JP5235495B2 - CONTENT MANAGEMENT DEVICE, CONTENT MANAGEMENT DEVICE CONTROL METHOD, PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM - Google Patents

Description

Displaying the content, the content management device for managing, controlling how content management apparatus, a program, a recording medium storing及beauty program.

  In conventional content management apparatuses, a large amount of digital content is stored by grouping and storing digital content in a specific storage location, adding additional information to the content, or searching for desired content based on the additional information. Content sorting management is performed.

  For example, in a content management apparatus such as a general PC (Personal Computer), files that are contents are organized and managed using a set unit having a hierarchical structure called a folder. By opening the properties of each file or folder and checking the attribute addition check box, an attribute can be added to the file or folder. A file can be searched by inputting a keyword in a text box for inputting a keyword or selecting a keyword or a search condition from a selection item.

Further, in Patent Document 1, an attribute for identifying an electronic document by performing drag-and-drop operations such as removing the sticky notes one by one from the sticky note bundle and pasting them on the target page of the electronic document that is the target content. Is disclosed. Furthermore, it is disclosed that when a user selects a sticky note bundle, information on the sticky note bundle is referred to and all sticky notes peeled off from the selected sticky note bundle are searched.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-203276

  However, in the prior art, various operations for managing content as described above are performed by different operation methods, and the user has to learn many operation methods. For this reason, content sorting on the content management apparatus is complicated and difficult for beginner users who are not familiar with PC operations.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a content management apparatus capable of intuitively performing a plurality of operations related to content sorting work by a consistent operation method.

In order to solve the above problem, in the present invention,
On the display unit, and a content display items representing the content, a first display item for designating the area for storing the content display item, the process of designating the content display items to be stored before Symbol area Display control means for controlling to display
An instruction receiving unit receives an instruction for moving the first display item on the display unit,
When an instruction to move the first display item to the area is received by the instruction receiving means, content matching a search key associated with the first display item is searched and obtained as a search result Control means for controlling the content display item representing the content to be stored in the area .

According to the present invention, the power sale operations methods have Moving the display items in the display area to form a set of images, enabling instruction of a plurality of processing according to the task of sorting content. As a result, even a user who is not familiar with the operation of an electronic device such as a PC does not need to learn a complicated operation method, can perform a simple and intuitive operation, and can efficiently perform content sorting.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the configuration and operation of an image management apparatus that manages images as an example of a content management apparatus will be described. The main processing performed by the content management apparatus of the present embodiment includes “information addition processing” for adding classification information to an image and “search processing” for searching for an image based on the classification information. The information addition process and the search process can be instructed by the user operating a “tag” that is a display item associated with each process.

<Hardware>
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a personal computer (hereinafter, PC) 100 as an example of a content management apparatus in which the present invention can be implemented. As shown in the figure, the PC 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a hard disk (HD) 102, a memory 103, a display 104, an input unit 105, a recording medium drive 106, a network interface (I / F) connected by an internal bus 111. 107. The CPU 101 is an arithmetic processing unit that controls the operation of the content management apparatus, receives instructions from the user via the input unit 105 and the like, executes various programs described later, and controls display on the display 104. The HD 102 stores images and operation processing procedures of the CPU 101 (for example, a program such as computer startup processing, basic input / output processing, and each processing of the present invention described later). The memory 103 is used as a work area for the CPU 101. The display 104 is a display unit for displaying the graphic user interface according to the present embodiment, and images and display items to be described later are displayed on the display unit. The input unit 105 is an input unit for receiving instructions from the user, and is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse as a pointing device. By using the input unit 105, the user can execute the content management program. The recording medium drive 106 is a device that reads data stored in an external recording medium 108 such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or flash memory, and writes data to the external recording medium 108. The I / F 107 is connected to the network 110 via the communication line 109. The CPU 101 can also execute a program on the network 110 via the I / F 107, and the present invention can also be applied to a program on the network 110.

<User interface>
An overview of the user interface of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a display screen on the display 104 by application software which is a program stored in the HD 102 and executed by the CPU 101 as an example of the user interface of the PC 100 according to the present embodiment.

  A display area 200 is a window showing a display area of the user interface of the present invention displayed on the display 104. Sorting destination areas 201, 213, and 214 indicated by round circles are areas for grouping images, and indicate that images displayed in each sorting destination area form one set. The image displayed in each area is a content display item corresponding to the image data body that is the content, and is a thumbnail of the image data body.

  A sorting source area 215 indicated by a semicircle below the center of the display area 200 is an area for holding an image before grouping. Of the images recorded on the recording medium such as the HD 102 of the PC 100, an image to be grouped from now on is initially displayed in the sorting source area 215. The user can sort the images by dragging and dropping the images in the sorting source area 215 to any of the sorting destination areas 201, 213, and 214. Images 202 and 216 are thumbnails of images sorted from the sorting source area 215 to the sorting destination area 213 by drag and drop.

  The tag display area 204 is divided into an information addition tag display area 205, a new tag display area 208, and a search tag display area 210.

  A list of information addition tags is displayed in the information addition tag display area 205. This information addition tag is added to the sorting destination area by drag and drop, so that the classification information indicated by the information adding tag is collectively added to each of the plurality of images sorted in the dropped sorting destination area. Can be added. An information addition tag 203 indicates the information addition tag added to the sorting destination area 201 in this way. In this case, the classification information “B” is collectively added to the images sorted in the sorting destination area 201. The information addition tag indicates that there is no used information addition tag indicating that the image to which the classification information indicated by the information addition tag is added exists, and no image to which the classification information indicated by the information addition tag is added. There are two types of unused information addition tags shown. The information addition tag 206 is an unused information addition tag, and the information addition tags 207 and 218 are used information addition tags. By such a difference in the display form of the information addition tag, the user can identify whether an image to which the classification information indicated by the information addition tag is added exists in an image that can be read by the CPU 101.

