KR20230089507A - Electronic device for performing communication of neighbor awareness networking and method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

In an electronic device and a method for operating the electronic device according to various embodiments, the electronic device comprises a communication circuit and a processor operatively connected to the communication circuit. The processor is configured to: synchronize with neighbor awareness networking (NAN) on the basis of NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcasted by an external electronic device included in the NAN; determine whether or not to switch to a second communication mode, which enables operation by lower power than a first communication mode, on the basis of the state of the electronic device, during the operation in the first communication mode which enables data transmission and/or reception at intervals of a first value; search for an external electronic device capable of performing a proxy server function from among external electronic devices included in the NAN, in accordance with that the processor has decided to switch to the second communication mode; transmit a proxy registration request signal to the found external electronic device; and switch to the second communication mode in accordance with that the processor has finished the registration to the external electronic device. The proxy registration request signal may comprise information associated with a function to be performed by the external electronic device in place of the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode. Other various embodiments are possible. According to the present invention, an electronic device can transmit and/or receive data by means of a competition-based method (e.g. CSMA/CA).

Description

Electronic device performing NAN communication and method of operating the electronic device

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an electronic device and an operating method of the electronic device, and relates to an electronic device that performs neighbor awareness networking (NAN) communication.

With the spread of various electronic devices, speed improvements for wireless communication that various electronic devices can use have been implemented.

In addition, various types of proximity services using low-power discovery technology have recently been developed. For example, a proximity service (or proximity communication service) through which nearby electronic devices can quickly exchange data through a proximity network is being developed. The proximity service is a low power proximity service using a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacon, or a low power short distance communication technology based on a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., NAN (neighbor awareness) networking), Wi-Fi aware) (hereinafter referred to as 'NAN') based low power proximity service.

According to an embodiment, a NAN-based low-power proximity service (hereinafter referred to as 'proximity service') represents a service configured and used in a proximity network that dynamically changes according to the movement of an electronic device, A set may be referred to as a cluster. In the case of proximity service, a signal (e.g., beacon) and a service discovery frame (SDF, A service discovery frame) (hereinafter referred to as 'SDF') may be transmitted and received. For example, at least one electronic device in the cluster may transmit a signal for notifying the existence of the cluster, and a new electronic device intending to participate in the cluster may receive the signal.

In order to reduce current consumption (or power consumption), each electronic device in the cluster may set different active durations for transmitting and receiving signals. In NAN communication, an active period in which signals can be transmitted and received may be referred to as a discovery window (DW). In addition, electronic devices included in the cluster may reduce current consumption by maintaining a low power state (eg, a sleep state) in a section other than the synchronized time section. In addition to this, research on ways to reduce current consumption is currently underway in NAN.

The electronic device may transmit or receive data within the discovery window. The discovery window may be a period in which electronic devices included in the NAN cluster are activated, and the electronic devices may transmit and/or receive data using a contention-based method (eg, CSMA/CA). When the electronic device fails to transmit and/or receive data within the discovery window, power consumption may increase by transmitting and/or receiving data during an additional period between discovery windows.

An electronic device operating as a proxy client may allow an external electronic device operating as a proxy server to perform a service discovery operation, and the electronic device may directly perform other functions (eg, post initiation communication, NDP, or ranging). there is. When the electronic device directly performs other functions, power consumption of the electronic device may further increase.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the present invention includes a communication circuit and a processor operatively connected to the communication circuit, wherein the processor is included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device included in NAN (neighbor awareness networking). While operating in a first communication mode capable of performing synchronization with the NAN based on NAN cluster information and transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a first value, capable of operating at lower power than the first communication mode Whether to switch to the second communication mode is determined based on the state of the electronic device, and in response to the decision to switch to the second communication mode, a function of a proxy server among external electronic devices included in the NAN Searching for an external electronic device capable of performing the search, transmitting a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device, and setting to operate in the second communication mode in response to completion of registration with the external electronic device, The proxy registration request signal may include information related to a function to be performed by the external electronic device instead of the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode.

An operating method of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present invention includes performing synchronization with NAN based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device included in NAN (neighbor awareness networking); Based on a state of the electronic device whether to switch to a second communication mode capable of operating with lower power than the first communication mode while operating in a first communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a value of 1 Searching for an external electronic device capable of performing a function of a proxy server among external electronic devices included in the NAN in response to a decision to switch to the second communication mode, the Transmitting a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device, and operating in the second communication mode in response to completion of registration with the external electronic device, wherein the proxy registration request signal corresponds to the second communication mode While operating as , the external electronic device may include information related to a function to be performed instead of the electronic device.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the present invention includes a communication circuit and a processor operatively connected to the communication circuit, wherein the processor is included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device included in NAN (neighbor awareness networking). While synchronizing with the NAN based on NAN cluster information and operating as a proxy server in the NAN cluster, an external electronic device that wants to operate as a proxy client among external electronic devices included in the NAN transmits Based on the signal, the external electronic device may be configured to be registered as the proxy client and to transmit information of the external electronic device to the other external electronic device as another external electronic device operating as a proxy server is searched for. .

An electronic device and a method for operating the electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure include operating some of the functions performed by the electronic device as a proxy server when the electronic device operating as a proxy client satisfies a specified condition. By operating in a communication mode performed by an external electronic device, power consumption of the electronic device may be reduced.

An electronic device and a method of operating the electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, wherein an electronic device operating as a proxy server transmits information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client to another external electronic device operating as a proxy server. can Therefore, even if an external electronic device operating as a proxy client is connected to another external electronic device, power consumption of the external electronic device caused by an additional registration procedure can be reduced by operating as a proxy server without a separate registration procedure. .

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
2 is a diagram illustrating a neighbor awareness network (NAN) cluster according to various embodiments.
3 is a diagram illustrating a protocol for transmitting a signal of an electronic device included in a NAN cluster according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmission and reception in a NAN cluster according to various embodiments of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a proxy server and proxy client in a NAN cluster, according to various embodiments of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
7 is an operation flowchart illustrating a method of operating an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an external electronic device performs a function to be performed by the electronic device instead of the electronic device while the electronic device operates in the second communication mode according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure performs cluster merging without performing a passive scan.
10 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
11 is an operation flowchart illustrating a method of operating an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure transmits information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client to another external electronic device.

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

The processor 120, for example, executes software (eg, the program 140) to cause at least one other component (eg, hardware or software component) of the electronic device 101 connected to the processor 120. It can control and perform various data processing or calculations. According to one embodiment, as at least part of data processing or operation, the processor 120 transfers instructions or data received from other components (e.g., sensor module 176 or communication module 190) to volatile memory 132. , processing commands or data stored in the volatile memory 132 , and storing resultant data in the non-volatile memory 134 . According to one embodiment, the processor 120 may include a main processor 121 (eg, a central processing unit or an application processor) or a secondary processor 123 (eg, a graphic processing unit, a neural network processing unit ( NPU: neural processing unit (NPU), image signal processor, sensor hub processor, or communication processor). For example, when the electronic device 101 includes the main processor 121 and the auxiliary processor 123, the auxiliary processor 123 may use less power than the main processor 121 or be set to be specialized for a designated function. can The secondary processor 123 may be implemented separately from or as part of the main processor 121 .

The secondary processor 123 may, for example, take the place of the main processor 121 while the main processor 121 is in an inactive (eg, sleep) state, or the main processor 121 is active (eg, running an application). ) state, together with the main processor 121, at least one of the components of the electronic device 101 (eg, the display module 160, the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) It is possible to control at least some of the related functions or states. According to one embodiment, the auxiliary processor 123 (eg, image signal processor or communication processor) may be implemented as part of other functionally related components (eg, camera module 180 or communication module 190). there is. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor 123 (eg, a neural network processing device) may include a hardware structure specialized for processing an artificial intelligence model. AI models can be created through machine learning. Such learning may be performed, for example, in the electronic device 101 itself where artificial intelligence is performed, or may be performed through a separate server (eg, the server 108). The learning algorithm may include, for example, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning or reinforcement learning, but in the above example Not limited. The artificial intelligence model may include a plurality of artificial neural network layers. Artificial neural networks include deep neural networks (DNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), restricted boltzmann machines (RBMs), deep belief networks (DBNs), bidirectional recurrent deep neural networks (BRDNNs), It may be one of deep Q-networks or a combination of two or more of the foregoing, but is not limited to the foregoing examples. The artificial intelligence model may include, in addition or alternatively, software structures in addition to hardware structures.

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

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

The input module 150 may receive a command or data to be used by a component (eg, the processor 120) of the electronic device 101 from the outside of the electronic device 101 (eg, a user). The input module 150 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (eg, a button), or a digital pen (eg, a stylus pen).

The sound output module 155 may output sound signals to the outside of the electronic device 101 . The sound output module 155 may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker can be used for general purposes such as multimedia playback or recording playback. A receiver may be used to receive an incoming call. According to one embodiment, the receiver may be implemented separately from the speaker or as part of it.

The display module 160 may visually provide information to the outside of the electronic device 101 (eg, a user). The display module 160 may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and a control circuit for controlling the device. According to one embodiment, the display module 160 may include a touch sensor set to detect a touch or a pressure sensor set to measure the intensity of force generated by the touch.

The audio module 170 may convert sound into an electrical signal or vice versa. According to one embodiment, the audio module 170 acquires sound through the input module 150, the sound output module 155, or an external electronic device connected directly or wirelessly to the electronic device 101 (eg: Sound may be output through the electronic device 102 (eg, a speaker or a headphone).

The sensor module 176 detects an operating state (eg, power or temperature) of the electronic device 101 or an external environmental state (eg, a user state), and generates an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. can do. According to one embodiment, the sensor module 176 may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an air pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an IR (infrared) sensor, a bio sensor, It may include a temperature sensor, humidity sensor, or light sensor.

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

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

The haptic module 179 may convert electrical signals into mechanical stimuli (eg, vibration or motion) or electrical stimuli that a user may perceive through tactile or kinesthetic senses. According to one embodiment, the haptic module 179 may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

The camera module 180 may capture still images and moving images. According to one embodiment, the camera module 180 may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

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

The battery 189 may supply power to at least one component of the electronic device 101 . According to one embodiment, the battery 189 may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary cell, a rechargeable secondary cell, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 190 is a direct (eg, wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device 101 and an external electronic device (eg, the electronic device 102, the electronic device 104, or the server 108). Establishment and communication through the established communication channel may be supported. The communication module 190 may include one or more communication processors that operate independently of the processor 120 (eg, an application processor) and support direct (eg, wired) communication or wireless communication. According to one embodiment, the communication module 190 is a wireless communication module 192 (eg, a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module 194 (eg, : a local area network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication module). Among these communication modules, a corresponding communication module is a first network 198 (eg, a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (WiFi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or a second network 199 (eg, legacy It may communicate with the external electronic device 104 through a cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a telecommunications network such as a computer network (eg, a LAN or a WAN). These various types of communication modules may be integrated as one component (eg, a single chip) or implemented as a plurality of separate components (eg, multiple chips). The wireless communication module 192 uses subscriber information (eg, International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module 196 within a communication network such as the first network 198 or the second network 199. The electronic device 101 may be identified or authenticated.

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

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

According to various embodiments, the antenna module 197 may form a mmWave antenna module. According to one embodiment, the mmWave antenna module includes a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on or adjacent to a first surface (eg, a lower surface) of the printed circuit board and capable of supporting a designated high frequency band (eg, mmWave band); and a plurality of antennas (eg, array antennas) disposed on or adjacent to a second surface (eg, a top surface or a side surface) of the printed circuit board and capable of transmitting or receiving signals of the designated high frequency band. can do.

