COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM HAVING STORED THEREON INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 20120164945A1
• Filed: 05/19/2011
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawamoto, Kouichi, Ito, Yuichiro, FUJIWARA, Shinya
• Granted Patent: US 8,874,037 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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:

storage means for storing first data to be transmitted to another information processing apparatus;

communication means for repeatedly searching for another information processing apparatus in a communicable range of a short-distance wireless communication, automatically establishing wireless communication therewith, automatically transmitting the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and automatically receiving first data transmitted from the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established; and

control means for permitting the communication means to transmit second data which is different from the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before.

2. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus connected to storage means storing first data to be transmitted to another information processing apparatus, the information processing program causing the computer to function as:

communication means for repeatedly searching for another information processing apparatus in a communicable range of a short-distance wireless communication, automatically establishing wireless communication therewith, automatically transmitting the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and automatically receiving first data transmitted from the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established; and

control means for permitting the communication means to transmit second data which is different from the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before.

3. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

the first data is data to be transmitted to an unspecified other information processing apparatus, and

the second data is data to be transmitted to a specific other information processing apparatus.

4. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

in a case where the transmission of the second data is permitted by the control means, the communication means automatically transmits the second data to the other information processing apparatus corresponding to the second data by means of the short-distance wireless communication.

5. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

the control means permits the communication means to transmit the second data by permitting a user to create the second data.

6. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

the computer is further caused to function as display control means for causing a display device to display a content based on the first data received by the reception means, and

after the content is displayed by the display control means, the control means permits a user to create the second data.

7. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 6, wherein

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

the control means causes citation data to be included in the second data, the citation data indicating the content of the first data or a content of the second data received by the reception means and displayed by the display control means when the second data is created.

8. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 6, wherein

the first data is data that has been created in advance before communication with the other information processing apparatus is performed for the first time by the communication means, and

the second data is capable of being created only after the first data or the second data received from the other information processing apparatus is displayed by the display control means.

9. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 5, wherein

the computer is further caused to function as selection means for selecting one of the first data and the second data as data to be transmitted next time to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before, and

the control means permits the user to create the second data in a case where the second data is selected by the selection means.

10. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

the communication means automatically transmits image data of a character and the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and automatically receives image data of a character and the first data transmitted from the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and

the control means permits the communication means to transmit the second data to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the image data of the character and the first data corresponding to the image data has been performed by the communication means before.

11. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 10, wherein

the computer is further caused to function as:

display control means for causing a display device to display a content of the first data or the second data received by the reception means;

selection means for allowing, with respect to another information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has not been performed by the communication means before, selection only of the first data as data to be transmitted next time, and for allowing, with respect to said other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before, selection of one of the first data and the second data as data to be transmitted next time to said other information processing apparatus by the communication means.

12. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 5, wherein

the control means permits the user to input text as the second data.

13. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

in a case where the other information processing apparatus from which the first data is received by the communication means this time is the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before, the control means permits the communication means to transmit the second data to the other information processing apparatus next time.

14. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

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

15. An information processing method for transmitting data to another information processing apparatus, the data being stored in storage means, the information processing method comprising:

a communication step of repeatedly searching for another information processing apparatus in a communicable range of a short-distance wireless communication, automatically establishing wireless communication therewith, automatically transmitting first data stored in the storage means to the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and automatically receiving first data transmitted from the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established;

a control step for permitting transmitting, in the communication step, second data which is different from the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed in the communication step before.

16. An information processing apparatus connected to storage means storing first data to be transmitted to another information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus comprising:

communication means for repeatedly searching for another information processing apparatus in a communicable range of a short-distance wireless communication, automatically establishing wireless communication therewith, automatically transmitting the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established, and automatically receiving first data transmitted from the other information processing apparatus with which the wireless communication has been established; and

control means for permitting the communication means to transmit second data which is different from the first data to the other information processing apparatus with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before.

17. An information processing system connected to storage means storing first data to be transmitted to another information processing system, the information processing system comprising:

communication means for repeatedly searching for another information processing apparatus in a communicable range of a short-distance wireless communication, automatically establishing wireless communication therewith, automatically transmitting the first data to the other information processing system with which the wireless communication has been established, and automatically receiving first data transmitted from the other information processing system with which the wireless communication has been established; and

control means for permitting the communication means to transmit second data which is different from the first data to the other information processing system with which the transmission/reception of the first data has been performed by the communication means before.