Information communication apparatus, method and recording medium using switchable normal mode and visible light communication mode

• US 10,218,914 B2
• Filed: 01/02/2018
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Oshima, Mitsuaki, Nakanishi, Koji, Aoyama, Hideki, Fuchigami, Ikuo, Shin, Hidehiko, Mukai, Tsutomu, Matsushita, Yosuke, Iida, Shigehiro, Yamada, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Hernandez Hernandez, Nelson D.
• Application Number:
  US15/860,060
• Publication Number:
  US 20180160022A1
• Time in Patent Office: 420 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/11 Arrangements specific to free-space transmission, i.e. transmission through air or vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1143 Bidirectional transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/531 by controlling rolling shutters in CMOS SSIS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

An apparatus is provided that includes a display, a processor, and a recording medium having a program that causes the processor to execute operations, including obtaining a first image by image capture with a first exposure time by starting exposure for a plurality of exposure lines in an image sensor. The operations also include obtaining a second image, including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing a subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with a second exposure time by starting exposure for the plurality of exposure lines in the image sensor. The operations further include obtaining information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained second image, and displaying a first image on the display during a period of obtaining of the second image using the image sensor.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a display;

a processor; and

a recording medium having a program, the program causing the processor to execute operations including

obtaining a first image by image capture with a first exposure time by starting exposure for a plurality of exposure lines in an image sensor,

obtaining a second image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing a subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with a second exposure time by starting exposure for the plurality of exposure lines in the image sensor, the second exposure time being set so that the plurality of bright lines corresponding to the plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appear in the second image according to a change in luminance of the subject,

obtaining information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained second image, and

displaying the first image of the display a second time, instead of displaying the second image, when the image sensor receives the first image followed by the second image.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the obtaining of the first image and the obtaining of the second image are executed alternatively using the image sensor.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the first image is obtained before obtaining of the second image.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the first image is obtained immediately before obtaining of the second image.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the operations further including obtaining an augmented reality image data specified by the obtained information, and

wherein, in the displaying, an augmented reality image is superimposed on the first image using the augmented reality image data.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a sensor obtaining a rotation angle of the apparatus,

wherein the operations further including obtaining the rotation angle of the apparatus, and

wherein in the displaying, a position of the augmented reality image in the first image is estimated using the rotation angle.

7. The apparatus according claim 5,

wherein in the obtaining of the first image, a plurality of first images are obtained,

wherein the operations further including obtaining moving direction information from the plurality of first images, and

wherein in the displaying, a position of the augmented reality image in the first image is estimated using the moving direction information.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first image and the second image are a part of moving images.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second exposure time is shorter than the first exposure time.

10. A method, comprising:

obtaining a first image by image capture with a first exposure time by starting exposure for a plurality of exposure lines in an image sensor,

obtaining a second image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing a subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with a second exposure time by starting exposure for the plurality of exposure lines in the image sensor, the second exposure time being set so that the plurality of bright lines corresponding to the plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appear in the second image according to a change in luminance of the subject,

obtaining information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained second image, and

displaying the first image of the display a second time, instead of displaying the second image, when the image sensor receives the first image followed by the second image.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program stored therein that when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute operations including:

obtaining a first image by image capture with a first exposure time by starting exposure for a plurality of exposure lines in an image sensor,

obtaining a second image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing a subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with a second exposure time by starting exposure for the plurality of exposure lines in the image sensor, the second exposure time being set so that the plurality of bright lines corresponding to the plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appear in the second image according to a change in luminance of the subject,

obtaining information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained second image, and

displaying the first image of the display a second time, instead of displaying the second image, when the image sensor receives the first image followed by the second image.