JP3342146B2 - Image information management device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image information management apparatus for managing a database including image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a multitask OS and a high-performance CPU have been developed.
Is becoming popular, and a multi-vendor environment that uses vast amounts of image data is being prepared, and image information management devices that manage image information and databases have begun to spread. A search is performed by using a keyword or the like as a means for searching for an image required by the user from the image data being managed, and a thumbnail display is displayed in which some images extracted as a result of the search are displayed as miniature images. Is configured to display an image required by the user when the user selects.

In general, since image data has a huge amount of information, it is compressed and stored by, for example, the JPEG method, and miniature image data for displaying thumbnails is separately prepared. It is made to memorize in connection with.

[0004]

However, according to the conventional method, a miniature image of an image desired by a user is selected from a thumbnail screen displaying a search result, and then a compressed original image corresponding to the selected image is selected. There is a problem that it takes a considerable time to display an actual image in order to start decompression.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and displays a search result performed by a user on a multitask OS as a thumbnail, and at the same time, activates another task by using the search result as a trigger. Then, by starting decompression of the compressed image file corresponding to the image as the search result, the processing time required for searching for the desired image to be searched for on the thumbnail screen, decompressing and displaying the image is reduced, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image information management device capable of significantly improving image search efficiency.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first image information managing apparatus for storing an image information storing means for storing a compressed image file compressed according to a predetermined compression method. A thumbnail storage unit for storing a sample image file to be searched for each compressed image file, an index table for storing, as an index, file information according to a keyword for searching each compressed image file stored in the image information storage unit, Search file creation means for creating a search file queue for a corresponding compressed image file by referring to the index table based on the keyword to be obtained, and obtaining the search file queue created by the search file queue creation means and obtaining the thumbnail Search the sample image file from the storage means Thumbnail search display means for displaying a thumbnail list on the display screen, and at the same time that the search for the search sample image file is started by the thumbnail search display means, the corresponding thumbnail information is stored in the image information storage means based on the search file queue. Decompression means for sequentially decompressing compressed image files, decompression image storage means for storing decompression image files sequentially decompressed by the decompression means, and a search sample image file selected from a thumbnail list displayed on the display screen A file search means for reading out the decompressed image file from the decompressed image storage means and displaying the decompressed image file on the display screen, and a control means for controlling a multitask of the decompression means and the thumbnail search and display means.

[0007] A second image information management device according to the present invention comprises:
Each time the decompression means sequentially decompresses, the decompression table creation means for creating a retrieval decompression table for retrieving the decompressed image file in the decompression image storage means, and the decompression image file searched by the file retrieval means are already stored. Determining means for determining whether or not decompression has been performed by referring to the search / decompression table; and, based on the determination result of the determination means, interrupting the sequential decompression processing of the compressed image file by the decompression means and selecting the decompression means. And a decompression control means for decompressing the compressed image file corresponding to the searched sample image file.

[0008] A third image information management device according to the present invention comprises:
A free space determining means for determining the free space of the decompressed image storing means; and a decompressed image storing means for deleting the decompressed image files stored in the decompressed image storing means on the basis of the determination result of the free space determining means. And securing means for securing free space.

A fourth image information management device according to the present invention comprises:
The securing means is configured to determine the decompressed image file to be deleted from the decompressed image storage means with reference to the management flag on the retrieval and decompression table.

[0010] A fifth image information management device according to the present invention comprises:
The registration order of the decompressed files registered in the retrieval and decompression table is automatically changed based on the rearrangement of the search sample image files in the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen.

[0011]

In the first invention, when a search file queue for a corresponding compressed image file is created by referring to the index table based on a keyword input by the search file queue creation means, the search file queue is created. A thumbnail search and display means for obtaining a search sample image file from the thumbnail storage means and displaying a list of thumbnails on a display screen; and starting the search for the search sample image file by the thumbnail search and display means, in parallel with the search. The decompression means for sequentially decompressing the corresponding compressed image file stored in the image information storage means based on the file queue and the control means are simultaneously activated, and the file search means searches the thumbnail selected from the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen. Extract the decompressed image file corresponding to the sample image file Is displayed on the display screen is read out from the image storage unit freezing, in which precede the timing for decompressing the decoded image file corresponding to the compressed and the stored search sample image file.

