Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N7/00—Television systems
  • H04N7/12—Systems in which the television signal is transmitted via one channel or a plurality of parallel channels, the bandwidth of each channel being less than the bandwidth of the television signal
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
  • H04N1/21—Intermediate information storage
  • H04N1/2104—Intermediate information storage for one or a few pictures
  • H04N1/2112—Intermediate information storage for one or a few pictures using still video cameras
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
  • H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
  • H04N1/00347—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with another still picture apparatus, e.g. hybrid still picture apparatus
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N2101/00—Still video cameras
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
  • H04N2201/0008—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus
  • H04N2201/0034—Details of the connection, e.g. connector, interface
  • H04N2201/0048—Type of connection
  • H04N2201/0055—By radio
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
  • H04N2201/0077—Types of the still picture apparatus
  • H04N2201/0084—Digital still camera
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
  • H04N2201/0077—Types of the still picture apparatus
  • H04N2201/0086—Image transceiver
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
  • H04N2201/0077—Types of the still picture apparatus
  • H04N2201/0087—Image storage device
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
  • H04N2201/21—Intermediate information storage
  • H04N2201/214—Checking or indicating the storage space
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
  • H04W28/02—Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
  • H04W28/10—Flow control between communication endpoints
  • H04W28/14—Flow control between communication endpoints using intermediate storage
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W72/00—Local resource management
  • H04W72/12—Wireless traffic scheduling

Definitions

• This invention generally relates to the field of data transfer. More specifically, the present invention relates to transfer of captured data from a remote device via a wireless datalink.
• Devices for data capture include cameras, audio recorders, data recorders, and video cameras. Such devices traditionally use analog storage media such as film, paper, or tape to hold the captured data.
• the captured data may represent such information as still or moving images, or recorded sound, or a record of some other observed phenomenon such as seismic activity or a meteorological condition.
• FIGURE 1 shows a block diagram of a digital camera.
• the image sensor may be a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor.
• CMOS complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor
• the image sensor may also include support circuitry for signal conditioning (e.g., automatic exposure control, anti-blooming control, black and white level balance, and the like).
• the signal is forwarded to the processor for coding, which task may include applying a compression scheme such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group, ISO/JEC Standards IS 10918-1, -2, -3; ITU-T T.81, .83, .84). Digitization of the image signal, which occurs before coding, may be performed by the sensor, by the processor, or by an intervening digitizing circuit.
• JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group
• the processor also performs memory management tasks associated with storing the image signal to the storage element.
• the storage element is a flash RAM device according to the MemoryStick (Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), SmartMedia (as specified, for example, in web-online versions of SmartMedia Electrical, Physical, Physical Format, and Logical Format Specifications dated May 19, 1999 and published by SSFDC Forum, Japan), or CompactFlash (CF+ and CompactFlash Specification, rev. 1.4, CompactFlash Association, Palo Alto, CA) specification.
• a miniature Winchester hard drive as developed by IBM Corporation, White Plains, NY may be used instead.
• the data port supports a serial link under an RS-232 or universal serial bus (USB) protocol.
• This port carries data from the storage to an external personal computer for viewing, archiving, copying, etc.
• the data port may also receive control information from an application executing on the external personal computer to modify camera parameters such as the compression ratio or to erase the storage element.
• a user of the camera interacts with the camera through the user interface, which provides control information to the processor.
• the user interface will typically include a shutter release to cause the capture of information received by the image sensor.
• the user may enter sensor or processing parameters to modify the operation of the camera. For example, the user may vary the compression ratio (to maximize image storage capacity at the cost of image quality, or vice versa), or may review captured images (if the camera includes an image viewer), or may adjust photoflash operation or other exposure values.
• these parameters may be entered via the external personal computer, as the user interface will commonly include a software application running on the personal computer and communicating with the camera via the data port.
• analog data capture devices are also limited by the capacity of the storage element.
• the existing medium is full, and unless extra media are available or an appropriately configured personal computer is available to offload the stored data, the user must overwrite existing data or cease using the device until the data can be offloaded. Even if media or such a computer are available, the user must stop recording data until the cumbersome task of changing the medium or downloading the data is completed.
• the digital storage element is removed from the camera, the medium and the data it holds become much more likely to be lost or damaged.
• a control logic block is configured and arranged to receive captured data.
• the captured data may comprise substantially any stream of digital data for which recording is desired.
• a storage element is configured and arranged to store the captured data, and a transmitter is configured and arranged to transmit the captured data over a wireless datalink.
• the transmitter is further configured and arranged to begin such transmission in response to at least a determination that a predetermined relationship (e.g. less than, equality, and/or greater than) exists between a storage threshold value and a value that relates at least in part to an amount of captured data that is stored in the storage element.
• a predetermined relationship e.g. less than, equality, and/or greater than
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a portion of a method according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a transmit task.
• FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an apparatus 200a according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an apparatus 300a according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an apparatus 350 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an apparatus 500 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 13 is a block diagram of one possible application of an apparatus 600 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 14 is a block diagram of one possible application of an apparatus 610 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 15 is a block diagram of one possible application of an apparatus
• FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 19 is a diagram of one example of a set of protocol layers for a system according to FIGURE 18.
• an apparatus 100 includes a control logic block 110 that receives captured data.
• Control logic block 110 may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, or other arrays of logic elements such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and/or one or more processes executing on such an array or arrays.
• ASICs application-specific integrated circuits
• control logic block 110 and the image processor may be implemented as processes executing on the same array or arrays of logic elements (e.g. executing at different times and/or in different contexts).
• the captured data need not be limited to image data.
• the captured data may include digital audio data.
• the captured data may comprise any other stream of data: for example, data produced by a piece of test equipment (e.g., a spectrum analyzer, seismograph, etc.) that records information relating to at least one observed phenomenon.
• Such phenomenon may relate to a natural condition (e.g., one or more weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, or cloud density) or an artificial one (such as the fading behavior of a channel for wireless communications).
• the captured data may comprise any stream of digital data for which recording is desired and which has characteristics appropriate for at least temporary storage in storage element 120 (e.g. a signal having one or more voltage levels and timing values that are compatible with the characteristics of storage element 120).
• control logic block 110 and the data processor or processors may be implemented as processes executing on the same array or arrays of logic elements (e.g. executing at different times and/or in different contexts). Buffering may be provided between the sensor and the processor(s) and or between one or more processing stages. It may be desirable for control logic block 110 to receive the captured data from a buffer rather than directly from the sensor, transducer, or processor that provides it.
• Control logic block 110 also controls storage of the captured data to storage element 120.
• control logic block 110 may cause the captured data to be buffered or reconfigured (e.g. from a serial data stream to a parallel one) as necessary to match the characteristics (such as data rate and/or bus width) of the captured data signal to those of storage element 120.
• Control logic block 110 may also format the captured data into a file, packet, or other type of data structure suitable for storage in storage element 120 and/or convenient for subsequent retrieval.
• control logic block 110 may cause the captured data to be stored as files in a directory structure readable by an operating system such as MS-DOS (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA), EPOC (Symbian, London, UK), and/or Linux.
• MS-DOS Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA
• EPOC Symbian, London, UK
• Linux Linux
• control logic block 110 may cause the captured data to be stored as packets of fixed or varying length suitable for transmission according to a predetermined communications protocol such as Internet Protocol (IP).
• IP Internet Protocol
• control logic block 110 may add a timestamp or other information to the captured data and/or may encrypt or otherwise encode or label the captured data before storage.
• Storage element 120 may be any nonvolatile random access memory (RAM) device.
• storage element 120 is a flash RAM device conforming to a specification such as CompactFlash, SmartMedia, or MemoryStick.
• Other nonvolatile RAM options for storage element 120 include magnetoresistive, magnetic, magnetic tunneling junction, or ferroelectric RAM.
• storage element 120 may be a miniature Winchester (i.e. hard disk) drive.
• Storage element 120 may even be a volatile RAM device, e.g. a semiconductor device such as dynamic or static RAM.
• storage element 120 may be any storage element that permits random access and conforms with any size, speed, and power consumption limits that may be applicable to the particular implementation.
