Patents by Inventor Masaru Yamaoka

Masaru Yamaoka 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: 9142122
    Abstract: A mobile device includes a position sensing unit, a remote control information obtainment unit, and a storage unit. Position information obtained by the position sensing unit is stored in the storage unit in association with remote control information. The mobile device further includes a directional space obtainment unit and an apparatus specification unit. The mobile device recognizes a direction pointed by a user using the mobile device, and enables operation of a terminal apparatus existing in the pointing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Mitsuaki Oshima, Toshiaki Ohnishi, Masaru Yamaoka, Tomoaki Ohira, Michihiro Matsumoto, Tsutomu Mukai, Yosuke Matsushita, Shohji Ohtsubo, Hironori Nakae, Kazunori Yamada, Mizuho Sakakibara, Kohei Yamaguchi, Shigehiro Iida
  • Patent number: 9141904
    Abstract: A radio frequency identification (RFID) device includes: a contact interface for wired communication with a host; a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer; a command processing unit that obtains a command from the reader/writer in the contactless communication and process the command, the command instructing a data access; and a memory that holds data. The command processing unit determines a communication mode, and (i) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the memory, when the communication mode is determined as a first communication mode, and (ii) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the host, when the communication mode is determined as a second communication mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Mahbub Rashid, Michihiro Matsumoto, Masaru Yamaoka, Kazunori Kurimoto, Kazuhiro Kuroyama, Eiichi Sadayuki, Yasuo Yoshimura, Shigeru Morimoto, Naofumi Nakatani
  • Patent number: 9143933
    Abstract: A communication device, which can simplify various setting processes, transmits, to a server via a network, external device information received from an external device by using proximity wireless communication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Yoichi Ikeda, Mitsuaki Oshima, Masaru Yamaoka, Tsutomu Mukai, Takahiro Sato, Ikuo Fuchigami, Tadanori Tezuka, Shohji Ohtsubo, Yosuke Matsushita, Hironori Nakae
  • Publication number: 20150195101
    Abstract: A communication method includes: performing communication (S901) with a server (101) via the Internet; acquiring (S902) from the server (101) a command for causing an electrical appliance to perform a predetermined operation; storing (S903) the command and an association information item associated with the command; displaying (S904) the association information items on a display unit (319); receiving (S905) a selection of an association information item among the displayed association information items; determining (S906) whether or not the electrical appliance is capable of performing the predetermined operation according to the command associated with the association information item the selection of which is received; and when it is determined that the electrical appliance is capable of performing the predetermined operation according to the command associated with the association information item the selection of which is received, transmitting (S907) the command to the electrical appliance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Inventors: Mahbub Rashid, Masaru Yamaoka, Yasuaki Kanari
  • Patent number: 9071955
    Abstract: A terminal apparatus that communicates with a mobile apparatus includes a near-field communication unit that receives time-of-day information from the mobile apparatus through near-field communication, a use history information generation unit that extracts operation information of the terminal apparatus, and generates use history information on the basis of the time-of-day information received by the near-field communication unit, the use history information including time-of-day information associated with the detected operation information and indicating the time of day at which the corresponding operation was performed, and a main memory that stores the generated use history information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
    Inventors: Masaru Yamaoka, Michihiro Matsumoto, Tomoaki Ohira, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 9047759
    Abstract: A mobile device includes a position sensing unit, a remote control information obtainment unit, and a storage unit. Position information obtained by the position sensing unit is stored in the storage unit in association with remote control information. The mobile device further includes a directional space obtainment unit and an apparatus specification unit. The mobile device recognizes a direction pointed by a user using the mobile device, and enables operation of a terminal apparatus existing in the pointing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Kazunori Yamada, Kohei Yamaguchi, Shigehiro Iida, Mizuho Sakakibara, Toshiaki Ohnishi, Masaru Yamaoka, Mitsuaki Oshima, Tomoaki Ohira, Michihiro Matsumoto, Tsutomu Mukai, Yosuke Matsushita, Shohji Ohtsubo, Hironori Nakae
  • Publication number: 20150148925
    Abstract: A control method includes receiving setting information containing a first property representing a property of an operation performed by one or more target appliances and a setting of the first property, obtaining correspondence information between device information identifying each of the appliances and a second property representing a property of an operation performed by the appliance, extracting the device information items of the target appliances from among the device information items in the correspondence information, the device information items each having a second property that is the same as the first property, generating a plurality of control information items each associated with each of the extracted device information items of one or more target appliances, containing the setting information and a predetermined information corresponding to the first property and each of the device information items, transmitting the control information to the target appliance through wireless communication.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2014
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Inventors: ERINA OKAMOTO, TOSHIAKI TANAKA, MASARU YAMAOKA, MAHBUB RASHID
  • Patent number: 9020432