  A new tag 209 is displayed in the new tag display area 208. A new tag 209 is a tag used when a new information addition tag is generated.

  In the search tag display area 210, a search tag for performing a search process is displayed. The search tag is added to the sorting destination area by drag-and-drop to search for an image from the images that can be read by the CPU 101 using a search condition using the classification information indicated by the search tag as a search key. You can collect search result images. For example, images having the classification information “B” can be collected by adding the search tag 211 to the sorting destination area, and images having the classification information “C” can be collected by adding the search tag 217 to the sorting destination area. Can be collected. Details of the search method will be described later. In this search tag display area 210, only the search tag for searching the classification information “B” and “C” indicated by the used information addition tag is displayed, and the classification information indicated by the unused information addition tag is searched. The search tag to do is not displayed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a search error that there is no image to which the classification information to be searched is added, or waste of operation. In addition, the search tag and the information addition tag have different colors and shapes so that the search tag and the information addition tag can be distinguished.

  According to such a user interface, it is possible to generate a set of images and add classification information by simply dragging and dropping an image thumbnail, an information addition tag, and a search tag to the sorting destination area on the same screen. It is possible to perform an efficient sorting operation.

<Data structure>
A data structure for realizing the user interface as described above will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows an image management structure managed by the content management apparatus according to the present embodiment.

The content management list 301 for managing images includes the following fields.
Content ID (302) that is an ID for identifying an image
A path (303) indicating a location where an image entity file exists in the system
Pointer (304) indicating the location where image thumbnail data exists on the system
Classification information ID (305) indicating the ID of the classification information added to the image
By using the classification information as a search key when searching for an image, it is possible to search for an image to which the classification information used as the search key is added. When adding classification information to an image, a classification information ID is associated with the image. For example, in FIG. 3, the classification information ID <002> and <003> classification information is added to the content ID <001> image, and the classification information ID <002> classification information is added to the content ID <002> image. Will be.

  Thumbnail data 306 indicates a reduced image of each image, and is stored in a predetermined location of the system, for example, in the form of JPEG data. The thumbnail data 306 is automatically created from an image and stored when the program is started. When thumbnail data is added in advance as header information of the entity data of the image, the thumbnail data may be acquired directly from the path 303 to the entity file without separately storing the thumbnail data.

The classification information management list 307 is a list for managing classification information, and includes the following fields.
Classification information ID (308) which is an ID for identifying classification information
-Classification information name (309)
Use flag (310) indicating whether or not an image to which the classification information is added exists among images registered in the content management list
As the classification information name (309), it is common to use character strings that are easy for humans to classify images, such as “person”, “pet”, and “date”. , B, and C are used as classification information names.

  The use flag 310 indicates whether or not the image to which the classification information is added is managed by the content management list 301. For example, since an image to which classification information of ID <001> is added does not exist in the images managed by the content management list 301, FALSE is stored. On the other hand, since the image to which the classification information of ID <002> and ID <003> is added exists in the image managed by the content management list 301, TRUE is stored.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an area management list for managing the sorting source area and each sorting destination area.
The area management list 401 includes the following fields.
Area ID (402) for identifying the area
Display information indicating the display position of the area (403)
Pointer to the content list in the area for managing the images sorted into the area (404)
Pointer to the in-area tag list that manages tags added to the area (405)
The display information (403) stores the height and width of the rectangle that circumscribes the circular area, the x and y coordinates at the upper left of the rectangle, the height and width when displaying the thumbnail image in the area, and the like.

  A pointer (404) to the content list in the region points to the content list in the region that holds the information of the images sorted into the region. An in-area content list is prepared for each area. For example, an area content list 406 is prepared in an area having an area ID <001>, and a pointer (404) points to the area content list 406. The area content list 406 stores information on images sorted in the area. This in-area content list 406 includes display information (407) that stores the content ID (407) of the image registered in the content management list 301, the x and y coordinates at the upper left of the position where the thumbnail image of the sorted image is displayed. 408). When an image is displayed in the area, the content management list 301 is referred to for the image with the ID stored in the content ID (407), and the thumbnail data pointed to by the thumbnail data pointer (304) is displayed.

  A pointer (405) to an in-area tag list that manages tags added to the area points to an in-area tag list that holds information on tags added to the area. The in-area tag list is prepared for each area. For example, an intra-area tag list 409 is prepared for an area having the area ID <001>, and the pointer (405) points to the intra-area tag list 409. An area tag list 414 is prepared in an area having the area ID <002>, and the pointer (405) points to the area tag list 414.

The in-area tag list is composed of the following fields.
Classification information ID (410) indicated by the tag added to the area
Information / search flag (411) indicating whether the tag added to the area is an information addition tag or a search tag
Display information (412) indicating how to display the tag added to the area
-Pointer to the tag connected to the area side (413)
The information / search flag 411 indicates whether the tag added to the area is an information addition tag or a search tag. If the tag is an information addition tag, it is expressed as FALSE. If it is a search tag, it is expressed as TRUE. To do. For example, a search tag of classification information ID <002> and a search tag of classification information ID <003> are included in the area of area ID <001>, and an information addition tag of classification information ID <002> is stored in the area of area ID <002>. It can be seen that each is added.

  The display information 412 stores an angle indicating how the tag touches a frame of a circular area. For example, the angle of how many times the tag is tilted clockwise with respect to the direction of 0 o'clock from the center point of the area on the display 104 is stored. Of course, the information is not limited to this description as long as the information indicates how the tag is displayed.

