Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Hidetaka Ohto

Keiichi Tanaka

Masahiro Oashi

Toshihiro Hishida

Kazuo Okamura

Junichi Hirai

Masaki Mukai

Germano Leichsenring

Satoshi Hashimoto

Yoshifumi Yonemoto

Kazunori Watanabe

Hiroaki Iwamoto

Hiromi Wada

Takahiro Watanabe

Masafumi Okubo

Tomokazu Kanamaru

Yuji Kunitake

Takayuki Hamaki

Masakazu Kawano

Yasunori Tanaka

Hitoshi Uno

A method of controlling a plurality of equipment pieces by a controller including a microphone, a sensor, and a speaker includes collecting, with the microphone, sound around the controller, sensing, with the sensor, a location of a person with respect to the plurality of equipment pieces, generating sensing data based on the sensing, extracting an utterance for controlling the plurality of equipment pieces from the sound collected by the microphone, in accordance with the utterance, identifying a target equipment piece to be controlled among the plurality of equipment pieces, determining whether to control the target equipment piece based on the sensing data, when the control equipment piece is determined to be controlled, generating an audio response for verifying whether to control the target equipment piece in accordance with the utterance, and causing the speaker to output the audio response.

Control method, controller, and non-transitory recording medium

A playback device executes playback of video data in sync with an application program associated with the video data. The playback device includes an activating unit for activating the application program, a receiving unit for receiving from a user an input specifying a playback section associated with a piece of video data and an application program, and an activation control unit. If a first input is received from the user by the receiving unit and a second input is received within the predetermined time period from reception of the first input, the activation control unit discards the first input. If a third input is not received within the predetermined time period from reception of the second input, the activation control unit activates an application program according to the second input.

Playback device, playback method, and computer-readable recording medium for ensuring stable application execution in synchronism with video data playback

Hardware of a playback apparatus includes a drive and a decoder, and firmware of the playback apparatus accesses a BD-ROM loaded on a drive, according to a BD-J application, to bring the decoder into AV playback operations. The drive unit constitutes a local storage. A benchmark score is built in the firmware in advance. The benchmark score shows a turn-around time from when a processing request is made to the hardware via the firmware to when a response returns. Such a benchmark score is written into an application data area in the local storage when the firmware is initially executed.

Reproducing apparatus, system LSI, and initialization method

A playback apparatus plays back video data recorded on a recording medium such as a BD-ROM. The playback apparatus includes (i) an interface in which a removable medium such as an SDRAM is inserted, (ii) a detection module detecting that the removable medium is inserted, and (iii) a virtual file system. The virtual file system is used if the removable medium is detected to be inserted, if additional content such as subtitles is recorded on the removable medium, and furthermore if the additional content is associated with the video data recorded on the BD-ROM, etc. The virtual file system dynamically combines the video data recorded on the BD-ROM, etc. and the additional content of the removable medium so as to play back a virtual package.

Reproduction device and program

A playback apparatus for playing a digital stream in conjunction with an application includes a package management unit operable to generate package information by merging files recorded on a first recording medium and a second recording medium, in accordance with merge management information, and a selection unit operable to detect a plurality of playable titles from the package information, and select one of the detected titles as a current title. After the application requests the package management unit to update the merge management information, by specifying new merge management information, the package management unit changes a file referenced from the newly specified merge management information to read-only before updating the package information, and at a point at which digital stream playback stops due to a current title change by the selection unit, the package management unit generates new package information by combining files recorded on the first and second recording media, in accordance with the newly specified merge management information.

Playback apparatus for performing application-synchronized playback

In the Local Storage (), a plurality of files, merge management information which specifies a file out of the plurality of files to be used in combination with what is recorded on a Read-Only recording medium, and signature information used for judging the authenticity of the merge management information. The Virtual File System unit () judges the authenticity of the merge management information based on the signature information. In the case where the merge management information is judged to be authentic, the Virtual File System unit () generates package information which indicates a new file structure obtained by adding the file specified by the merge management information to the file structure of the Read-Only recording medium.

