JP2007079617A - Information processing apparatus and method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the selection of desired information from much information and the classification thereof from a desired viewpoint. <P>SOLUTION: The input of a selection condition for information in an optional position in an area where much information is displayed moves information satisfying/similar to the selection condition to the selection condition input position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for classifying information from a desired viewpoint.

Conventionally, a search process for searching for and displaying an image based on attribute information such as a date added to image data has been performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-148794 A

  In recent years, display screens of display devices used in conference systems and the like are becoming larger. On the other hand, there is a desire to promptly proceed with proceedings by performing an information search process while displaying a memo for proceeding with the conference on the display screen.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a system for displaying a search result at an arbitrary position desired by a user in order to meet such a demand.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the present invention, there is provided an information processing method for an information processing device that displays a plurality of information in a display screen of a display device, wherein the information is displayed at an arbitrary position in the display screen. A selection condition input step for inputting a selection condition; an information selection step for selecting information corresponding to the selection condition input in the selection condition input step from a plurality of pieces of information stored in a storage device; and the selection condition input And a control step for displaying the information selected by the information selection means in the vicinity of the selection condition input in the step.

  According to the present invention, the search result can be displayed by inputting the search result in a blank area where no memo is written. Therefore, information search processing can be performed without hindering the proceedings of the conference.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, an input unit 1 is used to input information (data), and includes a digitizer, a mouse, a keyboard, and the like. The CPU 2 performs calculations for various processes, logical determinations, and the like, and controls each component connected to the bus 6. The output unit 3 includes a display (display device) such as an LCD or CRT.

  In this embodiment, a digitizer (coordinate input device) as the input unit 1 is incorporated on the display screen of the display, and handwriting input is possible using a pen. The program memory 4 is a memory for storing a program for control by the CPU 2 including a processing procedure of a flowchart described later. The program memory 4 may be a ROM or a RAM in which a program is loaded from an external storage device or the like.

  The data memory 5 stores data generated by various processes. The data memory 5 is a RAM, for example, but is loaded from a non-volatile external storage medium prior to processing or referred to whenever necessary. The bus 6 is used to transfer an address signal indicating each component to be controlled by the CPU 2, a control signal for controlling each component, and data exchanged between the components. . The secondary storage device 7 is configured by a hard disk drive or the like, and stores content data and thumbnail images corresponding to them.

(First embodiment)
In this embodiment, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 17, a handwritten search command input in the vicinity of the data being displayed is interpreted to specify a search key, a thumbnail image as image data is searched, and the search result is classified. An embodiment of the information processing apparatus to be displayed will be described.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a display screen of the output unit 3 of the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 2A, “restaurant” is input as the search key 22 on the display screen 21 of the output unit 3, and a plurality of thumbnail images 23 and 24 are displayed around the search key 22 as search results. Indicates the state.

  FIG. 2B shows a state where “tempura” is newly inputted as the narrowing condition 25 from the state of FIG. 2A and a handwriting narrowing command 26 is further inputted. When the handwriting narrowing command 26 is input, the CPU2 recognizes the handwriting narrowing command. Then, the CPU 2 narrows down the search result of the search key 22 “restaurant”.

  Here, “restaurant” and “tempura” may be input by handwriting.

  FIG. 2C shows a display example of a search result narrowed around the narrowing condition 25 “tempura” (hereinafter referred to as a narrowing result to distinguish it from the search result). The thumbnail image 22 displayed around the narrow-down condition 25 “tempura” is a result of moving the thumbnail image displayed around the search key “restaurant”. For example, the thumbnail image 28 displayed on the display screen 21 in FIG. 2B moves around the narrow-down condition “tempura” as shown in FIG. 2C. In the state of FIG. 2C, nothing is displayed at the position of the thumbnail image 28 displayed on the display screen 21 in FIG.

