WIRELESS SYSTEM, WIRELESS DEVICE, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM HAVING STORED THEREIN COMMUNICATION PROGRAM, AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

• US 20170034856A1
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Published: 02/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: IMURA, Yoshitaka, TAKEUCHI, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,397,868 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1881 with schedule organisation, e.g. priority, sequence management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A communication system as an example of an exemplary embodiment includes two mobile terminals and two BLE terminals. The mobile terminals establish connections with the BLE terminals. Specifically, one of the mobile terminals and one of the BLE terminals are connected together such that the mobile terminal is a central and the BLE terminal is a peripheral. The BLE terminal connected as a peripheral repeatedly executes advertising and a scan, thereby exchanging application data with the other BLE terminal connected as a peripheral.

Claims

1. A wireless system including a plurality of devices capable of performing wireless communication,

a first device among the plurality of devices executing:

an acquisition process for acquiring a single piece of application data for an application;

a transmission process for wirelessly transmitting a broadcast or multicast packet; and

a reception process for wirelessly receiving a broadcast or multicast packet from another device,

the first device

repeatedly executing the transmission process and the reception process; and

in the transmission process, dividing the application data, separately transmitting the pieces of divided application data in a plurality of broadcast or multicast packets, and also transmitting first information by including the first information in the broadcast or multicast packets, the first information indicating which parts of the application data are the pieces of divided data included in the broadcast or multicast packets.

2. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

at least one of an execution period of the transmission process, timing for executing the transmission process, an execution period of the reception process, and timing for executing the reception process is variable.

3. The wireless system according to claim 2, wherein

at least one of the execution period of the transmission process, the timing for executing the transmission process, the execution period of the reception process, and the timing for executing the reception process is randomly set.

4. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

the first device alternately and repeatedly executes the transmission process and the reception process.

5. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

a sleep period in which neither the transmission process nor the reception process is performed is present at least between the transmission process and the reception process, between the transmission process and the transmission process, or between the reception process and the reception process.

6. The wireless system according to claim 4, wherein

a sleep period in which neither the transmission process nor the reception process is performed is present between the transmission process and the reception process.

7. The wireless system according to claim 5, wherein

the sleep period is variable.

8. The wireless system according to claim 7, wherein

the sleep period is randomly set.

9. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

the wireless system includes a second device,

the first device and the second device establish a connection with each other and perform wireless communication with each other, and

in the transmission process, the first device in the state of being connected to the second device transmits the plurality of broadcast or multicast packets.

10. The wireless system according to claim 9, wherein

the connection is established between the first device and the second device such that the second device is a master and the first device is a slave, and

in the transmission process, the first device in the state of being connected as a slave to the second device transmits the broadcast or multicast packets.

11. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

the wireless system includes a second device,

the first device and the second device establish a connection with each other and perform wireless communication with each other, and

the first device in the state of being connected to the second device executes the transmission process and/or the reception process.

12. The wireless system according to claim 11, wherein

the connection is established between the first device and the second device such that the second device is a master and the first device is a slave, and

the first device in the state of being connected as a slave to the second device executes the transmission process and/or the reception process.

13. The wireless system according to claim 9, wherein

the first device and the second device establish a connection with each other and then repeatedly perform synchronous communication with each other, and

in the transmission process, the first device transmits the plurality of broadcast or multicast packets in a period except for timing when the first device performs synchronous communication with the second device.

14. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

in the transmission process, the first device transmits timing information by including the timing information in the broadcast or multicast packet, the timing information indicating timing of the transmission process or the reception process to be executed next time or later.

15. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

the application data is data that can be used in a game.

16. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein

the wireless system includes a third device, and

the third device executes:

a reception process for receiving a plurality of broadcast or multicast packets transmitted by the transmission process of the first device;

a data reconstruction process for, based on the first information and based on the plurality of broadcast or multicast packets received in the reception process, acquiring the plurality of pieces of divided data and reconstructing the application data using the plurality of pieces of divided data; and

an application process based on the application data reconstructed by the data reconstruction process.

17. A wireless device capable of performing wireless communication,

the wireless device executing:

an acquisition process for acquiring a single piece of application data for an application;

a transmission process for wirelessly transmitting a broadcast or multicast packet; and

a reception process for wirelessly receiving a broadcast or multicast packet from another device,

the wireless device

repeatedly executing the transmission process and the reception process,

in the transmission process, dividing the application data, separately transmitting the pieces of divided application data in a plurality of broadcast or multicast packets, and also transmitting first information by including the first information in the broadcast or multicast packets, the first information indicating which parts of the application data are the pieces of divided data included in the broadcast or multicast packets.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a communication program executable by a processor of a wireless device capable of performing wireless communication, the communication program causing the processor to execute:

an acquisition process for acquiring a single piece of application data for an application;

a transmission process for wirelessly transmitting a broadcast or multicast packet;

a reception process for wirelessly receiving a broadcast or multicast packet from another device;

repeatedly executing the transmission process and the reception process; and

in the transmission process, dividing the application data, separately transmitting the pieces of divided application data in a plurality of broadcast or multicast packets, and also transmitting first information by including the first information in the broadcast or multicast packets, the first information indicating which parts of the application data are the pieces of divided data included in the broadcast or multicast packets.

19. A communication method to be executed by a wireless system including a plurality of devices capable of performing wireless communication,

a first device among the plurality of devices executing:

an acquisition process for acquiring a single piece of application data for an application;

a transmission process for wirelessly transmitting a broadcast or multicast packet;

a reception process for wirelessly receiving a broadcast or multicast packet from another device;

repeatedly executing the transmission process and the reception process; and

in the transmission process, dividing the application data, separately transmitting the pieces of divided application data in a plurality of broadcast or multicast packets, and also transmitting first information by including the first information in the broadcast or multicast packets, the first information indicating which parts of the application data are the pieces of divided data included in the broadcast or multicast packets.