Communications adaptable to mobile devices

• US 8,838,722 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2012
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Masque Publishing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Masque Publishing, Inc.
• Inventors: Ridges, John C., Wisler, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Keehn, Richard G
• Application Number:
  US13/372,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20120206557A1
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• Field of Search: 709/208
• US Class Current: 709/208
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• 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: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1051 Group master selection mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/182 Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy

Abstract

A communication system is provided that is preferably a peer-to-peer (p2p) system. One or both of audio and video can be transferred among user terminals in the p2p system. The user terminals can include at least one master terminal, which could be an unhosted master terminal that does not communicate its own audio and/or video. In one embodiment, a first master terminal is included that controls video and/or audio transfers and an unhosted second master terminal is provided that communicates with at least two user terminals to provide desired connectivity involving such user terminals. In another embodiment, an unhosted master terminal is provided when the user terminals include mobile terminals in order to avoid power usage by mobile terminals. This communication system can be utilized with online game playing in which a game server is included, as well as having other communication applications.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for communicating at least voice, comprising:

providing a plurality of user terminals including a number of mobile terminals, said plurality of user terminals being part of a network being established;

obtaining information using each of said number of mobile terminals, said information related to each being identifiable as a mobile terminal;

only after said providing and said obtaining, using said information to determine whether to include a master terminal in said network, said master terminal being different than said plurality of user terminals; and

including said master terminal in said network if said number of mobile terminals is greater than a predetermined number and not including said master terminal if said number of mobile terminals is not greater than said predetermined number, and in which said predetermined number is greater than one.

2. A method of claim 1, wherein all of said plurality of user terminals are mobile terminals and said method further includes including said master terminal in said network to receive audio data associated with each of said plurality of user terminals and with said plurality of user terminal not being fully interconnected.

3. A method of claim 2, wherein said pre-established predetermined number is four and said number of mobile terminals is five.

4. A method of claim 2, wherein audio data, if any, associated with said master terminal is not provided to any of said plurality of user terminals.

5. A method of claim 2, further including, after using said master terminal in said network, using said master terminal as a topology manager while changing in said network such that said mobile terminals are fully interconnected with each other.

6. A method of claim 1, wherein said network includes a peer-to-peer system.

7. A peer-to- peer system for communicating one or both of voice and video, comprising:

a plurality of user terminals, including at least a first user terminal and a second user terminal, that are used to establish a particular peer-to-peer system, and in which a determination is made that communications are unacceptable between said first and second user terminals based on sending data, without using a first master terminal, at least from said first user terminal to said second user terminal; and

said first master terminal, different than said plurality of user terminals, being included with said peer-to-peer system, wherein said first master terminal is included only after said determination is made and with said first master terminal being included to provide acceptable communications between said first and second user terminals;

wherein said first master terminal does not communicate at least its own audio, if any, while each of said plurality of user terminals does communicate at least its own audio.

8. A system of claim 7, wherein said second user terminal is a second master terminal and said first user terminal is a first slave that communicates audio data associated there with-to said first master terminal and in which said first master terminal communicates said audio data associated with said first slave to said second master terminal.

9. A system of claim 8, wherein said first master terminal is an unhosted master terminal and said second master terminal is not an unhosted master terminal with said second master terminal communicating its own audio to said first slave using said first master terminal.

10. A system of claim 7, wherein said plurality of user terminals includes a second slave and said first user terminal is a first slave and said second user terminal is a second master terminal, and in which said first slave communicates its own audio to said first master terminal and said first master terminal communicates said first slave audio to said second master terminal and said second slave communicates its own audio to said second master terminal.

11. A system of claim 7, wherein a determination is made using said peer-to-peer system, before said first master terminal is included with said peer-to-peer system, that at least one of said plurality of user terminals is a mobile terminal.

12. A system of claim 11, wherein said peer-to-peer system determines, using information obtained from each of said plurality of mobile terminals, that all of said plurality of user terminals are mobile terminals, and in which said information is obtained before said first master terminal is included In said peer-to-peer system.

13. A system of claim 12, wherein said plurality of user terminals is at least a predetermined number, with said predetermined number being greater than one.

14. A computer-implemented method for communicating at least voice, comprising:

identifying all user terminals, including first and second user terminals, of a network that is being established, said network being established without a master terminal, which is different than each of said user terminals, with at least each of said first and second user terminals for outputting audio data associated with said first and second user terminals, respectively;

having communications, including sending data without using said master terminal, among all said user terminals;

determining, based on said sending data without using said master terminal, that at least said communications between said first and second user terminals are unacceptable; and

only after said determining, including said master terminal in said network for use in communicating said audio data associated with said first user terminal to said second user terminal.

15. A method of claim 14, wherein said sending data includes sending said audio data associated with said first user terminal to said second user terminal.

16. A method of claim 14, further including:

providing information, which includes at least one data bit controlled using said first user terminal, that is indicative or whether said first user terminal is a mobile terminal.

17. A method of claim 14, wherein said master terminal is a first master terminal, said second user terminal is a second master terminal, said first user terminal is a first slave and said user terminals further include a second slave, and in which said first master terminal is used to communicate said audio data associated with said first slave from said first slave to said second master terminal, with said audio data associated with said first slave being communicated to said second slave using said second master terminal.

18. A method of claim 17, wherein said first master terminals is an unhosted master terminal in which no audio data is associated therewith so that it does not output its own audio data.

19. A method of claim 14, wherein said sending data includes providing test data transfers using a peer-to-peer server that is in communication with all said user terminals.

20. A method of claim 14, further including:

before said including, obtaining information related to whether one or more of said user terminals is a mobile terminal.

21. A peer-to-peer system for communicating at least one of voice and video, comprising:

a plurality of user terminals, including first and second user terminals, that are used to establish a particular peer-to-peer system, wherein a determination is made that a number of said plurality of user terminals are mobile terminals and that said number thereof is greater than a predetermined number, and with said predetermined number being greater than one, said determination being made using information obtained from each of said user terminals that is used to ascertain whether each is a mobile terminal, with said determination being made without using a master terminal, different than said plurality of user terminals, in said peer-to-peer system; and

said master terminal being included in said peer-to-peer system only after said determination is made and in which audio data associated with each of said plurality of user terminals is communicated among said plurality of user terminals using said master terminal.

22. A system of claim 21, wherein said determination is made that all of said plurality of user terminals are mobile terminals and said predetermined number is greater than four.

23. A system of claim 21, wherein said master terminal is a first master terminal and said system includes a second master terminal in communication with each of said first master terminal and said second user terminal and in which said audio data associated with said second user terminal is communicated to said first master terminal using said second master terminal.

24. A system of claim 21, wherein after at least some of said audio data is communicated among said plurality of user terminals, said plurality of user terminals are changed from said particular peer-to-peer system to a fully interconnected peer-to-peer system in which said master terminal discontinues to communicate said audio data among said plurality of user terminals.

25. A system of claim 21, wherein a data bit controlled using at least said first user terminal is indicative of whether said first user terminal is a mobile terminal.