JP2009104338A - Data management device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly convenient data management device and method. <P>SOLUTION: A data management device 10 includes an organization part 41 configured to organize a plurality of data elements into a plurality of categories; a subspace placement part 42 configured to assign a subspace to each of the plurality of categories, and to place a plurality of subspaces in a multidimensional space configured of data elements; and a subspace generation part 43 configured to distribute, in each of the subspaces respectively assigned to the plurality of categories, objects representing data elements belonging to the associated category. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a data management technique, and more particularly to a data management apparatus and method capable of efficiently managing a large number of data elements.

  With the spread of the Internet, users can access a huge amount of content stored in web servers all over the world. In addition, with the increase in capacity of storage devices, it is possible to store enormous amounts of content in personal computers owned by individuals.

  In this way, it has become possible to easily obtain enormous amounts of content, and the convenience of users has improved dramatically. On the other hand, there is a problem of how to organize and use enormous amounts of content efficiently. It has become.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a more convenient data management technique.

  One embodiment of the present invention relates to a data management apparatus. The data management apparatus includes: a classification unit that classifies a plurality of data elements into a plurality of categories; a partial space is allocated to each of the plurality of categories; A subspace arrangement unit that arranges a subspace; and a subspace generation unit that distributes objects representing data elements belonging to the category in the subspace assigned to the category for each of the plurality of categories. It is characterized by that.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between a method, an apparatus, a system, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a more convenient data management technique.

  The data management device according to the embodiment provides a graphical user interface that displays a number of content data files stored in a storage device in a visually easy-to-understand manner and accepts user operations. The data management device arranges an object indicating a data file in a multidimensional space (hereinafter also referred to as “content space”) virtually constructed in the data management device. The user can freely move in the content space by operating the viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction, and can overview the overall configuration of the content or search for desired content. In the embodiment, as an example, content objects are arranged in a three-dimensional space.

  The data management device classifies a large number of data files into a plurality of categories, and assigns a partial space in the content space to each category. In the partial space of each category, data file objects are arranged according to the attributes of the data file belonging to the category. Thinking of the entire content space as the universe, each subspace is equivalent to a galaxy, and the object of the data file is equivalent to a star. The user can cruise the content space in which the objects of the data file are interspersed as if traveling on the outer space on a spaceship.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a data management apparatus according to an embodiment. The data management apparatus 10 includes an input device 20 such as a mouse, a processing unit 28, a storage device 60, an image processing unit 66, and a display device 68. In terms of hardware components, these configurations are realized by a CPU of a computer, a memory, a program loaded in the memory, and the like, but here, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are illustrated. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  The processing unit 28 displays a space generation unit 40 that generates a three-dimensional space in which objects of the data file are arranged, and a user interface that displays the generated three-dimensional space and receives an operation instruction from the user input from the input device 20. Unit 30. The user interface unit 30 sets a viewpoint position and a line-of-sight direction in a three-dimensional space, and renders a data file object existing in the three-dimensional space, thereby generating and displaying an image of the content space. 35 and an operation unit 31 that receives an operation instruction from the user and changes the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction. The image processing unit 66 causes the display device 68 to display the user interface screen generated by the display unit 35.

