Patent Description:
With the advent of color displays on cell phones, and operating systems for developing software applications, digital images are being used on cell phones in a variety of applications. Aside from the aesthetics of images, from the standpoint of information digital images convey a Jot of information, much more than can _be conveyed with text on the small cell phone displays. A picture's worth a thousand word. Consider, for example, a cell phone user who wishes to find directions to get from one location to another. An image of a map conveys much more information than a textual description.

Many cell phones today interact with a user with menu-driven text selections. Such in interface is cumbersome, and often involves many stages of user selection, each stage involving pressing a key or tapping a light pen. Use of images has the advantage of simplifying and accelerating the interface.

<CIT> discloses a visual display for an electronic device, which is partitioned into regions. Each of the regions is associated with a key on a keypad. A visual correspondence is provided for the user to associate choices illustrated in the regions with the numbered keys. The regions display visual information such as graphics and/or text to identify a selection option. The keys are associated with the regions such that when a key is selected the selection option associated with the region is chosen.

<CIT> discloses a two-way mobile communication device having a display screen capable of displaying an image map. The image map has displayed therein a plurality of graphical symbols which identify resident applications which can be launched. Existing keys or buttons of the two-way mobile communication device are used to activate (or launch) these resident applications.

<CIT>, having a claimed priority date of 21st September <NUM>, discloses a cellular PDA communication system for allowing a plurality of cellular phone users to monitor each other's location and status, to initiate cellular phone calls by touching a symbol on the display screen with a stylus or finger which can also include conferencing calling.

There is thus a need for an interactive imaging applications that enable a cell phone user to find the information he desires in a simple and rapid way, with an intuitive and aesthetic user interface.

The present invention provides a method and system for interactive imaging on cellular phones. Using the present invention, a cell phone may run software or hardware that enables a user to interactively view virtual tours of various sites, and jump from one tour to another by means of "hot spots". Hot spots are active areas within a virtual tour that the user can activate in order to jump to a virtual tour specific to the active area. For example, the user can jump from a city map to virtual tours of sites of interest by activating hot spots for the sites that are located within the city map. Moreover, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, hot spots can be used to automatically activate functions of the cell phone, such as a dial function. For example, a user viewing a virtual tour of a site can automatically call an office for the site by activating a hot spot within the virtual tour.

It may thus be appreciated that the present invention provides the capability for automatically linking functions of a cell phone to hot spots within interactive virtual tours rendered on the cell phone's display.

There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for interactive imaging on a cellular phone as defined in claim <NUM>.

There is moreover provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a system for interactive imaging, as defined in claim <NUM>.

There is further provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a computer-readable storage medium as defined in claim <NUM>.

The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:.

Appendices A1 - A4 are source listings of XML files used to implement a system for interactive imaging, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention concerns a method and system for interactive imaging on cellular phones.

The present invention is implemented within a cell phone that includes a central processing unit, memory units for storing programs and data, an input device and a display. Preferably the input device is a keypad. Preferably, the central processing unit, memory units, and device drivers for the keypad and display are coupled communicatively together using a conventional data bus. Preferably the central processing unit runs an operating system such as Symbian OS.

1A - <NUM> illustrate operation of the present invention within a Nokia cell phone.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which is an illustration of a Nokia Series <NUM> smart cell phone <NUM> that includes a keypad <NUM>, control buttons and a color display <NUM>. Keypad <NUM> includes conventional buttons for the ten digits <NUM> -<NUM>, and buttons for "*" and "#". The control buttons include four directional buttons <NUM>, an "OK" button <NUM>, and buttons <NUM> for activating the commands appearing at the bottom left and right of display <NUM>. It may be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other input devices may be used instead of or in conjunction with keyboard <NUM> and buttons <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, such as a light pen for tapping the screen. Such an input device is included, for example, with SonyEricsson cell phones.

Upon startup of cell phone <NUM>, icons <NUM> for various applications loaded on the phone appear in display <NUM>. The currently selected application is identified by a box frame <NUM> surrounding it. A user can navigate through the various icons by pressing directional buttons <NUM>. The user can launch the selected application by pressing on the OK button <NUM>.

One such icon <NUM> is for an interactive imaging application named "iSeeVU", in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. When iSeeVU is launched, a list of maps appear in display <NUM>, as shown in FIG. Each map is a virtual tour of one or more sites, as described hereinbelow. The currently selected map is indicated by shaded text. The user can navigate up and down through the list of maps by pressing the up and down directional buttons <NUM>, and can activate the currently selected map by pressing on the "OK" button.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which illustrates cell phone <NUM> with a map for a virtual tour of Paddington appearing in display <NUM>. The Paddington map is larger than the display area of display <NUM>, and can be moved left, right, up and down by using the four directional buttons <NUM>.

