METHOD OF SEARCHING AN EXPECTED IMAGE IN AN ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20110295893A1
• Filed: 04/21/2011
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inventec Appliances Company Limited (Inventec Corporation), Inventec Appliances Corporation (Inventec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Inventec Appliances Company Limited (Inventec Corporation), Inventec Appliances Corporation (Inventec Corporation)
• Inventors: WU, PENG-FEI
• Application Number:
  US13/092,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20110295893A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/532 Query formulation, e.g. graphical querying

Abstract

A method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus comprises the steps of inputting a hand drawing of the expected image into the electronic apparatus; determining whether or not a text description for partially characterizing the expected image is inputted; identifying and searching the expected image in the electronic apparatus according to the hand drawing if the text description is not inputted, or selecting a text label from the text description and interpreting the selected text label by the electronic apparatus if the text description is inputted; and searching a database in the electronic apparatus according to the text label, and fetching the expected image from the database if the value of the image item matches the text label. The hand drawing and/or text label inputted from a mobile phone screen are provided for arranging and searching pictures or images in the database efficiently.

Claims

1. A method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus, comprising the steps of:

inputting a hand drawing of the expected image into the electronic apparatus;

determining whether or not a text description for partially characterizing the expected image is inputted;

identifying and searching the expected image in the electronic apparatus according to the hand drawing if the text description is not inputted, or selecting a text label from the text description and interpreting the selected text label by the electronic apparatus if the text description is inputted; and

searching a database in the electronic apparatus according to the text label, and fetching the expected image from the database if a value of an image item matches the text label.

2. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the database is searched in a priority of the selected and interpreted text label of the text description if both the hand drawing and the text description are inputted at the same time, and the hand drawing is used for identifying and searching the image if the value of the image item does not match the text label.

3. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein a search result is recorded into the database after the hand drawing is used for identifying and searching the image.

4. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the expected image is a screen of a picture or a movie.

5. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the value of the image item corresponds to an extensible markup language (XML) file.

6. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the image item includes at least one noun text or at least one verb text.

7. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the hand drawing defines a scene of the image, and the scene comprises an image element in a circular, triangular or rectangular shape.

8. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the electronic apparatus comprises a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a palm computer with a handwriting input function, or an image processing apparatus.

9. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the method is applicable for inserting the expected image while sending a MMS file or an e-mail, if the electronic apparatus is a mobile phone.

10. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the expected image is a screen of a picture or a movie.

11. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the value of the image item corresponds to an extensible markup language (XML) file.

12. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the image item includes at least one noun text or at least one verb text.

13. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a step of displaying or operating the expected image.

14. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand drawing defines a scene of the image, and the scene comprises an image element in a circular, triangular or rectangular shape.

15. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the electronic apparatus comprises a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a palm computer with a handwriting input function, or an image processing apparatus.

16. The method of searching an expected image in an electronic apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein the method is applicable for inserting the expected image while sending a MMS file or an e-mail, if the electronic apparatus is a mobile phone.