Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 10721066, I will examine the citations listed in the patent document, prioritizing those published or filed before the earliest priority date of US10721066, which is September 30, 2002. The analysis will focus on how these references might anticipate the independent claims (claims 1, 6, and 13) of US10721066, particularly concerning the capture of multimedia data, associated metadata, automatic tag generation, encryption, transmission, storage, and search retrieval.

The core elements of US10721066's independent claims (1, 6, 13) include:

1. Multimedia Capture: Interfacing a microphone for audio and a camera for images.
2. Metadata Capture: Capturing location and time information.
3. Digital Storage: Storing captured audio, image, and metadata digitally.
4. Tag Generation (Key Novelty): Converting digital audio to text-based searchable "text context tags" (speech-to-text) AND creating "image recognition searchable context tags" from the digital image.
5. Association: Associating these tags with the digital image and captured data.
6. Storage: Storing the tagged digital image and associated data.
7. Network/Security (Claim 1 specific): Combining data into a composite set, encrypting, transmitting to a remote network location, receiving, decrypting, and storing in a database.
8. Local Storage (Claims 6 & 13 specific): Performing conversion, tag creation, association, and storage within the capture device's internal storage.

Given the extensive list of citations (302), I will select several early and representative patents from the provided list that appear most pertinent to these core elements for a detailed analysis.

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Analysis of Prior Art for US Patent 10721066

Earliest Priority Date of US10721066: September 30, 2002.

Selected Prior Art References:

1. US3439598A: Camera and sound recording device

   • Full Citation: US3439598A, Weitzner D. (1969). Camera and sound recording device. U.S. Patent 3,439,598.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: May 25, 1966; Published: April 22, 1969.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a camera system that combines a still camera with a sound recording device. It enables recording sound concurrently with capturing still images, where the sound can provide a description or commentary related to the captured image.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent anticipates the basic concept of simultaneously capturing image and audio information.
     • Claim 1, 6, 13 (interfacing a microphone with an external audio information source... interfacing a camera with an external image source to capture an image therefrom): Directly anticipates the combined capture of image and audio. While it may not specify "digital audio" or "digital image" capture as explicitly as US10721066, it lays the groundwork for multi-media capture.

2. US4115805A: Image analysis indexing apparatus and methods

   • Full Citation: US4115805A, Ejiri M. (1978). Image analysis indexing apparatus and methods. U.S. Patent 4,115,805.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: May 23, 1975; Published: September 19, 1978.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes an apparatus for analyzing images and generating index data (tags) based on the image content. It focuses on recognizing patterns or features within an image to create searchable metadata.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference anticipates the "image recognition searchable context tag" aspect.
     • Claim 1, 6, 13 (creating an image recognition searchable context tag with image recognition of at least a portion of the digital image): Directly anticipates the concept of performing image recognition to generate searchable tags for an image. While the specific technologies and "digital image" context would have evolved, the underlying principle of image-derived tags is present.

3. US4270854A: Photographic instant camera with magnetic recording capability

   • Full Citation: US4270854A, Kasugai M. (1981). Photographic instant camera with magnetic recording capability. U.S. Patent 4,270,854.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: September 14, 1978; Published: June 2, 1981.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes an instant camera equipped with a magnetic recording device to record additional data, such as voice information, related to the captured photograph onto a magnetic track on the film or separate medium.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent anticipates the combination of image capture with associated non-image data (e.g., audio) and its storage.
     • Claim 1, 6, 13 (interfacing a microphone with an external audio information source... interfacing a camera with an external image source... storing it in a first digital audio format... storing it as a stored digital image): Similar to US3439598A, it details concurrent capture. The magnetic recording capability points towards storing "captured data" alongside the image, albeit in an analog/early digital format.

4. US4389109A: Camera with a voice command responsive system

   • Full Citation: US4389109A, Okuno H. (1983). Camera with a voice command responsive system. U.S. Patent 4,389,109.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: December 31, 1979; Published: June 21, 1983.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a camera system that can be operated using voice commands. While primarily focused on control, it implies the processing and interpretation of audio input within the camera context.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference shows early integration of voice processing with camera functions, which could be a precursor to speech-to-text for tagging, especially in terms of handling audio input by the device.
     • Claim 1, 6, 13 (interfacing a microphone with an external audio information source... converting with a first data converter the external audio information...): Demonstrates a camera capable of processing voice/audio input, which is foundational to the audio capture and conversion steps.

5. US4574319A: Electronic camera having non-image data recorder

   • Full Citation: US4574319A, Sato M. (1986). Electronic camera having non-image data recorder. U.S. Patent 4,574,319.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: May 12, 1981; Published: March 4, 1986.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes an electronic camera capable of recording not only image data but also additional non-image data (such as date, time, aperture value, or other textual data) associated with the image.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly anticipates the capture and storage of metadata alongside image data.
     • Claim 1, 6, 13 (capturing with a data capture device, as captured data, location information and time information associated with at least the capture of the image and storing the captured data as stored captured data): This reference explicitly covers the capture and storage of non-image data (like time/date) in association with the captured image. While "location information" might not be explicitly listed, the concept of "other textual data" is broad enough to encompass it, and the ability to record ancillary data is key.

Summary of Potential Anticipation:

While these earlier patents individually demonstrate elements such as combined image and audio capture (US3439598A, US4270854A), image analysis for indexing (US4115805A), and recording non-image metadata (US4574319A), none of them appear to fully anticipate the specific combination of all key steps found in US10721066's independent claims, particularly the automated generation of both speech-to-text context tags from audio and image recognition searchable context tags from the image content, their comprehensive association, and the entire encrypted network transmission and remote storage/retrieval system (Claim 1) or integrated local processing (Claims 6, 13).

The novelty of US10721066 lies in the integration of these distinct, often complex, processes (speech-to-text and image recognition for tagging) into a single, comprehensive system for multimedia content management, especially with the automation and searchable nature of the generated tags. The cited prior art shows precursors or individual components, but not the complete claimed methodology as a whole before the 2002 priority date. Therefore, these references would likely be considered for obviousness (35 U.S.C. § 103) rather than direct anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102), as they might not disclose every single element of the claims, particularly the specific dual automated tag generation and their combined use for search retrieval. Further detailed claim-by-claim analysis against each prior art reference would be needed to make a definitive determination.