Electronic device for performing scheduling of nan communication and wireless LAN communication, and operating method of electronic device

Abstract

In an electronic device and an operating method of the electronic device, according to an embodiment, the electronic device may comprise a communication circuit supporting short-range wireless communication and neighbor awareness network (NAN) communication. The electronic device may comprise a processor. The processor may perform a connection to a second external electronic device through the NAN communication while being connected to a first external electronic device through the short-range wireless communication. The processor may perform the NAN communication with the second external electronic device on the basis of first schedule information related to a first duration set between at least one discovery window set in an NAN cluster to which the electronic device belongs, and perform the short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device in a second duration set between the at least one discovery window and the first duration. Upon receiving second schedule information of the short-range wireless communication for deactivating the short-range wireless communication in a partial duration of the second duration, the processor may generate third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the partial duration on the basis of the second schedule information. The processor may transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device.

Description

Electronic device for performing scheduling of NAN communication and wireless LAN communication and method of operating the electronic device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and a method of operating the electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device that performs scheduling of NAN (neighbor awareness networking) communication and wireless LAN communication.

[0002] With the proliferation of various electronic devices, speed improvements have been implemented for wireless communication that can be used by various electronic devices.

[0003] In addition, various types of proximity services utilizing low-power discovery technology are being developed recently. For example, proximity services (or proximity communication services) are being developed that enable nearby electronic devices to quickly exchange data through a proximity network. Proximity services may include low-power proximity services using BLE (Bluetooth low energy) beacons, or low-power proximity services based on low-power short-range communication technologies (e.g., neighbor awareness networking (NAN), Wi-Fi aware) (hereinafter referred to as "NAN") based on wireless local area networks (WLANs).

[0004] According to one embodiment, a NAN-based low-power proximity service (hereinafter referred to as “proximity service”) refers to a service that utilizes a proximity network that dynamically changes according to the movement of an electronic device, and a set of electronic devices that constitute a proximity network may be referred to as a cluster. In the case of a proximity service, electronic devices included in a cluster may transmit and receive signals for discovery (e.g., beacons) and service discovery frames (SDFs) (hereinafter referred to as “SDFs”) within a time duration (or communication section) that are synchronized with each other. For example, at least one electronic device in a cluster may transmit a signal to notify the existence of the cluster, and a new electronic device that wishes to join the cluster may receive the signal.

[0005] To reduce current consumption (or power consumption), each electronic device within a cluster can set different active durations during which it can transmit and receive signals. In NAN communications, the active duration during which signals can be transmitted and received can be referred to as a discovery window (DW). Furthermore, electronic devices within a cluster can reduce current consumption by maintaining a low-power state (e.g., sleep state) outside of the discovery window.

[0006] An electronic device may not be able to complete transmission and / or reception of data during a discovery window period when the size of data to be transmitted or received via NAN communication is relatively large. The electronic device may transmit and / or receive data having a relatively large size in a period other than the discovery window period by transmitting and / or receiving data in a period other than the discovery window period. When NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication are activated, the electronic device may need to perform not only NAN communication but also other short-range wireless communication between discovery windows. When not only NAN communication but also other short-range wireless communication is activated, the electronic device may perform scheduling for a period for performing NAN communication and for performing other short-range wireless communication between discovery windows. If a function that disables short-range wireless communication in some sections of the section intended for performing other short-range wireless communication (e.g., target wake time (TWT) or notice of absence (NoA)) is activated, some sections of the section intended for performing other short-range wireless communication may be in a state where other communications (e.g., NAN communications) other than short-range wireless communication can be performed. However, since the electronic device is set not to perform NAN communications in some sections of the section intended for performing other short-range wireless communication, the data transmission and / or reception speed via NAN communications may not increase.

[0007] The technical problems to be achieved in this document are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the description below.

[0008] According to an example, an electronic device may include a communication circuit supporting short-range wireless communication and NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication. The electronic device may include a processor. The processor may perform a connection with a second external electronic device through the NAN communication while being connected to a first external electronic device through short-range wireless communication. The processor may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device based on first schedule information related to a first section set between at least one discovery window set in a NAN cluster to which the electronic device belongs, and may perform short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device in a second section set between the at least one discovery window and the first section. The processor may generate third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the partial section based on the second schedule information, upon receiving second schedule information for the short-range wireless communication that disables the short-range wireless communication in a portion of the second section. The processor may transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device.

[0009] According to an example, an operating method of an electronic device may include an operation of performing a connection with a second external electronic device through NAN communication while connected to a first external electronic device through short-range wireless communication. The operating method of the electronic device (600) may include an operation of performing NAN communication with the second external electronic device based on first schedule information related to a first section set between at least one discovery window set in a NAN cluster to which the electronic device belongs, and performing short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device in a second section set between the at least one discovery window and the first section. The operating method of the electronic device (600) may include an operation of generating third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the partial section based on the second schedule information, upon receiving second schedule information of the short-range wireless communication that deactivates the short-range wireless communication in a partial section of the second section. The method of operating the electronic device (600) may include an operation of transmitting the third schedule information to the second external electronic device.

[0010] According to an example, an electronic device and a method of operating the electronic device may include: when performing NAN communication in a first section and performing short-range wireless communication in a second section, and receiving second schedule information for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections of the second section, the electronic device may generate third schedule information for enabling NAN communication in some sections, and transmit the third schedule information to an external electronic device connected via NAN communication. Accordingly, the electronic device may perform NAN communication in some sections set to perform short-range wireless communication, thereby improving a data transmission and / or reception speed via NAN communication.

[0011] The effects that can be obtained from the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains from the description below.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a neighbor awareness network (NAN) cluster according to one embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a protocol for transmitting signals of electronic devices included in a NAN cluster according to one embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmission and reception within a NAN cluster according to one embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 5a is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmission and reception within a NAN cluster according to one embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 5b is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device within a NAN cluster performing NAN communication and short-range wireless communication according to one embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 5c is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device within a NAN cluster performing NAN communication and short-range wireless communication according to one embodiment.

[0019] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0020] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment generates schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, according to activation of a target wake time (TWT) of short-range wireless communication.

[0021] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device according to one embodiment performing NAN communication based on third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, according to activation of a TWT function of short-range wireless communication.

[0022] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment generates schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, upon activation of a NoA (notice of absence) function of short-range wireless communication.

[0023] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment performs NAN communication based on third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, upon activation of the NoA function of short-range wireless communication.

[0024] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device according to one embodiment performing NAN communication based on third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, according to activation of a TWT function and a NoA function of short-range wireless communication.

[0025] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device (101) within a network environment (100) according to various embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1, in the network environment (100), the electronic device (101) may communicate with the electronic device (102) via a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or may communicate with the electronic device (104) or a server (108) via a second network (199) (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). In one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may communicate with the electronic device (104) via the server (108). According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), an input module (150), an audio output module (155), a display module (160), an audio module (170), a sensor module (176), an interface (177), a connection terminal (178), a haptic module (179), a camera module (180), a power management module (188), a battery (189), a communication module (190), a subscriber identification module (196), or an antenna module (197). In some embodiments, the electronic device (101) may omit at least one of these components (e.g., the connection terminal (178)), or may have one or more other components added. In some embodiments, some of these components (e.g., the sensor module (176), the camera module (180), or the antenna module (197)) may be integrated into one component (e.g., the display module (160)).

[0027] The processor (120) may, for example, execute software (e.g., a program (140)) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic device (101) connected to the processor (120) and perform various data processing or operations. According to one embodiment, as at least a part of the data processing or operations, the processor (120) may store commands or data received from other components (e.g., a sensor module (176) or a communication module (190)) in a volatile memory (132), process the commands or data stored in the volatile memory (132), and store result data in a non-volatile memory (134). According to one embodiment, the processor (120) may include a main processor (121) (e.g., a central processing unit or an application processor) or an auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., a graphics processing unit, a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor, a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor) that can operate independently or together with the main processor (121). For example, when the electronic device (101) includes the main processor (121) and the auxiliary processor (123), the auxiliary processor (123) may be configured to use less power than the main processor (121) or to be specialized for a given function. The auxiliary processor (123) may be implemented separately from the main processor (121) or as a part thereof.

[0028] The auxiliary processor (123) may control at least a portion of functions or states associated with at least one component (e.g., a display module (160), a sensor module (176), or a communication module (190)) of the electronic device (101), for example, on behalf of the main processor (121) while the main processor (121) is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor (121) while the main processor (121) is in an active (e.g., application execution) state. In one embodiment, the auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as a part of another functionally related component (e.g., a camera module (180) or a communication module (190)). In one embodiment, the auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., a neural network processing unit) may include a hardware structure specialized for processing artificial intelligence models. The artificial intelligence models may be generated through machine learning. This learning can be performed, for example, in the electronic device (101) itself where artificial intelligence is performed, or can be performed through a separate server (e.g., server (108)). The learning algorithm can include, for example, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning, but is not limited to the examples described above. The artificial intelligence model can include multiple artificial neural network layers.The artificial neural network may be one of a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), a deep Q-network, or a combination of two or more of the above, but is not limited to the examples described above. In addition to, or alternatively to, a hardware structure, an artificial intelligence model may include a software structure.

[0029] The memory (130) can store various data used by at least one component (e.g., processor (120) or sensor module (176)) of the electronic device (101). The data can include, for example, software (e.g., program (140)) and input data or output data for commands related thereto. The memory (130) can include volatile memory (132) or non-volatile memory (134).

[0030] The program (140) may be stored as software in the memory (130) and may include, for example, an operating system (142), middleware (144), or an application (146).

[0031] The input module (150) can receive commands or data to be used in a component of the electronic device (101) (e.g., a processor (120)) from an external source (e.g., a user) of the electronic device (101). The input module (150) can include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

[0032] The audio output module (155) can output audio signals to the outside of the electronic device (101). The audio output module (155) can include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker can be used for general purposes, such as multimedia playback or recording playback. The receiver can be used to receive incoming calls. In one embodiment, the receiver can be implemented separately from the speaker or as part of the speaker.

[0033] The display module (160) can visually provide information to an external party (e.g., a user) of the electronic device (101). The display module (160) may include, for example, a display, a holographic device, or a projector and a control circuit for controlling the device. According to one embodiment, the display module (160) may include a touch sensor configured to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor configured to measure the intensity of a force generated by the touch.

[0034] The audio module (170) can convert sound into an electrical signal, or vice versa, convert an electrical signal into sound. According to one embodiment, the audio module (170) can acquire sound through the input module (150), output sound through the sound output module (155), or an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102)) (e.g., speaker or headphone) directly or wirelessly connected to the electronic device (101).

[0035] The sensor module (176) can detect the operating status (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device (101) or the external environmental status (e.g., user status) and generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected status. According to one embodiment, the sensor module (176) can include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an IR (infrared) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

[0036] The interface (177) may support one or more designated protocols that may be used to directly or wirelessly connect the electronic device (101) with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102)). In one embodiment, the interface (177) may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, an SD card interface, or an audio interface.

[0037] The connection terminal (178) may include a connector through which the electronic device (101) may be physically connected to an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102)). According to one embodiment, the connection terminal (178) may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

[0038] The haptic module (179) can convert electrical signals into mechanical stimuli (e.g., vibration or movement) or electrical stimuli that a user can perceive through tactile or kinesthetic sensations. According to one embodiment, the haptic module (179) can include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

[0039] The camera module (180) can capture still images and videos. According to one embodiment, the camera module (180) may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

[0040] The power management module (188) can manage power supplied to the electronic device (101). According to one embodiment, the power management module (188) can be implemented as, for example, at least a part of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

[0041] A battery (189) may power at least one component of the electronic device (101). In one embodiment, the battery (189) may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary battery, a rechargeable secondary battery, or a fuel cell.

