JPH09102922A - Recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate retrieval and identification of image and voice files recorded by a digital camera. SOLUTION: Data acquired from the camera are recorded as image files and voice files 421-433 and in that case, total ID numbers 110-116 recorded by that recording device up to the moment are added to the respective files. Besides, attribute information such as file titles or various data at the time of recording of the respective files is recorded in map files 411 and 412 for managing, serial numbers 440 (s-No., from 1 to 4) are added for each recording unit, and the total ID numbers as mentioned above are recorded as well. In this example, two map files exist in one directory 401. Thus, the respective files can be retrieved and identified based on the ID numbers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing captured data such as images and audio data from a digital camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital cameras have been developed which convert images and sounds into digital signals and record them on a recording medium. In such a digital camera, the captured data of the obtained image or sound is recorded in the recording medium as an image file or a sound file. In addition, attribute information related to the capture data, such as a shooting date, a shooting mode, and shooting conditions, is recorded in each file.

As a method of managing these image files and audio files, a method of recording the attribute information of each capture data in one management map file has been devised by the present applicant. With this method, if you store attribute information such as shooting modes and shooting conditions recorded in each capture data file, you can open and read each capture data file when displaying a large amount of that information. In order to prevent taking a long time to analyze the contents, the shooting date of the image, shooting mode, shooting condition, recording position of the reduced image on the medium, type of annotation information, annotation information file The position on the medium and the attribute information of the image file, the audio file, and the group information are collectively managed on the map file. Multiple map files can exist as needed, and the camera system assigns a serial number to each capture data file for each map file and uses this to display / move / capture the capture data file. Operations such as copying, deleting and sorting are performed.

[0004]

The captured data recorded by the recording system described above may be transferred to a recording medium generally connected to a computer such as a personal computer and handled. At this time, there may be a plurality of recording units composed of a capture data management map file and a capture data group managed thereby, on the same medium. In this case, the serial number assigned to each capture data in map file units may be duplicated in multiple capture data, and if the storage directory of the capture data file is moved due to some accidental operation, etc. There was a problem that the target file could not be identified by the serial number given to the data.

In addition, there are cases where a group of capture data recorded by a plurality of recording systems exist on the same medium, and in this case as well, the serial number assigned to the capture data is the recording unit for each capture data management file. There was a problem that they could overlap. In addition, the annotation relationship between capture data is described only in the capture data management map file, so if the capture data management map file cannot be read for some reason, the annotation relationship between capture data and There was a problem that the relationship could not be restored.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of easily searching and identifying recorded capture data.

[0007]

According to the invention of claim 1, the capture data is recorded on a recording medium, and
The recording device is provided with a recording unit that adds the total number of pieces of captured data recorded by the recording apparatus to the captured data and records the captured data.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the capture data is recorded in a recording medium, the attribute information of the capture data is recorded in a map file, and the total number of captures recorded by the recording device at the time of recording the capture data. A recording means for recording the number of data in the map file in association with the capture data is provided.

In the invention of claim 5, the capture data is recorded on a recording medium, and the total number of pieces of capture data recorded by the recording device and the information for specifying the recording device are associated with the capture data. The recording means for recording is provided.

According to the invention of claim 7, the capture data is recorded in a recording medium, and the attribute information of the capture data is recorded in a map file.
A recording unit is provided for recording the total number of pieces of captured data recorded by the recording device and information for identifying the recording device in the map file in association with the capture data when recording the capture data.

According to the invention of claim 9, the capture data is individually recorded as a file on a recording medium, and the total number of capture data recorded by the recording device is recorded in the file, and the attribute information of the capture data is mapped. A recording means for recording in a file, and further recording the total number of captured data in the map file in association with the captured data when recording the capture data, and the total number of captured data recorded in the map file and the file. A search means for searching the captured data by collating with the total number of recorded captured data is provided.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the capture data is individually recorded as a file on the recording medium,
In the file, record the total number of capture data recorded by the recording device, record the information identifying the recording device in a map file, and further record the total capture data number in the map file when recording the capture data. And a recording means for recording the captured data in association with the captured data, and a search means for searching the captured data by collating the total captured data number recorded in the map file with the total captured data number recorded in the file. It has and.

According to the invention of claim 11, the capture data is individually recorded as a file on a recording medium, and the total number of capture data recorded by the recording device is recorded in the file, and the attribute information of the capture data is mapped. A recording means for recording in a file and further recording the total number of captured data in the map file in association with the captured data at the time of recording the capture data, and a recording means between the total number of captured data recorded in the file and the data. And a restoring means for restoring the related information.

[0014]

According to the present invention, when the capture data is recorded on the recording medium, the total number of capture data recorded by the system is added to the captured data and the captured data is recorded on the same recording medium. Even if there are multiple capture files, it is possible to identify individual capture files.

Further, by recording the total number of captured data recorded by the system at the time of recording the captured data in association with the captured data in the map file, the storage directory of the captured data file is moved due to some erroneous operation or the like. Even if it is possible to search. Further, when recording capture data, the total number of capture data recorded by the system and the information for identifying the system are recorded in association with the capture data, so that the capture data groups recorded by the plurality of systems are the same. Even if it exists on the recording medium, it becomes possible to identify each capture data file.

Further, by recording the capture data individually as a file and recording the total number of capture data recorded by the system and the information for specifying the system in this file, the capture data management map file cannot be read. In this case, and even if the captured data groups recorded by a plurality of systems are present on the same recording medium, it is possible to restore the annotation relationship and the context between the captured data.

Further, by searching the capture data by collating the total number of capture data recorded in the map file with the total number of capture data recorded in the capture data file,
Even when a plurality of recording units exist on the same recording medium, it is possible to search for each capture file.

Further, the capture data is searched by comparing the information for specifying the total number of capture data and the system recorded in the map file with the information for specifying the total number of capture data and the system recorded in the capture data file. By,
Even when recording units recorded by a plurality of recording systems are present on the same recording medium, it is possible to search for individual capture data files.

Further, by restoring the related information between the data from the total number of captured data recorded in the system recorded in each captured data file, the captured data management map file becomes unreadable. In this case, it is possible to restore the annotation relationship and the context of the captured data.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The actual mode of application of the present invention to an image recording system (digital still camera) will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital still camera according to this embodiment. It should be noted that although other portions not directly related to the present embodiment, such as the diaphragm and the shutter, are omitted in the drawing, they are actually provided. In FIG.
The optical image of the subject captured by the lens 101 is converted into a video electric signal by the image pickup device 102 located at the rear, for example, a CCD. The imaging device 102 responds to a control signal provided by the CPU 107 to accumulate electric charges corresponding to an optical image of a subject and read out a video signal.

The analog video signal read is A / D
It is converted into a digital signal by the converter 103. In addition,
Although not shown, a means for adjusting a video signal such as gamma correction, color signal formation / separation, and white balance processing is provided between the image pickup device 102 and the A / D converter 103. The video signal converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 103 is temporarily stored in the image memory 104. Next, the compression encoding unit 105 compression encodes the image data read from the image memory 104. The compression-coded image data is written in the recording medium 108 via the recording / reproducing device 106 which constitutes the recording / reproducing system. As a method of compressing image data, for example, the JPEG method defined as an international standard method can be used.

The recording / reproducing device 106 is, for example, a recording medium 108.
It has a memory card interface defined by JEIDA and others as an interface. That is, it has a logic circuit and an interface connector for reading and writing the data received from the compression encoding unit 105 to and from the recording medium 108 according to the interface protocol. As the recording medium 108, a memory card, a hard disk, or the like suitable for it can be used. Recording medium 108
As the above file format, for example, it is recorded according to the JEIDA memory card DOS file system standard.

