JP4455177B2 - Information recording apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for recording information on a removable storage medium such as a memory card.

  In recent digital information devices, particularly recording and reproducing apparatuses for recording image and audio information such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras, a large-capacity storage medium is required due to the characteristics of information to be handled. In digital still cameras, the number of shooting pixels has increased dramatically year by year, and the amount of recorded data is on an increasing trend. In the field of video cameras as well, the amount of recorded data is increasing with the shift from SD format to HD format.

  As the amount of data handled increases, the demand for large-capacity recording media (memory cards) increases, and the capacity of the recording media itself is expected to continue increasing. Under these circumstances, with respect to the recording area format method of recording media, media exceeding the recording capacity assumed in the conventional area format method has been developed, and it is necessary to initialize the medium with a new area format. Is starting to occur.

For example, a CF card (Compact Flash Card) used in a digital camera or the like is generally formatted with a file system called FAT (File Allocation Tables) 16 (or simply FAT). The specification of the FAT16 file system, the maximum size of one cluster is defined as 32KB, for accessing it with 16-bit address, 32KB × 2 ¹⁶ = 2GB (gigabytes), and the memory space of up to 2GB accessible. In other words, an area exceeding 2 GB cannot be accessed.

  However, memory card manufacturers have already released 4 GB microdrives. Since such a large-capacity storage medium cannot be handled by the conventional FAT16, a further expanded file system, for example, FAT32 is used.

  The problem here is that conventional electronic devices that were supposed to handle storage media formatted with the FAT16 file system (conventional photo directs that mount and print storage media as well as current digital cameras) In most printers, a recording medium can be connected electronically, but a file stored in the FAT32 file system cannot be accessed.

For this reason, it is conceivable to mix two types of file systems, FAT16 and FAT32, in one storage medium. As a technique for performing multiplex recording in one storage medium using two new and old file formats, Patent Document 1 can be cited.
JP-A-8-63901

  Patent Document 1 mainly aims to record higher quality data while maintaining compatibility of the CD-DA format in consideration of the software market. In other words, audio data with a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz and a quantization bit number of 16 bits is recorded concentrically from the inner diameter of the disk to the outer shape, and the remaining area has a higher quality with a higher bit rate or higher sampling rate. Is to record various data.

  By the way, in the case of a rewritable recording medium of a digital information device such as a digital still camera, there is a possibility of changing data at any time. For this reason, when data is multiplexed and recorded in a plurality of recording areas, there is a risk of inconsistency in the data relationship if there is no related information for each recording data.

  For example, when unnecessary data exists, if only one data is erased, unnecessary data remains in the other recording area. Since multiplexed data are interrelated, it is desirable that when one is erased, the other is also erased except in special cases such as backup.

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the relevance of the data recorded in each recording area is not clarified, it is difficult to rewrite the data at any time after recording is completed for the above reason.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has two different partition areas, a conventional accessible file system and an extended file system, in a removable and rewritable storage medium. Therefore, it is intended to provide a technology that makes it possible to substantially maintain backward compatibility.

In order to solve this problem, for example, an information recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An information recording apparatus for recording information on a removable and rewritable storage medium having a storage capacity exceeding the maximum allowable amount in the first file system,
A first storage area initialized by the first file system; a second storage area initialized by a second file system accessible to an area exceeding a maximum allowable amount of the first file system; When external input information is stored in a single storage medium, the external storage information is stored in the second storage area, and derivative information derived from the external input information is stored in the first storage area. First information recording means for storing;
The relationship information and derived information stored in said second information stored in the storage area first storage area, and a management information recording means for recording a management information to the second storage area.

  According to the present invention, information recording can be performed by maximizing the capacity of a storage medium while maintaining a certain degree of compatibility with an electronic device that can handle only the storage medium initialized with the first file system. It becomes like this.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the embodiment, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to a digital camera as an information recording / reproducing apparatus and a memory card as a detachable rewritable storage medium.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital camera according to the embodiment. It is possible to access a file system of FAT32 as well as FAT16.