At least some of the components are connected to each other through a communication method between peripheral devices (eg, a bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)) and signal ( e.g. commands or data) can be exchanged with each other.

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 104 through the server 108 connected to the second network 199 . Each of the external electronic devices 102 or 104 may be the same as or different from the electronic device 101 . According to an embodiment, all or part of operations executed in the electronic device 101 may be executed in one or more external electronic devices among the external electronic devices 102 , 104 , or 108 . For example, when the electronic device 101 needs to perform a certain function or service automatically or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device 101 instead of executing the function or service by itself. Alternatively or additionally, one or more external electronic devices may be requested to perform the function or at least part of the service. One or more external electronic devices receiving the request may execute at least a part of the requested function or service or an additional function or service related to the request, and deliver the execution result to the electronic device 101 . The electronic device 101 may provide the result as at least part of a response to the request as it is or additionally processed. To this end, for example, cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used. The electronic device 101 may provide an ultra-low latency service using, for example, distributed computing or mobile edge computing. In another embodiment, the external electronic device 104 may include an internet of things (IoT) device. Server 108 may be an intelligent server using machine learning and/or neural networks. According to one embodiment, the external electronic device 104 or server 108 may be included in the second network 199 . The electronic device 101 may be applied to intelligent services (eg, smart home, smart city, smart car, or health care) based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology.

2 is a diagram illustrating a neighbor awareness network (NAN) cluster according to various embodiments.

For example, FIG. 2 may show a configuration example of a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) cluster 200 for a proximity network according to various embodiments. In the following description, in the cluster 200, each electronic device (or NAN device) (eg, the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1) 210, 220, 230, or 240 can mutually transmit and receive data. It may refer to a set of electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 configuring a proximity network to For example, cluster 200 may be referred to as a NAN cluster according to NAN specifications (or standards).

Referring to FIG. 2 , a cluster 200 may include a plurality of electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240. The electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 included in the cluster 200 have a synchronized time duration (or communication interval) (eg, a discovery (or search, discovery) window (DW, discovery window) )), a beacon (or a discovery beacon) and/or a service discovery frame (SDF) (hereinafter referred to as 'SDF') may be transmitted and received.

The electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 in the cluster 200 may synchronize their time clocks with each other. For example, the electronic devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 are synchronized with a time clock of one electronic device (eg, the electronic device 210) and transmit beacons and SDFs to each other in the same discovery window. can be exchanged.

According to an embodiment, an electronic device supporting a NAN-based low-power short-range communication technology broadcasts a search signal (eg, a beacon) for discovering other electronic devices at every first predetermined period (eg, about 100 msec). ), and scanning is performed every second preset period (eg, about 10 msec) to receive a discovery signal broadcast from another electronic device.

The electronic devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 detect at least one other electronic device located around the electronic device based on the discovery signal received through scanning, and synchronize the NAN cluster with the detected at least one other electronic device. can be done NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing the NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and/or receive data on the same channel and/or during the same time period.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , each of the plurality of electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 transmits a beacon, and another electronic device 210, 220, 230, or 240 transmits a beacon. By receiving , one cluster 200 operating according to a synchronized time clock can be formed, and the electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 in the cluster 200 can perform NAN cluster synchronization. there is.

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

The anchor master may refer to an electronic device that is a standard for time and channel synchronization of the electronic devices 210 , 220 , 230 , or 240 in the cluster 200 . The anchor master may be changed according to the master preference of the electronic device. Each of the time- and channel-synchronized electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 transmits a beacon and an SDF within a discovery window (or discovery period) that is repeated according to a preset period, and transmits a beacon and an SDF to other devices within the cluster 200. Beacons and SDFs may be received from electronic devices. According to an embodiment, a beacon may be periodically transmitted and received for each discovery window in order to continuously maintain time and channel synchronization of the electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 in the cluster 200. The SDF may be transmitted and received in the discovery window as needed to provide a service with the discovered electronic devices 210 , 220 , 230 , or 240 . According to an embodiment, an electronic device operating as an anchor master among time and channel synchronized electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 transmits a beacon to detect a new electronic device in a section between discovery windows. can be sent

Each of the electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 in the cluster 200 operates in an active state only during the discovery window, and operates in a low power state (eg, sleep state) during the remaining period other than the discovery window. Thus, current consumption can be reduced.

For example, the discovery window is the time (e.g., millisecond) that the electronic device is in an active state (or wake state), and a large amount of current is consumed. Thus, low-power discovery may be possible.

The electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 in the cluster 200 are simultaneously activated at the start time of the synchronized discovery window (eg, DW start), and simultaneously activated at the end time of the discovery window (eg, DW end). Can switch to sleep state.

The electronic devices 210, 220, 230, or 240 included in the cluster 200 perform discovery, synchronization, and data processing using a protocol shown in FIG. 3 described later. Exchange operations can be performed.

3 is a diagram illustrating a protocol for transmitting a signal of an electronic device included in a NAN cluster according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

For example, FIG. 3 may represent an example diagram for a discovery window according to various embodiments. In FIG. 3, electronic devices included in one cluster transmit signals through a specific channel (eg, channel 6 (Ch6)) based on the NAN standard as an example.

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

The discovery window 325 may be a period in which a corresponding electronic device is active in a wake-up state from a sleep state, which is a power saving mode, for data exchange between respective electronic devices. For example, the discovery window 325 may be divided into time units (TUs) in units of milliseconds. According to one embodiment, the discovery window 325 for transmitting and receiving the synchronization beacon 310 and the SDF 320 may occupy 16 time units (TUs, time units) (16 TUs), and 512 time units The units 512 TUs may have a repeating cycle (or interval).

The discovery beacon 330 may represent a signal transmitted so that other electronic devices that have not joined the cluster can discover the cluster. For example, the discovery beacon 330 is a signal for notifying the existence of a cluster, and electronic devices that do not participate in the cluster perform a passive scan and receive the discovery beacon 330 to discover and discover the cluster. can participate

The discovery beacon 330 may include information required for synchronization with the cluster. For example, the discovery beacon 330 includes a frame control (FC) field indicating a function (eg, beacon) of a signal, a broadcast address, and a media access control (MAC) field of a transmitting electronic device. ) Address, cluster identifier (ID, identifier), sequence control field, time stamp for the beacon frame, beacon interval indicating the transmission interval of the discovery beacon 330, or discovery beacon It may include at least one of capability information about the electronic device transmitting 330.

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

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

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

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

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

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmission and reception in a NAN cluster according to various embodiments of the present invention.

For example, FIG. 4 shows an example in which the first electronic device 410, the second electronic device 420, and the third electronic device 430 form one cluster through wireless short-range communication technology. Each of the devices 410, 420, or 430 may transmit and receive beacons and/or SDFs to and from each other. According to an embodiment, in FIG. 4 , a first electronic device 410 among electronic devices 410, 420, or 430 constituting a cluster may serve as a master electronic device as an example. .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the first electronic device 410 may transmit a beacon and an SDF within a discovery window 450 . The first electronic device 410 may broadcast a beacon and an SDF for each discovery window 450 that is repeated every preset interval (eg, the interval 460).

The second electronic device 420 and the third electronic device 430 may receive the beacon and SDF transmitted by the first electronic device 410 . According to an embodiment, each of the second electronic device 420 and the third electronic device 430 may receive a beacon and an SDF broadcast from the first electronic device 410 every discovery window 450 .

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

In a period other than the discovery window 450 (eg, the interval 460), the electronic devices 410, 420, or 430 may maintain a sleep state to reduce current consumption. For example, the electronic devices 410, 420, or 430 operate in an awake state only during the discovery window 450 period based on the synchronized time clock, thereby reducing current consumption.

5 is a diagram illustrating a proxy server and proxy client in a NAN cluster, according to various embodiments of the present invention.

The NAN cluster can reduce current consumption of electronic devices included in the NAN cluster (eg, the first electronic device 410, the second electronic device 420, and/or the third electronic device 430 of FIG. 4). A variety of technologies can be supported. For example, the NAN cluster may support a NAN service discovery proxy (hereinafter, referred to as 'service discovery proxy') function to reduce current consumption by controlling traffic load balancing.

One of the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster supporting the service discovery proxy operates as a NAN proxy server (hereinafter referred to as a 'proxy server'), and the other electronic device operates as a NAN proxy client. (Proxy client) (hereinafter referred to as 'proxy client') to operate (or perform functions).

Electronic devices in a cluster may be synchronized in the same discovery window, perform proxy server negotiation between electronic devices, and act as a proxy server between electronic devices based on proxy server negotiation, or You can decide whether to act as a proxy client. An electronic device designated as a proxy server may instead perform a procedure for data communication (eg, a service discovery operation) with respect to a proxy client, thereby reducing current consumption of the proxy client. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the first electronic device 410 operates as a proxy server, and the second electronic device 420 and/or the third electronic device 430 operate as proxy clients.

In operation 501, the first electronic device 410 may broadcast an SDF including information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported during the discovery window period.

Information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported may include proxy server capability information and/or awake interval information (eg, discovery window awake (DW awake) interval).

The second electronic device 420 checks information indicating whether or not the proxy server function included in the SDF broadcast by the first electronic device 410 is supported, and the first electronic device 410 acts as a proxy server. You can check whether it works or not.

The third electronic device 430 checks information indicating whether or not the proxy server function included in the SDF broadcast by the first electronic device 410 is supported, and the first electronic device 410 acts as a proxy server. You can check whether it works or not.

In operation 503, the second electronic device 420 transmits a request message requesting proxy client registration (eg, a proxy registration request message) to the first electronic device 410 performing a proxy server function. can

The proxy registration request message may include service information that the second electronic device 420 intends to acquire and awake interval information (eg, awake interval B = 3). According to an embodiment, the second electronic device 420 may transmit a proxy registration request message including an increased awake interval to the first electronic device 410 in order to reduce current consumption when operating as a proxy client.

When operating as a proxy client, the second electronic device 420 increases (or resets) the currently set awake interval (eg, awake interval B = 1) (eg, awake interval B = 3), and acts as a proxy client. During operation, current consumption can be reduced.

In operation 505, the third electronic device 430 transmits a request message requesting proxy client registration (eg, a proxy registration request message) to the first electronic device 410 performing a proxy server function. can

The proxy registration request message may include service information and awake interval information (eg, awake interval B = 1) that the third electronic device 430 intends to acquire. Although FIG. 5 illustrates that the third electronic device 430 is activated every discovery window, the third electronic device 430 may be activated every other interval (eg, awake interval B=2). According to an embodiment, the third electronic device 430 may transmit a proxy registration request message including an increased awake interval to the first electronic device 410 in order to reduce current consumption when operating as a proxy client. The third electronic device 430 may not operate as a proxy client. The third electronic device 430, which does not operate as a proxy client, transmits and/or receives the first electronic device 410 based on the awake interval included in the SDF broadcast by the first electronic device 410. Data (eg, the discovery result of operation 515) may be transmitted to the first electronic device 410 in a section in which the function is activated.

In operation 507, the first electronic device 410, in response to the proxy registration request of the second electronic device 420, sends a response message about whether the second electronic device 420 is registered as a proxy (eg, a proxy registration response). (proxy registration response) message) may be transmitted to the second electronic device 420 . According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the second electronic device 420 . According to an embodiment, when the first electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration request of the second electronic device 420, the response message includes registration information assigned to the second electronic device 420 (eg: It may include registration ID information (eg, registration id B).

