JPH11304970A - Date/time information recording device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collectively correct the date/time information of an object that has already been generated or updated when the date/time information is corrected correcting a stored measurement value using the differential value of a measurement value before and after the change when the measurement value is changed by a changing means. SOLUTION: In a recording mode, an image signal that is outputted by a CCD 2 is processed by each element and is stored at a flash memory 11 as an object for one screen. Then, when a mode switch 13a is pressed and a data/ time setting mode is selected, a current value Tcur of a system clock being set is displayed on a display device 18 and is stored in a variable Ttmp. When an up (down) switch 13c (13d) is pressed while an arbitrary section, for example a year section, of Tcur being displayed is blinking by keeping pressing the mode switch 13a, a year value increases (decreases). In this case, a shutter switch 13b is pressed, thus updating the year section to a value at that value. Then, by adding a differential value ΔT between Tcur and Ttmp, the date/time information of each image that has already been recorded is collectively corrected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a date / time information recording apparatus and a date / time information recording method applied to, for example, an electronic object, which is composed of characters, symbols, sounds, images, or a combination thereof. The present invention relates to a date and time information recording device and a date and time information recording method for electronically recording a date and time and an update date and time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In particular, electronic information among objects composed of characters, symbols, sounds, images, or a combination thereof is extremely easy to copy, move, or process as compared with information recorded on printed matters, photographs, and the like. In particular, it is indispensable for the multimedia field. For example, a photograph refers to a record of an image that can be visually distinguished from an image using the energy of light, radiation, particle beams, etc. The record is applied to a support such as a transparent thin film (film) or paper. Photographic materials (generally silver salt photosensitive materials) are used, but in addition to processing, so as to make duplicates, so-called extra printing must be performed, and special equipment and technology such as dark rooms are required. There is.

On the other hand, information recorded by a digital camera copies the information itself to another recording medium,
It has excellent availability in that it can be easily transferred to a remote location via a mobile communication line or the like, and can be easily modified using a personal computer, etc. for image quality, size, retouching, etc. Regardless, it is frequently used for various purposes.

[0004]

By the way, the information of the creation date and time and the update date and time of the object (hereinafter referred to as date and time information) are indispensable when comparing the copy of the object with the new one and the old one. The date and time information of the object is recorded in association with each object or the object itself. However, in the related art, there is a disadvantage that such date and time information cannot always be trusted. The reason is not limited to digital cameras,
In a device that can create or update the object,
This is because the information of the system clock inside the apparatus is recorded as date and time information, but the system clock can be freely reset by the user.

For this reason, (1) when the object is generated or updated with incorrect settings, there is a problem that the date and time information of all the generated or updated objects will be out of order. (2) Even if the setting is correct, there is a problem that if a setting is changed by a third party on the way, there is no way to know this.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to correct date and time information of an already generated or updated object when the date information is corrected, or to change the system clock setting by a third party on the way. If so, the purpose is to notify this.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
Input means for inputting an object consisting of a character, a symbol, a sound, an image or a combination thereof, a measuring means for measuring date and time information that changes momentarily with the passage of time, and a measurement value of the measuring means for the object. Storage means for adding and storing, a change means capable of arbitrarily changing the measurement value of the measurement means, and when the measurement value of the measurement means is changed by the change means, a difference value between the measurement values before and after the change is calculated. Correction means for correcting the measurement value stored in the storage means by using the correction means. Claim 2
The invention according to the invention relates to an input unit for inputting an object composed of a character, a symbol, a voice, an image, or a combination thereof, a measuring unit for measuring date and time information that changes with time, and a measurement for the object. Storage means for adding and storing the measured value of the means and reliability information, changing means capable of arbitrarily changing the measured value of the measuring means, and when the measured value of the measuring means is changed by the changing means, Changing means for changing the reliability information of the object stored in the storage means to a low reliability side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, when the degree of change of the measured value of the measuring means is larger than a predetermined value, the changing means is stored in the storing means. It is characterized in that the reliability information of the existing object is changed to the lowest reliability. The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2, further comprising output means for visually outputting the measured value of the object stored in the storage means, wherein the output means corresponds to each measured value. The output form of each measured value is made different according to the reliability information. The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the output form is a character color of each measured value, a color of a character background, or a warning sound. The invention according to claim 6 is a step of inputting an object composed of a character, a symbol, a voice, an image, or a combination thereof, a step of measuring date and time information that changes with time, and Adding the measured value and storing, and when the measured value is changed, correcting the stored measured value using a difference value of the measured value before and after the change,
It is characterized by including.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a digital camera as an example. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera.
Is a lens, 2 is a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), 3
Is a vertical driver, 4 is a timing generator (TG: Timing
Generator, 5 is a sample and hold circuit, 6 is an analog-to-digital converter, 7 is a color process circuit, 8 is a D
MA controller, 9 is DRAM interface, 1
0 is a DRAM, 11 is a flash memory (storage means),
12 is a CPU (input means, measurement means, change means, correction means, output means), 13 is a switch group, 14 is JPEG
(Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group) circuits,
Reference numeral 15 denotes a VRAM, 16 denotes a VRAM controller, 17 denotes a digital video encoder, 18 denotes a display device, and 19 denotes a bus.

