DIGITAL IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE WITH AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTED IMAGE DISPLAY DURATIONS

• US 20120127196A1
• Filed: 11/18/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kodak Alaris Inc (KPP (no. 2) Trustees Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Kodak Alaris Inc (KPP (no. 2) Trustees Ltd.)
• Inventors: Landry, Lawrence B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,454,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/16 Digital picture frames

Abstract

A digital image display device for displaying a collection of digital images, comprising: a display screen; a processor; a real-time clock; an image memory for storing a plurality of digital images; and a processor-accessible program memory. The program memory stores executable instructions for causing the processor to execute the steps of: initiating a sequential display of a sequence of digital images on the display screen at an initial time, the sequence of digital images including at least a subset of the stored digital images, each digital image being displayed for an image display duration, the image display duration being set to an initial image display duration at the initial time; and modifying the image display duration during the display of the sequence of digital images.

Claims

1. A digital image display device for displaying a collection of digital images, comprising:

a display screen;

a processor;

a real-time clock;

an image memory for storing a plurality of digital images; and

a processor-accessible program memory storing executable instructions for causing the processor to execute the steps of;

initiating a sequential display of a sequence of digital images on the display screen at an initial time, the sequence of digital images including at least a subset of the stored digital images, each digital image being displayed for an image display duration, the image display duration being set to an initial image display duration at the initial time; and

modifying the image display duration during the display of the sequence of digital images.

2. The digital image display device of claim 1 wherein the image display duration is modified responsive to an elapsed time corresponding to a time difference between the initial time and a current time determined from the real time clock.

3. The digital image display device of claim 2 wherein the image display duration is increased from the initial image display duration to a longer image display time duration when the elapsed time exceeds a threshold value.

4. The digital image display device of claim 2 wherein the image display duration is increased from the initial image display duration to a plurality of progressively longer image display durations in response to the elapsed time exceeding a corresponding plurality of threshold values.

5. The digital image display device of claim 1 wherein the sequence of digital images is displayed repeatedly, and wherein the image display duration is modified responsive to the number of times that the complete sequence of digital images has been displayed.

6. The digital image display device of claim 5 wherein the image display duration is increased from the initial image display duration to a longer image display time duration after the complete sequence of digital images has been displayed once.

7. The digital image display device of claim 1 further including a user interface, and wherein the initial image display duration can be selected using the user interface.

8. The digital image display device of claim 1 further including a network interface for communicating with a network, and wherein the initial image display duration is set in response to information received using the network interface.

9. The digital image display device of claim 1 further including a user interface, and wherein the sequential display of the sequence of digital images is initiated by a user using the user interface.

10. The digital image display device of claim 1 further including a network interface for communicating with a network, and wherein the display of the sequence of digital images is initiated when one or more new digital images are received from a network server using the network interface, the sequence of digital images including the received new digital images.

11. The digital image display device of claim 10 wherein the sequence of digital images includes only the received new digital images.

12. The digital image display device of claim 10 wherein the sequence of digital images includes the received new digital images together with at least some previously received digital images.

13. The digital image display device of claim 10 further including a power control circuit for enabling an active display mode wherein digital images are displayed on the display screen and a reduced power mode wherein the display screen does not display digital images, and wherein the processor sets the power control circuit to operate in the active display mode when the new digital images are received from the network server.

14. The digital image display device of claim 13 wherein if the power control circuit is initially operating in the reduced power mode when the new digital images are received from the network server, it is returned to the reduced power mode after the sequential display of the sequence of digital images is terminated.

15. The digital image display device of claim 1 wherein the sequential display of the sequence of digital images is terminated when an elapsed time exceeds predefined threshold, the elapsed time corresponding to a difference between the initial time and a current time determined from the real time clock.

16. The digital image display device of claim 1 wherein the sequential display of the sequence of digital images is terminated when the complete sequence of digital images has been displayed a predefined number of times.

17. The digital image display device of claim 1 wherein the image display duration for a particular digital image is modified responsive to metadata associated with the particular digital image.

18. The digital image display device of claim 17 wherein the metadata provides an importance rating for the particular digital image ranging between a low importance level and a high importance level.

19. The digital image display device of claim 18 wherein the image display duration is modified to be a larger value when the importance rating indicates that the particular digital image has a high importance level.

20. The digital image display device of claim 19 wherein the image display duration is modified to be a shorter value when the importance rating indicates that the particular digital image has a low importance level.