APPARATUS AND METHOD OF PHOTOGRAPHING MOVING IMAGE

• US 20110085059A1
• Filed: 10/04/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: NOH, Dae Jong
• Granted Patent: US 8,704,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/231.99
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/322 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

An apparatus and method to generate a thumbnail image in a moving image photographing mode, and storing the generated thumbnail image are disclosed. The apparatus to photograph the thumbnail image generates a thumbnail image at intervals of a predetermined time simultaneously with photographing the moving image. In addition, the apparatus selects a thumbnail image to be preserved and a thumbnail image to deleted from among generated thumbnail images in such a manner that the number of generated thumbnail images does not exceed a predetermined number, thereby limiting the number of generated thumbnail images.

Claims

1. A method of photographing a moving image in which a thumbnail image is generated from the photographed moving image, the method comprising:

establishing a thumbnail generation condition to generate the thumbnail image;

limiting a number of thumbnail images being generated according to the established thumbnail generation condition while the moving image is photographed; and

storing thumbnail information to reproduce the limited number of thumbnail images.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thumbnail generation condition includes the number of thumbnail images and a time interval between the generated thumbnail images.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the thumbnail generation condition is established or changed by a user.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the thumbnail generation condition is established by a manufacturer who manufactures a moving image photographing apparatus having a function to photograph the moving image.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the limiting of the number of thumbnail images comprises allowing the number of generated thumbnail images not to exceed a predetermined number of thumbnail images by adjusting the time interval between the thumbnail images.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the adjusting of the time interval between the thumbnail images comprises increasing a time interval between newly generated thumbnail images as compared to a time interval between previously generated thumbnail images, as a moving image photographing time increases.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the increasing of the time interval between the thumbnail images comprises increasing the time interval between the newly generated thumbnail images using Fibonacci sequence.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the increasing of the time interval between the thumbnail images increases the time interval between the newly generated thumbnail images by 2^k times (where k=0, 1, 2, . . . ) as compared to the time interval between the previously generated thumbnail images.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the limiting of the number of thumbnail images comprises, if the number of generated thumbnail images exceeds a predetermined number of generated thumbnail images, selecting a predetermined number of thumbnail images from among the previously-generated and newly-generated thumbnail images.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

selecting a plurality of replaceable thumbnails included in thumbnail images exceeding the predetermined number of thumbnail images;

deleting the selected replaceable thumbnail images; and

maintaining the remaining thumbnail images other than the selected replaceable thumbnail images.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the earliest thumbnail image from among the previously generated thumbnail images is selected as a thumbnail image to be deleted.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

selecting a thumbnail image to be deleted by comparing time intervals among thumbnail images with one another at a specific time point where the moving image is photographed.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the specific time point is established or changed by a user.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the specific time point is established by a manufacturer who manufactures a moving image photographing apparatus having a function to photograph the moving image.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

if the number of thumbnail images having the longest time interval at the specific time point is a plural number according to the result of the comparison of the time intervals among the thumbnail images, selecting any one of the thumbnail images at random, and deleting at least one of the earliest thumbnail image and the most recent thumbnail image.

16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

maintaining a specific thumbnail image among the previously generated thumbnail images when the moving image is photographed, and selecting a thumbnail image to be deleted among the remaining thumbnail images other than the specific thumbnail image.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the selecting of the thumbnail image to be deleted among the remaining thumbnail images other than the specific thumbnail image comprises:

selecting the earliest thumbnail image from among the remaining thumbnail images as a thumbnail image to be deleted.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the selecting of the thumbnail image to be deleted among the remaining thumbnail images other than the specific thumbnail image comprises:

selecting a thumbnail image to be deleted by comparing time intervals among the remaining thumbnail images at the specific time point where the moving image is photographed.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thumbnail information includes at least one of image data of the limited number of thumbnail images and an index indicating each position of the limited number of thumbnail images.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the thumbnail information is stored in at least one of a header of a file including the moving image and an external file.

21. An apparatus to photograph a moving image in which a thumbnail image is generated from the photographed moving image, the apparatus comprising:

a photographing unit to photograph the moving image; and

a controller to control an operation to store not only a limited number of thumbnail images generated according to a thumbnail generation condition while the photographing unit photographs the moving image, but also thumbnail information to reproduce the limited number of thumbnail images.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising:

a storage unit to store a file of the photographed moving image and the thumbnail information; and

an input unit to allow a user to establish the thumbnail generation condition.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the thumbnail information includes image data of the limited number of thumbnail images and an index indicating each position of the limited number of thumbnail images, and wherein the thumbnail information is stored in at least one of a header of the moving image file and an external file.

24. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the controller comprises a thumbnail generator to generate the thumbnail images in real time when the moving image is photographed and to limit the number of generated thumbnail images not to exceed a predetermined number of thumbnail images.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the thumbnail generator limits the number of thumbnail images by adjusting a time interval between the generated thumbnail images.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the thumbnail generator increases a time interval between newly generated thumbnail images as compared to a time interval between previously generated thumbnail images, as a moving image photographing time increases.

27. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the thumbnail generator increases a time interval between newly generated thumbnail images using Fibonacci sequence.

28. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the thumbnail generator increases a time interval between newly generated thumbnail images by 2^k times (where k=0, 1, 2, . . . ) as compared to a time interval between previously generated thumbnail images.

29. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the thumbnail generator, if the number of generated thumbnail images exceeds the predetermined number of generated thumbnail images, selects a predetermined number of thumbnail images from among the previously-generated and newly-generated thumbnail images.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the thumbnail generator selects at least one thumbnail image as a thumbnail image to be deleted in response to a number of thumbnail images exceeding the predetermined number of thumbnail images, and maintains the remaining thumbnail images other than the selected thumbnail images.

31. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the thumbnail generator selects the earliest thumbnail image from among the previously generated thumbnail images as a thumbnail image to be deleted.

32. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the thumbnail generator selects a thumbnail image to be deleted by comparing time intervals among thumbnail images with one another at a specific time point where the moving image is photographed.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein the thumbnail generator, if the number of thumbnail images having the longest time interval at the specific time point is a plural number according to the result of the comparison of the time intervals among the thumbnail images, selects any one of the thumbnail images at random, and deletes at least one of the earliest thumbnail image and the most recent thumbnail image.

34. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the thumbnail generator maintains a specific thumbnail image among previously generated thumbnail images when the moving image is photographed, and selects a thumbnail image to be deleted among the remaining thumbnail images other than the specific thumbnail image.

35. The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the thumbnail generator selects the earliest thumbnail image from among the remaining thumbnail images other than the specific thumbnail image as a thumbnail image to be deleted.

36. The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the thumbnail generator selects a thumbnail image to be deleted by comparing time intervals among the remaining thumbnail images other than the specific thumbnail image at the specific time point where the moving image is photographed.

37. An apparatus to photograph a moving image in which a thumbnail image is generated from the photographed moving image, the apparatus comprising:

a photographing unit to photograph the moving image; and

a controller to record information of the moving image photographed by the photographing unit, to generate thumbnail information using image information extracted from the moving image information, and to record the generated thumbnail information,

wherein the controller generates the thumbnail information while simultaneously extracting image information from the moving image over a gradually increasing period of time.

38. An apparatus to photograph a moving image and to generate a plurality of thumbnail images from the photographed moving image, the apparatus comprising:

a photographing unit to photograph the moving image;

a memory unit including a plurality of storage areas to store the thumbnail images; and

a controller to control storage of a thumbnail image among the plurality of thumbnail images in a corresponding storage area among the plurality of storage areas and to determine a time point at which each thumbnail image was generated with respect to the moving image and to display each thumbnail image stored in the corresponding storage area according to the time period.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the controller sequentially displays each thumbnail image according to the time period ranging from the earliest time period to the latest time period.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the controller deletes a first thumbnail image stored in a first storage area having a time period earlier than the time periods corresponding with the plurality of thumbnail images and replaces the deleted thumbnail image with a new thumbnail image having a time period being later than each thumbnail image among the plurality of the thumbnail images based on a predetermined thumbnail generation condition.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the controller sequentially displays the plurality of the thumbnails stored in the plurality of storage areas before displaying the new thumbnail image stored in the first storage area.

42. A method of displaying thumbnail images corresponding to a photographed moving image, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of original thumbnails images based on the photographed moving image according to a predetermined thumbnail generation condition;

storing each thumbnail image among the plurality of original thumbnail images in a corresponding storage area among a plurality of storage areas based;

determining a time point of each stored thumbnail image corresponding to a point in time of the moving image;

replacing a first thumbnail image having an earliest time point among the plurality of original thumbnail images with a new thumbnail image having a latest time point among the plurality of thumbnail images in response to exceeding the thumbnail generation condition; and

sequentially displaying the thumbnail images based on the corresponding time points,

wherein the new thumbnail image having the latest time point is displayed after displaying the plurality of original thumbnail images.

43. An apparatus to photograph an object image, comprising:

a photograph unit to photograph an object image; and

a controller to generate one or more still images based on the photographed object image,

wherein the controller determines the number of still images according to a time period during which the photograph unit photographs the image.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the wherein the controller limits the number of still images by adjusting a time interval between the generated still images.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the controller increases a time interval between newly generated still images as compared to a time interval between previously generated still images, as a moving image photographing time increases.

46. The apparatus according to claim 44, wherein the controller selects a still image to be deleted by comparing time intervals among sill images with one another at a specific time point where the moving image is photographed.