  In addition, the search tag can be added in succession like the search tag 212 added to the sorting destination area 213 in FIG. Therefore, which tag is displayed continuously with which tag is stored in the root tag pointer (413). The root tag pointer of the search tag expressed directly in contact with the area is set to NULL, and the root tag pointer of the search tag added to the area connected to other search tags includes the area in the same area tag list. Point to the tag connected to the side.

  Based on the data managed in this way, the user interface as described above with reference to FIG. 2 is realized. That is, by moving an image, an information addition tag, a search tag, and a new tag to the sorting destination area, an image sorting process, a classification information adding process, a search process, a new tag generation, and the like are executed. Hereinafter, those processing methods will be described.

<Image management processing>
Operation flowcharts of content management processing in the content management apparatus according to the present embodiment are shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the image management process in the content management apparatus of the present embodiment. This processing is realized by the CPU 101 in FIG. 1 reading out the image management application program from the HD 102, developing it in the memory 103, and executing it.

  When a program for performing image management processing is started, first, initialization processing of the program is performed in steps S500 to S503.

  In step S500, the content management list 301 and thumbnail data 306 in FIG. 3 are created. Storage of information related to images in the content management list 301 and creation of thumbnail data are performed for all images in the HD 102. In this embodiment, it is assumed that all images in the HD 102 are managed. However, not only images in the HD 102 but also images that can be read by the CPU 101 are recorded on the external recording medium 108 or the network 110. You may manage the image which is. Further, it is possible to manage not all the images in the HD 102 but some images designated by the user.

  In step S501, the classification information management list 307 is generated, and based on this, an information addition tag, a new tag, and a search tag are displayed. First, the classification information management list 307 is generated. The classification information ID and the classification information name are recorded in advance in the HD 102 or the like. At this time, for the use flag 310, FALSE or TRUE is stored based on metadata such as Exif information possessed by all images managed in the content management list 301. Note that the use flag 310 may indicate whether or not the classification information is used only during the current activation. In this case, all are set to FALSE at the time of initialization in S501. When the classification information management list 307 is generated, an information addition tag, a new tag, and a search tag are displayed in the display area 200 based on this. First, information addition tags for all classification information managed in the classification information management list 307 are displayed in the information addition tag display area 205. This information addition tag is displayed as the unused information addition tag described above with reference to FIG. 2 when the use flag 310 is FALSE, and as the used information addition tag (form of stub) described above with reference to FIG. The search tags are displayed in the search tag display area 210 for the classification information managed in the classification information management list 307 for the usage flag 310 of TRUE.

  In step S502, an area management list 401 is generated, and each area is displayed based on the area management list 401. First, four areas of area IDs <001> to <004> are generated according to default information recorded in advance in the HD 102 or the like, and information on each area is stored in the area management list 401. In the present embodiment, a description will be given assuming that there is one sorting source area (area ID <004>) and three sorting destination areas as defaults. In each sorting destination area, images are not sorted at the time of activation, and no tag is added. Therefore, the pointer 404 to the in-area content list in the sorting destination area is NULL, or no image is managed in the in-area content list to which the pointer is pointed. Also, the pointer 405 to the in-area tag list is also NULL, or no tag is managed in the in-area tag list to which the pointer is pointed. Subsequently, based on the generated area management list 401, the areas managed in the area management list are displayed in the display area 200 on the display 104, respectively.

  In step S503, an image is displayed in the sorting source area of area ID <004>. First, an in-area content list with an area ID <004> is generated. In the content list in the area, IDs of all images managed by the content management list 301 are stored. For the display position 408, the x and y coordinates in the sorting source area are randomly specified. The generated pointer to the content list in the region is stored in the content list pointer 404 in the region of region ID <004> in the region management list 401. Next, with respect to an image having a content ID managed in the content list in the area, the thumbnail data is acquired by referring to the destination pointed by the thumbnail data pointer 304 of the content management list 301. The acquired thumbnail data is displayed in the sorting source area with reference to the display information 403 of the area management list 401. In this embodiment, the images stored in the sorting source area as initial values are all images managed in the content management list 301. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an image to be sorted from now on. That's fine. For example, it may be an image of a specific shooting date designated by the user as an image to be sorted or an image stored in a specific folder.

  When the initialization process of steps S500 to S503 is completed, the process proceeds to step S504 to wait for an input from the user. If it is determined that there is an input from the user, the process proceeds to step S505.

  In step S505, it is determined whether or not the input detected in step S504 is an operation of dragging and dropping an image into the sorting destination area. If it is determined that this is the case, the process advances to step S506 to perform image movement processing, and then returns to step S504. The image moving process will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S505 that the operation is not an operation of dragging and dropping an image to the sorting destination area, the process proceeds to step S507.

  In step S507, it is determined whether or not the input detected in step S504 is an operation of dragging and dropping the information addition tag to the sorting destination area. If it determines that it is, it will progress to step S508, an information addition process will be performed, and it will return to step S504 after that. The information addition process will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S507 that the information addition tag is not an operation dragged and dropped to the sorting destination area, the process proceeds to step S509.

  In step S509, it is determined whether or not the input detected in step S504 is an operation of dragging and dropping the search tag to the sorting destination area. If it is determined that this is the case, the process proceeds to step S510 to perform a search process, and then returns to step S504. The search process will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S509 that the search tag is not an operation of dragging and dropping the search tag to the sorting destination area, the process proceeds to S511.

