expanded, the wireless station (STA) can operate the AP section (440, 443, 450, 453) in 112 TUs and receive one or two AP beacons broadcast at a 100 TU cycle during the AP section. In addition, when operating the AP section at 112 TU and the Aware section at 192 TU as in Fig. 4, channel switching occurs four times during 680 TU, so the number of channel switchings can be reduced during the same period compared to the four channel switchings occurring during 512 TU in Fig. 3, and thus the stability of operation can be improved.

[0086] In one embodiment, a wireless station (STA) may operate an extended Aware period only when predetermined conditions are satisfied. As a shortened AP period increases the probability of disconnection with the AP, whether to operate an extended Aware period may be determined based on predetermined conditions between Wi-Fi Aware devices. For example, the extended Aware period may be operated to allocate resources for AP channels and Aware channels only when QoS-related data can be exchanged between Wi-Fi Aware electronic devices (e.g., between electronic devices manufactured by the same manufacturer). The QoS data may be exchanged between Wi-Fi Aware electronic devices during the initial connection procedure or may be exchanged independently in subsequent operations.

[0087] Additionally, for example, when running a delay-sensitive application (e.g., voice call, video, game, etc.), the wireless station (STA) may not operate the extended Aware section, but may operate the AP section and the Aware section 1:1. Additionally, the wireless station (STA) may operate the extended Aware section only when one of the Wi-Fi Aware electronic devices is running an application that transmits data in one direction (one-hop data transmission) to the other electronic device (e.g., QuickShare application).

[0088] However, when a wireless station (STA) extends the Aware section and shortens the AP section as shown in FIG. 4, two beacons are not always received in the Aware section with a length of 192TU. This is different from when the AP section and Aware section are operated 1:1 with 128TU each as shown in FIG. 3, where one or two AP beacons are not received in the Aware section.

[0089] For example, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) cannot receive AP beacons (401, 403) in AP section (440) and two AP beacons (405, 407) broadcast from access point 1 (AP2) (110) in Aware section (441). In addition, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) cannot receive AP beacons (421) in AP section (450) and two AP beacons (423, 425) broadcast from access point 2 (AP2) (115) in Aware section (451). Accordingly, assuming a packet delivery ratio (PDR) (= packets received / total packets delivered) of 0.9, the probability that a wireless station (STA) will lose two consecutive AP beacons in a repeating AP section (i.e., the probability of losing eight consecutive AP beacons in total) becomes 1%, which raises the risk of the connection between the wireless station (STA) and the access point (AP) being interrupted.

[0090] Here is an example of a case where 8 consecutive AP beacons cannot be received in total. Assume that a wireless station (STA) allocates resources of 192TU (12 slots) and 112TU (7 slots) to the Aware channel and the AP channel, respectively, and operates the first Aware section (192TU), the first AP section (112TU), the second Aware section (192TU), the second AP section (112TU), the third Aware section (192TU), and the third AP section (112TU). The wireless station (STA) cannot receive 2 AP beacons broadcast by the access point (AP) in 100 TU cycles in each Aware section (192TU). Afterwards, if two consecutive AP beacons are not received in the first AP section and the second AP section, two AP beacons in the first Aware section, one AP beacon in the first AP section, two AP beacons in the second Aware section, one AP beacon in the second AP section, and two AP beacons in the third Aware section will not be received, resulting in a total of eight consecutive AP beacons not being received, and thus the connection with the access point (AP) may be interrupted.

[0091] Accordingly, in order to prevent connection interruption between a wireless station (STA) and an access point (AP), a recovery method in the event of loss of an AP beacon is proposed in Figures 5 to 8 below.

[0092] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0093] Access point 1 (AP1) (110), access point 2 (AP2) (115), wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIG. 5 are connected and linked as described in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, and FIG. 2b.

