US 6,889,062 B2 · System and protocol for providing pictures in wireless communication messages

Abstract

A wireless terminal (and associated method) for communicating pictures via a wireless communication system. The pictures can be either maintained in the wireless terminal in galleries, each gallery including typically up to eight pictures, or the pictures can be stand-alone pictures. When maintained in galleries and stored in non-volatile memory of the wireless terminal, in an electronic folder, the pictures are termed clip-art pictures. The invention allows sending an entire gallery at a time as, among other formats, a single so-called Graphical Messaging System (GMS) picture (18×72 pixels). The invention also allows sending individual clip-art pictures in a message including text, actually in-line with the text of the message or indicating where in the text the clip-art pictures would appear in a wireless terminal adapted to the invention. In addition, the invention provides a picture editor allowing a user to create or edit either a clip-art or a standalone picture.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A wireless terminal for communicating pictures via a wireless communication system, the wireless terminal comprising cellular telephone functionality and also comprising:

A) a clip-art picture manager, for managing clip-art pictures including maintaining the clip-art pictures in galleries, each gallery including a plurality of clip-art pictures and each gallery of a size suitable for communication as a single wireless message, and for providing at least one clip-art picture from at least one of the galleries;
B) a gallery folder, for storing the galleries of clip-art pictures in a memory device of the wireless terminal;
C) a transceiver, for receiving and sending a message including at least one clip-art picture;
D) a display screen for displaying clip-art pictures;
and
E) keys including keys of a numeric keypad as well as soft keys.

3 more elements

A wireless terminal for communicating pictures via a wireless communication system, the wireless terminal comprising:

a) a picture manager, for managing pictures including maintaining the pictures in a memory device of the wireless terminal, the picture manager in turn including a picture editor, for enabling a user to edit an existing picture or create a new picture;
b) a transceiver, for receiving and sending a message including at least one picture;
c) a display screen for displaying pictures;
and
d) keys including keys of a numeric keypad as well as soft keys;
wherein the picture editor of the wireless terminal communicates with a picture editor of another wireless terminal so as to allow the user of the other wireless terminal to participate in drawing a picture being created on the wireless terminal, thereby allowing group drawing of pictures.

3 more elements

A method by which to enable communicating pictures via a wireless communication system, the method comprising providing a wireless terminal comprising:

a) a picture manager, for managing pictures including maintaining the pictures in a memory device of the wireless terminal, the picture manager in turn including a picture editor, for enabling a user to edit an existing picture or create a new picture;
b) a transceiver, for receiving and sending a message including at least one picture;
c) a display screen for displaying pictures;
and
d) keys including keys of a numeric keypad as well as soft keys;
wherein the picture editor of the wireless terminal communicates with a picture editor of another wireless terminal so as to allow a user of the other wireless terminal to participate in drawing a picture being created on the wireless terminal, thereby allowing group drawing of pictures.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

System and protocol for providing pictures in wireless communication messages

Life of this patent

System and protocol for providing pictures in wireless communication messages

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims24