JP2012128485A - Image search device, image search method and image search program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image search device, an image search method and an image search program capable of improving a user interface for an image search.SOLUTION: An image search device 20 comprises: input operation acceptance means 22 for accepting an input operation by a user; image search means 23 for searching for an image which is similar to an image designated by the user; and image display means 24 as arrangement means and image display means for displaying the searched similar images on a screen; as functional configuration of control means. The image display means 24 generates an image group corresponding to each image displayed within a selection range respectively, adjusts the size of each image so that all the respective image groups can be displayed and displays the images. Meanwhile, when reduction operation is input, images of the one rank higher hierarchy are displayed.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image search apparatus, an image search method, and an image search program that search for and display a similar image of a selected image.

Conventionally, in order to search for image content published on the Internet, a technique for searching for an image similar to the search key by using a keyword as a search key and comparing it with a tag associated with the image, or an image search key A technique for searching for an image similar to a search key by comparing feature values obtained by quantifying image colors, contour lines, color schemes, and the like is known.
Further, as a user interface in image search, a technique for displaying past search history at the same time when image search is continuously performed is known (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).
If the tool described in Non-Patent Document 1 is used, similar images are displayed in association with the periphery of the selected image, and when an image is further selected, similar images are associated with the periphery of the selected image in a radial pattern. As it expands, past search histories are also displayed on the screen.

“Google image-swirl”, [online], [searched November 8, 2010], Internet (URL: http://image-swirl.googlelabs.com/)

  The tool described in Non-Patent Document 1 is highly convenient when searching for images one after another from images selected by the user, but when the number of searches and the number of displayed images increase, It has become difficult to understand the relationship between the image selected by the user as a query in the past and the search result, and it has been difficult to grasp the search process so far.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image search device, an image search method, and an image search program capable of improving a user interface in image search.

  An image search apparatus according to the present invention is an image search apparatus that displays a similar image to an image selected by a user operation from a plurality of images displayed on a screen, and hierarchically associates the selected image with the selected image. An arrangement means for generating an image group in which similar images are arranged adjacent to the image, and the size of each image so that all of the selected image and the image group for the image can be displayed. And image display means for adjusting and displaying the image.

In this invention, in response to a user operation on the screen, a similar image with respect to an image selected by the user operation is arranged and displayed so that the relationship between the selected image and the similar image can be easily grasped as a hierarchical structure. To do. As described above, even when the screen is switched, the similar images are displayed so as to be adjacent to the original image, so that the hierarchical relationship between the original image and the similar image can be grasped instantaneously. Therefore, even when the number of searches and the number of displayed images increase, the user can easily grasp the relationship between the image selected as the query and the similar image.
In addition, as the search progresses one after another, similar images to the selected image are displayed in a hierarchical structure, so it is easy to return to the upper layer image and easily understand the search process so far be able to.
Therefore, the convenience of the user interface when presenting the search result in the image search is greatly improved.

  In the image search device of the present invention, when the user operation is an operation of selecting an arbitrary area and enlarging the selected area, the arranging means selects similar images for individual images included in the selected area. It is preferable that the image is generated so as to be adjacent to the image.

In the present invention, an arbitrary region is selected by a user operation, and a similar image is displayed by an operation (enlargement operation) for enlarging the selected region. The enlargement operation is not particularly limited. For example, an operation of dragging the end of the selection area in a direction to expand the selection area may be performed, or an operation of rotating the wheel button of the mouse after selecting an arbitrary area.
According to this, similar images with respect to individual images in the selected area are displayed by the enlargement operation. Since the enlargement operation is an operation that is performed when you want to see more details, it is suitable as an operation to deepen the image hierarchy, and the user can instantly grasp that the search result is in the hierarchy below the selected image. it can. That is, the user interface can be improved.

  In the image search device of the present invention, when the user operation is an operation of selecting an arbitrary area and reducing the selected area, the image display means selects the image group included in the selected area as the image. It is preferable to update the display by replacing with an image associated with the upper layer of the group.

