Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME TRANSMITTING AND
RECEIVING OF AUDIO/VIDEO AND HANDWRITING
INFORMATION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to information transmission and
reception, and more particularly to a system for transmitting and receiving
static and dynamic information such as audio, video, and handwriting in real
tune.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Until recently, despite the advances of technology, most common
communications tools used by the general public are either the telephone
which provides only voice exchange, or e-mail which usually provides only
text exchange between the communicating parties. Telephone-based
communications is convenient, but it is more costly and allows only voice to
be transmitted or received. On the other hand, e-mail has gained widespread
popularity due to the ubiquity of the Internet. E-mail, which is much cheaper
and capable of one-to-many messaging, has become the dominant means of
communications among modem people. However, e-mail is mainly
text-based and, for information other than text can only be carried as an
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attachment to an e-mail. To transmit, receive, and process non-text
information, a person has to be knowledgeable of the computer to a certain
degree. Furthermore, composing an e-mail through typing utilizing the
keyboard is burdensome for those who use English as a second language, and
those who are not fluent typists.
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SLIwIMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary purpose of the present invention is to The primary purpose
of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-operate system for
transmitting and receiving static and dynamic information such as audio,
video, text, image information in real time.
According to the means disclosed in the present invention, the present
invention first identifies the source and format of the pieces of information
to
be processed. The information format includes image, audio, video,
handwriting trace, etc. These pieces of information, after being identified,
are then encapsulated one by one in their corresponding storage sections
within an information packet. After all these pieces of information are
processed, the information packet is then stored and/or transmitted to a
receiving part over the Internet. The receiving party, after receiving the
entire
information packet, can immediately view all pieces of information carried in
the information packet without resorting to various application programs.
The present invention therefore overcomes the limitation of current e-mail
systems, which requires text typing and familiarity with other application
programs just in order to view non-text information carried in the e-mail.
The present invention allows a user to read and reply to messages by some
simple clicks.
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The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to
the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the
present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become
apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of
the
invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference
numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become
manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed
description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred
structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is
shown by way of illustrative example.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TIC DRAWII~TGS
FIG 1 is a flow chart showing the information transmission and reception
process according to the present invention.
FIG 2 is a schematic diagram showing various sources of information
according to the present invention.
FIG 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the information
packet according to the present invention.
FIG 4 is a schematic diagram showing the message prompt window
according to the present invention.
FIG 5 is a schematic diagram showing the overlaid message prompt
windows according to the present invention.
FIGS. 6-v8 are flow charts showing various flow of exect.ition according
to embodiments of the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are
not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the
invention
in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient
illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention.
Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function
and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope
of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
As illustrated in FIGS 1, which is flow chart showing the information
transmission and reception process according to the present invention, the
present invention includes the following processing means.
A. A format identification means 11, which allows a central processing
unit of a personal computer (or a notebook computer) to identify the
source and format of a piece of information when the piece of
information is received by the computer. All possible formats for
static and dynamic information are possible such as video, image,
audio, handwriting trace, etc. The piece of information is received
via various mechanisms shown in FIGS 2, which include the
following.
a. A camera 111 installed on the personal computer (or notebook
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computer) through which video or image information is captured;
b. A handwriting tablet (or mouse) 112 connected to the personal
computer (or notebook computer) through which handwriting trace
information is obtained when a user writes on the handwriting tablet
112;
c. A microphone 113 connected to the personal computer (or
notebook computer) through which voice information is recorded;
and
d. A video display 115 through which the currently displayed
static picture or the currently playing video is captured.
B. A packet preparation means, which prepares an information packet
having a number of pre-determined storage sections within a data
storage device of a personal computer (or notebook computer).
These sections, as illustrated in FICx 3, include a transmission
15 destination information storage section 21, an image information
storage section 22, an audio information storage section 23, a
handwriting trace information storage section 24, a captured picture
storage section 25. The transmission destination information
storage section 21 may contain the address of a recipient (such as an
20 e-mail address), the path and name of a file in the data storage device,
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or the account ID of a recipient. The image information storage
section 22 is used for the storage of video or image information.
C. An encapsulation means, which stores the piece of information
having a specific format identified by the format identification means
into the corresponding storage section of the information packet.
D. An information transmission means, which transmits the information
packet to a recipient specified in the transmission destination
information storage section 21, such as a recipient's e-mail address or
account ID, or the path and name of a file, via internal bus or
Internet.
E. An information reception/viewing means, which displays a message
prompt window 26 (as shown in FIGc 4) as a topmost window on a
video display 27 when the information packet is received by a
personal computer (or notebook computer). A user could read the
packet's content by clicking on the message prompt window 26, and
the operating system of the computer would extract the information
stored in each storage section of the packet sequentially and display
these information, according to their formats, altogether on the video
display 27 by a multiplexing player.
