INFORMATION COMMUNICATION METHOD

• US 20140290138A1
• Filed: 12/27/2013
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: OSHIMA, Mitsuaki, NAKANISHI, Koji, AOYAMA, Hideki, FUCHIGAMI, Ikuo, SHIN, Hidehiko, MUKAI, Tsutomu, MATSUSHITA, Yosuke, IIDA, Shigehiro, YAMADA, Kazunori
• Granted Patent: US 9,085,927 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 49/25
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/43 responsive to disruption of energy beams, e.g. light or sound
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 2015/435 by interruption of the beam
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/11 Arrangements specific to free-space transmission, i.e. transmission through air or vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/541 Digital intensity or amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces

Abstract

An information communication method that enables communication between various devices is an information communication method of obtaining information from a subject, and includes: setting an exposure time of an image sensor; obtaining a bright line image which is an image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time; obtaining transmission information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image; and causing an opening and closing drive device of a door to open the door, by transmitting a control signal after the transmission information is obtained.

Claims

1. An information communication method of obtaining information from a subject, the information communication method comprising:

setting a first exposure time of an image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing a first subject by the image sensor, a plurality of bright lines corresponding to exposure lines included in the image sensor appear according to a change in luminance of the first subject, the first subject being the subject;

obtaining a first bright line image which is an image including the plurality of bright lines, by capturing the first subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with the set first exposure time;

obtaining first transmission information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained first bright line image; and

causing an opening and closing drive device of a door to open the door, by transmitting a control signal after the first transmission information is obtained.

2. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a second bright line image which is an image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing a second subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with the set first exposure time;

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

determining whether or not a reception device including the image sensor is approaching the door, based on the obtained first transmission information and second transmission information,

wherein in the causing of an opening and closing drive device, the control signal is transmitted in the case of determining that the reception device is approaching the door.

3. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

setting a second exposure time longer than the first exposure time; and

obtaining a normal image in which a third subject is shown, by capturing the third subject by the image sensor with the set second exposure time,

wherein in the obtaining of a normal image, electric charge reading is performed on each of a plurality of exposure lines in an area including optical black in the image sensor, after a predetermined time elapses from when electric charge reading is performed on an exposure line adjacent to the exposure line, and

in the obtaining of a first bright line image, electric charge reading is performed on each of a plurality of exposure lines in an area other than the optical black in the image sensor, after a time longer than the predetermined time elapses from when electric charge reading is performed on an exposure line adjacent to the exposure line, the optical black not being used in electric charge reading.

4. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether or not a length of the pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the first bright line image is less than a predetermined length, the length being perpendicular to each of the plurality of bright lines;

changing a frame rate of the image sensor to a second frame rate lower than a first frame rate used when obtaining the first bright line image, in the case of determining that the length of the pattern is less than the predetermined length;

obtaining a third bright line image which is an image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the first subject changing in luminance by the image sensor with the set first exposure time at the second frame rate; and

obtaining the first transmission information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained third bright line image.

5. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising

setting an aspect ratio of an image obtained by the image sensor,

wherein the obtaining of a first bright line image includes:

determining whether or not an edge of the image perpendicular to the exposure lines is clipped in the set aspect ratio;

changing the set aspect ratio to a non-clipping aspect ratio in which the edge is not clipped, in the case of determining that the edge is clipped; and

obtaining the first bright line image in the non-clipping aspect ratio, by capturing the first subject changing in luminance by the image sensor.

6. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

compressing the first bright line image in a direction parallel to each of the plurality of bright lines included in the first bright line image, to generate a compressed image; and

transmitting the compressed image.

7. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether or not a reception device including the image sensor is moved in a predetermined manner; and

activating the image sensor, in the case of determining that the reception device is moved in the predetermined manner.

8. An information communication device that obtains information from a subject, the information communication device comprising:

an exposure time setting unit configured to set an exposure time of an image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing the subject by the image sensor, a plurality of bright lines corresponding to exposure lines included in the image sensor appear according to a change in luminance of the subject;

a bright line image obtainment unit including the image sensor, and configured to obtain a bright line image which is an image including the plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject changing in luminance with the set exposure time;

an information obtainment unit configured to obtain transmission information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image; and

a door control unit configured to cause an opening and closing drive device of a door to open the door, by transmitting a control signal after the transmission information is obtained.