JP2002238015A - Electronic device and data write method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital still camera capable of being used suitably for an optical disk recording medium with a small size, a large capacity and moreover the single body of which mounted on various electronic devices can be used. SOLUTION: Newest file management information stored in an optical disk recording medium 27 is read from the optical disk recoding medium 27 at application of power to the digital still camera or when the optical disk recording medium 27 is mounted on the digital still camera, and is stored in a storage section of a recording medium disk which records medium 27. In the case of successively storing image data to the optical disk recoding medium 27, the file management information on the storage section 104 is updated. Interruption of power from the digital still camera or when the optical disk recording medium 27 is removed, the digital camera conducts processing for writing the file management information updated in the storage section 104 to the optical disk recording medium 27 as the newest file management information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus for writing data on an optical disc recording medium by rotating the optical disc recording medium, and a data writing method for the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras and the increase in the data size of recorded images, the development of new inexpensive and large-capacity recording media has been required.

Conventionally, as a storage medium of a digital camera, a memory card constituted by a flash memory has been mainly used. Although the cost and capacity of memory cards are being reduced, the unit cost per bit is still high.

Therefore, it has been attempted to use a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk drive as a storage medium of a digital camera. Although a hard disk drive is suitable for increasing the capacity, the cost of the product is high because the medium and the drive are integrated, and it is not possible to easily procure it on the go as if it were a photographic film.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Under such circumstances,
In digital cameras, there is a long-awaited demand for a new removable recording medium that is small, has a large capacity, and can be used by attaching a recording medium alone to various electronic devices.

[0006] In this case, it is important to greatly reduce the cost of the recording medium itself so that it can be easily purchased anywhere, such as a station store or a convenience store, such as a photographic film. As a measure for reducing the cost of the recording medium, it is conceivable to use a write-once optical disc recording medium such as a CD-R. A write-once optical disc recording medium cannot physically rewrite data, but the cost of the medium itself can be kept low, and the capacity of the medium can be easily increased by optical recording.

However, when such a write-once optical disc recording medium is used as a recording medium for a digital camera, physical data cannot be rewritten as described above, so that an old file is written every time image data is written. New file management information is added to the optical disk recording medium while the management information remains. This means that the storage capacity of the optical disk recording medium is wasted by old file management information.

[0008] Further, since the optical disk recording medium needs to read / write data by rotating the optical disk recording medium, the power consumption during data read / write becomes very large as compared with a memory card or the like. . In this case, if the rotation speed of the optical disk recording medium is out of synchronization with the transfer speed of the write data due to, for example, a decrease in power from a battery, an error occurs in data writing, and the data cannot be read normally. Occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is suitable for use in a write-once optical disc recording medium which is small, has a large capacity, and can be used alone by attaching it to various electronic devices. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and a data writing method in the device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus which is constructed so that a write-once optical disk recording medium can be mounted thereon and stores data in the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium. A memory, file management information reading means for reading file management information for managing data stored on the optical disk recording medium from the optical disk recording medium and storing the file management information in the memory, and additionally writing data on the optical disk recording medium Means for updating the file management information in the memory in accordance with writing of data to the optical disk recording medium, and means for updating the optical disk recording medium when the power of the electronic device is turned off or from the electronic device. The file management information updated on the memory when the file is removed Characterized by comprising a file management information write once means that additional recording on the optical disc recording medium as the latest file management information.

According to this configuration, the number of times of addition of the file management information can be reduced, so that each time image data is written, new file management information is additionally written on the optical disk recording medium while the old file management information remains. The storage capacity of the write-once optical disc recording medium can be used more efficiently than in the system.

In the case where a non-volatile memory is used as the memory, additional writing of the updated file management information may be performed only when the optical disk recording medium is removed. Can be reduced. Also, since the content of the file management information on the memory is updated according to the writing of data,
By referring to the file management information, data newly written on the optical disc recording medium can be correctly read from the optical disc recording medium.

The present invention is also directed to a digital camera which is configured to be capable of mounting an optical disk recording medium and stores an image data file obtained by photographing by an imaging unit in the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium. Means for setting the imaging unit to a low power consumption state when writing image data to the optical disk recording medium; stopping rotation of the optical disk recording medium when the writing of the image data is completed; Means for returning to the normal operation state. According to this configuration, the maximum power consumption can be suppressed low, so that the reliability of the operation of writing image data to the optical disk recording medium can be improved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera in which a write-once optical disk recording medium is configured to be mountable, and image data obtained by photographing is stored in the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium. Means for generating a plurality of compressed image data respectively corresponding to a plurality of image signals obtained by continuous shooting; and collectively writing the plurality of generated compressed image data on the optical disk recording medium. And means for performing the following. According to this configuration, since a large data size can be written at a time, the total rotation time of the motor can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced as compared with a case where image data is individually written while compressing.

