Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Hitachi, Ltd.

Interand Corporation

Hiroshi Kotera

Seiichi Yasumoto

Wayne D Jung

Timothy T Tutt

Shigeru Miyamoto

Kinshiroo Oonishi

Tomohiko Arikawa

Yosinori Saki

Mike Dunk

Masao Togawa

Kazuo Unemoto

An image retrieval system and method are provided for retrieving and displaying images of the plurality of images stored in the system. Images are grouped into collections of images, or documents. Representative images indicative of the representative images include representations of third, orthogonal or depth dimensions indicative of the number of images in the image groups. With a position indicating device, the user selects for display an image from an image group by indicating a position along the depth dimension of the representative image at a location corresponding to the relative location of the image in the image group. The image then is retrieved and displayed. Once the image is displayed, means are provided for sequential retrieval and display of images, forwards or backwards, through the images in the selected image group.

Method and apparatus for image retrieval

An image display apparatus wherein a plurality of images having different attributes, such as printed text, a drawing, hand-written data and a natural picture, displayed in superposition on a display screen, are selectively and partially erased. 'In this way, it is possible that' the image having a specific attribute, for example, hand-written data, in a designated area selectively erased. Accordingly, operability of the system is improved where a plurality of images having different attributes are superimposed.

Image display apparatus capable of selective and partial erasure of

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Kanagawa, Japan

Hiroshi Kotera