Process for sending images to a low display ability terminal

• US 20020065088A1
• Filed: 11/16/2001
• Published: 05/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Masera, Eric, Vau, Jean-Marie, Seignol, Olivier
• Granted Patent: US 6,826,417 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition

Abstract

A method to transmit drawings or images comprising text to low display ability terminals, and more particularly to cellular phones or equivalent mobile devices. The transmission is possible in the best conditions and automatically. The transmission enables the consultation or display by the user of these drawings or images comprising text, on a low display ability terminal. These images can have the form of a plate of several images or an individual image comprising text. This operation is possible by automatically transforming the drawings or images via image analysis into image entities formed by an image zone and a text zone; and without requiring any extra work by the publisher or author of the drawings or images comprising text.

Claims

1. A method of automatically transmitting images to a low display ability terminal, at least one of the images comprising at least one text zone having a character string, the method comprising the steps of:

searching for text zones inside an image frame of an original image;

recognizing each individual text zone comprising a single character string;

assigning to each individual text zone a unique identifier;

replacing each character string in the original image by its related unique identifier to obtain a modified image; and

joining in an image entity the modified image and each character string preceded by its unique identifier forming a text zone in a presentation, wherein the text zone is located outside a further frame of the modified image, such that the modified image is displayed with a first enlargement coefficient and the text zones are displayed with at least one second enlargement coefficient different than that used for the modified image.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein each character string preceded by its unique identifier and forming the text zone is located below the further frame occupied by the modified image.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein each character string preceded by its unique identifier and forming the text zone is located above the further frame occupied by the modified image.

4. A method according to any of claim 1, wherein one character recognition is performed for each individual text zone.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein each character string is submitted to a voice or analogue synthesis system, to transform each character string into an understandable voice message.

6. A method according to any of claim 1, wherein before integrating each character string into the image entity, each character string is translated into a language different than the language used in the original image.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein each character string preceded by its unique identifier and forming the text zone is replaced by a voice or analogue synthesis message.