Further, the present invention is a digital camera which is configured to be capable of mounting an optical disk recording medium and stores image data obtained by photographing on the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium, Means for starting rotation drive of the optical disk recording medium in a reproduction mode for displaying and reproducing image data recorded on the optical disk recording medium and reading image data to be reproduced from the optical disk recording medium; Monitoring the elapsed time from when the reproduction target image data is read to when the next image data reproduction request is issued, and when the next image data reproduction request is not issued within a predetermined time, the optical disc recording is performed. Means for stopping the rotation drive of the medium. According to this configuration, useless motor rotation can be eliminated.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital still camera compresses and encodes an image signal obtained by shooting, and records the image signal on the optical disk recording medium 27 as a still image data file. This digital still camera can handle not only still image shooting / recording but also moving image shooting / recording.

This digital still camera includes a lens 11, a solid-state imaging device 12 such as a CCD / CMOS sensor, an imaging signal processor 13, an A / D converter 1 as shown in the figure.
4. Image sensor driver / timing generator 15
(Hereinafter, image sensor driver 15), strobe 16, signal processing IC 17, RAM 18, ROM 19, sub-microcomputer 20, key input unit 21, monochrome LCD 22, display unit 23,
A battery 24, a power supply circuit 25, a recording medium drive unit 26, and the like are provided.

The lens 11 constitutes a photographing optical system. The optical image input by the lens 11 is converted into an electric signal by the imaging device 12 and read out as an imaging signal under the control of the imaging device driver 15.
The imaging signal is sent to the A / D converter 14 via the imaging processing unit 13. The image signal converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 14 is input to the signal processing IC 17. Signal processing I
C17 is composed of a DSP. This signal processing IC
Reference numeral 17 has functions of overall camera control, image signal generation, and image data compression / decompression.

The RAM 18 is a working memory of the signal processing IC 17. The imaging signal input to the signal processing IC 17 is temporarily stored in the RAM 18, where signal processing for image signal generation, compression processing, and image data file generation processing are performed. The ROM 19 stores a program for controlling the operation of the signal processing IC 17.

The sub microcomputer 20 controls the digital camera in cooperation with the signal processing IC 17. The main functions of the sub-microcomputer 20 are to receive a key input from the key input unit 21 (power switch, eject switch, shutter button, etc.), display various states on the monochrome LCD 22,
And control of the power supply circuit 25. The sub-microcomputer 20 has a clock module 201 for managing the date and time.
Is provided. This sub microcomputer 20 and signal processing I
C17 functions together with the camera control unit 30. For example, a signal from a key of the key input unit 21 other than the power switch may be directly input to the signal processing IC 17.

The display unit 23 is a color LCD. This color LCD is used for displaying and reproducing image signals obtained by the signal processing IC 17 and for displaying and reproducing recorded images. The power supply circuit 25 generates an operation power supply for each part in the digital camera from the battery 24 or an external DC power supply. A dedicated sub-battery is connected to the power supply circuit 25, and power can be supplied to the sub-microcomputer 20 even when the battery of the digital camera is replaced. As a result, the clock module 201 always operates, so that correct date and time information can be added to the header portion of the file of the still image data and recorded.

The recording medium drive 26 is a drive unit that performs a data recording / reproducing process on the optical disk recording medium 27 by rotating the optical disk recording medium 27 mounted thereon. The optical disk recording medium 27 is a write-once optical disk, and is detachably mounted in a disk mounting slot provided in a digital still camera. The optical disk recording medium 27 is a double-sided recording medium having a front surface and a back surface. The disk size is about 500 yen coin and has a storage capacity of about 500 Mbytes.

As shown in FIG. 2, the optical disk recording medium 27 is composed of a disk-shaped medium (disk medium) 272 and a jacket 271 for accommodating the medium. The medium 272 is rotatably provided in the jacket 271. The optical disk recording medium 27 is inserted into the recording medium drive 26 through a disk mounting slot provided in the digital still camera. Optical disk recording medium 27
Although the recording medium drive 26 itself has one head, data recording / reproducing processing is performed on either one of the front surface and the back surface facing the head portion, though the recording is itself double-side recording.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recording medium drive 26 includes a drive control section 101, a rotation drive mechanism section 102, a clock module 103, a storage section 104, and a pickup section (head section) 105. The drive control unit 101 executes a data recording / reproducing process on the optical disc recording medium 27 according to a command from the signal processing IC 17 functioning as a host device of the recording medium drive 26. The data recording / reproducing process is performed while rotating the disk medium 272 of the optical disk recording medium 27 by the rotation driving mechanism unit 102 including a motor.

(Addition control of file management information) Next, management of file management information stored in the optical disk recording medium 27 will be described.

