JP2005173949A - Multimedia data preservation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multimedia data preservation system in which the free capacity of a disk can automatically be increased while existing data are left when data larger than the free capacity of the disk are preserved. <P>SOLUTION: When the size of multimedia data that an input part 11 inputs are larger than the free capacity of a data preservation system of a data preservation part 30, a data control means 21 selects multimedia data based on a preservation time limit or significance among multimedia data which have been already stored and a data conversion part 60 reduces the size of the selected multimedia data. A data transmission part 70 transmits the size to the other device. Thus, the free capacity of the data preservation system is increased and then the inputted multimedia data are stored in the data preservation system by the data preservation part 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a multimedia data storage device that stores multimedia data such as moving images, still images, and text data.

  An outline of a multimedia data storage device used in a conventional information providing system will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 2 denotes a multimedia data storage device. In the multimedia data storage device 2, 10 is an input unit that receives data input from a user, 20 is a data control unit that controls data storage, and 30 is data that stores data such as moving image data, still image data, and text data. A storage unit 40 is an output unit that outputs a processing result.

  The input unit 10 sends the input data to the data control unit 20. The data control unit 20 inquires of the data storage unit 30 about the free space of the disk, and sends the data to the data storage unit 30 when the capacity of the data sent from the input unit 10 is smaller than the free space of the disk. The data storage unit 30 stores the sent data, and sends the result of the storage completion to the data control unit 20. The data control unit 20 sends the storage completion result to the output unit 40. If the capacity of the data sent from the input unit 10 is larger than the free capacity of the disk, the data control unit 20 sends error information indicating that the data cannot be saved to the output unit 40.

As existing techniques for automatic processing in order to prevent an error in saving new data when there is insufficient free space on the disk, there are those described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below. In the case of Patent Document 1, when the remaining capacity becomes a predetermined amount or less, before the expiration date of the available period, a notice of destruction notice that the individual information is to be destroyed is transmitted to the information source terminal device, and at the time of destruction. Erase automatically. Moreover, in the thing of patent document 2, a priority is calculated from the suitability of a viewer's preference, the information value depending on the time of content itself, and the economics of accumulation, and based on the priority, digest (tag information and (Content).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-26559 JP 11-169389 A

  In the conventional multimedia data storage device 2, if the capacity of the data sent from the input unit 10 is larger than the free capacity of the disk, only an error indicating that the data cannot be stored is output. The user has to find unnecessary data from the disk of the data storage unit 30 and delete it to increase the free space of the disk.

  Further, in the methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the free disk space is increased by a method of automatically deleting data based on priority or the like. However, in such a method, since data is deleted, there is a problem that after the deletion, the contents of the data cannot be seen at all.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to save data larger than the free capacity of the disk, it is possible to automatically increase the free capacity of the disk without deleting the data. It is to provide a data storage device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the multimedia data storage device of the present invention has a function of converting data to stored data, a function of transmitting stored data to another device having the same function, and the same function. A function of receiving data from another device. When the file size of data to be stored is smaller than the free capacity of the device, this multimedia data storage device stores the data in the data storage unit. On the other hand, if the file size of the data to be saved is larger than the free space, data that has already been saved and the retention period has passed or the retention period is the closest to the present and the importance is low Free space is increased by re-converting the data by reducing the bit rate. Also, by transferring to another similar device, the free space is increased and new data is saved.

  That is, the first aspect of the present invention is a data input means for inputting multimedia data to be stored in an apparatus for storing multimedia data in a predetermined data storage device, and data storage for storing multimedia data in the data storage device. Means, data conversion means for reducing the data size of the multimedia data, and when the size of the multimedia data to be stored is less than the free capacity of the data storage device, the multimedia data is stored in the data storage means. If the size of the multimedia data to be saved is larger than the free space of the data storage device, select one of the multimedia data already stored in the data storage device, and select the multimedia data By reducing the data conversion means, the data conversion means Increasing the free space of over data storage device, characterized by comprising a data control means for performing control to subsequently stored multimedia data of the storage object in the data storage means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data input means for inputting multimedia data to be stored in an apparatus for storing multimedia data in a predetermined data storage device, and a data storage means for storing multimedia data in the data storage device. Data converting means for reducing the data size of the multimedia data, data transmitting means for transmitting the multimedia data to another device, and the size of the multimedia data to be saved is less than the free capacity of the data storage device If the multimedia data is stored in the data storage means and the size of the multimedia data to be stored is larger than the free capacity of the data storage device, the multimedia data already stored in the data storage device is stored. Select one of the data and the multimedia data In the case of data conversion, the data conversion means reduces the multimedia data for conversion, and when the data is to be transmitted to another device, the data is converted. Instructing the transmission means to transmit the multimedia data to another device, and after the free space of the data storage device exceeds the size of the multimedia data to be stored, the multimedia data to be stored is stored in the storage device And a data control unit that performs control to be stored in the data storage unit.

  In addition, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the data control means selects at least each of the multimedia data already stored in the data storage device. Based on the retention period or importance registered as metadata for each piece of multimedia data, one with an older retention period or one with a lower importance is selected.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Even when the data to be stored is larger than the free capacity of the disk, the apparatus automatically adjusts the free capacity of the disk so that the data can be stored.
(2) If it is not desired to convert the data stored in the apparatus, it can be specified that the data is transmitted to another apparatus having the same function, so that original data without deterioration can be stored.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a multimedia data storage device of the present invention. 1 is a multimedia data storage device having a data storage device such as a CPU, a memory, and a disk.

  In the multimedia data storage apparatus 1, 11 is an input unit that receives input of data and data information (metadata), 21 is a data control unit that controls data storage, data conversion, and data transmission / reception, and 30 is a data storage unit A data storage unit that stores data in a device (disk in this example), 40 an output unit that outputs processing results, 50 a metadata DB (database) that stores data information (metadata), and 60 data that converts data The conversion unit 70 is a data transmission unit that transmits data to another device having the same function, and 80 is a data reception unit that receives data from another device having the same function.

  Here, the data input to the input unit 11 is multimedia data such as a moving image, a still image, and text, and the metadata is attribute information of the multimedia data. An example of the metadata structure is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the metadata includes, for example, a data ID for identifying data, a media type indicating the type of multimedia data, a data retention period, importance, data conversion It consists of an attribute of priority indicating the data handling when the disk capacity is insufficient, the owner condition, and the value corresponding to each attribute.

  For example, the data ID of the metadata shown in FIG. 2A is “0001”, the media type is “moving image”, the storage period is “201X year / month × day”, the importance is “3”, and the data conversion permission condition Is “1 Mbps or higher before 200X” and “500 kbps or higher before 201X”, the owner is “device A (own device)”, and the priority is “data conversion”. Similarly, the metadata data ID shown in FIG. 2B is “1002”, the media type is “moving image”, the storage deadline is “201X year / month × day”, the importance is “5”, and the owner is “ “Device B (other device)”, the priority is “other device transfer”.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the multimedia data storage processing flow of the present invention. The processing operation of the multimedia data storage device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the input unit 11 inputs data designated by the user and information (metadata) of the data (step S1). Data and metadata input from the input unit 11 are sent to the data control unit 21. The data control unit 21 inquires of the data storage unit 30 about the free space of the disk, and determines whether the input data is larger than the free space of the disk (step S2).

  If the capacity of the data sent from the input unit 11 is smaller than the free capacity of the disk, the data is sent to the data storage unit 30. The data storage unit 30 stores the sent data, and sends the result of the storage completion to the data control unit 21. The data control unit 21 sends the metadata sent from the input unit 11 to the metadata DB 50. In addition, the data control unit 21 sends the result of completion of storage to the output unit 40 (step S10).

  If the capacity of the data sent from the input unit 11 is larger than the free capacity of the disk, the data control unit 21 is data that can be converted from the metadata DB 50 or transferred to another device, and Search for the oldest storage period.

  If there is no data whose retention date has passed, search for the data whose retention date is closest to the current date. If there are two or more search results, the search result having the lower importance is used. If there are more than two, the search result is the one with the largest amount of data. If there are still two or more, the search result with the smallest data ID is used (step S3).

  The data control unit 21 processes the data corresponding to the search result metadata based on the value of the metadata attribute “priority”. However, if there is no search result, or if the data that has been processed once in this iterative process is a search result (step S4), the output unit 40 outputs a message (error) of the content and ends. (Step S11). Further, in order to detect repeated processing, the data control unit 21 holds the data ID of the search result until the processing is completed.

  In step S4, if a search result exists and the search result is unprocessed data in the current iterative process, the value of the attribute “priority” of the metadata of the search result is “data conversion” or “other device”. "Transfer" is determined (step S5).

  When the value of the attribute “priority” of the search result metadata is “data conversion”, the data control unit 21 converts the conversion instruction to the data conversion based on the value of the metadata attribute “data conversion availability condition”. Send to part 60. The data converter 60 converts the data stored in the data storage unit 30 based on the conversion instruction (step S6).

  Regarding data conversion, for example, when the media type of the data is a moving image, data stored at a bit rate of 6 Mbps is re-encoded to a bit rate of 1 Mbps or converted to another high compression codec. Data capacity can be reduced.

