JP2003259258A - Image information recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly reproduce a picture generated by a picture recorder like a still picture camera when reproducing and displaying the picture as a stereoscopic image. <P>SOLUTION: Position information representative of the positional relation between an image pickup means and a subject is recorded as header information annexed to an image information file, so that information for reproducing a stereoscopic image at the time of picture reproducing can be easily obtained. Angle information representative of the positional relation between the image pickup means for picking up an image of a picture and the subject and information indicating that the picture is a composed image or angle information representative of the positional relation between the image pickup means for picking up an image of a picture and the subject and information indicating that the picture is a multiple image are read out as header information, so that image information obtained from various angles can be easily obtained from a processed picture file. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image information recording device, and more particularly to an image information recording device with improved usability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A still image camera, which uses a recording medium such as a magnetic disk or an IC memory card in place of a silver salt film as a recording medium for recording an optical image and records and reproduces through electrical processing, is expected to have a future. Has been done. In the image recording and reproducing process of a still image camera of this kind, at the time of recording, a subject image (optical image) that has passed through an optical system such as a lens is converted into an electric signal by a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD, and the above card or the like. When the subject image is recorded on the recording medium and the subject image is reproduced as a still image, the subject image is reproduced based on the electric signal read from the recording medium.

Conventionally, in a still image camera or an image information recording apparatus, when recording image data to be recorded on a recording medium, various kinds of information related to the image data are also recorded at the same time for efficient reproduction. I am trying to make it. The various information includes attribute information and related information, and includes image data format, pixel size, image compression method, and the like.

When performing continuous recording of a plurality of image data by the conventional image information recording apparatus described above, the attribute information and the related information are recorded in the header area and the image data are recorded as one file in the data area for each recording. To be done. At the time of reproduction, the attribute information and the related information are read from the header for each image area, the image data is read from the data area, and are sequentially reproduced.

[0005]

As described above, the conventional image information recording apparatus records the image data as one file on the recording medium together with the attribute information and related information necessary for reproduction. For example, when reproducing image data recorded by a device such as a still image camera, by reading the attribute information, related information, and image data for each file, the image to be reproduced is captured under any condition. However, it is not convenient to refer to the attribute information described in the file when trying to reproduce and display three-dimensionally using multiple images to be reproduced. It was necessary to import it to a personal computer and create a stereoscopic image using dedicated software. In addition, adjustment is necessary to obtain an appropriate stereoscopic effect, which is an obstacle to high-speed reproduction.

In addition to continuous shooting, a still image camera has a wide variety of shooting modes, such as a series of data obtained by multiple exposure shooting, data recorded on a multi-screen, or monochrome image data. It is very efficient if each group can be processed in the same manner as the continuous shooting data described above.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable quick reproduction when an image created by an image recording device such as a still image camera is reproduced and displayed as a stereoscopic image.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an image information recording apparatus according to the present invention uses image information generated by an image pickup means or externally supplied to the information recording medium to which the image information is applied. , Each image information is stored as each image information file including an attribute information part corresponding to each image information and an image data part representing the image information, and the related information of each image information is the applied information. An image information recording device for recording as header information associated with an image information file on a recording medium, wherein the attribute information is position information indicating a positional relationship between an image pickup means for picking up the image and a subject. Is configured. Here, the position information is angle information.

In the image information recording apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention, the image information generated by the image pickup means or supplied from outside is applied to the applied information recording medium for each different image information. The image information file is stored as each image information file including a corresponding attribute information part and an image data part representing the image information, and the related information of each image information is stored in the image information file on the applied information recording medium. An image information recording device configured to record as accompanying header information, wherein the attribute information is angle information indicating a positional relationship between an imaging unit that captures the image and a subject, and that the image is a composite image. It is configured to be the information shown.

Further, in the image information recording apparatus according to still another aspect of the present invention, the image information generated by the image pickup means or supplied from the outside is stored in the applied information recording medium for each different image information. Is stored as each image information file including an attribute information part corresponding to the image information part and an image data part representing the image information, and the related information of each image information is stored in the image information file on the applied information recording medium. Is an image information recording device configured to record as header information associated with, and the attribute information is angle information indicating a positional relationship between an image capturing unit that captures the image and a subject, and the image is a multi-image. Is configured to be information indicating.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the position information indicating the positional relationship between the image pickup means and the object is recorded as the header information attached to the image information file, so that the information for reproducing a stereoscopic image can be easily reproduced. Obtainable. Also, as header information, angle information indicating the positional relationship between the image capturing means for capturing an image and the subject, information indicating that the image is a composite image, or the positional relationship between the image capturing means for capturing the image and the subject is indicated. By reading the angle information and the information indicating that the image is a multi-image, the image information obtained from various angles from the processed image file can be easily obtained.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration example of a recording file in the embodiment of the present invention. Header areas 1 to 4 and image data areas 1 to 4 are provided in each of (B) to (E) of each image file, and information necessary for reproducing an image (for example, in an attribute area of the header area) is provided. , A pointer indicating the start position of the image data of each file, a compression method, various tables for compression / expansion, etc.) are described. Further, image data is recorded in the image data area.