The optical disc recording medium 27 not only records image data such as still images / moving images as files, but also file management information (types of each file, Size, date and time of creation, recording position, valid / invalid, association between files) are also recorded. The optical disk recording medium 27 is a CD-R
Since this is a write-once type recording medium that can be additionally written in the same manner as described above, normally, every time image data is written, new file management information is added while old file management information remains on the optical disk recording medium 27. Will be. If the file management information is collectively written as much as possible, the capacity of the optical disk recording medium 27 can be effectively used. Hereinafter, the mechanism for that will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when the power of the digital still camera is turned on or when the optical disk recording medium 27 is mounted on the digital still camera, the latest file management information stored in the optical disk recording medium 27 is stored in the optical disk recording medium. The data is read from the recording medium 27 and stored in the storage unit 104 in the recording medium drive 26. Storage unit 10
Reference numeral 4 denotes a volatile semiconductor memory. In the optical disk recording medium 27, a file management information storage area and an image file storage area are divided, new file management information is added to the file management information storage area, and an image data file is stored in the image file storage area. It will be added. The image data file includes the image data itself, date and time information, and other various information. The file management information is for managing each image data and its file.
In FIG. 4A, image data # 1, # 2, # 3, and # 4 are stored as files in the image file storage area, and file management information is written four times in the file management information storage area. The state of the case is shown (the file management information indicated by oblique lines is the latest one, and the file management information indicated by oblique lines is invalidated by additional writing).

After reading the latest file management information from the optical disk recording medium 27, the control unit 30 of the digital still camera refers to the file management information on the storage unit 104 and stores the image data file on the optical disk recording medium 27. And reading of an image data file from the optical disk recording medium 27 is controlled. When the image data is additionally written on the optical disk recording medium 27, the control unit 3
0 updates the file management information in the storage unit 104 accordingly.

Next, when the power of the digital still camera is turned off or when the eject key for removing the optical disk recording medium 27 is pressed, as shown in FIG. Then, a process of appending the file management information updated on the storage unit 104 to the optical disk recording medium 27 as the latest file management information is performed.
Of course, when the file management information on the storage unit 104 has not been updated, the additional recording process on the optical disc recording medium 27 is unnecessary. Whether or not the file management information on the storage unit 104 has been updated can be determined by, for example, storing a flag indicating that at a specific position on the storage unit 104.

FIG. 5 shows an example of file management information stored in the optical disk recording medium 27. In FIG. 5, the file management information includes its own update date and time information, the total capacity of the optical disc recording medium 27, the recorded capacity of the optical disc recording medium 27, the number of recorded image data,
Each of the recorded image data files # 1, # 2,... Is composed of information such as capacity, storage position, recording date and time. The update date / time information of the file management information itself and the recording date / time information of each image data file are given by the clock module 103 in the recording medium drive 26 or the clock module 201 of the sub-microcomputer 20.

Next, the operation procedure of the control unit 30 of the digital still camera will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

When the power switch is turned on by the user, a power ON command is issued from the sub-microcomputer 20 to the power circuit 25, and power is supplied to each unit. In this case, FIG.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG.
First, it is determined whether or not the optical disk recording medium 27 is mounted by communicating with the recording medium drive 26 (step S101). When the optical disk recording medium 27 is not mounted, the signal processing IC 17
Display a message indicating that no media is inserted into the monochrome LCD 22 or the display unit 23 through the display (step S).
103).

When the optical disk recording medium 27 is mounted in advance, or when the mounting of the optical disk recording medium 27 is detected by the recording medium drive 26, the signal processing IC 17 transmits the latest information from the optical disk recording medium 27 through the recording medium drive 26. Search file management information of
Then, the latest file management information is read from the optical disk recording medium 27 and stored in the storage unit 104 (step S104). Thereafter, the signal processing IC 17 permits the photographing operation, and when the user presses the shutter button, the signal processing IC 17 performs the photographing processing operation and the recording operation of the image data file (step S105). The image data file is additionally written on the optical disk recording medium 27 through the recording medium drive 26. At this time, the signal processing IC 17 updates the file management information on the storage unit 104 (step S1).
06). Hereinafter, the same operation is performed each time the shutter button is pressed (steps S107 and S108).

When the power switch is turned off by the user or when the eject button for ejecting the optical disk recording medium 27 is pressed, the signal processing IC 17 first stores in the storage section as shown in the flowchart of FIG. It is determined whether the file management information on the file 104 has been updated (step S111). If the file management information has been updated, the signal processing IC 17 adds the file management information on the storage unit 104 to the optical disk recording medium 27 via the recording medium drive 26 as the latest file management information (step S112). After that, the signal processing IC 17
The power off process or the eject process is started (step S113).

With the above control, the number of times of additional writing of file management information can be reduced. Therefore, each time an image data file is written, new file management information is added to the optical disk recording medium 27 while old file management information remains. Write-once optical disc recording medium 27
Storage capacity can be used efficiently.

