Photography – Fluid-treating apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-05
2001-09-04
Rutledge, D. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Fluid-treating apparatus
C355S040000, C355S027000, C396S567000, C396S639000, C358S434000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283646
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of photography and image signals obtained from photographs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method by which image signals corresponding to hardcopy photographs, can be easily identified by a user for communication to a hub station, and retrieved and distributed as desired by a user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In conventional photography, a user exposes a photographic film in a camera and conveys (either personally, by mail, or some other delivery service) the exposed film to any convenient processing center. The processing center then processes the film to form the hardcopy images (typically in the form of photographic negatives on the original film and/or photographic prints, or photographic positives in the case of reversal processed film). The hardcopy images are then conveyed back to the user (often by the user personally picking them up at the processing center). If a user desires to share the images with others without giving up their own hardcopies, they typically go through the highly tedious and time consuming effort of designating which hardcopy images are desired to be shared, returning the designated hardcopy images to the processor to produce further hardcopies, and conveying the further hardcopies to the person(s) with whom they wish to share. If later it is desired to share the images with other persons, the same process must typically be repeated. In fact, so much effort and time is required that most users will simply not bother with multiple image sharing.
It has been appreciated that users can conveniently distribute multiple image copies in little time, by scanning the hardcopy image on a home scanner to generate corresponding digital image signals, and then forwarding one or more copies of the digital image signal to others by means of electronic mail (such as over the Internet). Furthermore, the recent advent of services such as KODAK PICTURE DISK available from Eastman Kodak Company and many film processors, which allows a user to obtain a digital image signal of images of processed film on a disk for a modest price, even eliminates the need for the user to own a scanner. The availability of a digital image signal additionally allows a user to conveniently store, manipulate, and display or print copies of the images as desired at the user's location using conventional computer equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,549 discloses a system in which a customer can connect his computer to a remote print or copy center to retrieve digital image signals of the customer's images. Those digital image signals are described as having been obtained on a scanner at the customer's location with the storage media then being shipped to the print or copy center, or obtained on a scanner at the remote print or copy center. Presumably, any media scanned at the copy center is identified by a manually entered identification for a particular customer so that customer can later retrieve them. Similarly, subsequent U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,353 describes a system in which one or more photographer units can connect to a centralized laboratory unit (containing a film processor, scanner, and printer). The '353 patent system is constructed with the purpose that a given user's films are processed and scanned at one central processing center, each assigned a unique identification code, and retrieved by that user at his remote terminal using the identification code. The retrieved images can then be manipulated by the user and printed at the central processing center. The customer identification is read off a magnetic tape which has been affixed to a film bag carrying the film, at the processing center. No instructions are provided in the magnetic tape since none are required in the system of the '353 patent.
The systems of the '549 or '353 patents, require that all digital image storage media (in the '549 patent) or hardcopy film (in the case of the '353 patent) carrying images from multiple users, must be conveyed to only one central processing center. This is inconvenient and may cause delays in such a system implemented on a country wide or worldwide basis.
It would be desirable to provide a method and system which allows a user to simply have an exposed film delivered to any convenient one of a number of locations, at which locations the film is processed and scanned, and which allows a user to access the resulting image signals from a remote terminal without having to keep track of which films were delivered to which location. It would further be desirable that such a method and system can be readily expanded into a a countrywide or worldwide system, without reliance on a single central processing station. It would still further be desirable if such a system can avoid requiring users to complete cumbersome forms with instructions on how such system should operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention recognizes that a readily expandable system for processing and scanning film images, saving the scanned images at locations remote from the processor and scanner locations, and retrieving them from still other remote terminals (such as a user's home), can be provided. This is accomplished by utilizing multiple hub stations each of which can serve a respective plurality of processor-scanner stations, and from which hub stations remote terminals can retrieve stored images.
However, the present invention further recognizes that a given user will typically wish to retrieve stored image set signals primarily from the same remote terminal (for example, a terminal located at their home or office; this is referenced as the user's “primary remote terminal”). Given this, for a user to be able to rapidly access their stored images from their primary remote terminal, it is not enough that following processing and scanning, the corresponding image signal set is simply uploaded to any hub station chosen by the processor-scanner operator (who will most typically be a retail film processing outlet). If such a method was used, whenever the user attempted to later access a specific image set signal, they would have to either have kept track of which hub station that image set signal was sent to, or have one of the hub stations perform a search throughout all other hub stations for the specific image set signal. The first procedure is tedious since it involves one more piece of information which must be provided to, and kept by, the user. Further, even if the user keeps this information they will typically connect their primary remote terminal to a local hub station serving their geographic area and would then have to instruct the local hub to retrieve the particular image set signal from the identified hub station at which the image set signal is located. This is also tedious and time consuming. As to the second procedure (having one hub station search other hub stations), this is also tedious and can result in substantially increased network traffic between hub stations, as well as delays while other hub stations are being searched. Further, the present invention recognizes that users cannot be expected to keep track of which hub station serves their geographic location and have image signal sets communicated there, particularly given that hub stations may be added or deleted, or the geographic regions which they serve may be altered from time to time.
The present invention then, provides in one aspect, an image handling method comprising:
(a) processing an exposed photographic film at a processor-scanner station which has both a scanner and a processor at the same location, to produce one or more hardcopy images at the processor-scanner location;
(b) reading data on the film which indicates that a set of one or more hardcopy images is to be communicated to a hub station, which hub station is remote from the processor-scanner station;
(c) scanning the set at the same processor-scanner location at which the film was processed, to obtain a corr
Dellert David William
Tesavis Carl Joseph
Eastman Kodak Company
Rutledge D.
Watkins Peyton C.
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