Method and apparatus for sharing non-primary TXOP in wireless LAN system

Abstract

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and an apparatus for efficiently using frequency and spatial resources by sharing a non-primary subchannel included in a TXOP are described.

Description

Method and device for non-primary TXOP sharing in wireless LAN systems

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and device for transmitting a signal in a wireless LAN network system, and more particularly, to a method and device for performing non-primary TXOP (transmission opportunity) sharing.

[0002] A wireless local area network (WLAN), also known as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), is a network that allows users to access the Internet via mobile devices or laptops within a certain distance from an access point (AP). WLAN technology continues to evolve with the rise of the Internet and the expansion of the smartphone market, and WLAN is used to provide high-speed data services to entire cities, including schools, airports, hotels, and offices.

[0003] The WiFi Alliance defines WiFi as a wireless local area network (WLAN) product based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards. IEEE 802.11a and b, published in 1997 and 1999 respectively, are standards that utilize the unlicensed bands at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, with IEEE 802.11b providing a transmission rate of 11 Mbps and IEEE 802.11a providing a transmission rate of 54 Mbps. IEEE 802.11g applies orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) at 2.4 GHz to provide a transmission rate of 54 Mbps. IEEE 802.11n uses multiple input multiple output OFDM (MIMO-OFDM) to provide a transmission rate of 300 Mbps using four spatial streams. IEEE 802.11n supports channel bandwidths up to 40 MHz, in which case it provides a transmission rate of 600 Mbps.

[0004] Afterwards, the IEEE 802.11ac standard was introduced, which supports up to 160 MHz bandwidth, 8 spatial streams, and a speed of up to 1 Gbit / s, and IEEE 802.11ax, which provides multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) in both uplink and downlink and supports spatial frequency reuse, dynamic fragmentation, etc. Afterwards, 802.11be is being studied, which supports up to 320 ultra-wide channels, multi-link operation, 4kQAM, etc., and aims to theoretically implement a speed of 46 Gbps.

[0005] 802.11 introduced transmission opportunity (TXOP), which guarantees quality of service (QoS) and increases channel utilization. It also introduced technology for sharing TXOPs between APs. At this time, a method and device for sharing non-primary TXOPs are needed to ensure effective resource allocation when sharing TXOPs between APs.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method performed by an electronic device of a wireless LAN network, comprising: receiving an NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame); checking whether an NP TXOP (non-primary transmission opportunity) is available based on at least one of an AP (access point) identifier or NP subchannel information included in the NP TXS TF; and performing contention for frame exchange or channel access in an indicated NP subchannel when the NP TXOP is available, wherein the NP TXOP corresponds to a TXOP of an NP subchannel that is not used by an AP occupying the TXOP among TXOPs.

[0007] In addition, a method performed by an electronic device of a wireless LAN network comprises the steps of: occupying a transmission opportunity (TXOP); transmitting a non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame (NP TXS TF) including at least one of an access point (AP) identifier or NP subchannel information that can use a non-primary (NP) subchannel, wherein the NP TXS TF corresponds to a trigger frame for sharing an NP TXOP.

[0008] In addition, in an electronic device of a wireless LAN network, a transmitter and receiver are provided; and a control unit configured to receive an NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame), determine whether an NP TXOP (non-primary transmission opportunity) is available based on at least one of an AP (access point) identifier or NP subchannel information included in the NP TXS TF, and perform contention for frame exchange or channel access in an indicated NP subchannel when the NP TXOP is available, wherein the NP TXOP corresponds to a TXOP of an NP subchannel that is not used by an AP occupying the TXOP among TXOPs.

[0009] In addition, in an electronic device of a wireless LAN network, a control unit is included that is set to transmit a non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame (NP TXS TF) that includes at least one of an access point (AP) identifier or NP subchannel information that can occupy a TXOP (transmission opportunity) and use an NP (non-primary) subchannel, and the NP TXS TF is characterized in that it corresponds to a trigger frame for sharing an NP TXOP.

[0010] According to a method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, in the case of TXOP sharing between APs, carriers can be efficiently used and throughput can be increased through appropriate non-primary TXOP sharing.

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of an electronic device that performs WLAN connection.

[0013] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link setup process of a typical wireless LAN.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hidden node and an exposed node and an example of an RTS and a CTS for solving the problem of a hidden node and an exposed node.

[0015] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure used in an IEEE 802.11 system.

[0016] Figure 6 is a drawing showing an example of NAV settings.

[0017] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of TXOP.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a problem that may occur when the bandwidth of a PPDU is reduced within a TXOP.

[0019] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of non-primary TXOP sharing where the sharing AP does not reoccupy an unused NP subchannel until the TXOP ends (or the sharing AP does not regain control of the NP subchannel).

[0020] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of non-primary TXOP sharing where the sharing AP reoccupies an unused NP subchannel before the TXOP ends (or the sharing AP regains control of the NP subchannel).

[0021] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation that an AP and an OBSS AP may perform in the case of FIG. 9, where an unused NP subchannel is not reoccupied until the end of a TXOP.

[0022] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of operations that an AP and an OBSS AP may perform in the case of FIG. 9, where unused subchannels are not reoccupied until the end of a TXOP.

[0023] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation that an AP and an OBSS AP may perform in the case of the example of FIG. 10 of reoccupying an unused NP subchannel before TXOP termination.

[0024] FIG. 14a is a diagram illustrating an example of using MU-RTS TXS TF (multi-user RTS triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame, hereinafter referred to as MRTT) with NP TXS TF.

[0025] Figure 14b is a diagram illustrating an example of a feedback user info field.

[0026] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for indicating an NP subchannel or / and an RA NP subchannel to be shared.

[0027] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of an OBSS AP when the sharing AP does not reoccupy an unused NP subchannel until the end of the TXOP (or the sharing AP does not regain control of the NP subchannel).

[0028] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of an OBSS AP when a sharing AP reoccupies an unused NP subchannel (or when the sharing AP regains control of an NP subchannel) before the TXOP ends.

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0030] In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains and are not directly related to the present disclosure will be omitted. This is to ensure that the gist of the present disclosure is conveyed more clearly without obscuring it by omitting unnecessary explanations.

[0031] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Furthermore, the dimensions of each component do not entirely reflect its actual size. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing are assigned the same reference numbers.

[0032] The advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. The embodiments of the present disclosure are provided only to ensure that the present disclosure is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

[0033] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the processing flowchart drawings and combinations of the flowchart drawings can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create a means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the functions in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item that includes an instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0034] Since the computer program instructions may be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, a series of operational steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create a computer-executable process, so that the instructions that cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to perform the steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s) may also be able to provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0035] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions described in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks depicted in succession may actually be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on their respective functions.

[0036] Here, the term '~ unit' used in this embodiment means software or hardware components such as FPGA (field programmable gate array) or ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), and the '~ unit' performs certain roles. However, the '~ unit' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~ unit' may be configured to be on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to play one or more processors. Accordingly, according to some embodiments, the '~ unit' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided within the components and '~ units' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ units' or further separated into additional components and '~ units'. Additionally, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to activate one or more CPUs within the device or secure multimedia card. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the '~parts' may include one or more processors.

[0037] The exemplary embodiments are described below solely for simplicity with respect to wireless LAN systems. It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are equally applicable to other wireless networks (e.g., cellular networks, pico-networks, femto-networks, satellite networks), as well as systems that utilize signals of one or more wired standards or protocols (e.g., Ethernet and / or HomePlug, PLC standards). As used herein, the terms WLAN and Wi-Fi® may include communications governed by the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, BLUETOOTH®, HiperLAN (a set of wireless standards primarily used in Europe and comparable to the IEEE 802.11 standards), and other technologies with relatively short radio ranges. Accordingly, the terms WLAN and WiFi may be used interchangeably herein. Additionally, while described below with respect to an infrastructure WLAN system including one or more APs and a plurality of wireless stations (STAs), the exemplary embodiments are equally applicable to other WLAN systems including, for example, multiple WLANs, peer-to-peer (or independent basic service set) systems, Wi-Fi Direct systems, and / or hotspots.

[0038] Additionally, while the present disclosure describes the exchange of data frames between wireless devices, the exemplary embodiments may be applied to the exchange of any data unit, packet, and / or frame between wireless devices. Thus, the term frame may include any frame, packet, or data unit, such as, for example, protocol data units (PDUs), media access control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs), and physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs). The term A-MPDU may mean aggregated MPDUs. A wireless local area network, or WLAN network, below may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard or amendments thereto (including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0039] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, circuits, and processes, to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. The term "connected," as used herein, means directly connected or connected via one or more intervening components or circuits. The term "connected AP" refers to an access point with which a given wireless station is currently associated and / or connected (e.g., there is an established communications channel or link between the access point and the given wireless station). Furthermore, in the following description and for purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that such specific details may not be necessary to practice the exemplary embodiments. In other instances, well-known circuits and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.

[0040] The operating principles of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In the following description of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of related known functions or configurations will be omitted if they are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the terms described below are defined based on the functions of the present disclosure and may vary depending on the intent or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, their definitions should be based on the overall content of this specification.