• storage element 120 may be a RAM portion of a SIM (subscriber identity module) card or other 'smart card' having additional storage and/or processing capabilities.
• SIM subscriber identity module
• all or some lesser portion of control logic block 110 may also be incorporated on the smart card.
• Such a configuration may conserve space in a portable device and/or may reduce fabrication expense by combining support for multiple functionalities (e.g. user identification and/or authentication, telephone service configuration) into a single card interface. Additionally, such an interface may offer a convenient mechanism for software and/or firmware upgrades.
• such a configuration may also take advantage of the telephone service support capabilities of the smart card to allow one or more phone numbers for data transfer (together with associated parameters such as access codes or passwords) to be preprogrammed onto the card.
• information stored on the smart card may be organized according to a file directory structure.
• control logic block 110 An additional function provided by control logic block 110 is the protection of 'pending data': captured data that is stored in storage element 120 but not yet transmitted. For example, control logic block 110 may prevent the writing of data into areas of storage element 120 that contain pending data. Such protection capability may be implemented with a mutual exclusion (or 'mutex') mechanism such as a semaphore or flag associated with each portion of storage element 120. In another example, such capability may be implemented at least in part within storage element 120.
• a mutex flag is set (or 'locked') when captured data is stored to a corresponding portion of storage element 120.
• the mutex flag is reset (or 'opened' or 'cleared'). No data may be stored to the portion of storage element 120 while the mutex flag is set.
• FIGURE 3 illustrates the operation of a suitable mutex mechanism using a flow chart of a portion of a method according to an embodiment of the invention.
• a block of captured data is received (e.g. from a sensor or transducer, a processor, or a buffer).
• the dimensions of a block of data may be selected according to such factors as an architecture or format of storage element 120, the capacity of an intermediate storage stage, one or more parameters of a compression algorithm or other data processing task, and/or the structure of a transmission protocol used over the wireless datalink.)
• an address is obtained for a location within storage element 120 at which to store the block.
• This address may be obtained by accessing a pointer, table, or similar storage management structure that indicates a particular location within storage element 120 (an initial location, for example, or the location following the one to which captured data was most recently stored).
• the state of a mutex flag corresponding to the selected storage element is checked. If the flag is open (i.e. no untransmitted data is present at that location), then the block of captured data is stored in task P140. If the flag is locked, the storage operation is suspended (or possibly canceled). In the example of FIGURE 3, task PI 30 repeats (suspending task P140) until the mutex flag is no longer locked. In task PI 80, the mutex flag is set, thereby protecting the pending data.
• Task P140 or PI 80 may also include the updating of the pointer or table accessed in task P120. Additionally, tasks P140 and P180 may be varied from the example of FIGURE 3 in order to provide appropriate protection of the pending data. For example, task P140 may be restricted to occur only with permission (granted by control logic block 110 and/or storage element 120). In such a case, it may be desirable to set the mutex flag before the data is stored, e.g. allowing the permission to override the mutex flag.
• One suitable structure for storage element 120 is a circular queue or 'ring buffer.' A mutex mechanism as discussed above may be included in such an implementation. In an exemplary configuration, at least two pointers into the queue are maintained: 1) a 'store pointer' that indicates the next storage location available for storing captured data, and 2) a 'transmit pointer' that indicates the next storage location having pending data.
• Control logic block 110 may also arbitrate a dual memory bus to enable simultaneous storage of data to and retrieval of data from storage element 120. In this manner, data for transmission by transmitter 130 may be retrieved (by control logic block 110 and or transmitter 130) using one memory bus, while control logic block 110 stores data to storage element 120 over the other memory bus.
• storage element 120 may have two or more ports, such that control logic block 110 and/or transmitter 130 may retrieve data directly from storage element 120 via one port while control logic block 110 stores data via another port. Such a structure may be used to allow the retrieval and storage tasks to proceed substantially independently of one another.
• the Transmitter 130 receives information from storage element 120 and transmits it over a wireless datalink.
• the datalink may be a private and dedicated radiolink, for example, a satellite uplink or downlink channel.
• the datalink may be a part of a commercial network such as a cellular telephone network.
