JP2007304684A - Retrieval auxiliary device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem wherein a user cannot recognize the content expressed by an image being low in significance, when the image low in significance is displayed only by its contour. <P>SOLUTION: The distance direction is defined in a display area being a plane for expressing a space by a plane, and is the direction indicating the most distant point with the nearest point as the origin. The nearest point and the most distant point are respectively set on the left lower and right upper side of the display area. The display area is divided into one part display area including the most distant point and the other part display area. The other part display area is divided into the other part display area A including the nearest point and the other part display area B without including the nearest point. A common attribute value is displayed in the one part display area. A display dimension on an attribute value becomes the smallest in the one part display area. A photograph associated with the attribute value or a figure associated with the attribute value, is displayed in the display area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a search assisting device for assisting a search of various data.

As a background art, there is known a three-dimensional display device that displays a relatively large image on the side closer to the viewpoint with respect to the display device and displays a relatively small image on the far side (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document). 2).
JP 2000-259858 A (FIGS. 7 and 9) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-34380 (FIG. 5)

  According to Patent Document 1, the importance of images is considered to be lower as the distance from the viewpoint is increased, and only the outlines of these images are displayed. According to Patent Document 2, the image becomes smaller as the distance from the viewpoint increases, and the characters included in the image are difficult to see. According to the common general knowledge at the time of filing, when an image with low importance is displayed with a small display size at a position away from the viewpoint, omitting the description relating to the image can also reduce the processing burden. It is common.

  However, when an image with low importance is displayed with only its outline, the user cannot recognize the content of the record related to the image with low importance. Therefore, even when the image is displayed at a position distant from the viewpoint, it is necessary for the user to recognize the contents of the record related to the image while maintaining the visibility.

  The search assisting device according to the present invention causes the display device to display the main attribute value related to the record stored in the storage medium, and to change the display dimension related to the main attribute value along the perspective direction. A search assisting device that minimizes the display size in one partial display area including the farthest point forming the common point, and common records that are related to main attribute values that can be displayed in the one partial display area A processing unit for displaying the attribute value on the display device in the one partial display area is provided. The interpretation of the lexical terms in the present invention is as follows.

  The “search assisting device” is connected to a display device and constitutes a search assisting system together with this display device.

  The “storage medium” may be a medium for storing various data, and any connection method with the search assisting device may be used. For example, the “storage medium” includes a hard disk drive and a semiconductor memory. The “hard disk drive” may be connected via a communication line.

  A “record” is a collection of entity values and attribute values belonging to each attribute. A collection of “records” is a database. For example, the entity related to the music record is a music. The attributes related to the music record are a music ID, a music image, a performer, a genre, a music, and the like. A collection of music records is a music database. In the music database, “record” does not mean a music unit, but may mean an album unit or a playlist unit.

  The “main attribute value” is an attribute value for uniquely identifying a record and is a so-called main key. In the music database, the music name corresponds to “main attribute value”. When “record” means an album unit, the album name, album ID, and the like correspond to “main attribute values”. When “record” means a playlist unit, the list name corresponds to “main attribute value”.

  The “perspective direction” is a direction defined in the display area in order to express the space as a plane. The definition of “perspective direction” is distinguished from the case where three-dimensional processing is performed and the case where three-dimensional processing is not performed.

  When three-dimensional processing is performed, the z axis is defined in the depth direction of the display area (so-called xy plane). At this time, when viewed from the observer whose depth direction is the line-of-sight direction, the right-hand direction of the observer is the x-axis, and the upward direction of the observer is the y-axis. The x axis, the y axis, and the z axis are orthogonal to each other. A point obtained by projecting a point having the largest value on the z-axis (so-called z value) onto the xy plane is a “farthest point”. On the other hand, a point obtained by projecting a point having the smallest z value onto the xy plane is a “most recent point”. The “perspective direction” is a direction pointing from the “nearest point” to the “farthest point”. In addition, there are those disclosed in JP 2001-34380 A or JP 2000-259858 A.

  When 3D processing is not applied, in the “perspective direction”, “nearest point” and “farthest point” are defined in the xy plane, and the direction (or its direction) pointing from “nearest point” to “farthest point” (Unit vector) is “perspective direction”. As examples of “perspective direction”, “the perspective direction and the diagonal direction related to the display area of the display device are substantially matched” and “one point belonging to the perspective direction and the display area of the display device are used as a reference. There is a case where the radiation direction is substantially matched. In particular, when the perspective direction and the diagonal direction substantially coincide, preferably, “if the operator position is on the passenger seat side, the farthest point is on the right side of the display area, while the operator position is If it is the driver's seat side, a process of “the farthest point as the left side of the display area” is employed. “Right” includes “upper right”. The “operator position” including “upper left” in “left” is information that is designated by an input device such as a touch panel or a device such as a seating sensor, and is temporarily stored in a storage medium such as a RAM.

  “Along the perspective direction” is a concept including being along the storage address of the record and “along the perspective direction in the order specified by the user”. The order specified by the user includes the order of preference.

  The “partial display area” means a part of the display area of the display device. The “one partial display area” and the “other partial display area” are different areas.

  “Can be displayed in one partial display area” means being classified as an attribute value displayed in one partial display area.

  "Common attribute value that some or all of records have in common" means that all of a plurality of records have a common attribute value, some of a plurality of records have a common attribute value, or record Means that the attribute value itself of the record is the same.

  The “processing unit” executes specific processing by cooperation of hardware or hardware and software.

  The “processing unit” preferably makes the one attribute to which the common attribute value belongs differ from the other attribute to which the attribute value displayed in another partial display area belongs, and the one attribute is changed from the other attribute. Is also an abstract attribute. “The one attribute is more abstract than the other attribute” means that the number of records identified by one attribute is generally larger than the number of records identified by the other attribute. That is. For example, in a music database, since the number of music records identified by a genre is greater than the number of music records identified by a performer, the genre is a more abstract attribute than the performer.

  Preferably, the “processing unit” causes the display device to display the main attribute value in the other partial display area when the nearest point in the perspective direction is included in the other partial display area. It is.

  The “processing unit” causes the display device to display a still image or a moving image associated with the attribute value on the storage medium or another storage medium. “With the above-mentioned storage medium or another storage medium” means that it is sufficient that the association is made with any storage medium. The “attribute value” includes an attribute value, a common attribute value, and a main attribute value. Examples of “corresponding to” include a table stored in advance in a storage medium. Examples of “still images” include graphics, photographs, 3D shapes, and 3D shape animations. The “graphic” is a diagram having an outline and includes a combination of the diagram and characters. An example of “figure” is a symbol mark or the like.

  The present invention displays a common attribute value common to some or all of each record near the farthest point on the display device, so that the user can roughly recognize the contents of the record via the common attribute value. It has the effect that it can be made.

  The best mode for carrying out the search assisting apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.

<Display Example> A display example is shown in FIG. The perspective direction is defined in a display area that is a plane in order to express the space as a plane, and is a direction that points to the farthest point with the nearest point as a base point.
The nearest and farthest points are set at the lower left and upper right of the display area, respectively. That is, in the present embodiment, the perspective direction and the diagonal direction of the display area are the same or substantially the same (see FIG. 1A).

  The display area is divided into one partial display area including the farthest point and another partial display area. The other partial display area is divided into another partial display area A including the nearest point and another partial display area B not including the closest point (see FIG. 1A).

  A common attribute value is displayed in one partial display area (see FIG. 1A). In one partial display area, the display dimension (see FIG. 1B) related to the attribute value is the smallest (see FIG. 1A). In the conventional example (see FIG. 1B), the displayed attribute values are all main attribute values. That is, the number of images is equal to the number of records. In one partial display area, if the number of records is enormous, an enormous number of small images are displayed, so that the image related to the record is hard to see for the user. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the attribute values common to some of the records related to the attribute values that can be displayed in one partial display area are displayed in one partial display area (see FIG. 1A). reference).