  In the present invention, when a user operation is an operation for reducing an arbitrary area (reduction operation) on a screen on which an image group including an original image and similar images is displayed, the image group displayed on the screen is displayed above the image group. The associated image is displayed. By displaying the upper layer image in this way, the previous image search can be traced, the search process can be easily grasped, and the user interface can be improved.

In the image search device of the present invention, it is preferable that the image group includes similar images of the image arranged in a grid around the selected image.
In the present invention, as a mode of displaying a similar image with respect to the selected image, an image group in which the selected image is arranged in the center and eight similar images are arranged in a lattice pattern around the selected image is displayed. Since the display form arranged in a grid is easy for the user to see, the user interface can be further improved.

The image search apparatus according to the present invention further includes storage means for hierarchically storing similar images of the selected image so that the similar images can be searched, and the arranging means stores the similar images associated with the selected images. It is preferable that the image group is generated by reading from the storage unit.
In the present invention, the storage unit stores images and similar images corresponding to the images in a hierarchical manner. These hierarchical structures may be stored in the storage means in advance, or a hierarchy may be created and stored each time a similar image is searched.
According to the present invention, since the hierarchical structure of the image and the similar image is stored in the storage unit, it is not necessary to perform a re-search, so that the processing speed can be increased.

  The image search method of the present invention is an image search method for displaying a similar image corresponding to an image selected by a user operation from a plurality of images displayed on a screen, and hierarchically associated with the selected image. Generating a group of images in which the similar images are arranged adjacent to the image, and the size of each image so that all of the selected image and the group of images corresponding to the selected image can be displayed. And adjusting and displaying.

In this invention, in response to a user operation on the screen, a similar image with respect to an image selected by the user operation is arranged and displayed so that the relationship between the selected image and the similar image can be easily grasped as a hierarchical structure. To do. As described above, even when the screen is switched, the similar image is displayed adjacent to the original image, so that the hierarchical relationship between the original image and the similar image can be grasped instantaneously. Therefore, even when the number of searches and the number of displayed images increase, the user can easily grasp the relationship between the image selected as the query and the similar image.
In addition, as the search progresses one after another, similar images to the selected image are displayed in a hierarchical structure, so it is easy to return to the upper layer image, and the previous search can be performed by returning to the previous screen. This process can be easily grasped.
Therefore, the convenience of the user interface when presenting the search result in the image search is greatly improved.

The image search program of the present invention causes a computer to function as the above-described image search apparatus.
In the present invention, since the computer functions as the above-described image search apparatus, the same operational effects as described above can be obtained with a simple configuration simply by installing this program, and the utility is high.

It is a block diagram which shows the network structure of the image search system concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the function structure of an image search device. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of input operation in the image search screen in the said 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen and the next input operation in the said 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart shown about an example of the process sequence of the image search device which concerns on the said 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen and the next input operation in the said 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen in the said 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows that an image search is performed with a hierarchical structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of input operation in the image search screen in the image search device concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart shown about an example of the process sequence of the image search device in the said 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen and the next input operation in the said 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen and the next input operation in the said 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen and the next input operation in the said 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen and the next input operation in the said 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the search result screen in the said 2nd Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image search system 1 has a configuration in which a user terminal device 10 and an image search device 20 are connected via the Internet 2. In the system 1, a plurality of user terminal devices 10 and a plurality of image search devices 20 may be connected.

  The Internet 2 is the Internet based on a general-purpose protocol such as TCP / IP, but is not limited to this. For example, an intranet such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a network such as a communication line network or a broadcasting network in which a plurality of base stations capable of transmitting and receiving information via a wireless medium constitute a network, and a medium for directly receiving data Any configuration that transmits and receives data, such as the wireless medium itself, can be used.

  As the user terminal device 10, for example, a mobile phone, a mobile computer, a personal computer, or the like can be used. A storage unit (not shown) such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a CPU (Central Processing) are used. Unit) and the like. The RAM has a temporary area where data and the like can be temporarily stored, and the ROM stores an OS (Operating System: basic software), programs for controlling various servers, various applications, various data, and the like. The CPU reads programs stored in these storage means and performs various processes according to the programs. As a functional configuration of the control means, a transmission / reception unit 11 that transmits / receives data to / from various devices via the Internet 2, an input unit 12 such as a mouse or a keyboard that can be input by the user, and an output unit 13 that displays a web page on the screen. And a control unit 14 for performing various controls.