• the datalink may be a radiolink within a wireless LAN, or a radiolink or infrared link conforming to the BluetoothTM protocol (specification ver. 1.0 available at www.bluetooth.com) or some other protocol.
• captured data may be transferred over the datalink to a nearby personal computer.
• One or more among several events may be selected to initiate the task of retrieving captured data from storage element 120 and transmitting it over the wireless datalink.
• this task is triggered according to a usage level of storage element 120: for example, when the amount of pending data stored in storage element 120 (or, alternatively, the amount of storage in storage element 120 that is currently available for storing pending data) reaches a predetermined threshold or 'watermark'.
• This watermark may be defined in terms of data units (e.g., 10 megabytes, 400 blocks, etc.), or it may be defined in terms of a percentage of the total capacity of storage element 120 (e.g., 75%).
• retrieval and transmission of information may be triggered when the apparatus has been idle (e.g. no data captures have been initiated) for a predetermined period and pending data is presently stored in storage element 120.
• retrieval and transmission of information may occur at least in part according to a schedule
• the task of retrieving and transmitting information may be initiated upon a determination that a current quality of the datalink meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold and pending data is presently stored in storage element 120.
• control logic block 110 may perform the task of retrieving captured data from storage element 120 and subsequently transferring it to transmitter 130 for transmission over the wireless datalink.
• control logic block 110 may participate in this task in a more limited fashion (e.g. by arbitrating a dual memory bus to allow transmitter 130 to access storage element 120).
• transmitter 130 may perform the task of retrieving captured data from storage element 120 without direct involvement by control logic block 110 (e.g. in a dual-port storage system as described above).
• FIGURE 4 shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention.
• a block of captured data is received and an address of a storage location is obtained in tasks PI 10 and P120, respectively.
• a usage level of storage element 120 is checked. If the usage level is determined to be high (e.g. the amount of pending data meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold or watermark), then in task P160 a determination is made as to whether a transmit task is currently executing. If no such task is executing, then a transmit task is initiated in task P170. Following this activity, or if the usage level is determined to be low, the block of data is stored in tasks P130 and P140 according to the state of the corresponding mutex flag, and the mutex flag is set in task PI 80.
• FIGURE 5 shows a flowchart of a transmit task as initiated, for example, in task P170.
• the address of a storage location containing pending data to be transmitted is obtained. This address may be obtained by accessing a pointer, table, or similar storage management structure that indicates a particular location within storage element 120 (an initial location, for example, or the location following the one from which pending data was most recently retrieved).
• pending data is retrieved from the selected storage location, and the data is transmitted in task P230.
• the retrieved data may be labeled, time stamped, and or encrypted or otherwise encoded before transmission. For example, a digital signature may be appended to each image or video frame to verify authenticity and/or time of capture.
• task P240 the mutex flag corresponding to the selected storage location is cleared.
• task P240 is postponed until the success of the transmission in task P230 has been verified.
• Task P230 or P240 may also include the updating of the pointer or table accessed in task P210.
• a usage level of storage element 120 is checked. If the usage level is determined to be high (e.g. the amount of pending data meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold or watermark), then task P200 is repeated. It may be desirable to incorporate a degree of hysteresis by using different watermarks in tasks P150 and P250. For example, repetition of task P200 may continue until storage element 120 has no more pending data.
• control logic block 110 Depending at least in part upon the rate of the captured data received by control logic block 110, the speed of the wireless datalink used by transmitter 130, and/or the speed of control logic block 110 and storage element 120, it may be possible to use an implementation of apparatus 100 to capture and transmit a contiguous stream of data whose size exceeds the capacity of storage element 120.
• FIGURE 6 shows an implementation of an apparatus 200 according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
• user interface 140 allows the user to initiate the capture and/or transmittal of information; to enter or modify capture and/or processing parameters; to schedule tasks (e.g. capturing an image) for execution at some future time; to choose among different modes of operation; and/or to enter or modify one or more watermarks or other usage level thresholds associated with storage element 120.
• User interface 140 may also notify the user regarding events such as a determination that a usage level threshold has been reached in storage element 120, transmission activity by transmitter 130, a state of the wireless datalink, etc.
