Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to a photographic system including a camera that is capable of interactive data communication with sources of digital data associated with one or more scenes. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is known in the art that a film or an electronic camera can record image information on either a film or store the information in electronic memory. It is also known in the art that a wireless transceiver can be used to transmit and receive data. An example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,348. Digital cameras also have the capability of storing additional information along with the image. An example of a digital camera with such capability is the Kodak DCS 460 Digital Camera, which is capable of storing voice annotation and Global Positioning System (GPS) parameters along with the digital image. Moreover, the film used by the Advanced Photo System™, sold by Eastman Kodak Company and referred to as Advantix™ film, allows a camera to store digital information on a clear magnetic layer on the back of the photographic film. This feature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,892. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,884 discloses a camera that can receive location coordinates, such as GPS signals, from a wireless source, and then convert that information to a location name such as a name of a city. The city name is then printed on the photograph after it has been processed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,228 discloses a camera system with memory that can store a set of optional phrases such as “Happy New Year” and “Happy Birthday” which can be stored on the magnetic layer of Advantix™ film and printed on the photograph during the processing operation. 
     Ser. No. 08/707,265, entitled “Tradeshow Photographic and Data Transmission System”, and filed on Oct. 15, 1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,633 in the names of the same inventors and the same assignee as the present application, discloses a photographic and data transmission system including two main parts. The first part is a wireless communication system installed at a booth in a tradeshow for transmitting wireless information related to a product on display, such as the product name, company name, price and the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address of the product source on the internet system. The other part of the system is a camera capable of receiving the wireless transmission. When the camera is brought into the vicinity of the booth and captures an image of the product, a trigger signal from the camera initiates transmission of the wireless signal from the tradeshow booth. The camera then stores the product data with the image or stores a URL address that can direct the user to more information via the internet. 
     EP patent application No. 640,938 describes a personalized image recording system intended to create still images or video collections for guests of amusement parks. Each guest is associated with a unique identifier in the form of a readable tag worn by the guest. When the tag is brought into the vicinity of an attraction, the tag triggers a camera located at the attraction to capture an image, e.g., of the guest. A communications network interconnects the cameras and tag readers with a central control system that creates collections of images, including the captured images and other prerecorded stock footage. The control system arranges the images, according to preferences of the guest, into collections that capture the experience of visiting the amusement park. 
     Digital images, captured by either a digital camera or digitized from images captured on film, can thus be used to create multimedia files. These files combine still images and other types of data such as text, graphics, audio and video. Gathering the extra digital information needed in creating a multimedia file is a time-consuming process. The Internet and World Wide Web has made that process easier, but much of the content useful for the multimedia files is copyrighted and not readily available on the Internet sites. Moreover, the user needs a multimedia computer to put the information together. The user also needs to locate the URL addresses of these information sites. 
     A particular problem is that the volume of information can overwhelm the casual user who is trying, e.g., to assemble a record associated with a particular event, say a visit to a theme park or a site in the National Park system. It would be desirable to find a convenient way to combine the information handling capability of modern cameras with image recording so that information relevant to a user&#39;s interests can be easily requested and accessed about a photographed item. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the present invention, a photographic system involves the collection of data from a scene, e.g., an visitor attraction site, that is capable of interactive communication with a user. The attraction site stores content data related to the site, and the user communicates with the attraction site through a camera capable of communication with the site. Besides capturing an image associated with the site, the camera stores predetermined personality data that relates an interest of the user to at least a portion of the content data and includes means for transferring the personality data to the attraction site. The camera further includes means for receiving and displaying the portion of the content data from the attraction site, and a user interface for selecting from the displayed content data that part which the user wants to keep. 
