Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-21
2002-11-12
Rones, Charles L. (Department: 2175)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06480841
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on applications Nos. 9-257025 and 9-257040 filed in Japan, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of automatically setting the degree of relevance between keywords to be attached to objects, and also to a keyword attaching method for automatically attaching a keyword to an object to be registered in storage as well as a keyword auto-attaching apparatus using this keyword attaching method.
With the rapid popularization of computers, electronic information treated by people has been on a rapid increase in amount. These large volumes of electronic information are generally stored together with keywords, and specifying the keyword allows desired electronic information to be retrieved.
An example of the method for attaching a keyword to such electronic information is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 6-295318. In this keyword attaching method, the following procedure is taken, for example, to register image data of a human face picture with a keyword attached thereto.
Various. keyword candidates related to the human face, such as “long face” and “round face”, are registered beforehand. Also, for each keyword candidate, goodness-of-fit calculating information and a threshold value to be used in calculating the goodness of fit are registered. For example, the goodness-of-fit calculating information for a keyword candidate of “long face” is “length-to-width ratio of profile”. Next, one keyword candidate “long face” as well as the goodness-of-fit calculating information and threshold value associated with this keyword candidate “long face” are read out, and a goodness of fit is calculated based on the goodness-of-fit calculating information of the keyword candidate “long face” from feature quantities of image data of a target object to which a keyword is to be attached. Then, if the resulting goodness of fit is equal to or more than the threshold value of the keyword candidate “long face”, the keyword candidate “long face” is determined as the keyword to be attached to the pertinent image data. From this on, similar operation is performed for all the registered keyword candidates, by which the keyword to be attached is determined.
In this way, an objective keyword attachment is achieved without relying on the subjective mind of the registering operator.
There has also been available another keyword attaching method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 8-329096. In this keyword attaching method, a two-dimensional keyword map having two axes such as comfort-discomfort and strong-weak is defined. Then, when a keyword is registered, the keyword to be registered is placed by manual operation at a point on the keyword map. With this arrangement, in an ambiguous retrieval of registered image data, specifying a distance from a specified keyword on the axes of the keyword map allows image data to be retrieved under a retrieval condition that keywords are located within the specified distance around the position of the specified keyword on the keyword map.
However, with the keyword attaching method described in the above Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 6-295318, the degrees of relevance between every twos of all the keyword candidates are unknown. Therefore, there is a problem that when image retrieval is done, it is impossible to do an ambiguous retrieval that one keyword is specified and image retrieval is performed based on the specified keyword and similar keywords located in the neighborhood of the specified keyword. Further, the calculation of goodness of fit based on the goodness-of-fit calculating information and the comparison of threshold values must be iterated to the number of registered keyword candidates, taking much time for the work of registering image data as another problem. Moreover, suitable goodness-of-fit calculating information and threshold values need to be registered beforehand for individual keyword candidates, which would demand troublesome, difficult work in building a keyword attaching system although the keyword attaching work itself is done automatically.
Further, with the keyword attaching method described in the above Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 8-329096, keywords can be positioned on one two-dimensional space, and the degree of relevance between keywords can be defined. Therefore, this method is effective for keyword selection in an ambiguous retrieval as described above. However, the correspondence between a keyword and image data to which this keyword should be attached is performed by persons. Also, the placement of keywords onto the keyword map must be done by manual operation as described above, which is very troublesome as a problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus which is capable of automatically setting the degree of relevance between keywords.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a keyword attaching method which allows a keyword to be attached simply and automatically, and a keyword auto-attaching apparatus using this keyword attaching method.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus in which an object is registered in storage with a keyword attached thereto, the apparatus comprising
keyword space defining means for, based on a correspondence between a plurality of objects and a plurality of keywords attached to these objects, defining a keyword space for the plurality of keywords.
With this constitution, the keyword space having a scale set according to the correspondence between the plurality of objects and the plurality of keywords attached to these objects is defined. Therefore, a degree of relevance corresponding to a placement distance is set between every twos of the plurality of keywords placed on the keyword space. That is, according to this invention, degrees of relevance between keywords can be set automatically and efficiently so that the user can be freed from the troublesomeness in manually setting the degrees of relevance.
Furthermore, when a plurality of objects for acquisition of the above correspondence are set according to the field of use or the kind of use, a keyword space complying with the purpose can be built up.
Also, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus in which an object is registered in storage with a keyword attached thereto, the apparatus comprising
object space defining means for, based on a correspondence between a plurality of objects and a plurality of keywords attached to these objects, defining an object space for the plurality of objects.
With this constitution, the object space having a scale set according to the correspondence between the plurality of objects and the plurality of attached keywords is defined. Therefore, a degree of relevance corresponding to a placement distance is set between every twos of the plurality of keywords placed on the keyword space. That is, according to this invention, degrees of relevance between keywords can be set automatically and efficiently so that the user can be freed from the troublesomeness in manually setting the degrees of relevance.
Furthermore, when a plurality of objects for acquisition of the above correspondence are set according to the field of use or the kind of use, an object space complying with the purpose can be built up.
An embodiment further comprises object space defining means for, based on the correspondence, defining an object space for the plurality of objects, wherein
the defined keyword space and object space are the same meaning space.
With this constitution, because the keyword space and the object space are of the same meaning space, a keyword placed at a position on the keyword space and an object placed at a position on the object space corresponding to the foregoing position have the same meaning. Therefore, a keyword suitable
Higashio Kimihiko
Mochizuki Takatoshi
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Minolta Co. , Ltd.
Rones Charles L.
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