Patent Abstract:
A system for retrieving information. The system has a storage unit for storing an image that includes first and second selectable objects. The first selectable object is associated with a first metadata and the second selectable object is associated with a second metadata. The system also includes a visual output device and a processor that communicates with the visual output device and the storage unit to read the first and second metadata. The system also includes a user input device that communicates with the processor and instructs the processor to read the first and second metadata and display the first and second metadata on the visual output device.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A common problem that users encounter when searching for information resources is how to choose keywords for input to a search engine. One particularly perplexing problem occurs when a user wants to search for items for which the user has seen but has no text-based information from which to formulate a search. For example, while browsing the web, a user may see a jacket for which the user wants more information. Unless the jacket is the subject of an advertisement, the user will have great difficulty formulating a query without knowledge of, for example, the manufacturer. Even if the user could identify the manufacturer, searching for additional information about a particular product among similar products offered by that manufacturer can be time-consuming and frustrating. Accordingly, a system and method is needed to solve this problem. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system for retrieving information. The system comprises a storage unit for storing an image that includes first and second selectable objects. The first selectable object is associated with a first metadata and the second selectable object is associated with a second metadata. The system also includes a visual output device and a processor that communicates with the visual output device and the storage unit to read the first and second metadata. The system also includes a user input device that communicates with the processor and instructs the processor to read the first and second metadata and display the first and second metadata on the visual output device. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     For the present invention to be understood clearly and readily practiced, the present invention will be described in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a data processing system for hosting web pages according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of various hardware components of an information processing system used in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a combination flow chart and logical block diagram that illustrates the formation of a metadata-enabled image according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a web page that includes a metadata-enabled image displayed thereon in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a web page that includes discrete selectable objects displayed thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 6  is an exemplary flow diagram that illustrates a process in which a user utilizes the present invention to access rich content about an image. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements. For example, certain details relating to the operation and design of a network capable of carrying hypertext traffic, such as the Internet, the specifications of hypertext protocols, such as HTTP, for use in transporting HTML pages, and the construction of a browser with plug-in extensibility, such as Internet Explorer, are not described herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, however, that these and other elements may be desirable in an interactive networked environment. A discussion of such elements is not provided because such elements are well known in the art and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. 
   One embodiment of the present invention relates to a system and method that allow a user of a web browser to select a digitized still image or motion video, or a portion thereof, and automatically formulate a search query for information resources associated with the selected image, video or the selected portion. Accordingly, the term “image,” as used herein, refers to either a still image or a video frame within a stream of video frames. Specifically, the systems and methods described herein relate to images with an enhanced data set referred to as “metadata.” For a general understanding of the features of the present invention, reference is made to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals have been used throughout to identify similar elements. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a networked system architecture  100  in which the present invention operates according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  100  includes a client computer  102  connected to a remote server computer  106  over a computer network  108 . Client  102  includes an HTTP browser application program  104  operating thereon, which may be any application program that allows for multimedia presentation of information, including text, images, sound, and video clips such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or an equivalent. System  100  also includes a server  110 , with a metadata editing application program  112  operating thereon, connected to remote server  106  over network  108 . An image database server  114 , also connected to network  108 , stores images or other multimedia files  116 . Metadata editor  112  is an application program designed to attach or otherwise associate metadata to the images  116 . Image database  114  is a any body of information that is organized so that it can be retrieved, stored and searched in a coherent manner by a “database engine”—i.e. a collection of software methods for retrieving or manipulating data in the database. For example, image database server  114  may be a relational, object-oriented, or object-relational database. 
   It is understood that computer network  100  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is exemplary, and alternative configurations may also be used in accordance with the invention. For example, network  108 , as those skilled in the art will understand, may be any suitable computer network including, for example, a metropolitan area network, and/or various “Internet” or IP networks such as the World Wide Web, a private Internet, a secure Internet, a value-added network, a virtual private network, an extranet, or an intranet. Other suitable networks may contain other combinations of servers, clients, and/or peer-to-peer nodes. The present invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
   Network  108  may include communications or networking software such as the software available from Novell, Microsoft, Artisoft, and other vendors. A larger network, such as a wide area network (WAN), may combine smaller network(s) and/or devices such as routers and bridges, large or small, and the networks may operate using TCP/IP, SPX, IPX, and other protocols over twisted pair, coaxial, or optical fiber cables, telephone lines, satellites, microwave relays, modulated AC power lines, physical media transfer, and/or other data carrying transmission “wires” known to those of skill in the art. For convenience “wires” includes infrared, radio frequency, and other wireless links or connections. 
     FIG. 2  is a block diagram that illustrates various hardware components of an information processing system  200  used in accordance with the present invention. Information processing system  200  is representative hardware of client  102 , client  110 , or server  106 . System  200  may be any network-enabled device such as, for example, a personal computer, a programmable digital assistant (PDA), a mainframe, a workstation, a laptop computer, a hand-held computing device, or combinations thereof. System  200  can optionally include, for example, a processing unit  204 , a monitor  206 , and a user interface  208 . Processing unit  204  includes a processor  210  in communication with a memory  212  (shown in phantom) that, in turn, includes a volatile memory  214  and a storage unit  216 . These are representative components of a computer whose operation is well understood. 