The switch group 13 includes a mode switch 13
a, shutter switch 13b, up switch 13c
And various switches such as a down switch 13d, and these switches are mounted at appropriate positions on a body (not shown). The mode switch 13a switches the operation mode of the digital camera. The operation mode includes a shooting mode for shooting an image (also referred to as a recording mode) and a playback mode for displaying the shot image on the display device 18. In addition, it particularly includes a setting mode for setting the system clock of the digital camera.

In the recording mode, first, a CCD 2 disposed behind a lens 1 is driven by a signal from a vertical driver 3 or a timing generator 4, and an image collected by the lens 1 is photoelectrically converted at regular intervals. Thus, an image signal for one screen is output. Then, the image signal is sampled by the sampling and holding circuit 5 and converted into a digital signal by the analog-to-digital converter 6, and then a digital luminance / color difference multiplex signal (YUV signal) is generated by the color processing circuit 7. This YUV signal is
DMA controller 8 and DRAM interface 9
And transferred to the DRAM 10 after the transfer to the DRAM 10 is completed.
Controller 16 and digital video encoder 17
Is sent to the display device 18 via the. If the direction of the camera is changed in this state, the YUV signal stored in the DRAM 10 is rewritten, and at the same time, the image displayed on the display device 18 is also changed. The stored YUV signal is fixed at the current YUV signal, and the image displayed on the display device 18 is also fixed at the same point. Then, the YUV signal stored in the DRAM 10 at that time is sent to the JPEG circuit 14 via the DRAM interface 9 and the JPEG signal is converted into a unit called a basic block of 8 × 8 pixels for each of Y, Cb, and Cr components. After being encoded, the flash memory 11
And recorded as a JPEG image (object) for one screen.

In the reproduction mode, the path from the CCD 2 to the DRAM 10 is stopped, and a desired image is read from the flash memory 11 in response to an operation of the up switch 13c or the down switch 13d. After being decompressed at 14, it is displayed on the display device 18.

Further, in the setting mode, the system clock of the digital camera (generally, the calendar function of the CPU 12) can be set. For example, the year and month of the date and time information displayed at an appropriate place on the display device 18 can be set. ,Day,
A date and time setting mode is provided in which values of each section such as hours and minutes can be arbitrarily set. FIG. 2 is a mode transition diagram of the digital camera according to the present embodiment. Each time the mode switch 13a is pressed, the photographing mode (S
1) and playback mode (S2) and date and time setting mode (S3)
Etc. are sequentially switched.

The details of the "date setting process" executed when the date setting mode (S3) is selected are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3, in the date and time setting process, first, the current value Tcur of the system clock is displayed at an appropriate position on the display device 18 (S11), and Tcu is also displayed.
r is stored in a temporary variable Ttmp (S12). FIG. 5 shows a display example of the display device 18. In this example, FIG.
Although the date and time information of "98/02/05 11:00" is overlapped and displayed at the lower right of the captured image,
Tcur may be displayed at the same position.

Next, while pressing the mode switch 13a, each section of the displayed Tcur is selected. In order to make the selected section stand out, each section is blinked, highlighted, or changed in color. Is desirable. Here, blinking is performed (S13 to S17). Up switch 13c with any section, eg, year section blinked
Press to increase the value of year, or down switch 13d
Is pressed, the year value is decreased (S14), and by pressing the shutter switch 13a, the value of the year section of Tcur is updated with the value at that time. This operation is the same for the month, day, hour, and minute sections (S19 to S2).
2).

When the setting of all sections of Tcur is completed (S23), in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a difference value ΔT between Tcur and Ttmp is calculated (S2).
4). The value of ΔT is, for example, Tcur before update is “98
/ 02/05 11:00 ”, and the updated Tcur is“ 99/2/05 11:00 ”, that is, Tcu.
Considering the case where only the year section of r is plus one year, ΔT has the same value (plus one year). Therefore,
Using this ΔT, ΔT is added to the date and time information of each recorded image.
Is added (S25), the date and time information of each recorded image can be corrected collectively, so that the date and time information of the image after setting the system clock can be corrected, and For the previously recorded image,
An extremely useful effect that the date and time information can be correct, which is not available in the related art, is obtained.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts of the date and time setting processing showing another embodiment. The difference from the date and time setting processing in the above embodiment is that Tcur is stored in a temporary variable Ttmp (S12). A point at which the timer variable Ttim is started later (S30), and
After the setting of all sections of the cur is completed (S23), the difference value Tdi considering the timer variable Ttim is used.
f (S40), and the reliability information for each image is updated based on the difference value Tdif.

Here, the reliability information is information indicating the correctness (*) of the date and time information of the image in a stepwise manner. For example, the reliability information is displayed in three levels of "high", "medium" and "low". If so, a 2-bit flag can be used. Hereinafter, the relationship between the value of the flag and the certainty is as follows. High certainty: "11" Medium certainty: "01" Low certainty: "00" * Correctness of date and time information does not mean coincidence with standard time. It indicates whether or not the date and time information is recorded after the setting of the system clock is changed by a third party.

The difference value Tdif is a value obtained by adding Ttim to Tcur after updating each section and subtracting Ttim from Ttmp, which can be expressed as “Tdif = Ttmp−Tcu”.
r + Ttim ”. Assuming that Tdif is zero (YES in S41), Tcur is not substantially changed. That is, since the setting of the system clock is not changed, the date and time information of the recorded image is reliable. Therefore, if the initial value of the flag is set to “11”, the reliability information of each image becomes “high”. On the other hand, Tdi
When f is not zero, Tcur is obviously changed. However, if the value of Tdif is equal to or less than a predetermined value Ta corresponding to a normal photographing interval (for example, about 10 minutes), it is considered that the reliability is slightly lowered. For example, the reliability may be reduced to one paragraph. That is, for each image, the flag “1”
1 may be changed to "01" and the flag "10" may be changed to "00".

On the other hand, if Tdif is large enough to exceed a predetermined value Ta corresponding to a normal photographing interval, it is considered that the reliability of the date and time information of the recorded image is greatly reduced.
The flag of each image is uniformly changed to “00”. Now, FIG.
As shown in (a), after setting the system clock at a certain date and time (referred to as A for convenience), it is assumed that image 1 is recorded after elapse of time T1, and image 2 is recorded after elapse of time T2. Then, the date and time information of these images 1 and 2 are respectively “A
+ T1 "and" A + T2 ". Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, if the system clock is reset at a certain date and time (for convenience, B), for example, retroactively by the time T3, if the time T3 is set to the image 2 Is earlier than the recording date and time, the recording date and time of the image 3 recorded immediately after that is located between the image 1 and the image 2 and the arrangement of the images is incorrect, but T3 is equal to Ta. As long as it exceeds, the flags of the images 1 and 2 are changed to “00” and the flag of the image 3 remains “11”, so that only the date and time information of the image 3 recorded after a certain date and time (B) Can be correctly recognized.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the time (Ttim) required for updating the system clock is added to the value (Ttmp) of the system clock before updating, and this is added to the value of the system clock after updating. When the difference value (Tdif) is subtracted from (Tcur) and is not zero, a substantial change of the system clock is detected, and the reliability information of each image is updated according to the degree of the change. Therefore, it is possible to know the setting change of the system clock by a third party and to show the reliability of the date and time information of the image, so that the chronological credibility of the image (object) can be ensured. It is possible to provide a technique suitable for use requiring accurate date and time information, such as image recording at a construction site or an accident site.

Further, in the above embodiment, the reliability information is represented by a flag, but this may be visualized. For example, when displaying the date and time information on the display device 18, the flag "11" may be displayed in green, the flag "10" in yellow, and the flag "00" in red, or Alternatively, the identification may be performed audibly using a warning sound or the like.

In each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to a digital camera. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be applied to a silver halide camera with a shooting date and time recording function. What is necessary is just to change the characters of the shooting date and time or the printing color of the character back according to the reliability information. Alternatively, the present invention can also be applied to a portable storage medium which can record and carry objects composed of characters, symbols, sounds, images, or a combination thereof. Information indicating the evaluation result by evaluating the reliability of the date and time information of the object stored in the recording medium when the function of the system clock, the function of setting the system clock, and the setting of the system clock are changed is stored. For example, a function of adding the above flag) may be added.

In the above example, the system clock is manually set. In addition, a date and time setting function using a standard radio wave (so-called radio clock) may be provided. Radio clocks in Japan are transmitted at a frequency of 40 KHz and an effective output of 1 KW from the standard frequency station of the Communications Research Laboratory of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (Miwa Town, Ibaraki Prefecture), with an extremely high accuracy of less than 1 second every 300,000 years. Therefore, the system clock set using this radio clock is clearly accurate. Therefore, the above-described update of the reliability information may be performed only when the system clock is manually set.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the measurement value of the measurement means is changed by the change means, the measurement value stored in the storage means is used by using the difference value between the measurement values before and after the change. Since the correction is made, for example, when the setting of the system clock is changed, the date and time information of the already stored object can be corrected collectively, and the date and time information can be corrected later. According to the second aspect of the invention, when the measurement value of the measurement unit is changed by the change unit, the reliability information of the object stored in the storage unit is changed to the low reliability side. Can be reflected in the certainty of the date and time information of each object.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the degree of change of the measured value of the measuring means exceeds a predetermined value, the reliability information of the object stored in the storage means is changed to the lowest reliability. Therefore, for example, when the setting of the system clock is significantly changed, it can be shown that the date and time information of each object should not be referred to. According to the invention according to claim 4, since the output form of each measurement value is made different according to the reliability information corresponding to each measurement value, it is possible to identify the certainty of the date and time information of each object. . According to the invention according to claim 5, since the measurement value is made different in the character color, the color of the character back, or the warning sound according to the reliability information corresponding to each measurement value, it can be visually or audibly identified. . According to the invention according to claim 6, a step of inputting an object composed of a character, a symbol, a voice, an image, or a combination thereof, a step of measuring date and time information that changes with time, and Adding the measured value to the stored value, and, when the measured value is changed, including the step of correcting the stored measured value using a difference value of the measured value before and after the change, For example, when the setting of the system clock is largely changed, it can be indicated that the date and time information of each object should not be referred to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of mode selection.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart (1/2) of a date setting process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (2/2) of a date and time setting process.

FIG. 5 is a screen display diagram of a reproduced image.

FIG. 6 is another flowchart (1/2) of the date and time setting process.
It is.

FIG. 7 is another flowchart of the date and time setting process (2/2).
It is.

FIG. 8 is a time information time correlation diagram when a system clock is set.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 flash memory (storage means) 12 CPU (input means, measurement means, change means, correction means, output means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An input means for inputting an object consisting of a character, a symbol, a sound, an image, or a combination thereof, a measuring means for measuring date and time information which changes with time, and a measuring means for the object Storage means for adding and storing the measured value of the means; changing means capable of arbitrarily changing the measured value of the measuring means; and measuring before and after the change when the measured value of the measuring means is changed by the changing means. Correction means for correcting the measured value stored in the storage means using a difference value between the values. 2. An input means for inputting an object consisting of a character, a symbol, a voice, an image, or a combination thereof, a measuring means for measuring date and time information which changes with time, and a measuring means for the object. Storage means for adding and storing the measured value of the means and reliability information, changing means capable of arbitrarily changing the measured value of the measuring means, and when the measured value of the measuring means is changed by the changing means, Changing means for changing the reliability information of the object stored in the storage means to a low reliability side; and a date / time information recording apparatus. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the change unit changes the reliability information of the object stored in the storage unit to the lowest reliability when the degree of change of the measurement value of the measurement unit exceeds a predetermined value. 3. The date and time information recording device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. An output unit for visually outputting the measured value of the object stored in the storage unit, wherein the output unit outputs the measured value of each measured value according to the reliability information corresponding to each measured value. 3. The date and time information recording device according to claim 2, wherein the output form is made different. 5. The date and time information recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the output form is a character color of each measured value, a color of a character back, or a warning sound. 6. A step of inputting an object consisting of a character, a symbol, a sound, an image or a combination thereof, a step of measuring date and time information that changes with time, and a step of applying the measured value to the object. Adding and storing, and when the measurement value is changed, correcting the stored measurement value using a difference value between the measurement values before and after the change, and date and time information, Recording method.