JPH04290084A - Recorder and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To secure the scheduled recording quantity of an image, sound, and data to be recorded on a memory card. CONSTITUTION:A packet number is allocated based on the allocation of the specification of a reservation packet. relational information, a mode, recording quantity and the combination of the recording quantity (S32). and each packet is allocated to a residual cluster (S33), and the data in a directory and a MAT are allocated (S34). When the relational information exists (S35), packet relational information data is allocated (S36). The used bits of specification/attribute of all the packets to be reserved are set at unused bits (S37). Header data, packet identification data, directory and MAT data, the packet information data of a packet header in an information area are generated (S38, S39, S40, and S41), and generated data are written on the memory card (S42).

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device and a recording medium for recording information such as still images, audio, and data on a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Electronic cameras are known that record captured still images using solid-state memory elements as recording media. In electronic cameras, the recording medium is an IC card or memory.
The storage area of the card is divided into a plurality of areas (clusters) each having a predetermined storage capacity, and a predetermined number of clusters are allocated to record one still image. Furthermore, audio and data can also be recorded in cluster units, and in the case of audio, it can be recorded over any number of clusters.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In this way, in the conventional example, an arbitrary number of clusters are allocated to audio recording, so the number of unrecorded clusters is an integral multiple of the number of clusters required for image recording. It will stop happening. This may lead to an uneconomical situation in which, for example, there is a shortage of just one cluster, making it impossible to record an image. Additionally, many clusters may be used for audio, making it impossible to record the planned number of images.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device that eliminates such inconveniences.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A recording device according to the present invention is a recording device that records still images, audio, and data on a recording medium, and uses an unused recording area of the recording medium to store still images, audio, and data. It is characterized by comprising means for specifying in advance for recording any one of the following. Further, the recording medium according to the present invention is characterized in that information specifying the type of information to be recorded in the unrecorded area is recorded.

[0006]

[Operation] By the means described above, a recording area is secured in advance for a scheduled number of images, audio for a scheduled recording time, and data for a scheduled recording amount. This can prevent a situation in which scheduled information cannot be recorded.

[0007]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a photographing lens, 12 is a shutter with an aperture function, 14 is an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, 16 is a process circuit that performs known camera signal processing such as gamma correction, 18 is an A/D converter that converts the analog output of the process circuit 16 into a digital signal, and 20 is an image compression circuit that compresses data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like. Further, 22 is a microphone for audio input, 24 is a noise reduction circuit that reduces noise in the audio signal from the microphone 22, 26 is an A/D converter that converts the output of the noise reduction circuit 24 into a digital signal, and 2
8 is an audio compression circuit that compresses data by adaptive differential PCM (ADPCM).

A memory control circuit 30 controls the A/D converters 18, 26 and the compression circuits 20, 28, and the compressed data by the compression circuits 20, 28 is transferred to the memory control circuit 30.
is written to buffer memory 32 under the control of. 34
is an interface with the memory card 36, and the memory card 36 includes a memory circuit 38 that stores data and its management information, and a memory control circuit 40 that controls writing and reading of the memory circuit 38. There is a backup battery. Buffer memory 32 may be omitted if the memory device used in memory circuit 38 is a high speed device, and is required if the memory device is a low speed device such as an EEPROM.

42 is a focusing lens of the photographic lens 10.
A lens drive circuit that drives the lens; 44 is a shutter 12;
46 is a distance measuring circuit that measures the distance to the subject, 48 is a photometry circuit that measures the brightness of the subject, and 50 is a flash. 52 is a system control circuit that controls the entire system; 54 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display that displays operating status; and 56 is a memory that stores constants, variables, etc. for operation of the system control circuit 52.

Reference numeral 58 denotes a group of switches for inputting various operation instructions for the system control circuit 52. switch group 5
8 includes, for example, a main switch 60, a distance measurement and photometry switch 62 that is closed during operation of a release button (not shown), and instructs distance measurement and photometry by the distance measurement circuit 46 and photometry circuit 48, and a release button (not shown). The release switch 64 is closed when the operation is completed, and instructs to record the photographed image on the memory card 36.Single (S) mode for photographing one image or one set of images, multiple consecutive images or multiple sets of images A mode switch 66 for selecting continuous (C) mode for shooting and self-timer shooting mode, image recording number, frame recording/field recording distinction, aspect ratio, pixel configuration, compression method, compression rate, etc. An image mode switch 68 for selecting the method, an audio on/off switch 70 for specifying on/off of audio recording, and audio recording methods such as recording time, recording band, and number of recording channels such as stereo and bilingual. There are an audio mode switch 72 for selecting a reservation mode, a reservation mode switch 74 for reserving an area of the memory circuit 38 in advance and then selecting a reservation mode to be used, and a reservation setting switch 76 for making reservation settings in the reservation mode.

The system control circuit 52 controls the photographing lens 1 by the lens drive circuit 42 according to the measurement result of the distance measuring circuit 46.
The photographing lens 10 is driven by the focusing lens 0.
to keep it in focus. System control circuit 52 also includes:
Based on the measurement result of the distance measuring circuit 48, the shutter driving circuit 44 determines the opening time of the shutter 12 so as to obtain the optimum exposure amount.

The storage area of the memory circuit 38 of the memory card 36 is divided into a card management area and a data area.
The data area is divided into units called clusters. Information such as images, audio, and data to be recorded is handled in units called packets. The card management area consists of a header, packet identification, directory, and memory allocation table (MAT). The header records the format number, card number, number of remaining clusters, number of used clusters, last used packet number, first unused cluster number, card label, etc. The packet identification consists of the type and attribute of each recorded packet and related information between the packets. The directory consists of the number of the starting cluster of each packet. The memory allocation table records, for each cluster, the number of the cluster connected to that cluster.

[0014] The data area is logically handled in units called packets. A packet consists of a packet header and packet data of arbitrary length. The packet header consists of packet information, date and title. The packet information records image and audio encoding methods, compression modes, and recording modes. In the case of an image, the number of horizontal and vertical pixels and the aspect ratio of the pixels are also recorded. Packets are physically distributed and recorded in multiple clusters.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below with reference to the flowcharts from FIG. 2 onwards. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the main routine of this embodiment. When the power is turned on, the system control circuit 52 initializes flags, control variables, etc.
S1), if the main switch 60 is on, the memory card 36 is set (S2), and the set memory card 36 is not set to prevent accidental erasure (S3), the card management area is Search (S4). Based on the search results, determine whether there is a recordable area (
S5). If there is no memory card 36 (S2), if there is a setting to prevent accidental erasure (S3), or if there is no recordable area (S5), a warning is given and the process ends (S10).

If recording is possible (S5), the reservation mode switch 74 is checked to determine whether or not to reserve an area (S6). When reserving an area, the information necessary for reserving the area (reservation packet type, related information, mode, recording amount, combination of recording amounts, etc.) is stored in the memory 56.
It is checked whether or not it is stored (set) in the ROM area of the memory circuit 38 (S7), and if there is not, a new reservation is set and reserved (S8, 9), and if there is, the reservation is made (S9).
). The reservation setting (S8) is performed using the switch of the switch group 58 or via the interface 34 in the memory circuit 3.
Import from 8. Specifically, the reservation (S9) is performed by writing data necessary for reserving an unused area of the memory circuit 38 to a predetermined location in the card management area or data area.

In this way, the memory card 3
6, the area necessary to record a predetermined amount of images, audio, and data can be secured. Furthermore, a recording area can be secured for recording images, audio, and data in association with each other.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the reservation setting routine in S8 of FIG. The system control circuit 52 firstly
The type of reservation packet is set (S21). Packet types include image (V), audio (A), and data (D).
There are three types, and these can be set arbitrarily. If you want to record all three types of images, audio, and data, set the types for all three types. Settings are performed by displaying setting examples on the display device 54 and selecting a desired one using the reservation setting switch 76, and the same applies hereafter.

Next, set the related information of the reservation packet (
S22). The packet number of the related packet can be specified for each packet, and this information can be set because the packets can be combined, for example, image, audio, and data packets can be combined and recorded and reproduced.

After setting the related information (S22), the recording mode of the reservation packet is set (S23). Select the compression mode if necessary. Next, the recording amount and the combination of recording amounts of the reservation packet are set (S24). That is, S2
Based on the recording mode set in step 3, the allocation of recording amount between each packet type is determined. Furthermore, if the related information is set in S22, the allocation of the recording amount among the combinations of each packet type is determined. If there is no need to change the mode, the process returns, and if so, S23 and S24 are repeated (S25).

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the reservation routine of S9 in FIG. The number of remaining clusters, the number of used clusters, the last used packet number, and the first unused cluster number are read from the card management area of the memory circuit 38, and the usable clusters and packet numbers are read (S31). A packet number is assigned (S32) based on the allocation of the reservation packet type, related information, mode, recording amount, and combination of recording amount set in the reservation setting (S8).
, allocate each packet to a remaining cluster (S33), and allocate each data of the directory and MAT (S34).
). If there is related information, packet related information data is allocated (S35, 36). Set the used bits of the type/attribute of all packets to be reserved to unused (S
37). The header data, packet identification data, directory and MAT data of the card management area, and the packet information data of the packet header of the information area are created (S38, 39, 40, 41), and the created data is written into the memory circuit 38. (S42).

