Idle time multimedia viewer method and apparatus for collecting and displaying information according to user defined indicia
First Claim
1. An apparatus for displaying images during idle time of a personal computer, comprising:
- means for generating a set of user-defined indicia of images comprising audio, graphics, or text, to collect from a selected database of a plurality of image collections for creating individualized selected sets of image collections of interest to a user of a personal computer for subsequent display of the graphics or text images on a video terminal of said personal computer or display of audio images by communicating sound from said personal computer during idle time as defined by said user of said personal computer;
means for collecting said sets of image collections based on said set of user-defined indicia of images to collect, said collecting of said sets of image collections occurring automatically at user-specified instances whereby said sets of image collections are communicated from said database of image collections to said personal computer of the user;
means for displaying repeatedly in a sequence of images, representative portions of said sets of image collections during said idle time of said personal computer; and
means for displaying upon user selection during display of one of said representative portions the one of the sets of image collections corresponding to said one representative portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for collecting a series of image collections for display on a video terminal at a user-selected time and sequence, with the series of image collections selected according to a user-defined indicia of images to collect. The apparatus includes means for generating a set of indicia used to select and create sets of image collections for subsequent display on a video terminal at a user-selected time and sequence; means for collecting sets of image collections based on the set of indicia; and means for displaying representative portions of each of the sets of image collections on the video terminal. Means are provided for displaying the sets of image collections.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus for displaying images during idle time of a personal computer, comprising:
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means for generating a set of user-defined indicia of images comprising audio, graphics, or text, to collect from a selected database of a plurality of image collections for creating individualized selected sets of image collections of interest to a user of a personal computer for subsequent display of the graphics or text images on a video terminal of said personal computer or display of audio images by communicating sound from said personal computer during idle time as defined by said user of said personal computer; means for collecting said sets of image collections based on said set of user-defined indicia of images to collect, said collecting of said sets of image collections occurring automatically at user-specified instances whereby said sets of image collections are communicated from said database of image collections to said personal computer of the user; means for displaying repeatedly in a sequence of images, representative portions of said sets of image collections during said idle time of said personal computer; and means for displaying upon user selection during display of one of said representative portions the one of the sets of image collections corresponding to said one representative portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for displaying images during idle time of a personal computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) generating a set of user-defined indicia of images comprising audio, graphics, or text, to collect from a selected database of a plurality of image collections for creating individualized selected sets of image collections of interest to a user of a personal computer for subsequent display of the graphics or text images on a video terminal of said personal computer or display of audio images by communicating sound from said personal computer during idle time as defined by said user of said personal computer; (b) collecting said sets of image collections based on said set of user-defined indicia of images to collect, said collecting of said sets of image collections occurring automatically at user-specified instances whereby said sets of image collections are communicated from said database of image collections to said personal computer of the user; (c) displaying repeatedly in a sequence of images, representative portions of said sets of image collections during said idle time of said personal computer; and (d) selecting by said user for display on said video terminal a one of said sets of image collections corresponding to said displayed representative portion of said one of said sets of image collections displayed in sequence during said idle time. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for collecting a series of image collections for display on a microprocessor device at a user-selected time and sequence, the series of image collections selected according to a user-defined indicia of images to collect, comprising:
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an electronic complex having a database of image collections comprising audio, graphics, or text images and an associated directory listing an identifier for each image collection; at least one microprocessor device operative for selecting, collecting, and displaying image collections according to a set of user-defined indicia for selecting image collections to copy from the database for subsequent display of the graphics or text images on a video terminal or the audio images on a speaker of the microprocessor device at the user-selected idle time and sequence; an access device for communicating the directory and the selected image collections from the database to the microprocessor device; means associated with said microprocessor device for generating a set of indicia used to create sets of image collections for subsequent display of the graphics or text image on a video terminal or the audio image on the speaker of the microprocessor device at a user-selected idle time and sequence; means associated with said microprocessor device for collecting sets of image collections based on the set of indicia; means associated with said microprocessor device for displaying during the idle time as defined by the user representative portions of each of the sets of image collections; and means associated with said microprocessor device responsive to a user-generated demand for displaying on the video terminal or by the speaker a selected one of the sets of image collections corresponding to one of said representative portions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification