COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM HAVING STORED THEREIN MOBILE TERMINAL PROGRAM, MOBILE TERMINAL DEVICE, AND SYSTEM

• US 20110176455A1
• Filed: 03/15/2010
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Matsunada, Takuma
• Granted Patent: US 8,279,882 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A location information provision system 100 includes an access point 2, a game apparatus 1B, and a game apparatus 1A. The access point 2 stores information for specifying a current location of the access point 2, and transmits the information to the game apparatus 1B. The game apparatus 1B receives the information transmitted from the access point 2, and specifies the location of the access point 2 based on the information. The game apparatus 1B transmits location information representing the specified location to the game apparatus 1A. The game apparatus 1A receives the location information transmitted from the game apparatus 1B, and specifies the current location of the game apparatus 1A based on the received location information.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a mobile terminal program causing a computer of a mobile terminal device to function as:

first communication means for communicating with at least one other mobile terminal device;

first location information acquisition means for communicating with the other mobile terminal device using the first communication means to thereby acquire first location information representing a location of the other mobile terminal device from the other mobile terminal device; and

current location specifying means for specifying a current location of the mobile terminal device based on the first location information.

2. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 1, the program further causing the computer to function as second location information acquisition means for acquiring second location information related to the current location of the mobile terminal device, wherein

the current location specifying means specifies the current location of the mobile terminal device based on at least one of the first location information and the second location information.

3. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 2, the program further causing the computer to function as second communication means for communicating with at least one fixed station that is provided in a fixed manner, wherein

the second location information acquisition means communicates with the fixed station using the second communication means to thereby acquire information representing a location of the fixed station, as the second location information.

4. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 3, wherein

the other mobile terminal device communicates with the fixed station or another fixed station to thereby acquire location information, and the first location information acquisition means acquires the location information from the other mobile terminal device as the first location information.

5. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 3, wherein,

when the second location information acquisition means has acquired the second location information, the current location specifying means specifies the current location of the mobile terminal device based on the second location information acquired by the second location information acquisition means, regardless of whether or not the first location information acquisition means has acquired the first location information.

6. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 5, wherein,

when the second location information acquisition means has not acquired the second location information and when the first location information acquisition means has acquired the first location information, the current location specifying means specifies the current location of the mobile terminal device based on the first location information.

7. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 3, the program causing the computer to function as:

a timer for timing at least one of time elapsed since the first location information acquisition means has acquired the first location information and time elapsed since the second location information acquisition means has acquired the second location information; and

invalidation means for invalidating, when the at least one of the times timed by the timer has reached a predetermined period of time, the corresponding one of the first location information and the second location information, since whose acquisition the predetermined period of time has elapsed.

8. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 3, wherein

the first location information acquisition means stores the acquired first location information in a storage means of the mobile terminal device for a predetermined period of time, and

the current location specifying means specifies the current location of the mobile terminal device based on one of the first location information satisfying predetermined conditions including a condition that the number of pieces of the first location information stored in the storage means is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, and the second location information.

9. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 1, wherein

the first communication means communicates with the at least one other mobile terminal device by Near Field Communication.

10. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 1, wherein

the first location information acquisition means automatically acquires the first location information from the other mobile terminal device.

11. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 2, wherein

the second location information acquisition means automatically acquires the second location information from the other mobile terminal device.

12. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 3, wherein

the fixed station is an access point.

13. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 8, the program further causing the computer to function as changing means for changing the predetermined number.

14. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the mobile terminal program according to claim 13, the program further causing the computer to function as storage control means for storing in the storage means the number of times the first location information acquisition means has acquired the first location information from the other mobile terminal device, wherein

the changing means changes the predetermined number based on the number of times stored by the storage control means.

15. A system, including at least a mobile terminal device, for specifying a current location of the mobile terminal device, the system comprising:

first communication means for communicating with at least one other mobile terminal device;

first location information acquisition means for communicating with the other mobile terminal device using the first communication means to thereby acquire first location information representing a location of the other mobile terminal device from the other mobile terminal device; and

current location specifying means for specifying the current location of the mobile terminal device based on the first location information.

16. A method of specifying a current location of a mobile terminal device, the method comprising the steps of:

communicating with at least one other mobile terminal device to thereby acquire first location information representing a location of the other mobile terminal device from the other mobile terminal device; and

specifying the current location of the mobile terminal device based on the first location information.

17. A system including a fixed station provided in a fixed manner, a first mobile terminal device, and a second mobile terminal device,

the fixed station comprising:

first storage means for storing therein information for specifying a current location of the fixed station; and

first transmission means for transmitting the stored information to the first mobile terminal device,

the first mobile terminal device comprising;

first reception means for receiving the information transmitted from the first transmission means;

fixed station location specifying means for specifying a location of the fixed station based on the information received by the first reception means; and

second transmission means for transmitting, to the second mobile terminal device, location information representing the location specified by the fixed station location specifying means, and

the second mobile terminal device comprising;

second reception means for receiving the location information transmitted from the second transmission means; and

current location specifying means for specifying a current location of the second mobile terminal device based on the location information received by the second reception means.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein

the information for specifying the current location of the fixed station includes identification information specific to the fixed station;

the first mobile terminal device further comprises second storage means for storing therein location information associated with the identification information; and

the fixed station location specifying means reads from the second storage means the location information associated with the identification information included in the information received by the first reception means, and specifies the location of the fixed station based on the read location information.