Electronic still camera utilizing updatable frame catena information to maintain frame sequence

• US 5,689,303 A
• Filed: 06/05/1996
• Issued: 11/18/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kuroiwa, Toshihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): GARBER, WENDY RAE
• Application Number:
  US08/658,302
• Time in Patent Office: 531 Days
• Field of Search: 348/231, 348/232, 358/333, 358/906, 360/33.1, 360/36.1, 360/48, 360/14.2, 386/117
• US Class Current: 348/231.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2129 Recording in, or reproducing from, a specific memory area or areas, or recording or reproducing at a specific moment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2137 with temporary storage before final recording, e.g. in a frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2158 using a detachable storage unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/218 Deletion of stored data; Preventing such deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3254 Orientation, e.g. landscape or portrait; Location or order of the image data, e.g. in memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data

Abstract

An electronic still camera is provided, which can maintain a photographing order (recording order) of frames by only partially updating information even when an arbitrary frame recorded in a memory is erased, and new data is re-recorded in the corresponding area. The camera may include a designation unit for designating arbitrary image data in a memory in which a plurality of image data and administration data for administering the image data are recorded, and an erase unit for erasing administration data corresponding to designated image data designated by the designation unit. Furthermore, the camera includes an updating unit for updating administration data corresponding to image data obtained by an image pickup operation immediately before the designated image data is obtained, or administration data corresponding to image data obtained immediately after the designated image data is obtained, in correspondence with an erase operation of the erase unit.

Claims

1. An electronic still camera, comprising:

a designation device for designating, according to the choice of a user, a used frame of image data in a memory, said memory recording image data in a plurality of frames, administration data in association with each frame which indicates whether or not the frame is used, and frame catena data in association with each frame which identifies a next frame, if any, in one of a forward or backward time sequence of use of used frames in said memory;

an erase device for changing the administration data associated with the designated frame to indicate that the designated frame is not used; and

an updating device operating in association with the operation of said erase device for updating the frame catena data associated with a used frame, if any, immediately preceding the designated frame in sequence, by changing the frame catena data of said preceding frame to the frame catena data of the designated frame.

3. An electronic still camera according to claim 1, further comprising an intermediate frame discrimination means portion for discriminating whether the designated frame is an intermediate frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating device means updates the frame catena data of said preceding used frame based on the discrimination result.

4. An electronic still camera according to claim 1, further comprising a first frame discrimination portion for discriminating whether the designated frame is a first frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating device updates the frame catena data of said next used frame to indicate that said next used frame is the first frame of the sequence when the designated frame is discriminated as the first frame.

5. An electronic still camera according to claim 1, further comprising a last frame discrimination portion for discriminating whether the designated frame is a last frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating device updates the frame catena data of said preceding used frame to indicate that said preceding used frame is the last frame of the sequence when the designated frame is discriminated as the last frame.

6. An electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein said memory records the image data in an MS-DOS file format, and the administration data is contained in directory entries.

7. An electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein said image data is recorded in an MS-DOS file format, and the frame catena data associated with each frame is contained in a corresponding file name.

8. An electronic still camera according to claim 7, wherein said file name includes a file extension.

2. A method of administering data in an electronic still camera, comprising:

designating a used frame of image data in a memory, said memory recording image data in a plurality of frames, administration data in association with each frame which indicates whether or not the frame is used, and frame catena data in association with each frame which identifies a next frame, if any, in one of a forward or backward time sequence of use of used frames in said memory;

changing the administration data corresponding to the designated frame to indicate that the designated frame is not used; and

updating the frame catena data of a used frame, if any, immediately preceding the designated frame in sequence, by changing the frame catena data of said preceding frame to the frame catena data of the designated frame.

9. A method of administering data in an electronic still camera according to claim 2, further comprising discriminating whether the designated frame is an intermediate frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating is effected based on the discrimination result.