   Processor  210  may include a general purpose device such as an Intel Pentium® processor or other “off-the-shelf” microprocessor. Processor  210  may include a special purpose processing device such as, for example, an ASIC, PAL, PLA, PLD or other customized or programmable device. Memory  212  may include, for example, a static RAM, a dynamic RAM, a flash memory, a ROM, a CD-ROM, a disk, a tape, a magnetic, optical, or another computer storage medium. User interface  208  may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a light pen, a tablet, a microphone, a position sensor, a pressure sensor, a thermal sensor, or other input hardware with accompanying firmware and/or software. Monitor  206  or other type of display device is connected to processor  210  via an interface, such as a video adapter. 
   System  200  may also include a computer readable medium having executable instructions or data fields stored thereon, such as storage unit  216 . The computer readable medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such a computer readable medium can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired executable instructions or data fields and that can be accessed by a general purpose or a special purpose computer. 
   The computer readable medium tangibly embodies a program, functions, and/or instructions that cause the computer system to operate in a specific and predefined manner as described herein. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the process described below may be implemented at any level, ranging from hardware to application software and in any appropriate physical location. For example, the present invention may be implemented as software code to be executed by system  200  using any suitable computer language such as, for example, microcode, and may be stored on any of the storage media described above, or can be configured into the logic of system  200 . According to another embodiment, the instructions may be implemented as software code to be executed by system  200  using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java, Pascal, C++, C, Perl, database languages, APIs, various system-level SDKs, assembly, firmware, microcode, and/or other languages and tools. 
     FIG. 2  and the foregoing discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a personal computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Additionally, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to a particular computer system platform, processor, operating system, or network. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a process  300  in which metadata editor  112  combines a set of metadata  302  with an image  304  to produce a metadata-enabled image  306  according to an embodiment of the present invention. Metadata editor  112  combines metadata  302  with image  304  using, for example, the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and extensible Markup Language (XML) in a manner known to those skilled in the art. RDF is an interoperable standard for metadata on the web defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Document Type Definitions (DTDs) may also be used with XML to create a suitable metadata model. Using these standards, any web image, ranging from gas grills to footwear, can be associated with metadata to conveniently display rich content about the image. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates a web page  400  that includes metadata-enabled image  306  displayed thereon and in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Web page  400  may also display a cursor  402  that may be controlled by user input, as described above. The user may utilize cursor  402  to select an image within web page  400 , such as metadata-enabled image  306 . According to one embodiment, the user positions cursor  402  over metadata-enabled image  306  and clicks on the image  306  using a right-hand button on a pointing device to indicate, for example, a request for context-sensitive action. 
   According to one embodiment, the context-sensitive action produces a user interface control that may include, for example, a pop-up window having a list of options related to image  306  and its associated metadata  302 . Those of skill in the art will realize that such user interface selection controls may be implemented using, for example, an ActiveX control, a Java control, an applet, or a browser plug-in, or a separate software application. The list of options related to metadata  302  may include, for example, launching a suitable metadata extraction tool to view metadata  302 . 
   According to another embodiment, the list of options associated with the context sensitive action may include automatically inserting the metadata into a search engine. According to such an embodiment, a search is automatically initiated to locate resources, such as web sites, within a distributed environment. For example, the user may designate a search engine as a user preference before initiating the context-sensitive action. Example of such search engines include Google™, offered by Google of Mountain View, Calif., which may be accessed at the google.com URL and RealPages, offered by BellSouth, which may be accessed at realpages.com URL. Once the user designates the search engine, the present invention may be used to automatically insert metadata  302  into the search engine as search terms. According to one embodiment, the present invention may launch a new browser window that displays the search engine with metadata  302  entered as search terms and allows the user to edit the terms before initiating the search. According to another embodiment, the search is initiated immediately from the context-sensitive action. The search engine examines the search criteria and returns a list of web documents to browser  104  at the client computer  102  that conform to the search criteria and that may be desired by the user. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a web page  500  that includes an exemplary metadata-enabled image  502  displayed thereon and in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Image  502  includes multiple discrete selectable objects  504  and  506 . Each selectable object has a unique set of metadata associated with it. Accordingly, the user can access metadata associated with any selectable object in the scene. It should be understood that web pages  400  and  500  are merely exemplary of the displays and methods that may be used to select and access metadata associated with an image. Thus, any suitable display and method of displaying images may be used in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 6  is an exemplary flow diagram that illustrates a process  600  in which a user uses the present invention to access rich content about an image. The process begins at step  602  in which a user at client  102  directs browser  104  to display, for example, web page  500  that includes an image  502 . As explained above, metadata is attached to and/or associated with selectable objects  504  and  506  within the image  502 . To view metadata about object  504  (a woman&#39;s jacket), in step  604 , the user clicks on object  504  using, for example, a right-hand button on the pointing device and selects among a list of user options. In step  606 , according to one embodiment, the present invention inserts the metadata associated with selectable object  504  into a predetermined search engine. Finally, in step  608 , according to another embodiment, the present invention automatically initiates the search using metadata as input. 
   It should be understood that the present invention is not limited by the foregoing description, but embraces all such alterations, modifications, and variations in accordance with the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8