Patents by Inventor Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 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).

  • Publication number: 20130223813
    Abstract: A moving image reproduction apparatus is provided with a reproduction unit that decodes pictures included in a chunk of a video stream and displays the decoded pictures and a control unit that gives an instruction to start the reproduction process. When a reproduction target is switched to a second video stream that corresponds to a second bit rate during the reproduction of a first video stream that corresponds to a first bit rate, the reproduction unit continues to reproduce a chunk of the first video stream that is being reproduced. The control unit instructs, when pictures included in a chunk of the second video stream overlap with pictures included in the chunk that is being reproduced, the reproduction unit to hide the overlapping pictures in a reproduction process performed on the chunk of the second video stream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2013
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130214932
    Abstract: A center device communicates with a plurality of controller devices each having a light emitter, receives an instruction operation from a user of each device, and carries out a process based on the instruction operation, where light emission control is carried out such that each light emitter of the plurality of the controller devices emits light of a different color.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2013
    Publication date: August 22, 2013
    Applicants: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: SONY CORPORATION, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130200869
    Abstract: Based upon a detection voltage VL that develops between ISEN+ and ISEN? terminals, a current detection circuit detects a coil current IL that flows through an inductor. A measurement circuit is connected to an inductor, and measures an inductance value L and a DC resistance value RDC of the inductor in a calibration operation before normal operation of a DC/DC converter. Based upon the inductance value L and the DC resistance value RDC thus measured, the current detection circuit detects the coil current IL using the detection voltage VL.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2013
    Publication date: August 8, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130201918
    Abstract: A first communication control unit and a second communication control unit share a single transmission and reception unit. The second communication control unit maintains connection with a terminal device while the first communication control unit is scanning frequency channels to search for an access point. When a search processing unit 104 detects an access point, the second communication control unit 200 switches the frequency channel for use in communication with the terminal device to the channel used in the detected access point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Publication date: August 8, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130198686
    Abstract: When the user enters a request for moving a viewpoint, whether or not a displayed area is encompassed in a link area that is set for an active image is kept monitored. When the displayed area is encompassed, a corresponding link is determined to be valid, and an image of a link destination mapped to the link area is displayed. Whether or not the displayed area moves outside of a link area set for an image of a link origin is further monitored. If even a part of the displayed area moves outside of the link area, a corresponding link is determined to be invalid, and the display is switched back to the image of the link origin. If none of the above-stated conditions applies, the initial image continues to be displayed while moving the displayed area according to the movement of the viewpoint within the active image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Publication date: August 1, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130191671
    Abstract: An information processing unit having an auto power-off function includes a mode setting means for setting one mode from a plurality of pre-prepared modes. The pre-prepared modes include a first power-saving mode and a second power-saving mode. Also included are a processing execution means for executing game application or contents replay as internal processing, and a power controlling means for controlling power of the information processing unit. The power controlling means continues power-on in the first power-saving mode and changes to power-off in the second power-saving mode when a non-operated state in which no input operation has been carried out by the user has continued for a predetermined time or longer during execution of the internal processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130191784
    Abstract: A content image displaying unit displays a content image on a display. A first acknowledgment unit acknowledges an instruction for selection of the displayed content image. A menu item displaying unit displays a plurality of menu items defined for the selected content image so as to surround the content image. A second acknowledgment unit acknowledges an instruction for selection of the displayed menu item. A function execution unit executes a function of the selected menu item. A menu item displaying unit situates a plurality of menu items along a single circle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130176211
    Abstract: Data of a moving image has a hierarchical structure comprising a 0-th layer, a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer in a z axis direction. Each layer is composed of moving image data of a single moving image expressed in different resolutions. Both the coordinates of a viewpoint at the time of the display of a moving image and a corresponding display area are determined in a virtual three-dimensional space formed by an x axis representing the horizontal direction of the image, a y axis representing the vertical direction of the image, and a z axis representing the resolution. By providing a switching boundary for layers with respect to the z axis, the layers of the moving image data used for frame rendering are switched in accordance with the value of z of the frame coordinates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130172081
    Abstract: A game device comprises: a drawing control unit configured to move a pointer that indicates a drawing position based on a control command of a player, and to draw a picture at a position of the pointer based on a control command of the player; and an sound output unit configured to output sound as determined by the position of the pointer when the picture is drawn.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2012
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130173707
    Abstract: An information source selection system and an information source selection method for allowing a user to easily select an information source to which information is added at a frequency that matches the user's access frequency are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130163949
    Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus including a control unit controlling playback of an image of an edit target, and a generation unit generating edit information including information indicating multiple edit effects applied in combination with the image of an edit interval and information indicating the edit interval, where, in a playback interval of the image, the edit interval is an interval from a playback position at a time an instruction is given during the playback of the image to a position a predetermined time after the playback position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2012
