JP2010220248A - Communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recorder capable of appropriately recording video and audio without exceeding a mail transmission enabled data amount, and a communication apparatus employing the recorder. <P>SOLUTION: In an apparatus for recording video or audio and transmitting mail, a data amount is monitored during recording in such a way that a data amount of recorded data does not exceed a data amount limited in mail transmission. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that records moving images and voices and transmits the recorded results by mail, and a recording device used therefor.

  When sending data by e-mail, the amount of data that can be sent is limited, and the created data may not be sent. Despite having taken in the data, it is not easy to use if you don't know unless you actually send the data.

  In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151867 describes an apparatus that controls to stop capturing when the amount of captured data reaches a predetermined value. In addition, for the purpose of enabling the user to determine whether or not the e-mail is properly distributed, the amount of e-mail data when the image information is transmitted is displayed to the user. A device is described in US Pat.

JP-A-6-54013 JP 2000-330895 A

  The conventional example is intended for mail transfer of image data, and does not consider the mail transfer and capture of moving images and voices. In the case of moving image recording, compression is generally performed for each frame in order to save the amount of data to be recorded, and it is not preferable to complete the data at an arbitrary location. Further, in the conventional example, the capacity of data when recording a plurality of data, such as recording data of voice and moving images at the same time, or when data to be transferred by mail at the same time already exists is not taken into consideration.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of appropriately recording moving images and audio without exceeding the amount of data that can be transmitted by mail, and a communication apparatus using the same.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a communication device according to the present invention includes a recording device described below, so that the data amount of data recorded with a moving image or audio does not exceed the data amount limited at the time of mail transmission. The amount of data or recording time is controlled during recording. Therefore, a recording apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures images at a predetermined cycle and outputs video data, and a video compression unit that compresses video data output from the imaging unit and outputs compressed video data. Storage means for storing the compressed video data; counting means for counting the amount of compressed video data stored in the storage means; and if the counting result by the counting means exceeds a predetermined value, the storage means And control means for controlling to stop storing the compressed video data. Alternatively, timer means for measuring the imaging time of the imaging means is provided, and the control means performs control so as to stop storing the video data in the storage means when the imaging time exceeds a predetermined time.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately record moving images and voices and transmit them by mail without exceeding the data amount that can be sent by mail.

It is a block diagram which shows the communication apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the communication apparatus concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the communication apparatus concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the communication apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the communication apparatus concerning the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the remaining amount display displayed on a display. It is an example of the remaining amount display displayed on a display.

  A communication apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 is an application, and 15 is a key switch for inputting a user instruction. The application 1 performs control such as capturing and encoding of a signal output from the camera in accordance with a user instruction input via the key switch 15. Reference numeral 2 denotes data capacity monitoring means for counting the accumulated data amount of the encoding result. Reference numeral 3 denotes a mailer for sending mail, which performs processing for attaching an encoding result to the mail and sending it in accordance with an instruction from the application.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a camera, which outputs an image sensor signal at a predetermined frame rate. In general, signal processing is also performed inside the camera and output in the YUV format, which is the normal input format for encoders. In addition, data transfer is performed in frame units at a frame rate cycle. Reference numeral 5 denotes an encoder that compresses image data. Specifically, MPEG4, MPEG2, and the like are common. A file system 6 manages the output of the encoder as a file. The encoder outputs the encoding result to a file opened by the file system. However, if you want to limit the speed of file writing or add a header at the beginning of the encoded result to make a file, do not record directly in the file, but record it after temporarily storing the data in temporary memory. May be. Reference numeral 7 denotes a final encoding result file.

  The operation of this block diagram will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart is described from the start of encoding of a camera image according to a user instruction. First, the application 1 initializes each block according to a user instruction. The initialization is, for example, resetting the count value of the data capacity monitoring unit 2. After that, the file system 6 is instructed to open a new file.

  The camera 4 inputs captured data to the encoder 5. The camera 4 generates an interrupt every frame period, and the application 1 transfers data for one frame from the camera 4 to the encoder for each interrupt. For this transfer, DMA transfer may be used to improve performance.

  The encoder 5 acquires image data for each frame and performs an encoding process. The encoded result is sequentially recorded in a file generated by the file system 6. At this time, the data capacity monitoring unit 2 counts the accumulated data amount every time one frame of data is recorded. In FIG. 1, the data capacity monitoring means 2 is an independent block, but this function may be mounted on the encoder.

  When the count value of the accumulated data amount exceeds a predetermined value, recording to the file is stopped, and notification to that effect is sent to the application 1. The application 1 closes the file and ends the image capture from the camera 4. At this time, it is desirable to display to the user that the processing is stopped and the reason.