  The digital camera body 1 includes a camera unit 2 for image capturing, an image processing unit 3 that converts a signal captured by the camera into predetermined electronic data, a card controller 4 that is an interface unit with a memory card 9 that is a recording medium, It comprises an operation key 7 that is an input unit for a user to operate, a display device 5 for displaying an operation status and an image to the user, and a CPU 6 for controlling the system. CPU control and internal data exchange are performed via the system bus 8. In addition, the USB controller 20 has a USB interface and can connect devices such as a USB printer and a PC. Also, it has an external output terminal 21, which is provided with an NTSC composite video output terminal and a D terminal for connecting a high-resolution display device such as an HDTV, and a sensor for detecting that a cable is connected to each. Is provided.

  The memory card 9 is constructed of two file systems: a partition A10 whose area is initialized with FAT16 which can be accessed by a conventional device, and a partition B13 whose area is initialized with FAT32 which is an expanded file system. Has been. The partition can also be set by the digital camera according to the present embodiment.

  In the digital camera according to the embodiment, image data captured by the camera unit 2 is compressed and encoded by the image processing unit 3 and then stored in the partition B13 as a main image data file. On the other hand, the thumbnail image 12 is created at the time of shooting or, as will be described in detail later, with the main image as an input source at a predetermined timing, and is recorded in the partition A. In the partition A, there is an automatic control setting file storage folder 11 in which automatic control setting files such as automatic reproduction settings and automatic print settings are stored.

  As an example of this automatic control setting file, DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) is widely known. Further, the thumbnail image data stored in the partition A and the information indicating the relationship between the main image recorded in the partition B are recorded in the partition B with respect to the management information 14.

  FIG. 2 shows a directory tree structure recorded in the memory card 9 in the embodiment.

  The partition A10 is reserved and initialized in the FAT16 file system as the first partition, and the partition B13 is reserved and initialized as the FAT32 file system as the second partition. Since conventional devices (such as a conventional digital camera and a conventional photo direct printer) that can access only the FAT 16 access the inside of the partition A, the partition A must be assigned to the first partition (upper address) of the memory card. Don't be.

  Each partition has a folder (102 and 202) for storing images. In a digital camera, recording is generally performed according to a DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system) format.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the contents of the management information are defined such that the path of the thumbnail image recorded in the partition A is defined in one-to-one correspondence with one main image recorded in the partition B. In this specification, it is possible to easily search the main image from the main image and to search the thumbnail image from the main image. However, the partition B cannot be accessed by the conventional device.

  The automatic control setting file is collectively managed by partition A. In the automatic control setting file storage folder, an automatic print setting file 104, an automatic reproduction setting file for a slide show, and the like can be saved.

  As described above, by configuring the memory card, when this memory card is mounted on a conventional device, the partition B cannot be accessed, but since the partition A is a conventional format itself, this information signal recording It is possible to play back thumbnail images shot with a playback device on a conventional device. In this case, the conventional device can access information in the memory card as a tree structure shown in FIG. Compared to FIG. 2, partition B is invisible.

<Consistency processing>
As described above, in the digital still camera according to the embodiment, the memory card 9 has two partition areas, FAT16 and FAT32, and the main image is stored in FAT32 and the thumbnail image is stored in FAT16. As a result, when the memory card 9 is attached to an electronic device (such as a conventional digital camera) that supports only the conventional FAT16, at least thumbnail images can be displayed and viewed. Become.

  When the memory card 9 is attached to a conventional digital still camera and a new image is taken, both the main image and the thumbnail image are naturally stored in the FAT 16. When this memory card 9 is again attached to the digital still camera of the embodiment, no particular problem occurs.

  The problem is that when the memory card 9 imaged and stored by the digital still camera in this embodiment is attached to a conventional device and the desired image is deleted, the deleted image is a thumbnail image, This is a case where the corresponding main image remains in the FAT32 partition.

  In the present embodiment, when the thumbnail information corresponding to the main image stored in the FAT 32 is not stored in the FAT 16 in the management information secured in the partition of the FAT 32, the consistency is obtained.

  This process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed when a memory card is inserted or when the power is turned on.

  First, when a memory card is detected in step S101, the management information secured in the FAT 32 is analyzed in step S102. That is, a search is performed for a thumbnail image corresponding to the main image stored in the partition B (FAT32) shown in FIG. 8 that does not exist in the partition A. If such a case exists, the file name list of the main image is displayed. The data is temporarily stored in the RAM built in the CPU 6.

  In step S103, it is determined whether or not all thumbnail images corresponding to all the main images stored in the partition B (FAT32) are stored in the partition A.

