ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR ALLOCATING RESOURCE IN WLAN SYSTEM AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

Various embodiments of the disclosure relate to a device and a method for allocating a resource in a wireless LAN system. An electronic device may include: a memory, a communication circuit, and a processor operatively connected to the memory and the communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a reference signal from an external electronic device via the communication circuit, identify channel gains of multiple subcarriers included in a frequency resource through a channel estimation based on the reference signal, identify, based on the channel gains of the subcarriers, subcarriers in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, configure multiple resource groups each including at least one consecutive subcarrier among the identified subcarriers, and transmit information related to the multiple resource groups to the external electronic device via the communication circuit.

BACKGROUND

Field

The disclosure relates to a device and a method for allocating a resource in a wireless LAN system.

Description of Related Art

Wireless local area network (WLAN) systems may support wireless connection of various electronic devices, such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), or a notebook, using a designated frequency band (e.g., about 2.4 GHz and/or about 5 GHz).

WLAN systems may be installed in a public space such as an airport, a train station, an office, or a department store, as well as a private space such as a house. WLAN systems may support an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission scheme to provide efficient wireless communication to multiple electronic devices in an environment, for example, a public space, in which the electronic devices coexist.

When supporting an OFDMA transmission scheme, a WLAN system may divide an available frequency resource and allocate same to multiple electronic devices. For example, an external electronic device (e.g., an access point (AP)) of the WLAN system may divide an available frequency resource in a unit of resource areas (resource units; RUs), and allocate same to multiple electronic devices. An electronic device may perform wireless communication using consecutive subcarriers included in a resource area allocated by the external electronic device (e.g., AP).

The WLAN system (e.g., Wi-Fi 6 standard) may apply the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to subcarriers included in the resource area. For example, the subcarriers included in the resource area may have different amplitude fluctuations due to fading (e.g., small scale fading) generated in a wireless environment. When the amplitude fluctuations of the subcarriers included in the resource area are relatively large, the WLAN system may configure an MCS of the subcarriers included in the resource area, based on a subcarrier having the smallest amplitude.

When the WLAN system configures an MCS of the subcarriers included in the resource area, based on a subcarrier having the smallest amplitude in the resource area, the transmission performance of an electronic device to which the corresponding resource area has been allocated may degrade.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a device and a method for allocating a resource in a WLAN system.

According to various example embodiments, an electronic device may include: a memory, a communication circuit, and a processor operatively connected to the memory and the communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a reference signal from an external electronic device via the communication circuit, identify channel gains of multiple subcarriers included in a frequency resource through a channel estimation based on the reference signal, identify, based on the channel gains of the subcarriers, subcarriers in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, configure multiple resource groups each including at least one consecutive subcarrier among the identified subcarriers, and transmit information related to the multiple resource groups to the external electronic device via the communication circuit.

According to various example embodiments, a method of operating an electronic device may include: receiving a reference signal from an external electronic device via short-range wireless communication, identifying channel gains of multiple subcarriers included in a frequency resource through a channel estimation based on the reference signal, identifying, based on the channel gains of the subcarriers, subcarriers in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, configuring multiple resource groups each including at least one consecutive subcarrier among the identified subcarriers, and transmitting information related to the multiple resource groups to the external electronic device.

According to various example embodiments, an electronic device may include: a memory, a communication circuit, and a processor operatively connected to the memory and the communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit a reference signal via the communication circuit, receive information related to fading from multiple external electronic devices, based on the reference signal, select an external electronic device to which a wireless resource is to be allocated among the multiple external electronic devices, and allocate a wireless resource to the external electronic device, based on the information related to fading, received from the external electronic device.

According to various example embodiments of the disclosure, an external electronic device (e.g., a transmission node or an access point (AP)) of a WLAN system allocates consecutive or non-consecutive subcarriers to an electronic device, based on information related to fading of the electronic device, so that degradation of the transmission performance of the electronic device can be reduced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various example embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to attached drawings.

FIG.2is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a WLAN system200according to various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the WLAN system200may be a communication system which provides short-range wireless communication using a designated frequency band, and may also be called Wi-Fi.

According to various embodiments referring toFIG.2, the WLAN system200may include an electronic device210and/or an external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the electronic device210may perform wireless communication with the external electronic device220using short-range wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the external electronic device220may function to a base station which provides wireless communication to at least one electronic device210positioned within a communication radius of the WLAN system200. For example, the external electronic device220may include an access point (AP).

According to various embodiments, the electronic device210may include a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry)212, a communication circuit214, and/or a memory216. According to an embodiment, the processor212may be substantially identical or similar to the processor120inFIG.1, or may be included in the processor120. The communication circuit214may be substantially identical or similar to the wireless communication module192inFIG.1, or may be included in the wireless communication module192. The memory216may be substantially identical or similar to the memory130inFIG.1, or may be included in the memory130.

According to various embodiments, the processor212may include various processing circuitry and control the wireless communication circuit214and/or the memory216operatively connected thereto.

