System to dynamically adjust image colors in client/server environment to assure accurate color reproduction

• US 6,581,109 B1
• Filed: 06/24/1999
• Issued: 06/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shannon, Robyn Lou, Fields, Duane Kimbell, Kolb, Mark Andrew, Hurley, William Walter II, Gregg, Thomas Preston
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V.
• Application Number:
  US09/339,709
• Time in Patent Office: 1,454 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 709/200, 709/247, 341/50, 341/126, 708/204, 345/581, 345/589
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/603 controlled by characteristics of the picture signal generator or the picture reproducer

Abstract

A web page image is modified “on-the-fly” for a specific client machine according to calibration parameters for that machine (or the user of the machine) that are generated during a one-time calibration at the client. Preferably, this calibration is effected using a software routine, e.g., a Java applet, that is downloaded to the client and executed, e.g., in a client browser. A user of the client machine runs the applet to establish a set of calibration parameters that are then stored at the server, e.g., as a user profile. When a request is later made for a given web page hosted by the server, the server identifies the user making the request and applies the calibration parameters to color adjust the image as the page including that image is served.

Claims

1. A method for serving color adjusted web pages to a plurality of web clients, comprising the steps of:

sending a calibration applet to respective clients wherein the respective clients run the calibration applet to establish parameters of user profiles for color adjusting an image of a default web page;

at a web server, receiving the parameters from the calibration applet from the respective clients;

responsive to a request for a web page from a respective requesting client, adjusting the default web page according to the parameters for the respective requesting client to produce an adjusted web page.

2. The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of determining whether a respective requesting client has an associated user profile prior to the adjusting step.

3. The method as described in claim 2 wherein if the respective requesting client does not have an associated user profile, the method further includes the step of:

serving the default web page to the requesting client.

4. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the calibration applet is served from the web server.

5. The method as described in claim 4 wherein the calibration applet is served in response to a user request.

6. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the step of adjusting the default web page comprises applying a given color characteristic correction to the default web page.

7. The method as described in claim 6 wherein the given color characteristic correction is a gamma correction.

8. The method as described in claim 1 further including the steps of:

at a requesting client, executing the calibration applet;

collecting calibration data; and

returning the collected calibration data to the web server.

9. The method as described in claim 8 wherein the calibration data includes data that measures how a user of the requesting client perceives differences in a given color reproduction.

10. The method as described in claim 8 wherein the calibration data identifies a type of display monitor used at the requesting client.

11. The method as described in claim 8 wherein the calibration data identifies a resolution of the display monitor used at the requesting client.

12. The method as described in claim 1 wherein a requesting client has one or more user profiles associated therewith.

13. The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of storing user profiles based on the parameters received from the respective clients.

14. The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of serving the adjusted web page to the requesting client.

15. A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for serving color-adjusted web pages to a plurality of web clients, comprising:

a calibration applet executable at a given web client for generating calibration data;

means for storing user profiles, each user profile including calibration data generated as a result of executing the calibration applet at a given web client; and

means responsive to a request for a web page and operative as the web page is being served for modifying given image data in the web page according to a given color characteristic correction function.

16. A server operative in a computer network, comprising:

a calibration applet executable at a given web client for generating calibration data;

means for storing user profiles, each user profile including calibration data generated as a result of executing the calibration applet at a given web client; and

means responsive to a request for a web page and operative as the web page is being served for modifying given image data in the web page according to a given color characteristic correction function.

17. The server as described in claim 16 wherein the given color characteristic function is derived from the calibration data provided to the web server from a given web client.

18. The server as described in claim 17 wherein the given color characteristic function is a gamma correction.