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the reserved packet type setting routine in S21 of FIG. When reserving image (V) packets, set to include image packets (
S51, 52), when reserving voice (A) packets, set to have voice packets (S53, 54), and when reserving data (D) packets, set to have data packets (S55). , 56).

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the reservation packet related information setting routine in S22 of FIG. It is checked whether or not to set the related information of the reservation packet (S61), and if it is set, it is determined according to the type of the first packet (S62).
, image (V), audio (A), and data (D) packets are set as the first packet (S63, 64, 65). Multiple packets can be combined by associating them with each other, such as recording the first related packet number in the related information data of the first packet and recording the second related packet number in the first related packet. available. That is, the loop variable N is set to 1 (S66), and according to the type of related packet (S67), an image (V) packet, an audio (A) packet, and a data (D) packet are assigned to the Nth related packet.
) packets (S68, 69, 70. If there is the next related packet, increment the variable N and set (S68, 69, 70).
S72) and S67 to S70 are repeated. S63-65,S
Settings 68 to 70 are performed by displaying setting examples on the display device 54 and selecting desired settings using the reservation setting switch 76.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the reservation packet mode setting routine in S23 of FIG. Depending on the type of packet for mode setting (S81), an image compression mode setting example, an audio compression mode setting example, and a data recording mode setting example are created (S82, 83, 84). Setting examples are displayed on the display device 54 (S85), and a desirable setting example is selected (S86). That is, if the setting is not desirable, the next setting example is displayed (S87), and in the desirable setting example,
Settings are made (S88), and if there is a next setting, the process returns to S81; otherwise, the process returns (S89).

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the routine for setting the recording amount and combination of recording amounts of reservation packets in S24 of FIG. The system control circuit 52 includes the memory circuit 3
The number of remaining clusters is read from the header of the card management area of No. 8 (S101), and the value of the recording amount setting example described later is increased or decreased according to the number of remaining clusters. Based on the related information set in S21, determine whether there is a related packet (S102)
. If there is no related packet (S102), setting examples for the number of shots, recording time, and data recording amount are created depending on the packet type (S103) (S104, 105,
106). If there is a related packet (S102), if there is an image (V) packet, create a setting example for the number of shots (
S107, 108), if there is an audio (A) packet, a setting example of the recording time is created (S109, 110), and if there is a data (D) packet, a setting example of the data recording amount is created (S111, 112). ), a combination setting example of recording amount is created (S113).

A setting example is displayed on the display device 54 (S1
14) If desired (S115), set (select) using the reservation setting switch 76 (S119); if not desired (S115), if mode change is necessary, set a mode change request flag (S118); If there is no need to change the mode, the next setting example is displayed (S117). In this way, a desirable setting example is selected and set (S11
9) If there is a next setting, the process returns to S102; if there is no next setting, the process ends (S120).

Although the embodiment of the camera has been described, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a recording device or a recording/reproducing device that does not have a photographing function. By selling memory cards 36 in which the usage area is reserved according to the purpose, the user does not have to make reservations one by one.

[0028]

As can be easily understood from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably record a scheduled number of images, audio for a scheduled recording time, and data for a scheduled recording amount. Furthermore, by recording information related to images, audio, and data in advance, a predetermined amount of images, audio, and data can be recorded in association with each other.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a part of a flowchart of the main routine of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of S8 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of S9 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of S21 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of S22 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of S23 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of S24 in FIG. 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Photographic lens 12: Shutter 14: Image sensor 16: Process circuit 18: A/D converter
20: Image compression circuit 22: Microphone 24: Noise reduction circuit 26: A/D converter 28: Audio compression circuit
30: Memory control circuit 32: Buffer memory
34: Interface 36: Memory card
38: Memory circuit 40: Memory control circuit 42
: Lens drive circuit 44: Shutter drive circuit 46: Distance measurement circuit 48: Photometry circuit 50: Flash 5
2: System control circuit 54: Display device 56: Memory 58: Switch group 60: Main switch
62: Distance metering switch 64: Release switch 66: Mode switch 68: Image mode switch 70: Audio on/off switch 72: Audio mode switch 74: Reservation mode switch 7
6: Reservation setting switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: A recording device for recording still images, audio, and data on a recording medium, comprising means for predesignating an unused recording area of the recording medium for recording any of the still images, audio, and data. A recording device comprising: 2. A recording medium characterized in that information specifying the type of information to be recorded in an unrecorded area is recorded.