In the conventional apparatus, at the time of reproduction, the header area of each image file is read and then the image data is subjected to decompression processing and the like for reproduction. Therefore, the header area must be read for each image file. It was an obstacle to high-speed processing. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned various information necessary for reproducing an image is described in a file (control file) (A) that represents the relationship between individual data, in addition to the image data. Therefore, at the time of reproduction, it is only necessary to refer to the control file, and it is not necessary to read the attribute information of each file. Also, not only can the attribute information be skipped from the start position information (pointer) of the image data described in the attribute information area to read the data, but various tables for reproducing each image file are also stored in the file itself. The information recorded in the control file can be understood without searching. Further, since the attribute information is recorded in each file in a normal format, it is of course possible to reproduce one file by a normal method.

With the above-described structure, when the recording medium (IC memory card) is inserted (mounted) or the power is turned on, the control file (A) is read to check the attributes of each file and compressed in advance. If preparations such as decompression and reproduction processing of the image are performed, high-speed image reproduction can be performed with simple processing. In addition, when the target image file is transferred to a personal computer, in order to facilitate management, the DC component in each block in the image extracted when compressing each image file is used to make the index for the index
It is also possible to create an X small screen and describe this together with the table information of the control file. Actually, an area for storing data is provided in the last part of the control file, and the small screen data of each image file is described together with the table number.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, as the attribute information for reading and reproducing the data of the file, the file header has a pixel structure, a pixel size, an encoding method, a photographing date, and a photographing date. Information (title, shutter speed, exposure, etc.), a pointer indicating the start position of image data, table data for determining the degree of compression when the image is compressed, and the like are described. The table data includes, for example, a quantization table, an encoding table, etc., and the signal types of external input (RGB, Y / C, NTS).
Since the optimum values of these tables differ depending on C, PAL, etc., reproduction is performed by a method suitable for each. The image data body is recorded in the image data area following the file header. As described above, since various kinds of information are described in the header of each file, it is difficult to define a uniform size and the size is variable. Therefore, it is not easy to determine where each information is described. Therefore, the start position of the image data of each file is described as a pointer in the control file and collectively managed to facilitate management. In addition, when a medium in which various image files are mixed is reproduced, a standard table and a dedicated table are repeatedly generated. Processing becomes possible.

As described above, in this embodiment, the same information as the contents of each item of the attribute information described in the file header is also described in the control file, which facilitates management and enables high-speed processing. Also, the software of the device is simplified and can be configured with a small program. At this time, the total recording capacity is slightly increased, but the effect is small because the capacity of the header itself is not large.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the internal structure of the IC card memory. At the level 1 of the attribute information area of the layer 1, the device type, speed (access speed),
Information indicating the capacity and the like is described. In the level 2 of the attribute information area, the address of the first data, the block length, the date and time of initialization, the individual manufacturer information, etc. are described. In addition, in the memory management area, the standard Ve is used for the boot sector.
r. No. or BPB (bios parameter block) indicating the description format of the file is described, a table showing the data connection in the FAT (file allocation table), a file name, file attribute, date, start cluster, file size, etc. in the directory. Described.

Further, the image data file area is an image data file area as shown in FIG. 3, and a pointer to image data, a standard name, Ver. ,
It describes a compression method, pixel structure, discrimination between compression / non-compression, field / frame, shooting date, various table data, and the like. Further, image data is recorded in the image data main body area, and the SOI, ..., SO indicating the start is recorded.
, SOS, ..., EOI indicating the end of data, etc. are recorded. In the control file, the attribute information and the related information are described in ASCII code, and the additional data (various table data) are described in binary data. Here, the attribute information and the related information are described in ASCII code because the frequency of rewriting by the user is high, and the additional data is described as binary data because the frequency of rewriting is low.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of an image file (an example of a pointer). As shown in the figure, the ID representing the pointer, the number of bytes up to the next ID, and the start position of the image data (in this example, in this example). , “0400h”: 1 KB), I indicating the standard
D, the number of bytes until the next ID, standard “D”, standard “S”, standard “C”, pixel size ID, next I
The number of bytes up to D, the pixel size (768 × 480), the ID indicating the signal form, the number of bytes until the next ID, the signal form (Y / C), the start position and the end position of the image data body of the JPEG file. "SOI" code and "EO"
I "code is described. The above image file is J
In the case of a PEG file, the pointer indicates the position where the start position “SOI” code of the JPEG image data body is located, and the same is described in the control file. Although various tables are not usually described in the header, when a non-standard encoding / quantization table is used, the table is described in the header to facilitate management.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the data structure (file structure) in the recording medium. In FIG. 5, the # 1 part of the root directory indicates a normal recording control file, and the # 2 and # 3 parts indicate three normally recorded image files and audio files, respectively. Image data continuously recorded in 11 files is stored in the # 4 portion of the continuous high-speed recording storage subdirectory. As shown in the figure, one control file may be provided in the root directory, and the relation management of all files may be performed only by this one file. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the contents of the attribute information of all files including audio and images can be known from the contents of the control file # 1, and the headers of the individual files arranged separately are searched for. It's easy to process because you don't need to know
High-speed processing becomes possible. Incidentally, it is also possible to provide a control file in each directory and manage the relation of the files in that directory.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the structure of the control file. An editor (text editing software) for a personal computer or a word processing software cannot be normally displayed as normal characters unless described in ASCII code. Therefore, in order to facilitate the management, the related information data of the control file is described in ASCII code. However, in order to reduce the capacity, all may be recorded as binary data.

