JP2021040184A - Recording device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology to properly control whether to allow the execution of automatic background processing during a power-saving period in a recording medium.SOLUTION: A recording device includes recording control means for controlling recording of an image on a recording medium, and control means for switching whether to allow the execution of automatic background processing during a power-saving period on the recording medium, according to whether a predefined condition is satisfied. The control means controls to switch between allowing and disallowing the execution of automatic background processing according to whether the predetermined condition is satisfied during the recording of the image on the recording medium by the recording control means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to recording devices, control methods, and programs.

NAND flash memory is widely used as a recording medium for an image pickup apparatus. The NAND flash memory is composed of a unit called a "cell" for storing data as a minimum unit, a "page" composed of a plurality of cells, and a "block" composed of a plurality of pages. A method of recording 1-bit information per cell is called an SLC method (Single Level Cell), and a method of recording 2-bit information per cell is called an MLC method (Multi Level Cell). Further, a method of recording 3 bits of information per cell is called a TLC method (Triple Level Cell).

The SLC method has the highest read / write speed and is suitable for writing a large amount of data in a short time, but the unit price per bit is high. Further, since the capacity per cell is small, but the reliability is high and the life is long, it is used in a general storage cache area or an industrial equipment storage application. The MLC method and the TLC method are inferior to the SLC method in read / write speed, reliability, and life. On the other hand, the capacity per cell is twice that of the SLC method in the MLC method and three times that of the SLC method in the TLC method, and since the unit price per bit is low, it is widely used as a general NAND flash memory storage. There is.

SSDs (Solid State Drives) and card-type media using NAND flash memory often have a configuration in which an SLC method and a TLC method are combined. In this case, the memory controller manages the area used as the SLC method as the cache area and the area used as the TLC method as the main data area. The memory controller can write at the top speed by writing the data transferred from the host controller to the cache area.

The SLC system area, which is a cache area, has a low ratio in the total capacity. Therefore, the memory controller moves data from the cache area to the TLC system area, which is the main data area, in order to secure a free area in the cache area in preparation for the next write during the period when the write is stopped. This is called a flash cache.

Writing at top speed is realized by using the SLC method area as the cache area. Then, by moving the data to the TLC system area by the flash cache, it is possible to secure the SLC system area and effectively utilize the capacity of the entire NAND flash memory.

Further, the NAND flash memory has a characteristic that the data erasure unit is limited for each block and the existing data cannot be overwritten. When a file in NAND flash memory is deleted from the host controller, the memory controller records the deletion in the internal file table. Unnecessary data remains in the block where the deleted file was recorded, and it becomes a fragmented block.

The fragmented block remains as an area where new data cannot be overwritten. Therefore, the memory controller saves the valid data in the block to another block, erases the data in the current block, and recovers it as a new data recording area. This is called garbage collection.

By regularly performing flash cache and garbage collection by the memory controller, it is expected that the writing speed can be recovered and the writing capacity can be maximized as a recording medium of the imaging device, which can withstand continuous shooting of large-capacity still images.

A technique has been proposed in which the flash cache and garbage collection processing by the memory controller is performed as background processing when there is no main processing for writing / reading from the host controller (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 6193189

By the way, the recording medium of the image pickup apparatus also has a demand for real-time task processing that periodically records data generated in real time for a long time, such as moving image recording. In this case, the image pickup device that serves as the host controller needs power management that can withstand long-term recording by suppressing the heat generation of the NAND flash memory by providing a power saving period between regular real-time data recording. It becomes.

However, if the memory controller starts background processing during the period when there is no main processing, which is expected as a power saving period, the NAND flash memory consumes power without the power saving period, and the recording media generates heat. growing. As a result, problems such as recording stoppage may occur.

On the other hand, if the background processing is prohibited, the heat generation of the recording medium is reduced, so that the recording stop due to the heat generation can be avoided. However, since the recording media is not optimized, the writing speed is recovered and the writing is performed. Maximum capacity cannot be expected.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for appropriately controlling whether or not to permit execution of automatic background processing in a power saving period on a recording medium. ..

In order to solve the above problems, the recording device of the present invention is used.
The recording control means for controlling the recording of an image on the recording medium and whether or not to allow the execution of the automatic background processing during the power saving period on the recording medium are switched depending on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. The control means includes, and the control means permits the execution of the automatic background processing depending on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied during the recording of the image on the recording medium by the recording control means. It is characterized in that it is controlled to switch whether or not.

Or
Of a plurality of recording media, a recording control means for controlling recording of an image on a recording medium set as a recording destination, and a plurality of recording media are permitted to execute automatic background processing during a power saving period. A control means for controlling whether or not to perform is provided, and the control means controls the recording medium set as the recording destination among the plurality of recording media so as not to allow the execution of the automatic background processing. A recording medium that is not set as a recording destination is controlled so as to allow execution of automatic background processing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately control whether or not the execution of the automatic background processing in the power saving period on the recording medium is permitted.

In addition, other features and advantages of the present invention will be further clarified by the accompanying drawings and the description in the embodiment for carrying out the following invention.

The figure which shows typically the structure of the image pickup apparatus 100. The flowchart of the photographing process executed by the image pickup apparatus 100. The flowchart which shows the detail of the card control (S207 of FIG. 2). The flowchart explaining the determination of the temperature condition which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating determination of a power supply condition which is an example of various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating determination of a remaining buffer amount / delay time condition, which is an example of various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. The flowchart explaining the determination of the remaining buffer amount condition which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. The flowchart explaining the determination of the delay time condition which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiment, not all of the plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are designated by the same reference numbers, and duplicate explanations are omitted.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an image pickup apparatus 100 which is an example of a recording apparatus. In FIG. 1, a lens unit 102, an image pickup unit 103, a display unit 104, an operation unit 105, an image pickup device temperature detection unit 106, a heat dissipation fan 107, and a CPU 108 are connected to the image pickup device internal bus 101. Further, the image processing unit 109, the first media control unit 110, the second media control unit 111, the RAM 112, the non-volatile memory 113, and the power supply unit 114 are connected to the image processing device internal bus 101. Each part connected to the image pickup device internal bus 101 is configured so that data can be exchanged with each other via the image pickup device internal bus 101.

The CPU 108 controls each part of the image pickup apparatus 100 by using the RAM 112 as a work memory according to a program stored in the non-volatile memory 113, for example.

The non-volatile memory 113 stores image data, audio data, other data, various programs for operating the CPU 108, and the like. The non-volatile memory 113 is composed of, for example, a hard disk (HD) or a ROM.

Based on the control of the CPU 108, the image processing unit 109 refers to the image data stored in the non-volatile memory 113 or the RAM 112, the image data obtained by the imaging unit 103 of the subject optical image incident through the lens unit 102, and the like. Perform various image processing. The image processing performed by the image processing unit 109 includes A / D conversion processing, D / A conversion processing, image data encoding processing, compression processing, decoding processing, enlargement / reduction processing (resizing), noise reduction processing, and color conversion processing. Etc. are included. The image processing unit 109 may be configured by a dedicated circuit block for performing specific image processing. Further, depending on the type of image processing, the CPU 108 may perform image processing according to a program without using the image processing unit 109.

The display unit 104 displays an image, a GUI screen that constitutes a GUI (Graphical User Interface), and the like based on the control of the CPU 108. The CPU 108 controls each unit of the image pickup apparatus 100 so as to generate a display control signal according to a program, generate a video signal for display on the display unit 104, and output the video signal to the display unit 104. The display unit 104 displays a video based on the output video signal. The image pickup device 100 itself may include an interface for outputting a video signal to be displayed on the display unit 104, and the display unit 104 may be configured by an external monitor (television or the like).

The operation unit 105 is an input device for accepting user operations, including a character information input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse and a touch panel, a button, a dial, a joystick, a touch sensor, and a touch pad. The touch panel is an input device that is superposed on the display unit 104 and is configured in a plane so that coordinate information corresponding to the contacted position is output.

The power supply unit 114 has a power supply input terminal to which the battery 115 and the AC adapter 116 can be mounted, and is a power supply selection circuit composed of a comparator, a load switch, etc., and gives priority to the high voltage side or the AC adapter 116 to supply power. select.

Further, the power supply unit 114 includes a battery interface for connecting the image pickup device 100 and the battery 115. The battery interface includes not only a power supply and ground, but also a communication terminal with a microcomputer (not shown) inside the battery 115, and a temperature detection unit (not shown) inside the battery 115. Further, the power supply unit 114 includes an AC adapter interface for connecting the image pickup device 100 and the AC adapter 116. The AC adapter interface includes a detector that detects the power supply, ground, and AC adapter 116.

Further, the power supply unit 114 can notify the CPU 108 of the information of the battery 115 and the AC adapter 116 via the image pickup device internal bus 101. Further, the power supply unit 114 regulates the voltage from the selected power supply using a DC / DC converter or a series regulator (not shown), and supplies electric power to each unit constituting the image pickup apparatus 100. Further, the power supply unit 114 A / D-converts the voltages of the attached battery 115 and the AC adapter 116, and notifies the CPU 108 of the values.

The image pickup unit 103 is an image pickup element such as a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor. The lens unit 102 is a lens unit composed of a zoom lens, a focus lens, a shutter, an aperture, a distance measuring unit, an A / D converter, and the like.

The imaging unit 103 can capture still images and moving images. The image data of the captured image is transmitted to the image processing unit 109, subjected to various processing, and then recorded as a still image file or a moving image file on the first recording medium 150 or the second recording medium 160.

The heat dissipation fan 107 is a cooling fan, and the temperature inside the image pickup device 100 is detected by the image pickup device temperature detection unit 106 and notified to the CPU 108. The CPU 108 controls the rotation speed of the fan of the heat dissipation fan 107 according to the temperature, and adjusts the temperature inside the image pickup apparatus 100.

The image pickup apparatus 100 first obtains still image / moving image data that has undergone image processing, encoding processing, and compression processing by the image processing unit 109 via the first media control unit 110 and the first media interface 155. Can be recorded on the recording medium 150 of. Further, the image pickup apparatus 100 can read the still image / moving image data recorded on the first recording medium 150 via the first media control unit 110 and the first media interface 155. The image pickup apparatus 100 displays an image obtained by decoding the read data by the image processing unit 109 on the display unit 104.

The first recording medium 150 is a recording medium that can be attached to and detached from the image pickup apparatus 100, and in the present embodiment, it is a memory card that conforms to the CFexpress standard.

