Search method

• US 20020178293A1
• Filed: 05/14/2002
• Published: 11/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Yasuo
• Application Number:
  US10/145,205
• Publication Number:
  US 20020178293A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

A client displays a plurality of images and designates as a search condition a time corresponding to an image selected from the displayed images. The client transmits a present time at the client and the search condition to a server. The server corrects the search condition in accordance with a time difference between the present time at the server and the present time at the client, and searches image data by using the corrected search condition. The server adjusts a time related to the searched image data in accordance with the time difference between the present times of the server and client, and transmits the image data together with the adjusted time to the client.

Claims

1. A search method comprising steps of:

specifying a time at a client;

searching data related to the time at a server; and

changing the time to be used for said searching step so as to search the data in accordance with the time specified by the client, a clock unit of the server and a clock unit of the server.

2. A search method according to claim 1, wherein said changing step changes a time corresponding to the searched data in accordance with the clock unit of the client and the clock unit of the server, and the client displays the changed time.

3. A search method according to claim 1, wherein said changing step includes a step of changing the specified time to a relative time to a first clock unit of the client at the client, and the server searches the data in accordance with the relative time to the first clock unit of the client and a second clock unit of the server.

4. A search method according to claim 1, wherein said changing step changes a time in the clock unit of the server and a time related to the data searched by the server.

5. A search system comprising:

receiving means for receiving a search condition from a client;

clock means; and

searching means for searching data in accordance with a time specified by the client, said clock means and the search condition.

6. A search system according to claim 5, wherein said searching means changes a time related to the searched data in accordance with the time specified by the client and said clock means and transmits the changed time to the client.

7. A client comprising:

clock means;

acquiring means for acquiring a first time from a server; and

transmitting means for transmitting a search condition matching the acquired first time and a second time of said clock means to the server.

8. A client according to claim 7, further comprising changing means for changing a time corresponding to a search result received from the server in accordance with the acquired first time and the second time of said clock means.

9. A client comprising:

clock means;

specifying means for specifying a time;

converting means for converting the time specified by said specifying means to a relative time to a time of said clock means; and

transmitting means for transmitting a search condition matching the relative time to a server.

10. A client according to claim 9, further comprising changing means for changing a time corresponding to a search result received from the server in accordance with an acquired first time and a second time of said clock means.

11. A program for a server or a storage medium storing the program, the program comprising steps of:

receiving a search condition from a client; and

searching data in accordance with a time specified by the client, a time at the server and the search condition.

12. A program according to claim 11, wherein said searching step changes a time related to the searched data in accordance with the time specified by the client and the time at the server, and transmits the changed time to the client.

14. A program according to claim 13, further comprising a changing step of changing a time corresponding to a search result received from the server in accordance with the acquired first time and the second time at the client.

16. A program according to claim 15, further comprising a changing step of changing a time corresponding to a search result received from the server in accordance with an acquired first time and a second time at the server.

13. A program for a client for transmitting a search condition to a server or a storage medium storing the program, the program comprising steps of:

acquiring a first time from the server; and

transmitting the search condition matching the acquired first time and a second time at the client to the server.

15. A program for a client for transmitting a search condition to a server or a storage medium storing the program, the program comprising steps of:

inputting a specified time;

converting the specified time to a relative time to a time at the client; and

transmitting a search condition matching the relative time to the server.

17. A client comprising:

display means for displaying data related to a time;

selecting means for selecting the data displayed by said displaying means; and

transmitting means for transmitting a search condition matching the time related to the data selected by said selecting means to the server.

18. A program for a client for transmitting a search condition to a server or a storage medium storing the program, the program comprising steps of:

displaying data related to a time;

selecting the displayed data; and

transmitting a search condition matching the time related to the selected data to the server.