Apparatus and method for data search using selected or representative data sample

• US 5,574,909 A
• Filed: 08/28/1995
• Issued: 11/12/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oath Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Iwano, Kazuo, Hong, Jung-Kook, Misono, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOMERE, JEAN RAYMOND
• Application Number:
  US08/531,570
• Time in Patent Office: 442 Days
• Field of Search: 395/600, 395/157, 395/159, 395/162, 358/453, 364/DIG. 1, 352/62
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7335 Graphical querying, e.g. query-by-region, query-by-sketch, query-by-trajectory, GUIs for designating a person/face/object as a query predicate end-user interface involving hot spots associated with the video H04N21/4725; end-user interface for selecting a Region of Interest H04N21/4728
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/745 the internal structure of a single video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

The invention relates to searching for a desired data item within a group of data. Representative samples among a group of data to be searched are displayed, and two representative samples in display are selected to specify a new area of data to be searched. Thus, the portion of the data is bracketed and narrowed down, and the desired data item is found quickly and efficiently.

Claims

1. A data search apparatus for locating a data item within a sequence of data the apparatus comprising:

dividing means for dividing the sequence of data at a plurality of dividing positions within the sequence of data;

extracting means for extracting a plurality of representative samples of data from said sequence of data, each one of the representative samples being located at a respective one of the plurality of dividing positions;

display means for displaying said plurality of representative samples of data extracted by the means for extracting;

selecting means for selecting two of the representative samples displayed by the display means, the two selected samples surrounding the data item to be located; and

determining means for determining a new subsequence of data to be searched, the new subsequence of data having start and end positions which are specified by said two selected representative samples;

whereby finding the data item is facilitated because the new subsequence of data is smaller than the sequence of data.

2. The data search apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising initial data search region determining means for determining an initial region of data to be searched according to a position on a scroll bar specified by a user.

10. The data search apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means for repeating operation of the means for dividing, extracting, displaying, selecting, and determining over the new subsequence.

3. A data search method for locating a data item within a sequence of data, the method comprising the steps of:

dividing the sequence of data at a plurality of dividing positions located within the sequence of data;

extracting a plurality of respective samples of data from said sequence of data, each one of the representative samples being located at a respective one of the plurality of dividing positions;

displaying said plurality of representative samples of data extracted in the step of extracting;

selecting two of the representative samples displayed in the step of displaying, the two selected samples surrounding the data item to be located; and

determining a new subsequence of data to be searched, the new subsequence of data having start and end positions which are specified by said two selected representative samples;

whereby finding the data item is facilitated because the new sequence of data is smaller than the sequence of data.

4. The data search method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of convertibly displaying a plurality of second representative samples which are obtained from the sequence of data to be searched, the step of convertibly displaying being executed before execution of the step of determining, instead of a plurality of first representative samples according to an external instruction when said plurality of first representative samples obtained from said new subsequence of data to be searched are displayed.

5. (Amended) The data search method as claimed in claim 4 further comprising the steps of;

determining whether or not there are representative samples coinciding with each other between a plurality of second representative samples obtained from said sequence of data to be searched, the step of convertibly displaying being executed before execution of the step of determining, and a plurality of first representative samples when said plurality of first representative samples obtained from said new sequence of data to be searched are displayed; and

changing the coinciding first representative samples to display the changed samples when an affirmative determination is obtained by the step of determining.

6. The data search method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of:

displaying a start icon and an end icon individually indicating said start and end positions of said sequence of data to be searched in said representative sample displaying step, the start and end positions of said new sequence of data to be searched being determined according to an instruction of said start icon or said end icon in said step of determining.

7. The data search method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of displaying a region specified by said selected two representative samples in connection with a display of said plurality of representative samples.

8. The data search method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sequence of data are movie data, and said representative sample is image data of one frame.

9. The data search method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sequence of data are text data, and said representative sample is data in a predetermined amount within said text data.

11. The data search method as recited in claim 3 further comprising the step of repeating the steps of dividing, extracting, displaying, selecting, and determining over the new subsequence.