An embodiment of the aforementioned message prompt window 26 is
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illustrated in FICA 4. Another embodiment of the message prompt window 26'
is illustrated in FIGS 5, which involves multiple overlaid message prompt
windows 26' on top of the video display 27. The content of a message
prompt window 26 or 26' include at least the following:
- date and time 261 showing when the information packet is received;
- sender information 262 showing the sender's name, the name of the
sender's company (or organization), the source of the information
packet, and subj ect, etc.;
- open status 263 showing whether the content of the information
packet has already been open and displayed;
- message level 264 showing the importance level of the information
packet which could be Normal, Urgent, or Important;
- window control button 265 for closing the message prompt window
26; and
- window control button 266 for deleting the information packet.
Therefore, when an information packet 20 is received, a user would see a
corresponding message prompt window 26 on the video display 27, and
would be able to learn who the sender is and the unportance level of the
content. If the user would like to read the content of the information packet
20, the user could click on the open status 263 of the message prompt window
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26, and the content of the information packet 20 would be displayed on the
video display 27. If the user would like to, the user would use a reply means
to reply to the sender or forward the content to another person. With the
reply means, the user, while reading the content of the information packet 20,
5 could utilize the handwriting tablet, camera, and microphone installed on
the
computer to work through the foregoing steps A-E and store the reply content
into the information packet 20, and send it back to the original sender or
another designated person
According to the present invention, the user, by means of the camera,
10 handwriting tablet, and microphone installed on the computer, could store
the
captured video and image, the handwriting trace drawn on the handwriting
tablet, etc., completely and directly into an information packet. Since
Internet is used for the packet transmission, for a person or company already
having a broadband connectivity (such as ADSL or leased line), the cost is
very insignificant.
Based on the formats supported by the storage sections of an information
packet, the present invention could have various applications as follows.
( 1 ) If the information packet 20 is composed only of the transmission
destination information storage section 21, the image information
storage section 22, and the audio information storage section 23, the
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present invention could be embodied as a video/audio answering
system.
(2) If the information packet 20 is composed of the transmission
destination information storage section 21, the image information
storage section 22, the audio information storage section 23, the
handwriting trace information storage section 24, and the captured
image storage section 25, the present invention could be embodied as
an electronic reporting system or a documenting system comprising
video, audio, and handwriting.
I 0 (3) If the information packet 20 is composed only of the handwriting
trace information storage section 24, the present invention could be
embodied as an electronic whiteboard system or an electronic notepad
system.
Using the means disclosed in the present invention, a real-time
information transmission and reception system could be built, whose
processing steps are illustrated in the flow chart of FICx 6. The system
contains three major functions: Function Zoo, M-Message, and M-Writing,
each of which is explained as follows.
Function Zoo
Please refer to FICz 6. When the operating system of the computer is
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started, it automatically enters the step 30 which invokes the real-time
information transmission and reception system and displays a user interface on
the video display as shown in FIGS 4. For the Function Zoo function, it is
used to annotate an existing piece of information with video, audio, and
handwriting. Therefore, the user first opens a data window showing the
information he or she would like to annotate or report. Then, in step 31, the
present invention waits for user's choice of desired function. If the user
chooses Function Zoo, the flow of execution enters the step 32, which begins
a synchronous recording of video (captured from the camera 111 ), audio
(captured from the microphone 113), and handwriting (captured from the
handwriting tablet 112). When the recording is over, the recorded content is
presented automatically in a preview window in step 35. At this point of
time, the user could choose to print out the content of the preview window in
step 351. This is actually a screen capture function, which allows a user to
print the content of any window on the video display, and/or save it to a file
in
steps 40 and steps 391. In other words, this function allows a user to capture
any part of the video display and save it into a file, or save it along with
video/audio explanation. In this way, any kind of report or document could
be viewed later with vivid video/audio explanation. Then the user could
decide whether to send out the content of the preview window in an
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information packet in step 36 by choosing a recipient from an address book.
Once a recipient is determined, the system would ask for the information
packet's subject (and importance level, etc.) and continue to step 38 to send
out the packet. Then the user could decide in step 39 whether to save the
content of the preview window into a file. If yes, this is done in step 391,
otherwise the process is ended in step 392.
Please refer to FICz 7. After the recipient invokes the real-tune
information transmission and reception system in step 50 and an information
packet has arrived, the system would display the message prompt window as
shown in FICz 4 in step 51. Depending on how the information packet is
prepared (by Function Zoo, M-Message, etc.), the message prompt window
would be different using different colors and/or styles. The following
information about the received information packet would be displayed in the
message prompt window:
(a 1 ) date when the information packet is prepared and sent;
(b 1 ) time when the information packet is prepared and sent;
(c 1 ) how the information packet is prepared;
(d 1 ) the name of the sender's company;
(e 1 ) the name of the sender;
(fl ) whether to open the information packet;
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(gl) whether to save the information packet;
(h 1 ) whether to delete the information packet;
(i 1 ) the importance level of the information packet; and
(j 1 ) the subject of the information packet.
