Image server and image display system

• US 7,221,901 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2003
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Mikio
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad; Edan
• Application Number:
  US10/421,711
• Publication Number:
  US 20030204849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,489 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.05, 455/3.01, 455/66.1, 455/414.1, 455/414.3, 455/414.4, 455/466, 725/62, 725/86, 725/91
• US Class Current: 455/3.05
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6379 directed to encoder , e.g. for requesting a lower encoding rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The image display system for transmitting a movie picture conformable to reproducing ability of a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, comprises an image database for recording a plurality of movie pictures associated with the identification information intrinsic to the movie picture, and the number of pixels or an image size of the movie picture or the type of the mobile phone, a receiving device for receiving the identification information for identifying the movie picture from the mobile phone and the information involving the image size or the type of the mobile phone, a retrieval device for retrieving the corresponding movie picture from the image database, using the identification information of the received movie picture and the image size or the type of the mobile phone, and a transmitting device for reading out and transmitting the retrieved movie picture from the movie database to the mobile phone. Thus, in the image server and the image display system, the rich contents of a movie picture can be automatically and efficiently retrieved and transmitted to a mobile phone with lower reproducing ability.

Claims

1. An image server for transmitting a picture to a mobile terminal, wherein the image server is configured to:

establish a bi-directional communication link with said mobile tenninal,

retrieve a picture from an image database where a plurality of pictures are recorded, using identification information of the picture received from the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link and at least one of (1) reproducibility information associated with the picture and (2) a reproducing ability associated with the mobile terminal, and

transmit the picture to the mobile terminal,

wherein the image database includes multiple candidate pictures corresponding to the identification information, the retrieved picture being one of the candidate pictures conforming to the reproducing ability of the mobile terminal.

4. The image server of claim 1, wherein the image server is configured to receive the reproducibility information from the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link.

5. The image server of claim 4, wherein

the picture is part of a movie retrieved by the image server from a plurality of movies stored in the image database, and

the reproducibility information includes at least one of:

a number of pixels, a gradation, a frame rate, a compression format, and a reproducible bandwidth.

6. The image server of claim 1, wherein the image server is configured to receive information regarding a type of the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link, wherein the reproducing ability of the mobile terminal is discernible from the type of the mobile terminal.

7. The image server of claim 1, wherein the image server is configured to transmit the picture to the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link.

8. The image server of claim 7, wherein the image server is configured to establish the bi-directional communication link with the mobile terminal using the Internet.

19. The image server of claim 1, wherein the picture is a still image retrieved by the image server from a plurality of still images stored in the image database.

22. The image server of claim 1, wherein a user of the mobile terminal selects a picture to be reproduced on the mobile terminal, the identification information being generated to identify the selected picture to the image server.

2. An image server for converting an original picture into a picture conforming to a reproducing ability of a mobile terminal and transmitting the picture, the image server comprising:

a receiving device, which establishes a bi-directional communication link with the mobile terminal and receives identification information of the original picture from the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link;

an image converting device configured to;

retrieve the original picture from an original image database where a plurality of original pictures are recorded, according to the identification information of the picture received from the mobile terminal, and

convert the retrieved original picture into the picture conforming to the reproducing ability of the mobile terminal, using at least one of (1) reproducibility information associated with the picture and (2) a type of the mobile terminal; and

a transmitting device, which transmits the converted picture to the mobile terminal.

9. The image server of claim 2, wherein the image server is configured to receive the reproducibility information from the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link.

10. The image server of claim 9, wherein

the original picture is part of an original movie retrieved by the image server from a plurality of original movies stored in the image database, and

the reproducibility information includes at least one of:

a number of pixels, a gradation, a frame rate, a compression format, and a reproducible bandwidth.

11. The image server of claim 2, wherein receiving device is configured to receive information regarding the type of the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link.

12. The image server of claim 2, wherein the transmitting device is configured to transmit the converted picture to the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link.

13. The image server of claim 12 wherein the image server is configured to establish the bi-directional communication link with the mobile terminal using the Internet.

20. The image server of claim 2, wherein the original picture is an original still image retrieved by the image server from a plurality of original still images stored in the image database.

23. The image server of claim 2, wherein a user of the mobile terminal selects a picture to be reproduced on the mobile terminal, the identification information being generated to identify the selected picture to the image server.

3. An image display system for transmitting a picture conforming to a reproducing ability of a mobile terminal, the image display system comprising:

a mobile terminal configured to;

establish a bi-directional communication link with an image server and automatically transmit to the image server via the bi-directional communication link at least one of the following types of information;

reproducibility of the picture, and reproducing ability of the mobile terminal, and

display on a display device the picture received from the image server in accordance with the reproducibility of the picture or the reproducing ability of the mobile terminal; and

the image server, which is configured to;

retrieve the corresponding picture from an image database where a plurality of pictures are recorded, using the reproducibility information of the picture or the reproducing ability information of the mobile terminal received from the mobile terminal, and

transmit the retrieved picture to the mobile terminal,

wherein the image database includes multiple candidate pictures corresponding to the same identification information, the retrieved picture being one of the candidate pictures conforming to the reproducing ability of the mobile terminal.

14. The image display system of claim 3, wherein

the corresponding picture is part of a movie retrieved by the image server from a plurality of movies stored in the image database, and

the reproducibility information includes at least one of:

a number of pixels, a gradation, a frame rate, a compression format, and a reproducible bandwidth.

15. The image display system of claim 3, wherein the reproducing ability information identifies a type of the mobile terminal, the reproducing ability of the mobile terminal being discernible from the type of the mobile terminal.

16. The image display system of claim 3, wherein

the mobile terminal is configured to transmit identification information of the movie picture to the image server via the bi-directional communication link, and

the image server uses the identification information to retrieve the picture from the image database.

17. The image display system of claim 3, wherein the image server is configured to transmit the picture to the mobile terminal via the bi-directional communication link.

18. The image server of claim 17, wherein the bi-directional communication link is established using the Internet.

21. The image display system of claim 3, wherein the corresponding picture is a still image retrieved by the image server from a plurality of still images stored in the image database.

24. The image display system of claim 3, wherein

the mobile terminal is further configured to:

permit a user to select a picture to be reproduced on the mobile terminal,

generate the identification information to order to identify the selected picture to the image server, and

forward the identification information to the image server; and

the image server is further configured to;

use the identification information to retrieve the picture from the image database.