Image data processing apparatus for digitally reproducing optical image data

• US 6,020,982 A
• Filed: 10/08/1993
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamauchi, Akira, Ono, Tomoko, Mimura, Hideki, Kakizaki, Mikio, Hisatomi, Shuichi, Izawa, Fumio, Suyama, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas D.
• Application Number:
  US08/133,791
• Time in Patent Office: 2,307 Days
• Field of Search: 358/909, 358/906, 358/444, 358/450, 358/400, 358/401, 358/403, 358/443, 358/452, 358/468, 395/164, 395/166, 395/400, 395/425
• US Class Current: 358/444
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2525 Magneto-optical [MO] discs
• 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 2220/913 Digital audio tape [DAT] format
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/028 with computer assistance
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/032 on tapes G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00129 with a display device, e.g. CRT or LCD monitor with a television apparatus H04N1/00283; arrangements for control of display devices G09G
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2125 Display of information relating to the still picture recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2137 with temporary storage before final recording, e.g. in a frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/215 Recording a sequence of still pictures, e.g. burst mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2158 using a detachable storage unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2166 for mass storage, e.g. in document filing systems information retrieval G06F16/00
• 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 1/32502 in systems having a plurality of input or output devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32512 of different type, e.g. internal and external devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32529 : of different type, e.g. internal and external devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3871 : the composed originals being of different kinds, e.g. low- and high-resolution originals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/115 : Selection of the code volume for a coding unit prior to coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 : Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/14 : Coding unit complexity, e.g. amount of activity or edge presence estimation H04N19/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/146 : Data rate or code amount at the encoder output
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/149 : by estimating the code amount by means of a model, e.g. mathematical model or statistical model
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/15 : by monitoring actual compressed data size at the memory before deciding storage at the transmission buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/154 : Measured or subjectively estimated visual quality after decoding, e.g. measurement of distortion use of rate-distortion criteria H04N19/147
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/162 : User input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/17 : the unit being an image region, e.g. an object
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 : the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 : the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/186 : the unit being a colour or a chrominance component
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/196 : being specially adapted for the computation of encoding parameters, e.g. by averaging previously computed encoding parameters processing of motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/30 : using hierarchical techniques, e.g. scalability H04N19/63 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/42 : characterised by implementation details or hardware specially adapted for video compression or decompression, e.g. dedicated software implementation H04N19/635 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 : Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 : using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 : Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0077 : Types of the still picture apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/214 : Checking or indicating the storage space
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 : of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 : of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 : of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3242 : of processing required or performed, e.g. for reproduction or before recording H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3243 : of type information, e.g. handwritten or text document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 : Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3264 : of sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 : The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/046 : Colour interpolation to calculate the missing colour values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/049 : having three pick-up sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 : Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 : for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/67 : Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 : Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 : Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 : the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 : using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 : using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 : using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals

Abstract

The invention is based on an electronic still camera for converting a taken optical image of the subject into digital image data, and recording into a memory card incorporating semiconductor memories, in which the digital image data obtained from this electronic still camera is stored in a large-capacity recording medium through an exclusive recording device, or displayed in plural monitors, or stored in a disk or magnetic tape by existing recording devices or even compressed, expanded, edited or processed, so that it may satisfy versatile requests of users sufficiently.

Claims

1. In a digital still camera which produces digital image data corresponding to an optical image of a photographed object, and which records the digital image data in a recording medium, an improved image data processing apparatus comprising:

header information recording means for producing header information each time photography is performed, and for recording the header information in the recording medium along with the digital image data, said header information including first information representing a time at which the photography is performed, second information representing a data compression rate of the digital image data recorded in the recording medium, and third information selected by a user,

means for selecting one of said first information, said second information and said third information as retrieval mode data to identify desired digital image data to be retrieved from among a plurality of digital image data stored in the recording medium.

2. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

retrieval means for retrieving desired digital image data on the basis of the selected retrieval mode data;

display means for displaying a plurality of digital image data retrieved by the retrieval means in different display areas of the screen, respectively;

an added-on memory for storing digital image data which are retrieved by the retrieval means but cannot be displayed by the display means at one time; and

control means for permitting the digital image data stored in the added-on memory to be displayed in the display means of the screen, respectively, in response to an external operation.

3. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said retrieval means retrieves said desired digital image data using said retrieval mode data selected from a group consisting of range, title, date, compression rate, data type, photographic situation and key word.

4. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said display means displays said retrieval mode data.

5. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

editing/processing means for editing/processing the digital image data read out from the recording medium, in a predetermined order;

recording means for generating header information corresponding to the digital image data edited or processed by the editing/processing means, and for recording the header information along with the digital image data having undergone editing/processing; and

display control means for permitting the digital image data recorded by the recording means to be displayed on the display means on the basis of the header information, said image data recorded by the recording means being displayed in an order in which the digital image data recorded by the recording means are processed.