(File Management Information Additional Recording Control # 2) Next, a second example of the management of the file management information stored in the optical disk recording medium 27 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that a nonvolatile semiconductor memory is used as the storage unit 104. When the file management information is stored in the nonvolatile semiconductor memory, the latest file management information is held even when the camera power is off. That is, it is not always necessary to write the latest file management information to the optical disk recording medium 27 when the camera power is turned off, and it is sufficient to write the latest file management information to the optical disk recording medium 27 only when the optical disk recording medium 27 is removed.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the optical disc recording medium 27 is mounted on the digital still camera, first, the latest file management information stored in the optical disc recording medium 27 is read from the optical disc recording medium 27. The data is read and stored in the storage unit 1 in the recording medium drive 26.
04. The storage unit 104 is composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory as described above.

After reading the latest file management information from the optical disk recording medium 27, the control unit 30 of the digital still camera refers to the file management information on the storage unit 104 and stores the image data file on the optical disk recording medium 27. And reading of an image data file from the optical disk recording medium 27 is controlled. When an image data file is added to the optical disk recording medium 27,
The control unit 30 updates the file management information on the storage unit 104 accordingly.

Next, when the eject key for removing the optical disk recording medium 27 is depressed, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), under the control of the control unit 30, a process of additionally writing the file management information updated on the storage unit 104 as the latest file management information on the optical disc recording medium 27 is performed. Of course, if the file management information on the storage unit 104 has not been updated, the optical disk recording medium 2
No additional writing process to 7 is required.

As described above, by reading the file management information of the optical disk recording medium 27 into the nonvolatile memory, the number of times of writing the file management information to the optical disk recording medium 27 can be further reduced.

As described above, the optical disk recording medium 27 is a small-sized, double-sided recording medium for securing a sufficient capacity, and the recording medium drive 26 has one piece for cost reduction. It is preferable that the file management information is separately stored on each of the front and back surfaces of the optical disc recording medium 27. In particular, by using the file management information on the front side to manage image data files recorded on the front side, and using the file management information on the back side to manage image data files recorded on the back side,
Even if the optical disk recording medium 27 is inserted in either direction of the front surface or the back surface, the above-described control can be performed correctly.

The storage unit 104 is most effective to use the memory in the recording medium drive 26 in order to simplify the configuration on the camera side. However, it is needless to say that the storage unit 104 may be prepared on the camera side. is there.

In addition, not only the image data, but also the optical disk recording medium 27 in which the image data and other data are recorded in a mixed manner, the above-described additional control of the file management information can be similarly applied.

(Power Control) Next, power control applied to the digital still camera of this embodiment will be described.

When writing / reading data to / from the optical disk recording medium 27, a mechanical drive mechanism needs to be operated, so that a large amount of power is required for writing / reading data. Therefore, the following power control mechanism is effective.

(1) When writing data to or reading data from the optical disk recording medium 27, the image pickup unit (solid-state image pickup device 12, image pickup signal processing unit 13, A / D converter 14, image pickup device driver 15) of the digital still camera
, Etc.), and set to a low power state (including a case where power supply to the imaging unit is stopped).

(2) When writing data to or reading data from the optical disk recording medium 27, the light emitting capacitor of the strobe 16 is not charged.

FIG. 9 shows the procedure of the control process (1). That is, before writing or reading data to or from the optical disc recording medium 27, the signal processing IC 17 first sets the imaging unit to the low power state (step S121). After that, the signal processing IC 17
The motor rotation of the recording medium drive 26 is started (step S122), and after the rotation speed of the optical disk recording medium 27 is stabilized, data writing or data reading is performed on the optical disk recording medium 27 through the recording medium drive 26 (step S123). ). When the data writing / data reading is completed, the signal processing IC 17
Stops the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26 (step S124), returns the imaging unit to the normal operation state, and permits the photographing operation (step S125).

By setting the imaging unit in the low power state in this manner, the value of the maximum power consumption generated during the data write / read operation can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to stably supply the power required for the data write / read operation, and it is possible to prevent a malfunction such as a data write error. Further, since the maximum current is reduced, the life of the battery 24 is prolonged.

FIG. 10 shows the procedure of the control process (2). That is, the signal processing IC 17 monitors the status of the strobe 16 to manage whether or not it needs to be charged (whether or not it can emit light), and charges the strobe 16 when it needs to be charged. Issue an order,
Start charging. In this example, when the signal processing IC 17 detects that the strobe 16 needs to be charged, that is, when the status of the strobe 16 changes from the light emission enabled state to the light emission disabled state (corresponding to a charge request).
First, it is determined whether data writing or data reading to the optical disk recording medium 27 is being executed (step S131). If the optical disk recording medium 27 is not rotating, that is, if data writing / reading is not being performed, the signal processing IC 17 issues a charge command to the strobe 16 to start charging (step S).
132). On the other hand, when the optical disk recording medium 27 is rotating, that is, during data writing / reading,
The signal processing IC 17 waits for completion of data writing / reading (steps S133, S131),
A charge command is issued to the strobe 16 (step S1)
32).

