Image Sharing Layout Adaptation for Album Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image sharing methods are inefficient for users, as they require significant time to find desired images among large volumes and do not allow recipients to easily access or edit shared images, and they struggle with providing clear information about shared images, especially on devices with limited capacity like cellular phones.
Innovation Solution
An image sharing system and method that automatically classifies and shares images in an album format, allowing for customizable layouts based on user preferences, enabling easy browsing and management for both sharers and recipients, and includes a mechanism to notify users of specific image information they are interested in.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large volume of images is made available to users, then the quantity of shared images increases, but the time required for users to find desired images increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the large volume of shared images into smaller organizational units such as albums, categories, or groups. This segmentation allows users to navigate through organized collections rather than browsing through all images at once, significantly reducing the time to locate desired images while maintaining access to the full quantity of shared content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary elements such as thumbnails, preview images, or index pages that mediate between the user and the full image collection. These intermediaries provide quick visual cues about image content without requiring users to examine each full-size image, enabling faster identification and selection of desired images from large volumes.
2Device complexity
If only URL paths and passwords are provided for shared images, then the information provided is simple, but users cannot easily ascertain what images have been shared
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates simplified copies or representations of the actual shared images, such as thumbnail images, preview versions, or metadata summaries. These copies convey essential information about the shared content (what images are available, their basic characteristics) without requiring users to access the full original images, thus providing useful information while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual characteristics such as color thumbnails, color-coded categories, or color-based organization to provide intuitive information about shared images. Visual cues like color can quickly communicate image content, category, or status information without requiring detailed textual descriptions, thereby informing users about shared images in a simple, visually efficient manner.
3Loss of information
If thumbnail images are included in registered information, then visual information is provided, but devices with limited capacity like cellular phones cannot efficiently download and display them
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by providing only essential visual information rather than complete image data. Thumbnails serve as partial representations that convey the necessary visual information about shared images without requiring the full data capacity needed for complete images. This allows limited-capacity devices to access and display meaningful visual information about shared content within their storage and processing constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of image resolution and size from full-resolution images to reduced-resolution thumbnails. This parameter change significantly reduces the data capacity required while maintaining the essential visual information function. Thumbnails provide sufficient visual cues for users to identify and select images of interest without requiring the substantial data resources needed for full-size images, making the system compatible with limited-capacity devices.
4Reliability
If users are only permitted to browse shared images, then security is maintained, but users cannot add or edit images in the shared album
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access control that can adjust user permissions based on various factors such as user identity, image type, or album settings. Rather than a static read-only or full-access model, the system dynamically grants appropriate levels of access, allowing some users to browse only, while others can add or edit images. This dynamic approach maintains security by granting minimum necessary permissions while enabling collaborative functionality where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal sharing system that can accommodate multiple modes of interaction within a single framework. The same shared album infrastructure supports both read-only browsing and collaborative editing functions, depending on configured permissions. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain security through controlled access while simultaneously enabling ease of operation for users who need to add or edit images, without requiring separate systems for different access levels.
Data Source
AI summary
The saving device for image sharing saves images offered by a sharer of the images for image sharing and accessibly shares in an album form among at least one share. The device includes a sharee layout storing means configured to store first layout information of a sharee's album, a shared area determining means configured to determine a shared area to be shared in the sharee's album from a sharer's album, and a layout changing means configured to automatically change a layout of the shared area based on the first layout information of the at least one sharee. An image sharing system includes the device, and an image sharing method uses the device.