JP4343408B2 - Data recording / reproducing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a data recording / reproducing apparatus having an imaging function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a portable audio recording / reproducing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “analog”) which converts an audio signal into digital data, stores it in a flash memory as a rewritable storage medium, and reproduces the audio data stored in the flash memory as an analog signal IC recorder) has been put into practical use.
[0003]
As a feature of these IC recorders, each operation mode such as recording, reproduction, fast forward and fast reverse can be selectively functioned by operating a predetermined operation switch. For example, at the time of a recording operation, audio data converted into a digital signal and index information (audio data address, recording date and time, etc.) converted into a digital signal are stored in an audio data area and an index information area provided in advance in a flash memory. It comes to memorize.
[0004]
On the other hand, in recent years, electronic still cameras that can record not only images but also sounds have come into practical use. By the way, in this type of electronic still camera, since the main recording element is image data, it is difficult to allocate a large amount to audio data within a limited storage capacity. Specifically, when considered as an audio recording time, it is considerably short, such as several tens of seconds for one image. In order to solve this problem, for example, in the invention according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-22258, an audio recording medium is provided separately from the image recording medium, thereby enabling long-time audio recording.
[0005]
In the invention according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-22258, when an image is reproduced, the audio recording is associated with the absolute time at the recording start time of each image in order to instantaneously reproduce the audio corresponding to the image. I am doing so.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, assuming a recording scene whose main purpose is audio recording rather than image recording, for example, in a recording scene such as an interview, it is possible to record the dictation contents of a plurality of dictators over a long period of time. Often happens. That is, the time required for audio recording is often longer than the time required for actual image recording.
[0007]
Further, if it is considered that the main subject at the time of image recording is an dictator, it is sufficient that only the image at the time when the dictator starts speaking can be photographed and recorded with a resolution that can be identified by the dictator. Therefore, it can be said that it is not preferable to perform audio recording by using an electronic still camera whose main purpose is image recording because it is wasteful in terms of function. Furthermore, in situations where the dictator faces an interview, such as an interview, each time the dictator changes, the camera must be held to take pictures, which is very inconvenient.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data recording / reproducing apparatus that is easy to use and can be used without any erroneous operation so that the dictator and the contents of the dictation can be easily confirmed during reproduction.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the first data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention provides audio data and image data associated with the audio data. Records and In a data recording / reproducing apparatus having a reproducing function, A release switch that functions only during recording of audio data and instructs to record image data; and an image data recording unit that records image data in association with the audio data being recorded according to the operation of the release switch; Audio data reproducing means for reproducing audio data, and reproduction of audio data by the audio data reproducing means Sometimes, detecting means for detecting presence / absence of image data associated with the audio data and information related to the sound being reproduced are displayed. Display means; Control means for displaying the image data on the display means when the detection means detects that there is image data associated with the audio data; It is characterized by comprising.
[0010]
In order to achieve the above object, the second data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention provides: In the first data recording / reproducing apparatus, when the control unit detects that there is image data associated with the audio data during reproduction of the audio data, the display unit displays the image data. Is displayed for a predetermined time and then switched to the audio data playback status and displayed. It is characterized by that.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 1, the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment includes an encoding unit 101 that encodes quantized audio signals and image signals into audio data and image data of a predetermined encoding format, The quantized image signal is selectively input to the encoding means 101 by operating the switch operation unit 106 provided with the operation switch and the specific switch of the switch operation unit 106 only during recording. The selection means 105, the storage means 102 for storing the sound data and the image data associated with the sound data, and the predetermined decoding of the sound data and the image data read from the storage means 102 during reproduction. Decoding means 103 for decoding audio signals and image signals according to the format, and the decoded An audio reproduction unit 104 that reproduces a voice signal as audio, an image reproduction unit 108 that reproduces the decoded image signal as an image, and the image reproduction unit 108 that selectively selects only the image signal associated with the audio signal. And selecting means 107 adapted to input to.
[0015]
Further, the storage means 102 includes an audio data storage area for storing audio data, an image data storage area provided only when storing image data, and an index storage area for storing index information relating to each of the storage areas. It is characterized by being provided in.