The first media control unit 110 can also communicate control commands with the first memory controller 152 via the first media interface 155. The control commands include commands for acquiring vendor information, temperature information, write count information, and the like, in addition to commands for recording and reproducing data.

The first recording medium 150 includes a first memory controller 152, a first NAND type memory unit 153, and a first media temperature detection unit 154, each of which is connected by a first recording media internal bus 151. ..

The first memory controller 152 records the still image / moving image data transferred from the first media control unit 110 in the first NAND type memory unit 153. At this time, the first memory controller 152 executes control of writing to the cache area of the first NAND type memory unit 153 and control of moving data to the main data area. Further, the first memory controller 152 can perform garbage collection for securing a free area by moving and organizing fragmented data in the first NAND memory unit 153.

Further, the first memory controller 152 acquires the temperature of the first NAND type memory unit 153 detected by the first media temperature detection unit 154. The first memory controller 152 controls the clock frequency to the first NAND type memory unit 153, controls access prohibition / permission, and controls the access speed according to the acquired temperature.

The second recording medium 160 is connected to the image pickup apparatus 100 via the second media control unit 111 and the second media interface 165, and has the same configuration and function as the first recording medium 150. The second memory controller 162, the second NAND memory unit 163, and the second media temperature detection unit 164 are the first memory controller 152, the first NAND memory unit 153, and the first media, respectively. Corresponds to the temperature detection unit 154. The second memory controller 162, the second NAND type memory unit 163, and the second media temperature detection unit 164 are connected by the second recording media internal bus 161.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a shooting process executed by the image pickup apparatus 100. Unless otherwise specified, the processing of each step in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 108 executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory 113 to control each part of the image pickup apparatus 100. When the power of the image pickup apparatus 100 is turned on in the shooting standby state, the processing of this flowchart starts.

The image pickup apparatus 100 can select any one of a single recording mode, a dual recording mode, and a relay recording mode as a recording mode of image data for a plurality of recording media. In the single recording mode, the image pickup apparatus 100 selects one of the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 as the image data recording destination (hereinafter, “recording target card”). In the dual recording mode, the image pickup apparatus 100 treats both the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 as recording target cards, and is the same for both the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160. Record the data. In the relay recording mode, the image pickup apparatus 100 selects one of the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 as the recording target card. When the remaining capacity of the recording target card becomes low, the image pickup apparatus 100 newly records one of the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 that is not the recording target card (hereinafter, referred to as “standby card”). Select as the target card. The original recording target card becomes a standby card. In other words, when the remaining capacity of the recording target card becomes low, the imaging device 100 replaces the recording target card with the standby card.

It is assumed that the recording mode is selected in advance by, for example, a user operation via the operation unit 105. The dual recording mode and the relay recording mode can be selected when both the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 are mounted on the image pickup apparatus 100. In the relay recording mode, it is assumed that the first recording target card is selected in advance by, for example, a user operation via the operation unit 105. The single recording mode can be selected when at least one of the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 is attached to the image pickup apparatus 100. When both the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 are mounted on the image pickup apparatus 100 in the single recording mode, the recording target card is selected in advance by, for example, a user operation via the operation unit 105. It is assumed that

In the following description, the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 may be simply referred to as a "card" or a "media".

First, in S201, the CPU 108 transmits a background processing (BG processing) permission command to all the cards mounted on the image pickup apparatus 100. The BG processing permission command is a command for controlling the execution of automatic background processing (execution of automatic background processing) during a power saving period (between data recording, etc.).

In the present embodiment, the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 are memory cards conforming to the CFexpress standard. Then, permission / prohibition of BG processing shall be controlled by using the NOPPME (Non-Operational Power State Permissive Mode Enable) command of the NVM Express standard (NVMe standard). The NOPPME command is not actually a command that directly controls BG processing during the power saving period, but a command that specifies whether or not to allow BG processing exceeding a predetermined power.

When "1" indicating Enable is specified by the NOPPME command, the media can execute the BG process exceeding the predetermined power, and as a result, the BG process in the power saving period can be executed. Therefore, specifying "1" by the NOPPME command corresponds to transmitting a BG processing permission command that controls the execution of the BG processing during the power saving period.

On the other hand, when "0" indicating Device is specified by the NOPPME command, the media cannot execute the BG process exceeding the predetermined power, and as a result, the BG process during the power saving period cannot be executed. .. Therefore, specifying "0" by the NOPPME command corresponds to transmitting a command (BG processing prohibition command) for controlling so as to prohibit (not allow) the execution of BG processing during the power saving period.

The present embodiment is not limited to the configuration in which permission / prohibition of BG processing during the power saving period is controlled by using the NOPPME command of NVM Express. Further, the standard to which the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 conform is not limited to the CFexpress standard. A configuration in which other types of commands are used as the BG processing permission command and the BG processing prohibition command to control the permission / prohibition of BG processing during the power saving period of the media conforming to other standards is also within the scope of this embodiment. included.

Next, in S202, the CPU 108 determines whether or not a still image shooting instruction has been given. If the still image shooting instruction is given, the process proceeds to S203, and if not, the process proceeds to S204.

In S203, the CPU 108 uses the imaging unit 103 to perform still image shooting to generate a still image, and records the obtained still image on a recording target card. After that, the process returns to S202.

In S204, the CPU 108 determines whether or not a moving image shooting instruction has been given. If a moving image shooting instruction is given, the process proceeds to S205, and if not, the process proceeds to S205.

In S205, the CPU 108 transmits a BG processing prohibition command to the recording target card. That is, in the case of moving image recording, basically, BG processing on the recording target card is prohibited. As for the standby card, since the BG processing permission command is transmitted in S201, the BG processing is permitted. Since the image is not recorded on the standby card, BG processing is basically permitted.

In S206, the CPU 108 starts the moving image shooting for generating the moving image using the imaging unit 103 and the moving image recording on the recording target card.

In S207, the CPU 108 controls the card. The card control includes switching control between the recording target card and the standby card in the relay recording mode, permission / prohibition control of BG processing of the recording target card, and permission / prohibition control of BG processing of the standby card. Details of the card control will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S208, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the recording stop instruction has been given. If the recording stop instruction is given, the process proceeds to S209, otherwise the process returns to S207. That is, the card control is repeatedly executed during the moving image recording.

At S209, the CPU 108 stops shooting and recording a moving image. After that, the process returns to S201, and the BG process permission command is transmitted to all the cards again. Since the BG processing permission command is transmitted to all the cards when the recording of the moving image is stopped and when the processing of this flowchart is started, when recording a still image in S203, the memory controller of the recording target card performs the BG processing during the power saving period. It is feasible.

Next, the details of the card control (S207 in FIG. 2) will be described with reference to FIG. In S301, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the current recording mode is the relay recording mode. In the relay recording mode, the process proceeds to S302, otherwise the process proceeds to S304.

In S302, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the remaining capacity of the current recording target card is less than a preset threshold value (less than a sixth threshold value). If the remaining capacity is less than the threshold, the process proceeds to S303, otherwise the process proceeds to S304.

In S303, the CPU 108 replaces the recording target card with the standby card. At this time, the CPU 108 transmits a BG processing prohibition command to the recording target card, and transmits a BG processing permission command to the standby card. This is because BG processing is basically prohibited on the recording target card on which the image is recorded, and BG processing is basically permitted on the standby card on which the image is not recorded.

In S304, the CPU 108 determines various conditions regarding whether to allow or prohibit the BG process during the power saving period of the recording target card. The various conditions are, for example, a temperature condition, a power supply condition, and a remaining buffer amount / delay time condition. Corresponding prohibition flags (for example, "prohibition flag due to temperature condition", "prohibition flag due to power supply condition", and "prohibition flag due to remaining buffer amount / delay time condition") are defined for each condition. The corresponding prohibition flag is set to ON or OFF according to the determination result of each condition. Each prohibition flag is held in, for example, RAM 112. Details of these conditions and their determination will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. As described above, the card control process of FIG. 3 is repeated until a recording stop instruction is given. Therefore, the control of permission / prohibition of BG processing according to the judgment results of various conditions is repeatedly executed during the recording of the moving image, and the permission / prohibition of BG processing is switched every time the judgment results of various conditions change. ..

In S305, the CPU 108 determines whether or not all the prohibition flags related to the recording target card set by the process of S304 are OFF. If all the prohibition flags are OFF, the process proceeds to S306, otherwise the process proceeds to S307.

In S306, the CPU 108 transmits a BG processing permission command to the recording target card.

In S307, the CPU 108 transmits a BG processing prohibition command to the recording target card.

In the dual recording mode, the BG processing permission command or the BG processing prohibition command is transmitted to both recording target cards. For conditions such as temperature conditions where the judgment result may differ for each card, the judgment of the condition and the corresponding prohibition flag may be set for each card. Therefore, the determination result of S305 may be different for each card. In this case, the process of S306 is executed for one card to be recorded, and the process of S307 is executed for the other card to be recorded.

In S308, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the standby card exists. A standby card is present in the relay recording mode and when both the first recording medium 150 and the second recording medium 160 are attached to the image pickup apparatus 100 in the single recording mode. If there is a standby card, the process proceeds to S309, otherwise the card control ends and the process proceeds to S208 of FIG.

In S309, the CPU 108 determines various conditions regarding whether to allow or prohibit the BG process during the power saving period of the standby card. The various conditions are, for example, temperature conditions and power supply conditions. Corresponding prohibition flags (for example, "prohibition flag due to temperature condition" and "prohibition flag due to power supply condition") are defined for each condition. The corresponding prohibition flag is set to ON or OFF according to the determination result of each condition. Each prohibition flag is held in, for example, RAM 112. Details of these conditions and their determination will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In S310, the CPU 108 determines whether or not all the prohibition flags related to the standby card set by the process of S309 are OFF. If all the prohibition flags are OFF, the process proceeds to S311. If not, the process proceeds to S312.

In S311 the CPU 108 transmits a BG processing permission command to the standby card. In S312, the CPU 108 transmits a BG processing prohibition command to the standby card.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the determination of the temperature condition, which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. 3, will be described.

In S401, the CPU 108 acquires various temperature thresholds. Specifically, the CPU 108 uses the non-volatile memory 113 to perform the camera temperature threshold TC_TH (second threshold), the media temperature threshold TM_TH (first threshold, seventh threshold), the media temperature effective lower limit TM_MIN, and the media temperature. Read the effective upper limit TM_MAX.

The various temperature threshold values may change depending on the operation mode of the image pickup apparatus 100, the recording bit rate of moving images, and the like. For example, a data table having various temperature thresholds corresponding to each combination of the operation mode and the recording bit rate of the image pickup apparatus 100 is stored in the non-volatile memory 113 in advance. Then, the CPU 108 acquires various temperature threshold values corresponding to the combination of the current operation mode and the recording bit rate by referring to the data table.

Further, the various temperature threshold values may differ depending on the temperature condition related to the recording target card (in the case of S304 in FIG. 3) and the temperature condition related to the standby card (in the case of S309 in FIG. 3).

In S402, the CPU 108 acquires the camera temperature information TC from the image pickup device temperature detection unit 106. As described above, in the image pickup apparatus 100, the temperature inside the image pickup apparatus 100 is detected by the image pickup apparatus temperature detection unit 106 and notified to the CPU 108.

In S403, the CPU 108 acquires the media temperature information TM from the recording target card (in the case of S304 in FIG. 3) or from the standby card (in the case of S309 in FIG. 3). As described above, the first memory controller 152 acquires the temperature of the first NAND type memory unit 153 detected by the first media temperature detection unit 154. Therefore, when the CPU 108 acquires the media temperature information TM from the first recording medium 150, the CPU 108 acquires the media temperature information TM via the first memory controller 152. The same applies to the second recording medium 160.

In S404, the CPU 108 determines the validity of the media temperature TM acquired in S403. That is, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the media temperature TM is equal to or higher than the media temperature effective lower limit TM_MIN and equal to or lower than the media temperature effective upper limit TM_MAX (whether or not the media temperature is included in a predetermined range). If the media temperature effective lower limit is TM_MIN or more and the media temperature effective upper limit is TM_MAX or less, the process proceeds to S405, and if not, the process proceeds to S408.

In S405, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the media temperature TM is equal to or higher than the media temperature threshold TM_TH. If the media temperature TM is greater than or equal to the media temperature threshold TM_TH, the process proceeds to S406, otherwise the process proceeds to S407.

In S406, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag depending on the temperature condition to ON. That is, the CPU 108 controls to prohibit the execution of the BG process by setting the prohibition flag due to the temperature condition to ON when the media temperature TM or the camera temperature TC is equal to or higher than the corresponding threshold value. This makes it possible to suppress the heat generation of the media or the camera and suppress the stoppage of recording due to the heat generation.

In S407, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag depending on the temperature condition to OFF.

In S408, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the camera temperature TC is equal to or higher than the camera temperature threshold TC_TH. If the camera temperature TC is greater than or equal to the camera temperature threshold TC_TH, the process proceeds to S406, otherwise the process proceeds to S407. When the processing of S408 is executed (that is, when the media temperature effective lower limit is TM_MIN or more and the media temperature effective upper limit is not TM_MAX or less), temperature information that is not expected in the range normally used is generated due to a media abnormality or a communication abnormality. Probably obtained. Therefore, in this case, unlike S405 using the media temperature TM, ON / OFF of the prohibition flag according to the temperature condition is controlled based on the camera temperature TC.

Here, a modified example relating to the processing of each step of FIG. 4 will be described. In addition to the acquisition of the camera temperature information TC and the media temperature information TM in S402 and S403, the CPU 108 may perform predetermined preprocessing such as unit system conversion processing and offset adjustment processing.

Further, in the case of a configuration having a plurality of temperature detection units, a configuration in which temperature information is acquired from all the temperature detection units may be adopted, or a configuration in which temperature information is acquired from only some of the temperature detection units may be adopted. It may be adopted. Alternatively, the configuration in which predetermined operations such as averaging, weighting, maximum value detection, and minimum value detection may be performed on the temperature information acquired from the plurality of temperature detection units may be minimized.

Further, although the determination is performed using the media temperature TM in S405, the CPU 108 may perform the determination using both the temperature information of the media temperature TM and the camera temperature TC. For example, the smaller difference between the media temperature TM and the media temperature threshold TM_TH and the difference between the media temperature TC and the media temperature threshold TC_TH can be used as the determination criteria.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the determination of the power supply condition, which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. 3, will be described. Since the image pickup device 100 consumes more power than the normal recording operation by performing the BG process, the power consumption becomes faster, and in the case of battery 115 drive, the image pickup device 100 may shut down the power supply outside the desired timing. is there. Therefore, the possibility of such a problem occurring can be reduced by using the prohibition flag according to the power supply condition for determining the power supply state of the image pickup apparatus 100. Further, regarding the battery 115 connected to the image pickup apparatus 100, the permission / prohibition of BG processing should be appropriately controlled in consideration of the case where the CPU 108 cannot determine the characteristics and the remaining amount of the battery 115 changes. Is desirable.

Regarding the temperature conditions described with reference to FIG. 4, the determination result may differ depending on the media, but in the case of the power supply condition, the determination result does not differ depending on the media. Therefore, in S309 of FIG. 3, the determination of the power supply condition may be omitted, and the determination result of the temperature condition in S304 may be used as the determination result of the temperature condition for the standby card.

First, in S501, the CPU 108 acquires power supply information from the power supply unit 114. The power supply information indicates whether the current drive power source of the image pickup apparatus 100 is the battery 115 or the AC adapter 116.

