Synchronous communication method and synchronous communication device

• US 7,840,711 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2007
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MEDIASEEK, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MEDIASEEK, Inc.
• Inventors: Ichinari, Atsushi, Otoshi, Hajime
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thieu; Benjamin M
• Application Number:
  US11/736,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20080126568A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,316 Days
• Field of Search: 709/248, 709/201, 709/205, 370/507, 370/241, 370/324, 340/825, 340/870, 463 40- 42
• US Class Current: 709/248
• 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 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A synchronous communication device for processing communication synchronously among a plurality of information terminals connected to a communication line, comprising: judging means for judging whether or not the plurality of information terminals connected to the communication line are in a normal communication state; input information setting means for, when on the basis of the result from the judging means judgment is made that an anomaly has occurred in at least one information terminal among the plurality of terminals and that synchronization of the one information terminal with another information terminal among the plurality of terminals is not possible, setting as assumed input information the input information of the synchronization immediately prior to the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible; and computing means for, on the basis of the assumed input information set by the input information setting means, determining the synchronization state of the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, by executing a predetermined computing process; wherein each process is repeated until the judging means judges that synchronization with the other information terminal among the plurality of information terminals becomes possible through recovery of the communication state of the information terminal in which the anomaly has occurred.

Claims

1. A synchronous communication device for processing a communication synchronously among a plurality of information terminals connected to a communication line, comprising:

judging means for judging whether or not each of the plurality of information terminals connected to the communication line is in a normal communication state, wherein said normal communication state is a state where all of said plurality of information terminals are in the, synchronization with one another;

input information setting means for setting, as assumed input information, input information inputted before a state during which a synchronization is not possible has occurred, in place of input information inputted in said state, when the judging means judges that an anomaly has occurred in at least one information terminal among the plurality of information terminals so that at least said one information terminal is not synchronized with other information terminal or terminals among said plurality of information terminals, wherein said anomaly is a state where at least one information terminal is not in the synchronization with other information terminal or terminals among said plurality of information terminals; and

computing means for determining a synchronization state of a specific matter in the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, by executing a predetermined computing process on the basis of the assumed input information set by the input information setting means,

wherein said judging means repeat each of said processes repeated until the plurality of information terminals shall be in the normal communication state,

wherein, if said judging means would judge that said assumed input information is not matched with said actual input information immediately after said recovery to the normal communication state, then said computing means use said actual input information inputted immediately after said recovery to the normal communication state while clearing all information including an outcome of said assumed input information set within said anomaly; and

wherein said specific matter is a game, and the computing means executes, as the predetermined computing process, a computing process for obtaining a synchronization state of said game in the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible.

2. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein the computing means returns the information terminal to a backed-up synchronization state.

3. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the judging means judges that it is not possible to equalize the synchronization state of all the information terminals to the same synchronization state even through continued setting of the input information as assumed input information, the computing means return the information terminal to a backed-up synchronization state.

4. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein the computing means stores actual input information while the assumed input information is being used, and upon recommencement of ordinary synchronization processing, uses the stored information as input information by skipping said stored information in any arbitrary numbers.

5. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein the computing process is a combination of one or more among a calculation of the position of a game character, a collision detection, and a score calculation.

6. The synchronous communication device according to claim 1, wherein said computing process is a combination of one or more among a calculation of a position of a game character, a collision detection, and a score calculation.

7. A synchronous communication method for processing communication synchronously among a plurality of information terminals connected to a communication line, comprising:

a step of judging whether or not each of the plurality of information terminals connected to the communication line is in a normal communication state, wherein said normal communication state is a state where all of said plurality of information terminals are in the synchronization with one, another;

a step of setting, as assumed input information, input information inputted before a state during which a synchronization is not possible has occurred, in place of input information inputted in said state, when it is judged that an anomaly has occurred in at least one information terminal among the plurality of information terminals so that at least said one information terminal is not synchronized with other information terminal or terminals among said plurality of information terminals, wherein said anomaly is a state where at least one information terminal is not in the synchronization with other information terminal or terminals among said plurality of information terminals;

a step of determining, on the basis of the set assumed input information, a synchronization state of a specific matter in the synchronization in which synchronization is not possible, by executing a predetermined computing process; and

a step of repeating each of said steps until the plurality of information terminals shall be in the normal communication state,

wherein, in said judging step, if it would be judged that said assumed input information is not matched with said actual input information immediately after said recovery to the normal communication state, then in said determining step, using said actual input information inputted immediately after said recovery to the normal communication state while clearing all information including an outcome of said assumed input information set within said anomaly, and

wherein said specific matter is a game and, in the determining step, as the predetermined computing process, a computing process is executed for obtaining a synchronization state of said game in the synchronization, in which synchronization is not possible.

8. The synchronous communication method according to claim 7, wherein, in the determining step, the information terminal is returned to a backed-up synchronization state.

9. The synchronous communication method according to claim 7, wherein in the determining step, the information terminal is returned to a backed-up synchronization state when it is judged in the judgment step that it is not possible to equalize the synchronization state of all the information terminals to the same synchronization state even through continued setting of the input information as assumed input information.

10. The synchronous communication method according to claim 7, wherein in the determining step, an actual input information is stored while the assumed input information is being used, and upon recommencement of ordinary synchronization processing, the stored information is used as input information by skipping said stored information in any arbitrary numbers.