JP4033839B2 - Image recording / reproducing apparatus and image recording / reproducing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording / reproducing moving images and still images.

  As devices capable of recording and reproducing both moving images and still images, there are video camcorders, video tape recorders, video disk recorders and the like that can record still images on a memory card.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a mechanism for switching between moving images / still images and switching between recording / reproduction with such a device. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an outline of a controller used for operating the device whose configuration is shown in FIG. Hereinafter, a conventional technique will be described with reference to these two drawings (see Patent Document 1).

  The image input unit 0101 is an entrance to which the device captures an image, and can input a moving image. An image output unit 0102 is an exit from which the device outputs an image. A switch 0103 is a changeover switch for switching between recording and reproduction, and is connected to the A side during recording and to the B side during reproduction. The switch 0104 is for switching between a moving image mode and a still image mode during recording, and is connected to the A side in the moving image recording mode and to the B side in the still image recording mode. The switch 0105 is for switching between a moving image mode and a still image mode during reproduction, and is connected to the A side in the moving image reproduction mode and to the B side in the still image reproduction mode.

  The switch 0104 and the switch 0105 are interlocked so that when one is connected to the A side, the other is also connected to the A side, and when one is connected to the B side, the other is also connected to the B side. It has a configuration. The moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 records the input image as moving image data, or reproduces and outputs the recorded moving image data. The still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 records the input image as still image data, or reproduces and outputs the recorded still image data.

  The controller shown in FIG. 9 is equipped with a record button 1001, a playback button 1002, and a mode switch 1003. The record button 1001 and the play button 1002 are linked to the switch 0103. When the record button 1001 is pressed, the switch 0103 is connected to the A side, and when the play button 1002 is pressed, the switch 0103 is connected to the B side. . The mode change switch 1003 is linked to the switches 0104 and 0105. While the mode change switch 1003 is on the moving image side, the switch 0104 and the switch 0105 are connected to the A side and are on the still image side. In the meantime, the switch 0104 and the switch 0105 are connected to the B side.

  When the recording button 1001 is pressed while the mode switch 1003 is connected to the moving image side, the switch 0103 is connected to the A side, and the switches 0104 and 0105 are also connected to the A side. As a result, the input image obtained from the image input unit 0101 is output to the image output unit 0102 through the switch 0103 and simultaneously sent to the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 to be recorded as moving image data.

  When the recording button 1001 is pressed while the mode switch 1003 is connected to the still image side, the switch 0103 is connected to the A side, and the switches 0104 and 0105 are connected to the B side. As a result, the input image obtained from the image input unit 0101 is output to the image output unit 0102 through the switch 0103 and simultaneously sent to the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 to be recorded as still image data.

  When the play button 1002 is pressed while the mode change switch 1003 is connected to the moving image side, the switch 0103 is connected to the B side, and the switch 0104 and the switch 0105 are connected to the A side. As a result, the reproduced image output from the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 is output to the image output unit 0102 through the switch 0105.

When the play button 1002 is pressed while the mode switch 1003 is connected to the still image side, the switch 0103 is connected to the B side, and the switches 0104 and 0105 are also connected to the B side. As a result, the reproduced image output from the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 is output to the image output unit 0102 through the switch 0105.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-297281

  In such an image recording / reproducing apparatus, since the operation of the mode change switch 1003 is left to the user, the user who operates the play button 1002 for the purpose of shifting to the replay mode is always in the state of the current mode change switch 1003. Must operate while recognizing whether the video mode or still image mode. In addition, a general-purpose menu operation button may be provided depending on the device, and the moving image mode and the still image mode may be switched by selecting a menu displayed on the screen with the menu operation button. This has the advantage that the number of parts can be reduced because the mode switch 1003 can be omitted, but on the other hand, since there is no way for the user to visually recognize the current mode, another mode such as displaying which mode is on the screen is available. Means are required and are difficult for the user to understand.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to provide an image recording / reproducing apparatus that can operate in a necessary mode without the user being aware of the moving image mode / still image mode.

In order to solve the above problems, an image recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention is capable of recording and playing back moving images and still images. An image recording / playback apparatus that shifts to a still image playback mode that enables playback of an image, and when the last recording operation before the playback instruction is a video recording, the video recording mode is switched to the video playback mode, When the last recording operation is a still image recording, a control unit is provided for controlling to shift to the still image playback mode, and the control unit includes either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode. Is the standard playback mode, the last recording operation before the playback instruction is stopped, and after the transition to the normal mode, which is the playback operation and recording operation stop state, playback is performed after the elapse of a time exceeding a predetermined threshold. When subjected to indicate it is characterized by migrating the to the standard playback mode.