The file header indicates that the file is a control file, and the related information and attribute information of all files included on the medium are described in ASCII code in the next area. The subsequent area is a pointer portion for additional data, and for example, an encoding table, a quantization table, an uncompressed small screen for search, and the like are written in the respective additional data 1 to 5 in each block. At this time, the data is written as binary data. Since the data added to the end of the control file is not an ASCII code but a binary data for the convenience of processing from the purpose of use, it is managed separately.
Specifically, at the end of the related information, a pointer indicating the head position of each additional data is described to facilitate management.

FIG. 7 shows a description example of the control file # 1 in the root directory of FIG. In the figure, # 1 indicates a basic value that expresses the attribute information table and the attribute information of each file by a flag. For example, "DIS
P. “REZO” represents the display resolution by the pixel size, “1” indicates 640 × 480, “2” indicates 768 × 480, and “3” indicates 1024 × 768.
"1" for "SIGNAL TYPE" (signal type)
Indicates RGB, "2" indicates Y / C, and "3" indicates YMCB. In "HUFFMAN TABLE (encoding table)", "1" is standard and "2" and "3" are custom tables. 1 and 2 are shown. Also, "Q-TAB
In "LE TYPE" (quantization table), "1" indicates standard, "2", "3" and "4" indicate custom tables 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Furthermore, "SOUND"
In SAMPLING CLOCK, "1" is 44K
Hz, "2" is 22 KHz, "3" is 11 KHz
"4" indicates 5.5 KHz.

Description "T" indicating the beginning of file management information
In the # 2 part after "ABLE", the pointer of the recorded image file and image data, the attribute information flag, the image N
O. (Frame No.) is shown, the pointer of the image data is in # 21, and “DISP.REZO.” Is in # 22.
However, # 23 is "SIGNAL TYPE", # 24 is "HUFFMAN TABLE", and # 25 is "QT".
"ABLE TYPE" has its type designated by a number. In # 3, a pointer of the recorded voice file and voice data, voice No. (frame No.)
Is displayed, the pointer is displayed in # 31 and “SO” is displayed in # 32.
UND SAMPLING CLOCK "is described. The control file of the root directory is described in the # 4 part. The image file of the subdirectory includes the image file of the recorded subdirectory and the pointer of the image data # 5. Described as a section,
It can be seen that these eight image files are recorded under the same conditions.

Referring to FIG. 8, the information is INFO. , The related information indicating one group of continuous recording is described in # 1, the interval time (seconds) is described in # 2, and the eight continuously recorded image files are described in # 3. There is. In table # 4, each table data is described in blocks in the data area, and a pointer indicating the head position of the table is shown. Below, # 41
Part of the Huffman table 1 pointer, # 42 part of the Huffman table 2 pointer, # 43 part, # 44 and # 45
The pointers of the quantization tables 1, 2 and 3 are described in the section. Various data are described in the # 5 part.
In this example, it is described as binary data that cannot be edited, and the above various tables and the like are continuously described in blocks.

An example of the structure of the image file is shown in FIG. A file is composed of a file header and image data body. Information such as the number of pixels of the image data to be recorded subsequently and the encoding method is recorded in the file header. At the beginning of the header, as the specification name, "DS
For ease of management, specify that the file is a C ″ specification file, the symbol indicating the image structure, and the version number of the specification are specified for ease of management. The header is normally 512B (the size is described in the tuple inside the header). . Even when uncompressed, 02
The data starts from 00H. Usually 512B (described in the header).

As an example of the file header, referring to FIG. 10, the first 512 bytes of the file are added as a file header to manage the data body. First, describe the specification tuple and determine the basic data type. The contents describe the name of the specification and the version number. Next, a header information tuple is provided to describe the total number of bytes in the header.
Next, a mast tuple is provided to describe information about the image. An option tuple area is provided after 256 bytes so that the content of a comment or the like can be freely described. However, all individual items in the option tuple area are described in tuple format.

The image data body starts from 0200h (according to the description of the header information tuple). The beginning of the option tuple area starts from 0100h (fixed). The option tuple area has a space of 256 bytes even if it is not described. A description example of the specification tuple is shown in FIG. Here, the specification name indicating the attribute of the file, version N
Describe O.

FIG. 12 shows a description example of the header information tuple.
, The total number of bytes in the header is described. A description example of the mast tuple is shown in FIG. 13, and necessary items regarding image data are described. FIG. 14 shows a description example of the option tuple area, and describes supplementary items regarding image data. The header description contents are shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 shows the contents of the mast tuple, and FIG. 16 shows the contents of the option tuple.

