System and method for image storage and analysis

#This invention relates generally to image storage and more specifically to directly and efficiently storing and retrieving an image in a relational database management system.

#Databases provide a convenient means of storing vast amounts of information, allowing the information to be sorted, searched, viewed, and manipulated according to the needs of the user(s). Digital databases are managed using database management systems. A database management system (DBMS) consists of software that operates databases, allowing data creation, maintenance, search capabilities, and other access. A relational database management system (RDBMS) is a DBMS that is based on the relational model which adds the additional condition that the system supports a tabular structure for the data, with enforced relationships between the tables.

#Various types of data may be stored in a database, including string data, numeric data, and dates. There are times when a user needs to store an image in a database. Today, an image is stored in database tables as a BLOB (Binary Large Object) field or as a link to an external file. In either case, the image can be queried based on the image file name and not the image contents. Furthermore, images stored as external file links cannot be processed using RDBMS capabilities and multiple images are difficult to maintain. A need exists for directly and efficiently storing an image so that it can be queried similar to a regular text field.

#These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a computerized implementation of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a process for storing an image in a relational database table.

#The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.

#Embodiments of this invention are directed to directly and efficiently storing and retrieving an image in a relational database management system. Specifically, a storing tool is used to: (a) receive an image composed of a plurality of lines wherein each line composed of a plurality of blocks wherein each block is composed of a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns; (b) retrieve image pixel values of a block of a line on a pixel-by-pixel basis; (c) store the image pixel values of the block in an output buffer; (d) repeat steps (b) and (c) for each block until all blocks of the line are stored; (e) store the line of image pixel values in the relational database in a sequential line-by-line manner from the output buffer; and (f) repeat steps (b) through (e) for each line until all the lines of the image are stored.

#Furthermore, an image matching tool is used to retrieve a plurality of images in a relational database table and match each of the plurality of images against an input image using the contents of the images rather than image file names. Specifically, the image matching tool is used to: (a) retrieve the image pixel value data of an input image; (b) retrieve data relating to a plurality of predefined thresholds; (c) retrieve the image pixel value data of the stored image in the relational database table; (d) perform a matching process between the image pixel data of the input image and the image pixel data of the stored image in the relational database table using a matching algorithm; (e) return data values relating to the stored image in the relational database table when any of the plurality of thresholds is reached; and (f) repeat steps (c) through (e) until the input image has been compared with all stored images in the relational database table.