JP4631580B2 - SEARCH INPUT DEVICE, SEARCH METHOD, AND RECORDING / REPRODUCING DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a search input device and a search method for searching and / or selecting content stored on a recording medium or a network. The present invention also relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus to which this search method is applied.

  With the spread of digitization technology, various content data including music data and video data can be digitally recorded or reproduced on a recording medium. In recent years, the capacity of recording media (called storage media) such as DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and HDD (Hard Disc Drive) has increased, and digital devices such as digital cameras and digital video cameras have become popular. In addition to being able to store all kinds of content data such as music data, video data, and still image data in storage media, it has become possible to easily manage such a large amount of data by a PC or the like.

  However, the scale of data that can be recorded increases as the capacity of storage media such as hard disks increases, but once such hundreds of hours become video data or music data for tens of thousands of songs, It becomes difficult to search and extract the content data recorded on the storage medium.

  Generally, content data and the like are extracted by searching for information corresponding to a keyword when a keyword related to information desired by the user is input. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for searching for a song desired by a user using a word in a lyrics character string for a song as a keyword for searching for the song. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique that enables a conversation position of a specific speaker to be searched from a series of voice data recorded in an IC recorder.

JP 2005-17496 A JP 2005-4576 A

  As described above, in a recording apparatus capable of accumulating a large amount of content data, information for searching for a keyword or the like so that a user can easily search and extract information desired by the user from a large amount of content data. Had to be prepared actively. In particular, an apparatus that continues recording, such as a surveillance camera, performs a process of continuously recording daily video and audio, and therefore cannot actively record information relating to file names and other data. Therefore, when searching for the recorded data, the user has to search while actually viewing the reproduced data. For example, this is the same for a search within one piece of music data and one piece of content for video data.

  As described above, in the conventional data search method, keywords, indexes, and the like used in the search are actively recorded, and these are prepared in advance, and are not neatly managed together with information for searching the data. Therefore, it has been difficult to extract a specific one from a large amount of stored content. Further, there is a problem that a step of inputting a search keyword is necessary, and operation input for search becomes complicated.

  In addition, when a user wants to extract certain content data, that is, when a search target is clear, a search keyword for extracting desired content data can be input as in the past. Actually, there is a demand not only when the search target is clear but also simply browsing the content data vaguely.

  Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described conventional situation, and a search input device that enables a user to intuitively search content recorded on a recording medium by realizing simple operability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a search method and a recording / reproducing apparatus.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a rotation operation in which an operation input signal is generated in accordance with a rotation operation in both positive and negative directions in a search input device that searches content data from a plurality of content data. comprising a child, and the push operating element operation input signal corresponding to the push operation is generated, and control means for extracting the content data recorded in a recording position corresponding to the rotation amount of the rotary operator, the control means determines the measure of the search range by pushing operation of the push operation member, assigned to one rotation always the rotary operator a measure of the determined search range, depending on the amount of rotation of the rotating element recording There line control to extract the content data recorded in the position, the search range is a temporal range of the content data, the control means, pushing against the pushing operator The scale of the search range is changed to year, month, day, and time unit by operation, and the year, month, day, and time are always assigned to one rotation of the rotary operator, and the time according to the rotation amount of the rotary operator Content data having information is extracted .

  The control means sets the search range from the start to the end of one content, and one rotation of the rotary operator is associated with the length of one content. The control means may set the search range from the start of the first content to the end of the last content. The search range is the time range of the content data, and the control means changes the scale of the search range to year, month, day, time unit by pushing operation against the push operator, and always changes the year, month, day, time. Content data having time information corresponding to the rotation amount of the rotary operator is extracted by assigning to one rotation of the rotary operator.

  According to the present invention, a user can intuitively search for content existing on a recording medium or a network with simple operability.

  Hereinafter, a search input device shown as an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. An example of a search input device shown as an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a view of the search input device 1 from above, and FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the search input device 1.

