Image index production method and image index production system for image storage and management system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An image index production method comprising the steps of:
- receiving an image for new registration and producing an image index;
receiving a candidate image index for new registration, receiving the image index information on original images, calculating a distance from the candidate image index for new registration, and inducing an image index, which is similar to the image index for new registration at a level exceeding the threshold which indicates the upper limit of the similarity indicating a distance between image indexes;
receiving the image index for new registration and the image index which is similar to the image index for new registration at a level exceeding said threshold, receiving original image information corresponding to said image index, and changing an array size to prevent said distance from exceeding the threshold; and
receiving the changed image index and renews the image index.
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Abstract
The similarity between zones which consist of one or plural pixels in an original image is measured, the similarity between the measured zones and the threshold of the similarity for integrating the zones consisting of one or plural pixels in the original image are received, and the original image is divided to make the similarity between respective zones lower than the threshold. The size of the zone-divided image for the image index is determined to make the number of total zones of the current divided image equal to the number of zones to be finally divided as an index. Attribute information on the zones of the zone-divided image is calculated to produce an index.
105 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An image index production method comprising the steps of:
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receiving an image for new registration and producing an image index; receiving a candidate image index for new registration, receiving the image index information on original images, calculating a distance from the candidate image index for new registration, and inducing an image index, which is similar to the image index for new registration at a level exceeding the threshold which indicates the upper limit of the similarity indicating a distance between image indexes; receiving the image index for new registration and the image index which is similar to the image index for new registration at a level exceeding said threshold, receiving original image information corresponding to said image index, and changing an array size to prevent said distance from exceeding the threshold; and receiving the changed image index and renews the image index.
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2. An image storage and management system for an image database comprising:
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an image input means for entering an original image; an image storage means for storing said entered original image; a zone divider means for dividing said image into zones according to the visual characteristics of said image and producing zone division information; a block divider means for dividing said original image into a grid and producing division information; an image index production means for receiving said division information and said zone division information, giving a representative zone number to each block of said grid, arranging the representative zone numbers, extracting zone attribute information containing color information of each zone number for said divided zones, and describing image index information; and an image index storage means for storing said image index information, wherein said zone divider means comprises; means for dividing said original image into a plurality of blocks, means for judging inequalities showing magnitude of changes in contrast of the image per block, contractor means for contracting said original image to change one block into one pixel, means for extracting hue and brightness information from said contracted image, and means for dividing a block, which is judged to have small inequalities, into a prescribed number of zones according to the corresponding hue and brightness information and according to grid coordinate information in said contracted image, and adding information on a block having large inequalities to the divided result to determine a zone-divided image. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An image index production system comprising:
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an image input means for entering original image information; a zone-to-zone similarity deriving means for measuring the similarity between zones which comprise at least one pixel in an original image; a threshold storage means for storing a threshold of the similarity for integrating the zones which comprise at least one pixel in the original image; a zone divider means for receiving the similarity between zones from said zone-to-zone similarity deriving means and the threshold of the similarity from said threshold storage means, and dividing said original image to make the similarity between respective zones lower than the threshold; a final zone number storage means for storing the number of finally divided zones as an index; a zone number recorder means for recording the number of total zones of the current image divided by said zone divider means; an index array size determination means for determining an array size of the zone-divided image from said zone divider means for an image index to make said number of total zones equal to the number of zones stored in said final zone number storage means; and an index output means for calculating attribute information on the zones of said zone-divided image to produce and output an image index. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. An image index production system comprising:
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an original image storage means for storing original image information; a new image input means for entering a new image; an index production means for receiving an image to be registered from said new image input means and producing an image index; an index storage means for storing the image index; an index-to-index distance threshold inducing means for storing a threshold indicating the upper limit of the similarity showing a distance between image indexes; an index-to-index distance evaluation means for receiving a candidate image index for new registration from said index production means, receiving from said index storage means the image index information on images stored in said original image storage means, calculating a distance from the candidate image index for new registration, and inducing an image index from the index storage means, which is similar to the newly registered image index at a level exceeding the threshold; an index size changing means for receiving from said index-to-index distance evaluation means the image index for new registration and the image index which is similar to the image index for new registration at a level exceeding said threshold, receiving original image information corresponding to said image index from said original image storage means, and changing an array size to prevent said index-to-index distance from exceeding the threshold; and an index input means for receiving the image index changed by said image index size changing means and renewing the image index stored in the index storage means. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. An image index production method comprising the steps of:
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measuring the similarity between zones which comprise at least one pixel in an original image; receiving the similarity between said zones and a threshold of the similarity for integrating the zones comprising at least one pixel in the original image, and dividing said original image to make the similarity between respective zones lower than the threshold; determining a size of said zone-divided image for the image index to make the number of total zones of the current divided image equal to the number of zones to be finally divided as an index; and calculating attribute information on the zones of said zone-divided image to produce and output an index. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification