Wireless communication game system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9320972-B2
Application number	US-201313830762-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2013
Priority date	Oct 21, 2002
Publication date	Apr 26, 2016
Grant date	Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

A wireless communication game system includes a plurality of mobile game apparatuses, which function as a parent device or a child device and are capable of making a communication with each other, and broadcasts from the parent device a parent device packet including a parent device PID, a user name UserName, a game name GameName, an OC flag, an E slot, a U slot, and a payload. All the parent device packets are received from the parent device existing within a communicationable range of a user's own apparatus, and the user's own apparatus creates a parent device list, and displays the parent device list on an LCD. Therefore, a user or a player of his own apparatus looks at the game name of the parent device list, for example, and operates a cross key included in an operation key so as to select one desired parent device. Then, transmitting a child device number CID of the user's own apparatus at the E slot designated by the parent device packet, the user's own apparatus transmits a connection request to the parent device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An information system including a plurality of devices, wherein:
at least one of the devices includes:
a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly send self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying an application which is being executed on the respective device, wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the respective device has established a connection with any other devices, and

at least one other of the devices includes:
a wireless receiver configured to wirelessly receive, from the plurality of devices existing within a communication range, said self-identifying information and said application identifying information from said wireless transmitter, and
at least one processor configured to:
generate a display of indications of devices existing within the communications range that are communicative with an application which is being executed on the other of the devices, based on the application identifying information received by said wireless receiver,
allow a user to select at least one of the devices displayed, and
cause transmission of a connection request toward the selected at least one device.

2. A wireless communication system including a plurality of mobile devices, wherein
each said device in the system is configured to:
send information identifying the respective device and information identifying an application being run on the respective device, wherein the self-identifying information and the application identifying information is sent before the respective device has established a connection with any other devices,
receive information identifying other devices that are in communications range therewith, as well as information identifying which applications are being run on those other devices,
display the devices existing within the communication range, based on the received information,
enable a user to select at least one of the devices existing within the communication range following the displaying, and
transmit a connection request to the selected at least one device, and

wherein the devices that are displayed on a given device are those that are running applications suitable for communicating with the application being run by the given device, as determined by the given device in consultation with the application identifying information received by the given device.

3. A wireless handheld device comprising:
a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly send self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying at least one application on the device, wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the device has established a connection with any other devices,
a wireless receiver configured to wirelessly receive self-identifying information and application identifying information from other devices, and
at least one processor configured to:
generate a display of indications of other devices existing within a communications range that are communicative with an application on the device based on the application identifying information received by the wireless receiver, wherein established connections are not prerequisites to generation of the display,
allow a user to select at least one of the displayed other devices, and
cooperate with the wireless transmitter to transmit a connection request toward the selected other device(s).

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the device is a game device, and the at least one application comprises a communicative game.

5. The device of claim 3 , wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which is being executed on the device.

6. The device of claim 3 , wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which is being activated on the device.

7. The device of claim 3 , wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which has already been executed but has not started a communicative state in the application with any other devices.

8. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver are implemented in a wireless transceiver.

9. A wireless handheld device comprising:
a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly send self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying at least one application on the device, wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the device has started a communicative state with any other devices,
a wireless receiver configured to wirelessly receive self-identifying information and application identifying information from other wireless devices, and
at least one processor configured to:
generate a display of indications of other devices existing within a communications range that are communicative with an application on the device based on the application identifying information received by the wireless receiver, wherein established connections are not prerequisites to generation of the display,
allow a user to select at least one of the displayed wireless devices, and
cooperate with the wireless transmitter to transmit a connection request toward the selected wireless device(s).

10. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before any opponent to connect with has been determined.

11. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information before the user has selected any opponent to connect with.

12. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information to at least two devices within communications range.

13. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information so that undetermined other devices within communications range can get them.

14. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver are further configured to send and receive said information among unspecified devices.

15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the application identifying information identifies an application which is being executed thereon.

16. The device of claim 3 , wherein the wireless transmitter is further configured to send the self-identifying information and the application identifying information on the device for a plurality of other devices without establishing a connection with the other devices.

17. The device of claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute communication information processing with another device.

18. The device of claim 9 , wherein the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver are implemented in a wireless transceiver.

19. A wireless handheld device comprising:
a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly send self-identifying information and application identifying information identifying at least one application on the device,
a wireless receiver configured to wirelessly receive

Assignees

• Nintendo Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tanaka Shoya
• Kuwahara Masato
• Oe Toru
• Yoshioka Teruyuki

Classifications

• A63F13/795

  for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list · CPC title

• A63F2300/402

  Communication between platforms, i.e. physical link to protocol · CPC title

• A63F13/77

  involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory · CPC title

• A63F2300/406

  Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM · CPC title

• A63F13/332

  using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks · CPC title