JPH09107538A - Image information management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image information management system by which image information is recorded digitally and managed en bloc by a master station, image with high quality is stored for a long time without the need for provision of an expensive digital image recording and reproducing device for the user, personal management is not required and trouble of management is saved. SOLUTION: A master station 10 is, e.g. a CATV broadcast station and is connected respectively to slave stations 301 -30n by CATV channels 201 -20n such as optical cables. The master station 10 multiplexes image data of plural channels and sends the data individually to the slave stations 301 -30n via the CATV channels 201 -20n and receives the data from the slave stations 301 -30n via the CATV channels 201 -20n and stores the data to a recording section 11. Each of the slave stations 301 -30n is configured identically and receives the image data received from the master station 10 via the CATV channel at a terminal equipment section 31, displays the data on a monitor section 32 and displays the image from a terminal equipment 33 to the terminal equipment section 31 on the monitor 32. Furthermore, the image data from the terminal equipment 33 are sent to the master station 10 via the CATV channel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image information management system, and more particularly to a system for collectively managing image information.
The progress of information transmission technology has been remarkable, and the public line has been replaced with an optical fiber instead of an existing metal cable, and most of the national trunk lines have been replaced. Optical fibers enable data transmission of 1,000 to 1,000,000 times as much as metal cables. Also, GaAs LSI
With the increase in speed of electronic circuit technology, large-scale processing of information is possible, such as the generalization of high-speed devices following the general external sales of, and enabling high-speed operation of low-speed devices such as CMOS by making full use of ultra-fine processing technology. became. Furthermore, the image compression standard MPEG
Due to improvements in data compression techniques such as the above, image data, which is originally a large amount of data, can be compressed and transmitted, and recording and storage can be easily performed. Together with these, distribution information is about to change from voice data typified by telephones to information centered on image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a video tape recorder (VTR) is used for recording and reproducing image information, and the image information obtained by a television or a video camera at each home is recorded by a VTR.
It is recorded by analog recording on a magnetic tape by TR.

[0003]

However, the conventional analog recording of image information by the VTR is not suitable for long-term storage because the deterioration of the image over time is large. Even if a magnetic tape is used as a recording medium, digital recording of image information
Images can be stored for a long period of time because there is no deterioration when the recorded information is reproduced and re-recorded, but the device for performing digital recording / reproduction is extremely expensive, and it is not possible to use it for individuals. there were.

When recording a television broadcast,
It is wasteful for multiple users to record video tapes simultaneously and individually, and some users cannot manage which programs are recorded on which video tapes as the number of video tapes increases. There was a problem.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
Image information is digitally recorded and centrally managed by the master station, each user does not need to have an expensive digital image recording / reproducing device, high quality images can be stored for a long time, and there is no need for personal management. An object of the present invention is to provide an image information management system that can save the trouble of.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first receiving section for receiving image data transmitted from a master station, image data of a captured image, and operation of an operating section. A plurality of slave stations having a first transmitter that transmits at least one of the corresponding control data to the master station and an image display that displays the image received by the receiver or the captured image; A second step of receiving transmission data transmitted from the plurality of slave stations and classifying the transmission data into image data and control data;
Receiving section, a recording section for recording image data supplied from the second receiving section, a reproducing section for reproducing image data from the recording section, and control data supplied from the second receiving section. The master station has a control unit that controls recording or reproduction of the image data based on the image data, and a second transmission unit that transmits the image data reproduced by the reproduction unit to the slave station.