Stopping the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26 is synonymous with setting the recording medium drive 26 to a low power consumption standby mode.

Next, a series of operations in the imaging mode including the power management control of (1) and (2) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the power switch is turned on by the user, a power ON command is issued from the sub-microcomputer 20 to the power circuit 25, and power is supplied to each unit. Signal processing IC1
7 first determines whether or not the optical disk recording medium 27 is mounted by communicating with the recording medium drive 26 (step S141). Optical disk recording medium 2
If the media 7 is not mounted, the signal processing IC 17 displays a message via the sub-microcomputer 20 to the effect that no media has been inserted into the monochrome LCD 22 or the display unit 23 (step S142).

When the optical disk recording medium 27 is mounted in advance, or when the mounting of the optical disk recording medium 27 is detected by the recording medium drive 26, the signal processing IC 17 starts the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26. (Step S144) Then, the latest file management information is searched from the optical disk recording medium 27 through the recording medium drive 26, and the latest file management information is read from the optical disk recording medium 27 and stored in the storage unit 104 (Step S145). After that, the signal processing IC
17 stops the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26 (step S146), and then sets the imaging unit to an operation state to set a photographable state (step S147). When the shutter button is pressed, the signal processing IC 17 starts a photographing processing operation, reads a signal from the imaging device 13, and
The signal processing is started (steps S148 and S14).
9). At this point, the imaging unit is temporarily set to the low power state (step S150).

When the image data file is generated, the signal processing IC 17 rotates the motor of the recording medium drive 26 (step S151), and then transfers the image data file to the optical disk recording medium 27 through the recording medium drive 26.
(Step S152). At this time, the signal processing IC 17 updates the file management information on the storage unit 104. When the writing of the image data file is completed, the signal processing IC 17 stops the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26 (step S153), and then returns the imaging unit to the normal operation state to permit the photographing operation (step S1).
54).

When the strobe 16 is fired during the photographing process, a charge request may be generated during the writing of the image data file. However, the writing process of the image data file is executed with priority, and Charging is performed after the end of the writing process.

(Date and Time Setting) In this digital still camera, power is supplied to the sub-microcomputer 20 even while the camera is turned off, but the recording medium drive 26 is completely turned off to save power. Therefore, the time of the clock module 103 in the recording medium drive 26 is shifted from the current time. The clock module 103 in the recording medium drive 26 is used for managing the recording time of a data file recorded on the optical disk recording medium 27 and the like.
As shown in FIG. 2, the write data file and the date and time information are recorded on the optical disc recording medium 27 in a state where they are associated with each other. For this reason, a mechanism for maintaining the date and time measured by the clock module 103 at a correct value is required.

FIG. 13 shows a date setting operation performed when the power of the digital still camera is turned on.

That is, when the power of the digital still camera is turned on, the signal processing IC 17 acquires the current date and time information from the clock module 201 of the sub-microcomputer 20 during the series of startup sequence (step S16).
1), the acquired date and time information is set in the clock module 103 in the recording medium drive 26 (step S16)
2). As a result, the date and time information of the clock module 103 in the recording medium drive 26 can be maintained correctly.

FIG. 14 shows a processing procedure when the date and time setting function of the digital still camera is called by the operation of the key input unit 21 by the user. In this case, black and white LC
A date and time setting screen is displayed on D22 or the display unit 23,
The date and time information input by the user operating the key input unit 21 is displayed on the screen. When the user performs an operation for confirming the input date and time information, the signal processing I
C17 sets the input date and time information in the clock module 201 of the sub-microcomputer 20 (step S1).
71), the same date and time information is set in the clock module 103 in the recording medium drive 26 (step S17).
2). Thereby, the date and time information of the clock module 201 and the clock module 103 can always be kept in the same state.

(Consecutive recording of a plurality of image data files)
Writing an image data file to the optical disk recording medium 27 requires a relatively long time. In addition, when writing data, it is necessary to wait until the rotation speed stabilizes at a constant speed after rotating the motor. Therefore, an operation of creating an image data file and writing it to the optical disk recording medium 27 each time shooting is performed. If the plurality of image data files obtained by photographing are collectively and continuously added to the optical disc recording medium 27, the total rotation time of the motor can be reduced as a result. In particular, at the time of continuous shooting, as shown in FIG. 15, an image data file corresponding to each of a plurality of image signals obtained by continuous shooting is prepared on the RAM 18 by effectively using the RAM 18 as a buffer. After that, by writing to the optical disk recording medium 27 collectively, it is possible to improve the performance of the continuous shooting speed, reduce the power consumption, and reduce the total writing time.