[0042] The communication module (190) may support the establishment of a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device (101) and an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102), electronic device (104), or server (108)), and the performance of communication through the established communication channel. The communication module (190) may operate independently from the processor (120) (e.g., application processor) and may include one or more communication processors that support direct (e.g., wired) communication or wireless communication. According to one embodiment, the communication module (190) may include a wireless communication module (192) (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module (194) (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module, or a power line communication module). Among these communication modules, the corresponding communication module can communicate with an external electronic device (104) via a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (WiFi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or a second network (199) (e.g., a long-range communication network such as a legacy cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., a LAN or WAN)). These various types of communication modules can be integrated into a single component (e.g., a single chip) or implemented as multiple separate components (e.g., multiple chips). The wireless communication module (192) can verify or authenticate the electronic device (101) within a communication network such as the first network (198) or the second network (199) by using subscriber information (e.g., an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module (196).

[0043] The wireless communication module (192) can support 5G networks and next-generation communication technologies following the 4G network, such as NR access technology (new radio access technology). The NR access technology can support high-speed transmission of high-capacity data (eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband)), minimization of terminal power and connection of multiple terminals (mMTC (massive machine type communications)), or high reliability and low latency (URLLC (ultra-reliable and low-latency communications)). The wireless communication module (192) can support, for example, a high-frequency band (e.g., mmWave band) to achieve a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication module (192) can support various technologies for securing performance in a high-frequency band, such as beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication module (192) can support various requirements specified in the electronic device (101), an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (104)), or a network system (e.g., the second network (199)). According to one embodiment, the wireless communication module (192) can support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for eMBB realization, a loss coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for mMTC realization, or a U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or 1 ms or less for round trip) for URLLC realization.

[0044] The antenna module (197) can transmit or receive signals or power to or from an external device (e.g., an external electronic device). In one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include an antenna including a radiator formed of a conductor or a conductive pattern formed on a substrate (e.g., a PCB). In one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna). In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication method used in a communication network, such as the first network (198) or the second network (199), may be selected from the plurality of antennas, for example, by the communication module (190). A signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication module (190) and an external electronic device via the at least one selected antenna. In some embodiments, in addition to the radiator, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) may be additionally formed as a part of the antenna module (197).

[0045] According to various embodiments, the antenna module (197) may form a mmWave antenna module. In one embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on or adjacent a first side (e.g., a bottom side) of the printed circuit board and capable of supporting a designated high-frequency band (e.g., a mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna) disposed on or adjacent a second side (e.g., a top side or a side side) of the printed circuit board and capable of transmitting or receiving signals in the designated high-frequency band.

[0046] At least some of the above components can be interconnected and exchange signals (e.g., commands or data) with each other via a communication method between peripheral devices (e.g., a bus, GPIO (general purpose input and output), SPI (serial peripheral interface), or MIPI (mobile industry processor interface)).

[0047] According to one embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device (101) and an external electronic device (104) via a server (108) connected to a second network (199). Each of the external electronic devices (102 or 104) may be the same or a different type of device as the electronic device (101). According to one embodiment, all or part of the operations executed in the electronic device (101) may be executed in one or more of the external electronic devices (102, 104, or 108). For example, when the electronic device (101) is to perform a certain function or service automatically or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device (101) may, instead of or in addition to executing the function or service itself, request one or more external electronic devices to perform the function or at least a part of the service. One or more external electronic devices that receive the request may execute at least a portion of the requested function or service, or an additional function or service related to the request, and transmit the result of the execution to the electronic device (101). The electronic device (101) may process the result as is or additionally and provide it as at least a portion of a response to the request. For this purpose, cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. The electronic device (101) may provide an ultra-low latency service by using distributed computing or mobile edge computing, for example. In another embodiment, the external electronic device (104) may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The server (108) may be an intelligent server utilizing machine learning and / or a neural network. According to one embodiment, the external electronic device (104) or the server (108) may be included in the second network (199).The electronic device (101) can be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology.

[0048] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a neighbor awareness network (NAN) cluster according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0049] For example, FIG. 2 may illustrate an example configuration of a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) cluster (200) for a proximity network according to various embodiments. In the following description, the cluster (200) may refer to a set of electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) that configure a proximity network so that each electronic device (or NAN device) (210, 220, 230, or 240) (e.g., the electronic device (101) of FIG. 1) can transmit and receive data with each other. For example, the cluster (200) may be referred to as a NAN cluster according to a NAN specification (or standard).

[0050] Referring to FIG. 2, a cluster (200) may be composed of a plurality of electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240). The electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) included in the cluster (200) may transmit and receive a beacon (or discovery beacon) and / or a service discovery frame (SDF) (hereinafter, referred to as 'SDF') within a synchronized time duration (or communication period) (e.g., a discovery window (DW)).

[0051] Electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within a cluster (200) may have their time clocks synchronized with each other. For example, electronic devices (210, 220, 230, 240) may be synchronized to the time clock of one electronic device (e.g., electronic device (210)) and may exchange beacons and SDFs with each other within the same discovery window.

[0052] According to one embodiment, an electronic device supporting a low-power short-range communication technology based on NAN can broadcast a search signal (e.g., a beacon) for discovering other electronic devices every preset first period (e.g., about 100 msec), and perform scanning every preset second period (e.g., about 10 msec) to receive search signals broadcast from other electronic devices.

[0053] An electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) can detect at least one other electronic device located around the electronic device based on a search signal received through scanning, and perform NAN cluster synchronization with the detected at least one other electronic device. The NAN cluster synchronization can include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing a NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and / or receive data through the same channel and / or during the same time.

[0054] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, each of a plurality of electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) can form a cluster (200) that operates according to a synchronized time clock by transmitting a beacon and receiving a beacon from other electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240), and the electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within the cluster (200) can perform NAN cluster synchronization.

[0055] NAN cluster synchronization can be performed based on the time and channel of the electronic device with the highest master preference within the cluster (200). For example, electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within the cluster (200) formed through discovery can exchange signals regarding master preference information indicating a preference for operating as an anchor master, and the electronic device with the highest master preference can be determined as the anchor master (or master electronic device) through the exchanged signals.

[0056] An anchor master may refer to an electronic device that serves as a reference for time and channel synchronization of electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within a cluster (200). The anchor master may be changed according to the master preference of the electronic devices. Each of the time and channel synchronized electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) may transmit a beacon and an SDF within a discovery window (or search section) that repeats according to a preset cycle, and may receive beacons and SDFs from other electronic devices within the cluster (200). In one embodiment, the beacon may be periodically transmitted and received for each discovery window to continuously maintain time and channel synchronization of the electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within the cluster (200). The SDF may be transmitted and received during discovery windows as needed to provide services to discovered electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240). In one embodiment, an electronic device acting as an anchor master among the time and channel synchronized electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) may transmit a beacon to detect a new electronic device during the interval between discovery windows.

[0057] Each of the electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within the cluster (200) can operate in an active state only during the discovery window and in a low-power state (e.g., sleep state) during the remaining periods outside the discovery window, thereby reducing current consumption.

[0058] For example, a discovery window is a period of time (e.g., milliseconds) during which an electronic device is active (or awake) and consumes a lot of current, whereas outside of the discovery window, the electronic device remains in a sleep state, allowing for low-power discovery.

[0059] Electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) within a cluster (200) can be simultaneously activated at the start of a synchronized discovery window (e.g., DW start) and simultaneously transitioned to a sleep state at the end of the discovery window (e.g., DW end).

[0060] Electronic devices (210, 220, 230, or 240) included in a cluster (200) can perform discovery, synchronization, and data exchange operations using the protocol illustrated in FIG. 3 described below.

[0061] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a protocol for transmitting signals of electronic devices included in a NAN cluster according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0062] For example, FIG. 3 may illustrate an exemplary diagram of a discovery window according to various embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates, by way of example, electronic devices included in a cluster transmitting signals through a specific channel (e.g., channel 6 (Ch6)) based on the NAN standard.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 3, electronic devices included in a cluster can transmit a synchronization beacon (310) and an SDF (320) in a synchronized discovery window (DW) (325). A discovery beacon (330) can be transmitted by at least one electronic device in a period (340) other than the discovery window (325) (e.g., an interval between discovery windows). According to one embodiment, the electronic devices can transmit the synchronization beacon (310) and the SDF (320) based on contention. For example, the synchronization beacon (310) and the SDF (320) can be transmitted based on contention between each electronic device included in the cluster.

[0064] The discovery window (325) may be a period during which the electronic devices are activated from a sleep state in power saving mode to a wake-up state for data exchange between the respective electronic devices. For example, the discovery window (325) may be divided into time units (TUs, time units) in milliseconds. According to one embodiment, the discovery window (325) for transmitting and receiving the synchronization beacon (310) and the SDF (320) may occupy 16 time units (TUs) (16 TUs) and may have a cycle (or interval) that repeats with 512 time units (512 TUs).

[0065] A discovery beacon (330) may represent a signal transmitted to enable other electronic devices that have not joined the cluster to discover the cluster. For example, the discovery beacon (330) is a signal to announce the existence of a cluster, and electronic devices that have not joined the cluster can perform a passive scan to discover and join the cluster by receiving the discovery beacon (330).

[0066] The discovery beacon (330) may include information necessary for synchronization with the cluster. For example, the discovery beacon (330) may include at least one of a frame control (FC) field indicating a function of the signal (e.g., a beacon), a broadcast address, a media access control (MAC) address of a transmitting electronic device, a cluster identifier (ID), a sequence control field, a time stamp for a beacon frame, a beacon interval indicating a transmission interval of the discovery beacon (330), or capability information for an electronic device transmitting the discovery beacon (330).

[0067] A discovery beacon (330) may include at least one proximity network (or cluster) related information element. In one embodiment, the proximity network related information may be referred to as attribute information.

[0068] A synchronization beacon (310) may represent a signal for maintaining synchronization between synchronized electronic devices within a cluster. The synchronization beacon (310) may be transmitted by a synchronization device among electronic devices within the cluster. For example, the synchronization device may include an anchor master electronic device, a master electronic device, or a non-master synchronization device defined in the NAN standard.

[0069] The synchronization beacon (310) may include information necessary for electronic devices to synchronize within a cluster. For example, the synchronization beacon (310) may include at least one of an FC field indicating the function of the signal (e.g., a beacon), a broadcast address, a MAC address of the transmitting electronic device, a cluster identifier, a sequence control field, a timestamp for the beacon frame, a beacon interval indicating the interval between the start points of the discovery window (325), or capability information for the transmitting electronic device. According to one embodiment, the synchronization beacon (310) may include at least one proximity network (or cluster) related information element. For example, the proximity network related information may include contents for a service provided through the proximity network.

[0070] SDF (320) may represent a signal for exchanging data over a proximity network. According to one embodiment, SDF (320) represents a vendor-specific public action frame and may include various fields. For example, SDF (320) may include a category or action field and may include at least one piece of proximity network-related information.

[0071] The synchronization beacon (310), the SDF (320), and the discovery beacon (330) may include proximity network related information. In one embodiment, the proximity network related information may include an identifier indicating a type of information, a length of the information, and a body field that is corresponding information. According to one embodiment, the corresponding information may include at least one of master indication information, cluster information, service identifier list information, service descriptor information, connection capability information, wireless LAN infrastructure information, peer to peer (P2P) operation information, independent basic service set (IBSS) information, mesh information, additional proximity network service discovery information, further availability map information, country code information, ranging information, cluster discovery information, or vendor specific information.