    Publication date: June 27, 2013
    Applicants: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: SONY CORPORATION, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130147931
    Abstract: A viewpoint detection unit detects a user viewing a stereoscopic image, including a parallax image of a subject as viewed from a predetermined position defined as a reference view position, and tracks a viewpoint of the detected user. A motion parallax correction unit determines, if a speed of movement of the viewpoint becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined level, an amount of motion parallax correction for the parallax image, on the basis of an amount of movement of the viewpoint, so as to generate a stereoscopic image corrected for motion parallax, generates, if the speed of movement of the viewpoint subsequently becomes lower than a predetermined level, a stereoscopic image by changing the amount of motion parallax correction in steps until the parallax image return to parallax images as seen from the reference view position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2013
    Publication date: June 13, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130141448
    Abstract: An intermediate command generation unit generates intermediate commands, which are intermediate rendering commands having model data for rendering an object. A graphics command conversion unit converts the generated intermediate commands into a graphic command sequence for execution by a graphics processor. An identity determination unit determines whether a state of a graphics command to be generated from an intermediate command is the same as a state of the graphics command generated previously. A graphics command generation unit generates a graphics command determined by the identity determination unit as not having the same state, and does not generate a graphics command determined as having the same state, defining the command as a redundant command.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2012
    Publication date: June 6, 2013
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130144940
    Abstract: In one embodiment, the methods and apparatuses detect an active device configured to utilize content; identify the content and a current location of the content; detect an idle device configured to selectively deliver the content; detect a transition parameter for determining a transition to the idle device; and transition the content from the active device to the idle device wherein the idle device is capable of utilizing the content based on the transition parameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Publication date: June 6, 2013
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130135347
    Abstract: An original image to be edited is displayed using hierarchical data. As a user draws a figure in a region of the image as an edit action, an image data updating unit generates a layer having a hierarchical structure composed of the rendered region only. More specifically, the image of the region to be edited is used as the lowermost hierarchical level, and upper hierarchical levels than this lowermost level are generated by reducing the lowermost level, as appropriate, so as to produce hierarchical data. As, during image display, it is checked that the updated region is contained in a frame to be displayed anew, the image of the layer is displayed by superposing the frame on the original hierarchical data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2013
    Publication date: May 30, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130127921
    Abstract: An acquisition unit acquires a content image corresponding to content. A content image display unit arranges a plurality of content images side by side in a display screen image, and a related information display unit displays information related to an arranged content image. A first reception unit acquires a first moving instruction for the content images arranged side by side, and a second reception unit acquires a second moving instruction for the content images arranged side by side. The content image display unit moves the content images according to a moving instruction acquired by the first reception unit or the second reception unit. A related information display unit displays different types of related information when the first reception unit acquires the first moving instruction and when the second reception unit acquires the second moving instruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130106809
    Abstract: A mobile information terminal includes a main information display control unit for displaying the information described on a specific page of electronic content presented to a user over a plurality of pages, a fore-edge display control unit for displaying an image of trimmed edges of the plurality of pages, as a fore-edge image, when the mobile information terminal is turned at a predetermined angle or more from a standard bearing, and an operation detector for detecting a trace operation from the user on the fore-edge image. When the trace operation on the fore-edge image is detected, the main information display control unit sequentially switches and displays the information described in a plurality of pages specified by the trace operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2012
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
  • Publication number: 20130104121
    Abstract: An information processing device is configured to start a download module at a predefined date and time. A transmitter unit 210 is configured to transmit authentication information to an authentication server. A determination unit 270 is configured to determine a file to be downloaded after an authentication process by the authentication server. A download execution unit 252 is configured to download the determined file from a file provider server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2012
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130101043
    Abstract: There is provided an encoding apparatus, including an intra-block determination section which determines that a prediction mode of a block is a forced intra-prediction mode, by a frequency based on a priority of each block of an image to be encoded, an encoding section which encodes the block, to which the prediction mode has been determined to be an intra-prediction mode by the intra-block determination section, with the intra-prediction mode, and a transmission section which transmits an encoded result of the image to be encoded obtained by the encoding section, and the prediction mode of the image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2012
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicants: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  • Publication number: 20130100171
    Abstract: A hard disk drive stores hierarchical image data, a speed map holding, for each tile image, an index of the processing time required to render a tile image having a predetermined image size obtained by partitioning the image, and scenario data which defines viewpoint shifting. In a control unit of an information processing apparatus having a function of displaying an image, an input information acquisition unit acquires information with respect to the user's input operation via an input device. A loading unit loads necessary data for image displaying from the hard disk drive. A shifting condition adjustment unit adjusts the viewpoint shifting speed based upon the speed map. A frame coordinate determination unit sequentially determines frame coordinates of a display area. A decoding unit decodes compressed image data. A display image processing unit renders a display image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.