[0016]
Further, as an external feature of the data recording / reproducing apparatus, an imaging lens for photographing an image is provided on a surface on which a microphone for recording sound is provided.
[0017]
Next, a specific configuration of the data recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment will be described.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IC recorder which is an embodiment of the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.
[0019]
The IC recorder according to the present embodiment includes a microphone (MIC) 5 that converts sound into an electric signal and an image sensor (CCD) 1 that converts an image into an electric signal, and outputs sound from the microphone (MIC) 5. Is input to the voice input unit 6. The voice input unit 6 includes a microphone amplifier, a low-pass filter, an A / D converter, and the like (not shown). The analog audio signal amplified by the microphone amplifier is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter after an unnecessary frequency band is cut by a low-pass filter.
[0020]
Similarly, the image output from the image sensor (CCD) 1 is input to the image input unit 2. The image input unit 2 includes control circuits such as an iris, gain, and white balance (not shown), an A / D converter, and the like. Each pixel signal output from the image sensor (CCD) 1 is converted into a digital signal by the image input unit 2.
[0021]
The digital signals of the sound and the image are input to a digital signal processing unit (DSP) 13. The digital signal processing unit (DSP) 13 is controlled by the system control unit 10 during recording, and encodes (compresses) each digital signal into audio data and image data of a predetermined encoding format in units of frames. Each encoded data is temporarily stored in a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 10.
[0022]
On the other hand, the digital signal processing unit (DSP) 13 at the time of reproduction is controlled by the system control unit 10 to decode (decompress) audio data and image data in a frame unit from a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 10 described above. ) Is performed. The decoded audio digital signal is input to the audio reproduction unit 7.
[0023]
The audio reproduction unit 7 includes a D / A converter, a low-pass filter, a power amplifier, and the like (not shown). The audio signal converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter is amplified by a power amplifier after cutting an unnecessary frequency band by a low-pass filter. Then, the sound is output from the speaker (SP) 8.
[0024]
Similarly, the digital signal of the decoded image is input to the image reproduction unit 3. The image reproducing unit 3 is configured by a video control circuit or the like (not shown). The image signal output from the image reproduction unit 3 is displayed as an image on the image display unit 4 constituted by, for example, a TFT-LCD.
[0025]
The system control unit 10 is constituted by a CPU, and in addition to the digital signal processing unit 13, a storage unit (memory) 12, an operation unit 11, and a display unit 9 are connected.
[0026]
The storage unit (memory) 12 is composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, for example, a flash memory. During recording, the audio data and the image data encoded by the digital signal processing unit 13 are stored in the system control unit 10. Is stored through a buffer memory (not shown). At this time, the index information regarding the audio data and the image data is also stored.
[0027]
The operation unit 11 includes a recording switch (REC), a playback switch (PLAY), a stop switch (STOP), a fast forward switch (FF), a fast reverse switch (REW), a menu switch (MENU), a hold switch (HOLD), and an erase. Various switches such as a switch (ERASE) are arranged for each function.
[0028]
The display unit 9 displays an operation mode or a subsequent operation state when a predetermined sequence is started by any switch operation of the operation unit 11. For example, when the recording switch (REC) is pressed, the elapsed recording time, the remaining recording time, the file number, and the like are displayed. When the menu switch (MENU) is pressed, display related to function selection such as microphone sensitivity (high / low), recording mode (standard / long), and alarm (on / off) is performed. Further, when the system control unit 10 has a clock function, the current date and time are also displayed. These display contents may be displayed on the image display unit 4.
[0029]
Next, the operation of the IC recorder of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0030]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the main operation of the IC recorder of this embodiment.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 3, when the IC recorder is powered on, the system control unit 10 (see FIG. 2) executes predetermined initial settings (step S1) and timer start (step S2). This timer measures the time for the IC recorder to enter the standby mode (low current consumption mode) from the normal operation mode after a predetermined time has elapsed.
[0032]
When the IC recorder enters the operation mode, the system control unit 10 switches to the recording switch (REC), the playback switch (PLAY), the fast-forward switch (FF), and the fast-forward switch by the switch detection operation shown in steps S3 to S8 and step S18. It is detected whether there is a switch that is turned on in the order of the return switch (REW), the stop switch (STOP), the menu switch (MENU), and the erase switch (ERASE).