     In a further embodiment, the user of a camera interactively communicates with one or more attraction sites linked to a server and defining therewith a site/server subsystem. The site/server subsystem comprises means for storing content data related to the site, usually resident on the server, and communication means, usually resident at the attraction site, for receiving communications from the camera and for transferring the content data to the camera. Besides capturing an image associated with the site, the camera includes means for storing predetermined personality data that relates an interest of the user to at least a portion of the content data and communication means for transferring the personality data to the site/server subsystem. 
     The advantage of the invention is that it provides a convenient way to combine the information handling capability of modern cameras with image recording so that information relevant to a user&#39;s interests about a photographed item can be easily requested and accessed. In particular, it allows a visitor to customize the information available for downloading at an amusement site to a specific set of interests, and to combine that information with the specific pictures that the visitor has captured. The result is a unique product that relates the experience of visiting an amusement park or the like to an individual set of interests. 
     These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a photographic and data transmission system according to the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a photographic and data transmission system according to the invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a film camera that can be used in the systems shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of the operation and downstream data processing of the photographic and data transmission system of FIG. 1 as used in connection with a digital camera. 
     FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of the operation and downstream data processing of the photographic and data transmission system of FIG. 2 as used in connection with a digital camera. 
     FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the operation and downstream data processing of the systems shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as used in connection with a film camera. 
     FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary data structure useful with the photographic and data transmission systems shown in FIGS.  1  and  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Because imaging devices employing film or electronic sensors are well known, as are networked communication systems, the present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, apparatus in accordance with the present invention. Elements not specifically shown or described herein may be selected from those known in the art. Certain aspects of the embodiments to be described may be provided in software. Given the system description as described in the following materials, all such software implementation is conventional and within the ordinary skill in such arts. 
     Beginning with FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the photographic and data transmission system is shown to include two main parts, or subsystems. The first part of FIG. 1 is a wireless communication component located at an attraction site  10 , also referred to herein as an “image spot”. An image spot is a specific location where a picture is likely to be taken, and additionally where a computer and a wireless communication system may be located. Such spots would include user accessible viewing points within theme parks, amusement parks, sporting sites, National Park system sites, and the like. The image spot  10  in this embodiment is a stand-alone unit which includes a content database  12  for storing digital data, controlled with a personal computer  14  which contains a memory unit  16 . A wireless communication subsystem includes a wireless transceiver  18  interchanging signals with an antenna  20  and a telecommunications processor  22 . As a feature of the invention, the content database  12  contains a variety of information about the feature that qualifies as an image spot, and specifically information that would be of interest to a variety of viewers. Given its transmission capability, the image spot  10  functions as a “communicating scene” specifically by transmitting scene information of interest to a particular user. 
     The second part, or subsystem, of the photographic and data transmission system is a camera  24 . Preferably, the camera is either a digital camera  24  as shown in FIG. 1 (such as a Kodak DC120™ digital camera) or an Advantix™ film camera  26  as shown in FIG. 3 (such as a Kodak Advantix™ 3700 camera). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, both types of cameras capture an image of an object through a lens section  28 , and include a transceiver section  30  for communicating with the image spot  10 . Both include a user interface  31  for communicating user commands to the camera, such as the desire to capture an image, and some type of processing modality, such as a microprocessor  42  or a logic control unit  38 . As shown in more detail in FIG. 3, the transceiver section  30  may include an infrared emitter  32  and an infrared detector  34  connected through a conventional IrDA interface  36  to the logic control unit  38 . The transceiver section  30  in the digital camera  24  may also include an IR emitterdetector system as shown in FIG. 3; alternatively, both cameras may include other types of transceivers, such as a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver system. For the digital camera shown in FIG. 1, the transceiver signal is intercommunicated between a telecommunications processor  40  and the microprocessor  42 . 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an image is focused by the lens section  28  upon a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor  44 , which generates an image signal from the captured image. The image signal is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converter  46 , processed by the microprocessor  42  and stored in a memory  48 . The memory  48  may take any number of conventional forms, including a removable memory such as a memory card or a small hard drive card. The image signal, as well as content data related to the image, may be viewed on a liquid crystal display (LCD)  50 . As a further feature of the invention, personality data descriptive of the user is stored in a personality file  52 . As will be explained, the personality data relates one or more interests of the user to at least a portion of the content data in the content database  12  at the image spot  10 . The personality data is transferred through the transceiver section  30  to the image spot  10 , and integrates with the content data base  12  to determine the desired content for the particular captured image. 
