Image data compression device having compression inhibiting function

• US 6,263,106 B1
• Filed: 07/01/1996
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PENTAX RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
• Original Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Yamagata, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Couso, Jose L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dang, Duy M.
• Application Number:
  US08/673,562
• Time in Patent Office: 1,842 Days
• Field of Search: 382/173, 382/113, 382/100, 382/137, 382/138, 382/232, 382/233, 382/235, 382/239, 382/282, 382/286, 382/305, 382/306, 382/307, 382/308, 382/309, 382/310, 382/311, 382/312, 382/317, 382/318, 382/321, 382/234, 382/236, 382/237, 382/238, 382/240, 382/241, 382/242, 382/243, 382/244, 382/245, 382/246, 382/247, 382/248, 382/249, 382/250, 382/251, 382/252, 382/253, 382/284, 382/166, 358/403, 358/426, 358/428, 358/450, 358/453, 358/464
• US Class Current: 382/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/00 Image coding bandwidth or redundancy reduction for static pictures H04N1/41; coding or decoding of static colour picture signals H04N1/64; methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00925 Inhibiting an operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/21 Intermediate information storage H04N1/387, H04N1/41 take precedence ; for control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32358; indexing, editing G11B27/00
• 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 1/2158 using a detachable storage unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/212 Selecting different recording or reproducing modes, e.g. high or low resolution, field or frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3242 of processing required or performed, e.g. for reproduction or before recording H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence

Abstract

A number of image data files recorded by the image data compression device are stored in an IC in memory card either uncompressed, in a low-compression, format, or in a high-compression format. In order to free memory for further files in the IC card, selected uncompressed or low-compression format files existing in the IC memory can be recalled and compressed to the next higher level of compression, replaced the former files recorded in the card. A set of data flags in the image data compression device, corresponding to each of the existing files in the card and set at the time of recording, can be set by an operating switch to exclude (inhibit compression of) selected files from those available for further compression, so that the user may mark files to be kept at a higher image quality.

Claims

1. An image data compression device, employed in an image recording device, that compresses a plurality of recorded image data files in a recording medium, said plurality of recorded image data files corresponding to a plurality of images, said image data compression device comprising:

a memory that stores a plurality of flags corresponding to said plurality of recorded image data files, each of the plurality of flags indicating whether a corresponding compressible recorded image data file is allowed to be compressed, each recorded image data file of the plurality of recorded image data files comprising stored data of an entire image of each of said plurality of images;

a first operable member that sets a status of one of said plurality of flags to a predetermined status indicating that a corresponding compressible recorded image data file is prohibited to be compressed into an image data file with a lower image quality than said image data file before compression, when the first operable member is manually operated by an operator and when the corresponding recorded image data file is stored in the recording medium;

a data compression circuit that reads said recorded image data files out of said recording medium and compresses said recorded image data files into compressed image data files having lower image qualities as well as smaller sizes than said image data files before compression;

a second operable member that selects one of the plurality of recorded image data file in said recording medium and initiates a data compression that lowers an image quality of the recorded image data file than said selected image data file before compression by said data compression circuit; and

a controller that reads one of the plurality of flags, which corresponds to the recorded image data file selected by the second operable member, and that determines whether the selected compressible recorded image data file is allowed to be compressed into a compressed image data file having a lower image quality than the selected recorded image data file before compression in accordance with the status of the read flag without processing the selected recorded image file, and that controls said data compression circuit to compress said recorded image data file selected by said second operable member into the compressed image data file having the lower image quality when the read flag is not set to said predetermined status, said controller replacing said recorded image data file with the compressed image data file having the lower image quality and compressed by said compression circuit if said read flag is not set to said predetermined status.

2. The image data compression device according to claim 1,

wherein, if said image data is compressed by said compression circuit, said controller-deletes said recorded image data file then stores said compressed image data file in said recording medium.

3. The image data compression device according to claim 2, wherein the data compression circuit compresses the recorded image data file at one of first and second compression modes having first and second compression ratios, respectively, said second compression ratio being higher than said first compression ratio, an image quality of a compressed image data file compressed by the second compression ratio being lower than a compressed image data file compressed by the first compression ratio, and wherein

said controller determines whether said recorded image data file stored in said recording medium can be further compressed by the second compression ratio, and controls said compression circuit to compress said recorded image data file by the second compression ratio only when said recorded image data file can be compressed further.

4. The image data compression device according to claim 1, wherein said controller permits said first operable member to set said status of recorded image data file when said recorded image data file is first recorded in said recording medium.

5. The image data compression device according to claim 1, wherein said recording medium is removable from said compression device.

6. The image data compression device accords to claim 5, wherein said controller clears said status of each of said plurality of flags when said recording me&

urn is removed from said compression device.

7. The image data compression device according to claim 5, further comprising means for inhibiting a removal and insertion of said recording medium while said image recording device is turned OFF.

