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: 9201467
    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. The display control unit acquires information regarding the orientation or position of the portable terminal from the sensor and determines a display mode of the icon or object in accordance with a change in the orientation or position of the portable terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Takahiro Fujii, Hidenori Karasawa, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Publication number: 20150271555
    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: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2013
    Publication date: September 24, 2015
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: George Arriola, Anahi Bagu Casas, Shinji Kimura, Shiqeru Enomoto, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Motoki Kobayashi, Shuji Hiramatsu, Yumiko Tanaka, Taku Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20150271556
    Abstract: A home screen display unit arranges and displays a plurality of content icons indicating a plurality of pieces of content in a first area in a content zone screen. If a specific content icon is focused on by the cursor and if a preset determination operation is performed, a content playback unit starts playback of the content indicated by the focused icon. If a specific content icon is focused on by the cursor, a related information acquiring unit acquires related information relating to the content that is indicated by the focused icon that is registered in an external device from the external device without starting playback of the content. A home screen display unit displays the acquired related information in a second area of the content zone screen and displays, if related information is updated, the updated related information in the second area so as to replace the related information displayed until that moment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2013
    Publication date: September 24, 2015
    Inventors: George Arriola, Anahi Bagu Casas, Shinji Kimura, Shigeru Enomoto, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Motoki Kobayashi, Shuji Hiramatsu, Yumiko Tanaka, Taku Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20150248204
    Abstract: A home screen display unit displays a home screen indicating a plurality of menus. If an execution menu of a game application is selected in the home screen, a game screen display unit displays in full screen a game screen indicating an execution result of the game application. If an execution menu of an application other than a game is selected in the home screen, a browser screen display unit displays in full screen a browser screen indicating an execution result of the application other than a game. A screen transition control unit allows a direct transition from the game screen to the browser screen if a predetermined operation is performed while the game screen is displayed, and allows a direct transition from the browser screen to the game screen if the predetermined operation is performed while the browser screen is displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2013
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Inventors: Toru Morita, You Asakura, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi, Shuji Hiramatsu, Yasuhiro Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 9098181
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus configured to: display on a screen a display target range, which is a part of a display region including display elements arranged therein; and move the display target range in the display region in accordance with a direction of a scroll instruction when the scroll instruction is received from a user in a state in which the display target range is displayed, in which a movement amount of the display target range in accordance with the scroll instruction is changed based on a position of the display target range in the display region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignees: SONY CORPORATION, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20140354786
    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: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2012
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Masaki Takahashi, Yoshinobu Matono, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Publication number: 20140321722
    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: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka TSUDA, Shuji HIRAMATSU, Akira SUZUKI
  • Patent number: 8803886
    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 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Akira Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8656304
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus that stores a plurality of programs, sequentially activates the programs in response to a user's instruction, and restricts the number of programs exceeding a predetermined number from being activated, in which the information processing apparatus displays the predetermined number of symbol images and displays the same number of symbol images as the number of programs that are already activated in a manner that is different from the other symbol images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 8463103
    Abstract: A small-size digital device requires preferable operability and userfriendliness of the user interface. In a multimedia reproduction device (10), an operation unit (40) acquires an instruction concerning content reproduction via a user operation. A read-out unit (44) reads out a content from an external recording medium mounted as a content data storage area. A Storage unit (80) holds data on a plurality of function icons symbolizing a plurality of content reproduction function types and data on a plurality of media icons symbolizing the external recording medium types. A display processing unit (46) processes menu screen display and content reproduction. A menu unit (48) generates image data on a menu screen where a plurality of function icons and a plurality of media icons are arranged two-dimensionally according to a user function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Masaharu Sakai, Kojiro Umemura, Shuji Hiramatsu, Ryuji Nakayama
  • Publication number: 20130132876
    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: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Ikuo KOBAYASHI, Masaki TAKAHASHI, Shuji HIRAMATSU, Toru YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20130042205
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus including a novel user interface capable of switching a number of images for display on a screen. The information processing apparatus displays a menu image representing one or more menu item images on a screen, displays, when any one of the one or more menu item images is selected, a selection target image associated with the selected menu item image on the screen, stores a selected order of already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images, displays, when one direction along one side of the screen is specified, another selection target image, which is selected in accordance with the stored selected order and the one direction, and redisplays the menu image when an opposite direction to the one direction is specified in a state in which the selection target image associated with the menu image selected most recently is displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Publication date: February 14, 2013
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi, Toru Morita
  • Publication number: 20120188243
    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. The display control unit acquires information regarding the orientation or position of the portable terminal from the sensor and determines a display mode of the icon or object in accordance with a change in the orientation or position of the portable terminal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2012
    Publication date: July 26, 2012
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Takahiro Fujii, Hidenori Karasawa, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: 8201104
    Abstract: Favorable visual appearance and ease of operation are required in the user interface of digital home appliances using a television screen. An array of function icons including multiple function icons representing respective types of media that can be played and an array of content icons including multiple content icons representing items of contents that can be played are displayed practically at the center of an on-screen menu such that the arrays intersect. A moving image icon, which is a function icon displayed in an area of intersection in which the array of function icons and the array of content icons intersect, is highlighted by a color different from that of the other function icons and by an enlarged view. In the array of content icons, the hierarchy of the contents is visually represented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Ryuji Yamamoto, Tyler Daniel, Shigeru Enomoto, Akio Ohba, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shunsuke Kunieda
  • Publication number: 20110250956
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus configured to: display on a screen a display target range, which is a part of a display region including display elements arranged therein; and move the display target range in the display region in accordance with a direction of a scroll instruction when the scroll instruction is received from a user in a state in which the display target range is displayed, in which a movement amount of the display target range in accordance with the scroll instruction is changed based on a position of the display target range in the display region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20110249027
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus configured to: display on a screen a display target range, which is a part of a first display region extending along a first direction, so as to be superimposed on a first background image; move, when an operation of specifying a direction along the first direction is received from a user in a state in which the display target range is displayed, the display target range in the first display region in accordance with the specified direction without changing a display position of the first background image; and display a predetermined partial range of a second display region extending along the first direction so as to be superimposed on a second background image when an operation of specifying a direction along a second direction intersecting the first direction is received from the user, irrespective of whether or not the display target range is moved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20110252363
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus that displays on a screen at least a part of a display region, in which display elements are arranged; terminates the display of the display region when an operation of specifying a first direction with respect to a predetermined region in the screen is received from a user; and shifts into a state, in which the termination of the display of the display region, when an operation of specifying a second direction that is different from the first direction with respect to the predetermined region is received from the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20110252361
    Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus that stores a plurality of programs, sequentially activates the programs in response to a user's instruction, and restricts the number of programs exceeding a predetermined number from being activated, in which the information processing apparatus displays the predetermined number of symbol images and displays the same number of symbol images as the number of programs that are already activated in a manner that is different from the other symbol images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tsuda, Shuji Hiramatsu, Shigeru Enomoto, Motoki Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20110145764
    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: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2009
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Masaki Higuchi, Shigeru Enomoto, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Shuji Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: D714823
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Shuji Hiramatsu