In the second invention, the decompression control means determines whether or not the decompression image file to be retrieved by the file retrieval means has already been decompressed by referring to the retrieval and decompression table. Means for sequentially decompressing the compressed image file by the means, decompressing the compressed image file corresponding to the selected sample image file to the decompression means, and preferentially decompressing the target compressed image file. is there.

In the third invention, based on the determination result of the free space determining means, the securing means deletes the decompressed image files stored in the decompressed image storing means in the order of storage and stores the free space in the decompressed image storing means. And the decompression processing by the decompression means is continued.

[0014] In the fourth invention, the securing means determines the decompressed image file to be deleted from the decompressed image storage means by referring to the management flag on the retrieval and decompression table, and the decompressed image file having a low degree of search display requirement , And efficiently secure free space.

In the fifth invention, the registration order of the decompressed files registered in the retrieval and decompression table is automatically changed based on the rearrangement of the retrieval sample image file in the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen, and the retrieval is performed. Decompression processing of the compressed image file can be performed in the order corresponding to the registration position of the sample image file.

[0016]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image information management apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A GUI management unit 1 for managing a user interface, a search engine unit 2 for performing a search, Filing engine unit that manages file operations, and control unit (O
(S unit) 5.

The GUI management section 1 has an input / output control section 4, and controls input of a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard and output of a window to a monitor or the like. The GUI management unit 1 manages user interfaces such as search keywords, additional information to files, input / output of files, display of thumbnail images, display of original images, and the like.

The search engine unit 2 has a keyword search unit 6, a search dictionary 7, and an index table 8, and searches a corresponding file by a keyword sent from the GUI management unit 1.

The filing engine unit 3 displays a list of file queues 10 for storing extracted file names, storage units 15 for storing original image data, and detection results as a result of the search by the search engine unit 2. A recording unit 14 for storing a miniature image to be used at the time of recording, a recording unit 13 for storing additional information of the image, a recording unit 12 for storing a decompressed file when the original image is compressed, Decompressed file table 11 showing the relationship between the files, and a file management unit 9 for managing and controlling them
have.

The file queue 10, image data storage unit 15, miniature image recording unit 14, recording unit 13 for storing additional information, recording unit 12 for storing decompressed files, and decompression file table 11 are external storages. It may be configured on the device or on the main storage memory.

In the image information management apparatus having the above-described configuration, the search file of the corresponding compressed image file is referred to by referring to the index table 8 based on the keyword input by the search file queue creating means (search engine unit 2). When a queue (file queue 10) is created, the search file queue is acquired, a search sample image file is searched from the thumbnail storage means (thumbnail data storage unit 14), and a thumbnail search for displaying a thumbnail list on a display screen is performed. Display means (file management unit 9)
At the same time that the search for the search sample image file is started by the thumbnail search and display unit, the corresponding compressed image file stored in the image information storage unit (original image data storage unit 15) is also stored based on the search file queue. The decompression means (file management unit 9) and the control means (OS5) for sequentially decompressing start simultaneously, and the file search means (file management unit 9) corresponds to the search sample image file selected from the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen. The decompressed image file to be read out from the decompressed image storage means (decompressed image data storage unit 12) and displayed on the display screen, and the timing for decompressing the decompressed image file corresponding to the compressed and stored search sample image file Is to precede.

The decompression control unit (file management unit 9) determines whether or not the decompressed image file to be retrieved by the file retrieval unit has already been decompressed by referring to the retrieval and decompression table. According to the procedure shown in FIG. 9, the sequential decompression processing of the compressed image file by the decompression means is interrupted, and the decompression means decompresses the compressed image file corresponding to the selected search sample image file to obtain the target compressed image file. Thaw preferentially.

