Control apparatus and control method

• US 9,060,042 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2014
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Yusuke, Kondo, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US14/283,626
• Publication Number:
  US 20140258407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 391 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.01, 348/14.03, 348/14.1, 348/14.07, 379/93.21, 379/158, 379/202.01, 379/204.01
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/233 Processing of audio elementary streams monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4396 by muting the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44029 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for selective content sharing with a communication target apparatus are provided. In various aspects, communication with a communication target apparatus may be established, and content indicated by content data may be reproduced, where the reproduced content may represent audio or audio and image content. A determination may be made whether or not to share the reproduced content indicated by the content data with the communication target apparatus and a process to share or not share the reproduced content indicated by the content data with the communication target apparatus may be selectively performed. When the reproduced content is determined not to be shared with the communication target apparatus, a generated speech audio signal may be shared with the communication target apparatus while the reproduced content indicated by the content data may not shared with the communication target apparatus.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for selective content sharing, the control apparatus comprising a processor to cause a captured image and an image represented by reproduced content to be displayed on a display in a first manner when the reproduced content is determined to be shared with a communication target apparatus and in a second manner which is different from the first manner when the reproduced content is determined not to be shared with the communication target apparatus, so as to provide a visual indication to a user as to whether or not the reproduced content is being shared with the communication target apparatus,

in which in the first manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are arranged so as to appear to be in a virtual space on the display,

in which in the second manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are arranged in different regions on the display without appearing to be in the virtual space, and

in which an appearance of the virtual space is provided by using a three-dimensional type display such that (i) in the first manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are arranged in the three-dimensional type display so as to appear to be in the virtual space and (ii) in the second manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are not arranged in the three-dimensional type display so as to not appear to be in the virtual space.

2. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reproduced content also represents audio and in which the processor is configured to add an inverted content audio signal to the audio represented by the reproduced content.

3. The control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the inverted content audio signal is obtained by inverting a phase of the audio represented by the reproduced content.

4. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to mask the image represented by the reproduced content.

5. The control apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to mask the image represented by the reproduced content by removing a portion of the image represented by the reproduced content.

6. The control apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to mask the image represented by the reproduced content by adding a mosaic to a portion of the image represented by the reproduced content.

7. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein a generated speech audio signal is shared with the communication target apparatus and includes a signal representing speech received from the user of the control apparatus.

8. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to add an inverted speech audio signal to a generated speech audio signal shared with the communication target apparatus.

9. The control apparatus of claim 8, wherein the inverted speech audio signal is obtained by inverting a phase of a speech signal received from the user of the communication target apparatus.

10. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to modify the captured image and to share the modified captured image with the communication target apparatus.

11. The control apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to modify the captured image by replacing a portion of the captured image with an avatar.

12. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control apparatus further comprises the display.

13. The control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reproduced content also represents audio and in which the processor is configured to modify the audio represented by the reproduced content.

14. The control apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to modify the audio represented by the reproduced content by adding a reverberant sound effect to the audio represented by the reproduced content.

15. The control apparatus of claim 1, where the control apparatus is included in a telephone, computer, set top box, mobile phone, or game machine.

16. A method for use with a control apparatus for performing selective content sharing, the method comprising causing a captured image and an image represented by reproduced content to be displayed on a display in a first manner when the reproduced content is determined to be shared with a communication target apparatus and in a second manner which is different from the first manner when the reproduced content is determined not to be shared with the communication target apparatus, so as to provide a visual indication to a user as to whether or not the reproduced content is being shared with the communication target apparatus,

in which in the first manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are arranged so as to appear to be in a virtual space on the display,

in which in the second manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are arranged in different regions on the display without appearing to be in the virtual space, and

in which an appearance of the virtual space is provided by using a three-dimensional type display such that (i) in the first manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are arranged in the three-dimensional type display so as to appear to be in the virtual space and (ii) in the second manner the captured image and the image represented by the reproduced content are not arranged in the three-dimensional type display so as to not appear to be in the virtual space.