Automatic generation of a photo album

• US 20070019924A1
• Filed: 07/07/2005
• Published: 01/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shutterfly, LLC
• Original Assignee: Shutterfly Incorporated (Shutterfly, LLC)
• Inventors: Bansner, Kai, Teo, Patrick C., Quek, Su M., Townsend, John T. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,474,801 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/278
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00196 Creation of a photo-montage, e.g. photoalbum H04N1/0019 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00442 Simultaneous viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. using a mosaic display arrangement of thumbnails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00448 horizontally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00456 for layout preview, e.g. page layout
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00458 Sequential viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. browsing or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00461 marking or otherwise tagging one or more displayed image, e.g. for selective reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras

Abstract

A method for producing a digital photo album includes selecting a plurality of digital images each characterized by a portrait format or a landscape format, providing a library of page layouts each comprising one or more image areas configured to receive digital images. Each of the image areas is characterized by an image area format consistent with the image format. One or more page layouts are automatically selected from the library of page layouts in accordance with the selected digital images and their associated image formats. The selected digital images are disposed in the image areas on the one or more page layouts to produce one or more pages in the digital photo album.

Claims

1. A method for producing a digital photo album having a plurality of pages, comprising:

selecting a plurality of digital images each characterized by an image format selected from the group of a portrait format and a landscape format;

providing a library of page layouts each comprising one or more image areas configured to receive the selected digital images, wherein each of the image areas is characterized by an image area format consistent with image format;

automatically selecting one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts in accordance with the selected digital images and their associated image formats; and

disposing the selected digital images in the image areas on the one or more page layouts to produce one or more pages in the digital photo album.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically matching the image formats of the selected digital images with the image area formats of the image areas in the page layouts.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

specifying a sequence for the selected digital images; and

automatically selecting one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts for one or more pages in the digital photo album in response to the sequence of the selected digital images.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically selecting one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts in response to a combination of image formats of two or more selected digital images.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically displaying the one or more pages in the digital photo album having the selected digital images disposed in the image areas on the one or more page layouts.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

cropping the selected digital images; and

disposing the cropped digital images in the image areas on the one or more page layouts.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a portion of one of the selected digital images; and

displaying the portion of the selected digital image in an image area on one of the page layouts.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the page layout further comprises one or more image caption areas.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the page layout further comprises a page background pattern.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the page background pattern can be selected from a plurality of pre-designed page background patterns.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the number of the image areas on the one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

further comprising selecting a page layout comprising two image areas from the library of page layouts.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the image area formats of the two image areas can include one or more portrait formats or one or more landscape image area formats.

14. A method for producing a digital photo album having a plurality of pages, comprising:

selecting a plurality of digital images each characterized by an image format selected from the group of a portrait format and a landscape format;

providing a library of page layouts each comprising one or more image areas configured to receive the selected digital images, wherein each of the image areas is characterized by an image area format consistent with image format;

automatically selecting one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts in response to the selected digital images and their associated image formats;

automatically matching the image formats of the selected digital images with the image area formats of the image areas in the page layouts; and

disposing the selected digital images in the image areas on the one or more page layouts to produce one or more pages in the digital photo album.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

specifying a sequence for the selected digital images; and

automatically selecting one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts for one or more pages in the digital photo album in response to the sequence of the selected digital images.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

cropping the selected digital images; and

disposing the cropped digital images in the image areas on the one or more page layouts.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

selecting the number of the image areas on the one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts.

18. A method for producing a digital photo album having a plurality of pages, comprising:

selecting a plurality of digital images each characterized by an image format selected from the group of a portrait format and a landscape format;

specifying a sequence for the selected digital images;

providing a library of page layouts each comprising one or more image areas configured to receive the selected digital images, wherein each of the image areas is characterized by an image area format consistent with image format;

automatically selecting one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts in response to the sequence and the image formats of the selected digital images; and

disposing the selected digital images in the image areas on the one or more page layouts to produce one or more pages in the digital photo album.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

automatically matching the image formats of the selected digital images with the image area formats of the image areas in the page layouts; and

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

selecting the number of the image areas on the one or more page layouts from the library of page layouts.