DOCUMENT SEARCH APPARATUS, DOCUMENT SEARCH METHOD, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20080263036A1
• Filed: 09/12/2007
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masahito
• Application Number:
  US11/854,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20080263036A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

An apparatus is configured to search for a document including a plurality of image components. The apparatus designates a key image to be used as a search key for an image search, sets a pattern of appearance in a document of the image component equivalent to the designated key image as a search condition, and searches for a document using the set search condition.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured to search for a document including a plurality of image components, the apparatus comprising:

a key image designation unit configured to designate a key image to be used as a search key for an image search;

a pattern setting unit configured to set a pattern of appearance in a document of the image component equivalent to the key image designated by the key image designation unit as a search condition; and

a document search unit configured to search for a document using the search condition set by the pattern setting unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pattern setting unit further sets a pattern of appearance of the image component in a document that is not equivalent to the key image as the search condition.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pattern setting unit sets a search condition including a descriptive condition for controlling a search with the key image designated by the key image designation unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the descriptive condition for controlling the search with the key image includes a descriptive component that expresses an appearance position of the image component equivalent to the key image in the document.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the appearance position of the image component equivalent to the key image in the document includes a condition such that the document includes an image equivalent to the key image in a first half of the document, that the document includes an image equivalent to the key image in a middle portion of the document, and that the document includes an image equivalent to the key image in a latter half of the document, or a negative condition that does not correspond to any of the conditions.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the descriptive condition for controlling the search with the key image includes a condition designated according to an appearance order of the image components corresponding to the key image.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the appearance order of the image components corresponding to the key image includes a search condition such that the document includes either one of images equivalent to a plurality of key images designated by the key image designation unit, that the document includes all images equivalent to the plurality of key images designated by the key image designation unit, that the document includes images equivalent to the plurality of key images designated by the key image designation unit in an order designated by the key image designation unit, and that the document consecutively includes images equivalent to the plurality of key images designated by the key image designation unit in an order designated by the key image designation unit, or a negative condition that does not correspond to any of the conditions.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of image components included in the documents is a combination of pages constituting the document.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of image components included in the documents is a combination of image components included in each of the pages constituting the document.

10. A method for searching for a document that includes a plurality of image components, the method comprising:

designating a key image to be used as a search key for an image search;

setting a pattern of appearance in a document of the image component equivalent to the designated key image, as a search condition; and

searching for a document using the set search condition.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising setting a pattern of appearance of the image component in a document that is not equivalent to the key image, as the search condition.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising setting a search condition including a descriptive condition for controlling a search with the designated key image.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the descriptive condition for controlling the search with the key image includes a descriptive component that expresses an appearance position of the image component equivalent to the key image in the document.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the appearance position of the image component equivalent to the key image in the document includes a condition such that the document includes an image equivalent to the key image in a first half of the document, that the document includes an image equivalent to the key image in a middle portion of the document, and that the document includes an image equivalent to the key image in a latter half of the document, or a negative condition that does not correspond to any of the conditions.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the descriptive condition for controlling the search with the key image includes a condition designated according to an appearance order of the image components corresponding to the key image.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the appearance order of the image components corresponding to the key image includes a search condition such that the document includes either one of images equivalent to a plurality of designated key images, that the document includes all images equivalent to the plurality of designated key images, that the document includes images equivalent to the plurality of designated key images in a designated order, and that the document consecutively includes images equivalent to the plurality of designated key images in a designated order, or a negative condition that does not correspond to any of the conditions.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of image components included in the documents is a combination of pages constituting the document.

18. The method according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of image components included in the documents is a combination of image components included in each of the pages constituting the document.

19. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform operations comprising:

designating a key image to be used as a search key for an image search;

setting a pattern of appearance of the image component equivalent to the designated key image in a document, as a search condition; and

searching for a document using the set search condition.