Digital camera

• US 6,556,243 B1
• Filed: 06/12/1998
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xacti Corporation (Office Support KK), Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation), Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Saito, Yawara, Toyofuku, Toshiyuki, Dotsubo, Nobuhide, Haruki, Toshinobu, Tamashima, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Villecco, John M.
• Application Number:
  US09/096,385
• Time in Patent Office: 1,782 Days
• Field of Search: 348/231, 348/232, 348/233, 348/239, 348/333.02, 348/333.05, 348/333.12, 348/218, 348/36, 348/231.99, 348/231.2, 348/231.3, 348/231.6, 348/218.1, 382/299, 382/301
• US Class Current: 348/231.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2158 using a detachable storage unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32112 in a separate computer file, document page or paper sheet, e.g. a fax cover sheet H04N1/32122 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3245 of image modifying data, e.g. handwritten addenda, highlights or augmented reality information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3247 Data linking a set of images to one another, e.g. sequence, burst or continuous capture mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3266 of text or character information, e.g. text accompanying an image H04N2201/3226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2621 Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects during image pickup, e.g. digital cameras, camcorders, video cameras having integrated special effects capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence

Abstract

A digital camera includes a memory card. Title image data and photograph image data are compressed according to a JPEG format so that compressed data thereof are recorded in the same memory card. When the title image data and the photograph image data are combined into composite image data, the composite image data is also compressed according to the JPEG format and recorded into the same memory card. That is, the title image data, the photograph image data and the composite image data are compressed according to the same format, and their compressed data are recorded in the same memory card.

Claims

1. A digital camera comprising:

a photographer for photographing an object in response to a photographing instruction;

a first recorder for recording a photographed image signal outputted from said photographer into a recording medium which stores a special image signal;

a compositor for compositing the photographed image signal and the special image signal each of which is recorded on said recording medium with one another in response to an image compositing instruction;

a second recorder for recording a composite image signal created by said compositor into said recording medium; and

a reproducer for reproducing the special image signal, the photographed image signal and the composite image signal from said recording medium, wherein the special image signal is assigned with a first identifier, each of the photographed image signal and the composite image signal is assigned with a second identifier, and said reproducer first reproduces the image signal(s) assigned with one of the first identifier and the second identifier, and then reproduces the image signal(s) assigned with other of the first identifier and the second identifier;

wherein said reproducer reproduces the special image signal first, and then reproduces each of the photographed image signal and the composite image signal.