Patents by Inventor Tetsu Sumita

Tetsu Sumita 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: 8782806
    Abstract: There is provided a content usage managing apparatus including a memory unit to store the first relation between a POP and one or more contents included in the POP and the second relation between the POPs linked via a content in a package which includes two or more POPs, a selection unit to select the first content out of contents included in the first POP of the package, a specifying unit to specify the first webpage including the first content, and an examination unit to examine whether the first POP and one or more contents included in the first POP satisfy the first relation and to examine whether the first POP and the second POP linked to the first POP via the second content satisfy the second relation on at least any one of the first webpage or one or more webpages linked to the first webpage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Tomoki Shirakawa
  • Patent number: 8732762
    Abstract: An ECG server, which provides program contents-related ECG information to a television terminal and a user terminal, comprises a storage unit that stores the program contents-related ECG information, a configuring unit that configures an ECG module in correspondence to the program contents, made up with a plurality of sets of ECG information including tuning information to be used to allow the television terminal to select the program contents, a setting unit that sets timing information, which will allow the ECG module to be provided to the user terminal by linking with consignment of the program contents and a providing unit that provides, in conformance to the timing information, the ECG module to an user terminal capable of providing the tuning information to the television terminal. By utilizing the ECG server, the ratings of the program contents can be improved and the program contents can be more easily selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Kaori Wada
  • Patent number: 8434106
    Abstract: Provided is a server device including a storage unit that stores, for each content, facet data composed of a plurality of facet items and facet values hierarchically arranged in a lower level of each of the plurality of facet items, priorities being assigned to the plurality of facet items, a receiving unit that receives content identifying information for identifying one content from a client terminal, a selection unit that selects one or more than one facet item of the one content and any facet value belonging to each of the one or more than one facet item, an acquisition unit that acquires relevant information of the one content based on a selected facet item and a selected facet value selected by the selection unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the relevant information acquired by the acquisition unit to the client terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Fukuda, Tetsu Sumita
  • Patent number: 8365226
    Abstract: There is provided an information providing apparatus that can be connected to a broadcast receiving terminal that displays electronic contents guide (ECG) information including attribute information expressing contents of a program, including an ECG information storage part that stores ECG information, a viewer EID processing part that processes viewer emotional identification (EID) information as emotional information expressing a program preference of a viewer, a program EID processing part that creates a program EID as emotional information corresponding to contents of the program; an ECG unit constitution part that constitutes an ECG unit by correlating the ECG information with the program based on the attribute information and correlates the program EID with the ECG unit, an EID conformity determination part that determines the ECG unit provided to the broadcast receiving terminal and an ECG unit providing part that provides the determined ECG unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Kaori Wada
  • Patent number: 8250594
    Abstract: An ECG server for providing ECG information about a program to broadcast receiving terminals and user terminals includes an ECG information storage unit for storing the ECG information including attribute information, an emotion information acquisition unit for acquiring emotion information representing emotions of viewers about content of the program displayed by the broadcast receiving terminals via at least one of the information acquisition terminals, an emotion information analysis unit for analyzing at least one piece of the acquired emotion information, and an ECG unit configuration unit for configuring an ECG unit by associating at least one piece of the ECG information with the program and associating at least one piece of the acquired emotion information with the program based on attribute information of the ECG information to suit analysis results of the emotion information. Accordingly, viewers can be lured to view the program by inviting viewers to view the program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Kaori Wada
  • Patent number: 8082098
    Abstract: An apparatus mounted in a vehicle which can communicate with an information supplying server includes: a detection portion for detecting that a predetermined process is carried out in the vehicle; an institution information acquiring portion for acquiring institution information indicating an institution in a location where the process is carried out; a recording portion for recording the institution information acquired by the institution information acquiring portion in a memory medium; an information acquiring portion for acquiring information to be outputted from an information supplying server which stores information to be outputted, including map additional information to be added to maps or advertisement information; and an extraction portion for extracting information to be outputted relating to an institution indicated by the institution information recorded in the memory medium from the information to be outputted acquired by the information acquiring portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Fukuda, Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita
  • Publication number: 20110119303
    Abstract: Provided is a server device including a storage unit that stores, for each content, facet data composed of a plurality of facet items and facet values hierarchically arranged in a lower level of each of the plurality of facet items, priorities being assigned to the plurality of facet items, a receiving unit that receives content identifying information for identifying one content from a client terminal, a selection unit that selects one or more than one facet item of the one content and any facet value belonging to each of the one or more than one facet item, an acquisition unit that acquires relevant information of the one content based on a selected facet item and a selected facet value selected by the selection unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the relevant information acquired by the acquisition unit to the client terminal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Fukuda, Tetsu Sumita
  • Publication number: 20110093904
    Abstract: There is provided a motion picture providing apparatus including a keyword management section which manages, in order to search a motion picture related to content, a keyword registered with respect to the content, a viewing state acquisition section which acquires a viewing state of content from an outside TV, a keyword specification section which specifies a keyword registered with respect to the content which is being viewed by using the acquired viewing state, a motion picture selection section which selects one or more motion pictures that satisfy a predetermined reference from among one or more motion pictures searched by one or more outside motion picture sharing devices by using the specified keyword, and a motion picture providing section which acquires, from the motion picture sharing devices, a motion picture designated by a viewer from among the selected motion pictures, and provides the acquired motion picture to the TV.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2010
    Publication date: April 21, 2011
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Fumiko Sekijima
  • Patent number: 7908171
