System and method for animated character photo-editing interface and cross-platform education icon

• US 6,993,719 B1
• Filed: 11/30/2000
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Edwards, Eric, Fisher, Clay Harvey, Jonach, Kurt, Manowitz, Neal Jacob, Tree, John, Sato, Robert Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHUONG, TRUC T
• Application Number:
  US09/727,835
• Time in Patent Office: 1,888 Days
• Field of Search: 345/163, 345/610, 345/660, 345/661, 345/705, 345/730, 345/763, 345473-475, 345/419, 345/706, 345/500, 700/232, 709/203, 709/224, 715/707, 715/723, 715/705, 715/706, 715709-711, 715/715
• US Class Current: 715/706
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00002 Diagnosis, testing or measuring; Detecting, analysing or monitoring not otherwise provided for error detection, error correction or monitoring in digital computers or digital computer components G06F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00005 relating to image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00037 Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state H04N1/00031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00047 using an image not specifically designed for the purpose
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0005 in service, i.e. during normal operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00061 using a remote apparatus H04N1/00066 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00066 using a program downloaded or received from another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00068 Calculating or estimating
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00076 locally
• 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 1/00161 Viewing or previewing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00167 Processing or editing H04N1/00196 - H04N1/00201 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00183 Photography assistance, e.g. displaying suggestions to the user

Abstract

A system and method for indicating suggested user responses is disclosed. The method includes loading an image into image-editing equipment. The method further includes determining a set of quality-related problems of the image using software. An animated icon is displayed in conjunction with the image, and indicates a suggested user response to one of the quality-related problems. Other embodiments may include matching a corrective function with one of said set of quality-related problems, and indicating the suggested user response in response to the matching. Further embodiments may perform the indicating by having the animated icon proffer a tool icon, or by performing a related editing to the animated icon. Finally, in other embodiments the method may include moving the animated icon to alternate image-editing equipment.

Claims

1. A method for indicating suggested user responses, comprising:

loading an image into a first image-editing equipment;

determining a set of quality-related problems of said image using software; and

displaying at least a first and second animated icons in conjunction with said image, said second animated icon indicating a suggested user response to one of said set of quality-related problems with said image, at least said first animated icon being adapted for exchange between said first image-editing equipment to a second image-editing equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining includes matching a corrective function within said software with one of said set of quality-related problems.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said indicating includes indicating said suggested user response in response to said matching.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said indicating of the suggested user response includes proffering a tool icon by at least one of said plurality of animated icons.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said indicating includes performing a related editing to at least one of said plurality of animated icons.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving said plurality of animated icons to said second image-editing equipment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying includes loading said plurality of animated icons from a remote server showing banner advertisements that trigger payments to said remote server of said banner advertisements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying includes loading said plurality of animated icons from a remote server where a user payment on a per-transaction basis is made.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to loading said image, the method further comprising receiving said first animated icon from said second image-editing equipment.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said first animated icon is generated by said second image-editing equipment.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first image-editing equipment and the second image-editing equipment is a computer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first image-editing equipment and the second image-editing equipment is a camera.

13. A system for editing images, comprising:

a first image-editing equipment to load an image;

a software module within said first image-editing equipment to determine a set of quality-related problems of said image;

a first animated icon displayed in conjunction with said image;

a second animated icon to indicate a suggested user response to one of said set of quality-related problems, said second animated icon being displayed in conjunction with said first animated icon and said image; and

a second image-editing equipment to receive at least said first animated icon from said first image-editing equipment.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said software module performs a match of one of a set of corrective function modules with one of said set of quality-related problems.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said second animated icon is a tool icon.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein said first animated icon is loaded from a remote server showing banner advertisements that trigger payments to said remote server of said banner advertisements.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein at least one of the first image-editing equipment and the second image-editing equipment is a computer.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein at least one of the first image-editing equipment and the second image-editing equipment is a camera.

19. A wide area network having stored thereon instructions for indicating suggested user responses, which, when downloaded from the wide area network and executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the following:

loading an image and at least a first animated icon into a first image-editing equipment from a second image-editing equipment;

determining a set of quality-related problems of said image using software;

displaying said first animated icon in conjunction with said image; and

displaying a second animated icon in conjunction with said first animated icon to indicate a suggested user response to one of said quality-related problems with said image.

20. A system comprising:

means for loading an image into a first image-editing equipment;

means for determining a set of quality-related problems of said image using software;

means for displaying a plurality of animated icons in conjunction with said image;

means for indicating a suggested user response to one of said set of quality-related problems by one of said plurality of animated icons; and

means for moving at least one of said plurality of animated icons to a second image-editing equipment.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for indicating includes means for indicating said suggested user response in response to matching a corrective function within said software with one of said set of quality-related problems.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for displaying includes means for loading one of said plurality of animated icons from a remote server.

