Information communication method

• US 9,641,766 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2016
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• 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, Mukai, Tsutomu, Shin, Hidehiko, Matsushita, Yosuke, Iida, Shigehiro, Yamada, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): DOBSON, DANIEL G
• Application Number:
  US15/227,362
• Publication Number:
  US 20160344917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 272 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1143 Bidirectional transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/651 for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/72 Combination of two or more compensation controls
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/743 Bracketing, i.e. taking a series of images with varying exposure conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/531 by controlling rolling shutters in CMOS SSIS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/533 by using differing integration times for different sensor regions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

An information communication method is provided for obtaining information from a subject using a terminal device that includes an image sensor having a plurality of exposure lines. The method includes setting an exposure time of the image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing the subject by the image sensor, a bright line corresponding to each of the plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject. The method also includes obtaining a bright line image, including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance, and obtaining identification information of the subject. The method further includes sending the identification information to a first server, obtaining access information from the first server, sending the access information to a second server, and obtaining information from the second server.

Claims

1. An information communication method for obtaining information from a subject using a terminal device that includes an image sensor having a plurality of exposure lines, the information communication method comprising:

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

obtaining a bright line image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time;

obtaining identification information of the subject, by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image;

sending the identification information to a first server;

obtaining access information from the first server, the access information related to the identification information in the first server;

sending the access information to a second server; and

obtaining information from the second server, the information related to the access information in the second server.

2. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein the access information is URL of the second server.

3. The information communication method according to claim 2,

wherein the first server is different from the second server.

4. An information communication device for obtaining information from a subject, the information communication device including a processor and an image sensor having a plurality of exposure lines, the processor executes operations comprising:

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

obtaining a bright line image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time;

obtaining identification information of the subject, by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image;

sending the identification information to a first server;

obtaining access information from the first server, the access information related to the identification information in the first server;

sending the access information to a second server; and

obtaining information from the second server, the information related to the access information in the second server.

5. A non-transitory recording medium that stores a program for controlling an information communication device for obtaining information from a subject, the information communication device including a processor and an image sensor having a plurality of exposure lines, the program executed by the processor causing the information communication device to execute:

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

obtaining a bright line image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time;

obtaining identification information of the subject, by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image;

sending the identification information to a first server;

obtaining access information from the first server, the access information related to the identification information in the first server;

sending the access information to a second server; and

obtaining information from the second server, the information related to the access information in the second server.