Patent ID: 7428005
Filing Date: 2008-09-23
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A self-contained network-capable camera for transmitting digital images via an internet-protocol network, comprising: an image pickup, which receives images of a scene; a lens, which forms the images of a scene on the image pickup; an image capture circuit, which captures the images of a scene as digital images, which are stored as digital image files; a network interface circuit, by which the camera communicates with the internet-protocol network; and a controller circuit, which controls operations of the image capture circuit and the network interface circuit, and executes code including: a protocol stack including a transport layer protocol that packetizes the digital image files according to a predetermined internet-protocol transmission control protocol, a transmission initiating routine, which autonomously initiates communication with the internet-protocol network via the transport layer protocol and said network interface circuit, a transmission scheduling routine, which schedules a transmission of the digital image files to a destination account at an internet-protocol address, and an internet-protocol client, which communicates via the network interface circuit with the destination account, and which transmits the digital image files to the destination account via the internet-protocol network as scheduled by the transmission scheduling routine, the digital image files in the destination account then being available to browsers accessing the internet-protocol network; and a camera body, within which are housed all of said controller circuit, said image pickup, said lens, said image capture circuit, and said network interface circuit.