System and method for management, creation, storage, search and delivery of rich media optimized for e-commerce in a distributed information network

• US 6,968,366 B1
• Filed: 05/12/2000
• Issued: 11/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zhang, Liang-Jie, Menon, Jai, Lipscomb, James S., Kumar, Keeranoor G., Chen, Shu-Chun Jeane, Chang, Sih-Pin Subrina
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dustin
• Application Number:
  US09/570,063
• Time in Patent Office: 2,020 Days
• Field of Search: 345/839, 345/619, 707/3, 707/4, 707/104, 707/10, 705/14, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

Techniques are provided for managing the creation, storage, search and delivery of rich media optimized for e-commerce in a distributed information network, e.g., the Internet. In an illustrative embodiment, a content creation phase generates rich media content in a single multimedia file in the format of a HotMedia file for delivery to a Rich Media Build Engine (RMBE). Rich media content is extracted from the file using pluggable and modular extractors providing an input to a commerce-based search engine and a full-text search engine. The outputs of the search engine are combined as a search result from which a searchable database directory is created. The output is stored in a conventional database, e.g., DB2. A web client is coupled to the search system through a web server providing a search query to the rich media database and receiving an output from the search engine.

Claims

1. A method of creating and searching a searchable multimedia database, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining a previously-authored rich media file, the previously-authored file comprising one or more forms of media-based content and descriptive information;

extracting individual forms of the media-based content and the descriptive information from the previously-authored file respectively utilizing one or more content-based extractors and a descriptive information-based extractor, wherein a particular content-based extractor is operative to extract searchable content units associated with a particular content type and the descriptive information-based extractor is operative to extract descriptive information relating to non-searchable content; and

processing the searchable content units and the descriptive information relating to the non-searchable content respectively utilizing a content-based search engine and a text search engine so as to generate a searchable multimedia database directory;

wherein the one or more content-based extractors, the descriptive information-based extractor the content-based search engine and the text search engine are useable in a real-time search of a corresponding multimedia database in response to an input query and the searchable multimedia database directory is useable in an off-line search of the corresponding multimedia database in response to an input query.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the previously-authored file is a HotMedia file.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the Hotmedia file comprises one or more thumbnail images representative of the file content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more content-based extractors and the descriptive information-based extractor are one or pluggable and modularized.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a search result in a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) page.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of swapping between the HTML page and the previously-authored file upon selection of information displayed in accordance with the HTML page.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the displaying step further comprises displaying one or more thumbnail images in accordance with the HTML page.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of replacing a selected thumbnail image with media content without altering the remainder of the HTML page.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the searchable multimedia database is useable in accordance with an electronic commerce application executable over a distributed network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the individual forms of the media-based content comprise at least one of images, panoramas, audio and video.

11. Apparatus for creating and searching a searchable multimedia database, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and operative to;

(i) obtain a previously-authored rich media file, the previously-authored file comprising one or more forms of media-based content and descriptive information;

(ii) extract individual forms of the media-based content and the descriptive information from the previously-authored file respectively utilizing one or more content-based extractors and a descriptive information-based extractor, wherein a particular content-based extractor is operative to extract searchable content units associated with a particular content type and the descriptive information-based extractor is operative to extract descriptive information relating to non-searchable content; and

(iii) process the searchable content units and the descriptive information relating to the non-searchable content respectively utilizing a content-based search engine and a text search engine so as to generate a multimedia database directory, wherein the one or more content-based extractors the descriptive information-based extractor, the content-based search engine and the text search engine are useable in a real-time search of a corresponding multimedia database in response to an input query and the searchable multimedia database directory is useable in an off-line search of the corresponding multimedia database in response to an input query.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the previously-authored file is a HotMedia file.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the Hotmedia file comprises one or more thumbnail images representative of the file content.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more content-based extractors and the descriptive information-based extractor are one or pluggable and modularized.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further operative to cause the display of a search result in a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) page.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further operative to cause a swapping between the HTML page and the previously-authored file upon selection of information displayed in accordance with the HTML page.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the displaying operation further comprises displaying one or more thumbnail images in accordance with the HTML page.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is further operative to cause the replacement of a selected thumbnail image with media content without altering the remainder of the HTML page.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the searchable multimedia database is useable in accordance with an electronic commerce application executable over a distributed network.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the individual forms of the media-based content comprise at least one of images, panoramas, audio and video.

21. A system for creating and searching a searchable multimedia database, the system comprising:

an authoring system; and

a media database engine coupled to the authoring system and operative to;

(i) obtain a previously-authored rich media file, the previously-authored file comprising one or more forms of media-based content and descriptive information;

(ii) extract individual forms of the media-based content and the descriptive information from the previously-authored file respectively utilizing one or more content-based extractors and a descriptive information-based extractor, wherein a particular content-based extractor is operative to extract searchable content units associated with a particular content type and the descriptive information-based extractor is operative to extract descriptive information relating to non-searchable content; and

(iii) process the searchable content units and the descriptive information relating to the non-searchable content respectively utilizing a content-based search engine and a text search engine so as to generate a multimedia database directory, wherein the one or more content-based extractors, the descriptive information-based extractor the content-based search engine and the text search engine are useable in a real-time search of a corresponding multimedia database in response to an input query and the searchable multimedia database directory is useable in an off-line search of the corresponding multimedia database in response to an input query.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the media database engine is further operative to return a result of an input query to a user.