  In the above-described thumbnail image moving process, the display process is performed so that the operator can recognize from which area on the display screen 21 the search result has moved due to the narrowing down. Specifically, a process of repeating display by moving little by little along a straight line connecting the movement start position of the thumbnail image and the coordinates of the position to be moved is performed.

  In addition, a thumbnail image other than the narrowed-down result that is close to or overlaps with the thumbnail image displayed as the narrowed-down result is displayed so as to be distinguished from the thumbnail image displayed as the narrowed-down result. Specifically, as shown in the thumbnail image 29, a process of moving away from the thumbnail image of the narrowed down result is performed. Further, when a thumbnail image that overlaps with the moved thumbnail image 29 is generated, as shown in the thumbnail image 2a, a process of moving in a chain so as not to overlap is performed. Thus, finally, the display process is repeated so that all the thumbnail images do not overlap. The movement at this time is also displayed so that the movement process can be recognized.

  In the state of FIG. 2C where the narrowing result is displayed, the display of the stroke of the handwriting narrowing command 26 is erased.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart of handwriting input interpretation processing of the information processing apparatus in the present embodiment.

  In step S301 in FIG. 3, the stroke input by the operator is detected by the handwriting input process. In step S302, the detected input stroke is interpreted as a handwritten command.

  If it is not interpreted as a handwritten command in step S303, the input stroke is recognized as a character by the handwritten character recognition process in step S304, and the process is terminated. If it is determined as a handwritten command in step S303, the process proceeds to step S305. If it is determined in step S305 that the interpreted command is a handwriting search command, the process proceeds to step S306. If it is determined that the command is a handwriting narrowing command, the process proceeds to step S309.

  In step S306, the search process is started. Specifically, first, the search key corresponding to the handwritten search command is specified by the search key specifying process. In the subsequent step S307, a search is performed by a search process based on the search key. In step S308, the search result is displayed near the area where the search key is input and displayed.

  In step S309, a narrowing process is performed. Specifically, first, the narrow-down condition corresponding to the handwritten narrow-down command is specified by the narrow-down condition specifying process. In subsequent step S310, the search result searched in S307 by the narrowing process is narrowed based on the narrowing condition. In step S311, the result of the narrowing process is displayed near the area where the narrowing condition is input and displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a drawing object list regarding display area information of each drawing object displayed on the display screen 21 in the present embodiment. This list is stored in the data memory 5. Note that the drawing object refers to an object input by handwriting as the search key 22 or the narrowing-down condition 25.

  In FIG. 4, each drawing object has an object ID, an upper left vertex coordinate (X1, Y1) and a lower right vertex coordinate (X2, Y2) of the circumscribed rectangle of the object.

  For example, for the drawing object “Restaurant” 22 in FIG. 2A, the object ID is “001”, the character string data is “Restaurant”, the upper left vertex coordinate (900, 500), the lower right vertex coordinate point (1000, 520) are associated. 2B and 2C, the object ID “002”, the character string data “tempura”, the upper left vertex coordinates (1600, 700), the lower right Vertex coordinate points (1700, 750) are associated.

  The timing at which these pieces of information are stored in the drawing object list is step S304. By the handwritten character recognition processing in step S304, the character recognition result “restaurant” and the upper left and lower right vertex coordinates of the circumscribed rectangle of the character string object are stored as character string objects in the drawing object list.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a handwriting search command in the present embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a state in which a handwritten search command 51 is input by handwriting in the vicinity of the drawing object “Restaurant” 22 as a search key. When the handwriting search command 51 is input in step S301, the search processing in steps S306 to S308 is performed. Specifically, “restaurant” 22 is specified as the search key in step S306, and the content database is searched using the search key “restaurant” in the search process of step S307. Then, as a result of the search result display process in step S308, the thumbnail image of the search result is displayed around the search key 22 as shown in FIG.

