JPH0799624A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide an image recording apparatus with improved operability and usability. [Structure] An operation of recording audio data or image data in a file format in correspondence with reproduced image data or audio data by a first operation command in a file format, and repeating an operation of stopping the recording operation based on a second operation command. The sequence is executed and the sequence is exited based on the third operation command. The sub information data relating to the recorded image data or audio data is recorded in the control file in a file format together with the above-mentioned correspondence. The first operation command and / or the second operation command are generated by one operation step of the operation unit, and the third operation command is generated by another operation step.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording device,
In particular, the present invention relates to an image recording device with improved operability and usability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an image recording apparatus for recording image information as image data on a recording medium, an apparatus having a structure for recording audio data corresponding to image information has been put into practical use. An example of the configuration of a conventional image recording apparatus of this kind is shown in FIG. This example is a configuration example of a still image camera such as a so-called electronic still camera. In FIG.
The subject image is captured by the lens system 1 as a CCD as an image pickup device.
2 is imaged and converted into an electric image signal. This image signal is subjected to a predetermined image pickup process in the image pickup process unit 3, and A
After being converted into digital image data by the / D converter 4, it is recorded in the frame memory 5. Further, the image data from the A / D converter 4 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 14 and supplied to the video output terminal 16, and an EVF (electronic viewfinder) 15 is also provided.
Is supplied to and displayed on the monitor.

The frame memory 5 is controlled by the memory controller 6 for writing / reading. The image data read from the frame memory 5 is compressed by the companding circuit 7 and recorded on the recording medium 10 via the interface unit 9. The system controller 8 receives the operation (operation instruction) information of the operation switches 13A to 13J via the switch circuit 12 and controls the entire apparatus, and displays the operation state at that time on the LCD 11.

At the time of image reproduction, the image is reproduced through the reverse processing steps. That is, the image data read from the recording medium 10 is supplied to the companding circuit 7 via the interface unit 9, subjected to the expanding process and recorded in the frame memory 5. The image data read from the frame memory 5 is
Converted to an analog signal by the D / A converter 14, and EV
It is reproduced on the monitor through F15 or the video output terminal 16.

On the other hand, when recording a voice signal, the microphone 21
Alternatively, the audio signal from the external line input terminal 22 is subjected to predetermined preprocessing in the audio preprocessing unit 20, converted into digital audio data by the A / D converter 19, and then recorded in the audio memory 18. The audio data is encoded by the audio encoding / decoding unit 17 and recorded on the recording medium 10 via the interface unit 9.

At the time of audio reproduction, the audio data read from the recording medium 10 via the interface unit 9 is decoded by the audio encoding / decoding circuit unit 17, and then D / A.
The converted signal is converted into an analog signal by the converter 23, further subjected to predetermined audio processing by the audio post-processing unit 24, and then supplied to the audio output terminal 25 and the speaker 26.

The switch group for instructing camera operation connected to the switch circuit 12 is a known switch group, and includes a trigger 1 switch 13A, a trigger 2 switch 13B, a − switch 13C, a + switch 13D, and a recording / reproducing (REC /
PLAY switch 13E, image / sound (PICT / S)
OUND) switch 13F, playback mode switch 13
G, a normal mode switch 13H, a high speed continuous shooting switch 13I, and a low speed continuous shooting switch 13J.

In such a structure, conventionally, in order to record the voice information corresponding to the image information, a dedicated operation switch is provided, and the voice information is recorded and reproduced by operating the switch.

[0009]

As described above, in the conventional image recording apparatus, the recording / reproducing of the voice information is performed by operating the dedicated switch separately installed. Therefore,
There is a problem that not only the operation becomes complicated, but also the device configuration becomes complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus with improved operability and usability.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an image recording apparatus according to the present invention sequentially applies to a plurality of data file areas which are set to store image data or audio data separately. The audio data or the image data is recorded in a file format in correspondence with the reproducing means capable of performing the reproducing operation and the image data or the audio data reproduced by the reproducing means based on the first operation command. The operation sequence for repeating the operation unit, which is configured to start the operation to start and stop the recording operation based on the second operation command, and escape from the sequence based on the third operation command. And a sub-information relating to the image data or the audio data recorded by the first recording means. A second recording unit for collectively recording the data representing the above correspondence in a control file configured to record the data in a file format, and a multi-step operation relating to the activation of the image recording function unit. A plurality of operation stages are set correspondingly, and the first and / or second operation command of the first recording means is generated according to one operation stage to the operation unit. And an operation command generating means for generating the third operation command according to another operation stage of the operation unit.

