JPH11338887A - Retrieval device, its method and program recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display an object by emphasis in accordance with a similarity degree and to easily grasp to which degree the similarity degree is set when candidate objects are narrowed by a next time retrieval in order to obtain the proper candidate object without trial-and-error. SOLUTION: A controller 11 ambiguously retrieve picture data of a hard disk device 16 based on a setting keyword from a keyboard 13 and an ambiguous degree (x). The controller 11 divides the similarity degree of the candidate pictures obtained in the result of an ambiguous retrieval into three groups, the candidate pictures of the group with the highest similarity degree are displayed on a display 12 by 100% normal display density, the candidate pictures of the group with an intermediate similarity degree are displayed by 60% and the candidate pictures of the group with the lowest degree are displayed by 40% display density. Therefore, it is easily grasped to which degree the ambiguous degree in the case of narrowing the candidate pictures next time is set in order to obtain the proper number of candidate pictures without trial-and- error.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a search device for searching for an object stored in a storage unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the rapid spread of computers in recent years, the amount of electronic information handled by people has rapidly increased. In order to efficiently manage such electronic information, a database in which a large number of electronic information is registered is created, and desired electronic information can be searched from this database as needed.

An apparatus for performing such a search is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-114573. In the device described in the above publication, a search key (keyword) as attribute information is added to an image as an object and stored, and an image having a search key that matches a search key input as a search condition is stored. Extracted and displayed as search results. Here, this apparatus displays the plurality of extracted images in descending order of similarity with the search condition. This similarity is, specifically, a function of a rank correlation between a rank of a search key as a search condition ranked in the input order and a rank indicating a rank of a search key added to each image. Obtained by calculation.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional image search apparatus, search images are displayed in descending order of similarity between the attribute information of the image and the input search condition.
It can be said that the image intended by the user is displayed at the top. However, in the above-described conventional image search device, since the similarity of images is not specified, if there are many candidate images, the target image cannot be narrowed down by one search process. Therefore, the next search processing is performed by increasing the threshold value of the similarity when determining the candidate image.

However, as described above, since the similarity of the displayed image is not specified, it is difficult to know how much the threshold should be set next to efficiently narrow down the candidate images. Absent. Therefore, the user must set an appropriate threshold, and if many candidate images with high similarity are registered, the search process must be repeated many times in a dark cloud, and efficient image search can be performed. There is a problem that can not be done.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to highlight an object in accordance with the degree of similarity even if the similarity width is too large. It is an object of the present invention to provide a search device, a search method, and a program recording medium that can easily grasp whether an appropriate candidate object can be obtained by setting a degree of ambiguity without trial and error.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an object is stored in a storage unit together with attribute information, and based on setting attribute information set from an input unit. In a search device for searching for a candidate object by a search processing unit, a similarity determination unit configured to determine a similarity between attribute information added to the candidate object obtained by the search processing unit and the set attribute information; A display mode setting unit configured to set a display mode of the candidate object based on the similarity based on a determination result by the degree determining unit; and a display unit configured to display each candidate object in the display mode set by the display mode setting unit. It is characterized by having.

According to the above configuration, the similarity determination unit determines the similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object and the set attribute information, and the display mode setting unit determines the similarity according to the similarity. Set the display mode of the candidate object. Then, the display unit highlights similar objects in a display mode corresponding to the degree of similarity. Therefore, the similarity of the candidate objects can be known at a glance, and the distribution of the candidate objects for each similarity can be known at a glance. As described above, since the candidate objects are highlighted according to the similarity, a desired object can be quickly found even when a large number of candidate objects are displayed at random. Further, as described above, the distribution of the similarities of the candidate objects for each degree of similarity can be understood at a glance. Therefore, when there are too many candidate objects obtained by one search processing, when the candidate objects are narrowed down by the next search, it becomes vague. It is possible to easily understand without setting the degree by which the appropriate number of candidate objects can be obtained without trial and error. Furthermore, if the candidate object is sorted by other attribute information,
Only the display position of each candidate object is changed, and the display form is not changed by the above sorting. Therefore,
According to the present invention, the similarity between the set attribute information and the attribute information added to the candidate object can be recognized at a glance even after sorting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the search device, the object is stored in the storage unit, and the search processing unit searches for the candidate object based on the setting object set from the input unit. A similarity determination unit configured to determine a similarity between the candidate object obtained by the processing unit and the setting object; and a display mode of the candidate object set according to the similarity based on a determination result by the similarity determination unit. And a display unit that displays each candidate object in the display mode set by the display mode setting unit.

