WO1997016018A1

WO1997016018A1 - Picture retrieving device, picture recording/reproducing device used therefor, and picture retrieving method

Info

Publication number: WO1997016018A1
Application number: PCT/JP1995/002211
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shoji Ohno; Yuzuru Takahashi
Original assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
Priority date: 1995-10-27
Filing date: 1995-10-27
Publication date: 1997-05-01

Abstract

A decoding section (2) in a picture recording/reproducing device (100) decodes the text data inserted into part of the vertical retrace interval of picture signals recorded in a recording/reproducing section (1), and an address detecting section (3) in the device (100) detects the address data of the section (1). In this processing, an external controller (200) stores the text data and address data sent from the device (100) in a storing section (12) as paired data. The controller (200) retrieves the address data corresponding to the text data designated by the user and sends the address data to the device (100). The retrieved address data are compared with the address data detected by the detecting section (3) by an address comparing section (6). A record/reproduction control section (7) controls the cueing in the recording/reproducing section (1).

Description

Technical Field Image retrieval apparatus, image recording / reproducing apparatus used therefor, and image retrieval method

The present invention relates to an image / sound recording / reproducing apparatus for recording an image / sound signal, and more particularly to an image search apparatus suitable for searching for an image / sound signal. The present invention relates to a video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus which is suitable for the above. Background art

Conventionally, in order to transmit character information multiplexed on a television broadcast signal, a character code is inserted in the form of a digital signal during a vertical blanking period. Particularly in the United States, since July 1993, it has been obliged to provide the decode display function on 13-inch or more televisions. In response, text signals for use as subtitles have been inserted into most television broadcasts and videotape software, making it useful for hearing-impaired programmers. In this US teletext, a digital signal consisting of 16 bits per H, that is, two characters, is inserted in 21 H (horizontal scanning period). Since the digital signal has a low frequency of about 2 microseconds per bit, it can be easily recorded and reproduced by a video tape recorder used as a home video and audio recording and reproducing device.

The circuit for demodulating this US character signal has already been commercialized as an IC. LC7456A (Sanyo), M3726 7 M (Mitsubishi) and MC 68 HC 68 VBI (Motorola). USP 5, 299, 006 describes a video tape recorder incorporating a caption decoder. Products that apply these features include those that simply add a subtitle display function to a TV or video tape recorder, and those that can output character codes to a PC with an RS-232C interface. Click on.

However, these prior arts simply superimpose a caption display on an image signal, or simply output a character code in an ASCII code. Disclosure of the invention

The present invention considers a character signal as a message and is integrated with the image / audio signal, detects an address in which the character text is recorded, stores the address integrally, and designates the character text. The present invention provides an image search device that can search for an image / audio portion and use it diversifiedly.

The closed caption information (Closed Caption) is inserted as a character code in the vertical retrace period of the video signal. In general, subtitle information closely corresponds to the video and audio information in the vicinity, so by reading this subtitle information, it is possible to imagine the contents of the recorded images and sounds. Utilizing this, in the present invention, the head address of each sentence of the subtitle information is stored in advance together with the subtitle information, and the user specifies the subtitle text at the time of reproduction, so that the corresponding video / audio portion is searched. Things. Brief description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the image search system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram showing waveforms of a video signal and a text signal output from a recording / reproducing unit. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a configuration for extracting text data, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a menu screen for operating the system, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing execution or interruption of subtitle display. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a selection display screen, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen for displaying text data as characters on a display device, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a selection display screen for executing or interrupting a search. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image search system shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, and FIG. 9 is a projection view of the configuration of the image search system of the present invention as viewed from the front. Fig. 10 shows the configuration of the image search system. FIG. 11 is a projection view from the back, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a main screen displayed on a display device, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of a VCR control button, FIG. The figure is a block diagram showing an image search system composed of the following. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image search system shown in FIGS. 9 to 13. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an image retrieval system according to the present invention, which includes a recording / reproducing section 1, a decoding section 2, an address detection section 3, a text conversion section 4, an input / output control section 5, and an input / output control section 5. Dress comparison unit 6, recording / playback control unit 7, external input / output control unit 8, display control unit 9, display device 10, central control unit 11, storage unit 12, character input unit 13, and character input device 14 Yotsutsu It is composed. The recording / reproducing unit 1, the decoding unit 2, the address detecting unit 3, the text converting unit 4, the input / output control unit 5, the address comparing unit 6, and the recording / reproducing control unit 7 include the image recording / reproducing device 100. It is provided in. On the other hand, the external input / output control unit 8, the display control unit 9, the display device 10, the central control unit 11, the storage unit 12, the character input unit 13, and the character input device 14 are connected to the external control device 200. Is provided. The image recording / reproducing 100 and the external control device 200 are connected by a data input / output terminal a and a data input / output terminal b, respectively.

The outline of the operation of this image input system is as follows. When the recording / playback unit 1 is set to the playback state, an image signal is output and supplied to the decoding unit 2. The decoding unit 2 decodes the signal in the vertical blanking period as data. When the recording / playback unit 1 is in the recording state, a signal to be recorded may be supplied to the decoding unit. The decoded data is converted into text data by the text converter 4 and supplied to the input / output controller 5. The address detection unit 3 detects the address of the image signal in which the data decoded by the decoding unit 2 exists, converts the address into address data, and sends the address data to the input / output control unit 5. Supply. The address data includes, for example, the accumulated recording time from the recording start part of the recording medium used for the recording / reproducing unit 1, the address data recorded on a part of the recording medium, and the relative amount to the total amount of the recording medium. Position data can be used. The input / output control unit 5 converts the address data and the text data converted by the text conversion unit 4 into a data input / output of the external control device 200 via the data input / output terminal a as a pair of data. Supply to output terminal b. This data is taken in by the external input / output control unit 8 and stored in the storage unit 12 as data by the central control unit 11. At the same time, central control The unit 11 sends this data to the display control unit 9 and causes the display device 10 to display the text data as characters.

On the other hand, characters such as alphabets, numbers, and symbols are input to the character input device 14 by the user. The character input to character input device 14 is taken into external control device 200 by character input unit 13. The central control unit 11 gives meaning to the captured characters as described later, and displays the characters on the display device 10. The central control unit 11 recognizes a character from the character input device 14 as a command, extracts the text data from the storage unit 12, displays the text data on the display device 10, and simultaneously displays the address. The data is fetched and transmitted as search address data to be described later from the data input / output terminal b to the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 via the external input / output control unit 8. The transmitted data is input to the input / output control unit 5 of the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100. The address comparison unit 6 compares the input data with the address data output from the address detection unit 3 to determine a search direction. The recording / reproducing control section 7 changes the reproducing state of the recording / reproducing section 1 in the forward or reverse direction according to the signal from the address comparing section 6 and starts the search. The search ends when the address data matches the search address data.

Further, the operation of the image retrieval system will be described in detail below. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for explaining the outline of the operation of the image search system.