[0072] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmission and reception within a NAN cluster according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0073] For example, FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which a first electronic device (410), a second electronic device (420), and a third electronic device (430) form a cluster through wireless short-range communication technology, and each of the electronic devices (410, 420, or 430) can transmit and receive beacons and / or SDFs to each other. According to one embodiment, FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which, among the electronic devices (410, 420, or 430) forming the cluster, the first electronic device (410) serves as a master electronic device.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 4, the first electronic device (410) can transmit a beacon and an SDF within a discovery window (450). The first electronic device (410) can broadcast a beacon and an SDF for each discovery window (450) that is repeated at each preset interval (e.g., interval (460)).

[0075] The second electronic device (420) and the third electronic device (430) can receive the beacon and SDF transmitted by the first electronic device (410). According to one embodiment, each of the second electronic device (420) and the third electronic device (430) can receive the beacon and SDF broadcast from the first electronic device (410) for each discovery window (450).

[0076] A beacon transmitted within a discovery window (450) may include a synchronization beacon and may include information for maintaining synchronization between electronic devices (410, 420, or 430). For example, a second electronic device (420) and / or a third electronic device (430) may perform NAN cluster synchronization based on time clock information of the first electronic device (410) included in a beacon transmitted by a first electronic device (410) operating as a master. The second electronic device (420) and / or the third electronic device (430) may be synchronized so that the discovery window (450) may be activated at the same time.

[0077] In periods other than the discovery window (450) (e.g., interval (460)), the electronic devices (410, 420, or 430) may remain in a sleep state to reduce current consumption. For example, the electronic devices (410, 420, or 430) may operate in a wake state only during the discovery window (450) based on a synchronized time clock to reduce current consumption.

[0078] FIG. 5a is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmission and reception within a NAN cluster according to one embodiment.

[0079] Electronic devices (e.g., electronic devices (410, 420, 430) of FIG. 4) may perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication in a period other than the discovery window (450). In one example, the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may not be able to complete data transmission and / or reception during the discovery window (450). In one example, if the size of the data is so large that the transmission and / or reception cannot be completed during the discovery window (450), the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may not be able to complete data transmission and / or reception during the discovery window (450).

[0080] The electronic devices (410, 420, 430) can perform an operation for performing NAN communication in a first section (521), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (e.g., discovery window (450) of FIG. 4). For example, the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) can be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible, other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may exchange configuration information for performing NAN communication through frames (e.g., schedule update frames, schedule request frames, and / or schedule response frames) exchanged in the process of establishing (or generating) an NDP (NAN data path) with a counterpart electronic device to perform NAN communication. Alternatively, the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may also exchange configuration information for performing NAN communication through frames (e.g., service discovery frames, and / or NDP frames) exchanged while performing NAN communication.

[0081] The setting information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (5210), a start point of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0082] An electronic device that performs NAN communication in a first section (521), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) among electronic devices (410, 420, 430), can transmit setting information for performing NAN communication to an electronic device included in a NAN cluster and establish an NAN data path (NDP) for performing NAN communication through negotiation. The electronic device (410, 420, 430) can transmit and / or receive data in the first section (521) through the NDP, thereby transmitting and / or receiving data having a relatively large size.

[0083] For convenience of explanation, only the first section (521) is illustrated in FIG. 5A. However, multiple sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) of electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may be set as FAWs, and data may be transmitted and / or received during the multiple sections.

[0084] FIG. 5b is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device within a NAN cluster performing NAN communication and short-range wireless communication according to one embodiment.

[0085] Electronic devices (e.g., electronic devices (410, 420, 430) of FIG. 4) may perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication in a period other than the discovery window (450). In one example, the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may not be able to complete data transmission and / or reception during the discovery window (450). In one example, if the size of the data is so large that the transmission and / or reception cannot be completed during the discovery window (450), the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may not be able to complete data transmission and / or reception during the discovery window (450).

[0086] The electronic devices (410, 420, 430) can perform an operation for performing NAN communication in a first section (521), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (e.g., discovery window (450) of FIG. 4). For example, the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) can be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible, other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster.

[0087] The electronic device (410, 420, 430) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (522), which is a section other than the first section (521), among the sections (520) between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513). For example, the electronic device (410, 420, 430) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the section (520) between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0088] According to one example, the electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may perform an operation of setting not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) in order to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522). The electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may exchange setting information (e.g., Unaligned schedule attribute) for performing short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the section (520) between discovery windows (521, 522), and may set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) (or to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522)) through negotiation using the setting information. The setting information for performing short-range wireless communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), channel information of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), a starting point of the second section (522) (e.g., a starting time field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), a length of the second section (522) (e.g., a duration field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), and a period of the second section (522) (e.g., a period field of the Unaligned schedule attribute).

[0089] An electronic device that performs short-range wireless communication in a second section (522) among sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) among electronic devices (410, 420, 430) may transmit information not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) (or information to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522)) to an electronic device included in a NAN cluster, and may be set to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522).

[0090] FIG. 5c is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device within a NAN cluster performing NAN communication and short-range wireless communication according to one embodiment.

[0091] Electronic devices (e.g., electronic devices (410, 420, 430) of FIG. 4) can transmit and / or receive data with electronic devices within a NAN cluster via NAN communication in a first section (521), which is a portion of the section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). Some electronic devices (410) among electronic devices (410, 420, 430) can transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication other than NAN communication in a second section (522), which is another portion of the section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0092] An electronic device (410) performing short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) may support a function of activating short-range wireless communication in at least some sections of the second section (522) (e.g., target wake time (TWT)) or a function of deactivating short-range wireless communication in the first section (521) (e.g., notice of absence (NoA)).

[0093] TWT is a feature proposed and implemented in IEEE 802.11 ax (or Wi-Fi 6), in which an electronic device supporting TWT transmits and / or receives data via short-range wireless communication for a specified period of time, and switches the communication circuit supporting short-range wireless communication to an idle state (or inactive state) for other periods of time except for the specified period, thereby reducing power consumption when performing short-range wireless communication.

[0094] An electronic device (410) supporting a TWT function can activate the TWT function and set TWT parameters through negotiation with an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102) of FIG. 1) connected via short-range wireless communication. The TWT parameters may be parameters required to perform the TWT function. According to one embodiment, the TWT parameters may include at least one of a Target Wake Time indicating an activation time of data transmission and / or reception, a TWT duration (or TWT SP (service period)) indicating a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, and / or a TWT wake interval indicating an interval (or interval) between an activation time of data transmission and / or reception and a next activation time of data transmission and / or reception.

[0095] Referring to FIG. 5c, the electronic device (410) may activate short-range wireless communication (or transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication) in some sections (531) of the second section (522), and deactivate short-range wireless communication (or may not transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication) in other sections (532, 533).

[0096] Referring to FIG. 5C, the electronic device (410) may be configured not to perform short-range wireless communication in other sections (532, 533) among the second section (522) configured to perform short-range wireless communication. The electronic device (410) may be configured not to perform both NAN communication and short-range wireless communication even though it is capable of performing NAN communication in other sections (532, 533). Since the electronic device (410) is configured not to perform NAN communication even though it is capable of performing NAN communication in other sections (532, 533), the data transmission and / or reception speed (or throughput) via NAN communication may experience a decrease. That is, as sections in which NAN communication and short-range wireless communication are not performed occur due to the activation of the TWT function, a decrease in the performance of NAN communication may occur.

[0097] Hereinafter, an example of increasing the performance of NAN communication by changing (or generating) schedule information for performing NAN communication and performing NAN communication in sections (532, 533) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled according to activation of a function (e.g., TWT (target wake time), NoA (notice of absence)) that activates short-range wireless communication in at least some sections of a second section (522) and deactivates short-range wireless communication in other sections except for at least some sections is described.

[0098] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0099] According to one embodiment, an electronic device (600) (e.g., electronic devices (410, 420, 430) of FIG. 4) may include a communication circuit (610) (e.g., wireless communication module (192) of FIG. 1) and / or a processor (620) (e.g., processor (120) of FIG. 1).

[0100] The communication circuit (610) may include various circuit structures used for modulating and / or demodulating signals within the electronic device (600). For example, the communication circuit (610) may modulate a baseband signal into a radio frequency (RF) band signal to be output through an antenna (not shown), or may demodulate an RF band signal received through an antenna into a baseband signal and transmit the baseband signal to the processor (620).

[0101] The processor (620) may perform an operation of receiving data transmitted by an application processor (e.g., the processor (120) of FIG. 1) and generating a packet for transmitting the received data. The processor (620) may be defined as a communication processor or an application processor included in a communication module (e.g., the wireless communication module (192) of FIG. 1). The processor (620) may be electrically or operatively connected to the communication circuit (610) and may control the communication circuit (610).

[0102] The processor (620) can be connected to a first external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102) of FIG. 1) via short-range wireless communication, and can control the communication circuit (610) to transmit data to the first external electronic device (102) via short-range wireless communication, and can receive data from the first external electronic device (102) via short-range wireless communication.

[0103] The processor (620) may be connected to a second external electronic device (e.g., electronic devices (210, 220, 230, 240) of FIG. 2) through NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication while being connected to a first external electronic device (102) through short-range wireless communication.

[0104] The processor (620) may join a pre-created NAN cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) or create a new cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) depending on the activation of NAN communication.

[0105] The processor (620) may perform synchronization with the NAN cluster (200) based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by a second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) included in the NAN (neighbor awareness networking) cluster (or network) (200). Alternatively, the processor (620) may receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (e.g., short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). For example, the processor (620) may transmit a probe request signal to find a second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) to be connected through Wi-Fi, and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on NAN cluster information included in a probe response message transmitted by the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) in response to the probe request signal.

[0106] NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing a NAN cluster (or a master device of the NAN cluster) (e.g., the first electronic device (410) of FIG. 4) so ​​that electronic devices included in the NAN cluster (200) transmit and / or receive data on the same channel and / or during the same time. For example, the processor (620) may receive a beacon broadcast by a second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on the time clock information of the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) included in the beacon.

[0107] After the NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the processor (620) can activate the communication circuit (610) for each designated section (e.g., discovery window (e.g., discovery window (511, 512, 513) of FIG. 5A)) and control the communication circuit (610) to perform NAN communication for each designated section. The NAN communication can refer to receiving data transmitted by a second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) included in the NAN cluster (200) or transmitting data to the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240).

[0108] The processor (620) may receive first schedule information related to NAN communication from a second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) after the NAN cluster synchronization process or synchronization of the NAN cluster is completed.

[0109] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513) may include at least one of a duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), a start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), and a period of the discovery window (511, 512, 513). The processor (620) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) based on the first schedule information.

[0110] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) as well as schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). According to one example, the processor (620) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and to perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), a start time of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0111] The processor (620) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) so that the period (or time) for transmitting and / or receiving data through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (102) does not overlap with the discovery window (511, 512, 513). In addition, the processor (620) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) so that the period (or time) for transmitting and / or receiving data through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (102) does not overlap with the first period (521), which is a portion of the period (520) between the discovery window (521, 522).

[0112] The processor (620) may perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (521) among the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). For example, the processor (620) may perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0113] The processor (620) may perform an operation to set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) in order to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522).

[0114] The processor (620) exchanges setting information (e.g., Unaligned schedule attribute) for performing short-range wireless communication (or setting information for not performing NAN communication) in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and can set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) (or to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522)) through negotiation using the setting information. The setting information for performing short-range wireless communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), channel information of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), a starting point of the second section (522) (e.g., a starting time field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), a length of the second section (522) (e.g., a duration field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), and a period of the second section (522) (e.g., a period field of the Unaligned schedule attribute).