Within the Paddington map are active areas <NUM> indicated by square icons, referred to as "hot spots". When a user activates a hot spot, the virtual tour jumps from one display to another, as described hereinbelow. The currently active hot spot <NUM> is designated by a double-lined thick border <NUM>. For the map shown in <FIG>, the hot spot for Paddington Station is currently the active hot spot. This is also evidenced by the description <NUM> at the top of display <NUM>. Preferably, the user navigates from one hot spot to another by pressing on the "*" key, and the user activates the currently selected hot spot by pressing on the "OK" button.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which shows a different currently selected hot spot <NUM>, described as "St. Mary's Hospital" at the top of display <NUM>. Hot spot <NUM> is located at the intersection of Praed Street and Norfolk in the Paddington map.

When the user activates hot spot <NUM>, by pressing on the "OK" button, the virtual tour jumps to a panoramic scene of St. Mary's Hospital on Praed Street, as illustrated in <FIG>. The changeover from a map view to a panoramic scene, referred to as an "Eye View" is also indicated by the tabs <NUM> and <NUM>. Preferably, the user can toggle between the map view and the panoramic scene by pressing the "<NUM>" key on keypad <NUM>. In fact, there is a third view, referred to as a "Meta View" that the user can select, as described below with reference to <FIG>, and the user can toggle between all three views.

The panoramic scene of St. Mary's Hospital is larger than can fit within display <NUM>. Preferably, the user can navigate through the panorama by pressing the directional buttons on the cell phone. Reference is made to <FIG>, which shows a view of St. Mary's Hospital when the user presses the left directional arrow. The distance that the panorama moves between <FIG> is apparent from hot spot <NUM>. In <FIG> hot spot <NUM> is positioned near the center of display <NUM>, and in <FIG> hot spot <NUM> has moved to the right.

Going back to Paddington Station in <FIG>, when the user activates hot spot <NUM>, the virtual tour jumps to a panoramic image of Paddington Station, illustrated in <FIG>. Shown in <FIG> is a hot spot <NUM> described as "META/General Information" at the top of display <NUM>. Hot spot <NUM> is an information hot spot. The user activates hot spot <NUM> and the view changes from Eye View to Meta View, as illustrated in <FIG>, and as indicated by tabs <NUM> and <NUM>. Shown in <FIG> is informational text, referred to as meta-data, about Paddington Station. Below the information are telephone hot spots <NUM>, for calling various services related to Paddington Station. Preferably, the user navigates through the telephone hot spots by pressing the "*" key. The currently selected telephone hot spot <NUM> is indicated by a square frame <NUM> surrounding it. The user activates the selected telephone hot spot by pressing on the "OK" button.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which appears after the user has activated the "Thames Trains" hot spot. The phone number for the Thames Trains appears in display <NUM>. Cell phone <NUM> dials the phone number automatically if the user selects "Yes", by pressing on left button <NUM>.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which illustrate a virtual tour of London. Such a virtual tour is activated when the user selects "London" from the list of maps shown in <FIG>, and presses the "OK" button.

Shown in <FIG> is a map of London with a currently selected hot spot <NUM> for Greater London, as indicated in the description <NUM> at the top of cell phone <NUM>. By pressing on right navigational directional button <NUM>, the map moves to the right. The movement of the map is evident by the position of hot spot <NUM> in <FIG> vis a vis its position in <FIG>.

The user activates hot spot <NUM> by pressing on "OK" button <NUM>, and the virtual tour jumps from a Map View of London to an Eye View of Greater London illustrated in <FIG>. The map in <FIG> contains various hot spots <NUM>, the currently selected hotspot <NUM> for jumping to a map of Waterloo.

The user activates hot spot <NUM> by pressing on "OK" button <NUM>, and the virtual tour jumps from the Eye View of Greater London to an Eye View of Waterloo illustrated in <FIG>. In turn, the map of Waterloo contains a hot spot <NUM> for jumping to the Golden Jubilee Bridge.

The user activates hot spot <NUM> by pressing on "OK" button <NUM>, and the virtual tour jumps to a panoramic scene of the Golden Jubilee Bridge shown in <FIG>. The panoramic scene includes a hot spot <NUM> for jumping back to the Waterloo map. The user navigates through the panoramic image by pressing on directional buttons <NUM>. The user can also move through hot spots by pressing on the "*" key. <FIG> shows a section of the panoramic scene that is rotated approximately <NUM>° from the section shown in <FIG>, including a meta-data hot spot <NUM>.

