Image capture method and device

• US 20070081796A1
• Filed: 09/26/2005
• Published: 04/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Schindler, Roland, Fredlund, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,483,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/225
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 31/06 in which sound track is associated with successively-shown still pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3264 of sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode

Abstract

Image capture methods and devices are provided. The image capture device comprises: an image capture system; an audio capture system; a user input system having a manual mode selection input, said user input system generating a mode selection signal indicating a setting of the mode selection input from among a plurality of settings; and a controller adapted to cause the image capture unit to capture at least one image and further adapted to cause the audio capture system to capture an audio signal within an audio capture time frame beginning at a start time and ending at an end time with said controller further adapted to associate the captured image with the electronic audio signal; wherein said controller determines at least one of the start time and the end time determined based upon the mode selection.

Claims

1. An image capture device comprising:

an image capture system having an optical system for focusing light onto an image capture sensor and image forming circuitry adapted to cooperate with the image capture sensor to convert the light focused onto the image capture sensor into an electronic image;

an audio capture system having a transducer and audio processing circuitry adapted to cooperate to convert a pattern of sonic energy incident upon the transducer into an electronic audio signal representing the pattern of sonic energy;

a user input system having a manual capture input and a manual mode selection input, said user input system generating a capture signal when the capture input is moved from a rest position to a capture position and said user input system generating a mode selection signal indicating a setting of the mode selection input from among a plurality of settings; and

a controller adapted to cause the image capture system to capture at least one image in response to the capture signal and further adapted to cause the audio capture system to capture an electronic audio signal representing the pattern of sonic energy incident upon the transducer within an audio capture time frame beginning at a start time and ending at an end time with said controller further adapted to associate the captured image with the electronic audio signal;

wherein said controller determines at least one of the start time and the end time based upon the mode selection.

2. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said controller determines at least one of the start time and the end time based upon an offset time relative to a time of image capture with the offset time being determined based upon the mode selection and wherein the controller uses a first offset time when the mode selection input is positioned at a first setting and wherein the controller uses a second offset time when the mode selection input is positioned at a second setting, said second offset time being different than said first offset time.

3. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further adapted to allow an image to be captured without capturing an electronic audio signal when the controller determines that the mode selection input is set to a third setting.

4. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said audio capture system comprises an electronic audio signal buffer operable to store a buffer audio signal in a first in first out buffer over a period of time and wherein the controller is adapted to cause the audio capture system to store audio signals in the buffer at start time determined by the indicated mode.

5. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said capture button has a position intermediate said rest position and said capture position, with the controller receiving a signal when the capture button is so positioned and wherein in at least one mode, the controller causes the audio capture system to store electronic audio signals beginning at a time before the capture button is moved to the intermediate position.

6. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said capture button has a position intermediate said rest position and said capture position, with the controller receiving a signal when the capture button is so positioned and wherein in at least one mode, the controller causes said audio capture system to store electronic audio signals from the start time up to a time that occurs after the capture button has been allowed to return to either the intermediate position or the rest position after an image has been captured.

7. The image capture device of claim 1, further comprising an electronic audio signal buffer operable to store a buffer audio signal in a first in first out buffer over a period of time and wherein the controller is adapted to selectively obtain the electronic audio signal from the data in the buffer in accordance with the start and stop time.

8. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said processor is adapted in one of said image capture modes to selectively filter at least one of the sounds reaching the audio transducer, the signals provided by the audio transducer, a buffer audio signal, or the electronic audio signal to provide an electronic audio signal that has reduced intensity of sounds emanating from locations close to the image capture device while maintaining or increasing the intensity of sounds emanating at a determined distance from the image capture device.

9. The image capture device of claim 8, wherein said one of said image capture mode settings is sport mode wherein an audio zoom effect is applied during audio capture or processing of audio captured in the sport mode.

10. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said controller is adapted in one mode to cause the image capture system to capture a set of images at or about the time that the capture signal is received wherein said audio capture system comprises an electronic audio signal buffer operable to store a buffer audio signal in a first in first out buffer over a period of time and wherein the controller is adapted to cause the audio capture system to store the buffer audio signals in the buffer at a start time or at an end time that correspond to a point in time where the set of captured images is captured.

11. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein said capture input and said mode selection input comprise a combined capture and mode selection input movable from a rest position to a capture with audio position with a capture without audio position interposed therebetween and to generate an image capture signal indicative of the position of the capture button.

12. The image capture device of claim 10, wherein the controller is operable to capture said set of images, at least in part, by capturing video signals and extracting still images from the video signals.

13. The image capture device of claim 12, wherein said controller is further adapted to analyze said captured electronic audio signal to determine, at least in part, which images are to be extracted from the video stream based upon the analysis of the captured audio signals.

14. An image capture device comprising:

an image capture system having an optical system for focusing light onto an image capture sensor and image forming circuitry adapted to cooperate with the image capture sensor to convert the light focused onto the image capture sensor into an electronic image;

an audio capture system having a transducer and audio processing circuitry adapted to cooperate to convert a pattern of sonic energy incident upon the transducer into an electronic audio signal representative thereof;

a user input system having a manual capture input and a manual mode selection input, said user input system generating a capture signal when the capture input is moved from a rest position to a capture position and said user input system generating a mode selection signal indicating a setting of the mode selection input from among a plurality of settings; and

a controller adapted to cause the image capture system to capture an image when the capture signal is received and further adapted to cause the audio capture system to sample the sonic energy incident upon the transducer to form an electronic audio signal in accordance with one of at least two different sampling patterns each associated with a different one of the at least two image capture mode settings;

wherein the controller selects the sampling pattern based upon the mode selection signal and wherein the controller begins sampling in accordance with the sampling pattern at a time determined based upon the time at which the capture signal is received.

15. The image capture device of claim 14, wherein said audio capture system stores a buffer audio signal in a buffer and wherein the sampling pattern is used to form an electronic audio signal from the buffer audio signal.

16. The image capture device of claim 14, wherein said audio capture system is adapted to execute the process of converting sonic energy into the electronic audio signal in accordance with the selected sampling pattern.

17. The image capture device of claim 14, wherein at least one of said sampling patterns is adapted so that the intensity of sounds made by the camera and/or the photographer during image composition is reduced in the electronic audio signal.

18. A method for operating an image capture system and audio capture system, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a selection between at least two modes of image capture;

determining at least one audio capture characteristic for providing an electronic audio signal based upon sounds detected by the audio capture system said determining being based upon the selected mode of image capture;

capturing an image in accordance with the selected mode of image capture;

providing an electronic audio signal based upon sounds detected by that audio capture system and in accordance with the determined audio characteristic; and

associating the captured image and electronic audio signal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of associating is preformed by converting the electronic audio signal into image metadata and storing the image and the image metadata in association.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of capturing an image comprises capturing a video signal and providing a still image based upon the video signal.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of analyzing said audio signal and providing a still image based at least in part upon the analysis of the audio signal.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of capturing a set of high-resolution images and wherein the step of providing a still image comprises providing a still image this is generated based upon the captured still images and the captured video signal.