Email Relay Moving Image Conversion for Limited Terminals

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Solution Overview

Problem

Mobile terminals with limited moving image display capabilities cannot effectively show emails attached with moving images, and existing compression methods degrade image quality due to high data size requirements, even with reduced-color formats like GIF and PNG.

Innovation Solution

An email relay apparatus and method that judges the terminal's capabilities and converts moving images into multimedia or reduced-color formats, using methods like JPEG for two-dimensional redundancy compression, to ensure frames are displayed continuously and in high quality, even on terminals that cannot handle moving images natively.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If moving images are converted to reduced-color formats (GIF/PNG) for display on terminals with limited capabilities, then image compatibility is improved, but image quality deteriorates due to high data size requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage compatibilityVSAvoidimage quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the color parameter from 24-bit (16.77 million colors) to 8-bit (256 colors) by converting to reduced-color formats like GIF or PNG, enabling display on terminals with limited color capabilities while maintaining acceptable image quality through optimized palette selection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the color space into 256 representative colors from the original 16.77 million colors, creating a palette that preserves the most important visual information while reducing the data required for transmission and display on capability-limited terminals

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Manufacturing precision

If real-time color reduction processing is applied to every frame of a moving image, then image quality is maintained, but processing time and data size increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage qualityVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies color reduction processing periodically to only certain key frames (e.g., every nth frame or only on frame changes) rather than every frame, reducing processing time and data size while maintaining perceived image quality by leveraging the temporal redundancy in moving images

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs color reduction processing on only the necessary portion of frames (partial action) - specifically on frames that contain significant visual changes - rather than processing all frames, thereby reducing overall processing time while maintaining adequate image quality for display

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Productivity

If moving images are sent to terminals incapable of moving image display, then email delivery is achieved, but the moving image cannot be displayed and only still images can be shown

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveemail deliveryVSAvoiddisplay capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses an email relay server as an intermediary that automatically detects the terminal's display capabilities and performs appropriate conversion of moving images to compatible formats (such as sequences of still images or reduced-color formats) before delivery, enabling both email delivery and appropriate display on capability-limited terminals

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Adaptability or versatility

If 24-bit color images are converted to 8-bit reduced-color images, then color compatibility is improved, but color information is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecolor compatibilityVSAvoidcolor information

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the color depth parameter from 24-bit to 8-bit by converting to reduced-color formats, enabling compatibility with terminals that can only display 256 colors while using optimized palette selection to preserve the most visually important color information

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a simplified copy of the original 24-bit image in 8-bit reduced-color format, selecting 256 representative colors that best approximate the original image's appearance, thereby enabling display on limited-capability terminals while preserving essential visual information

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS7647428B2Method and apparatus for email relay of moving image conversion and transmission, and programs therefor

Publication Date: 2010.01.12 META PLATFORMS INC

AI summary

Even if an email attached with a moving image is sent to a terminal that is not capable of moving image display, pseudo moving image display can be carried out in high quality on the terminal. An email reception unit receives the email, and a model judgment unit judges the model of the terminal as a destination of the email. If the destination terminal cannot display the moving image, a moving image conversion unit generates a multimedia image data in a multimedia format from moving image data representing the moving image. An image attaching unit attaches the moving mage data or the multimedia image data to main content of the email, and an email transmission unit sends the image-attached email to the destination terminal.