According to various embodiments, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to establish communication with the external electronic device220through short-range wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to periodically, through short-range wireless communication, identify whether the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210exists. When the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210is discovered, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to establish a communication link with the external electronic device220. For example, when the communication circuit214supporting short-range wireless communication is active, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to periodically, through short-range wireless communication, identify whether the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210exists. According to an embodiment, when occurrence of an event related to connection of short-range wireless communication is sensed based on a user input and/or control information of an application program, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to identify, through short-range wireless communication, whether the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210exists. When the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210is discovered, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to establish a communication link with the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, when the communication circuit214supporting short-range wireless communication is inactive, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to activate the communication circuit214, based on occurrence of an event related to connection of short-range wireless communication. The processor212may identify, via the activated communication circuit214, whether the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210exists. For example, the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210may include the external electronic device220for which the strength (e.g., received signal strength) of a signal received by the electronic device210exceeds a designated reference strength.

According to various embodiments, the processor212may identify state information related to fading of a subcarrier, based on a reference signal (RS) received from the external electronic device220. For example, the state information related to fading may include a channel gain of a subcarrier caused by constructive interference or destructive interference generated by small scale fading. According to an embodiment, the processor212may periodically perform an OFDM demodulation (e.g., fast Fourier transform (FFT) calculation) of a reference signal received from the external electronic device220, to perform a channel estimation. The processor212may obtain a channel gain of each of subcarriers included in an available frequency resource (e.g., about 160 MHz) of the WLAN system200, based on a channel estimation result. For example, the channel gain may indicate the magnitude of a signal in a subcarrier. According to an embodiment, the reference signal may include a signal related to channel sounding. For example, the external electronic device220may periodically transmit a signal related to channel sounding for channel estimation. For example, the signal related to channel sounding may include a null data packet (NDP) including a long training field (LTF). According to an embodiment, the reference signal may include a signal (or frame) related to a probe request and/or a probe response, or a signal (or frame) related to an association request and/or an association response. For example, the reference signal may include a signal for configuration of a communication link by the external electronic device220and the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area, based on a channel gain of a subcarrier identified based on a reference signal. For example, the preferred resource area may indicate a resource group including at least one consecutive subcarrier (or resource area) in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, among subcarriers (or resource areas) included in an available frequency resource. According to an embodiment, the processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in at least one subcarrier, the channel gain of which satisfies a designated first condition, among subcarriers included in an available frequency resource. The processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area, based on at least one subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred. For example, the processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area for each of at least one consecutive subcarrier among at least one subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred. For example, a state of satisfying the designated first condition may include a state where the channel gain of a subcarrier exceeds a first reference gain. For example, the first reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to determine whether constructive interference has occurred in a subcarrier.

According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure at least one reference subcarrier, based on subcarriers having local peaks in an available frequency resource. The processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in at least one subcarrier having a channel gain difference from at least one reference subcarrier, the difference being included within a reference range. The processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area, based on at least one subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred. For example, the reference subcarrier may include subcarriers having local peaks. For example, the reference subcarrier may include at least one subcarrier having a channel gain exceeding a second reference gain among subcarriers having local peaks. For example, the reference subcarrier may include a reference number of subcarriers sequentially from a subcarrier having the largest channel gain, based on the channel gains of subcarriers having local peaks. For example, the local peak may include peak values at which a channel gain fluctuation (or change rate) is reversed in an available frequency resource. For example, the second reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to select a reference subcarrier. For example, the second reference gain may include a channel gain greater than the first reference gain.

According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure (or select), as a preferred resource area, at least one resource area among multiple resource areas included in an available frequency resource. For example, a resource area (e.g., resource unit (RU)) may indicate a basic unit for resource allocation in the WLAN system200. According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure (or select), as a preferred resource area, at least one resource area in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, based on the channel gain of at least one subcarrier included in each resource area. For example, the processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in a resource area including subcarriers, the channel gain average of which satisfies a designated second condition. For example, a state of satisfying the designated second condition may include a state where the average of the channel gains of subcarriers exceeds a third reference gain. For example, the third reference gain may be a channel gain configured or defined to determine whether constructive interference has occurred in a resource area, and may be identical to or different from the first reference gain. For example, the average of channel gains may include the average of channel gains of all subcarriers included in a resource area. For example, the average of channel gains may include the average of channel gains exceeding a fourth reference gain among channel gains of subcarriers included in a resource area. As another example, the average of channel gains may include the average of the channel gains of a reference number of subcarriers sequentially from a subcarrier having the largest channel gain, based on the channel gains of subcarriers included in a resource area. For example, the fourth reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to select at least one subcarrier to be used to calculate the average of channel gains. For example, the fourth reference gain may include a channel gain identical to or smaller than the third reference gain.

According to various embodiments, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to transmit information related to at least one preferred resource area to the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to transmit information related to a preferred resource area to the external electronic device220periodically or when the occurrence of an event related to a request of the preferred resource area is sensed. For example, the event related to the request of the preferred resource area may be generated by a request of the external electronic device220and/or an application program executed in the electronic device210. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may include an index of at least one subcarrier included in the preferred resource area, or an index of at least one resource area selected as the preferred resource area. For example, the index of at least one subcarrier included in a preferred resource area may include an index of the start subcarrier and an index of the last subcarrier among at least one subcarrier included in the preferred resource area. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may include, in a case where multiple preferred resource areas area configured, an index of at least one subcarrier included in each of the preferred resource areas, or an index of at least one resource area selected as each of the preferred resource areas. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may be included in a beamforming report (e.g., a compressed beamforming report in Wi-Fi 6 standard) transmitted to the external electronic device220, a signal field (SIG) (e.g., extreme high throughput (EHT)-SIG in Wi-Fi 6 standard) of a physical (PHY) header, or a media access control (MAC) header.

