Content data retrieval apparatus

• US 7,743,049 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2005
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Tadashi, Araki, Hitoshi, Kawasaki, Yoshiteru, Yuda, Masato, Nomura, Kazuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Singh, Amresh
• Application Number:
  US11/665,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20080222128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/100, 707/373, 707/5
• US Class Current: 707/713
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24522 Translation of natural language queries to structured queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

The present invention provides a content data retrieval apparatus capable of appropriately narrowing down the range of search targets even in the case where a distribution of attribute values of a group of contents regarded as search targets is uneven.

The content data retrieval apparatus of the present invention includes: an impression value database which stores attribute values; a conversion table in which an impression value is associated with a search word range that is a range of the attribute values associated with a search word; a range modification unit which modifies a relative relationship between a distribution range of attribute values and a search word range by modifying the search word range read out from the conversion table; a receiving unit which receives an input of a search word; and a retrieval unit which retrieves content data corresponding to the search word received by the receiving unit, by searching the attribute values included in the search word range associated with the search word.

Claims

1. A content data retrieval apparatus which retrieves content data associated with one or more attribute values, said apparatus comprising:

an attribute value storage unit configured to store the one or more attribute values, the one or more attribute values each indicating a content attribute, and the one or more attribute values being distributed in an attribute value space having a predetermined size;

a receiving unit configured to receive a search word as an input;

a conversion table in which the search word is associated with a search word range, the search word range having a range of the one or more attribute values associated with the search word, the range of the one or more attribute values having a distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, the search word range having a relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and the search word range being a two- or more than two-dimensional space range; and

a processor including

a modification unit configured to modify the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values by modifying the range of the one or more attribute values or by modifying the search word range in accordance with the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values stored in said attribute value storage unit, wherein said modification unit is further configured to modify the search word range by reducing a size of the search word range such that a ratio in size of the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values to an entirety of the attribute value space becomes equal to a ratio in the size of the search word range to the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and by moving the reduced size search word range such that the reduced size search word range is included in the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve the content data corresponding to the search word by searching the range of the one or more attribute values associated with the search word range in the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values modified by said modification unit, the search word range being associated with the search word received by said receiving unit and being modified by said modification unit.

2. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the search word range is located within the attribute value space, and

wherein said modification unit is further configured to modify the search word range by converting the search word range through linear mapping from the attribute value space to the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values.

3. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said modification unit is further configured to modify the one or more attribute values so that the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values is enlarged, and

said retrieval unit is configured to retrieve the content data corresponding to the search word by searching the attribute values which are included in the search word range and are modified by said modification unit, the search word range being associated with the search word received by said receiving unit, and being modified by said modification unit.

4. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the search word range is located within the attribute value space, and

wherein said modification unit is further configured to modify the attribute values by converting the attribute values through linear mapping from the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values.

5. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein when the number of the one or more attribute values included in the search word range is less than a predetermined number, said modification unit is further configured to modify the search word range by enlarging the search word range so that the number of one or more attribute values included in the search word range is the predetermined number or above.

6. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the search word range is located within the attribute value space, and

wherein said modification unit is further configured to

determine a ratio between a respective dimension lengths of the search word range within the attribute value space according to a ratio between a respective dimension lengths within the attribute value space of the distribution of the range of one or more attribute values, and

modify the search word range by enlarging the size of the search word range such that the number of the one or more attribute values included in the search word range is a predetermined number or above, while keeping the determined ratio of lengths.

7. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein when the number of the one or more attribute values included in the search word range exceeds a predetermined number, said modification unit is further configured to modify the search word range by reducing the size of the search word range so that the number of the one or more attribute values included in the search word range is the predetermined number or below.

8. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the search word range is located within the attribute value space, and

wherein said modification unit is configured to

determine a ratio between a respective dimension lengths of the search word range according to a ratio between a respective dimension lengths within the attribute value space of the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and

modify the search word range by reducing the size of the search word range such that the number of the one or more attribute values included in the search word range is a predetermined number or below, while keeping the determined ratio of lengths.

9. The content data retrieval apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the one or more attribute values are each an impression value which, the impression value being an index value representing an impression on the content.

10. A method executed by a processor for retrieving content data associated with one or more attribute values, said method comprising:

storing the one or more attribute values in an attribute value storage unit, the one or more attribute values each indicating a content attribute, and the one or more attribute values being distributed in an attribute value space having a predetermined size;

receiving a search word from an input;

associating the search word with a search word range, the search word range having a range of the one or more attribute values associated with the search word, the range of the one or more attribute values having a distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, the search word range having a relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and the search word range being a two- or more than two-dimensional space range;

using the processor to modify the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values by modifying the range of the one or more attribute values or by modifying the search word range in accordance with the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values stored in the attribute value storage unit, wherein, in said modifying, the search word range is modified by reducing a size of the search word range such that a ratio in size of the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values to an entirety of the attribute value space becomes equal to a ratio in the size of the search word range to the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and by moving the reduced size search word range such that the reduced size search word range is included in the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values; and

retrieving the content data corresponding to the search word by searching the range of one or more attribute values associated with the search word range in the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values modified in said modifying, the search word range being associated with the search word received in said receiving and being modified in said modifying.

11. A program recorded on a computer readable storage medium that when executed causes a computer to retrieve content data associated with one or more attribute values, said program causing the computer to perform a method comprising:

storing the one or more attribute values in an attribute value storage unit, the one or more attribute values each indicating a content attribute, and the one or more attribute values being distributed in an attribute value space having a predetermined size;

receiving a search word from an input;

associating the search word with a search word range, the search word range having a range of the one or more attribute values associated with the search word, the range of the one or more attribute values having a distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, the search word range having a relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and the search word range being a two- or more than two-dimensional space range;

using the computer to modify the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values by modifying the range of the one or more attribute values or by modifying the search word range in accordance with the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values stored in the attribute value storage unit, wherein, in said modifying, the search word range is modified by reducing a size of the search word range such that a ratio in size of the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values to an entirety of the attribute value space becomes equal to a ratio in the size of the search word range to the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and by moving the reduced size search word range such that the reduced size search word range is included in the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values; and

retrieving the content data corresponding to the search word by searching the range of one or more attribute values associated with the search word range in the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values modified in said modifying, the search word range being associated with the search word received in said receiving and being modified in said modifying.

12. A processor comprising an integrated circuit for retrieving content data associated with one or more attribute values,

said integrated circuit comprising:

an attribute value storage unit configured to store the one or more attribute values, the one or more attribute values each indicating a content attribute, and the one or more attribute values being distributed in an attribute value space having a predetermined size;

a modification unit, having a processor, said modification unit being configured to modify a relative relationship between a search word range and a distribution of a range of the one or more attribute values by modifying the range of the one or more attribute values or by modifying the search word range in accordance with the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values stored in said attribute value storage unit, the search word range being a two- or more than two-dimensional space range, wherein said modification unit is further configured to modify the search word range by reducing a size of the search word range such that a ratio in size of the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values to an entirety of the attribute value space becomes equal to a ratio in the size of the search word range to the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values, and by moving the reduced size search word range such that the reduced size search word range is included in the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values;

a receiving unit configured to receive the search word as input; and

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve the content data corresponding to the search word by searching the range of the one or more attribute values associated with the search word range in the relative relationship between the search word range and the distribution of the range of the one or more attribute values modified by said modification unit, the search word range being associated with the search word received by said receiving unit and being modified by said modification unit.