Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2003-07-15
Chevalier, Robert (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06594443
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information signal processing apparatus for processing an information signal and, more particularly, to an information signal processing apparatus for recording an information signal in a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic still video system has heretofore been known as one example of an information signal processing apparatus for processing an information signal. The electronic still video system is arranged to record information signals, such as image signals or sound signals, on a plurality of concentric recording tracks which are formed on a magnetic disk, and to select an arbitrary recording track from among the recording tracks formed on the magnetic disk and reproduce the information signal, such as the image signal or the sound signal, recorded on the selected recording track.
Such an electronic still video system is arranged to record the image signals or the sound signals on the recording tracks formed on the magnetic disk, in the state of analog signals. However, a new system has recently been proposed which is arranged to store digitized image signals or sound signals in a memory card including a plurality of RAMs (random access memories) made from semiconductor memory elements such as D-RAMs, S-RAMs or EEP-ROMs.
However, the storage capacity of the memory card is limited because of the limited storage capacity per chip of the memory device or the limits of the number of chips of a memory element which can be mounted on a single memory card. Further, since the memory element is more expensive than other recording media, it is presently economically difficult to utilize the memory card as a recording medium of large storage capacity.
In contrast, a hard disk unit is known as a recording medium having a larger storage capacity than the memory card, and there has recently been provided a hard disk unit which is removably attachable to an apparatus body similarly to the memory card. If such a hard disk unit is used with an electronic still video camera as a recording medium, it is possible to construct comparatively inexpensively a system having a large storage capacity.
Various kinds of hard disk units are provided for various specifications such as recording capacity, weight, power consumption and recording speed. If the system is constructed so that plural kinds of hard disk units can be attached, it is possible to meet a variety of demands of users.
The aforesaid system is constructed to record a digitized image signal (i.e., image data) or a digitized sound signal (i.e., sound data) in a recording medium such as the memory card or the hard disk unit in the following manner. The recording area of the recording medium is divided into an information data recording area and a management data recording area, and the image data or the sound data is divided into units each corresponding to what is called “cluster”, and each of the units is recorded in one cluster in the information data recording area. Information data indicative of the state of use of each cluster is recorded in the management data recording area.
If image data or sound data is to be recorded over a plurality of clusters, during recording of the image data or the sound data, while the position of a cluster in which the image data or the sound data is recorded is being stored in a management data memory provided in a system control circuit, the image data or the sound data is recorded in the information data recording area. After the completion of the recording of the image data or the sound data, the information data indicative of the state of use of each cluster, which is stored in the management data memory provided in the system control circuit, is recorded in the management data recording area.
However, if the amount of data of the image data or the sound data to be recorded in the recording medium is increased and the number of clusters used for recording the image data or the sound data is increased for the purpose of recording high-quality-image data or high-quality-sound data, it is necessary to provide a management data memory of large storage capacity within the system control circuit so that the positions of clusters used for recording the image data or the sound data can be stored during the recording of the image data or the sound data. With such an arrangement, it is extremely difficult to reduce the size, weight and cost of the apparatus.
On the other hand, if a memory of small storage capacity is used as the management data memory provided within the system control circuit, the size, weight and cost of the system can be reduced. However, the management data memory of small storage capacity does not have a sufficient storage capacity to store the positions of clusters used during recording of the image data or the sound data. Accordingly, the management data memory of small storage capacity needs to repeat the processing of stopping once the operation of recording the image data or the sound data in the information data recording area, reading information data indicative of reading information data, stored in the management data recording area, indicative of the state of use of each cluster, recording the read information data in the management data recording area, and restarting the operation of recording the image data or the sound data in the information data recording area. As a result, there is the problem that the speed of recording of the image data or the sound data lowers remarkably while image data corresponding to a plurality of images or sound data corresponding to a long-time sound is being continuously recorded.
The data files of the image data or the sound data which are recorded in the recording medium, such as a memory card or a hard disk unit, in the above-described manner, are read from the recording medium in units of one data file and transmitted to an external device, such as an external computer, a printer and a data transmission device. In the external device, various processing such as operational processing, printing processing or data transmission processing is performed. Each of the data files recorded in the recording medium is handled as an independent file.
To prevent a wrong data file from being erroneously read out together with a desired file recorded in the recording medium or to prevent a wrong data file from being erroneously erased during erasure of a desired file recorded in the recording medium, it is necessary to individually add a discrimination number to each data file during recording of the data files in the recording medium so that each of the data files can be identified. For example, a system which records image data files in the recording medium is arranged to count the number of photographic pictures recorded during photographing and recording operations, store the counted number of recorded photographic pictures in a system body, generates a discrimination number corresponding to the stored number or recorded photographic pictures, add the generated discrimination number to an obtained image data file, and record the image data file in the recording medium together with the generated discrimination number.
Since the above-described electronic still video camera is a portable device, a supply of electric power depends on a battery and, if the remaining amount of battery power becomes less during photographing and recording, it will be necessary to replace the battery.
If the remaining amount of power in the battery provided in the system body is insufficient or the battery is removed from the system body for battery replacement, the number of recorded photographic pictures which has been stored in the system body in the above-described manner will be reset. If photographing and recording operations are executed after the battery replacement, a discrimination number identical to a discrimination number which is already added to an image data file recorded in the recording medium is added to a new image data file, and the
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Robin Blecker & Daley
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