System for delivering and enabling interactivity with images
First Claim
1. A system for rendering a plurality of sets of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
- a processor having a storage capability;
a plurality of sets of images wherein each set of images comprises at least one image and wherein one of the plurality of sets of images is a primary set of images and the remainder of the sets of images are secondary sets of images;
a display on which the images in the plurality of sets of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user;
software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to each of the sets of images in the plurality of sets of images;
software executable by the processor for creating a transparent layer to be associated with the images, wherein the transparent layer is not perceptible to the user;
software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting either the primary set of images or a secondary set of images as the chosen set of images with which to carry out the at least one interactive function;
software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from the user representing the user'"'"'s choice as to which of the plurality of sets of images the user desires to interact with on the user'"'"'s display;
software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images;
software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from a user representing the user'"'"'s selection of the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; and
software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the chosen set of images.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, including apparatuses, software and methods, is disclosed for capturing and delivering images as to which various interactive functions are enabled for a user. The images introduced to the system can come from any one of a variety of sources, including from a digital camera. A graphical user interface permits a user to customize a set of interactive functions to be enabled for a given set of images. The interactively enabled images can be delivered via a webpage to a user, for example, via email, the Internet or downloaded from a disk or from disk drive on a computer on which the webpage is stored. Each image is delivered to a user in its own layer of software, which permits complex sets of images of relatively high resolution to be delivered to users without any appreciable delay associated with the delivery or the need for the user to have additional software, such as a plug-in to receive images and enable interactive functions with respect to the images. Whenever an interactive function is being carried out, a viewer perceives only one image layer at a given time, but the currently viewable image layer can be changed rapidly, so that the user can perceive the illusion of motion, including virtual rotation of an object depicted in a set of images.
-
Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A system for rendering a plurality of sets of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
-
a processor having a storage capability; a plurality of sets of images wherein each set of images comprises at least one image and wherein one of the plurality of sets of images is a primary set of images and the remainder of the sets of images are secondary sets of images; a display on which the images in the plurality of sets of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user; software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to each of the sets of images in the plurality of sets of images; software executable by the processor for creating a transparent layer to be associated with the images, wherein the transparent layer is not perceptible to the user; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting either the primary set of images or a secondary set of images as the chosen set of images with which to carry out the at least one interactive function; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from the user representing the user'"'"'s choice as to which of the plurality of sets of images the user desires to interact with on the user'"'"'s display; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from a user representing the user'"'"'s selection of the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; and software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the chosen set of images. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A system for rendering a plurality of sets of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
-
a processor having a storage capability; a plurality of sets of images wherein each set of images comprises at least one image and wherein one of the plurality of sets of images is a primary set of images and the remainder of the sets of images are secondary sets of images; a display on which the images in the plurality of sets of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user; software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to each of the sets of images in the plurality of sets of images; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting either the primary set of images or a secondary set of images as the chosen set of images with which to carry out the at least one interactive function; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from the user representing the user'"'"'s choice as to which of the plurality of sets of images the user desires to interact with on the user'"'"'s display; software executable by the processor for creating an image layer for each of the images in the chosen set of images; software executable by the processor for displaying one of the image layers as a currently viewable image layer; software executable by the processor for creating a transparent layer to be associated with the currently viewable image layer, wherein the transparent layer is not perceptible to the user; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from a user representing the user'"'"'s selection of the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; and software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the chosen set of images. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A system for rendering a plurality of sets of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
-