The recipient could choose to save the information packet in step 53,
delete the information packet in step 54, or open the information packet in
step
52. After the information packet is open for reading after step 52, the
recipient has the following options:
(a) reply (in step 55) or forward the information packet (in step 56);
(b) after replying or forwarding the information packet in steps 55 and 56,
delete the information packet in step 54;
(c) after replying or forwarding the information packet in steps 55 and 56,
save the information packet in step 53;
(d) print the information packet in step 57;
(e) replay the information packet in step 58;
(f) delete the information packet in step 54; and
(g) save the information packet into a file in step 53.
If the recipient chooses to reply or forward the information packet, the
system would automatically activate the same authoring environment as the
one used to prepare the information packet as depicted in FIGS 6. For example,
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if the recipient chooses to reply, after the step 55 of FIGS 7, the flow of
execution would continue to the step 32 or 33 of FICx 6. If the recipient
chooses to forward, after the step 56 of FICz 7, the original information
packet
would be kept and the flow of execution would continue to the step 34 of FIGc
5 6. The original information packet along with the newly created explanation
would then be forwarded out together.
M-Message
Please refer to FICz 6 again. When the operating system of the computer
is started, it automatically enters the step 30 which invokes the real-time
10 information transmission and reception system and displays a user interface
on
the video display. Then, in step 31, the present invention waits for user's
choice of desired function. If the user chooses M-Message, the flow of
execution enters the step 33, which begins a synchronous recording of video
(captured form the camera 111 ) and audio (captured from the microphone
15 113). When the recording is over, the recorded content is presented
automatically in a preview window in step 35. At this point of time, the user
could choose to save the content of the preview window into a file in step 40.
In other words, the M-Message function could be used like a recorder for
keeping a record of the user's own video and voice in a file for later
retrieval
and reference. Then the user could decide whether to send out the content of
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the preview window in an information packet in step 36 by choosing a
recipient from an address book. Once a recipient is determined, the system
would ask for the information packet's subject (and importance level, etc.)
and
continue to step 3 8 to send out the packet. Then the user could decide in
step
39 whether to save the content of the preview window into a file. If yes, this
is
done in step 391, otherwise the process is ended in step 392.
Similarly, after the information packet is open by the recipient for reading
after step 52 of FIGS 7, the recipient has the following options:
(a) reply (in step 55) or forward the information packet (in step 56);
(b) after replying or forwarding the information packet in steps 55 and 56,
delete the information packet in step 54;
(c) after replying or forwarding the information packet in steps SS and 56,
save the information packet in step 53;
(d) print the information packet in step 57;
(e) replay the information packet in step 5 8;
(f) delete the information packet in step 54; and
(g) save the information packet into a file in step 53.
If the recipient chooses to reply or forward the information packet, the
system would automatically activate the same authoring environment as the
one used to prepare the information packet as depicted in FIGS 6. For
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example, if the recipient chooses to reply, after the step 55 of FICx 7, the
flow
of execution would continue to the step 32 or 33 of FICx 6. If the recipient
chooses to forward, after the step 56 of FICx 7, the original information
packet
would be kept and the flow of execution would continue to the step 34 of FICA
6. The original information packet along with the newly created explanation
would then be forwarded out together.
M-Write
Please refer to both FIGS. 6 and 8. When the operating system of the
computer is started, it automatically enters the step 30 which invokes the
real-time information transmission and reception system and displays a user
interface of the present invention on the video display. Then, in step 3 l,
the
present invention waits for user's choice of desired function. If the user
chooses M-Write, the flow of execution enters the step 34, which begins a
recording of handwriting (captured from the handwriting tablet 112). The
details of step 34 are depicted in FICA 8, which starts a handwriting window
in
step 60. Then the user could decide whether to start a new recording in step
66. If not, the user could search and open an existing recording in step 61 to
modify it. If the user presses a "New" button in step 62 to start a new
recording, the system begins a recording of the user's handwriting on the
handwriting tablet 112. When the recording is over, the user could choose to
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print the handwriting in step 64, or continue to the Function Zoo function in
step 65 to have a synchronous recording of video, audio, and handwriting (in
step 32 of FICA 6) for association with the newly created handwriting
information. When the recording is over, the recorded content is presented
automatically in a preview window in step 35. At this moment, the user
could choose whether to save the content into a file in step 391 and to send
it
out in an information packet in step 36. Once a recipient is determined, the
system would continue to step 38 to send out the packet. 'Then the user could
decide in step 39 whether to save the content of the preview window into a
file.
If yes, this is done in step 391, otherwise the process is ended in step 392.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and
described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be
limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various
omissions,
modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the
device
illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art
without
departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
It will be understood that each of the elements descr ibed above, or two or
more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods
differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and
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described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be
limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various
omissions,
modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the
device
illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art
without
departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