(1) Storage and display of text data

First, the text data from the image recording / reproducing device 100 is stored in the storage unit 12 of the external control device 200, and at the same time, the text data is stored. An operation of displaying one night as a character on the display device 10 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a video signal and a text signal waveform output from the recording / reproducing unit 1. Vide01 is a video signal, Video2 is a signal during a vertical retrace period of the video signal, 15 is a text signal during a retrace period, and Video3 is an enlarged version of the text signal 15 It is. The text signal 15 includes a clock run-in signal section T4 for determining a slice level for extracting the text data, and a text data overnight signal section T5. FIG. 3 shows an example of a block for extracting text data from the text signal 15. 16 is a switch, 17 is a timing signal generator, 18 is a capacitor, and 19 is a comparator. The text signal 15 is input from d. Line e has a signal S1 which causes switch 16 to be 0N during clock-run-in T4, and line f has a signal S1 integrated by capacitor 18 S 2 is output. The text signal 15 input to the lines f and d is compared by the comparator 19, and a signal S3 is obtained for the line g. Assuming that c of the signal S3 is a start bit and that the subsequent signal S3 is 1 and the other is 0, the signal S3 is 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 It consists of 16 bits of 1. The signal S3 is a signal superimposed from the least significant bit, and if the most significant bit of each 8 bits is an odd parity bit, the 16 bits are represented by C1 and C2 in hexadecimal notation. It is. Here, the most significant bit of the 8 bits is a parity bit. If the 7 bits other than the liability bit are expressed in hexadecimal notation, they are 4 1 and 4 2. This means the alphabets A and B in ASCII expression. For example, if the character information "HELLO" is superimposed, the odd number is displayed because it is 48, 45, 4C4C, and 4F in hexadecimal notation. C 8, 45, 4 C, and 4 F in consideration of the efficiency. This data is continuously superimposed on the text data by two bytes. If there is one set of text data, odd parity is added to 0, which means that no data exists, and 80 is superimposed. This signal S 3 is divided into a text part and other parts by a text conversion part 4 and supplied to an input / output control part 5. On the other hand, the address signal output from the recording / reproducing section 1 is also converted into data by the address detecting section 3 and supplied to the input / output control section 5. The data supplied to the input / output control unit 5 is output as a pair of data of address data and text data via the data input / output terminal a and supplied to the data input / output terminal b of the external control device 200. .

When this system is started, a menu screen for guiding the operation of the system is displayed on the display device 10 as shown in FIG. For example, to select the execution or suspension of subtitle display, enter “Select subtitle (C)” from the character input device 14. When the subtitle (C) is selected in this manner, FIG. As shown in, a display for selecting execution (R) or interruption (K) of subtitle display can be displayed. The above-mentioned pair of address data and text data fetched from the external input / output control unit 8 of the external control device 200 are stored in the area 200 in the storage unit 12 by the central control unit 11. , And 21 are stored in the order in which they were entered, and at the same time are displayed as characters on the display device 10 as shown in Fig. 6. (2) Designation and heading of characters

Next, the character displayed on the display device 10 is designated and the recording / reproducing unit 1 is designated. The following describes a case in which the head is displayed. When the "†" and "1" buttons for raising and lowering the cursor by the character input device 14 in FIG. 6 are operated, the cursor 22 in the display screen moves up and down. Then, after moving the cursor 22 to the desired character display, the user inputs a search (S) selection from the character input device 14. When the search (S) is selected in this way, a display for selecting execution (R) or interruption (K) of the search is displayed as shown in FIG. Here, when “Execute (R)” is input from the character input device 14, the central control unit 11 reads the text data corresponding to the desired character display from the area 21 of the storage unit 12. One night, a pair of address data associated with the text data is retrieved from the storage unit 20 and sent to the data input / output terminal b as search address data via the external input / output control unit 8. Is done. The address comparison unit 6 compares the search address data input to the image recording / reproducing device 100 with the address data from the address detection unit 3. Here, assuming that the addresses are sequentially counted from the beginning of the recording information recorded in the recording / reproducing unit 1, the recording / reproducing control unit 7 changes the reproducing state of the recording / reproducing unit 1 as shown below. Change. · If the search address data is larger than the address data from the address detection unit 3, control is performed so that the recording / reproduction unit 1 performs reproduction in the forward direction.

• When the search address data is smaller than the address data from the address detection unit 3, the recording / reproduction unit 1 is controlled to perform reproduction in the reverse direction. • If the search address data is equal to the address data from the address detection unit 3, the recording / reproduction unit 1 terminates the reproduction state in the forward or reverse direction. Here, when the difference between the search address data and the address data from the address detection unit 3 is equal to or longer than a predetermined interval, the search may be performed by high-speed playback.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, the address comparing section 6 is provided in the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100, but may be provided in the external control apparatus 200. In this case, the address data is transmitted from the image recording / reproducing device 100, the address comparing section in the external control device 200 compares the address data, and further, the control data based on the comparison result is transmitted. The image data is sent from the external control device 200 to the image recording / reproducing device 100, and the recording / reproducing control unit 7 changes the reproduction state of the recording / reproducing unit 1 in the forward or reverse direction based on the control data. A search may be performed.

