Method for requesting and viewing a zoomed area of detail from an image attachment on a mobile communication device

• US 20060055693A1
• Filed: 09/15/2004
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Arizan Corp (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Yuan, Jianwei, Dumitru, Dan, Sylthe, Olav A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,451,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4092 Image resolution transcoding, e.g. by using client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens

Abstract

A process is set forth for viewing an enlarged area of an image. The image is stored on a server and re-sized for viewing on a mobile communication device based on screen size and colour display capabilities of the device. The image is enlarged within the server by modifying binary raw data of the original image based on crop rectangle coordinates entered at the mobile communication device. The process allows users to quickly retrieve any relevant part of a large image attachment that has been resized by the server. This minimizes bandwidth usage, device memory/CPU consumption, and request/response latency while still allowing the user to view an image area in its original level of detail.

Claims

1. A process for viewing an enlarged area of a server stored original image on a mobile communication device, comprising:

building a graph structure within said server representing a map of said original image;

transmitting an image size limit from said mobile communication device to said server indicative of screen size of said mobile communication device;

downloading and displaying said original image from said server to said mobile communication device, said image being re-sized in the server in the event that the dimensions thereof exceed said image size limit;

downloading original size data for said image from said server to said mobile communication device;

calculating crop rectangle coordinates based on an image zoom area defined on said mobile communication device and translating said crop rectangle coordinates based on said original size data;

sending a request from the mobile communication device to the server to enlarge the image displayed on said device based on the translated crop rectangle coordinates and said image size limit;

in response to receiving said request, extracting said image size limit and said translated crop rectangle coordinates within said server;

retrieving and traversing said graph structure within the server to locate any corresponding image component for said original image and, upon locating said corresponding image component iterating through attributes of the image component to determine if a separate image component has been constructed for said image size limit;

in the event that said separate image component has not been constructed then collecting image binary data from said original image within said server and constructing a new image component from said binary data;

caching said new image component as an attribute of the original image in said graph structure;

collecting further image binary data from one of either said new image component or said separate image component and modifying said further binary data based on said translated crop rectangle coordinates to create said enlarged area of said original image; and

downloading said enlarged area of said original image to said mobile communication device.

2. The process of claim 1, further comprising generating a menu selection at said mobile communication device for user enabling of said calculating of the crop rectangle coordinates, said menu selection being generated in the event predetermined conditions are met.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein said predetermined conditions comprise:

absence of any request being processed for viewing an enlarged area of said original image; and

one of either

width of said original image being greater than screen width of said mobile communication device and said original image being re-sized so as to exceed said screen width;

or

height of said original image being greater than screen height of said mobile communication device and said original image being re-sized so as to exceed said screen height.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein said graph structure is a Document Object Model (DOM).

5. The process of claim 2, wherein said graph structure is a Document Object Model (DOM).

6. The process of claim 3, wherein said graph structure is a Document Object Model (DOM).

7. A server process comprising:

building a graph structure representing a map of an original image;

receiving an image size limit for said original image;

transmitting said original image for display, said image being re-sized in the event that the dimensions thereof exceed said image size limit;

receiving a request to enlarge the displayed image based on selected crop rectangle coordinates and said image size limit;

retrieving and traversing said graph structure to locate any corresponding image component for said original image and, upon locating said corresponding image component iterating through attributes of the image component to determine if a separate image component has been constructed for said image size limit;

in the event that said separate image component has not been constructed then collecting image binary data from said original image and constructing a new image component from said binary data;

caching said new image component as an attribute of the original image in said graph structure;

collecting further image binary data from one of either said new image component or said separate image component and modifying said further binary data based on said selected crop rectangle coordinates to create an enlarged area of said original image; and

transmitting said enlarged area of said original image for display.

8. The server process of claim 7, wherein said graph structure is a Document Object Model (DOM).

9. A mobile communication device process comprising:

transmitting an image size limit indicative of screen size of said mobile communication device;

downloading and displaying an original image, said image being re-sized in the event that the dimensions thereof exceed said image size limit;

downloading original size data for said image;

calculating crop rectangle coordinates based on an image zoom area defined on said mobile communication device and translating said crop rectangle coordinates based on said original size data;

sending a request from the mobile communication device to enlarge the image displayed on said device based on the translated crop rectangle coordinates and said image size limit;

receiving an enlarged area of said original image comprising modified binary data based on said translated crop rectangle coordinates; and

displaying said enlarged area of said original image on said screen.

10. The mobile communication device process of claim 9, further comprising generating a menu selection for user enabling of said calculating of the crop rectangle coordinates, said menu selection being generated in the event predetermined conditions are met.

11. The mobile communication device process of claim 10, wherein said predetermined conditions comprise:

absence of any request being processed for viewing an enlarged area of said original image; and

one of either

width of said original image being greater than screen width of said mobile communication device and said original image being re-sized so as to exceed said screen width;

or

height of said original image being greater than screen height of said mobile communication device and said original image being re-sized so as to exceed said screen height.