WO2018106058A1 - Method for transmitting frame in wireless lan system and wireless terminal using same - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for transmitting a frame in a wireless LAN system according to the present embodiment comprises the steps of: performing an omnidirectional CCA procedure for determining a state of a wireless medium according to an omnidirectional scheme, by a wireless terminal including a plurality of directional antenna modules; if an input level acquired according to the omnidirectional CCA procedure is lower than a preset first threshold level, comparing the input level and a second threshold level by the wireless terminal, wherein the second threshold level has been previously set to be lower than the first threshold level; and if the input level is higher than the second threshold level according to the comparison, performing a plurality of directional CCA procedures for the plurality of directional antenna modules on the basis of a third threshold level by the wireless terminal in order to determine states of a plurality of wireless channels associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules, wherein the third threshold level has been previously set to be lower than the second threshold level.

Description

Method for transmitting frame in WLAN system and wireless terminal using same

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, a method for transmitting a frame based on an omnidirectional channel clear assessment (CCA) procedure and a directional CCA procedure in a WLAN system and a wireless terminal using the same. It is about.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ad standard is a high-speed wireless communications standard that operates in the band above 60 GHz. The signal's reach is around 10 meters, but throughput can support more than 6 Gbps. Since operating in higher frequency bands, signal propagation is dominated by ray-like propagation. Signal quality may be improved as the TX (remit) or RX (receive) antenna beam is aligned to face a strong spatial signal path.

The IEEE 802.11ad standard provides a beamforming training process for antenna beam alignment. IEEE 802.11ay is the next generation of standards under development aimed at throughputs of 20Gbps and higher based on IEEE 802.11ad.

An object of the present specification is to provide a method for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system having an improved performance and a wireless terminal using the same.

In a method for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present specification, a wireless terminal including a plurality of directional antenna modules may perform an omni-directional CCA procedure for determining a state of a wireless medium according to an omnidirectional scheme. Performing; If the input level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure is lower than the preset first threshold level, the wireless terminal compares the input level with the second threshold level, wherein the second threshold level is preset below the first threshold level. , step; And if the input level is higher than the second threshold level according to the comparison, the wireless terminal may perform a plurality of directional CCA procedures for the plurality of directional antenna modules to determine a state of the plurality of wireless channels associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules. Performing based on the third threshold level, wherein the third threshold level is preset to be lower than the second threshold level.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system having improved performance and a wireless terminal using the same are provided.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a structure of a WLAN system.

2 is a conceptual diagram of a layer architecture of a WLAN system supported by IEEE 802.11.

3 is a conceptual diagram of an active scanning procedure.

4 is a conceptual diagram of an STA supporting EDCA in a WLAN system.

5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a backoff procedure according to EDCA.

6 is a view for explaining a frame transmission procedure in a WLAN system.

7 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless terminal for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an exemplary embodiment.

8 is a diagram illustrating channelization of a wireless channel for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an exemplary embodiment.

9 illustrates a wireless terminal for checking a state of a wireless channel to transmit a frame in a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a first threshold level, a second threshold level, and a third threshold level according to an exemplary embodiment.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an exemplary embodiment.

12 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless terminal to which an embodiment of the present specification can be applied.

The above-described features and the following detailed description are all exemplary for ease of description and understanding of the present specification. That is, the present specification is not limited to this embodiment and may be embodied in other forms. The following embodiments are merely examples to fully disclose the present specification, and are descriptions to convey the present specification to those skilled in the art. Thus, where there are several methods for implementing the components of the present disclosure, it is necessary to clarify that any of these methods may be implemented in any of the specific or equivalent thereof.

In the present specification, when there is a statement that a configuration includes specific elements, or when a process includes specific steps, it means that other elements or other steps may be further included. That is, the terms used in the present specification are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the concept of the present specification. Furthermore, the described examples to aid the understanding of the invention also include their complementary embodiments.

The terminology used herein has the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this specification belongs. Terms commonly used should be interpreted in a consistent sense in the context of the present specification. In addition, terms used in the present specification should not be interpreted in an idealistic or formal sense unless the meaning is clearly defined. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a structure of a WLAN system. FIG. 1A shows the structure of an infrastructure network of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the WLAN system 10 of FIG. 1A may include at least one basic service set (hereinafter, referred to as 'BSS', 100, 105). The BSS is a set of access points (APs) and stations (STAs) that can successfully synchronize and communicate with each other, and is not a concept indicating a specific area.

For example, the first BSS 100 may include a first AP 110 and one first STA 100-1. The second BSS 105 may include a second AP 130 and one or more STAs 105-1, 105-2.

The infrastructure BSS (100, 105) may include at least one STA, AP (110, 130) providing a distribution service (Distribution Service) and a distribution system (DS, 120) connecting a plurality of APs. have.

The distributed system 120 may connect the plurality of BSSs 100 and 105 to implement an extended service set 140 which is an extended service set. The ESS 140 may be used as a term indicating one network to which at least one AP 110 or 130 is connected through the distributed system 120. At least one AP included in one ESS 140 may have the same service set identification (hereinafter, referred to as SSID).

The portal 150 may serve as a bridge for connecting the WLAN network (IEEE 802.11) with another network (for example, 802.X).

In a WLAN having a structure as shown in FIG. 1A, a network between APs 110 and 130 and a network between APs 110 and 130 and STAs 100-1, 105-1, and 105-2 may be implemented. Can be.

1B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an independent BSS. Referring to FIG. 1B, the WLAN system 15 of FIG. 1B performs communication by setting a network between STAs without the APs 110 and 130, unlike FIG. 1A. It may be possible to. A network that performs communication by establishing a network even between STAs without the APs 110 and 130 is defined as an ad-hoc network or an independent basic service set (BSS).

Referring to FIG. 1B, the IBSS 15 is a BSS operating in an ad-hoc mode. Since IBSS does not contain an AP, there is no centralized management entity. Thus, in the IBSS 15, the STAs 150-1, 150-2, 150-3, 155-4, and 155-5 are managed in a distributed manner.

All STAs 150-1, 150-2, 150-3, 155-4, and 155-5 of the IBSS may be mobile STAs, and access to a distributed system is not allowed. All STAs of the IBSS form a self-contained network.

The STA referred to herein includes a medium access control (MAC) conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard and a physical layer interface to a wireless medium. As any functional medium, it can broadly be used to mean both an AP and a non-AP Non-AP Station (STA).

The STA referred to herein includes a mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), and a mobile station (MS). It may also be called various names such as a mobile subscriber unit or simply a user.

2 is a conceptual diagram of a layer architecture of a WLAN system supported by IEEE 802.11. Referring to FIG. 2, a hierarchical architecture of a WLAN system includes a physical medium dependent (PMD) sublayer 200, a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) sublayer ( 210 and a medium access control (MAC) sublayer 220.

The PMD sublayer 200 may serve as a transmission interface for transmitting and receiving data between a plurality of STAs. The PLCP sublayer 210 is implemented such that the MAC sublayer 220 can operate with a minimum dependency on the PMD sublayer 200.

The PMD sublayer 200, the PLCP sublayer 210, and the MAC sublayer 220 may conceptually include management entities. For example, the management unit of the MAC sublayer 220 is referred to as a MAC Layer Management Entity (MLME) 225. The management unit of the physical layer is referred to as a PHY Layer Management Entity (PLME) 215.

Such management units may provide an interface for performing a layer management operation. For example, the PLME 215 may be connected to the MLME 225 to perform management operations of the PLCP sublayer 210 and the PMD sublayer 200. The MLME 225 may be connected to the PLME 215 to perform a management operation of the MAC sublayer 220.

In order for the correct MAC layer operation to be performed, a STA management entity (hereinafter, referred to as “SME”, 250) may exist. The SME 250 may operate as an independent component in each layer. The PLME 215, the MLME 225, and the SME 250 may transmit and receive information from each other based on primitives.

