Patent Publication Number: US-2011060977-A1

Title: Method and system for embedding and sharing information

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to an application filed in the Indian Patent Office on Sep. 9, 2009 and assigned Serial No. 2183/CHE/2009, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of communication devices and more particularly to the field of embedding and sharing information in a file between one or more communication devices. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Often, a multimedia file is shared amongst communication devices. The multimedia file includes limited content of the multimedia file and its metadata. One technique for sharing contact information includes providing the contact information one at a time to the recipient communication device. This technique uses more bandwidth and consumes more time. The technique may not share information which has multiple entries. 
     In another existing technique, an image is converted to a thumbnail and linked to one contact information. While sharing the contact information, the technique may not provide the image because the image is not embedded with the contact information 
     In most scenarios, the memory allotted for storing the contact information is limited in a communication device. The communication device may not be able to store new contacts when the allotted memory is filled. 
     The existing methods of sharing may not share an event detail to a set of communication devices. The method may not allow the communication device to transmit an event time and date, an agenda of the event or a venue of the event. In light of the foregoing discussion there is a need for a method and a system for embedding and sharing information in a file. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide a method and system for embedding and sharing information in a file. 
     In one embodiment, a method for embedding information in a file that is operable in a processor includes generating a thumbnail of a multimedia file. The method also includes embedding information associated with the thumbnail. The embedding information includes identifying one or more markers to fill in the information on a visual media sheet and associating the thumbnail with the information. The method further includes arranging generated thumbnails based on spatial details and saving the arranged thumbnails with the associated information in a file. 
     In another embodiment, the invention includes an electronic device for sharing embedded information in a multimedia file. The electronic device includes a thumbnail generation unit for generating one or more thumbnails, and a visual media sheet generator for generating the visual media sheet based on one or more markers. The electronic device further includes a storage unit for storing the generated visual media sheet, a thumbnail organization unit for arranging the thumbnails in a predefined pattern and a display for displaying the file. 
     In yet another embodiment, the invention includes processor-readable medium including a set of processor readable instructions that when executed by a processor in an electronic device cause a method for sharing embedded information in a multimedia file. The method includes generating a thumbnail of a multimedia file, embedding information associated with the thumbnail by identifying one or more markers to fill in the information on a visual media sheet and associating the thumbnail with the information, arranging the generated thumbnails based on spatial details and saving the arranged thumbnails with the associated information in file to be shared. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying figures, similar reference numerals may refer to identical or functionally similar elements. These reference numerals are used in the detailed description to illustrate various embodiments and to explain various aspects and advantages of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an environment, in accordance with which various embodiments of the invention can be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an electronic device for embedding and sharing information in a file, in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an electronic device for receiving information in a file, in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method for embedding and sharing information in a file, in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  exemplary illustrates creation of a file, in accordance with one embodiment; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary file with embedded information, in accordance with one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It should be observed that method steps and system components have been represented by conventional symbols in the figures, showing only specific details that are relevant for an understanding of the present disclosure. Further, details that may be readily apparent to person ordinarily skilled in the art may not have been disclosed. In the present disclosure, relational terms such as first and second, and the like, may be used to distinguish one entity from another entity, without necessarily implying any actual relationship or order between such entities. Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide a method and system for embedding and sharing information in a file. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an environment  100 , in accordance with which various embodiments can be implemented. The environment  100  includes an electronic device  105 . An example of the electronic device includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a computer, a laptop, a printer, a headset and a personal digital assistant (PDA). The electronic device  105  is connected to another electronic device  115  over a network  110 . The network  110  may be configured with one of wired or wireless communication means. Examples of the wireless communication means include but are not limited to Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), an infrared channel, a radio frequency channel and Bluetooth. Examples of the wired communication means include but are not limited to a video graphics array (VGA) cable, and a universal serial bus (USB) connection. 
     The electronic device  105  is used for creating a file. The creating of the file includes generating a plurality of thumbnails for a plurality of multimedia files. Examples of the multimedia files include but are not limited to an image file, a text file, an audio file, a video file and a combination thereof. 