  If it is determined that all thumbnail images are present, the consistency is obtained, and the present process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the list is created, attention is paid to one of the main images, and in step S104, a thumbnail image is temporarily created from the main image in the RAM. Then, the created thumbnail image is displayed on the display device 5 and an inquiry is made as to whether or not the corresponding main image can be created. In step S106, input from the user is awaited. FIG. 7 shows a display example at this time. The user uses the operation key 7 to select either “Yes” or “No” by operating the cursor key, and presses the execution key.

  In step S107, it is determined whether or not erasure is selected. If deletion is selected, the process proceeds to step S108, where the corresponding main image is deleted from the partition B of the FAT 32, and the corresponding image file name is also deleted from the management information 14 in step S110.

  On the other hand, if it is selected not to delete, the process proceeds to step S109, and the thumbnail image created in the RAM is stored in the partition A of the FAT 16.

  Thereafter, the process returns to step S103, and the same process is repeated for an image that has a main image in partition B and no thumbnail image in partition A.

  As described above, when the power of the digital still camera in the embodiment is turned on or when a memory card is inserted, the above-described consistency processing is performed, so that at least the main image stored in the partition B And the correspondence between the thumbnail images stored in the partition A can be maintained.

  In the digital still camera of the present embodiment, when deleting an image, three items corresponding to the main image, thumbnail image, and management information are deleted.

<Create auto-play setting file>
Next, an automatic reproduction setting file creation process in the embodiment will be described.

  Automatic playback is a method in which desired images stored in the memory card 9 are set in a desired order, and a desired time is set for each individual image, and automatically according to the set contents. Display processing is performed. The creation of the automatic reproduction setting file is not limited to the digital still camera in the embodiment, and any conventional apparatus may be used as long as it has the function.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of the display device 5 during creation of the automatic reproduction setting file (a state in which a thick frame is selected by the cursor key). In the case of illustration, six images are displayed, but it is possible to display in units of six images by operating the operation keys. In addition, the illustrated display image is obtained by further reducing the thumbnail image.

  The user can enter an automatic playback setting file creation mode by operating keys. On the operation screen 400, an operation mode 401, images (402 to 407), and image file name 410, automatic reproduction mark 408, and reproduction sequence 409 are displayed as supplementary information of the image. For example, the image 402 indicates that the file name XXXX0001 (X is an English letter from A to Z) in the 001XXXXX directory, the playback order is second, and the playback time is 1 second.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the CPU 6 when the automatic reproduction setting disclosure instruction key in the operation key 7 is pressed. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S201, the first image to be automatically reproduced is selected using the cursor key provided on the operation key 7, and is determined by pressing the enter key. In the example of FIG. 4, since the image is displayed in units of six, if the cursor key is pressed in a direction beyond this, the next six or the previous six are displayed. The image to be displayed is a further reduced image of the thumbnail image of partition A.

  When the selection of the image is determined, the process proceeds to step S202, and an automatic reproduction mark 408 is displayed in the vicinity of the selected image in order to clearly indicate that the corresponding image is an automatic reproduction target. In step S203, the playback time for the selected image is set in seconds. The default is 1 second, but it can be increased or decreased in seconds by operating the up and down cursor keys. However, the minimum time is 1 second, and less than that cannot be selected. When the playback time reaches the target time, the time is determined by operating the enter key. Thereafter, a message for inquiring whether or not to continue selecting an image is displayed, and the selection result is determined by the user in step S204.

  If the instruction to continue is selected, the process returns to step S201, and the second and subsequent images to be reproduced and their display times are sequentially determined.

  When an instruction to end is selected in step S204, the reproduction setting contents set in the above process are stored in the partition A as the automatic reproduction setting file 11 (see FIG. 1).

<Automatic playback processing>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing when an operation key is operated to instruct start of automatic reproduction.

  When an external display device is not connected to the external output terminal 21, the reproduction output target is the display device (liquid crystal display device) 5. Further, when an external display device is connected to the external output terminal 21 and is an ordinary television display device, a video signal having the same resolution as that of the display device 5 of the embodiment is output, and an HDTV device or the like is output. When a high-resolution display device is connected, a high-resolution image is displayed.

  First, in step S401, it is determined whether the output target device is a high-resolution display device. This is determined based on the signal from the sensor of the external output terminal 21.

