Interactive video distribution systems – Video distribution system with upstream communication
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-12
2003-05-20
Miller, John (Department: 2614)
Interactive video distribution systems
Video distribution system with upstream communication
C709S203000, C709S236000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06567983
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic album producing and viewing system comprising an image server and a client computer capable of establishing data communication with each other and a method of producing and viewing an electronic album in the system, an image server included in the system and a method of controlling its operation, a client computer included in the system and a method of controlling its operation, and a recording medium storing a program for controlling the client computer.
2. Description of the Background Art
Electronic album software for producing an electronic album using a personal computer has already been commercially available. Generally used as the electronic album software is one for picking up or imaging a subject using a digital still camera, a movie still video camera, and so forth and filing digital image data obtained by the imaging.
However, it is not considered that the electronic album produced using such electronic album software is utilized or enjoyed on a network which has been developed in recent years.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a system and a method in which an electronic album is utilized or enjoyed on a new network through which a client (computer) and a server (computer) communicate with each other.
Data representing an electronic album which has been produced in a client computer is uploaded to a server (an image server). The image server serves as a stock server of the electronic albums for an user who has the client computer producing and uploading the electronic album. The user does not need to keep the data representing the electronic album in own computer (client), but can download the data from the server when he or she desires to view the album. The other users than the user who uploaded the electronic album data to the server also can access to the server to view the electronic albums which are kept in the server.
An object of the present invention is to make it possible to produce, in a system comprising an image server and a client computer capable of establishing data communication with each other, an electronic album in at least one client computer and view the produced electronic album in the one or the other client computers.
An electronic album system according to the present invention comprises an image server and a plurality of client computers capable of establishing data communication with each other, wherein frame image specific data for specifying a plurality of frame images and display order data representing the order in which the frame images are displayed are transmitted from the client computer to the image server, and an electronic album file including the frame image specific data and the display order data is, in response to a request to transmit the electronic album file from the client computer, transmitted from the image server to the client computer which has issued the request.
The client computer comprises image data transmission requesting means for requesting the image server to transmit frame image data which the client computer does not have therein, the frame image data representing the frame image specified by frame image specific data included in an electronic album file which has been transmitted from the image server.
The image server comprises frame image data transmission means for transmitting, in response to the above request, the requested frame image data to the client computer which has requested to transmit the frame image data.
The present invention also provides a method suitable for the above-mentioned system. That is, the method is a method of controlling the operation of the electronic album system comprising an image server and a plurality of client computers capable of establishing data communication with each other. The method comprises the steps of correlating frame image specific data for specifying a plurality of frame images and display order data representing the order in which the frame images are displayed with each other and transmitting the frame image specific data and the display order data to the image server from the client computer, transmitting an electronic album file including frame image specific data and display order data, in response to a request to transmit electronic album file from said client computer, to the client computer which has issued the request from the image server, issuing, from the client computer which has requested to transmit the electronic album file to the image server, when the client computer does not store frame image data representing a frame image specified by the frame image specific data which is included in the electronic album file transmitted from the image server, a request to transmit the frame image data, transmitting to the client computer from the image server frame image data representing the frame image constituting the electronic album file in response to the request to transmit the frame image data from the client computer.
The present invention also provides a method of controlling the operation of the electronic album producing client computer and a recording medium storing a program therefor, and a method of controlling the operation of the electronic album viewing client computer and a recording medium storing a program therefor.
An electronic album producing client computer according to the present invention can establish data communication with an image server, and comprises frame image selection means for selecting a plurality of frame images constituting an electronic album, display order determination means for determining the order in which the plurality of frame images selected by the frame image selection means are displayed, and electronic album file creating means for correlating frame image specific data for specifying the plurality of frame images selected by the frame image selection means and display order data representing the order determined by the display order determination means with each other to create an electronic album file.
According to the present invention, in the electronic album producing client computer, the plurality of frame images constituting the electronic album are selected, and the order in which the selected plurality of frame images are displayed is determined. An electronic album file in which the frame image specific data for specifying the selected plurality of frame images and the display order data representing the determined order in which the frame images are displayed are correlated with each other is created and transmitted to the image server.
In the image server, the electronic album file is stored.
When the electronic album viewing client computer accesses the image server storing the electronic album file, the electronic album is viewed.
An electronic album viewing client computer according to the present invention can establish data communication with an image server, and comprises electronic album file receiving means for receiving from the image server an electronic album file including frame image specific data for specifying a plurality of frame images constituting an electronic album and display order data representing the order in which the frame images are displayed, image data download means for downloading from the image server, of frame image data representing the plurality of frame images specified by the frame image specific data received by the electronic album file receiving means, the frame image data which is not stored in the client computer, and first electronic album display control means for controlling a display device such that images represented by the stored frame image data and the frame image data downloaded by the image data download means are displayed in accordance with the display order data.
When the electronic album viewing client computer accesses to the image server, the electronic album file is transmitted to the electronic album viewing client computer from the image server, and is received in the electronic album viewing c
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
McGinn & Gibb PLLC
Miller John
Shang Annan Q.
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