Image browsing and downloading in mobile networks

• US 20040066419A1
• Filed: 10/03/2002
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IoT Innovations LLC (Empire IP LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Pyhalammi, Seppo
• Granted Patent: US 7,165,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/864
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for browsing miniaturized versions of images stored locally on a mobile device while allowing the associated full-sized image to be transferred to the mobile device as needed. In one embodiment of the invention, a method of viewing an image on the mobile device includes the steps of storing in the mobile device a miniaturized version of an image stored in the mobile device, transferring the image to an external storage device, and deleting the image from the mobile device. In response to the user of the mobile device selecting the miniaturized version of the image, the mobile device sends a wireless message to the external storage device requesting transfer of the full-sized image. The external storage device transfers the full-sized image to the mobile device in a second message and the mobile device is able to display the full-sized image.

Claims

1. A method of viewing an image on a mobile device, the method comprising the steps of:

storing in the mobile device a miniaturized version of an image being stored in the mobile device;

transferring the image to an external storage device;

deleting the image from the mobile device;

detecting selection of the miniaturized version of the image;

in response to detecting selection of the miniaturized version of the image, sending via a wireless communication network a first message requesting transfer of the image to the mobile device; and

receiving a second message via the wireless communication network transferring the image to the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein for the step of sending via a wireless communication network the first message comprises a short text message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the short text message comprises a message in the format known as Short Messaging Service (SMS).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the short text message comprises a mobile device identifier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile device identifier comprises a phone number for the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein for the step of sending via a wireless communication network the second message comprises a multimedia message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the multimedia message comprises a message in the format known as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting selection of the miniaturized version of the image comprises the steps of:

browsing a plurality of miniaturized images stored on the mobile device; and

receiving an input message choosing the miniaturized version of the image from the plurality of miniaturized images.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of capturing the image.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the mobile device comprises a digital camera and the step of capturing the image comprises taking a digital picture.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of capturing the image comprises the step of downloading the image.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the image has an identifier and the first message includes the identifier.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the mobile terminal comprises a mobile telephone.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the miniaturized image comprises a scaled version of the image having a scale of about 1/10 to 1/100.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein for the steps of sending and receiving, the wireless communication network comprises a mobile cellular communication network.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein for the steps of sending and receiving, the wireless communication network comprises a personal area network.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein for the step of transferring, the external storage device comprises a digital broadcast receiver.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein for the steps of sending and receiving, the mobile device is located in a different geographical area than the external storage device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transferring the image occurs automatically in response to detection of a memory usage level meeting a threshold.

21. At a computer acting as an image repository, a method of viewing an image on a mobile device, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving an image from the mobile device;

storing the image in a storage device;

receiving a short text message from the mobile device via communication comprising wireless communication, the short text message comprising a request to transfer the image to the mobile device; and

sending a multimedia message to the mobile device via communication comprising wireless communication, the multimedia message comprising the image.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein for the step of receiving a short text message, the short text message comprises a message in the format known as Short Messaging Service (SMS).

23. The method of claim 21, wherein for the step of sending a multimedia message, the multimedia message comprises a message in the format known as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the image has an identifier and the first message includes the identifier.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein for the steps of receiving a short text message and sending a multimedia message, the wireless communication comprises mobile cellular communication.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein for the step of storing the image in a storage device, the storage device comprises a digital broadcast receiver.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein for the steps of receiving a short text message and sending a multimedia message, the mobile device is located in a different geographical location than the storage device.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the computer comprises a wireless communication interface and the steps of receiving a short text message and sending a multimedia message occur via the wireless communication interface.

29. A computer readable medium for storing computer readable instructions for performing steps on a mobile device for viewing an image, the steps comprising:

storing in the mobile device a miniaturized version of an image stored in the mobile device;

transferring the image to an external storage device;

deleting the image from the mobile device;

detecting selection of the miniaturized version of the image;

in response to detecting selection of the miniaturized version of the image, sending via a wireless communication network a first message requesting transfer of the image to the mobile device; and

receiving a second message via the wireless communication network transferring the image to the mobile device.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein for the step of sending via a wireless communication network a first message, the first message comprises a short text message.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein for the step of receiving a second message, the second message comprises a multimedia message.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the computer readable instructions perform the further step of capturing the image.

33. A computer readable medium for storing computer readable instructions for performing steps on a terminal device, the terminal device being in communication with a storage device, the steps being associated with viewing an image on a mobile device, the steps comprising:

receiving the image from the mobile device;

storing the image in the storage device;

receiving a short text message from the mobile device via communication comprising wireless communication, the short text message comprising a request to transfer the image to the mobile device; and

sending a multimedia message to the mobile device via communication comprising wireless communication, the multimedia message comprising the image.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the terminal device comprises a digital broadcast receiver.

35. A mobile device comprising:

a memory;

an input device;

a display;

at least one communication interface; and

connected to the memory, the display, and the at least one communication interface, a processor for performing the steps comprising;

storing in the memory a miniaturized version of an image stored in the memory;

transferring the image to an external storage device via the at least one communication interface;

deleting the image from the memory;

receiving input from the input device selecting the miniaturized version of the image;

in response to selection of the miniaturized version of the image, sending via wireless communication from the at least one communication interface a first message requesting transfer of the image to the mobile device; and

receiving via the at least one communication interface a second message via the wireless communication transferring the image to the mobile device.

36. The mobile device of claim 35, wherein the first message comprises a short text message.

37. The mobile device of claim 35, wherein the short text message comprises a message in the format known as Short Messaging Service (SMS).

38. The mobile device of claim 35, wherein the second message comprises a multimedia message.

39. The mobile device of claim 38, wherein the multimedia message comprises a message in the format known as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

40. The mobile device of claim 35, further comprising a digital camera in communication with the processor, wherein the processor performs the further step of capturing the image via the digital camera.

41. A terminal device in communication with a mobile device, the communication comprising wireless communication, the terminal device comprising:

at least one communication interface;

a storage device; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the at least one communication interface, and the storage device, the processor performing the steps comprising;

receiving an image from the mobile device via the communication interface;

storing the image in the storage device;

receiving a short text message from the mobile device via the at least one communication interface through communication comprising wireless communication, the short text message comprising a request to transfer the image to the mobile device; and

sending via the at least one communication interface a multimedia message to the mobile device through communication comprising wireless communication, the multimedia message comprising the image.

42. The terminal device of claim 41, wherein the terminal device comprises a digital broadcast receiver in wireless communication with the mobile device.