In operation 509, the first electronic device 410 sends, in response to the proxy registration request of the third electronic device 430, a response message about whether or not the third electronic device 430 is registered as a proxy (eg, a proxy registration response). (proxy registration response) message) may be transmitted to the third electronic device 430 . According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the third electronic device 430 . According to an embodiment, when the first electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration request of the third electronic device 430, the response message may include registration information assigned to the third electronic device 430 (eg: It may include registration ID information (eg, registration id C).

In operation 511, the second electronic device 420 may operate as a proxy client. The second electronic device 420 may transmit and/or receive data every four discovery windows based on the awake interval (eg, awake interval = 4) requested by the second electronic device 420 .

In operation 513, the first electronic device 410 is activated every discovery window (eg, awake interval A = 1) to perform service discovery.

The first electronic device 410 sends a service discovery frame including service information included in the proxy registration request message transmitted by the second electronic device 420 (or service information registered in the first electronic device 410). (SDF) can be broadcast.

The second electronic device 420, in operation 513, may exist in an inactive state and may not receive the SDF broadcast by the first electronic device 410.

The third electronic device 430 may receive the SDF broadcast by the first electronic device 410 in operation 509 and check service information included in the SDF. In operation 515, the third electronic device 430 may transmit information related to service information (or information that the second electronic device 420 intends to acquire) to the first electronic device 410.

The first electronic device 410 may broadcast a service discovery frame including information transmitted by the third electronic device 430 in a discovery window in which the second electronic device 420 is activated. The second electronic device 420 may receive and/or obtain information transmitted by the third electronic device 430 included in the service discovery frame. Through the above method, the second electronic device 420 can acquire service information provided by the third electronic device 430 through the first electronic device 410 even when only some discovery windows are activated. there is.

In operation 517, the second electronic device 420 sends a proxy registration update request message to the first electronic device 410 in order to obtain information related to another service or to change an awake interval. can transmit

The proxy registration update request message may include updated service information that the second electronic device 420 intends to acquire and updated awake interval information (eg, awake interval B = 3).

In operation 519, in response to the proxy registration update request message, the first electronic device 410 sends a response message about whether or not the proxy registration of the first external electronic device 620 is updated (eg, a proxy registration update response). update response message) may be transmitted to the second electronic device 420 . According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the second electronic device 420 . According to an embodiment, when the first electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration update request of the second electronic device 420, the response message includes registration information assigned to the second electronic device 420 (eg : May include registration ID information (eg, existing registration ID information (registration id B) or new registration ID information (registration id C))).

Referring to the embodiment described above, as defined in the NAN standard, the first electronic device 410 operating as a proxy server is one of the functions that the second electronic device 420 operating as a proxy client can perform. A service discovery function may be performed instead of the second electronic device 420 . Hereinafter, embodiments in which the power consumption of the second electronic device 420 can be further reduced by the first electronic device 410 performing other functions instead of the second electronic device 420 will be described below. .

6 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device 600 (eg, the second electronic device 420 of FIG. 4 ) includes a communication circuit 610 (eg, the wireless communication module 192 of FIG. 1 ), and a processor. 620 (eg, processor 120 of FIG. 1).

The communication circuit 610 may include various circuit structures used for modulation and/or demodulation of signals within the electronic device 600 . For example, the communication circuit 610 modulates a baseband signal into a radio frequency (RF) band signal to output a baseband signal through an antenna (not shown), or transmits an RF band signal received through an antenna to a baseband signal. It may be demodulated into a signal of a band and transmitted to the processor 620.

The communication circuit 610 transmits various data to an external electronic device (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2) through a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and/or 6 GHz) used by the electronic devices of the NAN cluster (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2). : Can be transmitted or received by the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 4).

The processor 620 receives data transmitted by the application processor (eg, the processor 120 of FIG. 1 ) and transmits the received data to an external electronic device (eg, the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 5 ). It is possible to perform an operation of generating a packet for The external electronic device may refer to the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 5 . The processor 620 may be defined as a communication processor (or communication processor) included in a communication module (eg, the wireless communication module 192 of FIG. 1 ). According to an embodiment, the processor 620 generates a packet by performing channel coding based on data transmitted by the application processor (eg, the application processor 120 of FIG. 1 ), or the external electronic device 410 It is possible to check whether at least part of the transmitted data has an error or, if an error occurs, to perform an operation to recover the error (eg, hybrid auto repeat request (HARQ)).

The processor 620 is included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device 410 included in a cluster (or network) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2) implemented in a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) method. Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on the received NAN cluster information. Alternatively, the processor 620 may receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (eg, short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). For example, the processor 620 transmits a probe request signal for finding an external electronic device 410 to be connected via Wi-Fi, and responds to the probe request signal, and a probe response transmitted by the external electronic device 410. NAN cluster synchronization may be performed based on NAN cluster information included in the message.

NAN cluster synchronization is the time clock information of an electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 410) representing the NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and/or receive data on the same channel and/or during the same time. It may include an operation of receiving. For example, the processor 620 may receive a beacon broadcast by the external electronic device 410 and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on time clock information of the external electronic device 410 included in the beacon. .

After NAN cluster synchronization is complete, the processor 620 may operate in the first communication mode. The first communication mode may be a mode in which data transmission and/or reception is performed for each discovery window having an interval having a first value. The processor 620 operating in the first communication mode activates the communication circuit 610 for each designated period (eg, the size of the discovery window having the interval having the first value), and activates the electronic data included in the NAN cluster for each designated period. Devices (eg, the external electronic device 410) may receive data transmitted or transmit data to the external electronic device 410.

The processor 620 operating in the first communication mode may perform a series of operations for switching to the second communication mode based on whether various conditions are satisfied. The second communication mode is a communication mode that may have lower power consumption than the first communication mode, or the external electronic device 410 performs some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode. 600) may mean a communication mode performed instead.

The second communication mode operates as an awake interval having a second value (eg, awake interval = 4) greater than the first value (eg, awake interval = 3), which is the length of the awake interval of the first communication mode. can be a mod For example, the processor 620 may activate the communication circuit 610 on one of the four discovery windows (eg, every four discovery window intervals) in the first communication mode. In the second communication mode, the processor 620 may activate the communication circuit 610 on one of the eight discovery windows (eg, every eight discovery window intervals).

The second communication mode may be a mode in which data is transmitted or received using a frequency band lower than the frequency band used by the first communication mode. For example, the processor 620 may control the communication circuit 610 to transmit or receive data using both a 2.4 GHz frequency band channel and a 5 GHz frequency band channel in the first communication mode. there is. The processor 620 may control the communication circuit 610 to transmit or receive data using a channel of a frequency band of 2.4 GHz in the second communication mode.

The second communication mode may be a communication mode in which only some of the services operated through the first communication mode are operated. For example, among services operated through the first communication mode, a screen sharing service may be a service not supported by the second communication mode.

The second communication mode may not support post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, among operations supported by the first communication mode. may be

The second communication mode is related to post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and receiving data between discovery windows, among operations supported by the first communication mode. This may refer to a communication mode in which the external electronic device 410 performs an operation in which the electronic device 600 establishes post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 .

The second communication mode scans other external electronic devices to perform synchronization of NAN clusters or merging of NAN clusters (eg, passive scan in which signals transmitted by other external electronic devices are scanned) or other external electronic devices are scanned. It may be a mode in which an active scan for scanning an external electronic device is not performed by transmitting a signal to the external electronic device. On the other hand, the first communication mode may be a mode in which another external electronic device is scanned in order to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging.

According to an embodiment, the processor 620 may switch to the second communication mode based on the state of the electronic device 600 .

For example, the state of the electronic device 600 may include a remaining capacity of a battery of the electronic device 600, a temperature of a part of the electronic device 600, a specific part of the electronic device 600 (eg, a display (eg, a diagram) 1 may mean various states including whether the display module 160 is activated and whether the electronic device 600 executes the low power mode.

The processor 620 may determine that the remaining capacity of the battery of the electronic device 600 is equal to or less than a specified value, and switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

The processor 620 may confirm that the temperature of the electronic device 600 is equal to or greater than a specified value, and may determine to switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

The processor 620 may determine that a specific component (eg, the display 160) of the electronic device 600 is inactivated, and switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

The processor 620 may determine that the electronic device 600 confirms that the low power mode is activated by a user input and switches from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

As part of an operation of switching to the second communication mode, the processor 620 searches (or searches for) an electronic device (eg, the external electronic device 410) capable of operating as a proxy server among electronic devices included in the NAN cluster. )can do.

The processor 620 receives a signal broadcast in a discovery window by an electronic device (eg, the external electronic device 410) included in the NAN cluster, and transmits information indicating whether the proxy server function included in the signal is supported. You can check. The signal may be one of a beacon, a service discovery frame, and/or a NAN action frame broadcast in a discovery window. The processor 620 may search for an external electronic device 410 operable as a proxy server based on a result of checking information indicating whether or not the proxy server function is supported.

The processor 620 may transmit a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device 410 .

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode. The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal includes functions (or services) that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 while the electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. May contain relevant information. Information related to functions that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, further availability window (FAW) information indicating a time at which the communication circuit 610 is activated at other times than the discovery window) may be included.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the electronic device 600 . The performance information of the electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the electronic device 600 is information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the electronic device 600 and/or used by the electronic device 600. It may include the number of antennas that

Performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and performance information included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the second communication mode may be different. According to an embodiment, the number of antennas (eg, 4) included in the performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and the proxy registration transmitted in the second communication mode The number of antennas (eg, two) included in the performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the request signal may be different.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the external electronic device 410 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and sends the electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for The external electronic device 410 may transmit a proxy registration termination message to the electronic device 600 .

The external electronic device 410 receives a proxy registration request signal, and as a response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, a proxy registration response message) indicating whether the electronic device 600 is registered as a proxy. may be transmitted to the electronic device 600. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600 . According to an embodiment, when the external electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600, the response message is the registration information assigned to the electronic device 600 (eg, a registration ID). ) information (eg, registration id B)).

The processor 620 may control the communication circuit 610 to operate in the second communication mode as proxy client registration is completed.

In the second communication mode, the processor 620 may allow the external electronic device 410 to perform some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode.

According to an embodiment, in the second communication mode, the processor 620 may not perform an operation of scanning another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging. The external electronic device 410 may scan another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging, and determine whether to merge the NAN clusters based on the scan result. In response to merging the NAN cluster with another cluster, the external electronic device 410 may transmit information indicating merging to the electronic device 600 within a discovery window period in which the electronic device 600 is activated. Upon receiving information indicating merging, the processor 620 may perform a series of operations for merging with another NAN cluster. The processor 620 may perform a proxy function on a new NAN cluster in which a NAN cluster previously included in the electronic device 600 and another NAN cluster are merged.

Accordingly, the electronic device 600 is not merged into a new cluster and the external electronic device 410 is merged into the new cluster, so that the electronic device 600 performs a scanning operation to find another external electronic device operating as a proxy server. power consumption can be avoided.

According to an embodiment, the processor 620 is related to post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows in the second communication mode. Thus, the electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of establishing post initiation communication. The external electronic device 410 may perform an operation of setting post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 . For example, the external electronic device 410 performs post initiation communication setup (or negotiation) with another external electronic device to be connected to the electronic device 600, and transfers the setting information to a discovery window in which the electronic device 600 is activated. It can be transmitted to the electronic device 600 within the section. The processor 620 may perform post initiation communication based on the received configuration information. Accordingly, the electronic device 600 can prevent power consumption due to the setting operation of post initiation communication.