In S502, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the current drive power source of the image pickup apparatus 100 is the battery 115. In the case of battery 115, the process proceeds to S503, otherwise the process proceeds to S507.

In S503, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the characteristics of the battery 115 are known. For example, the CPU 108 acquires identification information (model number, etc.) from the battery 115, and determines that the characteristics of the battery 115 are known when the characteristic information corresponding to the acquired identification information is stored in the non-volatile memory 113. To do. If the characteristics of the battery 115 are known, the process proceeds to S504, otherwise the process proceeds to S507.

In S504, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the voltage of the battery 115 is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value (or higher than the third threshold value). When the voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold value, that is, when the remaining amount of the battery 115 is sufficient to be equal to or higher than the preset threshold value, the process proceeds to S506. Then, when the voltage is less than the threshold value, that is, when the remaining amount of the battery 115 is less than the preset threshold value and the remaining amount of the battery is low, the process proceeds to S505. The threshold value used here may change according to the characteristics of the battery 115.

In S505, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag according to the power supply condition to ON. That is, the CPU 108 controls to prohibit the execution of the BG process by setting the prohibition flag according to the power supply condition to ON when the voltage of the battery 115, which is the current drive power source, is not equal to or higher than the threshold value. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the remaining amount of the battery 115 due to the BG process, and to suppress a stoppage of recording due to an insufficient remaining amount of the battery 115.

In S506, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag depending on the power supply condition to OFF.

If it is determined in S502 that the current drive power source is not the battery 115, or if it is determined in S503 that the characteristics of the battery 115 are unknown, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag due to the power supply condition to OFF in S507.

In the flowchart of FIG. 5, when the drive power source is a battery and the voltage of the battery 115 is less than the threshold value, the prohibition flag is set to ON to prohibit the BG process. However, the BG process may always be prohibited in the case of battery drive without determining the remaining amount of the battery 115 by the voltage. Further, when the drive power source is only the battery 115, the permission / prohibition of the BG process may be controlled according to the remaining amount of the battery 115 due to the voltage without determining the type of the drive power source. Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the determination of the remaining buffer amount / delay time condition, which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. 3, will be described. In the case of periodically recording real-time generated data for a long time such as moving image recording, the imaging device 100 temporarily stores the real-time data in the buffer memory before writing the real-time data to the medium configured by the NAND flash memory. Record. As the buffer memory, for example, RAM 112 is used. When a predetermined amount of real-time data is recorded in the buffer memory, recording on the media is executed. At this time, if the BG process is executed inside the medium and the main process for recording the real-time data is delayed, the buffer memory remaining capacity (remaining buffer amount) is exhausted and the real-time data is lost. In addition, a delay time occurs when transitioning from the BG process executed inside the media to the recording of real-time data which is the main process. If this delay time is longer than the time required to write the real-time data, the real-time data cannot be recorded in time and the real-time data is lost. Therefore, it is necessary to control the permission / prohibition of BG processing so that the buffer memory capacity of the RAM 112 is not used up and a sufficient writing speed can be maintained.

In S601, the CPU 108 acquires the delay time from the recording target card. In S602, the CPU 108 acquires the remaining buffer amount of the image pickup apparatus 100.

In S603, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the delay time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (greater than or equal to the fifth threshold value). If the delay time is greater than or equal to the threshold, the process proceeds to S604, otherwise the process proceeds to S606. The threshold value used here may change according to the recording bit rate of the moving image.

In S604, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the remaining buffer amount is less than a predetermined threshold value (less than a fourth threshold value). If the amount of remaining buffer is less than the threshold, the process proceeds to S605, otherwise the process proceeds to S606. The threshold value used here may change according to the recording bit rate of the moving image.

In S605, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag based on the remaining buffer amount / delay time condition to ON. That is, when the delay time is equal to or greater than the threshold value and the remaining buffer amount is less than the threshold value, the CPU 108 controls to prohibit the execution of the BG process by setting the prohibition flag based on the remaining buffer amount / delay time condition to ON. To do. As a result, it is possible to suppress the loss of real-time data of the moving image to be recorded due to the main processing for recording the data being hindered by the BG processing.

On the other hand, in S606, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag based on the remaining buffer amount / delay time condition to OFF.

By the way, as can be understood from FIG. 6, in the case of the prohibition flag based on the remaining buffer amount / delay time condition, ON / OFF of the prohibition flag is controlled based on the determination regarding both the remaining buffer amount and the delay time. However, even if the remaining buffer amount / delay time condition is divided into a remaining buffer amount condition and a delay time condition, and a "prohibition flag due to the remaining buffer amount condition" and a "prohibition flag due to the delay time condition" are provided corresponding to each. Good. That is, the examples of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG. 3 include the remaining buffer amount condition and the delay time condition.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating determination of the remaining buffer amount condition, which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG.

In S701, the CPU 108 acquires the remaining buffer amount of the image pickup apparatus 100. In S702, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the remaining buffer amount is less than a predetermined threshold value. When the remaining buffer amount is less than the threshold value, in S703, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag based on the remaining buffer amount condition to ON. If the remaining buffer amount is not less than the threshold value, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag based on the remaining buffer amount condition to OFF in S704.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the determination of the delay time condition, which is an example of the various conditions described in S304 and S309 of FIG.

In S801, the CPU 108 acquires the delay time from the recording target card. In S802, the CPU 108 determines whether or not the delay time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. When the delay time is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag based on the delay time condition to ON in S803. If the delay time is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, the CPU 108 sets the prohibition flag based on the delay time condition to OFF in S804.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the image pickup apparatus 100 performs recording control for controlling the recording of a still image or a moving image on the recording target card. When recording a still image on the recording target card, the image pickup apparatus 100 permits execution of automatic background processing during the power saving period. On the other hand, when recording a moving image on the recording target card, the image pickup apparatus 100 controls so as not to allow the execution of the automatic background processing during the power saving period. This makes it possible to appropriately control whether or not to allow execution of automatic background processing during the power saving period on the recording medium, and it is possible to achieve both high-speed still image recording and stable moving image recording. To do.

In the above, it is assumed that the permission / prohibition of automatic BG processing is controlled (the transmission of the BG processing permission command / BG processing prohibition command) at the time of moving image recording. However, before the start of recording (when in the shooting standby state, when switching between movie shooting / still image shooting mode, etc.), it is determined whether the movie shooting mode is in the still image shooting mode, and in the case of the movie shooting mode, it is automatically set. The execution of the BG process may not be permitted, and the execution of the automatic BG process may be permitted in the still image shooting mode. In this case, in the case of the moving image shooting mode, the execution of the automatic BG processing is prohibited once before the moving image recording starts. Further, at the start of moving image recording and during recording, the execution of automatic BG processing is permitted according to various conditions (temperature, power supply type, remaining power supply, delay time, remaining buffer remaining amount, etc.) described above. It is good to control whether or not.

Further, in the above embodiment, permission / prohibition of BG processing is controlled according to the condition of whether or not the video is recorded and various conditions of temperature, power supply, delay time, and remaining amount of buffer. However, the permission / prohibition of BG processing may be controlled by using only one of these conditions. Further, some of these conditions may be combined to control the permission / prohibition of BG processing.

Further, in the above, regarding the standby card, the permission / prohibition of execution of the BG process is controlled according to the determination results of various conditions. However, since the standby card is a recording medium that does not record an image, the execution of the BG process may be permitted without determining various conditions. In addition, not only the standby card but also the recording target card is not judged for various conditions, the execution of the BG processing is prohibited for the recording target card, and the execution of the BG processing is permitted for the standby card. May be good.

Further, in the above, when recording a moving image, it is assumed that permission / prohibition of execution of BG processing is controlled for the recording target card and the standby card. However, the execution of the BG process may be controlled to be permitted or prohibited before the start of recording (for example, when the recording is on standby or when the card to be the recording destination is selected), not when the moving image is recorded.

Further, the image pickup apparatus 100 controls so as to permit the execution of the BG process depending on the determination results of various conditions even when the moving image is recorded on the recording target card. This makes it possible to achieve both optimization processing of the NAND flash memory and stable moving image recording.

In the above, the configuration for controlling the permission / prohibition of BG processing based on whether to record a still image or a moving image has been described, but the permission / prohibition of BG processing is controlled based on other operation modes. You may. For example, permission / prohibition of BG processing may be controlled according to an operation mode such as a long exposure shooting mode, a high frame shooting mode, and a time-lapse shooting mode. In this case, for example, in the case of a low bit rate shooting mode such as a time-lapse shooting mode, BG processing is permitted as in the case of still image shooting, and in the case of a high bit rate shooting mode such as a high frame shooting mode, BG processing is performed. Should be prohibited.

In addition, although the configuration that allows BG processing when recording a still image has been described above, even when recording a still image, BG may be determined depending on the judgment results of various conditions as in the case of recording a moving image. Processing may be prohibited.

Further, in the example of FIG. 5, the prohibition flag depending on the power supply condition is set to OFF in both the case where it is determined that the current drive power source is not the battery 115 and the case where it is determined that the characteristics of the battery 115 are unknown. It was. However, if the characteristics of the battery 115 are not known, a configuration in which the prohibition flag depending on the power supply condition is turned on may be adopted.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It is also possible to realize the processing. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, a claim is attached to make the scope of the invention public.

100 Imaging device 108 CPU
110 First media control unit 111 Second media control unit 112 RAM
113 Non-volatile memory 150 First recording media 160 Second recording media

Claims (18)

