Still picture reproduction system that allows skip retrieval

• US 5,604,512 A
• Filed: 12/21/1994
• Issued: 02/18/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sugiura, Youji, Okamoto, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Application Number:
  US08/361,850
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 345/121, 345/185, 345/146, 395/164, 358/335, 358/342, 358/311, 358/310, 360/14.1-14.3, 369/32
• US Class Current: 715/823
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00198 Creation of a soft photo presentation, e.g. digital slide-show
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00458 Sequential viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. browsing or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00461 marking or otherwise tagging one or more displayed image, e.g. for selective reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2166 for mass storage, e.g. in document filing systems information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/937 by assembling picture element blocks in an intermediate store

Abstract

In a still picture reproduction system used for presentation of pictures in museums, a particular still picture can be retrieved rapidly by applying a retroactive reproduction function. When the mode is switched from a normal reproduction mode to a retroactive reproduction mode by a mouse, only the first still picture of a series of still pictures reproduced in the normal reproduction mode is reproduced and displayed on an HDTV. These first still pictures in each of a number of series are selectively and manually switched in sequence.

Claims

1. A still picture reproduction system for displaying a plurality of still pictures recorded on a recording medium, said system comprising:

an order designator for designating an order in which said still pictures are to be displayed so as to form a predetermined picture order and for organizing said pictures into a plurality of separate series of pictures in which each one of said series contains a different pre-defined ordered set of said pictures, thereby forming a succession of adjacent series;

a selector having

a series selection mode in which the selector, in response to an external request, selects one of said plurality of series adjacent to a current one of said plurality of series wherein only one still picture in said one adjacent series is chosen to produce a single designated picture, and

a picture selection mode in which the selector selects a next successive one of the still pictures in said one series as the designated picture;

a reproducer for sequentially reproducing successive ones of the designated pictures from said recording medium so as to generate a corresponding plurality of reproduced pictures;

a plurality of memories for sequentially storing respective ones of the reproduced pictures;

a memory selector for selecting and reading out any of the reproduced pictures stored in said memories so as to provide an accessed picture; and

a display for displaying the accessed picture,

wherein said order designator has an automatic mode in which the order designator instructs the memory selector to select and read out each of the reproduced pictures stored in said memories in accordance with said predetermined picture order and at corresponding predetermined timings, and a manual mode in which the order designator instructs the memory selector to select and read out a corresponding one of the reproduced pictures stored in said memories each time said external request occurs.

2. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the chosen one still picture occupies a beginning position in said selected one series.

3. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the series selection mode of the selecting means selects each successive one of said series such that the still pictures chosen for all of said selected series occur at an order opposite to the order of said chosen pictures in said predetermined picture order.

4. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the series selection mode of the selecting means selects each successive one of said series such that the still pictures chosen for all of said selected series occur at an order identical to the order of said chosen pictures in said predetermined picture order.

5. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for providing the recording medium, having the one designated picture, to said reproducing means.

6. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said designating and organizing means comprises a microcomputer.

7. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said reproducing means comprises a magneto-optical disk reproduction apparatus.

8. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said displaying means comprises a high definition display.

9. A still picture reproduction system for displaying a plurality of still pictures recorded on a recording medium, said system comprising:

means for designating an order in which said still pictures are to be displayed so as to form a predetermined picture order and for organizing said pictures into a plurality of separate series of pictures in which each one of said series contains a different pre-defined ordered set of said pictures, thereby forming a succession of adjacent series;

selecting means having a series selection mode in which the selecting means, in response to an external request, selects one of said plurality of series adjacent to a current one of said plurality of series wherein only one still picture in said one series is chosen to produce a single one of a plurality of designated pictures;

means for sequentially reproducing successive ones of the designated pictures from said recording medium so as to generate a corresponding plurality of reproduced pictures;

a plurality of memory means for sequentially storing respective ones of the reproduced pictures;

memory selecting means for selecting and reading out any of the reproduced pictures stored in said plurality of memory means so as to provide an accessed picture; and

means for displaying the accessed picture,

wherein said means for designating has an automatic mode in which the means for designating instructs the memory selecting means to select and read out each of the reproduced pictures stored in said memory means in accordance with said predetermined picture order and at corresponding predetermined timings, and a manual mode in which the means for designating instructs the memory selecting means to select and read out a corresponding one of the reproduced pictures stored in said memory means each time said external request occurs.

10. The still picture reproduction system according to claim 9 wherein the selecting means includes a picture selection mode for selecting a next successive one of the still pictures in said one series as a next successive one of the designated pictures.