[0012]

In the present invention, the audio data or the image data is recorded in the file format in correspondence with the reproduced image data or the audio data by the first operation command, and the recording operation is stopped based on the second operation command. An operation sequence in which the operation is repeated is executed, and the operation is exited from the sequence based on the third operation command. The sub information data relating to the recorded image data or audio data is recorded in the control file in a file format together with the above-mentioned correspondence. The first operation command and / or the second operation command are generated by one operation step of the operation unit, and the third operation command is generated by another operation step. That is, in the first recording means, a plurality of data file areas that are set to be able to store image data or audio data separately are sequentially or automatically reproduced based on the operation of the user, and the operation is performed. It is possible (a data area is not stored and a playback operation is possible for a file area in which a blue back screen is displayed even if played back). For example, each of the audio files 1, 2, ... In the program dubbing sequence is started. The first is a trigger 1 for
The operation of recording the audio data or the image data in a file format in correspondence with the image data or the audio data reproduced based on the operation command is started. Further, for example, the operation unit adapted to stop the recording operation based on the second operation command which is the trigger 1 for stopping each of the audio files 1, 2, ... In the program dubbing sequence is repeatedly executed. To be done. Then, for example, the program exits from the sequence based on the third operation command which is the trigger 2 for commanding the exit from the program dubbing sequence. In the second recording means, the control file set to record the sub-information data relating to the image data or the audio data recorded by the first recording means in a file format, collectively stores the data representing the correspondence relationship. And record. A plurality of operation stages are set in the operation unit in correspondence with a plurality of operations related to the activation of the image recording function unit, and the first and the first recording means of the first recording means are associated with one operation stage. And / or an operation command generation unit that generates the second operation command and generates the third operation command in accordance with another operation stage of the operation unit. For example, the first and second operation commands are cyclically generated by the operation of the first trigger stage, and the second trigger command is generated.
By operating the stage, a third operation command, that is, a sequence escape command is generated. However, the same function is also included in the image recording apparatus in a mode in which the recording target screen is frozen in the first trigger stage and the frozen screen is recorded in the medium in the second trigger stage.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG.
Components designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 13 indicate components having the same function. An audio file information management unit 27 that manages and controls the audio file information to be recorded by the switch information received via the program switch 13K for instructing the program operation at the time of recording and reproducing and the switch circuit 12.
Is provided. The voice file information management unit 27 may be provided separately as in this example, but may be stored in the ROM of the system controller 8.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the data arrangement of the recording medium in which image information, audio information, control information and the like are stored in the recording medium. As shown in FIG. 2, the area in the recording medium includes a system management area, a control file area,
It consists of image 1, image 2, image 3, voice 1, and sky area. The image area consists of image file header and image data,
The audio area includes an audio file header and audio data.

When the + key 13D is continuously pressed during image reproduction, the rotation of the reproduced image displayed on the monitor continues to image 1, image 2 and image 3, as shown in FIG.
When there is no image data, the mute screen is reproduced, and the display on the LCD 11 at this time is shown in FIG.

The recording operation in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5. Audio file management data such as audio recording time length and date in the audio file header for the mute image of FIG. Is recorded, trigger 1
Recording of the audio file is started by pressing the switch 13A, and recording is ended by pressing the trigger 1 switch 13A again (recording 1). In the same figure (B), the image 1 is being reproduced. In addition to (A), the file name of the image 1 is recorded as a corresponding image in the audio file header,
Alternatively, the file name of audio 1 is recorded as the corresponding audio in the image 1 file header (record 2). In addition, in the same figure (C), by pressing the trigger 1 switch 13A,
Recording of the audio file is started, and the recording is ended by pressing it again. By repeatedly pressing the trigger 1 switch 13A, an audio file corresponding to each of the selectively reproduced image 1, image 2, and image 3 is recorded (record 3). The image selection is performed by operating the-switch 13C and the + switch 13D. When the program switch 13K is pressed, the recording sequence at this time is ended by operating the trigger 2 switch 13B. These data are recorded in the control file as one program. An example of a control file is shown. The voice file information management unit 27 executes these operations.

