Communication system, computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon information processing program, information processing method, information processing apparatus, and information processing system

• US 8,874,037 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2011
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Fujiwara, Shinya, Kawamoto, Kouichi, Ito, Yuichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): WENDELL, ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US13/111,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20120164945A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/514, 455/69, 455/556.1
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/327 using wireless networks, e.g. Wi-Fi® or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• 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: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks

Abstract

Another information processing apparatus in a communicable range of a short-distance wireless communication is repeatedly searched for, and wireless communication is automatically established therewith, first data is automatically transmitted to the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and first data transmitted from the other information processing apparatus is automatically received by means of the short-distance wireless communication. Further, transmission of second data is permitted which is different from first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed before.

Claims

1. A communication system which includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses, each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses comprising:

a memory for storing first data;

wireless communication circuitry; and

processing circuitry for

controlling the wireless communication circuitry to repeatedly search for partner information processing apparatuses in a wireless communication range of the information processing apparatus,

for each partner information processing apparatus found during the searching, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically establish wireless communication therewith, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically transmit transmission data including the first data thereto, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically receive, as reception data, transmission data including first data transmitted therefrom, and controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically disconnect the wireless communication therewith when the transmitting of the transmission data and the receiving of the reception data are complete;

setting, for each of one or more of the partner information processing apparatuses from which reception data is received, respective second data different from the first data and

storing the respective second data in the memory, wherein

the transmission data transmitted by the information processing apparatus to partner information processing apparatuses found during searching subsequent to the setting and storing of respective second data includes the respective set and stored second data.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication circuitry of each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses is configured for short-distance wireless communication.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses is a portable information processing apparatus.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon an information processing program for execution by a computer of an information processing apparatus connected to wireless communication circuitry and to a memory storing first data, the information processing program, when executed, causing the computer to control the information processing apparatus to at least:

repeatedly search, using the wireless communication circuitry, for partner information processing apparatuses in a wireless communication range of the information processing apparatus;

for each partner information processing apparatus found during the searching, automatically establish, via the wireless communication circuitry, wireless communication therewith, automatically transmit, via the wireless communication circuitry, transmission data including the first data thereto, automatically receive, as reception data, via the wireless communication circuitry, transmission data including first data transmitted therefrom, and disconnect the wireless communication therewith when the transmitting of the transmission data and the receiving of the reception data are complete; and

setting, for each of one or more of the partner information processing apparatuses from which reception data is received, respective second data different from the first data, and storing the respective second data, wherein

the transmission data transmitted by the information processing apparatus to partner information processing apparatuses found during searching subsequent to the setting and storing of respective second data includes the respective set and stored second data.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the first data is data for an unspecified partner information processing apparatus, and

the second data is data for a specific partner information processing apparatus.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the wireless communication circuitry is configured for short-distance wireless communication.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the second data is user-created.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein the information processing program, when executed, causes the computer to further control the information processing apparatus to

display content based on the first data in the reception data, and

after the content is displayed, receive user-supplied inputs for creating the second data.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein

the first data and the second data are character string data, and

citation data is included in the second data, the citation data indicating content of the first data or content of the second data and being displayed when the second data is created.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein

the first data is created in advance before an initial communication with a partner information processing apparatus, and

the second data for a particular partner information processing apparatus is created only after first data received from that partner information processing apparatus is displayed.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the transmission data comprises image data for a character and the first data, and the reception data comprises image data of a character and first data, and

the second data is transmitted to respective partner information processing apparatuses with which transmission/reception of the image data of the character and the first data has been performed previously.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein

the second data comprises user-supplied text.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the information processing apparatus is a hand-held information processing apparatus.

