Patents Examined by Justin Sanders
  • Patent number: 8988612
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a receiver for receiving transmitted AV content, the receiver including an extraction section adapted to extract trigger information, transmitted together with the AV content, about control over an application program to be executed in response to the AV content, and a control section adapted to control the acquisition, registration or activation of the application program, the firing of an event in the active application program, or the suspension or termination of the active application program according to one of the following commands indicated by the extracted trigger information, namely, Pre-cache, Register, Execute, Inject_event, Suspend or Terminate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Naohisa Kitazato
  • Patent number: 8970792
    Abstract: A remote controller applied to a display device includes a wireless communication element, a voice receiving and transmitting element and a control unit. The wireless communication element is utilized for performing a wireless communication with a set-up box of the display device. The control unit is coupled to the wireless communication element and the voice receiving and transmitting element, and is utilized for controlling a voice communication between the wireless communication element and the set-up box. When the remote controller does not need to have the voice communication and any other communication with the set-up box, the control unit disables the wireless communication element to make the wireless communication element be unable to receive and process any information from the set-up box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Browan Communications Inc.
    Inventors: Yung-Hua Chao, Hui-Jung Hu
  • Patent number: 8930988
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a reception apparatus including: a reception portion configured to receive AV content; a trigger acquisition portion configured to acquire trigger information for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to the AV content; a table acquisition portion configured to acquire a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of the application program with a valid time of the command; and a control portion configured such that when the time acquired from the trigger information as indicative of the progress of the AV content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to the valid time of the command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, the control portion controls the operation of the application program in accordance with the command being valid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Naohisa Kitazato, Yasuaki Yamagishi, Yoshiharu Dewa, Mark Eyer
  • Patent number: 8917358
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a reception apparatus including: a reception portion configured to receive AV content being transmitted; a command execution portion configured to execute a first application program in response to a first command for controlling the operation of the first application program executed in interlocked related to the AV content; a command transmission portion configured to transmit to an external terminal apparatus a second command for controlling the operation of a second application program that can be executed by the terminal apparatus in interlocked relation to the AV content when the terminal apparatus is connected to the reception apparatus; and a command reception portion configured to receive the first command transmitted from the terminal apparatus executing the second application program. The command execution portion executes the first application program in response to the received first command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Naohisa Kitazato, Yoshiharu Dewa
  • Patent number: 8918819
    Abstract: A method and system of automated remote collaborative learning broadcasting. A computer-based server receives a plurality of video feeds for a remote interaction. Server receives unique user identifier and bandwidth of unique user viewing a remote interaction. Unique user is identified based upon bandwidth connection as either active or passive. Local audience viewers receive the plurality of video feeds and may select a video feed among the plurality of video feeds. Local audience viewers may seamlessly switch between the plurality of video feeds based upon individual preference. Server tracks local audience viewer's video feed selection. Remote audience viewers receive single video feed determined by local audience viewer selection. Minimum video switching time must be met before switching single video feed to a new view. Video threshold automatically switches video feed based upon prolonged static view if predetermined criteria is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Philip Peters, Alex Katsaros, Henry Adam Lenz
  • Patent number: 8918801
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a transmission apparatus for transmitting AV (Audio/Video) content, including: an acquirer configured to acquire an estimated number of audience terminals indicative of an estimated number of reception apparatuses receiving the AV content; a computer configured, in conjugation with the AV content, to compute, on the basis of the estimated number of audience terminals, a validity probability of trigger information associated with control of an application program to be executed in the reception apparatus; a generator configured to generate the trigger signal including the computed validity probability; and a transmitter configured to transmit the generated trigger information with the AV content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Naohisa Kitazato, Yoshiharu Dewa
  • Patent number: 8914822
    Abstract: A technique for controlling a play-out of a media data stream at a receiving device is provided. The media data stream comprises one or more programs, and each program comprises one or more program components. In a method implementation of the technique, a zone description is defined. The zone description is defined for a media zone for at least one program or at least one program component in the media stream and identifies the media zone for the at least one program or the at least one program component. In a next step, the zone description is associated to a program specific information data segment. The program specific information data segment is part of the media stream and comprises data specifying information at least regarding to the at least one program or at least one program component. The method also comprises transmitting the media data stream towards the receiving device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Frank Hartung, Daniel Catrein, Thorsten Lohmar, Thomas Rusert