     The plurality of thumbnails is arranged in a file, based on one or more spatial details. The spatial details include but are not limited to height of the thumbnail, width of the thumbnail, and co-ordinate values of the thumbnail. The arranged thumbnails are saved along with the associated information as the file. The examples of the information can be a contact file, a web link file, a text file, a multimedia file and a meeting request file. 
     In one embodiment, the file is rendered to the user on a user interface of the electronic device  105 . In another embodiment, the file is shared with the plurality of devices, for example, the electronic device  115 , over a network  110 . The user of the electronic device  115  can receive the information associated with the plurality of thumbnails in a single file. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an electronic device  105  for embedding and sharing information in a file, in accordance with one embodiment. 
     The electronic device  105  includes a bus  205  or other communication mechanism for communicating information. The electronic device  105  includes a processor  210  coupled with the bus  205 . The processor  210  can include an integrated electronic circuit for processing and controlling functionalities of the electronic device  105 . The electronic device  105  also includes a memory  215 , such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus  205  for storing information which can be used by the processor  210 . The memory  215  can be used for storing any temporary information required. The electronic device  105  further includes a read only memory (ROM)  220  or other static storage device coupled to the bus  205  for storing static information for the processor  210 . A storage unit  225 , such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to the bus  205  for storing information. 
     The electronic device  105  can be coupled via the bus  205  to a display  230 , such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) display, for displaying information. An input device  235 , including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to the bus  205  for communicating an input to the processor  210 . The input device can be included in the electronic device  105 . Another type of user input device is a cursor control  240 , such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating the input to the processor  210  and for controlling cursor movement on the display  230 . The input device  235  can also be included in the display  230 , for example a touch screen. Various embodiments are related to the use of the electronic device  105  for implementing the techniques described herein. In one embodiment, the techniques are performed by the processor  210  using information included in the memory  215 . The information can be read into the memory  215  from another processor-readable or machine-readable medium, such as the storage unit  225 . 
     The terms “processor-readable medium” and “machine-readable medium” as used interchangeably herein refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine or processor to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodiment implemented using the electronic device  105 , various machine-readable medium are involved, for example, in providing information to the processor  210 . The machine-readable medium can be a storage media. Storage media includes both non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as the storage unit  225 . Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the memory  215 . All such media must be tangible to enable the information carried by the media to be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the information into a machine. Common forms of machine-readable medium include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge. 
     In another embodiment, the processor-readable or machine-readable medium can be a transmission media including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that include the bus  205 . Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. The electronic device  105  also includes a communication interface  245  coupled to the bus  205 . The communication interface  245  provides a two-way data communication coupling to the network  110 . The network  110  used may be a Bluetooth Pico-net network structure. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device  105  can be connected to the storage device  250  for storing or fetching information. Examples of the storage device  250  include, but are not limited to, a flash drive, a pen drive, a hard disk or any other storage media. 
     In one embodiment, the processor  210  can include or can be connected to one or more processing units, for example a thumbnail generation unit  255 , a visual media sheet generator  260  and a thumbnail organization unit  265 . 
     The thumbnail generation unit  255  generates one or more thumbnails corresponding to one or more multimedia files. The visual media generator  260  generates a visual media sheet based on one or more markers. The information associated with the one or more thumbnails is embedded in the visual media sheet. The thumbnail organization unit  265  arranges the thumbnails in a pre-defined pattern, for example the arrangement of the one or more thumbnails is based on spatial details of the one or more thumbnails. The arranged thumbnails and the associated information are saved as a file in the storage unit  225 . The arranged one or more thumbnails are rendered on a user interface of the electronic device  110 . The display  230  is used to display the file. 
     In another embodiment, the processor  210  can include or can be connected to a visual media sheet analyzer  270 . The visual media sheet analyzer  270  extracts the information from the thumbnails and renders the thumbnails and the corresponding information on the display  230 . The examples of the information can be a contact file, a web link file, a text file, a multimedia file and a meeting request file. 
     In another embodiment, the electronic device  105  may not include the processing units as the functions of the one or more processing units can be performed by the processor  215 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an electronic device  115  for receiving information in a file, in accordance with one embodiment. 
     The electronic device  115  includes a bus  305  or other communication mechanism for communicating information. The electronic device  115  includes a processor  310  coupled with the bus  305 . The processor  310  can include an integrated electronic circuit for processing and controlling functionalities of the electronic device  115 . The electronic device  115  also includes a memory  315 , such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus  305  for storing information which can be used by the processor  310 . The memory  315  can be used for storing any temporary information required. The electronic device  115  further includes a read only memory (ROM)  320  or other static storage device coupled to the bus  305  for storing static information for the processor  310 . A storage unit  325 , such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to the bus  305  for storing information. 
     The electronic device  115  can be coupled via the bus  305  to a display  330 , such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) display, for displaying information. An input device  335 , including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to the bus  305  for communicating an input to the processor  310 . The input device can be included in the electronic device  115 . Another type of user input device is a cursor control ( 340 ), such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating the input to the processor  310  and for controlling cursor movement on the display  330 . The input device  335  can also be included in the display  330 , for example a touch screen. Various embodiments are related to the use of the electronic device  115  for implementing the techniques described herein. In one embodiment, the techniques are performed by the processor  310  using information included in the memory  315 . The information can be read into the memory  315  from another processor-readable medium or machine-readable medium, such as the storage unit  325 . 
     The terms “processor readable medium” and “machine-readable medium” as used interchangeably herein refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodiment implemented using the electronic device  115 , various machine-readable medium are involved, for example, in providing information to the processor  310 . The machine-readable medium can be a storage media. Storage media includes both non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as the storage unit  325 . Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the memory  315 . All such media must be tangible to enable the information carried by the media to be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the information into a machine. 
     Common forms of machine-readable and processor-readable medium include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge. 
     In another embodiment, the machine-readable medium can be a transmission media including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that include the bus  305 . Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. The electronic device  115  also includes a communication interface  345  coupled to the bus  305 . The communication interface  345  provides a two-way data communication coupling to the network  110 . The network  110  used may be a Bluetooth Pico-net network structure. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device  115  can be connected to the storage device  350  for storing or fetching information. Examples of the storage device  350  includes, but are not limited to, a flash drive, a pen drive, a hard disk or any other storage media. 
     In one embodiment, the processor  310  can include or be connected to one or more processing units, for example a visual media sheet analyzer  355 . The visual media sheet analyzer  355  extracts the information from the file. The examples of the information can be a contact file, a web link file, a text file, a multimedia file and a meeting request file. The information is embedded to the corresponding thumbnail. Based on the embedded information a single file with a visual of all the thumbnails is provided on the display  330  of the electronic device  115 . In one embodiment, the information and the thumbnails are provided in parallel on the display  330 . 
     In some embodiments, a thumbnail generation unit, a visual media sheet generator and a thumbnail organization unit can be present in the electronic device  115  for generating and sharing a file. 
     In another embodiment, the electronic device  115  may not include the processing units as the functions of the processing units can be performed by the processor  310 . 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method for embedding and sharing information, in accordance with one embodiment. 
     The method starts at step  405 . 
     At step  410 , a thumbnail of the multimedia file is generated. The multimedia file can be at least one of an image, a text file, an audio file, a video file and a combination thereof. The generated thumbnail is saved in a storage unit. The saved thumbnails may be used at a later point of time by the electronic device to generate the file. In one embodiment, the thumbnails are directly used to create a file without saving the thumbnails. 
     At step  415 , the information associated with the thumbnail is embedded. The embedding of the information is based on the steps  415   a  and  415   b  as described below. Examples of the information include but are not limited to a contact file, a web link file, a text file, a multimedia file and a meeting request file. At step  415   a , one or more markers are identified to fill in the information on a visual media sheet. The markers refer to a bit stream having a specific and a pre-defined meaning. The functions of the markers include but are not limited to identifying a start of a specific data, identifying an end of a specific data and a combination thereof in a visual media sheet. 
     In one embodiment, at least one marker is used to identify a start address of the visual media sheet and an end address of the visual media sheet. A marker is used to identify a reference structure. The reference structure includes but is not limited to a title of the visual media sheet, a count of information entries, a length of the information, labeling if the information is compressed, an index count, a size of the entry reference structure, labeling if the information is cryptic. A marker is used to identify the information. The information can be at least one of a contact details, a web link, a text, a multimedia data and a meeting details. An exemplary for mat of the visual media sheet is illustrated in the Table 1 below: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Field 
                 Format 
                 Value 
                 Data in File (Hex) 
                 Size in Bytes 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Visual media sheet (VMS) data starts 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Identifier (for VCS) 
                 ASCII 
                 TIS0 
                 54 59 53 30 
                 4 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Entry reference structure 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Label for entry 
                 ASCII 
                 ERS0 
                 45 52 53 00 
                 4 
               