  The storage device 60 includes a data file storage unit 61, a file database 62, a category database 63, and a guide database 64. The data file storage unit 61 stores data files of various contents such as images, moving images, sounds, and documents. The data file storage unit 61 may be realized by a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), ROM, or RAM, or a removable storage medium such as a CD, DVD, or MD. The file database 62 stores information related to the data file stored in the data file storage unit 61. The category database 63 stores information on categories for classifying data files. The guide database 64 stores information on guides arranged in the partial spaces assigned to the respective categories. The guide is arranged to make it easy to visually understand what kind or nature of content is arranged in each subspace.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of internal data of the file database 62. The file database 62 includes a file ID column 71, a file name column 72, a file type column 73, a file size column 74, an attribute information column 70, a local coordinate column 79, and a global coordinate column 80. The file ID column 71 stores an ID for uniquely identifying the data file. The file name column 72 stores the name of the data file. The file type column 73 stores the data file type. The file size column 74 stores the data size of the data file. The attribute information column 70 stores metadata representing the attributes of the data file. The attribute information column 70 includes a multi-person column 75, a song column 76, a dance column 77, a ball game column 78, and the like, and stores numerical values obtained by evaluating contents from the respective viewpoints. Such attribute information may be received from the user, or may be automatically given by an attribute information giving unit (not shown). In the latter case, the attribute information adding unit analyzes and digitizes each data file from various viewpoints using a known technique. The local coordinate field 79 stores the local coordinates of the object of the data file in the partial space of the category, as will be described later. The global coordinate column 80 stores the global coordinates of the data file object in the entire content space.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of internal data of the category database 63. The category database 63 includes a category ID column 81, a category name column 82, an attribute information column 83, a subspace radius column 89, and a subspace center coordinate column 90. The category ID column 81 stores an ID that uniquely identifies a category. The category name column 82 stores the category name. The attribute information column 83 stores metadata representing category attributes. The attribute information column 83 has columns for storing the same attribute information as the file database 62, such as a multi-person column 85, a song column 86, a dance column 87, and a ball game column 88. The subspace radius column 89 stores the radius of the subspace assigned to the category. The subspace center coordinate column 90 stores the global coordinates of the center of the subspace assigned to the category.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of internal data of the guide database 64. The guide database 64 includes a guide ID column 91, a guide name column 92, a category column 93, a local coordinate column 94, and a global coordinate column 95. The guide ID column 91 stores an ID for uniquely identifying a guide. The guide name column 92 stores the name of the guide. The category column 93 stores the category to which the guide belongs. The local coordinate column 94 stores the local coordinates of the guide in the category subspace. The global coordinate column 95 stores the global coordinates of the guide in the entire content space.

  The space generation unit 40 includes a classification unit 41, a partial space arrangement unit 42, and a partial space generation unit 43. The classification unit 41 refers to the file database 62 and classifies all the data files stored in the data file storage unit 61 into a plurality of categories based on the attribute information of each data file. The classification unit 41 may classify each data file according to the file type stored in the file type column 73 among the attribute information stored in the file database 62. The classification unit 41 may classify each data file according to each attribute information stored in the attribute information column 70 among the attribute information stored in the file database 62. For example, by classifying each data file according to the attribute information automatically assigned by the attribute information assigning unit, it is possible to classify into a category that is unexpected by the user. The classification unit 41 may accept designation of attribute information used for category classification from a user or the like. Further, the classification method may be switched according to an instruction from the user. The classification unit 41 records each data file in the file database 62 when it is classified into categories.

  The partial space arrangement unit 42 assigns a partial space in the content space to each category classified by the classification unit 41, and arranges each partial space in the content space. The partial space arrangement unit 42 defines an attractive force and a repulsive force acting between the partial spaces according to the similarity of the attribute information of a plurality of categories, and arranges the partial space in the content space based on the attractive force and the repulsive force. The similarity between categories may be determined by a co-occurrence relationship obtained by statistically processing attribute information of data files belonging to the category.

The partial space arrangement unit 42 calculates the metadata vector of each category using the attribute information of the data file belonging to the category. Attribute information p (i, k) regarding the attribute k of category i is
p (i, k) = (the number of data files belonging to category i that contain attribute information greater than or equal to a predetermined value for attribute k) / (total number of data files belonging to category i)
Then, the metadata vector q (i) of category i is
q (i) = (p (i, 1), p (i, 2),..., p (i, n))
However, n is the total number of attributes.
The similarity between category i and category j is given by the inner product of q (i) and q (j).

  The partial space arrangement unit 42 causes a stronger attractive force to work between the partial spaces of the categories as the similarity between the categories calculated as described above is higher. Moreover, the subspace arrangement | positioning part 42 makes a repulsive force work between those partial spaces, when the similarity between categories is low and the distance between the partial spaces of those categories is near. In this way, the subspace placement unit 42 applies the attractive model introducing the attractive force or repulsive force acting between the subspaces to the center coordinates of each subspace, and performs convergence calculation to obtain the coordinates. The subspace placement unit 42 determines an initial position of each subspace, updates the center coordinates of each subspace according to the attractive force or repulsive force acting between the subspaces, and calculates a position where these forces are balanced. After determining the center coordinates of each partial space, the partial space arrangement unit 42 stores it in the category database 63.