According to the above configuration, the similarity determination unit determines the similarity between the candidate object and the setting object, and the display mode setting unit sets the display mode of the candidate object according to the similarity. . Then, similar objects are highlighted on the display unit in a display mode corresponding to the similarity. Therefore, the similarity of the candidate objects can be known at a glance, and the distribution of the candidate objects for each similarity can be known at a glance. As described above, since the candidate objects are highlighted according to the similarity, a desired object can be quickly found even when a large number of candidate objects are displayed at random. Further, as described above, the distribution of the similarities of the candidate objects can be understood at a glance, so that when the number of the candidate objects is too large, an appropriate number of similarities are set when the candidate objects are narrowed down by the next search. Can be easily grasped without trial and error whether or not the candidate object can be obtained. Furthermore, even if the candidate objects are sorted by other attribute information, only the display position of each candidate object is changed, and the display form is not changed by the sorting. Therefore, according to the present invention, the similarity between the set attribute information and the attribute information added to the candidate object can be recognized at a glance even after sorting.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the search device according to the first or second aspect, a similarity storage unit for storing a similarity between attribute information or between objects is provided. The degree determination unit is characterized in that the determination is performed with reference to the similarity between attribute information or between objects stored in the similarity storage unit.

According to the above configuration, the determination of the similarity by the similarity determination unit is easily performed by referring to the similarity storage unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the retrieval device according to the first or second aspect, the display mode set by the display mode setting section is a display density, and the display processing section includes It is characterized in that candidate objects are displayed at the display density set by the display mode setting unit.

According to the above configuration, the similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object and the setting attribute information, or the similarity between the candidate object and the setting object can be determined at a glance by the density of the displayed candidate object. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the search device according to the first or second aspect, the display mode set by the display mode setting section is a thickness of a display frame, and the display processing section Is characterized in that the display frame of the candidate object is displayed with the thickness of the display frame set by the display mode setting unit.

According to the above configuration, the similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object and the set attribute information or the similarity between the candidate object and the set object is displayed by the display processing unit. You can tell at a glance by the thickness of the frame.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the search method for storing an object in a storage unit together with attribute information and searching for a candidate object based on the set attribute information set from the input unit, A first step of determining a similarity between the attribute information added to the obtained candidate object and the setting attribute information; and a display mode of the candidate object based on the determination result of the first step. It is characterized by comprising a second step of setting according to the above and a third step of displaying each candidate object in the display form set in the second step.

According to the above configuration, the candidate objects searched based on the set attribute information are highlighted according to the similarity. Therefore, even if a large number of candidate objects are displayed at random, the similarity of the candidate objects can be seen at a glance. At a glance, the distribution of the candidate objects for each similarity can be understood at a glance.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search method for storing an object in a storage unit and searching for a candidate object based on a setting object set from an input unit. A first step of determining the degree of similarity between the object and the setting object; a second step of setting a display mode of the candidate object based on the determination result of the first step in accordance with the degree of similarity; It is characterized by comprising a third step of displaying each candidate object in the display mode set in the step.

According to the above configuration, the candidate objects searched based on the setting object are highlighted according to the similarity. Therefore, even if a large number of candidate objects are displayed at random, the similarity of the candidate objects can be recognized at a glance. In addition, the distribution of the similarities of the candidate objects for each similarity can be understood at a glance.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program recording medium for causing a computer to determine a similarity between attribute information of a candidate object retrieved based on setting attribute information and the setting attribute information. Display form setting means for setting a display form of the candidate object according to the similarity based on a result of determination by the similarity determination means, and displaying each candidate object in the display form set by the display form setting means It is characterized in that a search program for functioning as a display means is recorded.