10. A method of administering data in an electronic still camera according to claim 2, further comprising discriminating whether the designated frame is a first frame of the sequence and, when the designated frame is discriminated as the first frame, updating the frame catena data of said next used frame to indicate that said next used frame is the first frame of the sequence.

11. A method of administering data in an electronic still camera according to claim 2, further comprising discriminating whether the designated frame is a last frame of the sequence and, when said designated frame is discriminated as the last frame, updating the frame catena data of said preceding used frame to indicate that said preceding used frame is the last frame of the sequence.

12. A method of administering data in an electronic still camera, comprising:

designating a frame of image data in a memory which records image data in a plurality of frames and which records, association with each frame, frame catena data identifying a next frame, if any, in one of a forward or backward time sequence of use of used frames in said memory; and

updating the frame catena data of a used frame, if any, immediately preceding the designated frame in sequence, by changing the frame catena data of said preceding frame to the frame catena data of the designated frame.

13. An electronic still camera, comprising:

a designation device for designating, according to the choice of a user, a frame of image data in a memory which records image data in a plurality of frames and which records, in association with each frame, frame catena data identifying a next an frame, if any, in one of a forward or backward time sequence of use of used frames in said memory; and

an updating device for updating the frame catena data associated with a used frame, if any, immediately preceding the designated frame in sequence, by changing the frame catena data of said preceding frame to the frame catena data of the designated frame.

14. An electronic still camera according to claim 13, further comprising a intermediate frame discrimination portion for discriminating whether the designated frame is an intermediate frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating device updates the frame catena data of said preceding used frame based on the discrimination result.

15. An electronic still camera according to claim 13, further comprising a first frame discrimination portion for discriminating whether the designated frame is a first frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating device updates the frame catena data of said next used frame to indicate that said next used frame is the first frame of the sequence when the designated frame is discriminated as the first frame.

16. An electronic still camera according to claim 13, further comprising a last frame discrimination portion for discriminating whether the designated frame is a last frame of the sequence, and wherein said updating device updates the frame catena data of said preceding used frame to indicate that said preceding used frame is the last frame of the sequence when the designated frame is discriminated as the last frame.

17. An electronic still camera, comprising:

a recording device for recording, in a memory, frames of image data and frame catena data in association with each frame of image data, said frame catena data identifying a next frame, if any, in one of a forward or backward time sequence of use of the frames.

18. An electronic still camera according to claim 17, wherein said recording device records the frame catena data associated with each frame in association with an image pickup operation of that frame.

19. An electronic still camera according to claim 17, wherein said recording device records first-frame information for identifying a first frame of the sequence.

20. An electronic still camera according to claim 17, wherein said recording device records last-frame information for identifying a last frame of the sequence.

21. An electronic still camera according to claim 20, wherein said recording device records last-frame information in association with an image pickup operation of each frame.

22. An electronic still camera according to claim 17, wherein said image data is recorded in an MS-DOS file format, and the frame catena data associated with each frame is contained in a corresponding file name.

23. An electronic still camera according to claim 22, wherein said file name includes a file extension.

24. An image recording apparatus comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of image data and a plurality of image-correspondent data in correspondence with each other;

an editing device for editing said plurality of image data, said editing device including an erasing device for erasing selected image data; and

an updating device that updates image-correspondent data, corresponding to unerased image data, in an update operation that is automatically initiated as a concomitant of an erase operation of said erasing device.

25. An image recording apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said image-correspondent data is information for ordering said plurality of image data in a predetermined manner.

26. An image recording apparatus according to claim 25, wherein when selected image data is erased by said erasing device, said updating device updates image-correspondent data corresponding to unerased image data so as to maintain the ordering of the remainder of said plurality of image data.

27. An image recording apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said image-correspondent data is information for ordering the plurality of image data according to a photographed order.

28. An image recording apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said updating operation is performed substantially at a same time as said erase operation.

29. An image recording apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said updating operation is performed substantially at a same time as said erase operation.

30. An image recording apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said updating operation is performed substantially at a same time as said erase operation.