Method and apparatus for distributing picture mail to a frame device community

• US 9,203,930 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2002
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ceiva Logic, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ceiva Logic, Inc.
• Inventors: Schiller, Dean, Yanover, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US10/179,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20040205582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,908 Days
• Field of Search: 715/765, 715853-854, 715724-726, 715730-732, 715/744, 715/719, 715/748, 715/839, 715/752, 715/838, 715/835, 345/638, 345/83
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1017 based on a round robin mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1036 Load balancing of requests to servers for services different from user content provisioning, e.g. load balancing across domain name servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A frame device has a display region (e.g., an LCD) surrounded with a border region modeled to resemble a traditional picture frame. Each frame device is connected to an interconnection fabric to obtain image data from a repository and then display that data according to criteria established by an authorized user. The data repository is populated with image data via the image collection process. A user may specify filter criteria which establishes what network addresses (e.g., picture mail address) are authorized to populate the data repository. The filter criteria and other information such as the behavior characteristics of each frame device are established and/or managed via a user interface.

Claims

1. A digital display apparatus having an integrated housing, said integrated housing comprising:

an image display region on an outside surface of said integrated housing;

a memory in an inside of said integrated housing, said memory comprising a plurality of image data files, security information comprising authentication information for a first remote server system and a unique identifier for said digital display apparatus, and a current version of onboard software;

a processor configured to control the display of image data from said plurality of image data files in said image display region in accordance with said onboard software in said inside of said integrated housing;

communication circuitry configured to engage a network medium in said inside of said integrated housing under the control of said processor;

wherein said onboard software comprises;

an image display function configured to obtain image data from said plurality of image data files in said memory for rendering in said image display region

a remote connection function configured to automatically initiate communications with said first remote server system across said network medium, said remote connection function further configured to send a request for image data to said first remote server system after initiating said communications and to receive in response to said request for image data a set of data from said first remote server system comprising one or more image data files;

an authentication function configured to authenticate said first remote server system prior to accepting said set of data from said first remote server system;

a software update function configured to obtain an updated version of said onboard software from said server and to replace said current version of said onboard software in said memory with said updated version.

2. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said authentication function is further configured to provide said unique identifier of said digital display apparatus to said first remote server system.

3. The digital display apparatus of claim 2, wherein said authentication function is further configured to provide device authentication information to said first remote server system prior to obtaining image data from said first remote server system.

4. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said onboard software further comprises an initialization function configured to prompt said first remote server system to associate a record with said digital display apparatus.

5. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said digital display apparatus is configured to display an account initialization message.

6. The digital display apparatus of claim 5, wherein said account initialization message prompts a user to create an account with said first remote server system.

7. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said memory comprises a connection timing parameter that indicates a timing interval for said digital display apparatus to automatically initiate periodic connections with said first remote server system.

8. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said memory comprises an image display parameter comprising a timing interval for periodically selecting an image data file from said memory for rendering on said display region.

9. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said network medium comprises a wired transmission medium.

10. The digital display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said network medium comprises a wireless transmission medium.

11. A digital display apparatus having an integrated housing, said integrated housing comprising:

an image display region on an outside surface of said integrated housing;

a memory in an inside of said integrated housing, said memory comprising a plurality of image data files, security information comprising authentication information for a first remote server system and a unique identifier for said digital display apparatus, and onboard software;

a processor configured to control the display of image data from said plurality of image data files in said image display region in accordance with said onboard software in said inside of said integrated housing;

communication circuitry configured to engage a network medium in said inside of said integrated housing under the control of said processor;

wherein said onboard software comprises;

an image display function configured to obtain image data from said plurality of image data files in said memory for rendering in said image display region based on a value of said image display parameter; and

a remote connection function configured to automatically initiate communications with said first remote server system across said network medium, said remote connection function further configured to send a request for image data to said first remote server system after initiating said communications and to receive in response to said request for image data a set of data from said first remote server system comprising one or more image data files;

an authentication function configured to authenticate said first remote server system prior to accepting said set of data from said first remote server system;

a software update function configured to obtain an updated version of said onboard software from said server and to replace said current version of said onboard software in said memory with said updated version.

12. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said remote authentication function is further configured to provide said unique identifier of said digital display apparatus to said first remote server system.

13. The digital display apparatus of claim 12 wherein said remote authentication function is further configured to provide device authentication information to said first remote server system prior to obtaining image data from said first remote server system.

14. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said onboard software further comprises an initialization function configured to prompt said first remote server system to associate a record with said digital display apparatus.

15. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said digital display apparatus is configured to display an account initialization message served from said server system.

16. The digital display apparatus of claim 15 wherein said account initialization message prompts a user to create an account with said first remote server system.

17. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said memory comprises a connection timing parameter that indicates a timing interval for said digital display apparatus to automatically initiate periodic connections with said first remote server system.

18. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said memory comprises a timing interval for periodically selecting an image data file from said memory for rendering on said display region.

19. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said network medium comprises a wired transmission medium.

20. The digital display apparatus of claim 11 wherein said network medium comprises a wireless transmission medium.