  In the other partial display area A, main attribute values are displayed (see FIG. 1A). In the other partial display area A, the display dimension related to the attribute value is the largest (see FIG. 1A).

  In the other partial display area B, the common attribute value is displayed (see FIG. 1A). In the other partial display area B, the display dimension related to the attribute value is an intermediate value between the display dimension in one partial display area and the display dimension in the other partial display area A (see FIG. 1A). ).

  Attributes to which attribute values displayed in one partial display area, another partial display area A, and another partial display area B belong are different from each other. Further, the abstraction level of the attribute related to one partial display area is higher than the abstraction level of the attribute related to the other partial display area.

  In the display area, a photograph associated with the attribute value or a graphic associated with the attribute value is displayed.

  In the case where the above display example is employed for search assistance related to the music database, the main attribute value of the music record is a specific music name. A music image such as a photograph associated with a specific music name is displayed in another partial display area A.

  On the other hand, the common attribute value is, for example, a specific performer or a specific genre. A performer image such as a photograph associated with a specific performer is displayed in another partial display area B. A genre graphic associated with a specific genre is displayed in one partial display area.

  For each attribute, the music title is the attribute with the lowest level of abstraction (the most specific), and the genre is the attribute with the highest level of abstraction. In the following description, it is assumed that a music database is employed.

  <Concept> The concept of the embodiment is shown in FIG. This embodiment mainly includes an area determination function, an attribute value determination function, and a display function. The area determination function displays each record with an attribute value for identifying these records displayed in one partial display area, displayed in another partial display area A, and displayed in another partial display area B. This is a function for determining one of the possible ones. The attribute value determination function is a function for determining a common attribute value or a main attribute value. The display function is a function for displaying the common attribute value or the main attribute value in perspective according to display conditions.

  <Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration is shown in FIG. The search assisting apparatus 1 includes I / O 2, ROM 3, HDD 4 (corresponding to “storage medium” and “other storage medium”), CPU 5, and RAM 6 as basic elements of the computer (corresponding to “processing unit”). . In addition, the search assistance device 1 includes a drawing IC 7, a VRAM 8, and an audio IC 9 as expansion elements (corresponding to “processing unit”). The drawing IC 7 develops the image data in the VRAM 8 in accordance with a command from the CPU 5 and outputs the image data developed in the VRAM 8. The audio IC outputs audio data according to the control data output by the CPU 5. Each element is connected by a system bus.

  A touch panel 11, an audio output device 21, and a display device 22 are connected to the I / O2. A / D conversion or D / A conversion is appropriately performed between each device and the I / O 2.

  The ROM 3 stores basic programs such as BIOS. The basic program is executed when the power is turned on or when an abnormality occurs.

  The HDD 4 stores a processing program for causing the CPU 5 to execute the region determination function, the attribute value determination function, and the display function described above (corresponding to a “processing unit”).

  The HDD 4 stores a music database (see FIG. 4A) and an image database (see FIG. 4B). The music database is a collection of music records. The music record includes a music title, a performer, and a genre. The music name is associated with the music by the pointer.

  The HDD 4 includes an area division table (see FIG. 5A), an attribute division table (see FIG. 5B), a graphic table (see FIG. 5C), and a condition table (FIG. 5D). Is stored).

  Note that a system including the search assistance device 1, the touch panel 11, the audio output device 21, and the display device 22 may be defined as a search assistance system.

  <Processing> Processing according to the present embodiment is shown in FIGS. The CPU 5 expands the processing program, the area classification table, the attribute table, the graphic table, the condition table, the music database, and the image database from the HDD 4 to the RAM 6 and executes the following processing.

  <Processing Regarding Area Determination Function> The area determination function mainly includes area division processing (see FIG. 6).

  In the area division process, the storage address (see FIG. 4A) where the music record is stored and the area division table (see FIG. 5A) are compared. This storage address is a storage address in the HDD 4 or RAM 6. Next, the area division obtained by this comparison is stored in the RAM 6 in association with the music record.

