Communication method for data synchronization processing and electronic device therefor

• US 6,732,144 B1
• Filed: 11/16/2000
• Issued: 05/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Amano, Shinya, Imai, Toru, Takabatake, Yoshiaki, Muranaga, Tetsuro, Natsubori, Shigeyasu, Kizu, Sachio
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDELMAN, BRADLEY E
• Application Number:
  US09/713,249
• Time in Patent Office: 1,265 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/227, 709/253, 707/201, 717/168, 717/169, 717/170, 717/171, 717/172, 717/173
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

At member registration step, a master transmits a certificate and a priority to a slave. The certificate indicates that the slave receiving it belongs to the same data synchronization group as the master. The priority is used to solve a data conflict. At data synchronization, after it is determined that members belong to the same data synchronization group by the certificate, data synchronization processing is performed between arbitrary members in which an input device and a display device such as a wrist watch are limited. Data synchronization does not require a specific server.

Claims

1. A data synchronization method comprising:

transmitting from a master device to one of a plurality of slave devices a certificate indicating that the one of the plurality of slave devices belongs to a data synchronization group to which the master devices belongs and a priority to be used for solving conflict of data, thereby registering the one of the plurality of slave devices as a member of the data synchronization group to which the master device belongs; and

determining whether or not a first slave device and a second slave device which is capable of communicating with the first slave device belong to the same data synchronization group by using the certificate, and performing data synchronization between the first slave device and the second slave device based on the priority if the first slave device and the second slave device belong to the same data synchronization group.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said registering is performed after it is confirmed that there is no other device than said master device and said one of the plurality of slave devices, which other device is capable of communicating with said master device and is set in a registration mode.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein additional data synchronization is performed between one master device and one or more slave devices which belong to the same synchronization group.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said master device and said one of the plurality of slave devices store plural types of data and belong to plural data synchronization groups defined for each of said plural types of data.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said registering is performed by transmitting said certificate and said priority from the master device belonging to a given synchronization group defined for a given type of data to the one of the plurality of slave devices belonging to the given synchronization group, said certificate and said priority being set depending on the given type of data.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting data required to operate as the master device from said master device to a slave device which is targeted to transfer a master privilege, thereby transferring the master privilege to the slave device which is targeted to transfer the master privilege.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said master privilege transferring is performed after it is confirmed that there is no other slave device than said master device and said slave device which is targeted to transfer the master privilege, which other slave device is capable of communicating with said master device and is set in a master privilege transfer mode.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising exchanging the priority between slave devices that belong to the same data synchronization group.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said priority exchanging is performed after it is confirmed that there is no other slave device than said master device and said one of the plurality of slave devices, which other slave device is capable of communicating with said master device and is set in a priority exchanging mode.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising releasing said master device or said one of the plurality of slave devices from the data synchronization group, wherein, if said master device is released, said master device transmits a releasing instruction to a slave device which is capable of communicating with said master device to release said slave device which is capable of communicating with said master device.

20. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said program further comprises fifth program code means for causing said master device or said one of the plurality of slave devices to be released from the data synchronization group, and if said master device is released, causing said master device to transmit a releasing instruction to a slave device which is capable of communicating with said master device to release said slave device which is capable of communicating with said master device.

11. A computer readable recording medium storing a computer program for data synchronization between plural devices, the program comprising:

first program code means causing a master device to transmit to one of a plurality of slave devices a certificate indicating that the slave device belongs to a data synchronization group to which the master device belongs and a priority to be used for solving conflict of data, thereby registering the slave device as a member of the data synchronization group to which the master device belongs; and

first program code means causing a first slave device and a second slave device to determine whether or not the first slave device and the second slave device which is capable of communicating with the first slave device belong to the same data synchronization group by using the certificate, and perform data synchronization between the first slave device and the second slave device based on the priority if the first slave device and the second slave device belong to the same data synchronization group.

12. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 11, wherein said registering is performed after it is confirmed that there is no other device than said master device and said one of the plurality of slave devices, which other device is capable of communicating with said master device and is set in a registration mode.

13. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 11, wherein additional data synchronization is performed between one master device and one or more slave devices which belong to the same synchronization group.

14. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 11, wherein said data synchronization group is formed of a type of data.

15. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 14, wherein said registering is performed by transmitting said certificate and said priority from the master device set by a user for a given type of data to one of the plurality of the slave devices set by the user for the given type of data, said certificate and said priority being set dependent on the type of data.

16. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 11, wherein said program further comprises third program code means causing said master device to transmit data required to operate as the master device to a slave device which is targeted to transfer a master privilege, thereby transferring the master privilege to the slave device which is targeted to transfer the master privilege.

17. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein said master privilege transferring is performed after it is confirmed that there is no other slave device than said master device and said slave device which is targeted to transfer the master privilege, which other slave device is capable of communicating with said master device and is set in a master privilege transfer mode.

18. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 11, wherein said program further comprises fourth program code means for causing slave devices that belong to the same data synchronization group to exchange the priority.

19. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 18, wherein priority exchanging is performed after it is confirmed that there is no other slave device than said master device and said one of the plurality of slave devices, which other slave device is capable of communicating with said master device and is set in a priority exchanging mode.

21. An electronic device comprising:

a master unit, when an own device is set by a user as a master, configured to transmit to a slave device a certificate indicating that the slave device belongs to a data synchronization group to which the master device belongs and a priority to be used for solving conflict of data, thereby registering the slave device as a member of the data synchronization group to which the master device belongs;

a slave unit, when the own device is set by the user as the slave, configured to receive from a master unit a certificate and a priority; and

a data synchronization unit configured to determine whether or not the own device and another device which is capable of communicating with the own device belong to the same data synchronization group by using one of the certificates, and perform data synchronization between the own device and the other device based on one of the priorities if the own device and the other device belong to the same data synchronization group.