The user activates hot spot <NUM> by pressing on "OK" button <NUM>, and the information text shown in <FIG> appears on the display. Shown in <FIG> is a telephone hot spot <NUM>, which the user can activate by pressing on "OK" button <NUM>. When the user activates hot spot <NUM>, the phone number is displayed as in <FIG>, and the user selects the "Yes" command at the bottom left of the display by pressing on left button <NUM>. In response, cell phone <NUM> automatically dials the indicated phone number.

The present invention is preferably implemented through XML documents that define areas for hot spots and actions to be taken when a hot spot is activated. Reference is now made to Appendix A1, which is a listing of an XML document used to implement the virtual tour of Paddington illustrated in <FIG>, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen in the listing, an ImageFile tag references a JPEG image Paddington_map. jpg, which is shown in <FIG>. It is noted that the image has icons for the hot spots embedded within it.

The listing in Appendix A also includes a plurality of hot spots. Whenever a user presses the "*" key of the cell phone, he advances through the hot spots. Each hot spot specifies: (i) a rectangular position for the hot spot within the display, based on normalized coordinates; (ii) an XML file for the hot spot; and (iii) a tip, which includes a brief description of the hot spot. Thus the hot spot for St. Mary's Hospital extends in width from <NUM> to <NUM>, and extends in height from <NUM> to <NUM>. These coordinates are normalized so that the entire display has a width and height of <NUM>. The hot spot for St. Mary's Hospital references an XML file named st_marys_hospital. xml, and has a tip with text "St. Mary's Hospital". Thus, when this hot spot is the currently selected hot spot, the text "St. Mary's Hospital" appears in the cell phone display, as illustrated in <FIG>. When this hot spot is selected by the user, the virtual tour jumps to the XML file for St. Mary's Hospital.

The XML file for St. Mary's Hospital is listed in Appendix A2, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The listing references a spherical panoramic image, st_marys_hospital. jpg, which is shown in <FIG>. The tag for the panoramic image includes several viewing parameters, such as a vertical field of view and a pitch range. The listing also references two hot spots, one for "Praed South Wharf" and one for Praed London St". It is noted that the panoramic image has icons for the two hot spots embedded within it.

The XML file for Paddington Station is listed in Appendix A3, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. This file is invoked from the hot spot for Paddington Station listed in Appendix A1. The listing references a spherical panoramic image, paddington_station_interior. jpg, which is shown in <FIG>. The listing in Appendix A3 indicates two hot spots, one designated "Walkway to Praed St. " and one designated "META/General Information. The general information text file includes the text illustrated in <FIG>. The graphic for the telephone hot spots is shown in <FIG>.

The automatic dialing of the cellular phone is preferably implemented through the Symbian operating system functions call. OpenNewCall(line, newCallName) and call. Dial(aPhoneNumber), where line is an instance of Symbian class RLine, and call is an instance of Symbian class RCall.

In reading the above description, persons skilled in the art will realize that there are many apparent variations that can be applied to the methods and systems described. Thus, although the present specification describes interactive imaging for image content that is already stored in the cell phone, in an alternative embodiment the image content may be dynamically downloaded from a server computer. Specifically, when the cell phone user downloads the iSeeVU software application, illustrated in <FIG>, from a server computer, the download may include all of the image content, part of the image content, or none of the image content. Furthermore, when the cell phone runs the iSeeVU application, it may or may not be connected to the Internet. If the cell phone is not connected to the Internet, then it runs the iSeeVU application using whatever local content is available. If the cell phone is connected to the Internet, then it downloads content from a server, either by the cell phone pulling content on demand or by the server pushing content to the cell phone.

The ability to download content dynamically enables additional functionality, including inter alia the ability to make custom content available to users based on user profiles, and the ability to regularly change content.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

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Claim 1:
A method for interactive imaging on a cellular phone, comprising:
rendering an image on a display (<NUM>) for a cellular phone (<NUM>), the image having a plurality of icons (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) corresponding to a plurality of active areas embedded therein;
detecting that a user has selected at least one of the active areas indicated by at least one of the icons of the image using an input device for the cellular phone; and
automatically activating a function of the cellular phone corresponding to the active area of the rendered image;
wherein the image further comprises a selected one of:
a map view showing at least a portion of a selected map including at least one of the active areas which, when selected by the user, activates a rendering function to display a corresponding eye view of a selected site in the map view;
the corresponding eye view showing a finer detail map of the selected site and including at least one of the active areas which, when selected by the user, activates a rendering function to display a corresponding meta view regarding the selected site; and
the corresponding meta view including at least one of the active areas associated with a telephone number of a service related to the selected site.