• control logic block 112 may also include a capacity to distribute and/or apply control information received from user interface 140.
• user interface 140 may also obtain information from the card.
• Support for a removable smart card allows each among several users to easily personalize apparatus 200.
• the smart card may provide information defining a preferred configuration for user interface 140.
• the smart card may provide information that identifies or authenticates the identity of the user. Such information may be used to label and/or encrypt captured data before storage in storage element 120 and/or before transmission by transmitter 130.
• an existing smart card interface such as a portion of the SIM card interface as defined in section 6 [Physical characteristics of the SIM] of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) TS 11.11 [Specifications of the SIM-ME interface], version 03.16.00, July 1994, European Telecommunications Standards Institute, Sophia Antipolis Cedex France) may also contribute to ease of use and marketability.
• FIGURE 7 shows an apparatus 200a according to an embodiment of the invention that includes a dual memory bus.
• transmitter 130 may retrieve pending data from one area of storage element 120 while control logic block 112 stores captured data to another area.
• Control logic block 112 arbitrates the memory bus to prevent simultaneous read and write access attempts to the same storage location. Protection of pending data may also be implemented within the arbitration task (e.g. by preventing a store pointer from overtaking a transmit pointer).
• signal processor 160 outputs a digital signal having a standard still image format such as GIF (Graphics Interchange Format, versions 87a and 89a, CompuServe Inc., Columbus, OH), JPEG, PNG (Portable Network Graphics Specification, versions 1.0 (published as RFC2083) and 1.2, PNG Development Group, copyright 1999 Glenn Randers- Pehrson) or a standard video format such as ANI (Audio Video Interleave, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA), one of the MPEG formats (MPEG-1, ISO- 11172-2; MPEG-2, ISO-13818-2; MPEG-4, ISO/TEC-14496), or a videoconferencing standard such as H.261, H.263, or H.324.
• GIF Graphics Interchange Format, versions 87a and 89a, CompuServe Inc., Columbus, OH
• JPEG Joint Photographics Interchange Format
• PNG Portable Network Graphics Specification, versions 1.0 (published as RFC2083) and 1.2, PNG
• signal processor 160 outputs information in a standard audio format such as WAN (an implementation of pulse-code modulation encoding, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA), MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer 3, ISO-11172-3 or MPEG-3 Layer 3), or MPEG-2 audio (ISO-13818-3).
• signal processor 160 (which may include one or more separate processing units or blocks) may output both video and audio information.
• information outputted by signal processor 160 is formatted with a protocol for transmission by transmitter 130.
• FIGURE 9 shows an apparatus 300a according to an embodiment of the invention that includes a dual memory bus as described above.
• a transceiver 170 transmits information to an external storage location over a wireless datalink and receives information relating to the datalink.
• the task of retrieving and transmitting information may be initiated upon a determination (by control logic block 112 or by transceiver 170) that the quality of the datalink is at least equal to some predetermined threshold.
• An indication of such information as link condition or quality, call setup status, and/or transmission activity may be displayed to the user via user interface 140, and a user may also enter or modify the predetermined threshold via user interface 140.
• the task of retrieving and transmitting information may be initiated during off-peak hours when costs are reduced.
• user interface 140 may allow the user to control or modify the operation of transceiver 170 by, for example, entering one or more phone numbers over which to establish the wireless datalink, choosing a minimum acceptable data rate for the datalink, etc.
• FIGURE 11 shows an implementation of an apparatus 400 according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
• modem 172 receives the data from storage element 120 and encodes it for transmission over the radio link.
• modem 172 is a wireless modem integrated circuit such as one of the MSM series of integrated circuits manufactured by Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA). Operations performed by modem 172 may include applying one or more covering codes (e.g. a Walsh code or a pseudonoise code) and/or error detection or correction codes.
• Intermediate frequency/radio frequency (TF/RF) sub-system 174 modulates the signal received from modem 172 onto one or more RF carriers for transmission over an antenna (not shown). Via a reverse link, modem 172 may also provide information relating to datalink quality.