According to the above configuration, similarly to the first aspect, the candidate objects searched based on the set attribute information are highlighted according to the similarity, so that many candidate objects are displayed at random. Even at a glance, the similarity of the candidate objects can be understood at a glance, and the distribution of each similarity of the candidate objects can be understood at a glance.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the program recording medium, wherein the computer is configured to determine a similarity between the candidate object retrieved based on the setting object and the setting object, and the similarity determination. A display mode setting unit configured to set a display mode of the candidate object based on the similarity based on a determination result by the unit; and a display processing unit configured to display each candidate object in the display mode set by the display mode setting unit. It is characterized in that a search program for causing a search is recorded.

According to the above configuration, the candidate objects retrieved based on the setting object are highlighted according to the degree of similarity, similarly to the invention according to claim 2, so that many candidate objects are displayed at random. Also, the similarity of the candidate objects can be understood at a glance, and the distribution of each similarity of the candidate objects can be understood at a glance.

Here, the "object" is
This means electronic information (for example, text data or image data) which is a subject to be stored and managed by an information processing device such as the present search device, or a folder in which these are collected. Further, the “attribute information” is information indicating an attribute of the object added to the “object”, and includes, for example, a search key (keyword, color, shape, etc.), a data creator name, a creation date, The registration date, size, comment, icon, etc.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In this embodiment, image data is used as the “object”,
A keyword is used as “attribute information”.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing a hardware configuration of the search apparatus of the present embodiment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the present search device has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2
5, a display 12, a keyboard 13, a mouse 14, a floppy disk drive 15b, a hard disk device 16, a printer 17, a scanner 18, and a CD. A ROM drive 19b, a speaker 20 and a microphone 21;

The display 12 displays characters and images and various information necessary for operating the retrieval apparatus. The keyboard 13 and the mouse 14 are used for various input operations and instruction operations. Floppy disk 15
a is the floppy disk drive 15b of the controller 11
And data is stored and reproduced. The hard disk device 16 stores and stores similarity between keywords, image data, and keywords as attribute information. The printer 17 outputs an image based on image data, a drawing created by image organization, and the like on a sheet. The scanner 18
It reads an image on a sheet-shaped document and outputs image data. The CD-ROM 19a stores image data in a predetermined format.
The image data is reproduced by being attached to b. Speaker 20
Performs voice output, and the microphone 21 performs voice input. Here, the image data read by the scanner 18 and the CD-ROM drive 19b is stored and stored in the hard disk device 16. The hard disk device 16, the scanner 18, the CD-ROM drive 19b, the speaker 20, and the microphone 21 may be built in the control device 11 and integrally formed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram mainly showing the CPU 25 mounted on the control device 11 of FIG. As the CPU 25, for example, a product number i80486DX manufactured by Intel Corporation is used. The CPU 25 has, via a data bus 26, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 28 in which programs for executing various processes to be described later are stored, and a RAM (Random Memory) in which various data and programs are stored. An access memory) 29; a display control circuit 30 for displaying images or characters on the display 12; a keyboard control circuit 31 for controlling the transfer of input from the keyboard 13; a mouse control circuit 32 for controlling the transfer of input from the mouse 14; A floppy disk drive control circuit 33 for controlling the disk drive 15b, a hard disk control circuit 34 for controlling the hard disk device 16, a printer control circuit 35 for controlling the output operation of the printer 17, and a scanner control circuit 36 for controlling the image input operation of the scanner 18 , CD-ROM drive A CD-ROM drive control circuit 37 for controlling the Eve 19b;
Speaker control unit 3 for controlling audio output of speaker 20
8 and a microphone control circuit 39 for controlling audio input from the microphone 21.

