Fujifilm Corporation

Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Akio Nishiyama

Arito Asai

Mika Sugimoto

Ten representative images are extracted from an image database storing images of a number of frames. The extracted representative images are displayed in a coordinate area, along the coordinate axes of which the image characteristics of the images are plotted, in a form in which the images are distributed in accordance with the image characteristics possessed by the extracted representative images. An image having characteristics resembling those of a required image is designated from among the representative images displayed. Images of ten frames having characteristics resembling those of the designated image are again displayed in distributed form in a coordinate area having image characteristics plotted along the coordinate axes thereof. The coordinate axes of the coordinate area displayed the second time are made more detailed than those of the coordinate area displayed the first time. As a result, images having slightly different characteristics are displayed in separated form, thereby making it easier to find the required image.

Image database apparatus and method of controlling operation of same

E-mail to which difference moving picture data is attached is transmitted from a mobile telephone for displaying difference moving pictures to a mail server. The mail server separates the difference moving picture data from the e-mail and transmits it to a moving picture converting server. The moving picture converting server converts the difference moving picture data to complete moving picture data and stores the complete moving picture data in a database. A URL link indicating the storage location in the database is generated by the mail server and transmitted to a mobile telephone for displaying complete moving pictures.

Moving picture server and method of controlling same

Operability of an image database is improved. To achieve this, a manipulator is displayed on a horizontal axis at the center thereof. If the manipulator is dragged upward or downward, the scale of graduations on the horizontal axis is enlarged or reduced (e.g., month of photography becomes year of photography or day of photography). If the manipulator is dragged rightward or leftward, the values of the graduations on the horizontal axis increase or decrease (e.g., from January to December, 2000, to either January to December, 2001 or January to December, 1999). If a search command is applied, images that fall within a search range the graduations of which have been changed are searched. Merely dragging the manipulator makes it possible to change not only the values of the graduations but also the scale thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Asaka, Japan

Akio Nishiyama