  In step S511, it is determined whether or not the input detected in step S504 is an operation of double-clicking the information addition tag or search tag added to the sorting destination area. If it is determined that this is the case, the process advances to step S512 to highlight the image having the tag information that has been double-clicked, and then returns to step S504. The highlighting in step S512 will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S511 that the information addition tag added to the sorting destination area is not an operation of double-clicking on the search tag but an operation of double-clicking on the search tag, the process proceeds to step S513.

  In step S513, it is determined whether or not the input detected in step S504 is an operation of dragging and dropping a new tag to the sorting destination area. If it determines that it is, it will progress to step S514, will perform a new tag production | generation process, and will return to step S504 after that. The new tag generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S513 that the operation is not an operation of dragging and dropping a new tag to the sorting destination area, the process proceeds to step S515.

  In step S515, it is determined whether or not the input detected in step S504 is an instruction to end the image management application, such as pressing an end button. If it is determined that there is no instruction to end, the process proceeds to S516, and other processes are performed. If it is determined in step S515 that there has been an instruction to terminate the image management application, the image processing application is terminated and the image management process is terminated.

<Image move processing>
FIG. 6 shows details of the image moving process in step S506 of FIG. 5 described above.

  The image can be dragged from the sorting source area or from another sorting destination area and dropped to the sorting destination area to move to the sorting destination area and perform sorting image addition processing. When the operation for sorting the images into the sorting destination areas is performed in steps S504 and S505 in FIG. 5, the image moving process shown in FIG. 6 is started.

  In step S601, the content list in the area is updated for the sorting destination area that is the destination of the image and the area that is the source of the movement. First, the information of the moved image is added to the content list in the destination sorting area. The content ID of the moved image is registered in the content ID (407) of the in-region content list, and the x and y coordinates of the position where the user dropped the image are registered in the display position (408). Next, the information of the moved image is deleted from the content list in the area of the movement source area.

  In step S602, it is determined whether an information addition tag is added to the sorting destination area of the movement destination. This is determined by referring to the area management list 401 for the sorting destination area of the movement destination and determining whether or not the pointer (405) to the in-area tag list is NULL. Alternatively, the determination is made based on whether or not a tag whose information / search flag (411) is FALSE is stored in the intra-area tag list pointed to by the pointer (405) to the intra-area tag list. If it is determined that the information addition tag is added to the transfer destination sorting area, the process proceeds to step S603. If it is determined that the information addition tag is not added to the transfer destination sorting area, the image transfer process is terminated.

  In step S603, a process of adding classification information indicated by an information addition tag added to the destination sorting area to the moved image is performed. Specifically, first, the classification information ID of the tag whose information / search flag (411) is FALSE among the tags stored in the in-area tag list of the destination sorting area is acquired. The acquired classification information ID is added to the classification information ID (305) for the content ID of the moved image in the content management list 301. When the process of step S603 is completed, the image movement process is terminated.

<Information addition processing>
FIG. 7 shows details of the information addition processing in step S508 of FIG. 5 described above.

  By dragging the information addition tag and dropping it in the sorting destination area, the information adding tag is added to the sorting destination area, and the classification information indicated by the information adding tag is added to the sorting information in the sorting destination area. Is added. When the operation for adding the information addition tag to the sorting destination area is performed in steps S504 and S507 in FIG. 5, the information addition process shown in FIG. 7 is started.

  In step S701, it is determined whether or not the same information addition tag is added to the sorting destination area where the information addition tag is dropped (hereinafter referred to as the movement destination area). This is determined by referring to the in-area tag list of the movement destination area and whether there is a tag having the same classification information ID as the moved information addition tag and having an information / search flag of FALSE. If it is determined that the same information addition tag is added to the destination area, the information addition process is terminated. If it is determined that the same information addition tag is not added to the movement destination area, the process proceeds to step S702.

  In step S702, it is determined whether the moved information addition tag is a used information addition tag. This is determined by referring to the classification information management list 307 for the classification information ID indicated by the moved information addition tag and whether the use flag (310) is TRUE. If it is determined that the use flag (310) is TRUE, that is, the moved information addition tag is a used information addition tag, the process proceeds to step S705. If the use flag (310) is FALSE, that is, if the moved information addition tag is an unused information addition tag, the process proceeds to step S703.

  In step S703, the display form of the information addition tag indicating the same classification information ID as the moved unused information addition tag among the information addition tags displayed in the information addition tag display area 205 is changed to the used information addition tag (stub certificate). Update). At the same time, the use flag (310) of the classification information management list 307 is updated to TRUE for the classification information ID indicated by the moved unused information addition tag.

  In step S704, a search tag indicating the same classification information ID as the moved information addition tag is generated and displayed in the search tag display area 210.

  In step S705, it is determined whether there is an image sorted in the destination area. This is determined by referring to the in-area content list pointed to by the pointer (404) to the in-area tag list of the area management list 401 for the destination area, and determining whether it is empty. If it is determined that there is no image that is empty, that is, the image is sorted in the destination area, the process proceeds to step S707. If it is determined that there is no image that is not empty, that is, the image is sorted in the destination area, the process proceeds to step S706. move on.

  In step S706, a process of adding the classification information indicated by the moved information addition tag to the image sorted in the movement destination area is performed. Specifically, in the content management list 301, the classification information ID of the classification information indicated by the moved information addition tag is added to the classification information ID (305) for the content ID stored in the content list in the movement destination area. Add

  In step S707, the information added tag information is added to the in-area tag list of the destination area. The classification information ID (410) stores the classification information ID indicated by the moved information addition tag, and the information / search flag (411) stores FALSE representing the information addition tag. The display information (411) stores an angle for adding a tag calculated from the straight line between the coordinates where the user dropped the information addition tag and the center point of the area, and the route tag pointer (413) stores NULL.

  In step S708, the moved information addition tag is displayed in the movement destination area. The character string displayed on the information addition tag refers to the classification information name in the classification information management list 307 for the classification information ID of the information addition tag. For the angle to be displayed with respect to the destination area, refer to the display information (412) of the in-area tag list. When the process of step S708 is completed, the information addition process is terminated.

  An example of the information addition process in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. An example in which the information addition tag 801 having the classification information “C” displayed in the information addition tag display area 205 is added by drag and drop to the sorting destination area 201 to which the information addition tag has not been added will be described. In the state before adding the information addition tag 801 by drag and drop, it is assumed that there is no image to which the classification information “C” is added among the images managed in the content management list 301. Therefore, in the classification information management list 307, the use flag of the classification information “C” possessed by the information addition tag 801 is FALSE, and the information addition tag 801 displayed in the information addition tag display area 205 is displayed as an unused information addition tag. Suppose that it was done. Further, it is assumed that an image previously sorted exists in the sorting destination area 201. When the information addition tag 801 is dragged from this state, moved to the sorting destination area 201 and dropped, the following information addition processing is executed.

  In step S701, since the information addition tag having the classification information “C” is not added to the movement destination area 201, the process proceeds to step S702. In step S702, since the use flag of the classification information “C” is FALSE, the process proceeds to step S703. In step S703, the information addition tag 801 is changed to a used information addition tag (in the form of a stub), and the use flag of the classification information “C” in the classification information management list 307 is changed to TRUE. In step S 704, a search tag 802 having the same classification information “C” as the moved information addition tag 801 is generated and displayed in the search tag display area 210. Subsequently, in the determination in step S705, since an image exists in the sorting destination area 201, the process proceeds to step S706, and classification information “C” is added to the image sorted in the sorting destination area 201. In step S707, the information addition tag information having the classification information “C” is added to the in-area tag list of the sorting destination area 201, and the information addition tag having the classification information “C” is displayed at the position 803 in step S708. Is done.

<Search process>
The search process in step S510 of FIG. 5 described above will be described. In the content management apparatus of the present embodiment, by adding a search tag to the sorting destination area by drag and drop, an image is searched using a search condition using the classification information of the search tag as a search key, and the sorting tag is stored in the sorting destination area. Images of search results can be collected.

  The search condition can be set by combining a logical product condition (AND condition), a logical sum condition (OR condition), or the like in accordance with how to add a search tag to the sorting destination area.

  FIG. 9 shows a search condition setting method in this embodiment.

  9A to 9D, a circular area represents a sorting area. The rectangle inside the sorting destination area represents an image of the sorting destination area, and the alphabet in the rectangle represents the classification information added to the image. A rectangle added to the outer edge of the circular sorting destination area represents a search tag, and the alphabet in the search tag represents classification information as a search condition indicated by the search tag.

  FIG. 9A shows the setting of the logical product condition (AND condition) of the two pieces of classification information “D” and “E”. At this time, an image having both “D” and “E” classification information is retrieved and automatically sorted into a sorting destination area. Thus, a search condition based on a logical product of a plurality of classification information can be set by adding a plurality of search tags having the classification information.

  FIG. 9B shows the setting of the logical sum condition (OR condition) of the two classification information “D” and “E”. At this time, an image having at least one of “D” classification information and “E” classification information is retrieved and automatically sorted into the sorting area. As described above, the search condition based on the logical sum of a plurality of classification information can be set by adding a plurality of search tags having the classification information so as to contact the region.

  FIG. 9C shows the setting of a negative condition (NOT condition) for the classification information “D”. At this time, an image having no classification information “D” is retrieved and automatically sorted into the sorting destination area. In this way, the search condition based on the NOT condition of the classification information can be set by adding the search tag with its end bent. Click the search tag to fold the end of the search tag. By clicking on a search tag, the affirmative condition and negative condition of the search tag can be switched. The search process is performed every time the condition is switched.

  FIG. 9D shows an example in which a plurality of search conditions are combined. If the AND condition is represented by *, the OR condition is represented by +, and the NOT condition is represented by-, in the case of FIG. Sorted.

  As described above, the user can set various search conditions in an easy-to-understand manner by adding the search tag to the sorting area.

  Next, the flow of the search process will be described. FIG. 10 shows the details of the search processing in step S510 of FIG. 5 described above. When an operation for adding a search tag to the sorting destination area is performed in steps S504 and S509 in FIG. 5, the search process shown in FIG. 10 is started.

  In step S1001, information on the moved search tag is added to the intra-area tag list of the sorting destination area (hereinafter referred to as the movement destination area) that is the movement destination of the search tag. In the in-area tag list, the classification information ID (410) stores the classification information ID of the classification information indicated by the moved search tag, and the information / search flag (411) stores TRUE representing the search tag. The display information (411) stores an angle for adding a tag calculated from a straight line between the coordinates where the user dropped the search tag and the center point of the region. The route tag pointer (413) stores a value corresponding to the coordinates at which the user dropped the search tag. The CPU 101 determines whether the search tag is added to the edge of the sorting destination area or to be connected to another search tag according to the coordinates where the search tag is dropped. For example, if there is no other search tag at the coordinate where the search tag is dropped, it is determined that the search tag has been added to the edge of the sorting area, and if another search tag already exists at the coordinate where the search tag is dropped, It is determined that it has been added so as to be connected to another search tag. If it is added to the edge of the sorting area, NULL is stored in the root tag pointer (413), and if it is added so as to be connected to another search tag, a pointer indicating the other search tag is stored. Store.