The CPU 25 is connected to a clock 27 for generating a reference clock required for operating the search device, and further an extension for connecting various extension boards via a data bus 26. The slot 40 is connected. Here, the SCSI is
A floppy disk drive 15b and a hard disk drive 1 are connected via the SCSI board.
6. The scanner 18, the CD-ROM drive 19b, etc. may be connected.

In the present embodiment, as described above,
Although the floppy disk 15a and the hard disk device 16 are used as data recording media, other recording media such as a magneto-optical disk may be used. Also,
As a data input device, a scanner 18 and a CD-R
Although the OM drive 19b is used, other input devices such as a still video camera and a digital camera may be used. Further, another output device such as a digital copying machine may be used instead of the printer 17.

In the present search apparatus, a program for a search process and a search result display process, which will be described later, is stored in the ROM 28. However, part or all of the program may be stored in a recording medium such as the floppy disk 15a or the hard disk device 16, and the program may be read into the RAM 29 as needed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a main routine of a process executed under the control of the CPU 25 based on the program stored in the ROM 28.

When the power of the present search device is turned on and the above program is started, first, in step S1, initialization of flags and the like necessary in each process and initial setting processes such as displaying an initial screen on the display 12 are performed. . If it is determined in step S2 that the job menu "search" has been selected on the initial screen displayed on the display 12, the process proceeds to step S3, and if not, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S3, in accordance with the selected job menu "search", a search process for vaguely searching for desired image data from image data registered in the database is executed as described in detail later. . Subsequently, in step S4, the candidate image is displayed on the display 12 based on the candidate image data obtained by the search processing.
A search result display process for displaying the search result is performed. After that,
Proceed to step S12.

In step S5, the job menu "data registration" is displayed on the initial screen displayed on the display 12.
If it is determined that is selected, the process proceeds to step S6, and if not, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S6, according to the selected job menu "data registration", the keyboard 13, the scanner 18, the CD-ROM drive 19b
An image data registration process of registering image data input from an input device, such as an image data, into a database by adding a keyword to the image data is executed. After that, the process proceeds to step S12.

If it is determined in step S7 that the job menu "keyword registration" has been selected on the initial screen displayed on the display 12, the process proceeds to step S8.
Otherwise, go to step S9. In step S8, according to the selected job menu "keyword registration", a keyword registration process of registering a new keyword in the keyword dictionary together with the similarity with other keywords is executed. After that, the process proceeds to step S12.

If it is determined in step S9 that the job menu "other menu" has been selected on the initial screen displayed on the display 12, the process proceeds to step S10, and if not, the process proceeds to step S11. Step S10
Then, other menu processing such as printing is executed in accordance with the selected job menu “other menu”. After that, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S11, it is determined whether "end" is selected on the initial screen displayed on the display 12. As a result, if “end” is selected, the main routine is ended.
Proceed to 12. In step S12, other processing is executed. After that, the process returns to step S2.

Hereinafter, the "search processing" and the "search result display processing" executed subsequent to the "search processing" will be described in detail. Note that “image data registration processing”, “keyword registration processing”, “other menu processing”, “other processing” and the like are basically the same as the processing in the conventional database management system. Is not directly related, and a detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a search subroutine executed in step S3 of the main routine shown in FIG. When it is determined in step S2 of the main routine shown in FIG. 3 that the job menu "search" has been selected, a search processing subroutine starts.

In step S21, a list of keywords stored in the keyword dictionary is displayed on the display 12, and based on the keyword list, the user sets keywords to be used for search. Next, in step S22, x used for the search is set by the user.

Here, the degree of ambiguity x corresponds to the similarity between keywords registered in the keyword dictionary together with the keywords. In the present embodiment, the definition of the similarity is as follows. Note that the definition of the similarity can be set arbitrarily, and is not limited to the following. The ambiguity x is 0 to 1 according to the definition of the similarity.
Is set in the range.