The operation of each sub-layer is briefly described as follows. For example, the PLCP sublayer 210 may include a MAC protocol data unit (MAC protocol data unit) received from the MAC sublayer 220 according to an indication of the MAC layer between the MAC sublayer 220 and the PMD sublayer 200. Hereinafter, the MPDU is transmitted to the PMD sublayer 200 or the frame coming from the PMD sublayer 200 is transferred to the MAC sublayer 220.

The PMD sublayer 200 may be a PLCP lower layer to perform data transmission and reception between a plurality of STAs over a wireless medium. The MPDU delivered by the MAC sublayer 220 is referred to as a physical service data unit (hereinafter, referred to as a PSDU) in the PLCP sublayer 210. The MPDU is similar to the PSDU. However, when an aggregated MPDU (AMPDU) that aggregates a plurality of MPDUs is delivered, individual MPDUs and PSDUs may be different from each other.

The PLCP sublayer 210 adds an additional field including information required by the transceiver of the physical layer in the process of receiving the PSDU from the MAC sublayer 220 and transmitting the PSDU to the PMD sublayer 200. In this case, the added field may be a PLCP preamble, a PLCP header, tail bits required to return the convolutional encoder to a zero state in the PSDU.

The PLCP sublayer 210 adds the above-described fields to the PSDU to generate a PPCP (PLCP Protocol Data Unit), which is then transmitted to the receiving station via the PMD sublayer 200, and the receiving station receives the PPDU to receive the PLCP preamble and PLCP. Obtain and restore information necessary for data restoration from the header.

3 is a conceptual diagram of an active scanning procedure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the active scanning procedure may be performed in the following steps.

(1) The STA 300 determines whether it is ready to perform a scanning procedure.

For example, the STA 300 may perform active scanning by waiting until the probe delay time expires or when specific signaling information (eg, PHY-RXSTART.indication primitive) is received. have.

The probe delay time is a delay generated before the STA 300 transmits the probe request frame 510 when performing the active scanning. PHY-RXSTART.indication primitive is a signal transmitted from a physical (PHY) layer to a local medium access control (MAC) layer. The PHY-RXSTART.indication primitive may signal to the MAC layer that it has received a PLC protocol data unit (PPDU) including a valid PLCP header in a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP).

(2) Perform basic access.

In the 802.11 MAC layer, for example, several STAs may share a wireless medium by using a distributed coordination function (DCF), which is a contention-based function. DCF can prevent outgoing between STAs through a back-off method using carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) as an access protocol. The STA 300 may transmit the probe request frame 310 to the AP 360 or 370 using a basic access method.

(3) Probe request frame 310 for information (eg, service set identification (SSID) and basic service set identification (BSSID) information) for specifying APs 360 and 370 included in the MLME-SCAN.request primitive. ) Can be sent.

The BSSID is an indicator for specifying the AP and may have a value corresponding to the MAC address of the AP. Service set identification (SSID) is a network name for specifying an AP that can be read by a person who operates an STA. The BSSID and / or SSID may be used to specify the AP.

The STA 300 may specify an AP based on information for specifying the APs 360 and 370 included by the MLME-SCAN.request primitive. The specified APs 360 and 370 may transmit probe response frames 350 and 350 to the STA 300. The STA 300 may unicast, multicast, or broadcast the probe request frame 310 by transmitting the SSID and BSSID information in the probe request frame 310. A method of unicasting, multicasting or broadcasting the probe request frame 310 using the SSID and the BSSID information will be further described with reference to FIG. 5.

For example, when the SSID list is included in the MLME-SCAN.request primitive, the STA 500 may include the SSID list in the probe request frame 510 and transmit the SSID list. The APs 360 and 370 receive the probe request frame 310 and determine the SSID included in the SSID list included in the received probe request frame 310 to determine the probe response frames 350 and 350 to the STA 300. You can decide whether to send.

(4) Reset the probe timer to '0' and start the timer.

The probe timer may be used to check the minimum channel time (MinChanneltime, 320) and the maximum channel time (MaxChanneltime, 530). The minimum channel time 320 and the maximum channel time 330 may be used to control the active scanning operation of the STA 300.

The minimum channel time 320 may be used to perform an operation for changing the channel on which the STA 300 performs active scanning. For example, if the STA 300 does not receive the probe response frames 340 and 350 until the probe timer reaches the minimum channel time 320, the STA 300 shifts the scanning channel to scan on another channel. Can be performed. When the STA 300 receives the probe response frame 350 until the probe timer reaches the minimum channel time 320, when the probe timer reaches the maximum channel time 330, the STA may receive the received probe response frame ( 340 and 350 can be processed.

The STA 300 searches for the PHY-CCA.indication primitive until the probe timer reaches the minimum channel time 320 so that other frames (eg, probe response frames 340 and 350) are not available until the minimum channel time 320. Whether it is received by the STA 300 may be determined.

PHY-CCA.indication primitive may transmit information about the state of the medium from the physical layer to the MAC layer. PHY-CCA.indication primitive can inform the status of the current channel by using channel status parameters such as busy if channel is not available and idle if channel is available. When the PHY-CCA.indication is detected as busy, the STA 300 determines that there are probe response frames 350 and 350 received by the STA 300, and the PHY-CCA.indication is idle. If it is detected as, it may be determined that the probe response frames 340 and 350 received by the STA 300 do not exist.

If PHY-CCA.indication is found as an idle, the STA 300 may set the net allocation vector (NAV) to 0 and scan the next channel. When the PHY-CCA.indication is detected as busy, the STA 300 may perform processing on the received probe response frames 340 and 350 after the probe timer reaches the maximum channel time 330. have. After processing the received probe response frames 340 and 350, the net allocation vector (NAV) is set to 0, and the STA 300 may scan the next channel.

Hereinafter, the PHY-CCA.indication according to the present specification is not a concept applied only to a probe response frame but may be applied to all frames transmitted to other physical layers.

 (5) When all channels included in the channel list are scanned, the MLME may signal MLME-SCAN.confirm primitive. The MLME-SCAN.confirm primitive may include a BSSDescriptionSet including all information obtained in the scanning process.

When the STA 300 uses the active scanning method, it is necessary to perform monitoring to determine whether the parameter of the PHY-CCA.indication is busy until the probe timer reaches the minimum channel time.

Specific information included in the aforementioned MLME-SCAN.request primitive is as follows. In order for the STA to perform scanning, the STA may receive the MLME-SCAN.request primitive. MLME-SCAN.request primitive is a primitive generated by SME. The MLME-SCAN.request primitive may be used to determine whether there is another BSS to which the STA is bound.

The MLME-SCAN.request primitive may specifically include information such as BSSType, BSSID, SSID, ScanType, ProbeDelay, ChannelList, MinChannelTime, MaxChannelTime, RequestInformation, SSID List, ChannelUsage, AccessNetworkType, HESSID, MeshID, VendorSpecificInfo.

A request parameter included in MLME-SCAN.request.primitive may be used to determine whether the responding STA transmits a probe response frame. The request parameter may include information for requesting that information of another BSS is included in the probe response frame. In addition, the request parameter may include a report request field, a delay reference field, and a maximum delay limit field.

The report request field is information for requesting information of another BSS to be included in the probe response frame. The delay reference field includes information about a delay type applied in response to the probe request frame, and the maximum delay limit field is a delay reference field. It may include maximum connection delay information for the delay type, indicated by.

In addition, the request parameter may include a minimum data rate field and / or a received signal strength limit field. The minimum data rate field contains information on the lowest overall data rate in transmitting an MSDU or A-MSDU. The received signal strength limit field may further include information about a limit value of a signal required for the receiver of the probe request frame to respond.

4 is a conceptual diagram of an STA supporting EDCA in a WLAN system.

In a WLAN system, an STA (or AP) that performs channel access based on enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) may perform channel access according to a plurality of predefined user priorities for traffic data. .

For the transmission of Quality of Service (QoS) data frames based on multiple user priorities, EDCA provides four access categories (AC) (AC_BK (background), AC_BE (best effort), AC_VI (video)). , AC_VO (voice)).