On the other hand, when the CPU 107 detects a voice recording command from the user's operation unit 109, the voice signal input from the voice input unit 110 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 111, and the voice encoding unit 112 is operated. The data is supplied to the recording system 106 after being compressed and encoded. The recording / reproducing device 106 performs necessary processing on the input audio data and records it on the recording medium 108. The recording system of the recording / reproducing apparatus 106 according to the present embodiment has a recording function in addition to a processing function such as a shooting date, a shooting mode, a shooting condition, a recording position of a reduced image file on a medium, and annotation information. A function for counting the total number of recorded capture data is provided. In FIG. 1, a recording / reproducing device 106, a voice encoding unit 112, and a CPU 107 for others.
The signal line from is omitted.

When the CPU 107 detects the cancellation of the voice recording command by the user's operation unit 109, or when the time measured by the CPU 107 indicates that a certain period of time has elapsed, it is considered that the voice recording has been canceled. The voice recording is ended. For example, the user can instruct the operation unit 109 to record an image as an annotation when recording sound. In the present embodiment, when the audio signal is recorded, it is recorded as the annotation of the last recorded image.

When the information recorded on the recording medium 108 is reproduced, the image signal and the audio signal are reproduced by the reproducing system and the decoding circuit 114 of the recording / reproducing device 106, and the image signal is displayed on the image display device 115. The sound signal is given to the speaker 116 while being displayed on the screen.
Is given to and pronounced.

Further, the recording / reproducing apparatus 106, when recording the input image or sound as an image file or a sound file on the recording medium 108, simultaneously generates attribute information concerning the image or sound, and a map for management. Record to file. The group of capture data managed by this map file is collectively set as a recording unit. In the map file, the image file name or audio file name, the reduced image file name, the data recording condition, the data recording time, and the number of captured data included in the recording unit at the time of data acquisition are recorded for each image / audio data recording. Is recorded as a serial number for each recording unit and is recorded as an attribute value of capture data for recording this. Further, in the map file, the total number of capture data obtained by the recording / reproducing device 106 is similarly recorded as an ID number in association with the data to be recorded.

Further, the capture data obtained by the recording / reproducing apparatus 106 is individually recorded as a file, and the total number of the capture data obtained by the recording / reproducing apparatus 106 is recorded in each capture data file. Record it as an ID number. 2A and 2B show an example of the structure of the capture data file.

By thus recording the ID number in the capture data file, each capture data file can be identified without the map file. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) (b) (c), the original image data 301
When the image 302, which is a duplicate of it, and the image 303, which was taken separately, are displayed, the ID number 31 recorded in the file is
It is possible to distinguish by displaying 1 to 313.

Next, a case where a search is performed using the ID number recorded in the capture data file will be described. Normally, one map file and the capture data file managed by this map file exist in the same one directory. Moreover, one recording unit exists in one directory. In this case, the search is performed using the serial number assigned to the capture data managed for each map file. However, when transferring data to a recording medium connected to a personal computer, etc.
It is also possible that multiple recording units exist in one directory.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the map file 411
And the captured data files managed by it 421,43
Recording unit consisting of 1,423,433, map file 412 and capture data file 422,432, managed by it.
Two recording units, a recording unit consisting of 424, exist in one directory 401. In this case, the serial number of each recording unit of each data file 411, 412
440 has duplicates between these files (sN
o.1-3), data files cannot be uniquely determined. Therefore, ID number 450 of each captured data is used according to the total number of captured data of the system.
This number is unique for each system, so capture data files that belong to multiple recording units as shown
Even when 411 and 412 are in the same directory 401, identification is possible and search is possible.

Next, a search method when the storage directory of the capture data file is moved will be described with reference to FIG. Consider a case where the map file 511 for managing the capture data exists on the directory 501, but a part of the capture data exists on another directory 502. Usually, the search is performed using the capture data serial number 541 recorded in the map file.
This serial number 541 cannot be searched for directories other than the directory 501 in which 1 exists (here, the directory 502).