In step S23, the following keyword search is executed based on the set keyword set in step S21 and the ambiguity x set in step S22. That is, keywords that are less than or equal to the ambiguity x with respect to the set keywords are extracted from the keyword dictionary, and images having keywords that match these keywords are extracted as search results (candidate images). If the set ambiguity x is 0, the search is performed using only the set keyword. Also, the set ambiguity x is 1
In the case of, the search is performed using all the keywords registered in the keyword dictionary.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a search result display processing subroutine executed in step S4 of the main routine shown in FIG. When the search processing subroutine ends in the above step S3 of the main routine shown in FIG. 3, the search result display processing subroutine starts.

In step S31, one candidate image is selected from the candidate images obtained as a result of the search processing, and it is determined whether or not the similarity n of the candidate image satisfies 0 ≦ n ≦ 0.1. . As a result, if satisfied, the process proceeds to step S32,
If not, the process proceeds to step S33. Here, the similarity n of the candidate image is the similarity d with the set keyword of the keyword added to the candidate image (or similarity d of all keywords if there are a plurality of keywords).
(The most similar keyword). In step S32, the display density of the display area of the candidate image selected in step S31 is 100% of the normal display density.
Set to%. After that, the process proceeds to step S36.

In step S33, the similarity n of the candidate image
Is determined whether or not 0.1 <n ≦ 0.3. As a result, if the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S34. If the condition is not satisfied, that is, the similarity n of the candidate image is 0.3 <n.
If ≤1, the process proceeds to step S35. Step S34
Then, the display density of the display area of the candidate image selected in step S33 is set to 60% of the normal display density. After that, the process proceeds to step S36. In step S35, the display density of the display area of the candidate image selected in step S33 is 40% of the normal display density.
Is set to

In step S36, an image is read based on the data indicating the candidate image selected in step S31, and the selected candidate image is displayed on the display 12 at the display density set in step S32, S34 or step S35. Is displayed. In step S37, it is determined whether all the candidate images have been displayed. As a result, if all the candidate images have not been displayed, the process returns to step S31 and shifts to the process of displaying the next candidate image. On the other hand, if all candidate images have been displayed, the search result display processing subroutine ends, and the process returns to the main routine shown in FIG.

That is, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned similarity determination section is constituted by steps S31 and S33 in FIG. 5, while the display form setting section is constituted by steps S32, S34 and S35.

As described above, in the present embodiment,
An ambiguous search is performed to extract, as a candidate image, image data to which a keyword whose similarity d with the set keyword is equal to or less than the ambiguity x is used. If the similarity n of the candidate image obtained as a result of the fuzzy search (the minimum similarity of the keyword added to the candidate image) is 0 ≦ n ≦ 0.1, the candidate image is displayed at the normal display density. Is displayed at a display density of 100%, and when the similarity n is 0.1 <n ≦ 0.3, it is displayed at a display density of 60%, and when the similarity n is 0.3 <n ≦ 1, Are displayed at a display density of 40%. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the area A of the candidate image having a high degree of similarity where the similarity n is 0 ≦ n ≦ 0.1 is dark, and the area A of the similarity n where the degree of similarity is 0.1 <n ≦ 0.3. The region B of the candidate image having a medium degree has a medium density, and the region of the candidate image having a low degree of relevance having a similarity n of 0.3 <n is displayed lightly.

That is, according to the present embodiment, the search condition (set keyword) and the attribute information (keyword) of the candidate image
Can be determined at a glance by the display density of the display image. Therefore, even if a large number of candidate images are randomly displayed, a desired image can be quickly found. Further, the distribution of the candidate images for each similarity can be understood at a glance. For example, from FIG. 6, the number of candidate images having a similarity n of 0 ≦ n ≦ 0.1 is 4, the number of candidate images having a similarity n of 0.1 <n ≦ 0.3 is 6, and the similarity n is It can be seen at a glance that the number of candidate images of 0.3 <n is seven. Therefore, at the time of the next search process, it can be easily understood that, for example, if the ambiguity x = 0.1, the number of candidate images can be reduced to four.