  When the data media type is a still image, the data capacity can be reduced by reducing the image size, reducing the number of colors, or increasing the JPEG compression rate. When the media type of the data is text, the data capacity can be reduced by deleting only the summary part and deleting the body text. As a result, the free disk space can be increased.

  When the value of the metadata attribute “priority” is not “data conversion” but “transfer to another device” (step S5), the data control unit 21 sends a data transmission instruction and meta data to the data transmission unit 70. Send data. The data transmission unit 70 transmits the metadata and the data acquired from the data storage unit 30 to another device having the same function as the multimedia data storage device 1 of the present invention (step S7).

  When the transmission is completed, the data transmission unit 70 sends a transmission completion result to the data control unit 21. When the transmission completion result is sent, the data control unit 21 deletes the transmitted data from the data storage unit 30 (step S8). Thereby, the free capacity of the disk can be increased.

  The processes after step S3 are repeated until the free space of the disk becomes larger than the capacity of data sent from the input unit 11 (step S9).

  If the free capacity of the disk becomes larger than the capacity of data sent from the input unit 11, the data control unit 21 saves the metadata in the metadata DB 50 and sends the data to the data storage unit 30. The data storage unit 30 stores the transmitted data (step S10), and sends the result of the storage completion to the data control unit 21. The data control unit 21 sends the storage completion result to the output unit 40.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a processing flow when data is transmitted from another device having the same function as the multimedia data storage device 1 of the present invention. First, when the data receiving unit 80 receives data and metadata from another device (step S21), the data receiving unit 80 sends the data and metadata received from the other device to the data control unit 21. The subsequent processing is the same as the processing when data and metadata are input from the input unit 11 shown in FIG.

  The processing performed by the multimedia data storage device 1 can be realized by a computer and a software program. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or provided via a network. Is possible.

  In the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to designate “data conversion” or “transfer to another device” by the value of the metadata attribute “priority”. It is also possible to carry out without providing the option "".

  In the above embodiment, the multimedia data storage processing function of the present invention is described as an image that realizes a multimedia data storage device on the same terminal. The multimedia data storage device of the present invention can also be realized by being arranged on a high-function server on an external network.

  Also, other devices that are the target of data transmission do not need to be the same terminal with the same function, but transfer and save data to an online storage server with a large-capacity disk provided as a network service. It can also be applied to services that lend disk space and backup services that improve reliability by copying and storing original data.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the multimedia data storage apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of metadata. It is a figure which shows an example of a multimedia data preservation | save processing flow. It is a figure which shows an example of a multimedia data preservation | save processing flow. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional multimedia data storage device.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Multimedia data storage device 10, 11 Input unit 20, 21 Data control unit 30 Data storage unit 40 Output unit 50 Metadata DB
60 Data converter 70 Data transmitter 80 Data receiver

Claims (3)

In a device for storing multimedia data in a predetermined data storage device,
A data input means for inputting multimedia data to be stored;
Data storage means for storing multimedia data in the data storage device;
Data conversion means for reducing the data size of multimedia data;
When the size of the multimedia data to be saved is less than or equal to the free capacity of the data storage device, the multimedia data is saved in the data storage means, and the size of the multimedia data to be saved is the size of the data storage device. If it is larger than the free space, the free space of the data storage device is selected by selecting any multimedia data already stored in the data storage device and causing the data conversion means to reduce-convert the multimedia data. A multimedia data storage device, comprising: data control means for performing control to increase and then store the multimedia data to be stored in the data storage means. In a device for storing multimedia data in a predetermined data storage device,
A data input means for inputting multimedia data to be stored;
Data storage means for storing multimedia data in the data storage device;
Data conversion means for reducing the data size of multimedia data;
Data transmission means for transmitting multimedia data to another device;
When the size of the multimedia data to be saved is less than or equal to the free capacity of the data storage device, the multimedia data is saved in the data storage means, and the size of the multimedia data to be saved is the size of the data storage device. If it is larger than the available capacity, select one of the multimedia data already stored in the data storage device, determine whether to convert the data according to the attribute of the multimedia data, or send it to another device. In the case of conversion, the data conversion means is caused to reduce and convert the multimedia data, and in the case of transmission to another apparatus, the data transmission means is instructed to transmit the multimedia data to another apparatus. , The free space of the data storage device exceeds the size of the multimedia data to be saved. Multimedia data storage device, wherein the multimedia data of the storage target further comprising a data control means for performing control to store in said data storage means after. The multimedia data storage device according to claim 1 or 2,
The data control means, when selecting any of the multimedia data already stored in the data storage device, based on at least the storage period or importance registered as metadata for each multimedia data, A multimedia data storage device that selects one with an old storage period or one with low importance.

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