  Specifically, the storage address related to the music name (attribute value) is used as the storage address where the music record is stored. Therefore, the music name (attribute value) stored in the storage address “i to i + j” is associated with another partial display area A. In addition, the song name (attribute value) stored in the storage addresses “i + j + 1 to i + j + k” is associated with another partial display area B. Furthermore, the song names (attribute values) stored after the storage address “i + j + k + 1” are associated with one partial display area.

  <Processing Regarding Attribute Value Determination Function> The attribute value determination function includes an attribute determination process, a record extraction process, and an attribute value extraction process (see FIG. 7).

  In the attribute determination process, the area classification and attribute table (see FIG. 5B) stored in the RAM 6 in the area classification process are compared. Next, the attribute obtained by this comparison is stored in the RAM 6 in association with the area division stored in the RAM 6 in the area division processing. At this time, an identifier indicating whether or not the attribute value belonging to the attribute is the main attribute value is also stored in the RAM 6. Thereby, the attribute used as the reference | standard for sorting a music record is decided for every area | region division.

  Specifically, in the other partial display area A, the reference for sorting the music records is the music name (attribute). In the other partial display area B, the standard for sorting the music records is the performer. Furthermore, in one partial display area, the reference for sorting music records is genre.

  In the record extraction process, the music database is sorted according to the area division stored in the RAM 6 in the area division process. Only the music record associated with the area segment that is the reference for sorting is stored in the RAM 6.

  Specifically, if the sorting reference area segment is another partial display area A, only the music record related to the music name (attribute value) stored in the storage address “i to i + j” is extracted. . Further, if the area classification serving as the sorting reference is another partial display area B, only the music record relating to the music name (attribute value) stored in the storage address “i + j + 1 to i + j + k” is extracted. Furthermore, if the area classification used as the sorting reference is one partial display area, only the music records related to the music names (attribute values) stored after the storage address “i + j + k + 1” are extracted.

  In the attribute value extraction process, the music records stored in the RAM 6 by the record extraction process are sorted according to the attributes stored in the RAM 6 by the attribute determination process. When the identifier stored in the RAM 6 in the attribute determination process does not indicate the main attribute value, if the same attribute value is greater than or equal to the threshold value (threshold ≧ 2), the attribute value is associated with the region classification as the common attribute value. Is remembered. The specific value of “plurality” is determined in advance or in a ratio with the total number of music records. If the number of common attribute values is equal to or greater than the threshold, the common attribute values stored in the RAM 6 are limited to the Nth order in descending order of the number of music records having the common attribute value. On the other hand, when the identifier stored in the RAM 6 in the attribute determination process indicates the main attribute value, each attribute value is stored in the RAM 6 in association with the area section. The attribute value extraction process is executed each time a music record is extracted by the record extraction process.

  Specifically, when the music records are associated with one partial display area, the music records are sorted according to attribute values belonging to the attribute “genre”. If the attribute values “jazz”, “fork”, and “lock” belonging to “genre” are common attribute values, “jazz”, “fork”, and “lock” are associated with one partial display area. When the music record is associated with another partial display area B, the music record is sorted according to the attribute value belonging to the attribute “performer”. If the attribute value “Princess” belonging to “Performer” is a common attribute value, “Princess” and another partial display area B are associated with each other. Further, when the music record is associated with another partial display area A, the music records are sorted according to the attribute value belonging to the attribute “music name”. However, since the attribute value “Johnny” belonging to “music name” is the main attribute value, “Johnny” is associated with one partial display area.

  <Processing Related to Display Function> The display function includes an image determination process and a display process (see FIG. 8).

  In the image determination process, the common attribute value and the like stored in the RAM 6 by the attribute value extraction process are compared with the image database and the graphic table. The photograph or figure obtained by this comparison is stored in the RAM 6 in association with the area section.