[0094] In FIG. 5, when more resources are allocated to the Aware channel in a ratio of 7:12, 112 TUs for the AP channel and 192 TUs for the Aware channel as illustrated in FIG. 4, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can receive at least one AP beacon broadcast by access point 2 (AP2) (115) in a 100 TU cycle during the AP period. In addition, wireless station 2 (STA2) cannot receive the AP beacon broadcast by access point 2 (AP2) (115) during the Aware period because the channel is switched to the Aware channel.

[0095] Therefore, in the case where the AP beacon (527) broadcast by the access point 2 (AP2) (115) is not received, such as in the AP section (553) in FIG. 5, the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) loses three AP beacons in a row, considering the AP beacons (523, 525) that were not received in the Aware section (551). Accordingly, in order to recover this, the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can calculate the reception timing of the AP beacon (529) expected to be broadcast after the AP beacon (527) using the TSF (timing synchronization function) information received from the access point 2 (AP2) (115). Thereafter, the wireless station 2 (115) can perform channel switching to the AP channel in the slot (570) prior to the reception timing of the calculated AP beacon (529) within the Aware section (555) connected to the Aware channel. Wireless station 2 (125) can receive an AP beacon (529) through the AP channel and then switch the channel back to the Aware channel in slot (575).

[0096] Likewise, if wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) does not receive the AP beacon (533) broadcast by access point 2 (AP2) (115) in the subsequent AP section (557), the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can calculate the reception timing of the AP beacon (535) expected to be broadcast after the AP beacon (533) using the TSF (timing synchronization function) information received from access point 2 (AP2) (115). Thereafter, wireless station 2 (125) can switch channels to the AP channel in the slot (580) prior to the calculated reception timing of the AP beacon (535) within the Aware section (559) connected to the Aware channel. After switching channels to the AP channel, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can receive the AP beacon (535) and then switch channels back to the Aware channel in the slot (585). Wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) can stably continue AP connection due to AP beacons (529, 535) received through channel switching in the Aware section (555) and the Aware section (559), and when receiving an AP beacon (539) in the AP section (561), channel switching in the AP section and the Aware section can be performed as previously allocated.

[0097] In the case of an operation as in FIG. 5, a wireless station (STA) is characterized in that after losing an AP beacon in an AP section connected to an AP channel, it recovers the AP beacon that was lost again in the Aware section. In addition, the access point (AP) can process a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) if necessary even if there is no lost beacon. However, in this case, in the section (570-575, 580-585) where wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) performs channel switching from the Aware section (555, 559) to the AP channel, wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) cannot know that wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) is performing a channel switching operation, and thus a situation may occur where wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) unnecessarily transmits a signal in the Aware channel. Additionally, when operating as in FIG. 5, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may incur overhead due to frequent channel switching.

[0098] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0099] Access point 1 (AP1) (110), access point 2 (AP2) (115), wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIG. 6 are connected and linked as described in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, and FIG. 2b.

[0100] In FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation is described in the case where more resources are allocated to the Aware channel in a ratio of 7:12, with 112 TUs for the AP channel and 192 TUs for the Aware channel.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 6, when the AP beacon (627) broadcast by the access point 2 (AP2) (115) is not received, such as in the AP section (6533), the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may switch channels to the AP channel by considering the maximum number (e.g., 8) of interruptions in the connection with the access point 2 (AP2) (115) when consecutively missing the AP beacon. This is different from switching channels to the AP channel in the Aware section to immediately recover the AP beacon, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0102] For example, if the connection with the access point (AP) is set to be interrupted when 8 AP beacons are missed consecutively, if the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) does not receive the AP beacon (627) in the AP section (653), it does not perform channel switching to the AP channel immediately in the Aware section (655). If wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) does not receive the AP beacon (633) in the next AP section (657), it can calculate the reception timing of the AP beacon (637) expected to be broadcast after the AP beacon (635) by taking into account the six AP beacons (623, 625, 627, 629, 631, 633) lost in the alternating Aware section and AP section (651, 653, 655, 657) and the one AP beacon (635) lost in the next Aware section (659) using the TSF (timing synchronization function) information received from access point 2 (AP2) (115). Thereafter, wireless station 2 (115) can perform channel switching to the AP channel in slot (670) prior to the reception timing of the calculated AP beacon (637) within the Aware section (659) connected to the Aware channel. Wireless station 2 (125) can receive the AP beacon (637) through the AP channel and then perform channel switching back to the Aware channel in slot (675).