     In the case of the film camera  26  shown in FIG. 3, the lens section  28  forms an image upon a photosensitive film  54 . The film  54  preferably is an Advantix™ film including a magnetic portion  56  which can store the personality data, as well as additional data received by the transceiver section  30 . Recording on the magnetic portion  56  is coordinated with a motion control interface  58  such that recording occurs when the film  54  is in motion, e.g., during film advance between exposures. 
     When the digital camera  24  or the film camera  26  is brought into the communicating range of the image spot  10 , and a photograph is taken at that spot, an exchange takes place between the camera and the image spot  10  via a wireless link  60 . More specifically, the camera  24  or  26  communicates the personality data in the personality file  52  to the image spot  10 . The purpose of the personality file  52  is to indicate to the image spot  10  the type of data that the user is interested in. Such data could be information such as graphics, photographs, video/audio clips or reference material associated with the particular attraction site, e.g., a site at a theme park. The relevant information, which may be the actual content information or a pointer or like descriptor indicative of the content, is then communicated by the image spot  10  to the camera  24  or  26  via the wireless link  60  and, if the camera has the capability, may be viewed by the user on the LCD screen  50  (e.g., available on the digital camera  24 ). Besides actual content information, the viewed information could be a list indicative of the content. If the user wants to save the data, acceptance is signaled through the user interface  31  and the data is stored in the memory in the camera. In the digital camera  24  the data is stored in the memory  48  along with the digital image, and in the film camera  26  the data is stored on the magnetic strip  56  along with a latent image on the film  54 . Alternatively, a URL address for the data can be stored in the respective memory and the data may be downloaded via the internet at a later time. Besides indications of personal preference, the personality file  52  can also include account and transaction information, which will pay for the material subject to sale, such as copyrighted material. 
     For both types of cameras, the captured image is stored in an image recording memory (the memory  48  in the digital camera  24  or the magnetic region  56  in the film camera  26 ), where the selected content data is also stored and therewith appended to or associated with the image. In typical usage of this system, the user actuates a capture release in the user interface  31 , the respective camera captures the selected image, the personality data is communicated to the image spot  10 , and content data that correlates with the personality data is communicated back to the camera. In particular, the personality data would ordinarily not be transmitted to the image spot until the user actually captures an image. This allows the user to point the camera and to frame an image without initiating any data transfer between the camera and the image spot. Consequently, although it does not have to be the case, the image capture and the data transfer ordinarily occur contemporaneously, and substantially simultaneously. With the digital camera  24 , the data transfer results in display of the correlated content, and the selected data is appended to the image data somewhat later in time. With the film camera, the data transfer results in appending the correlated content, or pointers to that content, to the image contemporaneously with image capture. (Although not specifically disclosed, it should be understood the camera may include a mode switch or the like so that the inventive features can be disabled, and the camera can operate conventionally to capture an image without triggering any communication between the camera and the image spot.) 
