JP2003271650A - Web site image retrieval system and method for cellular phone, server and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a Web site image retrieval system for cellular phone for guiding, from an image taken by a cellular phone with camera, to its Web site. <P>SOLUTION: An image related to a commodity or service is taken by a cellular phone with camera 4 having Internet connecting function and e-mail transmitting and receiving function, and transmitted to the mail address of a Web site image retrieval service providing server 1 having a Web site image retrieval database. The Web site image retrieval service providing server 1 extracts a characteristic quantity from the received image, compares it with Web sites stored in the database to retrieve a Web site having a similarity of a fixed value or more, and returns the URL of the Web site of the retrieval result to the mail address of the cellular phone 4. The cellular phone 4 accesses the URL of the received Web site to display the Web information of a Web server 2 or 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile phone website image retrieval system for guiding an image taken by a mobile phone with a camera to the website.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, We that can connect to the Internet
b With the spread of mobile phones with browsers, explanations of products and services (services) are being provided on mobile websites for mobile phones.

For this reason, the URL of the Web site is used in advertisements for product or service catalogs, newspapers, magazines, etc.
(Uniform Resource Locator) has been posted so that more detailed information can be provided.

[0004]

However, in order to guide the user to the website from the advertisement on the paper medium or the product package, it is necessary to input the URL into the mobile phone. With a mobile phone that does not have a keyboard, entering a URL is very troublesome, and many users give up visiting a website.

[0005] By the way, with the improvement of the data transfer capability of the mobile phone, a mobile phone with a camera which can use an image as a means of communication has been sold. Using this camera-equipped mobile phone, if the user can intuitively reach the related website by simply taking the logo, product name, product photo, etc. of the product that the user is interested in, we can reach more customers. You could be directed to a website.

Therefore, the present invention detects a pre-registered pattern or character string from an image photographed by a camera-equipped mobile phone and guides the user to the Web site corresponding to the image. It also aims to provide a server and its program.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a mobile phone having a digital camera and an electronic mail transmission function, and a mobile phone connected to the mobile phone via a network to determine a feature amount of an image. We according to the degree of similarity
W that has a database that associates URLs of b sites
and a means for transmitting the image photographed by the digital camera to the email address of the website image search service providing server via the network, and the website image. Means for accessing the URL of the web site of the search result received from the search service providing server and displaying the web information,
The eb site image search service providing server extracts a feature amount from the image received from the mobile phone, compares the feature amount of the website stored in the database, and searches for a website having a high degree of similarity. And a means for returning the URL of the website of the search result to the mail address of the mobile phone.

[0008] Further, the mobile phone uses the search result We
b, when accessing the URL of the website, the website image search service providing server has means for transmitting the URL of the website to the website image search service providing server. It is characterized by having a means for counting a site as a hit website.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned image retrieval is performed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
Using the information search method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 229382, etc., a website with a high degree of similarity is searched by extracting the feature amount of the image.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the network described in the claims is the Internet in the following embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a mobile phone website image retrieval system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The website image search service providing server 1 installed in the image search service center has a website image search database in which URLs of websites are associated with each other by the degree of similarity according to the image feature amount, and is connected to the Internet. . In addition, each function described below is realized by the control program stored in the memory. The web servers 2 and 3 each have a database of web information corresponding to the URL of each website and are connected to the Internet.

The mobile phone 4 with a camera (digital camera) is equipped with a micro browser such as Compact HTML and has an Internet connection function and an electronic mail transmission / reception function. This e-mail transmission / reception function can be used for both e-mail transmission / reception by a message exchange system in a mobile telephone network and Internet e-mail transmission / reception by internet connection.
Use the Internet mail sending / receiving function.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The registration processing of the website image search service according to the present invention will be described.

First, the website operator accesses the website image search service providing server 1 from a terminal such as a personal computer connected to a network (Internet) and applies for website registration at the image search service center.

After registration, the website operator displays the URL of the website and the image of the product or service logo, product name or service name, product appearance, etc., which is the search key.
It is transmitted to the website image search service providing server 1 (S1). The website image search service providing server 1 cuts out a search target portion from the received image and extracts various feature amounts such as color information and shape information (S).
2). Then, it is judged whether or not the input URL has already been registered (S3).
Information such as the product name or service name of
4) Generate a product or service object in which the URL is associated with information such as the product name or service name (S)
5). The image and the extracted feature amount are stored in association with the product or service object (S8).

