Apparatus for communicating over a network images captured by a digital camera

TLDR: In this paper, an apparatus is provided for communicating over a network images captured by a digital camera (18), such as a camera without an on-board network interface, which includes a housing separate from the camera having a processing unit with memory for storage of images, a camera interface card (12) received in a memory card slot of the digital camera, and a cable (16) or wireless connection coupling the interface card to the processing unit (14) for data communication.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for communicating over a network images captured by a digital camera (18), such as a digital camera (18) without an on-board network interface. The apparatus includes a housing separate from the digital camera having a processing unit with memory for storage of images, a camera interface card (12) received in a memory card slot of the digital camera (18), and a cable (16) or wireless connection (31) coupling the camera interface card to the processing unit (14) for data communication. The apparatus emulates a memory card to the digital camera (18), such that the digital camera's electronics operate with the memory of the processing unit (14) through the camera interface card (12), as if such memory was on a memory card located hi slot of the digital camera (18). Images captured by the digital camera (18) are transferred, via the camera interface card (12) and cable (16), to memory of the processing unit (14), and the digital camera (18) can access images stored in memory of the processing unit (14). The processing unit (14) has a wireless data network interface (30) and Ethernet communication interface (32), whereby captured images stored in memory of the processing unit (14) are queued hi real-time for network transfer, and subsequently transferred via one of the network communication interfaces, to a computer system, such as an web site or file server, at a network destination address configurable in the processing unit (14). Data may be inputted by the user before and/or after image capture for association with images prior to their network transfer. The housing for the processing unit may be shaped like a motor drive unit and attached to the bottom of the camera (18), or worn by the user of the camera (18) in the form of a belt pack or backpack.