Therefore, in the present invention, the map file 511 is used.
Use ID number 551 recorded above, which is based on the total number of captured data in the recording system. This number is associated with serial number 541. First, the inside of the directory 501 is scanned according to the serial number 541. If the file corresponding to serial number s-No.3 is not found here, serial number sN
The ID number corresponding to o.3 is checked, and the capture data file 523 having the same ID number stored therein is also searched in the other directory 502. In this way, the capture data file stored in a directory different from the map file that manages it can also be searched.

Further, by recording the total number of capture data of the system which recorded the data in each capture data file, even if the map file is destroyed due to some cause, it is managed by the map file. You can restore the file related information. An example of this restoration method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, it is assumed that the audio signal is recorded as an annotation of the last recorded image.

First, in step s501, an audio file Sf to be checked for an annotation relationship is selected. Next, in step s502, the serial number of the system that recorded the audio file Sf and the ID number of this audio data are read from the audio file Sf. Then step s503
Select an arbitrary image file If from the image file group that is the target for checking whether there is an annotation relationship in. Next, in step s504, the serial number of the system recording the image file If and the ID number of this image data are read from the image file If.

Next, in step s505, the data of which the systems match and the data ID number of If is Sf
If the ID number is minus 1, the audio file If is
It can be determined that the image file Sf is an annotation file. If not, the image file is reselected and repeated in step s503. As described above, the annotation relationship between captured data can be restored.

Further, a method for restoring the map file based on the ID number recorded in the capture data file will be described with reference to FIG. If the map file 711 in directory 701 becomes unreadable,
First, capture data files (here, 722,732,724) managed by other map files (here, 712).
) Is excluded. Next, it is recorded in the remaining capture data file (here, 721,731,723,733)
Read the ID numbers and sort in this order. Then, by assigning serial numbers in that order and recording them in a file in association with each capture data, the map file can be restored. Further, by recording the information specifying the system that recorded the capture data (for example, the serial number of the system) together, it becomes possible to search for the capture data recorded by a plurality of systems.

[0037]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is easy to identify and search each captured data by adding the total number of captured data recorded by the system to the captured data. become. According to the second aspect of the invention, by recording the total number of pieces of captured data of the system in which the data is recorded in the captured data file, it is possible to easily identify each captured data file.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the total number of data obtained from each captured data file in the system in which the captured data file is recorded, only by examining the map file, and at high speed. Can be displayed. According to the invention of claim 4, the total number of pieces of captured data in the system in which the captured data is recorded is recorded in the captured data file, and also recorded in the map file in association with the captured data, thereby capturing the captured data. With only the data file, it is possible to determine how many times the captured data is recorded in the system in which the captured data is recorded. Also, similarly, the map file can be used for determination so that high-speed display can be performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the system for recording the capture data is specified by recording the information for specifying the recording system for recording the capture data. It is possible to determine whether the data is the correct data. According to the invention described in claim 6, even when there are capture data files recorded by a plurality of recording systems, it is determined by which recording system each capture data file is the number of data recorded in total. It can be judged without a map file.

According to the invention described in claim 7, even when there are capture data files recorded by a plurality of recording systems, each capture data file is the data recorded by any recording system and in what order. Whether or not there is can be determined by simply examining the map file, and can be displayed at high speed. According to the invention as set forth in claim 8, even when there are capture data files recorded by a plurality of recording systems, it is determined by which recording system each capture data file is the total number of recorded data. The determination can be made without a map file, and the number of data recorded by which recording system in total can be determined simply by examining the map file, and high-speed display is possible.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, even when the capture data file has a plurality of recording units in the same directory, or when one recording unit exists in a plurality of directories. Search is possible. According to the invention as set forth in claim 10, even when there are capture data files recorded by a plurality of recording systems, a plurality of recording units exist in the same directory of the capture data file, or one recording unit. It is possible to search even when the unit exists over a plurality of directories. According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the map file can be restored even if the map file cannot be read for some reason.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hardware system of a digital electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an image file / sound file.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing identification based on an ID number of an image file.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an example of identifying a capture data file when a plurality of recording units are on the same directory.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a search method when a storage directory of a capture data file is moved.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for restoring the annotation relationship between image data and audio data without using a capture data management map file.

