Television – Camera – system and detail – Camera connected to computer
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-24
2004-08-31
Garber, Wendy R. (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Camera connected to computer
C348S333050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06784925
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system for managing and manipulating images stored on a digital camera. More particularly, the present invention is related to a system for managing associated full-resolution image files, thumbnail image files, and sound files stored in a digital camera using a personal computer having a windowing environment, wherein the system is integrated with standard user interfaces of the windowing environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital cameras are becoming increasingly prevalent in consumer households, as well as in businesses requiring capture and manipulation of digital images, such as internet merchandising or real estate. Most of these digital camera users also own a personal computer system with which they envision managing and manipulating images captured using their digital cameras. These personal computer systems most commonly provide a windowing operating environment in which intuitive and standardized user interfaces are used for controlling various system objects, such as storage devices, files, and printers.
It is therefore desirable to manage a digital camera, as well as data files stored therein, using the standardized interfaces used to control other system objects within the windowing environment. It is even more desirable to customize the standardized interfaces so that special features specific to a digital camera may be controlled and exploited.
Kodak® attempts to address the foregoing by offering, with its digital cameras, software which is minimally integrated with Microsoft® Windows95®. In this regard, Windows95 includes Explorers, which is an application used to view a hierarchical tree of system objects arranged into folders and sub-folders, as well as the contents of a selected folder or sub-folder. As shown in
FIG. 48
, Kodak's software causes the Explorer application to display icon
1001
representing a Kodak digital camera as a system object in All Folders window
1002
. In addition, a camera memory located within the Kodak digital camera is represented by icon
1003
and is shown as a sub-folder of the Kodak digital camera.
Since icon
1003
is selected in
FIG. 48
, Folder Contents window
1004
illustrates the contents of the camera memory. Accordingly, each icon shown in window
1004
represents a file stored in the camera memory. However, the represented files are in a Kodak proprietary format (.kdc) and neither the displayed icons or the filenames listed therewith are particularly helpful to a user in determining the contents of any represented file.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inventors herein have concluded that what is needed is a system for integrating management of a digital camera into a windowing environment wherein convenient and intuitive manipulation of associated full-resolution image files, thumbnail image files, and sound files stored in the camera is provided, along with standard windowing features such as customized context menus and intelligent “drag and drop” functionality.
The present invention addresses the foregoing by integrating a digital camera as a system object into windowing applications for viewing system objects, such as Explorer or My Computer®, and by providing visual feedback and drag and drop functionality with respect to all data files stored in the camera. As a result, associated full-resolution image files, thumbnail image files, and sound files stored in the camera may be easily manipulated either individually or as a single unit.
Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention concerns a system to manage files stored on a digital camera in a windowing environment including display of an icon representing a digital camera as a system object in a system object directory, display of an icon representing a film canister within the digital camera as a sub-folder of the digital camera in the system object directory, and display of a plurality of thumbnail image files in the film canister in response to user selection of the film canister. Accordingly, this aspect of the present invention allows a user to view thumbnail image files stored in the digital camera simply by selecting a film canister displayed within an application for viewing system objects. In addition, a film canister preferably includes a plurality of photo groups of associated thumbnail image files, full-resolution image files and sound files.
In a preferred aspect, the icon representing the film canister may be dragged and dropped into any folder on a hard disk or a network disk, wherein the plurality of thumbnail image files will be displayed upon subsequent selection of the dragged and dropped icon. In this embodiment, the feature to display thumbnail image files upon selection of a film canister is advantageously preserved even if the film canister is located in a storage device other than the digital camera.
In another aspect, the present invention concerns a system to monitor a computer system for connection to a digital camera, including detection of the digital camera connected to the computer system, reception of thumbnail image files stored in the camera automatically after the camera is detected, and storage of the received thumbnail image files in a cache memory. In a preferred embodiment, full-resolution files are received and stored in the cache memory after the thumbnail image files are stored in the cache memory. Moreover, the full-resolution files are received and stored either sequentially or based on a selection of a thumbnail image. Due to the automatic caching of files stored in a detected camera, the invention allows multiple client applications to access quickly files from the digital camera by diversion of requests for access to the cache.
In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a system to control a digital camera toolbox application user interface including display of a toolbox window, the toolbox window including a Settings button, a Download button, a View button, a Print button, and an Upload button. The toolbox application also provides control of settings of a digital camera in a case the Settings button is selected, viewing of all thumbnail image files stored in the camera in a case the View button is selected, downloading of all thumbnail image files, full-resolution image files, and sound files stored in the camera in a case the Download button is selected, printing of at least one contact sheet of all thumbnail image files stored in the camera in a case the Print button is selected, and uploading of all full-resolution image files stored in the camera to an internet photo service provider in a case the Upload button is selected. In a preferred arrangement, the Settings button provides control over downloading and uploading parameters. The one-button functionality provided by the toolbox application allows easy operation of commonly-used camera management functions.
The present invention also relates to a user interface for a windowing application for viewing system objects which includes a first area for displaying a hierarchical tree of system objects, and a second area for displaying a thumbnail image corresponding to a system object selected in the first area. Preferably, the second area may be selected and dragged to an icon representing a storage device in order to copy a full-resolution image file associated with the displayed thumbnail image to the storage device.
The user interface also preferably includes a third area adjacent to the second area for displaying an icon indicating that a sound file is associated with the displayed thumbnail image, wherein the third area may be selected and dragged to the icon representing the storage device in order to copy any sound files associated with the displayed thumbnail image to the storage device. A further preferred aspect includes a fourth area which surrounds the second area and the third area, wherein the fourth area may be selected and dragged to the icon representing the storage device in order to copy the displayed thumbnail image,
Lavendel Laurence Andrew
Tomat Andrew Hunter
Wickramaratne Manjula Geethani
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Garber Wendy R.
Whipkey Jason
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