Moving image judging

• US 6,104,864 A
• Filed: 04/09/1997
• Issued: 08/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yamaguchi Cinema Corporation
• Original Assignee: Plusmic Corporation
• Inventors: Kondo, Noriyuki, Narukawa, Eijiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy
• Assistant Examiner(s): ONUAKU, CHRISTOPHER O
• Application Number:
  US08/840,302
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/109, 386/117, 348/135, 348/136, 348/137, 348/157
• US Class Current: 386/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

A moving image judging apparatus for displaying an image on a video display monitor. A line sensing camera includes a line sensor having more pixels than a number of vertical scanning lines of the video display monitor, and produces input video signals of images of moving objects by scanning the moving objects using line sensor elements to scan in a direction orthogonal to a moving direction of the moving objects. A video image processing apparatus converts the input video signals from the line sensing camera into digital image data signals which are stored into a memory sequentially according to a time sequence, then read out for displaying and converted into analog output video signals as output signals. The image processing apparatus includes a memory for storage purpose having a first memory area for the digital image data signals to be stored sequentially according to the time sequence and a second memory area for information data concerning the digital image data signals. A memory for display purpose stores image data necessary for displaying image data and drawing information data to be composed with the image data which are written in and afterwards read out in synchronization to a video displaying signal. Time, time lines and information on images are stored as the drawing information data. An output means composes the image data and the drawing information data to convert to analog output video signals. A control means which has a connection interface to external equipment, selects an operation mode according to a selection command, controls the signal conversions from analog to digital and digital to analog, controls the data composition of image data and drawing information data, controls reading and writing of the memory for storage purpose and the memory for display purpose, and generates the drawing information data.

Claims

1. A moving image judging apparatus for displaying an image on a video display monitor comprising:

(a) a line sensing camera including a line sensor having more pixels than a number of vertical scanning lines for the video display monitor, and which produces input video signals of images of moving objects by scanning said moving objects using line sensor elements to scan in a direction orthogonal to a moving direction of said moving objects, (b) a video image processing apparatus which converts said input video signals from said line sensing camera into digital image data signals, stores said digital image data signals into a memory sequentially according to a time sequence, then reads out said image data signals stored in the memory area necessary for displaying and converts them into analog output video signals as output signals, (c) a controller for said image processing apparatus to select an operation mode and to control the apparatus, and (d) an external output apparatus which displays said analog output video signals from said image processing apparatus on the video display monitor, wherein said image processing apparatus comprises;

(p) a memory means for storage purpose having a first memory area for said digital image data signals to be stored sequentially according to the time sequence and a second memory area for information data concerning said digital image data signals, said memory means comprising a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), (q) a memory means for display purpose where image data necessary for displaying image data and drawing information data to be composed with said image data are written in and afterwards read out in synchronization to a video displaying signal, comprising an image data display memory where the image data and the information data are stored, a time display memory where time, time lines and information on images are stored as said drawing information data, and a scale and measurement display memory where a scale line for time measurement of displayed images are stored, (r) an output means which composes said image data and said drawing information data to convert to analog output video signals, and (s) a control means which has a connection interface to external equipment, selects an operation mode according to a selection command from said controller, controls said signal conversions from analog to digital and digital to analog, controls said data composition of image data and drawing information data, controls reading and writing of said memory means for storage purpose and said memory means for display purpose, and generates said drawing information data.

2. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said memory means for storage purpose has a third memory area for drawing information data, said control means generates drawing information data to be composed with image data based on said information data stored in said third memory area for information data, stores the drawing information data into said third memory area for drawing information data and then writes the drawing information data into the memory means for display purpose together with said digital image data.

3. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said digital image data signals are stored in said memory means for storage purpose sequentially as a time sequence together with said information data including time data for said digital image data signals, drawing information data for displaying images read out from a memory area are composed with said digital image data signals and then converted to analog video signals so as to be displayed as a video picture on the video display monitor, a scale line is composed and displayed on said video picture, and then automatic time measurement is carried out by reading directly said time data that correspond to the position of the displayed scale line.

4. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said external output apparatus comprises a display apparatus including the video display monitor for displaying said analog video output signals, and a video image recording apparatus for recording image data and information data and a data printing apparatus for printing out images or data, said external output apparatus storing said digital image data and said information data in said memory means for storage purpose in said video image processing apparatus into said video image recording apparatus, and afterwards returns the image data and the information data stored in said video image recording apparatus back to said memory means for storage purpose in order to replay, wherein said digital image data signals are stored in said memory means for storage purpose each time scanning of said line sensor element occurs.

5. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 1 having a pixel number expansion/compression mode in the horizontal direction, a pixel number expansion/compression mode in the vertical direction and a pixel number expansion/compression mode in both horizontal and vertical directions, wherein said line sensing camera scans moving objects in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the moving object at a predetermined constant time interval in order to produce said input video signals which are converted to said digital image data signals and then stored in said memory means for storage purpose sequentially together with said information data containing time data for said digital image data signals, contents in a memory area necessary for displaying are read out, composed with drawing information data which are displayed according to said information data, converted to video image signals and then displayed on the video display monitor, said digital image data signals in said memory area necessary for displaying are written in said memory for display purpose and then read out in synchronization to a video displaying signal, pixel number expansion or compression in the horizontal direction is carried out at data transfer from said video memory to said memory for display purpose, and pixel number expansion or compression in the vertical direction is carried out at reading out from said memory for display purpose in synchronization to the video displaying signal.

6. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said DRAM memory means for storage purpose includes a memory area for storing said digital image data signals corresponding to all pixels produced by said line sensor which has more pixels than the number of vertical scanning lines for the video display monitor,

said memory means for display purpose comprising a video RAM having an image data display memory which has a larger memory area than a memory area necessary for displaying an image on the video display monitor,

means to transfer output image data of all pixels produced by said line sensor sequentially from the DRAM memory means for storage purpose to the video RAM memory means for display purpose,

means for displaying one of the image of an inside and the image of an outside of a racecourse, with the image of the inside of the racecourse being normally displayed, but when the moving object passes outside the area, an image of the entire racecourse is displayed on the video display monitor after compressing said output image data of all pixels produced by the line sensor in the vertical direction.

7. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means writes drawing information data such as a scale line for time measurement or plural number of auxiliary lines into said scale and measurement display memory, and said output means composes said plural number of auxiliary lines on the displayed image using different displaying modes from those for other lines using different colors or different kinds of lines.

8. A moving image judging apparatus comprising:

(a) a line sensing camera which produces input video signals of images of moving objects by scanning said moving objects using line sensor elements to scan in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of said moving objects at a predetermined constant time interval, (b) a video image processing apparatus which converts said input video signals from said line sensing camera into digital image data signals, stores said digital image data signals into a memory sequentially according to the time sequence, then reads out said image data signals stored in the memory area necessary for displaying and converts them into analog output video signals as output signals, (c) a controller for said image processing apparatus to select an operation mode and to control the apparatus, and (d) an external output apparatus which displays said analog output video signals from said image processing apparatus, wherein said image processing apparatus comprises;

(p) a memory means for storage purpose, including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) which has a memory area for said digital image data to be stored sequentially according to the time sequence and a memory area for information data concerning said digital image data, (q) a memory means for display purpose, including a video RAM, where image data necessary for displaying image data and drawing information data to be composed with said image data are written in and afterwards read out in synchronization to a video displaying signal, comprising an image data display memory where the image data and the information data are stored, a time display memory where time, time lines and information on images are stored as said drawing information data, and a scale and measurement display memory where a scale line for time measurement of displayed images are stored,(r) an output means which composes said image data and said drawing information data to convert to analog output video signals, and (s) a control means which has a connection interface to external equipment, selects an operation mode according to a selection command from said controller, controls said signal conversions from analog to digital and digital to analog, controls said data composition of image data and drawing information data, controls reading and writing of said memory means for storage purpose and said memory means for display purpose, generates said drawing information data, and controls functions of said moving image judging apparatus wherein at expansion or compression of the video display image said control means transfers image data necessary for displaying and information data from said memory means for display purpose, expands or compresses pixel number of data read out from said memory means for display purpose by changing horizontal clock frequency for displaying, determines the starting position of reading said memory means for display purpose according to a predetermined position on the video display image in reference to the position of said scale line, and the displayed images are compressed or expanded in the horizontal direction based on the reading out positions.

9. A moving image judging apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said control means calculates the pixel number in the horizontal direction from the clock signal for said video displaying signal, calculates the pixel number between the starting position of reading out and said reference point in order to renew reading the start address of said image data display memory, the start address of said time display memory and the start address of said scale and measurement display memory, according to the clock frequency change.

10. A moving image judging apparatus comprising:

(a) a line sensing camera which produces input video signals of images of moving objects by scanning said moving objects using line sensor elements to scan in the direction rectangular to the moving direction of said moving objects at a predetermined constant time interval, (b) a video image processing apparatus which converts said input video signals from said line sensing camera into digital image data signals, stores said digital image data signals into a memory sequentially according to the time sequence, then reads out said image data signals stored in the memory area necessary for displaying and converts them into analog output video signals as output signals, (c) a controller for said image processing apparatus to select an operation mode and to control the apparatus, and (d) an external output apparatus which displays said analog output video signals from said image processing apparatus, wherein said image processing apparatus comprises;

(p) a memory means for storage purpose, including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) which has a memory area for said digital image data to be stored sequentially according to the time sequence and a memory area for information data concerning said digital image data, (q) a memory means for display purpose, including a video RAM, where image data necessary for displaying image data and drawing information data to be composed with said image data are written in and afterwards read out in synchronization to a video displaying signal, comprising an image data display memory where the image data and the information data are stored, a time display memory where time, time lines and information on images are stored as said drawing information data, and a scale and measurement display memory where a scale line for time measurement of displayed images are stored, (r) an output means which composes said image data and said drawing information data to convert to analog output video signals, and (s) a control means which has a connection interface to external equipment, selects an operation mode according to a selection command from said controller, controls said signal conversions from analog to digital and digital to analog, controls said data composition of image data and drawing information data, controls reading and writing of said memory means for storage purpose and said memory means for display purpose, generates said drawing information data, and controls functions of said moving image judging apparatus wherein at expansion or compression of the video display image said control means transfers image data necessary for displaying and information data from said memory means for display purpose, expands or compresses pixel number of data read out from said memory means for display purpose in synchronization to said video displaying signal by changing horizontal clock frequency for displaying, determines the starting position of reading said memory means for display purpose according to a predetermined position on the video display image in reference to the position of the center of a displayed picture, and the displayed images are compressed or expanded in the horizontal direction based on the reading out positions.