The image recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention is capable of recording and playing back moving images and still images, and in response to a playback instruction, a moving image playback mode that enables playback of moving images, or a still image that enables playback of still images. An image recording / playback apparatus that shifts to an image playback mode, in which the last playback operation before the playback instruction is stopped and the recording operation is performed after the transition to the normal mode, which is a stop state of the playback operation and the recording operation. If not, if the last playback is a video playback, the mode is switched to the video playback mode. If the last playback is a still image playback, the mode is switched to the still image playback mode. Control means for controlling, wherein the control means sets either the moving picture playback mode or the still picture playback mode as a standard playback mode, the last recording operation before the playback instruction is stopped, and the normal mode is stopped. The after migration, when receiving a reproduction instruction after a predetermined threshold value or more time is characterized by migrating the to the standard playback mode.

The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a moving image recording instructing unit that instructs to start recording a moving image, and a still image that instructs to start recording a still image, which are instruction units that output a command signal to the control unit. It is characterized by comprising recording instruction means and reproduction instruction means for instructing transition to a reproduction mode in which a moving image or still image can be reproduced .

The image recording / reproducing method according to the present invention is capable of recording and reproducing a moving image and a still image, and a moving image reproducing mode in which a moving image can be reproduced upon receiving a reproduction instruction, or a still image reproducing mode in which a still image can be reproduced. When the last recording operation before the reproduction instruction is a moving image recording when receiving a reproduction instruction , the image recording / reproduction method moves to the moving image reproduction mode, and the last recording operation is performed. If the recording operation is recording a still image, the step of transitioning to the still image playback mode, and either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode is set as a standard playback mode, and before the playback instruction When the last recording operation is stopped and a reproduction instruction is received after a lapse of a time equal to or more than a predetermined threshold after the transition to the normal mode, which is the reproduction operation and recording operation stop state, the standard reproduction mode And having a step of migrating, the.

The image recording / playback method according to the present invention can record and play back moving images and still images, and can play back moving images in response to a playback instruction, or still images that can play back still images. An image recording / playback method for shifting to a playback mode , wherein when a playback instruction is received, the last playback operation before the playback instruction is stopped, and a transition is made to a normal mode, which is a mode in which playback and recording operations are stopped. If the recording operation is not performed later, if the last playback is a movie playback, the mode is switched to the movie playback mode. If the last playback is a still image playback, the mode is switched to the still image playback mode. Step and either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode is set as a standard playback mode, and after the last recording operation before the playback instruction is completed, a time equal to or more than a predetermined threshold has elapsed after shifting to the normal mode To when receiving a playback instruction, characterized by having the steps of: migrating said to standard playback mode.

  According to the present invention, even if the current mode is not conscious of whether it is a moving image mode or a still image mode, a mode that is highly likely to be requested by the user at the time of the playback instruction is automatically selected, and unnecessary A simple configuration with fewer buttons and switches can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a moving image recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention.

  The image input unit 0101 is an entrance to which the device captures an image, and can input a moving image. As the moving image, a television broadcast image, an output image of a video reproduction device such as a VTR, an image taken by a camera, or the like can be used. The image output unit 0102 is an exit from which the device outputs an image. Generally, the output is displayed on the display device so that the user can visually recognize the image, but the display device itself is not essential to the present invention. A switch 0103 is a changeover switch for switching between recording and reproduction. The switch 0104 is for switching between a moving image recording mode and a still image recording mode during recording, and is connected to the A side during moving image recording and to the B side during still image recording. A switch 0105 is used to switch between a moving image reproduction mode and a still image reproduction mode during reproduction, and is connected to the A side when reproducing a moving image and to the B side when reproducing a still image. The control unit 0108 controls the switch 0103, the switch 0104, and the switch 0105 according to a user operation. The moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 records the input image as moving image data, or reproduces and outputs the recorded moving image data. The still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 records the input image as still image data, or reproduces and outputs the recorded still image data. In this embodiment, moving image recording / playback is realized by a common part called a moving picture recording / playback unit, and still picture recording / playback is realized by a common part called a still image recording / playback unit. A separate configuration is also possible. In this case, a moving image recording unit that records a moving image at terminal A of switch 0104 and a still image recording unit that records a still image at terminal B are connected to terminal A of switch 0105. A moving image reproducing unit that reproduces moving images is connected to terminal B and a still image reproducing unit that reproduces still images. Conversely, a configuration in which recording / playback of moving images and recording / playback of still images are all realized in one common part is also possible. In this case, moving images that record and play moving images and record and play still images The still image recording / reproducing unit is connected to all of the terminals A and B of the switch 0104 and the terminals A and B of the switch 0105.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a controller operated by a user in the first embodiment of the moving image recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.