Therefore, the master station digitally records the images required by each of the plurality of slave stations and collectively manages them, and transmits the image data reproduced by the master station to the slave stations when necessary. The images can be displayed at the slave stations, and the user of each slave station does not need to have a digital image recording / reproducing device, and high-quality images can be stored for a long time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image information management system according to the first aspect, the television tuner section for receiving the television broadcast and recording the image data in the recording section is controlled by the control section. Have in the parent station. Therefore, it is possible to collectively record the television programs required by the plurality of slave stations at the master station and prevent redundant recording at the plurality of slave stations.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the image information management system according to the first aspect, the control section inserts an identification index for identification at the beginning of the image data recorded in the recording section. Therefore, it is possible to identify and specify the image data recorded in the recording unit.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the identification index is generated by the slave station and transmitted as control data to the master station together with the image data. For this reason, it is possible to generate an identification index at each slave station so that the user can easily understand it.
Image data recorded for each slave station can be managed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the control unit automatically generates the identification index. Therefore, a unique identification index can be generated for the image data supplied from each slave station and the image data received by the television tuner unit, and the image data can be collectively managed.

[0012]

1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the system of the present invention. In the figure, the master station 10 is, for example, a CATV.
(Cable Television) is a broadcasting station. The master station 10 is mutually connected to the slave stations 30 ₁ to 30 _n by CATV lines 20 _{1 to} 20 _n such as optical cables.

The master station 10 multiplexes the image data of a plurality of channels in the same manner as a normal CATV broadcasting station, and the CATV line 2
0 ₁ to 20 _n sends respectively to the s slave station 30 ₁ to 30 _n respectively through is supplied with image data through s CATV line 20 ₁ to 20 _n respectively from the sub-stations 30 ₁ to 30 _n, an image from the slave station It has a recording unit 11 for recording data.

Each of the slave stations 30 ₁ to 30 _n has the same structure. The terminal unit 31 receives the image data transmitted from the master station 10 through the CATV line and displays it on the monitor unit 32, and the terminal unit 33 to the terminal unit. The image coming in 31 is displayed on the monitor unit 32, and the image data of the image coming in from the terminal 33 is displayed by the CATV in accordance with the instruction operation of the operation unit 34.
Transmit to the master station through the line.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the slave station 30 ₁ . The slave stations 30 ₁ to 30 _n have the same structure. In the figure, the first receiving unit 41 in the terminal unit 31 receives and demodulates the transmission signal transmitted from the master station 10 through the CATV line 20 ₁ , obtains multiplexed image data, and demultiplexes this. After that, the image data of each channel is converted to analog and supplied to the display switching unit 42. The display switching unit 42 switches and selects the image signal of the channel instructed by the user's operation of the operation unit 34, and supplies the image signal to the monitor unit 32.
The image of the desired channel is displayed at 2.

The terminal unit 31 is provided with an image camera 43 and an image input terminal 33 such as a pin jack connector or a BNC connector. The image signals of the image camera 43 and the image input terminal 33 are supplied to the transmission switching unit 44, and one image signal instructed by the operation of the operation unit 34 is switched and selected, and the display switching unit 42 and the transmission unit 45 are selected. Is supplied to. The image input terminal 33 may be an optical interface connector, in which case a circuit for demodulating an incoming optical signal into an image signal is required.

The operation unit 34 has a pointing device such as a light pen, a mouse, a trackball, and a keyboard in addition to various operation switches. When a transmission instruction is given by operating the operation unit 34, the first transmission unit 45 operates the operation unit 34.
The control data based on the input of (1) and the image data supplied from the transmission switching unit 44 are multiplexed, further modulated, and transmitted to the CATV line 20 ₁ .

Here, when transmitting image data from the slave station to the master station, an identification index such as a file name input by the user from the operation unit 34 as control data, a comment input by the user from the operation unit 34, Recording information such as recording date and time and recording length (recording time) is transmitted. When a television program reservation is made to the master station, recording start and end times, channel numbers, or interactive recording menu selection and setting information is transmitted as control data. Furthermore, when requesting playback of recorded data to the master station, playback mode information for instructing still playback, rewind playback, fast-forward playback, slow playback, high-speed playback, special display such as split display playback, identification index display playback, etc. Each reproduction mode information is transmitted together with the identification index.

