US Patent 10037345 Clustering method and device

A clustering method for applying to a plurality of classes each including one or more images as objects, includes: performing an iterative merge on the classes according to inter-class Rank-Order distances; obtaining an intra-class convergence degree of each class obtained by the iterative merge, based on inter-object distances in the class; and grouping, for each class obtained by the iterative merge, objects in the class that have a distance smaller than the intra-class convergence degree of the class into a new class, thereby to perform an update on the classes.