[0033]
If the switch turned on in step S3 is a recording switch, a recording processing subroutine (step S11) is executed. Similarly, if the switch turned on in step S4 is a reproduction switch, a reproduction processing subroutine (step S12), and if the turned on switch is fast-forwarding (step S5), fast-forwarding processing subroutine (step S13), If the turned-on switch is a rewind switch (step S6), a fast-return processing subroutine (step S14); if the turned-on switch is a stop switch (step S7), a stop processing subroutine (step S15); If the turned-on switch is a menu switch (step S8), a menu change process subroutine (step S16) is executed. If the turned-on switch is an erase switch (step S18), an erase process (step S19) is executed. . After execution of the subroutine, the timer is restarted (step S17) and the process returns to the main loop.
[0034]
Note that the fast-forward process, fast-rewind process, stop process, menu change process, and erase process are performed using well-known technical means, and are not directly related to the contents of the present embodiment. Detailed explanation here is omitted.
[0035]
When all the switches are off, when the time counted by the timer exceeds a predetermined time (step S9), a standby mode subroutine (step S10) is entered. When the standby mode is entered, the data recording / reproducing apparatus operates at a low current consumption under the control of the system control unit 10. Specifically, the audio input unit 6, the image input unit 2, the audio reproduction unit 7, the image reproduction unit 3, the image display unit 4, the digital signal processing unit (DSP) 13, the display unit 9, and the storage unit 12 of FIG. The system control unit 10 outputs a non-selection signal to a chip enable terminal provided in an IC (not shown) that constitutes each block, thereby turning into a low current consumption state. At this time, the CPU of the system control unit 10 itself switches to the low-speed clock with the least current consumption by switching the operation clock to the low current consumption state. In some cases, the operating clock may be switched from a main clock (eg, 9.28 MHz) to a sub clock (eg, 32.768, kHz) and then the main clock may be completely stopped until a switch input is detected. .
[0036]
Next, the recording process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 and FIGS. 2 and 4.
[0037]
When recording is started, first, under the control of the system control unit 10, microphone sensitivity (high / low), recording mode (standard / long), file number, audio data storage area start address for storing the audio data, etc. Various types of information are stored in the index information area (step S51). Next, an on / off state of a release switch (REL) that functions only during recording is detected (step S52). If it is not turned on, the image acquisition processing subroutine (step S54) is executed as it is. If it is turned on, the image acquisition flag is set (step S53) and then the image acquisition processing subroutine (step S54) is executed. S54) is executed.
[0038]
The audio signal is encoded by the digital signal processing unit (DSP) 13 (step S55), but the encoding itself is performed in units of frames and continuously until the audio data reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S56). When the audio data stored in the buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 10 reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S56), the audio data is stored from the audio data storage area start address of the storage unit (memory) 12. The data is written and stored in order (step S57). Then, the image acquisition flag is confirmed. If 0 is not set in the image flag, the process returns to step S52.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 4, the audio data area A and the audio data area B are stored in order from the head address of the audio data area, for example. In addition, start addresses corresponding to the audio data area A and the audio data area B are stored in the index information area as the start address of the audio data area A and the start address of the audio data area B. Incidentally, it goes without saying that the audio data area C, the audio data area D,..., And the audio data area are reserved, the head address of each audio data area may be stored in the index information area.
[0040]
Steps S52 to S58 are repeated until the stop switch (STOP) is turned on (step S59). When the stop switch (STOP) is turned on, a recording end process is executed (step S60), and the recording ends.
[0041]
Next, image acquisition processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 and FIGS. 2 and 4.
[0042]
First, the system control unit 10 detects whether an image acquisition flag is set (step S71). If it is not set, normal recording processing is executed. If it is set, the digital signal processing unit (DSP) 13 encodes the image signal (step S72). Encoding itself is performed in units of frames as in the case of audio data, and is continuously performed until the image data reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S73). When the audio data stored in the buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 10 reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S73), the audio data is stored from the audio data storage area start address of the storage unit (memory) 12. The data is written and stored in order (step S74).
