Multi-Mode Data File Structure for Image Format Consolidation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing multiple file formats of the same image content is cumbersome, as conventional methods require separate files for different uses, leading to complex file management and organization challenges, especially in scenarios like High Dynamic Range photography and Panorama stitching.
Innovation Solution
A data file structure that includes an image component and one or more appended data components, with metadata for each, allowing the image component to be readable in one mode and both components to be readable in another, using formats like JPEG, GIF, or TIFF, enabling storage of different image data types within a single file.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate files are used to store different formats of the same image content, then each file can be optimized for its specific format and usage, but file management becomes complex and organization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple image data components (JPEG, TIFF, raw image data) into a single container file format. This container file stores different compressed and uncompressed versions of the same image, allowing users to access various formats from one file rather than managing multiple separate files, thereby reducing file management complexity while maintaining format versatility
Solution Approach 2:
The container file format is designed to be universal by supporting multiple image data components in different formats within a single file structure. This multi-functional approach allows the same file to serve multiple purposes (viewing, printing, archiving) with different format requirements, eliminating the need for separate specialized files
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate files are created for related images (such as HDR photographs with different exposure rates or panorama stitching components), then each image can be processed independently, but file organization and retrieval become troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple related image data components (such as HDR photographs with different exposure rates or panorama stitching components) into a single container file. This allows related images to be processed and managed together as one unit, improving file organization ease while maintaining the flexibility to process individual components independently when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The container file structure implements a nested organization where multiple image data components are embedded within a single file hierarchy. This nested structure allows related images to be organized in a parent-child relationship, making file management simpler while preserving the ability to access and process individual nested components independently
Data Source
AI summary
A data file having more than one modes of operation. The data file comprises an image component for storing an image as a representation of the data file and one or more data components appended to the image component. The image component comprises metadata associated with the one or more data components. In a first mode of operation, the image component of the data file is readable for viewing the image by an image viewer while the image component is part of the data file. The one or more appended data components are unreadable by the image viewer in the first mode of operation. In a second mode of operation, the image component and the one or more appended data components are readable by a file reader.