23. A method for indicating suggested user responses, comprising:

generating a plurality of animated icons on a first image-editing equipment; and

sending at least a first animated icon of said plurality of animated icons to a second image-editing equipment, said first animated icon being used in cooperation with a second animated icon of said plurality of animated icons for indicating a suggested user response to one of a set of software determined quality-related problems of an image loaded into said second image-editing equipment.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising determining a set of quality-related problems of said image by said second image-editing equipment using software, wherein said determining includes matching a corrective function within said software with one of said set of quality-related problems.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising indicating said suggested user response by said second image-editing equipment, wherein said indicating includes indicating said suggested user response in response to said matching.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising indicating said suggested user response by said second image-editing equipment, wherein said indicating includes indicating said suggested user response by proffering a tool icon as said second animated icon by said first animated icon.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising indicating said suggested user response by said second image-editing equipment, wherein said indicating includes performing a related editing to said first animated icon.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving said first animated icon from said second image-editing equipment.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first image-editing equipment and the second image-editing equipment is a computer.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first image-editing equipment and the second image-editing equipment is a camera.

31. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for indicating suggested user responses, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the following:

generating an animated icon on first image-editing equipment;

displaying a plurality of animated icons including said animated icon to indicate a suggested user response to a set of software determined quality-related problems of an image; and

sending at least said animated icon to second image-editing equipment, said animated icon for indicating said suggested user response to a said one of said set of software determined quality-related problems of said image loaded into said second image-editing equipment.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein said first image-editing equipment determines a set of quality-related problems of said image using software by matching a corrective function within said software with one of said set of quality-related problems.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 32, wherein said first image-editing equipment indicates said suggested user response in response to said matching.

34. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein said plurality of animated icons includes said animated icon and a tool icon proffered by said animated icon.

35. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein said second image-editing equipment indicates said suggested user response by performing a related editing to said animated icon.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 31, having stored thereon instructions for indicating suggested user responses, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to further perform receiving said animated icon from said second image-editing equipment.

37. An apparatus implemented in a first image-editing equipment for indicating suggested user responses, comprising:

means for receiving an image and at least one animated icon from a second image-editing equipment,

means for determining a set of quality-related problems of said image using software, said means for determining includes matching a corrective function within said software with one of said set of software determined quality-related problems; and

means for generating a plurality of animated icons, at least one of said plurality of animated icons for indicating a suggested user response to said one of said set of software determined quality-related problems of said image.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein said at least one of said plurality of animated icons indicating said suggested user response in response to said matching.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein said at least one of said plurality of animated icons being a tool icon proffered by a first animated icon of said plurality of animated icons.

40. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the second image-editing equipment is a computer.

41. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the second image-editing equipment is a camera.

42. A photo-editing system operating as a first image-editing equipment, comprising:

an input/output interface;

a processor coupled to a memory through a bus; and

a system process executed by the processor from the memory to cause the processor to load an image and at least one animated icon from a second image-editing equipment via said input/output interface of said first image-editing equipment, determine a set of quality-related problems of said image using software, and display a plurality of animated icons including said at least one animated icon in conjunction with said image to visually indicate a suggested user response to one of said set of quality-related problems with said image.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the system process executed by the processor from the memory further causes the processor to match a corrective function within said software with one of said set of quality-related problems.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the system process executed by the processor from the memory further causes the processor to indicate said suggested user response in response to said matching.

45. The system of claim 42, wherein the system process executed by the processor from the memory further causes the processor to indicate said suggested user response by proffering a tool icon as one of said plurality of animated icons.

46. The system of claim 42, wherein the system process executed by the processor from the memory further causes the processor to move said plurality of animated icons to said second image-editing equipment.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein said plurality of animated icons are generated by said second image-editing equipment.

48. The system of claim 42 being is located within a camera.

49. The system of claim 42, wherein the input/output interface is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

50. The system of claim 42, wherein the second image-editing equipment is a computer.

51. The system of claim 42 being a computer including the software process being an image-editing software module.

52. A photo-editing system operating as a first image-editing equipment, comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory through a bus; and

a system process executed by the processor from the memory to cause the processor to generate a plurality of animated icons for display on the first image-editing equipment, and send at least one of said plurality of animated icons to a second image-editing equipment, said at least one of said plurality of animated icons for indicating a suggested user response to one of a set of software determined quality-related problems of an image loaded into said second image-editing equipment.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein said system process to determine a set of quality-related problems of said image using software by matching a corrective function within said software with one of said set of quality-related problems.

54. The system of claim 53, said system process to indicate said suggested user response in response to said matching.

55. The system of claim 52, said system process to indicate said suggested user response by proffering a tool icon by said at at least one of said plurality of animated icons.

56. The system of claim 52, said system process to indicate said suggested user response by performing a related editing to said at least one of said plurality of animated icons.

57. The system of claim 52, wherein the system process executed by the processor from the memory further causes the processor to receive said at least one of said plurality of animated icons from said second image-editing equipment.

58. The system of claim 52, wherein the system is located within a camera.

59. The system of claim 52, wherein the second image-editing equipment is a computer.

60. The system of claim 52 being a computer including the software process being an image-editing software module.