Storage and retrieval system

• US 5,093,911 A
• Filed: 02/11/1991
• Issued: 03/03/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Rajagopal, Doraiswamy, Parks, Carol A., Youngs, Gary L., Probst, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harkcom, Gary V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jaffe, Michael A.
• Application Number:
  US07/655,172
• Time in Patent Office: 386 Days
• Field of Search: 364/518, 364/521, 364/523, 364/200, 364/900
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• 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: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system is described in which a user enters a search term at a user location, that search term being associated with a plurality of image objects which are stored at a plurality of geographically diverse locations within the system. The search term is then transmitted to a central index location where there is stored a central index which includes the object name and location and associated data for each of the distributed objects associated with the search term. Optionally, the associated data may be transmitted from the central location back to the user location for display to the user, who can then select which of the several objects or perhaps all of the objects to be accessed from the diverse geographic storage locations. The user can enter his selection at the user location and that selection will be transmitted back to the central index location. In a first embodiment of the invention, the central index location will control the distributed accessing of objects stored at the respective geographically diverse storage sites. In a first embodiment of the invention, the central index location will control the distributed accessing of objects stored at the respective geographically diverse storage sites. In one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of central index entries corresponding to each of the several objects to be accessed, are transmitted back to the user location where control will be effected to access the distributed objects from the respective distributed storage locations. The plurality of objects which are respectively stored at their plurality of geographically diverse storage locations, are accessed and transmitted back to the user location. There, the user may optionally display, print, or store the images of those plurality of objects at the user location.

Claims

1. In an image object achieving system which includes a database processor storing name and location data records for image objects stored in the system, a first image storage and retrieval processor coupled to said database processor and to a first workstation, and a second image storage and retrieval processor coupled to said database processor and to a second workstation, said first image storage nd retrieval processor being coupled over an image communications link to said second image storage and retrieval processor, a method for storing and retrieving image objects, comprising the steps of:

scanning in a first image object at said first workstation and sending it to said first image storage and retrieval processor;

storing said first image object at said first image storage and retrieval processor and storing a first name and location record in said database processor identifying the name and location of said first image object;

scanning in a second image object at said second workstation and sending it to said second image storage and retrieval processor;

storing said second image object at said second image storage and retrieval processor and storing a second name and location record in said data base processor identifying the name and location of said second image object;

entering a request at said first workstation to access said second image object and sending said request to said database processor;

sending from said data base processor to said first image storage and retrieval processor said second record, in response to said request;

transmitting from said first image storage and retrieval processor to said second image storage and retrieval processor over said image communications link, an access request for said second image object identified in said second record;

accessing with said second image storage and retrieval processor said second image object and transmitting said second image object to said first image storage and retrieval processor over said image communications link, in response to said access request;

sending said second image object from said first image storage and retrieval processor to said first workstation for display at said first workstation.