Image reproducing apparatus and image reproducing method

• US 6,798,972 B1
• Filed: 03/24/2000
• Issued: 09/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yoshimoto, Masakazu, Hirose, Masaki, Katsuo, Satoshi, Ito, Norikazu, Shiga, Tomohisa, Yoshikawa, Jun, Yoneya, Satoshi, Nakamura, Shouji
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/534,695
• Time in Patent Office: 1,649 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/95, 386/98, 386/109, 386/112, 386/125, 386/126, 386/68, 386/70
• US Class Current: 386/344
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2182 involving memory arrays, e.g. RAID disk arrays RAID arrays per se G06F3/0689; use of parity to protect data in RAID systems G06F11/1008
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2312 Data placement on disk arrays data placement in general G06F3/0604
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/232 Content retrieval operation locally within server, e.g. reading video streams from disk arrays storage management G06F3/0604; details of querying and searching of video data from a database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums

Abstract

There is provided an image reproducing apparatus and an image reproducing method which allow reproducing speed to be shifted instantly when a change of the reproducing speed is requested in a multi-channel AV (Audio Visual) server. When a request to reproduce an image is made, the image reproducing apparatus reads image data of the part corresponding to the requested reproducing speed out of the HDDs to store in a temporary storage section. Then, an image output I/F reads the image data stored in the temporary storage section and structures a reproduced image by using the image data. In this case, a controller section controls a pattern in reading the divisional data by the image output I/F and structures a reproduced image by means of various reproducing speeds by this reading pattern.

Claims

1. An image reproducing apparatus for reproducing images by generating divisional data spatially divided into a plurality of groups by dividing image data per predetermined data unit;

by recording said divisional data into recording media of spatially divided groups so that the relationship between the groups of said divisional data and the groups of the plurality of recording media spatially divided into the plurality of groups corresponding to the number of groups of said divisional data changes periodically with a certain pattern per said predetermined data unit; and

by reading said divisional data from said plurality of recording media in which said image data is recorded,

said image reproducing apparatus comprising;

reading means for reading said divisional data of part corresponding to requested reproducing speed from said plurality of groups of recording media when a request to reproduce images is made;

storage means for storing said divisional data read out of said plurality of groups of recording media;

structuring means for structuring the reproduced image by reading and using said divisional data stored in said storage means; and

control means for controlling said certain pattern for reading said divisional data out of said storage means.

2. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls so as to read the part of said divisional data in duplicate from said storage means based on the current reproducing speed and the requested reproducing speed when a request to decelerate said reproducing speed is made.

3. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means controls so as to read the part of said divisional data stored in said storage means in duplicate until when said reading means reads said divisional data of the part corresponding to the requested reproducing speed out of each of said plurality of groups of recording media when a request to decelerate the reproducing speed is made.

4. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising requesting means for requesting to use said plurality of recording media when the request to decelerate the reproducing speed is made at timing in which said plurality of recording media cannot be used in case when said plurality of recording media are shared among other apparatuses and time during which said plurality of recording media can be used is periodically assigned;

and

said reading means reads said divisional data of the part corresponding to the requested reproducing speed instantly from each of said plurality of groups of recording media when the use of said plurality of recording media is allowed with respect to the request of said requesting means.

5. An image reproducing method for reproducing images by generating divisional data spatially divided into a plurality of groups by dividing image data per predetermined data unit;

by recording said divisional data into recording media of spatially divided groups so that the relationship between the groups of said divisional data and the groups of the plurality of recording media spatially divided into the plurality of groups corresponding to the number of groups of said divisional data changes periodically with a certain pattern per said predetermined data unit; and

by reading said divisional data from said plurality of recording media in which said image data is recorded,

said image reproducing method comprising steps of;

reading said divisional data of the part corresponding to requested reproducing speed from each of said plurality of groups of recording media when a request to reproduce images is made;

storing said divisional data read out of said plurality of groups of recording media into storage means;

structuring the reproduced image by reading and using said divisional data stored in said storage means; and

controlling said certain pattern for reading said divisional data out of said storage means.

6. A data recording/reproducing apparatus having recording/reproducing means for recording data including image data to randomly accessible recording media and for reproducing said data recorded in said recording media;

and a plurality of input/output processing means for outputting said data inputted from the outside to said recording/reproducing means in an assigned time slot period and for inputting said data outputted from said recording/reproducing means in said time slot period to output to the outside;

said data recording/reproducing apparatus comprising said input/output processing means each having;

data dividing means for spatially dividing said inputted image data into a plurality of data per predetermined unit to generate divisional data divided into a plurality of groups;

output means for outputting said divisional data outputted from said data dividing means to said recording/reproducing means during said time slot period;

storage means for storing said divisional data outputted from said recording/reproducing means during said time slot period; and

image data generating means for generating desired image data by controlling a pattern for reading said divisional data stored in said storage means;

wherein said data recording/reproducing means records said divisional data outputted from said input/output processing means to said plurality of recording media spatially divided into a plurality of groups in correspondence to the number of groups of said divisional data and reproduces said divisional data of the part corresponding to the requested reproducing speed from said plurality of groups of recording media when control data instructing the reproduction is inputted; and

said control means controls said recording/reproducing means so that said divisional data is recorded in said recording media of the different groups so that the relationship between the number of groups of said divisional data and the group of said recording media changes periodically with said pattern per predetermined data unit.

7. A data recording/reproducing method for recording data including image data to randomly accessible recording media and for reproducing said data recorded in said recording media, comprising:

a first step of spatially dividing said image data inputted from the outside into a plurality of data per predetermined unit to generate said divisional data divided into a plurality of groups;

a second step of recording said divisional data generated in the first step to said recording media in a time slot period and of outputting said data recorded in said recording media to recording/reproducing means for reproducing said data;

a third step of recording said divisional data outputted in the second step to said recording media spatially divided into a plurality of groups in correspondence to a number of groups of said divisional data while changing the relationship between the number of groups of said divisional data and the groups of said recording media in a certain pattern per predetermined data unit;

a fourth step of reproducing said divisional data of the part corresponding to the requested reproducing speed from each of said plurality of groups of recording media when a control data instructing to reproduce the image is inputted;

a fifth step of outputting said divisional data reproduced in the fourth step during said time slot period;

a sixth step of storing said divisional data outputted in the fifth step;

a seventh step of controlling the pattern of reading said divisional data stored in the sixth step to generate desired image data; and

an eighth step of out putting said image data generated in the seventh step to the outside.