Archiving and retrieving multimedia objects using structured indexes

• US 5,630,121 A
• Filed: 02/02/1993
• Issued: 05/13/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zadrozny, Wlodek W., Braden-Harder, Lisa C., Kim, Michelle Y. L., Klavans, Judith L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Von Buhr, Maria N.
• Application Number:
  US08/013,888
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: 364/DIG. 1, 364/DIG. 2, 395/600, 395/12, 395/154, 395/934, 395/51, 395/60, 395/62, 395/75, 395/155, 395/601, 395/604, 395/615, 395/613
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

To archive information, a phrase or sentence describing the information, typically expressed in a natural language and conforming to the rules of a grammar (like a natural language grammar) is used to create a structured index which also conforms to the natural language grammar. The structured index has structure because the words in the index have a function and a relationship among each other as determined by the grammar. The index is combined with a location pointer of information to be cataloged, preferably multimedia information, to form a matched pair, i.e., a structured index and a segment (or a pointed to a multimedia object). The matched pair is stored in a database for later retrieval. Retrieval is based on parsing a query into a query structure that is identical or similar to the structured index. A heuristic interface presents the multimedia information along with a template in order to prompt the user into describing the multimedia information with a string of words so that they conform to the grammar.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a location of multimedia information in a computer database comprising the steps of:

using a heuristic interface to assist a user in creating a structured index conforming to a set of rules of a natural language grammar from two or more components of a description of the multimedia information, the structured index having a function field for each of one or more of the components, the function field containing one or more functions describing a component function of the component, the component function determined by the set of rules of the natural language grammar, and the structural index further having a relationship field for each of one or more of the components, the relationship field containing a relationship between the respective component and one or more of the other components, the relationships also being defined by the natural language grammar, the grammar also defining a structure of the description;

creating a matched pair by associating the structured index with a storage location information pointer that points to a location containing the multimedia information; and

storing the matched pair in a computer memory to archive the multimedia information as being in the location identified by the storage location information pointer.

2. A method for identifying a location of multimedia information in a computer database, as in claim 1, where the multimedia information includes a video clip.

3. A method for identifying a location of multimedia information in a computer database, as in claim 1, where the multimedia information includes a still picture.

4. A method for identifying a location of multimedia information in a computer database, as in claim 1, where the multimedia information includes an audio clip.

5. A method for identifying a location of multimedia information in a computer database, as in claim 1, where the heuristic interface is a template prompting the user to describe the multimedia information by using one or more natural language words as components where the words conform to the natural language grammar.

6. A method for identifying a location of multimedia information in a computer database, as in claim 1, where the components include first data contained in a database with a lexical hierarchy, the database having other data that is related to the first data as defined by the lexical hierarchy.

7. A computer apparatus for retrieving data comprising:

a memory storage means for storing a structured index database, the database having a plurality of matched pair records, each matched pair record having a segment and a structured index having a function field for each of one or more components of description of stored information, the function field containing one or more functions describing a component function of the component, the component function determined by a set of rules of a natural language grammar, and the structured index further having a relationship field for each of one or more of the components, the relationship field containing a relationship between the respective component and one or more of the other components, the relationships also being defined by the grammar, the grammar also defining a structure of the description;

a display means for displaying information to be archived and a heuristic interface with the user;

a storage algorithm for creating a matched pair associated with information to be archived and storing a plurality of matched pairs as records, a segment number of the matched pair pointing to a storage location of the information associated with the matched pair; and

a retrieval algorithm for creating a key from one or more components taken from a user query in the natural language grammar, the key having fields one or more of the key fields being a function key field being one of the functions defining a selected component in the structured query and one or more of the key fields being a relationship key field being one of the relationships defining the selected component of the structured query, the key being used to search the structured index database to select matched pairs that match the key, the segment of the selected matched pair records being used to retrieve information associated with the matched pair.

8. A computer apparatus, as in claim 7, where the heuristic interface is a graphical display that prompts a user to input descriptive information about a multimedia object according to the grammar.

9. A computer apparatus, as in claim 7, where the heuristic interface is a graphical display that prompts a user to input a natural language description about a multimedia object which is converted into structured index fields by a parser.