Apparatuses, Methods, and Systems for a Portable, Automated Contractual Image Dealer and Transmitter

• US 20090070820A1
• Filed: 07/11/2008
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lagavulin Limited
• Original Assignee: Lagavulin Limited
• Inventors: Li, Richard Tzar Kai
• Granted Patent: US 8,422,550 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/62
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00161 Viewing or previewing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00167 Processing or editing H04N1/00196 - H04N1/00201 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0027 Adapting to communicate with plural different types of apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0044 Connecting to a plurality of different apparatus; Using a plurality of different connectors connection via a network H04N2201/0039
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0049 By wire, cable or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0062 Stand-alone interface device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0086 Image transceiver H04N2201/0093 and H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0087 Image storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/33378 : Type or format of data, e.g. colour or B/W, halftone or binary, computer image file or facsimile data

Abstract

This disclosure details the implementation of apparatuses, methods, and systems for a portable, automated contractual image dealer and transmitter. The transmitter provides a platform capable of managing, manipulating, storing, and transmitting digital media files across a wide array of transmission means and protocols. In addition, the capability to provide media for sale or distribution from remote locations, including the ability to choose from a number of possible buyers based on selected criteria and to remotely establish binding purchasing and/or image transferal relationships, is potentially beneficial for an array of media applications. In one embodiment, the transmitter may be employed by photographers, photojournalists, and/or the like to rapidly process, edit, and send photographs or video to multiple news agencies, newspapers, magazines, television studios, websites, and/or the like while maintaining control over their photographs by allowing them to send reduced quality and watermarked proofs. The transmitter may be configured to allow users to first generate and transmit low-resolution preview images, thereby saving on transmission time and resources, and only send full resolution versions once approvals of the preview versions are received

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method for processing digital media, comprising:

receiving a digital media file from a digital media input interface array, the digital media input interface array including at least a memory access component;

providing the digital media file for display on a display screen via an integrated media editing and transmission interface;

receiving at least one digital media file editing instruction from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the instruction comprising conversion to a preview quality version;

modifying the digital media file based on the at least one digital media file editing instruction to yield a preview-quality media file;

receiving at least one destination designation from the integrated media editing and transmission interface;

receiving at least one digital media transmission format selection from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the transmission format selection including any of a cellular network format, a wireless transmission format, an Ethernet format, or a USB format;

configuring the preview-quality digital media file in accordance with the at least one data transmission format;

preparing an offer message including the configured media file and a selectable obligation to purchase the media file;

sending the offer message to a destination specified by the at least one destination designation via a digital media output interface array, the digital media output interface array including output components providing transmission capabilities consistent with at least the cellular network format, and a wireless transmission format;

receiving a reply message from a purchasing entity, the reply message comprising an affirmative response to the selectable obligation; and

providing the original media file to the purchasing entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the offer message is sent to a plurality of recipients.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the offer message is provided in the context of an auction.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the auction is an e-Bay auction and the offer message is sent thereto.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital media file comprises a still image.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital media file comprises a video.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the digital media file further comprises an audio supplement.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the digital media file editing instruction comprises an audio supplement adjustment.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the audio supplement adjustment comprises a change of volume.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory access component is a flash memory card slot.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital media input interface array further comprises a USB port.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the USB port is the same as at least one of the output components.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the display screen admits touch-screen input.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises an image crop.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises an image resize.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises an image rotation.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a brightness adjustment.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a color adjustment.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the color adjustment comprises a color saturation adjustment.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the color adjustment comprises a hue adjustment.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a sharpness adjustment.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a contrast adjustment.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a red-eye reduction.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises application of a special effect.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the special effect comprises a digital airbrushing.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a resolution adjustment.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the resolution adjustment admits at least a high resolution and a low resolution setting.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of digital media file request messages from a set of media requesting entities, each request message comprising request selection content and at least one selection of a preview-quality converted media file;

searching the plurality of digital media file request messages for the request selection content;

selecting a recipient subset of the media requesting entities based on the request selection content and a set of request selection criteria; and

preparing a transmission package comprising a digital media file corresponding to the at least one selection of a preview-quality converted media file.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

sending the transmission package to the recipient subset.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

prompting a user to transmit the transmission package to the recipient subset.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the request selection content comprises a time and the request selection criteria comprises an earliness criteria.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the request selection content comprises a purchase bid and the request selection criteria comprises a bid maximization criteria.