  In the search key specifying process in step S306, for example, a drawing object having the largest overlapping area with the circumscribed rectangular area of the handwriting search command is selected from the object list as a search key. If there is no overlap between the handwriting search command and the drawing object, by selecting from the object list the drawing object closest to the upper left vertex coordinates (or coordinates of the center of gravity position) of the circumscribed rectangle of the handwriting search command from the object list Identify.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a handwritten command database storing list information of handwritten commands referred to in the handwritten command interpretation processing in step S302 of FIG. Each handwritten command stores the type of command in correspondence with useless stroke data for determining a match with the input stroke. For example, the “delete” command is associated with the handwriting command 61 in association with the stroke data. The handwriting command 62 is associated with a “search” command in association with the stroke data. The handwriting command 63 is associated with a “narrow down” command in association with the stroke data.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the handwritten command interpretation process executed in step S302 of FIG.

  First, in S701, the command to be processed is initialized as the head of the handwritten command list (“delete” in FIG. 6). If it is determined in step S702 that the execution of the target command is valid at the current timing, the process proceeds to step S703. In step S703, a process for determining whether the handwritten stroke input by the operator through the stroke matching determination process matches the stroke data of the target command is performed.

  If it is determined in step S704 that the handwritten stroke input by the operator in the stroke match determination process matches the stroke data of the target command, the process ends with the command as a return value. If it is not determined in step S704 that they match, the process target command is changed in step S705, and the process returns to step S702 to repeat the process.

  If no target command exists in step S702, it is determined that there is no handwritten command corresponding to the input stroke, and the process ends.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a content database in the secondary storage device 7 in which content to be searched for in the present embodiment is stored. The following information is associated with each content stored in the content database. That is, a content ID for specifying content, a content path indicating a path on the file system where the substance of the content is stored, a thumbnail path indicating a path on the file system where the thumbnail image of the content is stored, Associated with a list of search keys (keywords) used in the search. For example, for the content ID “00001”, the content path “C: ¥ Con ¥ 00001.jpg”, the thumbnail image / path “C: ¥ Thu ¥ 00001.jpg”, and the keyword list “restaurant, sushi, Are stored in association with each other.

  As shown in the example of the content path in FIG. 8, the content database stores various types of content such as moving images and audio in addition to content such as JPEG-compressed still images or documents such as word processors. Is done. In the search processing in step S307, content including the same keyword as the search key specified in step S306 is extracted as a search result from the content database. For example, in the case where the content shown in FIG. 8 is stored and “restaurant” is specified as the search key in step S306, content IDs “00001” and “00003” are searched by searching the content database. Is retrieved as a search result. On the display screen 21, a thumbnail image corresponding to the extracted content ID is displayed.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a search result list showing search results of search processing in the present embodiment. This search result list is held in the data memory 5. As shown in FIG. 9, the content that is the target of the search result is stored in association with the content ID and the search processing score. Here, the score in the present embodiment is a score obtained by the search process, and is expressed by a value from 0 to 100. A score of 100 is given to content that completely satisfies the search key condition, and a score of 0 is given to content that does not satisfy the search key condition at all. Only contents whose score is higher than a predetermined threshold are targeted for search results. For example, a score of 100 is given to a content whose search key is a character string and has a keyword that matches the character string. The search result list is sorted and stored in descending order by score value.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the search result display process executed in step S308 of FIG.

  In step S1001, the display position of the thumbnail image corresponding to each content of the search result stored in the search result list is determined. A method for determining the display position will be described later with reference to FIG. The individual search results determined by the result display position determination process are stored in the search result display list illustrated in FIG. This search result display list is held in the data memory 5. In the search result display list shown in FIG. 12, the coordinates of the upper left vertex of the rectangular display area of the thumbnail image are stored in association with the content ID of the content that is the target of each search result. For example, in FIG. 12, the upper left vertex coordinates (895, 440) of the display area of the thumbnail image are associated with the content ID “00001”.