Further, based on the judgment result of the free space judgment means (file management section 9), the securing means (file management section 9) stores the decompressed image stored in the decompressed image storage means (decompressed image data storage section 12). The files are deleted in the order of storage to secure free space in the decompressed image storage means, and the decompression processing by the decompression means is continued.

The securing means (file management unit 9)
The decompressed image file to be deleted from the decompressed image storage means (decompressed image data storage unit 12) is determined by referring to the management flag on the retrieval and decompression table, and the decompressed image file having a lower search display requirement is deleted. This is to ensure sufficient free space.

Hereinafter, an image search processing operation in the image information management apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 are views showing operation screens for image search processing characters in the image information management apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 corresponds to a state in which the operation window 17 is displayed on a display unit not shown in FIG.

First, the user operates the cursor 1 with a pointing device such as a mouse or input operation means such as a keyboard.
By operating the item 9 and selecting the item of "keyword" from the items on the menu bar 18, the search dialog box 22 of FIG. 3 is opened. The user inputs a keyword to be used for the search in the keyword input text field 23 displayed in the search dialog box 22.

In FIG. 3, as an example, the keyword "intention" is being entered. Then, when the user clicks the execution button 21, the search is started, and "search is being executed" is displayed in the status display field 24 of FIG. The status display field 24 is used to inform the user of the current situation.

The resulting files are displayed sequentially as miniature images 25a-25i. If the user wants to stop the search in the middle, he or she can click the stop button 20.

When the search is completed as described above, "search completed" is displayed in the status display field 24. If there is no corresponding file as a result of the search, "no corresponding file exists" Is displayed to inform the user.

FIG. 4 shows an original image corresponding to the image selected by the user from the miniature images 25a to 25i of the file displayed as a result of the search.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 27 denotes the displayed original image 2
6 is a title field, and 28 is the displayed original image 2.
6 is a comment field. The text information input to these two fields is stored as additional information in the attribute data storage unit 13 in FIG.

In the prior art, after the user selects a desired image from the miniature images 25a to 25i, decompression is started if the original image is compressed. Was hanging.

The search and display operation of the means from the search to the display of the result on the thumbnail screen and the means for displaying the original image desired by the user from the displayed thumbnail screen will be described with reference to FIGS. explain.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a search processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.
Note that (1) to (9) indicate each step. In particular, it corresponds to the processing from the start of the search to the display of the thumbnail screen.

When it is detected that the user inputs a keyword in the keyword input text field 23 of the search dialog box 22 shown in FIG. 3 and presses the execution button 21 (1), the index table 8 shown in FIG. 1 is referred to. Then, a file corresponding to the keyword is searched (2). The index table 8 is, for example, such that files A, B, C, D, and E having a certain keyword A are grouped as shown in FIG.

Of course, the search method and the form of the index table are not limited to this form, and there is no problem even with a generally used method.

It is determined whether or not a file corresponding to the keyword has been found by the processing of the step (2) (3).
(7), it is determined whether the decompression task has already been started (8). If not, the decompression task is started (9). The activation task will be described later in detail.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the search has been completed (4). If the search has not been completed, the process returns to step (2) to start the next search.

Similarly, if it is determined in step (8) that the decompression task has already been started, the process returns to step (4) to determine whether or not the search has been completed. Returning to the process of (2), the next search is started.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the search has been completed, it is determined whether there is at least one search result (5). Then, the miniature images corresponding to the respective files are loaded from the thumbnail data storage unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 and displayed as thumbnail images (6).

The decompression task processing operation in the image information management apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a decompression task processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (6) indicate each step.

The decompression task corresponds to step (9) in FIG.
Corresponding to the process of decompressing the compressed original image and creating a decompressed file as an intermediate file in the decompressed image data storage unit 12 in FIG.

