Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporaton of America

Hideki Aoyama

Mitsuaki Oshima

Koji Nakanishi

Tsutomu Mukai

Shigehiro Iida

Kazunori Yamada

Ikuo Fuchigami

Hidehiko Shin

Yosuke Matsushita

Toshiyuki Maeda

Akihiro Ueki

Kengo Miyoshi

Akira Shiokawa

Koji Aoto

Takashi Suzuki

Shinsuke Ogata

Chikara Yoshida

Fumio Muramatsu

Shigehiro Ilda

Nobuaki Hayashi

Gaku Sasaki

Takuya Takahama

Kohei Noma

Tsuyoshi Moriyama

Kensuke Nagauchi

Tatsuya Kato

Kazuhiko Nono

Kazuma Sakamoto

Kazuma Kitazawa

Ryosuke Amagai

Naoyuki Taniuchi

A delivery device that travels along rails and delivers a package is provided. The rails include at least first and second rails. The delivery device includes: a main body; a connector that is configured to be connected to the rails, with the main body hanging from the connector, and with the rails being spaced apart from a ground surface; at least one actuator that drives the connector; a lift motor that is capable of taking up a wire for unloading the package; and a control circuit. When the delivery device is slidably hung from the first rail, the control circuit: switches from the first rail to the second rail by controlling the actuator; and lets out the wire and lowers the package by controlling the lift motor.

Unmanned aerial vehicle and delivery system

A lifting system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle, a thruster device, a first wire, a first reel, a second thruster device, a second wire, a second reel, and a controller. When the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a position separated from the ground, the controller detaches the first thruster device and the second thruster device from the unmanned aerial vehicle, causes the first reel to reel out the first wire, detaches the second thruster device from the first thruster device, and causes the second reel to reel out the second wire.

Lifting system

A visible light communication method transmits a signal by visible light communication. The visible light communication method includes modulating the signal into a predetermined blinking pattern, and transmitting the signal by causing visible light to blink according to the predetermined blinking pattern, from a projector disposed in an indoor space surrounded by a wall toward the wall. The visible light communication method also includes projecting video from the projector toward the wall, wherein the visible light is reflected by the wall to prevent the signal from being received in an outside of the indoor space, and the signal is used to transmit data related to the video projected to a terminal in the indoor space.

Information communication method

A light beam emission system includes a blower that forms a flow path in which aerosol flows, an emitter that emits a laser beam, and a light guide that guides the laser beam to the flow path in which the aerosol flows. The light guide is hollow, and at least a part of the laser beam passing through the light guide and guided to the flow path propagates along the flow path of the aerosol.

Light beam emission system

An unmanned aerial vehicle that delivers a package includes a plurality of rotary wings, a plurality of first motors, a main body, a connector, a movable block, and a processor. When the connector is connected to a rail, the processor sets a rotation rate of the plurality of first motors to a rotation rate that is lower than a minimum rotation rate necessary for floating and higher than a minimum rotation rate necessary for propulsion along the rail. Furthermore, the processor causes the movable block to increase the angle formed by the normal direction of an imaginary plane containing the plurality of rotary wings relative to a support direction of the connector.

A light beam emission system includes: a blower that forms a flow path in which aerosol flows; and an emitter that emits a light beam. At least part of the light beam propagates along the flow path of the aerosol.

A visible light communication method transmits a signal by visible light communication. The visible light communication method includes modulating the signal into a predetermined blinking pattern, and transmitting the signal by causing visible light to blink according to the predetermined blinking pattern, from a projector disposed in an indoor space surrounded by a wall toward the wall. The visible light communication method also includes projecting video from the projector toward the wall, wherein the visible light is reflected by the wall to prevent the signal from being received in an outside of the indoor space, and the signal is used to transmit data related to the video projected to a plurality of terminals in the indoor space.

A method includes setting an exposure time of an image sensor included in a terminal device so that, in an image obtained by capturing a subject by the image sensor, a bright line corresponding to each of a plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject. The method also includes obtaining a bright line image including a plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time. The method further includes estimating a plurality of center areas each of which is in each of the plurality of bright lines, and obtaining identification information of the subject, by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the plurality of center areas.

