System for delivering and enabling interactivity with images

• US 20050210380A1
• Filed: 03/02/2005
• Published: 09/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xenogenic Development Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Virtual IRIS Studios Incorporated
• Inventors: Kramer, Gary, Rubin, Adam
• Granted Patent: US 7,616,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/244
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user

Abstract

A system is disclosed for delivering and displaying images on web pages and enabling and implementing various interactive functions with respect to the images, so as to give a user the illusion that objects or scenes depicted in the images are rotating, being zoomed in on, changing color, being measured, or having certain areas of the objects or scenes highlighted with enlargement and/or text, among other things. Various methods of enabling and implementing the interactive functions are described, including enabling the interactive functions by displaying and hiding image layers by manipulating the width and height parameters of image layers or adjusting width and height styles associated with image layers and enabling the interactive functions by associating image layers either directly or indirectly via a grid with strips defined by styles. The system includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that a user can use to configure his or her own images for interactive functions, including an interface that invites a user to supply parameters corresponding to those necessary to enable and allow to be carried out the interactive functions and/or parameters corresponding to data about the images, for example, specifications for an object depicted in a set of images.

Claims

1. A method of formatting documents containing images depicting an object or scene for presentation on a web page, comprising:

assembling a plurality of images into a set of images;

providing the set of images on a web page;

associating each image in the set of images with a first width parameter and a first height parameter that are sufficiently large enough to cause the each image to be displayed on the web page;

associating each image in the set of images with a second width parameter and a second height parameter that are sufficiently small enough to cause the image to appear to disappear from the webpage;

alternatively invoking the first width and height parameters and the second width and height parameters to give one viewing the display the perception that at least one virtual 3-D interactive function is being carried out with respect to the object or scene.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of both the second width parameter and the second height parameter is zero.

3. A method of formatting images for presentation on a display over a website, comprising:

assembling a set of images;

associating the set of images with at least one strip defined by at least one style whereby when a user moves a mouse over the strip, one viewing the images will perceive the illusion of 3-D motion with respect to the set of images.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one strip is associated directly with the set of images.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one strip is associated with a grid which grid is associated directly with the set of images.

6. A system for displaying images and carrying out interactive functions with respect to the images in virtual 3-D from the perspective of a user who is viewing a two-dimensional display, the system comprising:

a processor having a storage capability;

at least one set of images comprising at least one image;

a display on which the images can be viewed and interacted with by the user;

code executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive functions with respect to the at least one set of images by changing the width and height of the images from a displayed width and height to a hidden width and height.

7. A system for displaying images and carrying out interactive functions with respect to the images in virtual 3-D from the perspective of a user who is viewing a two-dimensional display, the system comprising:

a processor having a storage capability;

at least one set of images comprising at least one image;

a display on which the images can be viewed and interacted with by the user;

code, including at least one style, executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive functions with respect to the at least one set of images, wherein the at least one style defines a strip that is associated with the at least one set of images.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the strip is associated directly with the at least one set of images whereas, when a user moves his or her mouse over the strip, the user can carryout the at least one interactive function.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the strip is associated indirectly with the at least one set of images using a grid whereas, when a user moves his or her mouse over the strip, the user can carryout the at least one interactive function.

10. A system for rendering images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:

a processor having a storage capability;

at least one set of images comprising at least one image;

a display on which the images in at least one set of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user;

code executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to the at least one set of images;

code executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has with respect to implementing the at least one interactive function;

code executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from the user representing the user'"'"'s choice as to which of the at least one interactive functions the user desires to implement with respect to the at least one set of images; and

code executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the chosen set of images.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising code executable by the processor for displaying to the user a prompt to enter information concerning an object or scene depicted in the at least one set of images and code executable by the processor for associating the information entered by the user with the at least one set of images so that the information can be displayed when the at least one image is displayed.