INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, DATA PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING PROGRAM

• US 20090278858A1
• Filed: 05/05/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Shigeeda, Nobuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,749,577 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0471 Vertical positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0478 Horizontal positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

In an information processing apparatus, object data based on a part of, e.g., a scan image is extracted and the extracted object data is stored in relation to attribute information of the relevant object data. The object data correlated to the attribute information, which matches with a search condition input by a user, is searched for, and the object data found through the search is merged to another object data depending on a characteristic of the user. The merged object data are displayed as a search result. In such a control process, different search results are displayed when users having different user characteristics input the same search condition.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus configured to process an input image, the information processing apparatus comprising:

an extracting unit configured to extract object data based on a part of the input image;

a storage unit configured to store the object data extracted by the extracting unit and attribute information of the relevant object data in relation to each other;

a searching unit configured to search for the object data correlated to the attribute information that matches with a search condition input by a user;

a merging unit configured to merge the object data found through the search by the searching unit to another object data based on a characteristic of the user; and

a control unit configured to control to display, as a search result, merged data into which a plurality of the object data are merged by the merging unit,

wherein the control unit controls to display different search results when users having different user characteristics input the same search condition.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the object data includes one of an image and a text,

when the attribute information of the object data includes a text, text information obtained by analyzing the relevant object data is set as the attribute information of the relevant object data, and

when the attribute information of the object data includes an image, attribute information preset for an image, which is similar to an image based on the relevant object data, is set as the attribute information of the relevant object data.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user characteristic is information regarding a role of the user and a department to which the user belongs.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information includes position information of the object data in the input image.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein on condition that a plurality of object data extracted from the input image are found through the search by the searching unit, when a distance derived from the respective position information of two among the plurality of object data is smaller than a first threshold, the merging unit merges those two object data together, and when the distance derived from the respective position information of two among the plurality of object data is not smaller than the first threshold, the merging unit does not merge those two object data.

6. A method in an information processing apparatus for processing an input image, the method comprising:

extracting object data based on a part of the input image;

storing the extracted object data and attribute information of the relevant object data in relation to each other;

searching for the object data correlated to the attribute information that matches with a search condition input by a user;

merging the object data found through the search to another object data based on a characteristic of the user; and

displaying, as a search result, the merged object data, wherein different search results are displayed when users having different user characteristics input the same search condition.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the attribute information of the object data includes one of an image and a text,

when the attribute information of the object data includes a text, text information obtained by analyzing the relevant object data is set as the attribute information of the relevant object data, and

when the attribute information of the object data includes an image, attribute information preset for an image, which is similar to an image based on the relevant object data, is set as the attribute information of the relevant object data.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the user characteristic is information regarding a role of the user and a department to which the user belongs.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the attribute information includes position information of the object data in the input image.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein on condition that a plurality of object data extracted from the input image are found through the search, when a distance derived from the respective position information of two among the plurality of object data is smaller than a first threshold, those two object data are merged together, and when the distance derived from the respective position information of two among the plurality of object data is not smaller than the first threshold, those two object data are not merged.

11. A computer readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for making a computer execute a method for processing an input image, the method comprising the steps of:

extracting object data based on a part of the input image;

storing the extracted object data and attribute information of the relevant object data in relation to each other;

searching for the object data correlated to the attribute information that matches with a search condition input by a user;

merging the object data found through the search to another object data based on a characteristic of the user; and

displaying, as a search result, the merged object data,

wherein different search results are displayed when users having different user characteristics input the same search condition.

12. An information processing apparatus configured to process an input image, the information processing apparatus comprising:

an extracting unit configured to extract object data based on a part of the input image;

a storage unit configured to store the object data extracted by the extracting unit and attribute information of the relevant object data in relation to each other;

a searching unit configured to search for the object data correlated to the attribute information that matches with a search condition;

a merging unit configured to merge the object data found through the search by the searching unit to another object data based on a merge condition at the time of the search; and

a control unit configured to control to display, as a search result, merged data into which a plurality of the object data are merged by the merging unit,

wherein the control unit controls to display different search results when the merge conditions at the time of the search are different even if the same search condition is input.

13. A method in an information processing apparatus for processing an input image, the method comprising:

extracting object data based on a part of the input image;

storing the extracted object data and attribute information of the relevant object data in relation to each other;

searching for the object data correlated to the attribute information that matches with a search condition;

merging the object data found through the search to another object data based on a merge condition at the time of the search; and

displaying, as a search result, the merged object data,

wherein different search results are displayed when the merge conditions at the time of the search are different even if the same search condition is input.

14. A computer readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for making a computer execute a method for processing an input image, the method comprising the steps of:

extracting object data based on a part of the input image;

storing the extracted object data and attribute information of the relevant object data in relation to each other;

searching for the object data correlated to the attribute information that matches with a search condition;

merging the object data found through the search to another object data based on a merge condition at the time of the search; and

displaying, as a search result, the merged object data,

wherein different search results are displayed when the merge conditions at the time of the search are different even if the same search condition is input.