First, in step (1), FIG.
The file name of the decompression search result file shown in FIG.
Come from.

At this time, if the file queue 10 is empty (2), the process ends assuming that the search result file does not exist.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (2) that the search result file name exists in the file queue 10, it is checked whether an image file corresponding to the search result file name is compressed (3). At this time, it may be determined whether the image is a compressed image by referring to a part of the header of the image file, or may be determined by referring to the extension of the file name.

If it is determined in step (3) that the image file is compressed (4), the image file is decompressed by a decompression method corresponding to the compression method, and decompressed in the decompressed image data storage unit 12. Generate a file (5).

Step (5) corresponds to the compressed image decompression routine shown in FIG.

Then, the decompression file name is registered in the decompression table as shown in FIG. 8 (6), and the process returns to step (1) until the file name in the file queue no longer exists. Is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the original image is not a compressed file, the original file name is registered as it is in the decompression table.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the name of the file C is registered. That is, only when the image is compressed, the decompressed image data file as the intermediate file is
And the pointer to the decompressed file is registered in the decompressed file table, and if the image is not compressed, the pointer to the original image file is registered in the decompressed table. .

Then, returning to the processing of step (1), the same processing is repeatedly executed until the file name in the file queue no longer exists.

Next, FIG. 9 shows processing up to the display state of FIG. 4 in which the original image corresponding to the image selected from the miniature images 25a to 25i of the file displayed by the user as a result of the search is displayed. This will be described with reference to a flowchart.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a selected image display processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (11) indicate each step.

When it is detected that the user selects a desired miniature image from the displayed thumbnail screen (1), the file name corresponding to the selected miniature image is registered in the decompression table. Check whether it has been done (2). As a result, if it is determined that the image is registered (3), the data is loaded from the decompressed image data storage unit 12 of FIG. 1 with reference to the registered decompressed file name (10), and the target image is displayed. (11).

On the other hand, if the file name corresponding to the selected miniature image is not registered in the decompression table in the judgment of step (3), it is checked whether the decompression task described above is operating (4). It is determined whether the file is in the middle (5). If it is determined that the file is being operated, it is checked whether the file is being decompressed, and it is determined whether the file being decompressed is the selected file (6). If YES, wait for the thawing to end (9).

On the other hand, if the file being decompressed is different from the selected file in the judgment of step (6), the decompression task currently in operation is interrupted (7), as shown in FIG. The selected file name is put in the decompression file queue 10, and the decompression task is operated again (8).

This processing makes it possible to decompress the file selected preferentially.

Then, waiting for the end of the decompression operation (9), the data is loaded from the decompression image data storage unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 by referring to the decompression file name registered in the decompression table (10), A target image is displayed (11).

By adding Open Flg to the decompression table of FIG. 8 as shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to cope with a case where the decompression image data storage unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 runs out of storage space.

The processing will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a compressed image decompression processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (11) indicate each step.

First, it is checked whether space for storing the decompressed file in the decompressed image data storage unit 12 is free (1). If it is determined that it is free, (2) the image file is decompressed by a decompression method corresponding to the compression method. Is decompressed, and a decompression file is generated in the decompression image data storage unit 12 (3).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (2) that there is no empty space, a pointer TblPtr indicating the decompression file is set in the decompression file at the head of the decompression table (4), and the pointer TblP
Check the Open Flg of the decompressed file indicated by tr (5). Open Flg is a flag added to the decompression table as shown in FIG. 10, and becomes On when the decompression file registered in the decompression table is opened at least once by the user.

It is determined whether or not this Open Flg is "On" (6). If it is determined that it is "On", the decompressed file indicated by the pointer TblPtr is opened once. Therefore, it is stored in the decompressed image data storage unit 12 as it is. Then, the pointer TblPtr is advanced to the next decompression file (10), and it is determined whether or not the pointer TblPtr points to the end of the freezing table (11). repeat.

