Patents by Inventor Makoto Niijima

Makoto Niijima has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7076152
    Abstract: An information processing method and apparatus, an information furnishing method and apparatus, a picture recording system and a medium, in which reservation recording can be performed readily and promptly. To this end, a message asking a server for recording reservation data is transmitted at step S11, data for recording reservation, transmitted from the server, is received at step S13, and control is managed to record a pre-set picture at step S16 based on the recording reservation data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuo Eguchi, Yasuhiko Terashita, Yasuo Nomura, Yasushi Miyajima, Yoshikazu Watanabe, Nobuaki Yamaguchi, Kumiko Sasaki, Makoto Niijima, Al Suzuki, Shinya Fujii
  • Publication number: 20040190865
    Abstract: This invention relates to an information processing apparatus for recording a first picture supplied and for reproducing a second picture recorded, the apparatus comprising: recording means for recording the first picture; reproducing means for reproducing the second picture; and display controlling means for providing display control in such a manner as to display a first screen through which to input orders for operating the recording means, and a second screen through which to input orders for operating the reproducing means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2004
    Publication date: September 30, 2004
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuo Nomura, Tatsuo Eguchi, Yasuhiko Terashita, Yasushi Miyajima, Yoshikazu Watanabe, Nobuaki Yamaguchi, Kumiko Sasaki, Makoto Niijima, Ai Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6590585
    Abstract: This invention relates to an information processing apparatus comprising: recording means for recording a moving picture; and display controlling means for controlling an operation to display information on said moving picture stored in said recording means as a first picture represented by an icon, a second picture represented by a string of characters or a third picture represented by an icon or a predetermined still picture in one of display areas each corresponding to a recording date or a recording plan date of a moving picture wherein said display areas are obtained as a result of division of a display screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Ai Suzuki, Tatsuo Eguchi, Yasuhiko Terashita, Yasuo Nomura, Yasushi Miyajima, Yoshikazu Watanabe, Nobuaki Yamaguchi, Kumiko Sasaki, Makoto Niijima
  • Patent number: 6411307
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Publication number: 20020078467
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel or via channel-up, channel-down buttons on the remote control device. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2001
    Publication date: June 20, 2002
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, P. Robert Hsu, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 6397387
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel or via channel-up, channel-down buttons on the remote control device. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, P. Robert Hsu, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 6295057
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The links are highlighted in a dynamic revolving sequence with associated graphics and sounds. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, P. Robert Hsu, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 6260192
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, P. Robert Hsu, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 6072483
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The links are highlighted in a dynamic revolving sequence with associated graphics and sounds. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, P. Robert Hsu, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 6028600
    Abstract: An internet on-demand system for television presents internet content and traditional television programming as part of a single coherent interface. The user can select a channel from a rotary menu wheel. The system includes a server and a client capable of providing a dynamic graphical user interface. The system can display an internet gateway interface which actively scrolls through and highlights links to selected web pages which are organized according to templates corresponding to their content. The web pages are presented on the graphical user interface as channels as part of the same milieu as channels of traditional television programming. An intelligent agent passively filters selected web pages for a user to explore based on the user's past pattern of usage of the client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics
    Inventors: Robert Rosin, Yumie Sonoda, Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 5926230
    Abstract: An electrical program guide system and method by which a desired program can be selected rapidly with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number of programs, in which nine reduced screens reduced from nine screens of different programs are arranged in a 3.times.3 matrix to construct one multi-screen as a screen for program selection. Six such screens for program selection are individually produced by multi-screen production circuits and encoded by MPEG video encoders, and then multiplexed by a multiplexer so that they may be transmitted via a single transmission channel. The multiplexed signal is subjected to error correction coding and QPSK modulation by a transmission line coding apparatus and then it is further subjected to frequency conversion by an up converter. The resultant signal is transmitted to an artificial satellite through a mixer and a parabola antenna. Each multi-screen received on the reception side from the satellite is displayed as 3.times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano, Yumie Sonoda, Yoshiaki Kumagai, Junichi Nagahara, Tatsushi Nashida, Hirofumi Tamori, Hiroyuki Hanaya
  • Patent number: 5903314
    Abstract: The invention provides an electrical program guide system and method by which a desired program can be rapidly selected directly from among a large number of programs with certainty. A program selection screen as a multi-screen is formed from nine reduced screens reduced to one third in the horizontal and vertical directions from screens of programs broadcast on different broadcasting channels. A plurality of such program selection screens are transmitted to a reception side. On the reception side, the program selection screens are stored into a virtual frame memory so that reduced screens of them may make a single virtual screen. From among the reduced screens of the virtual frame, desired 3.times.3 reduced screens are read out and displayed on a multi-screen of full motion. A viewer finds and directly selects a desired program from within the 3.times.3 reduced screens of full motion displayed as the multi-screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1999
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Niijima, Hiroaki Nakano, Yumie Sonoda, Yoshiaki Kumagai, Junichi Nagahara, Tatsushi Nashida, Hirofumi Tamori, Hiroyuki Hanaya
  • Patent number: 5901366
    Abstract: The invention provides a program selection method and apparatus using a cordless telephone set by which a desired program can be selected from among a large number of programs in a direct rapid and accurate manner. A TEL key changes over a mode of a cordless telephone set between a first mode in which the cordless telephone set is used as a telephone set and a second mode in which the cordless telephone set is used as a remote commander for remotely controlling an electronic apparatus. A monitor apparatus displays a first display corresponding to a function allocated to any of the keys of the cordless telephone set in the first mode and a second display different from the first display and corresponding to another function allocated to any of the keys in the second mode for remotely controlling the electronic apparatus. A transmission circuit generates a signal corresponding to the manually operated key in response to a manual operation of any of the keys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroaki Nakano, Makoto Niijima, Yumie Sonoda, Junichi Nagahara, Hirofumi Tamori
  • Patent number: 5845260
    Abstract: A charging method for use in an interactive on-line service where a server and terminals of users are mutually connected by a transmission medium, where a predetermined service is provided from the server to the terminals via the transmission medium, and where the fee for such service is collected from each user individually, includes the steps of opening, in the server, an imaginary account for a child of the relevant user with a limited maximum amount, and withdrawing from the imaginary account the fee for the service provided to the user's child. The server can provide a predetermined service to the relevant user's child within a range of the limited maximum amount preset in the imaginary account. When withdrawing the fee from the imaginary account, the server can restrict the service providable to the terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1998
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroaki Nakano, Makoto Niijima, Yumie Sonoda, Yoshiaki Kumagai, Junichi Nagahara, Tatsushi Nashida
  • Patent number: 5754172
    Abstract: An information display method of transmitting predetermined information through a transmission path, receiving the transmitted information by a receiving apparatus, recording the information received by the receiving apparatus onto a recording medium, and displaying the information recorded on the recording medium to a display apparatus. Titles of a plurality of information are displayed. Only a predetermined number of predetermined ones of the titles are designated. The designated information is automatically and sequentially displayed. The information is associated with genres and the information is designated every genre. The information is multimedia news articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1998
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Asahi Shimbun Publishing Company
    Inventors: Ichiro Kubota, Makoto Niijima
  • Patent number: D443623
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Niijima
  • Patent number: D549724
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Niijima
  • Patent number: D549725
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Niijima
  • Patent number: D550242
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Niijima
  • Patent number: D420994
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Niijima