Providing selected images from a set of images

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016283483-A1
Application number	US-201615081858-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 26, 2016
Priority date	Mar 27, 2015
Publication date	Sep 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Implementations relate to providing selected images from a set of images. In some implementations, a computer-executed method includes receiving a request from a device for one or more images, where the request specifies one or more specified time periods at each of one or more specified time scales. One or more groups of selected images are determined from a set of images, each group being within one of the one or more specified time periods at one of the one or more specified time scales. One or more of the selected images from the one or more groups are caused to be sent to the device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a request from a device for one or more images, wherein the request specifies one or more specified time periods at each of one or more specified time scales; determining one or more groups of selected images from a set of images, each group being within one of the one or more specified time periods at one of the one or more specified time scales; and causing one or more of the selected images from the one or more groups to be sent to the device.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more specified time scales are referenced in a stored hierarchical data structure storing a different time scale of images at each hierarchical level of the hierarchical data structure, wherein the different time scales of images are used for determining the one or more groups of selected images within the one or more specified time periods at the one or more specified time scales.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the groups of selected images are organized in particular time periods defined in the hierarchical data structure based on time data associated with the images.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more specified time scales include at least one of: an event level time scale, a day level time scale, a week level time scale, a month level time scale, a year level time scale, and a decade level time scale.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining one or more groups of selected images includes examining the set of images and determining rankings of images in particular time periods based on image characteristics of the set of images, wherein the group of selected images is determined from highest ranking images of the images in particular time periods.

6 . The method of claim 5 wherein each image is associated with a time value, and wherein determining rankings is based on the image characteristics and is based on providing a time diversity for the time values of successively-ranked images.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein causing the one or more selected images to be sent includes sending one or more image identifiers that identify the one or more selected images, and further comprising:
determining the one or more selected images to be sent to the requesting device based on one or more characteristics of the one or more selected images, wherein the one or more characteristics include at least one of:
a number of images included in the respective selected groups of the one or more selected images;
a time distribution of images included in the respective selected groups of the one or more selected images; and
a type of content depicted in the one or more selected images.

8 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon software instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:
receiving, at a client device from a server, image identification structured data including groups of selected image identifiers selected from one or more sets of image identifiers, wherein the groups of selected image identifiers are organized in a hierarchical data structure storing a different time scale of images at each hierarchical level of the hierarchical data structure; examining the image identification structured data by the client device to obtain a number of selected image identifiers from one or more of the groups of selected image identifiers at a specified time scale; requesting a number of images corresponding to the number of selected image identifiers from a server; receiving the number of images from the server; and displaying the number of images on a display of the client device.

9 . The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the hierarchical data structure includes a plurality of defined time periods at each of the different time scales, and wherein the groups of selected image identifiers are provided in particular time periods defined in the hierarchical data structure based on time data associated with the images.

10 . The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the selected image identifiers in the groups are determined based on one or more image characteristics of images corresponding to the one or more sets of image identifiers, wherein the selected image identifiers correspond to images having a particular ranking among images associated with time periods associated with the groups.

11 . The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the selected image identifiers in each of the groups are associated with times that are diverse over time periods associated with the groups.

12 . The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein one or more of the selected image identifiers are included in multiple groups of selected images, wherein each of the multiple groups is provided at a different hierarchical level of the hierarchical data structure.

13 . The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the operations further comprise:
requesting an update to the image identification structured data;
receiving updated image identification structured data; and
updating the groups of selected image identifiers in the hierarchical data structure.

14 . A system comprising:
a storage device; and at least one processor accessing the storage device and configured to perform operations comprising:
storing image identifiers for a set of images at a first hierarchical level of a data structure representing a first time scale and stored by the storage device;
determining a ranking order of a plurality of the image identifiers based on one or more characteristics of the images in the set of images corresponding to the plurality of image identifiers;
storing, at a second hierarchical level of the data structure, one or more highest ranking image identifiers in a group of selected image identifiers, wherein the second hierarchical level represents a second time scale at a higher time granularity; and
sending at least one image identifier of the group of selected image identifiers to a requesting device.

15 . The system of claim 14 wherein the data structure includes a plurality of defined time periods at each of the hierarchical levels, and wherein the group of selected image identifiers is provided in a particular time period defined in the data structure based on time data associated with the images, wherein the defined time periods include at least one of:
a plurality of different event time periods at an event level of a hierarchical data structure;
a plurality of different day time periods at a day level of the hierarchical data structure;
a plurality of different week time periods at a week level of the level of the hierarchical data structure; and
a plurality of different month time periods at a month level of the hierarchical data structure.

16 . The system of claim 14 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform operations comprising providing one or more additional hierarchical levels of the data structure, wherein each additional hierarchical level stores one or more groups of highest ranking image identifiers derived from one or more groups of highest ranking image identifiers at the next lower level of the data structure.

17 . The system of claim 14 wherein the set of images is one of a plurality of sets of images, each set of images covering a different time period in a timeline, and wherein the processor is further configured to perform operations including repeating, for each of the sets of images at each different time period, th

Assignees

• Google Inc

Inventors

• Jiang Ruirui
• Butko Nicholas
• Wang Nan
• POON Wingchi
• Cui Jingyu
• Singh Gurshamnjot
• PUCHALLA FIORE Loren Frank
• Dai Shengyang
• Krishnaswamy Aravind
• Lieb David
• Sabharwal Anil

Classifications

• G06F16/58

  Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually · CPC title

• G06F17/3053 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F21/6254

  by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification · CPC title

• G06F17/30247

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30327

  Physics · mapped topic