JPS6282886A - Continuous still image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently and inexpensively record continuous still images by comparing two optional and continuous images, compressing one image signal and recording the other image signal and together with information indicating the method of a compressing means. CONSTITUTION:In case of continuous recording, the 1st static image to be the output signal of an A/D converter circuit 106 is recorded in a recording circuit 108. The 2nd still image B is recorded in the circuit 108 and simultaneously compared with the image A by a comparator 107, and only a different signal is extracted and recorded in the circuit 108. The 3rd still image C is recorded in the circuit 108 and compared with the image B, only the different signal is extracted and the recorded image B is replaced by the extracted signal. Under said state, the image A, a difference signal between the images A and B and a difference signal between the images B and C are recorded in the circuit 108. Thereafter, similar processing is repeated. Data indicating the length and method of compression are recorded from a data forming circuit 112 to the circuit 108.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to a continuous still image recording device.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional continuous still image recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a conventional continuous still image recording device. In FIG. 6, 501 is a shutter for obtaining a still image, 602 is a shutter control circuit, and 50
3 is an image sensor that exchanges a still image into an electrical signal; 504 is a drive circuit for the image sensor; 605 is a signal processing circuit that processes the output signal of the image sensor into a recordable signal; 506 is a recording medium; and 507 is the circuit described above. This is a recording control circuit that controls the

In the conventional continuous still image recording device configured as described above, a still image obtained by a shutter circuit 501 is converted into an electrical signal by an image sensor 503, which is converted into a signal that can be recorded by a signal processing circuit 605, and a recording control circuit 607. is controlled and recorded on the recording medium soe. At this time, the signal processing circuit 506 performs processing such as FM modulation when recording the still image signal as an analog signal, and processing such as A/D conversion when recording the still image signal as a digital signal.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, continuous still image recording devices such as camera devices may be used to continuously record still images in a high-speed continuous shooting mode, or to record a large amount of still images for monitoring purposes. Moreover, in these cases, still images that are not necessarily required may also be recorded, which poses the problem that a recording medium with an increasingly large storage capacity must be used.

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a continuous still image recording device that can record a large amount of still images at low cost by recording only necessary still image signals.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a comparison means for comparing two arbitrary images among continuous still images, and a comparison means for comparing the two images by the output signal of the comparison means. A continuous still image comprising means for compressing information on one of them, and recording means for recording an output signal from the compression means, the other uncompressed image signal, and a code signal indicating the method of the compression means. It is a recording device.

According to the above-described configuration, the present invention compares arbitrary two images among continuous still images, compresses one still normal image signal, and compresses the other still image signal together with information indicating the method of the compression means. By recording, only necessary still image information is recorded, so it is possible to efficiently and inexpensively record continuous still images.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a continuous still image recording apparatus in a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 101 is a shutter for obtaining a still image, 102 is a shutter control circuit that controls the shutter, 103 is an image sensor that converts a still image into an electrical signal, and 1
04 is a drive circuit that drives the image sensor; 105 is a signal processing circuit that processes the output signal of the image sensor into a recordable signal;
106 is an A/D circuit that converts the output signal of the signal processing circuit into a digital signal; 107 is a first still image signal and a second still image signal;
108 is a recording circuit that records the still image signal and data; 109 is a recording control circuit that controls the recording circuit; 11o is a circuit that creates data to be recorded; 111 is the circuit described above. 112 is a data input circuit that provides data such as recording mode.

The operation of the continuous still image recording apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below.

A still image obtained by the shutter 101 is captured by the image sensor 10.
3, the signal is converted into a still image signal, and the signal processing circuit 105 processes the signal into a recordable signal. This signal is further converted into a digital signal by an A/D circuit 106.

By the way, in a continuous image recording device such as an electronic still camera shown in FIG. 1, continuous shooting in a continuous shooting mode may be performed as a shooting method. This instruction is sent to the data input device 112.
Depending on the shutter speed.

Data such as continuous shooting speed and number of continuous shots are sent to the system control circuit 11.
1 and controls the shutter control circuit 102, recording control circuit 109, etc. And in snapshot mode,
Still images are recorded continuously, but these still images have a very high correlation, and especially when they are digital signals, the signals between these still images are often equal, so recording in snapshot mode is necessary. In this case, the same signal is often recorded in a wasteful manner.

