Wireless communication device, information distribution system, program

• US 8,606,906 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2011
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dustin
• Application Number:
  US13/038,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20110239305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,014 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 455/456.2, 370/338, 370/392, 370/315, 342/451
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

There is provided a wireless communication device including a communication section which receives, from an information distribution device that distributes distribution information or another wireless communication device that has received the distribution information, the distribution information using ad hoc wireless communication, a position information acquisition section which acquires position information indicating a current position, a movement amount calculation section which calculates a movement amount from the information distribution device based on a change in the position information acquired by the position information acquisition section, and a distribution information management section which manages availability of the distribution information based on the movement amount and a predetermined limited area-radius that defines a limited area in which the distribution information is distributed.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device comprising:

a communication section which receives, from an information distribution device that distributes distribution information or another wireless communication device that has received the distribution information, the distribution information using ad hoc wireless communication;

a position information acquisition section which acquires position information indicating a current position;

a movement amount calculation section which calculates a movement amount from the information distribution device based on a change in the position information acquired by the position information acquisition section; and

a distribution information management section which manages availability of the distribution information based on the movement amount and a predetermined limited area-radius that defines a limited area in which the distribution information is distributed,

wherein the movement amount calculation section updates, after the communication section has received the distribution information, the movement amount at predetermined time intervals, and

wherein the distribution information management section periodically determines the availability of the distribution information based on a hop count from the information distribution device and the updated movement amount, based on the predetermined time intervals.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the distribution information management section determines the availability of the distribution information at least at a time at which the communication section receives the distribution information.

3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the position information acquisition section acquires position information indicating an absolute position, and

wherein, when the information distribution device does not have a function of detecting an absolute position, the movement amount calculation section calculates the movement amount from the information distribution device by adding a difference between position information at a time point of receiving the distribution information and position information at a current time point to a movement amount at the time point of receiving the distribution information.

4. The wireless communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the communication section uses pass-by communication for communication with another wireless communication device.

5. An information distribution system comprising:

an information distribution device which distributes distribution information; and

a wireless communication device which receives, from the information distribution device or another wireless communication device that has received the distribution information, the distribution information using ad hoc wireless communication,

wherein the wireless communication device includes

a communication section which receives the distribution information,

a position information acquisition section which acquires position information indicating a current position,

a movement amount calculation section which calculates a movement amount from the information distribution device based on a change in the position information acquired by the position information acquisition section, and

a distribution information management section which manages availability of the distribution information based on the movement amount and a predetermined limited area-radius that defines a limited area in which the distribution information is distributed,

wherein the movement amount calculation section updates, after the communication section has received the distribution information, the movement amount at predetermined time intervals, and

wherein the distribution information management section periodically determines the availability of the distribution information based on a hop count from the information distribution device and the updated movement amount, based on the predetermined time intervals.

7. The information distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the communication section performs pass-by communication to communicate with another wireless communication device.

6. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to function as a wireless communication device and executes:

receiving, from an information distribution device that distributes distribution information or another wireless communication device that has received the distribution information, the distribution information using ad hoc wireless communication;

acquiring position information indicating a current position;

calculating a movement amount from the information distribution device based on a change in the position information acquired by the acquiring;

managing availability of the distribution information based on the movement amount and a predetermined limited area-radius that defines a limited area in which the distribution information is distributed;

updating, after receiving the distribution information, the movement amount at predetermined time intervals; and

periodically determining the availability of the distribution information based on a hop count from the information distribution device and the updated movement amount, based on the predetermined time intervals.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 6, further comprising performing pass-by communication to communicate with another wireless communication device.