  For each of a plurality of categories, the partial space generation unit 43 distributes an object representing a data file belonging to the category in the partial space assigned to the category. The partial space generation unit 43 distributes the objects in the partial space based on the attribute information of the data element. The partial space generation unit 43 may adopt, for example, three attribute information in the attribute information column 70 of the file database 62, and distribute the objects of the data file in the partial space using them as axes. The object of the data file may be distributed in the partial space by multivariate analysis employing the attribute information of as a feature quantity. In the latter case, for example, the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-268551 by the present applicant can be used. Moreover, the partial space generation unit 43 may define an attractive force or a repulsive force acting between objects according to the similarity of the attribute information of each data file, and may place the object in the partial space based on the attractive force or the repulsive force. . In any case, the partial space generation unit 43 may distribute the objects of the data file in the partial space based on different attribute information for at least two categories. The partial space generation unit 43 stores the calculated object coordinates of each data file in the file database 62.

  Further, the partial space generation unit 43 distributes, for each of the plurality of categories, a guide indicating the position of the data file having a specific feature belonging to the category in the partial space assigned to the category. The partial space generation unit 43 may classify the data files belonging to the category into a plurality of types, assign a guide to each type, and arrange them in the partial space. For example, guides such as “Enka”, “Classic”, and “Tango” may be arranged in a subspace of the “Music” category. In this case, the partial space generation unit 43 assigns typical attribute information of the data file classified as “enka” to the “enka” guide, and arranges the guide at a position defined by the attribute information. Alternatively, the coordinates of the data file classified as “enka” may be read from the file database 62, and the position of the “enka” guide may be calculated based on the coordinates. In the latter case, for example, the position of the center of gravity may be calculated from the coordinates of a plurality of data files classified as “enka” and used as the guide position of “enka”. The partial space generation unit 43 stores the calculated coordinates of each guide in the guide database 64.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the content space 100. In this example, the classification unit 41 classifies the data file into three categories of “music”, “movie”, and “sports”. The partial space arrangement unit 42 assigns the partial spaces 50, 51, and 52 to each of the three categories, and arranges them at predetermined initial positions in the content space. The radius of each partial space may be determined according to the number of data files belonging to the category, the file size, and the like. The partial space is not limited to a sphere, but may be a polyhedron or a three-dimensional object having an arbitrary shape.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which attractive force / repulsive force is applied between partial spaces. The partial space arrangement unit 42 defines an attractive force or a repulsive force acting between the partial spaces according to the similarity of the attribute information between the categories. For example, the force acting on the “movie” category subspace 51 is the sum of the attractive force acting on the “music” category subspace 50 and the repulsive force acting on the “sports” category subspace 52. By further referring to the number of data files belonging to the category, file size, attribute information, etc., the attractive force or repulsive force acting between the partial spaces may be defined.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the result of convergence calculation using an attractive model. The subspace 50 of the “music” category, the subspace 51 of the “movie” category, and the subspace 52 of the “sports” category are arranged at positions where the forces acting between them are balanced. Thus, by expressing the semantic proximity or distance between categories as a spatial proximity or distance, a visually easy-to-understand user interface can be provided. In addition, by arranging the categories having opposite meanings symmetrically with respect to the origin of the space, it expresses that they are semantically opposite as spatially opposite positions, so that the user interface is easy to understand visually It can be.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which axes are set to distribute data file objects in each partial space. For example, in the “music” category, data file objects are distributed around three attribute information of “song”, “dance”, and “multiple”. On the other hand, in the “movie” category, data file objects are distributed around three attribute information of “love”, “adventure”, and “multiple”. As described above, in the present embodiment, the object of the data file can be distributed using different attribute information for each category. Therefore, the optimum attribute information is adopted according to the category to distribute the object of the data file. It is possible to provide a user interface that can be easily grasped visually. In addition, each subspace does not exist independently, but is integrated into one content space, so it is possible to overview multiple categories or seamlessly move to subspaces of different categories it can.

  FIG. 9 shows a state in which each partial space is rotated according to the relationship of the distribution of objects in each partial space. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the data file objects are distributed in the “music” category, the “movie” category, and the “sports” category with the common attribute information “multiple” as the axis. Therefore, in FIG. 9, each partial space is rotated so that the attribute information axis of “multiple people” is aligned between categories. This makes it easy to grasp the distribution of the data file even when moving to a different category. The size and shape of the partial space may be changed according to the distribution of the objects in the partial space.