[0041] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network. The wireless communication network (100) may be an example of a wireless local area network (LAN), such as a Wi-Fi network. The wireless communication network (100) may include a plurality of wireless communication devices, such as an AP (102) and a plurality of STAs (stations, 104). While only one AP (102) is illustrated, the wireless communication network (100) may also include a plurality of APs (102).

[0042] An STA is a logical entity that includes a MAC and a physical layer interface to a wireless medium, and includes an AP and a non-AP STA (Non-AP station). Among the STAs, a portable terminal operated by a user is a Non-AP STA, and when simply referred to as an STA, it also refers to a Non-AP STA. Hereinafter, an STA may refer to a non-AP STA. Each of the STAs (104) may be referred to as a terminal or a device. The term 'terminal' or 'device' used in this specification may be referred to as a mobile station (MS), user equipment (UE), user terminal (UT), wireless terminal, access terminal (AT), terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station (SS), wireless device, wireless communication device, wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), mobile node, mobile, or other terms. Various embodiments of the terminal may include a cellular telephone, a smart phone having wireless communication capabilities, a personal digital assistant (PDA) having wireless communication capabilities, a wireless modem, a portable computer having wireless communication capabilities, a photographic device such as a digital camera having wireless communication capabilities, a gaming device having wireless communication capabilities, a music storage and playback appliance having wireless communication capabilities, an Internet appliance capable of wireless Internet access and browsing, as well as portable units or terminals incorporating combinations of such functions. In addition, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, a machine-to-machine (M2M) terminal, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal / device. In the present specification, the terminal may also be referred to as an electronic device or simply a device.

[0043] An AP (102) is an entity that provides access to a distribution system (DS) via a wireless medium to its associated STAs. An AP may also be called a centralized controller, a base station (BS), a Node-B, a base transceiver system (BTS), or a site controller.

[0044] An exemplary coverage area (106) of an AP (102) that may represent a basic service area (BSA) of a wireless communication network (100) is illustrated. The AP (102) periodically broadcasts beacon frames (beacon frames may be used interchangeably with beacon) containing a basic service set identifier (BSSID) to enable any STAs (104) within the wireless range of the AP (102) to associate or re-associate with the AP (102) and establish or maintain a separate communication link (108) (or may be referred to as a Wi-Fi link) with the AP (102). The AP (102) may provide access to external networks for various STAs (104) within the WLAN via the separate communication links (108).

[0045] A single AP (102) and an associated set of STAs (104) may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS) managed by the individual AP (102). The BSS may be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID), as well as to other devices by the BSSID, which may be the MAC address of the AP (102).

[0046] BSS can be categorized into infrastructure BSS and independent BSS (IBSS). The BSS illustrated in Figure 1 is an IBSS, but an infrastructure BSS (not shown) can also be established. An infrastructure BSS includes one or more STAs and an AP. In principle, communication between non-AP STAs in an infrastructure BSS occurs via the AP. However, if a direct link is established between non-AP STAs, direct communication between non-AP STAs is also possible.

[0047] Multiple infrastructure BSSs can be interconnected via a DS. Multiple BSSs connected via a DS are called an extended service set (ESS). STAs within an ESS can communicate with each other, and within the same ESS, STAs can seamlessly move from one BSS to another while maintaining seamless communication.

[0048] A DS is a mechanism that connects multiple APs. It doesn't necessarily have to be a network, and there are no restrictions on its form as long as it can provide a certain distribution service. For example, a DS could be a wireless network, such as a mesh network, or a physical structure that connects APs.

[0049] Additionally, the AP (102) and the STA (104) may be referred to as AP-MLD (access point multi-link device) and STA-MDL, respectively. This may mean that the AP and the STA can support multi-link operation.

[0050] Below is an example of a hierarchical structure according to the 802.11 standard.

[0051] The 802.11 standard document is developing the MAC and PHY protocols corresponding to Wi-Fi wireless access technology. The data link layer (DLL) includes the MAC sublayer, which is responsible for media access control, and receives packets from the upper layer, 802.1X Port Filtering, through the MAC_SAP interface, and configures them into IEEE 802.11 MAC frames and transmits them to the physical layer. The physical layer includes the PLCP (physical layer convergence procedure) sublayer and the PDM (physical medium dependent) sublayer, and the PLCP sublayer is responsible for configuring the IEEE 802.11 MAC frame configured in the MAC sublayer into a PLCP frame. The PLCP frame is then transmitted to the opposite terminal through the PMD sublayer.

[0052] Various management frames that manage Wi-Fi wireless access are not transmitted at the upper layer of 802.1X. These management frames are transmitted as requests and responses between the SMEs (station management entities) located within each terminal. The SME is a layer-independent entity that may exist in a separate management plane or may appear to be off to the side. For example, if an AP wants to form a BSS, the AP instructs the transmission of a beacon through the MLME_SAP interface, namely, the MLME-START.reques and MLME-START.confirm primitives. If an STA wants to associate with the AP, the STA instructs the transmission of an association Request / Response frame through the MLME-ASSOCIATE.request, MLME-ASSOCIATE.response, MLME-ASSOCIATE.confirm, and MLME-ASSOCIATE.indication primitives. Meanwhile, if SME wants to set operating parameter values ​​related to the physical layer, it can set various physical layer parameter values ​​through the PLCP_SAP interface.

[0053] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of an electronic device performing WLAN access. Referring to FIG. 2, an electronic device (200) may be connected to an AP (210), and the electronic device (200) may include a processor (230) and a communication module (220). The electronic device (200) may be the STA (104) of FIG. 1, in which case the electronic device (200) may be connected to the AP (210) as illustrated. Alternatively, the electronic device (200) may be the AP (102) of FIG. 1, in which case the electronic device may be connected to the STA (104) and / or another AP as illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0054] The communication module (220) can receive a communication signal from the outside or transmit a communication signal to the outside based on a Wi-Fi communication method (for example, IEEE Std 802.11TM). For example, the communication module (220) can operate based on IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, or 802.11bn among Wi-Fi communication methods, and in particular, IEEE 802.11be or 802.11bn has improved performance by supporting a wider bandwidth, higher data throughput, and shorter delay time compared to IEEE 802.11ax.

[0055] The communication module (220) may include a transceiver (224) for transmitting and receiving data with an external device and a communication processor (222) (e.g., a communication processor (not shown) or a short-range wireless communication module (e.g., a Wi-Fi chipset)). According to various embodiments, the communication module (220) may further include a memory.

[0056] According to various embodiments, the transceiver (224) may convert a baseband transmit signal into a wireless signal or may convert a received wireless signal into a baseband receive signal.

[0057] According to various embodiments, the communication module (220) may further include, in addition to the transceiver (224) and the communication processor (222), components for OFDM or OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access), for example, a modulator, a digital-analog converter (D / A converter), a frequency converter, an A / D converter, an amplifier, and / or a demodulator.

[0058] Although not shown, according to various embodiments, the electronic device (200) may include at least one antenna module that is electrically connected to the communication module of the AP (210) and supports a communication protocol and / or frequency band supported by the communication module of the AP (210).

[0059] The communication processor (222) may control the transceiver (224) to form a communication connection with the AP (210). For example, the communication connection may include a Wi-Fi network. For example, the communication processor (222) may control the transceiver (224) to form a wireless connection with the AP (200) using a 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz band WLAN standard such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, or 802.11bn. Alternatively, the communication processor (222) may control the transceiver (191) to form a wireless connection with the AP (210) using a 60 GHz band WLAN standard such as IEEE 802.11ad or 802.11ay. Additionally, a method of communicating between an electronic device (200) and an AP (210) using the WLAN standard may be referred to as a communication method based on the STA mode.

[0060] According to various embodiments, the processor (230) may include an application processor. The processor (230) may perform a specified operation of the electronic device (200) or control other hardware (e.g., a communication module (220)) to perform a specified operation.

[0061] According to various embodiments, the AP (210) may support an operation of transmitting packets to an external network and / or an operation of the plurality of electronic devices receiving packets from an external network based on a connection between a plurality of electronic devices (e.g., the electronic device (200)) and an external network (e.g., the Internet, an external LAN, or a cellular network).

[0062] For example, the AP (210) may be a wireless router. The AP (210) may be a dedicated wireless router or a general-purpose device supporting mobile hotspot functionality, and there are no limitations on its implementation. For example, the AP (210) may include the same components as the electronic device (200), such as a processor and / or a communication module. Furthermore, the AP (210) may transmit and receive data to and from an external device, such as a server. For example, the AP (210) may transmit at least a portion of the data received from the server to the electronic device (200).

[0063] If the electronic device (200) of FIG. 2 corresponds to the AP (102), the electronic device (200) may include a separate communication module for connection with an external network, although not shown. This communication module may be controlled by the processor (230) or by a separate processor. The separate communication module may include a transceiver and a processor, and may also include memory. In addition, the electronic device (200) may include a separate antenna module or wired connection device for connection with an external network.

[0064] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link setup process of a typical wireless LAN.