While operating in the second communication mode, the processor 620 may transmit a signal for checking a connection state between the external electronic device 410 and the electronic device 600 to the external electronic device 410 every designated period. there is. A signal for confirming a connection state between the external electronic device 410 and the electronic device 600 may be transmitted and received on a discovery window section in which the electronic device 600 is capable of transmitting and/or receiving data. . The processor 620 confirms that the response signal of the signal for confirming the connection state between the external electronic device 410 and the electronic device 600 is not received, and other external electronic devices capable of serving as a proxy server. The second communication mode may be maintained by searching for (or searching for) a device and transmitting and registering a proxy registration request message to the searched external electronic device. According to an embodiment, the processor 620 may search for an external electronic device while maintaining an awake interval in the process of searching for an external electronic device. Alternatively, the processor 620 may reduce the awake interval and search for the external electronic device in the process of searching for the external electronic device. The processor 620 may switch from the second communication mode to the first communication mode when the searched external electronic device does not exist.

According to an embodiment, the processor 620 may switch from the second communication mode to the first communication mode again based on the state of the electronic device 600 .

For example, the state of the electronic device 600 may include a remaining capacity of a battery of the electronic device 600, a temperature of a part of the electronic device 600, a specific part of the electronic device 600 (eg, a display (eg, a diagram) 1 may mean various states including whether the display module 160 is activated and whether the low power mode of the electronic device 600 is terminated.

The processor 620 may determine whether the remaining capacity of the battery of the electronic device 600 is greater than or equal to a specified value, and switch from the second communication mode to the first communication mode.

The processor 620 may confirm that the temperature of the electronic device 600 is equal to or less than a specified value, and may determine to switch from the second communication mode to the first communication mode.

The processor 620 may determine that a specific component (eg, the display 160) of the electronic device 600 is activated and switch from the second communication mode to the first communication mode.

The processor 620 may determine that the electronic device 600 confirms that the low power mode is terminated by a user input and switches from the second communication mode to the first communication mode.

7 is an operation flowchart illustrating a method of operating an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6 ) is included in a cluster (or network) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2 ) implemented in operation 710 using a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) scheme. Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device (eg, the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 4 ).

NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing the NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and/or receive data on the same channel and/or during the same time period. For example, the electronic device 600 may receive a beacon broadcast by the external electronic device 410 and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on time clock information of the external electronic device 410 included in the beacon. there is.

After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the electronic device 600 may operate in the first communication mode. The first communication mode may be a mode in which data transmission and/or reception is performed for each discovery window having an interval having a first value. The electronic device 600 operating in the first communication mode activates the communication circuit 610 for each designated period (eg, the size of the discovery window having the interval having the first value), and the information included in the NAN cluster for each designated period. Data transmitted by electronic devices (eg, the external electronic device 410) may be received or data may be transmitted to the external electronic device 410.

In operation 720, the electronic device 600 may determine whether to switch to the second communication mode while operating in the first communication mode.

The electronic device 600 operating in the first communication mode may perform a series of operations for switching to the second communication mode based on whether various conditions are satisfied. The second communication mode is a communication mode that may have lower power consumption than the first communication mode, or the external electronic device 410 performs some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode. 600) may mean a communication mode performed instead.

The second communication mode operates as an awake interval having a second value (eg, awake interval = 4) greater than the first value (eg, awake interval = 3), which is the length of the awake interval of the first communication mode. can be a mod For example, the electronic device 600 may activate the communication circuit 610 on one of the four discovery windows (eg, every four discovery window intervals) in the first communication mode. In the second communication mode, the processor 620 may activate the communication circuit 610 on one of the eight discovery windows (eg, every eight discovery window intervals).

The second communication mode may be a mode in which data is transmitted or received using a frequency band lower than the frequency band used by the first communication mode. For example, the processor 620 may control the communication circuit 610 to transmit or receive data using both a 2.4 GHz frequency band channel and a 5 GHz frequency band channel in the first communication mode. there is. The electronic device 600 may control the communication circuit 610 to transmit or receive data using a channel of a frequency band of 2.4 GHz in the second communication mode.

The second communication mode may be a communication mode in which only some of the services operated through the first communication mode are operated. For example, among services operated through the first communication mode, a screen sharing service may be a service not supported by the second communication mode.

The second communication mode may not support post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, among operations supported by the first communication mode. may be

The second communication mode is related to post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and receiving data between discovery windows, among operations supported by the first communication mode. This may refer to a communication mode in which the external electronic device 410 performs an operation in which the electronic device 600 establishes post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 .

The second communication mode scans other external electronic devices to perform synchronization of NAN clusters or merging of NAN clusters (eg, passive scan in which signals transmitted by other external electronic devices are scanned) or other external electronic devices are scanned. It may be a mode in which an active scan for scanning an external electronic device is not performed by transmitting a signal to the external electronic device. On the other hand, the first communication mode may be a mode in which another external electronic device is scanned in order to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 600 may switch to the second communication mode based on the state of the electronic device 600 .

For example, the state of the electronic device 600 may include a remaining capacity of a battery of the electronic device 600, a temperature of a part of the electronic device 600, a specific part of the electronic device 600 (eg, a display (eg, a diagram) 1 may mean various states including whether the display module 160 is activated and whether the electronic device 600 executes the low power mode.

The electronic device 600 may determine that the remaining capacity of the battery of the electronic device 600 is equal to or less than a specified value, and switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

The electronic device 600 may confirm that the temperature of the electronic device 600 is equal to or greater than a specified value, and may determine to switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

The electronic device 600 may determine that a specific part (eg, the display 160) of the electronic device 600 is inactivated and switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

The electronic device 600 may confirm that the low power mode is activated by a user input and determine to switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode.

In operation 730, the electronic device 600 may search for an external electronic device 410 capable of serving as a proxy server.

The electronic device 600 receives a signal broadcast in a discovery window by an electronic device (eg, the external electronic device 410) included in the NAN cluster, and indicates whether the proxy server function included in the signal is supported. information can be checked. The signal may be one of a beacon, a service discovery frame, and/or a NAN action frame broadcast in a discovery window. The electronic device 600 may search for an external electronic device 410 operable as a proxy server based on a result of checking information indicating whether or not the proxy server function is supported.

In operation 740, the electronic device 600 may transmit a proxy registration request signal including information related to functions that the external electronic device 410 may perform instead of the electronic device 600.

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode. The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal includes functions (or services) that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 while the electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. May contain relevant information. Information related to functions that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, further availability window (FAW) information indicating a time at which the communication circuit 610 is activated at other times than the discovery window) may be included.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the electronic device 600 . The performance information of the electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the electronic device 600 is information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the electronic device 600 and/or used by the electronic device 600. It may include the number of antennas that

Performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and performance information included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the second communication mode may be different.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the external electronic device 410 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and sends the electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for The external electronic device 410 may transmit a proxy registration termination message to the electronic device 600 .

The external electronic device 410 receives a proxy registration request signal, and as a response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, a proxy registration response message) indicating whether the electronic device 600 is registered as a proxy. may be transmitted to the electronic device 600. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600 .

In operation 750, the electronic device 600 may operate in the second communication mode as registration of the proxy client is completed.

In the second communication mode, the electronic device 600 may allow the external electronic device 410 to perform some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode.

According to an embodiment, in the second communication mode, the electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of scanning another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging. The external electronic device 410 may scan another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging, and determine whether to merge the NAN clusters based on the scan result. In response to merging the NAN cluster with another cluster, the external electronic device 410 may transmit information indicating merging to the electronic device 600 within a discovery window period in which the electronic device 600 is activated. Upon receiving information instructing merging, the electronic device 600 may perform merging and perform a series of operations for merging with another NAN cluster. The electronic device 600 may perform a proxy function on a new NAN cluster in which a NAN cluster previously included in the electronic device 600 and another NAN cluster are merged. Accordingly, the electronic device 600 is not merged into a new cluster and the external electronic device 410 is merged into the new cluster, so that the electronic device 600 performs a scanning operation to find another external electronic device operating as a proxy server. power consumption can be avoided.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 600 performs post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, in the second communication mode. In this regard, the electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of establishing post initiation communication. The external electronic device 410 may perform an operation of setting post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 . For example, the external electronic device 410 performs post initiation communication setup (or negotiation) with another external electronic device to be connected to the electronic device 600, and transfers the setting information to a discovery window in which the electronic device 600 is activated. It can be transmitted to the electronic device 600 within the section. The electronic device 600 may perform post initiation communication based on the received configuration information. Accordingly, the electronic device 600 can prevent power consumption due to the setting operation of post initiation communication.

8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an external electronic device performs a function to be performed by the electronic device instead of the electronic device while the electronic device operates in the second communication mode according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

In operation 801, the electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6) may transmit a proxy registration request signal to an external electronic device (eg, the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 4).

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode. The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal includes functions (or services) that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 while the electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. May contain relevant information. Information related to functions that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, further availability window (FAW) information indicating a time at which the communication circuit 610 is activated at other times than the discovery window) may be included.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the electronic device 600 . The performance information of the electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the electronic device 600 is information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the electronic device 600 and/or used by the electronic device 600. It may include the number of antennas that

Performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and performance information included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the second communication mode may be different. According to an embodiment, the number of antennas (eg, 4) included in the performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and the proxy registration transmitted in the second communication mode The number of antennas (eg, two) included in the performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the request signal may be different.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the external electronic device 410 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and sends the electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for The external electronic device 410 may transmit a proxy registration termination message to the electronic device 600 .

In operation 803, the external electronic device 410 may transmit a response signal corresponding to the proxy registration request signal.

The external electronic device 410 receives a proxy registration request signal, and as a response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, a proxy registration response message) indicating whether the electronic device 600 is registered as a proxy. may be transmitted to the electronic device 600. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600 . According to an embodiment, when the external electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600, the response message is the registration information assigned to the electronic device 600 (eg, a registration ID). ) information (eg, registration id B)).

In operation 805, the electronic device 600 may operate in the second communication mode. In operation 807, the external electronic device 410 may perform some of the functions to be performed by the electronic device 600.

In the second communication mode, the electronic device 600 may allow the external electronic device 410 to perform some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode.

According to an embodiment, in the second communication mode, the electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of scanning another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging. The external electronic device 410 may scan another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging, and determine whether to merge the NAN clusters based on the scan result. In response to merging the NAN cluster with another cluster, the external electronic device 410 may transmit information indicating merging to the electronic device 600 within a discovery window period in which the electronic device 600 is activated. Upon receiving information indicating merging, the electronic device 600 may perform a series of operations for merging with another NAN cluster. The electronic device 600 may perform a proxy function on a new NAN cluster in which a NAN cluster previously included in the electronic device 600 and another NAN cluster are merged. Accordingly, the electronic device 600 is not merged into a new cluster and the external electronic device 410 is merged into the new cluster, so that the electronic device 600 performs a scanning operation to find another external electronic device operating as a proxy server. power consumption can be avoided.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 600 performs post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, in the second communication mode. In this regard, the electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of establishing post initiation communication. The external electronic device 410 may perform an operation of setting post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 . For example, the external electronic device 410 performs post initiation communication setup (or negotiation) with another external electronic device to be connected to the electronic device 600, and transfers the setting information to a discovery window in which the electronic device 600 is activated. It can be transmitted to the electronic device 600 within the section. The electronic device 600 may perform post initiation communication based on the received setting information. Accordingly, the electronic device 600 can prevent power consumption due to the setting operation of post initiation communication.

The electronic device 600 may transmit a proxy registration update request signal to the external electronic device 410 in operation 809 .