The STA performing channel access based on the EDCA arrives at the medium access control (MAC) layer from the logical link control (LLC) layer, that is, traffic data such as a MAC service data unit (MSDU) as shown in Table 1 below. Can be mapped. Table 1 is an exemplary table showing the mapping between user priority and AC.

For each AC, transmission queues and AC parameters can be defined. A plurality of user priorities may be implemented based on AC parameter values set differently for each AC.

When STA performs channel access based on EDCA, it performs DCF interframe space (DIFS) based on distributed coordination function (DCF), CWmin, CWmax when performing backoff procedure for transmitting frame belonging to each AC. Instead, AIFS (arbitration interframe space) [AC], CWmin [AC], CWmax [AC] can be used respectively.

For reference, default values of parameters corresponding to each AC are shown in Table 2 below.

The EDCA parameter used for the backoff procedure for each AC may be set to a default value or carried in a beacon frame from the AP to each STA. The smaller the value of AIFS [AC] and CWmin [AC], the higher the priority. Therefore, the shorter the channel access delay, the more bandwidth can be used in a given traffic environment.

The EDCA parameter set element may include information about channel access parameters for each AC (eg, AIFS [AC], CWmin [AC], CWmax [AC]).

If a collision occurs between STAs while the STAs transmit frames, the backoff procedure of EDCA, which generates a new backoff count, is similar to the backoff procedure of the existing DCF.

Differentiated backoff procedure for each AC of the EDCA may be performed based on EDCA parameters set individually for each AC. EDCA parameters can be an important means used to differentiate channel access of various user priority traffic.

Appropriately setting EDCA parameter values defined for each AC can optimize network performance and increase the transmission effect of traffic priority. Accordingly, the AP may perform overall management and coordination functions for the EDCA parameters to ensure fair access to all STAs participating in the network.

In this specification, a predefined (or pre-assigned) user priority for traffic data (or traffic) may be referred to as a traffic identifier ('TID').

Transmission priority of traffic data may be determined based on user priority. Referring to Table 1, the traffic identifier (TID) of the traffic data having the highest user priority may be set to '7'. That is, traffic data in which the traffic identifier (TID) is set to '7' may be understood as traffic having the highest transmission priority.

Referring to FIG. 4, one STA (or AP) 1200 may include a virtual mapper 410, a plurality of transmission queues 420 to 450, and a virtual collision processor 1260.

The virtual mapper 410 of FIG. 4 may serve to map the MSDU received from the logical link control (LLC) layer to a transmission queue corresponding to each AC according to Table 1 above.

The plurality of transmission queues 420-450 of FIG. 4 may serve as individual EDCA competition entities for channel access to the wireless medium within one STA (or AP).

For example, the transmission queue 420 of the AC VO type of FIG. 4 may include one frame 421 for a second STA (not shown). The transmission queue 430 of the AC VI type has three frames 431 to 433 for the first STA (not shown) and one frame 434 for the third STA (not shown) according to the order to be transmitted to the physical layer. ) May be included.

The transmission queue 440 of the AC BE type of FIG. 4 includes one frame 441 for the second STA (not shown) and one frame for the third STA (not shown) according to the order to be transmitted to the physical layer. 442 and one frame 443 for the second STA (not shown). In exemplary embodiments, the transmission queue 450 of the AC BE type may not include a frame to be transmitted to the physical layer.

For example, internal backoff values for transmission queue 420 of AC VO type, transmission queue 430 of AC VI type, transmission queue 440 of AC BE type, and transmission queue 450 of type AC BK. Can be calculated separately based on Equation 1 below and a set of channel access parameters for each AC (ie, AIFS [AC], CWmin [AC], CWmax [AC] in Table 2).

The STA 400 may perform an internal backoff procedure based on internal backoff values for each transmission queue 420, 430, 440, and 450. In this case, the transmission queue that first completes the internal backoff procedure may be understood as the transmission queue corresponding to the primary AC.

Frames included in the transmission queue corresponding to the primary AC may be transmitted to another entity (eg, another STA or AP) during a transmission opportunity (TXOP). If two or more ACs that have completed the backoff exist at the same time, collisions between the ACs may be adjusted according to functions included in the virtual collision handler 460 (EDCA function, EDCAF).

That is, when collisions occur between ACs, frames included in ACs having higher priorities may be transmitted first. Other ACs may also increase the contention window value and update the value set in the backoff count.

When a frame buffered in the transmission queue of the primary AC is transmitted, the STA may transmit the next frame in the same AC for the remaining TXOP time and determine whether it can receive an ACK. In this case, the STA attempts to transmit the next frame after the SIFS time interval.

The TXOP limit value may be set as a default value for the AP and the STA, or a frame associated with the TXOP limit value may be transferred from the AP to the STA. If the size of the data frame to be transmitted exceeds the TXOP limit, the STA may split the frame into several smaller frames. Subsequently, the divided frames may be transmitted within a range not exceeding the TXOP limit.

5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a backoff procedure according to EDCA.

Each STA may share a wireless medium based on a contention coordination function, a distributed coordination function (hereinafter, referred to as 'DCF'). DCF is an access protocol for coordinating collisions between STAs, and may use carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance (CSMA / CA).

If the DCF determines that the wireless medium is not used during the DCF inter frame space (DIFS) (that is, the wireless medium is in the idle state), the STA may acquire a transmission right for transmitting an internally determined MPDU through the wireless medium. . For example, the internally determined MPDU may be understood as a frame included in the transmission queue of the primary AC mentioned through FIG. 4.

If the DCF determines that the wireless medium is used by another STA in the DIFS (ie, the wireless medium is busy), the STA is idle for the wireless medium to obtain a transmission right to transmit an internally determined MPDU over the wireless medium. I can wait until it is in the idle state.

Subsequently, the STA may defer channel access by DIFS based on the time when the wireless medium is switched to the idle state. Subsequently, the STA may wait as much as a contention window (hereinafter referred to as "CW") set in the backoff counter.

In order to perform the backoff procedure according to the EDCA, each STA may set a randomly selected backoff value in the contention window (CW) to the backoff counter. For example, the backoff value set in the backoff counter of each STA to perform the backoff procedure according to the EDCA is equal to the internal backoff value used in the internal backoff procedure for determining the primary AC of each STA. May be associated.

In addition, the backoff value set in the backoff counter of each STA may be represented by Equation 1 below for the transmission queue of the primary AC of each STA and a channel access parameter set for each AC (that is, AIFS [AC] of Table 2, CWmin [AC], CWmax [AC]) may be a value newly set in the backoff counter of each STA.

In this specification, a time indicating a backoff value selected by each STA in slot time units may be understood as the backoff window of FIG. 5.

Each STA may perform a countdown operation of decreasing the backoff window set in the backoff counter in slot time units. An STA having a relatively shortest backoff window among a plurality of STAs may acquire a transmission opportunity (TXOP), which is a right to occupy a wireless medium.

During the time interval for the transmission opportunity (TXOP), the remaining STA may stop the countdown operation. The remaining STA may wait until the time interval for the transmission opportunity (TXOP) ends. After the time interval for the transmission opportunity (TXOP) ends, the remaining STA may resume the suspended countdown operation to occupy the wireless medium.

According to the DCF-based transmission method, collision between STAs, which may occur when a plurality of STAs simultaneously transmit frames, may be prevented. However, the channel access scheme using DCF has no concept of transmission priority (ie, user priority). That is, when DCF is used, the quality of service (QoS) of traffic to be transmitted by the STA cannot be guaranteed.

In order to solve this problem, a new coordination function (hybrid coordination function, hereinafter 'HCF') is defined in 802.11e. The newly defined HCF has improved performance over the channel access performance of the existing DCF. HCF can use two channel access techniques, HCCA controlled channel access (HCCA) and polling-based enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA), for improving QoS.

Referring to FIG. 5, it may be assumed that the STA attempts to transmit buffered traffic data. The user priority set for each traffic data may be differentiated as shown in Table 1. The STA may include four types of output queues mapped to the user priorities of Table 1 (AC_BK, AC_BE, AC_VI, and AC_VO).

The STA may transmit traffic data based on the Arbitration Interframe Space (AIFS) in place of the previously used DCF Interframe Space (DIFS).