[0065] For an STA to set up a link and transmit and receive data on a network, it must first discover the network, perform authentication, establish an association, and complete security authentication procedures. The link setup process can also be referred to as the session initiation process or session setup process. Furthermore, the discovery, authentication, association, and security setup processes of the link setup process can be collectively referred to as the association process.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 3, an STA (300) can perform a network discovery operation. The network discovery operation may include a scanning operation of the STA (300). That is, in order for the STA (300) to access a network, it must search for a network it can participate in. Before joining a wireless network, the STA (300) must identify a compatible network. The process of identifying networks existing in a specific area is called scanning.

[0067] There are two types of scanning methods: active scanning and passive scanning. In active scanning, an STA (300) performing scanning transmits a probe request frame (322) to search for APs in the vicinity while moving between channels and waits for a response. A responder transmits a probe response frame (324) to the STA that transmitted the probe request frame in response to the probe request frame. Here, the responder may be an AP or STA that last transmitted a beacon frame in the BSS of the channel being scanned. In FIG. 3, an example of a BSS that becomes a responder is shown because an AP (310) transmits a beacon frame (320), and in an IBSS, STAs within the IBSS take turns transmitting beacon frames, so the responder is not constant. For example, if an STA transmits a probe request frame on channel 1 and receives a probe response frame on channel 1, the STA can store BSS-related information included in the received probe response frame and move to the next channel to perform scanning in the same manner.

[0068] The scanning operation can also be performed in a passive scanning manner. In passive scanning, the STA performing the scanning moves through channels and detects beacon frames. A beacon frame is one of the management frames in IEEE 802.11, and is periodically transmitted to announce the presence of a wireless network and to enable the STA performing the scanning to find the wireless network and participate in the wireless network. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a BSS in which an AP (310) periodically transmits a beacon frame (320) to an STA (300), and in an IBSS, STAs within the IBSS take turns transmitting beacon frames. When the STA performing the scanning receives a beacon frame, it stores information about the BSS included in the beacon frame and moves to another channel, recording the beacon frame information on each channel. Comparing active and passive scanning, active scanning has the advantage of lower delay and power consumption than passive scanning.

[0069] After the STA (300) discovers the network, an authentication process may be performed. This authentication process may be referred to as the first authentication process to clearly distinguish it from the security setup operation (350) described below. The authentication process includes a process in which the STA (300) transmits an authentication request frame (330) to the AP (310), and in response, the AP (310) transmits an authentication response frame (332) to the STA (300). The authentication frame used for the authentication request / response corresponds to a management frame.

[0070] The authentication frame may include information such as an authentication algorithm number, an authentication transaction sequence number, a status code, a challenge text, a Robust Security Network (RSN), and a Finite Cyclic Group. These are just some examples of information that may be included in an authentication request / response frame, and may be replaced with other information or include additional information.

[0071] The AP (310) may determine whether to allow authentication for the STA based on information included in the received authentication request frame. The AP (310) may provide the result of the authentication process to the STA (300) via an authentication response frame.

[0072] After the STA is successfully authenticated, an association process can be performed. The association process includes a process in which the STA (300) transmits an association request frame (340) to the AP (310), and in response, the AP (310) transmits an association response frame (342) to the STA (300).

[0073] For example, the association request frame may include information related to various capabilities, such as beacon listen interval, SSID, supported rates, supported channels, robust security network (RSN), mobility domain, supported operating classes, traffic indication map broadcast request, and interworking service capabilities.

[0074] For example, the association response frame may include information related to various capabilities, status codes, association ID (AID), supported rates, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter sets, received channel power indicator (RCPI), received signal to noise indicator (RSNI), mobility domains, timeout interval (association comeback time), overlapping BSS scan parameters, TIM broadcast response, QoS maps, etc.

[0075] These are just some examples of information that may be included in a request / response frame, and may be replaced by other information or include additional information.

[0076] Although not shown, after the STA successfully associates with the network, a security setup process may be performed. The security setup process may be referred to as an authentication process via a robust security network association (RSNA) request / response, the authentication process (330) may be referred to as a first authentication process, and the security setup process may also be referred to as an authentication process.

[0077] The security setup process may include, for example, a private key setup process through a four-way handshaking using an extensible authentication protocol over LAN (EAPOL) frame, or may be performed according to a security method not defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0078] Below we describe the media access control protocol provided by 802.11.

[0079] In wireless LAN systems based on IEEE 802.11, the basic access mechanism of MAC is based on the distributed coordination function (DCF) that utilizes the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) method. There are two methods for detecting carriers in DCF: physical carrier sense and virtual carrier sense. Physical carrier sense is a method in which the physical layer detects the channel status and notifies the MAC layer, and virtual carrier sense is a method in which the channel occupancy time is broadcast to neighboring stations to reserve the channel in advance. An STA or AP that has secured a transmission channel records and transmits this channel occupancy time within the RTS or / and CTS or data frame. Other STAs that receive this determine that the channel is busy during this time and do not compete for the channel, thereby avoiding collisions.

[0080] The physical carrier sensing method basically adopts a listen-before-talk access mechanism, and according to this type of access mechanism, the AP and / or STA can perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to sense the wireless channel or carrier or medium for a predetermined time period before starting transmission. The predetermined time period is called an inter frame space (IFS) and can vary depending on the priority of the traffic to be transmitted. That is, the priority can be determined by the length of the time period, and the higher the priority packet, the shorter the time period can be.

[0081] The above IFS may include SIFS (short IFS), PIFS (PCF IFS), DIFS (DCF IFS), AIFS (arbitration IFS), etc. The SIFS is the shortest time interval and may be mainly used as a waiting time for control information. The PIFS is a time interval of medium length and may be for packets with medium priority (PIFS = SIFS + 1 slot time). The DIFS is the longest time interval compared to the SIFS and PIFS, has a low priority, and may be mainly used as a waiting time for checking whether a channel is in use (DIFS = SIFS + 2 slot time). That is, for example, an STA that wishes to perform transmission may listen to whether a channel is in use (or detect the channel) during the DIFS period.

[0082] As a result of sensing, if the medium is determined to be in an idle state, the AP and / or STA start transmitting frames through the medium. On the other hand, if the medium is detected to be in an occupied state, the AP and / or STA may not start its own transmission, but may wait for a delay period (e.g., a random backoff period) for medium access before attempting to transmit frames. For example, the AP and / or STA may randomly select a timer value within the range of a contention window (CW), wait until the timer expires, and then sense the channel again. At this time, if the medium is in an idle state, the AP and / or STA may start transmitting frames, and if the medium is in an occupied state, the AP and / or STA may select a timer value again by doubling the size of the contention window. The size of the initially applied contention window may be set to the minimum window size (contention window minimum, CW). min ) and the maximum size of the contention window that can be applied is called the maximum window size (contention window maximum, CW). max ) is called. By applying a random backoff period, multiple STAs are expected to wait for different periods of time before attempting to transmit a frame, thus minimizing collisions.

[0083] However, since this DCF method does not consider the priority between STAs, it has a problem in that it is difficult to support various types of data transmission and QoS (quality of service), so the hybrid coordination function (HCF) was introduced. HCF is based on the DCF and the point coordination function (PCF). PCF is a polling-based synchronous access method that periodically polls all receiving APs and / or STAs so that they can receive data frames. HCF includes EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access), which is a contention-based channel access method, and HCCA (HCF controlled channel access), which is a contention-free method using a polling mechanism. In addition, HCF includes a medium access mechanism to improve the QoS of WLAN, and can transmit QoS data in both a contention period (CP) and a contention-free period (CFP).

[0084] According to EDCA, data has a priority from 0 to 7 depending on the traffic type, and data arriving at the MAC layer is mapped to four ACs (access categories) according to the priority. The higher the priority, the higher the priority, and each AC has different AC parameters, and backoff is performed using AC parameter values ​​that are set differently, so data has different channel access priorities depending on the AC. AC parameters include AIFS and CW. min , CW max , TXOP limits, etc. may exist. AIFS and CW minThe smaller the value, the higher the priority, and accordingly, the shorter the channel access delay, so that data can use more bandwidth in a given traffic environment. If a collision occurs between STAs during frame transmission, the EDCA backoff process, which generates a new backoff counter, is similar to the existing DCF, and transmission according to traffic priority is guaranteed through EDCA parameters that include priorities for each AC.

[0085] According to EDCA, data has a priority from 0 to 7 depending on the traffic type, and data arriving at the MAC layer is mapped to four ACs (access categories) according to the priority. The higher the priority, the higher the priority, and each AC has different AC parameters, and backoff is performed using AC parameter values ​​that are set differently, so data has different channel access priorities depending on the AC. AC parameters include AIFS and CW. min , CW max , TXOP limits, etc. may exist. AIFS and CW min The smaller the value, the higher the priority, and accordingly, the shorter the channel access delay, so that data can use more bandwidth in a given traffic environment. If a collision occurs between STAs during frame transmission, the EDCA backoff process, which generates a new backoff counter, is similar to the existing DCF, and transmission according to traffic priority is guaranteed through EDCA parameters that include priorities for each AC.

