Classifications

• • 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
  • H04N1/00204—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 a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
  • G06F16/40—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data
  • G06F16/44—Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/01—Protocols
  • H04L67/02—Protocols based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• • 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
  • H04N1/00132—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 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
  • H04N1/00137—Transmission
• • 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
  • H04N1/00204—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 a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
  • H04N1/00244—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 a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server with a server, e.g. an internet server
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/21—Server components or server architectures
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/27—Server based end-user applications
  • H04N21/274—Storing end-user multimedia data in response to end-user request, e.g. network recorder
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/414—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
  • H04N21/41407—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
  • H04N21/61—Network physical structure; Signal processing
  • H04N21/6156—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network
  • H04N21/6175—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via Internet
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
  • H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
  • H04N21/643—Communication protocols
  • H04N21/64322—IP
• • 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

Definitions

• the present invention relates to user interfaces, and more particularly to a method and system for submitting from an electronic device multimedia data captured by the electronic device to a web-based application.
• Networks have advanced from local private intranets to public networks, such as the Internet.
• computer systems connected to the Internet are adapted to communicate with other computer systems through a user interface, e.g., a web browser or a remote desktop.
• the computer system is referred to as a remote terminal.
• Services offered by an application residing in a server or a computer system are available to another computer system through its user interface, e.g., browser, as web applications.
• a computer system need only provide a user interface in order to access a web application, while the web application itself is managed from a central location and not locally. This is particularly advantageous for portable, handheld electronic devices, such as digital cameras, telephones, and PDAs, because memory in these devices is generally limited.
• web applications prompt the user to perform an action, such as entering a credit card number, selecting a button, or checking a box.
• an action such as entering a credit card number, selecting a button, or checking a box.
• the user then performs the action by pressing a button displayed on the screen, using a pointer to check the box, or using a keypad to enter data.
• the interface e.g., browser
• the interface is capable of detecting the user's action, referred to as an input event.
• the browser detects the input event as a keystroke and processes the data associated with the keystroke accordingly.
• a portable handheld electronic device that is web- enabled can access web applications via a user interface, e.g., web browser.
• many handheld electronic devices are equipped with multimedia capture subsystems that allow the device to capture and store live image and audio data, referred to as multimedia data.
• a web application prompts the user to submit multimedia data, e.g., an image
• multimedia data e.g., an image
• the user must first capture and store the image in a file system, then browse the file system to locate the image, and then select and upload the image through some mechanism, such as an HTML form, file transfer operation or email.
• some mechanism such as an HTML form, file transfer operation or email.
• the present invention provides a method and system for submitting from an electronic device multimedia data captured by the electronic device to a web application in a server.
• the method includes providing a user interface in the electronic device through which the web application is accessed and enabling the user interface to detect and identify a multimedia capture event originating from the electronic device. After such an event is detected and identified, the user interface automatically processes multimedia data captured during the multimedia capture event, and transmits the multimedia data to the web application.
• FIG. 1 is a system diagram according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a flowchart for submitting multimedia data to a web application from a web browser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• the present invention relates to user interfaces, and more particularly to a method and system for submitting multimedia data captured by a handheld capture device to a web based application.
• the following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements.
• a user interface utilized to access a network recognizes an input event that is a multimedia capture event, e.g., the pressing of a shutter, or the pressing of a record button.
• the multimedia data corresponding to the capture event is then passed directly to the user interface as input data.
• the multimedia data is then processed and submitted to a web application at a server via the network.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system environment in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
• an electronic capture device 10 is coupled to a server 50 via a network 30, such as the Internet.
• the electronic capture device 10 is preferably a web-enabled digital camera, mobile camera-phone, video camera, or some other web-enabled electronic device that is capable of capturing live image and audio data, i.e., multimedia data.
• the server 50 includes a web server 52 and a plurality of web applications 54.
• the electronic capture device 10 includes a multimedia capture subsystem 12, and a user interface which is used to access the network 30.
• the user interface is a web browser 14, although the following principles can also be applied to a remote client provided by a remote desktop application and similar user interfaces.
• the multimedia capture subsystem 12 manages a capture event, such as taking a picture, recording sound, or making a movie.
• the image or audio data captured during the capture event is typically processed, named and then stored in a file 15 associated with the captured event in a file system 13.
• the multimedia capture subsystem 12 and file system 13 are well known to those skilled in the art.
• the browser 14 provides an interface between the server 50 and the user 20.
• a web application 54 on the server 50 transmits web pages to the browser 14 for display to the user 20.
• the web page requests input from the user 20 through what is known as a form.
• the form includes one or more form elements, each of which define a valid input type and other associated attributes.
• the form is a well known construct to those skilled in the art of creating interactive web pages using any markup language, such as HTML, XHTML, WML and the like.
• the browser 14 includes an input handler 16 coupled to a form manager 17 for processing responses from the user.
• the input handler 16 detects and identifies the type of input event the user 20 has performed in response to the request. For example, input events include moving the mouse, right or left clicking, and keypad entries.
• the form manager 17 interprets the form element that is presently in focus and processes the input event from the input handler 16 according to the instructions associated with the form element.
• the input handler 16 detects user 20 input events originating from a keystroke (e.g., pressing a navigation key), and events originating from a pointing device(e.g., moving a mouse or right/left clicking).