[0103] In the case of an operation such as that of FIG. 6, the channel switching overhead is less than that of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, but there is a risk that the AP connection will be interrupted, as the AP beacon is received just before the connection with the access point (AP) is interrupted.

[0104] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0105] Access point 1 (AP1) (110), access point 2 (AP2) (115), wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIG. 7 are connected and linked as described in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, and FIG. 2b.

[0106] In FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation is described in the case where more resources are allocated to the Aware channel in a ratio of 7:12, with 112 TUs for the AP channel and 192 TUs for the Aware channel.

[0107] In Fig. 7, when wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) loses an AP beacon in an AP section and switches to an AP channel at a time when it is expected to receive an AP beacon in the next Aware section in order to recover it, it is about an operation of transmitting an action frame to wireless station 1 (STA1) (120).

[0108] In one embodiment, more specifically, if wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) loses all AP beacons in two consecutive AP periods, it may perform channel switching to an AP channel at a time when it expects to receive an AP beacon in the next Aware period in order to recover it. This is similar to the channel switching operation of wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 above, and a duplicate description thereof may be omitted below.

[0109] According to one embodiment, when wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) performs channel switching to the AP channel in order to receive an AP beacon (721) in the Aware section (730), it may transmit a Hold action frame (750) to wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) in the slot (740) in which the channel is switched. In addition, when wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) receives an AP beacon (721) and then performs channel switching to the AP channel in the slot (745), wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may transmit a Resume action frame (755) to wireless station 1 (STA1) (120). The wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) that has received the above-mentioned hold action frame (750) and resume action frame (755) may not transmit a signal for Wi-Fi Aware communication to the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) during the corresponding slot (760). The field indicating hold and resume in the action frame transmitted by the wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may correspond to 1 byte. Although the complexity of the operation may increase due to the operation in FIG. 7, unnecessary signal transmission between the wireless station (STA) performing channel switching and another wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware communication can be prevented.

[0110] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0111] Access point 1 (AP1) (110), access point 2 (AP2) (115), wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) illustrated in FIG. 8 are connected and linked as described in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, and FIG. 2b.

[0112] In Fig. 8, as shown in Fig. 4, the operation is described in the case where more resources are allocated to the Aware channel in a ratio of 7:12, with 112 TUs for the AP channel and 192 TUs for the Aware channel.

[0113] Referring to FIG. 8, if wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) does not receive AP beacons (827, 833) broadcast by access point 2 (AP2) (115) in two consecutive AP segments (853, 857), wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may wait on the AP channel until it receives an AP beacon beyond the pre-allocated resources (e.g., 112 TU) in the second AP segment (857) in which it did not receive two AP beacons in two consecutive AP segments (853, 857). That is, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) may not switch to the Aware channel in the start slot (870) of the Aware segment allocated to the Aware channel, but may switch to the Aware channel in the next slot (875) in which the AP beacon (835) is received after waiting on the AP channel.

[0114] According to one embodiment, when wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) operates as in the embodiment of FIG. 8, from the perspective of wireless station 1 (STA1) (120), if wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) waits on the AP channel until it receives the AP beacon, the Aware period is shortened, and thus the quality of service (QoS) for Aware communication may be degraded.