    Abstract: A mobile communication device (98b) includes: an appliance information obtainment unit (98n) that obtains appliance information (98n1) by proximity wireless communication (98c1) with an appliance (98a) installed in a home (99), the appliance information specifying the appliance (98a); a position information obtainment unit (98j) that obtains position information (98j1) of the mobile communication device when the proximity wireless communication (98c1) is performed; and a transmission unit (98o) that transmits transmission information (98o1) to a server (98c) in the case where the proximity wireless communication (98c1) is performed, the transmission information including the appliance information (98n1) and the position information (98j1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Yosuke Matsushita, Masaru Yamaoka, Shohji Ohtsubo, Tsutomu Mukai, Hironori Nakae, Mitsuaki Oshima
  • Patent number: 8995957
    Abstract: A repeater apparatus includes a network communication unit that acquires, from a server through a network, first terminal identification information for identifying a terminal to be controlled and control information for controlling the terminal to be controlled, a near-field communication unit that acquires, by near-field communication from the terminal, second terminal identification information for identifying the terminal and stored in the terminal, and a comparison unit that decides whether the first terminal identification information agrees with the second terminal identification information. The near-field communication unit transmits the control information to the terminal by near-field communication, in the case where the comparison unit decides that the first terminal identification information agrees with the second terminal identification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Tomoaki Ohira, Masaru Yamaoka, Michihiro Matsumoto, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 8886124
    Abstract: A relay device performs Near Field Communication with a terminal device that is a communication terminal device, and processes information received from the terminal device. A loop antenna receives radio waves from the terminal device; an NFC unit performs Near Field Communication with the terminal device via a loop antenna, and receives from the terminal device application identification information, which identifies an application that processes the information received from the terminal device. A controller acquires an application corresponding to the received application identification information, and causes the acquired application to run.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Tomoaki Ohira, Mitsuaki Oshima, Masaru Yamaoka, Michihiro Matsumoto, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Publication number: 20140323053
    Abstract: A proximity wireless power supply unit (123) is activated by radio waves of proximity wireless communication transmitted from a portable terminal (200). A proximity wireless memory (121) is driven by power supplied from the proximity wireless power supply unit (123), and stores an operation command of a communication apparatus (100). A control unit (111) is driven by power supplied from a main power supply unit (112), and reads out the operation command from the proximity wireless memory (121) to execute the operation command. The main power supply unit (112) is activated on the basis of a signal received by a proximity wireless communication unit (122), and supplies power to the control unit (111). The proximity wireless communication unit (122) receives the operation command transmitted from the portable terminal (200), and writes the operation command in the proximity wireless memory (121).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2013
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Masaru Yamaoka, Michihiro Matsumoto, Mahbub Rashid
  • Publication number: 20140317233
    Abstract: A communication method including: generating image data of an item on which an electric appliance performed processing; obtaining setting information of the electric appliance which indicates the processing performed on the item; converting the obtained setting information into reference setting information that is setting information in a general format; generating combined data by adding the converted reference setting information to the generated image data; and transmitting the generated combined data to a storage server. For instance, in the communication method, setting information of the electric appliance when the processing was performed on the item is obtained by performing proximity wireless communication with the electric appliance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Inventors: Toshiaki Ohnishi, Masaru Yamaoka, Mariko Nakaso
  • Publication number: 20140315488
    Abstract: A repeater apparatus includes a network communication unit that acquires, from a server through a network, first terminal identification information for identifying a terminal to be controlled and control information for controlling the terminal to be controlled, a near-field communication unit that acquires, by near-field communication from the terminal, second terminal identification information for identifying the terminal and stored in the terminal, and a comparison unit that decides whether the first terminal identification information agrees with the second terminal identification information. The near-field communication unit transmits the control information to the terminal by near-field communication, in the case where the comparison unit decides that the first terminal identification information agrees with the second terminal identification information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Inventors: Tomoaki OHIRA, Masaru YAMAOKA, Michihiro MATSUMOTO, Toshiaki OHNISHI
  • Patent number: 8855563
    Abstract: A terminal apparatus (M101) includes a terminal unit (M201) and a near-field communication unit (M107). The terminal unit (M201) includes a main memory (M106) that stores operation history information of the terminal apparatus (M101) and a controller (M105). The near-field communication unit (M107) includes a communication control unit (M216) that performs near-field communication with the mobile apparatus (M102) and a near-field communication memory (M215). The controller (M105) stores, in the near-field in communication memory (M215), at least a part of the operation history information stored in the main memory (M106) when a malfunction of the terminal unit (M201) is detected, and the communication control unit (M216) transmits the operation history information stored in the near-field communication memory (M215) is by near-field communication to the mobile apparatus (M102), in accordance with a request from the mobile apparatus (M102).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Masaru Yamaoka, Michihiro Matsumoto, Shohji Ohtsubo, Masao Nonaka, Mitsuaki Oshima
