Information processing system, information processing unit, control method, program and a recording medium

• US 20060017971A1
• Filed: 07/26/2005
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Matusnaga, Kozo, Itoh, Masaharu, Fujii, Kazuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,453,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An information processing system includes a plurality of information processing units wirelessly communicating with each other, each of which includes a distribution data receiving section for receiving distribution data to be distributed to each of the information processing units from an information processing unit that has received the distribution data among the plurality of information processing units, a destination selection section for selecting an information processing unit that has not received the distribution data as a destination information processing unit for the distribution data from among the plurality of information processing units, and a distribution data sending section for sending the distribution data to the information processing unit selected by the destination selection section using a frequency band that is not used by another information processing unit while the other information processing unit is sending the distribution data to still another information processing unit.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising a plurality of information processing units wirelessly communicating with each another, each of said plurality of information processing units comprising:

a distribution data receiving section for receiving distribution data to be distributed to each of said plurality of information processing units, said distribution data receiving section receiving distribution data from an information processing unit of said plurality of information processing units that has received said distribution data;

a destination selection section for selecting from among said plurality of information processing units an information processing unit that has not received said distribution data as a destination information processing unit for said distribution data; and

a distribution data sending section for sending said distribution data to the information processing unit selected by said destination selection section using a frequency band that is not used by another one of said plurality of information processing units while said another one of said plurality of information processing units is sending said distribution data to still another one of said plurality of information processing unit.

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

in a first information processing unit among said plurality of information processing units, said distribution data receiving section receives said distribution data from one of a source information processing unit that initiates the distribution and from an information processing unit that has received said distribution data from said source information processing unit;

said destination selection section of said first information processing unit selects a second information processing unit that has not received said distribution data and said distribution data sending section of said first information processing unit sends said distribution data to said second information processing unit;

in a third information processing unit among said information processing units, said distribution data receiving section of said third information processing unit receives said distribution data from one of said source information processing unit and from the information processing unit that has received said distribution data from said source information processing unit;

said destination selection section of said third information processing unit selects a fourth information processing unit that has not received said distribution data and said distribution data sending section of said third information processing unit sends said distribution data to said fourth information processing unit using a frequency band that is not used by said first processing unit while said first information processing unit is sending said distribution data to said second information processing unit.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said destination selection section selects from among a plurality of information processing units that have not received said distribution data an information processing unit that communicates with that information processing unit at a highest speed.

4. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises an unused band detection section for detecting a frequency band that is not used by any information processing unit that is located within a range in which a radio wave of wireless communication performed by that information processing unit interferes, and said distribution data sending section sends said distribution data to said information processing unit selected by said destination selection section using the frequency band detected by said unused band detection section.

5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a suspending section for temporarily powering down that information processing unit and switching that information processing unit to a suspend state if said unused band detection section is not able to detect said unused band.

6. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein if said distribution data has already been received, said destination selection section inquires of other ones of said plurality of information processing units whether said distribution data has been received to select an information processing unit from among information processing units responding that said distribution data has not been received, notifies the selected information processing unit that it has selected the information processing unit as a destination, and notifies information processing units that have not been selected as the destination among the responding information processing units that it has not selected the information processing units as the destination;

and said distribution data sending section sends said distribution data to the destination information processing unit selected by said destination selection section and. if said distribution data has not been received, said distribution data receiving section responds that said distribution data has not been received when it receives an inquiry about whether said distribution data has not been received, shifts to a reserved state in which the response indicating that said distribution data has not been received is not made to the same inquiries by the other information processing units as the one made by the information processing unit, begins receiving said distribution data if receiving a notification indicating that the information processing unit has been selected as the destination, and releases said reserved state if receiving a notification indicating that the information processing unit has not been selected as the destination.

7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein said destination selection section sends, to each of the information processing units that have not been selected as the destination among the responding information processing units, information descriptive of a total number of the responding information processing units in association with the notification indicating that the information processing unit has not been selected as the destination, and each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a suspending section for temporarily powering down that information processing unit for a period of time that is related to the total number of the responding information processing units.

8. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a suspending section for temporarily powering down that information processing unit and switching that information processing unit to a suspend state if said destination selection section is not able to detect an information processing unit that has not received said distribution data.

9. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a power down section for powering down that information processing unit without sending said distribution data if said distribution data has already been received, and if the strength of a power source for driving that information processing unit is below an amount required for sending said distribution data.

10. The information processing system according to claim 9, wherein said power down section assumes the strength capable of driving the information processing apparatus for a time required for said distribution data receiving section receiving said distribution data to be the required amount, and powers down the information processing unit if the strength is below the required amount.

11. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein when said distribution data sending section finishes sending said distribution data at a first communication speed, said destination selection section selects a next destination information processing unit to which said distribution data sending section sends said distribution data next after a predetermined waiting time has passed;

and each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a waiting time setting section for setting the waiting time to an amount that is a function a communication speed of the next destination information processing unit.

12. The information processing system according to claim 11, where the waiting time setting section also sets the waiting time as a function of a number of HOPs that indicate a number of times said distribution data received has been transferred sequentially by a plurality of information processing units.

13. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a transfer route acquisition section for acquiring a transfer route along which said distribution data is transferred sequentially by said plurality of information processing units, where a number of HOPs indicates a number of times said distribution data is transferred sequentially by a plurality of information processing units being less than a first predetermined maximum number and with the number of destination information processing units to which each information processing unit sends the distribution data being less than a second predetermined maximum number;

and said destination selection section selects a destination information processing unit to which said distribution data is to be sent based on said transfer route.

14. The information processing system according to claim 13, wherein each of said plurality of information processing units further comprises a used band indicating information acquisition section for acquiring used band indicating information specifying a frequency band to be used by each information processing unit for wireless communication;

and an unused band detection section for detecting, based on said used band indicating information, an unused band that is a frequency band not used by any information processing unit located within a range in which a radio wave of wireless communication performed by that information processing unit interferes.

15. A method for use in an information processing unit that comprises a part of an information processing system that comprises a plurality of information processing units that are wirelessly coupled together, said method comprising:

receiving distribution data to be distributed to each of said plurality of information processing units from one of said plurality of information processing units that has previously received said distribution data;

selecting an information processing unit that has not received said distribution data as a destination information processing unit for said distribution data from among said plurality of information processing units; and

sending said distribution data to the selected destination information processing unit using a wireless frequency band that is not being used by another one of said plurality of information processing units for sending said distribution data to still another one of said plurality of information processing units.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium including a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer causes the computer to wirelessly receive and send distribution data by operations comprising:

receiving distribution data from another computer that has previously received the distribution data;

selecting, from a plurality of other computers, another computer that has not received the distribution data as a destination computer; and

sending the distribution data to the selected destination computer using one of a plurality of wireless frequency bands that is not currently being used by any other one of the plurality of other computers for sending the distribution data.

17. A computer program product as in claim 16, where the operation of sending comprises detecting amongst the plurality of wireless frequency bands a currently unused wireless frequency band for use in sending the distribution data.

18. A computer program product as in claim 17, where the operation of sending comprises temporarily suspending operation of said computer if a currently unused wireless frequency band is not detected.

19. A computer program product as in claim 16, comprising determining if there is sufficient power available to send the distribution data, and sending the distribution data only if there is sufficient power available.

20. A computer program product as in claim 16, where the operation of selecting selects as the another computer a computer having a highest communication speed.