[Figure 7] ID recorded in the capture data file
It is a block diagram explaining the example which restores a capture data management map file using a number.

[Explanation of symbols]

102 Image pickup device 106 Recording / playback device 107 CPU 108 Recording medium 109 Operation unit 110 Audio input unit 301 Original image file 302 Image file that duplicated image file 301 303 Image file different from image file 301 Image file 311 ID number of image file 301 312 Image file 302 ID number 313 Image file 303 ID number 401 Directory 411 Capture data management map file 1 412 Capture data management map file 2 421,423 Map file 411 managed image file 431,433 Map file 411 audio managed File 422,424 Image file managed by map file 412 432 Audio file managed by map file 412 440 Serial number of capture data recorded in map file 450 ID number of capture data recorded in capture data 601 Director Re 611 Captured data management map file 1 that became unreadable 1 612 Captured data management map file 2 613 Newly restored captured data management map file 621,623 Image file managed by map file 611 631,633 Map file 611 managed Audio file 622,624 Image file managed by map file 612 632 Audio file managed by map file 612 650 ID number of capture data recorded in capture data

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus comprising recording means for recording captured data on a recording medium and recording the captured data by adding the total number of captured data recorded by the recording apparatus. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording means records the capture data individually as a file and records the total number of capture data in each file. 3. The captured data is recorded on a recording medium, the attribute information of the captured data is recorded in a map file, and the total number of captured data recorded by the recording device at the time of recording the captured data is the map file. A recording device having recording means for recording in association with the captured data. 4. The recording means records the capture data individually as a file, records the total number of capture data in each file, and records the total capture data in the map file when recording the capture data. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the numbers are recorded in association with each other. 5. A recording means for recording the capture data in a recording medium, and recording the total number of pieces of capture data recorded by the recording device and the information specifying the recording device in the capture data in association with the capture data. Recording device. 6. The recording means records the capture data individually as a file and records the total number of capture data and information for specifying the recording device in each file. The recording device according to 5. 7. The captured data is recorded on a recording medium, the attribute information of the captured data is recorded on a map file, and the total number of captured data recorded by the recording device at the time of recording the captured data and the recording device are recorded. A recording device comprising a recording means for recording the identifying information in the map file in association with the capture data. 8. The recording means records the capture data individually as a file, records the total number of capture data in the file, records the attribute information in the map file, and further records the capture data. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the total number of pieces of captured data and the specifying information are recorded in the map file in association with the captured data at the time of recording. 9. The capture data is individually recorded as a file on a recording medium, the total number of capture data recorded by the recording device is recorded in the file, and the attribute information of the capture data is recorded in a map file. A recording means for recording the total captured data number in the map file in association with the captured data when recording the capture data, and the total captured data number recorded in the map file and the total capture recorded in the file. A recording / reproducing apparatus provided with a search means for searching the captured data by checking the number of data. 10. The capture data is individually recorded as a file on a recording medium, and the total number of capture data recorded by the recording device is recorded in the file, and information specifying the recording device is recorded in a map file. Recording means for recording the total number of captured data in the map file in association with the captured data, and the total number of captured data recorded in the map file and the above recorded in the file. A recording / reproducing apparatus provided with a search means for searching the captured data by matching the total number of captured data. 11. The capture data is individually recorded as a file on a recording medium, the total number of capture data recorded by the recording device is recorded in the file, and the attribute information of the capture data is recorded in a map file. A recording unit that records the total number of captured data in the map file in association with the captured data when recording the captured data, and a restoration that restores related information between the data from the total captured data number recorded in the file. And a recording and reproducing device including means.