When the attribute information includes a registration date and a creator name in addition to the keyword, the candidate images are sorted by the other items of the attribute information such as the registration date and the creator name. Also, the display density of each candidate image does not change only by moving the display position of each candidate image in FIG. Therefore, even if the attribute information is sorted for any item, the similarity between the search condition and the attribute information can be determined at a glance.

In the above embodiment, the similarity n of each candidate image is set to “0 ≦ n ≦ 0.1” and “0.1 <n ≦ 0.
3 "and" 0.3 <n≤1 ", but the number of classes and the threshold value of each class are not limited to these. In the above embodiment, the candidate image is displayed on the display 12 at a display density corresponding to the similarity n. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the display density, FIG.
As shown in the above, the thickness of the frame of the candidate image may be set to a thickness corresponding to the similarity n and displayed. Alternatively, one of the display density change and the frame thickness change according to the similarity n of the candidate image may be selectively executed.

In the above-described embodiment, the fuzzy search processing based on the keyword attached to the still image data is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is also applicable to the case of ambiguous search processing based on keywords attached to moving image data, character data, audio data, and multimedia data obtained by combining them. In the case of moving image data, the similarity may be displayed stepwise by changing the display density or the frame thickness of a certain scene. In the case of character data, the similarity n may be displayed stepwise by changing the display density, the thickness of the frame, the thickness of the character, and the font. In the case of audio data, the similarity n may be displayed stepwise by changing the level of the volume or the level of the fundamental frequency.

In the above-described embodiment, the case of the fuzzy search processing using the similarity d based on the attribute information such as the keyword attached to the image data is described as an example.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an ambiguous search using similarity based on feature amounts extracted from media data and media data feature information (for example, image color and rough image shape). It can also be applied to processing.

Further, the search device of the present invention can be configured so that a similarity based on image data feature information is directly added to image data and a similar object is vaguely searched using the similarity. In this search device, input image data is registered, and further, the similarity between the input image data and already registered image data is stored. Here, the similarity between the image data is manually set by an operator by comparing images based on both image data. Alternatively, the color may be automatically set by detecting the color of both images based on the image data and calculating the distance between the two images in a color space based on the color.

Then, using the set image data and the degree of ambiguity x as search conditions, a similar image is searched for and displayed with reference to the similarity between the stored image data.
The display density of each candidate image at that time is set according to the similarity of the candidate image.

The operation of this search apparatus is basically the same as that of the above embodiment, and is performed according to a main routine in FIG. 3, a search subroutine shown in FIG. 4, and a search result display subroutine shown in FIG. However, the search process is different from the search process using the keyword in the following points. In the "image data registration process" of step S6 in the basic processing operation shown in FIG. 3, the input image data is fetched and registered, and the similarity between the input image data and the already registered image data Set and register. Further, the "keyword registration selection determination process" in step S7 and the "keyword registration process" in step S8 may not be necessary. However, this is necessary when a search process using “keywords” is used together.

In the "search information setting process" of step S21 of the search process subroutine shown in FIG. 4, image data serving as a search condition is set. The setting of the image data may be specified by the image data name, or the images may be displayed in a list and selected and specified from the list. Further, in the "search process" of step S23, image data whose similarity with the set image data set in step S21 is equal to or less than the ambiguity x set in step S22 is searched.

The "range similarity n determination process" in steps S31 and S33 of the search result display process subroutine shown in FIG. 5 is performed by determining the similarity between the candidate image data and the set image data. Is performed as the similarity n.

As described above, the similarity is directly provided between the image data, not between the attribute information added to the image data (object), and the image is searched using the similarity provided between the image data. By doing so, it is possible to objectively search for a similar image without entering the subjectivity of a person who adds attribute information such as a user.