  The search input device 1 includes a substantially circular bowl-shaped main body 2 and a cover 3 formed in substantially the same shape as the main body 2. The cover 3 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the main body 2, and the inner peripheral surface 3 a of the cover 3 slides on the outer peripheral side 2 a of the main body 2 via a rotation feed mechanism or the like (not shown). It is mounted so as to be movable or pivotable. Further, a mechanism 2b for detecting the push-in is provided between the cover 3 and the main body 2 so that when the cover 3 is slightly pushed down from the upper part, the click operation can be detected. Further, the rotation amount of the cover 3 relative to the main body 2 is detected by a sensor 2c such as a rotation sensor, an electrostatic sensor, or an optical sensor. Thus, the cover 3 and the main body 2 rotate in both the positive and negative directions to generate an operation input signal, and a push operation element that generates an operation input signal according to the push operation. The cover 3 protects the main body 2 and also serves as an input unit.

  With the above-described configuration, the search input device 1 performs a click operation for pushing the entire cover in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 3A and the arrow B shown in FIG. As described above, an operation input signal can be generated in accordance with the rotation operation to be rotated.

  The cover 3 includes a display 4. As the display 4, a color or monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD) can be used. This display 4 displays at least the year, month, day, and time. As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 3 includes a light emitting member such as a light emitting diode (hereinafter, LED) 5 on a side surface. The cover 3 is provided with a convex portion 6 for clarifying the neutral position. The search input device 1 can be connected to a device such as a PC or a server in which content data is stored by a connection line 7 extended from a circuit unit provided in the main body 2. In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the description, the content data will be described as audio data or music data. The audio data or music data is stored together with time information indicating the time acquired by a device such as a PC or a server, or time information indicating the created time.

  Next, the configuration of the search input device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The search input device 1 is provided on a rotary operation element constituted by the above-described main body 2 and the cover 3 that accepts an input from a user, an operation part 10 corresponding to a push-in operation element, the above-described display 4, and a cover side surface. A display unit 11 corresponding to the LED 5 and the like, and an interface (I / F) 12 for connecting to an external device such as a PC or a server are provided.

  The operation unit 10 corresponds to a rotary operation unit and a push-in operation unit configured by the main body unit 2 and the cover 3 described with reference to FIG. 1, and an operation input signal corresponding to the rotation amount of a rotation sensor or the like is given to the control unit 13. To supply. The display unit 11 changes the display content of the display 4 or performs time display based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 13. Further, the LED 5 on the side surface of the cover emits light based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 13. As the I / F 12, a so-called USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like can be used.

  The control unit 13 performs control to extract the content data recorded at the recording position represented by the rotation amount of the rotary operator configured by the cover 3 and the main body unit 2. The recording position information here is sent to a PC or the like via the I / F 12 and extracted from a storage unit such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) such as a PC. The control unit 13 determines the scale of the search range by the click operation of the cover 3. Further, the control unit 13 always assigns the determined scale of the search range to one rotation of the cover 3 with respect to the main body unit 2, and generates a control signal for extracting the content data recorded at the recording position according to the rotation amount. ing.

  Here, changing the scale of the search range means, for example, when the content data to be handled is audio data (or music data), the search range is changed from the start to the end of one content according to the click operation of the cover 3. That is, when the search range is from the start to the end of the song, and the search range is from the start of the first content to the end of the last content, that is, from the beginning to the end of one album composed of a plurality of songs. It means that the case of switching is performed. In the former case, one rotation of the cover 3 is associated with the length of one content. Therefore, at this time, if the cover 3 is rotated halfway, the middle of the song is selected as the reproduction start position, and if the cover 3 is rotated one third, the area advanced about one third of the song is reproduced. Selected as the starting position. In the latter case, one rotation of the cover 3 is associated with one album. Therefore, if the cover 3 is rotated halfway, the song recorded in the middle of the album is selected.