a processor having a storage capability; a plurality of sets of images wherein each set of images comprises at least one image and wherein one of the plurality of sets of images is a primary set of images and the remainder of the sets of images are secondary sets of images; a display on which the images in the plurality of sets of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user; software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to each of the sets of images in the plurality of sets of images; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting either the primary set of images or a secondary set of images as the chosen set of images with which to carry out the at least one interactive function; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from the user representing the user'"'"'s choice as to which of the plurality of sets of images the user desires to interact with on the user'"'"'s display; software executable by the processor for creating an image layer for each of the images in the chosen set of images; software executable by the processor for displaying one of the image layers as a currently viewable image layer; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from a user representing the user'"'"'s selection of the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the chosen set of images; software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the chosen set of images; and software executable by the processor for creating a first transparent layer to be associated with the image layers for a set of images and the software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function includes software for moving the first transparent layer from a first set of x, y coordinates to a second set of x, y coordinates and software for moving the image layers associated with the first transparent layer to the second set of x, y coordinates. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A system for rendering a set of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
-
a processor having a storage capability; a set of images comprising at least one image; a display on which the images in the set of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user; software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to the set of images; software executable by the processor for creating a transparent layer to be associated with the images in the set of images, wherein the transparent layer is not perceptible to the user; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the set of images; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from a user representing the user'"'"'s selection of the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the set of images; and software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the set of images. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. A system for rendering a set of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
-
a processor having a storage capability; a set of images wherein the set of images comprises at least one image; a display on which the images the set of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user; software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to the set of images; software executable by the processor for creating an image layer for each of the images in the set of images; software executable by the processor for displaying one of the image layers as a currently viewable image layer; software executable by the processor for creating a transparent layer to be associated with the currently viewable image layer, wherein the transparent layer is not perceptible to the user; and software executable by the processor for delivering the set of images enabled for at least one interactive function to a user via email.
-
-
30. A system for rendering a set of images interactive from the point of view of a user, the system comprising:
-
a processor having a storage capability; a set of images wherein the set of images comprises at least one image; a display on which the images the set of images rendered interactive can be viewed and interacted with by a user; software executable by the processor for enabling at least one interactive function with respect to the set of images; software executable by the processor for creating an image layer for each of the images in the set of images; software executable by the processor for displaying one of the image layers as a currently viewable image layer; software executable by the processor for creating a transparent layer to be associated with the currently viewable image layer, wherein the transparent layer is not perceptible to the user; software executable by the processor for displaying to the user the choices the user has for selecting the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the set of images; software executable by the processor for accepting and processing input from a user representing the user'"'"'s selection of the at least one interactive function to be carried out with respect to the set of images; software executable by the processor for carrying out the selected at least one interactive function with respect to the set of images; and software executable by the processor for delivering the set of images enabled for at least one interactive function to a user via email.
-
-
31. A computerized method for zooming in on and positioning a digitized image on a user'"'"'s display before, during or after the zooming in on operation is carried out with respect to the digitized image, the digitized image corresponding to an actual image having an actual width and an actual height, a default image having a default width and a default height, a pre-zoom image having an pre-zoom width and a pre-zoom height, and a zoomed-in-on image having a zoomed-in-on width and a zoomed-in-on height, x- and y-coordinates for the upper left-hand corner of each of the actual image, the default image, the pre-zoom image and the zoomed-in-on image, x-coordinates for the midpoint of the width of the actual image, the default image, the pre-zoom image and the zoomed-in-on image, and y-coordinates for the midpoint of the height of the actual image, the default image, the pre-zoom image and the zoomed-in-on image, the method comprising:
-
(a)accepting input from the user corresponding to the x- and y-coordinates of a first point on the pre-zoom image; (b)accepting input from the user corresponding to the x- and y-coordinates of a second point on the pre-zoom image; (c)displaying a line between the first point and the second point; (d)displaying a first polygon having a center about the midpoint of the line and having a first polygon width and a first polygon height; (e)positioning the upper left-hand corner of the pre-zoom image so that the upper left-hand corner of the pre-zoom image lines up with the upper left-hand corner of the default image; (f)enlarging the pre-zoom image by a zoom factor derived from the ratio of the first polygon width to the first polygon height and at least one of the height of the pre-zoom image or the width of the pre-zoom image; and (g)positioning a point on the zoomed-in-on image that corresponds to the center of the first polygon to a point that corresponds to any desired point on the user'"'"'s display; wherein parts (a)-(g) are performed automatically with a computer. - View Dependent Claims (32)
-
Specification