Session container for organizing and annotating photo sessions on device memory cards

Abstract

A software application for organizing and editing image data files created through digital photography has a first portion thereof based on a computing platform; and a second portion thereof distributed to a device memory on a digital photographic device. The second portion of the software is used to organize and contain captured images, including annotation to individual ones of the captured images as photographic sessions bounded in one or more session containers according to programmable rules, and wherein the session containers appear as fully editable and annotate-able electronic documents containing the images of the session and captions associated to individual ones of the session images upon upload to the computing platform.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A software application for organizing and editing image data files created through digital photographing comprising: 
 a first portion thereof based on a computing platform; and    a second portion thereof distributed to a device memory on a digital photographic device;    characterized in that the second portion of the software is used to organize and contain captured images, including annotation to individual ones of the captured images as photographic sessions bounded in one or more session containers according to programmable rules, and wherein the session containers appear as fully editable and annotate-able electronic documents containing the images of the session and captions associated to individual ones of the session images upon upload to the computing platform.    
     
     
         2 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the image data files are digital bitmaps.  
     
     
         3 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the image data files are digital movies.  
     
     
         4 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the first portion of the software is used to execute the second portion of the software.  
     
     
         5 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the second portion resides as a template on a memory device and has a memory limit for the number of images that may be bounded therein.  
     
     
         6 . The software application of  claim 5  wherein the memory limit is less than or equal to the memory limit of the device.  
     
     
         7 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the memory device is removable and insertable into the computing platform.  
     
     
         8 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the session container or containers are uploaded to the computing platform through a USB cable.  
     
     
         9 . The software application of  claim 1  wherein the captions are annotated to the captured images using a microphone during the photo session, the captions voice-recognized by comparison to captions contained on a removable smart card.  
     
     
         10 . A method for creating an annotated photo session on a photographing device and uploading the created session for further annotation and enhancement comprising steps of. 
 (a) providing an empty session container on a memory device of the photographing device;    (b) initiating a shutter event to capture an image followed by an annotation event to annotate the image;    (c) associating the image and annotation and entering the associated pair into the session container;    (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) for each image included in the session; and    (e) executing the completed session container causing upload and display on a computing platform.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (a) the session container is a template that is part of a parent application.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (a) the session container defines a photo session of image data files that are digital bitmaps.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (a) the memory device is removable.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (a) the session container has a memory limit equal to or less than the memory device.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (a) there is more than one empty session container.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (b) the annotation is provided by vocal input into a microphone, the input voice recognized through comparison to a smart card containing possible annotation choices.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (b) the annotation event is optional.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (c) the annotation is associated with the image at the time of annotation.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (e) execution of the session container is performed by a parent application running on a computing platform.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 10  wherein in step (e) an empty session container remains on the memory device when a completed container is executed, the lo empty container for the next photo session.