14. An information processing method for transmitting data, the information processing method comprising:

repeatedly searching, using wireless communication circuitry, for partner information processing apparatuses in a wireless communication range of the information processing apparatus;

for each partner information processing apparatus found during the searching, automatically establishing, via the wireless communication circuitry, wireless communication therewith, automatically transmitting, via the wireless communication circuitry, transmission data including first data thereto, automatically receiving, as reception data, via the wireless communication circuitry, transmission data including first data transmitted therefrom, and disconnecting the wireless communication therewith when the transmitting of the transmission data and the receiving of the reception data are complete; and

setting, for each of one or more of the partner information processing apparatuses from which reception data is received, respective second data different from the first data, and storing the respective second data, wherein

the transmission data transmitted to partner information processing apparatuses found during searching subsequent to the setting and storing of respective second data includes the respective set and stored second data.

15. An information processing apparatus connected to a memory storing first data, the information processing apparatus comprising:

wireless communication circuitry; and

processing circuitry for

controlling the wireless communication circuitry to repeatedly search for partner information processing apparatuses in a wireless communication range of the information processing apparatus;

for each partner information processing apparatus found during the searching, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically establish communication therewith, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically transmit transmission data including the first data thereto, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically receive, as reception data, transmission data including first data transmitted therefrom, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically disconnect the wireless communication therewith when the transmitting of the transmission data and the receiving of the reception data are complete, setting, for each of one or more of the partner information processing apparatuses from which reception data is received, respective second data, different from the first data, and storing the respective second data in the memory, wherein

the transmission data transmitted by the information processing apparatus to partner information processing apparatuses found during searching subsequent to the setting and storing of respective second data includes the respective set and stored second data.

16. An information processing system connected to a memory storing first data, the information processing system comprising:

wireless communication circuitry; and

processing circuitry for

controlling the wireless communication circuitry to repeatedly search for partner information processing apparatuses in a wireless communication range of the information processing apparatus;

for each partner information processing apparatus found during the searching, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically establish communication therewith, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically transmit transmission data including the first data thereto, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically receive, as reception data, transmission data including first data transmitted therefrom, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically disconnect the wireless communication therewith when the transmitting of the transmission data and the receiving of the reception data are complete, setting, for each of one or more of the partner information processing apparatuses from which reception data is received, respective second data, different from the first data, and storing the respective second data in the memory, wherein

the transmission data transmitted to partner information processing apparatuses found during searching subsequent to the setting and storing of respective second data includes the respective set and stored second data.

17. A portable information processing apparatus comprising:

a display;

wireless communication circuitry;

memory; and

processing circuitry, wherein

the processing circuitry is configured to execute an application program stored in the memory and to control the wireless communication circuitry to search for partner portable information processing apparatuses,

the wireless communication circuitry, under control of the processing circuitry, is configured to transmit transmission data to each of a plurality of partner portable information processing apparatuses found during searching and to receive, as reception data, transmission data transmitted from each of the plurality of partner portable information processing apparatuses found during the searching,

the transmission data transmitted by the portable information processing apparatus includes (i) common message data for use by the application program when the application program is executed by partner portable information processing apparatuses with which the portable information processing apparatus has not previously communicated, and (ii) respective individualized message data for use by the application program when the application program is executed by each of one or more partner portable information processing apparatuses with which the portable information processing apparatus has previously communicated, and

the application program sets the individualized message data for a particular partner information processing apparatus only after the portable information processing apparatus receives reception data from that particular partner information processing apparatus.

18. A communication system which includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses, each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses comprising:

a memory for storing character data for a character and first data;

wireless communication circuitry; and

processing circuitry for

controlling the wireless communication circuitry to repeatedly search for partner information processing apparatuses in a wireless communication range of the information processing apparatus;

for each partner information processing apparatus found during the searching, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically establish communication therewith, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically transmit transmission data including the character data and the first data thereto, controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically receive, as reception data, transmission information including character data and first data transmitted therefrom, and controlling the wireless communication circuitry to automatically disconnect the wireless communication therewith when the transmitting of the transmission data and the receiving of the reception data are complete;

setting, for each of one or more partner information processing apparatus from which reception data is received, respective second data different from the first data; and

storing the respective second data in the memory, wherein

the transmission data transmitted to partner information processing apparatuses found during searching subsequent to the setting and storing of respective second data includes the respective set and stored second data.