The data format transmitted from the slave station to the master station is, as shown in FIG. 3A, a first format in which control data divided into a predetermined length L ₁ is inserted for each image data of a predetermined length L ₂ .
Method, as shown in FIG. 3B, there is a second method in which control data is collectively transmitted at the time of occurrence and thereafter image data is continuously transmitted. These transmit control data and image data in the same frequency band, but in addition to this, the control data and image data may be modulated at different frequencies and frequency-multiplexed for transmission. Further, each of the slave stations 30 ₁ to 30 _n may be configured to transmit the control data to the master station using a public line other than the CATV lines 20 _{1 to} 20 _n , for example.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the master station 10. In the figure, a slave station selection unit 51 is a switcher, selects any _{one of} the CATV lines 20 _{1 to} 20 _n , and receives a signal transmitted from the slave station of the selected CATV line by the reception unit 5.
Feed to 2. The second receiver 52 receives and demodulates the transmission signal transmitted from the slave station to obtain multiplexed image data and control data, and demultiplexes this. The control data obtained here is supplied to the control unit 53, and the image data is supplied to the recording unit 11.

When the recording information is supplied as the control data, the control unit 53 supplies the recording unit 11 with a control command for storing the image data supplied together with the recording information, and further, the header of the image data. Information is generated from the control data and supplied to the recording unit 11. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the recording unit 11 includes header information such as an identification index (H) such as a file name, a user comment (HC), and recording information (I) such as recording date and time and recording length. And the image data (GD) is recorded in the recording unit 11.

Further, when the control data of the television program reservation is supplied, the control unit 53 stores the control data in the internal register, and when the recording start time of the stored control data comes, the television tuner unit. 54, a channel number is given to 54 to receive a reserved program, and image data of the program received by the television tuner section 54 is recorded in the recording section 1.
Record in 1. Also in this case, the recording information as shown in FIG. 5 is added to the beginning of the image data and recorded.

In addition to the file name, the identification index (H) may be an identification number (serial number) of the slave station, a number based on the recording date and time, a serial number assigned by the master station, or the like. The recording unit 11 records image data on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk. When the control unit 53 is supplied with the control data for the reproduction request, the control unit 53 activates the image reproduction unit 55 based on the control data. The image reproducing unit 55 reproduces the image data specified by the identification index of the control data from the recording unit 11.
At this time, the image data is reproduced based on the reproduction mode information of the control data and the special reproduction mode information.

The image data reproduced by the image reproducing unit 55 is supplied to the second transmitting unit 56, where a normal CATV is used.
The signal is multiplexed with the image data, further modulated into a transmission signal, and supplied to the switcher 57. Switcher 57 is C
The CATV line corresponding to the receiving slave station is selected from the ATV lines 20 _{1 to} 20 _{n and} the transmission signal is transmitted.

In this way, the images required by each of the plurality of slave stations 30 ₁ to 30 _n are digitally recorded and collectively managed by the master station 10, and the images reproduced by the master station 10 when required by each slave station. Data can be transmitted to a slave station and displayed at the slave station, and the user of each slave station does not need to have a digital image recording / reproducing device, and high-quality images can be stored for a long time.

Also, the television tuner section 54 is provided in the parent station.
Since the television stations required by a plurality of slave stations can be collectively recorded by the master station 10, there is no need to duplicately record them at each slave station, and waste can be saved. Further, in the recording section 11, since the identification index is inserted at the beginning of each image data and recorded, the recorded image data can be identified. When this identification index is generated at each slave station, an identification index can be created for each slave station so that the user can easily understand it. Also, when this is automatically generated at the master station, image data from each slave station can be created. Also, a unique identification index can be created for the received television image data.

By transmitting information on the selection and setting of the interactive recording menu from the slave station to the master station 10, the controller 53 causes the transmitter 56 to transmit the image data of the recording menu to the slave station. . As a result, a column of the television program reservation, the recording start and end times of each reservation, and the channel number are displayed on the monitor unit 32 of the slave station.
Modifications and changes to these reservations can be made interactively.