FIG. 16 shows a series of processing procedures in the continuous shooting mode. In the continuous shooting mode, the photographing operation and the signal processing operation are repeatedly executed while the shutter button is pressed (steps S181 and S182). Then, all the consecutively shot images are sequentially taken into the RAM 18, and the data is compressed into still image data by the RAM 1
8 is performed. All compressed still image data is stored in RAM
When it is prepared on the optical disk recording medium, preferably, the motor of the recording medium drive 26 is rotated at a timing slightly before that (step S184), and all the still image data prepared on the RAM 18 are continuously collected. 27
(Step S185). At this time, the storage unit 1
Also, the file management information on the file 04 is updated. When the writing is completed, the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26 is stopped (step S186).

With the above control, a plurality of images obtained by continuous shooting can be continuously written as a series of stream data composed of image data for each of the plurality of images. Although a plurality of image data obtained by continuous shooting are basically recorded individually as image files, a plurality of image data may be recorded as one file.

(Reproduction Mode) Next, operation control in the reproduction mode in which an image data file is read from the optical disk recording medium 27 and displayed and reproduced will be described.

In the digital still camera, the following control is performed in order to reduce power consumption in the reproduction mode.

(1) When an image data file is read from the optical disk recording medium 27 and reproduced, if there is no reproduction request from the user to the digital still camera within a certain set time, the recording medium drive 26 Stop motor rotation.

This control can be easily realized by using the above-described clock module 103 provided in the recording medium drive 26 as a timer.
That is, as shown in FIG. 17, the timer 103 starts counting from the time when the image data or the file management information was last read from the optical disk recording medium 27 (the counting is started by the instruction from the control unit 30 or the drive control unit When the time exceeds a preset time, a pause request (a request to shift the recording medium drive 26 to a low power consumption standby mode) is issued to the control unit 30. Do. The transition to the standby mode is performed after waiting for a mode transition notification from the control unit 30. Of course, when the time exceeds a preset time, the recording medium drive 26 itself stops rotating the motor,
A transition to the standby mode may be made automatically.

FIG. 18 shows the control unit 3 in the reproduction mode.
0 is shown. When the reproduction mode is selected by a key operation of the key input unit 21 by the user, the signal processing IC 17 starts the rotation of the motor of the recording medium drive 26 (step S191), and for example, transfers the last written image data file to the recording medium drive. The data is read out from the optical disk recording medium 27 through 26 (step S192).
Next, the signal processing IC 17 decompresses the read image data file (step S193) and displays it on the display unit 23 (step S194). When a user requests a reproduction of another image such as an image previously written by a key operation of the key input unit 21 (including a thumbnail display request of a plurality of images recorded on the optical disc recording medium 27). ), The corresponding next image data file is read, decompressed, and displayed (steps S192, S193, and S194).

FIG. 19 shows the operation of the recording medium drive 26 in the reproduction mode.

Drive control unit 1 of recording medium drive 26
01 receives a read request from the signal processing IC 17 (step S201), and executes an image data file read operation according to the read request (step S202). When reading of the image data file is completed, counting by the timer 103 is started by an instruction from the drive control unit 101 (or an instruction from the signal processing IC 17) (step S203). The count operation by the timer 103 is continued until the drive control unit 101 receives a read request for the next image data from the signal processing IC 17. Upon receiving the request to read the next image data, the drive control unit 101 stops the counting operation by the timer 103 and resets the timer value (elapsed time) (step S205).

FIG. 20 shows the operation when the timer 103 detects the elapse of a predetermined time. Timer 1
When the predetermined time has elapsed (step S211), the drive control unit 101 issues an interruption request to the signal processing IC 17 in response to the interruption from the timer 103 (step S212). And the signal processing IC1
After the transfer instruction from step 7, the motor rotation of the recording medium drive 26 is stopped, and the recording medium drive 26 is set to the standby mode (steps S213 and S214).

The additional control of the file management information, the power control,
The operation has been described separately for the date and time setting, the continuous recording of a plurality of image data files, and the reproduction mode. However, the operations are executed in an appropriate combination.

The above control is performed by, for example, a portable audio player for recording / reproducing audio data using the optical disk recording medium 27 or the optical disk recording medium 2.
The present invention can be applied to a mobile phone, a PHS, and the like having a function of recording / reproducing an image, a sound, and the like using the device 7. The optical disk recording medium 27 is, of course, a storage medium that can be read by an ordinary computer.

[0074]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, an apparatus suitable for use in an optical disk recording medium which is small and has a large capacity and which can be used by attaching a recording medium alone to various electronic devices can be realized. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an optical disk recording medium used in a digital still camera and a drive unit thereof.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a drive unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining additional control of file management information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of file management information.

FIG. 6 is a first flowchart illustrating a process of controlling additional writing of file management information.

FIG. 7 is a second flowchart showing an additional writing control process of the file management information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining another example of the additional control of the file management information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a power management operation for the imaging unit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a power management operation for a strobe.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a series of operations during shooting processing including power management.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a data recording format.

FIG. 13 is a first flowchart illustrating a date and time setting process of the clock module.

FIG. 14 is a second flowchart showing the date and time setting process of the clock module.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a data recording operation during continuous shooting.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation during continuous shooting.

FIG. 17 is a view for explaining power management in the reproduction mode.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a reproduction processing operation by the camera control unit.

FIG. 19 is a first flowchart showing the operation of the drive unit in the reproduction mode.

FIG. 20 is a second flowchart showing the operation of the drive unit in the reproduction mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Image pick-up device 16 ... Strobe 17 ... Signal processing IC 20 ... Sub microcomputer 26 ... Recording medium drive 27 ... Optical disk recording medium 103, 201 ... Clock module 104 ... Storage part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G11B 27/00 G11B 27/00 A 5C053 H04N 5/225 H04N 5/225 F 5D044 5/85 5/85 Z 5D110 5/91 101: 00 // H04N 101: 00 5/91 J (72) Inventor Sumio Sakai 1-9-2, Hara-cho, Fukaya-shi, Saitama Pref. Tatsuhiko 1-9-2, Hara-cho, Fukaya-shi, Saitama F-term in Toshiba Fukaya Video Factory (reference) 2H053 AC21 BA04 CA41 2H054 AA01 2H103 BA44 ZA41 ZA51 5C022 AA13 AC03 AC12 AC31 AC41 AC54 AC69 AC73 AC80 5C0511 AA08 AB DD02 5C053 FA08 FA23 GA11 JA21 KA01 KA24 KA25 LA01 5D044 BC05 CC06 DE03 DE12 DE17 DE23 DE39 DE49 DE59 DE69 DE70 EF05 FG18 GK08 GK12 HH17 5D110 AA16 BB07 DA04 DA17 D B09 DC03 DC13 DC28