[0062]

As apparent from the above description, the retrieval apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention determines the similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object and the set attribute information by the similarity determination unit. Based on the determination result, the display mode of the candidate object is set by the display mode setting unit according to the similarity, and each candidate object is displayed on the display unit in the set display mode. At a glance, the distribution of the candidate objects for each similarity can be understood at a glance. Thus, by highlighting candidate objects according to the similarity, even if a large number of candidate objects are randomly displayed, a desired object can be quickly found. Also,
As described above, since the distribution of the similarities of the candidate objects for each similarity can be understood at a glance, if there are too many candidate objects obtained by one search processing, some degree of ambiguity is reduced when the candidate objects are narrowed down by the next search. , It can be easily grasped without trial and error whether an appropriate number of candidate objects can be obtained.

Further, even if the candidate objects are sorted by other attribute information, only the display position of each candidate object is changed, and the display form is not changed by the sorting. Therefore, according to the present invention, even after sorting, the similarity between the set attribute information and the attribute information added to the candidate object (that is, the similarity of the candidate object) can be known at a glance.

The search device according to the second aspect of the present invention
The similarity between the candidate object and the setting object is determined by the similarity determination unit, and based on the determination result, the display mode of the candidate object is set by the display mode setting unit in accordance with the above-described similarity. Since the candidate object is displayed on the display unit in the form, the similarity of the candidate object can be known at a glance, and the distribution of each similarity of the candidate object can be known at a glance. Thus, by highlighting candidate objects according to the similarity, even if a large number of candidate objects are randomly displayed, a desired object can be quickly found. Also, as described above, the distribution of the similarities of the candidate objects for each degree of similarity can be understood at a glance, so if there are too many candidate objects obtained, the degree of ambiguity may be set when narrowing down the candidate objects by the next search. Whether or not an appropriate number of candidate objects can be obtained can be easily grasped without trial and error.

Further, even if the candidate objects are sorted by other attribute information, only the display position of each candidate object is changed, and the display form is not changed by the sorting. Therefore, according to the present invention, the similarity between the set attribute information and the attribute information added to the candidate object can be recognized at a glance even after sorting.

The similarity determination unit in the search device according to the third aspect of the present invention makes the above determination with reference to the similarity between attribute information or the similarity between objects stored in the similarity storage unit. The determination of the similarity can be easily performed.

Further, the display mode set by the display mode setting section in the search device of the invention according to claim 4 is display density, and the display processing section displays candidate objects at the set display density. The similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object and the setting attribute information or the similarity between the candidate object and the setting object can be easily identified by the density of the displayed candidate object.

The display mode set by the display mode setting section in the search device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the thickness of the display frame, and the display processing section sets each of the display modes in accordance with the set thickness of the display frame. Since the display frame of the candidate object is displayed, the similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object and the setting attribute information or the similarity between the candidate object and the setting object is displayed on the display frame of each displayed candidate object. It can be easily identified by thickness.

The search method of the invention according to claim 6 is as follows:
A first step of determining a similarity between the attribute information added to the candidate object searched based on the set attribute information and the set attribute information, and displaying the candidate object based on the determination result of the first step Since the method includes a second step of setting the form according to the similarity and a third step of displaying each candidate object in the display form set in the second step, the similarity of the candidate object can be understood at a glance, and , The distribution of the similarity of the candidate objects for each similarity can be understood at a glance. Therefore, even if a large number of obtained candidate objects are displayed at random, a desired object can be quickly found. Further, it is possible to easily and accurately narrow down the candidate objects at the next search without trial and error.

The search method of the invention according to claim 7 is as follows:
A first step of determining a similarity between the candidate object retrieved based on the setting object and the setting object; and setting a display mode of the candidate object based on the determination result of the first step in accordance with the similarity. And a third step of displaying each candidate object in the display mode set in the second step, so that the similarity of the candidate object can be understood at a glance, and the distribution of the similarity of the candidate object for each similarity Can be seen at a glance. Therefore, even if a large number of obtained candidate objects are displayed at random, a desired object can be quickly found. Further, it is possible to easily and accurately narrow down the candidate objects at the next search without trial and error.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the program recording medium, wherein the computer is configured to determine a similarity between the attribute information of the candidate object retrieved based on the set attribute information and the set attribute information. Display form setting means for setting a display form of the candidate object according to the similarity based on a result of determination by the similarity determination means, and displaying each candidate object in the display form set by the display form setting means Since the search program for functioning as the display means is recorded, the same effect as the invention according to claim 1 can be obtained.

