Method and systems for managing the display of digital content

• US 20040032400A1
• Filed: 08/13/2003
• Published: 02/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Photoloom Corporation
• Original Assignee: Photoloom Corporation
• Inventors: Freeman, Mark T., Laster, Scott A.
• Application Number:
  US10/640,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20040032400A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0041 Point to point H04N2201/0039 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0087 Image storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device

Abstract

Methods and systems for managing the display of digital image content. In one example, a host system that includes a computing device and a fixed storage device is connected by a network to a remote display device and optionally, to the Internet. The host system stores a plurality of digital images and parameters for controlling the selection and transmission of a subset of the images to the remote display device for viewing. The display device includes a processor and display screen, as well as a user interface for input of control instructions—preferably, a touch sensitive display screen. In one method of managing the images displayed, the host system continuously transmits new selected images to the display device where they are temporarily cached and displayed. A selected image may be manipulated or transmitted to outside parties by extemporaneous user instructions.

Claims

1. A display device for displaying content in a display cycle defined by parameters that are selectively input by a user, comprising:

(a) a touch display screen on which the content is displayed;

(b) a network interface device;

(c) a memory in which machine instructions are stored for implementing a plurality of instructions related to displaying the content; and

(d) a processor coupled to the network interface device, to the memory, and to the touch display screen and adapted to couple with a host system over a wireless network, said processor executing the machine instructions, including;

(i) coupling with a host computing device to receive the parameters for controlling the display cycle that are selectively input by a user and stored on a host computing device;

(ii) coupling with a storage on a host system to access the content that are selected by a user to display during the display cycle; and

(iii) enabling a user to selectively modify the display cycle by selectively activating the touch display screen.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the machine instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to enable a user to selectively display content comprising a Secondary Content accessed over a public network.

3. The display device of claim 2, wherein the Secondary Content is provided on a subscription web site to which a user subscribes and is transmitted over the public network.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein the machine instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to carry out at least one of the following modifications to the display cycle, until the display cycle is selectively resumed:

(a) pause the display cycle to continuously display a content that is currently being displayed;

(b) switch to a next content in the display cycle and pause, continuously displaying the next content; and

(c) switch to a previous content in the display cycle and pause, continuously displaying the previous content.

5. The display device of claim 1, wherein the machine instructions enable a user to employ the touch display to send a content to a selected other person at a remote site, over a public network.

6. The display device of claim 5, wherein the content is sent in a peer-to-peer communication to another display device, over the public network.

7. The display device of claim 5, wherein the machine instructions cause the processor to download contact data for at least said selected other person from a host computing device, to enable a user to send the content to the other person who is selected.

8. The display device of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises a cache into which at least a portion of the content displayed during the display cycle are downloaded from a storage of a host computing device and stored for subsequent display.

9. The display device of claim 1, wherein the machine instructions cause the processor to respond to activation of an option on the touch display to display a menu of options thereon from which a user may select a control function using the touch display.

10. A method for managing and displaying content on a remote display that is coupled over a network to a host computing device, comprising the steps of:

(a) enabling a user to input control parameters to the host computing device that are employed for controlling one or more aspects of the display of the content on the remote display, said control parameters being stored on the host computing device;

(b) transferring the control parameters from the host computing device to the remote display;

(c) applying the control parameters at the remote display to control the display of the content by the remote display; and

(d) responding to an input at the remote display by the user to provide an interactive control of the display of the content.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of enabling the user to select the content that are displayed on the remote display.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the content displayed on the remote display are stored by the host computing device and downloaded by the remote display over the network.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the content displayed on the remote display are stored on an external storage that is accessed over a public network.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the remote display includes a touch screen, and wherein the user touches a control position on the touch screen to interactively control the display of the content on the remote display.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of responding to the control of the remote display by the user includes the step of pausing a display of a content that is currently being displayed in response to the user activating a control on the remote display.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the control parameters define a display cycle in which the content is sequentially displayed, each for predefined period of time.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of downloading and caching at least a portion of the content in a memory on the remote display, to enable display of the content to continue without continuously communicating with the host computing device.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of enabling the user to send a content to another person over a public network from the remote display.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of

(a) displaying a list of people on the remote display in response to the user activating a control to send the content to another person;

(b) enabling the user to select a recipient of the content from among the list of people; and

(c) sending the content over the public network to the recipient selected by the user.

20. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

(a) automatically periodically scanning a storage for new content stored in the storage; and

(b) including the new content in the content that are displayed on the remote display.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of including the new content is carried out in response to a user requesting that the new content be included in the content displayed on the remote display.

22. The method of claim 10, further including the step of enabling a user to attach a narrative to content that is to be displayed on the remote display.

23. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of enabling a user to override the control parameters with a control input at the remote display.

24. The method of claim 10, wherein the control parameters include at least one of:

(a) hours of operation of the remote display for displaying the content;

(b) a content viewing duration;

(c) a current date;

(d) an aging limit for content that are displayed, so that after a content has been repetitively displayed for the aging limit, it is not displayed again; and

(e) a transition effect used between the display of successive content on the remote display.

25. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of sharing content between host computing devices that are each coupled to a different remote display, so that the remote display coupled to one host computing device displays content stored on a different host computing device that is coupled to another remote display.

26. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of enabling the user to select specific content to be displayed on different remote displays that are coupled to the host computing device over the network.

27. A memory medium on which are stored machine instructions for carrying out the steps of claim 10.

28. A system for managing the display of content at one or more distributed locations that are coupled together in a network, comprising:

(a) a host computing device that includes a storage for storing control parameters that have been input for controlling the display of the content at the one or more distributed locations; and

(b) a remote display that is coupled to the host computing device over the network, said remote display downloading the control parameters from the host computing device to establish a default set of conditions for displaying the content on the remote display and including a touch screen for input of user options that further affect the display of the content.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the content is stored on a storage included on the host computing device.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the content is stored at a remote storage that is coupled to the host computing device and to the remote display over a public network.

31. The system of claim 28, further comprising another remote device, wherein the host system executes a computer program that enables a user to select specific content to be displayed on the remote device and on the other remote device.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein the control parameters define a display interval during which each content is displayed on the remote display.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the control parameters define at least one of:

(a) hours of operation of the remote display for displaying the content;

(b) a content viewing duration;

(c) a current date;

(d) an aging limit for content that are displayed, so that after a content has been repetitively displayed for the aging limit, it is not displayed again; and

(e) a transition effect used between the display of successive content on the remote display.

34. The system of claim 28, wherein the host computing device and the remote display are adapted to couple in a peer-to-peer communication with another host computing device and another remote display over a public network, to enable the remote display to display content that are stored at the other host computing device.

35. The system of claim 28, wherein a user is enabled to pause the display of a content on the remote display by selecting an control option on the touch screen of the remote display.

36. The system of claim 28, wherein the remote display responds to an input from a user by displaying a list of people, to enable a user to employ the touch screen to select a recipient of a content from the list of people, said remote display then sending the content to the recipient selected from the list over a public network that is coupled to the host computing device.

37. The system of claim 28, wherein the touch screen of the remote display responds to a user input to modify default parameters set by the control parameters that are downloaded from the host computing system to alter a display cycle used to display the content on the remote display.

38. The system of claim 28, wherein the remote display includes a cache for temporarily storing a portion of the content stored on the storage at the host computing device.