Hereinafter, in an embodiment of the present invention, a wireless terminal (ie, STA) may be a device capable of supporting both a WLAN system and a cellular system. That is, the wireless terminal may be interpreted as a UE supporting the cellular system or an STA supporting the WLAN system.

Inter-frame spacing referred to in 802.11 is described for the sake of clarity herein. For example, the Interframe Interval (IFS) can be reduced interframe space (RIFS), short interframe space (SIFS), PCF interframe space (PIFS), DCF frame interval (DIFS). It may be a DCF interframe space, an arbitration interframe space (AIFS), or an extended interframe space (EIFS).

The interframe interval (IFS) may be determined according to an attribute specified by the physical layer of the STA regardless of the bit rate of the STA. The rest of the interframe intervals (IFS) except for AIFS may be understood as fixed values for each physical layer.

AIFS can be set to a value corresponding to four types of transmission queues mapped to user priorities as shown in Table 2 above.

SIFS has the shortest time gap among the above mentioned IFS. Accordingly, the STA occupying the wireless medium may be used when it is necessary to maintain the occupancy of the medium without interference by other STAs in the section in which the frame exchange sequence is performed.

That is, by using the smallest gap between transmissions in the frame exchange sequence, priority may be given to the completion of the ongoing frame exchange sequence. In addition, an STA accessing a wireless medium using SIFS may start transmission directly at the SIFS boundary without determining whether the medium is busy.

The duration of SIFS for a specific physical (PHY) layer may be defined by the aSIFSTime parameter. For example, in the physical layer (PHY) of the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac standards, the SIFS value is 16 μs.

PIFS can be used to provide the STA with the next highest priority after SIFS. In other words, PIFS can be used to obtain priority for accessing a wireless medium.

DIFS may be used by an STA to transmit a data frame (MPDU) and a management frame (Mac Protocol Data Unit (MPDU)) based on the DCF. If the medium is determined to be idle through a carrier sense (CS) mechanism after the received frame and the backoff time expire, the STA may transmit the frame.

6 is a view for explaining a frame transmission procedure in a WLAN system.

5 and 6, each STA 610, 620, 630, 640, and 650 of the WLAN system receives a backoff value for performing a backoff procedure according to EDCA. 640 and 650 can be individually set to the backoff counters.

Each STA 610, 620, 630, 640, and 650 may attempt transmission after waiting for the set backoff value for a time indicated by a slot time (that is, the backoff window of FIG. 5).

In addition, each STA 610, 620, 630, 640, and 650 may reduce the backoff window in slot time units through a countdown operation. The countdown operation for channel access to the wireless medium may be performed separately by each STA.

Each STA may individually set a backoff time Tb [i] corresponding to the backoff window to the backoff counter of each STA. Specifically, the backoff time Tb [i] is a pseudo-random integer value and may be calculated based on Equation 1 below.

Random (i) of Equation 1 is a function that uses a uniform distribution and generates a random integer between 0 and CW [i]. CW [i] may be understood as the contention window selected between the minimum contention window CWmin [i] and the maximum contention window CWmax [i].

For example, the minimum contention window CWmin [i] and the maximum contention window CWmax [i] may correspond to the default values CWmin [AC] and CWmax [AC] of Table 2, respectively.

For initial channel access, the STA may set CW [i] to CWmin [i] and use Random (i) to select a random integer between O and CWmin [i]. In this case, any integer selected can be referred to as a backoff value.

It can be understood that i in Equation 1 corresponds to the user priority in Table 1. That is, the traffic buffered in the STA may be understood to correspond to any one of AC_VO, AC_VI, AC_BE, or AC_BK of Table 1 based on the value set in i of Equation 1.

SlotTime of Equation 1 may be used to provide sufficient time for the preamble of the transmitting STA to be detected by the neighbor STA. Slot Time of Equation 1 may be used to define the aforementioned PIFS and DIFS. As an example. Slot time may be 9 μs.

For example, if the user priority i is '7', the initial backoff time Tb [7] for the transmission queue of type AC_VO slots the backoff value selected between 0 and CWmin [AC_VO]. It may be a time expressed in units of slot time.

When collision between STAs occurs according to the backoff procedure (or when ACK frame for the transmitted frame is not received), the STA increases the backoff time Tb [i] 'based on Equation 2 below. Can be newly calculated.

Referring to Equation 2, the new contention window CW _new [i] may be calculated based on the previous window CW _old [i]. The PF value of Equation 2 may be calculated according to the procedure defined in the IEEE 802.11e standard. For example, the PF value of Equation 2 may be set to '2'.

In this embodiment, the increased backoff time Tb [i] 'is equal to the slot time of any integer selected between 0 and the new contention window CW _new [i]. It can be understood as time expressed in units.

CWmin [i], CWmax [i], AIFS [i], and PF values mentioned in FIG. 6 may be signaled from the AP through a QoS parameter set element, which is a management frame. The CWmin [i], CWmax [i], AIFS [i] and PF values may be preset values by the AP and the STA.

Referring to FIG. 6, the horizontal axes t1 to t5 for the first to fifth STAs 610 to 650 may represent time axes. In addition, the vertical axis for the first to fifth STAs 610 to 650 may indicate a backoff time transmitted.

5 and 6, when a specific medium is changed from occupy or busy to idle, a plurality of STAs may attempt data (or frame) transmission.

At this time, in order to minimize the collision between STAs, each STA selects the backoff time (Tb [i]) of Equation 1 and waits for the corresponding slot time (slot time) before transmitting. You can try

When the backoff procedure is initiated, each STA may count down the individually selected backoff counter time in slot time units. Each STA may continue to monitor the medium while counting down.

If the wireless medium is monitored as occupied, the STA may stop counting down and wait. If the wireless medium is monitored in an idle state, the STA can resume counting down.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the frame for the third STA 630 reaches the MAC layer of the third STA 630, the third STA 630 may check whether the medium is idle during DIFS. Subsequently, when the medium is determined to be idle during DIFS, the third STA 630 may transmit a frame to an AP (not shown). However, although the inter frame space (IFS) of FIG. 6 is illustrated as DIFS, it will be understood that the present specification is not limited thereto.

While the frame is transmitted from the third STA 630, the remaining STA may check the occupation state of the medium and wait for the transmission period of the frame. A frame may reach the MAC layer of each of the first STA 610, the second STA 620, and the fifth STA 650. If the medium is identified as idle, each STA may wait for DIFS and then count down the individual backoff time selected by each STA.

Referring to FIG. 6, the second STA 620 selects the smallest backoff time and the first STA 610 selects the largest backoff time. The remaining backoff time of the fifth STA 650 is the remaining back of the first STA 610 at the time T1 after completing the backoff procedure for the backoff time selected by the second STA 620 and starting frame transmission. A case shorter than the off time is shown.

When the medium is occupied by the second STA 620, the first STA 610 and the fifth STA 650 may suspend and wait for the backoff procedure. Subsequently, when the media occupation of the second STA 620 ends (that is, the medium is idle again), the first STA 610 and the fifth STA 650 may wait as long as DIFS.

Subsequently, the first STA 610 and the fifth STA 650 may resume the backoff procedure based on the stopped remaining backoff time. In this case, since the remaining backoff time of the fifth STA 650 is shorter than the remaining backoff time of the first STA 610, the fifth STA 650 may complete the backoff procedure before the first STA 610. Can be.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6, when a medium is occupied by the second STA 620, a frame for the fourth STA 640 may reach the MAC layer of the fourth STA 640. When the medium is in the idle state, the fourth STA 640 may wait as long as DIFS. Subsequently, the fourth STA 640 may count down the backoff time selected by the fourth STA 640.

Referring to FIG. 6, the remaining backoff time of the fifth STA 650 may coincide with the backoff time of the fourth STA 640. In this case, a collision may occur between the fourth STA 640 and the fifth STA 650. If a collision occurs between STAs, neither the fourth STA 640 nor the fifth STA 650 may receive an ACK, and may fail to transmit data.

