Method of reproducing image data in network projector system, and network projector system

• US 6,437,786 B1
• Filed: 06/29/1999
• Issued: 08/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Yasukawa, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Monestime, Mackly
• Application Number:
  US09/342,219
• Time in Patent Office: 1,148 Days
• Field of Search: 345/501, 345/473, 345/474, 345/475
• US Class Current: 345/474
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units

Abstract

The invention provides a method of reproducing image data in a network projector system, and a network projector system, which can conveniently process image data that includes moving pictures at low cost and display images through a projector. A network projector system of this invention is structured by servers, a projector, and a network which connects the servers and the projector. While deleting unnecessary data, the projector downloads parts of image data to be displayed and an application from specified servers, processes the image data, and forms and displays an image.

Claims

1. A method of reproducing image data in a network projector system that has at least one server connected to a network, and at least one projector connected to the at least one server through the network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) preparing data that includes image data of an image to be reproduced by the at least one projector and image controlling data at the at least one server;

(b) establishing communication between any projector of the at least one projector and at least one specified server of the at least one server through the network; and

(c) transferring the data that includes the image data and the image controlling data from the at least one specified server with which communication has been established to the projector;

wherein processing performed, in the projector which has received the data which has been transferred, comprises the steps of;

(d) determining image data necessary for the image to be displayed based upon the image controlling data;

(e) checking whether the necessary image data is stored on a memory medium;

(f) determining whether there is sufficient empty space available in the memory medium to store the necessary image data if the necessary image data is not stored in the memory medium;

(g) detecting data that is unnecessary for the image to be displayed, and deleting the unnecessary data from the memory medium when the empty space in the memory medium is insufficient to store the necessary image data;

(h) receiving the necessary image data from the specified server;

(i) storing the image data which has been received in the memory medium;

(j) processing the image data which has been stored and forming an image; and

(k) displaying the image which has been formed.

2. A method of reproducing image data in a network projector system that has at least one server connected to a network, and at least one projector connected to the at least one server through the network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) preparing data that includes image data of an image to be reproduced by the at least one projector and image controlling data at the at least one server;

(b) establishing communication between any projector of the at least one projector and at least one specified server of the at least one server through the network;

(c) transferring the data that includes the image data and the image controlling data from the at least one specified server with which communication has been established to the projector;

wherein processing performed in the projector which has received the data which has been transferred, comprises the steps of;

(d) determining image data necessary for the image to be displayed based upon the image controlling data;

(e) checking whether the necessary image data is stored on a memory medium;

(f) determining whether there is sufficient empty space available in the memory medium to store the necessary image data if the necessary image data is not stored on the memory medium;

(g) detecting data that is unnecessary for the image to be displayed, and deleting the unnecessary data from the memory medium when the empty space in the memory medium is insufficient to store the necessary image data;

(h) receiving the necessary image data from the specified server;

(i) storing the image data which has been received in the memory medium;

(j) processing the image data which has been stored and forming an image;

(k) displaying the image which has been formed;

(l) inputting an event in connection with the image which has been displayed;

(m) generating a script according to the event which has been input;

(n) processing the script which has been generated; and

(o) controlling the processing of the image data according to the result of the processing of the script.

3. The method of reproducing image data as set forth in claim 2, step (k) including displaying an image that includes a script;

and

step (l) including inputting an event in connection with the script.

4. The method of reproducing image data as set forth in claim 3, further including the step of processing steps (d) through (i) for an image to be displayed next, while steps (j) and (k) are being performed.

5. The method of reproducing image data as set forth in claim 4, step (c) including transferring data that includes image data, image controlling data, and an image processing application from a specified server of the at least one server with which communication has been established to the projector;

and

step (j) including processing the image data by the image processing application and forming an image.

6. The method of reproducing image data as set forth in claim 5, further including the step of receiving image data from the server in steps (c) and (h) that includes at least one of still picture data, sound data, digital video data, script data, and text data.

7. The method of reproducing image data as set forth in claim 6, step (j) including the steps of processing the digital video data and forming an image, and processing image data other than the digital video data and forming an image.

8. A method of reproducing image data in a network projector system that has at least one server connected to a network, and at least one projector connected to the at least one server through the network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) preparing data that includes image data of an image to be reproduced by the at least one projector, image controlling data, and an image processing application at the at least one server;

(b) establishing communication between any projector of the at least one projector and at least one specified server of the at least one server through the network;

(c) designating, from the projector, an image to be displayed to the server with which communication has been established;

(d) determining image data, which is necessary for the image, which has been designated from the projector at the server with which communication has been established, based upon the image controlling data;

(e) processing the image data which has been determined, by the image processing application of the server with which communication has been established, and forming the image;

(f) transferring a reproduced image to the projector from the server with which communication has been established;

(g) determining whether there is sufficient empty space available in a memory medium of the projector to store the image;

(h) detecting unnecessary data and deleting the unnecessary data from the memory medium when the empty space on the memory medium is insufficient to store the image;

(i) storing the image which has been transferred from the server with which communication has been established in the memory medium;

(j) displaying the image which has been stored by the projector;

(k) inputting an event from the projector in connection with the image which has been displayed;

(l) generating a script according to the event which has been input from the projector, and transferring the script to the server with which communication has been established;

(m) receiving and processing the script at the server with which communication has been established; and

(n) controlling the processing of the image data by the image processing application according to the result of the processing of the script.

9. The method of reproducing image data as set forth in claim 8, step (e) including the steps of processing digital video data of the image data and forming an image, and processing image data other than digital video data and forming an image.

10. A network projector system that has at least one server connected to a network, and at least one projector connected to the at least one server through the network;

the at least one server comprising;

a device that prepares data that includes image data of the image to be reproduced by a projector and image controlling data;

the network comprising;

a device that establishes communication between any projector of the at least one projector and at least one specified server of the at least one server; and

a transfer device that transfers data that includes the image data and the image controlling data from the at least one specified server of the at least one server with which communication has been established to the projector;

the projector with which communication has been established comprising;

a receiving device that receives the data that includes the image data and the image controlling data from the at least one specified server;

a memory medium that stores the data which has been received by the receiving device;

a device that determines image data which is necessary for the image to be displayed based upon the image controlling data;

a device that checks whether the necessary image data is stored in the memory medium;

a device that determines whether there is sufficient empty space in the memory medium to store the necessary image data when the necessary image data is not stored in the memory medium;

a device that detects data that is unnecessary for the image to be displayed, and deletes the unnecessary data from the memory medium when the empty space available in the memory medium is insufficient to store the necessary image data;

an image formation device that processes the image data which has been stored in the memory medium and forms an image; and

a display that displays the image which has been formed by the image formation device.

11. A network projector system that has at least one server connected to a network, and at least one projector connected to the at least one server through the network;

the at least one server comprising;

a device that prepares data that includes image data of the image to be reproduced by a projector and image controlling data;

the network comprising;

a device that establishes communication between any projector of the at least one projector, and at least one specified server of the at least one server; and

a transfer device that transfers data that includes the image data and the image controlling data from the at least one specified server of the at least one server with which communication has been established to the projector;

the projector with which communication has been established comprising;

a receiving device that receives the data that includes the image data and the image controlling data from the specified server;

a memory medium that stores the data which has been received by the receiving device;

a device that determines image data which is necessary for the image to be displayed based upon the image controlling data;

a device that checks whether the necessary image data is stored in the memory medium;

a device that determines whether there is sufficient empty space available in the memory medium to store the necessary image data when the necessary image data is not stored in the memory medium;

a device that detects data that is unnecessary for the image to be displayed, and deletes the unnecessary data from the memory medium when the empty space available in the memory medium is insufficient to store the necessary image data;

an image formation device that processes the image data which has been stored in the memory medium and forms an image;

a display that displays the image which has been formed by the image formation device;

an event inputting device that inputs an event in connection with the image which has been displayed by the display;

a device that generates a script according to the event which has been input by the event inputting device;

a device that processes the script which has been generated; and

a device that controls the processing of the image data according to the result of the processing of the script.

12. The network projector system as set forth in claim 11, the image which has been displayed by the display including a script, and the event inputting device of the projector inputting an event in connection with the script.

13. The network projector system as set forth in claim 12, the projector forming an image by the image formation device, and the receiving device receives image data which is necessary for an image to be displayed next from the specified server while an initial image is being displayed by the image display.

14. The network projector system as set forth in claim 13, the transfer device of the network transferring data that includes image data, image controlling data, and an image processing application from a specified server of the at least one server with which communication has been established to the projector;

and

the image formation device of the projector processing the image data by the image processing application and forming an image.

15. The network projector system as set forth in claim 14, the image data which is received from the specified server by the receiving device of the projector including at least one of still picture data, sound data, digital video data, script data, and text data.

16. The network projector system as set forth in claim 15, the image formation device of the projector including a device that processes the digital video data and forms an image, and a device that processes image data other than the digital video data and forms an image.

17. A network projector system that has at least one projector connected to a network, and at least one server connected to the at least one server through the network;

the network comprising;

a device that establishes communication between any projector of the at least one projector, and at least one specified server of the at least one server;

the at least one server comprising;

a device that prepares data that includes image data of the image to be reproduced by the projector, image controlling data and an image processing application;

a device that determines image data which is necessary for the image to be displayed by the projector based upon the image controlling data;

an image formation device that processes the image data which has been determined, by the image processing application of the server with which communication has been established, and forms an image;

a transfer device that transfers the image, which has been formed by the image formation device to the projector;

a script processing device that receives a script from the projector and processes the script; and

a device that controls the image formation device according to the result from the script processing device;

the projector comprising;

a device that designates an image to be displayed to the server with which communication has been established;

a memory medium that stores the image that is transferred from the server with which communication has been established;

a device that determines whether there is sufficient area to store the image in the memory medium;

a device that detects unnecessary data, and deletes the unnecessary data from the memory medium, when the empty space available to store the image in the memory medium is insufficient;

a display that displays the image which has been stored in the memory medium;

an event inputting device that inputs an event in connection with the image which has been displayed by the display; and

a device that generates a script according to the event which has been input by the event inputting device, and transfers the script to the server with which communication has been established.

18. The network projector system as set forth in claim 17, the image formation device of the server including a device that processes digital video data of the image data and forms an image, and a device that processes image data other than digital video data and forms an image.