Apparatus and method for playing back continuous data

• US 5,818,436 A
• Filed: 04/07/1997
• Issued: 10/06/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizoguchi, Hiroshi, Yamaguchi, Koji, Imai, Toru, Tanaka, Hisako
• Primary Examiner(s): FETTING, ANTON W
• Application Number:
  US08/833,467
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 360/4, 345/302, 345/330, 345/333, 345/339, 345/418
• US Class Current: 715/203
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2512 Floppy disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/61 wherein solid state memory is used for storing A/V content storing computer data in solid state memories G06F
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• 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 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/102 Programmed access in sequence to addressed parts of tracks of operating record carriers access by moving the head G11B3/08, G11B5/54, G11B7/085, G11B21/022; by moving the record carrier G11B15/005, G11B17/005, by driving of both record carrier and head G11B15/1816
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• 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 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for playing back selectively a desired part of continuous data by using an input event as a clue. The apparatus comprises: first storage means for storing continuous data sequentially inputted; second storage means for storing a plurality of input events occurring at arbitrary times during the continuous data sequence; third storage means for storing data enabling identity of addresses a in the first storage means of locations in the continuous data sequence respectively corresponding to the input events; specifying means for specifying one of the input events stored in the second storage means; and playback means for playing back a selected portion of the continuous data stored in the first storage means in accordance with the identifying data stored in the third storage means which corresponds to the input event specified through the specifying means.

Claims

1. An apparatus for playing back continuous data, comprising:

first storage means for storing first data including a continuous sequence of data;

second storage means for storing second data including a plurality of input events occurring at arbitrary times during one of the storing and playing of the continuous data sequence;

third storage means for storing third data corresponding to each of the input events, the third data being representative of addresses in the first storage means of locations in the continuous data sequence respectively corresponding to the input events;

fourth storage means for storing fourth data including text and/or image data;

displaying means for selectively displaying the input events stored in the second storage means superimposed over text and/or image data stored in the fourth means;

specifying means for specifying one of the input events displayed by the displaying means superimposed over said text and/or image data; and

playback means, responsive to the specifying means, for playing back a selected portion of the continuous data stored in the first storage means in accordance with the third data corresponding to the input event specified through the specifying means so that the selected portion of the continuous data is played back during display of the specified input event superimposed over said text and/or image data, whereby there is provided a user ability to associate text and/or image data with the specified input event superimposed thereover with the selected portion of said continuous data played back.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

fifth storage means for storing fifth data for linking a location on the displaying means and each of the input events; and

wherein the specifying means includes means for specifying one of the input events by retrieving fifth data from the fifth storage means based on the location specified on the displaying means.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

fifth storage means for storing fifth data for linking selected locations on the displaying means and second data representative of ones of the input events displayed on the displaying means; and

wherein the specifying means includes means for retrieving the fifth data corresponding to the location specified on the displaying means and for specifying one of the displayed input events based on the retrieved fifth data.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

fifth storage means for storing fifth data for linking a selected location on the displaying means and second data corresponding to a plurality of the input events; and

wherein the specifying means includes;

means for specifying a location on the displaying means;

means for retrieving the fifth data corresponding to the location specified on the displaying means;

means for displaying on the displaying means the plurality of the input events corresponding to the fifth data retrieved by the retrieving means; and

means, included in the specifying means, for specifying one of the plurality of the input events displayed on the displaying means.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third data is time data corresponding to each of the input events.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third data includes addresses in the first storage means corresponding to the locations in the continuous data sequence respectively corresponding to the input events.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first data is representative of audio information.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first data is representative of video information.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input events include events not visibly displayable, the apparatus further comprising display controlling means for displaying a predetermined mark on the displaying means representative of one of the not visible displayable input events;

and wherein the specifying means includes means for specifying one of the input events by specifying means includes means for specifying one of the input events by specifying the predetermined mark displayed by the display controlling means.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display controlling means for displaying the input events in a time sequence corresponding to an original sequence of occurrence of the input events;

and wherein the specifying means includes means for specifying one of the displayed input events in the sequence of input events.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the playback means includes means for playing back a predetermined portion of the continuous data, the predetermined portion of the continuous data being played back for a predetermined period including the continuous data stored in at least one of a forward and rearward portion of the first storage means relative to the address corresponding to the third data.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second storage means includes means for storing the specification of one of the input events made through the specifying means as an input event, and the first storage means includes means for storing continuous data including the continuous data played back by the playback means.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the continuous data stored in the first storage means comprises a plural series of continuous data, the third data stored in the third storage means permitting identifying an address in the first storage means of at least one series of the continuous data, and the playback means includes means for playing back a selected portion of at least one series of the continuous data corresponding to the third data.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first storage means includes means for storing as the first data portions of the continuous sequence of data, each portion inputted for a predetermined period defined based in part on a duration of the input event.

15. The method for playing back continuous data, comprising the steps of:

storing text and/or image data;

sequentially inputting and storing continuous data;

storing, during storing of the continuous data, a plurality of input events occurring associated with at least one of the text and/or image data and the continuous data at arbitrary times during inputting and storing the continuous data and data representative of storage addresses of the continuous data which has been inputted corresponding to the input events;

displaying the stored input events superimposed over the stored text and/or image data;

specifying one of the displayed input events superimposed over the stored text and/or image data; and

playing back a selected portion of the stored continuous data in according with the data representative of storage addresses which corresponds to the specified input events that the selected continuous data is played back during display of the specified input event superimposed over said text and/or image data, whereby there is provided a user ability to associate text and/or image data with the specified input event superimposed thereover with the selected portion of said continuous data played back.

16. The method according claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

displaying the input events on a first display concurrently with the input events storing step; and

displaying the stored input events on a second display, which is the same display or same type display as the first display, prior to the specifying step; and

wherein the input events storing step includes a step of storing data for linking a location on the first display and each input event, and the specifying step includes a step of specifying one of the input events based on the stored linking data and a location specified on the second display.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

displaying the input events on a first display concurrently with the input events storing step;

storing data for linking a location on the first display and each input event concurrently with the input events storing step;

displaying prior to the specifying step the stored input events on a second display; and

converting, prior to the specifying step, the stored linking data into data linking a location on the second display and each input event; and

wherein the specifying step includes a step of specifying one of the input events based on the converted linking data and a location specified on the second display.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the input events storing step comprises the steps of:

detecting a type of each input event inputted; and

storing a plurality of input events, each input event including data for signifying the detected type.

19. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of performing a grouping process for defining a block of input events to be linked with data representative of a storage address;

and wherein the input events storing step stores the block of input events as one input event.

20. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of performing a recognition process for converting input events into coded data;

and wherein the input events storing step includes a step of storing the coded data as input events.

21. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of editing the stored input events;

and wherein the input events storing step includes steps of storing data representing a current version of the input event, and storing data permitting identifying a storage address of the continuous data which has been inputted when the current version was created.

22. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of editing the stored input events;

and wherein the input events storing step includes steps of storing data representing a original version of the input event, and storing data permitting identifying a storage address of the continuous data which has been inputted when the original input event was inputted.

23. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of inputting a plurality of input events prior to the input events storing step, including a step of using a location detecting device having a surface for detecting locations pointed out on the surface, and wherein the input events storing step includes a step of storing the locations detected in the inputting step as the input events, and the specifying step includes a step of specifying one of the input events based on the location specified by using the location detecting device.

24. A method for playing back selected portions of continuous data previously sequentially inputted and stored, comprising the steps of:

storing text and/or image data;

a first playback step including playing continuous data stored previously;

storing, during the first playback step, a plurality of input events occurring at arbitrary times and data representative of storage addresses of the continuous data which has been played corresponding to the input events;

displaying the stored input events superimposed over the stored text and/or image data;

specifying one of the displayed input events superimposed over said text and/or image data; and

a second playback step including playing back a selected portion of the stored continuous data in accordance with the data representative of storage addresses which correspond to the specified input event so that the selected continuous data is played back during display of the specified input event superimposed over said text and/or image data, whereby there is provided a user ability to associate text and/or image data with the specified input event superimposed thereover with the selected portion of said continuous data played back.