  FIG. 10 shows a state where data file objects and guides are arranged in each partial space. A data file object 56 and a guide 55 are arranged in each partial space. For example, in the “Sports” category, a “basketball” guide is placed at a position where both the attribute information of “ball game” and the attribute information of “multiplayer” are high, and a data file related to “basketball” is located around this guideline. It can be seen that they are arranged. The object 56, the guide 55, and the like may be displayed by rendering the three-dimensional shape data, or may be displayed by a texture, a thumbnail image, or the like.

  A data file belonging to a plurality of categories, a data file having an intermediate meaning among the plurality of categories, or an intermediate position in a partial space of those categories may be arranged. Accordingly, it is possible to spatially express the intermediate meaning of a plurality of categories, and a user interface that is easy to understand visually can be obtained. In addition, the data files may be distributed so that the data files arranged closer to the center position of the category partial space are data files having a higher degree of meaning of the category. Thereby, the semantic proximity or distance of the data file can be expressed as spatial proximity or distance. A common part of both categories may be expressed by arranging the partial spaces of a plurality of categories so as to partially overlap.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a method for generating a content space. First, the classification unit 41 classifies the data file into categories according to the attribute information of the data file (S10). The subspace arrangement unit 42 calculates the similarity between categories based on the attribute information of the data file belonging to the category (S12), and calculates the arrangement of the partial sections of the category based on the similarity between the categories ( S14). For each category, the partial space generation unit 43 arranges the classified data files in the partial space (S16), and arranges the guide in the partial space (S18). The partial space generation unit 43 calculates global coordinates in the content space from the object of each data file and the local coordinates of the guide, and records them in the file database 62 and the guide database 64. As a result, the entire partial space is integrated into the entire content space (S20).

  Next, a technique for displaying the content space generated as described above and moving the content space by changing the viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction by the user's operation will be described.

  The display unit 35 sets the viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction in the generated content space and renders an object existing in the content space, thereby generating an image of the content space and displaying it on the display device 68. The display unit 35 includes a rendering unit 36, a map display unit 37, and a category information display unit 38.

  The rendering unit 36 performs rendering of the content space. The map display unit 37 displays a map representing the entire content space. The category information display unit 38 displays information on a category to which a partial space to which the viewpoint position belongs or a partial space close to the viewpoint position is assigned.

  The operation unit 31 receives an operation instruction for changing the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction from the input device 20, changes the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction, and notifies the display unit 35 of the change. The operation unit 31 includes an operation instruction receiving unit 32, a movement control unit 33, and a selection unit 34.

  The operation instruction receiving unit 32 receives an operation instruction from the input device 20. The movement control unit 33 continuously moves the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction according to the instruction for changing the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction received by the operation instruction receiving unit 32. As described above, since each partial space is integrated into the content space, the movement control unit 33 can continuously move the viewpoint position from the partial space to which the viewpoint position belongs to the adjacent partial space. . The display unit 35 displays a video effect that enters the atmosphere when the movement control unit 33 continuously moves to a partial space of a different viewpoint position, changes the display color, You may display so that it can identify. The movement control unit 33 further changes the angle of view in accordance with the zoom magnification change instruction received by the operation instruction receiving unit 32.

  When the movement control unit 33 receives an operation instruction to move the viewpoint position to a partial space different from the partial space to which the viewpoint position belongs, the movement control unit 33 moves the viewpoint position to a predetermined position in the movement destination partial space.

  The selection unit 34 refers to the file database 62 to extract data file objects within a predetermined range from the viewpoint position, and the operation instruction receiving unit 32 receives the data files corresponding to these objects. In response to the instruction, the selection of the data file is received from the user. When the selection of the data file is confirmed, the selection unit 34 notifies the application that processes the selected data file.

  The selection unit 34 refers to the category database 63, extracts the partial spaces of the categories that are within a predetermined range from the viewpoint position, and the operation instruction reception unit 32 receives from the categories corresponding to those partial spaces. In response to the instruction, selection of a destination category is accepted from the user. When the selection unit 34 accepts selection of a destination category, the movement control unit 33 moves the viewpoint position to a predetermined position in the partial space corresponding to the selected category.