If the product or service object associated with the URL is already registered, the similarity between the feature amount of the image stored in association with the product or service object and the feature amount extracted in step 2 is calculated. Calculate (S6). Then, it is judged whether or not the similarity is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value (S7).
The process ends. This is because the same image is not registered in one URL. If it is less than the threshold value, the image and the extracted feature amount are stored in association with the product or service object (S8). This is to expand the range of images for which similarity search is possible by additionally registering images with a low similarity.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A website image search process of a mobile phone using the website image search service according to the present invention will be described.

To subscribe to the website image search service, the user accesses the website image search service providing server 1 from a personal computer connected to the network and registers the user in the database. Anyone can register for free.

After registration, the user takes an image of a product or service that is a key to the website search with the camera-equipped mobile phone 4, and the image is displayed on the screen of the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 (S11). . FIG. 4A shows a screen display example of the search image, in which an image obtained by shooting the mouse obliquely from the front is displayed. Then, when "register" is selected, the image is transmitted to the mail address of the website image search service providing server 1 set at the time of user registration (S12).

The website image search service providing server 1 cuts out a search target portion from the image received from the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 and extracts a feature amount (S1).
3). Then, a Web having a degree of similarity of a certain value or more as compared with the feature amount of the Web site stored in the database
Search the site, the URL of the website of the search result
And the product name or service name of the camera-equipped mobile phone 4
To the e-mail address (S14). Figure 4 (b)
Shows an example of screen display of search results received by the camera-equipped mobile phone 4. It shows a state in which nine candidates are found, and the product names corresponding to the three URLs are displayed in descending order of similarity. If there is a desired product name or service name in the displayed, it is selected (S15), and the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 accesses the website of the URL of the displayed product name or service name, The web information of the web server 2 or 3 is displayed (S20). If no candidate is found as a result of the search, "No candidate found." Is displayed.

If it is desired to further narrow down from the searched plurality of website candidates (S15), the image is taken again from another angle, and the image is taken by the camera-equipped mobile phone 4.
Is displayed on the screen (S16). FIG. 4C shows an example of a screen display of images for narrowing down the candidates, and an image obtained by shooting the mouse from above is displayed. When "Register" is selected, the image is transmitted to the email address of the website image search service providing server 1 set at the time of user registration (S17).

The website image search service providing server 1 cuts out a search target portion from the image received from the camera-equipped mobile phone 4, and extracts the feature amount again (S1).
8). Then, a Web having a degree of similarity of a certain value or more as compared with the feature amount of the Web site stored in the database
Search the site again, remove the ones with low similarity from the previous search results,
The RL and its product name or service name are returned to the mail address of the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 (S19). Figure 4
(D) shows a screen display example of the search result received by the camera-equipped mobile phone 4. One candidate found and its UR
The state where the product name corresponding to L is displayed is shown.

The camera-equipped mobile phone 4 accesses the website of the URL of the displayed product name or service name and displays the web information of the web server 2 or 3 (S20).

When the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 accesses a website, the URL of the website is changed to the website.
It is transmitted to the site image search service providing server 1. W
The eb site image search service providing server 1 counts the number of hits with the website of the URL received from the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 as a hit website.

The fee for using the website image search service is charged according to the number of hits in addition to the basic fee according to the amount of data used when the website operator applies for website registration at the image search service center. However, the image search service center charges the website operator on a monthly basis through a billing agency (a credit company or the like). The contract starts from the initial introduction month, and if payment is delayed for a certain period (for example, 3 months), it is deleted from the database with a warning. Data will be stored at an additional cost during service suspension.

Next, as a second embodiment, an example in which the database registered by the website operator is updated by the user's access will be described. The website image search service providing server 1 includes a camera-equipped mobile phone 4
We who hit the website of the URL received from
The search image and the narrowed-down image received from the camera-equipped mobile phone 4 while being counted as the b site,
The feature amount extracted from those images is additionally stored in the product or service object associated with the URL.
Therefore, the more hit websites are, the more We
b. The images associated with products or service objects in the site image search database and their feature quantities will be further enhanced, and the rate of search targets will increase in subsequent searches, and access by more users will occur. You can

This database update service is available on the Web.
It is set as an option when the site operator applies for website registration at the image search service center.
Also, an optional fee will be added when the fee is charged according to the number of hits.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The user can intuitively reach the website from the image related to the product or service without handling symbols such as URLs, and can lead more customers to the website.