• covering codes e.g. a Walsh code or a pseudonoise code
• TF/RF sub-system 174 modulates the signal received from modem 172 onto one or more RF carriers for transmission over an antenna (not shown). Via a reverse
• FIGURE 12 shows an apparatus 500 according to an embodiment of the invention.
• Image sensor 152 may be a CCD or CMOS sensor as described above.
• image processor 162 performs the tasks described above and outputs a digital signal that may be conditioned, encoded, and/or compressed.
• the signal outputted by image processor 162 may correspond to discrete digital still images and/or digital video sequences captured at a predetermined frame rate (e.g., 30 frames per second).
• Control logic block 112 and image processor 162 may be implemented as processes executing on the same array or arrays of logic elements (e.g. executing at different times and/or in different contexts).
• a user initiates the capture of a digital video sequence via user interface 140.
• apparatus 500 establishes a wireless datalink via modem 172 and IF/RF subsystem 174. Data transfer begins when the wireless datalink becomes available.
• the datalink may remain established until capture is terminated (e.g. by the user), and it is possible for storage element 120 to provide only enough capacity to buffer the data captured during the initial establishment of the datalink.
• the datalink may remain established for a predetermined period of time after capture is terminated, e.g. in case the user should begin another capture session soon.
• the datalink is a cellular telephone radiolink conforming to the IS- 2000 standard (Telecommunications Industry Association, Arlington, NA), and this hysteresis feature is implemented using the Control Hold State (as described in Medium Access Control Standard IS-2000-3), wherein a call control channel remains active after a data-bearing channel has been disconnected.
• the degree of hysteresis (e.g. the length of the period of time during which the datalink will remain established without carrying data) may be modified via user interface 140.
• FIGURE 13 shows an application of an apparatus 600 according to a further embodiment of the invention.
• control logic block 114 retrieves data from storage element 120, signals transmitting device 630 to establish a wireless datalink, and forwards the data to transmitting device 630 for transmission.
• transmitting device 630 is a wireless modem coupled to apparatus 600 via an electrical or optical datalink conforming to a standard such as RS-232-C
• transmitting device 630 is a cellular telephone coupled to apparatus 600 via an electrical or optical datalink conforming to a standard as mentioned above or a standard proprietary to, for example, the manufacturer of the cellular telephone.
• FIGURE 14 shows an application of an apparatus 610 according to a further embodiment of the invention.
• apparatus 610 provides data transfer capabilities as discussed herein via an electrical or optical datalink between control logic block 116 and a data port of the digital camera.
• control logic block 116 receives notification of a transmit triggering event and retrieves data from the storage element of the digital camera.
• control logic block 116 may cause the processor of the digital camera to retrieve and forward data from the storage element.
• apparatus 610 may replace some or all of the functions of the digital camera's user interface; for example, control logic block 116 may initiate data capture by the digital camera.
• FIGURE 15 shows an application of an apparatus 620 according to a further embodiment of the invention that interfaces (e.g. as described above) with both a stand-alone digital camera and a transmitting device 630.
• FIGURE 16 shows a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
• apparatus 100 transmits data over a wireless datalink to a storage facility 800, which may include hard disk drives or other high-capacity storage devices.
• a storage facility 800 which may include hard disk drives or other high-capacity storage devices.
• an apparatus 500 transmits information to a cellular telephone network 700.
• Cellular telephone network 700 then forwards the received data to storage facility 810.
• storage facility 810 may connect to network 700 at the base station controller (BSC) or mobile service controller (MSC) level.
• BSC base station controller
• MSC mobile service controller
• Storage facility 810 may also include one or more file servers to manage and store data received from several or many different apparatus.
• FIGURE 18 shows an implementation of a system according to a further embodiment of the invention.
• a user using personal computer 900 accesses a storage facility 810 and receives the stored data over public switched telephone network (PSTN) 750.
• PSTN public switched telephone network
• the data may be transferred between storage facility 810 and PC 900 over a cable network, an ISDN (integrated digital services network) connection, a DSL (digital services loop) connection such as an ADSL (asynchronous DSL), SDSL (synchronous DSL), or IDSL (ISDN DSL) connection, or some other local or wide area network system.
