Data recording and playback system and method

• US 8,965,175 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2002
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IM52, LLC
• Original Assignee: Monitoring Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Fiore, John T., Book, K. Stephen, Kilmer, Wayne L.
• Primary Examiner(s): DANG, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US10/118,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20020191952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,704 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/68, 386/124, 348/148, 348/143, 348/571, 348/714, 711/100, 707/205
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A data recording and playback system and method with a memory device adapted to receive and temporarily store input signal data as data frames with time stamps, the memory device having addresses associated thereto, and a circular storage buffer having a memory mapped file with same address space as the memory device for storing the input signal data. In one embodiment, an event controller provides an event signal associated to time of an event, and an event processor is provided that copies plurality of data frames stored in the circular storage buffer that have time stamps proximate to the time of the event. Another embodiment is adapted to allow playback of stored input signal data from the circular storage buffer without interrupting simultaneous recording of new input signal data into the circular storage buffer.

Claims

1. A data recording and playback system comprising:

a monitoring device that provides an input signal data;

a memory device adapted to receive and temporarily store said input signal data from said monitoring device as data frames with time stamps, each data frame including one time stamp and said memory device having addresses associated thereto, and said data frames having a dynamic frame size; and

a circular storage buffer having a memory mapped file with same address space as said memory device, said circular storage buffer being adapted to receive said temporarily stored input signal data from said memory device, and to store said input signal data in said memory mapped file.

2. The system of claim 1, further including a digitizer that digitizes said input signal data when said input signal data is an analog signal.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said input signal data is at least one of a video and an audio signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said input signal data contains redundant information to permit compression thereof prior to storage in said circular storage buffer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said memory mapped file is adapted to allow playback of stored input signal data from said circular storage buffer without interrupting simultaneous recording of new input signal data into said circular storage buffer.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said circular storage buffer stores recent data frames over aged data frames in said memory mapped file.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said input signal data stored in said memory mapped file of said circular storage buffer is transferred to a file system.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said memory device is a random access memory of a computer.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said circular storage buffer is provided on at least one hard disk drive of said computer.

10. The system of claim 1, further including an event controller that provides an event signal associated to a time of an external event, wherein said event signal associates said external event with said data frames of said input signal data.

11. The system of claim 10, further including an event database for storing at least said event signal.

12. The system of claim 11, further including an event processor that copies plurality of data frames stored in said circular storage buffer that have time stamps proximate to said time of said event into said memory mapped file indexed from said event database.

13. The system of claim 12, further including an access controller adapted to retrieve said plurality of data frames that have time stamps proximate to said time of said event from said event database.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said event database is provided in at least one hard disk drive of a computer.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein said access controller is connected to a network to allow remote access thereof.

16. The system of claim 15, further including at least one client device connected to said network, said at least one client device being adapted to remotely control said access controller.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said at least one client device is a computer having a display device for displaying said plurality of data frames copied from said circular storage buffer.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said at least one client device is a plurality of computers connected to said network, each of said plurality of client devices being adapted to remotely control said access controller.

19. A method for recording and playback of data comprising the steps of:

providing an input signal data;

temporarily storing said input signal data from said monitoring device as data frames with time stamps in a memory device, each data frame including one time stamp and said memory device having addresses associated thereto, and said data frames having a dynamic frame size;

providing a circular storage buffer having a memory mapped file with same address space as said memory device; and

storing said input signal data in said memory mapped file.

20. The method of claim 19, further including the step of storing recent data frames over aged data frames in said memory mapped file.

21. The method of claim 19, further including the step of transferring the stored input signal data from said memory mapped file of said circular storage buffer to a file system.

22. The method of claim 19, further including the step of digitizing said input signal data when said input signal data is an analog signal.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein said input signal data is at least one of a video and an audio signal.

24. The method of claim 19, further including the step of compressing redundant information in said input signal data prior to storage in said circular storage buffer.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein said memory mapped file is adapted to allow playback of stored input signal data from said circular storage buffer without interrupting simultaneous recording of new input signal data into said circular storage buffer.

26. The method of claim 19, further including the step of providing an event signal associated to a time of an external event, wherein said event signal associates said external event with said data frames of said input signal data.

27. The method of claim 26, further including the step of copying plurality of data frames stored in said circular storage buffer that have time stamps proximate to said time of said event into said memory mapped file.

28. The method of claim 27, further including the step of retrieving said plurality of data frames that have time stamps proximate to said time of said event.

29. A non-transitory computer readable data storage media for recording and playback of data, the computer readable data storage media comprising one or more computer readable instruction configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute operations comprising:

temporarily storing an input signal data from a monitoring device as data frames with time stamps in a memory device, each data frame including one time stamp and said memory device having addresses associated thereto, and said data frames having a dynamic frame size;

providing a circular storage buffer having a memory mapped file with same address space as said memory device; and

storing said input signal data in said memory mapped file.

30. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to store recent data frames over aged data frames in said memory mapped file.

31. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to transfer the stored input signal data from said memory mapped file of said circular storage buffer to a file system.

32. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to digitize said input signal data when said input signal data is an analog signal.

33. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, wherein said input signal data is at least one of a video and an audio signal.

34. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to compress redundant information in said input signal data prior to storage in said circular storage buffer.

35. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, wherein said memory mapped file is adapted to allow playback of stored input signal data from said circular storage buffer without interrupting simultaneous recording of new input signal data into said circular storage buffer.

36. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 29, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to provide an event signal associated to a time of an external event, wherein said event signal associates said external event with said data frames of said input signal data.

37. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 36, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to copy a plurality of data frames stored in said circular storage buffer that have time stamps proximate to said time of said event into said memory mapped file.

38. The non-transitory computer readable data storage media of claim 37, further including computer readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to retrieve said plurality of data frames that have time stamps proximate to said time of said event.