Further, the image reproducing section 55 of the master station 10 controls the reading of the image data from the recording section 11 according to the reproduction mode information or special reproduction mode information of the control data. This enables reproduction according to reproduction mode information such as still reproduction, and reproduction according to special reproduction mode information such as split display.

Furthermore, it is also possible for the slave station to instruct the master station to add, delete, change, etc. of each image data recorded in the recording section 11 by using control data, and a part of the image data is newly added. It is also possible to replace it with image data.

[0030]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1 is
At least one of a first receiving unit that receives image data transmitted from the master station, image data of a captured image, and control data according to an operation of the operation unit is transmitted to the master station. Image data by receiving a plurality of slave stations having a first transmitter and an image display unit for displaying an image received by the receiver or a captured image, and receiving transmission data transmitted from the plurality of slave stations And a control data, a recording unit that records the image data supplied from the second receiving unit, a reproducing unit that reproduces the image data from the recording unit, and the second receiving unit. It has a control unit which controls recording or reproduction of the image data based on control data supplied from the reception unit, and a second transmission unit which transmits the image data reproduced by the reproduction unit to the slave station. It consists of a parent station.

Therefore, images required by each of the plurality of slave stations are digitally recorded and collectively managed by the master station, and the image data reproduced by the master station is transmitted to the slave stations when necessary at each slave station. The images can be displayed at the slave stations, and the user of each slave station does not need to have a digital image recording / reproducing device, and high-quality images can be stored for a long time.

Further, the invention described in claim 2 is the same as that in claim 1
In the described image information management system, the master station has a television tuner unit that receives a television broadcast and records image data in a recording unit under the control of the control unit.

Therefore, the television programs required by a plurality of slave stations can be collectively recorded at the master station, and the waste of redundant recording at a plurality of slave stations can be prevented. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image information management system according to the first aspect, the control section inserts an identification index for identification at the beginning of the image data recorded in the recording section.

Therefore, the image data recorded in the recording section can be identified and specified. Further, in the invention according to the fourth aspect, the identification index is generated in the slave station and transmitted as control data to the master station together with the image data. Therefore, the identification index can be generated in each child station so that the user can easily understand it, and the image data recorded for each child station can be managed.

Further, in the invention according to claim 5, the control section automatically generates the identification index. For this reason,
A unique identification index can be generated for the image data supplied from each slave station and the image data received by the television tuner unit, and the image data can be collectively managed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a slave station.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a format of transmission data from a child station to a parent station.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a master station.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a recording data format of a recording unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 parent station 11 recording unit 20 _{1 to} 20 _n CATV line 30 ₁ to 30 _n slave station 31 terminal unit 32 monitor unit 33 image input terminal 34 operation unit 41, 52 receiving unit 42 display switching unit 43 image camera 44 transmission switching unit 45 , 56 Transmission unit 51 Slave station selection unit 53 Control unit 54 Television tuner unit 55 Image reproduction unit 57 Switcher

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A master station for at least one of a first receiving section for receiving image data transmitted from a master station, image data of a captured image, and control data according to an operation of an operating section. A plurality of slave stations each having a first transmitter for transmitting to the device, and an image display unit for displaying an image received by the receiver or a captured image, and transmission data transmitted from the plurality of slave stations. A second receiving unit that receives and classifies image data and control data, a recording unit that records the image data supplied from the second receiving unit, and a reproducing unit that reproduces the image data from the recording unit. A control unit for controlling recording or reproduction of the image data based on the control data supplied from the second receiving unit; and a second unit for transmitting the image data reproduced by the reproducing unit to the slave station. More than a master station with a transmitter Image information management system, characterized in that. 2. The image information management system according to claim 1, wherein the master station has a television tuner unit that receives television broadcast and records image data in a recording unit under the control of the control unit. Image information management system. 3. The image information management system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit inserts an identification index for identification at the beginning of the image data recorded in the recording unit. 4. The image information management system according to claim 3, wherein the identification index is generated by a slave station and transmitted as control data together with the image data. 5. The image information management system according to claim 3, wherein the identification index is automatically generated by a control unit.