Further, although the system is composed of the image recording / reproducing device 100 and the external control device 200, the system may be an image retrieving device in which each device is integrated. Only part 1 may be provided outside this device.

Although the signal waveform of a US teletext is shown here as an example, other waveforms may be used as long as the video signal has text data superimposed thereon.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration example of the image search system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are components of an image retrieval system according to the present invention. FIG.

First, Fig. 9 is a front view of the image retrieval system according to the present invention, which is a video cassette recorder (hereinafter, referred to as VCR) 23, a personal computer main unit (hereinafter, referred to as PC) 24, Monitor connected to PC 25, Left speaker 26, Right speaker 27, Character input device connected to PC (hereinafter referred to as keyboard) 28, Input designation device connected to PC ( Hereafter, a mouse) 29, an audio / video connection cable 30 and a VCR control signal connection cable (hereinafter referred to as a control cable) 31 are shown.

On the other hand, FIG. 10 is a projection view of the image retrieval system according to the present invention as viewed from the back, where the VCR 23, PC 24, monitor 25, left speaker 26, right speaker 27, PC 24 Video signal capture board built in 4 (hereinafter referred to as video board) 37, Audio signal capture board built in PC 24 (hereinafter referred to as sound board) 3 8, Control cable 3 1, video signal output terminal 40, right audio output terminal 41, left audio output terminal 42, video signal input terminal 43, right audio input terminal 44, and left audio input terminal 45 are shown.

In the image search system shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the system in the PC is started, the screen 46 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the monitor 25. On this screen 46, a main screen 47 and sub screens 56 and 60 are displayed. On the main screen 47, a menu bar 48 with menus arranged, the status display of VCR 23 4 9 (in this case, with cassette 50, power on 51, playback 52, counter 53 Are displayed), a VCR control button 54 for controlling the VCR 23, and a description 55 of the VCR control button are displayed. This main When the subtitle (C) on the menu bar 48 of the screen 47 is selected, a sub screen 56 displaying the subtitle contents is displayed. The sub-screen 56 has a subtitle menu bar 57 for performing operations such as heading described above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. Below the subtitle menu bar 57, a subtitle content 58 and a scroll bar 59 indicating the position of the subtitle are displayed. Here, the video can be captured from the video board 37 in FIG. 10, and the audio can be captured from the sound board 38 in FIG. This image is displayed on the monitor 25 as a sub screen 60 at the same time as the other screens, and the sound can be output from the left speaker 26 and the right speaker 27.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of each of the VCR control buttons 54 of FIG. The VCR control buttons 54 include a rewind button 61, a pause button 62, a stop button 63, a play button 64, a fast forward button 65, a power on / off button 66, a recording button 67, and a slow playback button 66. 8, Counter reset button 69, Tape eject button 70, Channel up button 71, Channel down button 72, Input switch button 73, Clock setting button 74, and progress time display at the counter 53 A power indicator display switching button 75 for switching between the remaining amount display and the like is provided.

FIG. 13 shows the internal configuration of the VCR shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The VCR is connected to PC 24 by audio signal line 80, video signal line 81, and communication line 30.PC 24 is connected to monitor 25 by monitor-to-monitor connection cable 82. I have. The VCR 23 has a recording / reproducing section 83 for recording and reproducing audio and video, a recording / reproducing control section 84 for controlling the recording / reproducing section 83, and extracting text from a video signal output from the recording / reproducing section 83. The text data and records extracted from the decode unit 85 and the decode unit 85 An input / output control unit 86 is provided for sending the position (address) information of the tape taken out from the recording / reproduction control unit 84 to the PC 24. In addition, the input / output control unit 86 simultaneously controls to take in information from the PC 24 into the VCR 23. Note that the decoding unit 85 and the input / output control unit 86 may be constituted by one microcomputer 87. Hereinafter, the operation of the image retrieval system will be described. FIG. 14 shows a flowchart for explaining the outline of the operation of the image retrieval system.

