Recording and/or reproduction apparatus and recording and/or reproduction method

• US 7,212,731 B1
• Filed: 11/24/2000
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ohbi, Seiji, Morotomi, Shiro, Kashimoto, Tomoyo
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/722,165
• Time in Patent Office: 2,349 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/52, 386/83, 386/95, 710/8, 715/716, 715/760
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/025 'Virtual' control panels, e.g. Graphical User Interface [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/531 being rotatable or detachable
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A recording and/or reproduction apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from a storage medium is disclosed. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus includes a recording and/or reproduction section for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from the storage medium, a communication section for communicating with an external apparatus, a memory for storing operation screen information corresponding to the recording and/or reproduction section, a transmission controller for controlling the communication section to transmit the operation screen information to the external apparatus, and a controller operable when the communication section receives operation information to the operation screen information displayed on the external apparatus for controlling the recording and/or reproduction section in accordance with the operation information.

Claims

1. A recording and/or reproduction apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from a storage medium, comprising:

recording and/or reproduction means for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from the storage medium;

communication means for communicating with an external apparatus;

producing means for producing markup language format information for an operation screen including an area for displaying data stored in said storage medium;

transmission control means for controlling said communication means to transmit the markup language format information for the operation screen to the external apparatus; and

control means for controlling said recording and/or reproduction means in accordance with the operation screen displayed on the external apparatus when said communication means receives the information for the operation screen.

2. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said communication means is capable of communicating with the external apparatus through a network using a predetermined communication protocol.

3. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said communication means is capable of communicating with the external apparatus through the network using an internal protocol.

4. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said communication means is capable of communicating with a personal computer through the network using an internet protocol.

5. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said producing means stores graphical user interface information to be used to remotely control said recording and/or reproduction means from the external apparatus.

6. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said producing means stores the graphical user interface information of one or more of a reproduction instruction button, a recording instruction button and a reproduction stop button.

7. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

image pickup means for photoelectrically converting an optical image of an image pickup object into image data, and

wherein said recording and/or reproduction means stores the image data into the storage medium.

8. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

microphone means for converting sound collected from an outside source into sound data, and

wherein said recording and/or reproduction means stores the sound data into the storage medium.

9. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said recording and/or reproduction means compresses the image data and the sound data and stores the compressed image data and compressed sound data in the storage medium.

10. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said recording and/or reproduction means compresses the image data in accordance with MPEG system and compresses the sound data in accordance with ATRAC system.

11. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising display means for displaying image data reproduced from the storage medium by said recording and/or reproduction means.

12. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording and/or reproduction means records and/or reproduces data onto and/or from an optical disk on which first tracks formed from a wobbled track which is wobbled on opposite side faces thereof and a non-wobbled track which is not wobbled on the opposite side faces thereof are formed from ones of lands and grooves and information is recorded on second tracks formed from the others of the lands and the grooves positioned between the wobbled track and the non-wobbled track.

13. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising update control means for controlling said recording and/or reproduction means to record, when said communication means receives an update program, the update program in the storage medium.

14. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said producing means stores control programs corresponding to transmission control means and said update control means, and said update control means rewrites the control programs of said producing means with the update program stored in the storage medium in response to an update instruction of a user of said recording and/or reproduction apparatus after the recording of the update program in the storage medium is completed.

15. A portable recording and/or reproduction apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from a storage medium, comprising:

recording and/or reproduction means for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from the storage medium;

communication means for communicating with an external apparatus;

discrimination means operable for discriminating a type of the external apparatus based on the transmission request information when transmission request information for requesting transmission of data is received from the external apparatus through said communication means; and

transmission control means for adaptively changing the format of data read out from the storage medium by said recording and/or reproduction means in response to a result of the discrimination by said discrimination means and controlling said communication means to transmit the data to the external apparatus,

wherein when said discrimination means discriminates that the external apparatus is a computer for universal use, said transmission control means converts a format of data read out from the storage medium into markup language format and controls said communication means to transmit the data of the markup language format to the external apparatus.

16. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said discrimination means extracts an identifier representative of a type of the external apparatus from the transmission request information and discriminates the type of the external apparatus based on the extracted identifier.

17. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising image pickup means for photoelectrically converting an optical image of an image pickup object into image data, and wherein said recording and/or reproduction means stores the image data in the storage medium.

18. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising microphone means for converting sound collected from an outside source into sound data, and wherein said recording and/or reproduction means stores the sound data in the storage medium.

19. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said recording and/or reproduction means compresses the image data and the sound data and stores the compressed image data and compressed sound data in the storage medium.

20. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said recording and/or reproduction means compresses the image data in accordance with MPEG system and compresses the sound data in accordance with ATRAC system.

21. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising display means for displaying image data reproduced from the storage medium by said recording and/or reproduction means.

22. The recording and/or reproduction apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said recording and/or reproduction means records and/or reproduces data in and/or from an optical disk on which first tracks formed from a wobbled track which is wobbled on opposite side faces thereof and a non-wobbled track which is not wobbled on the opposite side faces thereof are formed from ones of lands and grooves and information is recorded on second tracks formed from the others of the lands and the grooves positioned between the wobbled track and the non-wobbled track.

23. A recording and/or reproduction method for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from a storage medium in a portable apparatus, comprising the steps of:

producing markup language format information for an operation screen including an area for displaying data stored in said storage medium;

transmitting the markup language format information produced by the producing step to an external apparatus through communication means;

receiving, by said communication means, operation information of a user to the information for the operation screen transmitted to the external apparatus; and

performing recording and/or reproduction of the data into and/or from the storage medium in accordance with the received operation information.

24. A recording and/or reproduction method for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from a storage medium, comprising the steps of:

receiving transmission request information for requesting transmission of data from an external apparatus through a communication means;

discriminating a type of the external apparatus based on the received transmission request information;

adaptively changing a format of data read out from the storage medium into a markup language format in response to a result of the discriminating step indicating that the external apparatus is a computer for universal use; and

transmitting the data of the markup language format to the external apparatus through said communication means.

25. A portable recording and/or reproduction apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from a storage medium, comprising:

recording and/or reproduction means for recording and/or reproducing data onto and/or from the storage medium;

communication means for communicating with an external apparatus;

discrimination means operable for discriminating a type of the external apparatus based on the transmission request information when transmission request information for requesting transmission of data is received from the external apparatus through said communication means; and

transmission control means for adaptively changing the format of data read out from the storage medium by said recording and/or reproduction means in response to a result of the discrimination by said discrimination means and controlling said communication means to transmit the data to the external apparatus,

wherein when said discrimination means discriminates that the external apparatus is another recording and/or reproduction apparatus of the same type as that of said recording and/or reproduction apparatus, said transmission control means controls said communication means to transmit image data read out from the storage medium to the external apparatus.