The image search device 20 is a device that provides an image search site in response to a request from the user terminal device 10. As the image search device 20, for example, a server or the like can be used. Similarly to the user terminal device 10, storage means such as RAM and ROM for storing various programs and various data, a CPU for performing various calculations, and the like. Control means.
In the image search device 20, an image database 201 is stored in a storage unit.
For example, as shown in Table 1 below, the image database 201 has a table structure in which an image ID for identifying an image, image data, and a feature amount of the image data are associated and stored as one record. Yes. Here, the image data is an image that is output on the device, and is represented as data 1, data 2,... In Table 1. The feature amount is obtained by quantifying the color (A), the contour line (B), and the color arrangement (C) in the image. The items are not limited to those listed here, and other items may be added as appropriate as long as the data is related to the image.
In the image search device 20, for example, a program for collecting images published on the Internet is constantly executed, and the images collected in this way are stored in the image database 201.

Further, the image search device 20 searches for an image similar to the image designated by the user, as a functional configuration of the control means, a transmission / reception unit 21 connected to the Internet 2, an input operation reception means 22 for receiving an input operation by the user. And an image display means 24 as an image display means and an arrangement means for displaying the searched similar images on the screen. The image search device 20 may include input means such as a keyboard and mouse, output means such as a monitor, and the like.
The transmission / reception unit 21 transmits / receives various data to / from various devices via the Internet 2. Although not described in the following description, data exchange between each control unit of the image search device 20 and each device is performed via the transmission / reception unit 21.

The input operation accepting unit 22 accepts the content operated using the input unit 12 in the user terminal device 10 as a user input operation. The input operation in the present embodiment includes an operation of selecting a predetermined area using the mouse and dragging in the direction of expanding the selection range (enlargement operation), and an operation of dragging in the direction of reducing the selection range (reduction operation). is there. Note that the reduction operation can be performed only after the enlargement operation is performed once or more.
Based on the input operation received by the input operation receiving unit 22, the image search unit 23 searches the image stored in the image database 201 for an image similar to an image included in the selection range. Specifically, the feature amounts of the images included in the selection range are calculated, the calculated feature amounts are compared with the feature amounts of the images stored in the image database 201, and the eight images in descending order of similarity. Are extracted respectively.

  The image display unit 24 displays the similar image search result based on the input operation received by the input operation reception unit 22. When the input operation is an enlargement operation, an image group corresponding to each image displayed in the selection range is generated, and the size of each image is adjusted and displayed so that the entire image group can be displayed. Let On the other hand, in the case of a reduction operation, an image one level higher is displayed. That is, the image display means 24 functions as an array means of the present invention for generating an image group for the selected image, and the size of each image so that the selected image and all of the image group can be displayed on the screen. It has a function as an image display means of the present invention for adjusting the image.

  Specifically, when an operation (enlargement operation) of dragging the selection area 31 in the direction of the arrow 32 among a plurality of images A, B... Displayed on the screen 3 shown in FIG. An image group is generated for each of the images A, B, C, E, F, G, I, J, and K. The image group is a group in which eight similar images of the image extracted by the image search means 23 are arranged in a grid pattern around the selected image. Then, each image displayed on the screen 3 is associated with each generated image group, and the positional relationship between the plurality of images displayed on the screen 3 and the image group associated with these images In a state where the positional relationship is maintained, as shown in the screen 4 in FIG. 3, the size of each image is adjusted and displayed so that the entire image group can be displayed. On the other hand, when the reduction operation is performed on the screen 4 in FIG. 3, the screen 3 shown in FIG. 2 is displayed again. The hierarchical structure created by the search is stored in a storage area such as a memory. When displaying an upper layer image by a reduction operation or performing a search again by an enlargement operation, the hierarchical structure stored in this storage area is stored. The structure can be read and displayed.

  Further, when an operation (enlargement operation) of dragging the selection area 41 in the direction of the arrow 42 is performed on the screen 4 in FIG. 3, an image group corresponding to the selected image is generated in the same manner as described above, and a new image group is generated. Displayed as a hierarchy. In this way, the image search can be performed in the depth direction of the hierarchy by repeating the enlargement operation, and the image can be returned in the shallow direction of the hierarchy by performing the reduction operation.

