Memory card having a wireless function for linking location information to image data

• US 10,362,261 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2017
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Memory Corporation (Kioxia Corporation)
• Inventors: Ido, Michio, Sato, Keisuke, Endo, Shigeto, Ando, Mai, Sakurai, Shuichi, Teranishi, Masaomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Camargo, Marly S
• Application Number:
  US15/448,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20180255267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: 3482312, 34823199-2319, 3482221, 3482078, 3482311-2319, 34820799, 715738, 715255, 725 89, 725 92, 725134, 725145
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A method of linking location information to image data in a storage device includes: generating image files, each including image data of a captured image and a time stamp of when the image was captured; determining an first time stamp and a second time stamp within a group of the image files; wirelessly transmitting the first time stamp and the second time stamp to a device having a location logging function and, in response to the wirelessly transmitting, receiving location information corresponding to at least one of a plurality of time stamps including the first time stamp, the second time stamp, and a third time stamp that is between the first time stamp and the second time stamp; and embedding location information in each image file based on the time stamp included therein and the location information received from the device.

Claims

1. A method of adding location information to image data in a wireless storage device having an antenna, comprising:

generating image files with an imaging apparatus in which the wireless storage device is installed and storing the image files in the wireless storage device, each of the image files including image data of a captured image and a time stamp of when the image was captured;

determining by the wireless storage device, a first time stamp and a second time stamp within a group of the image files stored in the wireless storage device;

establishing a wireless communication between the wireless storage device that has been removed from the imaging apparatus and a device having a location logging function;

wirelessly transmitting the first time stamp and the second time stamp from the wireless storage device to the device having the location logging function using power induced by radio waves received through the antenna from the device having the location logging function and, in response to the wirelessly transmitting, wirelessly receiving at the wireless storage device, location information corresponding to at least one of a plurality of time stamps including the first time stamp, the second time stamp, and a third time stamp that is between the first time stamp and the second time stamp; and

embedding location information in each of the image files stored in the wireless storage device, based on the time stamp included therein and the location information received from the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time stamp is an earliest time stamp, and the second time stamp is a latest time stamp.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein

if the location information includes a first location information corresponding to the first time stamp and a second location information corresponding to the second time stamp, the location information embedded in a first image file that has the first time stamp is the first location information and the location information embedded in a second image file that has the second time stamp is the second location information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein

if the location information includes a third location information corresponding to the third time stamp, the location information embedded in a third image file that has the third time stamp is the third location information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein

if an image file includes a time stamp that does not match any of the time stamps corresponding to the received location information, the location information corresponding to one of the time stamps corresponding to the received location information that is closest to the time stamp is included in the image file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information is embedded in each image file after the wireless storage device is re-installed in the imaging apparatus using power supplied from the imaging apparatus.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

searching for a time stamp which is closest in time to the time stamp of an image file among the time stamps corresponding to the received location information, using power supplied from the imaging apparatus after the wireless storage device has been re-installed in the imaging apparatus.

8. A wireless storage device comprising:

an antenna;

a first nonvolatile memory in which a group of image files, each including image data of a captured image and a time stamp of when the image was captured, are stored;

a second nonvolatile memory in which a first time stamp and a second time stamp of the image files in the group are stored; and

a controller including a first controller configured to perform wireless communication with a host device having a location logging function through the antenna to transmit the first time stamp and the second time stamp to the host device having the location logging function, and in response thereto, receive location information corresponding to at least one of a plurality of time stamps including the first time stamp, the second time stamp, and a third time stamp that is between the first time stamp and the second time stamp, and a second controller configured to embed location information in each of the image files stored in the first nonvolatile memory, based on the time stamp included therein and the location information received from the host device, wherein

the first controller and the second nonvolatile memory are operable using power induced in the antenna, and the second controller and the first nonvolatile memory are not operable using the induced power.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein

the first controller determines the first time stamp and the second time stamp from the image files that do not have the location information embedded therein.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein

the first controller deletes the location information, the first time stamp, and the second time stamp after the location information is embedded in the image files.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein

if an image file includes a time stamp that does not match any of the time stamps corresponding to the received location information, the controller embeds the location information corresponding to one of the time stamps corresponding to the received location information that is closest to the time stamp is included in the image file.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein

if a time difference between a first time stamp included in the image file and a second time stamp corresponding to the received location information that is closest to the first time stamp is longer than a predetermined time, the controller determines that there is no location information should be embedded in the image file.