Method and apparatus for storing image

• US 9,846,546 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2014
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hanwha Vision Company Limited (Hanwha Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hanwha Techwin Co., Ltd. (Hanwha Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Howoong, Kong, Hyunjoong
• Primary Examiner(s): Birkhimer, Christopher D
• Application Number:
  US14/893,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20160124667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,281 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0655 Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0676 Magnetic disk device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

The inventive concept relates to a method for storing an image. The method includes: initially allocating an entire memory equally to a predetermined number of channels set to perform pre-recording for a first time period or a second time period shorter than the first time period when an event occurs; counting an event occurrence number from image signals input to the channels for a predetermined time period; and reallocating memory regions allocated to the respective channels, according to the event occurrence number and image signal storage states of the memory regions.

Claims

1. A method for storing an image, the method comprising:

dividing a memory into a plurality of memory regions having equal sizes, and allocating the memory regions having the equal sizes to a plurality of channels;

pre-recording image signals input through the channels in the memory regions, respectively, for a first time period or a second time period shorter than the first time period, when events occur;

counting an event occurrence number from the image signals for a predetermined time period;

reallocating the memory regions to the channels according to the event occurrence number and a recording state of the image signals in the memory regions; and

storing the image signals pre-recorded in the memory regions, in a storage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reallocating the memory regions comprises:

checking capacities of the memory regions which pre-record the image signals for the first time period or the second time period;

detecting a channel, among the channels, having the smallest event occurrence number;

reducing a memory region allocated to the detected channel if there exists a channel having a predetermined capacity exceeded in a memory region allocated to the channel; and

reallocating a size of the reduced memory region allocated to the detected channel to the channel having the predetermined capacity exceeded.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the reducing the memory region allocated to the detected channel comprises changing a pre-recording time period for the detected channel from the first time period to the second time period.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reducing the memory region allocated to the detected channel further comprises changing a recording state of an image signal input through the detected channel from intra (I) frame and predictive (P) frame recording to I frame recording.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

checking a total capacity of the memory; and

if the total capacity of the memory remains, returning the memory to a state before the memory regions are reallocated.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the returning to the state before the memory regions are reallocated, if the total capacity of the memory remains, comprises:

if the total capacity of the memory remains, changing a recording state of an image signal input through the detected channel from intra (I) frame recording to I frame and predictive (P) frame recording, and setting or changing a pre-recording time period for the detected channel to the second time period;

checking the total capacity of the memory after the changing the recording state of the image signal to the I frame and P frame recording and the setting or changing the pre-recording time period for the detected channel to the second time period, and if the total capacity of the memory still remains, changing the pre-recording time period for the detected channel from the second time period to the first time period.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the counting the event occurrence number comprises allocating a weight to each event and counting the event occurrence number according to the weight.

8. An apparatus for storing an image, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor configured to implement;

a controller which divides a memory into a plurality of memory regions having equal sizes, allocates the memory regions having the equal sizes to a plurality of channels, and pre-records image signals input through the channels in the memory regions, respectively, for a first time period or a second time period shorter than the first time period, when events occur;

an event processor which counts an event occurrence number from the image signals for a predetermined time period; and

a dynamic memory allocator which reallocates the memory regions according to the event occurrence number and a recording state of the image signals in the memory regions,

wherein the controller stores the image signals pre-recorded in the memory regions, in a storage.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the dynamic memory allocator:

checks capacities of the memory regions which pre-record the image signals for the first time period or the second time period,

detects a channel, among the channels, having the smallest event occurrence number,

reduces a memory region allocated to the detected channel if there exists a channel having a predetermined capacity exceeded in a memory region allocated to the channel, and

reallocates a size of the reduced memory region to the channel having the predetermined capacity exceeded.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the dynamic memory allocator changes a pre-recording time period for the detected channel from the first time period to the second time period.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the dynamic memory allocator changes a recording state of an image signal input through the detected channel from intra (I) frame and predictive (P) frame recording to I frame recording.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the dynamic memory allocator checks a total capacity of the memory, and, if the total capacity of the memory remains, returns the memory to a state before the memory regions are reallocated.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the dynamic memory allocator:

checks the total capacity of the memory, and, if the total capacity of the memory remains, changes a recording state of an image signal input through the detected channel from intra (I) frame recording to I frame and predictive (P) frame recording, and sets or changes a pre-recording time period for the detected channel to the second time period; and

checks the total capacity of the memory after the recording state of the image signal is changed to the I frame and P frame recording and the pre-recording time period for the detected channel is set or changed to the second time period, and, if the total capacity of the memory still remains, changes the pre-recording time period for the detected channel from the second time period to the first time period.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the event processor allocates a weight to each event and counts the event occurrence number according to the weight.

15. An apparatus for storing an image, the apparatus comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor configured to implement;

a controller which divides the memory into a plurality of memory parts having equal sizes, allocates the memory parts having the equal sizes to a plurality of channels, and pre-records image signals input through the channels in the memory parts for different time periods, when events occur, respectively;

an event processor which checks characteristics of the image signals input through the channels; and

a dynamic memory allocator which changes an attribute of at least one of the channels or at least one of the memory parts to which the channels are allocated, respectively, according to a result of the characteristics checking.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the attribute comprise at least one of a size of the memory part, a pre-recording time set for the channel or the memory part, a recording attribute of an image signal for the memory part through the channel.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the dynamic memory allocator detects a channel having a predetermined characteristic from among the channels, and changes at least one of a size of a memory part allocated to the detected channel, a pre-recording time set for the detected channel, and a recording attribute of an image signal for the detected channel.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the recording attribute of the image signal comprises at least one of a number of image frames recorded in a unit of a time and a type of image frame to be input through the detected channel.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the characteristics of the image signals comprise a number of event occurrence in each of the image signals input through the channels, respectively, for a predetermined time period.