Peer-to-peer data relay

• US 7,725,599 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2008
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Van Datta, Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdullahi; Salad
• Assistant Examiner(s): SALL, EL HADJI MALICK
• Application Number:
  US12/120,397
• Publication Number:
  US 20080222250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/238, 709/243, 709/244
• US Class Current: 709/243
• 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: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1046 Joining mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1048 Departure or maintenance mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1055 involving connection limits involving dynamic management of active down- or uploading connections H04L67/1085
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for relaying data in a peer-to-peer network. In one implementation, a wireless device includes: an antenna; a wireless communication interface connected to said antenna and supporting wireless communication across a wireless connection provided by said antenna; storage supporting storing data; and a controller connected to said wireless interface and to said storage, supporting an application service, a message service, and a relay service for relay messages; wherein said application service provides execution and management of one or more application programs accessible by said controller using application data stored in said storage, said message service provides building messages and processing received messages, and said relay service provides building a new relay message indicating a selected recipient to which the wireless device does not have a direct wireless connection, sending a built new relay message, and sending a received relay message that indicates a recipient other than the wireless device.

Claims

1. A wireless device, comprising:

an antenna;

a wireless communication interface connected to said antenna and supporting wireless communication across a wireless connection provided by said antenna, the wireless communication interface enabled to contact local devices, which are devices that are within range of a sending device through the wireless interface, and requesting identification of available devices;

storage supporting storing data; and

a controller connected to said wireless interface and to said storage, supporting an application service, a message service, and a relay service for relay messages, the controller enabled to (1) propagate by the local devices the request for identification of available devices through a peer-to-peer network, (2) receive the identification of available devices to the sending device, and (3) build a list of available devices, the list including identification of said local devices in a local device list;

wherein said application service provides execution and management of one or more application programs accessible by said controller using application data stored in said storage to support execution of a multi-user application program,

wherein said message service provides building messages and processing received messages, and

wherein said relay service provides building a new relay message indicating a selected recipient to which the wireless device does not have a direct wireless connection, sending a built new relay message, and sending a received relay message that indicates a recipient other than the wireless device, and

when said selected recipient is a local device, sending said received relay message from said wireless device addressed only to said selected recipient through said wireless communication interface and not sending said received relay message addressed to other local devices,

wherein said controller also supports a recipient selection service, said recipient selection service provides building a list of at least one recipient, and selecting a recipient from said list, and said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is a recipient selected by said recipient selection service,

wherein said recipient selection service responds to a map request from another device by sending a request to at least one other device,

wherein said map request indicates a hop count, and said recipient selection service does not send said request if said hop count has reached a threshold.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said recipient selection service provides sending said list to a requesting device.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said recipient selection service supports building said list using propagation.

4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said map request indicates a network identifier, and said recipient selection service does not send said network identifier does not match an identifier stored by the wireless device.

5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said recipient selection service periodically updates said list.

6. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said recipient selection service updates said list using one or more update rules.

7. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said controller also supports a recipient selection service, said recipient selection service provides building a map of at least one recipient and connections among said at least one recipient and the wireless device, and selecting a recipient from said map, and said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is a recipient selected by said recipient selection service.

8. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein:

said built new relay message also indicates at least one intermediary recipient providing an indirect connection between said selected recipient and the wireless device.

9. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is selected from a list provided by a server.

10. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of said one or more application programs executed and managed by said application service is a game application program.

11. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

said wireless interface is a Wi-Fi interface.

12. A network device, comprising:

a network communication interface supporting network communication across a network connection, the network communication interface enabled to contact local devices, which are devices that are within range of a sending device through the network communication interface, and requesting identification of available devices;

storage supporting storing data; and

a controller connected to said network interface and to said storage, supporting an application service, a message service, and a relay service for relay messages, the controller enabled to (1) propagate by the local devices the request for identification of available devices through a peer-to-peer network, (2) receive the identification of available devices to the sending device, and (3) build a list of available devices, the list including identification of said local devices in a local device list;

wherein said application service provides execution and management of one or more application programs accessible by said controller using application data stored in said storage to support execution of a multi-user application program,

wherein said message service provides building messages and processing received messages, and

wherein said relay service provides building a new relay message indicating a selected recipient to which the network device does not have a direct connection, sending a built new relay message, and sending a received relay message that indicates a recipient other than the network device, and

when said selected recipient is a local device, sending said received relay message from said wireless device addressed only to said selected recipient through said network communication interface and not sending said received relay message addressed to other local devices,

wherein said controller also supports a recipient selection service, said recipient selection service provides building a list of at least one recipient, and selecting a recipient from said list, and said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is a recipient selected by said recipient selection service,

wherein said recipient selection service responds to a map request from another device by sending a request to at least one other device,

wherein said map request indicates a hop count, and said recipient selection service does not send said request if said hop count has reached a threshold.

13. The network device of claim 12, wherein:

said controller also supports a recipient selection service, said recipient selection service provides building a map of at least one recipient and connections among said at least one recipient and the network device, and selecting a recipient from said map, and said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is a recipient selected by said recipient selection service.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein:

said built new relay message also indicates at least one intermediary recipient providing an indirect connection between said selected recipient and the network device.

15. The network device of claim 12, wherein:

said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is selected from a list provided by a server.

16. The network device of claim 12, wherein:

at least one of said one or more application programs executed and managed by said application service is a game application program.

17. A wireless game device, comprising:

an antenna;

a wireless communication interface connected to said antenna and supporting wireless communication across a wireless connection provided by said antenna, the wireless communication interface enabled to contact local devices, which are devices that are within range of a sending device through the wireless interface, and requesting identification of available devices;

storage supporting storing data;

a media interface connected to said storage supporting reading a game application program from removable media provided to said media interface; and

a controller connected to said wireless interface, to said storage, and to said media interface, supporting an application service, a message service, a relay service for relay messages, and a recipient selection service, the controller enabled to (1) propagate by the local devices the request for identification of available devices through a peer-to-peer network, (2) receive the identification of available devices to the sending device, and (3) build a list of available devices, the list including identification of said local devices in a local device list;

wherein said application service provides execution and management of one or more game application programs accessible by said controller using application data stored in said storage,

wherein said message service provides building messages and processing received messages, and

wherein said relay service provides building a new relay message indicating a selected recipient to which the wireless game device does not have a direct wireless connection, sending a built new relay message, and sending a received relay message that indicates a recipient other than the wireless game device,

wherein said recipient selection service provides building a map of at least one recipient and connections among said at least one recipient and the wireless game device, and selecting a recipient from said map, said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is a recipient selected by said recipient selection service, and said wireless interface is a Wi-Fi interface, and

when said selected recipient is a local device, sending said received relay message from said wireless device addressed only to said selected recipient through said wireless communication interface and not sending said received relay message addressed to other local devices,

wherein said controller also supports a recipient selection service, said recipient selection service provides building a list of at least one recipient, and selecting a recipient from said list, and said selected recipient used by said relay service in building a new relay message is a recipient selected by said recipient selection service,

wherein said recipient selection service responds to a map request from another device by sending a request to at least one other device,

wherein said map request indicates a hop count, and said recipient selection service does not send said request if said hop count has reached a threshold.