  Hereinafter, an example of a method for searching for content data using the search input device 1 shown as the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the display 4 in the search input device 1. The display 4 first displays the current time.

  At this time, for example, when a click operation for pushing the cover 3 is performed, the date information displayed on the display 4 is switched as follows. Once clicked, for example, the year “04” is highlighted. For example, a frame is displayed around the selected number, or a color different from other numbers is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when “year” is selected, when the cover 3 is rotated, the number displayed in the “year” column changes. When “year” is selected, the control unit 13 associates one rotation of the cover 3 with the total amount of all recorded contents. That is, the control unit 13 associates the search range with one rotation of the cover 3 as the total capacity currently used for recording with respect to the total recording capacity. Next, when the cover 3 is clicked, as shown in FIG. 5B, the month “07” of the date information displayed on the display 4 is highlighted. The control unit 13 sets the search range to 12 months before the current date and associates it with one rotation of the cover 3. That is, if the cover 3 is rotated halfway within the search range at this time, time information of six months ago from the currently displayed date is input, and audio data or music data having this time information is extracted. be able to.

  Next, when the cover 3 is clicked, the date “08” of the date information displayed on the display 4 is highlighted as shown in FIG. The control unit 13 sets the search range to one month before the current date (from the 28th to the 31st) and associates it with one rotation of the cover 3. That is, if the cover 3 is rotated halfway within this search range, time information 15 days before the date currently displayed is input, and voice data or music data having this time information can be extracted. it can.

  When the cover 3 is clicked again, the time “15” of the date information displayed on the display 4 is highlighted as shown in FIG. The control unit 13 sets the search range to 24 hours before the current time and associates it with one rotation of the cover 3. That is, if the cover 3 is rotated halfway at this time, the time information 12 hours before the current displayed time is input, and the corresponding audio data or music data can be extracted.

  The control unit 13 may extract the content data having the time information closest to the designated time information because the reproduction is not performed without the content data having the time information designated by the search method described above.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which the presence / absence of recording of content data or the amount of data is represented by the light quantity or light color using a light emitting diode (LED) or the like. As shown in FIG. 6, in a certain search range (in FIG. 6, one rotation is 12 months), whether or not voice data or music data is recorded, and the amount thereof is recorded on the side peripheral surface of the cover 3 It can also be displayed by lighting, light quantity, color, etc. of the LED 5 provided. When the download frequency or acquisition frequency of music data at a certain time is high, data having time information at that time is relatively large. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, there are a region S1 that emits dark light, a region S2 that is not lit, and a region S3 that emits light light within 12 months. The area where the LED 5 is not lit indicates that there is no music data newly acquired during this period, that is, three months immediately before the convex portion 6 today, when one round is 12 months, and the light is emitted deeply 4 months to 6 months ago and 9 months to 12 months ago indicate that a relatively large amount of music data having time information of this period has been acquired. As described above, the search input device 1 is visually displayed to the user by the LED 5 in addition to the display 4, so that the user can perform a more intuitive operation.

  In addition to this, as a display method using LEDs, there is a method of expressing the ratio of the currently used area to the total recording capacity by light emission. For example, FIG. 7 is a visual representation of how much of the recording capacity is used when one round is regarded as the total recording capacity. FIG. 7 visually shows that the usage amount represented by the light emitting area S4 is three-quarters of the whole, and the free area is one-fourth.

  As described above, the control unit 13 changes the scale of the search range to the year, month, day, and time unit by clicking the cover 3, and the year, month, day, and time are changed to 1 of the cover 3 each time. By assigning to rotation, it is possible to generate an operation input signal for extracting content data having time information corresponding to the rotation amount in the selected search range. Further, in order to always associate the scale of the search range with one rotation of the cover 3, for example, when one rotation is one day, the half rotation represents one half day before, so the user can say that this time of yesterday and the past today. The content data corresponding to the time information can be selected by a more intuitive operation. When the scale is “year”, one rotation can select contents having the same time information as today one year ago. Similarly, if the user rotates twice, the content having the same time information as today two years ago can be selected.