  In step S1002, the search tag moved to the movement destination area is displayed based on the information of the search tag added to the intra-area tag list in step S1001.

  In step S1003, it is determined whether the search tag added to the destination area is added as an OR condition or an AND condition. This is determined by whether or not the root tag pointer (413) of the tag list in the region of the added search tag is NULL. If the route tag pointer (413) is NULL, it is determined that the OR condition is satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S1004. If the route tag pointer (413) is not NULL, it is determined that the AND condition is satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S1006.

  In step S1004, an image that is managed by the content management list 301 and that has the classification information indicated by the search tag added to the destination area is searched from images that are not sorted into the destination area.

  In step S1005, the image searched in step S1004 is added to the movement destination area. At this time, the images already sorted in the movement destination area before step S1005 are left unchanged. Specifically, the information of the image searched in step S1004 is added to the content list in the movement destination area and stored. The content ID of the image searched in step S1004 is stored in the content ID (407) of the content list in this region, and the random coordinates in the destination region are stored in the x and y coordinates of the display information (408). . Subsequently, an image added in the movement destination area based on the update of the area content list is displayed. At this time, in order to express that the image has been added in an easy-to-understand manner, an animation is displayed so that the added image is gathered in the destination area from the outside of the display screen. An example of this animation display is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11A, the search tag 1101 having the classification information “C” is added to the sorting area 214 as the movement destination area under the OR condition, and the image having the classification information “C” is searched and sorted. A state of gathering in the region 214 is shown. The coordinates outside the display screen are randomly assigned to each image, and the destination area is on a trajectory that connects the coordinates outside the display screen and the coordinates according to the display information in the content list in the area in the destination area. Animate to move inward. The image added to the destination area by animation is displayed in front and highlighted in a semi-transparent color so that the difference from the image originally sorted into the destination area can be identified. FIG. 11B shows a display state after an image having classification information “C” under the OR condition is added. In this embodiment, the emphasis display is a semi-transparent color, but other emphasis display methods such as surrounding an image with a frame or adding a mark to the image may be used. When the process of step S1005 is completed, the image search process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1003 that the search tag added to the destination area has been added as an AND condition, the process proceeds to step S1006. In step S1006, narrowing down is performed on images originally sorted in the movement destination area. Specifically, the content management list 301 is referred to for images already registered in the content list in the destination area, and all of the classification information IDs of the plurality of search tags added to the area as an AND condition are displayed. Search for images you have.

  In step S1007, images other than the image searched in step S1006 are deleted from the content list in the destination area. Subsequently, the image deleted from the content list in the area is displayed so as to be scattered from the movement destination area to the outside of the display area, contrary to the additional display in step S1005. Specifically, coordinates outside the display screen are randomly assigned to each image, and the image moves toward the coordinates outside the region on a trajectory that connects the coordinates outside the display screen and the current display coordinates with a straight line. Animate to keep up. By such animation display, the user can identify the increase / decrease in the images sorted into the sorting destination area to which the search tag is added. When the process of step S1007 is completed, the search process ends.

<Highlighting processing>
The highlighting process in step S512 in FIG. 5 will be described. In the content management apparatus according to the present embodiment, an image having the same classification information as the tag in the sorting destination area to which a tag is added by double-clicking the information adding tag or search tag added to the sorting destination area Can be highlighted.

  FIG. 12 shows a display example when the search tag is double-clicked and the image in the corresponding sorting destination area is highlighted. Assume that the input detected in step S504 in FIG. 5 is a double-click on the search tag 1203 having the classification information “C” with the search tag added to the sorting destination area 214. In step S512, the image 1202 having the classification information of the tag 1203 designated by double-clicking is highlighted from the images sorted in the sorting area 214. Specifically, the classification tag ID of the search tag 1203 that has been double-clicked is acquired by referring to the in-area tag list of the sorting destination area 214. Subsequently, the content ID of the image sorted in the sorting destination area is acquired from the content list in the sorting destination area 214. The content management list 301 is referred to for the acquired content ID, and an image having the classification information ID of the search tag 1203 that has been double-clicked is searched. The image obtained as a search result is displayed in front of other images 1201 in the sorting area 214, and is highlighted so that the difference can be seen in a semi-transparent color.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which highlighting is expressed in a semi-transparent color is shown, but other highlighting methods such as displaying a frame of a thumbnail image or displaying a mark on a thumbnail image may be used. When the user performs the next operation or when the process of step S512 is performed again, the highlighting is terminated.

<New tag generation processing>
The new tag generation process in step S514 of FIG. 5 described above will be described. In the content management apparatus of this embodiment, the new tag 209 displayed in the new tag display area 208 is added to the sorting destination area by dragging and dropping, and the user inputs the classification information name to the added new tag. An information addition tag with new classification information can be generated.

  FIG. 13 shows details of the new tag generation process in step S514 of FIG. If it is determined in step S513 in FIG. 5 that the input detected in step S504 is an operation of dragging and dropping a new tag to the sorting destination area, a new tag generation process is started.

  In step S1301, a new category information ID field is added to the category information management list 307. At this time, nothing is stored in the classification information name (309), and the use flag (310) is set to FALSE.

  In step S1302, the new tag is added to the intra-area tag list of the sorting destination area (hereinafter referred to as the movement destination area) that is the movement destination of the new tag. The classification information ID (410) stores the classification information ID newly allocated in step S1301, and the information / search flag (411) stores FALSE representing the information addition tag. The display information (411) stores an angle for adding a tag calculated from the straight line between the coordinates where the user dropped the new tag and the center point of the area, and the route tag pointer (413) stores NULL.

