Electronic still video camera with direct personal computer (PC) compatible digital format output

• US 6,094,219 A
• Filed: 05/22/1996
• Issued: 07/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: St Clair Intellectual Property Consultants Incorporated
• Original Assignee: St Clair Intellectual Property Consultants Incorporated
• Inventors: Roberts, Marc K., Chikosky, Matthew A., Speasl, Jerry A.
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US08/651,562
• Time in Patent Office: 1,525 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207, 348/220, 348/231, 348/222, 348/384, 348/552
• US Class Current: 348/220.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00236 using an image reading or reproducing device, e.g. a facsimile reader or printer, as a local input to or local output from a computer image input to or image output from a computer via a network H04N1/00209
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00241 using an image reading device as a local input to a computer input via network, e.g. network scanners H04N1/00225
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2137 with temporary storage before final recording, e.g. in a frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/00 Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0065 Converting image data to a format usable by the connected apparatus or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0068 Converting from still picture data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/33378 Type or format of data, e.g. colour or B/W, halftone or binary, computer image file or facsimile data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/01 Conversion of standards , e.g. involving analogue television standards or digital television standards processed at pixel level
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 358/906 Hand-held camera with recorder in a single unit

Abstract

An electronic still camera comprising a lens, shutter, and exposure control system, a focus and range control circuit, a solid state imaging device incorporating a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) through which an image is focused, a digital control unit through which timing and control of an image for electronic processing is accomplished, an Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter circuit to convert the analog picture signals into their digital equivalents, a pixel buffer for collecting a complete row of an image'"'"'s digital equivalent, a frame buffer for collecting all rows of an image'"'"'s digital equivalent, and a selectively adjustable digital image compression and decompression algorithm that compresses the size of a digital image and selectively formats the compressed digital image to a compatible format for either the IBM Personal Computer and related architectures or the Apple Macintosh PC architecture as selected by the operator so that the digital image can be directly read into most word processing, desktop publishing, and data base software packages including means for executing the appropriate selected decompression algorithm; and a memory input/output interface that provides both temporary storage of the digital image and controls the transmission and interface with a standard Personal Computer (PC) memory storage device such as a digital diskette. The digital diskette is removably inserted into the housing of the camera prior to use in recording digital image data.

Claims

1. In an electronic camera including means for digitizing captured image data and a memory element for storing digitized image data, the improvement comprising:

output data control means for selecting for each digitized captured image to be stored in the memory element one of a plurality of different output data format codes stored in the camera and assigning the selected format code to the digitized captured image, each output data format code corresponding to at least one of a plurality of different data formats for different types of information handling systems, and

logic means responsive to said output data control means for determining an output data format for each digitized captured image in accordance with the assigned output data format code.

2. The improved arrangement of claim 1 further comprising picture image resolution determining means for selectively determining which of a plurality of compression algorithm parameters are to be applied to said digitized captured image.

3. The improved arrangement of claim 2 wherein said memory element comprises a removably mounted digital disk.

4. The improved arrangement of claim 2 wherein a digital decompression algorithm associated with a compression algorithm selected by said image resolution determining means is also stored on said memory element and further comprising record marking means for storing a digital coded mark for indicating decompression algorithm parameters to be utilized in decompressing each said digitized captured image.

5. The improved arrangement of claim 2 further comprising record marking means for storing a unique digital mark indicating compression algorithm parameters utilized in compressing each said digitized captured image.

6. The improved arrangement of claim 2 further comprising record marking means for generating and storing with each said digitized captured image a coded mark indicating the compression algorithm parameters utilized in compressing said digitized captured image.

7. The improved arrangement of claim 1 further comprising memory formatting means operable during a power-up routine to automatically format said memory element in accordance with one of a plurality of memory formats.

8. The improved arrangement of claim 1 further comprising audio recording means for simultaneously storing digital audio signals associated with each subject image and memory file correlation means for associating in said memory element the respective storage locations of said audio signals with its associated image signals.