Accordingly, the fourth STA 640 and the fifth STA 650 may individually calculate a new contention window CW _new [i] according to Equation 2 above. Subsequently, the fourth STA 640 and the fifth STA 650 may separately perform countdowns for the newly calculated backoff time according to Equation 2 above.

Meanwhile, when the medium is occupied due to transmission of the fourth STA 640 and the fifth STA 650, the first STA 610 may wait. Subsequently, when the medium is idle, the first STA 610 may resume backoff counting after waiting for DIFS. When the remaining backoff time of the first STA 610 elapses, the first STA 610 may transmit a frame.

The CSMA / CA mechanism may include virtual carrier sensing in addition to physical carrier sensing in which the AP and / or STA directly sense the medium.

Virtual carrier sensing is intended to compensate for problems that may occur in media access, such as a hidden node problem. For virtual carrier sensing, the MAC of the WLAN system uses a Network Allocation Vector (NAV). The NAV is a value that indicates to the other AP and / or STA how long the AP and / or STA currently using or authorized to use the medium remain until the medium becomes available.

Therefore, the value set to NAV corresponds to a period in which the medium is scheduled to be used by the AP and / or STA transmitting the frame, and the STA receiving the NAV value is prohibited from accessing the medium during the period. For example, the NAV may be set according to a value of a duration field of the MAC header of the frame.

7 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless terminal for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the wireless terminal 700 according to the present embodiment includes a virtual mapper 710, a plurality of transmission queues 720 to 750, a virtual collision handler 760, and a plurality of directional antenna modules 770a to 770n. It may include.

1 to 7, the virtual mapper 710 of FIG. 7, the plurality of transmission queues 720 to 750, and the virtual collision handler 760 are described for the virtual mapper 410 of FIG. 4 and a plurality of transmissions. It will be understood as a description of the queues 420-450 and the virtual collision handler 1260.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 7, the wireless terminal 700 has an internal structure in which a set of transmission queues 720, 730, 740, and 750 and a plurality of directional antenna modules 770a to 770n in the wireless terminal are associated. Can be.

The DMG antenna according to the present embodiment may include a plurality of physical antennas. In addition, the DMG antenna according to the present embodiment may be understood as a set of a plurality of physical (or logical) antennas arranged in one direction.

For the sake of brevity, the first directional antenna module 770a includes a first DMG antenna associated with a first user terminal (not shown), and the second directional antenna module 770b is associated with a second user terminal (not shown). It may include an associated second DMG antenna.

Also, the third directional antenna module 770c may include a third DMG antenna associated with a third user terminal (not shown), and the Nth directional antenna module 770n (n is a natural number) may be an Nth STA (eg, N may include an N th DMG antenna associated with the natural number).

Hereinafter, it is assumed that the wireless terminal 700 of FIG. 7 includes five directional antenna modules 770a to 770e. In addition, the wireless terminal 700 of FIG. 7 includes a plurality of data frames 721 based on Receive Address (RA) information set in the plurality of data frames 721, 731 to 734, and 741 to 743, respectively. 731 to 734 and 741 to 743 may be associated with a plurality of directional antenna modules 770a to 770n.

The first data frame 721 may be buffered in the transmission queue 720 of the AC VO type. For example, the first data frame 721 may be understood as an MPDU including reception address (RA) information indicating a first user terminal (not shown).

The second to fifth data frames 731 to 734 may be buffered in the transmission queue 730 of the AC VI type. For example, the second to fourth data frames 731, 732, and 733 may be understood as MPDUs including reception address (RA) information indicating a second user terminal (not shown). For example, the fifth data frame 734 may be understood as an MPDU including reception address (RA) information indicating a first user terminal (not shown).

Sixth to eighth data frames 741 to 743 may be buffered in the transmission queue 740 of the AC BE type. For example, the sixth data frame 741 may be understood as an MPDU including reception address (RA) information indicating a third user terminal (not shown).

For example, the seventh data frame 742 may be understood as an MPDU including reception address (RA) information indicating a fourth user terminal (not shown). For example, the eighth data frame 743 may be understood as an MPDU including reception address (RA) information indicating a fifth user terminal (not shown).

It will be appreciated that the plurality of data frames included in the transmission queue mentioned through FIG. 7 is just an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Data frames buffered in the plurality of transmission queues according to the present embodiment may be transmitted through the respective directional antenna modules 770a to 770n according to the reception address information RA included in each data frame.

For example, the first data frame 721 and the fifth data frame 734 may be transmitted via the first directional antenna module 770a. The second to fourth data frames 731, 732, and 733 may be transmitted through the second directional antenna module 770b.

The sixth data frame 741 may be transmitted via the third directional antenna module 770c. The seventh data frame 742 may be transmitted via the fourth directional antenna module 770d. The eighth data frame 743 may be transmitted through the fifth directional antenna module 770e.

The existing wireless terminal may perform an omnidirectional clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure. Specifically, the existing STA may determine the state of the wireless medium by comparing the power level of the signal received from the physical layer of the wireless terminal for a predetermined time (for example, DIFS) with a preset threshold level in an omnidirectional manner. Can be.

For example, if the power level of the signal received from the physical layer is lower than the threshold level, the state of the wireless medium may be determined to be an idle state. If the power level of the signal received from the physical layer is higher than the threshold level, the state of the wireless medium may be determined to be a busy state.

The wireless terminal 700 according to the present embodiment may cover a plurality of directions associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules 770a to 770n according to a directional method. Specifically, the wireless terminal 700 may perform a separate directional CCA procedure for a predetermined time for a plurality of wireless channels corresponding to a plurality of directions.

That is, the wireless terminal 700 may individually determine the states of the plurality of wireless channels associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules 770a to 770n for the plurality of user terminals (not shown).

Hereinafter, a CCA operation performed simultaneously in a plurality of directions by a wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may be referred to as a directional clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure.

Each of the plurality of directional antenna modules 770a to 770n may be associated with a wireless channel in a specific direction for each user terminal (not shown).

The wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may simultaneously perform a plurality of individual directional CCA procedures in a directional manner. That is, the first wireless channel is determined to be busy through a first directional CCA procedure for a first direction among a plurality of directions, and the second wireless channel is idle through a second directional CCA procedure for a second direction. It may be determined as an idle state.

Similarly, the N-th wireless channel in the N-th direction for the N-th user terminal (not shown) may be determined as an idle state (or busy state) through the directional CCA procedure.

The wireless terminal according to the present embodiment transmits data (or data frames) included in a transmission queue of the primary AC based on at least one directional antenna module associated with at least one wireless channel determined to be in an idle state. Can be.

In addition, the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment transmits the data frame and the secondary AC included in the transmission queue of the primary AC based on at least one directional antenna module associated with the at least one radio channel determined to be in an idle state. Data (or data frames) included in the queue can be transmitted together.

Also, although not mentioned in the description associated with FIG. 7, a plurality of directional antenna modules 770a-770n can be used to receive wireless signals transmitted from other wireless terminals.

In addition, the internal structure of the wireless terminal shown in FIG. 7 is only an example, and it will be appreciated that the wireless terminal of the present specification may be implemented based on a structure corresponding to a plurality of transmission modules and a plurality of antenna modules.

8 is a diagram illustrating channelization of a wireless channel for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an exemplary embodiment.

The horizontal axis of FIG. 8 may represent a frequency (GHz) for the 60 GHz band. The vertical axis of FIG. 8 may represent a level (dBr) of a signal relative to a maximum spectral density.

Referring to FIG. 8, in order to support an operation of a 60 GHz band for a wireless terminal according to an exemplary embodiment, first to sixth channels ch # 1 to ch # 6 may be allocated. For example, a channel spacing for each of the first to sixth channels ch # 1 to ch # 6 may be 2160 MHz.

A channel center frequency for each of the first to sixth channels ch # 1 to ch # 6 according to an embodiment may be defined based on Equation 3 below. For example, the channel starting frequency may be 56.16 GHz.