Next, details of the contents of each tuple will be described.
First, the contents of the specification tuple are as follows: 00: tuple ID (represents the head of the specification tuple. “80
h "is described.) 01: Offset (describe the offset value up to the next tuple.) 02 to 11: Specification name, version (Name and version indicating that the file complies with this standard.
16 characters are shown by ASCII code. ) As contents of the header information tuple, 00: tuple ID (represents the head of the header information tuple.
Describe "81h" 01: Offset (describe the offset value up to the next tuple.) 02-03: Total number of bytes (total number of bytes of this header is
Description. The beginning of the data body exists after this number of bytes from the beginning of the file. The contents of the mast tuple are 00: tuple ID (represents the beginning of the header information tuple.
"82h" is described) 01: Offset (describe the offset value up to the next tuple.) 02-0D: Date (record the shooting date. Record each digit 1 byte in ASCII code. "Records the last two digits of the Christian era.) 0E-0F: Reserved

Next, an example of standard values of header contents will be described. Each image file has a standard value of header content. For example, standard values for each item are determined as shown in FIG. Only when all of these are used, a flag (D7) indicating that the standard value is used is set at the place where the encoding method is set.

An example of the image data structure will be described below.
In the case of the uncompressed data structure, one pixel of the component having the smallest number of horizontal and vertical pixels and the pixel of the other component are combined into one unit to form a unit. For example, in the case of three components of Y / Cb / Cr and the horizontal Y / C ratio is 2: 1 and the vertical is 1: 1, the pixel arrangement is as shown in FIG.
In the case of such an image, data is arranged and recorded in the following order. The order of Y / Cb / Cr follows the component storage order described above. Y0, Y1, Cb0, Cr0, Y2, Y3, Cb1, C
r1, Y4, Y5, Cb2, Cr2, Y6, Y7, Cb
3 ...

In the case of the structure of compressed data (JPEG), J
The compressed data conforms to the PEG baseline system. The standard value described above is used. The following restrictions are set. -Use only block interleaving. -Use of the restart interval is optional. -APPn, COM, DRI, RST, DNL insertion is optional. -The quantization table and Huffman table must be placed. -Even if there is a quantization table / Huffman table, one DQT marker or DHT marke
Set all with r. In other words, DQ in one image
1 for T marker and 1 for DHT marker
Only put one.・ Quantization table and Huffman table are SOI mar
It is placed between the ker and the SOS marker.・ Each parameter such as the number of pixels shall be the standard value described above.

The JPEG data according to the above conditions is
As shown in FIG. S because it is interleaved
There is only one can. An example of the description of the MCU is shown in FIG. 20, and Y is two in the horizontal direction for one Cb.Cr. The frame header is
As the number of components and the number of pixels are fixed,
Like The index Cn of each component is the Y, B, R ASCII code. In the illustrated example, one quantization table is allocated for Y and one quantization table is allocated for C. When assigning different quantization tables to Cb and Cr, the values are in {}.

Scan header (scan head)
For r), since it is interleaved, scan
There are three components included in. Also, the last 3 bytes are baseline and are therefore fixed.

In the example of FIG. 22, AC is applied to each of Y and C.
-DC Huffman tables are assigned one by one. If the Huffman table assignments are different, the underlined byte numbers will change.

Next, when defining two quantization tables, the procedure is as shown in FIG. In addition, in the case of other numbers, the numerical value of Lq changes. For one quantization table,
Lq is “0043”, and in the case of three, “00C5”
become. When two Huffman tables are used for each of AC and DC, they are defined as follows. DRI / RST is
Recorded only when Restart Interval is enabled. The playback side must respond whenever there is this (each Restart Interval
The predicted value of the DC coefficient is set to 0 at the beginning of l). Also, A
Recording of markers such as PP / COM / DNL is optional. However, when Restart Interval is enabled, DNL should be added at the end of scan.

Next, the structure of the audio file will be described. The file has a file header, as shown in FIG.
In addition, it shall consist of the audio data body. Information such as the sampling and compression method of the audio data that is recorded subsequently is recorded in the file header. Further, in the header, the specification file of “DSC” is specified as the specification name, the symbol indicating the voice structure, and the version number of the specification are specified to facilitate management. The header is usually 5
12B (the size is described in the tuple inside the header). Even in the case of non-compression, the data body starts from 0200h. Usually 512B (described in the header).

As shown in FIG. 25, the top 51 of the file
Two bytes are added as a file header to manage the data body. First, describe the specification tuple and perform basic classification. The content describes the name of the standard and the version number. Next, a header information tuple is provided to describe the total number of bytes in the header. Next, a mast tuple is provided, and information regarding voice is described. An option tuple area is provided after 256 bytes so that the content of a comment or the like can be freely described. However, all individual items in the option tuple area are described in tuple format.

The audio data body starts from 0200h (according to the description of the header information tuple). The beginning of the option tuple area starts from 0100h (fixed).
The option tuple area has a space of 256 bytes even if it is not described.

An example of description of the specification tuple is shown in FIG. 26, and the specification name indicating the attribute of the file and the version number are described. An example of the description of the header information tuple is shown in FIG. 27, and the total number of bytes of the header is described. A description example of the mast tuple is shown in FIG. 28, and describes necessary items regarding audio data. An example of the description of the option tuple area is shown in FIG. 29, and auxiliary matters regarding audio data are described.