[Operation of Image Search System 1]
In the present system 1, a plurality of image data is stored in advance in the image database 201 of the image search device 20.
First, the user performs an input operation on the input unit 12 of the user terminal device 10 to specify an address of the image search device 20 by, for example, starting a web browser in order to access an image search site provided by the image search device 20. Enter and request an image search site.
Upon receiving this request, the image search device 20 transmits a web page on which a plurality of images are displayed to the user terminal device 10. The image displayed here may be an image retrieved from the image database 201 using the keyword entered by the user as a key, or may be randomly extracted from the image database 201, or if the user is logged in The image regarding the field | area which a user may be interested may be extracted at random.

  The user terminal device 10 displays the received web page on the output unit 13 as the screen 3 shown in FIG. On the screen 3, 16 images A, B,... Are displayed. The user selects an area 31 using the input unit 12 and performs an operation (enlargement operation) of dragging the end of the selection area 31 toward the outside of the screen 3 as indicated by an arrow 32. When this input operation is performed, the user terminal device 10 transmits a signal including the content of the input operation to the image search device 20.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image search device 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The image search device 20 receives a signal indicating that an input operation has been performed by the input operation receiving means 22 (S11), and determines the type of the input operation (S12).

When the input operation is an enlargement operation (S12: Yes), the image search means 23 uses the feature amount for each of the images A, B, C, E, F, G, I, J, and K included in the selection region 31. And eight images having high similarity are extracted from the image data stored in the image database 201 based on the feature amount (S13).
Next, the image display unit 24 generates image groups for the images A, B, C, E, F, G, I, J, and K included in the selection area 31 (S14). The image A will be described in detail. Eight similar images a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6, a7, a8 extracted in step S13 are gridded around the image A as shown in FIG. A group of images arranged in a shape is generated.

Then, the image display means 24 maintains the positional relationship between the plurality of images displayed on the screen 3 shown in FIG. 2 and the corresponding image group, and the size of each image so that all the image groups can be displayed. The image is adjusted and displayed (S15), and the display data of this screen is transmitted to the user terminal device 10 (S16).
The display data transmitted to the user terminal device 10 is stored in a storage area such as a RAM in association with the hierarchy. The display data of the screen displayed by the first enlargement operation is level 1, and the level increases by 1 each time the enlargement operation is further performed.

On the other hand, when the input operation is not an enlargement operation (S12: No), it is determined whether or not the input operation is a reduction (S17).
When the input operation is a reduction operation (S17: Yes), the image display unit 24 acquires display data of the hierarchy one level above the screen on which the reduction operation has been performed from the storage area and transmits the display data to the user terminal device 10. (S18).
If the input operation is not a reduction operation (S17: No), the process ends.

When receiving the display data, the user terminal device 10 causes the output unit 13 to display the display data on the screen. A screen 4 deeper than the first display screen is a screen 4 shown in FIG.
Thereafter, each time the user selects an arbitrary area on the displayed screen and performs an enlargement operation, the above steps S11 to S17 can be repeated to further deepen the hierarchy and perform an image search. Further, when the user wants to confirm the search process, the user can display a screen one level higher by performing a reduction operation.

  The transition state of the search result screen will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. The screen 4 in FIG. 3 shows the result of the image search that is one level deeper as described above. On the screen 4, the user selects an area 41 and performs an operation for enlarging the selection area 41 as indicated by an arrow 42. By this operation, the same processing as the above-described steps S11 to S16 is executed, and eight similar images are arranged in a grid pattern around the images a1, a2, a8, A as shown in the screen 5 in FIG. The size of each image is adjusted and displayed so that the entire image group is displayed (image search result deepened two layers). Here, since the image A is selected for the second time, the similar images are the eight images A1 and A2 following the top eight images a1 to a8 at the height of the similarity extracted in the first search. , A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8 are extracted. On the screen 5, even if the similar image a15 of the image a1 and the similar image a23 of the image a2 are the same image, they are displayed as they are. Further, even if the similar image (see screen 6 in FIG. 6) with respect to the image a15 is the same image as the image a23 on the screen 5, it is displayed as it is.