The electronic device 600 may transmit a proxy registration update request message to the external electronic device 410 in order to obtain information related to another service or change an awake interval.

The proxy registration update request message may include updated service information and updated awake interval information that the electronic device 600 intends to acquire.

In operation 811, the external electronic device 410 may transmit a response signal corresponding to the proxy registration update request signal.

According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600 . According to an embodiment, when the external electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration update request of the electronic device 600, the response message is transmitted with registration information assigned to the electronic device 600 (eg, a registration identifier (registration identifier)). ID) information (eg, registration id B)).

The external electronic device 410, in operation 813, may stop the operation of the proxy server after the time expires.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration update request signal may include updated valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration update request signal, the external electronic device 410 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and the electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for . The external electronic device 410 may transmit a proxy registration termination message to the electronic device 600 .

9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure performs cluster merging without performing a passive scan.

In operation 901, the external electronic device (eg, the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 4) transmits a service discovery frame (SDF) to the electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6) (or broadcast).

The SDF may include information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported. The external electronic device 410 may broadcast the SDF during the discovery window (DW) period.

Information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported may include proxy server capability information and/or awake interval information (eg, discovery window awake (DW awake) interval).

The electronic device 600 checks information indicating whether the external electronic device 420 supports the proxy server function included in the broadcast SDF, and determines whether the external electronic device 600 operates as a proxy server. You can check.

The electronic device 600 may operate in the first communication mode. The first communication mode may be a mode in which data transmission and/or reception is performed for each discovery window having an interval having a first value. The electronic device 600 operating in the first communication mode activates the communication circuit 610 for each designated period (eg, the size of the discovery window having the interval having the first value), and the information included in the NAN cluster for each designated period. Data transmitted by electronic devices (eg, the external electronic device 410) may be received or data may be transmitted to the external electronic device 410.

The electronic device 600 may determine whether to switch to the second communication mode while operating in the first communication mode.

The electronic device 600 operating in the first communication mode may perform a series of operations for switching to the second communication mode based on whether various conditions are satisfied. The second communication mode is a communication mode that may have lower power consumption than the first communication mode, or the external electronic device 410 performs some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode. 600) may mean a communication mode performed instead.

The second communication mode operates as an awake interval having a second value (eg, awake interval = 4) greater than the first value (eg, awake interval = 3), which is the length of the awake interval of the first communication mode. can be a mod For example, the electronic device 600 may activate the communication circuit 610 on one of the four discovery windows (eg, every four discovery window intervals) in the first communication mode. In the second communication mode, the processor 620 may activate the communication circuit 610 on one of the eight discovery windows (eg, every eight discovery window intervals).

The second communication mode may be a mode in which data is transmitted or received using a frequency band lower than the frequency band used by the first communication mode. For example, the processor 620 may control the communication circuit 610 to transmit or receive data using both a 2.4 GHz frequency band channel and a 5 GHz frequency band channel in the first communication mode. there is. The electronic device 600 may control the communication circuit 610 to transmit or receive data using a channel of a frequency band of 2.4 GHz in the second communication mode.

The second communication mode may be a communication mode in which only some of the services operated through the first communication mode are operated. For example, among services operated through the first communication mode, a screen sharing service may be a service not supported by the second communication mode.

The second communication mode may not support post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, among operations supported by the first communication mode. may be

The second communication mode is related to post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and receiving data between discovery windows, among operations supported by the first communication mode. This may refer to a communication mode in which the external electronic device 410 performs an operation in which the electronic device 600 establishes post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 .

The second communication mode scans other external electronic devices to perform synchronization of NAN clusters or merging of NAN clusters (eg, passive scan in which signals transmitted by other external electronic devices are scanned) or other external electronic devices are scanned. It may be a mode in which an active scan for scanning an external electronic device is not performed by transmitting a signal to the external electronic device. On the other hand, the first communication mode may be a mode in which another external electronic device is scanned in order to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 600 may switch to the second communication mode based on the state of the electronic device 600 .

The electronic device 600 may transmit a proxy registration request message to the external electronic device 600 in operation 903 .

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode. The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal includes functions (or services) that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 while the electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. May contain relevant information. Information related to functions that the external electronic device 410 can perform instead of the electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, further availability window (FAW) information indicating a time at which the communication circuit 610 is activated at other times than the discovery window) may be included.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the electronic device 600 . The performance information of the electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the electronic device 600 is information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the electronic device 600 and/or used by the electronic device 600. It may include the number of antennas that

Performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and performance information included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the second communication mode may be different. According to an embodiment, the number of antennas (eg, 4) included in the performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and the proxy registration transmitted in the second communication mode The number of antennas (eg, two) included in the performance information of the electronic device 600 included in the request signal may be different.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the external electronic device 410 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and sends the electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for The external electronic device 410 may transmit a proxy registration termination message to the electronic device 600 .

The external electronic device 410 may transmit a response signal to the electronic device 600 in operation 905 .

The external electronic device 410 receives a proxy registration request signal, and as a response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, a proxy registration response message) indicating whether the electronic device 600 is registered as a proxy. may be transmitted to the electronic device 600. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600 . According to an embodiment, when the external electronic device 410 accepts the proxy registration request of the electronic device 600, the response message is the registration information assigned to the electronic device 600 (eg, a registration ID). ) information (eg, registration id B)).

In operation 907, the electronic device 600 may switch to the second communication mode.

As registration of the proxy client is completed, the electronic device 600 may operate in the second communication mode. In the second communication mode, the electronic device 600 may allow the external electronic device 410 to perform some of the functions performed by the electronic device 600 in the first communication mode.

According to an embodiment, in the second communication mode, the electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of scanning another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging. The external electronic device 410 may scan other external electronic devices to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging.

The external electronic device 410 may determine cluster merging in operation 909 .

The external electronic device 410 may receive an SDF transmitted by another external electronic device while scanning another external electronic device. The received SDF may include preferences of NAN clusters including other external electronic devices. The external electronic device 410 compares the preference of the NAN cluster included in the received SDF with the preference of the NAN cluster including the external electronic device 410 and the electronic device 600, and based on the comparison result, the NAN cluster can decide whether to merge. In response to confirming that the preference of the NAN cluster included in the received SDF is higher than the preference of the NAN cluster including the external electronic device 410 and the electronic device 600, the external electronic device 410 selects the NAN cluster. may decide to merge.

The external electronic device 410 may transmit a signal instructing cluster merging to the electronic device 600 in operation 911 .

In response to merging the NAN cluster with another cluster, the external electronic device 410 may transmit information indicating merging to the electronic device 600 within a discovery window period in which the electronic device 600 is activated.

The external electronic device 410 and the electronic device 600 may perform cluster merging in operation 913 .

Upon receiving information instructing merging, the electronic device 600 may perform merging and perform a proxy function through another proxy server. Accordingly, the electronic device 600 can prevent power consumption due to the scan operation.

10 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device (eg, the first electronic device 410 of FIG. 4 ) 1000 includes a communication circuit 1010 (eg, the wireless communication module 192 of FIG. 1 ), a processor ( 1020) (eg, the processor 120 of FIG. 1).

The communication circuit 1010 may include various circuit structures used for modulation and/or demodulation of signals within the electronic device 1000 . For example, the communication circuit 1010 modulates a baseband signal into a radio frequency (RF) band signal to output a baseband signal through an antenna (not shown), or transmits an RF band signal received through an antenna to a baseband signal. It can be demodulated into a signal of the band and transmitted to the processor 1020.

The communication circuit 1010 transmits various data to an external electronic device (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2) through a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and/or 6 GHz) used by electronic devices of the NAN cluster (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2). : Can be transmitted or received by the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6).

The processor 1020 receives data transmitted by the application processor (eg, the processor 120 of FIG. 1 ) and transmits the received data to an external electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6 ). An operation of generating a packet may be performed. The processor 1020 may be defined as a communication processor (or communication processor) included in a communication module (eg, the wireless communication module 192 of FIG. 1 ). According to an embodiment, the processor 1020 generates a packet by performing channel coding based on data transmitted by an application processor (eg, the application processor 120 of FIG. 1 ), or an external electronic device (eg, an electronic device). The device 600 may check whether at least part of transmitted data has an error or, if an error occurs, perform an operation to recover the error (eg, hybrid auto repeat request (HARQ)).

The processor 1020 is included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device 600 included in a cluster (or network) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2) implemented in a NAN (neighbor awareness networking) method. Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on the received NAN cluster information. Alternatively, the processor 1020 may receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (eg, short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi). For example, the processor 1020 transmits a probe request signal for finding the external electronic device 600 to be connected via Wi-Fi, and responds to the probe request signal to a probe response transmitted by the external electronic device 600. Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on the NAN cluster information included in the message.

NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing the NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and/or receive data on the same channel and/or during the same time period. For example, the processor 1020 may receive a beacon broadcast by the external electronic device 600 and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on time clock information of the external electronic device 600 included in the beacon. .

After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the processor 1020 may broadcast a service discovery frame including information indicating whether or not the server can operate as a proxy server. The service discovery frame may include performance information of the electronic device 1000 operating as a proxy server.

Information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported may include proxy server capability information and/or awake interval information (eg, discovery window awake (DW awake) interval).

The processor 1020 may broadcast a service discovery frame including information indicating whether the electronic device can operate as a proxy server, and may receive a proxy registration request message transmitted by the external electronic device 600 . As described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 , the external electronic device 600 may transmit a proxy registration request message in order to operate as a proxy client upon determining to switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode. .

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 . The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal is a function (or service) that the electronic device 1000 can perform on behalf of the external electronic device 600 while the external electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. may contain relevant information. Information related to functions that the electronic device 1000 can perform instead of the external electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, passive scan, identification information of post and/or initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, FAW (further availability window) information indicating a time when the communication circuit of the external electronic device 600 (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6) is activated at other times than the discovery window) can include

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the external electronic device 600 . The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the external electronic device 600 and/or the external electronic device 600 ) may include the number of antennas used.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the electronic device 1000 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and sends the external electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for The processor 1020 may control the communication circuit 1010 to transmit a proxy registration termination message to the external electronic device 600 .

The processor 1020 may control the communication circuit 1010 to transmit a response signal corresponding to the proxy registration request signal to the external electronic device 600 .

The processor 1020 receives a proxy registration request signal, and as a response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, a proxy registration response message) about whether the external electronic device 600 is registered as a proxy. It can be transmitted to the external electronic device 600. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the external electronic device 600 . According to an embodiment, when the electronic device 1000 accepts the proxy registration request of the external electronic device 600, the response message may include registration information (eg, registration identifier) assigned to the external electronic device 600. ID) information (eg, registration id B)).

After transmitting the response signal, the processor 1020 may perform a function included in the proxy registration request signal instead of the external electronic device 600 .

According to an embodiment, in the second communication mode, the external electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of scanning another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging. . The processor 1020 may scan other external electronic devices to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging, and determine whether to merge the NAN clusters based on a scan result. In response to merging the NAN cluster with another cluster, the processor 1020 may transmit information indicating merging to the external electronic device 600 within a discovery window period in which the external electronic device 600 is activated. Upon receiving information instructing merging, the external electronic device 600 may perform a series of operations for merging with another NAN cluster. The external electronic device 600 may perform a proxy function on a new NAN cluster in which a NAN cluster previously included in the external electronic device 600 and another NAN cluster are merged.