Therefore, in FIG. 1, when continuous recording is performed, the first still image A, which is the output signal of the A/D circuit, is recorded in the recording circuit 108. Next, the second still image B is recorded in the recording circuit 108 and simultaneously compared with the first still image A recorded in the recording circuit in the comparison circuit 107, and only the different signals are extracted and recorded in the recording circuit. At the same time as the still image C is recorded in the recording circuit, it is compared with the second still image B recorded in the recording circuit in a comparator circuit, extracts only the different signals, and replaces it with the still image B recorded in the recording circuit. . In this state, still image A, a difference signal between still images A and B, and a difference signal between still images B and C are recorded in the recording circuit. The same process is performed for the fourth and sixth still images, and the recording circuit records a difference signal between the still image A and two still images among the subsequent still images.

During this continuous recording, data indicating from where to where compression was performed and by what compression force method is recorded in the data creation circuit 112 and the recording circuit.

In the continuous image recording device of the first embodiment configured as described above, when recording continuous still image signals, the first still image signal of the continuous still images and the following still images of the continuous still images are recorded. Since only the difference signal between the two still image signals and the data indicating the compression method are recorded, it is possible to significantly reduce the recording capacity required to record continuous still images.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a continuous still image recording device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Since they are the same as 101 to 106 in the embodiment, their explanation will be omitted. Below, 207 is a backup memory 208 that records the output signals of 40 circuits for an arbitrary period.
a comparison circuit 209 that compares the signal from the A/D circuit with the output signal of the A/D circuit, which is a signal delayed by an arbitrary period from the signal;
210 is a recording control circuit that controls the recording circuit; 211 is a data creation circuit that creates data to be recorded;
212 is a system control circuit that comprehensively controls the above circuits, 213 is a data input circuit that inputs data to the system control circuit, and 214 is a circuit that inputs position information to be compared in still images of the subject. . Further, FIG. 3 is a viewfinder diagram of the camera device.

The operation of the continuous still image recording apparatus of the second embodiment configured as described above will be explained below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

When photographing is performed using a camera device, the shutter speed, aperture value, etc. are determined using the information in the finder shown in FIG. 3, and the data is input into the camera device. Furthermore, if you want to shoot continuously in continuous shooting mode, you will need to enter information other than the above, such as the continuous shooting speed and the number of snapshots. In many cases, it is desired to continuously photograph changes in the image, and there is no particular need to photograph other images of the subject. Therefore, it is only necessary to input the data of the subject image to be photographed, compare the still image signals corresponding to the subject image, and record only when they are not equal. This will be explained using FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, assuming that the subject image to be photographed is often located approximately in the center of the finder, the comparison position information input circuit 213 inputs the still image signal at the position of the focus plate 304 in FIG. 3 to the system control circuit 211 as data for comparison. The system control circuit issues commands to each circuit according to the input data. According to this command, the first still image signal is recorded in the recording circuit, simultaneously converted into a digital signal by the A/D circuit, and recorded in the buffer memory 207.

Next, the first still image signal recorded in this buffer memory 207 is inputted to a comparison circuit 208 together with a second still image signal from the A/D circuit, and the signal at the position corresponding to the comparison position information is compared, When the signals are equal, the signal from the comparison circuit 208 causes the recording control circuit 210 to operate so that the recording circuit 209 does not record the second still image signal.

Instead, information indicating that recording is not to be performed is created and recorded using the data creation circuit 211. Furthermore, when the third still image signal is input to the A/D circuit and the comparison circuit, the second still image signal recorded in the buffer 1 memory is compared with the signal at the position corresponding to the position information. When they are not equal, the third still image signal is recorded in the recording circuit using the signal from the comparison circuit. Below is the 4th. The same thing is done for the fifth still image signal.

In the still image continuous recording device of the second embodiment configured as described above, when recording continuous still image signals, the first still image signal of the continuous still images and the subsequent still image signals of the continuous still images are recorded. Of these, the signal at the position corresponding to the comparative position information is focused on, and only when the signal at that position is different, that still image signal is recorded. Therefore, data and records indicating continuous recording among continuous still images are recorded. By recording only the data indicating the compression method and the necessary still images, the required recording capacity can be significantly reduced.

In this embodiment, a case has been described in which the comparative information of the subject ' to be determined whether or not to be recorded is a still image signal located at the focus plate located at the center of the viewfinder. You can specify the location information using coordinates, consider all still images of the subject, not just a part of the still images, to be compared, and make a judgment based on whether two still images are equal. As a way to obtain
There are others, but I will omit them here. Further, although this embodiment shows the case of analog recording, it goes without saying that digital recording may also be used.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a continuous still image recording device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Since this is a combination of the first and second embodiments, the block diagram is Explanation will be omitted. The continuous still image recording apparatus of the third embodiment configured as shown in FIG. 4 operates as follows.

The first still image signal A, which is the output signal of the A/D circuit 406, is recorded in the recording circuit 408. Next, the second still image signal B is recorded on the recording circuit and at the same time is compared with the first still image A recorded on the recording circuit in a comparing circuit 407. This comparison circuit 407 compares the two still image signals and also compares the still image signal corresponding to the position specified by the comparison position information input circuit 412 to determine whether to record it. Still image B is obtained by comparing the still image signals corresponding to the specified position above.
When these signals are not equal, an unequal signal between still image A and still image B, that is, a difference signal (A-B) between still images A and B is recorded.

Next, the third still image C is recorded in the recording circuit, and
At the completion of the comparison circuit 40, it is compared with the still image B recorded in the recording circuit and it is determined whether to record it, and if it is to be recorded, the difference signal (B-C) between the still images B and C is replaced with the still image B. If not recorded, still image B is deleted. Below cylinder 4. The same thing is done for the fifth still image, and the recording circuit shows a compression method such as a difference signal between still image A and the still image judged to be necessary to be recorded, and data indicating that it will not be recorded when it is not recorded. Data is recorded.

In the still image continuous recording device of the third embodiment configured as described above, when recording continuous still image signals, the first still image signal of the continuous still images and the subsequent still image signals of the continuous still images are recorded. Continuous still images are recorded because only the difference signal between the still images judged to need to be recorded and the data indicating the compression method, such as data indicating continuous shooting or data indicating not recording, etc. It is possible to significantly reduce the storage capacity required for

Although the above-mentioned embodiment describes recording of still images, in the reproduction system, still images can be reproduced from the recording medium by performing the following processing. First, in the second embodiment, when the data indicating continuous shooting is read, the still image that needs to be recorded after that and the data indicating that it is not recorded are recorded, so it can be played back from there. , in the first embodiment, continuous still image signals are A, B,
C, D......, then the difference signals between still image A and the following still images (A-B), (B-C)...
..., so when the data indicating continuous shooting is read, still image A and the difference signal (A-B) are used to generate still image B, and this still image B and the difference signal (B-C) are recorded. ) to obtain a still image C. In the third embodiment, continuous still image signals are A, B, C, and D.

E and F, and the still image that needs to be recorded is A.
, B, D, and F, the still image A and difference signals (A-B), (B-D), and (D-F) are recorded in the recording circuit, so reproduction is the same as in the first embodiment. Still image A is read by reading data indicating continuous shooting and data indicating not recording.

B, D, and F can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the method of obtaining a still image uses a camera device equipped with a shutter circuit, but it goes without saying that the method is not limited to this.

Further, in the above-described embodiments, a camera device such as an electronic still camera has been described, but it is easy to imagine that the present invention can also be applied to a surveillance camera, etc., so a specific explanation will not be given here.

As described in detail, according to the present invention, in order to record continuous still images, data indicating the compression method is compared with the still image signals of the continuous still images, and the difference signal is recorded. Therefore, even when recording a large number of continuous still images, the recording capacity can be significantly reduced, which has a great practical effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a still image continuous recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a still image continuous recording device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a viewfinder diagram. , FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a still image continuous recording apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional still image recording apparatus. 101... Shutter circuit, 102 Old... Shutter control circuit, 103... Imaging device, 10
4... Drive circuit, 105... Signal processing circuit, 106... A/D circuit, 107...
・Comparison circuit, 108... Recording circuit, 109...
... Recording control circuit, 110 ... Data creation circuit, 111 ... System control circuit, 112.
...Data input circuit. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 3
Figure 303 Diaphragm J, l I, B μ voice depth Figure 5

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An image sensor, a switch means for switching the shooting mode, a comparison means for comparing any two images among the continuous images when the switch means is in continuous shooting mode, and an output of the comparison means means for compressing information of one of the two images according to a signal; and a second means for recording an output signal from the compression means, the other uncompressed image signal, and information representing a compression method of the compressed signal. 1. A continuous still image recording device equipped with recording means. (2) The continuous still image recording device according to claim 1, wherein the comparing means includes a second recording means for recording images for an arbitrary period of time. (3) Claim 1 or 2, wherein the comparison means is configured to compare only the signals of arbitrary parts of consecutive images and control the compression means based on the output signal of the comparison means. Continuous still image recording device.