Information processing system and information processing method

• US 10,728,740 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2018
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamashita, Yoshikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Allen
• Application Number:
  US16/209,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20190110189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 602 Days
• Field of Search: 463 40
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/323 between game devices with different hardware characteristics, e.g. hand-held game devices connectable to game consoles or arcade machines
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/327 using wireless networks, e.g. Wi-Fi® or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/847 Cooperative playing, e.g. requiring coordinated actions from several players to achieve a common goal
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/402 Communication between platforms, i.e. physical link to protocol
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/403 Connection between platform and handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/205 Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

A handheld terminal 200 performs wireless communication with a game apparatus 103 and determines whether the wireless communication with the game apparatus 103 is possible. The game apparatus 103 performs wireless communication with the handheld terminal 200 and determines whether the wireless communication with the handheld terminal 200 is possible. The game apparatus 103 performs a return home determination process, based on the determination about whether the wireless communication is possible, when the wireless communication with the handheld terminal 200 has become, after having become disabled, enabled again.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising a portable device and a further device,

the portable device comprising:

at least one sensor;

a memory;

a processor operatively coupled to the at least one sensor and the memory, the processor configured to;

repeatedly generate information related to human physical activity based on signals repeatedly generated by the at least one sensor;

measure a number of steps based on the generated information; and

store number-of-steps data in the memory based on the measured number of steps, and

a wireless transceiver operatively coupled to the processor, the wireless transceiver transmitting the number-of-steps data to the further device when wireless communication with the further device becomes enabled, and

the further device comprising;

a data storage memory;

a further processor operatively coupled to the data storage memory; and

a further wireless transceiver operatively coupled to the further processor,

wherein the further processor is configured to perform predetermined information processing when the number of steps indicated by the number-of-steps data exceeds a threshold value.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the further processor at least performs a process, as the predetermined information processing, for announcing to a user that after having gone out of a wireless communication range with the further wireless transceiver, the portable device has become located within the wireless communication range of the further wireless transceiver again.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

based on a determination by the processor, when the wireless communication with the further device has become, after having become disabled, enabled again, the wireless transceiver transmits the number-of-steps data to the further device, and

the further processor performs the predetermined information processing when the number of steps indicated by the number-of-steps data satisfies the threshold value.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein

the processor is further configured to reset the number-of-steps data stored in the memory, after the transmission of the number-of-steps data by the wireless transceiver has been completed.

5. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein

the portable device further comprises an acceleration sensor, and is configured to detect the number of steps based on an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor.

6. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the further processor measures an elapsed time since the wireless communication with the portable device has become disabled, and performs the predetermined information processing when an elapsed time at a time when the wireless communication with the portable device has become enabled again satisfies a predetermined criterion.

7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein

the further processor performs the predetermined information processing when the elapsed time is greater than a value of the predetermined criterion.

8. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the wireless transceiver further performs communication with another apparatus while the communication with the further device is not being performed, and

the portable device is configured to store other apparatus data obtained through the communication with the other apparatus, and

the wireless transceiver further transmits the other apparatus data to the further device.

9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein

the other apparatus includes a wireless access point set at a predetermined location,

the other apparatus data is location information regarding the location at which the access point is set, and

the further processor performs the predetermined information processing when the location information satisfies a predetermined criterion.

10. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein

the other apparatus is another portable device,

the other apparatus data is information processing data obtained from the other portable device, and

the further processor performs the predetermined information processing based on the information processing data.

11. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the further device and the portable device are a stationary game apparatus and a handheld game apparatus, respectively, which each perform game processing.

12. The information processing system according to claim 11, wherein

the stationary game apparatus is configured to:

connect to an external network;

obtain game data via the external network; and

store the obtained game data, and

the further processor configured to transmit the game data via the further wireless transceiver to the handheld game apparatus.

13. An information processing method comprising:

repeatedly generating, using a processor of a portable device, information related to human physical activity based on signals repeatedly generated by at least one sensor communicatively connected to the processor;

measuring, using the processor, a number of steps based on the generated information;

storing, in a memory of the portable device, number-of-steps data based on the measured number of steps; and

transmitting, using a wireless transceiver controlled by the processor, the number-of-steps data to a further device when wireless communication with the further device becomes enabled,

wherein the further device is configured to perform predetermined information processing when the number of steps indicated by the number-of-steps data exceeds a threshold value.

14. The information processing method according to claim 13, wherein

the further device at least performs a process, as the predetermined information processing, for announcing to a user that after having gone out of a wireless communication range with the further device, the portable device has become located within wireless communication range of the further device again.

15. The information processing method according to claim 13, further comprising:

the portable device transmitting the number-of-steps data to the further device by use of the wireless transceiver, based on a determination that the wireless communication with the further device has become, after having become disabled, enabled again.

16. The information processing method according to claim 15, wherein the further device performs the predetermined information processing when the number of steps indicated by the number-of-steps data is greater than a predetermined number.

17. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising the portable device resetting the stored number-of-steps data after the transmission of the number-of-steps data has been completed.

18. The information processing method according to claim 13, wherein the further device is further configured to measure an elapsed time since the wireless communication with the portable device has become disabled, and perform the predetermined information processing when an elapsed time at a time when the wireless communication with the portable device has become enabled again satisfies a predetermined criterion.

19. The information processing method according to claim 18, wherein the further device is further configured to perform the predetermined information processing when the elapsed time is greater than a value of the predetermined criterion.

20. A non-transitory digital storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a portable device, causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

repeatedly generating information related to human physical activity based on signals repeatedly generated by at least one sensor communicatively connected to the processor;

measuring a number of steps based on the generated information;

storing number-of-steps data based on the measured number of steps; and

transmitting, using a wireless transceiver controlled by the processor, the number-of-steps data to a further device when wireless communication with the further device becomes enabled,

wherein the further device is configured to perform predetermined information processing when the number of steps indicated by the number-of-steps data exceeds a threshold value.