  In the result display process in step S1002, all the search results stored in the search result display list are referred to, and the thumbnail image corresponding to the content ID is located at the upper left vertex coordinate stored in the search result display list. Is displayed in a predetermined size.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining a position for displaying a thumbnail image of the resulting content in the result display position determination process in the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, a number indicating the display position is given to the thumbnail image 112 or the like. For example, the thumbnail image 112 is first and the thumbnail image 115 is eleventh. In other words, the display position of the search result is determined in a spiral shape around the “restaurant” of the character string object 111 serving as a key, starting from the upper left of a spiral center rectangle 115 to be described later, and extending in a clockwise direction. The

  In the present embodiment, the thumbnail image display area is a fixed-size square, and the left and right and upper and lower gaps 114 of each thumbnail image display area are fixed length. Thus, the size and position of the spiral center rectangle 115 larger than the rectangle 113 having a predetermined margin in the circumscribed rectangle 111 of the drawing object can be easily obtained.

  For example, the horizontal width ww of the spiral central rectangle 115 is s for the length of the side of the thumbnail image display area, g for the left and right gaps of the thumbnail image display area, and the thumbnail image display area that can be arranged in the horizontal direction of the spiral central rectangle Let n be the number of. In this case, it can be represented by ww = (s + g) * n + g. Therefore, the width of the circumscribed rectangle of the character string object is sw, and the margin of the transfer rectangle of the character string object is m. In this case, if the minimum integer n satisfying sw + 2m ≦ (s + g) * n + g is obtained, the lateral width ww of the central rectangle 115 of the spiral can be obtained. Further, the height of the spiral central rectangle 115 can be obtained in the same manner.

  When the size and position of the spiral central rectangle 115 are obtained, the display position is determined in a spiral shape in the clockwise direction starting from the upper left in consideration of the gap of the spiral central rectangle 115. That is, corresponding thumbnail images are assigned and displayed along the numbers shown in FIG. 11 in order from the top scored content in the search result list.

  Subsequently, the processing of step S309 to step S311 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2C shows a state in which a handwriting narrow-down command 26 is being input in the vicinity of the drawing object “tempura” 25. If it is determined in step S305 that the input handwriting narrowing command 26 is a narrowing command, “tempura” 25 is specified as the narrowing condition in step S309. In the narrowing-down process in step S310, the search results are narrowed down by searching the content database using the narrow-down condition “tempura” for the content displayed in the search result display list or the like. Is called. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, the thumbnail image corresponding to the content that is the target of the narrowing-down result is displayed around the narrowing-down condition “tempura” 25 by the narrowing-down result display process in step S311. The Further, as described above, as shown in 27, 29 and 2a, the display of thumbnail images other than the target of the narrowing result is also affected by the narrowing result display process.

  In the narrowing-down condition specifying process in step S309, for example, a drawing object having the largest overlapping area with the circumscribed rectangular area of the handwriting narrowing command is selected from the object list and set as the narrowing condition. If there is no overlap between the circumscribed rectangle area of the handwriting refinement command and the drawing object, the drawing object closest to the upper left vertex coordinate (may be the coordinates of the center of gravity) of the circumscribed rectangle of the handwriting refinement command is used as the refinement condition. select.

  FIG. 13 is a display example of a narrowing-down result obtained by performing further narrowing processing from the state of FIG. In FIG. 13, as a new narrowing condition, a state in which the handwriting narrowing command 26 is input to the lower right of the drawing object “sushi” after the handwriting input “sushi” 131 is performed is shown.

  In other words, a narrowing process is performed with “sushi” as a narrowing condition, and thumbnail images of content satisfying the narrowing condition “sushi” are selected from the thumbnail images displayed around “restaurant”. Moved around the sushi and displayed. Furthermore, among the thumbnail images displayed around the narrowing condition “tempura” 25 that was the object of the previous process, the thumbnail images of the content satisfying the narrowing condition “sushi” are those of the narrowing condition “tempura”. Instead of disappearing from the periphery, it is copied and displayed around the filtering condition “sushi”.