Further, the more hits the website has, the W stored in the website image search database.
The image associated with the URL of the eb site and its feature amount are further enhanced, and the rate of being a search target is increased in subsequent searches, so that more users can access it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a mobile phone website image search system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a website image search service registration process.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a website image search process of a mobile phone.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a website image search process of a mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Web site image search service providing server 2 Web server 3 Web server 4 Mobile phone with camera

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 109M F term (reference) 5B050 AA10 BA10 CA05 EA04 EA18 GA08 5B075 KK07 ND06 ND20 NK07 PQ05 PQ16 QM08 UU40 5K067 AA21 BB04 BB21 DD11 DD51 EE02 EE10 EE16 FF02 FF23 HH11 HH22

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A web including a mobile phone having a digital camera and an e-mail transmission function, a database connected to the mobile phone via a network, and a database in which URLs of web sites are associated with each other according to the degree of similarity according to the feature amount of an image. A site image search service providing server, the mobile phone means for transmitting an image captured by the digital camera to an email address of the website image search service providing server via the network, and the website image search The website image search service providing server has means for accessing the URL of the website of the search result received from the service providing server and displaying the web information, wherein the website image search service providing server uses the feature amount from the image received from the mobile phone. To extract
A means for searching a website having a high degree of similarity in comparison with the characteristic amount of the website stored in the database; and means for returning the URL of the website as a search result to the mail address of the mobile phone. A featured mobile phone website image search system. 2. The mobile phone, when accessing a URL of a website as a search result, uses the U of the website.
The website image search service providing server has means for transmitting an RL to the website image search service providing server, and the website image search service providing server has means for counting the website of the URL received from the mobile phone as a hit website. The mobile phone website image search system according to claim 1, wherein 3. The website image search service providing server uses the URL We received from the mobile phone.
When counting the b site as the hit website, the image previously received from the mobile phone and the feature amount extracted from the image are stored in the database W.
The mobile phone website image retrieval system according to claim 2, wherein the system is additionally stored in association with the URL of the eb site. 4. A mobile phone having a digital camera and an e-mail transmission function, and a mobile phone connected to the mobile phone via a network and classified by We according to the degree of similarity according to the feature amount of an image.
W that has a database that associates URLs of b sites
In a system including an eb site image search service providing server, the mobile phone transmits an image captured by the digital camera to an email address of the website image search service providing server via the network, The image search service providing server extracts a feature amount from the image received from the mobile phone,
The website that has a high degree of similarity compared to the characteristic amount of the website stored in the database is searched, and the URL of the website as a search result is returned to the email address of the mobile phone. U of the website of the search result received from the site image search service providing server
A mobile phone website image retrieval method characterized by accessing the RL and displaying the Web information. 5. The mobile phone, when accessing a URL of a website as a search result, uses the U of the website.
The RL is transmitted to the website image search service providing server, and the website image search service providing server counts the website of the URL received from the mobile phone as a hit website. 4. The mobile phone website image search method described in 4. 6. The website image search service providing server uses the URL We received from the mobile phone.
When counting the b site as the hit website, the image previously received from the mobile phone and the feature amount extracted from the image are stored in the database W.
6. The mobile phone website image retrieval method according to claim 5, further storing the URL in association with the URL of the eb site. 7. A website image search having a database connected to a digital camera and a mobile phone having an electronic mail transmission function via a network, and having a website URL associated with each similarity degree according to the feature amount of the image. A server that provides a service, wherein the mobile phone receives an image transmitted from the digital camera by the digital camera via the network, extracts the characteristic amount of the image, and stores the web content stored in the database.
A mobile phone Web site characterized by having means for searching a Web site having a high degree of similarity in comparison with the feature quantity of the site, and means for returning the URL of the Web site as a search result to the mail address of the mobile phone. Image search server. 8. The mobile phone further comprises means for receiving the URL of the transmitted website and counting it as a hit website when accessing the URL of the website as a search result. Item 7. A mobile phone website image search server according to item 7. 9. The URL W received from the mobile phone
When counting the eb site as a hit website, the image previously received from the mobile phone and the feature amount extracted from the image are additionally stored in association with the URL of the website stored in the database. 9. The mobile phone website image search server according to claim 8. 10. A digital camera is connected to a mobile phone having an electronic mail transmission function via a network,
Web site URLs by similarity according to image feature amount
A computer program for causing a server that provides a website image search service having a database associated with to realize the following functions: a) An image captured by the digital camera by the mobile phone is stored in the network. The image stored in the database is received by receiving the image transmitted via
It is characterized by realizing a function of searching a website having a higher degree of similarity compared to the feature amount of the eb site, and b) a function of returning the URL of the website of the search result to the mail address of the mobile phone. program. 11. The server is further provided with a function of receiving the URL of the transmitted website and counting it as a hit website when the mobile phone accesses the URL of the website as a search result. The program according to claim 10, characterized in that. 12. The website of the URL received from the mobile phone is stored in the server,
When counting as a hit website, a function of additionally storing the image previously received from the mobile phone and the feature amount extracted from the image in association with the URL of the website stored in the database is further realized. The program according to claim 11, wherein the program is executed.