DOWNLOAD AND DATA TRANSFER GAMING METHOD
First Claim
1. A download and data transfer gaming method for configuring a gaming network comprising at least one host server, a tracking server, and a plurality of gaming devices, wherein the gaming devices are capable of uploading and/or transferring data as well as downloading data, the gaming method comprising:
- connecting the at least one host server to the plurality of gaming devices;
connecting the tracking server to the plurality of gaming devices;
interconnecting the plurality of gaming devices to each other; and
identifying a set of data to be distributed, wherein the set of data can be divided into a plurality of different subsets of data;
distributing the plurality of different subsets of data from a host server to a plurality of gaming devices, wherein none of the plurality of gaming devices receives the entire set of data to be distributed from the host server; and
transferring the plurality of different subsets of data amongst the plurality of gaming devices until all of the gaming devices have received the entire set of data, without requiring further assistance from the host server;
thereby improving the download capabilities of the gaming network by redistributing the burden from the host server to the gaming devices by enabling the gaming devices to upload subsets of data to each other.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A download and data transfer gaming method utilizes a hybrid peer-to-peer, segmented file distribution protocol to vastly improve the download capabilities of a gaming system by improving the upload cost burdened by the download host. The method redistributes this cost to the download clients by allowing clients on the gaming system to upload pieces of a file to each other. This method is much more redundant by eliminating the possibility of a client missing a download broadcast. The method alleviates this possibility of missing packets and bad data integrity by using SHA-1 verification of the file pieces. The benefits of the improved bandwidth capabilities enable the download of much larger files, thus enhancing the game play experience.
17 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A download and data transfer gaming method for configuring a gaming network comprising at least one host server, a tracking server, and a plurality of gaming devices, wherein the gaming devices are capable of uploading and/or transferring data as well as downloading data, the gaming method comprising:
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connecting the at least one host server to the plurality of gaming devices; connecting the tracking server to the plurality of gaming devices; interconnecting the plurality of gaming devices to each other; and identifying a set of data to be distributed, wherein the set of data can be divided into a plurality of different subsets of data; distributing the plurality of different subsets of data from a host server to a plurality of gaming devices, wherein none of the plurality of gaming devices receives the entire set of data to be distributed from the host server; and transferring the plurality of different subsets of data amongst the plurality of gaming devices until all of the gaming devices have received the entire set of data, without requiring further assistance from the host server; thereby improving the download capabilities of the gaming network by redistributing the burden from the host server to the gaming devices by enabling the gaming devices to upload subsets of data to each other. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A download and data transfer gaming method for improving download capabilities of a gaming network by redistributing a download burden from a host server to a plurality of gaming devices, the gaming method comprising:
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enabling the gaming devices to upload and/or transfer subsets of data to each other; identifying a set of data to be distributed, wherein the set of data can be divided into a plurality of different subsets of data; distributing the plurality of different subsets of data from a host server to a plurality of gaming devices, wherein none of the plurality of gaming devices receives the entire set of data to be distributed from the host server; and transferring the plurality of different subsets of data amongst the plurality of gaming devices until all of the gaming devices have received the entire set of data, without requiring further assistance from the host server. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification