Information communication method

• US 9,794,489 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2017
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• 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:
  US15/464,424
• Publication Number:
  US 20170223248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 210 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, and obtaining identification information of the subject by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of bright lines. The method further includes sending (i) the identification information and (ii) language identification information to a server, obtaining a content identified by the identification information from the server, and displaying the translated content.

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 (i) the identification information and (ii) language identification information to a server, the language identification information being stored in the terminal device and identifying a language of a user of the terminal device;

obtaining a content identified by the identification information from the server, the content being translated by the language identified by the language identification information in the server; and

displaying the translated content on a display of the terminal device.

2. An information communication device for obtaining information from a subject using a terminal device, 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 (i) the identification information and (ii) language identification information to a server, the language identification information being stored in the terminal device and identifying a language of a user of the terminal device;

obtaining a content identified by the identification information from the server, the content being translated by the language identified by the language identification information in the server; and

displaying the translated content on a display of the terminal device.

3. A non-transitory recording medium that stores a program for controlling an information communication device for obtaining information from a subject using a terminal device, 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 (i) the identification information and (ii) language identification information to a server, the language identification information being stored in the terminal device and identifying a language of a user of the terminal device;

obtaining a content by the identification information from the server, the content being translated by the language identified by the language identification information in the server; and

displaying the translated content on a display of the terminal device.