[0086] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hidden node and an exposed node and an example of an RTS and a CTS for solving the problem of a hidden node and an exposed node.

[0087] Figure 4 (a)(400) is an example of a hidden node. When STA A and STA B are communicating and STA C has information to transmit, STA A may determine that the medium is idle when performing carrier sensing before STA C sends data to STA B, even though STA A is transmitting the information to STA B. This is because STA A's transmission (i.e., medium occupancy) may not be sensed at STA C's location. In this case, STA B receives information from STA A and STA C simultaneously, resulting in a collision. In this case, STA A can be said to be a hidden node of STA C.

[0088] (b)(410) is an example of an exposed node. In a situation where STA B is transmitting data to STA A, STA C may have information to transmit to STA D. In this case, if STA C performs carrier sensing, it may determine that the medium is occupied due to the transmission of STA B. Accordingly, STA C must wait until the medium becomes idle even if it has information to transmit to STA D. However, in reality, STA A is outside the transmission range of STA C, so the transmission from STA C and the transmission from STA B may not collide from the perspective of STA A, and thus STA C unnecessarily waits until STA B stops transmitting. In this case, STA C can be called an exposed node of STA B.

[0089] In order to effectively utilize the collision avoidance mechanism in the above situation, short signaling packets such as RTS (request to send) and CTS (clear to send) can be utilized. An STA that wishes to transmit data transmits an RTS to an STA that will receive the data, and the receiving STA that receives the RTS responds to the transmitting STA with a CTS frame. The RTS and / or CTS between two STAs can be overheard by surrounding STA(s), allowing the surrounding STA(s) to consider whether information should be transmitted between the two STAs.

[0090] (c)(420) is an example of a method for solving the hidden node problem. Assume that both STA A and STA C want to transmit data to STA B. When STA A transmits an RTS to STA B, STA B transmits a CTS to STA A. STA C, which overhears the RTS and CTS, delays its medium access until STA A and STA B finish transmitting data, thereby avoiding collisions.

[0091] (d)(430) is an example of a method for solving the exposed node problem. STA B, which wants to transmit data to STA A, transmits an RTS, and STA A, which is to receive the data, can respond to the RTS by transmitting a CTS. In this case, if STA C receives only the RTS transmitted by STA B and does not receive the CTS transmitted by STA A, STA C can know that STA A is outside the carrier sensing area of ​​STA C. In this case, STA C can determine that no collision will occur even if it transmits data to another STA (e.g., STA D), and can transmit the data.

[0092] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure used in an IEEE 802.11 system.

[0093] The PPDU (physical layer protocol data unit) format can be composed of a short training field (STF), a long training field (LTF), a SIGNAL (SIG) field, and a data field. The most basic (e.g., non-HT (high throughput)) PPDU frame format can be composed of only the legacy-STF (L-STF), legacy-LTF (L-LTF), a SIG field, and a data field.

[0094] STF can be used for frame timing acquisition, automatic gain control (AGC), diversity detection, and coarse frequency / time synchronization. LTF can be used for fine frequency / time synchronization and channel estimation. The STF and LTF together can be called the PHY preamble, and the PHY preamble can be considered a signal for synchronization and channel estimation of the OFDM physical layer.

[0095] The SIG field can be used to transmit control information for demodulation and decoding of the data field. The SIG field can include information about the data rate and data length. Additionally, the SIG field can include a parity bit, a SIG TAIL bit, etc.

[0096] The data field may include a SERVICE field, a physical layer service data unit (PSDU), a PPDU TAIL bit, and, if necessary, padding bits. Some bits of the SERVICE field may be used for a descrambler at the receiver. The PSDU corresponds to an MPDU (mac protocol data unit) defined at the MAC layer and may contain data generated / used by upper layers. The PPDU TAIL bit may be used to return the encoder to a 0 state. The padding bit may be used to adjust the length of the data field to a predetermined unit.

[0097] MPDU is defined according to various MAC frame formats, and a basic MAC frame consists of a MAC header, frame body, and FCS (frame check sequence). MAC frame is composed of MPDU and can be transmitted / received through PSDU of the data part of PPDU format.

[0098] The MAC header is defined as an area that includes a frame control field, a duration / ID field, an address 1 field, an address 2 field, an address 3 field, a sequence control field, an address 4 field, a QoS control field, and an HT control field.

[0099] The Frame Control field contains information about the characteristics of the corresponding MAC frame. The Segment / Identifier field may be implemented to have different values ​​depending on the type and subtype of the corresponding MAC frame.

[0100] The Address 1 field to the Address 4 field are used to indicate the BSSID, source address (SA), destination address (DA), transmitting address (TA) indicating the transmitting STA address, and receiving address (RA) indicating the receiving STA address.

[0101] The sequence control field is set to include a sequence number and a fragment number. The sequence number can indicate the sequence number assigned to the corresponding MAC frame. The fragment number can indicate the number of each fragment of the corresponding MAC frame.

[0102] The QoS Control field contains information related to QoS. The QoS Control field may be included when the Subtype subfield indicates a QoS data frame. The HT Control field contains control information related to HT and / or VHT transmission and reception techniques.

[0103] The frame body is defined as the MAC payload, contains the data to be transmitted from the upper layer, and has a variable size. For example, the maximum MPDU size is 11,454 octets, and the maximum PPDU size can be 5.484 ms.

[0104] FCS is defined as a MAC footer and is used to detect errors in MAC frames.

[0105] The first three fields (Frame Control, Segment / Identifier, and Address 1) and the last field (FCS) constitute the minimum frame format and are present in all frames. The other fields may only be present in certain frame types.

[0106] Below is a description of the network allocation vector (NAV) used in wireless LAN networks.

[0107] As mentioned above, the CSMA / CA mechanism includes virtual carrier sensing in addition to physical carrier sensing, in which the AP and / or STA directly sense the medium. Virtual carrier sensing is intended to address potential issues in medium access, such as the hidden node problem. For virtual carrier sensing, the MAC of the wireless LAN system can utilize NAV. NAV is a value that indicates to other APs and / or STAs the remaining time until the medium becomes available, by the AP and / or STA currently using or authorized to use the medium. Therefore, the value set as NAV corresponds to the period during which the medium is scheduled to be used by the AP and / or STA transmitting the frame, and the STA receiving the NAV value is prohibited from accessing the medium during the period. NAV can be set, for example, according to the value of the duration field of the MAC header of the frame.

[0108] Figure 6 is a drawing showing an example of NAV settings.

[0109] Referring to FIG. 6, a source STA (source STA, 600) transmits an RTS frame after DIFS, and a destination (destination) (610) transmits a CTS frame after SIFS. The destination STA designated as the receiver through the RTS frame does not set an NAV. Some of the remaining STAs (620) may receive the RTS frame and set an NAV (630), and some may receive the CTS frame and set an NAV (640).

[0110] If a CTS frame (e.g., PHY-RXSTART.indication primitive) is not received within a certain period of time from the time when the RTS frame is received (e.g., the time when the MAC receives the PHY-RXEND.indication primitive corresponding to the RTS frame), STAs that have set or updated the NAV through the RTS frame may reset the NAV (e.g., to 0) (or this case may be referred to as NAVtimeout). The certain period of time may be (2*aSIFSTime + CTS_Time + aRxPHYStartDelay + 2*aSlotTime), and this may be referred to as NAVtimeout period. CTS_Time may be calculated based on the length of the CTS frame and the data rate indicated by the RTS frame.

[0111] In Fig. 6, for convenience, setting or updating NAV through an RTS frame or a CTS frame is illustrated, but NAV setting / resetting / updating may also be performed based on various other frames, such as a non-HT PPDU, HT PPDU, VHT PPDU, or an interval field of a HE PPDU (for example, an interval field in a MAC header of a MAC frame).

[0112] 802.11ax also introduces basic NAV and intra-BSS NAV. Basic NAV is always set by frames transmitted by APs or STAs other than itself (mandatory), and intra-BSS NAV can be optionally set by frames transmitted from the BSS to which the AP or STA belongs. An AP or STA can access the medium when both NAV timers have expired (or after all NAV time intervals have elapsed).

[0113] Below, we describe TXOP (transmission opportunity). TXOP is a new feature introduced in the 802.11e MAC to ensure QoS and improve channel utilization. To ensure QoS, TXOP can be used to assign priority transmission opportunities when two or more packets fall into the same access category (AC).

[0114] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a TXOP. An STA participating in QoS transmission can obtain a TXOP, which allows it to transmit traffic for a certain period of time, using two channel access methods: EDCA and HCCA. Acquiring a TXOP is possible by either successfully competing in EDCA or receiving a QoS CF-Poll frame from the AP. The former is called an EDCA TXOP, and the latter is called a Polled TXOP. In this way, the concept of TXOP can be used to grant a certain amount of time for a random STA to transmit a frame, or to forcibly limit the transmission time.

[0115] The transmission start time and maximum transmission time of TXOP are determined by the AP, which is notified to the STA by a beacon frame for EDCA TXOP and by a QoS CF-Poll frame for Polled TXOP.