According to various embodiments, the processor212may be allocated a resource for wireless communication by the external electronic device220, based on information related to a preferred resource area. The processor212may control the communication circuit214to transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data with the external electronic device220, based on a resource (e.g., a frequency resource) allocated by the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the resource allocated by the external electronic device220may include a resource for transmission of, by the electronic device210, a signal and/or data to the external electronic device220, and a resource for reception of, by the electronic device210, a signal and/or data from the external electronic device220. For example, the resource for transmission of, by the electronic device210, a signal and/or data to the external electronic device220may be allocated by the external electronic device220, based on the signal and/or the data to be transmitted by the electronic device210to the external electronic device220. For example, the resource for reception of, by the electronic device210, a signal and/or data from the external electronic device220may be allocated by the external electronic device210, based on the signal and/or the data to be transmitted by the external electronic device220to the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the communication circuit214may transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data with an external device (e.g., the external electronic device220) through short-range wireless communication (e.g., wireless fidelity (WiFi)). According to an embodiment, the communication circuit214may perform a network search for identification of whether the external electronic device220accessible by the electronic device210exists. The communication circuit214may establish a communication link with the external electronic device220discovered through a network search, based on a control of the processor212. According to an embodiment, the communication circuit214may support short-range wireless communication based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission scheme. For example, the communication circuit214may include a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) and a radio frequency front end (RFFE) for communication with an external electronic device.

According to various embodiments, the memory216may store various data used by at least one element (e.g., the processor212or the communication circuit214) of the electronic device210. According to an embodiment, the memory216may store various instructions executable via the processor212. According to an embodiment, the data may include information relating to a resource (e.g., a frequency resource) allocated by the external electronic device220.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device220may include a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry)222, a communication circuit224, and/or a memory226. According to an embodiment, the processor222may be substantially identical or similar to the processor120inFIG.1, or may be included in the processor120. The communication circuit224may be substantially identical or similar to the wireless communication module192inFIG.1, or may be included in the wireless communication module192. The memory226may be substantially identical or similar to the memory130inFIG.1, or may be included in the memory130.

According to various embodiments, the processor222may include various processing circuitry and control the wireless communication circuit224and/or the memory226operatively connected thereto.

According to various embodiments, the processor222may control the communication circuit224to establish communication with the electronic device210through short-range wireless communication. According to an embodiment, when a connection request message is received via the communication circuit224, the processor222may control the communication circuit224to establish a communication link with the electronic device210having transmitted the connection request message.

According to various embodiments, the processor222may control the communication circuit224to periodically transmit a reference signal (RS). According to an embodiment, the processor222may control the communication circuit224to periodically transmit a reference signal to at least one electronic device210positioned within a communication radius of the external electronic device220. For example, the communication circuit224may transmit a reference signal through a communication link with the electronic device210. For example, the reference signal may include a signal for configuration of a communication link with the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the processor222may allocate a resource to at least one electronic device210. According to an embodiment, when the occurrence of an event related to resource allocation is sensed, the processor222may allocate wireless resources (e.g., time and/or frequency resources) to the electronic devices210sequentially from the electronic device210having a high resource allocation priority. For example, the resource allocation priority of the electronic device210may be configured based on a resource allocation request time point, a resource allocation time point, and a buffer status report (BSR) and/or a buffer status report poll (BSRP) of the electronic device210. For example, when it is determined that resources are required to be allocated to multiple devices (e.g., the electronic devices210), the processor222may control the communication circuit224to transmit BSRPs to the multiple devices to determine resource allocation priorities. The processor222may receive BSRs from the multiple devices in response to the BRSPs, and determine resource allocation priorities. For example, the BSR may include information related to the amount of packets included in the memory216(e.g., queue) of the electronic device210. For example, the event related to resource allocation may be generated when a signal and/or data to be transmitted to a particular electronic device from the external electronic device220is generated, or when a resource allocation request message is received from a particular electronic device.

According to an embodiment, the processor222may allocate a wireless resource to the electronic device210, based on information related to a preferred resource area of the electronic device210selected for resource allocation. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area of the electronic device210may be received based on a periodically transmitted reference signal. For example, the processor222may allocate at least one subcarrier included in a preferred resource area of the electronic device210to the electronic device210, based on a service quality (e.g., quality of service (QoS)) required in the electronic device210selected for resource allocation. For example, a size (e.g., the number of subcarriers) of a resource allocated to the electronic device210may be configured based on at least one of a service quality required in the electronic device210, an amount of a signal and/or data to be transmitted by the external electronic device220to the electronic device210, and/or an amount of a resource required in the electronic device210. For example, the amount of a resource required in the electronic device210may be obtained based on the BSR and/or BSRP of the electronic device210.

According to an embodiment, the processor222may allocate resources to multiple electronic devices, based on information related to preferred resource areas of the multiple electronic devices. For example, the processor220may allocate a resource to each electronic device, based on information related to a preferred resource area, received from each electronic device. For example, the processor222may, based on at least one of a service quality (e.g., QoS) of each of multiple electronic devices, an amount of a signal and/or data to be transmitted to each of the multiple electronic devices, and/or an amount of a resource required in each of the multiple electronic devices, allocate at least one subcarrier included in a preferred resource area of each electronic device to each electronic device.

