JP2000181935A - Device and method for managing image and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain improvement in a retrieval ability by correspondently managing object information, attached information and image. SOLUTION: The attached information to the image is managed corresponding to the image together with an object unit. In this attached information, there are respective data of photographing relation, special object, category, impression, time, place, weather and event. In the photographing relation data, photographing states such as photographer and date of photographing are described and in the special object data, art objects and articles, etc., are described. In the category data, the categories of images such as scenery and figure are described and in the impression data, impressions on images are described. Besides, in the place data, the place expressed by the image is described, in the weather data, the weather such as rain or snow is described and in the event data, the data of congratulations and condolences are described respectively. Thus, when a query including the relevant information of an object unit and the attached information thereof is designated at the time of retrieval, candidate images can be highly accurately extracted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image management apparatus, an image management method, and a storage medium for managing images stored in storage means so as to be searchable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image management method for managing images stored in storage means in a searchable manner, information serving as keywords is added to the images in a list, and the added information is added to the images. Manage images in association with each other. When searching for an image managed in this way, enter a keyword corresponding to the information managing the image, and use the interaction between the entered keyword and the information managing the image. Is used to search for candidate images.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional image management method, by managing the images by associating the information provided in a row with the images, the keyword input at the time of searching for the images is reduced. Since the information corresponds to the information provided in a series of images, high search ability cannot be exhibited. As a result, the search capability is reduced, for example, a candidate image obtained by the search does not include a desired image or only a candidate image that is not required at all is extracted.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image management device, an image management method, and a storage medium that can improve search capability.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In an image management device for managing an image stored in a storage unit in a searchable manner, together with object information on an object in the image,
Input means for inputting at least one of incidental information such as shooting-related information, special subject information, genre information, impression information, time information, location information, weather information, and event information; The image processing apparatus further includes a management unit that stores the supplementary information in the management information storage unit, and manages the object information and the supplementary information in association with the image.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image management apparatus according to the first aspect, the object information includes, as constituent units, information on a general name, a modifier, a proper noun, and a position for the object. It is characterized by including an object unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image management apparatus according to the second aspect, the object information further includes a unit including object-related information relating to the object, and the management unit stores the unit in the image management apparatus. It is characterized in that it is stored in the management information storage means in association with the object unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image management apparatus according to the third aspect, the object information further includes a state unit including information indicating a state of an object corresponding to the object unit. I do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image management apparatus of the third aspect, the object information further includes at least one information indicating a relationship between one object and another object in the image. And at least one relational unit, wherein the at least one relational unit is stored in the management information storage unit so as to be associated with each of the object unit for the one object and the object unit for the other object.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image management apparatus according to the second aspect, a plurality of words can be described for the modifier of the object unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image management apparatus of the first aspect, further, search information input means for inputting information corresponding to the object information as search information, and the input search information and the management The image processing apparatus further includes a search unit that compares the object information stored in the information storage unit to search for a candidate image, and an output unit that outputs the candidate image.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image management method for retrievably managing an image stored in a storage means, wherein object information on an object in the image, shooting-related information on the image, Inputting at least one of incidental information such as special subject information, genre information, impression information, time information, place information, weather information, and event information; and managing the input object information and incidental information. Storing the image in the storage means and managing the image by associating the object information and the supplementary information with the image.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image management method of the eighth aspect, the object information includes, as constituent units, information on a general name, a modifier, a proper noun, and a position for the object. It is characterized by including an object unit.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image management method according to the ninth aspect, the object information further includes a unit including object-related information related to the object, and the management unit stores the unit in the image management method. It is characterized in that it is stored in the management information storage means in association with the object unit.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image management method according to the tenth aspect, the object information further includes a state unit comprising information indicating a state of an object corresponding to the object unit. I do.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image management method according to the tenth aspect, the object information further includes at least one information indicating a relationship between one object and another object in the image. And at least one relational unit, wherein the at least one relational unit is stored in the management information storage unit so as to be associated with each of the object unit for the one object and the object unit for the other object.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image management method of the ninth aspect, a plurality of words can be described for the modifier of the object unit.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image management method of the eighth aspect, a step of inputting information corresponding to the object information as search information, the input search information and the management information storage means And searching for a candidate image by comparing the object information with the object information stored in the object information, and outputting the candidate image.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a program for constructing an image management system for retrievably managing an image stored in a storage means on an information processing apparatus. The program includes, in addition to object information for an object in the image, shooting-related information, special subject information,
An input module for inputting at least one of incidental information such as genre information, impression information, time information, location information, weather information, and event information; and storing the input object information and incidental information in management information storage means. A management module for storing and managing the object information and the supplementary information in association with the image;

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the fifteenth aspect, the object information includes, as a unit, a general name, a modifier, a proper noun, and a position for the object. It is characterized by including a unit.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the sixteenth aspect, the object information further includes a unit including object-related information related to the object, and the management unit stores the unit in the storage medium. It is characterized in that it is stored in the management information storage means in association with an object unit.