  • Patent number: 8908103
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a content supplying apparatus for supplying a video content to a content reproduction apparatus, including: a production section adapted to produce a video switch command for causing the content reproduction apparatus to execute a process regarding changeover of a video content to be reproduced; a broadcasting section adapted to broadcast a video content, in which the produced video switch command is embedded, through a broadcasting network; and a delivery section adapted to deliver the video content through the Internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Naohisa Kitazato
  • Patent number: 8904433
    Abstract: A method for controlling a video system wherein the nearest display apparatus is selected by detecting a distance to each of a plurality of display apparatuses and information regarding the nearest display apparatus is transmitted to another video apparatus allowing a user apparatus to select the nearest display apparatus without additional input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Hyung-rae Cho, Hyun-joo Oh, Sun-ae Kim
  • Patent number: 8902367
    Abstract: A computer-readable storage medium storing an image processing program that causes a computer to execute a process includes, synthesizing, for each of frames included in a video image and to be processed, a synthesis image with an image of a synthesis target region existing in the frame by repeatedly executing a calculation using a Poisson's equation on the basis of the image of synthesis target region existing in the frame to be processed and the synthesis image to be replaced with the image of the synthesis target region, and thereby calculating, from an initial value image, a synthesis result image corresponding to a result obtained by synthesizing the synthesis image with the synthesis target region so as to sequentially execute a synthesis process on the frames of the video image; and setting, for each of the frames to be processed, initial values by setting, as the initial value image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Atsuko Tada, Ryoichi Funabashi, Ryuta Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8904417
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a receiving device including, a receiver that receives AV content, a detector, an acquirer, a tentative reservation registering part, and a definitive reservation registering part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Jun Kitahara, Naohisa Kitazato, Yoshiharu Dewa, Yasuaki Yamagishi
  • Patent number: 8897300
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a transmitting apparatus and transmitting method as well as a receiving apparatus and receiving method configured to be able to recognize only channel selection information for viewable digital broadcasting at the receiving end. A community broadcasting station 32 transmits community broadcasting which includes an additional information descriptor and the content of the community broadcasting. The additional information descriptor is for identifying channel selection information, which is information related to channel selection of community broadcasting that is reception-restricted, and which includes tuning information, a service ID, a service name, and a service type, etc. The present invention may be applied to a server that communicates with a receiving terminal which receives digital broadcasting, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Naohisa Kitazato, Izumi Hatakeyama, Masayuki Obayashi
  • Patent number: 8893214
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a transmitting apparatus and method and a receiving apparatus and method that allow obtaining of all of the tuning information of a multi-segment broadcasting. A signal converter 43 generates an NIT of the center segment of a One-Seg rebroadcasting including tuning information that is information on tuning to the center segment of the One-Seg rebroadcasting and multi-segment information indicating that the center segment is a segment of the multi-segment broadcasting. A multi-segment transmitter 44 transmits an NIT of the center segment of the One-Seg rebroadcasting in the center segment. The invention is applicable to, for example, a broadcasting station that transmits a multi-segment broadcasting in a terrestrial digital broadcasting wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Naohisa Kitazato, Izumi Hatakeyama, Masayuki Obayashi
  • Patent number: 8890958
    Abstract: A video output supervisor includes a test region indicator for verifying that the commanded output to specific areas of a display is valid. Areas reserved displaying safety-critical data in the data frame to be displayed can be supervised for the presence and status of display indicators of the safety-critical data. The confidence of the supervision can be increased by measuring other display and frame parameters in conjunction with supervising the indicators of the safety-critical data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Nicholas H. Schutt, Karl F. Greb
  • Patent number: 8891010
    Abstract: A method of displaying video data includes receiving, at a timing controller, a frame of pixel data at a resolution lower than the display resolution from an application processor, generating new frames of video data at the timing controller by applying a filter with a different set of coefficients to at least one neighboring frame at the lower resolution to generate a display frame of video data at a higher resolution. A video processing device has an application processor to execute instructions causing the application process to transmit frames of image data at a resolution lower than an original resolution, and a timing controller to execute instructions causing the timing controller to reconstruct frames of image data at the original resolution from the frames of lower resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Pixelworks, Inc.
