Abstract:
A multi-layer graphical user interface (GUI) using metadata, provides for timeline metaphoric representations ( 100 A,  100 B,  200 A,  200 B,  300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 ) of pictures in a digital picture database. Icons ( 104 A,  106 B,  204 A,  208 B,  304, 404, 504, 604, 704, 804, 904 ) representing the points of time by which all of the pictures are categorized are sized according to the relative number of corresponding pictures. The most general view is in the form of a timeline ( 102 A,  102 B,  202 A,  206 B,  302, 402, 502, 602, 702, 802, 902 ) using either years or decades (when the pictures were taken) as the measuring units. Views linked to the general view further refine the general view with icons ( 104 A,  106 B,  204 A,  208 B,  304, 404, 504, 604, 704, 804, 904 ) proportionately sized according to the number of pictures corresponding to the categorization represented by the particular icon. The aforementioned further refining views further categorize the pictures according to, for example, month, day of the week, time of day, identified events, and identified people in the pictures.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to graphical user interfaces in general, and in particular to graphical user interfaces adapted for browsing and retrieval of pictures in digital picture databases. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Digital pictures and digital picture albums/collections are proliferating with recent advances in quality and cost reductions. Digital pictures can be stored in common or individual databases that allow a user to retrieve his or her pictures for viewing and reproduction via a computer system. When a large number of pictures are stored in a collection, it is desirable to be able to browse and retrieve selected pictures with a graphical user interface (GUI). Used for such an application, a GUI conveniently organizes and groups database pictures, and allows a user to browse the pictures in one or more displays. 
   Along with the digital information representing pictures, digital image files can also contain metadata, or information not displayed, which nonetheless characterizes the data comprising the pictures. The metadata can describe the scene in the picture, such as a caption, and can also provide in a straightforward manner, information such as the date and time the picture was captured, the location from which the picture was captured, identify people or objects in the picture, and information regarding format and data structure. 
   Many prior art digital cameras can be programmed to automatically store along with the actual image, the date and time a picture was captured. More advanced digital cameras can also be programmed to automatically store along with the actual image, the location of picture capture by harnessing automatic location systems. For example, the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) is a well-known method for pinpointing the location of a special GPS receiver with a fairly high degree of accuracy. Other methods include the use of Radio Triangulation (RT) systems. Using such an approach, a GPS receiver can be either incorporated in the hardware of the digital camera, or located nearby. A subsequent image file will contain not only the raw image data, but also a date and time stamp, along with header information related to the location of the GPS receiver when the image is collected. 
   Still more advanced digital cameras may contain pattern recognition software for identifying objects and people in an image, and converting such information to metadata. 
   Whether metadata is entered automatically by the camera, manually via the camera during picture captures, or subsequently into the digital image database, there remains a great need for improved GUIs for efficiently and attractively arranging pictures in a digital image database. More particularly, there remains a need for improved, user-friendly GUIs that give image database users a temporal “feel” for the stored images. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   To address the needs of the prior art identified supra, the present invention provides a graphical user interface adapted to browse and retrieve pictures stored in a digital image database. The graphical user interface includes a metadata decoder adapted to decode metadata stored in digital image files, a first display level and at least a second display level, which display levels are constructed with the aid of decoded metadata. The first display level at least includes a first timeline metaphor representing the span of time over which pictures stored in the database were captured, and a plurality of first icons placed along the first timeline metaphor representing predefined temporal intervals, the first icons being proportionately sized to correspond to the number of pictures captured during a predefined temporal interval. The second display level is linked to the first display level and is triggered by activating one of the first icons. The second display level at least includes a second timeline metaphor, and second icons placed along the second timeline for grouping the pictures represented by the activated first icon, the second icons being proportionately sized to correspond to the number of pictures captured for each grouping. 