[0022] The invention according to claim 18 is the storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the object information further includes a state unit consisting of information indicating a state of an object corresponding to the object unit. .

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the seventeenth aspect, the object information further includes at least one of information indicating a relationship between one object and another object in the image. And at least one relational unit, wherein the at least one relational unit is stored in the management information storage unit so as to be associated with each of the object unit for the one object and the object unit for the other object.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the sixteenth aspect, a plurality of words can be described for the modifier of the object unit.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium of the fifteenth aspect, further, a search information input module for inputting information corresponding to the object information as search information, the input search information and the management information It has a search module for comparing the object information stored in the storage means to search for a candidate image, and an output module for outputting the candidate image.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the image management apparatus of the present invention.

The image management device, as shown in FIG.
U11 is provided. The CPU 11 executes a corresponding process such as an image management process and an image search process according to a program stored in the ROM 12. The RAM 13 is used as a work area for the processing of the CPU 11.

The CPU 11 has the ROM 12 and the R
Along with the AM 13, a keyboard 15, a mouse 16, and a color display 17 via a bus line 18.
And a hard disk drive (HD) 14, and each block is controlled by the CPU 11. Keyboard 1
Reference numeral 5 has various keys for setting various environments such as data input, processing, and operation in each processing. Mouse 16
Is for instructing data input, processing, operation, and the like in each processing. The display 17 displays an image of an image file stored in the hard disk device 14, a window associated with each process, and the like.

The hard disk device 15 stores an image file and image management information used for managing images included in the image file, and the image and the image management information are managed in association with each other. The image management information includes an object unit for an object in the image and additional information for the image.

Next, FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an object unit used for image management by the image management device of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the object unit for the object in this image is, as shown in FIG. 2A, the position (Place) of the object on the screen, a pointer to the decoration unit (Attribute Pointer), and a common name (Object Nam).
e), a proper noun (Proper Noun), and a pointer (Unit Pointer) to another object unit. As shown in FIG. 2B, the pointer to the decoration unit indicates the location of the decoration unit, and the decoration unit describes the modifier assigned to the object. This modification unit is configured to be able to describe a plurality of modifiers so that one object can be modified with a plurality of modifiers.

A pointer to another object indicates another object unit to be linked. As another object unit, as shown in FIG. 2C, there is an inclusion relation unit for an object contained in the object (for example, an object called a face in an object called a person). As another object unit, as shown in FIG. 2D, there is a state unit for representing the state of the object. For example, in the case of a person object, if the person needs to represent the state of "standing", the state unit representing the state of "standing" is linked to the object unit of the person. Become. further,
As another object unit, as shown in FIG. 2E, there is a relation unit indicating a relation between an object and another object. For example, when there is a relationship that a person is in a car between a person object and a car object, the relation unit indicates the relationship of “riding”, and the relation unit is a link between two object units. Is done. This relational unit is composed of one verb, and a plurality of units are allowed. For example, when expressing the relationship that a person is driving in a car, the related units "Riding" and "Driving" are linked to the object "People". Become.

As supplementary information for an image, there are supplementary information of photographing-related data, special subject data, genre data, impression data, time data, location data, weather data, and event data. Details of this supplementary information will be described later.

Next, a description example of an object unit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image managed by the image management device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a description example of an object unit for the image of FIG.

The image shown in FIG. 3 is a composition image in which a male on the left is surprised to see that a cat is eating a mouse on the round table on the right. In this image, if a cat is a first object, a mouse is a second object, a table is a third object, and a man is a fourth object, as shown in FIG. For example, an object unit describing “right center” as a position, “fat” as a modifier, “cat” as a generic name, and “Mike” as a proper noun is given. For the second object (mouse), the position is "right center" and the generic name is "rat"
Is described. However, there is no description about modifiers and proper nouns. For the third object (table), an object unit describing "lower right" as a position, "round" as a modifier, and "table" as a common name is given. However, there is no description about proper nouns. For the fourth object (male), the position is described as "left", the modifiers are "tall" and "male", the general name is "human", and the proper noun is "Ryoichi Kosugi". Object unit has been granted. here,
The inclusion unit and the state unit are linked to the object unit of the fourth object. This inclusion relation unit is a unit that describes the position “upper left”, the modifier “surprised”, and the common name “face” with respect to the object “face” in the fourth object, and has no description about proper nouns. The state unit describes the state of the fourth object, that is, “standing”. In addition, a relational unit indicating a relation between the first object and the fourth object is provided, and the relational unit describes a verb “eating” indicating that a cat is eating a mouse. Further, a relational unit indicating a relation between the first object and the third object is provided, and the relational unit describes a verb “ride” indicating that the cat is riding on the table. I have.