[0115] In addition, the embodiment in FIG. 8 can be performed in combination with the embodiments in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 described above, depending on the length of the expected reception timing of the next AP beacon, when the AP beacon is lost in two consecutive AP intervals. For example, the wireless station (STA) may maintain a waiting state until receiving the next AP beacon as in FIG. 8 only when the expected reception timing of the next AP beacon is less than or equal to a predetermined time (e.g., 50 TU), and may operate as the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 when the expected reception timing of the next AP beacon is greater than or equal to the predetermined time. The predetermined time may be determined by the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) and the start time of the Aware interval. More specifically, the predetermined time refers to the number of slots until the expected time of AP beacon reception, which may vary depending on the actual implementation. For example, the predetermined time may be determined as half the slot value of the Aware interval.

[0116] Accordingly, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) operates in the embodiment of FIG. 8 as described above, and thus can reduce overhead due to a smaller number of channel switching times compared to the embodiment of FIG. 6, and does not require an additional action frame compared to the embodiment of FIG. 7.

[0117] More specifically, if a wireless station (STA) misses an AP beacon in two consecutive AP intervals and the expected reception timing of the next AP beacon is longer than a predetermined time, the STA may perform channel switching to an Aware interval after a pre-allocated AP interval (e.g., 112 TU) as in the embodiment of FIG. 6, and may perform channel switching to an AP channel in a slot before receiving an AP beacon (837) of an Aware interval (859) by considering the maximum number (e.g., 8) of interruptions in connection with access point 2 (AP2) (115) when consecutively missing AP beacons.

[0118] Alternatively, if a wireless station (STA) loses an AP beacon in two consecutive AP intervals and the expected reception timing of the next AP beacon is longer than a predetermined time, as in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the wireless station (STA) may perform channel switching to an Aware interval after a pre-allocated AP interval (e.g., 112 TU), and then perform channel switching to an AP channel at the expected reception timing of the next AP beacon, while transmitting a hold action frame and a resume action frame to wireless station 1 (STA1) (120).

[0119] FIG. 9a and FIG. 9b are diagrams for explaining resource allocation of a wireless station (STA) performing Wi-Fi Aware connected to the same access point (AP) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0120] Referring to FIG. 9a, in the wireless system (100) illustrated in FIG. 1, wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) connected to access point 2 (AP2) (115) can change AP connection to access point 1 (AP1) (110) to which wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) is connected after establishing a Wi-Fi Aware connection with wireless station 1 (STA1) (120). This is an operation that can utilize a re-association request in the ESS disclosed in IEEE 802. 11 and can minimize the possibility of AP connection interruption.

[0121] FIG. 9b is a diagram for explaining resource allocation of wireless stations (STAs) in a connection environment such as FIG. 9a.

[0122] In one embodiment, since both wireless station 1 (STA1) (120) and wireless station 2 (STA2) (125) are connected to access point 1 (AP1) (110), they can maintain the AP connection by receiving only the AP beacons (921, 923, 925, 927, 929, 쪋) broadcast by access point 1 (AP1) (110) on the AP channel (e.g., channel 36). In this case, more resources can be allocated to the Aware channel than the AP channel to improve the quality of service (QoS) of Wi-Fi Aware. For example, as shown in FIG. 9b, wireless stations (STAs) (120, 125) can operate the AP section with 32 TUs (2 slots) and the Aware section with 160 TUs (10 slots). When operating the AP section and the Aware section as described above, the wireless stations (STAs) (120, 125) perform channel switching four times in a period of 384 TU, which is a more frequent frequency of channel switching than that shown in Fig. 3 (performing channel switching four times during 512 TU).

[0123] According to one embodiment, when access point 1 (AP1) (110) broadcasts an AP beacon at a cycle of 100 TUs, wireless stations (STAs) (120, 125) can miss one AP beacon in each Aware interval. This allows for a more stable AP connection than missing two APs in each Aware interval in a Wi-Fi Aware connection environment of wireless stations (STAs) connected to different access points (APs) as illustrated in FIG. 3, and thus, an operation for recovering a lost AP beacon as illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 8 is unnecessary.

