Synchronous Communication Method and Synchronous Communication Device

• US 20080126568A1
• Filed: 04/17/2007
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MEDIASEEK, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MEDIASEEK, Inc.
• Inventors: ICHINARI, Atsushi, OTOSHI, Hajime
• Granted Patent: US 7,840,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/248
• 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 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A synchronous communication device for processing communication synchronously among a plurality of information terminals connected to a communication line, comprising: judging means for judging whether or not the plurality of information terminals connected to the communication line are in a normal communication state; input information setting means for, when on the basis of the result from the judging means judgment is made that an anomaly has occurred in at least one information terminal among the plurality of terminals and that synchronization of the one information terminal with another information terminal among the plurality of terminals is not possible, setting as assumed input information the input information of the synchronization immediately prior to the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible; and computing means for, on the basis of the assumed input information set by the input information setting means, determining the synchronization state of the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, by executing a predetermined computing process; wherein each process is repeated until the judging means judges that synchronization with the other information terminal among the plurality of information terminals becomes possible through recovery of the communication state of the information terminal in which the anomaly has occurred.

Claims

1. A synchronous communication device for processing communication synchronously among a plurality of information terminals connected to a communication line, comprising:

judging means for judging whether or not the plurality of information terminals connected to the communication line are in a normal communication state;

input information setting means for setting, as assumed input information, input information of the synchronization immediately prior to the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, in place of an input information of the synchronization in which a synchronization is not possible, when judgment is made that an anomaly has occurred in at least one information terminal among the plurality of terminals, so that a synchronization of the one terminal with another information terminal among the plural terminals is not possible, on the basis of a result from the judging means; and

computing means for determining the synchronization state of the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, by executing a predetermined computing process on the basis of the assumed input information set by the input information setting means,

wherein said judging means repeat each of said processes repeated until the synchronization with the other information terminal among the plurality of information terminals becomes possible through recovery of the communication state of the information terminal in which the anomaly occurred.

2. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein as the predetermined computing process, the computing means executes a computing process for obtaining a synchronization state of a game in the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible.

3. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein the computing means returns the information terminal to a backed-up synchronization state.

4. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the judging means judges that it is not possible to equalize the synchronization state of all the information terminals to a same synchronization state even through continued setting of the input information as assumed input information, the computing means returns the information terminal to a backed-up synchronization state.

5. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein the computing means stores actual input information while the assumed input information is being used, and upon recommencement of ordinary synchronization processing, uses the stored information as input information, the information being skipped as necessary.

6. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein the computing process is a combination of one or more among calculation of the position of a game character, collision detection, and score calculation.

7. (canceled)

8. A synchronous communication method for processing communication synchronously among a plurality of information terminals connected to a communication line, comprising:

a step of judging whether or not the plurality of information terminals connected to the communication line are in a normal communication state;

a step of setting, as assumed input information, input information of the synchronization immediately prior to the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, in place of an input information of the synchronization in which a synchronization is not possible, when judgment is made that an anomaly has occurred in at least one information terminal among the plurality of terminals, so that a synchronization of the one terminal with another information terminal among the plural terminals is not possible, on the basis of a result from the judgment;

a step of determining, on the basis of the set assumed input information, the synchronization state of the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, by executing a predetermined computing process; and

a step of repeating each of said steps until the synchronization with the other information terminal among the plurality of information terminals becomes possible through recovery of the communication state of the information terminal in which the anomaly has occurred.

9. The synchronous communication method according to claim 8, wherein, in the computing step, is executed as the predetermined computing process a computing process for obtaining a synchronization state of a game in the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible.

10. The synchronous communication method according to claim 8, wherein, in the computing step, the information terminal is returned to a backed-up synchronization state.

11. The synchronous communication method according to claim 8, wherein when in the judgment step judgment is made that it is not possible to equalize the synchronization state of all the information terminals to a same synchronization state even through continued setting of the input information as assumed input information, the information terminal is returned, in the computing step, to a backed-up synchronization state.

12. The synchronous communication method according to claim 8, wherein in the computing step actual input information is stored while the assumed input information is being used, and upon recommencement of ordinary synchronization processing, the stored information is used as input information, the information being skipped as necessary.

13. The synchronous communication device according to claim 8, wherein the computing process is a combination of one or more among calculation of the position of a game character, collision detection, and score calculation.

14. (canceled)