  In the present embodiment, “jazz”, “folk”, and “rock” are associated with one partial display area, so “piano.jpg”, “guitar.jpg”, and “electronic guitar.jpg” ( FIG. 5C) is associated with one partial display area. Here, “piano.jpg”, “guitar.jpg”, and “electronic guitar.jpg” are figures. Since “Johnny” and the like are associated with another partial display area A, a photograph “Johnny.jpg” and the like are associated with the other partial display area A. Furthermore, since the photograph “Princess” is associated with another partial display area B, “Princess.jpg” is associated with the other partial display area B.

  In the display process, the area classification and the display condition table (see FIG. 5D) stored in the RAM 6 in the image determination process are compared. The display conditions obtained by the comparison are stored in the RAM 6 in association with the photograph or figure stored in the RAM 6 by the image determination process. That is, the area classification, the display condition, and the photograph (or graphic) are associated with each other. The display condition table defines display conditions such as display dimensions and display coordinates for each area section, and is a table necessary for realizing perspective display.

  In the present embodiment (see FIG. 1A), the drawing IC 7 draws images on the VRAM 8 in response to a command from the CPU 5 and sequentially outputs these images to the display device 22. “Johnny.jpg” is displayed with the coordinates (x1, y1) in the other partial display area A and the display dimension a1. “Princess.jpg” is displayed with the coordinates (x2, y2) and the display dimension a2 in the other partial display area B. Furthermore, “piano.jpg” is displayed with the coordinates (x3, y3) and the display dimension a3 in one partial display area. Here, the display dimensions have a relationship of “a1> a2> a3”. In particular, “a3” when the common attribute value is displayed is set to a value larger than “a3” than when the main attribute value is displayed.

  <Effect in this Embodiment> According to this embodiment, a common attribute value is displayed in one partial display area (see FIG. 1A). The contents of the music record can be roughly recognized. More specifically, the user can be made aware that the music record is jazz through a common attribute value “jazz”.

  According to the present embodiment, the main attribute value of the music record is displayed in the other partial display area A (see FIG. 1A). In other words, by letting the user recognize the rough contents of the music record at the farthest point and by recognizing the detailed contents of the music record at the nearest point, the user can seamlessly recognize the composition of the music database. Can be made.

  According to the present embodiment, the abstraction level of the attribute related to one partial display area is higher than the abstraction level of the attribute related to the other partial display area. Even if the number increases, the content of the music database can be roughly recognized by the user via an image displayed near the farthest point.

  <Modification 1> In the present embodiment, the perspective direction is substantially the same in the diagonal direction pointing from the lower left to the upper right of the display area, but may be substantially the same in the radial direction from the center of the display area (FIG. 9A )). The perspective direction may be substantially the same as the diagonal direction pointing from the lower right to the upper left of the display area (see FIG. 9B). Further, the perspective direction may be determined by an operation on the touch panel 11 or the like.

  <Modification 2> In the present embodiment, the area division is determined according to the storage address, but may be determined according to other elements. As the “other element”, a physical quantity or an impression value of the music may be used. At this time, the physical quantity of the music, the impression value, etc. that are closest to the user's preference are displayed around the nearest point.

  <Modification 3> In the present embodiment, the common attribute value is displayed in the other partial display area B, but the main attribute value may be displayed. In particular, when the number of music records is small, the attribute values classified into other partial display areas B are also small, and it is not necessary to collect the attribute values related to the music records.

<Modification 4>
In this embodiment, specifications such as a CPU and a RAM are considered, and an explanation for obtaining a desired display example without performing a three-dimensional process is given. However, three-dimensional processing may be performed if specifications such as CPU and RAM are not taken into consideration.

  Specifically, an x axis, a y axis, and a z axis are defined as a three-dimensional space, and these axes are orthogonal to each other (see FIG. 10). Each attribute value is arranged in the three-dimensional space. Each attribute value is projected on a display area which is a plane parallel to the xy plane, as captured by an observer (viewpoint camera). In the range that can be photographed by the viewpoint camera in the three-dimensional space, the smallest z value is defined as the nearest point (hereinafter referred to as z = min). On the other hand, the one with the largest z value is defined as the farthest point (hereinafter referred to as z = Max). Of course, the perspective direction is a direction pointing from the nearest point to the farthest point.