[0124] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of adaptively scheduling a channel during Wi-Fi aware communication of a wireless station (STA) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0125] The wireless station (STA) of FIG. 10 may be implemented as a wireless station (STA) or a Wi-Fi Aware electronic device as shown in FIGS. 1 to 9b.

[0126] A wireless station (STA) can alternately and repeatedly allocate a first channel for receiving a beacon from an access point (AP) in S1010 to resources in a first period, and a second channel for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device to resources in a second period. In addition, the second period can be longer than or equal to the first period. Meanwhile, the predetermined number of times can be determined based on the number of beacons lost in the resources of a plurality of alternately repeated first periods. In addition, the predetermined number of times can be determined based on the number of beacons lost in the resources of a plurality of alternately repeated first periods and second periods.

[0127] A wireless station (STA) can receive a beacon from an access point (AP) through a first channel in the resources of the first section in S1020, and communicate with a second electronic device through a second channel in the resources of the second section. Thereafter, if the wireless station (STA) detects that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost in S1030, the STA can determine the reception time of the next beacon after the last lost beacon based on information received from the access point (AP).

[0128] In addition, the wireless station (STA) may perform channel switching from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception time when the determined reception time exists among the resources of the second section in S1040. In addition, the wireless station (STA) may perform channel switching to the second channel after receiving the next beacon of the last lost beacon by switching to the first channel. When the wireless station (STA) performs channel switching to the first channel, the wireless station (STA) may transmit a hold action frame of Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device. When the wireless station (STA) performs channel switching to the second channel, the wireless station (STA) may transmit a resume action frame of Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device.

[0129] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a wireless station (STA) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0130] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a wireless station (STA) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless station (STA) of FIG. 11 may be implemented as a wireless station (STA) or a Wi-Fi Aware device illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 10 .

[0131] Referring to FIG. 11, a wireless station (STA) may include a transceiver (1110), a control unit (1120), and a storage unit (1130). In the present disclosure, the control unit may be defined as a circuit or an application-specific integrated circuit or at least one processor.

[0132] The transceiver unit (1110) can transmit and receive signals with external electronic devices. The control unit (1120) can control the overall operation of the wireless station (STA) according to the embodiment proposed in the present disclosure. For example, the control unit (1120) can control the signal flow between each block so that operations according to the flowchart described above are performed. Specifically, the control unit (1120) can control the operation of the wireless station (STA), for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 10 .

[0133] The storage unit (1130) can store at least one of information transmitted and received through the transmission and reception unit (1110) and information generated through the control unit (1120).

[0134] When the wireless station (STA) illustrated in FIG. 11 is referred to as a first electronic device, the first electronic device may include a transceiver (1110); and at least one processor included in a control unit (1120). The at least one processor may be configured to alternately and repeatedly allocate a first channel for receiving a beacon from an access point (AP) to resources in a first section, and a second channel for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device to resources in a second section. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a beacon from the access point (AP) through the first channel in the resources in the first section, and to perform communication with the second electronic device through the second channel in the resources in the second section. The at least one processor may be configured to determine a reception time of a next beacon after the last lost beacon based on information received from the access point (AP) when it detects that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost. The at least one processor may be configured to perform channel switching from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception time point when the determined reception time point exists among the resources of the second section.

[0135] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second interval may be characterized as being longer than the first interval. Furthermore, the predetermined number of times may be determined based on the number of beacons lost from the resources of the multiple first intervals that are alternately repeated.

[0136] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined number of times may be determined based on the number of beacons lost from the resources of the first and second intervals that are alternately repeated.

[0137] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one processor may be configured to switch channels to a second channel after receiving the next beacon of the last lost beacon by switching to the first channel.

[0138] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one processor may be configured to transmit a hold action frame of Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device when channel switching to the first channel, and to transmit a resume action frame of Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device when channel switching to the second channel.