A recording control means for controlling the recording of an image on a recording medium, and
A control means for controlling whether or not to allow execution of automatic background processing in the power saving period on the recording medium is switched according to whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied.
With
The control means switches whether or not to allow the execution of the automatic background processing depending on whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied during the recording of the image on the recording medium by the recording control means. A recording device characterized in that it is controlled to. Whether or not the control means permits execution of the automatic background processing in response to a change in whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied during recording of an image on the recording medium by the recording control means. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is controlled so as to be switched. During recording of an image on the recording medium by the recording control means, the control means switches whether or not to permit execution of the automatic background processing each time whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied changes. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is controlled in such a manner. The predetermined conditions include temperature conditions relating to the temperature of the recording medium or the recording device.
When the temperature of the recording medium or the recording device is equal to or higher than the first threshold value, the control means controls so as to prohibit the execution of the automatic background processing, and the temperature of the recording medium or the recording device is the temperature of the recording medium or the recording device. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein if the value is less than the first threshold value, control is performed so as to permit execution of the automatic background processing. The predetermined condition includes a power supply condition relating to a power supply state of the recording device.
The control means controls so as to prohibit execution of the automatic background processing when the power source of the recording device is a battery or when the remaining amount of the battery of the recording device is less than the third threshold value. When the power source of the recording device is not a battery, or when the remaining amount of the battery of the recording device is equal to or higher than the third threshold value, the control is performed so as to allow the execution of the automatic background processing. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The recording control means controls so that the image to be recorded on the recording medium is temporarily stored in the buffer memory and then recorded on the recording medium.
The predetermined condition includes a buffer amount condition relating to the remaining amount of the buffer memory.
The control means controls so as to prohibit the execution of the automatic background processing when the remaining amount of the buffer memory is less than the fourth threshold value, and the remaining amount of the buffer memory is equal to or more than the fourth threshold value. In the case of, the recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the automatic background processing is controlled so as to be permitted to be executed. Further provided with an acquisition means for acquiring the delay time generated when the recording medium transitions from the automatic background process to the main process for recording data in the recording medium.
The predetermined condition includes a delay time condition relating to the delay time.
The control means controls so as to prohibit the execution of the automatic background processing when the delay time is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold value, and when the delay time is less than the fifth threshold value, the control means is described. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the recording device is controlled so as to permit execution of automatic background processing. The predetermined conditions are
A temperature condition that allows execution of the automatic background processing when the temperature of the recording medium or the recording device is less than the first threshold value.
A power supply condition that allows execution of the automatic background processing when the power source of the recording device is not a battery, or when the remaining battery level of the recording device is equal to or greater than a third threshold value.
A buffer amount condition that allows execution of the automatic background processing when the remaining amount of the buffer memory for the image to be recorded on the recording medium is temporarily equal to or larger than the fourth threshold value.
A delay time condition that allows execution of the automatic background processing when the delay time that occurs when transitioning from the automatic background processing to the main processing for recording data in the recording medium is less than the fifth threshold value.
Including at least one of
The control means permits the execution of the automatic background processing when the conditions for permitting the execution of the automatic background processing are satisfied in all the conditions included in the predetermined conditions, and the predetermined conditions. If any of the conditions included in the above conditions does not satisfy the condition for permitting the execution of the automatic background processing, any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the execution of the automatic background processing is prohibited. The recording device according to item 1. The recording device can be connected to a plurality of recording media, and can be connected to a plurality of recording media.
The recording control means controls to record an image on a recording medium selected as a recording destination among a plurality of recording media connected to the recording device.
The control means controls so as to prohibit the execution of the automatic background processing on the recording medium selected as the recording destination, and the automatic background processing on the recording medium not selected as the recording destination. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recording device is controlled so as to permit execution. Whether the control means permits the execution of the automatic background processing in response to the switching of the recording medium selected as the recording destination during the recording of the image on the recording medium by the recording control means. The recording device according to claim 9, wherein the recording device is controlled so as to switch between. The control means selects a recording medium as a recording destination according to the fact that the remaining capacity of the recording medium selected as the recording destination becomes less than the sixth threshold value during the recording of the image by the recording control means. Is switched to another recording medium among the plurality of recording media, and is controlled so as to allow the execution of the automatic background processing on the recording medium that is no longer selected by the switching, and the newly selected recording medium. The recording device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the automatic background processing is controlled so as to be prohibited. A recording control means for controlling recording of an image on a recording medium set as a recording destination among a plurality of recording media,
A control means for controlling whether or not to allow execution of automatic background processing during the power saving period on the plurality of recording media.
With
The control means controls the recording medium set as the recording destination among the plurality of recording media so as not to permit the execution of the automatic background processing, and the recording medium not set as the recording destination. Controls to allow the execution of the automatic background processing,
A recording device characterized by that. The control means sets the recording medium as the recording destination according to the fact that the remaining capacity of the recording medium set as the recording destination becomes less than the sixth threshold value during the recording of the image by the recording control means. For a recording medium that has been changed to another recording medium among a plurality of recording media and is no longer the recording destination due to the change, the change is controlled so as to allow the execution of the automatic background processing during the power saving period. The recording device according to claim 12, wherein the recording medium newly used as a recording destination is controlled so as to permit execution of the automatic background processing during the power saving period. Claims 1 to 13 are characterized in that the control means controls whether or not to allow execution of automatic background processing by using a NOPPME (Non-Operational Power State Permissive Model) command of the NVM Express standard. The recording device according to any one of the above. It is a control method executed by the recording device.
A recording control process that controls the recording of images on a recording medium,
A control step that controls whether or not to allow execution of automatic background processing in the power saving period on the recording medium is switched according to whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied.
With
In the control step, it is controlled to switch whether or not to allow the execution of the automatic background processing depending on whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied during the recording of the image on the recording medium. Characteristic control method. It is a control method executed by the recording device.
A recording control process for controlling recording of an image on a recording medium set as a recording destination among a plurality of recording media,
A control step for controlling whether or not to allow execution of automatic background processing during the power saving period on the plurality of recording media, and
With
In the control step, among the plurality of recording media, the recording medium set as the recording destination is controlled so as not to allow the execution of the automatic background processing, and the recording medium not set as the recording destination is controlled. Controls to allow the execution of the automatic background processing,
A control method characterized by that. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 14. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 15 or 16.

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