  At this time, the area delimited by the xy plane (z = min) and the xy plane (z = a) corresponds to the other partial display area A described above. That is, the attribute values arranged in the area delimited by the xy plane (z = min) and the xy plane (z = a) are not shared, and “Johnny.jpg” or the like is displayed in the display area. On the other hand, the area delimited by the xy plane (z = a) and the xy plane (z = b) corresponds to the other partial display area B described above. That is, the attribute value arranged in the area delimited by the xy plane (z = a) and the xy plane (z = b) is shared by the attribute of the performer, and “Princess.jpg” or the like is displayed in the display area. . Further, the area delimited by the xy plane (z = b) and the xy plane (z = Max) corresponds to the one partial display area described above. That is, the attribute values arranged in the area delimited by the xy plane (z = b) and the xy plane (z = Max) are shared by the attribute of genre, and “Jazz.jpg” or the like is displayed in the display area.

  According to this modification, the display conditions are not prepared as a table but are obtained by calculation. That is, the perspective display is a more natural expression than when only two-dimensional processing is performed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has an effect of allowing a user to roughly recognize the contents of a record via a common attribute value, and is useful as an in-vehicle device having a music search function.

(A) The figure which shows the example of a display by the best form for implementing the search assistance apparatus concerning this invention (b) The figure which shows the example of a display by background art The figure which shows the functional concept of this Embodiment The figure which shows the hardware constitutions concerning this Embodiment (A) The figure which shows the structure of the music database which concerns on this Embodiment (b) The figure which shows the structure of the image database which concerns on this Embodiment (A) The figure which shows the structure of the area division | segmentation table which concerns on this Embodiment (b) The figure which shows the structure of the attribute division table which concerns on this Embodiment (c) The figure which shows the structure of the figure table which concerns on this Embodiment (D) The figure which shows the structure of the condition table which concerns on this Embodiment. The figure which shows the flow of the process which concerns on the area | region determination function in this Embodiment. The figure which shows the flow of the process which concerns on the attribute value determination function in this Embodiment. The figure which shows the flow of the process which concerns on the display function in this Embodiment. (A) The figure which shows the example of a display by a modification (when a perspective direction is substantially equal to a radial direction) (b) The figure which shows the example of a display by a modification (when a perspective direction is substantially equal to a diagonal direction) The figure which shows the correspondence of the three-dimensional space and display area in a modification

Explanation of symbols

1 Search assistance device 4 HDD
5 CPU
6 RAM
22 Display device

Claims (9)

The main attribute value related to the record stored in the storage medium is displayed on the display device, the display dimension related to the main attribute value is varied along the perspective direction, and the farthest point that forms the perspective direction is included. A search assisting device that minimizes the display dimension in the partial display area of
A search assisting device comprising a processing unit that causes the display device to display a common attribute value that a part or all of records relating to main attribute values that can be displayed in the one partial display region has in common. . The processing unit differentiates one attribute to which the common attribute value belongs from another attribute to which an attribute value displayed in another partial display area belongs, and the one attribute is more abstract than the other attribute The search assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the search assisting device is an attribute. The processing unit causes the display device to display the main attribute value in the other partial display area when a nearest point in the perspective direction is included in the other partial display area. The search assistance device according to claim 1 or 2. The search assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing unit causes the display device to display a still image or a moving image associated with the attribute value on the storage medium or another storage medium. The search assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit substantially matches the perspective direction with a diagonal direction related to a display area of the display device. The processing unit displays the farthest point on the right side of the display area when the operator position is on the passenger seat side, and displays the farthest point on the driver seat side when the operator position is on the driver seat side. 6. The search assisting device according to claim 5, wherein the search assisting device is on the left side of the region. 5. The search assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit substantially matches the perspective direction with a radial direction based on one point belonging to the display area of the display device. . The search assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit causes the display device to display the attribute values along the perspective direction in an order designated by a user. A search assisting system comprising the search assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and a display device connected to the search assisting device.