Information communication method

• US 9,252,878 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2013
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• 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): Phan, Hanh
• Application Number:
  US14/087,620
• Publication Number:
  US 20140186048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 398/172, 398/128, 398/130, 398/118, 398/119, 398/127, 398/182, 398/183, 398/186, 398/202, 348/222.1, 348/211.99, 348/229, 348/296, 348/211.1, 348/211.5, 348/211.14, 348/229.1, 345/175, 345/690, 345/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/541 Digital intensity or amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless

Abstract

An information communication method that enables communication between various devices includes: determining a pattern of the change in luminance by modulating the signal to be transmitted; and transmitting the signal by a light emitter changing in luminance according to the determined pattern, wherein the pattern of the change in luminance is a pattern in which one of two different luminance values occurs in each arbitrary position in a predetermined duration, and in the determining, the pattern of the change in luminance is determined so that a luminance change position in the duration is different for each of different signals to be transmitted, the luminance change position being a position at which the luminance rises or a position at which the luminance falls.

Claims

1. An information communication method of transmitting a signal using a change in luminance, the information communication method comprising:

determining a pattern of the change in luminance by modulating the signal to be transmitted; and

transmitting the signal by a light emitter changing in luminance according to the determined pattern,

wherein the pattern of the change in luminance is a pattern in which one of two different luminance values occurs in each arbitrary position in a predetermined duration, and

in the determining, the pattern of the change in luminance is determined so that a luminance change position in the duration is different for each of different signals to be transmitted, the luminance change position being a position at which the luminance rises or a position at which the luminance falls.

2. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein in the determining, the pattern of the change in luminance is determined so that a cumulative time for which one of the two different luminance values occurs in the duration is different depending on brightness set for the light emitter.

3. The information communication method according to claim 2,

wherein in the transmitting, the light emitter changes in luminance according to a header pattern which is a predetermined luminance change pattern, and then changes in luminance according to the determined pattern, and

the header pattern is a pattern different from the pattern determined for each of the different signals to be transmitted.

4. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein in the determining, the pattern of the change in luminance is determined so that, for each of the different signals to be transmitted, an integral of the luminance of the light emitter in the duration is a same value corresponding to preset brightness.

5. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein the light emitter has a plurality of areas each of which emits light, and

in the transmitting, in the case where light from adjacent areas of the plurality of areas interferes with each other and only one of the plurality of areas changes in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance, only an area located at an edge from among the plurality of areas changes in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance.

6. The information communication method according to claim 5,

wherein in the transmitting, in the case where only two of the plurality of areas change in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance, the area located at the edge and an area adjacent to the area located at the edge from among the plurality of areas change in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance.

7. An information communication device that transmits a signal using a change in luminance, the information communication device comprising:

a determination unit configured to determine a pattern of the change in luminance by modulating the signal to be transmitted; and

a transmitting unit including a light emitter, and configured to transmit the signal by changing in luminance according to the determined pattern,

wherein the pattern of the change in luminance is a pattern in which one of two different luminance values occurs in each arbitrary position in a predetermined duration, and

the determination unit is configured to determine the pattern of the change in luminance so that a luminance change position in the duration is different for each of different signals to be transmitted, the luminance change position being a position at which the luminance rises or a position at which the luminance falls.