  The controller is equipped with a moving image recording button 0201, a still image recording button 0202, and a playback button 0203.

  First, the operation in the normal mode in which neither recording nor reproduction is performed will be described. In the normal mode, the switch 0103 is connected to the terminal A side, whereby the input image obtained from the image input unit 0101 is output to the image output unit 0102. This mode represents a state in which, for example, when the input image is a television broadcast, the television broadcast is output as it is and displayed on the display device. On the other hand, an image similar to the input image input to the image output unit 0102 is also input to the switch 0104. At this time, the switch 0104 may be connected to the terminal A side, connected to the terminal B side, or may be connected to neither.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 0108. The recording operation storage unit 0602 stores the last recording operation, and the determination unit 0601 switches based on the storage content of the storage operation storage unit 0602 and the operation content of the moving image recording button 0201, the still image recording button 0202, and the playback button 0203. 0103, the switch 0104, the instruction content to the switch 0105 and the instruction content to the moving image recording / playback unit 0106 and still image recording / playback unit 0107 are determined. Hereinafter, the above configuration is collectively referred to as a control unit 0108 unless otherwise required.

  When the user presses the moving image recording button 0201, the information is sent to the control unit 0108, and the control unit 0108 operates to connect the switch 0104 to the terminal A side. As a result, the input image is supplied to the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 via the switch 0104. Further, the control unit 0108 instructs the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 to start moving image recording, and moving image recording is started. A state in which the switch 0104 is connected to the terminal A side and a moving image is being recorded is referred to as a moving image recording mode. At this time, the control unit 0108 stores that the last recording operation was moving image recording. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 6, the recording operation storage unit 0602 may be provided and stored therein, or the switch 0104 is not moved after the moving image recording is completed, and the last recording operation is stored in the switch 0104. Or both can be used simultaneously. Regarding the stop of moving image recording, a separate stop button may be provided to explicitly stop the user, or may be automatically stopped after a predetermined time of recording operation according to the user's designation. After the recording operation is stopped, the normal mode is resumed.

  When the user presses the still image recording button 0202, the information is sent to the control unit 0108, and the control unit 0108 operates to connect the switch 0104 to the terminal B side. As a result, the input image is supplied to the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 via the switch 0104. The control unit 0108 instructs the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 to start recording a still image, and a still image is recorded. A state in which the switch 0104 is connected to the terminal B side and still image recording is in progress is referred to as a still image recording mode. At this time, the control unit 0108 stores the fact that the last recording operation was still image recording by means similar to that for moving images. After the still image recording is stopped, the normal mode is resumed.

  With the above configuration, the user presses the moving image recording button 0201 when recording a moving image, and presses the still image recording button 0202 when recording a still image, so that the current position of the switch 0104 is not bothered immediately. Can be recorded in a desired recording mode. However, on the other hand, since there is no means for the user to operate the switch 0105, a moving image reproduction button and a still image reproduction button are also required for reproduction in this state. Therefore, a method for realizing a desired function with only a single playback button 0203 will be described below.

  Next, the operation during playback will be described. The switch 0105 is linked to the switch 0104, and is connected to the terminal A side when the switch 0104 is connected to the terminal A side, and to the terminal B side while the switch 0104 is connected to the terminal B side. . In this embodiment, the switch 0104 and the switch 0105 are linked, but the control unit 0108 reads the last recording operation content stored therein, and if the last recording operation is a moving image recording, the switch 0105 is connected to the terminal A side. If the last recording operation is still image recording, the switch 0105 can be operated to the terminal B side. This method has an advantage that the operation on the reproduction side and the operation on the recording side can be individually changed. This operation may be performed when the moving image recording button 0201 or the still image recording button 0202 is operated, or when the playback button 0203 described below is operated.