Explaining the header description content, the content of the mast tuple is shown in FIG. Among the contents of each tuple, the contents of the specification tuple are as follows. 00: Tuple ID (represents the head of the specification tuple. “80
01: offset (description of offset value up to next tuple) 02 to 11: specification name, version (name and version indicating that the file complies with this standard).
The 16 characters are shown by ASCII code. Further, the contents of the header information tuple are: 00: tuple ID (represents the beginning of the header information tuple.
“81h” is described. 01: Offset (describe the offset value to the next tuple) 02 to 03: Total number of bytes (total number of bytes of this header is
Description. The beginning of the data body exists after this number of bytes from the beginning of the file).

Further, the contents of the mast tuple are as follows. 00: Tuple ID (represents the beginning of a header information tuple.
"82h" is described) 01: Offset (describe the offset value up to the next tuple) 02-0D: Date (record the recording date. Each digit 1 byte is recorded in ASCII code. "Year") Records the last two digits of the year) 0E-1F: Reserved

The contents of the option tuple area are as follows. 00: comment tuple ID (represents the beginning of a comment tuple; describes "83h") 01: offset (describes the offset value up to the next tuple. If there is no tuple after this tuple, tuple end code (FFh) 02-XX: Comment (name of recorded equipment, AS, etc.)
253 alphanumeric characters in CII code, 12 for Kanji
6-character recording area) XX + 1: Comment end code (describe the code (00h) indicating the end of comment)

Each audio file has a standard value of header content. For example, the audio file of the DSC SOUND1 system defines standard values for the following items as shown in FIG. Only when all of these are used, a flag (D7) indicating that the standard value is used is set at the place where the encoding method is set.

Next, the data structure will be described. In the structure of non-compressed data, as shown in FIGS. 32A and 32B, sampled and quantized data is recorded in the order of sampling. In the case of multiple channels, the data is recorded dot-sequentially according to the storage order described in the audio data information tuple. In the structure of the compressed data, as shown in FIGS. 33A and 33B, the audio data encoded according to the encoding method of the audio data information tuple is sequentially recorded. In the case of a plurality of channels, they are recorded dot-sequentially according to the storage order described in the audio data information tuple.

Using ADPCM which is a standard compression method,
When the data of 8 bits / sample is compressed to 4 bits, it is packed into 8 bits in the output order and recorded at the byte boundary as shown in FIGS. 34 (A) and 34 (B).

A configuration example of the control file will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 35, the file is composed of a file header and related information data of each file. The main contents of this file are: 1: Track number management 2: Relationship of multiple files (continuous shooting, simultaneous playback of image and sound, program playback) 3: Judgment of schematic structure of each file (start position of data, etc.) In the header, the specification file “DSC” is specified as the specification name, the symbol indicating the management information, and the version number of the specification are specified to facilitate management. The header is normally 512B. (The size is described in the tuple inside the header)

The related information data is divided into blocks for each content, and described with some space left between them.
As a result, even if the amount of information increases, it may be overwritten. Also,
If it exceeds the space provided in advance, divide it and add it at the end. For management of these, what kind of information items and where they are described are described in the header. Track, drive, program, group such as sound simultaneous playback, groove number, start address,
Describe in the header.

An example of the file header will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The first 512 bytes of the file are added as a file header to manage the data body. First, describe the specification tuple and perform basic classification. The content describes the name of the standard and the version number. Next, a header information tuple is provided to describe the total number of bytes in the header.
Next, a mast tuple is provided and information regarding management is described. An option tuple area is provided after 256 bytes so that the content of a comment or the like can be freely described.
However, all individual items in the option tuple area are described in tuple format.

The management data body starts from 0200h (according to the description of the header information tuple). The beginning of the option tuple area starts from 0100h (fixed).
The option tuple area has a space of 256 bytes even if it is not described.

FIG. 37 shows an example of description of the specification tuple. The specification name indicating the attribute of the file and the version No.
Is described.

FIG. 38 shows a description example of the header information tuple, in which the total number of bytes of the header is described. FIG. 39 shows an example of the data structure. The related information data describes the relationship between individual files included in the medium. Basically, the following expressions are used for easy recognition on the personal computer side.

Grouping by a control file will be described as an embodiment of the present invention. A flag indicating the recording mode of each image data is added to this control file as shown in FIG. That is, a flag as shown in the figure is added to the attribute information table (INFO.TABLE).

Further, the file management information is described as shown in FIG. By describing in this way, the continuous shooting record data was conventionally organized in a separate directory, but when a mode such as multiple exposure or monochrome screen is entered, multiple exposure continuous shooting or continuous shooting There was a possibility of confusion when two or more modes such as a monochrome screen stood up at the same time, but by defining as above, each mode has a flag so that grouping can be performed and searchability can be improved. Can be improved.

Next, an example of grouping by file name will be described with reference to FIG. The MSDOS is given a file name consisting of a name of 8 alphanumeric characters and an extension of 3 characters for each data. By using this, the recording mode of each image data can be set, for example, as shown in FIG. Be represented as shown in. Here, as the type, normal recording is NO
M, CON for continuous shooting record, MEX for multiple exposure, MON for monochrome image, MEC for multiple continuous shooting record, M for monochrome continuous shooting
Expressed by OC, the group is used as a number for each recording mode. For example, it represents the number of continuous shooting records in a series of continuous shooting records. The serial number represents the serial number in each group. For example, it indicates the number of data recorded in the continuous shooting record. The file name written as described above is as shown in FIG. By doing this, it is possible to group each image data by reading the file name of the root directory without reading the contents of the file such as each image data, which is effective for improving searchability and high-speed playback. Exert.

Grouping by the header of image data is also possible, and various recording modes are described as shown in FIG. 43 by using the comment tuple in the option tuple therein. In this case, particularly when there is no recording mode information, it is determined that the recording is normal recording. Also, monochrome recording is specified by another flag.

As another embodiment of the grouping according to the present invention, there are the following application examples. First, the rules of virtual reality will be described. Many natural images are required for CG, virtual reality (VR), or image processing. The reason is that it is very difficult to create a natural picture with CG because of the production time and the ability of the person who makes it. Efficiently file natural pictures and create CG or V
For use in R, it is most efficient to file an actual object (carpet, desk, kitchen, landscape) as a still image. However, when using a VR with a natural image, it is easy to enlarge / reduce / rotate the image, but you want to change the viewing angle of the object, or you need to re-process a picture of the object viewed from a distance to a picture viewed from a distance. Is very difficult. Therefore, it is necessary for each picture of the material natural image file for VR and CG to include pictures taken from various angles and pictures taken at various solid angles together with the angle data.

Therefore, the following flags are provided to describe various data. That is, as shown in FIGS. 44 (A) and 44 (B), when the flower bin is photographed as VR data,
The three flags of θ, ψ, and ω (ω ′) are defined. Here, θ is angle information (−180 <θ ≦ 18 on the XY plane.
0) and ψ are angle information in the Z-axis direction (−180 <ψ ≦ 18
0), ω is the solid angle of the subject viewed from the camera (0 <ω ≦ 1
80). If you define each flag as above, θ,
A natural image can be represented by three flags of ψ and ω.
An example of control file description is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the attribute information table (INF
O. The description of adding a flag to TABLE) is performed. Also, file management information is described as shown in FIG.

In the above example, the grouping data is described in the control file, but it may be described in the file header of the image data. This can be done by using comment tuples as in the example above. The respective values are shown at θ, ψ, and ω in FIG.

As another example, the definition of processed files will be described. It indicates that the image file is a file that has been subjected to the following processing (not the original image). # 1 Multi screen (1x2, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 ...
……) # 2 Menu screen (1x2, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4
............ # 3 Copied image # 4 Composite image # 5 These are images copied by transmission by a telephone or the like and described in the control file as shown in FIG. 47. That is, the attribute information table (INFO.TABL
In E), a flag as shown is added. Where #
1 to # 5 have the meanings shown in the figure.

In the above example, the data for grouping is described in the control file, but as shown in FIG.
It may be described in the file header of the image data. In this case, it is possible to use comment tuples, as in the example described above. Also, when specifying an interpolation signal, if either the odd line or the even line of the effective horizontal lines in the recorded image is a signal created by interpolating the original signal, a flag indicating it is set. Stipulate. This is advantageous because if the above conditions are known when performing copying or dubbing, the original signal can be prioritized for copying or the like. This example is applied when a frame image is created by a field imager output, or when a field image or a frame image is created by using a color line sequential output imager.

49 (A), (B) and (C) show examples of control file description, and a flag as shown in FIG. 49 (A) is added to the attribute information table (INFO.TABLE). To do. In the figure (B), the respective meanings are shown, and in the file management information, the description as shown in the figure (C) is performed.

In the above example, the grouping data is described in the control file, but it may be described in the file header of the image data as shown in FIG. This can be done by using comment tuples as in the example above.

FIG. 51 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the image information recording apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an application example to a still image camera using an IC card as a recording medium. FIG. 51
At, the subject image formed on the CCD 2 via the lens 1 is converted into an electric signal, and then the imaging process circuit 3
Then, predetermined processing such as γ correction is performed and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter (ADC) 4. Selector 5
Sets a path for recording the digital image data from the A / D converter 4 in the RAM 6 during recording. RA
The block data read from M6 (data for each divided block when one screen is divided into a plurality of blocks) is compressed / decompressed by the compression / expansion unit 8 via the selector 7.
Is supplied to. DCT / IDC of compression / expansion unit 8
The T circuit 81 is a discrete cosine transform / inverse discrete cosine transform circuit, for compressing the block data,
Performs orthogonal transformation processing. The transform coefficient obtained by the orthogonal transform is quantized by the quantization / inverse quantization circuit 82, and then encoded by the encoding / decoding circuit 83.