   The present invention also provides a method of producing a graphical user interface (GUI) adapted to browse and retrieve pictures stored in a digital image database. The method includes the steps of decoding metadata stored in digital image files, providing a first GUI level and at least a second GUI level, which GUI levels are constructed with the aid of decoded metadata. The first GUI level at least includes a first timeline metaphor representing the span of time over which pictures stored in the database were captured, and a plurality of first icons placed along the first timeline metaphor representing predefined temporal intervals, the first icons being proportionately sized to correspond to the number of pictures captured during a predefined temporal interval. The second GUI level is linked to the first GUI level and is triggered by activating one of the first icons. The second GUI level at least includes a second timeline metaphor, and second icons placed along the second timeline grouping the pictures represented by the activated first icon, the second icons being proportionately sized to correspond to the number of pictures captured for each grouping. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description below, with reference to the following drawing figures, in which: 
       FIG. 1A  is a yearly-based timeline display used in the graphical user interface (GUI) of the present invention, the timeline having chronological icons which are proportional in size to the number of pictures in a database corresponding to the identified years; 
       FIG. 1B  is an alternate decade-based timeline display suitable for use in the GUI of the present invention, the timeline having chronological icons which are proportional in size to the number of pictures in a database corresponding to the identified decades; 
       FIG. 2A  is a monthly-based display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 1A  in general, and in particular to a year specified by a user; 
       FIG. 2B  is a yearly-based timeline display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 1B , which has chronological icons which are proportional to the number of pictures in a database corresponding to the years in a decade specified by a user; 
       FIG. 3  is a weekly-based (Sunday through Saturday, etc.) display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 2A  in general, and in particular to a month specified by a user; 
       FIG. 4  is a daily-based (by hour of the day) display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 3  in general, and in particular to a day of the week specified by a user; 
       FIG. 5  is an alternate daily-based (by blocks of time) display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 3  in general, and in particular to a day of the week specified by a user; 
       FIG. 6  is an event-based display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 2A  in general, and in particular to a month specified by a user; 
       FIG. 7  is an alternate embodiment (vertical) of the display in  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a location-based display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 2A  in general, and in particular to a year specified by a user; 
       FIG. 9  is a person-based display linked to the timeline in  FIG. 2A  in general, and in particular to a year specified by a user; 
       FIG. 10  is a thumbnail display of pictures in a database that are linked to the timeline displays of the previous drawing figures; and 
       FIG. 11  is a conceptual block diagram of a system used for producing a GUI according to the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   As will be described below in more detail, the present invention novelly provides a graphical user interface (GUI) which uses a series of linked timeline metaphors with proportionately (with respect to the number of pictures represented by the icon, as will be explained, infra) sized icons to represent the pictures in a digital image database. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the pictures in the image database can be entered by a variety of means, including, inter alia, pictures captured by digital cameras, analog pictures which are quantized into digital images, and images produced by image scanners. 
   The first level of the GUI of the present invention contains a timeline metaphor (displayed for the user) such as the one  100 A in  FIG. 1A , or the one  100 B in FIG.  1 B. The timeline metaphor  100 A is marked by the years (of capture) covered by the pictures of the database in question. In an alternate embodiment, the timeline metaphor  100 B is marked by the decades (of capture) covered by the database pictures. More particularly, the timeline  102 A has year-picture icons  104 A evenly spaced with year markers, while the timeline  102 B has decade-picture icons  106 B evenly spaced with decade markers. 
   Although shown as circular in shape, the icons  102 A can be of any other suitable shape, including (but not limited to) spherical, elliptical, or irregular. More important to the present invention than the shape of the icons  104 A and  106 B is the fact that the icons are sized to show the relative number of pictures represented by the corresponding time markers. For example, the sample digital image database contains many more pictures captured in the year 2001 than in the year 2000. Consequently, the icon representing to the year 2001 is relatively large, while the icon representing the year 2000 is relatively small. In the alternate embodiment of  FIG. 1B , the number of pictures in the sample database captured in the 1991-2000 decade are relatively large, while the number of pictures captured in the 1941-1950 are relatively small. Consequently, the icon sizes are relatively large, and relatively small, respectively. 
   To move to the next level of the GUI of the present invention, a user activates one of the year (or decade) icons in  FIG. 1A  or  1 B to produce a new timeline metaphor  200 A or  200 B shown in either  FIG. 2A  or  2 B for greater temporal specificity. Just as with  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the timeline metaphors  200 A and  200 B contain timelines and relatively sized picture icons. 
   In the example shown in  FIG. 2A , the user has activated (by a click of a pointing device such as a “mouse,” for example) the year 2000 icon as being of further interest. That is, the user is interested in browsing pictures captured in the year 2000. The new timeline  202 A further refines the year 2000 into the months of the year. From the example, it is apparent by the relative size of the icons  204 A, that many more pictures were captured in the month of December than in the Month of May. In the alternate timeline metaphor  200 B of  FIG. 2B , the user has chosen to further refine the timeline metaphor of  FIG. 1B , by showing the year-picture icons  208 B on the timeline  206 B to display the relative size of pictures captured for each of the years in the 1991-2000 decade. In this example, the pictures captured in the year 1999 are much more numerous than the pictures captured in the year 2000, so that the relative sizes of the corresponding icons are large and small, respectively. 
   Activating an icon representing the picture grouping of interest can further refine the timeline metaphors of each level of the present-inventive GUI. The timeline metaphor  300  in  FIG. 3  is linked to either the timeline metaphor  200 A or  200 B, and groups the pictures in the image database according to the days of the week with a timeline  302  and day icons  304 , which are, again, proportionately sized to represent the relative number of pictures grouped according to the days of the week. The timeline metaphor  400  in  FIG. 4  is linked to the timeline metaphor  300  in  FIG. 3 , and groups the pictures in the image database according to the time of day with a timeline  402  and day icons  404 . In the example shown, the pictures captured on all Mondays are grouped according to their capture time. An alternate embodiment of the timeline metaphor  400  in  FIG. 4  is the timeline metaphor  500  in  FIG. 5 , where instead of grouping the pictures of a particular day by the hour of capture, the pictures are grouped by a block of time. 
