Method and apparatus for transmission of digital image to destination associated with voice call participant

• US 7,196,718 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Issued: 03/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Barbeau, Pierre, Hung, Yat-Sang
• Primary Examiner(s): WOO, STELLA L
• Application Number:
  US10/945,201
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 379/93.17, 379/93.23, 379/142.01, 379/142.04, 455/415, 370/352
• US Class Current: 348/14.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transmitting a digital image correlated with a phone number to a destination after placing a voice call with the phone number. The method involves (i) maintaining data that correlates phone numbers with digital images, (ii) placing a voice call between a telephone which maintains the data and a device operating under the phone number, (iii) using the data to identify a digital image correlated with the phone number involved in the voice call, and (iv) sending the digital image from the telephone to a destination associated with the phone number. The apparatus may be a camera phone that includes an image-capturing segment, a communication interface, a processor, data storage, and program-logic for carrying out the function of transmitting a digital image correlated with a phone number to a destination, after placement of a voice call with the phone number.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining, in a given telephone, con-elation data for one or more telephone numbers, each telephone number corresponding with a respective remote telephone, and the correlation data defining, respectively for each telephone number, (i) a corresponding digital image, and (ii) a corresponding destination-identifier indicative of an image-destination, the image-destination being other than the remote telephone that corresponds with the telephone number, wherein the maintained correlation data is created prior to placement of a given voice call between the given telephone and a given one of the telephone numbers;

placing the given voice call between the given telephone and a given one of the telephone numbers; and

responsive to placing the given voice call, (i) using the correlation data to identify a digital image and destination-identifier corresponding with the given telephone number, and (ii) sending the identified digital image to the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier.

2. A method comprising:

maintaining, in a given telephone, correlation data for one or more telephone numbers, each telephone number corresponding with a respective remote telephone, and the correlation data defining, respectively for each telephone number, (i) a corresponding digital image, and (ii) a corresponding destination-identifier indicative of an image-destination, the image-destination being other than the remote telephone that corresponds with the telephone number, wherein the maintained correlation data is created prior to placement of a given voice call between the given telephone and a given one of the telephone numbers;

placing the given voice call between the given telephone and a given one of the telephone numbers; and

responsive to placing the given voice call, (i) using the correlation data to identify a digital image and destination-identifier corresponding with the given telephone number, and (ii) sending the identified digital image from the given telephone into a network, for transmission of the identified digital image via the network to the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the function of sending the digital image occurs during the given voice call.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier comprises a remote telephone other than the remote telephone corresponding with the given telephone number.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier comprises an e-mail address derived from the given telephone number.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the identified digital image from the given telephone into the network for transmission of the digital image via the network to the image-destination comprises:

sending the identified digital image via a packet-data connection to a network server, wherein the network server then transmits the digital image to the image-destination.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the given telephone includes a cellular communication module, and wherein sending the identified digital image via the packet-data connection to the network server comprises:

sending the digital image via the cellular communication module to a radio access network, for transmission of the digital image in turn to the network server.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein sending the identified digital image from the given telephone into the network for transmission of the digital image via the network to the image-destination further comprises:

sending the destination-identifier corresponding with the given telephone number, together with the identified digital image, to the network server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the destination identifier corresponding with the given telephone number is a telephone number of another remote telephone.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising creating the correlation.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the given telephone is a camera phone, the method further comprising:

capturing the identified digital image into the camera phone.

12. A telephone comprising:

a communication interface for sending and receiving communications;

a processor;

data storage for maintaining correlation data for one or more telephone numbers, each telephone number corresponding with a respective remote telephone, and the correlation data defining, respectively for each telephone number, (i) a corresponding digital image, and (ii) a corresponding destination-identifier indicative of an image-destination, the image-destination being other than the remote telephone that corresponds with the telephone number, wherein the maintained correlation data is created prior to placement of a given voice call between the telephone and a given one of the telephone numbers; and

program-logic stored in the data storage and executable by the processor to detect placement of the given voice call between the telephone and the given one of the telephone numbers, and responsive to placement of the given voice call, (i) use the correlation data to identify a digital image and destination-identifier corresponding with the given telephone number, and (ii) send the identified digital image into a network for transmission of the digital image to the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier.

13. The telephone of claim 12, further comprising:

image-capturing logic for capturing the identified digital image and for storing the identified digital image in the data storage.

14. The telephone of claim 12, wherein the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier comprises a destination selected from the group consisting of (i) a remote telephone other than the remote telephone corresponding with the given telephone number, and (ii) an e-mail address derived from the given telephone number.

15. The telephone of claim 12, wherein the program-logic is executable to automatically send the identified digital image into the network.

16. The telephone of claim 12, wherein the program-logic is executable to automatically send the identified digital image via a packet-data connection to a network server.

17. The telephone of claim 16, wherein the program-logic is further executable to send the identified digital image with the destination-identifier corresponding with the given telephone number.

18. The telephone of claim 16, wherein the communication interface comprises a cellular communication interface, and wherein the program-logic is executable to send the identified digital image via the cellular communication interface to a radio access network, for transmission of the identified digital image in turn to the network server.

19. The telephone of claim 12, wherein the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier comprises an address of a remote device.

20. The telephone of claim 19, wherein the address of the remote device comprises an address selected from the group consisting of:

(i) an e-mail address, (ii) a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) address, and (iii) an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

21. The telephone of claim 20, wherein the remote device comprises a IP telephony phone.

22. A wireless camera phone comprising:

means for capturing digital images;

means for storing the captured digital images;

means for maintaining correlation data for one or more telephone numbers, each telephone number corresponding with a respective remote telephone, and the correlation data defining, respectively, for each telephone number, (i) a corresponding digital image of the stored digital images, and (ii) a corresponding destination-identifier indicative of an image-destination, the image-destination being other than the remote telephone that corresponds with the telephone number, wherein the maintained correlation data is created prior to placement of a given voice call between the wireless camera phone and a given one of the telephone numbers;

means for placing the given voice call between the wireless camera phone and a given one of the telephone numbers; and

means for detecting placement of the given voice call and responsively (i) using the correlation data to identify a digital image and destination-identifier corresponding with the given telephone number, and (ii) sending the identified digital image into a network for transmission in turn to the image-destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier.

23. The wireless camera phone of claim 22, wherein the image destination indicated by the identified destination-identifier comprises a destination selected from the group consisting of (i) a remote telephone other than the remote telephone corresponding with the given telephone number, and (ii) an e-mail address derived from the given telephone number.