Data administration apparatus that can search for desired image data using maps

• US 5,945,982 A
• Filed: 05/29/1996
• Issued: 08/31/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujii, Takahiro, Masuda, Takuma, Hasegawa, Kinya, Ono, Miyuki, Taguchi, Shuhei, Inoue, Masako, Nakao, Shuji, Abe, Tetsuji, Moriwaki, Kagumi, Shudo, Takao, Murakawa, Akira, Ban, Shinichi, Mukai, Masayuki, Higashio, Kimihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Francis N.
• Application Number:
  US08/654,868
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 345/133, 345/127, 345/203, 345/326, 345/123, 345/348, 345/355, 707/1-5, 707/103, 707/200, 707/522, 707/100, 707/104, 395/61
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• 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: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

In image data retrieval, image data that becomes the base of search is specified. When the search is to be carried out according to the distance from the image data on an image map, an automatic setting process of retrieval information is carried out. Here, a keyword, icon, chromaticity and the like of that image data are automatically set as retrieval information. The position of that image data on the image map becomes the center of a range when the ambiguity is set. By setting the ambiguity of the image map, keyword, icon, chromaticity, and the like in this state, the range of ambiguity is displayed, and image data within that range is automatically retrieved. As a result, analogous image data can be searched for according to subtle and ambiguous information or information that cannot be quantified.

Claims

1. An apparatus connected to a data storage, comprising:

first means for identifying data to be stored in said data storage;

second means for generating a map having an axis which represents a defined range of at least one criterion;

third means for registering an item in said generated map, said item being used for searching said data storage for specific data, and said item being registered by linking the item to a position specified by coordinates within said map; and

fourth means for correlating said identified data with said identified item.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said data is image data.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said item is defined as at least one of keyword, audio, icon, and color which is associated with said image data.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said coordinates are two-dimensional coordinates.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one criterion comprises a first criterion and a second criterion, and wherein said map has a first axis which represents a range of said first criterion, and said map has a second axis which represents a range of said second criterion.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second means comprises a means for designating an axis name which specifies said range.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said third means for registering said item comprises means for manually specifying the position of said item on said map.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said third means for registering said item comprises means for automatically specifying the position of said item on said map when said item comprises subparts which are themselves subpart items which have already been registered on said map.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said means for registering said item comprises computing the center of the positions of the subpart items.

10. An apparatus connected to a data storage and a display, comprising:

first means for displaying a map having coordinates on said display;

second means for identifying data to be stored in said data storage;

third means for designating a position on the displayed map, as specified by coordinates on said map, said third means comprising one of;

(a) a manual means for manually specifying the position on the displayed map;

or

(b) an automatic means for automatically specifying the position on the displayed map based on the positions of previously registered entries on the displayed map; and

fourth means for correlating said identified data with the designated position specified by the coordinates, wherein said position is based on a range of at least one criterion.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said data is image data are two-dimensional coordinates

12. A apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said coordinates are two-dimensional coordinates.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said at least one criterion comprises a first criterion and a second criterion, and wherein said map has a first axis which represents a range of said first criterion, and said map has a second axis which represents a range of said second criterion.

14. An apparatus connected to a data storage and a display, comprising:

first means for displaying a map having coordinates on said display;

second means for designating a position on said displayed map; and

third means for searching said data storage for data correlated with said designated position specified by coordinates, wherein said position is based on a range of at least one criterion;

wherein said second means designates a range of ambiguity as the position by indicating an area on said map, and said third means searches said data storage for data located with said range of ambiguity.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

fourth means for displaying retrieved data on said display.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said data is image data.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said coordinates are two-dimensional coordinates.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said at least one criterion comprises a first criterion and a second criterion, and wherein said map has a first axis which represents a range of said first criterion, and said map has a second axis which represents a range of said second criterion.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said range of ambiguity is selected by modifying the spatial extent of a graphical representation on said map which represents said range of ambiguity.

33. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said first position and said second position are identical if the first and second coordinates have the same coordinate system.

20. An apparatus connected to a data storage, comprising:

first means for identifying data to be stored in said data storage, said data being correlated with an item, wherein said item is linked to a first position specified by coordinates on a map; and

second means for searching said data storage for another data which is also correlated with said item;

wherein said second means searches said data storage for said other data which is correlated with another item linked on a second position specified by coordinates on said map, said second position being correlated with said first position through the specification of a range of ambiguity;

wherein the specification of the range of ambiguity is made by selecting a graphical representation on the map which represents the range.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said coordinates are two-dimensional coordinates.

22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said data is image data.

23. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said specification of said range of ambiguity is made by drawing a circle on said map which encompasses said at least first position and said second position.

24. An apparatus connected to a data storage which includes a plurality of items, each item being linked to a position of coordinates, said apparatus comprising:

first means for entering an item which is combined with two items previously stored in said data storage; and

second means for linking said entered item to a new position specified by coordinates, said new position being calculated based on the positions linked to said previously stored items.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said new position is a midpoint of the positions linked to said previously stored items.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said coordinates are two-dimensional coordinates.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said new position is a barycenter of an origin of the coordinates and the positions linked to the previously stored items.

28. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said positions of said items are specified within a map, wherein said positions of said items within said map are based on a range of at least one criterion.

29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein said entered item is a combination of two words which were previously registered, and the position of said entered item is based on the positions of said previously registered words.

30. An apparatus connected to a data storage, comprising:

first means for identifying data to be stored in said data storage;

second means for identifying an item, said item being linked to a first position on a first map;

third means for correlating said identified data with said identified item; and

fourth means for linking said identified data to a second position of second coordinates of a second map based on said first position linked to said identified item.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said first position and said second position are identical if the first and second maps have the same coordinate system.

32. An apparatus connected to a data storage, comprising:

first means for identifying an item to be stored in said data storage;

second means for identifying data, said data being linked to a first position specified on a first map;

third means for correlating said identified item with said identified data; and

fourth means for linking said identified item to a second position of second coordinates specified on a second map based on said first position linked to said identified data.

34. A data searching apparatus which searchers stored data for a specific datum, comprising:

first means for setting a searching condition;

second means for searching stored data for a specific datum based on the set condition;

third means for storing each search condition;

fourth means for graphically displaying stored conditions that show a course of searching using a tree structure; and

fifth means for graphically designating a previous search operation which is part of said stored conditions, wherein the second means performs a search on the basis of said previous search operation designated by said fifth means.

35. The data searching apparatus as claimed in claim 34, wherein the second means searches a part of stored data for a specific datum.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein retrievals in said tree are indicated by nodes in said tree, and wherein a range of retrieval is indicated by the size of said node.