[0115] The processor (620) can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) through NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (521) through the process described above, and can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the first external electronic device (102) through short-range wireless communication in the second section (522). According to one example, a schedule for the electronic device (600) to perform NAN communication and short-range wireless communication can be implemented similarly to FIG. 5B. The schedule illustrated in FIG. 5B is an example, and the first section (521) and the second section (522) can be set to exist between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0116] The processor (620) can perform NAN communication with a second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) based on first schedule information related to at least one discovery window (511, 512, 513) set in a NAN cluster (200) to which the electronic device (600) belongs (or which includes the electronic device (600)) and a first section (521) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or can control the communication circuit (610)), and can transmit and / or receive data with the first external electronic device (102) via short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0117] An electronic device (600) performing short-range wireless communication in a second section (522) may support a function (e.g., TWT (target wake time), NoA (notice of absence)) that activates short-range wireless communication in at least some sections (e.g., 531 of FIG. 5C) of the second section (522) and deactivates short-range wireless communication in other sections (e.g., 532, 533 of FIG. 5C) except for at least some sections. The electronic device (600) may activate a function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) that activates short-range wireless communication in some sections (e.g., 531 of FIG. 5C) of the second section (522) and deactivates short-range wireless communication in other sections (532, 533) except for at least some sections, due to various causes.

[0118] TWT is a function proposed and implemented in IEEE 802.11 ax (or Wi-Fi 6), in which an electronic device (620) supporting TWT transmits and / or receives data via short-range wireless communication for a specified period of time, and switches the communication circuit (610) supporting short-range wireless communication to an idle state (or inactive state) for other periods of time except for the specified period, thereby reducing power consumed when performing short-range wireless communication. Although the present disclosure describes TWT as an example, it can also be applied to various functions (e.g., power save mode, APSD (automatic power save delivery) mode) that can inactivate short-range wireless communication for other periods of time.

[0119] The NoA function is a function that disables short-range wireless communication in a specific section. An electronic device (600) that supports NoA can reduce power consumption when performing short-range wireless communication by switching short-range wireless communication to a disabled state for a time period set as the NoA section.

[0120] In one example, the processor (620) may deactivate short-range wireless communication during some of the second period (522) upon receiving information indicating that a first external electronic device (102) connected via short-range wireless communication has activated a target wake time (TWT) function and that the TWT function is activated.

[0121] The processor (620) may perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication in some sections (532, 533) by activating a function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522). For example, the processor (620) may perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication in other sections (532, 533) by activating a function (e.g., TWT function) for activating short-range wireless communication in some sections (531) of the second section (522). For example, the processor (620) may perform a series of operations to perform NAN communication in another section (532, 533) by activating a function (e.g., NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in another section (532, 533) among the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), the first section (531), and the second section (522).

[0122] The processor (620) may, in the process of activating a function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522), receive second schedule information related to the function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522) from the first external electronic device (102).

[0123] The second schedule information may refer to schedule information for performing short-range wireless communication. In one example, the second schedule information may include parameters related to a section in which short-range wireless communication is activated when a function (e.g., TWT function) for deactivating short-range wireless communication is activated in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522). In one example, the second schedule information may include at least one TWT parameter, and the second schedule information may include at least one of a Target Wake Time indicating an activation time of data transmission and / or reception, a TWT Duration (or TWT SP (service period)) indicating a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, and / or a TWT wake interval indicating an interval (or interval) between an activation time of data transmission and / or reception and a next activation time of data transmission and / or reception.

[0124] The processor (620) may generate third schedule information for performing NAN communication in a section (e.g., 532, 533) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, based on the second schedule information.

[0125] According to one example, when the TWT function is activated on the electronic device (600), the processor (620) may generate third schedule information by converting TWT parameters included in the second schedule information. The third schedule information may include parameters that set a section in which NAN communication is not performed, and the processor (620) may generate the third schedule information by converting TWT parameters into parameters related to an unaligned window (ULW).

[0126] The section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the TWT function may be substantially the same as the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed, or the section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the TWT function may be included in the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed.

[0127] The processor (620) may determine the start time of the second section (522) based on the Target Wake Time, which indicates the activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters. Alternatively, the processor (620) may convert the Target Wake Time, which indicates the activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters, into the start time of the second section (522). The unit (64 bits) of the Target wake time and the unit (32 bits) of the start time of the second section (522) may be different from each other, and the processor (620) may consider different units when converting the Target Wake Time into the start time of the second section (522). For example, the processor (620) may convert the Target wake time to 2 32 The value (e.g., remainder) generated by dividing by (or through modular operation) can be determined as the length of the second section (522).

[0128] The processor (620) may determine the length of the second section (522) based on the TWT duration, which indicates a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, among the TWT parameters. Alternatively, the processor (620) may convert the TWT duration, which indicates a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, among the TWT parameters, into the length of the second section (522). The unit (256 μs) used to set the TWT parameter and the unit (1 μs) used to set the ULW may be different, and the processor (620) may consider different units when converting the TWT duration into the length of the second section (522). For example, the processor (620) may convert the TWT duration into the length of the second section (522) by multiplying it by 256 μs.

[0129] The processor (620) may determine the period (or interval) of the second section (522) based on the TWT wake interval, which indicates the interval (or interval) between the activation time of data transmission and / or reception and the next activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters. The processor (620) may determine the length of the TWT wake interval based on parameters related to the TWT wake interval (e.g., TWT wake interval mantissa, TWT wake interval exponent), and may determine the period of the second section (522) based on the length of the TWT wake interval. The length of the TWT wake interval may be substantially the same as the period of the second section (522), but the units used to express it may be different. According to one example, the length of the TWT wake interval may be expressed as 64 bits, and the length of the ULW may be expressed as 32 bits. The processor (620) may consider different units when converting the TWT wake interval into a period of the second section (522). For example, the processor (620) may convert the Target wake inteval into 2 32 The value (e.g., remainder) generated by dividing by (or through modular operation) can be determined as the period of the second section (522).

[0130] The processor (620) may determine a value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) based on a value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters (e.g., if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function is 1, it indicates to repeat the TWT function; if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function is 0, it indicates to perform the TWT function only a specified number of times and to release the TWT function after the specified number of times). If the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters is a value indicating to repeat the TWT function (e.g., 1), the processor (620) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating to repeat the short-range wireless communication (e.g., 255).

[0131] The processor (620) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters to a value (e.g., 0) indicating that the TWT function is terminated after a specified number of times, to a value (e.g., 1) indicating that the short-range wireless communication is terminated after a specified number of times.

[0132] The conversion method described above can be summarized in Table 1 below.

[0133] TWT parameters ULW parameters fieldSize(bits) value fieldSize(bits) value Wake up timing (starting point) Included in Target wake time field 64a(TSF) Included in Starting time field 32a' = a mod 2 32 Duration(length)Nominal minimum TWT wake duration field contains 8b(256μs)Duration field contains 32b'=b * 256Interval(period)TWT wake interval mantissa16e=c * 2 dContained in the Period field 32e'=e mod 2 32 TWT wake interval exponent5Count(number of repetitions)Implicit field included11(implicit)0(explicit)Count down8255(implicit)1(explicit)

[0134] The processor (620) may generate third schedule information based on the second schedule information (or the TWT parameter included in the second schedule information) received from the first external electronic device (102) in the manner described above. The third schedule information may refer to information that enables the electronic device (600) to perform NAN communication in a section (532, 533) that does not perform short-range wireless communication among the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), the first section (521) and / or the second section (522) between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0135] The example described above is an example of generating third schedule information when the first external electronic device (102) activates the TWT function, and can also be applied when the first external electronic device (102) activates the NoA function.

[0136] According to one example, the second schedule information may include parameters related to the sections in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, when a function (e.g., NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication is activated in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522).

[0137] According to one example, the second schedule information may include at least one NoA parameter, wherein the NoA parameter may include a parameter indicating a start point of a period in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, a parameter indicating a length of a period in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, a parameter indicating a period of a period in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, and / or a parameter indicating whether the NoA function is repeated.

[0138] The processor (620) may determine the period (or interval) of the first section (521) based on a parameter indicating the period (or interval) of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled may be substantially the same as the period of the first section (521). The processor (620) may determine the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled as the period of the first section (521).

[0139] The processor (620) may determine the length of the first section (521) based on a parameter indicating the duration of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled may be substantially the same as a value obtained by subtracting the length of the second section (522), which is a section in which short-range wireless communication is enabled, from the length between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled). The processor (620) may determine the length of the second section (522) as a value obtained by subtracting the length of the first section (521), which is a section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, from the length between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled).

[0140] The processor (620) may determine the start time of the second section (522) based on a parameter indicating the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The start time of the second section (522) may be substantially equal to a value obtained by adding the length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled to the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled (e.g., the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513)). The processor (620) may determine the start time of the second section (522) as a value obtained by adding the length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled to the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0141] The processor (620) may determine a value indicating whether to repeat short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) based on a parameter indicating whether to repeat the NoA function among the NoA parameters (e.g., if the parameter is 0, it indicates that the NoA function is repeated; if the parameter is a value other than 0, it indicates that the NoA function is repeated by a different value).

[0142] The processor (620) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating the repetition of the short-range wireless communication (e.g., 255) when the value indicating whether to repeat the NoA function among the NoA parameters is a value indicating the repetition of the NoA function (e.g., 0).

[0143] The conversion method described above can be summarized in Table 2 below.

[0144] NoAULWfieldsize valuefieldsize valueInterval(cycle)Interval32a(μs)Period32a'=a(μs)Duration(length)Duration32b(μs)Duration32b'=a'-b (μs)Start timing(starting point)Start time32C(TSF)Starting time32c'=c+b(TSF)Count(number of repetitions)Count / type80(repetitions)Others(number of times)Count down8255(repetitions)Others(number of times)

[0145] The method described above illustrates that the processor (620) converts the TWT parameter or the NoA parameter into an unaligned schedule attribute indicating configuration information for performing short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), but the present invention can also convert not only the unaligned schedule attribute but also other messages (e.g., further availability window (FAW), sub-slot schedule (s3), availability window (AW)).

[0146] The processor (620) can perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication according to third schedule information generated based on the second schedule information. The processor (620) can control the communication circuit (610) to transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240). By transmitting the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240), the processor (620) can enable the electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240) to perform NAN communication in a portion of the second section (522) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0147] The processor (620) may perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication based on the first schedule information when a function (e.g., target wake time (TWT), notice of absence (NoA)) that activates short-range wireless communication in at least some sections (e.g., 531 of FIG. 5c)) of the second section (522) and deactivates short-range wireless communication in other sections (e.g., 532, 533 of FIG. 5c)) excluding at least some sections is deactivated. The processor (620) may perform NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (521), and perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522).

[0148] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment generates schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, according to activation of a target wake time (TWT) of short-range wireless communication.

[0149] An electronic device (e.g., electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) may be connected to a first external electronic device (701) (e.g., electronic device (102) of FIG. 1) via short-range wireless communication in operation 711.

[0150] The electronic device (600) can be connected to a first external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102) of FIG. 1) via short-range wireless communication, and can control a communication circuit (610) to transmit data to the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication, and can receive data from the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication.

[0151] The electronic device (600) can activate NAN communication in operation 712.

[0152] The electronic device (600) can activate NAN communication for various reasons (e.g., activation of an application using NAN communication, receipt of user input to perform NAN communication).

[0153] The electronic device (600) may be connected to a second external electronic device (e.g., electronic devices (210, 220, 230, 240) of FIG. 2) through NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication while being connected to a first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication.

