DATA SEARCH RESULT DISPLAY METHOD AND DATA SEARCH RESULT DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20120054687A1
• Filed: 08/23/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kawabata, Takayuki
• Application Number:
  US13/215,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20120054687A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/836
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A data display method includes dividing search result data according to classification and thumbnailing the search result data as a cluster of thumbnails of the search result data in a virtual three dimensional (3D) space, and displaying identification information indicating the classification of the search result data in the virtual 3D space.

Claims

1. A data display apparatus comprising:

a thumbnail display unit configured to divide search result data according to classification and to display the search result data as a cluster of thumbnails of the search result data in a virtual three dimensional (3D) space; and

an identification information display unit configured to display identification information indicating the classification of the search result data in the virtual 3D space.

2. The data display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a drawing unit configured to draw a surface in the virtual 3D space.

3. The data display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drawing unit draws a shadow on the surface according to a position and a size of the cluster of thumbnails.

4. The data display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the identification information display unit displays a classification name indicating the classification of the search result data on the drawn shadow.

5. The data display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the classification is acquired from an attribute of the search result data.

6. The data display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thumbnail display unit includes a determination unit configured to determine a display position of a thumbnail included in the cluster of thumbnails of the search result data based on a sub-cluster of the search result data, the sub-cluster being more detailed than the classification.

7. The data display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identification information display unit displays a sub-cluster name of a sub-cluster of the search result data on the surface, the sub-cluster being included in the cluster of thumbnails of the search result data and being more detailed than the classification.

8. The data display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the drawing unit displays a shadow on the surface at a position where the sub-cluster displayed by the thumbnail display unit and the sub-cluster name displayed by the identification information display unit correspond to each other.

9. The data display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the identification information display unit rotates the sub-cluster name displayed on the surface according to a rotation of the sub-cluster during a rotation of the cluster of thumbnails of the search result data.

10. The data display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cluster of thumbnails has a spherical shape.

11. A data display apparatus comprising:

a thumbnail display unit configured to divide search result data according to classification and to display the search result data as a cluster of thumbnails of the search result data in a virtual three dimensional (3D) space;

an instruction unit configured to issue an instruction for an enlarged display of the cluster of thumbnails of the search result data; and

a cluster display control unit configured to divide the cluster of thumbnails into more detailed sub-clusters according to the instruction.

12. The data display apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the cluster display control unit divides the cluster into the sub-clusters according to a degree of enlargement by the instruction unit.

13. A data display apparatus comprising:

a thumbnail display unit configured to divide search result data according to classification and to display the search result data as a cluster of thumbnails of the search result data in a virtual three dimensional (3D) space; and

a cluster display control unit configured to divide the cluster of thumbnails into more detailed sub-clusters according to a size of the cluster of thumbnails of the search result data at a viewpoint in the virtual 3D space.

14. A data displaying method performed by a data display apparatus, the method comprising:

dividing search result data according to classification and displaying the search result data as a cluster of thumbnails of the search result data in a virtual three dimensional (3D) space; and

displaying identification information indicating the classification of the search result data in the virtual 3D space.

15. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

dividing search result data according to classification and thumbnailing the search result data as a cluster of thumbnails of the search result data in a virtual three dimensional (3D) space; and

displaying identification information indicating the classification of the search result data in the virtual 3D space.