According to Equation 3, the first channel center frequency fc1 for the first channel ch # 1 may be 58.32 GHz. For example, the first channel ch # 1 of FIG. 8 may be defined between 57.24 GHz and 59.40 GHz.

According to Equation 3, the second channel center frequency fc2 for the second channel ch # 2 may be 60.48 GHz. For example, the first channel ch # 2 of FIG. 8 may be defined between 59.40 GHz and 61.56 GHz.

According to Equation 3, the third channel center frequency fc3 for the third channel ch # 3 may be 62.64 GHz. For example, the third channel ch # 3 of FIG. 8 may be defined between 61.56 GHz and 63.72 GHz.

According to Equation 3, the fourth channel center frequency fc4 for the fourth channel ch # 4 may be 64.80 GHz. For example, the fourth channel ch # 4 of FIG. 8 may be defined between 63.72 GHz and 65.88 GHz.

According to Equation 3, the fifth channel center frequency fc5 for the fifth channel ch # 5 may be 66.96 GHz. For example, the fifth channel ch # 5 of FIG. 8 may be defined between 65.88 GHz and 68.04 GHz.

According to Equation 3, the sixth channel center frequency fc6 for the sixth channel ch # 6 may be 69.12 GHz. For example, the sixth channel ch # 6 of FIG. 8 may be defined between 68.04 GHz and 70.2 GHz.

More specific details regarding channelization and channel numbering referred to herein are described in sections 19.3.15 of IEEE Draft P802.11-REVmc ™ / D8.0, published in August 2016, and in December 2012. It is further described in Section 21.3.1, Section 21.3.2, and Annex E of IEEE Std 802.11ad ™, which is disclosed in January.

9 illustrates a wireless terminal for checking a state of a wireless channel to transmit a frame in a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the WLAN system 900 includes a transmitting terminal STA # T for transmitting a frame and a plurality of receiving terminals (eg, STA # R1, STA # R2, and STA # R3) for receiving the frame. It may include.

The transmitting terminal STA # T of FIG. 9 performs an omni-directional channel clear assessment (CCA) procedure based on an omnidirectional scheme for a predetermined time (for example, DIFS) to transmit a buffered frame for each receiving terminal. Can be done.

That is, based on a signal received for a predetermined time (for example, DIFS) from the non-directional region 910 for the non-directional CCA procedure, the transmitting terminal STA # T may determine the state of the wireless channel.

Specifically, in order to perform the omni-directional CCA procedure, the transmitting terminal STA # T is configured to transmit power of a signal received for a predetermined time from all radio channels associated with the transmitting terminal STA # T in the non-directional region 910. An input level, which is an average of n, may be compared with a preset first threshold level.

When the input level is higher than the first threshold level, the transmitting terminal STA # T according to the present embodiment is in a busy state in which a frame cannot be transmitted by the transmitting terminal STA # T. You can judge that.

When the input level is lower than the first threshold level, the transmitting terminal STA # T may further compare the input level with the second threshold level to determine the state of the wireless channel according to a directional scheme. Can be.

According to a result of comparing the input level and the second threshold level obtained through the omni-directional CCA procedure, the transmitting terminal STA # T may transmit the first to third directional CCAs for each of the plurality of directional regions 921, 922, and 923. The procedure can be determined individually.

Referring to FIG. 9, a transmitting terminal STA # T and a first receiving terminal STA # R1 may be associated based on a first wireless channel for the first directivity region 921. For example, the first radio channel for the first directional region 921 may correspond to any one of the first to sixth channels ch # 1 to ch # 6 mentioned in FIG. 8.

For example, the transmitting terminal STA # T and the second receiving terminal STA # R2 may be associated based on a second wireless channel for the second directivity region 922. For example, the second radio channel for the second directional region 922 may correspond to any one of the first to sixth channels ch # 1 to ch # 6 mentioned in FIG. 8.

For example, the transmitting terminal STA # T and the third receiving terminal STA # R3 may be associated based on a third wireless channel for the third directivity region 923. For example, the third wireless channel for the third directivity region 923 may correspond to any one of the first to sixth channels ch # 1 to ch # 6 mentioned in FIG. 8.

According to this embodiment, the first to third radio channels for each of a plurality of receiving terminals (eg, STA # R1, STA # R2, and STA # R3) perform an association procedure with the transmitting terminal STA # T. Can be determined.

In addition, it will be understood that the omni-directional CCA procedure and the directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment may be performed by signal detection as well as energy detection. The process of performing the omni-directional CCA procedure and the directional CCA procedure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a first threshold level, a second threshold level, and a third threshold level according to an exemplary embodiment.

1 through 10, an input level obtained according to an omni-directional CCA procedure may correspond to the first region 1010 of FIG. 10. In this case, the input level may be higher than the first threshold level T # 1.

The first threshold level T # 1 according to the present embodiment may be a value preset in the wireless terminal of the WLAN system. For example, the first threshold level T # 1 may be set to −68 dBm.

The input level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure may correspond to the second region 1020. In this case, the input level may be lower than the first threshold level T # 1 and higher than the second threshold level T # 2.

According to the present embodiment, the second threshold level T # 2 may be set to be lower than the first threshold level T # 1 by an offset level Δg in consideration of the beamforming gain. For example, the second threshold level T # 2 may be set to −82 dBm, which is 14 dBm lower than the threshold level T # 1.

The input level acquired according to the omni-directional CCA procedure may belong to the third region 1030. In this case, the input level may be lower than the second threshold level T # 2.

Information about the threshold level (eg, T # 1, T # 2) mentioned in this embodiment may be obtained through a capability negotiation procedure performed for capability negotiation with another wireless terminal. have.

For example, the capability negotiation procedure may be understood as a procedure performed separately after the discovery procedure and the authentication / combination procedure are completed in relation to other wireless terminals.

In addition, information on support of the directional CCA procedure by the wireless terminal and / or information on the second threshold level for the directional CCA procedure may be obtained through the capability negotiation procedure.

The second threshold level for the plurality of directional CCA procedures performed separately for the plurality of directional antenna modules of the wireless terminal may be set the same for the plurality of directional antenna modules or may be set differently for each directional module.

The information on the second threshold level according to the present embodiment may be the same as or different from the threshold level for CCA mentioned in the existing 802.11 11ad standard document. If the information on the second threshold level is different from the threshold level of the 802.11 11ad standard document, the information on the second threshold level may be signaled using a separate frame.

For example, the separate frame may be a beacon frame, a frame including an EDMG header, a frame including a MAC header, or a grant frame.

Information on whether the directional CCA procedure can be performed may be defined using 1 bit (or 2 bits) in a separate frame. For example, if 1 bit is indicated as '0', the wireless terminal may support a directional CCA procedure. As another example, if 1 bit is indicated as '1', the wireless terminal may not support the directional CCA procedure.

Information on the second threshold level for determining whether to perform the directional CCA procedure may be defined using 1 bit (or n bits, n is a natural number of 2 or more). For example, the wireless terminal may obtain information about the second threshold level for the directional CCA procedure according to the index information received from another wireless terminal based on the table information for the second predetermined threshold level.

For example, the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may obtain information on a second threshold level for determining whether to perform the directional CCA procedure based on gap information received from another wireless terminal.

In this case, the gap information may be a value corresponding to the difference between the first threshold level and the level for the omni-directional CCA procedure preset in the wireless terminal. Alternatively, the gap information may be expressed by using a bit (eg, 14 dBm) corresponding to the difference between the first threshold level and the second threshold level.

Furthermore, the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may separately manage the table for the gap information and obtain information on the second threshold level for the directional CCA procedure according to the index information received from another wireless terminal. .

In order to obtain information on the first threshold level, which is a reference level of the omnidirectional CCA procedure according to the omnidirectional scheme, a capability negotiation procedure with another wireless terminal may be required.

The information exchanged through the capability negotiation procedure may include information on a first threshold level for an omnidirectional CCA procedure according to an omnidirectional manner.

The information on the first threshold level for the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment may be the same as or different from the threshold level for the existing omni-directional CCA (ie, the threshold level of the 802.11 11ad standard document).