[0154] The electronic device (600) can join a pre-created NAN cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) or create a new cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) according to the activation of NAN communication.

[0155] The electronic device (600) can perform synchronization with the NAN cluster (200) based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by a second external electronic device (703) included in a NAN (neighbor awareness networking) cluster (or network) (200). Alternatively, the electronic device (600) can also receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (e.g., short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). For example, the electronic device (600) can transmit a probe request signal to find a second external electronic device (703) to be connected via Wi-Fi, and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on NAN cluster information included in a probe response message transmitted by the second external electronic device (703) in response to the probe request signal.

[0156] NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing a NAN cluster (or a master device of the NAN cluster) (e.g., the first electronic device (410) of FIG. 4) so ​​that electronic devices included in the NAN cluster (200) transmit and / or receive data on the same channel and / or during the same time. For example, the electronic device (600) may receive a beacon broadcast by a second external electronic device (703) and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on the time clock information of the second external electronic device (703) included in the beacon.

[0157] After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the electronic device (600) can activate the communication circuit (610) for each designated section (e.g., discovery window (e.g., discovery window (511, 512, 513) of FIG. 5A)) and control the communication circuit (610) to perform NAN communication for each designated section. NAN communication can refer to receiving data transmitted by a second external electronic device (703) included in the NAN cluster (200) or transmitting data to the second external electronic device (703).

[0158] The electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) (e.g., the electronic devices (210, 220, 230, 240) of FIG. 2) are connected to each other through NAN communication in operation 713, and can perform NAN communication based on the first schedule information.

[0159] The electronic device (600) can receive first schedule information related to NAN communication from the second external electronic device (703) after the NAN cluster synchronization process or synchronization of the NAN cluster is completed.

[0160] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513) may include at least one of the duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), and the period of the discovery window (511, 512, 513). The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on the first schedule information.

[0161] The first schedule information may include not only schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513), but also schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). According to one example, the electronic device (600) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (5210), a start time of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0162] The electronic device (600) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (703) so that the period (or time) during which data is transmitted and / or received through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) does not overlap with the discovery window (521, 522). In addition, the electronic device (600) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (703) so that the period (or time) during which data is transmitted and / or received through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) does not overlap with the first period (521), which is a portion of the period (520) between the discovery window (521, 522).

[0163] The electronic device (600) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (521), among the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0164] The electronic device (600) may perform an operation to set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) in order to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522).

[0165] The electronic device (600) may exchange setting information (e.g., unaligned schedule attribute) for performing short-range wireless communication (or setting information for not performing NAN communication) in a second section (522), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and may set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) (or to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522)) through negotiation using the setting information. The setting information for performing short-range wireless communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), channel information of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), a starting point of the second section (522) (e.g., a starting time field of an unaligned schedule attribute), a length of the second section (522) (e.g., a duration field of an unaligned schedule attribute), and a period of the second section (522) (e.g., a period field of an unaligned schedule attribute).

[0166] The electronic device (600) can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the second external electronic device (703) through NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (521) through the process described above, and can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication in the second section (522). According to one example, the schedule for the electronic device (600) to perform NAN communication and short-range wireless communication can be implemented similarly to FIG. 5B. The schedule illustrated in FIG. 5B is an example, and the first section (521) and the second section (522) can be set to exist between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0167] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication with a second external electronic device (703) (or control a communication circuit (610)) based on first schedule information related to at least one discovery window (511, 512, 513) set in a NAN cluster (200) to which the electronic device (600) belongs (or which includes the electronic device (600)) and a first section (521) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and can transmit and / or receive data with the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0168] The first external electronic device (701) can activate the TWT function in operation 714.

[0169] TWT is a function proposed and implemented in IEEE 802.11 ax (or Wi-Fi 6), and an electronic device (620) supporting TWT can reduce power consumption in performing short-range wireless communication by transmitting and / or receiving data through short-range wireless communication for a specified period of time and switching the communication circuit (610) supporting short-range wireless communication to an idle state (or inactive state) for a period of time other than the specified period.

[0170] According to one example, the electronic device (600) may deactivate short-range wireless communication in some sections of the second section (522) upon receiving information indicating that a first external electronic device (701) connected via short-range wireless communication activates a target wake time (TWT) function and that the TWT function is activated.

[0171] The first external electronic device (701) can transmit the second schedule information to the electronic device (600) in operation 715.

[0172] The electronic device (600) may, in the process of activating a function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522), receive second schedule information related to the function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522) from the first external electronic device (701).

[0173] The second schedule information may refer to schedule information for performing short-range wireless communication. In one example, the second schedule information may include parameters related to a section in which short-range wireless communication is activated when a function (e.g., TWT function) for deactivating short-range wireless communication is activated in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522). In one example, the second schedule information may include at least one TWT parameter, and the second schedule information may include at least one of a Target Wake Time indicating an activation time of data transmission and / or reception, a TWT Duration (or TWT SP (service period)) indicating a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, and / or a TWT wake interval indicating an interval (or interval) between an activation time of data transmission and / or reception and a next activation time of data transmission and / or reception.

[0174] The electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) can set the TWT function based on the second schedule information in operation 716.

[0175] The electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) may change some parameters related to the TWT function through negotiation related to activation of the TWT function.

[0176] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information based on the second schedule information in operation 717.

[0177] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information for performing NAN communication in a section (e.g., 532, 533) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, based on the second schedule information.

[0178] According to one example, when the TWT function is activated on the electronic device (600), the electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information by converting TWT parameters included in the second schedule information. The third schedule information can include parameters that set a section in which NAN communication is not performed, and the electronic device (600) can generate the third schedule information by converting TWT parameters into parameters related to an unaligned window (ULW).

[0179] The section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the TWT function may be substantially the same as the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed, or the section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the TWT function may be included in the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed.

[0180] The electronic device (600) may determine the start time of the second section (522) based on the Target Wake Time, which indicates the activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters. Alternatively, the electronic device (600) may convert the Target Wake Time, which indicates the activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters, into the start time of the second section (522). The unit (64 bits) of the Target wake time and the unit (32 bits) of the start time of the second section (522) may be different, and the electronic device (600) may consider different units when converting the Target Wake Time into the start time of the second section (522). For example, the electronic device (600) may convert the Target wake time into 2 32 The value (e.g., remainder) generated by dividing by (or through modular operation) can be determined as the length of the second section (522).

[0181] The electronic device (600) may determine the length of the second section (522) based on the TWT duration, which indicates a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, among the TWT parameters. Alternatively, the electronic device (600) may convert the TWT duration, which indicates a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, among the TWT parameters, into the length of the second section (522). The unit (256 μs) used to set the TWT parameter and the unit (1 μs) used to set the ULW may be different, and the electronic device (600) may consider different units when converting the TWT duration into the length of the second section (522). For example, the electronic device (600) may convert the TWT duration into the length of the second section (522) by multiplying it by 256 μs.

[0182] The electronic device (600) can determine the period (or interval) of the second section (522) based on the TWT wake interval, which indicates the interval (or interval) between the activation time of data transmission and / or reception and the next activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters. The electronic device (600) can determine the length of the TWT wake interval based on parameters related to the TWT wake interval (e.g., TWT wake interval mantissa, TWT wake interval exponent), and can determine the period of the second section (522) based on the length of the TWT wake interval. The length of the TWT wake interval can be substantially the same as the period of the second section (522), but the units used to express it can be different. According to one example, the length of the TWT wake interval can be expressed as 64 bits, and the length of the ULW can be expressed as 32 bits. The electronic device (600) may consider different units when converting the TWT wake interval into a period of the second section (522). For example, the electronic device (600) may convert the Target wake inteval into 2 32 The value (e.g., remainder) generated by dividing by (or through modular operation) can be determined as the period of the second section (522).

[0183] The electronic device (600) may determine a value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) based on a value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters (e.g., if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function is 1, it indicates to repeat the TWT function; if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function is 0, it indicates to perform the TWT function only a specified number of times and to release the TWT function after the specified number of times). The electronic device (600) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating to repeat the short-range wireless communication (e.g., 255) if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters is a value indicating to repeat the TWT function (e.g., 1).

[0184] The electronic device (600) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters to a value indicating that the TWT function is terminated after a specified number of times (e.g., 0), and may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating that the short-range wireless communication is terminated after a specified number of times (e.g., 1).

[0185] The electronic device (600) can transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703) in operation 718.

[0186] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication according to third schedule information generated based on the second schedule information. The electronic device (600) can control the communication circuit (610) to transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703). By transmitting the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703), the electronic device (600) can enable the electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) to perform NAN communication in a portion of the second section (522) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0187] The electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) can perform NAN communication based on the third schedule information in operation 719.

[0188] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device according to one embodiment performing NAN communication based on third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, according to activation of a TWT function of short-range wireless communication.

[0189] Referring to FIG. 8, an example (801) in which an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) performs NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication based on first schedule information and an example (803) in which an electronic device (600) performs NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication based on third schedule information are illustrated.

[0190] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to the discovery window (511, 512). The schedule information related to the discovery window (511, 512) may include at least one of the duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512), the start time of the discovery window (511, 512), and the period of the discovery window (511, 512). The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on the first schedule information.

[0191] The first schedule information may include not only schedule information related to the discovery windows (511, 512), but also schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between the discovery windows (511, 512). According to one example, the electronic device (600) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between the discovery windows (511, 512), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), a start time of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0192] The electronic device (600) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (521), among the sections (520) between the discovery windows (511, 512). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the section (520) between the discovery windows (511, 512). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery window (511, 512) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512).

[0193] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information based on the second schedule information and perform NAN communication and short-range wireless communication based on the third schedule information as a function (e.g., TWT function) for disabling short-range wireless communication is activated in some section (813) of the second section (522).

[0194] Referring to 803, the electronic device (600) may be configured to perform NAN communication in a section (811) including the first section (521) and a section (813) set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the second section (522), and to perform short-range wireless communication in a section (815) excluding the section (813) set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the second section (522).

[0195] Referring to 801, the electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication in the discovery window (511, 512) and the first section (521), and referring to 803, the electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication in the section (813) set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the discovery window (511, 512), the first section (521), and the second section (522). That is, the electronic device (600) can increase the section in which NAN communication can be performed, and thus, the performance of NAN communication can be improved.

[0196] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment generates schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, upon activation of a NoA (notice of absence) function of short-range wireless communication.

[0197] An electronic device (e.g., electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) may be connected to a first external electronic device (701) (e.g., electronic device (102) of FIG. 1) via short-range wireless communication in operation 911.

[0198] The electronic device (600) can be connected to a first external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102) of FIG. 1) via short-range wireless communication, and can control a communication circuit (610) to transmit data to the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication, and can receive data from the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication.

[0199] The electronic device (600) can activate NAN communication in operation 912.

[0200] The electronic device (600) can activate NAN communication for various reasons (e.g., activation of an application using NAN communication, receipt of user input to perform NAN communication).

[0201] The electronic device (600) may be connected to a second external electronic device (e.g., electronic devices (210, 220, 230, 240) of FIG. 2) through NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication while being connected to a first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication.

[0202] The electronic device (600) can join a pre-created NAN cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) or create a new cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) according to the activation of NAN communication.

[0203] The electronic device (600) can perform synchronization with the NAN cluster (200) based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by a second external electronic device (703) included in a NAN (neighbor awareness networking) cluster (or network) (200). Alternatively, the electronic device (600) can also receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (e.g., short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). For example, the electronic device (600) can transmit a probe request signal to find a second external electronic device (703) to be connected via Wi-Fi, and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on NAN cluster information included in a probe response message transmitted by the second external electronic device (703) in response to the probe request signal.