  Then, on the screen 5 in FIG. 5, the user selects an area 51 and performs an operation of enlarging the selected area 51 as indicated by an arrow 52. As a result of this operation, the same processing as in steps S11 to S16 is executed as described above, and eight similar images are arranged in a grid pattern around the image included in the selection area 51 as shown in the screen 6 in FIG. The size of each image is adjusted and displayed so that all of the arranged image groups are displayed (image search result deepened by three layers).

  Further, when the user wants to check the process of searching so far, when the reduction operation is performed on the screen 6 in FIG. 6, the screen 5 in FIG. 5 which is one level higher is displayed. Further, when the reduction operation is performed on the screen 5 in FIG. 5, the screen 4 in FIG. 3 which is one level higher is displayed. Further, when the reduction operation is performed on the screen 4 of FIG. 3, the screen 3 of FIG. Since the screen 3 is the screen in the uppermost layer, the reduction operation at this time is invalid.

[Effects of First Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be achieved.
In response to an input operation by the user, the image search device 20 displays similar images with respect to the selected image, arranged so that the relationship between the selected image and the similar image can be easily grasped as a hierarchical structure. As described above, even when the screen is switched, the similar images are displayed so as to be adjacent to the original image, so that the hierarchical relationship between the original image and the similar image can be grasped instantaneously. Therefore, even when the number of searches and the number of displayed images increase, the user can easily grasp the relationship between the image selected as the query and the similar image.
In addition, as the search progresses one after another, similar images to the selected image are displayed in a hierarchical structure, so it is easy to return to the upper layer image and easily understand the search process so far be able to.
Therefore, the convenience of the user interface when presenting the search result in the image search is greatly improved.

  In the image search device 20, the positional relationship between the selected image and the image group corresponding to the selected image is maintained even when the screen is switched, and is also maintained on the next screen. Thus, even when the screen is switched, the positional relationship between the corresponding images and image groups is maintained, so that the hierarchical structure of the images and similar images can be easily understood.

  In this embodiment, when a similar image of the selected image is displayed as a search result, an image group in which the selected image is arranged in the center and eight similar images are arranged in a grid around the selected image is displayed on the screen. I am letting. Since the display form arranged in a grid is easy for the user to see, the hierarchical structure can be easily grasped and the user interface can be further improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the result of the search once is stored in the storage area as the hierarchical structure of the image, and when returning to the upper layer image or when performing the search again, the hierarchical structure stored in the storage area is read out and An image is displayed. Thereby, since it is not necessary to search again, the processing can be speeded up.

Second Embodiment
The system of the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration and operation are the same as those of the first embodiment except that the operation of the image display means 24 is different. Will not be described.
The user input operation in the second embodiment includes a click operation in addition to the enlargement operation and the reduction operation in the first embodiment. The click operation includes an operation of clicking an arbitrary image from a plurality of images and an operation of pressing a button displayed on the screen.

  The image display means 25 displays the search result of similar images based on the input operation received by the input operation reception means. When an image is selected by an input operation, an image group in which eight similar images searched around the selected image are arranged in a grid is generated, and the original image is converted into an image group corresponding to the image. Replace and display. In addition, when an operation for returning the hierarchy is performed by an input operation, an image one hierarchy higher than the currently displayed screen is displayed. At this time, the display size of each image is displayed in the same size as the display size of the original screen. When the input operation is an enlargement operation, each image and each image group displayed in the selection range is enlarged and displayed. Unlike the first embodiment, the search process is not performed in this case. When the input operation is a reduction operation, the image and the image group displayed on the currently displayed screen are reduced and displayed.

Specifically, the operation of the system of the second embodiment will be described.
The user operates the input unit 12 among the plurality of images A, B,..., P in the screen 81 shown in FIG. 8 displayed on the output unit 13 of the user terminal device 10 and clicks the image F with the pointer 811. To do. When this input operation is performed, the user terminal device 10 transmits a signal including the content of the input operation to the image search device 20.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image search apparatus 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The image search device 20 receives a signal indicating that an input operation has been performed by the input operation receiving means 22 (S21), and determines whether an image has been selected by the input operation (S22). A specific operation for selecting an image is an operation of clicking a target image with a mouse.

