Mobile Terminal Thumbnail Extraction and Visual Differentiation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Mobile terminals face challenges in efficiently displaying and managing large collections of images, as users struggle to find specific images due to the need to unlock and scroll through numerous thumbnails, especially when images are reduced in size and not visually differentiated.

Innovation Solution

A mobile terminal system that recognizes faces in images, allows users to extract specific areas for thumbnail creation, and displays these thumbnails in a visually distinct manner, enabling easy identification and grouping of similar images, with options to hide or highlight faces and provide additional information.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If images are reduced in size to display more thumbnails at once, then the number of visible images increases, but the images become less recognizable and privacy-sensitive content may be exposed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of displayed thumbnailsVSAvoidimage recognizability
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies segmentation by dividing each image into multiple thumbnail versions with different levels of detail or content visibility. This allows the system to display multiple thumbnails simultaneously while maintaining recognizability through selective segmentation of image content based on user preferences or context.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements local quality by applying different processing qualities to different regions or versions of the same image. Some thumbnails maintain high quality for recognizability while others are reduced or blurred for privacy protection, allowing the system to optimize both visibility and privacy simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Ease of manufacture

If images are arranged in chronological order, then the organization is simple and systematic, but users must scroll through many images to find specific ones

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveorganization simplicityVSAvoidtime to find specific image
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces additional organizational dimensions beyond chronological ordering, such as facial recognition categories, image tags, or user-defined groups. This multi-dimensional organization allows users to quickly locate specific images by searching along different dimensions rather than scrolling through chronological sequences.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system learns from user interaction patterns, such as frequently accessed images or preferred search criteria, and dynamically adjusts the display order or organization to prioritize relevant images, reducing the time needed to find specific content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Loss of information

If all saved images are displayed, then complete visibility is achieved, but privacy-sensitive content may be exposed to others

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage visibilityVSAvoidprivacy exposure
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by selectively processing different regions or versions of images based on privacy sensitivity. Privacy-sensitive areas can be blurred, pixelated, or excluded in thumbnail versions while maintaining full visibility in secure contexts, allowing the system to balance completeness with privacy protection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary layer of privacy filtering or content moderation that sits between the full image database and the displayed thumbnails. This intermediary selectively reveals or obscures content based on privacy settings, user authentication, or contextual factors, enabling complete visibility when appropriate while protecting privacy when needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP2887238B1Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same
Publication Date: 2022.06.15 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP2887238B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2887238B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP2887238B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A mobile terminal and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The mobile terminal includes: a display (151) configured to output a specific image in the image view mode; an extractor (182) that extracts a specific area from the specific image, based on a touch gesture on the specific image; and a controller (180) that creates a thumbnail of the specific image from an image of the extracted specific area, and when the image preview function is executed, outputs a thumbnail list that displays the created thumbnail of the specific image to be visually distinct from the thumbnails of other images.