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. An electronic apparatus configured to allow a write-once optical disk recording medium to be mounted thereon and storing data on the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium, the memory comprising: a memory; File management information reading means for reading file management information for managing data stored in the optical disk recording medium and storing the file management information in the memory; data appending means for appending data to the optical disk recording medium; Means for updating the file management information on the memory in accordance with writing of data to a recording medium, and when the power of the electronic device is turned off or when the optical disc recording medium is removed from the electronic device, Update the updated file management information to the latest file management information An electronic apparatus characterized by comprising a file management information write once means that additional recording on the optical disc recording medium is. 2. The file management information reading means,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit that reads out the latest file management information from the optical disk recording medium and stores the information in the memory when the electronic device is turned on or when the optical disk recording medium is mounted on the electronic device. Electronic device as described. 3. The memory according to claim 1, wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory, and the file management information appending unit appends the updated file management information only when the optical disc recording medium is removed from the electronic device. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The file management information reading means,
4. The electronic device according to claim 3, further comprising: a unit that reads out the latest file management information from the optical disk recording medium and stores it in the memory only when the optical disk recording medium is mounted on the electronic device. 5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein file management information corresponding to data recorded on each surface is individually recorded on a front surface and a rear surface of the optical disk recording medium. 6. The electronic device is a digital camera having an imaging unit, and the data recording unit is a unit that collectively writes a plurality of image data shot by the imaging unit within a predetermined period on the optical disc recording medium. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: 7. The electronic device is a digital camera, and the data recording means generates a plurality of compressed image data corresponding to a plurality of image signals obtained by continuous shooting, respectively, and generates the plurality of compressed images. 2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for collectively writing data on the optical disk recording medium. 8. When writing / reading to / from the optical disk recording medium, low power consumption is performed on a device other than the device related to the writing / reading operation to / from the optical disk recording medium among a plurality of devices constituting the electronic apparatus. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a power management unit for setting a state. 9. The electronic device is a digital camera having an imaging unit, wherein the power management unit includes a unit that sets the imaging unit to a low power consumption state when writing image data to the optical disc recording medium. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: 10. The electronic device is a digital camera having a strobe, and the power management unit includes a unit for prohibiting a charging operation of the strobe during writing / reading to / from the optical disc recording medium. An electronic device according to claim 8. 11. The electronic device is a digital camera for recording image data obtained by photographing on the optical disk storage medium, and in a reproduction mode for displaying and reproducing the image data recorded on the optical disk storage medium. Means for starting the rotation drive of the optical disk storage medium, reading the image data to be reproduced from the optical disk recording medium with reference to the file management information on the memory, and reading the image data to be reproduced in the reproduction mode Means for monitoring the elapsed time from when the reproduction request of the next image data is issued until the request for reproduction of the next image data is not issued within a certain period of time. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: 12. A drive unit for rotating a mounted optical disc recording medium to perform data recording / reproducing processing on the optical disc recording medium, wherein the monitoring of the elapsed time is provided in the drive unit. 12. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the operation is performed by a timer that operates. 13. A means for stopping the rotation drive of the optical disk recording medium is provided in the drive unit, and the timer detects that a request for reproducing the next image data has not been issued within a predetermined time. sometimes,
13. The electronic device according to claim 12, wherein the drive stops rotating the optical disc recording medium. 14. A drive unit for rotating a mounted optical disk recording medium to perform data recording / reproducing processing on the optical disk recording medium, and used for managing data recording / reproducing date and time on the optical disk recording medium. A drive unit having a unique clock module capable of being provided, a clock module provided in the electronic device and backed up by a battery, and a current date and time from a clock module provided in the electronic device when the electronic device is powered on. 2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit configured to acquire and set the acquired date and time information in a clock module provided in the drive unit. 15. A date and time setting means for setting a current date and time of a clock module provided in the electronic device based on input information from a user; 15. The electronic device according to claim 14, further comprising: means for setting a current date and time based on the input information for a clock module provided in the drive unit in conjunction with the setting. 16. A digital camera, wherein a write-once optical disc recording medium is configured to be mountable, and an image data file obtained by photographing is stored in the optical disc recording medium by rotating the optical disc recording medium. A memory; file management information reading means for reading file management information for managing image data stored on the optical disk recording medium from the optical disk recording medium and storing the file management information in the memory; Data appending means for appending to the optical disc recording medium; means for updating the file management information on the memory in accordance with writing of image data to the optical disc recording medium; and when the digital camera is powered off or the digital Removing the optical disk recording medium from the camera Sometimes, the digital camera characterized by comprising a file management information write once means that additional recording on the optical disc recording medium, the file management information that is updated on the memory as the latest file management information. 17. A digital camera, wherein an optical disk recording medium is configured to be mountable, and wherein image data obtained by photographing by an imaging unit is stored in the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium, Means for setting the imaging unit to a low power consumption state when writing image data to an optical disk recording medium; stopping rotation of the optical disk recording medium when writing of the image data file is completed; and setting the imaging unit to a normal operating state. Means for restoring the digital camera. 18. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for prohibiting a charging operation for a strobe when writing image data to said optical disk recording medium.
7. The digital camera according to 7. 19. A digital camera, wherein a write-once optical disk recording medium is configured to be mountable, and wherein image data obtained by photographing is stored in the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium. Means for generating a plurality of compressed image data respectively corresponding to a plurality of image signals obtained by shooting, and means for collectively writing the plurality of generated compressed image data on the optical disk recording medium. A digital camera, comprising: 20. A digital camera which is configured to be capable of mounting an optical disk recording medium, and stores image data obtained by photographing on the optical disk recording medium by rotating the optical disk recording medium, the digital camera comprising: Means for starting rotation driving of the optical disk recording medium in a reproduction mode for displaying and reproducing image data recorded on the optical disk, and reading out image data to be reproduced from the optical disk recording medium; and The elapsed time from when the image data is read to when the next image data reproduction request is issued is monitored, and when the next image data reproduction request is not issued within a predetermined time, the rotation driving of the optical disc recording medium is performed. Means for stopping the operation of the digital camera. 21. A data writing method in a digital camera, wherein an optical disk recording medium is configured to be mountable, and image data obtained by photographing is recorded on the optical disk recording medium by rotationally driving the optical disk recording medium, Reading file management information for managing data stored in the optical disk recording medium from the optical disk recording medium, and storing the file management information in a memory in a digital camera to which the optical disk recording medium is mounted; A data appending step of appending the image data to the optical disc recording medium, a step of updating the file management information on the memory according to the writing of the image data to the optical disc recording medium, and powering off the digital camera. Time or the digital turtle Optical disc when removing the recording medium, a data writing method characterized by comprising the steps of: appending to the optical disc recording medium, the file management information that is updated on the memory as the latest file management information from. 22. An electronic apparatus which is configured to be capable of mounting a write-once optical disc recording medium, and stores data in the optical disc recording medium by rotating the optical disc recording medium, wherein the optical disc recording medium has a surface and A drive unit for performing a data recording / reproducing process on one of a recording surface of a front surface and a rear surface, which is a double-sided recording type medium on the back side, which rotationally drives the mounted optical disc recording medium, and Control means for controlling writing / reading of data to / from the optical disk recording medium through a drive unit, and file management information corresponding to data recorded on each recording surface is individually recorded on the front and back surfaces of the optical disk recording medium. The control means controls the data by the drive means. Electronic apparatus, characterized in that the recording / playback process control data writing / reading with respect to the recording surface as possible, be performed using the file management information recorded on the recording surface.