# US 10,771,279 B2 · Communication terminal device, information communication system, recording medium, and information communication method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,771,279 B2 - Document ID: US10771279B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/961,915 - Filed: 2018-04-25 - Published: 2018-11-08 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-02 - Assignees: MegaChips Corporation - Applicants: MegaChips Corporation - Inventors: Yuta Sawa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10771279B2 ## CPC - H04L 12/40013: {Details regarding a bus controller} - H04L 12/40202: {by using a plurality of master stations} - H04L 12/403: with centralised control, e.g. polling - H04L 41/0668: by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure - H04W 84/20: Leader-follower arrangements - H04W 8/005: {Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals} - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract A communication terminal device connected to a network and performing data communications between another communication terminal device through the network, includes a storage configured to store proper information used as a criterion for switching an operation mode between a master unit operation mode and a slave unit operation mode, and circuitry configured to switch the master unit operation mode of a self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the proper information, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode. The master unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a master unit, and the slave unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a slave unit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A communication terminal device connected to a network and performing data communications with another communication terminal device through the network, comprising: a storage configured to store proper information used as a criterion for switching an operation mode between a master unit operation mode and a slave unit operation mode; and circuitry configured to switch the master unit operation mode of a self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the proper information, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode, wherein the master unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a master unit, and the slave unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a slave unit, wherein the proper information includes judging criterion information used as the criterion which judges the priority as the master unit of the self device, and the circuitry is further configured to: monitor whether or not the other communication terminal device is the another master unit, when the self device operates by the master unit operation mode, acquire the judging criterion information of the other communication terminal device detected as the other master unit, and switch, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode and when the other master unit is detected by monitoring, the master unit operation mode of the self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the judging criterion information of the self device and the judging criterion information of the other master unit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the judging criterion information of the self device is MAC address of the self device; and the judging criterion information of the other master unit is MAC address of the other master unit. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the judging criterion information of the self device is the number of the slave units registered in the self device operating by the master unit operation mode, and the judging criterion information of the other master unit is the number of the slave units registered in the other master unit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the judging criterion information of the self device is the maximum number of hop to the slave units registered in the self device operating by the master unit operation mode, and the judging criterion information of the other master unit is the number of hop to slave units registered in the other master unit. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the judging criterion information of the self device is the worst value of communication quality between the slave units registered in the self device operating by the master unit operation mode, and the judging criterion information of the other master unit is the worst value of communication quality between the slave units registered in the other master unit. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the judging criterion information of the self device is a time elapsed from the master unit operation mode start of the self device, and the judging criterion information of the other master unit is a time elapsed from the master unit operation mode start of the other master unit. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to switch, while the self device is operating by the operation mode other than the master unit operation mode and when the circuitry judges that no master unit exists in the other communication terminal device, the operation mode of the self device to the master unit operation mode. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The communication terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: switch, while the self device is operating by the slave unit operation mode and when the circuitry judges that no master unit exists in the other communication terminal device, the slave unit operation mode of the self device to the master unit operation mode. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The communication terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the storage stores switching permission flag which indicates whether or not switching to the master unit operation mode from the slave unit operation mode is permitted to the circuitry, and the circuitry is further configured to perform the switching to the master unit operation mode from the slave unit operation mode according to the switching permission flag. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The communication terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the storage stores standby time which depends on priority based on the judging criterion information, and the circuitry is further configured to judge, when the circuitry judges that the standby time has passed without discovering the master unit in the other communication terminal device, no master unit exists in the other communication terminal device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the storage stores monitoring permission flag which indicates whether or not the monitoring by the circuitry is permitted, and the circuitry is further configured to perform the monitoring according to the monitoring permission flag. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to register the self device to a blacklist, wherein any device on the blacklist is not available to operate by the master unit operation mode again until predetermined conditions are met. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The communication terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the circuitry is further configured to delete the master unit registered in the blacklist when the self device is registered in a new master unit. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The communication terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the circuitry is further configured to delete the master unit from the blacklist when a predetermined amount of time has passed after registering the self device in the blacklist. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The communication terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the circuitry is further configured to clear the blacklist when no other communication terminal devices are operating by the master unit operation mode. ### Claim 16 A communication terminal device connected to a network and performing data communications with another communication terminal device through the network, comprising: circuitry configured to: monitor whether or not a new master unit other than a current master unit registering a self device exists in the other communication terminal device, while the self device is operating by a slave unit operation mode; acquire first judging criterion information used as a criterion for judging a priority as the master unit of the current master unit and second judging criterion information used as a criterion for judging a priority as the master unit of the new master unit; select when the circuitry judges that the new master unit exists, one of the current master unit or the new master unit as the master unit of the self device based on comparing the first judging criterion information and the second judging criterion information; wherein the slave unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a slave unit. ### Claim 17 An information communication system comprising a plurality of communication terminal devices connected to a network, the communication terminal device comprising: a storage configured to store proper information used as a criterion for switching an operation mode between a master unit operation mode and a slave unit operation mode; and circuitry configured to switch the master unit operation mode of a self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the proper information, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode, wherein the master unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a master unit, and the slave unit operation mode is the operation mode of the communication terminal device operating as a slave unit, wherein the proper information includes judging criterion information used as the criterion which judges the priority as the master unit of the self device, and the circuitry is further configured to: monitor whether or not the other communication terminal device is another master unit, when the self device operates by the master unit operation mode, acquire the judging criterion information of the other communication terminal device detected as the other master unit, and switch, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode and when the other master unit is detected by monitoring, the master unit operation mode of the self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the judging criterion information of the self device and the judging criterion information of the other master unit. ### Claim 18 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a computer including storage and circuitry, cause the computer to perform a method comprising: storing proper information used as a criterion for switching an operation mode between a master unit operation mode and a slave unit operation mode; switching the master unit operation mode of a self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the proper information, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode, wherein the master unit operation mode is the operation mode of the computer operating as a master unit, the slave unit operation mode is the operation mode of the computer operating as a slave unit, the computer is connected to a network and performs data communications between another communication terminal device through the network, and the proper information includes judging criterion information used as the criterion which judges the priority as the master unit of the self device, the method further comprising: monitoring whether or not the other communication terminal device is another master unit, when the self device operates by the master unit operation mode; acquiring the judging criterion information of the other communication terminal device detected as the other master unit; and switching, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode and when the other master unit is detected by monitoring, the master unit operation mode of the self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the judging criterion information of the self device and the judging criterion information of the other master unit. ### Claim 19 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a computer including circuitry, cause the computer to perform a method comprising: monitoring whether or not a new master unit other than a current master unit registering a self device exists in another communication terminal device, while the self device is operating by a slave unit operation mode; acquiring first judging criterion information used as a criterion for judging a priority as the master unit of the previous master unit and second judging criterion information used as a criterion for judging a priority as the master unit of the new master unit; selecting when the circuitry judges that the new master unit exists, one of the current master unit and the new master unit as the master unit of the self device based on the first judging criterion information and the second judging criterion information; wherein the slave unit operation mode is the operation mode of the computer operating as a slave unit, and the computer is connected to a network and performs data communications with the other communication terminal device through the network. ### Claim 20 An information communication method for performing data communications between a plurality of communication terminal devices including circuitry, and having a master unit operation mode operating as a master unit and a slave unit operation mode operating as a slave unit, comprising: storing, by the circuitry, proper information used as a criterion for switching an operation mode between the master unit operation mode and the slave unit operation mode in each of the plurality of communication terminal devices; and switching, by the circuitry, when the communication terminal device is operating by the master unit operation mode, the master unit operation mode of a self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the proper information, wherein the proper information includes judging criterion information used as the criterion which judges the priority as the master unit of the self device, the method further comprising: monitoring, by the circuitry, whether or not another communication terminal device is another master unit, when the self device operates by the master unit operation mode; acquiring, by the circuitry, the judging criterion information of the other communication terminal device detected as the other master unit; and switching, by the circuitry, while the self device is operating by the master unit operation mode and when the other master unit is detected by monitoring, the master unit operation mode of the self device to the slave unit operation mode based on the judging criterion information of the self device and the judging criterion information of the other master unit.