JPH10207907A - Object arrangement, display and operation method and device using three-dimensional space - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To present a set of effective objects which can be operated by a user and have a large number of degrees of freedom of expression by arranging objects in a three-dimensional space so that similar objects may be close and accepting a movement operation from the user to move the objects. SOLUTION: The position of an object 101 in a three-dimensional space 102 which is moved by user's operation is fixed in a movement destination grid position for a certain time. While it is fixed there, the result obtained by multiplying the vector of the object 101 by a coefficient is added to vectors of peripheral grids to perform the standardizing operation; and this operation is repeated plural times to make peripheral grids similar to the object arranged by the user, and similar objects are rearranged close. Thus, a set of objects arranged close in accordance with their similarities can be presented to the user and the operation to move an object concerned to an arbitrary position is possible, and objects are automatically collected close by rearrangement and are presented to the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a three-dimensional space which can be operated by a user, has a high degree of freedom of expression, and allows a flexible search reflecting the degree of interest of a user, for a set of objects to be presented. Object placement / display /
The present invention relates to an operation method and an apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the field of document retrieval for retrieving documents from a large number of documents, retrieval by keywords is mainly used. In this method, a keyword is manually or mechanically assigned to a document in advance and stored in a database, and a document to which a keyword input by a searcher is assigned is created at a high speed by creating a reverse index or the like. Is the way. However, such a document search method has some disadvantages as described below. First, if the number of documents given the keyword entered by the searcher is too large, it is not easy for the searcher to look through all of them to see if it meets the needs of the user. Becomes

If it is difficult for a searcher to express his or her request in the form of a set of keywords, it is difficult to find a target document by such a method.

[0004] Furthermore, the relationship between documents obtained as a result of a search expressed by a user expressing a search request in the form of a keyword, and what matters are considered in the topic space constituted by the documents as a whole. It is difficult to get an overview directly from the search results, such as how much is spoken and what surprises are involved.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, a self-organizing map technology has been developed. Each document (object) is arranged and presented in a two-dimensional space, and a similar document is arranged in the vicinity at that time. Accordingly, a method and apparatus for arranging and displaying objects that presents to a user a space of a topic formed by a document set in a form of a map that can be easily intuitively grasped by humans have been used.

[0006]

Since the conventional method and apparatus for arranging and displaying objects are constructed as described above, objects such as documents and topics are described in a two-dimensional space using a self-organizing map. By expanding to
Although it is possible for the user to present information while making it easy for the user to intuitively grasp the structure of the topic space, there is little means to reflect the change request of the user when the generated map is requested. There were challenges.

Further, when displaying a set of objects included in the space of the map, the extent of the two-dimensional space is used to represent a relationship between documents and topics, and separates a field in which the user is not interested. For example, the right half of the presented screen is occupied by an object that the user is not interested in, and it is difficult to present a valid object set. was there.

Further, whether or not an object appears on the map is determined by a conventional keyword search performed in advance, so that even if an object having a strong relationship to be displayed at a specific portion on the map exists, The objects excluded in the stage search do not appear on the map, and there is a problem that the user does not see the objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. An object which can be operated by a user with respect to an object set to be presented and which can present an effective object set with a high degree of freedom of expression. It uses a three-dimensional space that can perform a flexible search that reflects the degree of user interest through intuitive operation of the user, without the need for setting, display, and operation methods and devices and complicated keywords. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a method and apparatus for arranging, displaying, and operating objects.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space. An arrangement display step of arranging the object in a three-dimensional space so as to satisfy the constraint of being arranged and displaying the object on a display means, an operation step of receiving an input of a movement operation of a display position of the object from a user and moving the object, And a rearrangement display step of rearranging the objects so as to satisfy a restriction that similar objects are arranged in the vicinity in accordance with the movement of the objects in the operation step, and displaying the objects on the display means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein each object has a strength of association between the object and each keyword as an element. Defined vectors, define grids arranged in grid points in a three-dimensional space, and normalize each grid with the strength of association between the grid and each keyword. Vector, the magnitude of the similarity between the vectors is defined by the product between the vectors, etc., and the object is converted into a grid that maximizes the similarity between the vector of the object and the vector of the grid. A process of normalizing each vector by adding a predetermined multiple of the arranged and arranged vector of the object to the grid and a vector of a predetermined nearby grid is performed. By repeating the above process for each object, it is to place an object between similar adjacent.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein a grid is provided in a simple cubic lattice.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein a similarity between grids is defined by a product between vectors of each grid, and the like.
The grids are arranged such that the distance between the grids having a large similarity is short.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein an object having a high degree of interest of the user is located near the user, and an object having a low degree of interest of the user is located far from the user. It is designed to be arranged in.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein an interest level input step of receiving an input of a degree of interest in an object from a user, and an input in the interest level input step. According to the above, an interest placement step of arranging an object having a high degree of interest of the user near the user and an object having a low degree of interest of the user far from the user; And a rearrangement display step of rearranging the objects so as to satisfy the restriction that the objects are arranged close to each other and displaying the objects on the display means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object arrangement / display / operation method using a three-dimensional space, wherein an object having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a coordinate relationship. The objects are arranged in a three-dimensional space and displayed on the display means so that the objects having an equilateral relationship in the left, right, and depth directions are arranged such that the objects are arranged.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein an object is designated by a user, and only an object having a certain number of links or less from the object is arranged. It is intended to be displayed.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the method of arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, a numerical value assigned to an object by a user and assigned to the link in accordance with the degree of closeness of the relationship. Are arranged and displayed only those objects for which the total value of the links traced from the object is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space. The object is displayed on the screen.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the method of arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, when arranging an object on a grid, the greater the degree of similarity between the grid and the vector of the object, the more the object is placed on the grid , And a constraint that objects should be placed close to each other in accordance with the closeness of the hierarchical relation or the coordination relation between the objects.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying and operating an object using a three-dimensional space.
And switching between the object arrangement / display / operation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10 and the object arrangement / display / operation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10. It is like that.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, the coordinate values of each object at predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space are stored at the time of switching. Is placed.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, when switching, the coordinate values of each object at two predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space are stored. Each object is arranged.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying and operating an object using a three-dimensional space.
Alternatively, the object arrangement / display / operation method according to claim 6 and the object arrangement / display / operation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10 are switched and performed. The distance of each object from the user in the dimensional space is stored, and each object is arranged.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein an object whose similarity with all other objects in the three-dimensional space is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value. It is to be deleted from the three-dimensional space.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein a similarity of a vector with all other objects and / or grids in the three-dimensional space is a predetermined reference. The object whose value is equal to or less than the value is deleted from the three-dimensional space.

[0027] According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, an object arrangement / display / operation method using a three-dimensional space automatically generates a retrieval formula using an object and / or a grid vector arranged in the three-dimensional space. Then, an object is searched by the search formula using a database device that holds a large number of objects as search objects, and the searched object is arranged in a three-dimensional space.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein a vector of an object and / or a grid arranged in the three-dimensional space in accordance with the degree of interest of the user. , A search formula is automatically generated, and a database device that holds a large number of objects as search targets is used to search for objects by the search formula, and the searched objects are arranged in a three-dimensional space. It is.

According to a twentieth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, wherein a search formula is preferentially used by preferentially using an object and / or a grid vector arranged near a user. It is generated automatically.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, a search formula is automatically generated by preferentially using a grid vector having a large number of arranged objects. It was made.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, a search expression is automatically generated by preferentially using a grid vector having a small number of arranged objects. It was made.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the object arrangement / display / operation method using a three-dimensional space, a vector of a grid having a large number of arranged objects or a vector of a grid having a small number of arranged objects is given priority. And a search formula is automatically generated by preferentially using objects and / or grid vectors arranged near the user.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, when the detection processing of the user input and the rearrangement of the object are sequentially performed, the detection processing is performed once. On the other hand, the number of objects to be rearranged is increased as time elapses from the last input by the user.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, when detecting processing of a user input and rearranging an object sequentially, the detecting processing is performed once. On the other hand, the number of objects to be rearranged increases as the frequency of changing the arrangement of the objects increases.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, when the detection processing of the user's input and the rearrangement of the object are sequentially performed, the detection processing is performed once. On the other hand, the number of objects to be rearranged is increased as the time from the last input by the user elapses and as the frequency of changing the arrangement of the objects increases.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method of arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, priorities are defined for each of an object, a grid, and the like, and priorities are determined in accordance with a predetermined procedure when processing each of them. The priority is propagated by raising and lowering the degree, and processing is performed on each of them in the order of the priority.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, a learning vector is defined for each grid as an average vector of the vectors of the objects arranged in the grid. , An object, a grid, a learning vector, etc., a priority is defined, a priority is raised or lowered according to a predetermined procedure at the time of processing for each, and the priority is propagated, and processing is performed for each of the priorities. It is like that.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the method of arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space, when an object is moved by a user's input, the priority of the object is raised by a predetermined value. It is.