  When the user operates the play button 0203, the information is sent to the control unit 0108, and the control unit 0108 operates to connect the switch 0103 to the terminal B side. The control unit 0108 issues a moving image reproduction start command to the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 if the stored last recording operation is moving image recording, and the still image recording / reproducing operation if the last recording operation is still image recording. A still image reproduction command is issued to the unit 0107. The switch 0105 is connected to the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 on the terminal A side or the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 on the terminal B side according to the last recording operation, so that the moving image recording / reproducing unit 0106 or the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 is connected. Is output to the image output unit 0102, and the reproduced image is displayed on the display device. The content displayed to the user in response to a playback instruction by the playback button 0203 may be a list of reproducible moving image data or still image data, or the last recorded moving image data or still image data is immediately reproduced. It doesn't matter if it starts. In this way, the switch 0105 is connected to the terminal A side, and a state where a list of playable videos is displayed or a specific video is played back is the video playback mode, and the switch 0105 is connected to the terminal B side and playback is possible. A state where a list of still images or a specific still image is displayed is called a still image playback mode. Further, here, the operation of the playback button 0203 by the user is used as a playback instruction means for shifting to these playback modes, but playback instructions from other devices may be used.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 0108 when the playback button 0203 described above is operated. If the playback button 0203 is pressed and a playback instruction is issued, it is first determined in step S0301 whether the last recording operation was moving image recording or still image recording. If it is moving image recording, a moving image reproduction start command is issued to the moving image recording / playback unit 0106 in step S0302, and if it is still image recording, a still image is recorded to the still image recording / reproducing unit 0107 in step S0303. Issue a playback start command. When a video playback start command is issued, a list of videos that can be played back is displayed, or playback of the last recorded video is started. When a still image playback start command is issued, a list of still images that can be played back is displayed, or the last recorded still image is played back and displayed.
When playback is desired in a mode other than the last recording operation, for example, there may be a case where a still image is recorded last but playback is desired in a video playback mode. In this case, since the last recorded image is a still image, a still image playback mode is entered simply by issuing a playback instruction using the playback button 0203. Therefore, by pressing the playback button 0203 again from the state in the still image playback mode, it is possible to explicitly shift to the video playback mode.

  Generally, when the user operates the playback button 0203, there is a high possibility that the result of the last recording operation will be played back. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize a reproduction mode in which a user can call a necessary function without recognizing the current operation mode with a small number of buttons.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the moving image recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  Since the configuration of the second embodiment and the controller used are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the first embodiment, description of the drawings is omitted here.

  In this embodiment, when shifting from the playback mode to the normal mode, if the immediately preceding playback mode is the movie playback mode, the recording operation storage unit 0601 stores the movie recording, and if the immediately preceding playback mode is the still image playback mode. The recording operation storage unit 0601 stores still image recording.

  The above processing will be described with reference to the flowchart 4. FIG. 4 shows the operation of the control unit 0108 when shifting from the reproduction mode to the normal mode. In step S0401, it is determined whether the immediately preceding playback mode is a moving image playback mode or a still image playback mode. If it is a moving image, it is recorded as moving image recording in the recording operation storage unit 0601 in step S0402, and if it is a still image, a recording operation is performed in step S0403. The storage unit 0601 stores the still image recording.

  As a result of the above processing, if the recording operation has been performed even once after the transition from the reproduction mode to the normal mode and before the transition to the reproduction mode, the recording operation is performed as described in the first embodiment. The storage unit 0601 records the details of the recording operation that has been performed, but if it has never been performed, a value corresponding to the last playback mode is recorded.

  In general, if the playback button 0203 is pressed without performing the recording operation, it is highly likely that the same playback mode as that used last is desired. In this embodiment, in this case, the user can quickly shift to a desired reproduction mode.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the moving image recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  Since the configuration of the third embodiment and the controller used are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the first embodiment, the description of the drawings is omitted here.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the control unit 0108 in the present embodiment. Here, in addition to the determination unit 0601 and the recording operation storage unit 0602 already shown in FIG. 6, an elapsed time measurement unit 0701 is provided. The elapsed time measuring unit 0701 is reset to 0 when the moving image or still image recording operation ends, and has a function of measuring the elapsed time thereafter.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to this, a standard reproduction mode is previously provided. This standard playback mode may be a moving image playback mode or a still image playback mode. In addition, the device may be invariant to the device, or may be switched according to a user instruction. In the present embodiment, the following description will be given assuming that the moving image playback mode is designated as the invariant standard playback mode unique to the device.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 0108 when the play button 0203 is pressed in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart 5 and the block diagram 7. When the play button 0203 is pressed, first, the elapsed time after completion of the recording operation measured by the elapsed time measuring unit 0701 in step S0501 is compared with a predetermined threshold T. T may be an invariant value unique to the device or a value that can be changed by a user instruction. If the elapsed time is longer than T, the process moves to the moving image playback mode, which is the standard playback mode, in step S0502, regardless of the last recording operation content or the presence or absence of the recording operation.

