Patent ID: 6983101

Claim:
An image recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium a time division multiplex image signal obtained by subjecting image signals from a plurality of video cameras to time division multiplexing and having information relating to the camera numbers of the video cameras respectively corresponding to fields included therein added thereto, comprising: a plurality of basic image storage means respectively provided in correspondence with the camera numbers; means for storing, for each group of fields assigned the same camera number which are included in the time division multiplex image signal, image data as basic image data in the basic image storage means corresponding to the camera number assigned to the group of fields in a period of a predetermined number of fields as well as feeding the image data as it is, to the image compression means; means for finding, with respect to image data for each group of fields assigned the same camera number which are included in the time division multiplex image signal, the difference between each of the image data corresponding to the fields between the field corresponding to the image data which is stored in the basic image storage means and the field corresponding to the image data which is to be subsequently stored in the basic image storage means and the basic image data which has been most newly stored in the basic image storage means, and feeding data representing the obtained difference to the image compression means; and means for recording on a recording medium each of compressed data for each field which have been compressed by the image compression means, together with identification information indicating whether the compressed data corresponds to the basic image data or the difference data and the camera number.