Computer-readable storage medium having stored therein information processing program, information processor, information processing system, and information processing method

• US 9,031,524 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2012
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakayama, Satoshi, Mizuguchi, Yuki, Ooe, Tooru, Nakata, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US13/404,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20120220251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 455/67.11, 370/254, 370/329, 370/401, 463/42
• US Class Current: 455/226.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength

Abstract

A game apparatus receives signals from a plurality of game apparatuses. When the game apparatus has received signals from the plurality of game apparatuses, the game apparatus sorts the signals by apparatus and calculates an average RSSI value of the signals for each of the respective apparatuses. The game apparatus further calculates an average value of the calculated average RSSI values of the respective apparatuses. Then, the game apparatus determines a single icon to be displayed based on the calculated average value and causes the icon to be displayed on a screen.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program executed on a computer of an information processor having a wireless communication function, the information processing program comprising instructions that configure the computer to:

calculate a reception condition of a signal transmitted from each of a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function; and

calculate a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively by using the calculated reception condition of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of apparatuses,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition is calculated based on a ratio that is between (1) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are greater than or equal to the predetermined reference value and (2) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are less than the predetermined reference value or a total number of the plurality of apparatuses for which a reception condition has been calculated.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein values that respectively represent the calculated reception conditions are averaged, and thereby the comprehensive reception condition is calculated.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, the information processing program further comprising instructions that configure the computer to correct the calculated comprehensive reception condition based on the respective reception conditions having been calculated.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 3, the information processing program further comprising instructions that configure the computer to:

determine whether each of the values that represent the calculated respective reception conditions is smaller than or equal to a predetermined reference value,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition is corrected in accordance with a result of the determination.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 4, wherein the comprehensive reception condition is corrected when there is any apparatus, among the plurality of apparatuses, with respect to which a result of the determination is affirmative.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, the information processing program further comprising instructions that configure the computer to:

measure a time from reception of a signal from an apparatus to next reception of a signal from the apparatus,

wherein when the measured time is longer than or equal to a predetermined time period, the comprehensive reception condition is calculated, excluding the apparatus with respect to which the predetermined time period has elapsed.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the comprehensive reception condition is calculated by using the lowest one of the values that represent the respective reception conditions.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein any of the respective reception conditions is selected time-sequentially, and the comprehensive reception condition is calculated by using the selected reception condition.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein each of the calculated respective reception conditions is assigned weighting and the weighted reception conditions are averaged, and thereby the comprehensive reception condition is calculated.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 9, wherein the reception conditions are assigned weighting so that greater weighting is assigned to the reception condition of a specific apparatus among the plurality of apparatuses than those of the others of the plurality of apparatuses, and the values representing the weighted respective reception conditions are averaged, and thereby the comprehensive reception condition is calculated.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 9, wherein

the respective reception conditions are calculated and a variance of values representing the reception conditions of signals transmitted from each of the respective apparatuses is calculated, and

each of the respective apparatuses is assigned weighting in accordance with the calculated variance for the apparatus and the values representing the weighted respective reception conditions are averaged, and thereby the comprehensive reception condition is calculated.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the reception conditions of the signals transmitted from the plurality of apparatuses are sorted by apparatus and by signal type, and the reception condition is calculated for each sorted group.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 12, wherein weighting is assigned in accordance with the signal type and the weighted values representing the respective reception conditions are averaged, and thereby the comprehensive reception condition is calculated.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 12, wherein each of the values representing the respective reception conditions is quantized based on a different reference depending on the signal type, and the comprehensive reception condition is calculated by using the respective quantized values.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, the information processing program further causing the computer to transmit a predetermined signal to at least one of the plurality of apparatuses and accept a response for the signal.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined signal is transmitted to an apparatus, among the plurality of apparatuses, from which no signal has been received for a predetermined time period so that a response for the predetermined signal is received from the apparatus.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, the program further causing the computer to execute notifying a user of information representing the comprehensive reception condition.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the information processing program comprises further instructions that configure the computer to output an image to a display device that represents the calculated ratio.

19. An information processor having a wireless communication function, the information processor comprising:

at least one processor that is coupled to a memory, the at least one processor configured to;

calculate a reception condition of a signal transmitted from each of a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function; and

integrate the calculated respective reception conditions by calculating a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition is calculated based on a ratio that is between (1) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are greater than or equal to the predetermined reference value and (2) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are less than the predetermined reference value or a total number of the plurality of apparatuses for which a reception condition has been calculated.