  Further, a narrowed group display area 133 is an area in which a circumscribed rectangle 132 of the thumbnail image group (hereinafter referred to as a narrowed group) displayed in the vicinity of the new narrowing condition has a margin. When an input of a new narrowing condition is detected in the narrowed group display area 133, the narrowing process may be performed on only thumbnail images in the area 133.

  When the narrowed-down group display area 133 and the circumscribed rectangle 134 of the narrowed-down group of the narrowed-down condition “tempura” overlap, the narrowed-down group of the narrowed-down condition “tempura” displays the narrowed-down group display of the narrowed-down condition “sushi”. It moves to a position that does not overlap the area 133. Furthermore, because the display position of the search group of the search condition “tempura” has moved, thumbnail images (eg 136) of the search results of a part of the search key restaurant are displayed in the search group of the search condition “tempura”. If the area 135 overlaps, the thumbnail image 136 is also moved. This is the same as the chain movement process shown in FIG.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of a narrowed-down group list that stores a plurality of thumbnail images of content targeted for the narrow-down result for each narrow-down condition, that is, a plurality of narrow-down groups, by the narrow-down result display processing in step S311. FIG. The narrowed-down group list stores the results of individual narrowing-down performed multiple times in order to classify / organize search results. The narrowed-down group list is stored in the data memory 5.

  As the information of each narrowing group, the narrowing number indicating the order of narrowing processing, the object ID indicating the drawing object that is the narrowing condition, and the coordinates of the upper left vertex and the lower right vertex of the circumscribed rectangle of the narrowing group are associated. Stored.

  For example, in FIG. 14, with respect to the refinement number “1”, the object ID as the refinement condition is “002”, the upper left vertex coordinates (1545, 645) and the lower right vertex coordinates (1755) of the circumscribed rectangle of the refinement group. , 805).

  Furthermore, the narrowed-down group display list illustrated in FIG. 15 is created in association with the individual narrowed-down groups obtained as the narrowed-down results of the narrowing conditions “tempura” and “sushi”. The narrowed group display list stores a content ID indicating each content obtained as a narrowing result, and upper left vertex coordinates as display position information of thumbnail images of the content. This upper left vertex coordinate is indicated by a relative coordinate from the upper left vertex coordinate of the circumscribed rectangle of the narrowed-down group. For example, in FIG. 15, the upper left vertex coordinates (−5, −55) are stored for the content ID “00001”.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the narrowing-down process in step S310 of FIG.

  In step S1601, a process for creating a new screening group display list as shown in FIG. 15 is started based on the screening conditions specified in step S309. For example, in FIG. 13, the creation process of the narrowed-down group display list for the narrow-down condition “sushi” is started.

  In step S1602, the content ID that is the target of the filtering condition in step S1601 is searched from the content ID stored in the search result display list as shown in FIG. For example, in FIG. 13, the content ID stored in the search result display list of “restaurant” is the search target.

  If it is determined in step S1603 that the content ID that is the target of the filtering condition is searched from the content ID stored in the search result display list, the process advances to step S1604. On the other hand, if the content ID is not searched, the process skips to step S1607.

  In step S1604, the content searched in step S1602 is deleted from the search result display list. This processing indicates that the thumbnail image displayed as the search result for “restaurant” moves to the narrowing-down result of the narrowing condition “sushi”.

  In step S1605, the content ID of the content searched in step S1602 is registered in the new screening group display list corresponding to the filtering condition “sushi”.

  In step S1606, the content ID of the content that is the target of the filtering condition “sushi” is searched from the content IDs in the filtering group display list corresponding to all the object IDs stored in the filtering group list. In FIG. 13, the target content ID is searched from the content ID in the narrowed-down group display list corresponding to “tempura”.

  If it is determined in step S1607 that the content ID that is the target of the filtering condition is searched from the content IDs stored in all the filtering group display lists, the process advances to step S1608. On the other hand, if the content ID is not searched, the process skips to step S1609.

