RECORDER WITH RETROSPECTIVE CAPTURE

• US 20090324203A1
• Filed: 09/04/2009
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Knapp Investment Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Christopher A. Wiklof
• Inventors: Wiklof, Christopher A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,942,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/291
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10537 Audio or video recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10638 First-in-first-out memories [FIFO] buffers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10712 buffer capacity, e.g. when the buffer capacity is exhausted, buffered data are overwritten with more recent data, accepting that the old data are lost
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10759 content data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00933 Timing control or synchronising H04N1/00928, H04N1/00931, H04N1/00954 and H04N1/0096 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2141 in a multi-frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/215 Recording a sequence of still pictures, e.g. burst mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure

Abstract

A system and method allows a user to enter a command capture audio, video, and/or still pictures that commence at a moment in time earlier than entering the command.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

provisionally recording an event as provisional data;

receiving a trigger signal; and

permanently saving the provisional data as saved data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the saved data includes data corresponding to a moment in time earlier than the receipt of the trigger signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the provisional data includes at least one selected from a group consisting of a digital image, a video recording, and an audio recording.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the trigger signal corresponds to a manually-entered command received from a human observer in real time.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the event includes a real time event.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the event includes a real time event and wherein the provisional data includes data received prior to the real time event.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein permanently saving the provisional data as saved data includes transferring the provisional data from a first memory circuit to a second memory circuit or storage apparatus.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein permanently saving the provisional data as saved data includes holding the provisional data in a first memory circuit.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein permanently saving the provisional data includes transmitting the provisional data to an external device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the provisional data is not permanently saved unless the trigger signal is received.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the provisional data is discarded until the trigger signal is received.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the provisional data is written according to at least one selected from the group consisting of writing the provisional data to a FIFO configured to overflow the oldest provisional data as new provisional data is added, and writing the provisional data to a circular buffer wherein the oldest provisional data is overwritten by the newest provisional data.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the oldest provisional data is permanently saved first.

14. An apparatus for retrospectively recording, comprising:

a capture apparatus configured to produce a provisional data signal;

a provisional memory configured to receive the provisional data signal from the capture apparatus and hold provisional data corresponding to the provisional signal; and

a human interface configured to receive a command from a user to store the provisional data.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the capture apparatus includes at least one selected from the group consisting of an image sensor, a CMOS image sensor array, a CCD array, a digital still camera, a head-mounted digital camera, a digital video camera, a microphone, and a digital audio recorder.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the provisional memory includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a FIFO configured to overflow the oldest provisional data as new provisional data is added, and a circular buffer configured to overwrite the oldest provisional data with the newest provisional data.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the capture apparatus includes an image sensor array and wherein the image sensor array and the provisional memory are disposed on a semiconductor die.

18. The apparatus of claim 17:

wherein the semiconductor die further includes image compression hardware disposed thereon and configured to compress a signal from the image sensor array to produce the image signal;

and wherein the semiconductor die further includes control logic configured to control the operation of the image sensor array, the image compression hardware, and the provisional memory.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

control hardware configured to selectively couple an output from the provisional memory to an output node responsive to receiving a signal from the human interface.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising at least one data receiving module coupled to the output node, wherein the data receiving module is selected from the group consisting of storage memory, flash memory, NVRAM, static RAM, a solid state disk drive, a rotating disk drive, a data interface, a radio transceiver, a radio transmitter, and an infrared interface.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising an electronic controller configured to keep the provisional data in memory when a command is received by the human interface to convert the provisional data to permanent data.

22. A method for marking a recording, comprising:

receiving a captured signal from a capture apparatus;

storing the captured signal as captured data;

receiving a command from a human interface; and

recording a mark in the captured data corresponding to a moment earlier than the receipt of the command.