     In FIG. 2, the system is part of an interactive telecommunication network allowing a user of a camera to interactively communicate with desired attractions through an image server  70 . In particular, the network includes one or more image spots  10  at corresponding attraction sites linked to the server  70  and defining therewith a site/server subsystem. The site/server subsystem includes, either at the image spot  10  or the image server  70 , the memory for storing content data related to an image associated with the site and the means for interconnecting the content data with captured images. For example, in a networked system as shown in FIG. 2, the personality data in the personality file  52  in the camera  24  may only include a unique number identifying the user. Such a number can then be linked with actual (predetermined) interests in the image server  70 . The central part of the site/server subsystem is the image server  70 , which receives order information from image spots and cameras over an extended area, e.g., around a theme park. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the image server  70  includes either wired or wireless links  72 , 74   a , 74   b to the image spots and the cameras. The wired link  12  is applied to a microprocessor  76  through an interface  78 , and wireless transmissions over the links  74   a ,  74   b  are received by a transceiver  80 , through an antenna  82 , and applied to a communications processor  84 , which decodes the transmissions and applies the decoded transmissions to the microprocessor  76 . The wireless link  74   a  is mainly intended to transfer content data and personality data between the image spot  10  and the image server  70 . The wireless link  74   b  serves as a conduit for transfer of image data between the camera  24  and the image server  70 . The content data is preferably stored in a content database  86  in the image server  70 , although some, or all, content data may be stored at the image spot  10  in its content database  12  (which is shown in broken line in FIG. 2 to indicate that its presence is optional). The image server  70  also includes a printer  88  for producing photographic images  90 . In addition, the microprocessor  76  drives a writer  91  to provide customized media  92 , such as compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), or the like; an E-mail interface  93  to generate E-mail messages; and a custom album processor  94  to generate customized album prints  95 . 
     The personality file of each user is input to the image server  70  at a registration site  97 , such as an entrance booth at a theme park, where each user can directly interact with the image server  70  through an interactive data terminal  98 , e.g., by entering biographical detail and responding to predetermined prompts based on typical visitor interests. This could also be done ahead of time via, e.g., e-mail or with the advance purchase of tickets. Then, in the interactive network shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of registered users will capture their images at the various attraction sites, view the extra content requests sent to them from the image spot database  12  (as in FIG. 1) or the content database  86  in the image server  70 , and order a set of services such as albuming or prints from the image server  70 . The image server  70  keeps track of all of the data and services requested during each user&#39;s visit to the park via the wired or wireless communication link with the image spot  10 . At the end of the visit, the users can decide what services or content they want to order, and order those services and specify their method of delivery (e.g. via mail or e-mail). Orders could be placed upon leaving the theme park, e.g., at the registration site  97  or from a local hotel room or via the internet. The image server  70  may also receive the captured digital images via the same wireless link  74   b  from each user&#39;s digital camera  24  and combine these images with the requested content from the content databases  12  or  86 . In cases where the image server  70  is out of the wireless range to the camera represented by the wireless link  74   b , all the communication, including images, may be routed through the wired telecommunication link  74   a  between the image spot  10  and the image server  70 . 
     An important aspect of the invention is the provision of a customized personality file, which is either stored in the camera according to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or optionally stored in the image server  70  in a personality file memory  96  (together with a user ID in the camera) according to a variation shown in connection with FIG.  2 . The information stored in the personality file is used by the respective processors  76 ,  14  in the image server  70  and the image spot  10  to choose content data as the user visits respective image spots and capture images; in the case of the networked system shown in FIG. 2, the personality file is also used to later combine the chosen content data with the user&#39;s own images. The personality file contains a collection of information designed to inform an image spot about a visitor&#39;s particular interests, and may include the following: 
     names of family members 
     names of other important individuals 
     addresses, phone numbers, E-mail addresses 
     ages (birth dates) of people in the file 
     educational backgrounds 
     specific interests—historical, natural, artistic, etc. 
     CPU at home/office 
     computer capability of named individuals 
     internetion-line capability(including E-mail) 
     purpose of the current visit 
     interest in movie snippets 
     interest in sound bites 
     and so on . . . 
     Interests can be derived from a variety of factors associated with the personality file. Besides a specific recitation of interests, the relative ages of the visitors can bias the content toward small children, adolescents, or adults. Content can automatically be tailored to those with home internet connections by, e.g., providing URL addresses. Educational backgrounds, e.g., elementary vs. graduate school or technical vs. artistic, can be used to sort and assign content—e.g., a technical presentation of the creation of a site vs. an artistic presentation of the architecture of the site. Movie clips and sound bites can be added depending on the wishes of the visitor. The aforementioned information is not intended to be exhaustive and many other types and usages of personality information would come to mind and are intended to be within the scope of this invention. 