  In step S1303, the new tag added to the destination area is displayed with reference to the display information (412) of the in-area tag list added in step S1302.

  In step S1304, the user inputs the classification information name of the new tag added to the destination area as a character string. Displays the entered character string in a new tag added to the destination area.

  In step S1305, the character string input by the user in step S1304 is stored in the classification information name (309) of the new tag added to the classification information management list 307 in step S1301. Then, the use flag (310) is changed to TRUE indicating used.

  In step S1306, an information addition tag of the classification information newly added to the classification information management list 307 in steps S1301 and S1305 is generated and displayed in the information addition tag display area 205 as a used information addition tag.

  In step S 1307, a search tag for the classification information newly added to the classification information management list 307 in steps S 1301 and S 1305 is generated and displayed in the search tag display area 210.

  In step S1308, the content list in the movement destination area is referred to and it is determined whether there is an image sorted in the movement destination area to which the new tag is added. If it is determined that there is an image sorted in the movement destination area, the process proceeds to step S1309. If it is determined that there is no image sorted in the movement destination area, the new tag generation process is terminated.

  In step S1309, a process for adding the classification information of the new tag added to the destination area to the image sorted in the destination area is performed. The classification information possessed by the new tag is the classification information newly added to the classification information management list 307 in steps S1301 and S1305. In the content management list 301, the classification information ID of the classification information indicated by the new tag is added to the classification information ID (305) for the content ID stored in the content list in the movement destination area. When the process of step S1309 is completed, the new tag generation process is terminated.

  FIG. 14 shows a display example in the new tag generation process. In FIG. 14A, an example in which the new tag 209 displayed in the new tag display area 208 is added to the sorting destination area 201 by drag and drop will be described.

  When the new tag 209 is added to the position 1401 of the sorting destination area 201 by drag and drop, a new classification information ID use flag (310) is added to the classification information management list 307 by FALSE in step S1301. In step S1302, the new classification information ID newly added in step S1301 and the information / search flag (411) are stored in FALSE in the intra-area tag list of the sorting destination area 201. In step S1303, a state where a new tag is added to the position 1401 is displayed. At this time, the classification information name is not displayed on the new tag added to the position 1401 yet. In this state, a search tag may be added to the sorting destination area 201 or a new image may be added.

  When a new tag is added to the sorting area 201, the user inputs a classification information name to the new tag added to the sorting area 201 in step S1304. Here, it is assumed that the character string “dog” is input. The input character string “dog” is displayed as a classification information name on a new tag added to the position 1401.

  Since the classification information name of the new tag has been input, in step S1305, the character string “dog” is stored in the classification information name (309) of the new tag added to the classification information management list 307, and the use flag is changed to TRUE. . In step S1306, the information addition tag 1402 of “dog” is displayed in the information addition tag display area 205 as a used information addition tag. In step S 1307, the “dog” search tag 1403 is displayed in the search tag display area 210.

  Since there is an image sorted in the sorting area 201, the process advances from step S1308 to step S1309, and “dog” classification information is added to the image sorted in the sorting area 201. FIG. 14B shows a display example after the classification information “dog”, which is new classification information, is added to the images sorted in the sorting destination area 201 using the new tag.

  As described above, user arbitrary classification information using a new tag can be added to an image. According to the present embodiment, since a new tag can be added before the name of classification information is determined, the user can perform intuitive operations such as designating images sorted in the sorting destination area as the same group for the time being. It is. Since the classification information name is determined by looking at the final image group sorted into the sorting destination area, an appropriate classification information name can be given.

  As described above, in this embodiment, if the information addition tag (first display item) is moved to the sorting destination area by drag and drop, the classification information is added to the image sorted in the sorting destination area. Can do. Further, if the search tag (second display item) is moved to the same sorting area, the search result images can be collected in the sorting area. It is also possible to move an image directly from the sorting source area or other sorting destination area to the sorting destination area by drag and drop, and add the image to the set of images formed in the sorting destination area. In this way, a plurality of processing instructions can be given by one common operation method of moving a display item to a display area (sorting area) for forming a set of images. As a result, even a user who is not familiar with the PC operation can perform a simple and intuitive operation without having to learn a complicated operation method, and can efficiently perform a content sorting operation.

  The content that can be managed in the present invention is not limited to the image described in the above embodiment, and may be a document, audio, video, or the like as long as it is a digital content that can be handled as a classification target. When the present invention is applied to sorting of contents other than images, the above-described user interface can be applied by using content display items such as icons representing individual contents to be classified instead of the above-described image thumbnails. is there. At this time, the content management list manages content IDs for identifying content to be classified such as documents, audio, and video, and instead of thumbnail data pointers, pointers to display item data representing the content to be classified Is stored.

  In the present embodiment, the classification information is added to the image by associating the content ID and the classification information ID in the content management list 301. However, the classification information is recorded in the header of the image instead of being associated on the list. Thus, classification information may be added. If the content to be classified is an image, it may be possible to record the classification information name and the classification information ID as a part of the Exif information of the image. Even when the classification target is a content other than an image, the classification information may be added by recording the content as header information of the content. That is, the classification information may be content attribute information indicating that a plurality of contents are grouped.

  Furthermore, processes other than those described above may be performed by an operation method of moving a display item to a display area (sorting destination area) for forming a set of contents. For example, tags for instructing processing such as print processing, transfer processing, and slide show display processing are displayed. By moving the tag to the sorting destination area by drag and drop, the processing indicated by the tag can be collectively performed on the images sorted in the sorting destination area. In this way, more processes can be performed by the same operation method, and the user can perform a simpler and more intuitive operation.

