Method and apparatus for synchronization of devices
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- providing for operation of a collaboration application among at least two participating devices, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of;
a game in which each participating device is a player, an application to distribute computational requirements among participating devices, or an application where each participating device gathers sensor data for compilation;
providing for transmission of a multicast reference time message request from one of the at least two participating devices to a wireless access point, wherein the multicast reference time message is requested for transmission to each of the at least two participating devices, wherein the at least two participating devices comprises an original requesting device, operating the collaboration application, and wherein the reference time message is unrelated to a clock time independently maintained on the at least two devices and is associated with the wireless access point;
receiving a multicast reference time message;
establishing a reference time in response to receiving the reference time message and receiving a confirmation at the original requesting device; and
synchronizing the collaboration application using the reference time.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided to enable the provision of a mechanism by which a device participating in a collaborative application may synchronize with other participating devices. A method may include providing for operation of a collaboration application, providing for transmission of a multicast reference time request to a wireless access point, receiving a multicast reference time message, establishing a reference time in response to receiving the reference time message, and synchronizing the collaboration application using the reference time. The synchronization of the collaboration application may be performed in response to receiving an acknowledgement message from collaborating devices. The method may further include providing for transmission of a second multicast reference time request in response to not receiving an acknowledgement message from the collaborating devices. The multicast reference time message may be received from the wireless access point.
14 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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providing for operation of a collaboration application among at least two participating devices, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of;
a game in which each participating device is a player, an application to distribute computational requirements among participating devices, or an application where each participating device gathers sensor data for compilation;providing for transmission of a multicast reference time message request from one of the at least two participating devices to a wireless access point, wherein the multicast reference time message is requested for transmission to each of the at least two participating devices, wherein the at least two participating devices comprises an original requesting device, operating the collaboration application, and wherein the reference time message is unrelated to a clock time independently maintained on the at least two devices and is associated with the wireless access point; receiving a multicast reference time message; establishing a reference time in response to receiving the reference time message and receiving a confirmation at the original requesting device; and synchronizing the collaboration application using the reference time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
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provide for operation of a collaboration application among at least two participating devices, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of;
a game in which each participating device is a player, an application to distribute computational requirements among participating devices, or an application where each participating device gathers sensor data for compilation;provide for transmission of a multicast reference time message request from one of the at least two participating devices to a wireless access point, wherein the multicast reference time message is requested for transmission to each of the at least two participating devices, wherein the at least two participating devices comprises an original requesting device, operating the collaboration application, and wherein the reference time message is unrelated to a clock time independently maintained on the at least two devices and is associated with the wireless access point; receive a multicast reference time message and receiving a confirmation at the original requesting device; establish a reference time in response to receiving the reference time message; and synchronize the collaboration application using the reference time. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising:
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program code instructions to provide for operation of a collaboration application among at least two participating devices, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of;
a game in which each participating device is a player, an application to distribute computational requirements among participating devices, or an application where each participating device gathers sensor data for compilation;program code instructions to provide for transmission of a multicast reference time message request from one of the at least two participating devices to a wireless access point, wherein the multicast reference time message is requested for transmission to each of the at least two participating devices, wherein the at least two participating devices comprises an original requesting device, operating the collaboration application, and wherein the reference time message is unrelated to a clock time independently maintained on the at least two devices and is associated with the wireless access point; program code instructions to receive a multicast reference time message; program code instructions to establish a reference time in response to receiving the reference time message and receiving a confirmation at the original requesting device; and program code instructions to synchronize the collaboration application using the reference time. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification