Data recording and reproducing apparatus and method of generating metadata

• US 7,831,598 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2007
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Ko, Chang-seog
• Primary Examiner(s): Cottingham; John R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham; Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/650,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20080033983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3036 Time code signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440236 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures, audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3229 further additional information (metadata) being comprised in the file name (including path, e.g. directory or folder names at one or more higher hierarchical levels)

Abstract

A data recording and reproducing apparatus and a method of generating metadata are provided. The data recording and reproducing apparatus includes: a signal processor capturing images, processing the captured images to generate image data, and generating an image file that includes the image data; a speech recognition unit recognizing speech and converting the speech into text data; and a controller using the text data to generate metadata and adding the metadata to the image file. Accordingly, at a time when images are recorded, metadata is generated as management information corresponding to image contents by using an image contents recording apparatus. Therefore, reliable metadata corresponding to the image contents can be generated.

Claims

1. A data recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

a memory;

a signal processor which captures images, processes the captured images to generate image data, and generates an image file comprising the image data;

a speech recognition unit which recognizes first speech, which is related to the image data, and converts the first speech into first text data;

a controller which generates first metadata using the first text data and adds the generated first metadata to the image file, wherein the controller generates a folder having a name based on the first text data and wherein the controller stores the image file in the folder having the name based on the first text data; and

a storage unit which stores the generated image file

a display unit which displays an image from the captured images represented by the image data included in the image file or displays the first metadata along with the image,

wherein the first metadata comprises a description tag which is generated using the first text data and a keyword tag which is generated by extracting keywords from the first text data, and

wherein, when newly input second speech is converted into second text data by the speech recognition unit while the images stored in the image file are displayed on the display unit, the controller generates second metadata from the second text data and compares if the second metadata is different with the first metadata in the image file, and if the second metadata is different from the first metadata in the image file, the controller adds the second metadata to the first metadata in the image file.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, if the first speech is input to the speech recognition unit to be converted into the first text data when no image data is displayed on the display unit, the controller generates a folder having a name based on the first text data.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an audio output unit which outputs an audio signal, and

wherein the controller converts the first metadata in the image file, the image data of which is currently displayed, into an audio signal to output the audio signal to the audio output unit while the image data of the image file is displayed on the display unit.

6. The data recording and reproducing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data recording and reproducing apparatus further comprises:

a lens, wherein the signal processor captures the images focused through the lens.

4. A data recording and reproducing method comprising:

processing captured images to generate images data, and generating an image file comprising the image data;

recognizing first speech by speech recognition unit, which is related to the image data, and converting the first speech into first text data by the speech recognition unit;

by a controller using a processor, generating first metadata using the first text data and adding the generated first metadata to the image file, wherein the controller generates a folder having a name based on the first text data and wherein the controller stores the image file in the folder having the name based on the first text data; and

storing the generated image file in a storage unit;

displaying an image from the captured images represented by the image data included in the image file or displaying the first metadata along with the image,

wherein the first metadata comprises a description tag which is generated using the first text data and a keyword tag which is generated by extracting keywords from the first text data;

wherein, when newly input second speech is converted into second text data by said speech recognition unit while the images stored in the image file are displayed, generating second metadata from the second text data and comparing if the second metadata is different with the first metadata in the image file by the controller, and if the second metadata is different from the first metadata in the image file, the controller adds the second metadata to the first metadata in the image file.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein, if the first speech is input to the speech recognition unit to be converted into the first text data when no image data is displayed, the controller generates a folder having a name based on the first text data.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising outputting an audio signal from an audio output unit, and

converting by the controller the first metadata in the image file into an audio signal to output the audio signal to the audio output unit while the image data of the image file is displayed, the image data of which is currently displayed.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

capturing the images focused through a lens by a signal processor.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a computer program for executing a data recording and reproducing method comprising:

processing captured images to generate images data, and generating an image file comprising the image data;

recognizing first speech by a speech recognition unit, which is related to the image data, and converting the first speech into first text data by the speech recognition unit;

by a controller using a processor, generating first metadata using the first text data and adding the generated first metadata to the image file, wherein the controller generates a folder having a name based on the first text data and wherein the controller stores the image file in the folder having the name based on the first text data; and

storing the generated image file in a storage unit;

displaying an image from the captured images represented by the image data included in the image file or displaying the first metadata along with the image,

wherein the first metadata comprises a description tag which is generated using the first text data and a keyword tag which is generated by extracting keywords from the first text data;

wherein, when newly input second speech is converted into second text data by said speech recognition unit while the images stored in the image file are displayed, generating second metadata from the second text data and comparing if the second metadata is different with the first metadata in the image file by the controller, and if the second metadata is different from the first metadata in the image file, the controller adds the second metadata to the first metadata in the image file.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein, if the first speech is input to the speech recognition unit to be converted into the first text data when no image data is displayed, the controller generates a folder having a name based on the first text data.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, further comprising outputting an audio signal from an audio output unit, and converting by the controller the first metadata in the image file into an audio signal to output the audio signal to the audio output unit while the image data of the image file is displayed, the image data of which is currently displayed.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

capturing the images focused through a lens by a signal processor.