Digital media frame

• US 20050259955A1
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 83 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bandaru, M. Krishna, Siegel, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,984,419 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/361
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/16 Digital picture frames
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00198 Creation of a soft photo presentation, e.g. digital slide-show
• 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 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00347 with another still picture apparatus, e.g. hybrid still picture apparatus circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between image input and image output device H04N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0027 Adapting to communicate with plural different types of apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0087 Image storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3266 of text or character information, e.g. text accompanying an image H04N2201/3226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3273 Display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/641 Multi-purpose receivers, e.g. for auxiliary information H04N9/642 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and a device for displaying images on a digital media frame is disclosed. In one embodiment, the device includes a memory, a processing unit, a display, an interface circuit, and a display circuit. The interface circuit has at least one receiving port capable of identifying various types of networking protocols that are used to transfer the image data. The processing unit attaches auxiliary information to each image before images are stored in a memory. The display circuit displays images according to the image data received. The digital media frame further contains a user input device, which allows a user to alter the image display sequence. The user input device is an input device other than a keyboard or a cursor control device.

Claims

1. A method for providing digital images and/or information over a communication network to a digital media frame, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a network service over said communication network;

(b) permitting a digital media frame to access a communication network, said digital media frame having two or more display portions for displaying independent text and/or graphics;

(c) allowing a user of said digital media frame to select the receiving of customized information transmitted over said communication network with respect to at least one of said display portions;

(d) transmitting the customized information from the network service to the digital media frame; and

(e) automatically displaying the customized information on the digital media frame when the digital media frame is in the operating state.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said information comprises graphical and/or textual representations.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein said graphical representations comprises one or more of the following:

photo,

video,

advertisements.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein said textual representations comprises information with respect to one or more of the following:

financial,

news,

shopping,

weather,

headline news.

5. A digital media frame for displaying digital images and/or information received over a communication network, comprising:

(a) a communication module for providing communication connection over a communication network;

(b) a display having two or more display portions for displaying independent text and/or graphics;

(c) an input for allowing a user to select the receiving of customized information transmitted over said communication network with respect to at least one of said two or more display portions; and

(d) automatically displaying the customized information on said at least one of said two or more display portions when the digital media frame is the operating state.

6. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said display comprises a cathode ray tube.

7. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said display comprises a LCD.

8. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said display comprises an image projector.

9. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said display comprises a silicon based display.

10. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said communication network comprises a wireless cellular network.

11. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said digital frame includes a cellular modem for providing connection to said communication network.

12. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said digital frame includes a modem for providing wireless connection to a device.

13. A digital media frame according to claim 12 wherein said device comprises a digital camera.

14. A digital media frame according to claim 12 wherein said input is a remote control input device.

15. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein images selected by the user is displayed in one of the other of said two or more display portions.

16. A digital media frame according to claim 5 wherein said two or more display portions comprise two display portions.

17. A method for providing digital images over a communication network comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a network service over the communication network;

(b) permitting a digital media frame to access a network server via the communication network service;

(c) allowing a user of said digital media frame to select a customized information transmission from the network service;

(d) transmitting the customized news transmission from the network service to the digital media frame; and

(e) automatically displaying the customized news transmission on the digital media frame when the device is the operating state.

18. A method according to claim 17 wherein said customized information comprises one of the following:

news,

sports,

entertainment,

financial,

advertisements.

19. A method according to claim 17 wherein said customized information is presented as a video clip.