An object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space according to the invention according to claim 30 is a display means for displaying an arrangement in a three-dimensional space of objects whose mutual similarity is defined, An operation means for receiving an input of a movement operation of the display position from the user and moving the object, and arranging the object in the three-dimensional space so as to satisfy a constraint that similar objects are arranged in the vicinity, And an arrangement means for rearranging the object in accordance with the restriction when the object is moved by a user operation in the operation means.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, in the object arranging / displaying / manipulating apparatus using a three-dimensional space, the arranging means sets the strength of association between the object and each keyword as an element for each object. Defined normalized vectors, grids arranged in grid points in a three-dimensional space, and normalized values defined for each grid using the strength of association between the grid and each keyword as elements Using a vector and a similarity defined by a product or the like between the vectors, the object is arranged on a grid such that the similarity between the vector of the object and the vector of the grid is maximized. A process of adding a predetermined multiple of the vector to the grid and a vector of a grid near the predetermined grid to perform normalization of each vector is performed. By repeated for objects, in which to arrange the objects to each other similar to the vicinity.

According to a thirty-second aspect of the present invention, in the object arranging / displaying / manipulating apparatus using a three-dimensional space, the arranging means arranges an object having a high degree of interest of the user near the user and an object having a low degree of interest of the user. Is located far from the user.

According to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, an object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space includes interest level input means for receiving an input of a degree of interest in an object from a user.

According to a thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space, wherein an object having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a coordinate relationship. Are arranged in such a manner that objects having a coordinated relationship in the left-right and depth directions are arranged such that the objects are arranged in a three-dimensional space, and display means for displaying the arranged objects. The arrangement means arranges only objects whose number of links from the object designated by the user is equal to or less than a certain value.

An object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space according to the invention of claim 35, wherein an object having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a coordinate relationship. Are arranged in such a manner that objects having a coordinated relationship in the left-right and depth directions are arranged such that the objects are arranged in a three-dimensional space, and display means for displaying the arranged objects. The arrangement means is provided with a numerical value assigned so as to decrease according to the closeness of relation to the link,
Only objects whose total value for a link traced from an object specified by the user is equal to or less than a predetermined value are arranged.

According to a thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the object arranging / displaying / manipulating apparatus using a three-dimensional space, the arranging means receives an input of a display position or a moving operation of the object from the user, and the three-dimensional The object is arranged at a position in the space.

An object arrangement / display / operation apparatus using a three-dimensional space according to the invention of claim 37 is the third invention.
An object arrangement / display / operation device according to any one of claims 0 to 33, and an object arrangement / display / operation device according to any one of claims 34 to 36. And the arrangement of the objects in.

An object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space according to the invention of claim 38, wherein at the time of switching, the coordinate value of each object at a predetermined coordinate in the three-dimensional space is stored and said object is displayed. Is arranged.

According to a thirty-ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object arrangement / display / operation apparatus using a three-dimensional space, wherein a search expression is automatically generated from an object and / or grid vector arranged in the three-dimensional space. Formula generating means, and search processing means for performing a process of searching for an object by the search formula using a database device that holds a large number of objects as search targets, wherein the arranging means includes an object searched by the search processing means. Are arranged in a three-dimensional space.

According to a forty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the object arranging / displaying / manipulating apparatus using a three-dimensional space, the arranging means uses priorities defined for each of the object, grid, etc., and performs processing for each of them. The priority is propagated by raising and lowering the priority in accordance with a predetermined procedure, and processing is performed on each of the priorities in the order of the priority.

The object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space according to the invention of claim 41, wherein the arrangement means is arranged such that the arrangement means is defined in each grid as an average vector of the vectors of the objects arranged in the grid. Vectors and priorities defined for each of objects, grids, learning vectors, etc. are used, and during processing for each, the priority is raised and lowered in accordance with a predetermined procedure and the priority is propagated. Is performed.

[0051]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a display state of an object by an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes an object such as a document to be arranged / displayed / operated;
Reference numeral 102 denotes a three-dimensional space in which the objects 101 are arranged.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a device for realizing the method of arranging, displaying and operating objects according to the first embodiment. In FIG.
, An arrangement unit for deciding the arrangement of “01” in the three-dimensional space 102,
104 is a display unit for displaying each object 101 arranged by the arrangement unit 103, and 105 is a display unit 104
An operation unit 106 for operating the position of the object 101 displayed in the area 3 is a three-dimensional space state holding unit that holds the state of the three-dimensional space 102.

The arranging means 103 includes a CPU,
The three-dimensional space state holding means 10 is implemented by a computer device including ROM, RAM,
Reference numeral 6 denotes a storage device such as a hard disk device or a magneto-optical disk device. Display device 104 includes a display device or a three-dimensional display device and software as described later. Operation device 105 includes an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard. Each of them is realized by an apparatus and software. This object arrangement / display / operation device displays an object representing a document, a word, a concept, and the like on a plurality of display means 104 for a user,
For example, it is used for outputting the contents of a document corresponding to a document object specified by a user, searching for a document object, and presenting a result.

Next, the operation will be described. In a document set including D documents, a keyword is automatically extracted or manually extracted from each document in advance, and a list of keywords is added to each document. At this time,
Let W be the total number of different keywords that exist, and let freq (i, j) be the frequency of appearance of keyword j in document i.
The following equation (1) is defined as the normalized appearance frequency.

[0055]

(Equation 1)

Here, the similarity between the document i ₁ and the document i ₂ is defined by the following equation (2), for example.

[0057]

(Equation 2)

By defining the similarity by the equation (2), each document can be handled as an object with the defined similarity, and as shown in FIG.
When the objects 101 are displayed in the same manner, it is possible to display the objects 101 having a large similarity sim (i ₁ , i ₂ ) in the vicinity as shown below.

In the first embodiment, the display of each object 101 is expressed as X × Y × Z, X + 1,
This is performed in a three-dimensional space 102 in which grids are arranged at equal intervals at Y + 1 and Z + 1 grid points. FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of grids in the first embodiment.

Each grid defines a standardized W-dimensional vector having W elements corresponding to the W keywords. Each element of the vector of each grid represents the degree of association with each keyword, and a constant value, a random number setting value, or the like is used as an initial value of each element, for example.

Similarly, for each object 101,
Define a vector having an element corresponding to each keyword. Here, when the object 101 is a document i, and this is described as an object i, the vector of the object i is a vector having the standardized appearance frequency elem (i, j) as a j-th element. Define.

The operation of the arranging means 103 for automatically arranging similar objects near each other will be described below.

Assuming that the value of the element corresponding to the keyword j in the vector of the grid g is grid (g, j), the similarity between the object i and the grid g can be defined by the following equation (3). it can.

[0064]

(Equation 3)

The similarity between the object i and each grid is calculated by the equation (3), and the object i is arranged at the position of the grid gmax having the maximum similarity.

After arranging the object i on the grid gmax, a vector obtained by multiplying the vector of the object i by a coefficient is added to a vector of the grid gmax and a vector of a grid in a predetermined vicinity thereof, and then the normalization of each vector is performed. I do. This operation has an effect of bringing the arrangement of the object 101 similar to the object 101 closer to the grid on which the object 101 is arranged.

The above operation for one object is regarded as one step, and this step is repeated for D objects, whereby an arrangement is made such that similar objects are located close to each other in the three-dimensional space 102. .

The three-dimensional space arranged as described above is
The information is displayed to the user by the display unit 104 using three-dimensional rendering or the like. As the display means 104 for displaying a three-dimensional space in three dimensions, for example, an HMD (Head Mount Display), a holographic display device, or the like used in a virtual reality device can be used. In order to represent the perspective of the object 101 in a device that is not actually three-dimensional such as an HMD, the size of the displayed object 101 is adjusted in accordance with the perspective, and fog is generated according to the distance of each object 101. The so-called fogging or the so-called fogging that strengthens the display state, and the right-eye image and the left-eye image having a shift depending on the distance while blocking the field of view of each eye for a short time by a shutter provided in front of each eye of the user. May be alternately presented for a short time to change the convergence of the user. In addition, the three-dimensional display device as described above is not particularly used as the display unit 104, and the user is presented with a three-dimensional space only by displaying the image on a two-dimensional normal monitor or the like using three-dimensional rendering and fogging. It is possible.

The user performs a position operation on each object 101 in the three-dimensional space 102 displayed by the display means 104 using the operation means 105 having a pointing device such as a mouse.

The position of the object 101 moved by the user's operation is fixed at the destination grid position for a certain period or until the position is released, and during that time, the position of the object 101 and the grid vector in the vicinity are fixed. The operation of adding the vector of the object 101 multiplied by the coefficient and normalizing the vector is repeated a plurality of times in accordance with the scheduling. Thereby, it is possible to make the surrounding grid similar to the object arranged by the user, and to arrange the similar object in the vicinity thereof. Here, the coefficient is set such that the distance r from the destination grid decreases as the distance r from the grid increases.
For example, a number proportional to r- ² is specified. in this case,
If the coefficient is increased and the number of repetitions of the operation is reduced, the change cannot be performed smoothly, but an advantage that the processing time of the iterative calculation is short can be obtained. When the number of repetitions is increased, it takes time for the repetition calculation, but has an advantage that the change can be made smoothly. These settings are determined in response to a request from the arrangement unit 103 in a numerical calculation environment.

