Image analysis – Image transformation or preprocessing – Image storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-30
2004-03-09
Mehta, Bhavesh M. (Department: 2625)
Image analysis
Image transformation or preprocessing
Image storage or retrieval
C382S304000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06704466
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image search apparatus and method for searching an image database that stores a plurality of image data for desired image data, and a computer readable memory.
Various image search apparatuses for searching databases which store a large number of image data for desired image data have been proposed. The search methods used in these image search apparatuses are roughly classified into two methods:
a method of storing non-image information such as keywords, photographing dates, and the like in association with image data, and conducting a search based on such information; and
a method of conducting a search on the basis of the image feature amounts (luminance/color difference information, image frequency, histogram, and the like) of image data itself.
In the latter method, a method of submitting certain image data, and searching image data using the image feature amounts of that image data as search keys is called similar image search. This method can effectively provide a search interface which is friendly to a user who has no special knowledge about image processing.
However, when a desired image cannot be obtained as a result of a search using a handwritten illustration, which is input by the user as a query key of a similar image search, the user must modify the illustration and must redo a similar image search process. In this case, the user cannot begin to modify the illustration before the display of the previous search results ends completely, and it is hard to make efficient search operation.
When the user searches a plurality of image databases for desired image data using a handwritten illustration, which is input by him or her as a query criteria of a similar image search, he or she must submit the illustration to each of the plurality of image databases to start the search, resulting in cumbersome operation.
On the other hand, even when the user modifies an image based on image data contained on a certain image database and attempts to search other image databases using that image as a query criteria, such search cannot be done or very cumbersome operation is required of the user.
In the conventional image search apparatus, in an environment in which a plurality of users use such apparatuses, they have identical image databases. For this reason, when a certain user edits (e.g., adds/deletes) image data managed by a given image database, the contents of modification done by the user must be reflected in the image databases of other uses. In some case, the consistency of image data managed is lost. When a search engine is modified, all search engines installed in image search apparatuses used by the respective users must be modified. Also, high-performance image search apparatuses must be prepared to improve search efficiency. Since entities of the search engines are installed in the image search apparatuses of the respective users, reverse engineering with respect to each search engine may be done, thus posing a problem in terms of security.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in consideration of the aforementioned problems, and has as its object to provide an image search apparatus and its control method, which can efficiently make an image search by quickly reflecting user's will, and a computer readable memory.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an image search system, an image search apparatus, and a control method thereof, which can simultaneously manage image databases used by users in an environment in which a plurality of users use image search apparatuses, and can efficiently make a similar image search while assuring high security, and a computer readable memory.
In order to achieve the above objects, an image search apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement.
That is, an image search apparatus for searching an image database that stores a plurality of image data for desired image data, comprises:
first control means for controlling execution of input means for inputting an image using an input window, and image feature amount computing means for computing an image feature amount of the image input by the input means;
second control means for controlling execution of storage means for storing the plurality of image data in correspondence with image feature amounts of the image data, image similarity computing means for computing image similarity on the basis of the image feature amount computed by the image feature amount computing means, and the image feature amounts of the image data stored in the storage means, and image display means for displaying a list of image data as search results on the basis of the image similarity computed by the image similarity computing means; and
third control means for parallelly processing control processes of the first and second control means, and controlling a communication between the first and second control means.
In order to achieve the above objects, an image search apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement.
That is, an image search apparatus for searching an image database that stores a plurality of image data for desired image data, comprises:
first control means for controlling execution of input means for inputting an image using an input window;
second control means for controlling execution of image feature amount computing means for computing an image feature amount of the image input by the input means, storage means for storing the plurality of image data in correspondence with image feature amounts of the image data, image similarity computing means for computing image similarity on the basis of the image feature amount computed by the image feature amount computing means, and the image feature amounts of the image data stored in the storage means, and image display means for displaying a list of image data as search results on the basis of the image similarity computed by the image similarity computing means; and
third control means for parallelly processing control processes of the first and second control means, and controlling a communication between the first and second control means.
In order to achieve the above objects, an image search apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement.
That is, an image search apparatus for searching an image database that stores a plurality of image data for desired image data, comprises:
first control means for controlling execution of input means for inputting an image using an input window;
second control means for controlling execution of image feature amount computing means for computing an image feature amount of the image input by the input means;
third control means for controlling execution of storage means for storing the plurality of image data in correspondence with image feature amounts of the image data, image similarity computing means for computing image similarity on the basis of the image feature amount computed by the image feature amount computing means, and the image feature amounts of the image data stored in the storage means, and image display means for displaying a list of image data as search results on the basis of the image similarity computed by the image similarity computing means; and
fourth control means for parallelly processing control processes of the first, second, and third control means, and controlling a communication among the first, second, and third control means.
In order to achieve the above objects, a method of controlling an image search apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement.
That is, a method of controlling an image search apparatus for searching an image database that stores a plurality of image data for desired image data, comprises:
the control step of parallelly processing first and second processes, and controlling a communication between the first and second processes,
the first process comprises:
the input step of inputting an image input on an i
Kusama Kiyoshi
Matsumoto Kentaro
Yamamoto Kunihiro
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Mehta Bhavesh M.
Patel Kanji
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