Process for electronically marketing goods or services on networks of the internet type

• US 20020184203A1
• Filed: 06/13/2002
• Published: 12/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jastec Co.
• Original Assignee: LTU Technologies S.A.S. (Jastec Co.)
• Inventors: Winter, Alexandre, Nastar, Chahab, Gilles, Sebastien, Feldmar, Jacques
• Application Number:
  US10/171,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20020184203A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A process for presenting information in a multimedia file from a query implemented by a user on an open computer network including a multiplicity of computer terminals enabling transmission of graphical data displayed in multimedia files, the process including selecting at least one image comprising an object to be retrieved, adaptively analyzing a global image to isolate a zone of interest comprising a graphical element which is an object of a query and calculating a set of visual signatures for each object, comparing visual signatures of extracted objects and images contained in the multimedia files to find similar objects stored in the multimedia files, and constructing a file including a set of responses resulting from the comparison.

Claims

1. A process for presenting information in a multimedia file from a query implemented by a user on an open computer network comprising a multiplicity of computer terminals enabling transmission of graphical data displayed in multimedia files, said process comprising:

a) selecting at least one image comprising an object to be retrieved;

b) adaptively analyzing a global image to isolate a zone of interest comprising a graphical element which is an object of a query and calculating a set of visual signatures for each object;

c) comparing visual signatures of extracted objects and images contained in the multimedia files to find similar objects stored in said multimedia files; and

d) constructing a file comprising a set of responses resulting from the comparison.

2. The information presentation process according to claim 1, wherein selecting images containing the object to be retrieved is constituted by a query keyed in by the user, said query comprising a zone designated by the user.

3. The information presentation process according to claim 1, wherein selecting images containing the object to be retrieved is constituted by an automatic analysis of a multiplicity of multimedia documents.

4. The information presentation process according to claim 1, further comprising defining a specific zone for an image from which objects are extracted, the specific zone being determined automatically in a manner specific to each image analyzed.

5. The information presentation process according to claim 1, wherein a set of keywords is associated with each object stored in the multimedia file and a file containing the set of responses comprises the keywords associated with a set of objects that are similar to the objects extracted from the at least one image.

6. The information presentation process according to claim 5, wherein text databases are interrogated using the keywords.

7. The information presentation process according to claim 1, wherein text databases are interrogated using keywords defined during extracting.

8. The information presentation process according to claim 1, wherein extracting the objects contained in the at least one image is performed at a source prior to putting pages containing the at least one image online.

9. The information presentation process according to claim 1, wherein extracting the objects contained in the at least one image is performed at a finish point subsequent to loading of a page containing the at least one image.

10. The information presentation process according to claim 1, further comprising automating retrieval of similar graphical objects which consists of recording on a server objects extracted from the image and selected by a user, and periodically activating retrieval by comparison of the objects with those contained in the multimedia files, and sending the user positive results of the periodic retrieval.

11. The information presentation process according to claim 1, further comprising selectively allowing the user to accept or refuse objects from the multimedia files having a similar signature, the result of this selection being exploited to optimize similarity criteria by construction of a profile evolving on the basis of successive iterations.

12. The information presentation process according to claim 1, further comprising acquiring an image by digital camera to enable transmission of photos directly to a submission site.

13. The information presentation process according to claim 1, further comprising recognizing by retrieving membership of objects originating from step b) or of offering an operator a list of probable object categories consisting of preparing a selection of objects on the list to prepare a request for retrieval on a subset of images corresponding to a selected category.

14. The information presentation process according to claim 13, wherein recognizingly retrieving consists of:

offering the operator a list of graphical objects grouped together in categories each of which is summarized by a graphical symbol representative of the category under consideration;

enabling the operator to select one of these categories; and

proceeding to retrieval by visual similarity among images of the selected category.

15. An interface comprising an image delimitation means and an image transmission means for implementation of the process according to claim 1.

16. A process for presenting information in a multimedia file from a query implemented by a user on an open computer network comprising a multiplicity of computer terminals enabling transmission of graphical data displayed in multimedia files, said process comprising:

a) selecting at least one image comprising an object to be retrieved;

b) extracting objects contained in the at least one image;

c) comparing objects contained in the at least one image with images contained in the multimedia files; and

d) constructing a file comprising a set of responses resulting from the comparison.

17. Process for presentation of information in a multimedia file from a query implemented by a user on an open computer network comprising a multiplicity of computer terminals enabling transmission of graphical data displayed in multimedia files, said process comprising a step of selecting at least one image comprising an object to be retrieved, a query processing step, a database interrogation step based on this query, a step of constructing a file comprising the set of responses associated with this query, characterized in that

the processing step consists of an adaptive analysis of the global image in order to isolate a zone of interest comprising a graphical element which is the object of a query and of calculating a set of visual signatures for each object,

the database interrogation step comprises a step of comparing the visual signatures of the extracted objects and the images contained in the database in order to find the similar objects stored in said database.