When the image is selected (S22: Yes), the image search means 23 calculates the feature amount of the clicked image F, and based on this feature amount, the similarity degree is selected from the image data stored in the image database 201. Eight high images are extracted (S23).
Next, the image display unit 24 generates an image group for the image F (S24). That is, an image group in which eight similar images f1, f2, f3, f4, f5, f6, f7, and f8 of the image F extracted in step S24 are arranged in a grid around the image F as shown in FIG. F is generated.

And the image display means 25 produces | generates the screen 82 (refer FIG. 10) which replaced the image F displayed on the screen 81 shown in FIG. 8 with the image group F (S25), and displays the display data of this screen 82 on a user terminal. It transmits to the apparatus 10 (S26).
The display data of the screen transmitted to the user terminal device 10 is stored in a storage area such as a RAM in association with the hierarchy. The display data of the screen displayed by the first click operation is level 1, and the level increases by 1 each time a click operation is performed.

On the other hand, if no image is selected (S22: No), it is determined whether or not the input operation is an operation for returning to the hierarchy (S27).
If the operation returns to the hierarchy (S27: Yes), the image display means 25 acquires the display data of the screen one level higher from the storage area and transmits it to the user terminal device 10 (S28).

If it is not an operation for returning to the hierarchy (S27: No), it is determined whether or not the input operation is an enlargement operation (S29).
When the input operation is an enlargement operation (S29: Yes), the image display unit 25 generates a screen in which the image and the image group included in the selection area are enlarged and displayed according to the size of the selection area and the screen ( S30), the display data is transmitted to the user terminal device 10 (S26). Specifically, when the enlargement operation is performed in the direction of the arrow 822 for the selection area 821 in FIG. 10, the image display means 25 displays the images A, B, C, E, G, I, J included in the selection area 821. , K and image group F are enlarged and displayed to generate a screen 83 in FIG.

On the other hand, if the input operation is not an enlargement operation (S29: No), it is determined whether or not the input operation is a reduction operation (S31).
When the input operation is a reduction operation (S31: Yes), the image display means 25 generates a screen in which the currently displayed screen is reduced and displayed (S32), and transmits the display data to the user terminal device 10 ( S26).
On the other hand, when the input operation is not a reduction operation (S31: No), the process ends.

  When receiving the display data, the user terminal device 10 causes the output unit 13 to display the display data on the screen. A search screen obtained by clicking the image F on the screen 81 shown in FIG. 8 as the first display screen and deepening it one layer is a screen 82 shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, each time the user repeats the input operation, the processing of steps S21 to S32 is repeated, and the image search can be performed by deepening the hierarchy by clicking the image. If the user wants to confirm the search process, the user can display the screen of the next higher level by pressing the button 80.

  Specifically, a screen on which the selection area 821 in FIG. 10 is enlarged is a screen 83 shown in FIG. When an enlargement operation is performed on the selection region 831 by clicking the image f2 in FIG. 11, a screen 84 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. This screen 84 is a search screen that is two layers deeper than the screen 81 of FIG. 8 that is the first display screen. Further, when an enlargement operation is performed on the selection area 841 by clicking the image f28 in FIG. 12, a screen 85 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. This screen 85 is a search screen that is three layers deeper than the screen 81 of FIG. 8 that is the first display screen. Furthermore, when the enlargement operation is performed on the selection area 851 by clicking the image f285 in FIG. 13, a screen 86 shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. This screen 86 is a search screen that is four layers deeper than the screen 81 of FIG. 8 that is the first display screen. On the other hand, when the button 80 is clicked on the screen 82 shown in FIG. 10, the screen 81 shown in FIG.

  Also in the second embodiment described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be achieved.