A method includes determining a pattern of a change in luminance, by demodulating an identification information to be transmitted with a ceiling light, and transmitting the identification information, by the ceiling light changing in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance. Additionally, in the determining, a first luminance change pattern, corresponding to a first body, and a second luminance change pattern, corresponding to a first header used for the first body, are determined. Furthermore, in the transmitting, the first header and the first body are transmitted by the ceiling light changing in luminance according to the first luminance change pattern, the second luminance change pattern, and the first luminance change pattern in the stated order.

A display device includes a liquid crystal panel and a light source that emits light onto the liquid crystal panel, the display device including: a video signal obtainer that obtains a video signal; a visible light signal obtainer that obtains a visible light signal; a panel controller that drives the liquid crystal panel at a predetermined frequency according to the video signal obtained; and a light source controller that repeats, in a predetermined cycle, a first control for causing a luminance change in the light source according to the visible light signal. The light source controller synchronizes a control for repeating the first control with a cycle for driving the liquid crystal panel by the panel controller.

Display device and display method

A communication method including: determining whether a terminal is capable of performing visible light communication; when the terminal is determined to be capable of performing the visible light communication, obtaining a decode target image by an image sensor capturing a subject whose luminance changes, and obtaining, from a striped pattern appearing in the decode target image, first identification information transmitted by the subject; and when the terminal is determined to be incapable of performing the visible light communication in the determining pertaining to the visible light communication, obtaining a captured image by the image sensor capturing the subject, specifying a predetermined specific region by performing edge detection on the captured image, and obtaining, from a line pattern in the specific region, second identification information transmitted by the subject.

Communication method, communication device, and transmitter

A display method includes capturing, by an imaging sensor, a still image lit up by a transmitter that transmits a signal by luminance change of light as a subject to obtain a first captured image with a first exposure time. The still image is captured to obtain a second captured image with a second exposure time which is longer than the first exposure time. The display method further includes decoding the signal form the first captured image, and determining whether identification information included in each of a plurality of sets is identical to the decoded signal. Further, the method also includes reading the video included in each of the sets with the identification information identical to the decoded signal, and superimposing the video on a target region corresponding to the subject in the second captured image for display on a display.

Display method, non-transitory recording medium, and display device

The method includes obtaining, using a face camera of a smart phone, identification information from a ceiling light of a facility with visible light communication, and obtaining location information of the ceiling light related to the identification information. The method also includes displaying a location related to the location information of the ceiling light on a map of the facility on a display of the smart phone. The smart phone is set on a cart in a state that the face camera is directed to a ceiling of the facility on which the ceiling light is attached, and the face camera is a CMOS sensor and the CMOS sensor is used only for the visible light communication.

A transmitting method includes: receiving a dimming ratio which is specified for a light source as a specified dimming ratio (S); transmitting a signal encoded in a first mode by changing luminance while causing the light source to emit light at the specified dimming ratio when the specified dimming ratio is less than or equal to a first value; and transmitting the signal encoded in a second mode by changing the luminance while causing the light source to emit light at the specified dimming ratio when the specified dimming ratio is greater than the first value (S). Here, a peak current value of the light source when the specified dimming ratio is greater than the first value and less than or equal to a second value is less than the peak current value of the light source when the specified dimming ratio is the first value.

Transmitting method, transmitting apparatus, and program

A method includes setting an exposure time of an image sensor included in a terminal device so that, in an image obtained by capturing a subject by the image sensor, a bright line corresponding to each of a plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject. The method also includes obtaining a bright line image including a plurality of bright lines, obtaining identification information of the subject, and obtaining a direction of light of the subject. Additionally, the method includes calculating a distance between the terminal device and the subject, and obtaining a location of the subject. The method further includes calculating a location of the terminal device using the distance and the location of the subject, and sending the location of the terminal device to a server.

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Osaka, Japan

Hideki Aoyama