[0139] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one processor may be configured to maintain the first channel regardless of channel assignment until receiving the next beacon, if the reception time of the next beacon of the determined last lost beacon is before a predetermined time.

[0140] In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described above, components included in the present disclosure are expressed singularly or plurally, depending on the specific embodiment presented. However, the singular or plural expressions are selected to suit the presented situation for convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singular or plural components. Components expressed in plural may be composed of singular elements, or components expressed in singular may be composed of plural elements.

[0141] While the detailed description of this disclosure has described specific embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the claims described below, but also by equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method of a first electronic device performing Wi-Fi Aware communication, A step of alternately and repeatedly allocating a first channel for receiving a beacon from an access point (AP) to a resource of a first section, and a second channel for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device to a resource of a second section; A step of receiving a beacon from the access point (AP) through the first channel in the resources of the first section, and performing communication with the second electronic device through the second channel in the resources of the second section; When detecting that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost, a step of determining the reception time of the next beacon after the last lost beacon based on information received from the access point (AP); and A method comprising: a step of performing channel switching from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception time when the determined reception time exists among the resources of the second section; 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the second section is longer than the first section.

3. In paragraph 1, the predetermined number of times is, A method characterized in that the number of beacons lost from the resources of the first section is determined based on the number of times the first section is repeated alternately.

4. In the first paragraph, the predetermined number of times is, A method characterized in that the number of beacons lost from the resources of the first and second sections are determined based on the number of times the first and second sections are alternately repeated.

5. In paragraph 1, A method characterized by further comprising the step of switching channels to the second channel after receiving the next beacon of the last lost beacon by switching to the first channel.

6. In the fifth paragraph, the step of performing channel switching to the first channel is: Including transmitting a hold action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device, and The step of performing channel switching to the second channel is as follows: A method characterized by comprising transmitting a resume action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device.

7. In the first paragraph, if the reception time of the next beacon after the last lost beacon determined above is before the predetermined time, A method further comprising the step of maintaining the first channel regardless of channel assignment until the next beacon is received.

8. In a first electronic device performing Wi-Fi Aware communication, Transmitter and receiver; and At least one processor connected to the transceiver, wherein the at least one processor comprises: Alternately and repeatedly assigning a first channel for receiving a beacon from an access point (AP) to a resource in the first section, and a second channel for performing Wi-Fi Aware communication with a second electronic device to a resource in the second section, Receive a beacon from the access point (AP) through the first channel in the resource of the first section, and perform communication with the second electronic device through the second channel in the resource of the second section, When it is detected that a predetermined number of beacons have been lost, the reception time of the next beacon after the last lost beacon is determined based on information received from the access point (AP), and A first electronic device characterized in that, if the determined reception point exists among the resources of the second section, channel switching is performed from the second channel to the first channel at the determined reception point.

9. A first electronic device, characterized in that in clause 8, the second section is longer than the first section.

10. In paragraph 8, the predetermined number of times is, A first electronic device characterized in that the number of beacons lost from the resources of the plurality of first sections that are alternately repeated is determined based on the number of beacons lost.

11. In paragraph 8, the predetermined number of times is, A first electronic device characterized in that the number of beacons lost from the resources of the first and second sections are determined based on the number of times the first and second sections are alternately repeated.

12. In the 8th paragraph, at least one processor, A first electronic device further characterized in that the device is configured to switch channels to the second channel after receiving the next beacon of the last lost beacon by switching to the first channel.

13. In the 12th paragraph, at least one processor, When switching to the first channel, a hold action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication is transmitted to the second electronic device, and A first electronic device, characterized in that when switching channels to the second channel, the first electronic device is configured to transmit a resume action frame of the Wi-Fi Aware communication to the second electronic device.

14. In the 8th paragraph, at least one processor, A first electronic device configured to maintain the first channel regardless of channel assignment until the next beacon is received, if the reception time of the next beacon after the last lost beacon determined above is before a predetermined time.

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