Image signal processing apparatus

• US 7,269,335 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2002
• Issued: 09/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xacti Corporation (Office Support KK)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Okamoto, Masayoshi, Yamamoto, Shigeaki, Dotsubo, Nobuhide
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai Q.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chowdhury; Nigar
• Application Number:
  US10/144,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20020172502A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• Field of Search: 386/45, 386/95, 386125-126, 386/117, 348/231.2
• US Class Current: 386/229
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• 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 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding

Abstract

An image signal processing apparatus includes a hard disk. The hard disk is as necessary created with a directory to which time information according to a time counter is assigned. An image file is stored in a latest directory having the latest creation time among a plurality of directories thus created. When a time indicated by the time counter is modified retroactive to the past, a marker is added to a directory having the time information according to the time counter before being modified. The latest directory is detected on the basis of the marker and the time information.

Claims

1. An image signal processing apparatus storing an image signal in any one of a plurality of directories each of which is created as necessary and time information according to a time counter is assigned to, comprising:

a first assigner for assigning ,when a time indicated by the time counter is modified retroactive to the past, a marker to a directory having the time information according to the time counter before modifying the time;

a first detector for detecting a latest directory having a latest creation time on the basis of the marker and the time information; and

a storage for storing the image signal in the latest directory.

2. An image signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a creator for creating a new directory when the time indicated by the time counter is modified retroactive to the past; and

a second assigner for assigning to the new directory the time information according to the time counter after modifying the time.

3. An image signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second detector for detecting an oldest directory having the oldest creation time on the basis of the marker and the time information; and

an eraser for erasing the oldest directory when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

4. An image signal processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each directory has an identification number circularly successive in order of a creation, and said eraser erases the directory having the identification number succeeding to the identification number of the latest directory.

5. An image signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third assigner for assigning ranking according to the creation time to each directory on the basis of the marker and the time information; and

a displayer for displaying a representative image of each directory according to the ranking.

6. An image signal processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said third assigner assigns the ranking to one of the directories to which the markers are assigned and the directories to which the markers are not assigned on the basis of the time information, and then, assigns the ranking to another of the directories to which the markers are assigned and the directories to which the markers are not assigned on the basis of the time information.

7. An image signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image sensor fixed at an arbitrary position, wherein the image signal is an image signal of an abject photographed by said image sensor.

8. An image data processing apparatus, comprising:

a creator for creating a directory when a creation condition is satisfied;

a first assigner for assigning time information indicative of a time specified by a time counter to the directory created by said creator;

a second assigner for assigning a marker to each of the directories already created by said creator when the time specified by the time counter is modified retroactive to the past;

an extractor for extracting directories to each of which no marker is assigned from among the directories created by said creator when a recording start operation is carried out;

a first detector for detecting a directory to which time information indicative of a latest time is assigned from among the directories extracted by said extractor as a latest directory; and

a recorder for recording image data to the latest directory detected by said first detector.

9. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the creation condition includes a time modification condition that a modification operation to modify the time specified by said time counter retroactive to the past has been carried out, and said first assigner includes a time information assigner for assigning time information based on a time which has been modified by the modification operation to the directory created by said creator.

10. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a second detector for detecting a directory having the oldest creation time as an oldest directory on the basis of the marker and the time information; and

an eraser for erasing the oldest directory detected by said second detector when an erasing condition is satisfied.

11. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the directory created by said creator has an identification number circularly successive in order of a creation, and the oldest directory is a directory having an identification number subsequent to an identification number of the latest directory.

12. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a third assigner for assigning ranking in order of a creation to the directories created by said creator on the basis of the marker and the time information when a reproduction start operation is carried out; and

a displayer for displaying representative images of the directories created by said creator according to the ranking assigned by said third assigner.

13. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said third assigner assigns the ranking to one of the directories to which the markers are assigned and the directories to which the markers are not assigned on the basis of the time information, and then, assigns the ranking to another of the directories to which the markers are assigned and the directories to which the markers are not assigned on the basis of the time information.

14. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising an image sensor fixed at a designated position, wherein the image data represents an object photographed by said image sensor.