Information processing apparatus, computer-readable storage medium having information processing program stored therein, information processing method, and information processing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9641633-B2
Application number	US-201113102349-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 6, 2011
Priority date	Feb 25, 2011
Publication date	May 2, 2017
Grant date	May 2, 2017

Abstract

State change means changes a state of an information processing apparatus between an unused state and a used state. First communication means automatically performs communication with another portable information processing apparatus. Second communication means automatically performs communication via an access point. Communication control means performs control such that the communication by the first communication means is preferentially performed when the information processing apparatus is in the unused state and the communication by the second communication means is preferentially performed when the information processing apparatus is in the used state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus configured to operate in at least a used state and an unused state, the information processing apparatus comprising:
communication circuitry configured to operate as a first communication mode for automatically performing communication with another information processing apparatus and as a second communication mode for automatically performing communication via an access point; and
a processing system configured to:
change a state of the information processing apparatus between the unused state and the used state,
control the communication circuitry using a communication control device for performing control such that the communication by the first communication mode is preferentially performed when the information processing apparatus is in the unused state and the communication by the second communication mode is preferentially performed when the information processing apparatus is in the used state,
automatically switch between a first search and a second search,
automatically perform a search for the other information processing apparatus when the information processing apparatus is switched to the first search, and
automatically perform a search for the access point when the information processing apparatus is switched to the second search, wherein
the communication control device controls the communication circuitry to perform the communication by the first communication mode with the other information processing apparatus when the other information processing apparatus is detected by the first search and perform the communication by the second communication mode via the access point when the access point is detected by the second search.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the used state of the information processing apparatus, the communication control device performs the communication by the second communication mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and performs the communication by the first communication mode when the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
a first period for performing the communication by the first communication mode in the unused state and a second period during which the communication by the first communication mode is not performed in the unused state are previously set in the information processing apparatus, and
the communication control device controls the communication circuitry to perform the communication by the second communication mode in the unused state when the second period has come and the access point is present in a communicable range; perform the communication by the second communication mode in the used state when the access point is present in the communicable range; and perform the communication by the first communication mode in the used state when the access point is not present in the communicable range.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus switches between the first search and the second search each time a predetermined time elapses.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the predetermined time is a first unit time after the information processing apparatus switches to the first search, and is a second unit time shorter than the first unit time after the information processing apparatus switches to the second search.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the unused state of the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus alternately and repeatedly performs the first search and the second search each time the predetermined time elapses, and
in the used state of the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus performs switching from the first search to the second search when the predetermined time elapses, and performs switching from the second search to the first search when communication with the access point becomes disenabled.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further configured to connect to the access point when the access point is detected by the second search, wherein
when the information processing apparatus is connected to the access point, the second communication mode performs communication via the access point, and
the information processing apparatus cuts a connection to the access point after the communication by the second communication mode ends, in the unused state; and maintains the connection to the access point even after the communication by the second communication mode ends, in the used state.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the information processing apparatus switches to the first search when the connection to the access point cannot be maintained.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, in the used state, the information processing apparatus cuts the connection to the access point when the access point cannot be detected in the search after the information processing apparatus is connected to the access point.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the information processing apparatus repeatedly transmits a first search signal for searching for the other information processing apparatus and attempts to receive the first search signal transmitted from the other information processing apparatus, and
the information processing apparatus attempts to receive a second search signal repeatedly transmitted from the access point.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the first communication mode connects directly to another information processing apparatus present in a range of short-distance wireless communication, by using the short-distance wireless communication, and performs communication with the other information processing apparatus, and
the second communication mode performs communication with a server or another information processing apparatus via the access point.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second communication mode transmits/receives data that is the same as data transmitted/received by the communication performed by the first communication mode, to/from another information processing apparatus by communication via the access point.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus is a portable information processing apparatus.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus is in the unused state during a sleep mode and is in the used state during a normal power mode.

15. An information processing apparatus comprising:
communication circuitry configured to operate as a first communication mode for automatically performing data communication with another information processing apparatus by using short-distance wireless communication and as a second communication mode for automatically performing data communication via an access point; and
a processing system configured to:
search for the access point present in a communicable range of the information processing apparatus,
control the communication circuitry using a switch control device for performing the communication by the second communication mode when the access point is present in the communicable range, and performing the communication by the first communicati

Assignees

• Adachi Hiroaki
• Nintendo Co Ltd

Inventors

• Adachi Hiroaki

Classifications

• H04W74/0808

  using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA] · CPC title

• H04W84/22

  with access to wired networks · CPC title

• G07F17/323

  wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions · CPC title

• A63F13/35

  Details of game servers · CPC title

• G07F17/3223 Primary

  Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, leader-follower, wireless communication · CPC title