  The selection unit 34 refers to the guide database 64, extracts guides within a predetermined range from the viewpoint position, and selects a destination of movement according to an instruction received by the operation instruction reception unit 32 from these guides. Accept guide selection from user. When the selection unit 34 receives the selection of the movement destination guide, the movement control unit 33 moves the viewpoint position to a predetermined position near the selected guide.

  FIG. 12 shows the appearance of the input device 20. The input device 20 is provided with a direction key 21, a button 22, analog sticks 23 and 26, a button 24, and a button 25. The user can input an operation instruction to change the viewpoint position using the left analog stick 23 and can input an operation instruction to change the line-of-sight direction using the right analog stick 26. Further, an operation instruction for zooming up can be input using the left button 24, and an operation instruction for zooming down can be input using the right button 25. Furthermore, selection candidates such as a data file, a category, and a guide can be changed using the direction key 21, and the selection can be confirmed using the button 22.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen 200 displayed by the display unit 35. In the example of FIG. 13, the entire content space is displayed, and the partial spaces of categories such as “sports” and “music” are displayed. By changing the color of each partial space, the difference in category may be expressed visually and in an easily understandable manner. Further, the density of the partial space may be determined according to the number and distribution of data files included in the category.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of the screen 202 displayed by the display unit 35. In the screen shown in FIG. 13, when the user zooms in on the display screen using the button 25, the screen shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 14, the area around the “movie” category in the screen of FIG. 13 is zoomed up. The category information display unit 38 displays the names of the subspace categories in the screen. In this way, when moving between layers from a state where the entire content space is displayed to a state where a partial space of a specific category is displayed, the screen can be enlarged without performing an explicit operation of moving the layer. By moving or reducing the level, the hierarchy can be moved continuously, and a natural and easy-to-understand operation system can be provided.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of the screen 204 displayed by the display unit 35. In the example of FIG. 15, the zoom position is further increased, and the viewpoint position is moved inside the “movie” category. The screen displays a data file object 56 and a guide 55 arranged in the partial space of the “movie” category. In addition, partial spaces of surrounding categories are also displayed. There may be a mixture of a partial space category data file to which the viewpoint position belongs and a surrounding partial space category data file in the same screen, but the display unit 35 is different from the partial space to which the viewpoint position belongs. The object 59 belonging to the partial space may be displayed in a different display form from the object 56 belonging to the partial space to which the viewpoint position belongs. Thereby, it becomes easy to grasp the cut of the partial space, and the convenience for the user can be improved. In the example of FIG. 15, the thumbnail of the data file corresponding to the object 56 is displayed as the object 56 in the partial space to which the viewpoint position belongs.

  On the screen 204, the map display unit 37 displays a map of the entire content space in the map area 53. This map may be a reduced image of the content space seen in the front with the viewpoint position as the center, or a reduced image of the content space looking down from above with the viewpoint position as the center. Good. That is, the map may be a horizontal map of the content space or a vertical map. Further, the map displayed in the map area 53 may be a map of the entire content space or a part of the map. Thereby, the user can easily grasp the current viewpoint position and the surrounding situation.

  On the screen 204, the category information display unit 38 displays an arrow 54 indicating the direction of the partial space close to the viewpoint position and the name of the category assigned to the partial space. Thereby, the user can easily grasp the position of the partial space of the category close to the viewpoint position. By expressing the arrow 54 by a combination of a plurality of arrows having different sizes, the position perpendicular to the screen, that is, the position in the front-rear direction can be accurately expressed.

  The rendering unit 36 may change the rendering method of the guide and the object according to the distance from the viewpoint position. The rendering unit 36 prepares a plurality of guide and object shape data from detailed to rough, and selects coarse shape data when it is far from the viewpoint position, and selects detailed shape data when it is near. It may be rendered. Further, rendering may be omitted for guides and objects that are farther than a predetermined distance.