If the information on the first threshold level for the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment is different from the threshold level for the existing omni-directional CCA (ie, the threshold level of the 802.11 11ad standard document), Information about the signal may be signaled using a separate frame.

For example, the separate frame may be a beacon frame, a frame including an EDMG header, a frame including a MAC header, or a grant frame.

Information on whether the omni-directional CCA procedure can be performed may be defined using 1 bit (or 2 bits) in a separate frame.

For example, if 1 bit is indicated as '0', the wireless terminal may support an omnidirectional CCA procedure. As another example, if 1 bit is indicated as '1', the wireless terminal may not support the omni-directional CCA procedure.

The information on the first threshold level for the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment may be defined using 1 bit (or n bits, n is a natural number of 2 or more).

For example, the wireless terminal according to the index information received from the other wireless terminal based on the table information including the candidate value of the first threshold level information about the first threshold level for the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment Can be obtained.

For example, the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may obtain information on the first threshold level for the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment based on gap information received from another wireless terminal.

For example, the gap information includes a threshold level for the case where the wireless terminal does not support the directional CCA procedure and only supports the omni-directional CCA procedure, and the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment (ie, the omni-directional CCA procedure). And a first threshold level and difference for the directional CCA procedure if both are supported).

Alternatively, the gap information may include a threshold level for the case where the wireless terminal does not support the directional CCA procedure and only supports the omni-directional CCA procedure, and the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the present embodiment (ie, the omni-directional CCA procedure and the directivity). The first threshold level and the difference for the CCA procedure (if all supported) can be understood as a value expressed using bits.

Furthermore, the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may separately manage the table for the gap information and obtain information on the first threshold level for the omni-directional CCA procedure according to the index information received from the other wireless terminal. have.

The information on the first threshold level and the information on the second threshold level of the present specification may be transmitted using a reserved bit among frames defined in the existing 802.11 11ad standard document.

According to the present embodiment, a third threshold which is a reference level for a plurality of directional CCA procedures to be performed separately for a plurality of directional antenna modules included in a wireless terminal to determine a state of a plurality of wireless channels Levels (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) may be further defined.

The third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) may be set at the same level for the plurality of directional antenna modules or may be set differently for each directional antenna module. In addition, the third threshold level (eg, T # 3 in FIG. 10) is lower than the second threshold level (eg, T # 2 in FIG. 10) in consideration of interference or collision due to the directional CCA procedure. Can be set low.

Information on the third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) may be signaled using a separate frame. For example, the separate frame may be a beacon frame, a frame including an EDMG header, a frame including a MAC header, or a grant frame.

The information about the third threshold level may be defined using 1 bit (or 2 bits) in a separate frame.

For example, if 1 bit is indicated as '1', it may indicate that the directional CCA procedure is performed at the same level as the second threshold level (eg, T # 2 of FIG. 10). In addition, if one bit is indicated as '1', it indicates that the directional CCA procedure is performed at a third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) that is different from the second threshold level (eg, T # 2 of FIG. 10). can do.

Information about a third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10), which is a reference level for the plurality of directional CCA procedures, may be defined using one bit (or n bits, n is a natural number of two or more).

For example, the wireless terminal may obtain information on the third threshold level according to the index information received from another wireless terminal based on table information including a plurality of candidate values for the third threshold level.

As an example, the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment may obtain information on a third threshold level, which is a reference level for determining a state of a wireless channel, in a directional CCA procedure based on gap information received from another wireless terminal. Can be.

In this case, the gap information may be a value corresponding to a difference from the first threshold level (eg, T # 1 of FIG. 10) for the omni-directional CCA procedure preset in the wireless terminal. Alternatively, the gap information may be understood as a value representing a difference between a first threshold level (eg, T # 1 of FIG. 10) and a third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) using bits. have.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system according to an exemplary embodiment.

For clarity and concise description of FIG. 11, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may be understood as the transmitting terminal (eg, STA # T of FIG. 11) mentioned in FIG. 9. In addition, the first receiving terminal of FIG. 11 may be understood as the first receiving terminal (eg, STA # R1 of FIG. 11) mentioned in FIG. 9. In addition, the second receiving terminal of FIG. 11 may be understood as the second receiving terminal (eg, STA # R2 of FIG. 11) mentioned in FIG. 9. For reference, in FIG. 11, it is assumed that the third receiving terminal (eg, STA # R3 of FIG. 11) mentioned in FIG. 9 is not considered.

The wireless terminal referred to in FIG. 11 may include a plurality of directional antenna modules. For example, the plurality of directional antenna modules may include a first directional antenna module (eg, 770a of FIG. 7) and a second receiving terminal to which a first frame for a first receiving terminal (eg, STA # R1 of FIG. 11) is to be transmitted. (Eg, a second directional antenna module (ie, 770b of FIG. 7) to which a second frame for STA # R2 of FIG. 11 is to be transmitted.

Further, the first directional antenna module (eg, 770a of FIG. 7) of the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 (eg, STA # T of FIG. 9) is connected to the first receiving terminal (ie, STA # of FIG. 9) through the first wireless channel. R1). In addition, the second directional antenna module (ie, 770b of FIG. 7) of the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 (eg, STA # T of FIG. 9) is connected to the second receiving terminal (STA # R2 of FIG. 9) through the second wireless channel. May be associated with

1 to 11, in step S1110, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 performs an omni-directional channel clear assessment (CCA) procedure for determining a state of a wireless medium according to an omnidirectional manner. can do.

For example, the omni-directional CCA procedure may be performed by the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 for a predetermined time (eg, DIFS).

In other words, the input level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure may be applied to a first antenna module and a second antenna module corresponding to a non-directional region of the wireless medium (for example, 910 of FIG. 9). It can be understood as the average of the power of the received signal during DIFS).

In operation S1120, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may compare the input level acquired according to the omni-directional CCA procedure with a preset first threshold level (eg, T # 1 of FIG. 10).

If the input level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure is higher than the first threshold level, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 transmits the radio medium to the frame regardless of the second threshold level (eg, T # 2 of FIG. 10). This can be determined as an impossible busy state. In this case, the procedure may end.

If the input level acquired according to the omni-directional CCA procedure is lower than the first threshold level, the procedure may proceed to step S1130.

In operation S1130, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may compare the input level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure with a second threshold level (eg, T # 2 of FIG. 10). According to the present embodiment, the second threshold level may be preset to be lower than the first threshold level.

If the input level is lower than the second threshold level, the procedure may proceed to step S1160. If the input level is higher than the second threshold level, the procedure may enter to step S1140.

In step S1140, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 performs a plurality of directional CCA procedures for the plurality of directional antenna modules based on a third threshold level to determine a state of the plurality of wireless channels associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules. Can be.

In other words, the third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) may be understood as a reference value to be actually used for the directional CCA operation when the directional CCA operation is performed through steps S1110 to S1130. In this case, the third threshold level (eg, T # 3 of FIG. 10) is lower than the second threshold level of FIG. 10 (eg, T # 2 of FIG. 10) in consideration of interference or collision due to directional CCA operation. It can be preset to have a level.

In operation S1140, a first directional CCA procedure is performed according to a directional scheme to determine the state of the first wireless channel, and at the same time, a second directional CCA according to the directional scheme to determine the state of the second wireless channel. The procedure can be performed.

For example, a first directivity level can be obtained according to the first directivity procedure. In other words, the first directivity level may correspond to an average value of the power of the signal received over a period of time over the first wireless channel associated with the first antenna module.

For example, a second directivity level can be obtained according to the second directivity procedure. In other words, the second directivity level may correspond to an average value of the power of the signal received over a period of time over a second wireless channel associated with the second antenna module.

For example, the first directivity level obtained according to the first directional CCA procedure may be lower than the third threshold level, and the second directivity level obtained according to the second directional CCA procedure may be higher than the third threshold level.

In this case, the first wireless channel may be determined as an idle state capable of transmitting (or receiving) the frame. The second wireless channel may be determined to be a busy state in which transmission (or reception) of a frame is impossible.

