Communications Adaptable to Mobile Devices

• US 20140347437A1
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Masque Publishing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Masque Publishing, Inc.
• Inventors: Ridges, John C., Wisler, James M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,549,023 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/572 Communication between players during game play of non game information, e.g. e-mail, chat, file transfer, streaming of audio and streaming of video
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1051 Group master selection mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/182 Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy

Abstract

A communication system is provided that is preferably a peer-to-peer (p2p) system. One or both of audio and video can be transferred among a number of user terminals in the p2p system. The user terminals can include at least one master terminal, which could be an unhosted master terminal that does not communicate its own audio and/or video. In one embodiment, a first master terminal is included that controls video or audio, or both, transfers among user terminals and an unhosted second master terminal is provided that communicates with at least two user terminals to provide desired connectivity involving such user terminals in order to ensure proper audio and/or video communications between or among them. In another embodiment, an unhosted master terminal is provided with the communication system when the user terminals include mobile terminals in order to avoid power usage by mobile terminals. This communication system can be utilized with online game playing in which a game server is included, as well as having other communication applications.

Claims

1. At least one computer readable medium for storing at least one computer program related to whether to include a master terminal in a network, said at least one computer program comprising instructions for:

obtaining information using each of a number of mobile terminals in a network being established, said information related to each of said number of mobile terminals being identified as a mobile terminal; and

determining, after said obtaining, to include said master terminal in said network, wherein said determining includes using said number of said mobile terminals and said number of said mobile terminals being greater than one.

2. At least one computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein said master terminal, after being included in said network, receives audio data associated with at least each of said number of said mobile terminals and with said number of said mobile terminals not being fully interconnected.

3. At least one computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein said network includes a plurality of user terminals and said plurality of user terminals includes said number of mobile terminals.

4. At least one computer readable medium of claim 3, wherein all of said plurality of user terminals are mobile terminals.

5. At least one computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein said plurality of user terminals is five.

6. At least one computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein audio data, if any, associated with said master terminal is not provided to any of said number of said mobile terminals.

7. At least one computer readable medium of claim 2, further including, after being included in said network, said master terminal is used as a topology manager and said network is changed such that said mobile terminals are fully interconnected with each other.

8. At least one computer program product having at least one computer program related to whether to include a master terminal in communication with at least two user terminals involved with communicating one or both of voice and video, said at least one computer program comprising instructions for use in:

sending data, without using a first master terminal, between at least first and second user terminals; and

determining, based on said sending data, that communications are unacceptable between said first and second user terminals;

wherein, after said determining, said first master terminal is included to provide acceptable communications between said first and second user terminals.

9. At least one computer program product of claim 8, wherein said first master terminal does not communicate at least its own audio, if any, while each of said at least first and second user terminals does communicate its own audio.

10. At least one computer program product of claim 8, wherein said second user terminal is a second master terminal and said first user terminal is a first slave that communicates audio data associated therewith to said first master terminal and in which said first master terminal communicates said audio data associated with said first slave to said second master terminal.

11. At least one computer program product of claim 10, wherein said first master terminal is an unhosted master terminal and said second master terminal is not an unhosted master terminal with said second master terminal communicating its own audio to said first slave using said first master terminal.

12. At least one computer program product of claim 8, further including a second slave and said first user terminal is a first slave and said second user terminal is a second master terminal, and in which said first slave communicates its own audio to said first master terminal and said first master terminal communicates said first slave audio to said second master terminal and said second slave communicates its own audio to said second master terminal.

13. At least one computer program product of claim 8, wherein a determination is made, before said first master terminal is included, that at least one of said at least first and second user terminals is a mobile terminal.

14. At least one computer program product of claim 13, wherein a determination is made, before said first master terminal is included, that at least each of said first and second user terminals is a mobile terminal using information obtained from each of said at least first and second user terminals.

15. At least one computer program product of claim 14, wherein said at least first and second user terminals are part of a plurality of user terminals, with each of said plurality of user terminals being a mobile terminals, and in which said plurality of user terminals is at least a predetermined number greater than one.

16. At least one computer program product of claim 8, wherein said at least first and second user terminals are part of a plurality of user terminals used in establishing a particular peer-to-peer network, with at least each of said first and second user terminals for outputting audio data associated with said first and second user terminals, respectively.