According to various embodiments, the processor222may control the communication circuit224to transmit resource allocation information for the electronic device210to the electronic device210. The processor222may control the communication circuit224to transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data with the electronic device210, based on a wireless resource allocated to the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the communication circuit224may transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device210) through short-range wireless communication (e.g., WiFi). According to an embodiment, the communication circuit224may support short-range wireless communication based on an OFDMA transmission scheme. For example, the communication circuit224may include an RFIC and an RFFE for communication with an external electronic device.

According to various embodiments, the memory226may store various data used by at least one element (e.g., the processor222or the communication circuit224) of the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the memory226may store various instructions executable via the processor222. According to an embodiment, the data may include information relating to resources (e.g., frequency resources) allocated to multiple electronic devices.

According to various example embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device101inFIG.1or the electronic device210inFIG.2) may include: a memory (e.g., the memory130inFIG.1or the memory216inFIG.2), a communication circuit (e.g., the wireless communication module192inFIG.1or the communication circuit214inFIG.2), and a processor (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor212inFIG.2) operatively connected to the memory and the communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a reference signal from an external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device220inFIG.2) via the communication circuit, identify channel gains of multiple subcarriers included in a frequency resource through a channel estimation based on the reference signal, identify, based on the channel gains of the subcarriers, subcarriers in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, configure multiple resource groups (e.g., the preferred resource areas710and720inFIG.7B) for at least one consecutive subcarrier among the identified subcarriers, and transmit information related to the multiple resource groups to the external electronic device via the communication circuit.

According to various example embodiments, the multiple resource groups may include at least one subcarrier which is not consecutive to at least one subcarrier included in a different resource group.

According to various example embodiments, the information related to the multiple resource groups may include an index of a subcarrier at a start point among at least one subcarrier included in each resource group, and an index of a subcarrier at a last point.

According to various example embodiments, the processor may be configured to determine that the constructive interference has occurred in the subcarriers, the channel gains of which satisfy a designated first condition, among the multiple subcarriers.

According to various example embodiments, the processor may be configured to: identify subcarriers having local peaks among the multiple subcarriers, and detect, based on channel gains of the subcarriers having the local peaks, the subcarriers in which the constructive interference is determined to have occurred.

According to various example embodiments, the processor may be configured to: identify multiple resource areas configured in the frequency resource, and select, based on channel gains of subcarriers included in the resource areas, resource areas in which the constructive interference is determined to have occurred.

According to various example embodiments, the communication circuit may be configured to support short-range wireless communication based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission scheme.

According to various example embodiments, information related to the at least one subcarrier may be included in a beamforming report, a signal field (SIG) of a physical (PHY) header, or a media access control (MAC) header.

According to various example embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device101inFIG.1or the external electronic device220inFIG.2) may include: a memory (e.g., the memory130inFIG.1or the memory226inFIG.2), a communication circuit (e.g., the wireless communication module192inFIG.1or the communication circuit224inFIG.2), and a processor (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor222inFIG.2) operatively connected to the memory and the communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit a reference signal via the communication circuit, receive information related to fading from multiple external electronic devices (e.g., the electronic device210inFIG.2), based on the reference signal, select an electronic device to which a wireless resource is to be allocated among the multiple external electronic devices, and allocate a wireless resource to the external electronic device, based on the information related to fading received from the external electronic device.

According to various example embodiments, the information related to fading may include information related to multiple resource groups including at least one subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred in a frequency resource by the external electronic device, each of the multiple resource groups may include at least one consecutive subcarrier in which the constructive interference is determined to have occurred by the external electronic device, and the multiple resource groups may include at least one subcarrier which is not consecutive to at least one subcarrier included in a different resource group.

According to various example embodiments, the information related to fading may include an index of a subcarrier at a start point among at least one subcarrier included in each resource group, and an index of a subcarrier at a last point.

According to various example embodiments, the communication circuit may be configured to support short-range wireless communication based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission scheme.

FIG.3is a flowchart300illustrating example transmission of information related to a preferred resource area by an electronic device according to various embodiments. In an example below, operations may be sequentially performed, but the operations are not required to be necessarily sequentially performed. For example, the sequences of operations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performed in parallel. For example, an electronic device inFIG.3may be the electronic device101inFIG.1or the electronic device210inFIG.2. For example, at least a part ofFIG.3may refer toFIG.4,FIG.5A, orFIG.5B.FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example of a WLAN system in which fading occurs according to various embodiments.FIG.5AandFIG.5Bare graphs illustrating example amplitude fluctuations caused by fading in a WLAN system according to various embodiments.

According to various embodiments referring toFIG.3, an electronic device (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor212inFIG.2) may, in operation301, receive a reference signal from the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to establish a communication link with the external electronic device220through short-range wireless communication. The processor212may receive a reference signal through a communication link established with the external electronic device220. For example, the reference signal may include a signal related to channel sounding. For example, the signal related to channel sounding may include a null data packet (NDP) including a long training field (LTF). For example, the reference signal may include a signal (or frame) related to a probe request and/or a probe response, or a signal (or frame) related to an association request and/or an association response.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation303, collect information related to fading of a subcarrier, based on the reference signal received from the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the electronic device210may, as illustrated inFIG.4, receive overlapped signals (e.g., signals412and422) through multiple paths (e.g., paths410and420) from a signal400transmitted by the external electronic device220, according to reflection, diffraction, and/or scattering of, by an object such as a building, the signal400transmitted by the external electronic device220. In relation to a signal received by the electronic device210, signals having different phases (e.g., θ1or θ2) overlap with each other through different paths (e.g., paths410or420), and thus, based on the phase difference between the signals, constructive interference in which the amplitude of the signal increases may occur, or destructive interference in which the amplitude of the signal decreases may occur. For example, destructive interference may occur when signals received through multiple paths (e.g., paths410and420) have opposite phases (e.g., the difference of about 180°). According to an embodiment, in relation to a signal received by the electronic device210, as illustrated inFIG.5A, based on the distance from the external electronic device220, large scale fading500in which the amplitude of the reception signal decreases, and small scale fading510in which the amplitude of the reception signal changes due to multiple paths may occur. For example, small scale fading may include a state where the amplitude fluctuation of a signal occurs due to constructive interference or destructive interference caused by multiple paths (e.g., paths410and420) as illustrated inFIG.4.

