Patents by Inventor Shuji Hiramatsu

Shuji Hiramatsu 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: 9762948
    Abstract: A home screen display unit displays a global navigation screen 12 that is located on an upper layer with respect to a screen transition and that is used for selecting a category of content to be processed. The home screen display unit displays a content zone screen 18 that is located on a lower layer with respect to a screen transition and that is used for selecting a piece of content to be processed from among a plurality of pieces of content corresponding to the category selected in the global navigation screen 12. If a specific piece of content is selected in the content zone screen 18, a game screen display unit displays a screen of the selected content. The home screen display unit displays, in the global navigation screen 12, an image of at least a portion of the content zone screen 18 with image quality lower than that in the case where the image is displayed in the content zone screen 18.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: George Arriola, Anahi Bagu Casas, Shinji Kimura, Shigeru Enomoto, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Motoki Kobayashi, Shuji Hiramatsu, Yumiko Tanaka, Taku Sugawara
  • Patent number: 9621880
    Abstract: A mode setting part 112 has a function to selectively set 2D and 3D display output modes. A play control part 132 changes the manner in which to control switching between display images in accordance with the display output mode set by the mode setting part 112. The play control part 132 changes the opacities of first and second display images with time so that when the two display images are cross-faded, the sum of the opacities of the first and second display images in a 3D display output mode is equal to or smaller than the sum of the opacities of the first and second display images in a 2D display output mode during a cross-fading period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignees: SONY CORPORATION, SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Masaki Takahashi, Yoshinobu Matono, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Publication number: 20160299644
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide for acquiring menu display instructions from a user, and generating and outputting the operating system menu screens for display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2016
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Masaki Higuchi, Shigeru Enomoto, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: 9389752
    Abstract: An instruction acquisition unit acquires a menu display instruction in a menu screen display device. When the menu display instruction is acquired while a game program is running, a menu-screen generating unit displays, by a function of a system, on a television set a second system menu screen in which an end icon for terminating the running game program is inserted in between a plurality of content icons that are arranged in a line in a first system menu screen and displayed. The instruction acquisition unit acquires the selection of the displayed end icon from a user. When the selection of the end icon is acquired, a menu screen constituting unit terminates the running game program and displays on the television set a first system menu screen by deleting the end icon from the second system menu screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Masaki Higuchi, Shigeru Enomoto, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: 9342234
    Abstract: A user screen display control unit displays not only a content selected by the user but also places a plurality of icons, with which to select a content to be displayed, adjacent to each other and displays the plurality of icons. When a drag operation over the plurality of icons is detected by an operation detector, the user screen display control unit displays the caption for a selected icon in a forefront manner and switches the caption for each icon sequentially selected by a drag operation and sequentially displays the caption. When a predetermined operation is detected on an icon located in a position where the drag operation ends, the user screen display control unit switches the content displayed on the display device to a content associated with the icon located in the position where the drag operation ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Ikuo Kobayashi, Masaki Takahashi, Shuji Hiramatsu, Toru Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20160063311
    Abstract: The present invention provides a facial image display apparatus that can display moving images concentrated on the face when images of people's faces are displayed. A facial image display apparatus is provided wherein a facial area detecting unit (21) detects facial areas in which faces are displayed from within a target image for displaying a plurality of faces; a dynamic extraction area creating unit (22) creates, based on the facial areas detected by the facial area detecting means, a dynamic extraction area of which at least one of position and surface area varies over time in the target image; and a moving image output unit (27) sequentially extracts images in the dynamic extraction area and outputs the extracted images as a moving image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2015
    Publication date: March 3, 2016
    Inventors: Munetaka TSUDA, Shuji HIRAMATSU, Akira SUZUKI
  • Publication number: 20160041721
    Abstract: A portable terminal is provided with: a display device; a sensor configured to detect the orientation or position of the portable terminal; a data storage unit configured to store data; and a display control unit configured to display on the display device an icon or object that corresponds to the data stored in the data storage unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2015
    Publication date: February 11, 2016
    Inventors: Takahiro Fujii, Hidenori Karasawa, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: 9247156
    Abstract: The present invention provides a facial image display apparatus that can display moving images concentrated on the face when images of people's faces are displayed. A facial image display apparatus is provided wherein a facial area detecting unit (21) detects facial areas in which faces are displayed from within a target image for displaying a plurality of faces; a dynamic extraction area creating unit (22) creates, based on the facial areas detected by the facial area detecting means, a dynamic extraction area of which at least one of position and surface area varies over time in the target image; and a moving image output unit (27) sequentially extracts images in the dynamic extraction area and outputs the extracted images as a moving image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignees: SONY CORPORATION, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Akira Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20150370456
    Abstract: A screen generating unit 287 generates a home screen for allowing a user to select a desired item of content from among multiple items of content, and the home screen includes a list in which multiple icons representing the multiple items of content are arranged. A display control unit displays the home screen on a television monitor 204. The screen generating unit 287 further arranges, in the list on the home screen, a search icon used to search for an item of content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2014
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Motoki KOBAYASHI, Yasuhiro YAMANAKA, Shuji HIRAMATSU, Shigeru ENOMOTO, Taku SUGAWARA, Shinji KIMURA, Yumiko TANAKA, George ARRIOLA, Carsten SCHWESIG
  • Patent number: D746838
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shinji Kimura, Anahi Bagu Casas, Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Takahiro Fujii
  • Patent number: D746839
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shinji Kimura, Anahi Bagu Casas, Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Takahiro Fujii
  • Patent number: D747331
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shinji Kimura, Anahi Bagu Casas, Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Takahiro Fujii
  • Patent number: D752088
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Shinji Kimura
  • Patent number: D753159
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Shinji Kimura
  • Patent number: D753700
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Shinji Kimura
  • Patent number: D753701
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Shinji Kimura
  • Patent number: D757087
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignees: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: D768195
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: D780221
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Ikuo Kobayashi
  • Patent number: D794066
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Shuji Hiramatsu, Taku Sugawara, Ikuo Kobayashi