  On the other hand, since the operation when the elapsed time is smaller than the threshold value T is the same as that in the second embodiment shown in the flowchart 4, the description thereof is omitted. Here, step S0501 represents the same processing content as step S0401, step S0502 represents step S0402, and step S0503 represents the same processing content as step S0403.

  Generally, if the user operates the playback button 0203 within a short time after performing the recording operation, it is highly likely that the user wants to reproduce the result of the last recording operation. On the other hand, for example, a video recorder is a device that is capable of recording a still image for the main purpose, such as a video recording, or a still image recording is a main purpose, such as a digital still camera. If the playback button 0203 is operated after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last recording operation, this is the main recording method of the device. There is a high possibility that you want to play back the content recorded in. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically realize processing according to the user's intention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the controller used with the image recording / reproducing apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image recording and reproducing apparatus of a prior art. It is a top view of the controller used by a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

0101 Image input unit 0102 Image output unit 0103 Switch 0104 Switch 0105 Switch 0106 Movie recording / playback unit 0107 Still image recording / playback unit 0108 Control unit 0201 Movie recording button 0202 Still image recording button 0203 Playback button 0601 Judgment unit 0602 Recording operation storage unit 0701 Progress Time measurement unit 1001 Record button 1002 Playback button 1003 Mode switch

Claims (5)

This is an image recording / playback device that can record and play back movies and still images, and switches to a movie playback mode that enables playback of movies or a still image playback mode that enables playback of still images upon receiving playback instructions. And
When the last recording operation before the reproduction instruction is a moving image recording, the mode is shifted to the moving image reproduction mode. When the last recording operation is a still image recording, the still image reproduction mode is performed. Comprising control means for controlling to shift to
The control means is a mode in which either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode is set as a standard playback mode, the last recording operation before the playback instruction is stopped, and the playback operation and the recording operation are stopped. An image recording / reproducing apparatus that shifts to the standard reproduction mode when a reproduction instruction is received after a lapse of a time equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold after the transition to the normal mode . This is an image recording / playback device that can record and play back movies and still images, and switches to a movie playback mode that enables playback of movies or a still image playback mode that enables playback of still images upon receiving playback instructions. And
When the last playback operation before the playback instruction is stopped and the recording operation is not performed after the transition to the normal mode, which is the stop state of the playback operation and the recording operation, the last playback is a moving image. Control means for controlling to shift to the moving image playback mode if the playback, and to transition to the still image playback mode if the last playback is a still image playback,
The control means sets either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode as a standard playback mode, the last recording operation before the playback instruction is stopped, and after shifting to the normal mode, a predetermined threshold value or more When the reproduction instruction is received after the elapse of time , the image recording / reproducing apparatus shifts to the standard reproduction mode . A moving image recording instructing unit for instructing to start recording a moving image, a still image recording instructing unit for instructing to start recording a still image, and a moving image or a still image can be reproduced. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a reproduction instruction unit that instructs to shift to the reproduction mode . An image recording / playback method that allows recording and playback of moving images and still images, and transitions to a moving image playback mode that enables playback of moving images upon receipt of a playback instruction, or a still image playback mode that enables playback of still images. ,
When receiving a playback instruction, if the last recording operation before the playback instruction is a moving image recording, the mode is shifted to the moving image playback mode, and the last recording operation is a still image recording. Includes the step of transitioning to the still image playback mode;
Either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode is set as a standard playback mode, the last recording operation before the playback instruction is stopped, and after the transition to the normal mode which is the playback operation and the recording operation stop mode. , When a reproduction instruction is received after the elapse of a time equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a step of shifting to the standard reproduction mode;
An image recording / reproducing method comprising: An image recording / playback method that allows recording and playback of moving images and still images, and transitions to a moving image playback mode that enables playback of moving images upon receipt of a playback instruction, or a still image playback mode that enables playback of still images. ,
When receiving the playback instruction, when the last playback operation before the playback instruction is stopped and the recording operation is not performed after the transition to the normal mode which is the mode of the stop state of the playback operation and the recording operation, If the last playback is a video playback, transition to a video playback mode; if the last playback is a still image playback, transition to a still image playback mode;
Either the moving image playback mode or the still image playback mode is set as a standard playback mode, and after the last recording operation before the playback instruction is completed, the playback instruction is received after a lapse of a predetermined threshold or more after the transition to the normal mode. If so, the step of transitioning to the standard playback mode;
An image recording / reproducing method comprising:

Images