On the other hand, in the judgment of step (6), Open
If it is determined that Flg is Off, it is determined that the decompressed file has never been opened, and is deleted from the decompressed image data storage unit 12 (7).

Then, the item corresponding to the decompressed file is deleted from the decompressed table (8), and the decompressed table is deleted as shown in FIG.
Update as shown in 2 (9).

This operation is repeated until an area necessary for storing the decompressed image data can be secured. When the area is secured, the image is decompressed by the decompression method suitable for the compression method, and a decompression file is created in the decompression image data storage unit 12. [Other Embodiments] In the first embodiment described above, the purpose was to decompress the compressed image efficiently and to reduce the time required to display the decompressed image data. Alternatively, the display processing may be controlled so as to efficiently present the compressed image as a slide show.
The details will be described below. Since the system configuration is the same as that of FIG. 1, the compressed image display processing operation will be described.

FIGS. 13 to 15 are views showing operation screens in the image information management apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The display screen shown in FIG. 13 performs the same operation as that of the first embodiment, and displays a miniature image corresponding to the searched image file. At this stage, the user can freely change the order of the miniature images displayed using the mouse or the like.

In the display screen shown in FIG. 13, the miniature image 25a and the miniature image 25f have been replaced. When "option" on the menu bar 18 is selected and "registration" is selected from the pull-down menu, the registration order of the index table 8 is changed and registered as a slide table. FIG. 16 shows the state of the index table 8 when the registration order is changed.

After that, the user selects “Option” on the menu bar 18 and selects “Slide” from the pull-down menu and puts a check on it as shown in FIG. When "search" on the bar 18 is selected and "keyword" is selected from the pull-down menu, a slide dialog box 32 is displayed as shown in FIG. When the user inputs a keyword in the keyword input field 23 displayed on the slide dialog box 32 and presses the effective button 21, the images 31 are displayed in the order of the file names registered in the slide table.

The frame return button 29 and the frame forward button 30 displayed on the slide dialog box 32 in FIG. 15 are used for returning and advancing the displayed image 31, respectively.

Next, the processing at the time of the slide display will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of a keyword search selection control procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (7) indicate each step.

First, when the user selects a keyword item from the menu for searching, it is determined whether or not the "slide" is checked (1). If not, the same as in the first embodiment is performed. (5) to (7).

If the “slide” is checked in step (1), a slide box is displayed instead of the dialog box (2) until the user inputs a keyword and presses the execute button. Wait (3). When the execution button is pressed, a slide display routine described later is executed (4).

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of a slide display processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention. (1) to (8) indicate each step.

In the slide display routine, first, the file names in the slide table are sequentially placed in the file queue 10 (1), and the decompression task is started as in the first embodiment (2).

Then, the pointer SPtr is set at the head of the slide table (3), and it is determined whether or not the decompression of the file indicated by the pointer SPtr has been completed (4). And displays the decompressed image data for a preset time (5), (6).

Next, it is determined whether or not the pointer SPtr points to the end of the slide table (7). If not, the pointer SPtr is advanced by one and the process returns to (8) to return to the last file of the slide table. Is repeated until is displayed.

Here, when the frame return button 29 and frame advance button 30 shown in FIG. 15 are pressed, the pointer SPtr may be returned or advanced.

In the second embodiment, the slide table is used for registering the order of the slide display. Instead, the order of the registration file of the index table used for the keyword search is directly changed. It may be replaced and registered again. In this case, FIG.
In the flowchart of the above, an index table may be used instead of the slide table.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

In the above embodiment, in an image information management apparatus for managing image data on a multitask OS, a search keyword input unit, a keyword search unit, an index table, an image data storage unit, and miniature image data are stored. Having a thumbnail data storage unit and an image additional information storage unit, a keyword search unit based on a keyword input by a search keyword input unit, and having a corresponding search unit by referring to an index table; Since there is a decompression means activated by a decompression request signal issued by the retrieval means, and the retrieval means and the decompression means are activated independently, it is possible to reduce a substantial retrieval processing time required until retrieval.