When the switch 13E is instructing reproduction (PLAY) and the switch 13F is instructing sound (SOUND), the system controller 8 reads the corresponding image file name in the audio file header, and is shown in FIG. 6 (A). Thus, the audio file 1 corresponding to the image 1 is reproduced (the recording of FIG. 5B is reproduced). Further, when the switch 13E is instructed to perform the reproduction by the switch 13K, the reproduction is performed according to the program in the control file as shown in FIG. 6B (FIG. 5).
(C)) recording is reproduced). At this time, if there is no corresponding image file name in the audio file header, only the audio file is reproduced (the recording in FIG. 5A is reproduced). As described above, in the program recording mode, the trigger 1 switch 13
A corresponds to the beginning and end of each audio file, and the trigger 2 switch 13B corresponds to the end of the sequence.

According to the above-described embodiment, a mode in which the audio file and the video file are simultaneously and continuously reproduced is made possible by a simple operation. In addition, since the reproduction order is one file, the subsequent reorganization can be easily realized. Further, since the same operation unit can generate another command, the configuration is simplified. Moreover, since the sequence for repeating the recording of the correspondence between the image and the sound and the operation for exiting from this sequence are not complicated, the operability is good and the risk of erroneous operation is extremely reduced.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, a remaining amount display switch 13L is provided, and when the switch 13L is operated, the recording medium is searched to determine the number of recordable images, the recordable time, etc. of the recording medium. LCD 11 shows the remaining recordable amount
Or the EVF 15 or the like is displayed on the monitor or the speaker 26 outputs the remaining amount information by voice by the operation of the system controller 8. Further, when the remaining amount is insufficient, a warning can be given. The display on the monitor can be performed by fade-out or numerical display. That is, regarding the image, the remaining number of recordable images is displayed on the LCD,
Regarding voice, the system controller 8 (or the voice file information management unit 27) calculates the remaining time from the amount of free space in the recording medium, and the calculated remaining time is passed through the interface unit 9 to a voice encoding / decoding circuit. The audio data which is sent to the unit 17 and decoded is output to the speaker 26 via the D / A converter 23 and the audio post-processing unit 24.

Next, an example of simplifying the hardware configuration of the conventional image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 13 will be described. The conventional image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 13 requires the A / D converters 4 and 19 and the D / A converters 14 and 23 for the image processing system and the audio processing system, respectively. There is a problem such as In this example, one A / D converter and one D / A converter are used for the image processing system and the audio processing system to simplify the configuration. FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of the image recording apparatus according to the present example. In the figure, components designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate components having similar functions.

In this example, as shown in the drawing, the changeover switch 3
1, 32, 36, 38, a buffer memory 35, and a voice companding circuit unit 37. The changeover switch 32 changes over the input to the A / D converter 34 and outputs it, and the changeover switch 3
1, the output from the D / A converter 33 is switched and output, the changeover switch 36 switches the connection between the buffer memory 35 and the image companding circuit unit 7 or the audio companding circuit unit 37, and the changeover switch 38 selects the image companding unit. The connection between the expansion circuit unit 7 or the voice companding circuit unit 37 and the interface unit 9 is switched. The switching operation of these changeover switches is controlled by a selection mode signal (sound / image switching signal) of the audio mode / image mode received via the switch circuit unit 12. That is, in the audio mode, each switch selects the audio processing system (S terminal in the figure), and in the image mode, each switch selects the image processing system (I terminal in the figure).

FIG. 8 shows an improved configuration of the example of FIG. 7, which is an example in which the image and sound can be reproduced simultaneously. In this example, the image memory 44 and the audio memory 45 are separately provided, and the image data and the audio data sent via the changeover switch 32 and the A / D converter 34 are recorded in the corresponding memories via the changeover switch 43. Further, D / A converters 41 and 42 are installed in the audio reproduction system and the image reproduction system, respectively, and the data read from the audio memory 45 and the image memory 44 are converted into analog signals and output.