According to an embodiment, the processor212may detect a channel gain of a subcarrier through a channel estimation based on a reference signal received from the external electronic device220. The processor212may detect at least one subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, based on the channel gain of a subcarrier in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200. For example, the processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in at least one subcarrier, the channel gain of which satisfies a designated first condition, among subcarriers included in an available frequency resource. For example, a state of satisfying the designated first condition may include a state where the channel gain of a subcarrier exceeds a first reference gain. For example, the first reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to determine whether constructive interference has occurred in a subcarrier.

For example, the processor212may configure at least one reference subcarrier, based on subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523illustrated inFIG.5B) having local peaks in an available frequency resource. The processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in at least one subcarrier having a channel gain difference from a reference subcarrier, the difference being included within a reference range. For example, the reference subcarrier may include subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523) having local peaks. As another example, the reference subcarrier may include at least one subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers520,521, and522) having a channel gain exceeding a second reference gain among subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523) having local peaks. As another example, the reference subcarrier may include a reference number of subcarriers sequentially from a subcarrier having the largest channel gain, based on the channel gains of subcarriers having local peaks. For example, the second reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to select a reference subcarrier. For example, the second reference gain may include a channel gain greater than the first reference gain.

For example, the processor212may detect at least one resource area in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, based on the channel gains of subcarriers included in each of multiple resource areas included in an available frequency resource.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation305, configure at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210, based on small scale fading information of a subcarrier. According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area, based on at least one subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred. For example, the preferred resource area may include at least one consecutive subcarrier (or resource area) in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, among subcarriers (or resource areas) included in an available frequency resource. For example, the processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area for each of at least one consecutive subcarrier (or resource area) among at least one subcarrier (or resource area) in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation307, transmit information related to at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210to the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to transmit information related to at least one preferred resource area to the external electronic device220. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may include, as shown in Table 1, an index of at least one subcarrier included in the preferred resource area (e.g., a resource group), or an index of at least one resource area.

TABLE 1SNR in stream 1 for preferred RU 1:SNR, sub-carrier staring and end indicesSNR in stream 1 for preferred RU 2:SNR, sub-carrier staring and end indicesSNR in stream 1 for preferred RU 3:SNR, sub-carrier staring and end indices. . .

For example, the index of a subcarrier included in a preferred resource area may include, as shown in Table 1, an index of the start subcarrier and an index of the last subcarrier among at least one subcarrier included in the preferred resource area. According to an embodiment, the processor212may transmit, to the external electronic device220, an index of the start subcarrier and an index of the last subcarrier among subcarriers included in each of a first preferred resource area (e.g., preferred RU1), a second preferred resource area (e.g., preferred RU2), and a third preferred resource area (e.g., preferred RU3), as shown in Table 1.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device210may transmit, to the external electronic device220, information related to at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210in addition to a channel quality indication (CQI) and channel status information (CSI) in response to a reference signal (e.g., a signal related to channel sounding). For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may be included in a beamforming report transmitted to the external electronic device220, a signal field (SIG) of a physical (PHY) header, or a media access control (MAC) header.

For example, when information related to a preferred resource area is transmitted through a beamforming report, the electronic device210may transmit, to the external electronic device220, information on an average signal to noise ratio (SNR) of all resource areas (RUs) for a spatial stream, and information related to each preferred resource area. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may include an index of the start subcarrier of the preferred resource area, an index of the last subcarrier, and SNR information.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device210may transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data with the external electronic device220, based on wireless communication allocated by the external electronic device220, based on information related to a preferred resource area.

FIG.6is a flowchart600illustrating an example operation of configuring a preferred resource area by an electronic device according to various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the operations inFIG.6described below may be detailed sub-operations of operations303to305inFIG.3. In an embodiment below, operations may be sequentially performed, but the operations are not required to be necessarily sequentially performed. For example, the sequences of operations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performed in parallel. For example, an electronic device inFIG.6may be the electronic device101inFIG.1or the electronic device210inFIG.2. For example, at least a part ofFIG.6may refer toFIG.7AorFIG.7B.FIG.7AandFIG.7Bare examples of a preferred resource area configured by an electronic device according to various embodiments.