• communications between storage facility 810 and personal computer 900 may be conducted over the Internet (e.g. through a browser running as a software application on personal computer 900).
• the stored data in storage facility 810 may be transmitted to the user by storing the data onto media such as recordable or rewritable compact disks (CDR or CD-RW disks, respectively) or digital versatile disks (DVDs) and delivering them to the user.
• media such as recordable or rewritable compact disks (CDR or CD-RW disks, respectively) or digital versatile disks (DVDs)
• FIGURE 19 shows one example of a protocol scheme for conducting the operations of the system shown in FIGURE 18.
• An FTP link is established with one end of the stack running on modem 172 within apparatus 500 and the other end of the stack running on an inter-networking function (IWF) within storage facility 810.
• IWF inter-networking function
• a reliable protocol link between apparatus 500 and cellular telephone network 700 supports the FTP link.
• One suitable reliable protocol is the Radio Link Protocol (RLP), as defined in the IS-707.2 standard, entitled "Data Service Options For Wideband Spread Spectrum Systems:
• RLP Radio Link Protocol
• Radio Link Protocol published in February 1998, and in the IS-707-A.2 standard, entitled "Data Service Options For Spread Spectrum Systems: Radio
• the transfer protocol link may be carried by a different datalink protocol that provides reliability by, for example, permitting the retransmission of lost packets.
• the captured data represents a continuing sequence of events over time (for example, audio or video applications)
• the datalink is supported by a radio channel under one of the IS-95 standards or the CDMA-2000 standard (Telecommunications Industry Association, Arlington, NA).
• the radio link may be supported by an HDR (high data rate) channel, as shown in FIGURE 19.
• the datalink is a cellular telephone channel that supports several sub-channels, it may be possible for a device including apparatus 500 to provide multiple concurrent services (e.g. voice communication capabilities) over different sub-channels of the same channel.
• the FTP link is further supported between cellular telephone network 700 and storage facility 810 over a medium such as a TI line.
• the physical layer supporting the FTP stack may be point-to-point protocol (PPP), Ethernet (CSMA/CD), or some other physical layer protocol.
• PPP point-to-point protocol
• CSMA/CD Ethernet
• IP Internet protocol
• SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
• personal computer 900 is connected either directly or indirectly to storage facility 810 over a semi-permanent connection (e.g., as supported by a cable modem or a DSL modem), then it may be possible for apparatus 500 to establish an FTP link that extends all the way to personal computer 900.
• a semi-permanent connection e.g., as supported by a cable modem or a DSL modem
• an electrical or optical datalink may be substituted for the wireless datalink.
• the control logic block is connected to a standard telephone jack via a wireline modem. Such capability may be desirable when a radiolink of acceptable quality cannot be established (e.g. when the user is within an enclosed or shielded location such as an inside room in a building).
• the foregoing presentation of the described embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention.
• Various modifications to these embodiments are possible, and the generic principles presented herein may be applied to other embodiments as well.
• the invention may be implemented in part or in whole as a hardwired circuit, as a circuit configuration fabricated into an application-specific integrated circuit, or as a firmware program loaded into non- volatile storage or a software program loaded from or into a data storage medium as machine- readable code, such code being instructions executable by an array of logic elements such as a microprocessor or other digital signal processing unit.
• the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown above but rather is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed in any fashion herein.

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• Testing, Inspecting, Measuring Of Stereoscopic Televisions And Televisions (AREA)
• Closed-Circuit Television Systems (AREA)
• Arrangements For Transmission Of Measured Signals (AREA)

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• 2001
  • 2001-09-12 EP EP01971157A patent/EP1317834A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2001-09-12 BR BRPI0113802-2A patent/BR0113802A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-09-12 KR KR10-2003-7003657A patent/KR20030029991A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2001-09-12 AU AU2001291078A patent/AU2001291078A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-09-12 TW TW090122618A patent/TW540236B/zh active
  • 2001-09-12 WO PCT/US2001/029153 patent/WO2002023856A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2001-09-12 JP JP2002527170A patent/JP2004509524A/ja active Pending
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