By describing in this way, unlike the conventional case where words that are merely keywords are described in a row, it is possible to clearly show what kind of object an image is composed of and how. It is possible.

Next, the supplementary information for the image is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of incidental information used for image management by the image management device of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the supplementary information for the image is managed in association with the image together with the above-described object description, that is, the object unit (including each unit linked thereto). The supplementary information includes supplementary information of photographing-related data, special subject data, genre data, impression data, time data, location data, weather data, and event data.

The photographing-related data includes a photographer, a photographing date and time, a photographing place, photographing equipment, a light beam state at the time of photographing (direct light,
Backlight etc.) can be described. For example, when the image is a photograph of a person, the photographing-related data can describe the person using an object unit, but cannot describe a person who took the photograph. However, if the photographer is described in the photographing-related data, it is possible to perform a search using the photographer and the photographed person as a keyword. It is possible to extract it with certainty.

The special subject data includes works of art, including paintings, etc. (work field, work name, creator, date of production), goods (general name, product name, sale date), for example, a frame to be provided around a photograph. Such as paper (type) paper, three-dimensional images, CG (computer graphics), illustrations (author names, work names), texts, logos, and the like can be described. For example,
By providing the special subject data to the image of the painting, it is possible to perform a search using keywords for the author and the object in the painting, and it is possible to reliably extract candidate images in a narrow range.

The genre data includes a landscape image, a person image,
It describes the genre of images of vehicles and the like. The impression data describes an impression of the image, and describes, for example, an impression such as “flashy”, “smooth”, and “bright”. The time data can describe the season and the time of day. Here, if the shooting date is described in the shooting related data, the time data is considered unnecessary, but in many cases, the corresponding shooting date cannot be accurately input at the time of search. Describing the season etc. may be effective when searching. In the place data, for example, a place represented in an image can be described. In the weather data, weather such as rain and snow can be described. For example, in the event data, data of congratulations such as Shichigosan and wedding ceremony can be described.

As described above, it is possible to associate information, which is difficult to express in the object unit, with an image by using the above-described additional information. Is specified, candidate images can be extracted with high accuracy.

For example, suppose that the image shown in FIG. 2 is a painting drawn by a painter M, and when searching for this image,
When the searcher specifies a query “painter M describes a painting in which the man on the left is surprised at seeing a cat”, candidate images including the image shown in FIG. 2 are extracted. Here, when only the above-mentioned object unit is described, other images that meet the condition of “an image showing that the left-hand man is surprised to see the cat” are also extracted as candidate images, When a large number of images meeting this condition are stored, the number of candidate images to be extracted increases, and it may take time to select a target image from the large number of candidate images. On the other hand, if “painting” and “creator M” are added as supplementary information to the image along with the object unit, the number of candidate images including the image shown in FIG. 2 decreases, and the image shown in FIG. It can be extracted with high accuracy. That is, high search ability can be exhibited.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the image is managed by assigning the image management information including the object unit and the supplementary information to the object in the image, so that the object unit for the object in the image is managed. It is possible to perform a search using a query including information and incidental information, and to extract a candidate image with high accuracy. That is, the search ability can be improved.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the apparatus is constituted by one device. However, the present invention provides a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader,
Printer or the like).

Also, a computer (CP) in an apparatus or system connected to the various devices so as to operate the various devices to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment.
U or MPU), a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is provided, and a computer of the system or the apparatus is operated by operating various devices according to the program code. included.

In this case, the program code itself of the software realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer, for example, storing the program code The storage medium described constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for storing such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer or the other Needless to say, such program codes are included in the embodiments of the present invention even when the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized in cooperation with the application program software of the above.

Further, the supplied program code is
After being stored in the memory provided on the function expansion board of the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU of the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention includes a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by performing the entire process.

[0051]

As described above, claims 1 to 7 are described.
According to the image management device described above, together with object information on an object in an image, incidental information such as shooting-related information, special subject information, genre information, impression information, time information, location information, weather information, and event information for the image Input means for inputting at least one piece of supplementary information of the information, and management means for storing the inputted object information and supplementary information in the management information storage means and managing the object information and the supplementary information in association with the image. As a result, it is possible to perform a search for the object in the image using the object unit and the accompanying information, and it is possible to improve the search ability.