Further, there is provided a file queue 10 for storing the file name extracted by the search means, and the decompression means obtains the file name of the file queue 10 and starts decompression, and the file name of the file queue 10 becomes empty. Then, the decompression processing by the decompression means is automatically terminated, so that unnecessary decompression processing can be stopped.

Further, it has a decompression data storage section 12 for storing image data decompressed by the decompression means, and has a decompression file table for holding a pointer to the data stored in the decompression data storage section 12. The data inside and the data already decompressed can be reliably identified.

Since the decompressed data is stored only in the decompressed image storage unit 12 when the compressed image is decompressed, the decompressed image data is stored in the decompressed file table when the decompressed image is stored in the decompressed data storage unit. Is configured to hold a pointer to the image file existing in the image data storage unit in the decompressed file table when the image file corresponding to the file name extracted by the search unit is not compressed. Therefore, the compressed image and the uncompressed image can be identified by one table to perform the image search processing.

Further, when the decompressing means decompresses the compressed image, if the decompressed data storage unit has insufficient storage space, the corresponding decompressed image data is deleted from the decompressed data storage unit in the storage order of the decompression table. Because
A desired compressed image file can be decompressed even if the decompression data storage is limited.

Further, a flag indicating whether or not the decompressed image data has been displayed at least once is provided in the decompression table. If the flag is set, the priority of deleting the decompressed image data from the decompression data storage unit is reduced. , The decompressed image file can be selected and deleted.

Further, the user has means for displaying the displayed miniature image by selecting the miniature image, and when the corresponding miniature image file is registered in the decompressed file table, it is registered in the decompressed file table. When the relevant miniature image file is not registered in the decompression file table, the decompression unit in execution is interrupted, and the user is selected. Since the decompression by the decompression means is executed again with priority given to the image data corresponding to the miniature image, the time required for decompressing the desired miniature image can be reduced.

Further, since the user can change the display position of the displayed miniature image, the order of the registered file names in the index table can be changed and newly registered, the decompression order can be freely changed. Decompression can increase the hit rate.

As described above, it is possible to display a thumbnail of the search result performed by the user on the multitask OS and simultaneously start another task to start decompressing the compressed image file corresponding to the image as the search result. Can quickly display the selected image. Further, simply by changing the order of the displayed miniature images by the user, slide-like display can be easily performed, and decompression processing of the compressed images can be efficiently executed in the display order.

[0096]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present invention is described.
According to the invention, when the search file queue of the corresponding compressed image file is created by referring to the index table based on the keyword input by the search file queue creation means, the search file queue is acquired and Thumbnail search and display means for searching the search sample image file from the thumbnail storage means and displaying a thumbnail list on the display screen, and starting the search of the search sample image file by the thumbnail search and display means, based on the search file queue in parallel. The decompression means and the control means for sequentially decompressing the corresponding compressed image file stored in the image information storage means are simultaneously activated, and the file search means stores the search sample image file selected from the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen. Store the corresponding decompressed image file in the decompressed image storage And displays the same on the display screen, so that the timing of decompressing the decompressed image file corresponding to the compressed and stored search sample image file is advanced and the total processing time until the desired image is searched and displayed is reduced. It can be substantially reduced.

According to the second invention, the decompression control means determines whether or not the decompression image file to be retrieved by the file retrieval means has already been decompressed by referring to the retrieval and decompression table. Interrupting the sequential decompression processing of the compressed image file by the decompression means and decompressing the compressed image file corresponding to the selected sample image file to the decompression means, so that the target compressed image file is preferentially decompressed. Can be.

