Communications adaptable to mobile devices

• US 9,549,023 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• 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:
  US14/458,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20140347437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: 709/208
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 a number of 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 or audio, or both, transfers among user terminals 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 order to ensure proper audio and/or video communications between or among them. In another embodiment, an unhosted master terminal is provided with the communication system 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. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium for storing at least one computer program related to whether to include a master terminal in a network, said at least one computer program comprising instructions for:

obtaining information using each of a number of mobile terminals in a network being established, said number of mobile terminals being greater than one, said information related to each of said number of mobile terminals being identified as a mobile terminal; and

using said information to determine, after said obtaining, to include said master terminal in said network, with said number of mobile terminals also being greater than a predetermined number wherein, when said number of mobile terminals is not greater than said predetermined number, said master terminal is not included in said network, and in which said number of mobile terminals in said network after said master terminal is included remains the same as said number of mobile terminals before said master terminal is included in said network.

2. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein said master terminal, after being included in said network, receives audio data associated with at least each of said number of said mobile terminals and with said number of said mobile terminals not being fully interconnected such that each of said number of mobile terminals does not receive audio data directly from each other of said number of mobile terminals, and in which said network is subsequently changed wherein said number of said mobile terminal are fully interconnected such that each of said number of mobile terminals does receive audio data directly from each other of said number of mobile terminals.

3. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein said network includes a plurality of user terminals and said plurality of user terminals includes said number of mobile terminals and in which all said plurality of user terminals are mobile terminals.

4. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 3, wherein said predetermined number is four and said plurality of user terminals is five.

5. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium having at least one computer program related to whether to include a master terminal in communication with a plurality of user terminals including at least two user terminals involved with communicating one or both of audio and video, said at least one computer program comprising instructions for use in:

sending data between at least first and second user terminals of said plurality of user terminals; and

after said sending data, adding a first master terminal in a network that includes said plurality of user terminals including said first and second user terminals;

wherein data is sent between said first and second user terminals before said adding said first master terminal, and data is also sent between said first and second user terminals using said first master terminal after said adding said first master terminal, and in which said number of said plurality of user terminals in said network after said adding said first master terminal remains the same as said number of said plurality of user terminals before said adding said first master terminal.

6. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein said second user terminal is a second master terminal and said first user terminal is a first slave that communicates audio data associated therewith 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.

7. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, 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 data to said first slave using said first master terminal.

8. At least one computer readable medium of claim 5, further including 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 data to said first master terminal and said first master terminal communicates said first slave audio data to said second master terminal and said second slave communicates its own audio data to said second master terminal and said second slave does not communicate its own audio data to said first master terminal.

9. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein a determination is made utilizing at least one data bit controlled using at least one of said first and second user terminals, before said first master terminal is added, that at least one of said at least first and second user terminals is a mobile terminal.

10. At least one computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein said plurality of user terminals are used in establishing a particular peer-to-peer network, with at least each of said first and second user terminals for outputting audio data associated with said first and second user terminals, respectively.