               
                 reference structure 
               
               
                 Size of ERS 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 (Excl ERS label) 
               
               
                 CES index count 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 Title 
                 ASCII 
                   
                 XX XX 
                 40  
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Information Entry [1 . . . n] 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Label for Information 
                 ASCII 
                 IES0 
                 43 45 53 00 
                 4 
               
               
                 entry structure 
               
               
                 Index 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 X 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 Y 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 Width 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 Height 
                   
                   
                 XX XX 
                 2 
               
               
                 [Type] [Size] [Data] 
                   
                   
                 XX XX XX 
                 2 + 2 + S 
               
               
                 1 . . . n 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Visual media sheet (VMS) data ends 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Size of VMS 
                   
                   
                 SS SS SS SS 
                 4 
               
               
                 Identifier 
                 ASCII 
                 TIE0 
                 54 49 45 30 
                 4 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The start address of the visual media sheet (VMS) data is identified as TIS0 (Tag Information Start 0(NULL)) and the end address of the visual media sheet is identified as TIE0 (Tag Information End 0(NULL)) in the Table. 1. The markers TIS0 and TIE0 are used to identify the start and end of the visual media sheet data. 
     The marker ERS0 is used to identify the beginning of the reference structure as depicted in the Table. 1. 
     The information of each entry is grouped together and is stored in a form of structure. The structure of each entry starts with a marker CES0. The information can either be stored in a proprietary format or an electronic business card entity can be embedded within the proprietary content. 
     The information entry structure (IES) includes one or more fields, identified with the marker IESO. The one or more fields indicate the spatial relation between the embedded images and the information representing multiple entries in an image or a frame. The one or more fields enable application to read and extract the information from the image and links the image with the other information stored in the user data. 
     In one example, a contact detail is stored in the IES. The contact information may include a name, a phone number, electronic mail identification, a website, a fax number, a postal address and a birth date. 
     In another example, a weblink is stored in the IES. 
     In yet another example, details of a meeting is stored in the IES. The details may include a meeting schedule, an alarm, a venue of the meeting, a contact number for a web based conference, a conference identification number and an agenda of the meeting. 
     In one embodiment, the visual media sheet is encoded and is embedded with the thumbnail. The encoded visual media sheet is then stored. 
     The contact information of each entry can be written in the format as: 
     [Type] [Size] [Data] 
     In an exemplary embodiment, the [Type] is a two byte number mapped to the fields. The [Size] is two bytes indicating the size of the data written for a particular field. Data information is written in [Data]. For example, [First name] [2 kb] [Adam]. 
     In one embodiment, if the user desires to create a contact file then, exemplary information to be provided is as depicted in the Table 2 below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Index 
                 Type 
                 Field 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 1a 
                 First name 
                 Name 
               
               
                 2 
                 1b 
                 Middle name 
               
               
                 3 
                 1c 
                 Last name 
               
               
                 4 
                 2a 
                 Phone number 1 
                 Number 
               
               
                 5 
                 2b 
                 Phone number 2 
               
               
                 6 
                 3 
                 Birthday 
                 Birthday 
               
               
                 7 
                 4 
                 Email address 
                 Email address 
               