According to various embodiments referring toFIG.6, when a reference signal is received from the external electronic device220with which a communication link is established (e.g., operation301inFIG.3), an electronic device (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor212inFIG.2) may, in operation601, identify a channel gain of each of subcarriers included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200, based on the reference signal received from the external electronic device220. According to an embodiment, the processor212may perform an OFDM demodulation (e.g., FFT calculation) of a reference signal received from the external electronic device220, and perform a channel estimation. The processor212may identify a channel gain of each of subcarriers included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200, based on a channel estimation result. For example, the processor212may recognize a wireless resource (e.g., a frequency resource and/or time resource) on which the external electronic device220transmits a reference signal, based on control information received from the external electronic device220with which a communication link is established. The processor212may receive a reference signal from the external electronic device220, based on a wireless resource on which the external electronic device220transmits the reference signal. For example, the reference signal may include a signal related to channel sounding.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation603, detect at least one subcarrier determined to be in a constructive interference state, based on the channel gain of each subcarrier. According to an embodiment, the processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in at least one subcarrier, the channel gain of which satisfies a designated first condition, among subcarriers included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200. For example, a state of satisfying the designated first condition may include a state where the channel gain of a subcarrier exceeds a first reference gain. For example, the first reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to determine whether constructive interference has occurred in a subcarrier.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation605, configure at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210, based on the at least one subcarrier determined to be in a constructive interference state. According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure, as a first preferred resource area700of the electronic device210, at least one consecutive subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, as shown inFIG.7A. According to an embodiment, as shown inFIG.7B, the processor212may configure, as a second preferred resource area710, at least one consecutive subcarrier in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, and configure, as a third preferred resource area720, at least another consecutive subcarrier. For example, at least one subcarrier included in the second preferred resource area710and at least one subcarrier included in the third preferred resource area720may be discontinuous.

FIG.8is a flowchart illustrating an example operation of configuring a preferred resource area by an electronic device according to various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the operations inFIG.8described below may be detailed sub-operations of operation305inFIG.3. In an embodiment below, operations may be sequentially performed, but the operations are not required to be necessarily sequentially performed. For example, the sequences of operations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performed in parallel. For example, an electronic device inFIG.8may be the electronic device101inFIG.1or the electronic device210inFIG.2.

According to various embodiments referring toFIG.8, when a channel gain of each of subcarriers is identified based on a reference signal received from the external electronic device220with which a communication link is established (e.g., operation303inFIG.3), an electronic device (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor212inFIG.2) may, in operation801, configure at least one reference subcarrier, based on the channel gain of each of subcarriers included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200. For example, the at least one reference subcarrier may include subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523illustrated inFIG.5B) having local peaks in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200. For example, the at least one reference subcarrier may include at least one subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers520,521, and522) having a channel gain exceeding a second reference gain among subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523) having local peaks. For example, the second reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to select a reference subcarrier. For example, the at least one reference subcarrier may include a reference number of subcarriers sequentially from a subcarrier having the largest channel gain, based on the channel gains of subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523) having local peaks.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation803, identify at least one subcarrier satisfying a designated condition, based on the reference subcarrier. According to an embodiment, the processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in at least one consecutive subcarrier having a channel gain difference from the reference subcarrier, the difference being included within a reference range, among subcarriers included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation805, configure at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210, based on the at least one subcarrier determined to be in a constructive interference state. According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area including the reference subcarrier, and at least one subcarrier satisfying a designated condition, based on the reference subcarrier.

According to various embodiments, when there is no subcarrier having a channel gain exceeding a second reference gain among subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523) having local peaks, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may determine that the preferred resource area of the electronic device210does not exist. According to an embodiment, when it is determined that the preferred resource area of the electronic device210does not exist, the processor212may control the communication circuit214to transmit non-existence of the preferred resource area to the external electronic device220.

According to various embodiments, when there is no subcarrier having a channel gain exceeding a second reference gain among subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers520,521,522, and/or523) having local peaks, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may select a reference subcarrier in a different selection scheme. For example, the different selection scheme may include a scheme of selecting subcarriers having local peaks as reference subcarriers and/or a scheme of selecting a reference number of subcarriers, based on the channel gains of subcarriers having local peaks.

FIG.9Ais a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of configuring a preferred resource area by an electronic device according to various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the operations inFIG.9described below may be detailed sub-operations of operations303to305inFIG.3. In an embodiment below, operations may be sequentially performed, but the operations are not required to be necessarily sequentially performed. For example, the sequences of operations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performed in parallel. For example, an electronic device inFIG.9Amay be the electronic device101inFIG.1or the electronic device210inFIG.2. For example, at least a part ofFIG.9Amay refer toFIG.9Band/orFIG.9C.FIG.9Bis a diagram illustrating an example time-frequency resource structure in a WLAN system according to various embodiments.FIG.9Cis a diagram illustrating an example of a preferred resource area configured by an electronic device according to various embodiments.

According to various embodiments referring toFIG.9A, when a reference signal is received from the external electronic device220with which a communication link is established (e.g., operation301inFIG.3), an electronic device (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor212inFIG.2) may, in operation901, identify a channel gain of each of resource areas included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200. According to an embodiment, the WLAN system200may transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data using a time-frequency wireless resource910as shown inFIG.9B, based on an OFDMA scheme. For example, the transverse axis of the wireless resource910may indicate a time resource (e.g., OFDM symbol), and the longitudinal axis may indicate a frequency resource (e.g., a subcarrier). For example, a resource area920corresponds to a basic structure for resource allocation in a time-frequency resource structure, and may include at least one OFDM symbol and at least one subcarrier.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation903, detect at least one resource area which is in a constructive interference state among the resource areas included in the available frequency resource. According to an embodiment, the processor212may determine that constructive interference has occurred in a resource area having subcarriers, the average channel gain of which satisfies a designated second condition, among resource areas included in an available frequency resource of the WLAN system200. For example, a state of satisfying the designated second condition may include a state where the average of the channel gains of subcarriers exceeds a third reference gain. For example, the average of channel gains may include the average of channel gains of all subcarriers included in a resource area. For example, the average of channel gains may include the average of channel gains exceeding a fourth reference gain among channel gains of subcarriers included in a resource area. As another example, the average of channel gains may include the average of the channel gains of a reference number of subcarriers sequentially from a subcarrier having the largest channel gain, based on the channel gains of subcarriers included in a resource area. For example, the third reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to determine whether constructive interference has occurred in a resource area. For example, the fourth reference gain may include a channel gain configured or defined to select at least one subcarrier to be used to calculate the average of channel gains. For example, the fourth reference gain may include a channel gain identical to or smaller than the third reference gain.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the processor120or212) may, in operation905, configure at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210, based on the at least one resource area determined to be in a constructive interference state. According to an embodiment, the processor212may configure at least one preferred resource area, based on continuity of at least one resource area determined to be in a constructive interference state. For example, as shown inFIG.9C, the processor212may configure, as a first preferred resource area930, at least one consecutive resource area in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, and configure, as a second preferred resource area940, at least another consecutive resource area.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device210may transmit, to the external electronic device210, information related to at least one preferred resource area configured based on at least one resource area determined to be in a constructive interference state. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may include, as shown in Table 2, an index of at least one resource area included in the in the preferred resource area.

TABLE 2SNR in stream 1 for preferred RU 1:SNR, resource unit staring and end indicesSNR in stream 1 for preferred RU 2:SNR, resource unit staring and end indices. . .

For example, the index of a resource area included in a preferred resource area may include, as shown in Table 2, an index of the start resource area and an index of the last resource area among at least one resource area included in the preferred resource area. According to an embodiment, the processor212may transmit, to the external electronic device220, an index of the start resource area and an index of the last resource area among resource areas included in each of a first preferred resource area (e.g., preferred RU1) (e.g., the first preferred resource area930inFIG.9C) and a second preferred resource area (e.g., preferred RU2) (e.g., the second preferred resource area940inFIG.9C), as shown in Table 2.

FIG.10is a flowchart illustrating example allocation of resources by an external electronic device according to various embodiments. In an embodiment below, operations may be sequentially performed, but the operations are not required to be necessarily sequentially performed. For example, the sequences of operations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performed in parallel. For example, an external electronic device inFIG.10may be the electronic device101inFIG.1or the external electronic device220inFIG.2. For example, at least a part ofFIG.10may refer toFIG.11.FIG.11is a diagram illustrating an example of resources allocated to electronic devices by an external electronic device according to various embodiments.

According to various embodiments referring toFIG.10, an external electronic device (e.g., the processor120inFIG.1or the processor222inFIG.2) may, in operation1001, transmit a reference signal to the electronic device210. According to an embodiment, the processor222may control the communication circuit224to establish a communication link with the electronic device210positioned within a communication radius through short-range wireless communication. The processor222may control the communication circuit224to transmit a reference signal through a communication link established with electronic device210. For example, the reference signal may include a signal related to channel sounding. For example, the signal related to channel sounding may include a null data packet (NDP) including a long training field (LTF). For example, the reference signal may include a signal (or frame) related to a probe request and/or a probe response, or a signal (or frame) related to an association request and/or an association response. For example, the reference signal may include a signal for configuration of a communication link by the external electronic device220and the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device (e.g., the processor120or222) may, in operation1003, select the electronic device210for resource allocation. According to an embodiment, when the occurrence of an event related to resource allocation is sensed, the processor222may select the electronic device210for resource allocation, based on resource allocation priorities of electronic devices having communication links configured with the external electronic device220. For example, the resource allocation priority of the electronic device210may be configured based on a resource allocation request time point, a resource allocation time point, and a BSR and/or a BSRP of the electronic device210. For example, the BSR may include information related to the amount of packets included in the memory216(e.g., queue) of the electronic device210. For example, the event related to resource allocation may be generated when a signal and/or data to be transmitted to a particular electronic device from the external electronic device220is generated, or when a resource allocation request message is received from a particular electronic device.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device (e.g., the processor120or222) may, in operation1005, identify a preferred resource area of the electronic device210for resource allocation. According to an embodiment, the preferred resource area of the electronic device210may be identified from information related to a preferred resource area of the electronic device210, which is received from the electronic device210by the external electronic device220. For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may include an index of a resource area or an index of a subcarrier configured as a preferred resource area of the electronic device210. For example, the index of a subcarrier configured as a preferred resource area may include the index of the start subcarrier (or start resource area) of consecutive subcarriers (or resource areas) configured as the preferred resource area, and the index of the last subcarrier (or last resource area). For example, the information related to a preferred resource area may be included in a beamforming report received from the electronic device210, a signal field (SIG) of a physical (PHY) header, or a media access control (MAC) header.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device (e.g., the processor120or222) may, in operation1007, allocate a resource for wireless communication with the electronic device210, based on the preferred resource area of the electronic device210. According to an embodiment, the processor222may allocate at least one subcarrier included in a preferred resource area of the electronic device210to the electronic device210, based on a service quality (e.g., QoS) required in the electronic device210selected for resource allocation. According to an embodiment, the processor222may allocate at least one consecutive and/or non-consecutive subcarrier to the electronic device210, based on at least one preferred resource area of the electronic device210. For example, the processor222may allocate at least one non-consecutive subcarrier1100and1110(e.g., multi RU assignment) to electronic device1(e.g., the electronic device210), as illustrated inFIG.11. For example, an amount (e.g., the number of subcarriers) of a resource allocated to the electronic device210may be configured based on at least one of a service quality required in the electronic device210, an amount of a signal and/or data to be transmitted by the external electronic device220to the electronic device210, and/or an amount of a resource required in the electronic device210. For example, the amount of a resource required in the electronic device210may be obtained based on the BSR and/or BSRP of the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device220may perform wireless resource allocation to at least one electronic device until all available frequency resources of the WLAN system200are allocated. According to an embodiment, the processor222may repeatedly perform operation1003to operation1007ofFIG.10until all available frequency resources of the WLAN system200are allocated. For example, the processor222may allocate a wireless resource to the electronic device210selected based on a resource allocation priority. When there is a resource which has not been allocated to an electronic device among available frequency resources of the WLAN system200, the processor222may select, based on a resource allocation priority, an electronic device to which a wireless resource is additionally allocated. The processor222may allocate a wireless resource to the additionally selected electronic device, based on a preferred resource area of the electronic device. For example, the processor222may allocate at least one non-consecutive subcarrier1100and1110to electronic device1(e.g., the electronic device210), and allocate at least one non-consecutive subcarrier1120and1130to electronic device2, as illustrated inFIG.11.