  If the high-resolution display device is connected, “1” is set to the flag FLAG in step S402. If the connected display device is not connected to a normal low-resolution display device such as NTSC or an external display device, “0” is set to the flag FLAG in step S403.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S404, and the automatic reproduction setting file data stored in the partition A is read. In this file, one or more image file names with paths and reproduction time information thereof are stored in the reproduction order.

  In step S405, it is determined whether or not the reproduction is completed by determining whether or not there is an unreproduced image. If it is determined that there is an unreproduced image, the process advances to step S406 to determine whether or not the flag FLAG is “1”, that is, whether or not the display output device is a device capable of high-resolution display.

  If a high-resolution display device is connected, the process proceeds to step S407. Since the path of the file name described in the automatic reproduction setting file is the thumbnail image file of the partition A, the main image data is searched. The search target is both partitions A and B. The reason for searching for the partition A is that, in the digital still camera or other apparatus of the embodiment, after creating two partitions of FAT16 and FAT32 in the memory card 9, the memory card is mounted on the conventional digital still camera. This is because the main image is stored in the partition A when the image is taken. This search is the same as before.

  When searching for the partition B, the management image 14 is referenced to identify the main image file of the partition B.

  When the main image is specified, if the image is encoded (not RAW data), a decoding process is performed. In addition, the number of imaging pixels of a recent digital still camera is 6 to 7 million pixels, and in some cases is 10 million pixels, and even an HDTV may not be able to display the entire image as it is. In this case, a thinning process is performed to match the HDTV resolution.

  In step S406, in the case of the simple display device 5 or the normal television device in the embodiment, a thumbnail image is sufficient as the display output target device, and thus the process proceeds to step S408 and the thumbnail image is read.

  In any case, the process proceeds to step S409, where the image is displayed for the set time. The above is repeated as long as there is an unreproduced image.

  When the memory card 9 storing the automatic playback setting file created by the digital still camera in the embodiment is set and played back on a conventional digital still camera, the playback image is unconditionally played as a thumbnail image. Auto-play setting files can be used with old and new digital still cameras.

<Auto print settings>
Next, an automatic print setting file creation process in the embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 shows a display example of the display device 5 that is creating the automatic print setting file, and FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the processing procedure, which will be described below. This process is executed when an automatic print setting file creation mode instruction key provided in the operation key 7 is input.

  First, in step S301, an image to be printed is selected using a cursor key provided on the operation key 7, and then confirmed by pressing an enter key. In the example of FIG. 5, since the image is displayed in units of six, when the cursor key is pressed in a direction beyond this, the next six or the previous six are displayed. The image to be displayed is a further reduced image of the thumbnail image of partition A.

  When the selection of the image is determined, the process proceeds to step S302, and an automatic print mark 508 is displayed in the vicinity of the selected image in order to clearly indicate that the corresponding image is an automatic reproduction target. In step S303, the number of prints is set for the selected image. By default, the number is one, but it can be increased or decreased in seconds by operating the up / down keys of the cursor keys. The number of printed sheets is at least one. The number is displayed in the vicinity of the corresponding image as a numeral 509 shown in the figure. The target number of prints is displayed, and the number is determined by operating the enter key. Thereafter, a message for inquiring whether or not to continue selecting an image is displayed, and the selection result is determined by the user in step S304.

  If the instruction to continue is selected, the process returns to step S301, and the next image to be printed and the number of prints are determined.

  When an instruction to end is selected in step S304, the reproduction setting contents (information specifying the image to be printed and the number of prints) set in the above process are stored in the partition A as the automatic print setting file 11. (See FIG. 1).

  Next, automatic print processing in the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed when the printer 30 is connected to the USB controller 20 and an automatic print instruction is input from the operation key.

  First, in step S501, an automatic print setting file is read and analyzed.

  Next, in step S502, it is determined whether or not there is an unprinted image. If printing has been completed for all the images specified in the automatic print setting file, this processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an unprinted image, the process proceeds to step S503, and the location of the corresponding main image file is searched from the described image with a path. The search target is both partitions A and B. The reason for searching for the partition A is that, in the digital still camera or other apparatus of the embodiment, after creating two partitions of FAT16 and FAT32 in the memory card 9, the memory card is mounted on the conventional digital still camera. This is because the main image is stored in the partition A when the image is taken.

  When the location of the main image is determined, the main image is read in step S504. In step S505, print output processing is performed for the set number of sheets. Thereafter, the process returns to step S502, and the above process is repeated as long as there is an unprinted image.