33. The method of claim 1 wherein the preview-quality conversion comprises a resolution reduction.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the preview-quality conversion comprises a reduction in file size of the digital media file.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises a file format designation.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the file format designation admits at least a raw format and a compressed format.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the compressed format comprises a lossless compressed format.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the compressed format comprises a lossy compressed format.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the compressed format is a format selected from the group consisting of JPEG, TIFF, GIF, and BMP.

40. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one digital media file editing instruction further comprises selection and incorporation of a watermark.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the watermark includes a price for the at least one digital media file.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the price corresponds to a user minimum acceptable sell price for the at least one digital media file.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the watermark includes a photographer identification.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the watermark is steganographically encoded within the at least one digital media file.

45. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the modified digital media file.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the modified digital media file is stored in an internal memory.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the internal memory comprises a magnetic memory.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the internal memory comprises a flash memory.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein the modified digital media file is stored in a removable memory card.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the removable memory card is inserted in the memory access component in the digital media input interface array.

51. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a restore option, whereby the modified digital media file may be restored to its original state prior to modification.

52. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation comprises an e-mail address.

53. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation comprises an IP address.

54. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation comprises a URL.

55. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation comprises a telephone number.

56. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation comprises an instant messaging identity.

57. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation specifies more than one recipient.

58. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination designation is selected from a digital address book.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the digital address book comprises at least one group of contacts.

60. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network format comprises GSM.

61. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network format comprises GPRS.

62. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network format comprises W-CDMA.

63. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network format comprises CDMA.

64. The method of claim 60, wherein the cellular network format includes CDMA.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the cellular network format includes GSM.

66. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network format comprises CDMA2000.

67. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network format comprises HSDPA.

68. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting at least one digital media transmission format is based on an automatic decision.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the automatic decision is based on a transmission integrity analysis.

70. The method of claim 68, wherein the automatic decision is based on monitoring reported signal strength of base stations.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein the transmission integrity analysis comprises a reliability estimate for each digital media transmission format.

72. The method of claim 68, wherein the automatic decision is presented to a user for confirmation prior to selecting the at least one digital media transmission format.

73. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting at least one digital media transmission format is based on a user decision.

74. A processor-implemented method for processing digital images, comprising:

receiving a digital image from a digital media input interface array, the digital media input interface array including at least a memory access component and a USB port;

providing the digital image for display on a display screen via an integrated image editing and transmission interface, the display screen being configured to admit touch-screen input;

providing a plurality of digital image editing options via the integrated image editing and transmission interface, including at least cropping, resizing, rotating, brightness, color adjustment, sharpness, contrast, resolution, file format, watermark, and red-eye reduction options;

receiving at least one digital image editing instruction selected from the plurality of digital image editing options via the integrated image editing and transmission interface;

modifying the digital image based on the at least one digital image editing instruction;

receiving at least one destination designation via the integrated image editing and transmission interface, wherein the destination designation is selected from a digital address book;

selecting at least one digital media transmission format from the integrated image editing and transmission interface, including any of a GSM format, a GPRS format, a W-CDMA format, a CDMA format, a CDMA2000 format, a HSDPA format, a WiFi format, a Bluetooth format, an Ethernet format, or a USB format;

configuring the digital media file in accordance with the at least one data transmission format; and

sending the configured digital media file to a destination specified by the at least one destination designation via a digital media output interface array, the digital media output interface array including output components providing transmission capabilities consistent with at least the GSM format, the GPRS format, the W-CDMA format, the CDMA format, the CDMA2000 format, the HSDPA format, the WiFi format, the Bluetooth format, the Ethernet format, and the USB format.