[0116] NAV can be understood as a kind of timer to protect the TXOP of a transmitting STA (e.g., a TXOP holder). An STA can protect the TXOP of another STA by not performing channel access while the NAV set for itself is valid. In the current wireless LAN system, the TXOP duration is set through the duration field of the MAC header. That is, the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder (e.g., the Rx STA) transmit the entire TXOP information required for transmitting and receiving frames by including it in the duration / ID field of the frames they transmit and receive. Third-party STAs that are not the TXOP holder or the TXOP responder (e.g., third-party STAs) check the duration field of the frames exchanged between the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder, and postpone channel use until the NAV period by setting / updating the NAV.

[0117] Below, the primary channel and secondary channel are described. The primary channel is a common channel operated by all STAs that are members of the BSS. For example, in a 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 80 + 80 MHz BSS, the primary channel may be the primary 20 MHz channel. In this case, the 40, 80 MHz channels including the primary 20 MHz channel may be referred to as the primary 40, 80 MHz channel, and the primary channel may generally be referred to as the primary 20 MHz channel.

[0118] A secondary channel is a channel associated with a primary channel and is used to create a wider channel than the primary channel. For example, in a 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz BSS, the 40 MHz channel may be the sum of a primary 20 MHz channel and a secondary 20 MHz channel, the 80 MHz channel may be the sum of a primary 40 MHz channel and a secondary 40 MHz channel, and the 160 MHz channel may be the sum of a primary 80 MHz channel and a secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0119] Below we describe the 802.11be standard. 802.11be, also known as EHT (extremely high throughput), operates in the 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands and is being developed to provide speeds up to 46 Gbps, which is 4.8 times faster than WiFi 6, by introducing 320 MHz of bandwidth, 4096QAM, multiple resource units (RUs), and multi-link operation (MLO), while providing low latency and high network throughput. Specifically, 802.11be provides a wide bandwidth of 320 MHz in the 6 GHz band, and can transmit data via MU-MIMO with 16 spatial streams in both the uplink and downlink, and adopts 4096QAM to achieve high transmission efficiency. In addition, it has the characteristics of increasing spectrum efficiency by flexibly performing spectrum resource scheduling through multiple RUs, and simultaneously transmitting and receiving data in various frequency bands and channels through multi-link operation.

[0120] Below, we describe TXOP sharing. In order to improve the efficiency of the wireless channel in 802.11ac, MU-MIMO MAC technology was introduced to simultaneously transmit different frames from an AP to multiple STAs using spatially divided multiple channels. At this time, the AP determines the destination STA and the frame to be transmitted for each channel during the TXOP period based on the AC (access category, or priority) of the frame to be transmitted, and transmits the determined multiple frames to multiple STAs. Recently, TXOP sharing between APs has been studied. Through TXOP sharing between APs, an AP with a TXOP can share its TXOP with other APs, thereby efficiently using frequency and spatial resources, increasing network throughput and reducing latency.

[0121] Next, we'll discuss overlapping basic service sets (OBSS). Existing wireless LAN networks experience significant performance degradation, including throughput, as users increase. This is because wireless LAN systems fundamentally utilize CSMA / CA, a time-division access control scheme. When a neighboring network is detected, the system divides the frequency resources in the same band by the amount of time the neighboring network is active.

[0122] Currently, there are many cases where multiple APs are operating in a specific area, and in this case, the performance of the wireless LAN network deteriorates due to overlapping coverage between APs. This is because the APs of each BSS and the STAs connected to the APs are affected by the signals of the neighboring BSS, resulting in interference by the neighboring BSS, which in turn causes a decrease in the transmission rate due to collisions between signals transmitted at the same time. BSSs that can affect signal transmission in this way (or whose coverage overlaps) can be referred to as overlapping BSSs (OBSS). To solve this problem, interference avoidance technologies that divide the bands available to each user so that they do not overlap or perform channel switching to unused channels, as well as interference alignment technologies that reduce the impact of interference even when using the same band, are being studied.

[0123] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a problem that may occur when the bandwidth of a PPDU is reduced within a TXOP. According to FIG. 8, an AP (800) occupies a primary 80MHz channel including a primary 20MHz channel, a secondary channel (or non-primary channel) of 80MHz, and a total TXOP of 160MHz (810). At this time, the AP (800) can perform frame exchange (meaning uplink or / and downlink frame transmission and reception between the AP and STA) in the 160MHz bandwidth (820), and at some point, can perform frame exchange using only the 80MHz bandwidth of the primary channel (830). In this case, the secondary channel 80MHz may not be used (840).

[0124] The current 802.11 standard does not specify a method for sharing or releasing unused subchannels as described above, and the primary 20MHz channel cannot be an unused subchannel. Even if the bandwidth of the PPDU exchanged in the TXOP is reduced as described above, it is difficult for other STAs to use the unused non-primary subchannel. This is especially true when the RTS, CTS, or ACK corresponding to non-HT (high throughput) duplicated PPDUs are transmitted in the original bandwidth (160MHz in the case of Figure 8).

[0125] As described above, a subchannel (or non-primary channel) that is not used in a TXOP can be referred to as a non-primary TXOP, and the present disclosure proposes a method for efficiently using bandwidth and increasing transmission efficiency by sharing a non-primary TXOP (hereinafter, may be used interchangeably with NP TXOP) with another BSS (particularly, OBSS).

[0126] There are two cases of non-primary TXOP sharing as described above. Figures 9 and 10 are diagrams illustrating different examples of non-primary TXOP sharing. Hereinafter, a sharing AP refers to an AP that shares its TXOP, and a shared AP refers to an AP that shares its TXOP.

[0127] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of non-primary TXOP sharing in which a sharing AP does not reoccupy an unused NP subchannel until the TXOP ends (or the sharing AP does not regain control of an NP subchannel). According to FIG. 9, an AP (or a sharing AP, 900) occupies 80 MHz as a primary channel and 80 MHz as a secondary channel (or a non-primary channel), and occupies a total of 160 MHz of TXOP (910). At this time, the AP (900) can perform frame exchange occupying a bandwidth of 80 MHz after a control frame exchange (920) (930), and such frame exchange can be performed until the TXOP ends. In this case, an OBSS AP (i.e., a shared AP) can share a non-primary TXOP until the TXOP ends (940).

[0128] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of non-primary TXOP sharing in which a sharing AP reoccupies an unused NP subchannel before the TXOP ends (or the sharing AP regains control of an NP subchannel). According to FIG. 10, an AP (or sharing AP, 1000) occupies 80 MHz as a primary channel and 80 MHz as a secondary channel (or non-primary channel), and occupies a total TXOP of 160 MHz (1010). At this time, the AP (1000) can perform frame exchange occupying a bandwidth of 80 MHz after control frame exchange (1020) (1030). However, the difference from the example of FIG. 9 is that the AP (1000) can again perform frame exchange using a bandwidth of 160 MHz (1040). In this case, the OBSS AP (i.e., shared AP) can share the non-primary TXOP until the frame exchange of 1040 (1050).

[0129] In FIGS. 9 and 10, the sharing AP can perform NP TXOP sharing of the sharing AP through control frame exchange, and the OBSS AP can use all or part of the unused NP subchannel. The NP TXOP can be understood as a part of the time resource of the TXOP of the sharing AP that allows the OBSS AP to use the unused NP subchannel of the sharing AP. During the NP TXOP, the unused NP subchannel is assigned to a specific OBSS, and the OBSS AP can access the shared NP subchannel without contention, and such an OBSS AP can be referred to as an NP shared AP in the sense that the NP subchannel is assigned to the OBSS AP. Alternatively, the OBSS AP can access the NP TXOP through EDCA, and in this case, the NP subchannel that must be accessed through EDCA can be referred to as an RA (random access) NP subchannel. Additionally, an OBSS AP that must access the RA NP subchannel through competition can be referred to as an RA AP.

[0130] The primary 20MHz channel of the above OBSS AP must exist in a shared NP subchannel or RA NP subchannel, and the sharing AP can know the primary 20MHz channel of the NP shared AP in advance and allocate the shared NP subchannel to the NP shared AP. For such NP TXOP sharing, each AP can share configuration information with each other before sharing the NP TXOP. Specifically, the APs can confirm each other's primary channel by receiving the beacon transmitted by each AP, or can confirm each other's primary channel by exchanging frames containing configuration information for the AP.