  In step S1608, the content ID of the content searched in step S1606 is registered in the new screening group display list corresponding to the filtering condition “sushi”. At this time, unlike the processing for the search result display list in step S1604, the content of the narrowing result is not deleted from the narrowing group display list corresponding to “tempura”. Therefore, it is copied and registered in a new screening group display list corresponding to the filtering condition “sushi”.

  In step S1609, the object ID of the new drawing object corresponding to the narrowing condition “sushi” and information regarding its coordinate position are registered in the narrowing group list, and the process ends.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the narrowing-down result display process in step S311 of FIG.

  In step S1701, the display position of each thumbnail image of the narrowing-down result obtained by the narrowing-down process in step S310 is determined. That is, the display position of the thumbnail image corresponding to the content ID stored in the narrowed-down group display list is determined, and the upper left vertex coordinates are stored in the narrowed-down group display list in association with the content ID. Further, the coordinates of the upper left vertex and the lower right vertex of the circumscribed rectangle of the narrowed group are stored in the narrowed group list. The method for determining the display position of each thumbnail image as a narrowing down result is determined in the same manner as in step S1001, and therefore the details are omitted.

  In step S1702, it is checked whether or not the circumscribed rectangles of other narrowing groups overlap the narrowing group display area of the narrowing group stored in the narrowing group list. If there is an overlap, the process proceeds to step S1703, and if there is no overlap, the process proceeds to step S1704. As a method of checking this overlap, narrowed down groups are taken out one by one in order from the lower (newly registered) narrowed down group list. And, for each narrowed down group, if the narrowed groups on the list are taken out one by one (in the order of registration), are there any overlaps for all the narrowed down group combinations? Check if.

  In order to avoid overlap in step S1703, the more narrowly registered refinements stored in the higher rank of the refinement group list among the two refinement groups determined to be overlapped in step S1702 Change the coordinates of the upper left and lower right vertices of the bounding rectangle of the group. When the process is finished, the process returns to step S1702. Thereby, the old narrowed-down group which overlaps with a new narrowed-down group moves in a chain.

  In step S1704, it is checked whether the thumbnail image of the search result content stored in the search result display list overlaps the narrowed-down group display area of the narrowed-down group stored in the narrowed-down group list. .

  In step S1704, the following processing is executed. First, contents are selected one by one in order from the top of the search result display list. Then, for each selected content, the narrowed-down groups stored in the narrowed-down group list are selected one by one in order, and it is confirmed whether or not the narrowed group display area overlaps.

  In addition, the contents are taken out one by one in order (registered order) from the top of the search result display list, and the contents under the list are taken out one by one for each content. By this processing, it is confirmed whether or not there is an overlap for all combinations of contents.

  When it overlaps, it progresses to step S1705, and when it does not overlap, it progresses to step S1706.

  In step S1705, if the search result content overlaps the narrowed-down group, the upper left vertex coordinate of the thumbnail image of the content is changed so as not to overlap the narrowed-down group display area. When the search result contents overlap, the upper left vertex coordinates of the contents stored in the search result display list are changed. When the process is finished, the process returns to step S1704. As a result, all the contents stored in the search result list move in a chain so that they do not overlap.

  In step S1706, the result narrowed down in step S310 is displayed at the position determined in step S1701. Then, the narrowed-down group whose display position has been changed in step S1703 is moved and displayed. Further, the thumbnail image of the search result whose display position has been changed in step S1705 is moved and displayed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, an example of pen input using a digitizer is shown as the input unit 1, but an input position may be specified with a mouse and a character string object may be input from a keyboard.

  In the above embodiment, as a search process, only content having a keyword that completely matches the search key is obtained as a search result. As a related form, by expanding a search key using a post-thesaurus dictionary or a thesaurus dictionary, content having a keyword that partially matches the expanded search key may be obtained as a search result. In this case, the score value falls below 100 depending on the expansion method and the degree of partial matching.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of keyword search is shown as the search process. However, similar data may be searched based on a still image, a moving image, or an audio feature amount as a search key. In this case, a score value corresponding to the similarity is obtained as a search result.

