DIGITAL CAMERA AND DATA MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20070146503A1
• Filed: 08/16/2006
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Shiraki, Hidenori
• Granted Patent: US 7,593,036 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/231.300
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/41 Extracting pixel data from a plurality of image sensors simultaneously picking up an image, e.g. for increasing the field of view by combining the outputs of a plurality of sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A digital camera capable of compensating a portion of a captured image with another image without putting a squeeze on storage capacity. The digital camera has a plurality of image-capturing systems capable of essentially simultaneously capturing images of a single subject at mutually-different angles of view. Information about relevant image data which are items of the other simultaneously-captured image data is imparted as relevant information to at least one item of image data among items of image data captured by the plurality of image-capturing systems. The image data imparted with the relevant information and the relevant image data captured simultaneously with the image data are stored as separate items of data in user memory which serves as storage means.

Claims

1. A digital camera comprising:

a plurality of image-capturing systems which essentially simultaneously capture images of a single subject at mutually-different angles of view;

an associating unit which imparts, to at least one of a plurality of items of image data captured by means of image-capturing actions of the plurality of image-capturing systems, relevant information indicating association with relevant image data which are items of the other simultaneously-captured image data; and

a storage unit for storing the image data imparted with the relevant information and the relevant image data as separate items of data.

2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the relevant information includes file names of the relevant image data.

3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the relevant information includes coordinate information showing a reference position of an image range overlapping the relevant image.

4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the relevant information includes magnifying power which is a ratio among sizes of figures in the plurality of simultaneously-captured images.

5. A data management method for a digital camera which essentially simultaneously captures images of a single subject through use of a plurality of image-capturing systems in order to compensate a portion of a captured image with a relevant image captured at a different angle of view essentially simultaneously with the image, the method comprising the steps of:

imparting, to at least one of a plurality of items of image data captured by means of image-capturing actions of the plurality of image-capturing systems, relevant information indicating association with relevant image data which are items of the other simultaneously-captured image data; and

storing in a storage unit the image data imparted with the relevant information and the relevant image data as separate items of data.