Image querying with relevance-relative scaling

A system for presenting images selected from an image store in response to a query, the system comprising:

• an image selecting component configured to select images from the image store relating to the query;
• an image query relevance score computing component configured, for respective selected images, to compute a query relevance score relating to the query;
• an image instance generating component configured, for respective selected images, to generate an image instance of the image scaled proportionally to the query relevance score;
• an image instance set preparing component configured to prepare an image instance set of image instances;
• and
• an image instance set presenting component configured to present the image instance set.

A method of presenting images in a presentation space selected from an image store comprising smoothly zoomable images and at least one query term relevance score relating the image to at least one query term in response to a query received from a user comprising at least one query term, the method comprising:

• selecting images from the image store relating to the query;
• for respective selected images:
• computing a query relevance score relating to the query by combining the query term relevance scores for respective query terms of the query relating to the image, and
• generating an image instance scaled proportionally to the query relevance score, relative to the query relevance scores of other selected images, and relative to at least one dimension of the presentation space, by:
• selecting a smoothly zoomable image instance from the image store, and
• selecting a zoom level for the smoothly zoomable image instance proportional to the query relevance score of the image;
• preparing a smoothly zoomable image instance set of smoothly zoomable image instances by:
• associating respective image instances with the image in the image store, and
• placing image instances for respective selected images nearer image instances of at least one of:
• related selected images,
• selected images having a similar query relevance score, and
• selected images having a similar query relevance score with respect to respective query terms;
• presenting the smoothly zoomable image instance set by sending the smoothly zoomable image instance set to the user;
• upon detecting a user selection of a selected image instance in the image instance set, adjusting at least one query term relevance score in the image store relating the selected image instance to at least one query term in response to the user selection;
• and
• upon detecting a user zoom action relating to a zoomed image instance in the image instance set, adjusting the query term relevance score in the image store relating the zoomed image instance to at least one query term in response to the user zoom action.