WIRELESS COMMUNICATION GAME SYSTEM

• US 20130203505A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: TANAKA, Shoya, KUWAHARA, Masato, OE, Toru, YOSHIOKA, Teruyuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,320,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• 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 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• 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 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/402 Communication between platforms, i.e. physical link to protocol
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM

Abstract

A wireless communication game system includes a plurality of mobile game apparatuses, which function as a parent device or a child device and are capable of making a communication with each other, and broadcasts from the parent device a parent device packet including a parent device PID, a user name UserName, a game name GameName, an OC flag, an E slot, a U slot, and a payload. All the parent device packets are received from the parent device existing within a communicationable range of a user'"'"'s own apparatus, and the user'"'"'s own apparatus creates a parent device list, and displays the parent device list on an LCD. Therefore, a user or a player of his own apparatus looks at the game name of the parent device list, for example, and operates a cross key included in an operation key so as to select one desired parent device. Then, transmitting a child device number CID of the user'"'"'s own apparatus at the E slot designated by the parent device packet, the user'"'"'s own apparatus transmits a connection request to the parent device.

Claims

1. An information system including a plurality of devices, comprising:

at least one of the devices including;

a sending unit for wirelessly sending self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying an application which is being executed on the one of the devices,

at least one other of the devices including;

a receiving unit for wirelessly receiving, from the plurality of devices existing within a communication range, said self-identifying information and said application identifying information from said sending unit,

a displaying unit for displaying indications of devices existing within the communications range that are communicative with an application which is being executed on the other of the devices, based on the application identifying information received by said receiving unit,

a selecting unit for allowing a user to select at least one of the devices displayed by the displaying unit, and

a connection request transmitting unit for transmitting a connection request toward the selected at least one device.

2. A wireless communication system including a plurality of mobile devices, wherein

each said device in the system is configured to:

send information identifying the respective device and information identifying an application being run on the respective device,

receive information identifying other devices that are in communications range therewith, as well as information identifying which applications are being run on those other devices,

display the devices existing within the communication range, based on the received information,

enable a user to select one of the devices existing within the communication range following the displaying, and

transmit a connection request to the selected device, and

wherein the devices that are displayed on a given device are those that are running applications suitable for communicating with the application being run by the given device, as determined in consultation with the application identifying information received by the given device.

3. A wireless handheld device comprising:

a sending unit for wirelessly sending self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying at least one application on the device,

a receiving unit for wirelessly receiving self-identifying information and application identifying information from other devices,

a displaying unit for displaying indications of other devices existing within a communications range that are communicative with an application on the wireless handheld device based on the application identifying information received by the wireless receiving unit,

a selecting unit for allowing a user to select at least one of the displayed wireless devices, and

a connection request transmitting unit for transmitting a connection request toward the selected wireless device(s).

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the device comprises a game device, and the application comprises a communicative game.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit is configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the device has established a connection with any other devices.

6. The device of claim 3, wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which is being executed on the device.

7. The device of claim 3, wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which is being activated on the device.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which has already been executed but has not started a communicative state in the application with any other devices.

9. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit is configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the device has started a communicative state with any other devices.

10. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit is configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before any opponent to connect with has been determined.

11. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit is configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the user has selected any opponent to connect with.

12. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit is configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information to at least two of the plurality of the devices within communications range.

13. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit is configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information so that undetermined other devices within communications range can get them.

14. The device of claim 3, wherein the wireless sending unit and the receiving unit is configured to send and receive said information among unspecified devices.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which is being executed thereon.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which has already been executed but has not started a communicative state in the application with any other devices.

17. The device of claim 3, wherein the sending unit sends the self-identifying information and the application identifying information on the device for a plurality of other devices without establishing a connection with the other devices.

18. The device of claim 3, further comprising a communication processing unit for executing communication information processing with another device.

19. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly storing program instructions executable by at least one processor of an information system including a plurality of wireless information devices, the instructions configured to provide at least:

wirelessly sending self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying an application on the device,

wirelessly receiving said self-identifying information and said application identifying information,

displaying indications of devices existing within the communication range that are communicative with an application on the device, based on said information received,

allowing a user to select at least one of the devices displayed, and

transmitting a connection request toward the selected at least one device.

20. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly storing program instructions for use with a wireless communication system including a plurality of mobile devices, the program instructions configured to at least:

send information identifying the respective device and information identifying an application being run on the respective device,

receive information identifying other devices that are in communications range therewith, as well as information identifying which applications are running on those other devices,

display the devices existing within the communications range, based on the received information,

enable a user to select one of the devices existing within the communications range following the displaying, and

transmit a connection request to the selected device, and

wherein the devices that are displayed on a given device are those that are running applications suitable for communicating with the application being run by the given device, as determined in consultation with the application identifying information received by the given device.

21. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing program instructions for execution by at least one processor of a wireless handheld information display device, the instructions causing the at least one processor to provide operations comprising:

wirelessly sending self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying at least one application on the device,

wirelessly receiving self-identifying information and application identifying information from at least one further wireless device,

displaying indications of further wireless devices existing within a communications range that are communicative with an application on the wireless handheld information display device,

allowing a user to select at least one of the displayed wireless devices, and

transmitting a connection request toward the selected wireless device(s).

22. A wireless handheld game device comprising:

a sending unit for wirelessly sending self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying at least one application on the game device,

a receiving unit for wirelessly receiving self-identifying information and application identifying information from other game devices,

a displaying unit for displaying indications of other game devices existing within a communications range that are communicative with an application on the wireless handheld game device based on the application identifying information received by the wireless receiving unit,

a selecting unit for allowing a user to select at least one of the displayed wireless game devices, and

a connection request transmitting unit for transmitting a connection request toward the selected wireless game device(s).