9. The improved arrangement of claim 1 further comprising control means for improving image signal storage efficiency by selectively determining an amount of storage of said memory element to be associated with storage of each picture image.

10. An electronic camera comprising:

means for capturing image data corresponding to a selected image;

means for digitizing captured image data;

removably mounted memory means for storing digitized image data;

output data format control means for storing in said camera at least one of a plurality of different output data format codes where each of said plurality of output data format codes corresponds respectively to at least one of a plurality of different data file formats for different types of computer apparatus; and

logic means responsive to said format control means for selectively controlling the formatting of said digitized captured image data in accordance with a selected one of said plurality of different output data format codes.

11. The device of claim 10 further comprising memory formatting means operable to automatically format said removably mounted memory means in accordance with one of a plurality of operator selectable data storage formats.

12. The device of claim 10 further comprising image resolution determining means for selectively determining which of a plurality of compression algorithm parameters are to be applied to said digitized image data.

13. The device of claim 12 further comprising record marking means for indicating which one of said plurality of compression algorithm parameters were utilized to compress said digitized image data.

14. The device of claim 10 wherein said removably mounted memory means comprises digital data diskette means and further comprising selectable diskette formatting means for automatically formatting the diskette means in accordance with one of a plurality of operator selectable memory formats.

15. The device of claim 10 further comprising remote activation means for selectively activating said device and logic means responsive to said remote activation means for initiating a memory format check of said removably mounted memory means.

16. An improved electronic camera comprising:

an optical lens;

shutter means operably associated with said lens;

an array of discrete light sensing pixel elements, each pixel being responsive to incident illumination from a subject image radiating through said lens and shutter means to generate an analog picture information signal corresponding to said subject image;

analog to digital converter means for converting said analog picture information signal into corresponding digital data information signals;

memory means for storing said digital data information signals;

output data control means for selecting for each digital data information signal one of a plurality of different output data format codes prerecorded in said camera and assigning the selected output data format code to the digital data information signal, each output data format code corresponding respectively to at least one of a plurality of different data formats for different types of information handling apparatus; and

logic means responsive to said output data control means for determining the output data format file structure of said digital data information signals in accordance with said assigned output data format code.

17. The improved electronic camera of claim 16, further comprising picture image resolution determining means for selectively determining which of a plurality of compression algorithm parameters are to be applied to said digital data information signals.

18. The improved electronic camera of claim 16, wherein said memory means comprises digital data means having a plurality of addressable sections for storing said digital data information signals.

19. The improved electronic camera of claim 16, further comprising memory organizing means for automatically formatting said memory means in accordance with said output data format code.

20. The improved electronic camera of claim 17, further comprising marking means for recording a unique mark indicating decompression algorithm parameters to be utilized in decompressing said digital data information signals.

21. The improved electronic camera of claim 16, further comprising memory allocating means for allocating said memory means in accordance with at least one of said plurality of data format codes.

22. The improved electronic camera of claim 21, further comprising image resolution determining means for selectively determining which compression algorithm parameters are applied to said digital data information signals.

23. The improved electronic camera of claim 17, wherein said digital data compression algorithm is recorded in said memory means and further comprising marking means for indicating the compression algorithm parameters utilized in compressing said digital data information signals.

24. An electronic camera operative to generate output data for use with a plurality of user selectable, information handling systems, comprising;

a digitizer for generating digital data corresponding to a captured image;

a memory element for storing the digital data;

a mode switch for selecting different modes of operation of the camera and generating a corresponding switch code

a compression processor for compressing the digital image data; and

an output controller for determining the selected information handling system, for assigning a corresponding output data format code to the stored digital data and for writing the switch code into a header in the image data file.

25. The camera of claim 24 further comprising:

a resolution switch for selecting the resolution used by the compression processor in compressing the digital image data and generating a corresponding resolution code, the output controller being operative to write the resolution code into the header of the image data file.

26. The camera of claim 25 further comprising:

an image memory removably mounted to the camera for storing the digital image data file together with a plurality of other digital image data files respectively corresponding to a plurality of other captured images.