20. An information processing system which conducts wireless communication, the information processing system comprising:

a first calculation unit that configures a processing system, which includes at least one processor, to calculate a reception condition of a signal transmitted from each of a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function; and

a second calculation unit that configures the processing system to integrate the respective reception conditions calculated by the first calculation unit and calculate a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition is calculated based on a ratio that is between (1) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are greater than or equal to the predetermined reference value and (2) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are less than the predetermined reference value or a total number of the plurality of apparatuses for which a reception condition has been calculated.

21. An information processing method comprising:

calculating a reception condition of a signal transmitted from each of a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function; and

integrating the calculated respective reception conditions and calculating a comprehensive reception condition that comprehensively represents the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition is calculated based on a ratio that is between (1) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are greater than or equal to the predetermined reference value and (2) a number of the plurality of apparatuses that are less than the predetermined reference value or a total number of the plurality of apparatuses for which a reception condition has been calculated.

22. An information processing system comprising a plurality of apparatuses that each have a wireless transceiver,

at least one of the plurality of apparatuses included in the information processing system including:

a first calculator which calculates a reception condition of a signal transmitted from each of the other apparatuses of the plurality of apparatuses;

a second calculator which integrates the respective reception conditions calculated by the first calculator and calculates a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the other apparatuses of the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively; and

a data receiver configured to receive data from the other apparatuses of the plurality of apparatuses,

wherein the information processing system is capable of executing a single network game among the plurality of apparatuses by using data that is exchanged over a wireless network and via respective wireless transceiver(s) of the plurality of apparatuses,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition represents, collectively, the condition of the wireless network that is being used for performance of the single network game by the plurality of apparatuses.

23. The information processing system according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of apparatuses comprise mobile apparatuses.

24. An information processing device capable of communicating with a plurality of apparatuses via wireless transmissions, the information processing device comprising:

a first calculator which calculates a reception condition of a wireless signal transmitted from each of the plurality of apparatuses;

a second calculator which integrates the respective reception conditions calculated by the first calculator and calculates a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the wireless signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively;

a data receiver configured to receive data from the plurality of apparatuses; and

a processing arrangement configured to perform a network game in cooperation with the plurality of apparatus by execution of a network game process that uses game data received by the data receiver and transmitted from other ones of the plurality of apparatus,

wherein the comprehensive reception condition represents, collectively, the condition of the wireless network that is being used for performance of the single network game by the plurality of apparatuses.

25. An information processing system which conducts wireless communication, the information processing system comprising:

a first calculator which calculates a reception condition of a signal transmitted from each of a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function; and

a second calculator which integrates the respective reception conditions calculated by the first calculator and calculates a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively, wherein

the second calculator calculates the comprehensive reception condition by assigning weighting to the reception conditions so that greater weighting is assigned to the reception condition of a specific apparatus among the plurality of apparatuses than those of other apparatuses, and averaging the values representing the weighted respective reception conditions.

26. An information processing system which conducts wireless communication, the information processing system comprising:

a first calculator which calculates reception conditions of signals transmitted from a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function, where the signals from the plurality of apparatuses are of at least two different signal types; and

a second calculator which integrates the respective reception conditions calculated by the first calculator and calculates a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively, where signals of at least two of the plurality of apparatus are of the same signal type,

wherein the first calculator sorts the signals transmitted from the plurality of apparatuses by signal type, and calculates the reception condition for each sorted group, and

the second calculator calculates a comprehensive reception condition representing the reception conditions of signals of each signal type calculated by the first calculator.

27. An information processing system which conducts wireless communication, the information processing system comprising:

a processing arrangement including at least one processor, the processing arrangement being configured to provide;

a first calculation which calculates a reception condition of signals transmitted from each of a plurality of apparatuses having a wireless communication function; and

a second calculation which integrates the respective reception conditions calculated by the first calculation and calculates a comprehensive reception condition representing the respective reception conditions of the signals from the plurality of apparatuses comprehensively; and

a response reception device operatively coupled to the processing arrangement, the response reception device configured to transmit a predetermined signal to an apparatus, among the plurality of apparatuses, from which no signal has been received for a predetermined time period, and receive a response to the predetermined signal from the apparatus,

wherein the processing arrangement calculates the reception condition of a signal received by the response reception device.