  • Publication number: 20140292806
    Abstract: An image display method including: obtaining (S2301) combined data including (i) image data of an image having an item as a subject and (ii) first setting information indicating processing which a first electric appliance performs on the item; determining whether or not the first setting information is convertible into second setting information, the first setting information being included in the obtained combined data, and the second setting information being information in a format previously designated by a user and executable by a second electric appliance; determining (S2305) a first mark to be added to the image of the image data, if it is determined that the first setting information is convertible into the second setting information; and displaying (S2307) the image of the image data to which the determined first mark is added, the image data being included in the combined data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiaki Ohnishi, Masaru Yamaoka, Mariko Nakaso
  • Publication number: 20140285325
    Abstract: A generation unit generates a command based on operation history information read from a storage unit and operation status information obtained by an obtainment unit when power is supplied from a first power source unit to a communication apparatus, and generates the command based on the operation history information read from the storage unit when the power is not supplied from the first power source unit to the communication apparatus, when power is supplied from a second power source unit to each of the storage unit, the generation unit, and a proximity wireless communication unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2013
    Publication date: September 25, 2014
    Applicant: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Hideo Umetani, Masaru Yamaoka, Gantetsu Matsui, Mahbub Rashid
  • Patent number: 8811897
    Abstract: An NFC device according to the present invention includes the following units. An antenna unit receives radio waves from a reader/writer by NFC. A first power source unit generates power from the radio waves. A second power source unit is a drive power source. A power-supply state holding unit holds information indicating a power-supply state of the second power source unit. An NFC unit performs NFC via the antenna unit to transmit the information indicating the power-supply state of the second power source unit. A power source switch unit switches the second power source unit to the first power source unit according to the power-supply state of the second power source unit, in order to supply power to activate at least the NFC unit and the power-supply state holding unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Michihiro Matsumoto, Mitsuaki Oshima, Masaru Yamaoka, Shohji Ohtsubo, Masao Nonaka
  • Publication number: 20140227975
    Abstract: A first communication unit transmits, to an electrical home appliance, request information that requests electrical home appliance specifying information for specifying the electrical home appliance after an approach instructing screen is displayed on a display unit, and receives response information including at least the electrical home appliance specifying information from the electrical home appliance after the first communication unit and the electrical home appliance have approached each other within a communicable range, and a display control unit switches a display screen to a menu screen that is unique to the electrical home appliance on the basis of the response information received by the first communication unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Kuroyama, Kazunori Kurimoto, Naofumi Nakatani, Yasuo Yoshimura, Kenichi Kamon, Masaru Yamaoka, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 8792859
    Abstract: A repeater apparatus includes a network communication unit that acquires, from a server through a network, first terminal identification information for identifying a terminal to be controlled and control information for controlling the terminal to be controlled, a near-field communication unit that acquires, by near-field communication from the terminal, second terminal identification information for identifying the terminal and stored in the terminal, and a comparison unit that decides whether the first terminal identification information agrees with the second terminal identification information. The near-field communication unit transmits the control information to the terminal by near-field communication, in the case where the comparison unit decides that the first terminal identification information agrees with the second terminal identification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
    Inventors: Tomoaki Ohira, Masaru Yamaoka, Michihiro Matsumoto, Toshiaki Ohnishi
  • Publication number: 20140152856
    Abstract: A communication device including an image capturing device having a RF-ID unit for performing proximity wireless communication with a RF-ID reader/writer connected via an infrared communication path to a TV. The image capturing device includes: an antenna for the proximity wireless communication; a data receiving unit receiving an input signal from the RF-ID reader/writer; a nonvolatile second memory storing at least UID and an execution program; and a data transmission unit transmitting the UID and the execution program to the RF-ID reader/writer via the antenna according to the input signal. The UID is used to identify the communication device, and the execution program is executed by the TV with reference to the UID. The transmitted UID and execution program are transferred to the TV via the RF-ID reader/writer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2014
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoichi IKEDA, Mitsuaki OSHIMA, Masaru YAMAOKA, Tsutomu MUKAI, Takahiro SATO, Ikuo FUCHIGAMI, Tadanori TEZUKA, Shohji OHTSUBO, Yosuke MATSUSHITA