According to an embodiment, the external electronic device 600 performs post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, in the second communication mode. In relation to , the operation of establishing post initiation communication may not be performed. The processor 1020 may perform an operation of setting post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 . For example, the processor 1020 performs post initiation communication setup (or negotiation) with another external electronic device to be connected to the external electronic device 600, and transfers the setting information to a discovery window in which the external electronic device 600 is activated. It can be transmitted to the external electronic device 600 within the section. The external electronic device 600 may perform post initiation communication based on the received configuration information.

While the external electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode, the processor 1020 transmits a signal for checking a connection state between the external electronic device 600 and the electronic device 1000 every designated period. device 600. The signal for checking the connection state between the external electronic device 600 and the electronic device 1000 is a discovery window period in which the electronic device 1000 and the external electronic device 600 can transmit and/or receive data. can be transmitted and received. For example, a signal for checking a connection state between the external electronic device 600 and the electronic device 1000 is transmitted on a discovery window period based on the awake interval information of the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 , can be received. The processor 1020 confirms that the response signal of the signal for confirming the connection state between the external electronic device 600 and the electronic device 1000 is not received, and performs the function requested by the external electronic device 600. can be suspended (or terminated).

The processor 1020 may transmit information of the external electronic device 600 to another external electronic device in consideration of a situation in which the external electronic device 600 is connected to another proxy server according to various causes.

The processor 1020 may receive a service discovery frame transmitted by another external electronic device (not shown) through a service discovery procedure. The processor 1020 may check information indicating whether the service discovery frame can operate as a proxy server, and check whether other external electronic devices can operate as a proxy server.

The processor 1020 may transmit information of the external electronic device 600 operating as a proxy client registered with the electronic device 1000 to another external electronic device capable of operating as a proxy server.

The information of the external electronic device 600 includes registration information (eg, registration ID information (eg, registration id B)) assigned to the external electronic device 600 and performance information of the external electronic device 600. can include The registration identifier information is generated based on unique information that can distinguish the external electronic device 600 from other electronic devices (eg, MAC address of the external electronic device 600, international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) or unique information. may be information.

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the external electronic device 600 and/or the external electronic device 600 ) may include the number of antennas used.

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information related to the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include awake interval information of the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 . The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 includes functions (or services) that the electronic device 1000 can perform instead of the external electronic device 600 while the external electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. May contain relevant information. Information related to functions that can be performed by the electronic device 1000 instead of the external electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, FAW (further availability window) information indicating a time when the communication circuit of the external electronic device 600 (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6) is activated at other times than the discovery window) can include

The electronic device 1000 transmits information of the external electronic device 600 operating as a proxy client to another external electronic device operating as a proxy server, so that the external electronic device 600 registers a proxy client with another external electronic device. It is possible to use the proxy function without performing

11 is an operation flowchart illustrating a method of operating an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The electronic device (eg, the electronic device 1000 of FIG. 10 ) may perform synchronization with the NAN cluster based on the NAN cluster information in operation 1110 .

The electronic device 1000 responds to a signal broadcast by an external electronic device 600 included in a cluster (or network) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2 ) implemented in a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) method. Synchronization with the NAN cluster can be performed based on the included NAN cluster information. Alternatively, the electronic device 1000 may receive NAN cluster information through a non-NAN-based communication method (eg, short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi). For example, the electronic device 1000 transmits a probe request signal for finding an external electronic device 600 to be connected via Wi-Fi, and responds to the probe request signal, a probe transmitted by the external electronic device 600. Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on the NAN cluster information included in the response message.

NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing the NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and/or receive data on the same channel and/or during the same time period. For example, the electronic device 1000 may receive a beacon broadcast by the external electronic device 600 and perform NAN cluster synchronization based on time clock information of the external electronic device 600 included in the beacon. there is.

In operation 1120, the electronic device 1000 may perform synchronization and then operate as a proxy server.

After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the electronic device 1000 may broadcast a service discovery frame including information indicating whether the electronic device 1000 can operate as a proxy server. The service discovery frame may include performance information of the electronic device 1000 operating as a proxy server.

Information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported may include proxy server capability information and/or awake interval information (eg, discovery window awake (DW awake) interval).

In operation 1130, the electronic device 1000 may register an external electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6) as a proxy client based on the proxy registration request signal.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 , the external electronic device 600 may transmit a proxy registration request message in order to operate as a proxy client upon determining to switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode. .

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 . The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal is a function (or service) that the electronic device 1000 can perform on behalf of the external electronic device 600 while the external electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. may contain relevant information. Information related to functions that can be performed by the electronic device 1000 instead of the external electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, FAW (further availability window) information indicating a time when the communication circuit of the external electronic device 600 (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6) is activated at other times than the discovery window) can include

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the external electronic device 600 . The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode, a second communication mode) of the external electronic device 600 and/or the external electronic device 600. may include the number of antennas used.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the electronic device 1000 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and sends the external electronic device 600 You can terminate the proxy server operation for The processor 1020 may control the communication circuit 1010 to transmit a proxy registration termination message to the external electronic device 600 .

The electronic device 1000 may control the communication circuit 1010 to transmit a response signal corresponding to the proxy registration request signal to the external electronic device 600 .

The electronic device 1000 receives a proxy registration request signal, and in response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, a proxy registration response message) indicating whether the external electronic device 600 is registered as a proxy. may be transmitted to the external electronic device 600. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the external electronic device 600 . According to an embodiment, when the electronic device 1000 accepts the proxy registration request of the external electronic device 600, the response message may include registration information (eg, registration identifier) assigned to the external electronic device 600. ID) information (eg, registration id B)).

After transmitting the response signal, the electronic device 1000 may perform a function included in the proxy registration request signal instead of the external electronic device 600 .

According to an embodiment, in the second communication mode, the external electronic device 600 may not perform an operation of scanning another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging. . The electronic device 1000 may scan another external electronic device to perform NAN cluster synchronization or NAN cluster merging, and determine whether to merge the NAN clusters based on the scan result. In response to merging the NAN cluster with another cluster, the electronic device 1000 may transmit information instructing merging to the external electronic device 600 within a discovery window period in which the external electronic device 600 is activated. . The external electronic device 600 may perform a proxy function through another proxy server upon receiving information instructing merging.

According to an embodiment, the external electronic device 600 performs post initiation communication (eg, further service discovery, ranging, or NDP), which is an operation of transmitting and/or receiving data between discovery windows, in the second communication mode. In relation to , the operation of establishing post initiation communication may not be performed. The electronic device 1000 may perform an operation of setting post initiation communication instead of the electronic device 600 . For example, the electronic device 1000 performs post initiation communication setup (or negotiation) with another external electronic device to be connected to the external electronic device 600, and discovery of activation of the external electronic device 600 with setting information. It can be transmitted to the external electronic device 600 within the window period. The external electronic device 600 may perform post initiation communication based on the received configuration information.

In operation 1140, the electronic device 1000 may check whether another external electronic device operating as a proxy server exists.

The electronic device 1000 may receive a service discovery frame transmitted by another external electronic device (not shown) through a service discovery procedure. The electronic device 1000 can check information indicating whether it can operate as a proxy server included in the service discovery frame, and can check whether other external electronic devices can operate as a proxy server.

In operation 1150, the electronic device 1000 may transmit information of the registered external electronic device 600 to another external electronic device in response to the existence of another external electronic device operating as a proxy server (operation 1140-Y). there is.

The electronic device 1000 may transmit information of the external electronic device 600 operating as a proxy client registered with the electronic device 1000 to another external electronic device capable of operating as a proxy server.

When receiving performance information of another external electronic device, the electronic device 1000 may transmit information about the external electronic device 600 registered based on the performance information of the other external electronic device to the other external electronic device. For example, the electronic device 1000 confirms that the number of proxy clients registered in the other external electronic device is greater than or equal to a specified number based on the performance information of the other external electronic device, and retrieves the information of the registered external electronic device 600. It may not be transmitted to other external electronic devices.

The information of the external electronic device 600 includes registration information (eg, registration ID information (eg, registration id B)) assigned to the external electronic device 600 and performance information of the external electronic device 600. can include

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode, a second communication mode) of the external electronic device 600 and/or the external electronic device 600. may include the number of antennas used.

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information related to the second communication mode of the external electronic device 600 .

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode.

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 may include awake interval information of the second communication mode. The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The performance information of the external electronic device 600 includes functions (or services) that the electronic device 1000 can perform instead of the external electronic device 600 while the external electronic device 600 operates in the second communication mode. May contain relevant information. Information related to functions that can be performed by the electronic device 1000 instead of the external electronic device 600 includes the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or performing post initiation communication. setting information (eg, FAW (further availability window) information indicating a time when the communication circuit of the external electronic device 600 (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6) is activated at other times than the discovery window) can include

In operation 1160, the electronic device 1000 transmits information of the registered external electronic device 600 to another external electronic device, or in response to the absence of another external electronic device operating as a proxy server ( Operation 1140-N), the registered external electronic device may operate as a proxy server without transmitting information of the external electronic device to other external electronic devices.

The electronic device 1000 may transmit information of the external electronic device 600 operating as a proxy client to another external electronic device operating as a proxy server and may operate as a proxy server for the external electronic device 600 . The external electronic device 600 may perform a function of a proxy server for the external electronic device 600 by using the information of the external electronic device 600 transmitted by the electronic device 1000 . When the external electronic device 600 performs a proxy operation using an external electronic device other than the electronic device 1000 (or when the external electronic device 600 is out of coverage of the electronic device 1000, another external electronic device 600 When entering the coverage of the electronic device), the external electronic device 600 can use the proxy function without performing a proxy client registration procedure with other external electronic devices.

12A is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure transmits information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client to another external electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 12A , a first electronic device 1210 (eg, the electronic device 1000 of FIG. 10 ) operates as a proxy server, and a second electronic device 1220 (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6 ) )) can act as a proxy client.

Referring to FIG. 12A , the first electronic device 1210 is located within the coverage 1221 of the second electronic device 1220, and the third electronic device 1230 is located within the coverage 1221 of the second electronic device 1220. ) can be located outside. The third electronic device 1230 may be located inside the coverage 1222 of the first electronic device 1210 .

The first electronic device 1210 may broadcast a service discovery frame including information indicating whether the first electronic device 1210 can operate as a proxy server. The service discovery frame may include performance information of the first electronic device 1210 operating as a proxy server.

Information indicating whether the proxy server function is supported may include proxy server capability information and/or awake interval information (eg, discovery window awake (DW awake) interval).

In the second electronic device 1220, the first electronic device 1210 included in a cluster (or network) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2) implemented in the NAN (neighbor awareness networking) method broadcasts Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on the NAN cluster information included in the signal.

The second electronic device 1220 may receive NAN cluster information through a communication method other than NAN-based (eg, short-range wireless communication including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi). For example, the second electronic device 1220 transmits a probe request signal for finding the first electronic device 1210 to be connected through Wi-Fi, and in response to the probe request signal, the first electronic device 1210 Synchronization with the NAN cluster may be performed based on the NAN cluster information included in the probe response message transmitted by .

NAN cluster synchronization may include an operation of receiving time clock information of an electronic device representing the NAN cluster so that the electronic devices included in the NAN cluster transmit and/or receive data on the same channel and/or during the same time period. For example, the second electronic device 1220 receives a beacon broadcast by the first electronic device 1210 and synchronizes a NAN cluster based on time clock information of the first electronic device 1210 included in the beacon. can be performed.