The processing such as coding in the compression / decompression unit 8 is controlled by the coding control circuit 13 based on an instruction from the system control circuit 12. That is, based on the contrast information for each divided area, the system control circuit 12 selects and sets an appropriate Q table for the divided area as described above, and compresses / expands it via the encoding control circuit 13. The compression process in the unit 8 is controlled. The image data compressed and encoded by the compression / expansion unit 8 in this way is supplied to the card interface (I / F) circuit 10 via the selector 9 and recorded in the IC card 11. The system control circuit 12 uses RA
The present invention, which will be described later, receives the signal from the operation unit 14 and controls the operations of the M6, the selectors 7 and 9, the encoding control circuit 13, the compression / expansion unit 8, the card interface circuit 10, and the communication control circuit 19. Various controls of the whole camera including the operation of are performed.

At the time of reproduction, the digital image data switched by the selector 5 is subjected to a predetermined reproduction process by the reproduction process unit 15, converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 16, and then EVF (electronic viewfinder). 1
7 and the output terminal on the monitor side. The system control circuit 12 includes an operation unit 1 to which various switches described below are connected.
4 receives the operation information from the control unit 4 and performs the corresponding control, and is connected to the communication control unit 19 to perform the communication control operation with the serial interface circuit 20. The serial interface circuit 20 is connected to a modem or a transmission partner side camera.

In the configuration of FIG. 51, the data read from the IC card 11 via the card interface 10 is sent to the selector 9. The image data read via the selector 9 is expanded by the compression / expansion unit 8 and written in the RAM 6 via the selector 7. RA
The image data read from M6 passes through the selector 5, and is subjected to the above-mentioned reproduction processing by the reproduction process unit 15,
EV is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 16.
Monitor output to F17. The LCD 18 displays the operation mode and the like.

The operation unit 14 includes a shutter trigger switch 14A for AF operation, a trigger switch 14B for recording operation, and a switch 14C for left and right frame advance for moving a reproduction file during reproduction. And 14D, a switch 14E for switching recording / playback, a switch 14F for switching image / sound, a switch 14G for designating a special playback mode such as interval playback, a switch 14H for instructing normal recording / playback, an instruction for high-speed continuous operation. A switch 14I for performing the operation and a switch 14J for instructing the low speed continuous operation are installed.

FIG. 52 shows the configuration of another embodiment of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an apparatus for recording and reproducing the magneto-optical disk 22 in addition to the IC card memory 11. . In the same figure, the components designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 51 indicate components having the same function. The operation unit 14 includes a START switch 14K
And a STANDBY switch 14L are provided. The recording signal is input as an external input in the form of RGB (color) signal, S (sound) signal, and NTSC signal, and these inputs are selected by the selector 23, amplified by the amplifier 24, and digital signal by the A / D converter 25. Converted to, selector 5
Is being supplied to. The image data from the RAM 6 via the selector 7 and the compressed image data via the selector 9 pass through the system control circuit 12 to the magneto-optical disk drive 2
1 and is recorded on the magneto-optical disk 22.

The operation processing procedure of the image information recording apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. When the IC memory card is inserted or the power is turned on to start the operation of the apparatus, the system control circuit 12 first determines whether or not there is a control file (step S1). Processing is performed (step S2), if there is a control file, the control file is read (step S3), and management processing by the read control file is performed (step S4). Step S2
After the processing of S4 and S4, it is determined whether or not recording is instructed (step S5), and if instructed, it is determined whether or not the recording capacity is sufficient (step S6). If there is a problem with the recording capacity, warning display processing is performed (step S
7) If there is no problem, record mode processing is performed (step S
8). If no recording instruction is given in step S5, a reproduction mode process is performed (step S9).

The recording operation will be described with reference to FIG.
Waiting for the standby (STANDBY) button to be pressed (step S11), writing to the frame memory (step S12), performing screen freeze display (step S13), and then turning on the recording start button (Step S14). When the start button is turned "ON", the LCD 18 indicates that the recording operation is being performed (step S15), compression processing is performed (step S16), and data writing to the IC memory card is performed (step S17). After that, writing to the control file is performed (step S18), and the recording process is completed.

In the writing process to the control file, as shown in FIG. 55, the attribute information described in the header of the file is flagged (step S21), and each attribute information is prepared in a predetermined order (step S22). , It is determined whether a quantization table other than the standard is used (step S23). Here, if it is not used, preparation is made to write that the standard quantization table is used in the control file (step S24), and if the standard table is used, at the end of the control file,
A data area is prepared and a quantization table is prepared for writing (step S25). After the processes of steps S24 and S25, it is determined whether or not a non-standard coding table is used (step S26), and if not, it is prepared to write that the standard coding table is used in the control file. If an encoding table other than the standard is used (step S27), a data area is prepared at the end of the control file to prepare to write the encoding table (step S28). Step S
After the processes of 27 and S28, the control file is written (step S29), and the process is completed.

As shown in FIG. 56, the process in the reproduction mode determines whether the process is based on the control file (step S31). If the process is not based on the control file, the normal reproduction process referring to the header is performed (step S31). S32) If it is the processing by the control file, the reproduction processing referring to the control file is performed (step S33), the image data is written in the frame memory (step S34) and reproduced (step S3).
5).

FIG. 57 is a flow chart showing the normal reproduction processing procedure by the header. First, the attribute information of the header of the designated file is referred to (step S4
1), it is determined whether the image data is in the compression mode (step S42). If it is the compression mode, it is determined whether or not the compression mode is the standard (step S43). If it is not the standard, various tables included in the header are read and loaded into the reproducing circuit (step S44). When it is determined in step S43 that the mode is the standard mode, various standard tables incorporated in the system control circuit are loaded into the reproducing circuit (step S45). afterwards,
The pointer written at the beginning of the header is read, the image data is read (step S46), and the process ends.

FIG. 58 shows a reproduction processing procedure by the control file. This process refers to the contents of the read control file (step S
51), it is determined whether the image data is in the compression mode (step S52), and if it is the compression mode, it is determined whether the compression mode is the standard (step S53). If it is not standard, various tables included in the control file are read and loaded into the reproducing circuit (step S5).
4) If it is standard, various standard tables built in the system control circuit are loaded into the reproducing circuit (step S).
55). After that, the pointer written in the control file is read to read the image data (step S5
6), the process ends.

[0077]

As described above, the image information recording apparatus according to the present invention enables rapid reproduction when a stereoscopic image created by an image recording apparatus such as a still image camera is reproduced and displayed. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a file structure used in an image information recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of an image file in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a description example of a memory area of an IC card memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an image file structure diagram showing an example of a pointer in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a description example of a data structure in an IC card memory according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a structural example of a control file in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a description example of a related information file in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a description example of a related information file and a table pointer in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an image file in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a file header in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a description example of a specification tuple in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a description example of a header information tuple in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a description example of a mast tuple according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a description example of an option tuple area in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing header description content (mast tuple content example) in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing header description contents (example of option tuple contents) in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of standard values of header contents in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of pixels when the horizontal Y / C ratio is 2: 1 and the vertical is 1: 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a JPE according to the conditions in the example of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the data of G.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a description example of an MCU according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a frame header according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example in which one AC / DC Huffman table is assigned to each Y / C in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of defining two quantization tables in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a file header and audio data body in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a top 51 of a file according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the example which manages a data main body by adding 2 bytes as a file header.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a description example of a specification tuple in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a description example of a header information tuple in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a description example of a mast tuple according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a description example of an option tuple area in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing the contents of a mast tuple according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing standard values determined in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of a non-compressed data structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of a compressed data structure in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a compressed data structure in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control file in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of a file header in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a description example of a specification tuple in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a description example of a header information tuple in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrating grouping by a control file as an example of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing file management information in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing an example of grouping by file name according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 43] Fig. 43 is a diagram illustrating a description example of various recording modes using a comment tuple in an option tuple in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 44 is a diagram for explaining the definition of virtual reality in the embodiment of the present invention.

45 is a diagram showing a control file description example in the embodiment of FIG. 44. FIG.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing a file header in the embodiment of FIG. 44.

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a control file description example in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing an example of file header description of image data in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing a control file description example in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing an example of description in a file header of image data according to the embodiment of the present invention.

51 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of the image information recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG.

52 is a configuration block diagram of another embodiment of the image information recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart showing a recording / reproducing operation processing procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart showing an operation processing procedure of a recording mode in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 55 is a flowchart showing a control file write processing procedure in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing an operation processing procedure of a reproduction mode in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 57] Fig. 57 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a normal reproduction process using a header in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 58 is a flowchart showing a reproduction processing procedure by a control file in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 lens 2 CCD 3 Imaging process circuit 4, 25 A / D converter 5, 7, 9, 23 Selector 6 RAM 8 compression / decompression unit 10 Card interface circuit 11 IC card memory 12 System control circuit 13 Encoding control circuit 14 Operation part 15 Regeneration process circuit 16 D / A converter 17 EVF 18 LCD 19 Communication control circuit 20 Serial interface circuit 21 Magneto-optical disk drive 22 Magneto-optical disk 24 amplifier

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 2, 2003 (2003.4.2)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Delete

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Image information generated by the image pickup means or supplied from the outside to the applied information recording medium,
While storing as each image information file including an attribute information section corresponding to each different image information and an image data section representing the image information, the related information of each image information,
An image information recording apparatus configured to record as header information attached to an image information file on the applied information recording medium, wherein the attribute information indicates a positional relationship between an image capturing unit that captures the image and a subject. An image information recording apparatus characterized in that it is position information shown. 2. The image information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position information is angle information. 3. Image information generated by the image pickup means or supplied from outside to the applied information recording medium,
While storing as each image information file including an attribute information section corresponding to each different image information and an image data section representing the image information, the related information of each image information,
An image information recording device configured to record as header information attached to an image information file on the applied information recording medium, wherein the attribute information indicates a positional relationship between an image capturing unit that captures the image and a subject. An image information recording apparatus, characterized in that it is angle information and information indicating that the image is a composite image. 4. Image information generated by the image pickup means or externally supplied to the applied information recording medium,
While storing as each image information file including an attribute information section corresponding to each different image information and an image data section representing the image information, the related information of each image information,
An image information recording device configured to record as header information attached to an image information file on the applied information recording medium, wherein the attribute information indicates a positional relationship between an image capturing unit that captures the image and a subject. An image information recording device, characterized in that it is angle information and information indicating that the image is a multi-image.