[Modification]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, In the range which can achieve the objective of this invention, the deformation | transformation shown below is also included.
For example, in the above embodiment, as an input operation by the user, an operation of selecting an arbitrary area and dragging the selected area to the outside of the screen is an enlargement operation, and an operation of dragging the arbitrary selection area to the inside of the screen is a reduction operation. However, the enlargement operation and the reduction operation are not limited to this. For example, the position of the mouse pointer on the screen may be set as the center of enlargement and reduction, and it may be enlarged or reduced when a specific key, for example, the up and down arrow keys is pressed. When doing so, you may enlarge and reduce by operating a wheel button. Also, when using an input device with multi-touch, the operation to move the finger away from the state of touching two points of the input device with the finger is an enlargement operation, and the operation to move the finger closer is a reduction operation. It is good.

In the second embodiment, the image search for the image is performed by an input operation of clicking an arbitrary image. However, the input operation is not limited to this. For example, a search button may be arranged on the screen, and after selecting one or more images, the image search may be started by pressing the search button.
In the second embodiment, the configuration is such that clicking the button 80 returns to the next higher level, but the present invention is not limited to this input operation. For example, in FIG. 10, when an image group including the image F and the similar images f1 to f8 is designated and the reduction operation is performed, the image group may be replaced with the image F and the screen 81 in FIG. Good. Further, when the image F is clicked in the image group including the image F and the similar images f1 to f8, the image group may be replaced with the image F and displayed as shown on the screen 81 in FIG.

  In the first embodiment, when the image A once searched on the screen 4 in FIG. 3 is searched again, the eight similar images following the similar images a1 to a8 extracted in descending order of similarity at the first time. Although A1 to A8 are extracted and displayed, the top eight similar images a1 to a8 having a high degree of similarity may be displayed again as in the first time. Further, the image A may be enlarged and displayed as it is. Specifically, on the screen 5 in FIG. 5, the image A is enlarged and displayed instead of the image group including the image A and the similar images A1 to A8.

  In the first embodiment, the similar image of the image a15 is displayed as it is even if the similar image of the image a15 on the screen 6 of FIG. 6 is the same image as the image a23 of the screen 5 of FIG. The same image as the image a23 may be removed from the similar image of the image a15 and displayed. In this case, the image once displayed on the screen is stored in a storage area such as a memory, and the inside of the storage area is checked for each image at the time of display, and the image stored in the storage area is removed and the other images are displayed. Display an image.

  In the first embodiment, when displaying an image group by an enlargement operation, the original image may be displayed in a reduced size, and an animation may be displayed so that eight similar images appear from the original image. . Similarly, when displaying an image one level above the image group by the reduction operation, an animation display may be performed so that eight similar images are absorbed by the original image at the center of the image group.

  The present invention can be used as an image search apparatus and an image search method for providing an image search site.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image search system 2 ... Internet 10 ... User terminal device 20 ... Image search device 21 ... Transmission / reception part 22 ... Input operation reception means 23 ... Image search means 24, 25 ... Image display means 201 ... Image database

Claims (7)

An image search device that displays a similar image to an image selected by a user operation from a plurality of images displayed on a screen,
Arrangement means for generating an image group in which similar images hierarchically associated with the selected image are arranged adjacent to the image;
An image search device comprising: an image display unit that adjusts the size of each image so that all of the selected image and the image group for the image can be displayed. The image search device according to claim 1,
When the user operation is an operation of selecting an arbitrary area and expanding the selected area,
The image search apparatus characterized in that the arrangement means generates a similar image for each image included in the selection area so as to be adjacent to the image. In the image search device according to claim 1 or 2,
When the user operation is an operation of selecting an arbitrary area and reducing the selected area,
The image display device updates the display by replacing the image group included in the selection area with an image associated with an upper layer of the image group. The image search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the image group, similar images of the image are arranged in a grid around the selected image. The image search device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Storage means for hierarchically storing similar images of the selected image so as to be searchable;
The image search apparatus, wherein the arrangement unit reads the similar image associated with the selected image from the storage unit and generates the image group. An image search method for displaying a similar image to an image selected by a user operation from a plurality of images displayed on a screen,
Generating an image group in which similar images hierarchically associated with the selected image are arranged adjacent to the image;
And a step of adjusting and displaying the size of each image so that all of the selected image and the image group for the image can be displayed.   An image search program for causing a computer to function as the image search device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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