[0043]
As shown in FIG. 4, the start address of the image data area is stored sequentially from the last address of the audio data area, for example. The start addresses corresponding to the image data area P, the image data area Q, and the image data area R are indexed as the start address of the image data area P, the start address of the image data area Q, and the start address of the image data area R. It is stored in the information area. Similar to the audio data, these image data may be stored in the index information area at the start address of each image data area every time the image data area is secured.
[0044]
The steps S71 to S74 are repeated until the image acquisition is completed (step S75). After completion of image acquisition (step S75), the audio data association flag is set (step S76), and the image acquisition flag is reset (step S77), and the process ends. Note that the audio data association flag will be described in detail in an image reproduction process described later.
[0045]
Next, the reproduction process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and FIG.
[0046]
When playback is started, under the control of the system control unit 10, various information such as a recording mode (standard / long) associated with the selected audio data, a final number, and an audio data storage area start address storing the audio data are stored. The data is read from the index information area (step S81). Then, the system control unit 10 executes the image reproduction processing subroutine (step S82), and then reads out the audio data stored in the storage unit (memory) 12 in order from the audio data storage area start address (step S83). The digital signal processor (DSP) 13 performs decoding (step S84).
[0047]
Since the decoding itself is performed in units of frames, the system control unit 10 continuously performs until the audio data reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S85), and sequentially stores it in a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 10 as an audio signal. Output to the audio playback unit 7.
[0048]
When the decoding of the audio data is completed for a predetermined number of frames (step S85), the system control unit 10 determines the state of the image display flag (step S86). Here, when the image display flag is set, the image is displayed on the display unit 9 in FIG. Normally, it is sufficient for the dictator to recognize the voice reproduction when the image display starts for a few seconds, so whether the image display timer that started timing in the image playback processing described below has timed out over a predetermined time. It is determined whether or not (step S87).
[0049]
If there is no overflow in step S87, the system control unit 10 repeats steps S82 to S86. On the other hand, if it overflows, the image display flag is reset (step S88). Further, the system control unit 10 stops the time counting of the image display timer (step S89), and displays the normal playback mode (recording time, playback time, recording mode (standard / long), file number, etc.). (Step S100).
[0050]
Steps S82 to S86 are repeated until the stop switch (STOP) is turned on (step S101). When the stop switch (STOP) is turned on, the system control unit 10 executes a reproduction end process (step S102) and ends the reproduction.
[0051]
Next, image reproduction processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 and FIG.
[0052]
First, the system control unit 10 detects whether or not an audio data association flag is set (step S91). If it is not set here, normal reproduction processing is executed. If it is set, the image data stored in the storage unit (memory) 12 is read in order from the image data storage area start address (step S92). ), And is decoded by the digital signal processor (DSP) 13 (step S93).
[0053]
Since the decoding itself is performed in units of frames like the audio data, the system control unit 10 continuously performs the processing until the image data reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S94), and sequentially stores them in a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 10. The image signal is output to the image reproduction unit 3 as an image signal.
[0054]
The system control unit 10 repeats steps S91 to S94 until the image reproduction is finished (step S95). After the end of image reproduction (step S95), the system control unit 10 resets the audio data association flag (step S96), sets the image display flag (step S97), and starts counting the image display timer (step S98). ), The image reproduction process is terminated.
[0055]
Next, how the IC recorder records images during recording will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0056]
FIG. 9 is a top view of the data recording / reproducing apparatus (IC recorder) of this embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a front view showing the state of the operation display unit during recording in the IC recorder. Further, FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state in which the dictator is recorded and photographed using the IC recorder.
[0057]
As shown in FIG. 9, a microphone hole 74, a photographing lens 75, a microphone jack 76, and an earphone jack 77 are disposed on the upper surface of the IC recorder 72 of the present embodiment. A microphone (MIC) 5 and an image pickup device (CCD) 1 shown in FIG. 2 are disposed immediately below the microphone hole 74 and the photographing lens 75, respectively. Further, other operation switches other than the release switch (REL) 73 and the recording switch (REC) 70 shown in FIG. 10 are not particularly shown, but these other operation switches are provided on the IC recorder 72 so as to be easy to operate. It is arranged on the front or side.