For example, the image data read from the recording medium 10 is first supplied to the image companding circuit section 7 via the changeover switch 38, where it is subjected to decompression processing and recorded in the image memory 44. Next, similarly, the audio data read from the recording medium 10 is expanded by the audio compression / expansion circuit unit 37 and recorded in the audio memory 45. The image data and the audio data read from the image memory 44 and the audio memory 45 are converted into analog signals by the D / A converters 42 and 41, respectively, and simultaneous reproduction outputs are obtained.

Next, an example in which the image-only recording / reproducing apparatus is adapted for audio recording / reproducing with a simple structure will be described. Conventionally, there is no means for making the existing image-dedicated recording / reproducing device compatible with audio recording / reproducing, and the manufacturer has to redesign the one with an audio processing circuit added, and the user must purchase this audio-compatible device. It had to lead to higher costs.

This example solves this problem and is a general-purpose RS23 that can be controlled by a personal computer or the like.
Communication control means such as 2C (ROM storage software)
An image recording apparatus having the above is used.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this example, in which the communication control unit 120 and the communication interface (I / F) unit 11 are used.
Image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 having a built-in 0, and a communication control unit 2
02 and the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 200 having the built-in communication interface unit 201 are connected by a wired or wireless line. In the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 200, the switch circuit 2
The system controller 203 performs overall control according to the operation instruction signal received via 04, and the operation state is L
It is displayed on the display unit 205 such as a CD. Line input terminal 2
The voice data from the microphone 07 or the microphone 208 is subjected to predetermined preprocessing by the preprocessing unit 209, converted into digital data by the A / D converter 210, and further encoded by the voice encoding / decoding circuit unit 211. Be converted. The encoded audio data is stored in the data buffer 206. Further, it is supplied to the speaker 215 and the line output terminal 214 via the D / A converter 212 and the post-processing unit 213.

At the time of reproduction, the signal which is read from the data buffer 206 and decoded by the audio encoding / decoding circuit section 211 and converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 212 is subjected to a predetermined processing by the post-processing section 213. After the post-processing, it is output to the line output terminal 214 or the speaker 215.

FIG. 10 shows a concrete configuration diagram of this example. Image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and audio recording / reproducing apparatus 20
0 is connected by a communication cable 300 via each communication interface unit, and the image recording / reproducing apparatus 10
The image signal from 0 and the audio signal from the audio recording / reproducing device 200 are supplied to the monitor 400 to display the image and output the audio. In this example, the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is a camera and the recording medium 1 such as a memory card.
01, a finder 102, an LCD display unit 103, a zoom switch 104, a trigger switch 105, and the like are installed, and the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 200 includes an LCD display unit 2
05, the microphone 208, the speaker 215, the trigger switch 216, etc. are installed.

The operation of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 200 in this example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, it waits until the communication cable 300 is connected and the connection of the communication partner (image recording / reproducing apparatus 100) is detected (step S1), and it is determined whether or not a recording mode command is received (step S2). If the command has not been received, it is determined whether or not the reproduction mode command has been received (step S3). If the command has not been received, the process returns to step S2. If the command has been received, the reproduction mode is entered (step S).
4). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a reproduction start command has been received (step S5). If it has been received, the code data is received, decompression-decoded to reproduce audio data (step S6), and reception of a reproduction end command is determined. (Step S7). Step S
In step 7, if the reproduction end command is not received, the process returns to step S6. If it is received, it is determined that the communication partner is disconnected (communication cable disconnection) (step S8). If not, step S5 is executed. Return to processing. In step S5, the process proceeds to step S8 even when the reproduction start command is not received. If the communication partner is disconnected in step S8, the process ends.

On the other hand, if the recording mode command is received in step S2, the mode is shifted to the recording mode (step S9), and the reception of the recording start command is determined (step S1).
0). If the recording start command has not been received, the process proceeds to step S13. If the recording start command has been received, the audio data is compression-encoded and the coded data is transmitted (step S11). Next, it is determined whether or not the recording end command is received (step S12). If not received, the process returns to step S11, and if received, the disconnection of the communication partner is determined (step S13). If the communication partner is not disconnected, the process returns to step S10, and if the communication is disconnected, the process ends.