After NAN cluster synchronization is completed, the second electronic device 1220 may operate in the first communication mode. The first communication mode may be a mode in which data transmission and/or reception is performed for each discovery window having an interval having a first value. The second electronic device 1220 operating in the first communication mode uses a communication circuit (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6 ) for each designated period (eg, the size of a discovery window having an interval having a first value). After activation, data transmitted by electronic devices (eg, the first electronic device 1210) included in the NAN cluster may be received or data may be transmitted to the first electronic device 1210 in each designated period.

The second electronic device 1220 may determine whether to switch to the second communication mode while operating in the first communication mode. The second communication mode is a communication mode that may have lower power consumption than the first communication mode, or the first electronic device 1210 performs some of the functions performed by the second electronic device 1220 in the first communication mode. It may refer to a communication mode performed instead of the second electronic device 1220. As part of an operation of switching to the second communication mode, the second electronic device 1220 may register a proxy client with the first electronic device 1210 serving as a proxy server.

The second electronic device 1220 may transmit a proxy registration request signal including information related to functions that the first electronic device 1210 may perform instead of the second electronic device 1220 .

The proxy registration request signal may include information related to the second communication mode of the second electronic device 1220 .

The proxy registration request signal may include awake interval information of the second communication mode of the second electronic device 1220 . The size of the awake interval of the second communication mode may be greater than the size of the awake interval of the first communication mode.

The proxy registration request signal may include information (or channel information) of a frequency band (eg, 2.4 GHz) supportable in the second communication mode of the second electronic device 1220 .

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal is a function that the first electronic device 1210 can perform instead of the second electronic device 1220 while the second electronic device 1220 operates in the second communication mode ( Alternatively, information related to the service) may be included. Information related to a function that the first electronic device 1210 can perform instead of the second electronic device 1220 may include the type of function (eg, identification information of passive scan and/or post initiation communication), and/or post initiation communication. may include setting information (eg, further availability window (FAW) information indicating a time at which the communication circuit 610 is activated at other times than the discovery window).

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include performance information of the second electronic device 1220 . The performance information of the second electronic device 1220 may include performance information of the proxy client. For example, the performance information of the second electronic device 1220 may include information indicating an operation mode (eg, a first communication mode or a second communication mode) of the second electronic device 1220 and/or information indicating a second electronic device 1220. It may include the number of antennas used by device 1220.

Performance information of the second electronic device 1220 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and performance information of the second electronic device 1220 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the second communication mode can be different. According to an embodiment, the number of antennas (eg, 4) included in the performance information of the second electronic device 1220 included in the proxy registration request signal transmitted in the first communication mode and the number of antennas transmitted in the second communication mode The number of antennas (eg, two) included in the performance information of the second electronic device 1220 included in the proxy registration request signal may be different.

According to an embodiment, the proxy registration request signal may include valid timeout information of at least some information among information included in the proxy registration request signal. For example, upon receiving the proxy registration request signal, the first electronic device 1210 deletes (or ignores) information included in the proxy registration request signal as valid time information expires, and the second electronic device ( 1220) may terminate the proxy server operation. The first electronic device 1210 may transmit a proxy registration termination message to the second electronic device 1220 .

The first electronic device 1210 receives the proxy registration request signal, and in response to the proxy registration request, a response message (eg, proxy registration response) indicating whether the second electronic device 1220 is registered as a proxy. ) message) to the second electronic device 1220. According to an embodiment, the response message may include information (eg, status) regarding acceptance or rejection of the proxy registration request of the second electronic device 1220 . According to an embodiment, when the first electronic device 1210 accepts the proxy registration request of the second electronic device 1220, the response message includes registration information assigned to the second electronic device 1220 (eg, It may include registration ID information (eg, registration id B).

As registration of the proxy client is completed, the second electronic device 1220 may operate in the second communication mode.

In the second communication mode, the second electronic device 1220 may allow the first electronic device 1210 to perform some of the functions performed by the second electronic device 1220 in the first communication mode.

The first electronic device 1210 may check whether another external electronic device (eg, the third electronic device 1230) operating as a proxy server exists.

The first electronic device 1210 may receive a service discovery frame transmitted by the third electronic device 1230 through a service discovery procedure. The first electronic device 1210 may check information indicating whether it can operate as a proxy server included in the service discovery frame, and check whether the third electronic device 1230 can operate as a proxy server.

The first electronic device 1210 may transmit information on the second electronic device 1220 operating as a proxy client registered with the first electronic device 1210 to the third electronic device 1230 capable of operating as a proxy server. there is.

The information of the second electronic device 1220 includes registration information (eg, registration ID information (eg, registration id)) assigned to the first electronic device 1210, and performance information of the external electronic device 600. can include

The first electronic device 1210 transmits information of the second electronic device 1220 operating as a proxy client to the third electronic device 1230 operating as a proxy server, so that the second electronic device 1220 is able to access the third electronic device 1220. The third electronic device 1230 acquires information of the second electronic device 1220 and operates as a proxy server for the second electronic device 1220 without performing a proxy client registration procedure on the electronic device 1230. can

Referring to FIG. 12A , the second electronic device 1220 may move while the first electronic device 1210 is searchable. After the second electronic device 1220 moves, the first electronic device 1210 may not exist within the coverage 1223 of the second electronic device 1220 . However, a third electronic device 1230 capable of operating as a proxy server for the second electronic device 1220 may exist within the coverage 1223 of the second electronic device 1220 . Alternatively, the second electronic device 1220 may exist within the coverage 1224 of the third electronic device 1230 . Accordingly, the second electronic device 1220 can operate in the second communication mode even after moving, without performing a separate proxy client registration procedure.

The embodiment described above can also be applied to a plurality of access points (APs) that create a NAN cluster, and a specific example will be described later with reference to FIG. 12B.

12B is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure transmits information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client to another external electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 12B, a first AP 1251, a second AP 1252, a third AP 1253, a fourth AP 1254, a fifth AP 1255, a sixth AP 1256, and/or a A plurality of access points (APs) including 7 APs 1257 may configure different NAN clusters.

The first AP 1251, the second AP 1252, the third AP 1253, the fourth AP 1254, the fifth AP 1255, the sixth AP 1256, and/or the seventh AP 1257 All of them operate as NAN proxy servers and can perform proxy functions requested by proxy clients existing within the coverage of each AP.

An electronic device (eg, the second electronic device 1220 of FIG. 12A ) may exist in a NAN cluster that the first AP 1251 can provide. The electronic device 1220 may transmit a proxy registration request signal to the first AP 1251 and operate as a proxy client.

The first AP 1251 transmits the information of the electronic device 1220 included in the proxy registration request signal to other APs (eg, the second AP 1252, the third AP 1253, the fourth AP 1254, 5 AP 1255, 6 AP 1256 and/or 7 AP 1257). The first AP 1251 transmits information of the electronic device 1220 operating as a proxy client to other APs operating as proxy servers (eg, the second AP 1252, the third AP 1253, and the fourth AP 1254). , to the 5th AP 1255, the 6th AP 1256 and/or the 7th AP 1257), so that the electronic device 1220 can send the other APs (eg, the 2nd AP 1252, the 3rd AP ( 1253), the 4th AP 1254, the 5th AP 1255, the 6th AP 1256 and/or the 7th AP 1257) without performing a proxy client registration procedure, other APs (eg, the 2nd AP) 1252, the third AP 1253, the fourth AP 1254, the fifth AP 1255, the sixth AP 1256, and/or the seventh AP 1257) obtain information of the electronic device 1220. and may operate as a proxy server for the electronic device 1220.

Referring to FIG. 12B , the electronic device 1220 may move while existing in a location where the first AP 1251 can be searched for (eg, ① in FIG. 12B ). After the electronic device 1220 moves, the electronic device 1220 may exist in a location outside the coverage of the first AP 1251 (eg, ② in FIG. 12B ). When the electronic device 1220 exists in a location outside the coverage of the first AP 1251, the connection between the electronic device 1220 and the first AP 1251 may be released, and the electronic device 1220: A situation in which an operation cannot be performed as a proxy client for the first AP 1251 may occur.

However, the electronic device 1220 may exist within the coverage of the fifth AP 1251 that can operate as a proxy server for the electronic device 1220 . The fifth AP 1251 may receive information on the electronic device 1220 from the first AP 1251 and operate as a proxy server by using the information on the electronic device 1220 . Accordingly, even after moving, the electronic device 1220 can operate in the second communication mode without transmitting information of the electronic device 1220 to the fifth AP 1251 through a separate proxy client registration procedure.

According to an embodiment, an electronic device (eg, the second electronic device 1220 of FIG. 12A ) includes a plurality of external electronic devices (eg, a first AP 1251 , a second AP 1252 , and a third AP 1253 ). ), the 4th AP 1254, the 5th AP 1255, the 6th AP 1256 and/or the 7th AP 1257) Receive a service discovery frame including information indicating whether or not it can operate as a proxy server can do. For example, the electronic device may include a first AP 1251, a second AP 1252, a third AP 1253, a fourth AP 1254, a fifth AP 1255, a sixth AP 1256, and/or A service discovery frame including information indicating whether or not it can operate as a proxy server may be received from two or more of the seventh APs 1257 . According to an embodiment, when a service discovery frame including information indicating whether the electronic device 1220 can operate as a proxy server is received from two or more external electronic devices, a plurality of external electronic devices that have transmitted the service discovery frame A proxy registration request signal may be transmitted, and proxy client registration procedures may be performed with each external electronic device. The electronic device 1220 may determine one external electronic device as a proxy server based on a result of performing a proxy client registration procedure with a plurality of external electronic devices.

An electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6 ) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure includes a communication circuit (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6 ) and a processor operatively connected to the communication circuit 610 . (eg, the processor 620 of FIG. 6), and the processor includes an external electronic device (eg, the electronic device of FIG. 2) included in a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2) (210, 220, 230, 240), synchronization with the NAN 200 is performed based on the NAN cluster information included in the signal broadcast by the electronic device 1000 of FIG. 10, and an interval having a first value While operating in the first communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data every time, whether to switch to the second communication mode capable of operating with lower power than the first communication mode is determined based on the state of the electronic device 600 and, in response to the decision to switch to the second communication mode, an external electronic device (210, 220, 230, 240, 1000) included in the NAN that can function as a proxy server Searching for the electronic device 1000, transmitting a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device 1000, and setting to operate in the second communication mode in response to completion of registration with the external electronic device 1000 The proxy registration request signal may include information related to a function to be performed by the external electronic device 1000 instead of the electronic device 600 while operating in the second communication mode.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the second communication mode may be a communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a second value greater than the first value.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 620 is performed using the communication circuit 610 between intervals having the second value while operating in the second communication mode. may not support a communication method that performs data transmission and/or reception through another communication method.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, while the processor 620 operates in the second communication mode, other communication is performed through the communication circuit 610 between intervals having the second value. The external electronic device 1000 may instead perform a setting procedure for transmitting and/or receiving data through the method.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, while operating in the second communication mode, the processor 620 searches for other external electronic devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 related to the NAN. The external electronic device 1000 may be set to perform a scan operation to do this instead.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 620 performs an operation of merging the NAN with another network based on a scan result performed by the external electronic device 1000. can be set to do so.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, while the processor 620 operates in the second communication mode, the external electronic device 1000 and the electronic device 600 are connected at each designated period. It may be configured to transmit a signal for checking the connection state of the external electronic device 1000 and determine whether to maintain the second communication mode based on whether a response signal corresponding to the signal is received.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 620 transmits performance information of the electronic device 600 to the external electronic device 1000 while operating in the second communication mode. And, performance information of the electronic device 600 transmitted while operating in the second communication mode may be different from performance information of the electronic device 600 operating in the first communication mode.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of frequency bands supported by the communication circuit 610 while operating in the second communication mode is 610 may be set to be smaller than the number of frequency bands supported.