[0131] The above allocation can be performed through control frame exchange, and the control frame can include at least one of information indicating that the control frame shares an NP TXOP, information about a shared NP subchannel allocated to each NP shared AP, and / or information about an NP shared AP, information about an RA NP subchannel, information about an NP TXOP section, etc. Specifically, the information about a shared NP subchannel (or a set of shared NP subchannels) can be at least one of information about a location of the shared NP subchannel (or the set thereof), a channel number, a bandwidth, etc., and the information about an RA NP subchannel (or a set of RA NP subchannels) can be at least one of information about a location of the RA NP subchannel (or the set thereof), a channel number, a bandwidth, etc. In addition, the control frame may include at least one of the following information: identifiers of one or more APs (or identifiers of a set of APs) assigned a specific shared NP subchannel; identifiers of one or more APs (or identifiers of a set of APs) that can participate in random access (or contention) on a specific RA NP subchannel; whether the NP subchannel of the sharing AP is to be reoccupied (or / and may be replaced with an indicator of whether IR is required, whether CF-end frames can be transmitted, which will be described in detail later); sharing and / or release time of the shared NP subchannel (or set thereof) or RA NP subchannel (or set thereof) (which may be indicated by a start time and an end time of the sharing interval, a start time and a length of the sharing interval, etc.);

[0132] An example of operations that an AP and an OBSS AP may perform in the case of an example of FIG. 9 that does not reoccupy an unused NP subchannel until the end of a TXOP is described based on FIGS. 11 and 12. The contents of the present disclosure are not limited by the examples of FIGS. 11 and 12.

[0133] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of operations that an AP and an OBSS AP can perform in the case of the example of FIG. 9, where unused NP subchannels are not reoccupied until the end of the TXOP. According to FIG. 11, a sharing AP (1100) occupies a total of 160 MHz of TXOP in channels 1+2 (secondary channels, bandwidth 80 MHz), channel 3 (primary channel, bandwidth 40 MHz), and channel 4 (secondary channel, bandwidth 40 MHz) (1110). At this time, the sharing AP (1100) can perform frame exchange using the total 160 MHz of the TXOP (1120). Afterwards, the sharing AP (1100) transmits the NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame, 1122) corresponding to the control frame in FIG. 9, and can then perform frame exchange using only the bandwidth of 40 MHz of the primary channel, Channel 3 (1124). At this time, the details of the NP TXS TF (1122) will be described later. At this time, the secondary channels of the sharing AP, Channel 1+2 and Channel 4, can be shared with NP shared AP1 and NP shared AP2 (1102, 1104), respectively (1126, 1128).

[0134] At this time, NP shared AP 1 (1102) can occupy 40MHz in its primary channel, Channel 1, in the shared NP TXOP and perform frame exchange (1130). Even if the shared NP TXOP corresponds to 80MHz, the NP shared AP can use only a part of it. Afterwards, NP shared AP 1 (1102) can transmit a CF-end frame (1132) to indicate the end of the NP TXOP. The CF-end frame can be used to indicate the end of contention free, to indicate truncation of the TXOP section, and to reset the NAV. In addition, NP shared AP 2 (1104) can occupy 40MHz in its primary channel, Channel 4, and perform frame exchange (1140). When the frame exchange is terminated, it can also transmit a CF-end frame to indicate the end of the TXOP section (1142). As shown in Fig. 11, the length of the NP TXOP section used by each NP shared AP may be different.

[0135] At this time, even if the NP TXS TF is a frame such as RTS or MU-RTS that requires an immediate response (IR), the sharing AP (1100) may not wait for an IR (e.g., CTS). This is because if adjacent STAs do not receive frames for a certain period of time after receiving an RTS, a NAV reset is performed, and an IR is required to prevent the NAV reset, but in this case, since the sharing AP will no longer perform transmission, it does not matter even if the NAV is reset, so an IR is not necessarily required. However, the NP shared AP can perform more secure transmission by transmitting a CTS.

[0136] The NP shared AP (1102, 1104) may use part or all of any possible shared NP subchannel, and the length of the NP TXOP interval used by the NP shared AP (1102, 1104) must be shorter than or equal to the length of the remaining interval of the TXOP of the shared AP (1100). The NP shared AP (1102, 1104) must complete frame exchange within the NP TXOP interval, and may truncate the shared NP TXOP interval to transmit a CF-end frame.

[0137] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of operations that an AP and an OBSS AP can perform in the case of the example of FIG. 9, where unused subchannels are not reoccupied until the end of a TXOP. According to FIG. 12, a sharing AP (1200) occupies a total of 160 MHz of TXOP in channels 1+2 (secondary channels, bandwidth 80 MHz), channel 3 (primary channel, bandwidth 40 MHz), and channel 4 (secondary channel, bandwidth 40 MHz) (1210). At this time, the sharing AP (1100) can perform frame exchange using the total 160 MHz of the TXOP (1220). Afterwards, the sharing AP (1100) transmits the NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame, 1222) corresponding to the control frame in FIG. 9, and can then perform frame exchange using only the bandwidth of 40 MHz of the primary channel, Channel 3 (1224). At this time, the details of the NP TXS TF (1222) will be described later. At this time, the secondary channels, Channel 1 and Channel 4, of the sharing AP can be shared with the NP shared AP (1202) and the RA AP (1204), respectively (1228, 1226). The sharing AP (1200) can allow random access in some or all of the unused NP subchannels. In addition, the sharing AP (1200) may not share some of the unused NP subchannels or may not allow random access in order to prevent interference with adjacent channels, such as 1250.

[0138] The NP shared AP (1202) can perform frame exchange by occupying 40 MHz of its primary channel, Channel 1, in the shared NP TXOP (1230). In addition, the RA AP (1204) can perform EDCA on 40 MHz of its primary channel, Channel 4, and, if it wins the EDCA, can perform frame exchange using Channel 4, which is an RA NP subchannel (1240). In other words, competition among RA APs can occur in the RA NP subchannel. The RA AP (1204) must also end frame exchange before the end of the NP TXOP, and can end the RA NP TXOP by transmitting a CF-end frame (1242).

[0139] An example of operations that an AP and an OBSS AP can perform in the case of the example of FIG. 10, where a Sharing AP reoccupies an unused NP subchannel before the TXOP ends, is described based on FIG. 13. The contents of the present disclosure are not limited by the example of FIG. 13.

[0140] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of operations that an AP and an OBSS AP can perform in the case of the example of FIG. 10, which reoccupies an unused NP subchannel before TXOP termination. According to FIG. 13, a sharing AP (1300) occupies a total of 160 MHz of TXOP in channels 1+2 (secondary channels, bandwidth 80 MHz), channel 3 (primary channel, bandwidth 40 MHz), and channel 4 (secondary channel, bandwidth 40 MHz) (1210). At this time, the sharing AP (1300) can perform frame exchange using the total 160 MHz of TXOP (1320). Afterwards, the sharing AP (1300) transmits a NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame, 1322) corresponding to the control frame in FIG. 9, and if the NP TXS TF is a frame such as RTS or MU-RTS accompanied by a NAV reset, it transmits an IR (1324, for example, CTS) in the entire bandwidth in which the NP TXS TF was transmitted. This is to prevent other surrounding STAs from resetting their NAVs for reoccupation.

[0141] If the NP shared AP (1302) does not receive the NP TXS TF (1322), the NP shared AP (1302) may not transmit the IR (1330), in which case, NAV reset of STAs may be performed for the entire band in which the NP TXS TF (1322) was transmitted, which may prevent the reoccupation of the shared AP (1300). Alternatively, if the NP shared AP (1302) transmits IR only in the 40 MHz band in which it exchanges frames, other STAs may perform NAV reset in the band in which IR is not transmitted (channel 2 in FIG. 13), so the shared AP (1300) needs to transmit IR in the entire band. In addition, since the IR (1330) transmitted by the shared AP (1302) does not include the primary 20MHz channel of the shared AP (1300), the shared AP (1300) cannot receive the IR (1330), so IR transmission is required in the entire bandwidth in which the NP TXS TF of the shared AP (1300) is transmitted. This is because some STAs may reset their NAVs and transmit when they receive the NP TXS TF and do not receive the IR, and in this case, a problem may arise when the shared AP (1300) reoccupies the NP subchannel. Therefore, the IR is transmitted in the entire bandwidth in which the NP TXS TF is transmitted to prevent some STAs from resetting their NAVs.

[0142] Alternatively, if NP TXS TF is a frame that does not affect the NAV of other STAs (e.g., a newly defined frame), unlike RTS and MU-RTS, IR may not be required at this time.

[0143] Afterwards, the sharing AP (1300) can perform frame exchange using only the bandwidth of 40 MHz of the primary channel, Channel 3 (1326). At this time, the secondary channels, Channels 1+2, of the sharing AP can be shared with the NP shared AP (1302) respectively (1340). At this time, the NP shared AP (1302) can transmit an IR in the shared NP TXOP (1330). This IR can be transmitted in the entire bandwidth or part of the unused NP subchannel, and may be to prevent NAV reset in the unused NP subchannel. The IR can be transmitted after SIFS after receiving the NP TXS TF. Afterwards, the NP sharing AP (1302) can occupy 40 MHz of its primary channel, Channel 1, and perform frame exchange (1332). At this time, the NP TXOP must be terminated at least SIFS or PIFS before the sharing AP reoccupies it. When the sharing AP reclaims the channel, if an RTS with a bandwidth signaling transmitting address (TA) is used, the channel being reclaimed must be idle for PIFS before the RTS transmission, so the NP TXOP needs to end before the PIFS for the sharing AP to reclaim the channel. Alternatively, since SIFS is the minimum time interval between frames, the time interval between the NP TXOP and the sharing AP's reclaim can be SIFS.

[0144] An NP shared AP or RA AP using an unused NP subchannel terminates frame exchange before the end of the NP TXOP and does not transmit a CF-end frame in this case. This is because if a CF-end frame is transmitted, the NAVs of other STAs that received the CF-end frame may be reset, and in this case, the frame (1328) that the shared AP (1300) wants to transmit and receive may collide with other STAs.

[0145] Fig. 14a is a diagram illustrating an example of using a MU-RTS TXS TF (multi-user RTS triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame, hereinafter referred to as MRTT) as an NP TXS TF. The MU-RTS TXS TF is a frame that conveys the intention of a sharing AP that has acquired a TXOP to share its TXOP, and can be used to share an NP TXOP.

[0146] In this case, when MRTT is used for NP TXOP sharing, the AID12 (association ID, 1412, 1422, which may indicate 12 LSBs (least significant bits) of STA) field included in the HE variant user info field format (1410) or the EHT variant user info field format (1420) included in the user info list (1402) included in the trigger frame format (1400) may be used to specify an NP shared AP. Or / and the AID12 field (1412, 1422) may also be used to identify an RA NP subchannel. For example, a specific value of the AID12 field may be used to indicate a limitation of the bandwidth of the RA AP or that an RA NP subchannel or a set of RA NP subchannels is allocated for a specific AC. For example, if the value of AID12 is 1, it can be instructed to allocate NP subchannels to OBSS APs 1 to 3, and if it is 2, it can be instructed to allocate NP subchannels to OBSS APs 4 to 6. Alternatively, if the value of AID12 is 4094, it can be instructed that the RA NP subchannel is allocated for AC_VO (AC for voice calls (or VoIP (voice over internet protocol)), which has the highest priority), and if it is 4093, it can be instructed that the RA NP subchannel is allocated for AC_VI (AC for video streaming), etc. Alternatively, it is also possible for some of the 12 bits to indicate different information. For example, it is also possible for a specific number of bits in the AID12 field to indicate a set of OBSS APs that can share NP TXOP, and for a specific number of bits to indicate information about the NP subchannels or / and RA NP subchannels to be shared. The contents of the present disclosure are not limited by these specific examples.

[0147] Additionally, the allocation duration field (1414, 1424) included in the HE variant user info field format (1410) or the EHT variant user info field format (1420) may indicate the length of the NP TXOP interval. The indicated length of the NP TXOP interval may be indicated for each NP subchannel or a set of NP subchannels.

[0148] The NP subchannel or / and RA NP subchannel to be shared can be indicated in the following manner. The channel number of the 6 GHz band can be 1 to 233, and the number of channels in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands can be smaller than that of the 6 GHz band. Since the lowest frequency subchannel can be common to all NP subchannels or RA NP subchannels to be shared, the NP subchannel or / and RA NP subchannel can be indicated with the lowest frequency subchannel and a bitmap based on the lowest frequency subchannel. For example, if there are 16 subchannels (20 MHz each) in a 320 MHz channel, 16 bits can be used to indicate the NP subchannel or / and RA NP subchannel to be shared. Alternatively, 16 bits can be used to indicate the NP subchannel and RA NP subchannel to be shared, respectively.

[0149] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for indicating an NP subchannel or / and an RA NP subchannel to be shared. According to FIG. 15, a case is illustrated where four 20MHz channels exist consecutively and the total bandwidth (1500) is 80MHz. At this time, the channel number of the lowest frequency subchannel is 41, and the channel numbers of the four consecutive channels can be 41, 45, 49, and 53. At this time, if the channel numbers of the NP subchannel and the RA NP subchannel to be shared are 49 and 53 (1510), the channel numbers of the NP subchannel and the RA NP subchannel to be shared can be indicated with a bitmap of 0011 of length 4. In addition, at this time, the channel number of the lowest frequency subchannel can be indicated using, for example, 8 bits.

[0150] In the MRTT of FIG. 14a, a bitmap indicating the channel number of the lowest frequency subchannel and the NP subchannel and RA NP subchannel to be shared may be indicated in the following manner. For example, the common info field (1404) included in the trigger frame format (1400) includes more than 10 reserved bits, and the reserved bits may be used to indicate that the MRTT is NP TXS TF. In addition, the channel number of the lowest frequency subchannel may be indicated, and it is also possible to indicate whether or not the sharing AP reoccupies the channel using the remaining bits.

[0151] It is necessary to indicate whether the sharing AP reoccupies the channel, as this determines whether CF-end frames can be transmitted and / or whether IR transmission and reception are required. The above information may be included in the Feedback User Info field for Co-TDMA (coordinated time division multiple access) included in the MRTT. FIG. 14b is a diagram illustrating an example of the feedback user info field. The Feedback User Info field (1450) is a User Info field in which the AID12 subfield (1454) is set to 2008, and is used to convey information related to Co-TDMA when the Feedback Type field (1452) is set to 3. The Feedback User Info field (1460) in which the Feedback Type field is set to 3 has a 21-bit reserved bit (1462), which may be used to indicate that it is an MRTT for sharing NP TXOP or to indicate the channel number of the lowest frequency subchannel. In this case, whether the Sharing AP reoccupies the channel may be indicated through the TXOP Return Solicited field (1464).

[0152] It is also possible for the HE variant user info field (1410) and the EHT variant user info field (1420) to include a bitmap indicating the channel number of the NP subchannel and / or the RA NP subchannel to be shared. For example, when adding the RU allocation fields (1416, 1426) and the reserved bits (1418, 1428), 19 bits can be used to indicate the bitmap for the HE variant user info field (1410) and 18 bits can be used to indicate the bitmap for the EHT variant user info field (1420). When the UHR variant user info field is defined in the future, a bitmap of 2 octets can be included as an example to indicate the channel number of the NP subchannel and / or the RA NP subchannel.

[0153] Additionally, the shared AP can verify that the MRTT is a frame transmitted by the shared AP based on the TA (transmitter address) field of the MAC header of the MRTT, and can verify that the frame is NP TXS TF based on the bit indicating that the MRTT is NP TXS TF in the Feedback User info field included in the common info field (1404) or the user info list (1402) of the MRTT. Additionally, the shared AP can verify the NP TXOP interval based on the allocation duration (1414 or 1424).

[0154] The MRTT formats of FIGS. 14a, 14b and 15 above are only examples, and it is also possible for the above-described information to be indicated using other fields or reserved bits.

[0155] Alternatively, a new frame format other than the existing frame format for the NP TXS TF may be defined. In this case, the new frame format may include at least one of the following information: an identifier of an AP that will share the NP TXOP (which may be an identifier of at least one AP that will share a specific NP subchannel or a set of NP subchannels, or a set or identifiers of AP identifiers, and may be indicated for a specific NP subchannel (or a set thereof) or for a NP subchannel to be shared or an RA NP subchannel (or a set thereof), information about each NP subchannel that is at least one of the following: a number (or a frequency position) of the NP subchannel, whether the NP subchannel is an NP subchannel to be shared or an RA NP subchannel, information about the characteristics of traffic such as AC allowed for each NP subchannel, at least one of the following information: a time during which the NP subchannel is shared or a time during which RA is possible (start time and end time, or start time and length information, etc.), whether the NP subchannel of the sharing AP can be reoccupied (or whether IR is required or / and whether a CF-end frame can be transmitted). In addition, the new frame format may further include the address of the transmitter that transmitted the frame, an identifier indicating that the frame is for NP TXOP sharing, etc.

[0156] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of an OBSS AP when the sharing AP does not reoccupy an unused NP subchannel until the end of the TXOP (or the sharing AP does not regain control of the NP subchannel).

[0157] According to FIG. 16, the OBSS AP receives the NP TXS TF and checks the user info (1600). The user info can indicate whether the received OBSS AP is an NP shared AP or / and an RA AP that can perform RA on the NP subchannel, and can also be indicated using another field. In addition, the NP TXS TF can indicate that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the shared AP is not performed. The OBSS AP determines whether it is an NP shared AP or an RA AP that can perform RA on the NP subchannel (1610). If the OBSS AP is an NP shared AP or an RA AP that can perform RA on the NP subchannel, the OBSS AP checks whether it is an NP shared AP (1620). If the OBSS AP is an NP shared AP, the assigned NP subchannel and NP TXOP section are checked (1630). The above verification can be performed based on the information contained in the NP TXS TF. Detailed information of the NP TXS TF can be as described above. Thereafter, the OBSS AP can perform frame exchange with the STA(s) associated with it in the allocated NP subchannel and TXOP interval (1640).

[0158] If the OBSS AP is an RA AP capable of performing RA in the NP subchannel, the OBSS AP checks the RA NP subchannel and NP TXOP interval (1650). The OBSS AP participates in channel contention after receiving the NP TXS TF (1660). The channel contention may be EDCA, and the OBSS AP determines whether it has won the channel contention (1670). If it has won the channel contention, the OBSS AP can perform frame exchange with its associated STA(s) in the RA NP subchannel and TXOP interval (1640). If it has not won the channel contention, the OBSS AP may not take any action in the NP subchannel (1680).