In this case, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may perform the following steps S1150 and S1160 to transmit the first frame to the first receiving terminal based on the first directional antenna module.

As another example, the first directivity level obtained according to the first directional CCA procedure may be lower than the third threshold level, and the second directivity level obtained according to the second directional CCA procedure may be lower than the third threshold level. In this case, both the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel may be determined to be in an idle state.

In this case, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may perform the following steps S1150 and S1160 to transmit the first frame to the first receiving terminal based on the first directional antenna module. At the same time, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may perform the following steps S1150 and S1160 to transmit the second frame to the second receiving terminal based on the second directional antenna module.

In operation S1150, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may determine whether at least one wireless channel is in an idle state.

If it is determined through step S1140 that there is no wireless channel in the idle state, the procedure is terminated. If it is determined through the above step S1140 that there is at least one radio channel in the idle state, step S1160 may be performed.

In operation S1160, the wireless terminal of FIG. 11 may transmit a frame (or data frame) for each wireless terminal based on the directional antenna module corresponding to the at least one wireless channel determined as the idle state.

12 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless terminal to which an embodiment of the present specification can be applied.

Referring to FIG. 12, the wireless terminal may be an STA or an AP or a non-AP STA, which may implement the above-described embodiment. The wireless terminal may correspond to the above-described user or may correspond to a transmitting terminal for transmitting a signal to the user.

The AP 1200 includes a processor 1210, a memory 1220, and an RF unit 1230.

The RF unit 1230 may be connected to the processor 1210 to transmit / receive a radio signal.

The processor 1210 may implement the functions, processes, and / or methods proposed herein. For example, the processor 1210 may perform an operation according to the present embodiment described above. The processor 1210 may perform an operation of the AP disclosed in the present embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 11.

The non-AP STA 1250 includes a processor 1260, a memory 1270, and an RF unit 1280.

The RF unit 1280 may be connected to the processor 1260 to transmit / receive a radio signal.

The processor 1260 may implement the functions, processes, and / or methods proposed in the present embodiment. For example, the processor 1260 may be implemented to perform the non-AP STA operation according to the present embodiment described above. The processor 1260 may perform an operation of the non-AP STA disclosed in the present embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 11.

Processors 1210 and 1260 may include application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), other chipsets, logic circuits, data processing devices, and / or converters to convert baseband signals and wireless signals to and from each other. The memories 1220 and 1270 may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and / or other storage devices. The RF unit 1230 and 1280 may include one or more antennas for transmitting and / or receiving a radio signal.

When the embodiment of the present specification is implemented in software, the above-described technique may be implemented as a module (process, function, etc.) for performing the above-described function. The module may be stored in the memories 1220 and 1270 and executed by the processors 1210 and 1260. The memories 1220 and 1270 may be inside or outside the processors 1210 and 1260, and may be connected to the processors 1210 and 1260 by various well-known means.

The non-AP STA 1250 includes a processor 1260, a memory 1270, and an RF unit 1280.

The RF unit 1280 may be connected to the processor 1260 to transmit / receive a radio signal.

The processor 1260 may implement the functions, processes, and / or methods proposed in the present embodiment. For example, the processor 1260 may be implemented to perform the non-AP STA operation according to the present embodiment described above. The processor 1260 may perform an operation of the non-AP STA disclosed in the present embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 11.

Processors 1210 and 1260 may include application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), other chipsets, logic circuits, data processing devices, and / or converters to convert baseband signals and wireless signals to and from each other. The memories 1220 and 1270 may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and / or other storage devices. The RF unit 1230 and 1280 may include one or more antennas for transmitting and / or receiving a radio signal.

When the present embodiment is implemented in software, the above-described technique may be implemented as a module (process, function, etc.) for performing the above-described function. The module may be stored in the memories 1220 and 1270 and executed by the processors 1210 and 1260. The memories 1220 and 1270 may be inside or outside the processors 1210 and 1260, and may be connected to the processors 1210 and 1260 by various well-known means.

In the detailed description of the present specification, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present specification. Therefore, the scope of the present specification should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below but also by the equivalents of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. In the method for transmitting a frame in a WLAN system,

   Performing, by a wireless terminal including a plurality of directional antenna modules, an omni-directional channel clear assessment (CCA) procedure for determining a state of a wireless medium according to an omnidirectional scheme;

   If the input level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure is lower than a preset first threshold level, the wireless terminal compares the input level with a second threshold level, wherein the second threshold level is determined. A threshold level is preset to be lower than the first threshold level; And

   If the input level is higher than the second threshold level according to the comparison, the wireless terminal determines a plurality of directional antenna modules for the plurality of directional antenna modules to determine a state of a plurality of wireless channels associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules. Performing a directional CCA procedure based on a third threshold level, wherein the third threshold level is preset to be lower than the second threshold level.
2. According to claim 1,

   The plurality of directional antenna modules include a first directional antenna module to which a first frame for a first receiving terminal is to be transmitted and a second directional antenna module to which a second frame for a second receiving terminal is to be transmitted;

   The first directional antenna module associated with the first receiving terminal via a first wireless channel,

   The second directional antenna module associated with the second receiving terminal via a second wireless channel.
3. The method of claim 2,

   Performing a plurality of directional CCA procedures for the plurality of directional antenna modules based on a third threshold level,

   Performing a first directional CCA procedure in a directional manner to determine a state of the first wireless channel; And

   Performing a first directional CCA procedure according to a directional scheme to determine a state of the second wireless channel,

   Wherein the first directional CCA procedure and the second directional CCA procedure are performed simultaneously.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein

   A first directivity level is obtained according to the first directivity procedure, the first directivity level corresponding to an average value of power of a signal received over a period of time over the first wireless channel associated with the first antenna module,

   A second directivity level is obtained according to the second directivity procedure, the second directivity level corresponding to an average value of power of a signal received over a period of time over the second wireless channel associated with the second antenna module; .
5. The method of claim 4, wherein

   If the first directivity level is lower than the third threshold level, the first wireless channel is determined to be an idle state,

   If the second directivity level is higher than the third threshold level, the second wireless channel is determined to be busy;

   Transmitting, by the wireless terminal, the first frame to the first receiving terminal based on the first directional antenna module.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein

   When the first directivity level is lower than the third threshold level and the second directivity level is lower than the third threshold level, both the first radio channel and the second radio channel are determined to be in an idle state,

   The wireless terminal transmits the first frame to the first receiving terminal based on the first directional antenna module and transmits the second frame to the second receiving terminal based on the second directional antenna module. The method further comprises a step.
7. According to claim 1,

   The input level is an average of power of signals received by the first directional antenna module and the second directional antenna module for a period of time from the wireless medium.
8. According to claim 1,

   The third threshold level is set based on gap information indicating a difference from the first threshold level,

   The gap information is determined in a capability negotiation procedure performed for capability negotiation between the wireless terminal and another wireless terminal.
9. In the wireless terminal comprising a plurality of directional antenna module for performing a method for transmitting a frame in a wireless LAN system, the wireless terminal,

   A transceiver for transmitting and receiving a radio signal; And

   A processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor includes:

   It is implemented to perform an omni-directional channel clear assessment (CCA) procedure for determining the state of the wireless medium in an omnidirectional manner,

   If the omnidirectional level obtained according to the omni-directional CCA procedure is lower than a preset first threshold level, the second threshold level is implemented to compare the input level with the second threshold level. Preset below the first threshold level,

   If the input level is higher than the second threshold level according to the comparison, a plurality of directional CCA procedures for the plurality of directional antenna modules are performed to determine a state of the plurality of wireless channels associated with the plurality of directional antenna modules. And to perform based on a third threshold level, wherein the third threshold level is preset to be lower than the second threshold level.
10. The method of claim 9,

    The plurality of directional antenna modules include a first directional antenna module to which a first frame for a first receiving terminal is to be transmitted and a second directional antenna module to which a second frame for a second receiving terminal is to be transmitted;

    The first directional antenna module associated with the first receiving terminal via a first wireless channel,

    And the second directional antenna module is associated with the second receiving terminal via a second wireless channel.

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