[0204] NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing a NAN cluster (or a master device of the NAN cluster) (e.g., the first electronic device (410) of FIG. 4) so ​​that electronic devices included in the NAN cluster (200) transmit and / or receive data on the same channel and / or during the same time. For example, the electronic device (600) may receive a beacon broadcast by a second external electronic device (703) and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on the time clock information of the second external electronic device (703) included in the beacon.

[0205] After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the electronic device (600) can activate the communication circuit (610) for each designated section (e.g., discovery window (e.g., discovery window (511, 512, 513) of FIG. 5A)) and control the communication circuit (610) to perform NAN communication for each designated section. NAN communication can refer to receiving data transmitted by a second external electronic device (703) included in the NAN cluster (200) or transmitting data to the second external electronic device (703).

[0206] The electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) (e.g., the electronic devices (210, 220, 230, 240) of FIG. 2) are connected to each other through NAN communication in operation 913, and can perform NAN communication based on the first schedule information.

[0207] The electronic device (600) can receive first schedule information related to NAN communication from the second external electronic device (703) after the NAN cluster synchronization process or synchronization of the NAN cluster is completed.

[0208] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513) may include at least one of the duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), and the period of the discovery window (511, 512, 513). The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on the first schedule information.

[0209] The first schedule information may include not only schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513), but also schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). According to one example, the electronic device (600) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (5210), a start time of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0210] The electronic device (600) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (703) so that the period (or time) during which data is transmitted and / or received through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) does not overlap with the discovery window (521, 522). In addition, the electronic device (600) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (703) so that the period (or time) during which data is transmitted and / or received through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) does not overlap with the first period (521), which is a portion of the period (520) between the discovery window (521, 522).

[0211] The electronic device (600) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (521), among the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0212] The electronic device (600) may perform an operation to set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) in order to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522).

[0213] The electronic device (600) exchanges setting information (e.g., Unaligned schedule attribute) for performing short-range wireless communication (or setting information for not performing NAN communication) in a second section (522), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and can set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) (or to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522)) through negotiation using the setting information. The setting information for performing short-range wireless communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), channel information of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), a starting point of the second section (522) (e.g., a starting time field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), a length of the second section (522) (e.g., a duration field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), and a period of the second section (522) (e.g., a period field of the Unaligned schedule attribute).

[0214] The electronic device (600) can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the second external electronic device (703) through NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (521) through the process described above, and can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication in the second section (522). According to one example, the schedule for the electronic device (600) to perform NAN communication and short-range wireless communication can be implemented similarly to FIG. 5B. The schedule illustrated in FIG. 5B is an example, and the first section (521) and the second section (522) can be set to exist between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0215] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication with a second external electronic device (703) (or control a communication circuit (610)) based on first schedule information related to at least one discovery window (511, 512, 513) set in a NAN cluster (200) to which the electronic device (600) belongs (or which includes the electronic device (600)) and a first section (521) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and can transmit and / or receive data with the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0216] The first external electronic device (701) can activate the NoA function in operation 914.

[0217] The NoA function is a function that disables short-range wireless communication in a specific section. An electronic device (600) that supports NoA can reduce power consumption when performing short-range wireless communication by switching short-range wireless communication to a disabled state for a time period set as the NoA section.

[0218] According to one example, the electronic device (600) may deactivate short-range wireless communication in some sections of the second section (522) upon receiving information indicating that a first external electronic device (701) connected via short-range wireless communication activates the NoA function and that the NoA function is activated.

[0219] The first electronic device (701) can transmit the second schedule information to the electronic device (600) in operation 915.

[0220] The electronic device (600) may, in the process of activating a function (e.g., NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522), receive second schedule information related to the function (e.g., NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522) from the first external electronic device (701).

[0221] The second schedule information may refer to schedule information for performing short-range wireless communication. In one example, the second schedule information may include parameters related to a section in which short-range wireless communication is activated when a function for disabling short-range wireless communication (e.g., NoA function) is activated in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522). In one example, the second schedule information may include at least one NoA parameter, and the NoA parameter may include a parameter indicating a start point of a section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, a parameter indicating a length of a section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, a parameter indicating a cycle of a section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, and / or a parameter indicating whether the NoA function is repeated.

[0222] The electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) can set the NoA function based on the second schedule information in operation 916.

[0223] The electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) may change some parameters related to the NoA function through negotiation related to activation of the NoA function.

[0224] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information based on the second schedule information in operation 917.

[0225] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information for performing NAN communication in a section (e.g., 532, 533) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, based on the second schedule information.

[0226] According to one example, when the NoA function is activated on the electronic device (600), the electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information by converting the NoA parameter included in the second schedule information. The third schedule information can include a parameter that sets a section in which NAN communication is not performed, and the electronic device (600) can generate the third schedule information by converting the NoA parameter into a parameter related to an unaligned window (ULW).

[0227] The section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the NoA function may be substantially the same as the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed, or the section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the NoA function may be included in the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed.

[0228] The electronic device (600) can determine the period (or interval) of the first section (521) based on a parameter indicating the period (or interval) of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled may be substantially the same as the period of the first section (521). The electronic device (600) can determine the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled as the period of the first section (521).

[0229] The electronic device (600) may determine the length of the first section (521) based on a parameter indicating the duration of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled may be substantially equal to a value obtained by subtracting the length of the second section (522), which is a section in which short-range wireless communication is enabled, from the length between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled). The electronic device (600) may determine the length of the second section (522) as a value obtained by subtracting the length of the first section (521), which is a section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, from the length between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled).

[0230] The electronic device (600) may determine the start time of the second section (522) based on a parameter indicating the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The start time of the second section (522) may be substantially equal to a value obtained by adding the length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled to the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled (e.g., the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513)). The electronic device (600) may determine the start time of the second section (522) as a value obtained by adding the length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled to the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0231] The electronic device (600) can determine a value indicating whether to repeat short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) based on a parameter indicating whether to repeat the NoA function among the NoA parameters (e.g., if the parameter is 0, it indicates that the NoA function is repeated; if the parameter is a value other than 0, it indicates that the NoA function is repeated by a different value).

[0232] The electronic device (600) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating the repetition of the short-range wireless communication (e.g., 255) when the value indicating whether to repeat the NoA function among the NoA parameters is a value indicating the repetition of the NoA function (e.g., 0).

[0233] The electronic device (600) can transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703) in operation 918.

[0234] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication according to third schedule information generated based on the second schedule information. The electronic device (600) can control the communication circuit (610) to transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703). By transmitting the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703), the electronic device (600) can enable the electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) to perform NAN communication in a portion of the second section (522) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0235] The electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) can perform NAN communication based on the third schedule information in operation 919.

[0236] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment performs NAN communication based on third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, upon activation of the NoA function of short-range wireless communication.

[0237] Referring to FIG. 10, an example (1001) in which an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) performs NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication based on first schedule information and an example (1003) in which an electronic device (600) performs NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication based on third schedule information are illustrated.

[0238] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513) may include at least one of the duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), and the period of the discovery window (511, 512, 513). The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on the first schedule information.

[0239] The first schedule information may include not only schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513), but also schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). According to one example, the electronic device (600) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (5210), a start time of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0240] The electronic device (600) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (521), among the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0241] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information based on the second schedule information and perform NAN communication and short-range wireless communication based on the third schedule information as a function (e.g., NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication is activated in some sections (10133) of the second section (522).

[0242] Referring to 1003, the electronic device (600) may be configured to perform NAN communication in a section (1011) including the first section (521) and a section (1013) set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the second section (522), and to perform short-range wireless communication in a section (1015) excluding the section (1013) set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the second section (522).

[0243] Referring to 1001, the electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication in discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and a first section (521), and referring to 1003, the electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication in a section (1013) set not to perform short-range wireless communication among discovery windows (511, 512, 513), the first section (521), and the second section (522). That is, the electronic device (600) can increase the section in which NAN communication can be performed, and thus, the performance of NAN communication can be improved.

[0244] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device according to one embodiment performing NAN communication based on third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections of a second section in which short-range wireless communication can be performed, according to activation of a TWT function and a NoA function of short-range wireless communication.

[0245] In the above-described examples, the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) is described as an example of a situation in which two wireless communications, including NAN communication and short-range wireless communication, are simultaneously used. However, the electronic device (600) according to the present disclosure is not limited to two wireless communications and can be expanded and applied to a plurality of wireless communications. Hereinafter, scheduling in a case in which the electronic device (600) supports all three short-range wireless communications (e.g., NAN communication, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct) will be described.

[0246] Referring to FIG. 11, an example (1101) in which an electronic device (600) performs NAN communication, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi direct based on first schedule information and an example (1103) in which an electronic device (600) performs NAN communication, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi direct based on third schedule information are illustrated.

[0247] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513) may include at least one of the duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), and the period of the discovery window (511, 512, 513). The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on the first schedule information.

[0248] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) as well as schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). According to one example, the electronic device (600) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (1101) (e.g., the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (1101) through negotiation. The first section (1101) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (1101), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (1101), a start time of the first section (1101) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (1101), and a period of the first section (1101).

[0249] The electronic device (600) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi) in a second section (1103) (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (1101) among the sections between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (1103), which is at least a portion of the sections between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The second section (1103) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (1101), and may be referred to as an unaligned window (ULW) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0250] The electronic device (600) can perform other short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi direct) in a third section (1105), which is a section other than the first section (1101) and the second section (1103), among the sections between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing other short-range wireless communication in the third section (1105), which is at least a portion of the sections between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The third section (1105) is at least a portion of the section between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster, excluding the first section (1101) and the second section (1103), and may be referred to as an unaligned window (ULW) considering the characteristic of performing other short-range wireless communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0251] The electronic device (600) can generate (or receive) first schedule information that enables the electronic device (600) to perform short-range wireless communication in a second section (1103) and other short-range wireless communication in a third section (1105), and can operate according to the first schedule information.

[0252] The electronic device (600) may generate third schedule information based on the second schedule information and perform NAN communication, short-range wireless communication, and / or other short-range wireless communication based on the third schedule information, as a function (e.g., TWT function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (1121) of the second sections (1103) and / or a function (e.g., NoA) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (1127) of the third sections (1105) is activated.

[0253] Referring to 1133, the electronic device (600) may be configured to perform NAN communication in a section (1121) that is set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the second section (1103) and a section including the first section (1111) and a section (1127) that is set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the third section (1105), perform short-range wireless communication in a section (1123) excluding the section (1121) that is set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the second section (1103), and perform other short-range wireless communication in a section (1125) excluding the section (1127) that is set not to perform short-range wireless communication among the third section (1105).

[0254] Referring to 1131, the electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (1101), and referring to 1133, the electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication in the section (1121) in which short-range wireless communication is set not to be performed among the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), the first section (1101), the second section (1103), and the section (1127) in which short-range wireless communication is set not to be performed in the third section (1105). That is, the electronic device (600) can increase the section in which NAN communication can be performed, and thus, the performance of NAN communication can be improved.

[0255] FIG. 12 is an operational flowchart (1200) illustrating an operating method of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0256] An electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) may be connected to a second external electronic device (e.g., a second external electronic device (703) of FIG. 7) through NAN communication while being connected to a first external electronic device (e.g., a first external electronic device (701) of FIG. 7) through short-range wireless communication in operation 1210.

[0257] The electronic device (600) can be connected to a second external electronic device (703) through NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication while being connected to a first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication.

[0258] The electronic device (600) can join a pre-created NAN cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) or create a new cluster (e.g., the NAN cluster (200) of FIG. 2) according to the activation of NAN communication.