According to the image management method of the eighth to fourteenth aspects, it is possible to perform a search using an object unit and incidental information for an object in an image, thereby improving search performance.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, it is possible to perform a search for the object in the image using the object unit and the supplementary information, thereby improving the search ability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of an image management apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an object unit used for image management by the image management device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image managed by the image management device in FIG. 1;

4 is a diagram showing an example of a description of an object unit with respect to the image of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of incidental information used for image management by the image management device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 Hard Disk Device 15 Keyboard 16 Mouse 17 Display

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. An image management apparatus for managing an image stored in a storage means so that the image can be searched, together with object information on an object in the image, shooting-related information, special subject information, and genre information on the image. Input means for inputting at least one of incidental information such as impression information, time information, location information, weather information, and event information; and storing the input object information and incidental information in management information storage means. ,
An image management apparatus, comprising: management means for managing the object information and the supplementary information in association with the image. 2. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object information includes an object unit having information of a common name, a modifier, a proper noun, and a position for the object as a constituent unit. apparatus. 3. The object information further includes a unit including object-related information related to the object, and the management unit associates the unit with the object unit and stores the unit in the management information storage unit. 3. The image management device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The image management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the object information further includes a state unit including information indicating a state of an object corresponding to the object unit. 5. The object information further includes at least one relation unit composed of information indicating a relation between one object and another object in the image, wherein the at least one relation unit is the one object. 4. The image management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the management information storage unit stores the object unit for the object and the object unit for the other object so as to be associated with each other. 6. The image management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of phrases can be described for the modifier of the object unit. 7. Search information input means for inputting information corresponding to the object information as search information;
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a search unit configured to compare the input search information with the object information stored in the management information storage unit to search for a candidate image, and an output unit configured to output the candidate image. Item 2. The image management device according to Item 1. 8. An image management method for retrievably managing an image stored in a storage means, wherein object information on an object in the image, shooting-related information, special subject information, and genre information on the image are provided. Inputting at least one of incidental information such as impression information, time information, location information, weather information and event information, and storing the input object information and incidental information in management information storage means; And managing the object information and the supplementary information and the image in association with each other. 9. The image management system according to claim 8, wherein the object information includes an object unit having information of a common name, a modifier, a proper noun, and a position for the object as a constituent unit. Method. 10. The object information further includes a unit including object-related information related to the object, wherein the management unit associates the unit with the object unit and stores the unit in the management information storage unit. The image management method according to claim 9, wherein: 11. The image management method according to claim 10, wherein the object information further includes a state unit including information indicating a state of an object corresponding to the object unit. 12. The object information further includes at least one relation unit composed of information indicating a relation between one object and another object in the image, wherein the at least one relation unit is the one object.
11. The image management method according to claim 10, wherein the management information storage unit stores the object unit for one object and the object unit for the other object so as to be associated with each other. 13. The image management method according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of phrases can be described for the modifier in the object unit. 14. A method for inputting information corresponding to the object information as search information, and comparing the input search information with the object information stored in the management information storage means to generate a candidate image. The image management method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of searching and a step of outputting the candidate image. 15. A storage medium storing a program for constructing an image management system for managing an image stored in a storage means in a searchable manner on an information processing apparatus, wherein the program is a program for storing an image in the image. Along with object information for the object of
An input module for inputting at least one of incidental information such as shooting-related information, special subject information, genre information, impression information, time information, location information, weather information, and event information; A storage medium storing a supplementary information in a management information storage unit, and having a management module for managing the object information and the supplementary information in association with the image. 16. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the object information includes an object unit having information of a common name, a modifier, a proper noun, and a position as a constituent unit with respect to the object. . 17. The object information further includes a unit including object-related information related to the object, wherein the management unit associates the unit with the object unit and stores the unit in the management information storage unit. 17. The storage medium according to claim 16, wherein: 18. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein said object information further includes a state unit consisting of information indicating a state of an object corresponding to said object unit. 19. The object information further includes at least one relation unit composed of information indicating a relation between one object and another object in the image, wherein the at least one relation unit is the one unit. 18. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the management information storage unit stores the object unit for one object and the object unit for the other object so as to be associated with each other. 20. The storage medium according to claim 16, wherein a plurality of phrases can be described for the modifier in the object unit. 21. A search information input module for inputting information corresponding to the object information as search information, and comparing the input search information with the object information stored in the management information storage means. The storage medium according to claim 15, further comprising: a search module for searching for a candidate image; and an output module for outputting the candidate image.