     As also shown in FIG. 2, the personality file may be generated at some early stage in the visit to an attraction (such as at the registration site  97 ) and stored in a personality file memory  96  in the image server  70 . In this scenario, the personality file  52  in the camera  24  or  26  would merely store a personal identifier that uniquely relates the camera  24  or  26  to the particular personality file  96  in the file server  70 . This personal identifier would then be exchanged with the image spot  10  in order to access the pertinent parts of the content data base  86  in the image server  70 . 
     The content databases in the image spot  10  and the image server  70  contain large collections of information that would satisfy the interests of a large number of users with different interests. Such content information may include the following: 
     collections of images 
     collections of sounds 
     collections of movies 
     multimedia content 
     reference information—historical, natural 
     URLs for further related information 
     cost information 
     and so on . . . 
     The collections of images, sounds, and movies may be further subdivided into more specific collections directed toward groups, e.g., children, adolescents, and adults, or to subject matter, e.g., technical, artistic, natural, literary, architectural, personal preferences (e.g., sports, cars, recipes) and so on. Multimedia content may be provided according to the above subdivisions, e.g., textual material suitable for different age groups or for outlining different subject matter. The aforementioned content information is not intended to be exhaustive and many other types and usages of content information would come to mind and are intended to be within the scope of this invention. Other conventionally available information, such as date, time and global positioning (GPS) data, may also be provided by the camera independently of the personality files. 
     If a user&#39;s personality file is registered and stored at a central location, such as the registration site  97 , then a file structure may be established at the registration site  97  (in combination with the user interface  98 ) in which part of the personality file is a unique identification number (UID) for the camera. An example of such a structure is shown in FIG. 7, which shows the structure for a film or digital camera file header. In either case, the file includes an image data region  200  and an image header  202 . In the image header  202 , a unique ID field  204  assigns a unique entity to each camera by using a large number for the ID. A Camera/media ID field  206  represents the model, S/N, etc. for the camera and the film (if a film camera is used). The camera/media ID field  206  can be used to indicate what the camera system is capable of doing, e.g., whether the camera has an image review capability, such as the LCD  50 . A vendor ID field  208  is a number that is used to represent a vendor (camera manufacturer) such as Eastman Kodak Company, and allows the unique ID field  204  and Camera ID field  206  to be unique to and assignable by the specific vendor (otherwise vendors would have to coordinate unique numbers). It can also be used to recognize special processing needs for the vendor. 
     If the camera is to store content data, a content reference field  210  may be used to reference to at least some of the chosen content data, such as multimedia data, that is stored in the server  70 (e.g., sound #34356 or image #32349), so that large data files do not have to be stored in the camera It can also be an address pointing to the data in the content data base  86  in the server  70 , similar to a URL address, or it can be an actual URL address. A site ID field  212  refers to the owner of the content. If images in one camera were taken, e.g., to different theme parks, the site&#39;s ID reference number would make the content reference unique to each park. A services requested ID field  214  would reference, by image, special services such as albums, enlargements of the reviewed images or content. While FIG. 7 suggests one file structure, the actual presence of data will depend on system capabilities and the type of camera used in the system. 