[0259] The electronic device (600) can perform synchronization with the NAN cluster (200) based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by a second external electronic device (703) included in a NAN (neighbor awareness networking) cluster (or network) (200). Alternatively, the electronic device (600) can also receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (e.g., short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). For example, the electronic device (600) can transmit a probe request signal to find a second external electronic device (703) to be connected via Wi-Fi, and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on NAN cluster information included in a probe response message transmitted by the second external electronic device (703) in response to the probe request signal.

[0260] NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing a NAN cluster (or a master device of the NAN cluster) (e.g., the first electronic device (410) of FIG. 4) so ​​that electronic devices included in the NAN cluster (200) transmit and / or receive data on the same channel and / or during the same time. For example, the electronic device (600) may receive a beacon broadcast by a second external electronic device (703) and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on the time clock information of the second external electronic device (703) included in the beacon.

[0261] After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the electronic device (600) can activate the communication circuit (610) for each designated section (e.g., discovery window (e.g., discovery window (511, 512, 513) of FIG. 5A)) and control the communication circuit (610) to perform NAN communication for each designated section. NAN communication can refer to receiving data transmitted by a second external electronic device (703) included in the NAN cluster (200) or transmitting data to the second external electronic device (703).

[0262] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication based on first schedule information related to a first section (521) set between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) in operation 1220, and can perform short-range wireless communication in a second section (522) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (521).

[0263] The electronic device (600) can receive first schedule information related to NAN communication from the second external electronic device (703) after the NAN cluster synchronization process or synchronization of the NAN cluster is completed.

[0264] The first schedule information may include schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513). The schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513) may include at least one of the duration (or length) of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), the start time of the discovery window (511, 512, 513), and the period of the discovery window (511, 512, 513). The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on the first schedule information.

[0265] The first schedule information may include not only schedule information related to discovery windows (511, 512, 513), but also schedule information related to NAN communication to be performed in some sections between discovery windows (511, 512, 513). According to one example, the electronic device (600) may be configured to exchange setting information (e.g., NAN availability attribute or further available window (FAW) attribute) for performing NAN communication in the first section (521) of FIG. 5A), which is at least some sections among the sections (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5A) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and perform NAN communication in the first section (521) through negotiation. The first section (521) may be referred to as a further available window (FAW) considering that it is an additional section in which NAN communication is possible other than the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster. The configuration information for performing NAN communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of NAN communication performed in the first section (521), channel information of NAN communication performed in the first section (5210), a start time of the first section (521) (e.g., start offset), a duration of the first section (521), and a period of the first section (521).

[0266] The electronic device (600) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (703) so that the period (or time) during which data is transmitted and / or received through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) does not overlap with the discovery window (521, 522). In addition, the electronic device (600) may negotiate with the second external electronic device (703) so that the period (or time) during which data is transmitted and / or received through short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) does not overlap with the first period (521), which is a portion of the period (520) between the discovery window (521, 522).

[0267] The electronic device (600) can perform short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and / or Hotspot) in a second section (e.g., the second section (522) of FIG. 5B), which is a section other than the first section (521), among the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). For example, the electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations for performing NAN communication and other short-range wireless communication in the second section (522), which is at least a portion of the sections (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, and 513). The second section (522) is at least a portion of the section excluding the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) defined in the NAN cluster and the first section (512), and may be referred to as an ULW (unaligned window) considering the characteristic of performing short-range wireless communication rather than NAN communication between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0268] The electronic device (600) may perform an operation to set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) in order to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522).

[0269] The electronic device (600) may exchange setting information (e.g., unaligned schedule attribute) for performing short-range wireless communication (or setting information for not performing NAN communication) in a second section (522), which is at least a portion of a section (520) between discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and may set not to perform NAN communication in the second section (522) (or to perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (522)) through negotiation using the setting information. The setting information for performing short-range wireless communication may include at least one of information indicating a frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), channel information of short-range wireless communication performed in the second section (522), a starting point of the second section (522) (e.g., a starting time field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), a length of the second section (522) (e.g., a duration field of the Unaligned schedule attribute), and a period of the second section (522) (e.g., a period field of the Unaligned schedule attribute).

[0270] The electronic device (600) can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the second external electronic device (703) through NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (521) through the process described above, and can control the communication circuit (610) to exchange data with the first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication in the second section (522). According to one example, the schedule for the electronic device (600) to perform NAN communication and short-range wireless communication can be implemented similarly to FIG. 5B. The schedule illustrated in FIG. 5B is an example, and the first section (521) and the second section (522) can be set to exist between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0271] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication with a second external electronic device (703) (or control a communication circuit (610)) based on first schedule information related to at least one discovery window (511, 512, 513) set in a NAN cluster (200) to which the electronic device (600) belongs (or which includes the electronic device (600)) and a first section (521) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513), and can transmit and / or receive data with the first external electronic device (701) via short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) set between the discovery windows (511, 512, 513).

[0272] The electronic device (600), in operation 1230, may generate third schedule information for performing NAN communication in some sections (e.g., 815 of FIG. 8, 1015 of FIG. 10) of the second section (522) upon receiving second schedule information for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (e.g., 815 of FIG. 8, 1015 of FIG. 10).

[0273] An electronic device (600) performing short-range wireless communication in a second section (522) may support a function (e.g., target wake time (TWT)) for activating short-range wireless communication in at least some sections (e.g., 531 of FIG. 5c)) of the second section (522) or a function (e.g., notice of absence (NoA)) for deactivating short-range wireless communication in the first section (521). The electronic device (600) may activate a function (e.g., TWT function) for activating short-range wireless communication in some sections (531) of the second section (522) or a function (e.g., NoA function) for deactivating short-range wireless communication in the first section (521) due to various causes.

[0274] TWT is a function proposed and implemented in IEEE 802.11 ax (or Wi-Fi 6), and an electronic device (620) supporting TWT can reduce power consumption in performing short-range wireless communication by transmitting and / or receiving data through short-range wireless communication for a specified period of time and switching the communication circuit (610) supporting short-range wireless communication to an idle state (or inactive state) for a period of time other than the specified period.

[0275] The NoA function is a function that disables short-range wireless communication in a specific section. An electronic device (600) that supports NoA can reduce power consumption when performing short-range wireless communication by switching short-range wireless communication to a disabled state for a time period set as the NoA section.

[0276] According to one example, the electronic device (600) may deactivate short-range wireless communication in some sections of the second section (522) upon receiving information indicating that a first external electronic device (701) connected via short-range wireless communication activates a target wake time (TWT) function and that the TWT function is activated.

[0277] The electronic device (600) can perform a series of operations to perform NAN communication in some sections (532, 533) by activating a function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522).

[0278] The electronic device (600) may, in the process of activating a function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522), receive second schedule information related to the function (e.g., TWT function, NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522) from the first external electronic device (701).

[0279] The second schedule information may refer to schedule information for performing short-range wireless communication. In one example, the second schedule information may include parameters related to a section in which short-range wireless communication is activated when a function (e.g., TWT function) for deactivating short-range wireless communication is activated in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522). In one example, the second schedule information may include at least one TWT parameter, and the second schedule information may include at least one of a Target Wake Time indicating an activation time of data transmission and / or reception, a TWT Duration (or TWT SP (service period)) indicating a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, and / or a TWT wake interval indicating an interval (or interval) between an activation time of data transmission and / or reception and a next activation time of data transmission and / or reception.

[0280] The electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information for performing NAN communication in a section (e.g., 532, 533) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, based on the second schedule information.

[0281] According to one example, when the TWT function is activated on the electronic device (600), the electronic device (600) can generate third schedule information by converting TWT parameters included in the second schedule information. The third schedule information can include parameters that set a section in which NAN communication is not performed, and the electronic device (600) can generate the third schedule information by converting TWT parameters into parameters related to an unaligned window (ULW).

[0282] The section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the TWT function may be substantially the same as the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed, or the section in which short-range wireless communication is activated by the TWT function may be included in the section (ULW) in which NAN communication is not performed.

[0283] The electronic device (600) may determine the start time of the second section (522) based on the Target Wake Time, which indicates the activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters. Alternatively, the electronic device (600) may convert the Target Wake Time, which indicates the activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters, into the start time of the second section (522). The unit (64 bits) of the Target wake time and the unit (32 bits) of the start time of the second section (522) may be different, and the electronic device (600) may consider different units when converting the Target Wake Time into the start time of the second section (522). For example, the electronic device (600) may convert the Target wake time into 2 32The value (e.g., remainder) generated by dividing by (or through modular operation) can be determined as the length of the second section (522).

[0284] The electronic device (600) may determine the length of the second section (522) based on the TWT duration, which indicates a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, among the TWT parameters. Alternatively, the electronic device (600) may convert the TWT duration, which indicates a section in which data transmission and / or reception can be performed, among the TWT parameters, into the length of the second section (522). The unit (256 μs) used to set the TWT parameter and the unit (1 μs) used to set the ULW may be different, and the electronic device (600) may consider different units when converting the TWT duration into the length of the second section (522). For example, the electronic device (600) may convert the TWT duration into the length of the second section (522) by multiplying it by 256 μs.

[0285] The electronic device (600) can determine the period (or interval) of the second section (522) based on the TWT wake interval, which indicates the interval (or interval) between the activation time of data transmission and / or reception and the next activation time of data transmission and / or reception among the TWT parameters. The electronic device (600) can determine the length of the TWT wake interval based on parameters related to the TWT wake interval (e.g., TWT wake interval mantissa, TWT wake interval exponent), and can determine the period of the second section (522) based on the length of the TWT wake interval. The length of the TWT wake interval can be substantially the same as the period of the second section (522), but the units used to express it can be different. According to one example, the length of the TWT wake interval can be expressed as 64 bits, and the length of the ULW can be expressed as 32 bits. The electronic device (600) may consider different units when converting the TWT wake interval into a period of the second section (522). For example, the electronic device (600) may convert the Target wake inteval into 2 32 The value (e.g., remainder) generated by dividing by (or through modular operation) can be determined as the period of the second section (522).

[0286] The electronic device (600) may determine a value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) based on a value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters (e.g., if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function is 1, it indicates to repeat the TWT function; if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function is 0, it indicates to perform the TWT function only a specified number of times and to release the TWT function after the specified number of times). The electronic device (600) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating to repeat the short-range wireless communication (e.g., 255) if the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters is a value indicating to repeat the TWT function (e.g., 1).

[0287] The electronic device (600) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the TWT function among the TWT parameters to a value indicating that the TWT function is terminated after a specified number of times (e.g., 0), and may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating that the short-range wireless communication is terminated after a specified number of times (e.g., 1).

[0288] According to one example, the second schedule information may include parameters related to the sections in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, when a function (e.g., NoA function) for disabling short-range wireless communication is activated in some sections (532, 533) of the second section (522).

[0289] According to one example, the second schedule information may include at least one NoA parameter, wherein the NoA parameter may include a parameter indicating a start point of a period in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, a parameter indicating a length of a period in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, a parameter indicating a period of a period in which short-range wireless communication is disabled, and / or a parameter indicating whether the NoA function is repeated.

[0290] The electronic device (600) can determine the period (or interval) of the first section (521) based on a parameter indicating the period (or interval) of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled may be substantially the same as the period of the first section (521). The electronic device (600) can determine the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled as the period of the first section (521).

[0291] The electronic device (600) may determine the length of the first section (521) based on a parameter indicating the duration of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled may be substantially the same as a value obtained by subtracting the length of the second section (522), which is a section in which short-range wireless communication is enabled, from the length between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled). The electronic device (600) may determine the length of the first section (521) as a value obtained by subtracting the length of the second section (522), which is a section in which short-range wireless communication is enabled, from the length between discovery windows (511, 512, 513) (or the period of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled).