               
                 8 
                 5 
                 URL 
                 URL 
               
               
                 9 
                 6a 
                 Address line1 
                 Address 
               
               
                 10 
                 6b 
                 Address line2 
               
               
                 11 
                 6c 
                 City 
               
               
                 12 
                 6d 
                 Pin code 
               
               
                 13 
                 6e 
                 State 
               
               
                 14 
                 6f 
                 Country 
               
               
                 15 
                 7 
                 Group 
                 Group 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In one embodiment, if the user is desired to share one or more contact information, then the exemplary contact information of each entry can be written in the format as: 
     [Type] [Size] [Data]. 
     [Type: First Name] [40 bytes] [Adam]
 
[Type: Phone Number1] [10 bytes] [987654321]
 
     In another embodiment, if the user is desired to share one or more bookmarks, then the exemplary contact information of each entry can be written in the format as: 
     [Type] [Size] [Data] 
     [Type: URL] [80 bytes] [www.ipl.com]
 
[Type: Tag] [10 bytes] [Cricket]
 
     At step  415   b , the thumbnail is associated with the information. The information associated with the thumbnail is then embedded. 
     At step  420 , the generated thumbnails are arranged based on spatial details. The spatial details include generating co-ordinate values for positioning the thumbnail. The spatial details also include generating height and width values of the thumbnails. The thumbnails are then resized based on the co-ordinate values and the values of height and width. An index value is then assigned for the thumbnail. In some embodiments, the spatial details can be provided by the user. In one embodiment, pre-defined spatial details are provided. The pre-defined spatial details are received and applied on the thumbnails to be resized. 
     At step  425 , the arranged thumbnail is saved with the associated information in a file. In an exemplary embodiment, the thumbnails and the associated information are saved in a multimedia file. In some embodiments, the associated information is encrypted, compressed and saved in the multimedia file. In one embodiment, the arranged thumbnails are rendered on a user interface. The rendering of the arranged thumbnails includes providing a plurality of thumbnails in a pre-defined pattern and displaying the embedded information corresponding to the plurality of the thumbnails in a file. 
     In another embodiment, the file is shared with a plurality of devices. The users of the plurality of devices can access the embedded information to perform one or more actions. The one or more actions includes but are not limited to, place a call, to send a text message, to send a multimedia message, to connect to a uniform resource locator, to view meeting details and to view electronic mails. 
     The method stops at step  430 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates creation of a file, in accordance with one embodiment. A plurality of thumbnails  510 ,  515 ,  520 ,  525 ,  530  and  535  is generated, the thumbnails corresponding to the respective multimedia files. Information is embedded within each of the plurality of thumbnails. The thumbnails are arranged based on the spatial details. The spatial details include the co-ordinate values (x, y). For example the co-ordinate values for the thumbnail  510  can be (x1, y1), as depicted in  FIG. 5 . 
     The spatial details also include height and width of the plurality of thumbnails. Each of the plurality of thumbnails is then resized based on the spatial details and is placed in the file. The embedded information is stored in the visual media sheet  540 . The visual media sheet  540  includes information, for example, a marker for data and the visual media sheet data. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary file with embedded information, in accordance with one embodiment. The generated thumbnails, for example  605 ,  610  and  615 , are displayed on the user interface of the electronic device. The user can select a desired thumbnail to perform an action. 
     In one embodiment, the embedded information corresponding to the desired thumbnail is displayed on the user interface and one or more actions can be performed by the user. 
     In some embodiments, the thumbnail information is also displayed based on the cursor placement. The thumbnail information corresponding to the thumbnail is displayed to the user. 
       FIG. 6  also illustrates an exemplary file format for sharing meeting requests. If a user is scheduled a meeting with other plurality of users, then at least one of a caller id image, and a representative image of the plurality of users is received. The caller id images are then converted to the thumbnails and the corresponding information of the thumbnails is embedded with the thumbnails. The file is then shared with the plurality of users. The plurality of users can view the users attending the meeting. 
     In the preceding specification, the present disclosure and its advantages have been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and changes can be made, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded as illustrative examples of the present disclosure, rather than in restrictive sense. All such possible modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present disclosure.