Associating image and location data

• US 6,741,864 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2001
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilcock, Lawrence, Squibbs, Robert Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ferguson, Keith
• Application Number:
  US09/788,523
• Publication Number:
  US 20010015756A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,190 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556, 455/557, 455/550.1, 455/418, 455/419, 455/420, 455/412, 455/403, 455/517, 455/575.1, 455/90.1, 455/66, 455/347, 455/348, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/207.99, 348/231.9, 348/552, 348/174, 348/207, 348/1, 348/47, 348/49, 342/357.06, 342/357.07, 342/357.09, 342/357.13
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/532 Query formulation, e.g. graphical querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00172 directly from a still digital camera or from a storage medium mounted in a still digital camera H04N1/0018 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00196 Creation of a photo-montage, e.g. photoalbum H04N1/0019 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00281 with a telecommunication apparatus, e.g. a switched network of teleprinters for the distribution of text-based information, a selective call terminal details of transmission H04N1/00095; establishing a communication with one of a facsimile machine or another apparatus sharing a single line H04N1/32704; interfacing cordless telephone terminals with an accessory to increase the functionality of user interface H04M1/72409
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data

Abstract

Location stamping of digital photos provides a convenient way to subsequently catalogue the photos. However, most digital cameras are not provided with a location discovery mechanism. To overcome this, arrangements are provided for enabling location data to be separately recorded (for example using a cell phone) at the time a photo is taken and then subsequently united with the photo.

Claims

1. A method of associating location data with image recordings, comprising the steps of:

(a)—

using a camera to take a number of image recordings that are stored in a camera memory, and in association with taking each of at least some of said image recordings, using a mobile device that is substantially co-located with the camera and is operatively associated with a mobile radio infrastructure but not with the camera, to provide, or trigger the provision of, a location data item indicative of the location at which the image recording was taken, the location data items being passed independently of the image recordings to a store connected with the mobile radio infrastructure where they are held in a location log,

(b)—

subsequently transferring the image recordings from the camera memory to data-handling apparatus, separately transferring the location log from said store to the apparatus, and using the apparatus to unite for the first time each location data item in the downloaded log with the corresponding downloaded image recordings.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the location data items are generated at the mobile device, and the location log is temporarily stored in the mobile device before being uploaded over the mobile radio infrastructure to said store.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the location data items are provided by a location server of the mobile radio infrastructure and passed to the mobile device where they are temporarily stored in the location log before the latter is uploaded over the mobile radio infrastructure to said store.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the location data items are provided by a location server of the mobile radio infrastructure and passed to said store without being handled by the mobile device.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the order of taking of the image recordings and of provision of the location data items is used in step (b) to unite the corresponding image recordings and location data items.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the image recordings and location data items are separately time-stamped and these timestamps are used in step (b) to unite the corresponding image recordings and location data items.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a cellular mobile phone.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step (b) the location data items are retrieved from said store over the Internet.

9. A method of associating location data with image recordings, comprising the steps of:

(a)—

using a camera to take a number of image recordings that are distinguished from each other by an implicit or explicit location-independent reference associated with each, the image recordings being stored in the camera;

(b)—

in association with taking each of at least some of said image recordings, using a mobile device that is operatively associated with a mobile radio infrastructure but not with the camera, to provide, or trigger the provision of, location data indicative of the location at which the image recording was taken, the location data items being passed independently of the image recordings to a store connected with the mobile radio infrastructure where they are held in a location log together with implicit or explicit indexes for matching with the reference associated with the corresponding image recording;

(c)—

subsequently transferring the image recordings with said associated references from the camera to data-handling apparatus, separately transferring the location log to the data-handling apparatus, and uniting for the first time the location data with the corresponding image recordings by a correlation process using said references and indexes.

10. A method of associating location data with image recordings, comprising the steps of:

(a)—

using a camera to take a number of image recordings;

(b)—

in association with taking each of at least some of said image recordings, using a mobile device that is operatively associated with a mobile radio infrastructure and separate from the camera, to provide, or trigger the provision of, a location data item indicative of the location at which the image recording was taken;

(c)—

storing, in a store connected with the mobile radio infrastructure, the location data items obtained in step (b);

(d)—

subsequently retrieving the location data items from said store and uniting each location data item with the corresponding image recordings by printing out the location data items to provide separate location-data-item labels that are then physically associated with hard copy versions of the corresponding image recordings.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein in step (a) the image recordings are photo-chemical recordings.

12. Apparatus comprising:

a data store;

a first transfer arrangement for downloading image recordings and associated references from a camera for storage in said store, said references being implicit or explicit location-independent references that distinguish the recordings from each other;

a second transfer arrangement for downloading, from a service-provider system of a communications infrastructure and separately from the downloading of the image recordings, a location log for storage in said store, the location log comprising location-data items together with implicit or explicit indexes for matching with the references associated with the image recordings; and

a correlation arrangement for uniting the downloaded location-data items with corresponding ones of the downloaded image recordings by a correlation process using said references and indexes.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the ordering of the image recordings and of the location-data items respectively comprises said references and said indexes.

14. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the references comprise timestamps associated with the image recordings, and the indexes comprise timestamps associated with the location-data items.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer program stored on a storage medium and arranged when executing on a computer to condition the computer to provide:

a first transfer arrangement for downloading image recordings and associated references from a camera for storage in a store of the computer, said references being implicit or explicit location-independent references that distinguish the recordings from each other;

a second transfer arrangement for downloading, from a service-provider system of a communications infrastructure and separately from the downloading of the image recordings, a location log for storage in said store, the location log comprising location-data items together with implicit or explicit indexes for matching with the references associated with the image recordings; and

a correlation arrangement for uniting the downloaded location-data items with corresponding ones of the downloaded image recordings by a correlation process using said references and indexes.