(1) Storing and displaying text data

First, the text data decoded by the decoding unit 85 in the VCR 23 is transmitted from the VCR 23 to the PC 24 via the communication line 79, and the text data is stored in the storage device in the PC 24. The operation of storing text data and displaying text data on the monitor 25 will be described.

Insert a video cassette tape with text information superimposed on the video signal into VCR23. Press the play button 64 in Fig. 12. As a result, control information for instructing the reproducing operation is input from the PC 24 to the input / output control unit 86 of the VCR 23 via the communication line 30. The input / output control unit 86 informs the recording / playback control unit 84 that the play button 64 has been pressed. As a result, the recording / reproducing control section 84 controls the recording / reproducing section 83 in a state of reproducing the inserted video cassette tape. The video signal output from the recording / reproducing unit 83 to the signal line 81 is input to the decoding unit 85. Therefore, the decoding unit 85 extracts the text information from the video signal and sends it to the input / output control unit 86. At the same time that the decoding section 85 retrieves the text data, the recording / playback control section 84 retrieves the current address data of the tape. Send to I / O controller 86. The input / output control unit 86 associates the text data with the address data and sends it out to the communication line 30. The PC 24 stores the text data in an internal storage device and simultaneously monitors the Display in 5.

(2) Specify text data

Next, a description will be given of an operation in which the text data displayed on the monitor 25 is specified and the beginning of the video talent set tape is performed. The text data displayed on the monitor 25 is stored in the storage device of the PC 34 as described above. The user designates desired data from the text data with the keyboard 28 or the mouse 29 in FIG. 9 and retrieves the address data associated with the designated text data from the storage device of the PC 24. On the other hand, the PC 24 always receives the address data of the tape at that time via the communication line 30 from the VCR 23. Here, the PC 24 sends control information for running the cassette tape in a direction in which both addresses coincide with each other to the VCR side via the communication line 30 and stops or reproduces when the two coincide with each other. Done. Although the description has been given of the case where the address match is detected, text data may be compared at the same time.

Although the description so far has focused on text data search operations, the subtitle texts before and after the text data are also displayed during playback, and the subtitle portion corresponding to the current position is highlighted so that foreign language learning can be performed. Can be effective means. In addition, during playback, only the part where the subtitles exist is sent at the normal playback speed, and the other parts are fast-forwarded to shorten the time and recognize program information. Can be. Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, a user can specify a caption text to search for a corresponding image and audio position in a recording / reproducing apparatus such as a VCR.

Claims

The scope of the claims

. Recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing audio signal and image signal

A decoding unit for decoding coded text data inserted in a part of a vertical blanking period of the image signal recorded or reproduced by the recording / reproducing device;

An address detection unit that detects address data corresponding to a position where the recording / reproducing device is recording or reproducing,

Means for storing the text data and the address data in pairs,

Means for displaying a part of the stored text data; means for designating an arbitrary part of the displayed text data;

Means for retrieving address data corresponding to the specified text data from the address data stored in the storage means, and

An image search device comprising: means for setting the recording / reproducing device so that the audio signal and the image signal at the position indicated by the retrieved address data can be reproduced.

3. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein the address data is a cumulative recording time from a recording start part of a recording medium used in the recording and reproduction device. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein the address data is address data recorded on a part of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing device. 2. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein the address 2. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein the image data is relative position data with respect to an entire amount of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing device. The means is constituted by a central control unit and a storage device associated therewith.

2. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein at least the storage unit and the search unit are configured by a personal computer, and the display unit is a monitor connected to the computer. An image search device, wherein the designation means is a keyboard and a mouse connected to the computer. 2. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein the recording / reproducing device reproduces a portion where no text data exists in a fast-forward state, and a portion where the text data exists remains in the same state as at the time of recording. An image retrieval device characterized by being reproduced.

An image recording / reproducing device controlled by an external control device, the recording / reproducing unit recording and reproducing an image signal,

A decoding unit for decoding coded text data inserted in a part of a vertical retrace period of the image signal recorded or reproduced by the recording / reproducing unit;

An address detection unit that detects address data corresponding to a position where the recording / reproduction unit is recording or reproducing,

An input / output control unit that sends data obtained by pairing the text data and the address data to the external control device, and receives search address data from the external control device;

The search address data and the address detected by the address detection unit. Address comparison unit for comparing address data, and

A recording / reproducing control unit that controls the recording / reproducing unit to be able to reproduce the audio signal and the image signal at the position indicated by the search address data according to the comparison result of the address comparing unit.

An image recording / reproducing apparatus comprising:

9. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the address data is address data recorded on a part of a recording medium used for the recording / reproducing unit. Playback device.

10. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the address data is relative position data with respect to a total amount of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing unit. Recording and playback device.

11. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the recording / reproducing unit reproduces a portion where no text data is present in a fast-forward state, and a portion where the text is present is used for recording. An image recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing in the same state as in (1).

1 2. An image recording / reproducing device controlled by an external control device,

A recording and reproducing unit for recording and reproducing image signals,

A recording / reproducing control unit for controlling the operation of the recording / reproducing unit and detecting address data corresponding to a position where the recording / reproducing unit is recording or reproducing; and The text data decoded by the decoding unit and the address data detected by the recording / reproduction control unit are sent as a pair to the external control device, and the external control device sends the data to the recording / reproduction control unit. In addition to having an input / output control unit that receives control information,

The image recording / reproducing device, wherein the recording / reproducing control unit controls the recording / reproducing unit in accordance with the control information received by the input / output control unit.

13. An image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the recording / reproducing unit records and reproduces the audio signal and the image signal on a magnetic tape.

14. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the address data is address data recorded on a part of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing unit. Image recording and playback device.

15. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the address data is relative position data with respect to an entire amount of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing unit. Recording and playback device.

1 6. An image search method for searching a specified portion from an image signal recorded in a recording / reproducing device,

Record or reproduce the image signal,

The encoded text data inserted in a part of the vertical blanking period of the recorded or reproduced image signal is decoded, and the code corresponding to the position of the recorded or reproduced image signal is decoded. Address data, Storing the text data and the address data in pairs, displaying a part of the stored text data,

Specifying an arbitrary portion of the displayed text data, searching for the address data corresponding to the specified text data from the stored address data, and

The recording / reproducing apparatus is set so that the image signal at the position indicated by the retrieved address data can be reproduced.

An image retrieval method comprising steps.

7. The image search method according to claim 16, wherein the setting is performed by:

Comparing the searched address data with the detected address data overnight;

As a result of the comparison, if the searched address data is larger than the detected address data, control is performed so that the reproducing position of the recording / reproducing device is forwardly transmitted;

As a result of the comparison, if the retrieved address data is smaller than the detected address data, control is performed so that the reproducing position of the recording / reproducing device is sent in the reverse direction;

As a result of the comparison, if the searched address data is equal to the detected address data, the reproduction position of the recording / reproducing apparatus is maintained.

An image search method comprising a step.

8. The image search method according to claim 16, wherein the address data is an accumulated recording time from a recording start part of a recording medium used in the recording and reproducing apparatus. Method.

9. The image search method according to claim 16, wherein the address data is address data recorded on a part of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing apparatus. How to search.

0. The image search method according to claim 16, wherein the address data is relative position data with respect to a total amount of a recording medium used in the recording / reproducing apparatus. Method.