     In operation with a stand alone image spot and a digital camera, as shown in FIG. 4, a photograph is taken at the image spot  10  using the digital camera  24  (step  100 ). The communication between the image spot  10  and the camera  24  using the data stored in the personality file  52  will determine what extra data is going to be used in the extra services requested by the user (step  102 ). This content can be uploaded to the camera  24  and selected using the preview function of the camera&#39;s LCD screen  50  (step  104 ). After the data is chosen (step  106 ), it is uploaded to the camera  24  using the wireless link (step  108 ). Alternatively, a reference address to the chosen content can be stored in a file header in the camera  24 . In addition, a digital camera user could elect to download the URL address of the chosen content data (step  112 ) for subsequent retrieval (step  114 ) or to download the user e-mail address to the image spot  10  (step  116 ), and the extra data chosen is then sent to the users e-mail account (step  118 ). 
     In operation with a digital camera in a networked system as shown in FIG. 5, the photograph is taken at the image spot  10  using a digital camera (step  160 ). The communication between the image spot  10 , the camera  24 , and the image server  70  using the data stored in the personality file will determine what extra data is to be used in performing the extra services requested (step  162 ). This extra data or content may be reviewed on the LCD display on the camera (step  164 ), and the user chooses the desired data (step  166 ). The image data for the captured images are sent to the image server  70  (step  168 ), and the information header of these digital files are then sent to the camera where they are stored in memory (step  170 ). The request for this data is then transmitted to the image server  70  at a central location (step  172 ) via a communication link (wired or wireless). At the central location, the images and other content are combined to create the albums and multimedia files as desired, including custom CDs, DVDs (digital versatile disk) or E-mail. 
     In operation with a film camera  26 , as shown in FIG. 6, an user&#39;s personality file is registered and stored at a central location, such as the image server  70  (step  130 ). Part of this personality file is a unique identification number (UID) for the camera as shown in FIG.  7 . The images are taken using the film camera  26  at the image spots  10  around, e.g., the theme park (step  132 ). The communication between the image spot  10 , the camera  26 , and the image server  70  using the data stored in the personality file  52  will determine what extra data is going to be used in the extra services requested by the user (step  134 ). The extra information (or pointers to the information in the image server&#39;s database  86 ) is chosen at these image spots  10  and transmitted via the IrDA wireless link to the camera (step  136 ). The information or the location of this extra data (in the image server&#39;s database  86 ) is stored on the magnetic portion  56  of the film  54  (step  138 ). The film is then dropped off (step  140 ) at a processing center, where the film is processed and the extra services such as albuming and multimedia file creation are performed using the information saved on the magnetic coating of the film (step  144 ). If the information saved on the film is the location of the data, that data is downloaded after a telecommunication link (step  142 ) is established between the image server  70  and the processing center. If the processing center is the image server center (step  150 ), the information is on site, and there is no need for a telecommunication link. In either case, the user reviews the product, which can be done on-line (step  146 ). 
     The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     PARTS LIST 
       10  image spot 
       12  content database 
       14  personal computer 
       16  memory unit 
       18  wireless transceiver 
       20  antenna 
       22  telecommunication processor 
       24  digital camera 
       26  film camera 
       28  lens section 
       30  transceiver section 
       31  user interface 
       32  infrared emitter 
       34  infrared detector 
       36  IrDA interface 
       38  logic control unit 
       40  telecommunications processor 
       42  microprocessor 
       44  CCD 
       46  A/D converter 
       48  memory 
       50  LCD 
       52  personality file 
       54  film 
       56  magnetic portion 
       58  motion control interface 
       60  wireless link 
       70  image server 
       72  wired link 
       74   a  wireless link 
       74   b  wireless link 
       76  microprocessor  76   
       78  interface 
       80  transceiver 
       82  antenna 
       84  communications processor 
       86  content data base 
       88  printer 
       90  prints 
       91  CD writer 
       92  CDs, DVDs 
       93  E-mail interface 
       94  custom album processor 
       95  custom albums 
       96  personality file memory 
       100 - 118  steps 
       130 - 146  steps 
       160 - 174  steps 
       200  image data region 
       202  image header 
       204  ID field 
       206  camera/media ID field 
       208  vendor ID field 
       210  content reference field 
       212  site ID field 
       214  services requested ID field

Technology Category: h