Item customization by tailored intergenerational historic snapshots

• US 8,341,139 B1
• Filed: 08/21/2012
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John W.L. Ogilvie
• Original Assignee: John W.L. Ogilvie
• Inventors: Ogilvie, John W., Ogilvie, Kristy Lyn
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mamillapalli, Pavan
• Application Number:
  US13/590,742
• Time in Patent Office: 126 Days
• Field of Search: 707/706, 707/732
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00

Abstract

A user-customized photo book includes a tailored intergenerational historic snapshot message which informs a younger person about the world an older person lived in when they were young. The older person'"'"'s age and the younger person'"'"'s age may be used to identify a historic time period in which the older person was the same age as the younger person. A circumstance which occurred in the historic time period may be selected from a database or web search result. The message may be tailored to the ages of the people involved. The message may also be tailored to recite circumstances specific to a topic area or a geographic location. The message may be used in the book'"'"'s title, dedication, photo captions or watermarks, photo call-outs or other labels, narrative text, and back-cover summary, for example. Items other than photo books may also be customized with such a message.

Claims

1. A method of producing a photo book containing a tailored intergenerational historic snapshot message, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining digital values for parameters of a tailored historic snapshot message template data structure stored in a computer-readable memory, the template data structure having predefined text and parameters, the text being interleaved with the parameters to form sentences, the predefined text and parameters of the template data structure including at least one of the following pairs within a sentence;

“

from where you are” and

a distance parameter,

“

was your age” and

a familial relationship parameter,

“

when she/he turned” and

a person'"'"'s age parameter,

“

like to know” and

a person'"'"'s name parameter,

“

in the year” and

a date parameter based on an elder person'"'"'s birthdate and a younger person'"'"'s age,

“

people in it” and

a historic date population parameter,

“

population of” and

a historic date population parameter,

“

just . . . invented” and

a historic event parameter with the ellipsis representing text rather than being literal,

“

first successful” and

a historic event parameter,

“

world . . . changed” and

a person'"'"'s age parameter, with the ellipsis representing text rather than being literal,

generating by execution of code with a computer processor a tailored historic snapshot message from the parameters and the template data structure;

receiving a user selection of at least one photo for the book; and

including the photo and a version of the tailored historic snapshot message in an electronic version of the photo book.

2. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises splitting the message across multiple pages of the photo book.

3. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises splitting the message across multiple photos of the photo book, by using at least a respective portion of the message as at least one of the following for each respective photo:

a caption, a heading, a watermark, a displayed label, a text displayed on at least two sides of the photo.

4. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises using at least a portion of the message as a photo caption in the photo book.

5. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises using at least a portion of the message as a title of the photo book.

6. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises including at least a portion of the message on a back cover of the photo book.

7. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises including at least a portion of the message on a dedication page of the photo book.

8. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises including in the photo book a photo of at least one of the following:

the elder person, the younger person, the historic event.

9. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises including in the photo book a user-edited version of the message.

10. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the including step comprises including in the photo book a photo of a person whose age parameter is obtained in the obtaining step.

11. The photo book production method of claim 1, further comprising sending the electronic version of the photo book to a printing service with an instruction to print at least one tangible copy of the photo book.

12. The photo book production method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a layout template of the photo book which specifies at least one background image and specifies at least one location in which text is permitted, and wherein the message text appears in at least one location permitted by the layout template.

13. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives the user selection of at least one photo for the book through a web browser-based user interface.

14. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives the user selection of at least one photo for the book through an app-based user interface.

15. The photo book production method of claim 1, further comprising placing the message on at least one non-book item.

16. The photo book production method of claim 1, further comprising placing at least a portion of the message in at least one of the following:

an email, a gift card.

17. The photo book production method of claim 1, further comprising including a clip-art image in the photo book.

18. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the photo book includes at least one photo depicting at least one of the following circumstances:

a wedding, a moment in the life of a baby (namely, a person less than one year old), a moment in the life of a young child (one less than eleven years old), a family vacation, a travel adventure.

19. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the photo book is characterized by the user who supplied the photo as belonging to at least one of the following categories:

scrapbooks, yearbooks, children'"'"'s art books, family tree and other family history or genealogy books, autobiographies, biographies, birthday books, “

brag”

books of achievements, custom recipe books, school memory books, club memory books, team memory books, portfolio books.

20. The photo book production method of claim 1, wherein the photo book is characterized by a photo book generation tool user interface which obtained the template parameters as belonging to at least one of the following categories:

scrapbooks, yearbooks, children'"'"'s art books, family tree and other family history or genealogy books, autobiographies, biographies, birthday books, “

brag”

books of achievements, custom recipe books, school memory books, club memory books, team memory books, portfolio books.

21. A customized item bearing a tailored intergenerational historic snapshot message, the item produced by a method comprising the steps of:

obtaining digital values for parameters of a tailored historic snapshot message template data structure stored in a computer-readable memory, the template data structure having predefined text and parameters, the text being interleaved with the parameters to form sentences, the predefined text and parameters of the template data structure including at least one of the following pairs within a sentence;

“

from where you are” and

a distance parameter,

“

was your age” and

a familial relationship parameter,

“

when she/he turned” and

a person'"'"'s age parameter,

“

like to know” and

a person'"'"'s name parameter,

“

in the year” and

a date parameter based on an elder person'"'"'s birthdate and a younger person'"'"'s age,

“

people in it” and

a historic date population parameter,

“

population of” and

a historic date population parameter,

“

just . . . invented” and

a historic event parameter with the ellipsis representing text rather than being literal,

“

first successful” and

a historic event parameter,

“

world . . . changed” and

a person'"'"'s age parameter, with the ellipsis representing text rather than being literal,

generating by execution of code with a computer processor a tailored historic snapshot message from the parameters and the template data structure; and

printing the tailored historic snapshot message on the item, thereby customizing the item with the message.

22. The customized item of claim 21, wherein the item on which the tailored historic snapshot message is printed comprises at least one of the following:

photo book, coffee cup, mug, article of clothing, purse, backpack, satchel, bag, suitcase, attaché

case, box, plaque, poster, picture frame, yoga mat, placard, sign, bench, chair, desk, door, umbrella, reflective car shade, mirror, memorial.

23. The customized item of claim 21, wherein printing the tailored historic snapshot message on the item comprises at least one of the following:

lithography, embossing, engraving, carving, laser printing, ink jet printing, 3D printing, silk screening, wood burning, etching.