Image pickup apparatus, navigation apparatus and IC card

• US 6,903,763 B1
• Filed: 07/22/1999
• Issued: 06/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Noguchi, Fujio, Haraguchi, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): JONES, HEATHER RAE
• Application Number:
  US09/358,520
• Time in Patent Office: 2,147 Days
• Field of Search: 348/113, 348/148, 348/116, 348/207.99, 348/239, 348/207.1, 340/995, 340/701, 340/213, 340/208, 340/937, 702/150, 358/474, 358/444, 358/296, 701/200, 701/201, 701/207, 701/208, 701/213
• US Class Current: 348/207.99
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2158 using a detachable storage unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus including: a location information acquiring element for acquiring current location information; an image pickup element for capturing an image of a desired object and outputting the captured image; and a recording element for relating the captured image to the current location information when recording the captured image and the current location information to a removable solid-state storage medium.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

location information acquiring means for acquiring current location information;

image pickup means for capturing an captured image of a desired object and outputting the captured image;

associating means for automatically relating said captured image to said current location information and outputting to a display route information indicating a number of captured images at a point along a route as management data for the route; and

recording means for recording said captured image, said current location information, and said management data to a removable solid-state storage medium.

2. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said removable solid-state storage medium is an IC card.

3. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said current location information is recorded at least in relation to information about a route to a destination indicated on a map in a display screen.

4. A navigation apparatus comprising:

recording means for recording route information about a route to a destination to a removable storage medium, said route information indicating a number of captured images at a point along a route;

associated means for automatically relating said route information to image data and updating said route information as management data for the route in said removable storage medium; and

outputting means for outputting said image data and route information to a display and said management data recorded in said removable storage medium in conjunction with said route information.

5. A navigation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said removable storage medium is an IC card;

and

wherein said image data constitute still images recorded to said IC card by an image pickup apparatus.

6. An IC card inserted into a navigation apparatus providing guidance regarding a route to a destination so as to store route information about said route, said route information indicating a number of captured images at a point along a route;

wherein image data and said route information are provided as management data related to said route and recorded in said IC card in correspondence with locations along said route.