Patent US7068309B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7068309B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Image exchange with image annotation
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 2001-10-09
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Granted: 2006-06-27
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Expires: 2021-10-09
Abstract
Abstract A system and method for providing a peer-to-peer photo-sharing environment. The system includes: manual and automatic photo annotation at the client; periodic client-server synchronization; an index of client photos on a central server or a photo database that is resident on the central server, which is updated by the client-server synchronization function; end-user search functionality to search the centralized index or photo database; and transmission of the relevant photos to the client via an on-line image cache. In one embodiment, one client's new photos are automatically displayed on another client's computer (e.g., via screen saver or another mechanism).
Inventors
- 👤 Kentaro Toyama
- 👤 David Vronay
- 👤 Padmanabhan Anandan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 22:26
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/2866; H04L67/30; H04L67/306; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/50; G06F16/58; G06F16/587; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/00127; H04N1/00132; H04N1/00137; H04N1/00148; H04N1/00169; H04N1/00172; H04N1/00204; H04N1/00244; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/91; H04N5/92; H04N5/9201; H04N5/765; H04N5/77; H04N5/78; H04N5/781; H04N5/84; H04N5/85; H04N5/907; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
121 words
A computer-implemented process for sharing images comprising the process actions of: inputting images at a hosting client; annotating said images with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location at said hosting client, comprising locating the same image as said image in other locations; extracting all annotation data from said same image in said other location; annotating said image with said annotation data extracted from said image in said other location; creating a local index of said images and local database of said images at said hosting client; synchronizing said hosting client's local index with a master index of a central server, said master index comprising all images available for sharing; and providing images from said hosting client.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
121 words
A computer-implemented process for sharing images comprising the process actions of: inputting images at a hosting client; annotating said images with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location at said hosting client, comprising locating the same image as said image in other locations; extracting all annotation data from said same image in said other location; annotating said image with said annotation data extracted from said image in said other location; creating a local index of said images and local database of said images at said hosting client; synchronizing said hosting client's local index with a master index of a central server, said master index comprising all images available for sharing; and providing images from said hosting client.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 1 wherein the annotating process action further comprises a process action of manually annotating at least one of said input images.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 1 wherein the annotating process action further comprises a process action of automatically annotating at least one of said input images.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
109 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 3 wherein the process action of automatically annotating an image further comprises at least one: using face recognition techniques to identify a specific person in the image and annotating the image with an identifier for the person; using automated vision techniques to determine whether the image depicts a natural or man-made object and annotating the image as either natural or man-made; using pixel comparison techniques with images of known content and comparing the image to determine its content and annotating said image as to what it is; and extracting available parameters associated with the input image and annotating the image with the available parameters.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
155 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 1 wherein said process action of annotating at least one of said input images further comprises, at least one of: annotating said image with the time it was created; annotating said image with the location that it depicts; annotating said image with a camera orientation when said image was captured; annotating said image with the level of privacy associated with the image; annotating said image with the author of the image; annotating said image with its modification history; annotating said image with its user rating; annotating said image with an imputed location based on the time and location said image was created; annotating said image with usage statistics; annotating said image with any and all user annotations; annotating said image with the owner of the metadata; annotating said image with a server-provided user rating; and annotating said image with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
82 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein said process action of annotating said image with the time it was created comprises at least one of: annotating said image with a time by using a date stamp provided by a camera that created the image; annotating said image with a time by using a time stamp provided by a Global Positioning System integrated with the camera that created the image; annotating said image with a time that was manually input by a user.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
131 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein said process action of annotating said image with the location which it depicts comprises at least one of: annotating said image with a location by using a location stamp provided by a Global Positioning System integrated with the camera that created the image; annotating said image with a location by using a location stamp provided deriving a location from cell site location provided by a camera integrated with the camera that created the image; annotating said image with a location by using a name-to-geolocation translation application that provides the location said image was captured; annotating said image with a location derived from a map indicating where said image was taking; and annotating said image with a location that was manually input by a user.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 7 wherein location is provided in the format of latitude and longitude.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein the camera orientation is provided in the format of yaw, pitch and roll.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein the process action of annotating the privacy level of the image comprises the process action of annotating said image with a privacy level that is manually input by the user.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 10 wherein the privacy level that is manually input by a user further comprises the process action of selecting from a default setting of having the image accessible to only the user.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 10 wherein the privacy level that is manually input by a user further comprises the process action of selecting from a default setting of having the image accessible to all users.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
