# US 9,751,016 B2 · Management apparatus, control method therefor, and computer-readable recording medium

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- Number: US 9,751,016 B2
- Document ID: US9751016B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/521,594
- Filed: 2014-10-23
- Published: 2015-02-12
- Granted: 2017-09-05
- Earliest claimed: 2012-04-27
- Assignees: Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Takashi Taniguchi; Yuji Osato; Takaaki Kotera
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9751016B2

## CPC

- A63F 13/77: involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
- A63F 13/35: Details of game servers
- A63F 13/352: involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
- A63F 13/71: using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
- A63F 13/73: Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
- A63F 13/795: for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
- H04L 41/024: {using relational databases for representation of network management data, e.g. managing via structured query language [SQL]}
- H04L 41/0293: {for accessing web services by means of a binding identification of the management service or element}
- H04L 61/30: Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames (name-to-address mapping H04L61/45)
- H04L 61/301: Name conversion
- A63F 13/87: Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
- A63F: CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

A management server issues a token associated with friend network identification information identifying a user of a game provided by an application server, to the application server; receives the token passed from the game to another game on the basis of an operation of the user in a terminal apparatus where the game and the other game are available, from an application server that provides the other game; and manages, in association with each other, the friend network identification information related to the game and friend network identification information related to the other game for which the issued token matches the received token.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A management apparatus that communicates with a plurality of application apparatuses including a first application apparatus providing a first application and a second application apparatus providing a second application, and that issues and manages first identification information uniquely identifying each of a plurality of users who use the first application and second identification information uniquely identifying each of a plurality of users who use the second application, the management apparatus comprising:
a memory configured to store one or more instructions; and
a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
issue a first identifier associated with the first identification information of a user, with regard to the first application apparatus;
receive a second identifier after the second identifier is passed from the first application to the second application in a terminal apparatus where the first application and the second application are available, and second identification information, among a plurality of pieces of the second identification information for the plurality of users, for a user of the terminal apparatus; and
manage, in association with each other, the first identification information associated with the first identifier and the second identification information in a case in which the first identifier matches the second identifier.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The management apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein a specific relationship with another user is formed in an application provided by each of the plurality of application apparatuses; and
the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to acquire, from each of the plurality of application apparatuses, relationship information indicating the specific relationship of a user of each of the plurality of applications, and manage the relationship information.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The management apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to accept an acquisition request relationship information associated with the second identification information from one of the terminal apparatus that uses the first application and the first application apparatus; and
report the relationship information associated with the second identification information, to the terminal apparatus or to the first application apparatus, whichever sent the acquisition request.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
accept an invitation request for an invitation to the first application for a user to be invited, selected by an inviting user from among the relationship information reported, and
accumulate the accepted invitation request.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to, when the terminal apparatus sends an inquiry about an invitation request, if an invitation request in which the user of the terminal apparatus serves as a user to be invited is accumulated, report invitation information indicating that the inviting user makes an invitation to the first application, to the terminal apparatus.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to, when an invitation request for a user to be invited is made, the user to be invited being selected by an inviting user from among the relationship information reported, report, to the second application apparatus for the user to be invited, invitation information indicating that the inviting user makes an invitation to the first application.

### Claim 7

A control method for a management apparatus that communicates with a plurality of application apparatuses including a first application apparatus providing a first application and a second application apparatus providing a second application, and that issues and manages first identification information uniquely identifying each of a plurality of users who use the first application and second identification information uniquely identifying each of a plurality of users who use the second application, the control method comprising:
issuing a first identifier associated with the first identification information of a user, to the first application apparatus;
receiving, from the second application apparatus, a second identifier after the second identifier is passed from the first application to the second application, and second identification information, among a plurality of pieces of the second identification information for the plurality of users, for a user of the terminal apparatus; and
managing, in association with each other, the first identification information associated with the first identifier and the second identification information in a case in which the first identifier matches the second identifier.

### Claim 8

A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program used in a computer of a management apparatus that communicates with a plurality of application apparatuses including a first application apparatus providing a first application and a second application apparatus providing a second application, and that issues and manages first identification information uniquely identifying each of a plurality of users who use the first application and second identification information uniquely identifying each of a plurality of users who use the second application, the program making the computer of the management apparatus execute:
an issuing process of issuing a first identifier associated with the first identification information of a user, to the first application apparatus;
a receiving process of receiving, from the second application apparatus, a second identifier after the second identifier is passed from the first application to the second application, and second identification information, among a plurality of pieces of the second identification information for the plurality of users, for a user of the terminal apparatus; and
a management process of managing, in association with each other, the first identification information associated with the first identifier and the second identification information in a case in which the first identifier issued in the issuing process matches the second identifier received in the receiving process.