Enhancing Touch and Feel on the Internet

• US 20060178952A1
• Filed: 03/21/2006
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Scott C Harris
• Original Assignee: Scott C Harris
• Inventors: Harris, Scott C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,850,361 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/02 CAD in a network environment, e.g. collaborative CAD or distributed simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/20 Packaging, e.g. boxes or containers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/23 using finite element methods [FEM] or finite difference methods [FDM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system for enabling touch and feel over the internet provides a three-dimensional representation of a good being sold, that three-dimensional representation being viewable from a number of different directions. In one embodiment, the good being sold is in a package and the package is displayed from the number of different directions. Another embodiment has the good being a book, and the inside and outside covers of the book are displayed and specified pages of the book can be displayed. The user can read from either the label or the covers just like as if the were actually handling the good.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving over a network from a server computer, in a client computer, information indicative of an image to be displayed on said client computer, said receiving comprising first receiving a first, reduced resolution version of said information and second receiving a second, improved resolution version representing three-dimensional information;

first displaying, on said client computer, said first information;

loading said second information over said network while said first information is being displayed; and

after said second information is loaded, second displaying said second information.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said second displaying said second information replaces a display of said first information.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first information is a two-dimensional image, and said second information is a three-dimensional image.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first information is a progressively renderable image.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said information is information indicative of an image of a product being displayed.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first image is a two-dimensional image, and said first displaying includes first displaying a lower resolution version of said two-dimensional image, and subsequently increasing a resolution of the two-dimensional image using additional information.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein begins said loading of said second information after said lower resolution version is displayed.

8. A method as in claim 5, wherein said second image has sufficient resolution to enable reading all labels on a product represented by the image, from all angles.

9. A method as in claim 8, further comprising enabling said three-dimensional image represented by said second information to be rotated in any desired direction.

10. A method as in claim 5, wherein each view of the three-dimensional image has sufficient size and resolution to allow labels on the product to be read.

11. A method as in claim 5, wherein the second, three-dimensional image has graded resolution, wherein one part of the second information has a first resolution, and another part of the second information has a second resolution.

12. A method as in claim 11, wherein said another part is a higher resolution, used for reading labels on the product.

13. A method as in claim 11, wherein labels on the product are formed of text information.

14. A method as in claim 1, wherein said second information is a complete three-dimensional rendering.

15. A method as in claim 1, wherein said second information is a reduced data set three-dimensional rendering formed of a plurality of discrete images from different views.

16. A method as in claim 15, wherein said views include front, back, top, bottom, left and right.

17. A method as in claim 15, wherein said second displaying second information comprises first displaying a default discrete image, and while said default two-dimensional image is displayed, loading other discrete images in the background.

18. A method as in claim 5, wherein said product is a bottle.

19. A method as in claim 1, wherein said product is a book.

20. A method as in claim 1, wherein said image is an image of an entertainment media.

21. A method comprising:

detecting a request from a user on a client connected to a network for more information about a specified product;

responsive to said request, sending first information about said product to said client, said first information including a reduced data set indicative of data from which a first image of said product can be viewed;

causing said client to display first image;

while said client is displaying said first image, sending said client additional information indicative of a simulated three-dimensional view of said product; and

subsequently displaying said three-dimensional view.

22. A method as in claim 21, further comprising subsequently allowing a user at the client to view the product from different perspectives.

23. A method as in claim 22, wherein the product is an product that comes in a bottle.

24. A method as in claim 22, wherein the product is a book.

25. A method as in claim 22, wherein the product is an entertainment medium.

26. A method, comprising:

forming a three-dimensional representation of an object in graded resolution in which one part of the representation has more resolution than another part of the representation; and

sending said graded resolution representation over a network to a client.

27. A method as in claim 26, wherein said object is a product, and a label of the product has a different resolution than other parts of the product.

28. A method as in claim 27, wherein said label has a higher resolution.

29. A method as in claim 28, wherein said label is represented by text indicative of the printed information on the label.

30. A method as in claim 26, wherein said network is the Internet.

31. A method as in claim 30, wherein labels are formed with a higher resolution than at least one other part of the image.

32. A method as in claim 26, wherein the object representation is formed of different zones, each having a different kind of information.

33. A method as in claim 32, wherein information on a readable portion of said object is in a format which includes text, and an image representing a look of the text.

34. A method as in claim 26, further comprising enabling the object to be rotated on the client.

35. A method as in claim 34, wherein said representation includes both two-dimensional and three-dimensional information.

36. A method, comprising:

obtaining information including an image of both a product, and an outer packaging that is separate from the product;

sending said information from a server of a network to a client of the network; and

at the client of the network, allowing the user to view said outer packaging, and also to virtually remove said outer packaging to view said product without said outer packaging.

37. A method as in claim 36, wherein said outer packaging is a three-dimensional representation of a box covering the product, and said inner packaging is the product itself.

38. A method as in claim 37, further comprising virtually opening the box.

39. A method as in claim 37, further comprising displaying a control enabling opening the box to reveal the product inside.

40. A method as in claim 36, wherein said information is three-dimensional image information comprising a three-dimensional view of the product and the box.

41. A method as in claim 36, wherein said product information comprises a plurality of discrete two-dimensional views collectively forming a simulated three-dimensional view.

42. A method as in claim 41, wherein a current view is loaded at a first time, and other views are loaded at a second time.

43. A method as in claim 42, wherein said second time is in the background while the current view is being displayed.

44. A method as in claim 42, wherein said second time is when requested.

45. A method as in claim 36, wherein said network is the Internet.

46. A method as in claim 36, further comprising displaying by first loading a reduced resolution image, displaying said reduced resolution image, and then loading an increased resolution image.

47. A method as in claim 46, wherein said reduced resolution image is a two-dimensional representation, and said increased resolution image is a three-dimensional image.