75. A processor-implemented method for processing digital media, comprising:

receiving a digital media file from a digital media input interface array, the digital media input interface array including at least a memory access component;

providing the digital media file for display on a display screen;

receiving at least one digital media file editing instruction;

modifying the digital media file based on the at least one digital media file editing instruction;

receiving at least one destination designation;

selecting at least one digital media transmission format, including any of a cellular network format, a wireless transmission format, an Ethernet format, or a USB format;

configuring the digital media file in accordance with the at least one data transmission format; and

sending the digital media file to a destination specified by the at least one destination designation via a digital media output interface array, the digital media output interface array including output components providing transmission capabilities consistent with at least the cellular network format, and a wireless transmission format.

76. A system to process digital media, comprising:

means to receive a digital media file from a digital media input interface array, the digital media input interface array including at least a memory access component;

means to provide the digital media file for display on a display screen via an integrated media editing and transmission interface;

means to receive at least one digital media file editing instruction from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the instruction comprising conversion to a preview quality version;

means to modify the digital media file based on the at least one digital media file editing instruction to yield a preview-quality media file;

means to receive at least one destination designation from the integrated media editing and transmission interface;

means to receive at least one digital media transmission format selection from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the transmission format selection including any of a cellular network format, a wireless transmission format, an Ethernet format, or a USB format;

means to configure the preview-quality digital media file in accordance with the at least one data transmission format;

means to prepare an offer message including the configured media file and a selectable obligation to purchase the media file;

means to send the offer message to a destination specified by the at least one destination designation via a digital media output interface array, the digital media output interface array including output components providing transmission capabilities consistent with at least the cellular network format, and a wireless transmission format;

means to receive a reply message from a purchasing entity, the reply message comprising an affirmative response to the selectable obligation; and

means to provide the original media file to the purchasing entity.

77. An apparatus to process digital media, comprising:

a memory;

a processor disposed in communication with said memory, and configured to issue a plurality of processing instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to;

receive a digital media file from a digital media input interface array, the digital media input interface array including at least a memory access component;

provide the digital media file for display on a display screen via an integrated media editing and transmission interface;

receive at least one digital media file editing instruction from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the instruction comprising conversion to a preview quality version;

modify the digital media file based on the at least one digital media file editing instruction to yield a preview-quality media file;

receive at least one destination designation from the integrated media editing and transmission interface;

receive at least one digital media transmission format selection from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the transmission format selection including any of a cellular network format, a wireless transmission format, an Ethernet format, or a USB format;

configure the preview-quality digital media file in accordance with the at least one data transmission format;

prepare an offer message including the configured media file and a selectable obligation to purchase the media file;

send the offer message to a destination specified by the at least one destination designation via a digital media output interface array, the digital media output interface array including output components providing transmission capabilities consistent with at least the cellular network format, and a wireless transmission format;

receive a reply message from a purchasing entity, the reply message comprising an affirmative response to the selectable obligation; and

provide the original media file to the purchasing entity.

78. A medium readable by a processor to process digital media, comprising:

instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein the instruction signals are issuable by the processor to;

receive a digital media file from a digital media input interface array, the digital media input interface array including at least a memory access component;

provide the digital media file for display on a display screen via an integrated media editing and transmission interface;

receive at least one digital media file editing instruction from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the instruction comprising conversion to a preview quality version;

modify the digital media file based on the at least one digital media file editing instruction to yield a preview-quality media file;

receive at least one destination designation from the integrated media editing and transmission interface;

receive at least one digital media transmission format selection from the integrated media editing and transmission interface, the transmission format selection including any of a cellular network format, a wireless transmission format, an Ethernet format, or a USB format;

configure the preview-quality digital media file in accordance with the at least one data transmission format;

prepare an offer message including the configured media file and a selectable obligation to purchase the media file;

send the offer message to a destination specified by the at least one destination designation via a digital media output interface array, the digital media output interface array including output components providing transmission capabilities consistent with at least the cellular network format, and a wireless transmission format;

receive a reply message from a purchasing entity, the reply message comprising an affirmative response to the selectable obligation; and

provide the original media file to the purchasing entity.