  The user can change the viewpoint position, the line-of-sight direction, and the angle of view using the input device 20 on any of the screens of FIGS. When the user inputs the left analog stick 23 in the left-right direction, the movement control unit 33 moves the viewpoint position in the left-right direction. Further, when the user inputs the left analog stick 23 in the vertical direction, the movement control unit 33 moves the viewpoint position in the front-rear direction. When the user inputs the right analog stick 26, the movement control unit 33 changes the line-of-sight direction to the input direction. Thus, the user can freely move in the content space while moving the viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction in a desired direction. In the above example, the viewpoint position is changed by one analog stick, and the viewing direction is changed by the other analog stick. However, both the viewpoint position and the viewing direction can be changed by a direction input device such as one analog stick. Good. In this case, control may be performed so that the line-of-sight direction always faces forward in the movement direction of the viewpoint position. In the above example, the movement control unit 33 moves the viewpoint position in the front-rear direction by the input of the analog stick 23 in the up-down direction, but the viewpoint position may be moved in the up-down direction. In this case, an operation instruction for movement in the front-rear direction may be input by another input key or the like. Further, whether the viewpoint position is moved in the front-rear direction or in the up-down direction may be switched by the vertical input of the analog stick 23.

  The user can select a category, a guide, and a data file using the input device 20 on any of the screens of FIGS. For example, in the screen illustrated in FIG. 13, the selection unit 34 extracts the partial spaces of the category currently displayed on the screen within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint position, and selects them as selection targets. Candidates are displayed in a display mode that is different from the partial space of the category that cannot be selected. The selection unit 34 receives a user operation instruction from the operation instruction reception unit 32, switches the category to be selected, and highlights the partial space of the category currently selected. When the selection unit 34 receives an operation instruction for confirming selection from the operation instruction reception unit 32, the selection unit 34 notifies the movement control unit 33 of the currently targeted category. For example, when the selection unit 34 receives an operation instruction to select the partial space 51 of the “movie” category on the screen illustrated in FIG. 13, the movement control unit 33 sets the viewpoint position to the partial space 51 of the “movie” category. It is moved to a predetermined position, for example, the center position. Thereby, the movement to an intermediate | middle hierarchy is abbreviate | omitted and it can be made to change to the screen shown in FIG. 15 instantly from the screen shown in FIG.

  In the screen shown in FIG. 14, the selection unit 34 extracts guides currently displayed on the screen within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint position, makes them candidates for selection, and selects them. The display is different from the impossible guide. The selection unit 34 receives a user operation instruction from the operation instruction reception unit 32, switches the guide that is the selection target, and highlights the guide that is currently the selection target. When the selection unit 34 receives an operation instruction for confirming selection from the operation instruction reception unit 32, the selection unit 34 notifies the movement control unit 33 of the currently targeted guide. For example, when the selection unit 34 receives an operation instruction for selecting the “comed” guide 57 in the “movie” category on the screen illustrated in FIG. 14, the movement control unit 33 sets the viewpoint position in the vicinity of the “comed” guide. To a predetermined position. As a result, the user can efficiently move to the vicinity of the desired data file, so that convenience for the user can be improved.

  In the screen shown in FIG. 15, the selection unit 34 extracts objects in the data file currently displayed on the screen within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint position and selects them as candidates for selection. And displayed in a display mode different from the data file object that cannot be selected. The selection unit 34 receives a user operation instruction from the operation instruction reception unit 32, switches the data file to be selected, and highlights the object of the data file currently being selected. When the selection unit 34 receives an operation instruction for confirming selection from the operation instruction reception unit 32, the selection unit 34 notifies the application or the like of the data file 58 that is currently targeted. Thereby, the user can make an application process a desired data file.

  The selection unit 34 may accept a user operation instruction for switching whether to select a category, a guide, or a data file, and may switch the selection target, or automatically switch the selection target according to a zoom magnification or the like. May be. In the former case, the selection target may be switched from the category, guide, and data file on any of the screens of FIGS. In the latter case, for example, the category 200 is selected on the screen 200 in which the entire content space is displayed as shown in FIG. 13 and the screen 202 in which the entire partial space of the category is displayed as shown in FIG. A guide may be selected, and a data file may be selected on the screen 204 in which the inside of the category partial space is displayed as shown in FIG.

  The selection unit 34 may accept selection of a destination category from the user in the map area 53 displayed by the map display unit 37.

