Digital photo frame with dial-a-tag functionality

• US 9,001,983 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2013
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Ron, Uri, Ne'man, Ran, Klimovsky, Sigalit, Bychkov, Eyal
• Primary Examiner(s): SING, SIMON P
• Application Number:
  US14/020,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20140011545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 576 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.23
• US Class Current: 379/93.23
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/16 Digital picture frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4222 Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy remote control device for a television receiver integrated into a mobile phone H04M1/72415
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

A method for communication using a digital photo frame, including rendering a digital photo with a plurality of different objects appearing in the photo, the digital photo having one or more name tags associated therewith, wherein a name tag for a digital photo corresponds to an object appearing in the photo, receiving a user input phone call command for any selected one of the name tags associated with the rendered digital photo, and in response to the receiving: automatically determining a phone number for the object corresponding to the selected name tag, and automatically dialing the phone number for the object corresponding to the selected name tag.

Claims

1. A method for communication using a digital photo frame, comprising:

rendering a pre-tagged digital photo with a plurality of different objects appearing in the photo, the digital photo having one or more keyword photo-tags associated therewith, wherein a keyword photo-tag for a digital photo corresponds to an object appearing in the photo;

receiving a user input phone call command for any selected one of the keyword photo-tags associated with the rendered digital photo, via one or more buttons that enable the user to advance through the tagged objects, and to select one of them; and

in response to said receiving;

automatically determining a phone number for the object corresponding to the selected keyword photo-tag; and

automatically dialing the phone number for the object corresponding to the selected keyword photo-tag.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein keyword photo-tags correspond to objects taken from the group consisting of people, business establishments, organizations, governments and municipalities, geographical sites, entertainment services and information services.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said rendering comprises rendering the digital photo on a touch-sensitive screen, and wherein said receiving a user input phone call command comprises identifying an area of the touch-sensitive screen touched by the user, the area corresponding to the selected keyword photo-tag.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said automatically determining comprises automatically locating the phone number for the object corresponding to the selected keyword photo-tag within a contact list of phone numbers for objects.

5. A method for communication using a digital photo frame, comprising:

rendering a pre-tagged digital photo with a plurality of different objects appearing in the photo, the digital photo having one or more keyword photo-tags associated therewith, wherein a keyword photo-tag for a digital photo corresponds to an object appearing in the photo;

automatically determining phone numbers corresponding to the one or more keyword photo-tags;

receiving a user input phone call command for any selected one of the keyword photo-tags associated with the rendered digital photo, via one or more buttons that enable the user to advance through the tagged objects, and to select one of them; and

in response to said receiving, automatically dialing the phone number for the object corresponding to the selected keyword photo-tag.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein keyword photo-tags correspond to objects taken from the group consisting of people, business establishments, organizations, governments and municipalities, geographical sites, entertainment services and information services.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said rendering comprises rendering the digital photo on a touch-sensitive screen, and wherein said receiving a user input phone call command comprises identifying an area of the touch-sensitive screen touched by the user, the area corresponding to the selected keyword photo-tag.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein said automatically determining comprises automatically locating the phone numbers for the objects corresponding to the one or more keyword photo-tags within a contact list of phone numbers for objects.

9. A method for linking keyword tags associated with digital photos to objects in a contact list, by a digital photo frame, comprising:

associating keyword photo-tags with a plurality of digital photos, where each digital photo comprises a plurality of different objects appearing therein, and where a keyword photo-tag for a digital photo corresponds to an object appearing in the digital photo;

accessing a contact list of phone numbers for objects;

automatically searching for the object corresponding to one of the keyword photo-tags within the contact list; and

if the object corresponding to one of the keyword photo-tags is located within the contact list, then automatically enabling a user to assign the object'"'"'s phone number to the keyword photo-tag; and

if the object corresponding to one of the keyword photo-tags is not located within the contact list, then enabling a user to assign an existing object or a new object to the keyword photo-tag.

10. A method for linking keyword tags associated with digital photos to objects in a contact list, by a digital photo frame, comprising:

for each of a plurality of objects appearing in a digital photo;

associating a keyword photo-tag with the digital photo, the keyword photo-tag corresponding to the object;

accessing a contact list of phone numbers for objects; and

automatically enabling a user to assign one of the objects in the contact list to the keyword photo-tag, or to add a new object and phone number to the contact list and to assign the new object to the keyword photo-tag; and

in response to the user activating any one of the keyword photo-tags, automatically dialing the phone number of the object assigned to that keyword photo-tag.