Document image information management apparatus and document image information management program

• US 20060085442A1
• Filed: 10/20/2004
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujiwara, Akihiko
• Application Number:
  US10/968,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20060085442A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/907 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

Metadata of document images can be universally handled by dealing with the document images in units of individual regions according to their contents, thereby making it possible to improve convenience for management, search, operation thereof and so on. In order to mange metadata of contents and contexts related to the document images, prescribed image regions are analyzed as image objects based on image contents of the document images, and attribute information is extracted based on contents of the image objects thus analyzed, so that the metadata of the contents thus extracted is managed in association with the document images and the image objects. Also, attribute information is extracted based on a situation of the documents of the document images, so that the metadata of the contexts extracted is managed in association with the document images and the image objects.

Claims

1. A document image information management apparatus for managing metadata of contents and contexts related to document images, said apparatus comprising:

an image analyzing section that analyzes prescribed image regions as image objects based on image contents of said document images;

a content metadata extraction section that extracts attribute information based on contents of said image objects analyzed by said image analyzing section;

a content metadata management section that manages metadata of said contents extracted by said content metadata extraction section in association with said document images and said image objects;

a context metadata extraction section that extracts attribute information based on a situation of documents of said document images; and

a context metadata management section that manages the metadata of said contexts extracted by said context metadata extraction section in association with said document images and said image objects.

2. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a search section that issues a search key for said content metadata managed by said content metadata management section and said context metadata managed by said context metadata management section, and searches for said document images and said image objects based on said search key.

3. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

said search section comprises a user request search section that issues a search key based on a user request.

4. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

said search section comprises a user situation determination search section that determines a user situation and issues a search key.

5. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a search result screen forming section that forms a screen to display said document images and said image objects searched by said search section.

6. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

when a plurality of document images and image objects are searched by said search section, said search result screen forming section displays a list of said plurality of document images and image objects while changing said searched document images and image objects by using other prescribed metadata different from said search key.

7. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a user request screen control section that performs display control on the screen formed by said search result screen forming section based on a user request.

8. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a user situation determination screen control section that determines a user situation with respect to the screen formed by said search result screen forming section, and performs display control in accordance with the user situation thus determined.

9. The document image information management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a managed document metadata extraction section that extracts metadata of contexts for a work performed to said document images and image objects managed in said content metadata management section or said context metadata management section.

10. A document image information management program for making a computer perform management of metadata of contents and contexts related to document images, said program adapted to make said computer execute:

an image analyzing step of analyzing prescribed image regions as image objects based on image contents of said document images;

a content metadata extraction step of extracting attribute information based on contents of said image objects analyzed in said image analyzing step;

a content metadata management step of managing metadata of said contents extracted in said content metadata extraction step in association with said document images and said image objects;

a context metadata extraction step of extracting attribute information based on a situation of documents of said document images; and

a context metadata management step of managing the metadata of said contexts extracted in said context metadata extraction step in association with said document images and said image objects.

11. The document image information management program according to claim 10, said program adapted to make said computer execute:

a search step of issuing a search key for said content metadata managed in said content metadata management step and said context metadata managed in said context metadata management step, and searching for said document images and said image objects based on said search key.

12. The document image information management program according to claim 11, wherein

said search step makes said computer execute a user request search step of issuing a search key based on a user request to perform a search.

13. The document image information management program according to claim 11, wherein

said search step makes said computer execute a user situation determination search step of determining a user situation and issuing a search key to perform a search.

14. The document image information management program according to claim 11, said the program adapted to make said computer execute:

a search result screen forming step of forming a screen to display said document images and said image objects searched in said search step.

15. The document image information management program according to claim 14, wherein

said search result screen forming step makes said computer execute a screen control step of displaying, upon a plurality of document images and image objects being searched in said search step, a list of said plurality of document images and image objects while changing said searched document images and image objects by using other prescribed metadata different from said search key.

16. The document image information management program according to claim 14, said the program adapted to make said computer execute:

a user request screen control step of performing display control on the screen formed in said search result screen forming step based on a user request.

17. The document image information management program according to claim 14, said program adapted to make said computer execute:

a user situation determination screen control step of determining a user situation with respect to the screen formed in said search result screen forming step, and performing display control in accordance with the user situation thus determined.

18. The document image information management program according to claim 10, said program adapted to make said computer execute:

a managed document metadata extraction step of extracting metadata of contexts for a work performed to said document images and image objects managed in said content metadata management step or said context metadata management step.