[0292] The electronic device (600) may determine the start time of the second section (522) based on a parameter indicating the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled among the NoA parameters. The start time of the second section (522) may be substantially equal to a value obtained by adding the length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled to the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled (e.g., the start time of the discovery window (511)). The electronic device (600) may determine the start time of the second section (522) as a value obtained by adding the length of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled to the start time of the section in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0293] The electronic device (600) can determine a value indicating whether to repeat short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) based on a parameter indicating whether to repeat the NoA function among the NoA parameters (e.g., if the parameter is 0, it indicates that the NoA function is repeated; if the parameter is a value other than 0, it indicates that the NoA function is repeated by a different value).

[0294] The electronic device (600) may set the value indicating whether to repeat the short-range wireless communication in the second section (522) to a value indicating the repetition of the short-range wireless communication (e.g., 255) when the value indicating whether to repeat the NoA function among the NoA parameters is a value indicating the repetition of the NoA function (e.g., 0).

[0295] The electronic device (600) can transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703) at operation 1240.

[0296] The electronic device (600) can perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication according to third schedule information generated based on the second schedule information. The electronic device (600) can control the communication circuit (610) to transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703). By transmitting the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703), the electronic device (600) can enable the electronic device (600) and the second external electronic device (703) to perform NAN communication in a portion of the second section (522) in which short-range wireless communication is disabled.

[0297] The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication and / or short-range wireless communication based on the first schedule information when a function for activating short-range wireless communication (e.g., target wake time (TWT)) in at least some sections (e.g., 531 of FIG. 5c)) of the second section (522) or a function for deactivating short-range wireless communication (e.g., notice of absence (NoA)) in the first section (511) is deactivated. The electronic device (600) may perform NAN communication in the discovery windows (511, 512, 513) and the first section (511), and perform short-range wireless communication in the second section (521).

[0298] An electronic device according to an example (e.g., electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) may include a communication circuit (e.g., communication circuit (610) of FIG. 6) that supports short-range wireless communication and NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication. The electronic device (600) may include a processor (620). The processor (620) may perform a connection with a second external electronic device (703) through NAN communication while being connected to a first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication. The processor (620) may perform NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on first schedule information related to a first section (521) set between at least one discovery window set in a NAN cluster to which the electronic device (600) belongs, and may perform short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device in a second section (522) set between the at least one discovery window and the first section (521). The processor (620) may generate third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the partial section (813) based on the second schedule information, upon receiving second schedule information of the short-range wireless communication that deactivates the short-range wireless communication in a partial section (813) of the second section (522). The above processor (620) can transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703).

[0299] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the third schedule information may enable the second external electronic device (703) and the electronic device (600) to perform the NAN communication in the part of the second section (522).

[0300] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the processor (620) may be set to perform the NAN communication in the first section (521) and some sections of the second section (522), and may be set to perform the short-range wireless communication in other sections except the some sections of the second section (522).

[0301] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the second schedule information may include at least one parameter related to a target wake time (TWT) supported by the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701).

[0302] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the processor (620) may be configured to generate the third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to the TWT into a parameter related to the NAN communication.

[0303] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the processor (620) may be configured to generate the third schedule information so that the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) perform the NAN communication in a section including a section in which the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) do not perform the short-range wireless communication.

[0304] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the second schedule information may include at least one parameter related to a notice of absence (NoA) supported by the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701).

[0305] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the processor (620) may be configured to generate the third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to the NoA (notice of absence) into a parameter related to the NAN communication.

[0306] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the processor (620) may be configured to generate the third schedule information so that the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) perform the NAN communication in a section including a section in which the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) do not perform the short-range wireless communication.

[0307] In an electronic device (600) according to an example, the processor (620) may be set to perform the NAN communication based on the first schedule information when the performance of the short-range wireless communication is terminated.

[0308] According to an example, an operating method of an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (600) of FIG. 6) may include an operation of performing a connection with a second external electronic device (703) through NAN communication while connected to a first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication. The operating method of the electronic device (600) may include an operation of performing NAN communication with the second external electronic device (703) based on first schedule information related to a first section (521) set between at least one discovery window set in a NAN cluster to which the electronic device (600) belongs, and performing short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device (701) in a second section (522) set between the at least one discovery window and the first section. The method of operating the electronic device (600) may include an operation of generating third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the partial section based on the second schedule information upon receiving second schedule information of the short-range wireless communication for disabling the short-range wireless communication in a partial section of the second section (522). The method of operating the electronic device (600) may include an operation of transmitting the third schedule information to the second external electronic device (703).

[0309] In an operating method of an electronic device (600) according to an example, the third schedule information may enable the second external electronic device (703) and the electronic device (600) to perform the NAN communication in the part of the second section (522).

[0310] An operating method of an electronic device (600) according to an example may further include an operation of setting the NAN communication to be performed in the first section (521) and some sections of the second section (522), and performing the short-range wireless communication in other sections of the second section (522) excluding the some sections.

[0311] In an operating method of an electronic device (600) according to an example, the second schedule information may include at least one parameter related to a target wake time (TWT) supported by the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701).

[0312] In an operating method of an electronic device (600) according to an example, the operation of generating the third schedule information may include an operation of generating the third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to the TWT into a parameter related to the NAN communication.

[0313] The method of operating an electronic device (600) according to an example may further include an operation of performing the NAN communication in a section including a section in which the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701) do not perform the short-range wireless communication.

[0314] In an operating method of an electronic device (600) according to an example, the second schedule information may include at least one parameter related to a notice of absence (NoA) supported by the electronic device (600) and the first external electronic device (701).

[0315] In an operating method of an electronic device (600) according to an example, the operation of generating the third schedule information may include an operation of generating the third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to the NoA (notice of absence) into a parameter related to the NAN communication.

[0316] The method of operating an electronic device (600) according to an example may further include an operation of generating the third schedule information so that the electronic device (600) (600) and the first external electronic device (701) perform the NAN communication in a section including a section in which the short-range wireless communication is not performed.

[0317] The method of operating an electronic device (600) according to an example may further include an operation of performing the NAN communication based on the first schedule information when the performance of the short-range wireless communication is terminated.

[0318] Electronic devices according to the various embodiments disclosed in this document may take various forms. Electronic devices may include, for example, portable communication devices (e.g., smartphones), computer devices, portable multimedia devices, portable medical devices, cameras, wearable devices, or home appliances. Electronic devices according to the embodiments of this document are not limited to the aforementioned devices.

[0319] The various embodiments of this document and the terminology used herein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, phrases such as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C” each include all possible combinations of the items listed together in that phrase. Terms such as “first,” “second,” or “first” or “second” may be used simply to distinguish the corresponding component from other corresponding components and do not limit the corresponding components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order). When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as being “coupled” or “connected” to another component (e.g., a second component), with or without the terms “functionally” or “communicatively,” it means that the component can be connected to the other component directly (e.g., wired), wirelessly, or through a third component.

[0320] The term "module" as used in this document may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit. A module may be an integral component, or a minimum unit or part of such a component that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0321] Various embodiments of the present document may be implemented as software (e.g., a program (140)) including one or more commands stored in a storage medium (e.g., an internal memory (136) or an external memory (138)) readable by a machine (e.g., an electronic device (101)). For example, a processor (e.g., a processor (120)) of the machine (e.g., an electronic device (101)) may call at least one command among the one or more commands stored from the storage medium and execute it. This enables the machine to operate to perform at least one function according to the at least one command called. The one or more commands may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-transitory' simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and the term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently or temporarily on the storage medium.

[0322] According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in this document may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between sellers and buyers as a product. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a device-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)) or may be provided through an application store (e.g., Play Store). TM ) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones), online distribution (e.g., downloading or uploading). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product may be at least temporarily stored or temporarily created in a machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0323] According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include a single or multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations of the aforementioned components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., a module or a program) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by the corresponding component among the plurality of components prior to the integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by a module, program, or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

Claims

1. In an electronic device (600), A communication circuit (610) supporting short-range wireless communication and NAN (neighbor awareness network) communication; and Contains a processor (620), The above processor While connected to a first external electronic device (701) through short-range wireless communication, a connection is made to a second external electronic device (703) through the NAN communication, Performing NAN communication with the second external electronic device based on first schedule information related to a first section (521) set between at least one discovery window set in a NAN cluster to which the electronic device belongs, and performing short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device in a second section (522) set between the at least one discovery window and the first section, Upon receiving second schedule information of the short-range wireless communication that deactivates the short-range wireless communication in some section (813) of the second section (522), third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the some section (813) is generated based on the second schedule information, An electronic device configured to transmit the third schedule information to the second external electronic device.

2. In paragraph 1, The above third schedule information An electronic device that enables the second external electronic device and the electronic device to perform the NAN communication in the part of the second section.

3. In clauses 1 and 2, The above processor An electronic device configured to perform the NAN communication in some sections of the second section and the first section, and configured to perform the short-range wireless communication in other sections of the second section excluding the some sections.

4. In clauses 1 to 3, The above second schedule information is An electronic device comprising at least one parameter related to a target wake time (TWT) supported by the electronic device and the first external electronic device.

5. In clauses 1 to 4, The above processor An electronic device configured to generate said third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to said TWT into a parameter related to said NAN communication.

6. In clauses 1 to 5, The above processor An electronic device configured to generate the third schedule information to perform the NAN communication in a section including a section in which the electronic device and the first external electronic device do not perform the short-range wireless communication.

7. In clauses 1 to 6, The above second schedule information is An electronic device comprising at least one parameter related to a notice of absence (NoA) supported by said electronic device and said first external electronic device.

8. In clauses 1 to 7, The above processor An electronic device configured to generate the third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to the above NoA (notice of absence) into a parameter related to the NAN communication.

9. In clauses 1 to 8, The above processor An electronic device configured to generate the third schedule information to perform the NAN communication in a section including a section in which the electronic device and the first external electronic device do not perform the short-range wireless communication.

10. In clauses 1 to 9, The above processor An electronic device configured to perform the NAN communication based on the first schedule information when the performance of the short-range wireless communication is terminated.

11. In the method of operating an electronic device, An operation of performing a connection with a second external electronic device through NAN communication while connected to a first external electronic device through short-range wireless communication; An operation of performing NAN communication with the second external electronic device based on first schedule information related to a first section set between at least one discovery window set in a NAN cluster to which the electronic device belongs, and performing short-range wireless communication with the first external electronic device in a second section set between the at least one discovery window and the first section; An operation of generating third schedule information for performing the NAN communication in the partial section based on the second schedule information, upon receiving second schedule information of the short-range wireless communication for disabling the short-range wireless communication in some section of the second section; A method of operating an electronic device, comprising the action of transmitting said third schedule information to said second external electronic device.

12. In paragraph 11, The above third schedule information An operating method of an electronic device that enables the second external electronic device and the electronic device to perform the NAN communication in the part of the second section.

13. In clauses 11 and 12, The method of operation of the above electronic device An operating method of an electronic device further comprising: setting the NAN communication to be performed in the first section and some sections of the second section, and performing the short-range wireless communication in other sections excluding the some sections of the second section.

14. In clauses 11 to 13, The above second schedule information is A method of operating an electronic device, the method comprising at least one parameter related to a target wake time (TWT) supported by the electronic device and the first external electronic device.

15. In clauses 11 to 14, The action of generating the above third schedule information is A method of operating an electronic device, comprising generating the third schedule information by converting at least one parameter related to the TWT into a parameter related to the NAN communication.

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