By the above processing, as shown in FIG. 4, when the position of the object 201 is changed by the operation of the user, the object 202 similar to the object 201 is changed.
And 203 move closer to the object 201 and move to the object 204 that is not similar to the object 201.
Moves away from the object 201.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, a set of objects arranged in the vicinity according to the similarity can be presented to the user by the three-dimensional display having a high degree of freedom of expression. The user can perform an operation of moving an object of interest to an arbitrary position, and can perform a rearrangement in which objects having high correlation with the moved object are automatically gathered in the vicinity and present the object to the user. It becomes possible.

Therefore, the above functions make it possible to organize objects according to the concept according to the user's intention, or to organize objects for each topic of interest to the user.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of grid arrangement in the object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a grid 301 having a simple cubic lattice shape at regular intervals in the X, Y, and Z directions is arranged, objects are allocated to the grid 301, and the grid is arranged at this location. , Objects are arranged, but the arrangement of the grids is not limited to this. Other arrangements such as the arrangement of a hexagonal close-packed grid 401 as shown in FIG. Is also possible, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a method for arranging objects in an object arranging, displaying, and operating method according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a grid 501 having real value coordinates that change is used. The grid 501 having the real-valued coordinates is the same as in the first and second embodiments.
Is not fixed as in the above, but defines the similarity by vector between grids in the same manner as the similarity defined between the objects or between the object and the grid,
Grids are arranged such that the greater the similarity, the closer the distance between the grids.

The position of the grid to be arranged is such that grids having a large similarity between the grids are arranged close to each other. For example, the similarity between the grids and the distance between the grids are uniquely determined in inverse proportion. Since such a thing is not possible between many grids, the dynamic springs 502 attract each other with a strength proportional to the similarity between the grids.
Assuming the above, this equation is numerically solved under appropriate constraints to determine the position of each grid.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to arrange each object more flexibly, for example, by making the distance between grids variable so as to reflect the relation strength more.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a method of arranging, displaying, and operating objects in an object arranging, displaying, and operating device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 601 denotes a three-dimensional space in which each object 101 is arranged. , 602 a user; and 602 a, a degree of interest input unit for receiving, from the user 602, the presence / absence or magnitude of interest in each displayed object 101, and an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an object arrangement / display / operation device. It is composed of software and the like. Reference numeral 603 denotes an area near the user 602 in the three-dimensional space 601, and reference numeral 604 denotes an area far from the user 602 in the three-dimensional space 601.

Next, the operation will be described. 3D space 6
From among the objects 101 arranged and displayed in 01, the user 602 inputs the presence or absence or the magnitude of interest in the specific object 101 by the interest level input means 602a. The data input to the degree of interest input means 602a is sent to the arranging means 103, and the arranging means 103 moves the object 101 having a high degree of interest of the user 602 to an area 603 near the user 602, and The object 101 having a low degree is moved to an area 604 far from the user 602.

In the input by the interest level input means 602a, after the user 602 selects the object 101, the input may be performed while presenting a sample vector expressing the degree of interest in the object 101. Alternatively, the user 602 may directly move the object 101 whose interest level is to be expressed forward and backward while looking at the display unit 104.

At the same time, the objects 101 are rearranged according to the similarity as described in the first embodiment, and the similar objects 101 are automatically rearranged in a nearby space.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, objects similar to the object of interest to the user are collected in the area 603 near the user, and objects not so are collected in the area 604 far from the user. Intuitively matches the user's level of interest, with objects of high interest appearing large near the user and objects of low interest appearing small far away from the user. Can be arranged. Further, unlike the conventional two-dimensional display, in displaying the self-organizing map, it is possible to separate the structure based on the relation between the user's interest and the topic, and to present an effective object set.

Embodiment 5 In the fifth embodiment, objects are arranged in the Y-axis direction (up-down direction for the user) in accordance with a hierarchical data structure such as a thesaurus showing the relation between a superordinate concept and a subordinate concept for a set of words such as keywords. Then, the objects are arranged in the X and Z axis directions (left and right and depth directions) in accordance with the coordination relations such as the relations, associative relations and co-occurrence relations.

When the number of objects becomes enormous, the calculation required for display becomes enormous, and it becomes difficult for the user to understand even if a complicated structure is presented.
For this reason, in the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, when a certain constant N is determined centering on a specific object 701 specified by the user, a link 702 and the like defined by a hierarchical relationship are determined. An object such as 704 that can be reached by following the link 703 defined by the positional relationship by N steps or less, and 7
Display only links such as 05. That is, objects such as 706 and links such as 707 which need to follow a link exceeding N levels to reach the destination are not displayed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a numerical value which is smaller as the relation between objects is closer to a link is allocated, and when a certain constant N is determined, the sum of the numerical values of the traversed link reaches N or less. Only the objects that can be created and the links followed at that time may be displayed.
In this case, the hierarchical relationship in the Y-axis direction and the X, Z
In both axial coordination relationships, the closeness of the relationship is quantified in advance and used.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the user can display only objects and links that are closely related to an object specified with interest in an organized and easy-to-understand state. In addition to being able to view, it is possible to reduce the calculation required for the system to display. Further, in the above, the display position of the object or the input of the moving operation may be received from the user, and the object may be displayed at a position in the three-dimensional space according to the input, and the object may be arranged according to the user's intention. It becomes possible.

Embodiment 6 FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a method of arranging objects in an object arranging / displaying / manipulating apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In FIG.
03 is a constraint placed between objects so that the objects are arranged close to each other according to the closeness of the hierarchical relation and the coordination relation; 90
No. 4 is a constraint that the greater the similarity between the vector of the grid and the object, the closer the object is to the grid.

Each object is arranged on the grid having the highest vector similarity as in the first embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, the vector between the grid and the object is In addition, a constraint 904 that the object is arranged closer to the grid as the similarity of the object is larger and a constraint 903 that the object is arranged closer according to the closeness of the hierarchical relation and the coordination relation are added. The position is determined. The method described in the third embodiment is used to determine the arrangement position under the plurality of constraints.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, it is possible to present to the user a relationship that satisfies both constraints of the similarity of objects and the hierarchical and coordinated relationships.

Embodiment 7 11, 12, and 1
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.
Reference numerals 002, 1102, and 1202 denote three-dimensional spaces in which objects are arranged by the method according to the first to fourth embodiments, and reference numerals 1003, 1103, and 1203 denote the fifth embodiment.
Is a three-dimensional space in which objects are arranged by the method of (1).

In the seventh embodiment, a three-dimensional object in which objects are arranged by the method of the first to fourth embodiments with respect to an object for which a hierarchical relationship, a coordination relationship, and a similarity are defined. Space and Embodiment 5
Is displayed by switching between the three-dimensional space in which the objects are arranged by the method (1). At this time, switching is performed according to the following rules.

In FIG. 11, the coordinate values of the object in the Y and Z directions are changed by switching, but the X coordinate values are stored. In other words, the position of the object in the left-right direction does not change, and the user can easily recognize the object before and after switching.

In FIG. 12, the coordinate values of the object in the X and Y directions are changed by switching, but the Z coordinate value is stored, so that the relation between the objects can be easily grasped.
Further, when the three-dimensional space 1102 is configured by the method of the fourth embodiment, the three-dimensional space 1102 is used before and after the switching.
Can be stored, and the display according to the degree of interest of the user can be maintained.

In FIG. 13, the coordinate values of the object in the Y direction are changed by switching, but the coordinate values in the X and Z directions are stored. In this case, the object moves only in the vertical direction, making it easier for the user to grasp the relation between the object and the three-dimensional space 120.
2 is configured by the method of the fourth embodiment,
The display according to the degree of interest of the user can be maintained before and after the switching.

As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, the arrangement and display of objects by the methods of the first to fourth embodiments and the arrangement and display of objects by the method of the fifth embodiment In this case, by storing a predetermined coordinate value, the degree of recognition of the object before and after the switching can be increased, and the display according to the user's interest level before and after the switching can be maintained. Can do that.

Embodiment 8 FIG. In the eighth embodiment, in the object arrangement / display / operation device and the object arrangement / display / operation method according to the first to fourth embodiments, the similarity between objects defined by Expression (2) is: Objects that do not exceed a predetermined reference value S with any other object are deleted from the three-dimensional space.

Alternatively, an object whose similarity between an object and a grid defined by Expression (3) does not exceed a predetermined reference value T with any grid is deleted from the three-dimensional space.

As described above, according to the eighth embodiment, an object far from the user's interest is deleted from the three-dimensional space, and the user can concentrate on only the object of interest. It is possible to reduce the load of calculation processing related to rearrangement and display.

