Access system

• US 7,188,307 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2001
• Issued: 03/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohsawa, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Herndon; Heather R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blackwell; James H
• Application Number:
  US09/986,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20020055957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,944 Days
• Field of Search: 715/513, 715/501.1, 709/217, 709/224, 709/219, 709/203, 725/100, 725/109, 710/5, 382/101, 382/115, 358/402, 348/211.3, 348/143
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/62 Text, e.g. of license plates, overlay texts or captions on TV images
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1444 Selective acquisition, locating or processing of specific regions, e.g. highlighted text, fiducial marks or predetermined fields

Abstract

A character string is extracted from an image photographed by a camera. It is determined whether or not the extracted character string includes an address on a network. Software for accessing the address runs. Accordingly, a user can easily access a desired address on the network.

Claims

1. A system for accessing an address to display a homepage, comprising:

an operation device that outputs a control command input by a user to mechanically control an image pickup direction of an image pickup device for the image pickup device to obtain an image;

a receiving device that receives an image obtained by the image pickup device which is controlled based on the control command of the direction of the image pickup device;

a monitoring device that determines whether the image received by said receiving device includes a predetermined image;

an extracting device that extracts an address of the homepage corresponding to the predetermined image when the monitoring device determines that the predetermined image is included in the image received by said receiving device; and

an accessing device that accesses the address extracted by the extracting device corresponding to the predetermined image to display the homepage on a display device when the monitoring device determines that the received image includes the predetermined image and if a user performs an operation to designate the predetermined image.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the address includes a URL.

3. A computer-executed method for accessing an address to display a homepage, comprising the steps of:

outputting, by a control device, a control command input by a user to mechanically control an image pickup direction of an image pickup device for the image pickup device to obtain an image;

receiving, by an information processing apparatus from the image pickup device, an image obtained by the image pickup device which is controlled based on the control command of the direction of the image pickup device;

determining, by the information processing apparatus, whether the image received by the receiving step includes a predetermined image;

extracting, by the information processing apparatus, an address of the homepage corresponding to the predetermined image when the determining step determines that the predetermined image is included in the image received in said receiving step; and

accessing, by the information processing apparatus, the address extracted by the extracting step corresponding to the predetermined image to display the homepage on a display device when the determining step determines that the received image includes the predetermined image and if a user performs an operation to designate the predetermined image.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the address includes a URL.

5. A computer-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer-executable program for a computer to execute a method of for accessing an address to display a homepage, wherein the program comprises:

program code of an outputting step of outputting, by an operation device, a control command input by a user to mechanically control an image pickup direction of an image pickup device for the image pickup device to obtain an image;

program code of a reception step of receiving, by an information processing apparatus, an image obtained by the image pickup device which is controlled based on the control command of the direction of the image pickup device;

program code of a determining step of determining, by the information processing apparatus, whether the image received by the reception step includes a predetermined image;

program code of an extracting step of extracting, by the information processing apparatus, an address of the homepage corresponding to the predetermined image when the determining step determines that the predetermined image is included in the image received by the reception step; and

program code of an access step of accessing, by the information processing apparatus, the address extracted in the extracting step corresponding to the predetermined image to display the homepage on a display device when the determining step determines that the received image includes the predetermined image and if a user performs an operation to designate the predetermined image.

6. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein the address includes a URL.