[0159] If the OBSS AP is not an NP shared AP or an RA AP capable of performing RA on an NP subchannel, the OBSS AP may take no action on the NP subchannel (1680).

[0160] The above flowchart illustrates exemplary methods that can be implemented according to the principles of the present disclosure, and various modifications may be made to the methods depicted in the flowcharts herein. For example, although depicted as a series of steps, various steps in each drawing may overlap, occur in parallel, occur in different orders, or occur multiple times. In other instances, steps may be omitted or replaced with other steps. The values ​​described above are merely examples, and it is entirely possible for other values ​​to be applied.

[0161] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of an OBSS AP when a sharing AP reoccupies an unused NP subchannel (or the sharing AP regains control of the NP subchannel) before the TXOP ends. The OBSS AP can determine whether to perform the operation of FIG. 16 or the operation of FIG. 17 by checking whether the sharing AP has reoccupied the NP subchannel as indicated by the NP TXS TF. In this respect, the operation of the OBSS AP according to FIG. 16 and the operation according to FIG. 17 can be combined. The operation of FIG. 16 may be a case where the NP TXS TF indicates that the sharing AP does not reoccupy the NP subchannel, and the operation of FIG. 17 may be a case where the NP TXS TF indicates that the sharing AP reoccupies the NP subchannel.

[0162] According to FIG. 17, the OBSS AP receives an NP TXS TF and checks user info (1700). The user info can indicate whether the received OBSS AP is an NP shared AP or / and an RA AP capable of performing RA on an NP subchannel, and can also be indicated using another field. In addition, the NP TXS TF can indicate that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the shared AP is performed. The OBSS AP determines whether it is an NP shared AP or an RA AP capable of performing RA on an NP subchannel (1705). If the OBSS AP is an NP shared AP or an RA AP capable of performing RA on an NP subchannel, the OBSS AP checks whether it is an NP shared AP (1715). If the OBSS AP is an NP shared AP, the assigned NP subchannel and NP TXOP section are checked (1720). The above verification can be based on the information included in the NP TXS TF. Detailed information of the NP TXS TF can be based on the above-described content. Thereafter, the OBSS AP checks whether the received NP TXS TF is a frame requiring an IR such as MU-RTS (1725). If the received NP TXS TF is a frame requiring an IR such as MU-RTS, the OBSS AP transmits the IR (1730) and can perform frame exchange with the STA(s) associated with it in the allocated NP subchannel and TXOP interval (1735). The IR can refer to the above-described content. If the received NP TXS TF is not a frame requiring an IR such as MU-RTS, the OBSS AP can perform frame exchange with the STA(s) associated with it in the allocated NP subchannel and TXOP interval (1735). In step 1735, the OBSS AP does not transmit a CF-end frame.

[0163] If the OBSS AP is an RA AP capable of performing RA on an NP subchannel, the OBSS AP checks the RA NP subchannel and NP TXOP section (1740). Thereafter, the OBSS AP checks whether the received NP TXS TF is a frame requiring IR such as MU-RTS (1745). If the received NP TXS TF is a frame requiring IR such as MU-RTS, the OBSS participates in channel contention after SIFS and IR transmission time after receiving the NP TXS TF (1750). If the received NP TXS TF is not a frame requiring IR such as MU-RTS, the OBSS participates in channel contention immediately after receiving the NP TXS TF (1760). The channel contention may be EDCA, and the OBSS AP participating in the channel contention in steps 1750 and 1760 determines whether it has won the channel contention (1755). An OBSS AP that wins the channel contention may exchange frames with its associated STA(s) in the RA NP subchannel and TXOP interval (1735). If it does not win the channel contention, the OBSS AP may not take any action in the NP subchannel (1710).

[0164] If the OBSS AP is not an NP shared AP or an RA AP capable of performing RA on an NP subchannel, the OBSS AP may take no action on the NP subchannel (1710).

[0165] The above flowchart illustrates exemplary methods that can be implemented according to the principles of the present disclosure, and various modifications may be made to the methods depicted in the flowcharts herein. For example, although depicted as a series of steps, various steps in each drawing may overlap, occur in parallel, occur in different orders, or occur multiple times. In other instances, steps may be omitted or replaced with other steps. The values ​​described above are merely examples, and it is entirely possible for other values ​​to be applied.

[0166] Meanwhile, the embodiments of the present disclosure disclosed in this specification and drawings are merely specific examples to easily explain the technical content of the present disclosure and help understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that other modifications based on the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure are possible. In addition, the above-described embodiments can be combined and operated as needed. For example, parts of one embodiment of the present disclosure and parts of another embodiment can be combined to operate an AP and a STA.

[0167] Meanwhile, the order of description in the drawings illustrating the method of the present invention does not necessarily correspond to the order of execution, and the order of precedence may be changed or executed in parallel. Alternatively, the drawings illustrating the method of the present invention may omit some components and include only some components, as long as it does not harm the essence of the present invention.

Claims

1. In a method performed by an electronic device of a wireless LAN network, A step of receiving a NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame); A step of checking whether NP TXOP (non-primary transmission opportunity) is available based on at least one of the AP (access point) identifier or NP subchannel information included in the above NP TXS TF; and If the above NP TXOP is available, it includes a step of performing frame exchange or contention for channel access in the indicated NP subchannel, A method characterized in that the above NP TXOP corresponds to a TXOP of an NP subchannel that is not used by an AP occupying the TXOP among the TXOPs.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NP subchannel information includes at least one of: frequency information of the NP subchannel, channel number information, information on whether the NP subchannel is a shared NP subchannel or a random access (RA) NP subchannel, information on characteristics of traffic that can be transmitted in the NP subchannel, and information indicating an available NP TXOP interval.

3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the NP TXS TF further includes information indicating whether the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is to be reoccupied.

4. In paragraph 3, If it is indicated that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is performed, further comprising a step of transmitting an IR (immediate response) for the NP TXS TF, A method characterized in that it further includes a step of transmitting a CF-end frame after the frame exchange, when it is indicated that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is not performed.

5. In a method performed by an electronic device of a wireless LAN network, Step of occupying TXOP (transmission opportunity); A step of transmitting an NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame) including at least one of an AP (access point) identifier or NP subchannel information that can use an NP (non-primary) subchannel, A method characterized in that the above NP TXS TF corresponds to a trigger frame for sharing NP TXOP.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the NP subchannel information includes at least one of: frequency information of the NP subchannel, channel number information, information on whether the NP subchannel is a shared NP subchannel or a random access (RA) NP subchannel, and information on the characteristics of traffic that can be transmitted in the NP subchannel.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the NP TXS TF further includes information indicating whether the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is to be reoccupied.

8. In paragraph 7, A method characterized in that it further includes a step of transmitting an IR (immediate response) in the entire band in which the NP TXS TF was transmitted after transmitting the NP TXS TF, when it is indicated that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is performed.

9. In electronic devices of a wireless LAN network, Transmitter and receiver; and Receives NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame), Checking whether NP TXOP (non-primary transmission opportunity) is available based on at least one of the AP (access point) identifier or NP subchannel information included in the above NP TXS TF, and If the above NP TXOP is available, it includes a control unit set to perform frame exchange or contention for channel access in the indicated NP subchannel, An electronic device characterized in that the above NP TXOP corresponds to a TXOP of an NP subchannel that is not used by an AP occupying the TXOP among the TXOPs.

10. An electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the NP subchannel information includes at least one of: frequency information of the NP subchannel, channel number information, information on whether the NP subchannel is a shared NP subchannel or a random access (RA) NP subchannel, information on characteristics of traffic that can be transmitted in the NP subchannel, and information indicating an available NP TXOP section.

11. An electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the NP TXS TF further includes information indicating whether the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is to be reoccupied.

12. In paragraph 11, The control unit is further configured to transmit an IR (immediate response) for the NP TXS TF when it is instructed that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is performed, An electronic device further characterized in that, if it is indicated that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is not performed, a CF-end frame is transmitted after the frame exchange.

13. In an electronic device of a wireless LAN network, Occupying the TXOP (transmission opportunity), and A control unit configured to transmit an NP TXS TF (non-primary triggered TXOP sharing trigger frame) including at least one of an AP (access point) identifier or NP subchannel information that can use an NP (non-primary) subchannel, An electronic device characterized in that the above NP TXS TF corresponds to a trigger frame for sharing NP TXOP.

14. An electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the NP subchannel information includes at least one of: frequency information of the NP subchannel, channel number information, information on whether the NP subchannel is a shared NP subchannel or a random access (RA) NP subchannel, and information on characteristics of traffic that can be transmitted in the NP subchannel.

15. In the 13th paragraph, the NP TXS TF further includes information indicating whether the AP that occupied the TXOP will reoccupy the NP subchannel, An electronic device characterized in that the control unit is further set to transmit an IR (immediate response) in the entire band through which the NP TXS TF is transmitted after transmitting the NP TXS TF when it is instructed that reoccupation of the NP subchannel of the AP that occupied the TXOP is performed.

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