Embodiment 9 FIG. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of an object arrangement / display / operation method by an object arrangement / display / operation device according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1301 denotes a large number of document objects held as search targets. A document database (database device) 1302 for outputting a document object in accordance with the search is used for arranging objects by the method according to the fourth embodiment. Search expression generating means 1302b for automatically generating a search expression from the displayed three-dimensional space is a search processing means 1303 for performing processing for searching using the document database 1301.
Is a search expression sent from the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302 to the document database 1301, and 1304 is a document object (object) output from the document database 1301 and taken into the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302.

In the ninth embodiment, a search formula is automatically generated using objects and grid vectors arranged in the three-dimensional space 601 shown in FIG. 7, and the document database 1301 is generated using the search formula. , And retrieves the document object into the three-dimensional space 601.
The document database 1301 may be an external database that communicates with the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302 through communication, or may be a database that the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302 has.

The document objects are arranged closer to the front of the three-dimensional space 601 as the user's interest level is higher as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and the document database 1301 shown in FIG. (Vector composed of elements corresponding to each keyword) is searched by a search expression 130
3 is accepted.

At this time, the retrieval formula generation means 1302a has the largest Z coordinate in the three-dimensional space 601 of FIG. 7 (X +
1) A vector as shown in Expression (4) is synthesized by adding the vector of the (Y + 1) grids and the vector of the object having the Z coordinate from the largest to the Mth.

[0103]

(Equation 4)

Object arrangement / display / operation device 130
The second search expression generation means 1302a sets the vector added as in Expression (4) or the remaining elements to 0, leaving only the N elements from the larger of the components of this vector.
The generated vector is generated as a search expression 1303, and the search processing means 1302b outputs this to the document database 1301. The document database 1301 uses the search expression 130
3 from a list of search results in which document objects having the highest similarity to the word vector are ranked, for example, from the list of search results, a predetermined top M documents are set as document objects 1304 as object arrangement / display / operation devices. 1
The search result is output to the search processing means 1302b at 302. And the arrangement means 1 of the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302
03 fetches the M document objects 1304 and performs the subsequent processing.

As a result, a document object strongly related to a topic of high user interest is retrieved from a large number of document objects stored in the document database 1301, and displayed in a three-dimensional space. Can be used.

The document database 1301 has a boo
If the document database accepts a lean search, it has the largest Z coordinate in the three-dimensional space (X + 1)
× (Y + 1) grid vectors and M
With respect to a vector obtained by adding the vector of the object having the Z coordinate up to the Nth order as shown in Expression (4), N elements from the larger vector are selected, and the corresponding N
Expressions generated by AND, OR, or quorumization are searched for 130 keywords
When a document search is performed by the document database 1301 and the search results are ranked, the top M document objects are listed from the list, and when the search results are not ranked, M document objects are randomly selected. Output to the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302, the object arrangement / display / operation device 1302
Fetches the M document objects 1304 and performs the subsequent processing.

By using the method as described above, an appropriate number of document objects having a high degree of user interest are extracted from a large set of document objects of a large number of parameters stored in the document database 1301, and It can be used for processing of the arrangement / display / operation device 1302.

Alternatively, the following equation (5) can be used when creating a vector.

[0109]

(Equation 5)

In this case, a search is performed with emphasis on an object or grid whose z coordinate value is in the vicinity of z ₁ , and the interest of the user is determined to be a specific level according to the designated z ₁ value. Search for a document object like
It can be displayed in the dimensional space 601 and used for subsequent processing.

If z ₁ = 0 in the equation (5), it is possible to search for a document object in which the degree of interest of the user is close to the maximum. In addition, in equation (5), z
It is needless to say that h ₁ (z) is appropriately processed near h = z _{1 so} that h ₁ (z) does not become infinite.

When performing a document search, the user is generally interested in a certain range of things, performs a plurality of searches using several keyword sets, and refines the keywords from a document set obtained as a result. And re-search, remove and arrange duplicate and unnecessary documents, and organize and structure the remaining documents according to the type of topic.

However, by using the object arrangement / display / operation method and apparatus according to the ninth embodiment,
This process is automated. It is possible to structure the search result while searching for the document, and to change the search condition according to the judgment made by looking at the presented result at the same time.

The user does not need to prepare a complicated search formula in advance as in the conventional document search system.
Objects that represent concepts and documents can be automatically searched by performing intuitive operations, such as placing similar objects close to each other, and objects of interest close to one another. It can be used easily.

As described above, according to the ninth embodiment, a retrieval formula is automatically generated using objects and grid vectors arranged in a three-dimensional space, and a document database is generated using the retrieval formula. From among the vast number of document objects stored in the document, document objects that are strongly related to topics of high user interest or that have a specific level of user interest It is possible to automatically retrieve by number and retrieve it into a three-dimensional space, which can be used in the object arrangement / display / operation device.

Embodiment 10 FIG. In the tenth embodiment, a vector is generated using the following equations instead of equation (4) in the ninth embodiment, and the vector is used for search.

Assigned to grid with coordinates (x, y, z)
The number of objects dropped is gridobj (x,
y, z) and h_Two (X, y, z) = α · gridobj (x, y, z
z) h_Two (X, y, z) = α · gridobj (x, y, z
z)^Two  h_Two (X, y, z) = α · log (gridobj
(X, y, z)) and the like, use the following equation (6) instead of equation (4).
To generate a vector.

[0118]

(Equation 6)

In the above equation (6), a vector is generated by increasing the weight of addition for a grid having a larger number of allocated objects. Since a topic in which many objects are concentrated is likely to be of interest to the user, by performing a search using the vector of the above equation (6), objects which may be of interest to the user can be efficiently searched for. It can be collected and presented in a three-dimensional space.

Alternatively, gridobj (x, y, z)
A vector is generated using the following equation (7) instead of equation (4) using vectors of N grids starting from the one with the largest value.

[0121]

(Equation 7)

According to this, contrary to the case of using the equation (6), it becomes faster to collect objects related to topics in an area where no object is found at present.

Alternatively, equation (8) is used.

[0124]

(Equation 8)

By using the equation (8), when generating a vector by increasing the weight of addition for a grid having a larger number of allocated objects, the degree of interest corresponding to the designated z-coordinate value z ₁ is determined. The closer the grid, the greater the weight of the addition, the closer to the specific degree of interest specified by the user, and the more efficient the collection of objects that may be of interest to the user and present it to the three-dimensional space. Becomes possible. Note that h ₄ (x, y, z) shown in the equation (8) is an example, and it is sufficient that h ₄ (x, y, z) has a peak near z = z ₁ .

Further, it is needless to say that various combined effects can be obtained by synthesizing and using the above methods.

As described above, according to the tenth embodiment, when a search expression is automatically generated using objects and grid vectors arranged in a three-dimensional space, the number of arranged objects is reduced. Priority is given to a vector with a large number of grids, to a vector with a small number of placed objects, or to a vector with a grid corresponding to a particular interest level of the user. By combining these, an object close to the user's interest or an object related to a topic in an area where there is no current object in the three-dimensional space can be efficiently collected from the vast number of document objects stored in the document database. , Or perform collection with emphasis on the user's particular interest level. It is possible to use the object placement and display and operating device.

Embodiment 11 FIG. In the apparatuses according to the first to tenth embodiments, in order to quickly respond to the operation of the user and improve the operability, it is effective to increase the frequency of the process of detecting the input from the user. In order to advance the arrangement and the learning (recalculation of the vector, etc.), it is effective to reduce the number of user input detection processes and to perform the rearrangement and the learning continuously.

[0129] Generally, when the user starts operating an object, he or she operates several objects continuously. If the user interrupts the operation, he or she is likely to watch the progress for a while. In order to realize conflicting requests, scheduling is performed in the eleventh embodiment as follows.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of scheduling in the eleventh embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1401 denotes a user input detection process, and 1402 denotes a process relating to object relocation and learning. A period from one user input detection process 1401 to the next user input detection process 1401 is called a scheduling period.

In FIG. 15, the user input detection processing 14
01 is performed once, N objects are allocated and the grid vector is updated accordingly.
Is determined by using the following N ₁ , with the time elapsed since the last input by the user and α as a constant.

N ₁ = α · T N ₁ = α · log T (9) N ₁ = α · tan ⁻¹ T

In this example, as time elapses from the last input by the user, the frequency of the user input detection process 1401 is reduced, and the number N of objects to be rearranged and learned in one user input detection process 1401 is reduced. Increased. Incidentally, in practice for increasing the N ₁ to infinity As noted in equation (9) the user input detection process is no longer almost done, using defining the upper limit of N ₁ to a predetermined value. The initial value of the lower limit of N ₁ is used in the number of, for example, about 3 to 10. Therefore, N is maintained at a constant value of, for example, 3 to 10 when the user performs continuous input, increases gradually when the user stops performing input, and is maintained when the predetermined upper limit is reached. To change.

Further, when the objects are frequently rearranged, it is difficult for the user to perform the operation, and it is highly necessary to proceed with the rearrangement of the objects. Therefore, the expression (10) is used instead of the expression (9). N is determined using N ₂ of

N ₂ = α · X / Y N ₂ = α · log (X / Y) (10) N ₂ = α · tan ^-1 (X / Y) where X = the assignment destination in the previous operation. Number of objects whose grid has been changed Y = Total number of objects or X = Number of objects that have moved during the last one scheduling period Y = Number of objects that have been previously scheduled

Further, by combining the above two methods, the formula (1)
As shown in 1), N may be determined using N ₃ .

N ₃ = α · N ₁ · N ₂ N ₃ = α · log (N ₁ · N ₂ ) (11) N ₃ = α · tan ^-1 (N ₁ · N ₂ ) where N ₁ and N ₂ is determined by the above formula (9) and formula (1)
0).

As described above, according to the eleventh embodiment, it is possible to perform an appropriate process that satisfies both the requirements for the progress of object relocation and the user's operability.

Embodiment 12. The allocation / learning operation is repeated for each object and grid in a three-dimensional space in accordance with the scheduling as shown in FIG. In the twelfth embodiment, the priority of the operation of an object, a grid, or the like is propagated along with the change of the state in order to reflect the fact that the object whose state has been changed due to, for example, the need to operate subsequently increases. The order of processing for objects, grids, etc. is determined according to the changing priority.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing the features of the method of arranging, displaying, and operating objects according to the twelfth embodiment. In FIG.
C is a queue as a processing order determined by the scheduler S according to the priority, and Obj1 and Obj2 are queues C
, Lvec1 and Lvec2 are learning vectors in the queue C, Grid1 is a grid in the queue C, and numerical values in small horizontal circles are priorities.

The order of execution (scheduling) of the processing is determined by the scheduler S.
It is determined that the processing is executed in the descending order of priority among the types. 1 User input 2 Database input / output 3 Object 4 Grid 5 Learning vector Here, the learning vector is defined as a vector obtained by averaging the vectors of the objects arranged in the grid. The learning vector of the grid where no object is placed is a zero vector. FIG. 17 shows this conceptual diagram.

Among these, three examples, an object, a grid, and a learning vector, will be described. A vector and a priority are defined for each of the object, grid, and learning vector. Note that the vector of the learning vector indicates the learning vector itself.
The grid is fixedly arranged in the three-dimensional space, the learning vector is one for each grid, and the object moves around from grid to grid.

The behavior of each of the object, grid, and learning vector when scheduled and processed will be described below.

(1) Object-The object is arranged on the grid having the highest similarity. (A) When moving between grids: The priority of the learning vector of the grid before the movement and the learning vector of the grid after the movement are raised by a predetermined value (or a predetermined ratio, the same applies hereinafter), and the priority of the self is lowered by a predetermined value. -Recalculate the vector values of both learning vectors. (B) When staying on the grid and not moving ・ Lower its own priority.

(2) Learning vector • A vector obtained by multiplying the vector value of its own by a coefficient is added to the vector of the grid in which it is located and the grid in the vicinity thereof. -Raise the priority of the grid whose vector has been changed by a predetermined value and lower its priority by a predetermined value.

(3) Grid-The priority of the object placed in the user is raised by a predetermined value, and the priority of the object is lowered by a predetermined value.

When the object is moved by the user's input, the priority of the moved object is raised by a predetermined value, and the object performs the same operation as in (1) (a).

Thus, the change in the vector and the priority mainly caused by the movement of the object is transmitted to the relevant place. When the priority is changed in this way, the order in the queue C of the scheduler S shown in FIG. 16 is changed according to the changed priority, and the processing is performed in the order of the queue C. As an example, FIG. 18 shows an example of movement of the object A from Grid2 to Grid6 and priority propagation in subsequent processing. In the figure, arrows indicate the flow of priority propagation. In general, the higher the degree of the increase or decrease of the priority, the faster the processing proceeds, and the smaller the degree of the increase or decrease of the priority, the smoother the processing.

As described above, according to the twelfth embodiment, priorities are defined for objects, grids, learning vectors, and the like, and priorities are propagated in a predetermined manner at the time of processing for each. Since processing is performed in the order of, it is possible to preferentially perform processing on an object that needs to be processed in relation to a change, reduce processing for an object that requires little change, and perform the entire processing at high speed, High-speed object arrangement and rearrangement can be performed.

[0150]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the objects whose mutual similarities are defined are set in the three-dimensional space so as to satisfy the constraint that similar objects are arranged in the vicinity. The arrangement display step of disposing the object in the display means and displaying the same on the display means, the operation step of receiving the input of the operation of moving the display position of the object from the user and moving the object, And a rearrangement display step of rearranging the objects so as to satisfy the restriction that the objects are arranged in the vicinity and displaying the objects on the display means. A three-dimensional display with a high degree of freedom of expression enables presentation to the user, and allows the user to view objects of interest. It is possible to perform an operation to move the object to an arbitrary position, and the function of automatically gathering and presenting objects that are highly correlated with the moved object in the vicinity allows the user to organize the object according to his own intention In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to organize objects for each topic of interest. Also,
Due to the high degree of freedom of expression of the three-dimensional display, for example, an object with a high degree of interest of the user is displayed so as to appear large near the user, and an object with a low degree of interest of the user is displayed as small as far away from the user. This has the effect that it becomes possible.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, for each object, a standardized vector having a strength of association between the object and each keyword as an element is defined, and the vector is defined in a three-dimensional space. Define grids arranged in lattice points, define, for each grid, a standardized vector having the strength of association between the grid and each keyword as an element, and the similarity between the vectors. Is defined by a product or the like between the vectors, the object is arranged on a grid that maximizes the similarity between the vector of the object and the vector of the grid, and a predetermined multiple of the vector of the arranged object is arranged. Is added to the vector of the grid and a grid in the vicinity of the predetermined grid to perform normalization of each vector, and the above process is repeated for each object. The invention according to claim 1, wherein similar objects are arranged close to each other, so that a process of arranging similar objects close to each other by using a vector or the like corresponding to a keyword is appropriately performed numerically. There is an effect that the effect of can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the grid is configured to be provided in a simple cubic lattice, the effect of the second aspect can be obtained by numerical calculation using a simple model.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the similarity between grids is defined by the product between the vectors of each grid, and the like.
Since the grids are arranged so that the distance between grids with a large similarity is close, the distance between grids is also variable so that each object can be arranged more flexibly, such as reflecting the strength of association. There is an effect that becomes possible.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, an object having a high degree of interest of the user is arranged near the user, and an object having a low degree of interest of the user is arranged far from the user. Objects with high interest appear large near the user, and objects with low interest appear small, far away from the user. There is an effect that it is possible to arrange objects and the like according to. Further, unlike the conventional two-dimensional display, in displaying the self-organizing map, it is possible to separate the structure based on the relationship between the user's interest and the topic and to present an effective object set. .

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, an interest level input step of receiving an input of a degree of interest in an object from a user, and, according to the input in the interest level input step, an object having a high degree of interest of the user near the user. In the interest level arranging step of arranging an object having a low degree of interest of the user far from the user, and by arranging the objects in the interest level arranging step, the similarity of objects is arranged to be close to each other. And a rearrangement display step of rearranging the objects and displaying the objects on the display means. It can be collected in an area far from the user and follows the concept intended by the user. There is an effect that it is possible to organize, etc. of the object.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a co-ordinate relationship is arranged in the left-right and depth directions so that objects having a hierarchical relationship in the vertical direction are arranged. Since the objects arranged in the three-dimensional space are arranged and displayed on the display means so that the objects having the positional relationship are arranged, the objects spread in the three-dimensional space by the display matching the hierarchical / coordinate relationship. Has the effect that it is possible to present a set of

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, an object is designated by a user, and only objects whose number of links from the object is equal to or less than a certain value are arranged and displayed. Display that is limited to only objects and links that are closely related to the specified object in an organized and easy-to-understand state, and that the system can reduce the calculation required for display. There is.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when the object is designated by the user, the total value of the numerical values assigned to the links to be smaller in accordance with the closeness of the relation to the links with respect to the links traced from the objects is a predetermined value. Since only the following objects are arranged and displayed, only the objects and links that are closely related to the object specified by the user are presented in an organized and easy-to-understand state. And the system can reduce the calculation required for display.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the display position of the object or the input of the moving operation is received from the user, and the object is displayed at the position in the three-dimensional space according to the input. There is an effect that it is possible to additionally arrange objects according to the intention.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, when arranging an object on a grid, the constraint that the greater the degree of similarity between the grid and the vector of the object is, the closer the object is to the grid, and the hierarchy between the objects. Since it is configured to have a constraint that objects are placed close to each other according to the closeness of relations or coordination relations, it is necessary to present to the user a relation that satisfies both the similarity of objects and the constraints of both hierarchical and coordination relations. There is an effect that can be.

According to the twelfth aspect, according to the first aspect,
And switching between the object arrangement / display / operation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10 and the object arrangement / display / operation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10. With such a configuration, there is an effect that an object set arranged according to the similarity between objects and an object set arranged according to a hierarchical / coordinate relationship can be switched and presented to the user.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, at the time of switching, the coordinate values of each object at predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space are stored and the respective objects are arranged. This has the effect of facilitating object recognition.

According to the fourteenth aspect, at the time of switching, the coordinate values of each object at two predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space are stored and the respective objects are arranged. This has the effect of making it easier to recognize objects before and after.

According to the fifteenth aspect, the fifth aspect is provided.
Alternatively, the object arrangement / display / operation method according to claim 6 and the object arrangement / display / operation method according to any one of claims 7 to 10 are switched and performed. Since the configuration is such that the distance of each object from the user in the dimensional space is stored and the respective objects are arranged, it is possible to maintain the display in which the objects are arranged far and near according to the degree of interest of the user before and after switching. is there.

According to the sixteenth aspect, an object whose similarity with all other objects in the three-dimensional space is equal to or smaller than a predetermined reference value is deleted from the three-dimensional space. It is possible to delete an object far from the interest of interest from the three-dimensional space to facilitate concentration on the object of interest, and to reduce a load of calculation processing for rearrangement and display.

According to the seventeenth aspect, all other objects in the three-dimensional space and / or objects whose vector similarity with the grid is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value are deleted from the three-dimensional space. With this configuration, objects far away from the user's interest can be deleted from the three-dimensional space so that the user can easily concentrate on the object of interest, and also reduce the load of calculation processing related to rearrangement and display. There is an effect that can be.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, a database device that automatically generates a retrieval formula using objects and / or grid vectors arranged in a three-dimensional space and holds a large number of objects as retrieval targets. Is used to search for an object by the search formula, and the searched object is arranged in a three-dimensional space.
From the huge number of objects stored in the database by automatically generating a search formula from the display in the dimensional space,
There is an effect that an object can be searched and taken into a three-dimensional space. Therefore, due to the position operation of the user's object and the existence of the relocation function based on the similarity, the automatic operation is performed automatically by the user's intuitive operation such as arranging a similar object nearby and an object of interest near the user. This has the effect of enabling search.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, a search formula is automatically generated using objects and / or grid vectors arranged in a three-dimensional space in accordance with the degree of interest of the user, and a large number of objects are obtained. An object is searched by the search formula using a database device that holds a search object as a search target, and the searched object is arranged in a three-dimensional space. It is possible to automatically retrieve an appropriate number of document objects or document objects whose user's interest is of a specific strength by searching, import them into a three-dimensional space, and use them. is there.

According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, the search formula is automatically generated by preferentially using the objects and / or grid vectors arranged near the user. There is an effect that it is possible to automatically retrieve an appropriate number of document objects strongly related to a topic with a high degree of retrieval by retrieval, take them into a three-dimensional space, and use them.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, since a search formula is automatically generated by preferentially using a grid vector having a large number of arranged objects, a huge amount of data stored in a database is obtained. There is an effect that it is possible to efficiently collect an appropriate number of objects close to the user's interest from among the number of objects, take them into the three-dimensional space, and use them.

According to the invention of claim 22, since the retrieval formula is automatically generated by preferentially using a grid vector in which the number of arranged objects is small, a huge amount of data stored in the database is stored. From the number of objects, there is an effect that it is possible to efficiently collect objects related to topics in a region where there is no object present in the three-dimensional space, take them into the three-dimensional space, and use them.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, a vector of a grid having a large number of placed objects or a grid of a grid having a small number of placed objects is preferentially used and placed near a user. Since the retrieval formula is automatically generated by preferentially using the object and / or grid vector, an effect obtained by combining the invention of claim 21 or claim 22 with the invention of claim 20 is obtained. There is an effect that can be.

According to the twenty-fourth aspect, when the detection process of the user input and the rearrangement of the objects are sequentially performed, the number of objects to be rearranged for one detection process is determined by the user. Since it is configured to increase as the time from the last input elapses, appropriate processing according to the time from the last input of the user requires both the progress of object relocation and the user's operability. There is an effect that it is possible to perform appropriate processing satisfying both.

According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, when the detection processing of the user's input and the rearrangement of the objects are sequentially performed, the number of objects to be rearranged for one detection processing is determined by the number of the objects. Since the configuration is configured to increase as the arrangement change frequency increases, appropriate processing that satisfies both requirements for both the progress of object relocation and user operability by appropriate processing according to the change frequency of object arrangement There is an effect that can be performed.

According to the twenty-sixth aspect, when the user input detection processing and the object rearrangement are performed sequentially, the number of objects to be rearranged for one detection processing is determined by the user. As the time from the last input elapses and the frequency of change in the arrangement of the objects is increased, the number is increased, so that an effect obtained by combining the invention of claim 24 and the invention of claim 25 is obtained. There is an effect that can be.

According to the twenty-seventh aspect, the priority is defined for each of the object and the grid, and the priority is propagated by raising and lowering the priority in accordance with a predetermined procedure at the time of processing the respective objects. Since the processing is performed for each of the priorities in order of priority, it is possible to preferentially perform processing on an object that needs to be processed in relation to a change, and reduce processing for an object that requires little change to achieve high speed. There is an effect that the entire processing can be performed and high-speed object arrangement and rearrangement can be performed.

According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, a learning vector is defined for each grid as an average vector of an object vector arranged in the grid, and the priority is assigned to each of the object, grid, learning vector, and the like. Is defined, and the priority is raised and lowered in accordance with a predetermined procedure at the time of processing for each, the priority is propagated, and the processing for each is performed in the order of this priority. Processing can be preferentially performed on a target that is less likely to need to be changed, the entire processing can be performed at high speed, and the arrangement and relocation of objects can be performed at high speed. .

According to the twenty-ninth aspect, when an object is moved by a user's input, the priority of the object is increased by a predetermined value, so that the priority is propagated and processing according to the priority is performed. Can be performed more appropriately, and there is an effect that high-speed object arrangement and rearrangement can be performed more appropriately.

According to the thirtieth aspect, a display means for displaying an arrangement in a three-dimensional space of objects in which the degrees of similarity are defined, and an input of a moving operation of the display position of the object is received from a user. The operation means for moving the object and the object are arranged in the three-dimensional space so as to satisfy the constraint that similar objects are arranged close to each other, and the operation means moves the object by a user operation. In such a case, the apparatus is configured to include an arrangement unit that rearranges the objects according to the constraint, so that a set of objects arranged in the vicinity according to the similarity is displayed to the user by a three-dimensional display with a high degree of freedom of expression on the display unit. It allows the user to present the object of interest in any position. It is possible to perform an operation of moving the object through the operation means, and by a function in which objects having a high correlation with the moved object are automatically gathered and presented in the vicinity, the user can arrange the objects according to his own intention, There is an effect that it becomes possible to organize objects for each topic of interest. Also, due to the high degree of freedom of expression of the three-dimensional display, for example, an object with a high degree of interest of the user looks large near the user, and an object with a low degree of interest of the user looks small near the user. There is an effect that display can be performed.

According to the thirty-first aspect of the present invention, the arranging means includes a standardized vector defined for each object using the strength of association between the object and each keyword as an element, in a three-dimensional space. Are defined by grids arranged in grid points, a standardized vector defined for each grid with the strength of association between the grid and each keyword as an element, and a product between the vectors, etc. Using the degree of similarity, an object is arranged on a grid such that the degree of similarity between the vector of the object and the vector of the grid is maximized, and a predetermined multiple of the vector of the arranged object is set to a predetermined value near the grid and its predetermined neighborhood. A process is performed for normalizing each vector by adding to the vector of the grid, and the above process is repeated for each object to obtain a similar object. 31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the objects are arranged close to each other, so that the arrangement means appropriately numerically performs a process of arranging similar objects close to each other by using a vector or the like corresponding to the keyword. There is an effect that can obtain the effect.

According to the thirty-second aspect of the present invention, the arranging means is configured to arrange an object having a high degree of interest of the user near the user and an object having a low degree of interest of the user far from the user. An object intuitively matching the user's level of interest, in which objects with a high degree of user interest appear large near the user and objects with a low level of interest appear small far away from the user. Thus, there is an effect that it becomes possible for the user to arrange the objects as intended. Further, unlike the conventional two-dimensional display, in displaying the self-organizing map, it is possible to separate the structure based on the relationship between the user's interest and the topic and to present an effective object set. .

According to the thirty-third aspect of the present invention, since the apparatus is provided with the interest level input means for receiving the input of the degree of interest in the object from the user, the user sequentially inputs the interest level to the object from the interest level input means. Objects that are similar to objects with a high degree of interest can be collected in areas near the user, and objects that are not are collected in areas far away from the user, so that objects can be organized according to the concept intended by the user. And the like.

According to the thirty-fourth aspect, with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a co-ordinate relationship, objects having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction are arranged in the left-right and depth directions. An arrangement unit for arranging the objects in a three-dimensional space so that the objects having a positional relationship are arranged; and a display unit for displaying the arranged objects, wherein the arrangement unit is configured to perform an operation from an object designated by a user. Is arranged so that only objects having a certain number of links or less can be presented to the user, and a set of objects spreading in a three-dimensional space can be presented to the user by a display that matches the hierarchy / coordinate relationship.
Display limited to only objects and links that are closely related to the object that the user has specified with interest,
There is an effect that the arrangement can be presented in an organized and easy-to-understand state, and the arrangement calculation required by the arrangement means can be reduced.

According to the thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a co-ordinate relationship is arranged in the left-right and depth directions so that objects having a hierarchical relationship are arranged vertically. Arranging means for arranging the objects in a three-dimensional space so that the objects having the positional relationship are arranged; and display means for displaying the arranged objects. Of the numbers assigned to be smaller according to
Since only objects whose total value for links traversed from objects designated by the user is equal to or less than a predetermined value are arranged, a set of objects spreading in a three-dimensional space by a display that matches a hierarchical / coordinate relationship can be displayed by the user. In this case, it is possible to present a display limited to only objects and links that are closely related to the object that the user is interested in and specified in an organized and easy-to-understand state, There is an effect that the arrangement calculation required by the arrangement means can be reduced.

According to the thirty-sixth aspect, the arranging means is configured to receive an input of a display position or an operation of moving an object from a user, and to arrange the object at a position in a three-dimensional space according to the input. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to additionally arrange objects according to the user's intention.

According to the thirty-seventh aspect, the third aspect is provided.
An object arrangement / display / operation device according to any one of claims 0 to 33, and an object arrangement / display / operation device according to any one of claims 34 to 36. It is configured to switch between the placement of objects in
There is an effect that an object set arranged according to the degree of similarity between objects and an object set arranged according to a hierarchical / coordinate relationship can be switched and presented to the user.

According to the thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention, at the time of switching, each object is arranged by storing the coordinate values of each object at predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space. This has the effect of facilitating object recognition.

According to the thirty-ninth aspect of the present invention, a search formula generating means for automatically generating a search formula from an object and / or a grid vector arranged in a three-dimensional space, and a large number of objects are held as search targets. Search processing means for performing a process of searching for an object by the search formula using a database device that performs the search, and the arranging means is configured to arrange the object searched by the search processing means in a three-dimensional space. The search formula generation means automatically generates a search formula from the display in the three-dimensional space without setting complicated keywords, and the search processing means selects the object from a huge number of objects stored in the database. To retrieve and automatically import into the three-dimensional space, the presence of an arrangement means and an operation means for performing rearrangement based on similarity , Close to a similar object, also, there is an automatic search it is possible to effect by the intuitive operation of the user, such as placing the things you are interested in the vicinity of their own.

[0189] According to the forty-fourth aspect, the arranging means uses the priorities defined for each of the object, the grid, and the like, and raises and lowers the priorities according to a predetermined procedure at the time of processing each of them. So that processing is performed on each of them in the order of priority.
The allocating means can preferentially perform processing on an object that needs to be processed in connection with the change, reduce processing for an object that requires little change, perform the entire processing at high speed,
There is an effect that high-speed object arrangement and rearrangement can be performed.

According to the forty-first aspect of the present invention, the arranging means includes a learning vector defined in each grid as an average vector of an object vector arranged in the grid, and an object, grid, learning vector, and the like. Using the defined priorities, when processing each of them, the priority is raised and lowered according to a predetermined procedure to propagate the priority, and the processing is performed on each of the priorities in this order. It is possible to preferentially perform processing on objects that need to be processed in relation to changes, reduce processing for objects that do not need to change much, perform overall processing at high speed, and arrange and relocate objects at high speed. There are effects that can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a display state of an object by an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an object arrangement / display / operation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an arrangement of a grid according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a rearranged state of an object when a position of the object is changed by a user operation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of grid arrangement in an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for arranging objects in an object arranging, displaying, and operating method according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a method for arranging, displaying, and operating objects in an object arranging, displaying, and operating device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a method for arranging objects in an object arrangement / display / operation device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a method of arranging another object in the object arranging / displaying / operating device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a method for arranging objects in an object arrangement / display / operation device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of another object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of another object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of an object arrangement / display / operation method using an object arrangement / display / operation device according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of scheduling in an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing characteristics of an object arrangement / display / operation method according to Embodiment 12 of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram of an object, a grid, and a learning vector in an object arrangement / display / operation method according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of movement of an object between grids and priority propagation in subsequent processing according to the twelfth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 701, 7
04,706,902,1001,1101,120
1, Obj1, Obj2, A object, 102,
601, 1002, 1003, 1102, 1103, 1
202, 12033 dimensional space, 103 placement means, 10
4 display means, 105 operation means, 301, 401, 5
01,901, Grid1 grid, 602 user, 602a Interest level input means, 702, 703, 70
5,707 links, 903,904 constraints, 1301
Document database (database device) 1302
Object arrangement / display / operation device, 1302a search formula generation means, 1302b search processing means, 1303 search formula, 1304 document object (object),
Lvec1, Lvec2 Learning vector.

Claims (41)