79 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein the process action of annotating the image with an image modification history comprises at least one of: annotating said image with annotation data as to how it was modified; annotating said image with annotation data as to when it was modified; annotating said image with annotation data as to by whom it was modified; and annotating said image with any other modifications made to annotation data made at the time of modification.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
40 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein the process action of annotating the image with a server-provided user rating comprises the process action of annotating said image with an indication as to how closely said image matched a search criteria.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
88 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein the process action of annotating said image with usage statistics further comprises at least one of: annotating the image with how often the image was posted to a website; annotating the image with the times the image was posted to a website; annotating the image with the number of times the image was emailed; annotating the image with how relevant the image was found to be in a search; and annotating the image as to how many times it was requested.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
77 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 5 wherein the process action of annotating the image with an imputed location further comprises the process actions of: identifying the time and location said image was created; identifying other images taken close to the same time and with the same camera when said image was created; imputing to said image the location of said other images taken at close to the same time; and annotating said image with said imputed location.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
71 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 1 wherein the process action of synchronizing further comprises the process actions of: storing changes to local index and local database of said images at said hosting client in a modification log; periodically connecting said hosting client to said central server; and synchronizing said local index and said local database of said hosting client with said master index of said central server using said modification log.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
123 words
A computer-implemented process for sharing images comprising the process actions of: inputting images at a hosting client; annotating said images with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location at said hosting client, wherein the process action of annotating said image with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location further comprises the process actions of: locating the same image as said image in other locations; extracting all annotation data from said same image in said other location; annotating said image with said annotation data extracted from said image in said other location; and creating a local index of said images and local database of said images at said hosting client; providing images from said hosting client.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
123 words
A computer-implemented process for sharing images comprising the process actions of: inputting images at a hosting client; annotating said images with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location at said hosting client, wherein the process action of annotating said image with metadata associated with the same image located in a different location further comprises the process actions of: locating the same image as said image in other locations; extracting all annotation data from said same image in said other location; annotating said image with said annotation data extracted from said image in said other location; and creating a local index of said images and local database of said images at said hosting client; providing images from said hosting client.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
116 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 18 wherein said process action of annotating said input image further comprises, at least one of: annotating said image with the time it was created; annotating said image with the location that it depicts; annotating said image with the level of privacy associated with the image; annotating said image with the author of the image; annotating said image with its modification history; annotating said image with its user rating; annotating said image with an imputed location based on the time and location said image was created; annotating said image with usage statistics; annotating said image with any and all user annotations; and annotating said image with the owner of the metadata.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
131 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 19 wherein said process action of annotating said image with the location which it depicts comprises at least one of: annotating said image with a location by using a location stamp provided by a Global Positioning System integrated with the camera that created the image; annotating said image with a location by using a location stamp provided deriving a location from cell site location provided by a camera integrated with the camera that created the image; annotating said image with a location by using a name-to-geolocation translation application that provides the location said image was captured; annotating said image with a location derived from a map indicating where said image was taking; and annotating said image with a location that was manually input by a user.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
81 words
The computer-implemented process of claim 19 wherein the process action of annotating the image with an imputed location further comprises the process actions of: identifying the time and location said image was created; identifying other images taken close to the same time and with the same camera when said image was created; imputing to said image the location of said other images taken at close to the same time with a same camera; and annotating said image with said imputed location.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2009-06-26 | 2009-12-26 | 2010-06-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-06-26 | 2013-12-26 | 2014-06-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-06-26 | 2017-12-26 | 2018-06-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |