KR20080003493A - Image recording apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for recording an image are provided to mark a only corresponding video part for recording a still image when a still image recording command is executed during video recording and perform a process for obtaining the marked still image part after video recording operations are closed, thereby obtaining seamless video data and a still image at a desired moment. An image recording apparatus(10) includes a compression unit(40), a video record button(150b), a still image record button(150a) and a control unit(140). The compressing unit compresses an inputted video stream in an intraframe encoding method or a predictive encoding method. The video record button is for recording a video. The still image record button is for recording a still image. The control unit controls the compression unit to compress the inputted video stream in the intraframe encoding method or the predictive encoding method if the video record button is operated and to compress the inputted video stream to compress in the intraframe encoding method if the still image record button is operated during the video recording.

Description

Image recording apparatus and method

1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the MPEG codec shown in FIG.

3A and 3B show a data stream structure recorded on a recording medium;

4 is a flowchart showing a processing process when a still image recording button is pressed during video data recording;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of reading a marked portion from a recording medium and recompressing it into a still image format after recording of moving image data is completed.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

20: camera portion 40: compression portion

42: JPEG codec 44: MPEG codec

60: frame buffer 90: memory card

130: index generation unit 150: operation button unit

The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus capable of recording moving images and still images, and relates to an image recording apparatus and method capable of recording a still image of a desired moment without stopping a moving image recording operation during moving image recording.

In general, a digital camera, which is a kind of image recording apparatus, has both a still image shooting function and a video shooting function. In the case of such a digital camera, the camera must be switched to a still image shooting mode for still image shooting, and a video shooting mode must be switched for video shooting.

Therefore, in order to record a still image of a desired moment during recording of a video, a general digital camera as described above needs to stop the motion picture recording operation and switch to a still image shooting mode. Since the recording operation is also stopped, there is a problem that desired video data cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, when the still image recording button is pressed for recording a still image during video recording, marking the compressed video data corresponding to the timing of the button pressed, the video After the recording is finished, the video of one screen corresponding to the marked portion is restored to the pre-compression video and then compressed and recorded again in the still image format, so that the still image of the desired moment can be obtained without stopping the video recording operation even during the video recording. There is provided an image recording apparatus and method.

In order to achieve the above object, a video recording apparatus for compressing a video stream according to the present invention and compressing the video stream according to the present invention may be performed according to any one of an intra frame encoding method and a predicate encoding method. Compression unit for compressing; A video recording button for recording a video; A still image recording button for recording a still image; And controlling the compression unit to compress the input video stream by any one of the intra frame encoding method and the predicate encoding method when the video recording button is operated, and the still picture recording button during the video recording process. And a control unit which controls the compression unit to compress the input video stream by the intra frame encoding method when the manipulation is performed.

The compression unit preferably processes and compresses the input video stream by one screen unit, converts the data compressed by one screen unit into a system stream in MPEG format, and outputs the compressed stream.

The video recording apparatus may further include an index generator configured to generate, as an index file, the position information of the I picture compressed by the intra frame encoding method generated by the manipulation of the still image recording button.

Preferably, the control unit controls the compression unit to read an I picture recorded on the recording medium based on the information obtained from the index file, restore the original picture data, and compress the picture into a still image format.

The video recording apparatus may further include a camera unit for converting an image captured by the imaging device into an electrical signal and outputting a video stream that is a digital signal.

Meanwhile, a video recording method of compressing a video stream according to an input of a video recording button and recording the video stream on a recording medium includes: temporarily storing the input video stream in a frame buffer to process the input video stream on a single screen basis; When the still image recording button is not input, selectively compressing the data stored in the frame buffer by either an intra frame encoding method or a predicative encoding method; Compressing data stored in the frame buffer only by an intra frame encoding method when the still image recording button is input; And storing the compressed data on a recording medium.

The video recording method may further include generating location information of data compressed by an intra frame encoding method as an index file when the still image recording button is input.

The method may further include inserting marking information into data compressed by an intra frame encoding method according to the input of the button when the still image recording button is input.

After the recording of the moving picture data is completed, the video recording method reads data of one screen generated at the time when the still picture recording button is input from the recording medium based on the information of the index file. Entering step; And decoding the read data.

The method may further include compressing the decoded data into a still image format and recording the decoded data on a recording medium.

On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the video recording apparatus according to the present invention can mark a portion of the video data stream stored on the recording medium as the still image recording button is pressed during video recording.

When recording a video, compression is performed in units of one screen, and the video recording apparatus may configure the compressed one screen of data into a video data stream and record the data on a recording medium. At this time, when the still image recording button is pressed, the image recording apparatus may mark image data of one screen corresponding to the moment when the button is pressed. The marking is performed on the header of the image data, which can be performed by setting a specific bit of the header to a logic value "1" or "0".

In addition, the image recording apparatus may generate information on a marked position in the moving image data stream recorded on the recording medium as an index file and store the information on the recording medium. The recording medium may be the same recording medium on which the moving picture data stream is stored.

In addition, the index file may use a memory separate from the recording medium on which the moving image data stream is stored.

In addition, after the moving picture recording operation is completed, the video recording device can obtain information on the position at which the still picture recording button is pressed from the index file. In this way, the image recording apparatus may read out compressed image data of one screen at a marked position from the moving image data stream stored in the recording medium and restore the image data before compression.

The reconstructed image data may be compressed into a still image format and stored in a recording medium.

On the other hand, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a camera unit for outputting digital image data from the captured image; A compression unit compressing the digital image data output from the camera unit; A recording medium storing compressed data; A user recordable still image recording button and a video recording button; And a controller that controls the camera unit, the compression unit, and the recording medium, and controls the digital image data input through the camera unit to be compressed and stored in the recording medium as the video or still image recording button is pressed.

The above objects and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, in the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention using JPEG and MPEG schemes. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 10 includes a camera unit 20, an image data correction circuit 30, a compression unit 40, a frame buffer 60, a display circuit 70, and a display 80. And a memory card 90, an input / output circuit 100, data buses 110 and 120, an index generator 130, a controller 140, and an operation button unit 150.

The controller 140 controls each component 20 to 130 of the digital camera 10 according to the on / off signal of the operation button unit 150. The operation button unit 150 includes a still image recording button 150a, a moving picture recording button 150b, and other selection buttons 150c.

The camera unit 20 includes an imaging device 20a and a signal processing circuit 20b.

The imaging device 20a is constituted by a CCD or the like, and photographs a subject image to generate an output signal. The signal processing circuit 20b includes an A / D conversion circuit, performs A / D conversion on the output signal of the imaging device 20a, performs white balance adjustment, gamma correction, and the like to generate digital original image data in units of screens.

The digital original image data generated by the signal processing circuit 20b is transmitted to the frame buffer 60 or the display circuit 70 through the data bus 110. The display circuit 70 generates an image signal from image data of each screen transmitted through the data bus 110. The display 80 displays an image signal generated by the display circuit 70.

The frame buffer 60 is composed of a rewritable semiconductor memory, for example, SDRAM, DRAM, etc., and stores digital original image data transmitted through the data bus 110, and outputs the stored original image data in units of one screen. do.

The image data of one screen output from the frame buffer 60 is transmitted to the image data correction circuit 30 through the data bus 110. The image data correction circuit 30 performs correction processing on the image data input from the frame buffer 60.

The image data of one screen corrected by the image data correction circuit 30 is transmitted to the MPEG codec 42 or the JPEG codec 44 included in the compression unit 40 through the data bus 110.

The memory card 90 is detachable from the digital camera 10 and has a flash memory 90a therein. The flash memory 90a stores compressed image data of one screen unit which has been transmitted through the data bus 120. In addition, the stored compressed image data is read in units of one screen and output to the data bus 120.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the memory card 90 using the flash memory 90a as the recording medium is taken as an example, but a hard disk, a rewritable optical disk, or the like may also be used as the recording medium.

The input / output circuit 100 outputs image data of one screen unit transmitted through the data bus 120 to an external device connected to the digital camera 10, for example, an external display, a personal computer, a printer, or the like. Image data input from an external device is output to the data bus 120.

The compressed image data output from the memory card 90 is transmitted to the JPEG codec 42 or the MPEG codec 44 via the data bus 120. In addition, the compressed image data input through the input / output circuit 100 is transmitted to the JPEG codec 42 or the MPEG codec 44 through the data bus 120.

2 is a diagram showing the structure of the MPEG codec 44. The MPEG codec 44 includes an I-picture generation unit 44a, a B-directionally predictive-coded picture generation unit 44b, and a P-picture (Predictive-coded picture) generation unit 44c. The video stream is compressed one by one to generate one of an I picture, a B picture, and a P picture, and is multiplexed by an MPEG system encoder 40d and output as an MPEG stream.

The I picture generation unit 44a compresses data using an intra frame encoding method. The I picture generated according to this method can be independently decoded so that a picture before and after the picture is not necessary when the original picture is restored.

The B picture generation unit 44b and the P picture generation unit 44c compress data according to a predictive encoding method, which compresses the data by using a motion vector between the front and rear screens. The efficiency is good, but it can be decoded only when there is a P or B picture before or after.

3A is a diagram showing the structure of an MPEG stream output from the MPEG codec 44 during a general video recording process. FIG. 3B is outputted from the MPEG codec 44 when the still image recording button 150a is pressed during the video recording process. A diagram showing the structure of an MPEG stream.

In the general video recording process, as shown in FIG. 3A, compression is performed by appropriately mixing I, B, and P pictures according to the characteristics of each frame of the input video stream.

In addition, if the still image recording button is pressed during video recording, as shown in FIG. 3B, an I picture is generated for a portion corresponding to the time point at which the still image recording button is pressed.

In other words, MPEG video stream is composed by compressing the input video stream by one screen unit. For the data of one screen to be restored to the still image in the future, the information of the front and rear screens is generated by generating the I picture compressed by intra frame encoding method. Allow decoding without

The index generator 130 generates an index file. The index file is a file in which the location information of an I picture generated when the still image recording button 150a is pressed during video recording is recorded. The index file is a video data stream stored in the memory card 90 and is restored to a still image. The positional information of the picture is recorded.

In the embodiment of the present invention, it can be assumed that the index file is stored in the memory card 90 which is a recording medium storing the moving image data, but the index file is stored using a separate recording medium instead of the memory card 90. can do.

The JPEG codec section 42 compresses the input video into a still picture format.

The control unit 140 reads the I picture corresponding to the point in time at which the still image recording button 150a is pressed while recording the moving image from the memory card 90 with reference to the index file, and the MPEG codec 44 through the data bus 120. Control to be applied.

Then, the MPEG codec 44 restores the applied I picture to the original image data.

The JPEG codec 42 compresses the reconstructed original image data into a still image format. Still image data compressed by the JPEG codec 42 is stored in the memory card 90.

Based on this configuration, an operation of recording a still image during video recording will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 according to the flowchart shown.

4 is a flowchart showing the processing process when the still image recording button is pressed during video recording.

If the still image recording button 150a is pressed during video recording (S210-Y), the MPEG codec 44 encodes the image corresponding to the moment at which the still image recording button 150a is pressed as an I picture (S220). ).

Then, the controller 140 controls the MPEG codec 44 to set a specific bit of the I picture header to "1" or "0" (S230). The reason for setting in this way is to indicate that the I picture compressed in step S220 is a screen corresponding to the moment when the still image recording button 150a is pressed.

The index generator 130 generates location information of the I picture generated in step S230 as an index file (S240).

The MPEG codec 44 generates an MPEG system stream having any one of I pictures encoded at step S220 and I, B, and P pictures encoded at step S270 to be described later (S250). Thereafter, the MPEG system stream is stored in the memory card 90 (S260).

On the other hand, if the still image recording button 150a is not pressed during video recording (S210-N), the MPEG codec 44 compares the data input from the frame buffer 60 with the front and rear screens and according to the comparison result I Encodes any one of B, P, and P pictures. Thereafter, the MPEG system stream is generated (S250) and stored in the memory card (S260).

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of processing an I picture to be recompressed and stored as a still image with reference to an index file recorded on a recording medium after motion picture recording is completed.

When the moving picture recording ends (S310-Y), the control unit 140 reads the index file generated and stored in step S240 of FIG. 4 and acquires position information of the I picture generated by the still image recording button 150a (S320). ).

The controller 140 accesses the memory card 90 and reads the I picture based on the acquired position information (S330). The read I picture is restored to the original image before being decoded and compressed by the MPEG codec 44 (S340).

The reconstructed image is transmitted to the JPEG codec 42, and the JPEG codec 42 compresses the reconstructed original image again (S350). The compressed still image data is stored in the memory card 90 (S360).

By repeating the above process, it is possible to obtain a still image at the time when the still image recording button 150a is pressed during video recording.

On the other hand, the above-described process of FIG. 5 may be executed by a user's command, or even if there is no user's command, it may be automatically executed when the controller 140 determines that the video recording is completed by itself.

For example, if the moving picture recording is terminated by the moving picture recording stop button and there is no input from the user for a predetermined time, the controller 140 performs the process of FIG. 5 without a user's command.

The present invention has been described above by way of example. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. For example, in the present exemplary embodiment, other recording media such as a hard disk, a rewritable optical disk, a tape medium, and a flash memory may be used instead of the memory card 90.

In the present embodiment, the still image, the moving image, and the index file are recorded on the same recording medium. However, it is also possible to store each using a separate recording medium.

In this embodiment, a digital camera which is a kind of image recording apparatus has been described as an example. However, this is merely an example, and the technical idea of the present invention may be applied to an image recording apparatus that records an image received from the outside. Examples of the video recording apparatus include a TV having a recording function, a PVR (PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDER), and a DVD recorder.

Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Accordingly, the invention may be freely practiced within the scope of the claims unless otherwise stated.

As described above, according to the present invention, when there is a still image recording command during video recording, only the marking for the still image recording is performed on the corresponding video portion, and the still image portion is marked after the video recording operation is finished. By performing the processing for not only seamless video data can be obtained, but also a still image of a desired moment can be obtained.

Claims (10)

In a video recording apparatus for compressing a video stream to record on a recording medium, A compression unit compressing the input video stream according to an intraframe encoding method or a predicate encoding method; A video recording button for recording a video; A still image recording button for recording a still image; And When the moving picture recording button is operated, the compression unit is controlled to compress the input video stream by the intra frame encoding method or the predicate encoding method, and when the still picture recording button is operated during the moving picture recording process, And a control unit which controls the compression unit to compress the video stream by the intra frame encoding method. The method of claim 1, The compression unit, And processing the input video stream by one screen unit and converting the compressed video stream into a system stream in MPEG format. The method of claim 2, And an index generator for generating position information of the I picture compressed by the intra frame encoding method generated by the manipulation of the still image recording button into an index file. The method of claim 3, wherein The control unit, And controlling the compression unit to read an I picture recorded on the recording medium based on the information obtained from the index file, restore the original picture data, and compress the picture into a still picture format. The method of claim 4, wherein And a camera unit converting an image captured by the imaging device into an electrical signal and outputting a moving image stream which is a digital signal. In the video recording method for compressing a video stream in accordance with the input of the video recording button to record on a recording medium, Temporarily storing the input video stream in a frame buffer in order to process the screen in units of one screen; Selectively compressing the data stored in the frame buffer by either an intra frame encoding method or a predicative encoding method when a still image recording button is not input; Compressing data stored in the frame buffer only by an intra frame encoding method when the still image recording button is input; And And storing the compressed data on a recording medium. The method of claim 6, And when the still image recording button is input, generating position information of the data compressed by an intra frame encoding method according to the input of the button into an index file. The method of claim 7, And when the still image recording button is input, inserting marking information into data compressed by an intra frame encoding method according to the input of the button. The method of claim 8, After the recording of the moving image data is completed, reading data of one screen generated at the time when the still image recording button is input from the recording medium based on the information of the index file; And decoding the read data. The method of claim 9, And compressing the decoded data into a still image format and recording the recorded data on a recording medium.

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