  In the above example, the data file is classified into a plurality of categories, but the data file may be classified into a plurality of categories. In this case, the classification unit 41 classifies the data file into categories of a plurality of hierarchies, and when a certain category has a category of a lower hierarchy, the subspace arrangement unit 42 includes a subspace allocated to the category. The subspace assigned to the category of the lower hierarchy is arranged, and when a certain category has a data element, the subspace generation unit 43 includes the category in the subspace assigned to the category. Distribute objects representing data elements belonging to. In this way, even when classified into categories of multiple hierarchies, data files can be arranged visually and easily by integrating subspaces into a single content space. Can be moved continuously.

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to each component and combination of processing processes, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the data management apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a file database. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a category database. It is a figure which shows the example of the internal data of a guide database. It is a figure which shows the example of content space. It is a figure which shows the example which made attractive force and repulsion act between partial spaces. It is a figure which shows the example of the result of having performed the convergence calculation by an attractive model. It is a figure which shows the example which set the axis | shaft in order to distribute the object of a data file in each partial space. It is a figure which shows a mode that each partial space was rotated according to the relationship of the distribution of the object in each partial space. It is a figure which shows a mode that the object and guide of the data file have been arrange | positioned in each partial space. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the method of producing | generating a content space. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of an input device. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed by the display part. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed by the display part. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed by the display part.

Explanation of symbols

  10 data management device, 20 input device, 28 processing unit, 30 user interface unit, 31 operation unit, 32 operation instruction receiving unit, 33 movement control unit, 34 selection unit, 35 display unit, 36 rendering unit, 37 map display unit, 38 category information display unit, 40 space generation unit, 41 classification unit, 42 subspace arrangement unit, 43 subspace generation unit, 60 storage device, 61 data file storage unit, 62 file database, 63 category database, 64 guide database, 66 Image processing unit, 68 display device.

Claims (12)

A classifier that classifies multiple data elements into multiple categories;
A partial space arrangement unit that assigns a partial space to each of the plurality of categories and arranges the plurality of partial spaces in a multidimensional space constituted by the data elements;
For each of the plurality of categories, a subspace generation unit that distributes objects representing data elements belonging to the category in the subspace assigned to the category;
A data management device comprising:   The data management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the classification unit classifies the plurality of data elements into the plurality of categories based on attribute information of the data elements.   The partial space arrangement unit defines an attractive force or a repulsive force acting between the partial spaces according to the similarity of the attribute information of the plurality of categories, and the partial space is included in the multidimensional space based on the attractive force or the repulsive force. The data management device according to claim 1, wherein the data management device is arranged.   The data management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the partial space generation unit distributes the objects in the partial space based on attribute information of the data element.   The data management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the partial space generation unit distributes the object in the partial space based on different attribute information for at least two categories.   The partial space generation unit defines an attractive force or a repulsive force acting between the objects according to the similarity of the attribute information of the plurality of data elements, and arranges the object in the partial space based on the attractive force or the repulsive force The data management apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein   The partial space arrangement unit is characterized by changing the shape of the partial space or rotating the partial space in accordance with the distribution relationship of objects in each partial space among a plurality of partial spaces. The data management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The classification unit classifies the plurality of data elements into a plurality of hierarchical categories,
The partial space arrangement unit, when a certain category has a lower hierarchy category, in the partial space assigned to the category, the partial space assigned to the lower hierarchy category is arranged,
The partial space generation unit, when a certain category has a data element, distributes an object representing the data element belonging to the category in the partial space assigned to the category. Item 8. The data management device according to any one of Items 1 to 7. An image generation unit configured to generate an image of the multidimensional space by rendering an object existing in the multidimensional space by setting a viewpoint position and a viewing direction in the multidimensional space;
An operation unit that receives an operation instruction to change the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction, and changes the viewpoint position or the line-of-sight direction;
The data management device according to claim 1, further comprising: A classifying unit classifying a plurality of data elements into a plurality of categories;
A subspace arrangement unit assigning a subspace to each of the plurality of categories, and arranging the plurality of subspaces in a multidimensional space constituted by the data elements;
A subspace generation unit that distributes, for each of the plurality of categories, objects representing data elements belonging to the category in the subspace assigned to the category;
A data management method comprising: On the computer,
The ability to classify multiple data elements into multiple categories;
A function of assigning a partial space to each of the plurality of categories and arranging the plurality of partial spaces in a multidimensional space constituted by the data elements;
For each of the plurality of categories, a function of distributing objects representing data elements belonging to the category in a subspace assigned to the category;
A program characterized by realizing.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 11.

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