  The file 7 generated in this way is limited by the data capacity monitoring means 2 so as to have a predetermined amount of data, so there is no need to delete part of the data when attaching the mail, and the mailer 3 Can be attached to email without problems. In addition, since the amount of accumulated data is counted for each frame, data capture can be completed at an appropriate location even when a moving image that is compressed for each frame is recorded.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same functions as those in FIG. A timer means 8 notifies the application that a predetermined time has elapsed. This embodiment is used when data is compressed by a method of compressing with a fixed bit rate, for example, MPEG4. When the bit rate is fixed, the file size is proportional to the time required for recording. For example, when encoding at 64 kbps, the data for 10 seconds is 640 kbit. In this embodiment, the data amount of the encoding result is determined by measuring the recording time, and the data import is limited.

  The operation of the embodiment of FIG. 2 is as follows. First, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the application controls to initialize each block, and the timer 8 is reset. In addition, the timer 8 acquires information on the bit rate and the data amount to be limited from the application 1. Thus, the recordable time is obtained. Specifically, it is a value obtained by dividing the amount of data to be limited by the bit rate. The timer 8 acquires the recording start timing from the application 1 and starts counting time. When the recording operation is performed by the camera 4, the encoder 5, and the file system 6 and the recordable time has elapsed, the timer 8 notifies the application 1 to that effect. Thereby, the application 1 controls to end the recording.

  The timer 8 notifies the user before the recordable time elapses, for example, one minute before or two minutes before. By notifying in time, the user can easily recognize how much more can be recorded compared to the case where the remaining capacity is indicated, and usability is improved.

  The timer 8 may be software or hardware. However, when the camera image is captured and encoded by software, the hardware timer is used to reduce the load on the processor. The amount of data can be monitored without increasing it.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same functions as those in FIGS. In this embodiment, a case where audio is recorded simultaneously with video will be described. The data capacity monitoring means 9 is substantially the same as the data capacity monitoring means 2 of FIG. 1, but sequentially monitors the data amount of both the video and audio encoding results. Reference numeral 10 denotes a multiplexer, which integrates separately generated video and audio compressed data or files into one file by a predetermined method. Reference numeral 11 denotes a microphone for recording voice, and 12 denotes an encoder for compressing voice data. The output of the microphone 11 is input to the encoder 12 in the state of analog-digital converted digital data.

  First, the application 1 initializes each block and then starts recording. The video signal output from the camera 4 is compressed by the encoder 5 and recorded as data1 in the file system 6. On the other hand, the audio signal output from the microphone 11 is compressed by the encoder 12 and recorded in the file system 6 as data2. The data capacity monitoring unit 9 monitors the data amount of the encoding result output from each of the encoder 5 and the encoder 12. Then, the application 1 is notified when the sum of the data amounts of the encoder 5 and the encoder 12 exceeds a predetermined value. The application 1 that has received the notification stops recording in a predetermined procedure. The video data data1 and audio data data2 generated by this processing are integrated into one file by the multiplexer 10.

  The integration by the multiplexer 10 may be performed immediately after the end of recording, or may be performed immediately before mail attachment by the mailer 3. However, when integration is not performed immediately after the end of recording and the data 1 and data 2 are stored as separate data, it is easy to re-record only video data or audio data.

  This will be described below by taking as an example the case of re-recording only audio. Since video and audio are stored separately as data1 and data2, no separation processing is required, and only data2, which is a compressed audio file, needs to be rewritten. At this time, as described above, the sum of the capacities of data1 and data2 is limited. If this limit value is Vlim and the capacities of data1 and data2 are Vdat1 and Vdat2, they must satisfy the relationship Vlim> Vdat1 + Vdat2. When data2 is updated as in this example, monitoring is performed by the data capacity monitoring unit 9 so that the capacity of data2 does not exceed Vlim-Vdat1. If the capacity of data2 being updated exceeds Vlim-Vdat1, recording is stopped at that time. In this way, even if data1 and data2 are integrated by the multiplexer 10 to be finally attached to the mail, the file 7 does not exceed the predetermined value, and the user attaches the file without worrying about the file size. can do. When updating only the video, record again so that the data1 does not exceed Vlim-Vdat2.

  Next, the case where the audio captured by the camera 4 or the microphone 11 is sent as an image together with an image by e-mail will be described. In this case, the mailer 3 informs the application 1 of the data amount of the file scheduled to be sent by mail. The application 1 calculates the amount of data that can be captured from the camera 4 and the microphone 11 and changes the recording capacity monitored by the data capacity monitoring unit 9.