    Abstract: The present invention provides an information providing system including an information registration unit capable of registering a front keyword for use in relation to content or content information to be provided a user terminal and back keywords set in relation to the front keyword can be registered, an advertisement registration unit capable of registering advertisement information for use in relation to the back keyword and an information providing unit capable of providing the advertisement information to the user terminal. The advertisement registration unit is capable of selecting specific advertisement information through an auction transaction. The information providing unit is capable of displaying keyword buttons enabling keyword selection in a display screen at the user terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2011
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Fukuda, Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita
  • Publication number: 20100169978
    Abstract: There is provided a content usage managing apparatus including a memory unit to store the first relation between a POP and one or more contents included in the POP and the second relation between the POPs linked via a content in a package which includes two or more POPs, a selection unit to select the first content out of contents included in the first POP of the package, a specifying unit to specify the first webpage including the first content, and an examination unit to examine whether the first POP and one or more contents included in the first POP satisfy the first relation and to examine whether the first POP and the second POP linked to the first POP via the second content satisfy the second relation on at least any one of the first webpage or one or more webpages linked to the first webpage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2009
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Tomoki Shirakawa
  • Publication number: 20100131371
    Abstract: There is provided an advertisement providing system including an advertisement article data obtaining unit which obtains advertisement article data of an advertisement item expected to be contained in a publication, an advertisement information preparing unit which prepares advertisement information of the advertisement item from the obtained advertisement article data, an item information obtaining unit which obtains item information of the advertisement item from an electric commerce system which sells the advertisement item, a unit information preparing unit which prepares unit information of the advertisement item by relating the obtained advertisement information and the obtained item information, a unit information providing unit which provides the prepared unit information to the electric commerce system which sells the advertisement item, and a sales log obtaining unit which obtains a sales log of the advertisement item which is sold through the electric commerce system with utilizing the provided uni
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2009
    Publication date: May 27, 2010
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Tomoki Shirakawa
  • Publication number: 20090235313
    Abstract: There is provided an information providing apparatus that can be connected to a broadcast receiving terminal that displays electronic contents guide (ECG) information including attribute information expressing contents of a program, including an ECG information storage part that stores ECG information, a viewer EID processing part that processes viewer emotional identification (EID) information as emotional information expressing a program preference of a viewer, a program EID processing part that creates a program EID as emotional information corresponding to contents of the program; an ECG unit constitution part that constitutes an ECG unit by correlating the ECG information with the program based on the attribute information and correlates the program EID with the ECG unit, an EID conformity determination part that determines the ECG unit provided to the broadcast receiving terminal and an ECG unit providing part that provides the determined ECG unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2009
    Publication date: September 17, 2009
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Testuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Kaori Wada
  • Publication number: 20090210905
    Abstract: An ECG server, which provides program contents-related ECG information to a television terminal and a user terminal, comprises a storage unit that stores the program contents-related ECG information, a configuring unit that configures an ECG module in correspondence to the program contents, made up with a plurality of sets of ECG information including tuning information to be used to allow the television terminal to select the program contents, a setting unit that sets timing information, which will allow the ECG module to be provided to the user terminal by linking with consignment of the program contents and a providing unit that provides, in conformance to the timing information, the ECG module to an user terminal capable of providing the tuning information to the television terminal. By utilizing the ECG server, the ratings of the program contents can be improved and the program contents can be more easily selected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2009
    Publication date: August 20, 2009
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita, Kaori Wada
  • Publication number: 20090133064
    Abstract: An ECG server for providing ECG information about a program to broadcast receiving terminals and user terminals includes an ECG information storage unit for storing the ECG information including attribute information, an emotion information acquisition unit for acquiring emotion information representing emotions of viewers about content of the program displayed by the broadcast receiving terminals via at least one of the information acquisition terminals, an emotion information analysis unit for analyzing at least one piece of the acquired emotion information, and an ECG unit configuration unit for configuring an ECG unit by associating at least one piece of the ECG information with the program and associating at least one piece of the acquired emotion information with the program based on attribute information of the ECG information to suit analysis results of the emotion information. Accordingly, viewers can be lured to view the program by inviting viewers to view the program.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2008
    Publication date: May 21, 2009
    Inventors: Tetsuo MARUYAMA, Tetsu Sumita, Kaori Wada
  • Publication number: 20080228394
    Abstract: An apparatus mounted in a vehicle which can communicate with an information supplying server includes: a detection portion for detecting that a predetermined process is carried out in the vehicle; an institution information acquiring portion for acquiring institution information indicating an institution in a location where the process is carried out; a recording portion for recording the institution information acquired by the institution information acquiring portion in a memory medium; an information acquiring portion for acquiring information to be outputted from an information supplying server which stores information to be outputted, including map additional information to be added to maps or advertisement information; and an extraction portion for extracting information to be outputted relating to an institution indicated by the institution information recorded in the memory medium from the information to be outputted acquired by the information acquiring portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2008
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro FUKUDA, Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita
  • Publication number: 20080114762
    Abstract: The present invention provides an information providing system including an information registration unit capable of registering a front keyword for use in relation to content or content information to be provided a user terminal and back keywords set in relation to the front keyword can be registered, an advertisement registration unit capable of registering advertisement information for use in relation to the back keyword and an information providing unit capable of providing the advertisement information to the user terminal. The advertisement registration unit is capable of selecting specific advertisement information through an auction transaction. The information providing unit is capable of displaying keyword buttons enabling keyword selection in a display screen at the user terminal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Publication date: May 15, 2008
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Plat-Ease Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro FUKUDA, Tetsuo Maruyama, Tetsu Sumita