    Inventor: Neil D. Woodall
  • Patent number: 8875204
    Abstract: An information processor includes: a content acquisition section adapted to acquire linked content that includes a plurality of scenarios, each made up of content data and control information used to control the reproduction of the content data; a control information acquisition section adapted to acquire the control information; and a reproduction control section adapted to control the reproduction of the linked content by reproducing the content data according to the control information, wherein the control information acquisition section acquires, as an event adapted to allow a move from the current scenario to another scenario, the control information including an absolute time-of-day event that occurs at a specific date and time on the scenario time axis, and the reproduction control section allows a move from the current scenario to another scenario if the absolute time-of-day event occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Naohisa Kitazato
  • Patent number: 8842742
    Abstract: A method of generating presentation time stamps, PTSs, for motion-compensated frame-rate conversion of a sequence of frames. In one aspect, the method comprises for each new frame: determining an average difference between the capture time-stamps of recent consecutive new frames; and generating the PTS based on the capture time-stamp of a previous new frame and the average difference. In another aspect, the method comprises detecting a first cadence and a second different cadence in the sequence of frames; and generating a PTS for each new frame defined by the first cadence, such that in each case the difference between the PTSs of consecutive new frames is intermediate between the true interval between those frames according to the first cadence and the true interval between them according to the second cadence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Entropic Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Claus Nico Cordes, Dmitry Nikolaevich Znamenskiy
  • Patent number: 8830332
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, an electronic device receives a broadcast signal includes a high-speed transmission channel and a low-speed transmission channel. The electronic device estimates a CN when the electronic device is in an environment corresponding to a stationary state, based on a measured reception power, reception sensitivity required for receiving a broadcast service of the high-speed transmission channel and a necessary CN required for receiving the broadcast service of the high-speed transmission channel, and controls a processing of switching a demodulation target between the high-speed transmission channel and the low-speed transmission channel, based on a difference between the estimated CN and the measured CN.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kengo Kurose, Yuki Hayashi
  • Patent number: 8826349
    Abstract: Multicast adaptive stream switching for delivery of video content over an IP-based packet network is provided. A network device obtains multiple synchronized multicast streams of the same video content, where each of the multiple synchronized multicast streams includes a different bit-rate encoding. The network device receives, from a user device, a request to join a multicast group for one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams and provides, to the user device, the one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams corresponding to the requested multicast group. The user device detects a congestion level associated with the current multicast stream. The network device receives, from the user device, a request to join a different multicast group for a different one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams and provides, to the user device, the different one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams corresponding to the requested different multicast group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: Brian W. Joe, Dante J. Pacella
  • Patent number: 8804036
    Abstract: A method of transmitting video data includes receiving a frame of video data of a first resolution from an image capture device at a video transmission device and generating interlaced fields of the frame of video data at the video transmission device by applying a filter with a different set of filter coefficients to at least one field than is applied at least one other field. A method of producing video data of a particular resolution includes generating estimated high resolution video data from low resolution video data received at a display device, producing estimated low resolution video data from the estimated high resolution video data by applying a filter to the estimated high resolution video data, differencing the estimated low resolution video data and the received low resolution video data to generate difference data, and using the difference data to generate new estimated high resolution video data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Pixelworks, Inc.
    Inventor: Neil Woodall