In the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of antennas available for the electronic device 600 while operating in the second communication mode is determined by the communication circuit ( 610) may be set to be smaller than the number of antennas supported.

An operating method of an electronic device (eg, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6 ) according to various embodiments of the present invention is an external electronic device included in a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2 ). (Example: the electronic device 210, 220, 230, 240 of FIG. 2 or the electronic device 1000 of FIG. 10) performs synchronization with the NAN 200 based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast. operation, while operating in a first communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a first value, whether to switch to a second communication mode capable of operating with lower power than the first communication mode, the electronic device Operation of determining based on the state of 600, proxy among the external electronic devices 210, 220, 230, 240, 1000 included in the NAN 200 in response to the decision to switch to the second communication mode An operation of searching for an external electronic device 1000 capable of performing a function of a server (proxy server), an operation of transmitting a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device 1000, and an operation of registering with the external electronic device 1000 Corresponding to completion of the above, an operation of operating in the second communication mode, wherein the proxy registration request signal is performed by the external electronic device 1000 instead of the electronic device 600 while operating in the second communication mode. It may contain information related to the function to be performed.

In the operating method of the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the second communication mode uses the communication circuit (eg, the communication circuit 610 of FIG. 6) between intervals having the second value. It may be a mode that does not support a communication method for transmitting and/or receiving data through another communication method.

In the operating method of the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the second communication mode includes data transmission and/or data transmission through another communication method through the communication circuit 610 between intervals having the second value. Alternatively, it may be a mode in which the external electronic device instead performs a setting procedure for performing reception.

An operating method of the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is to search for other external electronic devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 related to the NAN 200 while operating in the second communication mode. Based on an operation of receiving a result of performing a scan operation for the purpose of a scan operation instead of the electronic device 600 from the external electronic device 1000 and a scan result performed by the external electronic device 1000, the NAN 200 ) may further include an operation of merging with another network.

An operating method of the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure determines a connection state between the external electronic device 1000 and the electronic device 600 at each designated period while operating in the second communication mode. An operation of transmitting a signal for confirmation to the external electronic device 1000 and an operation of determining whether to maintain the second communication mode based on whether a response signal corresponding to the signal is received may be further included.

The operation method of the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure further includes an operation of transmitting performance information of the electronic device 600 to the external electronic device 1000 while operating in the second communication mode. and the performance information of the electronic device 600 transmitted while operating in the second communication mode may be different from the performance information of the electronic device 600 operating in the first communication mode.

In the operating method of the electronic device 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of frequency bands supported by the electronic device 600 while operating in the second communication mode may be set to the number of frequency bands while operating in the first communication mode. It may be set to be smaller than the number of frequency bands supported by the electronic device 600 .

An electronic device (eg, the electronic device 1000 of FIG. 10 or the first electronic device 1210 of FIG. 12A) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include a communication circuit (eg, the communication circuit 1010 of FIG. 10 ) , and a processor (eg, the processor 1020 of FIG. 10) operatively connected to the communication circuit 1010, wherein the processor 1020 includes a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) (eg, the NAN cluster 200 of FIG. 2 ). )) (eg, the electronic device 210, 220, 230, 240 of FIG. 2, the electronic device 600 of FIG. 6 or the second electronic device 1220 of FIG. 12A) included in the broadcasting The external electronic device 210 included in the NAN 200 performs synchronization with the NAN 200 based on the NAN cluster information included in the signal to 220, 230, 240, 600), the external electronic device 600, 1220 is registered as a proxy client based on a signal transmitted by the external electronic device 600 to operate as a proxy client, When another external electronic device operating as a proxy server (eg, the third electronic device 1230 of FIG. 12A ) is searched for, the information of the external electronic device 600 or 1220 is transmitted to the other external electronic device 1230 can be set to

In the electronic device 1000 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 1220 transmits information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client registered to the other external electronic device 1230 to the other external electronic device 1230. ) and functions as a proxy server based on information about an external electronic device operating as a proxy client registered in the other external electronic device 1230.

Electronic devices according to various embodiments disclosed in this document may be devices of various types. The electronic device may include, for example, a portable communication device (eg, a smart phone), a computer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. An electronic device according to an embodiment of the present document is not limited to the aforementioned devices.

Various embodiments of this document and terms used therein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, like reference numbers may be used for like or related elements. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one item or a plurality of items, unless the relevant context clearly dictates otherwise. In this document, “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, “at least one of A or B,” “A, B or C,” “at least one of A, B and C,” and “A Each of the phrases such as “at least one of , B, or C” may include all possible combinations of items listed together in the corresponding one of the phrases. Terms such as "first", "second", or "first" or "secondary" may simply be used to distinguish a given component from other corresponding components, and may be used to refer to a given component in another aspect (eg, importance or order) is not limited. A (e.g. first) component is said to be “coupled” or “connected” to another (e.g. second) component, with or without the terms “functionally” or “communicatively”. When mentioned, it means that the certain component may be connected to the other component directly (eg by wire), wirelessly, or through a third component.

The term "module" used in this document may include a unit implemented by hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit, for example. A module may be an integrally constructed component or a minimal unit of components or a portion thereof that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, the module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments of this document provide one or more instructions stored in a storage medium (eg, internal memory 136 or external memory 138) readable by a machine (eg, electronic device 101). It may be implemented as software (eg, the program 140) including them. For example, a processor (eg, the processor 120 ) of a device (eg, the electronic device 101 ) may call at least one command among one or more instructions stored from a storage medium and execute it. This enables the device to be operated to perform at least one function according to the at least one command invoked. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. Device-readable storage media may be provided in the form of non-transitory storage media. Here, 'non-temporary' only means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and this term refers to the case where data is stored semi-permanently in the storage medium. It does not discriminate when it is temporarily stored.

According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in this document may be included and provided in a computer program product. Computer program products may be traded between sellers and buyers as commodities. A computer program product is distributed in the form of a device-readable storage medium (e.g. compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or through an application store (e.g. Play Store™) or on two user devices (e.g. It can be distributed (eg downloaded or uploaded) online, directly between smartphones. In the case of online distribution, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily stored or temporarily created in a device-readable storage medium such as a manufacturer's server, an application store server, or a relay server's memory.

According to various embodiments, each component (eg, module or program) of the components described above may include a singular entity or a plurality of entities. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations among the aforementioned corresponding components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (eg modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In this case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by a corresponding component of the plurality of components prior to the integration. . According to various embodiments, the actions performed by a module, program, or other component are executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or heuristically, or one or more of the actions are executed in a different order, or omitted. or one or more other actions may be added.

Claims (20)

In electronic devices,
communication circuit;
a processor operatively connected with the communication circuitry;
The processor
Performing synchronization with the NAN based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device included in NAN (neighbor awareness networking);
Whether to switch to a second communication mode capable of operating at lower power than the first communication mode while operating in a first communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a first value depends on a state of the electronic device decide based on
Searching for an external electronic device capable of performing a proxy server function among external electronic devices included in the NAN in response to determining to switch to the second communication mode;
Transmitting a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device;
In response to completion of registration with the external electronic device, it is set to operate in the second communication mode;
The proxy registration request signal is
The electronic device including information related to a function to be performed by the external electronic device instead of the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode.
According to claim 1,
The second communication mode is a communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a second value greater than the first value.
According to claim 2,
The processor
While operating in the second communication mode, the electronic device does not support a communication method for transmitting and/or receiving data through another communication method performed using the communication circuit between intervals having the second value.
According to claim 2,
The processor
While operating in the second communication mode, cause the external electronic device to instead perform a setting procedure for transmitting and/or receiving data through another communication method through the communication circuit between intervals having the second value set electronics.
According to claim 1,
The processor
The electronic device configured so that the external electronic device instead performs a scan operation for searching for another external electronic device related to the NAN while operating in the second communication mode.
According to claim 5,
The processor
An electronic device configured to perform an operation of merging the NAN with another network based on a scan result performed by the external electronic device.
According to claim 1,
The processor
While operating in the second communication mode, transmits a signal for checking a connection state between the external electronic device and the external electronic device to the external electronic device every designated period;
An electronic device configured to determine whether to maintain the second communication mode based on whether a response signal corresponding to the signal is received.
According to claim 1,
The processor
Transmitting performance information of the electronic device to the external electronic device while operating in the second communication mode;
Performance information of the electronic device transmitted while operating in the second communication mode is different from performance information of the electronic device operating in the first communication mode.
According to claim 1,
The number of frequency bands supported by the communication circuit while operating in the second communication mode is set to be smaller than the number of frequency bands supported by the communication circuit while operating in the first communication mode.
According to claim 1,
The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the number of antennas available for use by the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode is smaller than the number of antennas supported by the communication circuit while operating in the first communication mode.
In the operating method of the electronic device,
performing synchronization with the NAN based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device included in neighbor awareness networking (NAN);
Whether to switch to a second communication mode capable of operating at lower power than the first communication mode while operating in a first communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a first value depends on a state of the electronic device action to make a decision based on;
searching for an external electronic device capable of performing a function of a proxy server among external electronic devices included in the NAN, in response to determining to switch to the second communication mode;
transmitting a proxy registration request signal to the searched external electronic device;
In response to completion of registration with the external electronic device, operating in the second communication mode;
The proxy registration request signal is
The method of operating an electronic device including information related to a function to be performed by the external electronic device instead of the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode.
According to claim 11,
The second communication mode is a communication mode capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at intervals having a second value greater than the first value.
According to claim 12,
The second communication mode is a mode that does not support a communication method for transmitting and/or receiving data through another communication method using the communication circuit between intervals having the second value.
According to claim 12,
The second communication mode is
A mode in which the external electronic device instead performs a setting procedure for transmitting and/or receiving data through another communication method through the communication circuit between intervals having the second value.
According to claim 11,
A method of operating the electronic device
receiving, from the external electronic device, a result of performing a scan operation for searching for another external electronic device related to the NAN instead of the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode;
The method of operating the electronic device further comprising performing an operation of merging the NAN with another network based on a scan result performed by the external electronic device.
According to claim 11,
A method of operating the electronic device
transmitting a signal for checking a connection state between the external electronic device and the external electronic device to the external electronic device every designated period while operating in the second communication mode;
The method of operating an electronic device further comprising determining whether to maintain the second communication mode based on whether a response signal corresponding to the signal is received.
According to claim 11,
A method of operating the electronic device
Transmitting performance information of the electronic device to the external electronic device while operating in the second communication mode;
Performance information of the electronic device transmitted while operating in the second communication mode is different from performance information of the electronic device operating in the first communication mode.
According to claim 11,
The number of frequency bands supported by the electronic device while operating in the second communication mode is
The operating method of the electronic device set to be smaller than the number of frequency bands supported by the electronic device while operating in the first communication mode.
In electronic devices,
communication circuit;
a processor operatively connected with the communication circuitry;
The processor
Performing synchronization with the NAN based on NAN cluster information included in a signal broadcast by an external electronic device included in NAN (neighbor awareness networking);
While operating as a proxy server in the NAN cluster, based on a signal transmitted by an external electronic device that intends to operate as a proxy client among external electronic devices included in the NAN, the external electronic device becomes the proxy client. register,
An electronic device configured to transmit information of the external electronic device to the other external electronic device when another external electronic device operating as a proxy server is searched for.
According to claim 19,
The processor
Receiving information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client registered with the other external electronic device from the other external electronic device;
An electronic device configured to perform a function of a proxy server based on information of an external electronic device operating as a proxy client registered with the other external electronic device.

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