  In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the search result is specified by specifying the search key, but the search is performed after the contents of the same directory in the file system are displayed. May be. Alternatively, narrowing may be performed after all content is displayed for all information in the content database. Alternatively, all content is not displayed, nothing is displayed, and all content is narrowed down and stored in the content database by repeating the narrowing down with free ideas Information may be classified / organized.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the search result and the narrowing-down result were mapped and displayed on the two-dimensional plane form. As a related form, mapping may be performed on a three-dimensional space, and a state of classification / arrangement by repeating narrowing down may be browsed from a desired angle and distance.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the display position and the rectangular display area of the narrowed-down group are determined so that the thumbnail images of the narrowed-down results do not overlap. As a related form, allow overlap of thumbnail images, make the shape of the display area of the narrowed group as a circle or ellipse other than a rectangle, and calculate the area of the narrowed group display area based on the number of narrowing results May be determined. Thereafter, a candidate for the center position of the thumbnail image to be displayed in the display area is selected at random, and processing for determining the display position of the thumbnail image is performed so that the center position does not overlap with other thumbnail images.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a system (for example, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc.) consisting of a single device even if it is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.) You may apply.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

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

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. When the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts shown in the previously described figures.

The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of information processing apparatus Figure showing an example of the display screen The figure which shows the handwritten input interpretation process flowchart of information processing apparatus. Figure showing an example of an object list The figure which shows the example of a drawing of a handwriting search command The figure which shows the list of handwritten commands. The figure which shows the handwritten command interpretation process flowchart of information processing apparatus. The figure which shows an example of a content database. The figure which shows an example of a search result list. The figure which shows an example of the search result display process of information processing apparatus. The figure for demonstrating a result display position determination process. The figure which shows an example of a search result display list. The figure which shows an example of a narrowing-down result display. The figure which shows an example of a narrowing-down group list. The figure which shows an example of a narrowing-down group display list. The figure which shows the narrowing-down process flowchart of information processing apparatus. The figure which shows the narrowing-down result display process flowchart of information processing apparatus.

Claims (8)

An information display means for displaying a plurality of information in the display screen;
Selection condition input means for inputting a selection condition of information at an arbitrary position in the display screen;
Information selection means for selecting information corresponding to the selection condition input by the selection condition input means from among a plurality of information stored in the storage device;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that displays information selected by the information selection unit in the vicinity of the selection condition input by the selection condition input unit.   When the narrow-down condition is input at an arbitrary position by the selection condition input unit, the control unit displays information corresponding to the narrow-down condition among information displayed in the vicinity of the selection condition. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is moved to the vicinity.   When the information moved to the vicinity of the narrowing condition overlaps with the information displayed in the vicinity of the selection condition, the control means displays the information displayed in the vicinity of the selection condition in order to avoid the overlap. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus is moved. An information processing method for an information processing device for displaying a plurality of information in a display screen of a display device,
A selection condition input step of inputting a selection condition of information at an arbitrary position in the display screen;
An information selection step of selecting information corresponding to the selection condition input in the selection condition input step from a plurality of information stored in the storage device;
And a control step for displaying information selected by the information selection means in the vicinity of the selection condition input in the selection condition input step.   When a narrowing condition is input at an arbitrary position in the selection condition input step, movement for moving information corresponding to the narrowing condition to the vicinity of the narrowing condition among information displayed near the selection condition 5. The information processing method of the information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a step.   When the information moved in the vicinity of the narrowing condition overlaps with the information displayed in the vicinity of the selection condition, a moving step of moving the information displayed in the vicinity of the selection condition to avoid the overlap An information processing method for an information processing apparatus, further comprising:   The program for performing the information processing method of the information processing apparatus of any one of Claim 4 thru | or 6. A storage medium storing the program according to claim 7.

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