Next, the operation of the image reproducing / recording apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, after waiting for the detection of the communication partner connection (step S21), the mode is shifted to the voice mode (step S22), and it is determined whether or not the recording mode is set (step S23). If it is the recording mode, a recording mode command is sent (step S24),
Whether or not the trigger switch has been operated is determined (step S2
5) If the trigger switch is operated, a recording start command is sent (step S26). After that, the data is received, the data is written in the recording medium (step S27),
It is determined whether the trigger switch has been re-operated (re-pressed) (step S28). If not, the process returns to step S27. If it is operated, a recording end command is sent (step S29) to disconnect the communication partner. Judge (step S
30). If the communication partner is not disconnected, the process returns to step S25, and if disconnected, the process ends.

In step S23, recording (REC)
If it is not the mode, a reproduction mode command is sent (step S31), a reproduction file is selected (step S32),
The operation (press) of the trigger switch is determined (step S
33). If the trigger switch has been operated, a reproduction start command is sent (step S34), data is read from the recording medium, data is transmitted (step S35), and it is determined whether all the data has been read (step S35). S3
6). If all the data has not been read, step S3
Returning to the processing of step 5, if read, a reproduction end command is sent (step S37), and the disconnection of the communication partner is determined (step S38). If not disconnected, step S3
Returning to the processing of No. 2, the processing is terminated if it is disconnected. still,
If the trigger switch is not operated in step S33, the process proceeds to step S38.

According to the present example, the image / audio recording / reproducing apparatus can be constructed only by requesting the ROM change of the image-only recording / reproducing apparatus on hand and purchasing the audio recording / reproducing apparatus.

[0034]

As described above, since the image recording apparatus according to the present invention can generate different commands by the same operation section, the structure is simplified. Moreover, since the sequence for repeating the recording of the correspondence between the image and the sound and the operation for exiting from this sequence are not complicated, the operability is good and the risk of erroneous operation is extremely reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data arrangement example of a recording medium in a state where image information, audio information, control information and the like are stored in the recording medium.

[Fig. 3] During image playback, when the + key 13D is continuously pressed,
It is a figure which shows the rotation of the reproduction | regeneration image displayed on a monitor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen in a state where a mute screen is being reproduced when there is no image data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a recording operation according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the system controller 8 in this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of an image recording apparatus related to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration block diagram of another image recording apparatus related to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration block diagram of still another image recording apparatus related to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a specific connection configuration diagram of the example shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 200 in this example.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation of the image reproducing / recording apparatus 100 in the present example.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional image recording apparatus of this type.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 lens 2 CCD 3 imaging process unit 4, 19, 34 A / D converter 5 frame memory 6 memory controller 7 companding circuit 8 system controller 9 interface unit 10 recording medium 11 LCD 12 switch circuit 13A to 13K operation switch 14, 23, 33, 41, 42 D / A converter 15 EVF 16 video output terminal 17 audio encoding / decoding circuit section 18 audio memory 20 audio pre-processing section 21, 208 microphone 22 audio line input terminal 24 audio post-processing section 25 audio line output Terminal 26 Speaker 27 Audio file information management unit 31, 32, 36, 38, 43 Changeover switch 35 Buffer memory 37 Audio companding circuit 44 Image memory 45 Audio memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reproducing means capable of sequentially performing a reproducing operation on a plurality of data file areas set so that image data or audio data can be separately stored, and a first operation command. Based on the image data or the audio data reproduced by the reproducing means, the operation of recording the audio data or the image data in a file format is started based on the operation, and the recording operation is stopped based on the second operation command. And a first recording means adapted to execute an operation sequence capable of repeating the above-described operation unit, and adapted to escape from the sequence based on a third operation command, and recorded by the first recording means. Control file set to record sub-information data related to image data or audio data to be recorded in file format A second recording unit for collectively recording the data representing the correspondence relationship, and an operation unit in which a plurality of operation stages are set in correspondence with a plurality of operation stages related to the activation of the image recording function unit. And generating the first and / or second operation command of the first recording means according to one operation step of the operation section, and relating to another operation step of the operation section. An image recording apparatus comprising: an operation command generating unit that generates the third operation command.