8. The data compression device according to claim 5, wherein said memory comprises a non-volatile rewritable memory.

9. The image data compression device according to claim 5, wherein said recording medium comprises an integrated circuit memory card.

10. The image data compression device according to claim 1, wherein said compression circuit compresses said image data in accordance with a compression algorithm that is in conformance with JPEG.

11. The image data compression device according to claim 1, wherein said controller prevents said compression circuit from compressing said recorded image data file when a flag corresponding to said recorded image data file has a second predetermined status, so that the recorded image data file is not compressed.

12. The image data compression device according to claim 1, wherein a whole image comprises all raster rows and byte groups of an image of each of said plurality of image data files.

13. An image data recording device, comprising:

a recorder that records a plurality of image data files to a recording medium as recorded image data files, each recorded image data file comprising stored data of an entire image of each of said plurality of image data files;

a setting unit that sets a predetermined status to one of a plurality of data flags, when the setting unit is operated an operator, each of the plurality of data flags corresponding to one of the plurality of image data files, and when each of the plurality of image data files is stored in the recording medium, the predetermined status indicating that a corresponding compressible recorded image data file is allowed to be compressed into a compressed image data file with a lower quality than said recorded image data file before the compression;

a reading unit that reads one of said plurality of recorded image data files from said recording medium;

a compressing unit that compresses said recorded image data read by said reading unit, said recorded image data file to be compressed by said compressing unit having been compressed at a first compression ratio, said compressing unit compressing said recorded image data file at a second compression ratio which is higher than said first compression ratio, into a compressed image data file having a lower image quality as well as a smaller size than the recorded image data file before compression by the second compression ratio;

a flag reading unit that reads one of the plurality of data flags corresponding to the read recorded image data file;

a determining unit that determines whether the read compressible image data file is allowed to be compressed at the second compression ratio into a compressed image data file having a lower image quality than the read image data file before compression at the second compression ratio in accordance with the status of the data flag read by the flag reading unit without processing the read image data file; and

a controller that controls said compressing unit to compress said read recorded image data file at said second compression ratio into the compressed image data file having the lower image quality than said read recorded image data file before compression at the second compression ratio, only when said determining unit determines that said read data flag corresponding to said read recorded image data file is said predetermined status; and

a replacing unit that replaces said read recorded image data file stored in the recording medium, only when the read data flats having said predetermined status, with the compressed image data file compressed at said second compression ratio and having the lower image quality than the read recorded image data file before compression at the second compression ratio.

14. The image data recording device according to claim 13, further comprising;

means for capturing an image and generating an image data file, said compressing means compressing said image data file generated by said capturing means when said recorded image data file is first recorded to said recording medium.

15. The image data recording device according to claim 14, said compressing means further comprising means for expanding compressed data,

wherein, when said recorded image data file to be compressed by said compressing means has been compressed at said predetermined compression ratio, said compressing means expands said recorded image data file and then compresses said expanded image data file at said second compression ratio.

16. The image data recording device according to claim 14, further comprising:

means for determining whether said recorded image data file to be compressed can be compressed further, and for prohibiting said compressing means from compressing said recorded image data file to be compressed if it is determined that said recorded image data file to be compressed can not be compressed further.

17. The image data recording device according to claim 13, further comprising:

means for indicating a remaining capacity of said recording medium.

18. The image data recording device according to claim 13, wherein said storing means comprises a nonvolatile. rewritable memory.

19. The image data recoiling device according to claim 13, wherein said image data recording device comprises a still video camera.

20. The image data recording device according to claim 13, wherein said controller prevents said compressing unit from compressing the read compressible recorded image data file when the data flag corresponding to the read compressible recorded image data file is not the predetermined status so that the read compressible recorded image data file is not further compressed.

21. The image data compression device according to claim 13, wherein a whole image rises all raster rows and byte groups of an image of each of said plurality of image data files.

22. The image data recording device according to claim 13, wherein said controller controls said compressing unit to compress said recorded image data file, if the read data flag corresponding to said read recorded image data file is said first predetermined status, regardless of whether said recorded image data file was previously compressed.

23. A method of controlling compression, which employ a first method for compressing a non-compressed image data file to a first compressed file and a second method for compressing the first compressed file to a second compressed file, comprising:

selecting the first method if a first flag associated with a file is set;

selecting the second method if the first flag associated with the file is not set;

setting, when each image data file is stored in a recording medium, and in response to a user'"'"'s instruction, a second flag associated with each image data file, the second flag representing whether each compressible image data file is allowed to be compressed into a compressed image data file having a lower image quality than said image data file before compression;

selecting a compressible image data file to be compressed;

reading the status of the second flag associated with the selected compressible image data file to be compressed;

deciding in accordance with the read status of the second flag, whether the compressible image data file is allowed to be compressed into the compressed image data file having the lower image quality than the image data file before the compression, before initiation of compression of the selected image data file; and

compressing the selected compressible image data file with the selected method into the compressed image data file having the lower image quality than the selected compressible image data file before compression if it is determined that compression is allowed.