According to the third aspect, based on the determination result of the free space determination means, the securing means deletes the decompressed image files stored in the decompressed image storage means in the order of storage and deletes the free space in the decompressed image storage means. Since the capacity is ensured, even if the capacity for storing the decompressed image file is limited, the decompression processing by the decompression means can be continued without any problem.

According to the fourth aspect, the securing means determines the decompressed image file to be deleted from the decompressed image storage means with reference to the management flag on the retrieval and decompression table. It is possible to efficiently secure free space by deleting files.

According to the fifth aspect, the registration order of the decompressed files registered in the retrieval and decompression table is automatically changed based on the rearrangement of the search sample image files in the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen. Decompression processing of the compressed image file can be performed in the order corresponding to the registration position of the search sample image file.

Accordingly, the processing time required for searching for a desired image to be searched for on the thumbnail screen, decompressing and displaying the image is reduced, and the effect of greatly improving image search efficiency is achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image information management device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation screen for image search processing characters in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation screen for image search processing characters in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation screen for image search processing characters in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a search processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an index table illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a decompression task processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a decompression file table shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a selected image display processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a decompression file table shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a compressed image decompression processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a decompression file table shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation screen in the image information management device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an operation screen in the image information management device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an operation screen in the image information management device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an index table illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a keyword search selection control procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a slide display processing procedure in the image information management device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 GUI management part 2 Search engine part 3 File ring engine part 4 I / O control part 5 Operating system (OS) 6 Keyword search part 7 Search dictionary 8 Index table 9 File management part 10 File queue 11 Decompression file table 12 Decompression image Data storage unit 13 Additional information storage unit 14 Thumbnail data storage unit 15 Original image data storage unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Fumiaki Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Koji Hatanaka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Hideo Takiguchi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-1-201776 (JP, A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 G06T 1/00 H04N 7/30 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image information storage means for storing a compressed image file compressed according to a predetermined compression method, and a thumbnail storage means for storing a search sample image file of each compressed image file stored in the image information storage means. An index table that stores, as an index, file information according to a keyword for searching for each compressed image file stored in the image information storage unit, and a corresponding compressed image by referring to the index table based on the input keyword. A search file queue creating means for creating a search file queue for a file, a search file queue created by the search file queue creating means, a search sample image file being searched from the thumbnail storage means, and a thumbnail list display screen Thumbnail search to display on Display means; and decompression means for sequentially decompressing the corresponding compressed image file stored in the image information storage means based on the search file queue in parallel with the start of the search for the search sample image file by the thumbnail search display means. A decompressed image storing means for storing decompressed image files sequentially decompressed by the decompressing means, and a decompressed image file corresponding to a search sample image file selected from a thumbnail list displayed on the display screen from the decompressed image storing means. An image information management apparatus, comprising: a file search unit that reads out and displays on the display screen; and a control unit that controls a multitask of the decompression unit and the thumbnail search and display unit. 2. A decompression table creation means for creating a retrieval decompression table for retrieving decompressed image files in the decompression image storage means and a file retrieval means each time the decompression means sequentially decompresses. Determining means for determining whether or not the decompressed image file has already been decompressed by referring to the retrieval and decompression table; and interrupting the sequential decompression processing of the decompressed image file by the decompression means based on the result of the judgment by the determination means. 2. The image information management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: decompression control means for decompressing a compressed image file for the retrieval sample image file selected by the means. 3. A free capacity determining means for determining a free capacity of the decompressed image storing means, and a decompressed image file stored in the decompressed image storing means is deleted based on a determination result of the free capacity determining means in a storage order. 3. The image information management device according to claim 2, wherein said decompressed image storage means includes a securing means for securing a free space. 4. The image information management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the securing unit determines the decompressed image file to be deleted from the decompressed image storage unit by referring to a management flag on the retrieval and decompression table. 5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the registration order of the decompression files registered in the retrieval and decompression table is automatically changed based on the rearrangement of the retrieval sample image file in the thumbnail list displayed on the display screen. Described image information management device.