Interface for previewing image content

• US 8,963,953 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2012
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Agar, John Michael, Boucher, Antoine Gilles Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Ma, Tize
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Yu
• Application Number:
  US13/348,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20130176333A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00137 Transmission
• 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 1/00177 from a user terminal, e.g. personal computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00198 Creation of a soft photo presentation, e.g. digital slide-show

Abstract

What is disclosed is a novel method and system to present image content from a variety of informational sources. Presentation from a variety of image sizes and formats, such as standard and panoramic format is possible. The method includes accessing at least two information sources each with separate image content. Next, each of the separate image content is interspersed in an arrangement so that content overlaps in with each other and at least some of the image content is automatically resized to concurrently present image content in a plurality of different image sizes and in a film strip arrangement. The image content is presented from each of the information sources along with the source indicator in a film strip arrangement.

Claims

1. A method on an electronic device comprising:

assigning, by an preview manager, a distinct network address for each of a plurality of information sources with separate image content, by

a) determining if a distinct network address is previously associated with one information source out of the plurality of information sources;

b) in response to a distinct network address not previously associated with the one of the information source out of the plurality of information sources, assigning a distinct network address to the one of the information source, repeating step a and step b until a distinct network address is assigned to each of the plurality of information sources;

accessing each of the information sources each with separate image content with each distinct network address that has been previously associated therewith;

resizing each of the separate image content automatically to present image content in both a landscape and a portrait overlapping arrangement by

randomly selecting a target area size from a collection of various target area sizes which is independent of a size of the separate image content,

calculating an area of the separate image content,

calculating a scaling factor for the separate image content by dividing the target area by the area of the separate image content, and

resizing the separate image content based on the scaling factor to produce a collection of separate image content each with a different area size;

superimposing a source indicator, related to the distinct network address associated therewith, on top of each of the separate image content to indicate an information source of an associated information feed; and

presenting on a display, each of the separate image content from each of the information sources along with the source indicator in an interspersed arrangement so that each of the separate image content overlaps with at least one adjacent separate image content, and the separate image content are presented in a plurality of different image sizes and a bottom edge of each separate image content is aligned along horizontal line in a film strip arrangement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the film strip arrangement is one of a horizontal film strip arrangement and a vertical film strip arrangement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the information sources is from a first social media source and a second of the information sources is provided by a second social media source.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a first of the information sources is from a private pictorial information source with access controlled by a user and a second of the information sources is provided by a third party social media site with access by the user and at least one additional user permitted access to the third party social media site.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving a user input, scrolling through the image content in each frame of the film strip in a first direction.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the separate image content in the film strip arrangement is stored as a circular buffer in order to provide continuous scrolling through each frame of the film strip arrangement by logically returning to a first frame of the film strip arrangement after presenting a last frame of the film strip.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the resizing each of the separate image content automatically includes cropping the each of the separate image content that has been resized to fit a predetermined aspect ratio.

8. A method to provide a graphical interface comprising:

assigning, by an preview manager, a distinct network address for each of a plurality of information sources with separate image content, by

a) determining if a distinct network address is previously associated with one information source out of the plurality of information sources;

b) in response to a distinct network address not previously associated with the one of the information source out of the plurality of information sources, assigning a distinct network address to the one of the information source, repeating step a and step b until a distinct network address is assigned to each of the plurality of information sources;

accessing each of the information sources each with separate image content with each distinct network address that has been previously associated therewith;

resizing each of the separate image content automatically to present image content in both a landscape and a portrait overlapping arrangement by

randomly selecting a target area size from a collection of various target area sizes which is independent of a size of the

separate image content, calculating an area of the separate image content,

calculating a scaling factor for the separate image content by dividing the target area by the area of the separate image content,

resizing the separate image content based on the scaling factor to produce a collection of separate image content each with a different area size, and

cropping each of the separate image content to a predetermined aspect ratio;

superimposing a source indicator, related to the distinct network address associated therewith, on top of each of the separate image content to indicate an information source of an associated information feed; and

presenting on a display, each of the separate image content from each of the information sources along with the source indicator in an interspersed arrangement so that each of the separate image content overlaps with at least one adjacent separate image content, and the separate image content are presented in a plurality of different image sizes and a bottom edge of each separate image content is aligned along horizontal line in a film strip arrangement.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein one of the information sources is from a first social media source and a second of the information sources is provided by a second social media source.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein one of the information sources is from a private pictorial information source with access controlled by a user and a second of the information sources is provided by a third party social media site with the access by the user and at least one additional user to access the third party social media site.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

in response to receiving a user'"'"'s command, scrolling through each of the image content in a first direction.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the separate image content in the film strip arrangement is stored as a circular buffer in order to provide continuous scrolling through each frame of the film strip arrangement by logically returning to a first frame of the film strip arrangement after presenting a last frame of the film strip.

13. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising:

a memory;

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory; and

a preview manager communicatively coupled to the memory and the processor, the preview manager configured to perform;

assigning a distinct network address for each of a plurality of information sources with separate image content, by

a) determining if a distinct network address is previously associated with one information source out of the plurality of information sources;

b) in response to a distinct network address not previously associated with the one of the information source out of the plurality of information sources, assigning a distinct network address to the one of the information source,

repeating step a and step b until a distinct network address is assigned to each of the plurality of information sources;

accessing each of the information sources each with separate image content with each distinct network address that has been previously associated therewith;

resizing each of the separate image content automatically to present image content in both a landscape and a portrait overlapping arrangement by

randomly selecting a target area size from a collection of various target area sizes which is independent of a size of the separate image content,

calculating an area of the separate image content,

calculating a scaling factor for the separate image content by dividing the target area by the area of the separate image content, and

resizing the separate image content based on the scaling factor to produce a collection of separate image content each with a different area size;

superimposing a source indicator, related to the distinct network address associated therewith, on top of each of the separate image content to indicate an information source of an associated information feed; and

presenting on a display, each of the separate image content from each of the information sources along with the source indicator in an interspersed arrangement so that each of the separate image content overlaps with at least one adjacent separate image content, and the separate image content are presented in a plurality of different image sizes and in a film strip arrangement.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the resizing each of the separate image content automatically includes cropping each of the separate image content to a predetermined aspect ratio.