[Claims] An arrangement display step of arranging objects in which a degree of similarity is defined in a three-dimensional space so as to satisfy a constraint that similar objects are arranged close to each other and displaying the objects on a display means; An operation step of receiving an input of a movement operation of the display position of the object from the user and moving the object, and an object that satisfies a constraint that similar objects are arranged close to each other with the movement of the object in the operation step. And a rearrangement display step of rearranging and displaying on a display means using a three-dimensional space. 2. For each object, a standardized vector having a strength of association between the object and each keyword as an element is defined, and a grid arranged in a three-dimensional space in a grid point manner. For each grid, define a standardized vector having the strength of association between the grid and each keyword as an element, and determine the magnitude of similarity between the vectors between the vectors. The object is arranged on a grid such that the similarity between the vector of the object and the vector of the grid is maximized, and a predetermined multiple of the vector of the arranged object is defined by the grid and its predetermined neighborhood. By performing the process of normalizing each vector by adding it to the grid vector of the same object, and repeating the above process for each object, similar objects Object placement, display and operation method using the three-dimensional space according to claim 1, wherein placing the each other in the vicinity. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the grid is provided in a simple cubic grid. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein a similarity between grids is defined by a product between vectors of each grid, and the grids are arranged so that a distance between grids having a large similarity is short. Object placement, display and operation method using three-dimensional space. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein an object having a high degree of interest of the user is located near the user, and an object having a low degree of interest of the user is located far from the user. Object placement / display / operation method using the three-dimensional space described in the item. 6. An interest level input step of receiving an input of an interest level of an object from a user, and, according to the input in the interest level input step, an object having a high interest level of the user is located near the user and a low interest level of the user is low. A degree of interest arranging step of arranging the object far from the user; and, according to the arrangement of the objects in the degree of interest arranging step, rearranging the objects so as to satisfy a constraint that similar objects are arranged in the vicinity of each other. 6. A method for arranging, displaying, and operating objects using a three-dimensional space according to claim 5, further comprising: 7. An object having a coordinate relationship in the left, right, and depth directions is arranged such that objects having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction are arranged with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a coordinate relationship. 3
An object arrangement / display / operation method using a three-dimensional space in which objects are arranged in a three-dimensional space and displayed on a display means. 8. When an object is specified by a user,
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein only objects having a number of links from the object equal to or less than a predetermined value are arranged and displayed.
An object arrangement, display, and operation method using the described three-dimensional space. 9. Receiving an object designation from a user,
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein only objects for which the total value of the numerical values allocated to the links following the links is smaller than a predetermined value with respect to the links traced from the objects are arranged and displayed. Object placement / display / operation method using three-dimensional space. 10. The three-dimensional object according to claim 8, wherein an input of a display position or a movement operation of the object is received from a user, and the object is displayed at a position in a three-dimensional space according to the input. Object placement, display and operation method using space. 11. When arranging an object on a grid, a constraint that the object is arranged closer to the grid as the similarity between the grid and the vector of the object is larger, and a closeness of a hierarchical relation or a coordination relation between the objects. 3. The method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space according to claim 2, further comprising a restriction that the object is arranged close to the object according to the following. 12. An object arrangement / display / operation method according to claim 1, and an object arrangement / display according to any one of claims 7 to 10. An object arrangement / display / operation method using a three-dimensional space, which is performed by switching the operation method. 13. The object arrangement using a three-dimensional space according to claim 12, wherein at the time of switching, the object is arranged by storing coordinate values of each object at predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space. -Display and operation method. 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, at the time of switching, each object is arranged by storing coordinate values of each object at predetermined two coordinates in a three-dimensional space.
Object placement / display using 3D space described in 3.
Method of operation. 15. The method for arranging, displaying, and operating objects according to claim 5 or claim 6, and claim 7 to claim 1.
0, by switching between the object arrangement, display, and operation methods described in any one of 0, and when switching, arranging the respective objects by saving the distance of each object from the user in a three-dimensional space. 13. The method for arranging, displaying and operating objects using a three-dimensional space according to claim 12, wherein: 16. An object according to claim 1, wherein an object whose similarity with all other objects in the three-dimensional space is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value is deleted from the three-dimensional space. An object arrangement, display, and operation method using a three-dimensional space according to any one of the preceding claims. 17. The method according to claim 2, wherein all objects in the three-dimensional space and / or objects whose vector similarity with the grid is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value are deleted from the three-dimensional space. An object arrangement using the three-dimensional space according to claim 6.
Display and operation method. 18. A search formula is automatically generated using an object and / or a grid vector arranged in a three-dimensional space, and an object is generated by the search formula using a database device that holds a large number of objects as search targets. 7. The object arrangement / display / operation using the three-dimensional space according to claim 2, wherein the object is located in a three-dimensional space. Method. 19. A search using objects and / or grid vectors arranged in a three-dimensional space in accordance with the degree of interest of a user according to the object arrangement, display and operation method according to claim 5 or 6. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein an expression is automatically generated, an object is searched by the search expression using a database device that holds a large number of objects as search targets, and the searched object is arranged in a three-dimensional space. An object arrangement, display, and operation method using the described three-dimensional space. 20. An object arrangement using a three-dimensional space according to claim 19, wherein a search expression is automatically generated by preferentially using an object and / or a grid vector arranged near the user. -Display and operation method. 21. The object arrangement / display / operation using a three-dimensional space according to claim 18, wherein a retrieval formula is automatically generated by preferentially using a grid vector having a large number of arranged objects. Method. 22. The object arrangement / display / operation using a three-dimensional space according to claim 18, wherein a search expression is automatically generated by preferentially using a grid vector having a small number of arranged objects. Method. 23. The three-dimensional search method according to claim 20, wherein a search formula is automatically generated by preferentially using a vector of a grid having a large number of placed objects or a grid having a small number of placed objects. Object placement, display and operation method using space. 24. When sequentially performing a user input detection process and an object rearrangement, the number of objects to be rearranged for one detection process is determined by elapse of time since the user's last input. 24. The method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space according to claim 1, wherein the method increases the number of the objects. 25. When sequentially performing a user input detection process and an object rearrangement, the number of objects to be rearranged for one detection process increases as the frequency of changing the object arrangement increases. The method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space according to any one of claims 1 to 6, or 12 to 23. 26. When sequentially performing a user input detection process and an object rearrangement, the number of objects to be rearranged for one detection process is determined by elapse of time from the last input by the user. And increasing as the frequency of changing the arrangement of the objects increases.
3. The method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space according to any one of 3. 27. A priority is defined for each of an object, a grid, and the like, and priorities are raised and lowered according to the following procedure at the time of processing on each of them, and processing is performed on each of them in the order of the priority. Any one of claims 2 to 6 or claims 12 to 23
Object placement / display using 3D space described in section
Method of operation. (A) When the object moves, the priority of the grid before the movement and the vicinity thereof and / or the priority of the grid after the movement and the vicinity of the grid are raised by a predetermined value to raise the priority of the object itself. If the user does not move by a predetermined value and does not move, the own priority is lowered by a predetermined value. (B) The grid raises the priority of an object placed therein by a predetermined value and lowers the priority of the grid by a predetermined value. 28. For each grid, define a learning vector as an average vector of the vectors of the objects arranged in the grid, define a priority for each of the object, the grid, the learning vector, etc., and perform processing for each. 13. In this case, the priority is raised or lowered according to the following procedure, and processing is performed for each of the priorities in the order of the priority.
24. The method for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space according to claim 1. (A) When the object moves, the priority of the learning vector of the grid before the movement and the priority of the learning vector of the grid after the movement are raised by a predetermined value, and the priority of the object is lowered by a predetermined value. Lower the priority by a predetermined value. (B) The learning vector raises the priority of the grid on which the learning vector is located and the grid in the vicinity thereof by a predetermined value, and lowers the priority of the learning vector by a predetermined value. (C) The grid raises the priority of an object placed therein by a predetermined value and lowers its priority by a predetermined value. 29. The object arrangement / display / display using a three-dimensional space according to claim 27, wherein when the object is moved by a user input, the priority of the object is increased by a predetermined value. Method of operation. 30. A display unit for displaying an arrangement of objects in which a degree of similarity is defined in a three-dimensional space, an operation unit for receiving an input of a movement operation of a display position of an object from a user and moving the object. An object is arranged in the three-dimensional space so as to satisfy a constraint that similar objects are arranged in the vicinity, and when the object is moved by a user operation in the operation means, the object is obeyed according to the constraint. An object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space, comprising: an arrangement means for rearranging objects. 31. An arrangement means, wherein a standardized vector defined for each object using the strength of association between the object and each keyword as an element is arranged in a grid point shape in a three-dimensional space. Grid, the standardized vector defined for each grid as the strength of the relevance of the grid and each keyword, and the similarity defined by the product between the vectors and the like, the object,
The vector of the object and the vector of the grid are arranged in a grid such that the similarity is maximized, and a predetermined multiple of the vector of the arranged object is added to the grid and a vector of a predetermined nearby grid. 31. The object arrangement and method using a three-dimensional space according to claim 30, wherein a process of performing vector normalization is performed, and the same process is repeated for each object so that similar objects are arranged close to each other. Display and operation device. 32. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the arranging means arranges an object having a high degree of interest of the user near the user and an object having a low degree of interest of the user far from the user. Object arrangement / display / operation device using three-dimensional space. 33. The apparatus for arranging, displaying, and operating an object using a three-dimensional space according to claim 32, further comprising an interest degree input means for receiving an input of the degree of interest in the object from a user. 34. An object having a coordinate relationship in the left, right, and depth directions is arranged such that an object having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction is arranged with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a coordinate relationship. To be,
An arrangement means for arranging objects in a three-dimensional space, and a display means for displaying the arranged objects, wherein the arrangement means arranges only objects whose number of links from an object designated by a user is equal to or less than a certain number. An object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space characterized by the following. 35. An object having a coordinate relationship in the left, right, and depth directions is arranged such that objects having a hierarchical relationship in a vertical direction are arranged with respect to a set of objects having a hierarchical relationship and a coordinate relationship. To be,
The apparatus includes an arrangement unit for arranging objects in a three-dimensional space, and a display unit for displaying the arranged objects, wherein the arrangement unit has a numerical value assigned by the user to be smaller in accordance with the closeness of relation to the link. 3. The method according to claim 3, wherein only objects whose total value for the link traced from the designated object is equal to or less than a predetermined value are arranged.
Object placement / display / operation device using dimensional space. 36. The arrangement means according to claim 34, wherein the arrangement means receives an input of a display position or a movement operation of the object from a user, and arranges the object at a position in a three-dimensional space according to the input. An object arrangement / display / operation device using the described three-dimensional space. 37. An object arrangement in the object arrangement / display / operation device according to any one of claims 30 to 33;
7. An object arrangement / display / operation apparatus using a three-dimensional space, wherein the object arrangement / display / operation apparatus according to any one of 6 is switched to perform object arrangement. 38. The object arrangement using a three-dimensional space according to claim 37, wherein at the time of switching, the object is arranged by storing coordinate values of each object at predetermined coordinates in the three-dimensional space. -Display and operation method. 39. A search formula generating means for automatically generating a search formula from objects and / or grid vectors arranged in a three-dimensional space, and the search using a database device holding a large number of objects as search targets. 34. A search processing means for performing a process of searching for an object by an expression, wherein the arranging means arranges the object searched by the search processing means in a three-dimensional space. 3 described in any one of the above
Object placement / display / operation device using dimensional space. 40. The arranging means uses the priorities defined for each of an object, a grid, and the like, and raises and lowers the priorities according to the following procedure when processing each of them, and performs processing for each of the priorities in the order of the priority. The object arrangement / display / operation apparatus using a three-dimensional space according to any one of claims 31 to 33 or 37 to 39, wherein the apparatus performs the operation. (A) When the object moves, the priority of the grid before the movement and the vicinity of the grid and / or the priority of the grid after the movement and the vicinity of the grid are raised by a predetermined value to raise the priority of the object. If the user does not move by a predetermined value and does not move, the own priority is lowered by a predetermined value. (B) The grid raises the priority of an object placed therein by a predetermined value and lowers the priority of the grid by a predetermined value. 41. The arranging means uses a learning vector defined in each grid as an average vector of an object vector arranged in the grid, and a priority defined in each of the object, grid, learning vector, and the like, 41. The processing according to claim 31, wherein the priority is raised or lowered according to the following procedure at the time of processing on each of them, and the processing is performed on each of them in the order of priority. An object arrangement / display / operation device using a three-dimensional space according to any one of the preceding claims. (A) When the object moves, the priority of the learning vector of the grid before the movement and the priority of the learning vector of the grid after the movement are raised by a predetermined value, and the priority of the object is lowered by a predetermined value. Lower the priority by a predetermined value. (B) The learning vector raises the priority of the grid on which the learning vector is located and the grid in the vicinity thereof by a predetermined value, and lowers the priority of the learning vector by a predetermined value. (C) The grid raises the priority of an object placed therein by a predetermined value and lowers its priority by a predetermined value.