  As described above, according to the search input device 1 shown as the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to perform a search without using a keyword or the like for the search. Further, for example, a search such as a past today or a past time can be immediately performed, such as a diary.

  The search method using the search input device 1 described above is particularly advantageous when searching for data that cannot be given a file name, file attribute, or the like as an index that can be used for the search. For example, it can be suitably used for a file that has only a time stamp and cannot be re-indexed. For example, a recording device that is made to continuously acquire environmental sound data, environmental video data, and the like, like a surveillance camera, cannot record with a specific file name each time. In such a case, by using the search input device 1, a simple and efficient search based only on temporal information that does not use a keyword or the like for search can be performed.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Although the search input device 1 has been described as a user interface device that searches content data stored in a PC, a server, or the like, the search input device itself may include a recording medium and a recording / playback unit. In the recording / reproducing apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 8, regarding the configuration having the same function as in FIG. 4, for the sake of brevity, the same number is assigned and the detailed description is omitted.

  Hereinafter, a recording / reproducing apparatus 20 shown as an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The external appearance may be the same as that of the search input device 1 shown in FIG. That is, it includes a substantially circular main body 2 and a cover 3 formed in the same shape as the main body 2, and the cover 3 is formed with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the body 2. 2 is slidable with respect to 2 or rotatably attached via a rotation feed mechanism or the like. Further, a mechanism for detecting pushing-in is provided between the cover 3 and the main body 2 so that when the cover 3 is slightly pushed down from the upper part, the click operation can be detected. The rotation amount of the cover 3 with respect to the main body 2 is detected by a rotation sensor, an electrostatic sensor, an optical sensor, or the like. Thus, the cover 3 and the main body 2 rotate in both the positive and negative directions to generate an operation input signal, and a push operation element that generates an operation input signal according to the push operation. Is configured. In addition, although the case where audio | voice data or music data is handled as content data is demonstrated here, it is not this limitation.

  As with the search input device 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the recording / reproducing device 20 is a rotary operator or push-in operator composed of the above-described main body 2 and cover 3 that receives input from the user. A display unit 11 corresponding to the display 4, the LED 5 provided on the side of the cover, an interface (I / F) 12 for connecting to an external device such as a PC or a server, and the like. It has.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus 20 further includes a large-capacity HDD 21 that stores content data, a microphone 22 that acquires audio data from the outside, and an A / D that converts an analog audio signal acquired by the microphone 22 into a digital signal. A converter 23 and an audio processing unit 24 for converting the digitized audio signal into a data format selected from MP3, ATRAC (registered trademark), etc., for example. The data storage means is not limited to the HDD, but may be another disk-shaped recording medium or a semiconductor memory device. Moreover, you may be able to attach or detach. The data compression method is not limited to the above format.

  Moreover, you may provide the amplifier part 25 and the speaker 26 as a structure for outputting an audio | voice to the exterior. Each of the above components is centrally controlled by the control unit 13.

  In this way, it is possible to realize a complete recording / reproducing apparatus 20 capable of performing a search operation executed by the search input apparatus 1.

It is a top view explaining the external appearance of the search input device shown as embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the said search input device. (A) is the schematic explaining the pushing operation | movement of the said search input device, (b) is the schematic explaining the rotation operation of the said search input device. It is a block diagram explaining the said search input device. It is a schematic diagram explaining the search of content data using the display 4 of the said search input device. It is a schematic diagram explaining the example which displays whether the audio | voice data or music data are recorded in the said search input device, and the quantity by LED lighting, light quantity, a color, etc. It is a schematic diagram explaining the example which represents the ratio of the area | region used with respect to the total recording capacity by the light emission part. It is a block diagram explaining the recording / reproducing apparatus which applied the said search input device.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Search input device, 2 Main-body part, 3 Cover, 4 Display, 5 LED, 6 Mark, 7 Connection line, 10 Operation part, 11 Display part, 12 I / F, 13 Control part

Claims (13)

In a search input device for searching content data from a plurality of content data,
A rotary operation element that generates an operation input signal in accordance with a rotation operation in both positive and negative directions;
A push-in operator that generates an operation input signal corresponding to the push-in action;
Control means for extracting content data recorded at a recording position according to the rotation amount of the rotary operator,
The control means determines the scale of the search range by the pushing operation of the push operator, always assigns the scale of the determined search range to one rotation of the rotary operator, and determines the rotation amount of the rotary operator. There line control to extract the content data recorded in a recording position corresponding,
The search range is a time range of the content data, and the control means changes the scale of the search range to a year, month, day, and time unit by a pressing operation with respect to the pressing operator, and the year, month, A search and input device for extracting content data having time information according to the amount of rotation of the rotary operator by always assigning the date and time to one rotation of the rotary operator .   The search input device according to claim 1, wherein the control means sets the search range from the start to the end of one content, and one rotation of the rotary operator is associated with the length of one content.   The search input device according to claim 1, wherein the control means sets the search range from the start of the first content to the end of the last content, and one rotation of the rotation operator is associated with the length of all content. It said control means, search input device according to claim 1, wherein extracting the content data having the time information is close to the specified time information. In a search method for searching content data from a plurality of content data,
A step of determining a scale of a search range by a pushing operation of a pushing operator;
A step of always assigning a scale of the search range determined by the pushing operation to one rotation of the rotary operator;
Possess a step of extracting the content data recorded in a recording position corresponding to the rotation amount of the rotating element,
The search range is a time range of the content data, and in the step of extracting the content data, the scale of the search range is changed by year, month, day, time unit by the pushing operation, and the year, month, A search method for extracting content data having time information according to the amount of rotation of the rotary operator by always assigning a day and time to one rotation of the rotary operator . 6. The search method according to claim 5 , wherein the search range is from the start to the end of one content, and one rotation of the rotary operator is associated with the length of one content. The search method according to claim 5 , wherein the search range is from the start of the first content to the end of the last content, and one rotation of the rotation operator is associated with the length of all content. In a recording / reproducing apparatus that records and accumulates a plurality of content data and retrieves and reproduces the content data from the accumulated content data,
Data recording means for recording content data;
Data storage means for storing content data;
Data reproducing means for reproducing content data;
A rotary operation element that generates an operation input signal in accordance with a rotation operation in both positive and negative directions;
A push-in operator that generates an operation input signal corresponding to the push-in action;
Control means for extracting content data recorded at a recording position according to the rotation amount of the rotary operator,
The control means determines a scale of the search range by a pushing operation, always assigns the scale of the determined search range to one rotation of the rotary operator, and sets a recording position corresponding to the rotation amount of the rotary operator. Control is performed to extract the recorded content data, and the data reproduction means reproduces the extracted content data ,
The search range is a time range of the content data, and the control means changes the scale of the search range to a year, month, day, and time unit by a pressing operation with respect to the pressing operator, and the year, month, A recording / reproducing apparatus for extracting content data having time information according to the amount of rotation of the rotary operator by always assigning the date and time to one rotation of the rotary operator . 9. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the content data is audio data. 9. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the control means sets the search range from the start to the end of one content and associates one rotation of the rotary operator with the length of one content. 9. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the control means sets the search range from the start of the first content to the end of the last content, and one rotation of the rotation operator is associated with the length of all content. 9. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a light emitting unit, wherein the presence / absence of the content data or the data amount is indicated by a light amount or a light color. The main body of the recording / reproducing apparatus has a substantially circular shape, and the control means considers the amount of use of the data storage means as the light emission area of the light emission means, taking one circumference of the outer periphery of the main body as the total storage capacity of the data storage means. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 12 expressed by:

Images