Information communication method for obtaining information using ID list and bright line image

• US 9,564,970 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2016
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• 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, Maeda, Toshiyuki, Ueki, Akihiro, Suzuki, Takashi, Shiokawa, Akira, Aoto, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): HERNANDEZ, NELSON D
• Application Number:
  US15/086,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20160218806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 313 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1143 Bidirectional transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/516 Details of coding or modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• 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 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

An information communication method is provided for obtaining information from a subject. The method includes receiving an ID list that includes a plurality of sets of identification information, and setting an exposure time of an image sensor so that a bright line corresponding to an exposure line 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 the bright line by the image sensor capturing the subject, and obtaining the information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the bright line included in the obtained bright line image. The method further includes searching for a channel used to broadcast the content displayed by the subject, by searching the ID list for the obtained information, and obtaining related information associated with the channel from a server.

Claims

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

receiving an ID list that includes a plurality of sets of identification information;

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

obtaining a bright line image including the bright line by the image sensor capturing the subject that changes in luminance and displays content with the set exposure time;

obtaining the information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the bright line included in the obtained bright line image;

searching for a channel used to broadcast the content displayed by the subject, by searching the ID list for the obtained information; and

obtaining related information associated with the channel from a server.

2. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein in the searching, a reference time that is a time at which the content is displayed is searched for, in addition to the channel, and

in the obtaining of the related information, related information associated with the channel and either the reference time or at least one neighboring time around the reference time are obtained from the server.

3. An information communication method for obtaining information from a subject, the information communication method comprising:

receiving an ID list that includes a plurality of sets of identification information;

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

obtaining a bright line image including the bright line by the image sensor capturing the subject that changes in luminance and displays content with the set exposure time;

obtaining the information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the bright line included in the obtained bright line image;

searching for a reference time that is a time at which the content is displayed by the subject, by searching the ID list for the obtained information; and

obtaining related information associated with the reference time or at least one neighboring time around the reference time from a server.

4. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing the processor to execute operations according to claim 1.

5. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing the processor to execute operations according to claim 3.

6. A non-transitory recording medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing a processor to execute operations according to claim 1.

7. A non-transitory recording medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing a processor to execute operations according to claim 3.