Editing system for multi-media documents with parallel and sequential data

• US 5,861,880 A
• Filed: 10/10/1995
• Issued: 01/19/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimizu, Takeshi, Nakamura, Osamu, Saito, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Application Number:
  US08/541,697
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 395/762, 395/774, 395/806, 395/807, 395/173, 395/328, 395/348, 395/614, 395/615, 364/514 R, 364/514 A, 358/311, 345/302, 345/473, 345/328, 345/345, 707/501, 707/513, 707/103, 707/104
• US Class Current: 715/202
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take 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

Abstract

Disclosed is a multi-media document editing system capable of editing display positions (spatial structures) of a group of multi-media data as well as display start and display end (temporal structures) in a simple manner through an editing interface. The multi-media document editing system is provided with a multi-media data storage means for storing a plurality of multi-media data elements, a multi-media document holding means for holding a multi-media document containing structural information relating to time and display position in the reproduction of each of the multi-media data stored in said multi-media data storage means, an editing means for connecting the elements in the structural information of the multi-media document through a link structure element, and a multi-media document reproducing means for reproducing each of the multi-media data elements stored in said multi-media data storage means in accordance with the structural information of the multi-media document which has been edited by said editing means.

Claims

1. A multi-media document editing system comprising:

I. a multi-media data memory means for storing multi-media data elements;

II. a multi-media document memory means for storing a multi-media document containing structural information, said structural information comprising;

A. a sequential structure element for connecting the elements stored in said multi-media data memory means in order of reproduction time, said sequential structure element having;

a. a start time; and

b. at least one order link that references said multi-media data elements;

B. a parallel structure element including;

a. synchronous links for connecting said sequential structure element with another sequential structure element so that the reproduction start time is the same as that of said sequential structure element;

b. a relative time between the time of reproducing said sequential structure element and the time of reproducing said another sequential structure element;

c. a start time; and

d. at least one synchronous link that references said sequential structure element; and

C. a track structure element for connecting said sequential structure element with another sequential structure element when the multi-media data elements linked by said sequential structure element are displayed together, said track structure element having;

a. a media type indicator,

b. a display stream indicator; and

c. at least one of

(a). a reference to said sequential structure element, and

(b). said parallel structure element; and

III. an editing means for performing an editing operation on the structural information stored in said multi-media document memory means, wherein said editing means includes;

A. a judging means, which upon execution of the editing operation, judges whether superimposition has occurred on a time axis as a multi-media data element reproducing time axis; and

B. a warning means which, when the occurrence of superimposition has been judged by said judging means, tells the operator to that effect without executing the editing operation.