COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION METHOD, PROGRAM, AND INFORMATION STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20120214505A1
• Filed: 02/17/2012
• Published: 08/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: KAIDO, Kenji, NISHINA, Eiichi, HASEKURA, Tomohiro, KONNO, Shohei
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,376 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/205 for detecting the geographical location of the game platform
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• 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 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A position coordinate receiving section obtains a position from a user terminal. A nearby user distributing section provides information about a source user terminal to a recipient user terminal. The nearby user distributing section controls whether or not to provide the information about the source user terminal to the recipient user terminal based on a position that is obtained from the recipient user terminal and a position obtained from the source user terminal. The position obtained from the source user terminal that is used in the control is a position outside an area set by a user of the source user terminal. Accordingly, a user is provided a way to prevent other users from knowing that the user is in a place specified by the user.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a position obtaining unit that obtains a position from a user terminal; and

an information providing unit that provides information about a source user terminal which is an information source to a recipient user terminal which receives information,

wherein the information providing unit controls whether or not to provide the information about the source user terminal to the recipient user terminal based on a position that is obtained from the recipient user terminal and a position obtained from the source user terminal, and

wherein the position obtained from the source user terminal that is used in the control is a position outside an area set by a user of the source user terminal.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the position obtaining unit does not obtain, from the source user terminal, as a position used in the control, a position inside the area set by the user of the source user terminal.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the position obtaining unit does not obtain, from the source user terminal, as a position used in the control, a position within a given distance from a position that is set by the user of the source user terminal.

4. The communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the communication system comprises the source user terminal,

wherein the source user terminal comprises a transmission unit that transmits a position to a server which provides information to the recipient user terminal, and

wherein the transmission unit does not transmit, to the server, as a position used in the control, a position inside the area set by the source user terminal.

5. The communication system according to claim 4,

wherein the source user terminal further comprises a positioning unit that sequentially calculates positions of the source user terminal and sequentially storing the calculated positions in a position storing unit, and

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the server, as positions used in the control, at least some of calculation results that are among a plurality of calculation results stored in the position storing unit and that indicate positions outside the area set by the user of the source user terminal.

6. A communication method, comprising:

obtaining a position from a user terminal; and

providing information about a source user terminal which is an information source to a recipient user terminal which receives information,

wherein the providing of the information includes controlling whether or not to provide the information about the source user terminal to the recipient user terminal based on a position that is obtained from the recipient user terminal and a position obtained from the source user terminal, and

wherein the position obtained from the source user terminal that is used in the control is a position outside an area set by a user of the source user terminal.

7. A program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium having instructions for execution by a computer, the program having instructions for:

obtaining a position from a user terminal; and

providing information about a source user terminal which is an information source to a recipient user terminal which receives information,

wherein the providing of the information includes controlling whether or not to provide the information about the source user terminal to the recipient user terminal based on a position that is obtained from the recipient user terminal and a position obtained from the source user terminal, and

wherein the position obtained from the source user terminal that is used in the control is a position outside an area set by a user of the source user terminal.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium having a program executed by a computer stored thereon, the program having instructions for:

obtaining a position from a user terminal; and

providing information about a source user terminal which is an information source to a recipient user terminal which receives information,

wherein the providing of the information includes controlling whether or not to provide the information about the source user terminal to the recipient user terminal based on a position that is obtained from the recipient user terminal and a position obtained from the source user terminal, and

wherein the position obtained from the source user terminal that is used in the control is a position outside an area set by a user of the source user terminal.