[0058]
Further, immediately below the speaker hole 78 (see FIG. 11) on the front surface of the IC recorder 72, the speaker (SP) 8 of FIG. In the present embodiment, the operation switch uses a feather touch switch which is generally referred to as a tactile push switch.
[0059]
A description will be given of how the dictator performs recording using the IC recorder having such a configuration.
[0060]
Recording is started when the recording switch 70 of the IC recorder 72 is turned on. At this time, a display at the beginning of recording appears on the display unit 71 (see FIG. 10) to notify the operator that the recording is in progress. In this state, by turning on the release switch (REL) 73 with the upper surface of the IC recorder 72 facing the dictator 79 (see FIG. 11), an image of the dictator can be acquired.
[0061]
Image acquisition is performed each time the release switch (REL) 73 is turned on. Therefore, even in interviews with a plurality of dictators, an image for each dictator corresponding to the dictation content can be reliably recorded. Furthermore, in order to record an image reliably, an image captured by the photographing lens 75 may be displayed on the display unit 71 for a while after the release switch (REL) 73 is turned on. Then, after determining the framing of the subject, the image acquisition may be executed by turning on the release switch (REL) 73 again.
[0062]
Next, the state of image reproduction at the time of reproduction in the IC recorder will be described with reference to FIG.
[0063]
FIG. 12 is a front view showing a state of reproducing sound / image in the IC recorder of the present embodiment.
[0064]
When a playback switch (not shown) provided on the front or side surface of the IC recorder 72 is turned on, playback is started. From the speaker, for example, a voice as shown by a “balloon” in FIG. 12 is pronounced, and at the same time, an image of the dictator related to the voice is displayed on the display unit. The image may be displayed until playback of the sound related to the image is completed. Of course, as described above, it may be displayed for a certain time from the start of reproduction. Further, if image confirmation is unnecessary, no display is necessary. If no sound-related image is recorded, display during normal playback (recording time, elapsed playback time, recording mode (standard / long), final number, etc.) is performed.
[0065]
As described above, according to the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment, at the time of reproduction, the dictator himself can be visually confirmed while listening to the dictation content. This is very effective when the dictation content is recorded for each dictator and documented later.
[0066]
Further, since the image data and the sound data are also stored in the non-volatile memory, the cost is not increased.
[0067]
Furthermore, since the photographing lens is arranged in the direction of the coaxial with the direction of the microphone, the operator can smoothly acquire an image during recording without a sense of incongruity. Moreover, there is almost no discomfort to the dictator.
[0068]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an easy-to-use data recording / reproducing apparatus that can easily check the dictator and the dictation contents during reproduction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IC recorder which is an embodiment of the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main operation of the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a memory configuration of a storage unit in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a recording processing operation in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a subroutine image acquisition processing operation in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a reproduction processing operation in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a subroutine image reproduction processing operation in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a top view of the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state of an operation display unit during recording in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state when recording / capturing a dictator using the IC recorder of the embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a front view showing a state of reproducing sound / image in the IC recorder of the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
101: Encoding means
102: Storage means
103: Decoding means
104 ... Audio playback unit
105 ... Selection means
106: Switch operation unit
107: Selection means
108: Image reproduction unit
1 ... Image sensor (CCD)
2. Image input unit
3. Image playback unit
4 ... Image display section
5 ... Microphone (MIC)
6 ... Voice input part
7 ... Audio playback unit
8 ... Speaker (SP)
9 ... Display section
10. System control unit
11 ... operation part
12. Storage unit (memory)
13 ... Digital signal processor (DSP)

Claims (2)

In a data recording / reproducing apparatus having a recording and reproducing function of audio data and image data associated with the audio data,
A release switch that functions only during recording of audio data and instructs to record image data;
Image data recording means for recording image data in association with audio data being recorded in response to the operation of the release switch;
Audio data reproducing means for reproducing audio data;
Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of image data associated with the audio data when the audio data is reproduced by the audio data reproducing means ;
Display means for displaying information related to the sound being played ;
Control means for displaying the image data on the display means when the detection means detects that there is image data associated with the audio data;
A data recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: If the control means detects that there is image data associated with the audio data during reproduction of the audio data, the control means displays the image data for a predetermined time by the display means, and then Switching to data playback status and displaying
The data recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 .

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