  Further, the moving operation method is not limited to drag and drop using a mouse. Drag and drop using a touch panel or the like may be used, and other methods may be used other than drag and drop as long as the user can intuitively recognize that the operation is a movement operation to the sorting destination area. Further, the present invention is not limited to an application on a PC, and the present invention can be applied to any system having an appropriate display device / input device and having a content sorting function.

  Note that the processing of the above-described embodiment may provide a system or apparatus with a storage medium that records software program codes that embody each function. The functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading out and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used. Alternatively, a CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like can be used.

  The functions of the above-described embodiments are not only realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In some cases, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. include.

  Further, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Is also included.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a content management apparatus in this embodiment. 7 is a display screen example showing a user interface in the present embodiment. 6 is an example of an image management structure managed by the content management apparatus according to the present embodiment. An example of an area management list for managing a sorting source area and each sorting destination area in the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of image management processing in the content management apparatus of the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing image movement processing in the content management apparatus of the present embodiment. The flowchart which shows the information addition process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment. The example of a screen display explaining the information addition process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment. An example of a search condition setting method in the content management apparatus of the present embodiment. The flowchart which shows the search process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment. The example of a screen display explaining the search process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment. The example of a screen display explaining the highlighting process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the new tag production | generation process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment. The example of a screen display explaining the new tag production | generation process in the content management apparatus of this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101 CPU
102 HD
103 Memory 104 Display 105 Input Unit 106 Recording Medium Drive 107 I / F
108 External recording medium 109 Communication line 110 Network 111 Internal bus

Claims (20)

On the display unit, and a content display items representing the content, a first display item for designating the area for storing the content display item, the process of designating the content display items to be stored before Symbol area Display control means for controlling to display
An instruction receiving unit receives an instruction for moving the first display item on the display unit,
When an instruction to move the first display item to the area is received by the instruction receiving means, content matching a search key associated with the first display item is searched and obtained as a search result And a control unit configured to control the content display item representing the content to be stored in the area . The control means corresponds to the first display item among the contents not stored in the area when the instruction receiving means receives an instruction to move the first display item to the area. The content management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein content matching the search key is searched, and a content display item representing the content obtained as a search result is controlled to be stored in the area. The control means is stored in the area when an instruction to move the first display item to another first display item displayed for the area is received by the writing instruction receiving means. The content that matches the search key associated with the moved first display item is searched for from the content, and the content display item representing other than the content obtained as a search result is deleted from the area. The content management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The instruction receiving means further receives an instruction to change the first display item displayed for the area to the second state,
When the control unit receives an instruction to change the first display item displayed on the area to the second state by the instruction receiving unit, the control unit selects the first of the contents stored in the region. The content matching the search key associated with the first display item that has been instructed to be changed to the state 2 is searched, and the content display item representing the content obtained as a search result is deleted from the area. The content management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content management apparatus controls the content management apparatus. Said region is any one content management apparatus according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that an area capable of displaying the content display items stored. Content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a space management means for managing the content corresponding to the content display items stored in said area as the same set . The display control means, as the first display item claim 1, characterized in that the content of the additional information that matches the corresponding search key is added to control to display only the even that exist to 7. The content management apparatus according to any one of 6 . The display control means displays the content display items stored in the area by the search processing by the control means and the other content display items so that they can be distinguished from among the content display items stored in the area. content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the control. The display means further displays a second display item for designating processing for content corresponding to the content display item stored in the area,
The instruction receiving means further receives an instruction to move the second display item on the display unit,
The control means further, when receiving an instruction to move the second display item to the area by the instruction receiving means, for the content corresponding to the content display item stored in the area, The content management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a process corresponding to the display item is performed. Treatment marked with corresponding to the second display items,
Additional processing of adding the additional information to the content corresponding to the content display items stored in the region,
Printing processing for printing the content corresponding to the content display items stored in the region,
Transfer processing for transferring the content corresponding to the content display items stored in the region,
The content management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the content management apparatus is at least one of a slide show display process for displaying content corresponding to a content display item stored in the area as a slide show. The content management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the additional information is classification information indicating that a plurality of contents to which the same additional information is added belong to the same group. The display item for instructing the additional processing includes a display item having content to which additional information that can be added by the display item is present, and a display item having no content to which additional information that can be added by the display item is present. and controlling so as to display in a different display form in the content management apparatus according to any one of claims 10 or 11, characterized in. The said display control means controls to display the said content display item, the said area | region, the said 1st display item, and the said 2nd display item simultaneously, Any one of Claim 10 thru | or 12 characterized by the above-mentioned. whether the content management apparatus according to item 1. The control means controls to display an animation in which the added content display item moves toward the area when the content display item is additionally stored in the area in accordance with the movement of the first display item. The content management device according to claim 1, wherein the content management device is a content management device. When accepting a predetermined operation against the first display item that has been moved to the region, of the content display items stored in the area, the content display that matches the search key corresponding to the display item the engineered content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the item is highlighted. The content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15 , wherein the instruction to move is performed by either drag and drop using a pointing device or drag and drop using a touch panel. The content management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit performs control so that a plurality of the areas are displayed on one screen. On the display unit, and a content display items representing the content, a first display item for designating the area for storing the content display item, the process of designating the content display items to be stored before Symbol area Display control step for controlling to display
An instruction accepting step accepts an instruction for moving the first display item on the display unit,
When an instruction to move the first display item to the area is received in the instruction receiving step, content matching a search key corresponding to the first display item is searched and obtained as a search result And a control step of controlling the content display item representing the content to be stored in the area . A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17 . A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16 .

Images