  The above is the automatic print processing in the embodiment, but when performing automatic printing by setting the memory card in which the automatic print setting file is created and stored in the digital still camera in the embodiment to the conventional digital still camera, Since the main image stored in the partition B cannot be accessed, the print target is a thumbnail image.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the conventional file system is accessed while using a memory card (storage medium) having two partition areas of the conventional FAT16 file system and the FAT32 file system. It is possible to maintain a certain operating environment with the equipment to be operated.

  In the embodiment, the digital still camera has been described. However, when attention is paid to the printing process, the digital still camera may be applied to a printer device that mounts a memory card for printing. This type of printer device so far has supported the file system of FAT16. However, like the digital still camera of the embodiment, a memory card having two file system partition areas is mounted, and the two When the printer device that can recognize the file system performs printing according to the automatic print setting file, the same processing as in FIG. 12 may be performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the FAT 16 and the FAT 32 are described as an example of the file system. However, since there are various types of file systems, the present invention is not limited thereto.

It is a block block diagram of the digital still camera in the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the file system and data tree structure of the memory card in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data tree recognized when the recording medium in embodiment is mounted | worn with the conventional apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a display during preparation of the automatic reproduction | regeneration setting file in embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example during creation of an automatic print setting file in the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence at the time of starting of the digital still camera in embodiment, and a memory card attachment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display at the time of the alignment process in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data format of the management information in embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the creation processing procedure of the automatic reproduction | regeneration setting file in embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic print setting file creation processing procedure according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the automatic reproduction | regeneration processing procedure in embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic print processing procedure in the embodiment.

Claims (7)

An information recording apparatus for recording information on a removable and rewritable storage medium having a storage capacity exceeding the maximum allowable amount in the first file system,
A first storage area initialized by the first file system; a second storage area initialized by a second file system accessible to an area exceeding a maximum allowable amount of the first file system; When external input information is stored in a single storage medium, the external storage information is stored in the second storage area, and derivative information derived from the external input information is stored in the first storage area. First information recording means for storing;
Further comprising a management information recording means for recording information on the relationship between the derived information stored in said second information stored in the storage area first storage area, as the management information in the second storage area An information recording apparatus characterized by the above.   2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first file system is FAT16 and the second file system is FAT32.   Furthermore, it has an imaging means for generating image data as the external input information, the image data is stored in the second file system, and a thumbnail image corresponding to the image data is stored in the first file system. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information recording apparatus stores the information. And determining means for determining whether or not derivative information corresponding to information stored in the second storage area of the storage medium exists in the first storage area;
When the determination means determines that the derived information corresponding to the information stored in the second storage area does not exist in the first storage area, the derived information is stored in the first storage area. Selecting means for selecting whether to restore to or to delete the corresponding information stored in the second storage area;
The when said that the derived information to restore in the first storage area is selected in the selection means, appropriate to generate a derivative information from the information of the first stored in the second storage area If stored in the storage area, delete the relevant information of the first storage area is selected, it deletes the information in the second storage area, and updates the management information, the first, The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an alignment unit that maintains the consistency of information in the second storage area. A playlist creating means for creating a playlist for information stored in the first storage area;
Playlist storage means for storing the created playlist in the first storage area;
When information is reproduced according to the reproduction list stored in the reproduction list storage means, information described in the reproduction list is replaced with information stored in the second storage area according to the management information and reproduced and output. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a reproduction output unit. Furthermore, connection means for connecting to the printer;
Print setting file creation means for creating a print setting file for an image stored in the first storage area;
Print setting file storage means for storing the created print setting file in the first storage area;
When printing an image according to the print setting file stored in the print setting file storage unit, the image described in the print setting file is replaced with an image stored in the second storage area according to the management information. The information recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a print output unit that outputs to a printer connected by the connection unit. A control method for an information recording apparatus for recording information on a removable and rewritable storage medium having a storage capacity exceeding the maximum allowable amount in the first file system,
A first storage area initialized by the first file system; a second storage area initialized by a second file system accessible to an area exceeding a maximum allowable amount of the first file system; When external input information is stored in a single storage medium, the external storage information is stored in the second storage area, and information derived from the external input information is stored in the first storage area. A first information recording step to perform,
Further comprising a management information recording step of recording information on the relationship between the derived information stored in said second information stored in the storage area first storage area, as the management information in the second storage area A method for controlling an information recording apparatus.

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