According to various embodiments, when preferred resource areas of multiple electronic devices at least partially overlap with each other, the external electronic device220may allocate an overlapped frequency resource to an electronic device, based on a resource allocation priority and/or channel state information. According to an embodiment, when preferred resource areas of multiple electronic devices at least partially overlap with each other, the processor222may allocate an overlapped frequency resource to an electronic device having a higher resource allocation priority. According to an embodiment, when preferred resource areas of multiple electronic devices at least partially overlap with each other, the processor222may identify channel state information of each of the multiple electronic devices with respect to an overlapped frequency resource. The processor222may allocate the overlapped frequency resource to an electronic device having a relatively good channel state among the multiple electronic devices. For example, the channel state information may include a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and/or a signal to noise ratio (SNR).

According to various embodiments, when a preferred resource area of the electronic device210for wireless resource allocation is not identified, the external electronic device220may allocate a wireless resource to the electronic device210, based on a defined or configured resource allocation scheme. For example, the defined or configured resource allocation scheme may include a resource allocation scheme of sequentially allocating at least one subcarrier, based on the index of the subcarrier. As another example, a pre-defined resource allocation scheme may include a scheme of randomly allocating a resource among available frequency resources of the WLAN system200.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device220may allocate frequency resources (or resource areas) to the electronic device210such that the frequency resources are identical, at least partially overlap with each other, or are different from each other for each time resource (e.g., OFDM symbol).

According to various embodiments, when the size of a resource to be allocated to the electronic device210exceeds the size of a preferred resource area of the electronic device210, the external electronic device220may allocate a resource corresponding to the preferred resource area of the electronic device210to the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, when the size of a resource to be allocated to the electronic device210exceeds the size of a preferred resource area of the electronic device210, the external electronic device220may allocate a resource corresponding to the preferred resource area of the electronic device210and a resource not included in the preferred resource area to the electronic device210.

According to various embodiments, the external electronic device220may transmit resource allocation information for the electronic device210to the electronic device210. The external electronic device220may transmit and/or receive a signal and/or data with the electronic device210, based on a wireless resource allocated to the electronic device210.

According to various example embodiments, a method of operating an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device101inFIG.1or the electronic device210inFIG.2) may include: receiving a reference signal from an external electronic device via short-range wireless communication, identifying channel gains of multiple subcarriers included in a frequency resource through a channel estimation based on the reference signal, identifying, based on the channel gains of the subcarriers, subcarriers in which constructive interference is determined to have occurred, configuring multiple resource groups each including at least one consecutive subcarrier among the identified subcarriers, and transmitting information related to the multiple resource groups to the external electronic device.

According to various example embodiments, the multiple resource groups may include at least one subcarrier which is not consecutive to at least one subcarrier included in a different resource group.

According to various example embodiments, the information related to the multiple resource groups may include an index of a subcarrier at a start point among at least one subcarrier included in each resource group, and an index of a subcarrier at a last point.

According to various example embodiments, the identifying of the at least one subcarrier may include determining that the constructive interference has occurred in the subcarriers, the channel gains of which satisfy a designated first condition, among the multiple subcarriers.

According to various example embodiments, the identifying of the at least one subcarrier may include: identifying subcarriers having local peaks among the multiple subcarriers, and detecting, based on channel gains of the subcarriers having the local peaks, the subcarriers in which the constructive interference is determined to have occurred.

According to various example embodiments, the identifying of the at least one subcarrier may include: identifying multiple resource areas configured in the frequency resource, and selecting, based on channel gains of subcarriers included in the resource areas, resource areas in which the constructive interference is determined to have occurred.

According to various example embodiments, the short-range wireless communication may include short-range wireless communication based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission scheme.

According to various example embodiments, information related to the at least one subcarrier may be included in a beamforming report, a signal field (SIG) of a physical (PHY) header, or a media access control (MAC) header.