• a keystroke e.g., pressing a navigation key
• a pointing device e.g., moving a mouse or right/left clicking
• the user 20 if the form element requests image data or other data generated from the multimedia capture subsystem 12, the user 20 must take the picture (i.e., capture the image), browse through the file system 13, locate the file 15 associated with the image, and select the file 15. This process is tedious and time consuming, particularly for small electronic devices 10 that have limited user interface capabilities.
• the browser 14 is coupled directly to the multimedia capture subsystem 12, such that input events that are multimedia capture events can be passed directly to the input handler 16.
• the input handler 16 of the present invention is enhanced to detect and identify multimedia capture events originating from the multimedia capture subsystem when the browser 14 is focused on a form element. By recognizing such capture events as valid input events, the multimedia data captured during a capture event can be automatically associated with the form element, if appropriate, without additional manual steps.
• the web page instructs the user 20 to submit images of damage for purposes of filing an insurance claim, for example.
• the form element defines an input type as a "file.”
• the user 20 is required to capture and store the image in a file 15, browse the file system 13 for the image file 15, and select the image file 15 using a pointer or navigation key.
• the user 20 can also input an image file by focusing the electronic capture device 10 on the damaged product and pressing the shutter button to capture an image of the damaged product.
• the input handler 16 is capable of detecting and identifying a multimedia capture event, e.g., pressing the shutter button, as an input event, it accepts the multimedia data captured during the event and passes it to the form manager 17.
• the form manager 17 determines that the multimedia data conforms with the input type for the form element, e.g., a "file,” and then processes the data according to the form.
• a new "capture” type is defined for the input type of the form.
• the form manager 17 is modified slightly to recognize the "capture” type as specifically requiring multimedia data from a multimedia capture event.
• a form according to this preferred embodiment follows:
• the form element defines a new input type, a "capture” type.
• the "capture” input type explicitly requires multimedia data from the multimedia capture subsystem.
• the form element in Example 2 is restricted to one input type, a "capture” type.
• a new input attribute is provided, entitled “validlnputTypes,” that restricts the source of input for the file input type.
• Example 3 a form according to this preferred embodiment follows:
• Example 3 is less restrictive than the form in Example 2, but more restrictive than the form in Example 1.
• the form elements described above exemplify how the browser is modified to integrate multimedia capture events into form elements.
• the input handler is enhanced to detect and identify multimedia capture events from the multimedia capture subsystem.
• the form manager may or may not be modified and that the modifications described above in Example 2 and Example 3 are not exhaustive.
• a new input attribute that indicates the number of images expected or allowed can be provided.
• New input types can define certain characteristics of the multimedia data, such as minimum resolution and formatting.
• the file input form element can be extended to specify a destination (URL) for the images rather than posting them as part of the form.
• the extended form element can also be utilized to delay the transmission of the image(s) so that the form can be posted quickly.
• the browser 14 is enhanced to support new scripts that are directly responsive to multimedia capture events.
• one or more script interpreters 18 and event handlers are modified to handle input events originating from the multimedia capture subsystem 12.
• Example 4 a form according to this preferred embodiment follows:
• a new script event, "onCapture,” is defined as an input attribute in the form element.
• the script interpreter 18 is invoked, and the script interpreter 18 calls an identified subroutine, "preplmageO,” which is typically defined in the page.
• the multimedia data captured during the capture event would be made available to the called routine as a parameter or through a well known script API call, such as "getl_astCapturedlmage().”
• the multimedia data is then processed according to the subroutine before the data is posted.
• a variety of multimedia capture events can be defined, each having one or more associated script events.
• a multimedia capture event can include operating the multimedia capture subsystem in a "Live View” mode, and an associated script can display the live view on the browser 14.
• the capture event can be a "preCapture” event where the user 20 focuses on an object, but has not yet captured the image.
• the associated script event e.g., "onFocus”
• the capture event can be a "postCapture” event, and the associated script can display a thumbnail of the captured image on the browser 14.
• FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for handling a form element in a form according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• the process begins when focus is set on the form element in the form (step 200).
• the input handler 16 detects and identifies a multimedia capture event from the multimedia capture subsystem (step 202) and passes control to the form manager 17.
• the form manager 17 parses the form element and determines whether the form element is compatible with the multimedia capture event. For example, the form manager 17 can analyze the input type, such as the "file” and "capture” input types described above, and the input attributes of the form element to determine whether the form element is capable of accepting the multimedia data associated with the capture event. If the multimedia capture event is not compatible (step 204), the form manager ignores the input event and waits for the next input event from the input handler 16 (step 205).
• the form manager 17 automatically associates a reference to the multimedia data captured during the multimedia capture event with the form element (step 206).
• a reference to the multimedia data captured during the multimedia capture event is associated with the form element.
• step 208 determines whether a script event, e.g., "onCapture," is present as an input attribute (step 208). If the script event is not present, the form manager 17 waits for a next input event (step 205). If the script event is present, the form manager 17 invokes the corresponding script interpreter 18, which executes the specified script or subroutine (step 210). Once the subroutine is completed, the form manager 17 waits for the next input event (step 205). When the user is done entering data into the form, the user selects a submit type button on the form and the data is submitted to the web application 54 in the server 50 according to well known processes in the art.
• a script event e.g., "onCapture”
• the input handler 16 in the browser 14 is enhanced to detect and identify multimedia capture events such that multimedia data can be automatically associated with a compatible form element in focus in a form.
• multimedia capture events By integrating multimedia capture events with the browser 14, the process for submitting multimedia data captured during the capture event is significantly simplified.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computing Systems (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
• User Interface Of Digital Computer (AREA)
• Information Retrieval, Db Structures And Fs Structures Therefor (AREA)

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• 2005
  • 2005-09-28 JP JP2007534735A patent/JP2008516311A/ja active Pending
  • 2005-09-28 EP EP05802218A patent/EP1800242A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-09-28 CN CNA2005800407229A patent/CN101124824A/zh active Pending
  • 2005-09-28 WO PCT/US2005/034877 patent/WO2006041694A2/en active Application Filing

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