Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-23
2002-01-01
Nguyen, Cao H. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06335746
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus and, more particularly, to an information processing method and apparatus for displaying a list of a plurality of image data files as well as a list of search results.
The recent rapid increase in the power of computers and in the storage capacity of magnetic disks and magneto-optical (MO) disks has led to the practical use of image filing systems and image databases for storing large quantities of image data.
In these systems, images usually are stored on a computer disk in the manner exemplified by
FIG. 1
, which will now be described.
Shown in
FIG. 1
are an image scanner
10
, a personal computer
20
, a display
22
and a magnetic disk
30
, which is built in the personal computer
20
or externally connected to the computer.
The scanner
10
reads an image using an internal image sensor (not shown), converts the image to a digital signal and then transmits the digital signal to the personal computer
20
via e.g. an SCSI interface (not shown) and a cable
11
. The image digitized by the scanner
10
is a monochrome bi-level image, an 8-bit grayscale image or a 24-bit full-color image, etc., and is capable of being selected in accordance with the input image.
The digital image read by the personal computer
20
is given a file name and then is stored on the magnetic disk
30
. A plurality of items of image data that have been stored on the magnetic disk
30
are read out and displayed on the display
22
by having their file names designated by the operator of the personal computer.
However, an image filing system of this kind has the following problems:
First, since the quantity of image data is very large, reading the designated image data out of the disk and displaying the image data take time. For example, in case of a 400-dpi monochrome bi-level image of size A4, the amount of data is approximately two megabytes. If the image is a full-color image, the amount of data is about 48 megabytes. As a consequence, a considerable period of time is required even to transmit the monochrome image via the interface (e.g. the SCSI and cable
21
) between the personal computer and the disk. In case of the full-color image, the time required is much greater.
In general, image compression is carried out to solve this problem. For example, the JPEG compression method is used widely to compress full-color images. In accordance with the JPEG method, it is possible to compress image data to {fraction (1/20)} to {fraction (1/30)} of the original without much deterioration in image quality. However, even though the time for transmitting data from the disk to the personal computer is shortened when compression is carried out, processing for decoding the compressed image data by the personal computer is necessary. This means that considerable time is still required.
Second, in order to find a desired image among stored images (this is referred to as a manual search) or to verify the image, an enormous quantity of compressed image data must be read out of the disk, decoded and then displayed each time.
Further, the display
22
usually has a resolution which is low in comparison with that of the image data that has been stored on the disk
30
. When an image is displayed, therefore, processing such as subsampling is required. Accordingly, in a situation where a stored image is manually searched or verified, it is required that each image file be displayed one at a time. This is extremely inefficient.
In order to improve upon these drawbacks, a filing system which performs a search using reduced images referred to as thumbnail images has been proposed. Such an example is illustrated in FIG.
2
.
Numerals
20
,
22
in
FIG. 2
represent the personal computer
20
and display
22
shown in FIG.
1
.
A reduced image (thumbnail image) is produced for each image file in advance and the thumbnail image is displayed instead of the stored image having the original dimensions. Since a thumbnail image has a smaller data size than the image of the original size, it is transmitted from the disk in a shorter period of time. An additional advantage is that a multiplicity of thumbnail images
23
,
24
,
25
can be displayed on the display
22
at one time.
Nevertheless, a system of this kind still has a number of disadvantages.
Specifically, since a thumbnail image per se is merely for the purpose of displaying the general features of the full-size image, it is desired that the thumbnail image be in the same file as that of the image of the full-size image. However, if a thumbnail image and the full-size image are included in one file, the file must have a special format and it will not be possible to read the file out of another application or from a filing system. In addition, if the number of stored images is large, problems arise in terms of the amount of data possessed by the thumbnail images.
On the other hand, if a thumbnail image and its full-size image are placed in separate files, management becomes more complicated.
In a case where a thumbnail image and its full-size image are placed in separate files, an application which manages filing must manage the correlation between the thumbnail image and full-size image. Consequently, when the user executes processing such as movement, copying, renaming or deletion of a file by the function of the operating system (OS) or by an application belonging to the OS, a contradiction occurs with respect to correlation with the filing application.
Another drawback is that a thumbnail image is produced arbitrarily as a file irrespective of the volition of the user. Furthermore, if the number of stored images is large, problems arise in terms of the amount of data possessed by the thumbnail images.
In order to prevent the occurrence of the above-mentioned contradiction in terms of the correlation between a full-size image file and its thumbnail image file, a filing system having a database structure has been proposed. With this database structure, there are many cases where a plurality of retrieved files are displayed as thumbnail images by performing a search among a number of image files using a keyword search or the like. In a database structure of this kind, image files are managed within the database structure and the file management structure is invisible to the user. For example, since the user cannot see the directory structure directly, a file which could not be retrieved as by a keyword search can only be retrieved by displaying files one after another. This is inconvenient. Further, even in a case where files having a directory structure are provided on a separate medium such as a CD-ROM, all images must be moved to a database area and a change must be made to a structure to which the thumbnail images have been added.
Thus, in the image filing system described above, the following drawbacks are encountered in a case where a manual search is performed to select a desired image from a plurality of images:
1. A long period of time is required to display image for the sake of verifying an image.
2. With an image search using thumbnail images, a special type of management is needed to manage the thumbnail images and full-size images and difficulties arise when processing the images from the OS or another application.
3. When there is a large number of filed images, problems arise in terms of the volume of data of the thumbnail images.
4. In an image filing system having a database structure, the structure cannot be seen by the user. As a result, inconveniences arise in a case where a desired image is retrieved while displaying and verifying images.
5. In an image filing system having a database sturcture, it is not possible for the user to manage image files disposed under a desired directory.
6. In order to perform an image search of another image file area having a directory structure, a change must be made to a database structure. Operation is complicated and processing takes too much time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present
Enokida Miyuki
Yamamoto Kunihiro
Yoshida Tadashi
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Nguyen Cao H.
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