Playback apparatus and playback method

An integrated circuit stores a module that executes applications that play digital streams. When the module is executed, the integrated circuit generates package information by merging files recorded on a first recording medium and a second recording medium, in accordance with merge management information, detects a plurality of playable titles from the package information, and selects one of the detected titles as a current title. The integrated circuit executes the application associated with the current title, and the executed application makes a request to update the generated package information by specifying new merge management information. The integrated circuit changes a file referenced from the newly specified merge management information to read-only before updating the package information, and at a point at which digital stream playback stops due to a current title change, the integrated circuit generates new package information by combining files recorded on the first and second recording media, in accordance with the newly specified merge management information.

A playback device generates a virtual package in response to a construction request made by an application. After the virtual package is thus generated, a virtual file systemallows a file recorded on a removable medium in an 8.3 format to be accessed with use of an alias in a Long File Name format, based on a merge management information file that indicates a correspondence between a file path in the 8.3 format and a file path in the Long File Name format.

Reproducing apparatus

The present invention is the playback apparatusfor (i) mounting thereon the BD-ROMin which a plurality of data groups and an application program that refers to each of the data groups are stored and (ii) playing back each of the data groups by executing the application program. The playback apparatuscomprises: the playback processing unitoperable to control the execution of the application program; the network IF unitoperable to obtain, from an external server including therein one or more alternative data groups, an alternative data group to replace part of the data groups; and the HDD unitthat stores therein correspondence information showing a correspondence between a storage location where on an internal recording medium the alternative data group is stored and a storage location where on the external recording medium the part of the data groups to be replaced. Here, at a time when the application program in execution reads a data group being referred to, the playback processing unit(i) judges based on the correspondence information whether an alternative data group for replacing the data group being referred to exists on the internal recording medium, and (ii) specifies, as a data retrieve destination, a storage location of the alternative data group indicated by the correspondence information when the judgment is affirmative.

Playback apparatus that reads data replacing data recorded on recording medium from another recording medium and plays back read data, playback method, and non-transitory recording medium

A playback device plays back a digital stream and executes an application. A Java&#x2122; module is a platform unit, executes the application, and performs playback control based on a result of the execution. When performing this playback, the playback device has a plurality of real parameters specific to the playback device, for the playback control. The Java&#x2122; module provides a function using a real parameter to the application, in response to a method call from the application.

An access control device controls an access right with respect to a plurality of electronic devices in a network for each combination of electronic devices. An authority information generating section generates authority information which is used when an electronic device accesses an application on an electronic device. A permission information generating section generates permission information which is information about whether or not the electronic device permits an access request from the electronic device, in relation with the authority information. An access information storing section stores the authority information and the permission information. A transmission control section transmits via the communication section the authority information to the electronic device and the permission information to the electronic device.

Access control device and electronic device

Provided is a device cooperation service system which dynamically collects information relating to a device cooperation service and includes a service discovery method for enabling an electronic device to be identified and enabling an application to be downloaded. The system of the present invention has a function of discovering an electronic device which can execute a cooperation service and has a function of specifying a service executable by a combination of an own electronic device and other electronic devices having been discovered. Using these functions, the combination of the electronic devices which can execute the cooperation service is found, and each of the electronic devices is caused to download an application necessary for executing the service.

Device cooperation service system and electronic devices included in the system

Terminal devices and a method of transferring sets of transmission document information in a network system between terminal devices such as portable devices which can be grouped together into a plurality of different groups is provided. A terminal device can store capability information relative to a specific type of data that can be received and outputted. The terminal device can receive an inquiry from another terminal device as to the capability information and can transmit the capability information when appropriate to the inquiring terminal device. Various types of capability information can be stored, depending upon the particular capabilities of the terminal device such as picture data, audio data and character data to enable the terminal device to be an e-mail terminal.

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Hidetaka Ohto