   The GUI of the present invention allows a user to display metaphors which group the pictures in a digital image database in other ways besides the date or time of capture by linking timeline metaphors to other metaphors. The display line  602  in  FIG. 6  displays proportionately sized icons  604  which group the database pictures according to events specified by a user inputting the pictures. Linked to the timeline metaphor  200 A in  FIG. 2A , the metaphor  600  in  FIG. 6  groups the pictures captured in a particular month—December in the example—into identifiable events, such as birthdays, holidays, etc. For example, the “Event 11” icon might represent pictures captured on Christmas Day, while the “Event 12” icon might represent pictures captured on New Year&#39;s Eve. 
   While the metaphors of the GUI of the present invention might generally be oriented in a common direction, different levels might be displayed in an orthogonal direction relative to previous linked levels, such as the metaphor  700  in  FIG. 7 , which might be linked to the timeline metaphor  100 A in FIG.  1 A. 
   In addition to grouping pictures according to specific events, the GUI of the present invention can also provide linked views which group database pictures according to stored characteristics such as the location of capture, and identifiable persons in pictures. The display  800  in  FIG. 8  is an example of a line  802  with proportionately sized location icons  804  linked to a particular year (2000 in the example) on the timeline  102 A in FIG.  1 A. It is apparent from  FIG. 8  that the many more pictures were captured at “Location 5” than at “Location 4.” 
   The display  900  in  FIG. 9  is an example of a line  902  with proportionately sized “people” icons  904  linked to a particular year (2000 in the example) on the timeline  102 A in FIG.  1 A. It is apparent from  FIG. 9  that the many more pictures were captured of “Person 5” in that year than of “Person 4.” For example, “Person 5” might be a newborn baby, while “Person 4” might be a person who often takes pictures, but seldom has pictures taken of himself/herself. 
   When there are no more timeline metaphors, or other picture grouping metaphors after a given level in the present-inventive GUI has been reached, or when desired by the user (if the viewing screen does not become undesirably cluttered), the next level is a display  1000  in  FIG. 10  showing thumbnails representing all of the pictures currently grouped. For example, if the user activates the “Person 2” icon in the display  900  in  FIG. 9 , thumbnails of all of the pictures captured during the particular year (2000 year in the example), and featuring or including “Person 2” are displayed. 
   Given the disclosure of this Letters Patent, those skilled in the art will be able to implement a timeline-based GUI for more efficient and user-friendly browsing and retrieval of pictures stored in an image database. However, a general system  1100  for implementing the present invention is illustrated in FIG.  11 . The various components of the system  1100  need not have physical proximity. Indeed, the system  1100  can be self-contained in a stand-alone computer system, part of a Local Area Network (LAN), or part of a remote processing system using Wide Area Networks (WANs) such as the Internet, to name a few variations. 
   The system  1100  includes central control  1106  to control its overall operation, a large image file memory  1102  for storing the digital pictures of a picture database, along with metadata for each picture, and a metadata decoder  1104  for decoding metadata from the image files for use by the system  1100 . A GUI generator  1108  generates the display metaphors of the present invention for display via a display  1110  under the direction of a user input  1112  and the central control  1106 . 
   Variations and modifications of the present invention are possible, given the above description. However, all variations and modifications which are obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains are considered to be within the scope of the protection granted by this Letters Patent. 
   PARTS LIST 
   
       
         100 A Timeline metaphor 
         102 A Timeline (years) 
         104 A Year-picture icons 
         100 B Timeline metaphor 
         102 B Timeline (decades) 
         106 B Decade-picture icons 
         200 A Timeline metaphor 
         202 A Timeline (year, months) 
         204 A Month-picture icons 
         200 B Timeline metaphor 
         206 B Timeline (decade, years) 
         208 B Year-picture icons 
         300  Timeline metaphor 
         302  Timeline (month, days) 
         304  Day-picture icons 
         400  Timeline metaphor 
         402  Timeline (day, time) 
         404  Time-picture icons 
         500  Timeline metaphor 
         502  Timeline (day, time block) 
         504  Time block-picture icons 
         600  Timeline metaphor 
         602  Timeline (month, events) 
         604  Event-picture icons 
         700  Timeline (vertical) metaphor 
         702  Timeline (year, events) 
         704  Event-picture icons 
         800  Timeline metaphor 
         802  Timeline (year, locations) 
         804  Location-picture icons 
         900  Timeline metaphor 
         902  Timeline (year, people) 
         904  People-picture icons 
         1000  Thumbnail display 
         1100  Timeline-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) system 
         1102  Image file memory 
         1104  Metadata decoder 
         1106  Central control 
         1108  GUI generator 
         1110  Display 
         1112  User input