Image retrieval system

• US 20040056881A1
• Filed: 09/15/2003
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Taguchi, Shinya, Ogawa, Masakazu, Nagatani, Shunsuke, Egawa, Yutaka, Yamazoe, Nobuyuki, Suzuki, Michitoshi, Kanno, Eisuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,848,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5846 using extracted text

Abstract

Desired data can be easily retrieved from material image data associated with video data. For material image data associated with video data, character strings contained in relevant material images are extracted, and keywords input to keyword input parts of a user interface are matched with the extracted characters to retrieve data of the relevant material images. The retrieved material images are changed in size according to their importance before being displayed on a screen.

Claims

1. An image retrieval system that retrieves static image data associated with video data, comprising:

an input unit that accepts an input keyword;

an extraction unit that extracts a character string contained in static image data; and

a retrieval unit that matches the extracted character string with the input keyword to retrieve relevant static image data.

2. The image retrieval system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit that displays the retrieved static image data as a list of images; and

a size changing unit that changes an image size of the static image data to be displayed on the display unit, the image size being changed according to a predetermined criterion.

3. The image retrieval system according to claim 1, comprising:

a display unit that displays the retrieved static image data as a static image; and

a video display unit that, according to user'"'"'s operation for selecting the displayed static image, reproduces and displays video data as an image from a reproduction time position with which the static image data is associated.

4. An image retrieval method for retrieving static image data associated with video data, comprising the steps of:

extracting a character string contained in static image data; and

matching an input keyword with the extracted character string to retrieve relevant static image data.

5. The image retrieval method according to claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

displaying the retrieved static image data as a static image; and

according to user'"'"'s operation for selecting the displayed static image, reproducing and displaying video data as an image from a reproduction time position with which the static image data is associated.

6. A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a function for retrieving static image data associated with video data, the function comprising the steps of:

accepting an input keyword;

extracting a character string contained in static image data; and

matching the extracted character string with the input keyword to retrieve relevant static image data.

7. The storage medium according to claim 6, the function further comprising the steps of:

displaying the retrieved static image data as a list of images; and

changing an image size of the static image data to be displayed, the image size being changed according to a predetermined criterion.

8. The storage medium according to claim 6, the function further comprising the steps of:

displaying the retrieved static image data as a static image; and

according to a user'"'"'s operation for selecting the displayed static image, reproducing and displaying video data as an image from a reproduction time position with which the static image data is associated.