  The following will be described with reference to FIG. When creating the file 7 which is the moving image file in addition to the file 17 which is the existing data, the mailer 3 notifies the application 1 of the capacity of the file 17. The application 1 gives a predetermined value to the data capacity monitoring unit 9 so that the sum of the data amounts of the files 17 and 7 does not exceed the limit that can be transferred by mail. Specifically, a difference between the initial predetermined value and the data amount of the file 17 acquired from the mailer 3 is set as a new value. By doing so, the total amount of data does not exceed a predetermined value even when data other than moving images is transferred by mail simultaneously.

  Next, an embodiment will be described in which the amount of remaining data that can be recorded is displayed in order to improve the usability of the user. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration. The remaining memory calculation means 16 and the display 14 are added to the communication apparatus shown in FIG. The display 14 displays an image captured by the camera 4 and displays graphics and characters based on an instruction from the application 1. The remaining memory calculation unit 16 calculates a ratio between a recordable predetermined value and the current recording amount. The application 1 acquires the ratio information and displays it on the display 14.

  FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the display 14. A gauge 61 is displayed on the display 14 together with an image captured by the camera. The gauge 61 indicates the remaining recording capacity. The calculation result of the remaining data calculation means is a positive number of 1 or less. If the maximum state of the gauge 61 is 1, and the minimum state is 0, the calculation result of the remaining data calculating means can be displayed by the gauge 61. FIG. 7 shows another means for displaying the remaining recording capacity. In this case, “REC” indicating that recording is in progress is used without using a gauge. The result of the remaining data calculation means is small when the amount of recording is small, and is large when the amount is large. For example, when the result of the remaining data calculating means becomes larger than a predetermined value, the display of “REC” is flashed to indicate that the remaining recordable memory is small. This allows the user to know in advance that there is only a small amount of memory that can be recorded.

  In addition to the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the communication apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided with a display 14 to display a recordable capacity or time as shown in FIGS. You may do it. When the remaining time is displayed on the display 14, the display is not limited to the display using the gauge 61 but may be a display using numbers.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the data capacity of a recorded moving image is monitored for each frame, recording is stopped at an appropriate place while preventing the amount of data that can be transmitted by mail from being exceeded. Can do. Further, even when audio is recorded simultaneously with an image, recording and recording can be controlled so as not to exceed the amount of data that can be sent by mail. Further, the user-friendliness can be improved by displaying the remaining data amount or time that can be recorded to the user.

1 application 2 data capacity monitoring means 3 mailer 4 camera 5 encoder 6 file system 7 file 8 timer 9 data capacity monitoring means 10 multiplexer 11 microphone 12 encoder 14 display 15 key switch 16 remaining memory display means 17 file 61 gauge

Claims (10)

Imaging means for imaging at a predetermined cycle and outputting video data;
Video compression means for compressing video data output from the imaging means and outputting compressed video data;
Storage means for storing the compressed video data;
Counting means for counting the amount of compressed video data stored in the storage means;
Control means for controlling the storage of the compressed video data in the storage means when the counting result by the counting means exceeds a predetermined value;
A recording apparatus comprising: Imaging means for imaging at a predetermined cycle and outputting video data;
Video compression means for compressing the video data output from the imaging means into data of a predetermined bit rate;
Storage means for storing the compressed video data;
Timer means for measuring the imaging time of the imaging means;
Control means for controlling the storage of the video data in the storage means when the imaging time exceeds a predetermined time; and
A recording apparatus comprising: The video compression means compresses video data output by the imaging means in units of frames,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the counting unit counts a data amount each time the storage unit stores video data compressed in units of frames.   4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a difference between the data amount stored by the storage unit and the predetermined value.   The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising display means for displaying a difference between the imaging time and the predetermined time. The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 3, comprising: sound collecting means for collecting sound and outputting sound data; and sound compression means for compressing sound data output from the sound collecting means,
Input the audio data output from the audio compression means to the storage means,
The counting means counts the total amount of video data and audio data stored in the storage means,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the storage of the video data and the audio data in the storage unit when the total exceeds the predetermined value. The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 3 includes second storage means for storing a data file in which data is recorded,
When a desired data file is selected from the second storage unit, the counting unit counts the total amount of data stored in the storage unit and the data amount of the data file,
The recording apparatus controls the storage of the video data to stop when the total exceeds the predetermined value. A communication device for recording video and transmitting the video by email,
A transmission means for sending an email;
A recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The transmission device reads the video data from the storage and transmits the video data. A communication device that records video and audio and sends it by email,
A transmission means for sending an email;
And a recording device according to claim 6,
The communication device is characterized in that the transmission means reads and transmits the video data and audio data from the storage means. A communication device capable of sending mail,
A transmission means for sending an email;
And a recording device according to claim 7,
The communication device reads and transmits the data file and the video data.

Images