The program recording medium according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to determine a similarity between a candidate object retrieved based on a setting object and the setting object; A display mode setting unit configured to set a display mode of the candidate object based on the similarity based on a determination result by the unit; and a display processing unit configured to display each candidate object in the display mode set by the display mode setting unit. Claim 2 because a search program for causing the search is recorded.
The same effect as that of the invention according to the first aspect can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a search device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram focusing on a CPU of the hardware shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a main routine executed under the control of a CPU in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a search processing subroutine executed in the main routine shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a search result display processing subroutine executed in the main routine shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a candidate image.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a candidate image different from FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

11: control device (search processing unit, similarity determination unit, display mode setting unit), 12: display (display unit), 13: keyboard (input unit), 14: mouse (input unit), 15a: floppy disk (recording) Medium: 16, hard disk device (storage unit, similarity storage unit, recording medium), 18: scanner (input unit).

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A search device in which an object is stored in a storage unit together with attribute information and a search processing unit searches for a candidate object based on the set attribute information set from an input unit. A similarity determining unit that determines a similarity between the attribute information added to the given candidate object and the setting attribute information; and a display mode of the candidate object based on a determination result by the similarity determining unit. And a display unit for displaying each candidate object in the display mode set by the display mode setting unit. 2. An object is stored in a storage unit,
In a search device for searching for a candidate object by a search processing unit based on a setting object set from an input unit, a similarity determination unit for determining a similarity between the candidate object obtained by the search processing unit and the setting object A display mode setting unit that sets a display mode of the candidate object according to the similarity based on a determination result by the similarity determination unit; and a display mode set by the display mode setting unit. A search device comprising a display unit for displaying. 3. The retrieval device according to claim 1, further comprising: a similarity storage unit that stores a similarity between attribute information or between objects, wherein the similarity determination unit includes the similarity determination unit. A search device, wherein the determination is performed with reference to the similarity between attribute information or objects stored in a storage unit. 4. The search device according to claim 1, wherein the display mode set by the display mode setting unit is a display density, and the display processing unit is set by the display mode setting unit. A search device for displaying a candidate object at a display density. 5. The search device according to claim 1, wherein the display mode set by the display mode setting unit is a thickness of a display frame, and the display processing unit is a display mode setting unit. A search device for displaying a display frame of a candidate object in a set display frame thickness. 6. A search method in which an object is stored in a storage unit together with attribute information and a candidate object is searched based on setting attribute information set from an input unit, wherein the object is added to the candidate object obtained by the search. A first step of determining a similarity between the attribute information and the set attribute information, and a second step of setting a display mode of the candidate object based on the determination result in the first step in accordance with the similarity. And a third step of displaying each candidate object in the display mode set in the second step. 7. An object is stored in a storage unit,
In a search method for searching for a candidate object based on a setting object set from an input unit, a first step of determining a similarity between the candidate object obtained by the search and the setting object, and a determination by the first step A second step of setting a display mode of the candidate object according to the similarity based on a result; and a third step of displaying each candidate object in the display mode set in the second step. How to search. 8. A similarity determination unit configured to determine a similarity between attribute information added to a candidate object searched based on set attribute information and the set attribute information, wherein the similarity determination is performed. Display form setting means for setting the display form of the candidate object based on the similarity based on the determination result by the means, and functioning as display means for displaying each candidate object in the display form set by the display form setting means. Recording medium for recording a search program for the same. 9. A similarity determination unit configured to determine a similarity between a candidate object retrieved based on a set setting object and the setting object, and
Display mode setting means for setting the display mode of the candidate object based on the determination result by the similarity determination section in accordance with the similarity; display for displaying each candidate object in the display mode set by the display mode setting module A program recording medium on which a search program for functioning as means is recorded.