Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to digital cameras, and more particularly, to a system for capturing segments of audio information together with photographic images in a digital camera in accordance with user-selectable options.  
           [0002]    Statement of the Problem  
           [0003]    Previously existing digital cameras allow a user to record an audio segment, or ‘clip’ and associate it with a captured photographic image (a ‘picture’). However, previous methods have one or more of the following limitations:  
           [0004]    (a) after taking a picture, the user must press another button before the audio clip can be recorded;  
           [0005]    (b) the camera must be set up in advance to automatically record audio for a specified length of time, after the picture is taken; and/or  
           [0006]    (c) the camera may record audio for a variable length of time after the picture is taken, while the shutter button remains pressed down.  
           [0007]    In all of the above cases, the user is precluded from recording the audio prior to taking the picture, or simultaneously capturing the audio along with the photograph. This makes it difficult to record audio in situations wherein an audio event precedes, or occurs simultaneously with, a corresponding event to be photographed.  
           [0008]    With respect to case (a), recording the audio clip requires that the user take a specific action after taking the picture; i.e., another button must be pressed after pressing the shutter button. This limitation makes recording the audio clip more of an afterthought, and requires conscious effort on the part of the user. In case (b), the user must decide, in advance of recording the audio clip, the exact duration of the clip.  
           [0009]    Therefore, what is needed is a method that does not limit the recording of an audio clip until a period subsequent to the capture of a corresponding image.  
           [0010]    Solution to the Problem  
           [0011]    The present system provides a mechanism for capturing an audio clip either before, during, or after the capture of an associated photographic image. A digital camera constructed in accordance with the present system allows a user to associate an audio clip with a corresponding photographic image by using two shutter button positions to respectively control the initiation of an audio recording and the termination thereof.  
           [0012]    In operation, a user presses the shutter button to a partially depressed position, which initiates audio capture (recording), as well as other functions such as auto-focus and auto-exposure. The user then fully depresses the shutter button, which initiates image capture and recording of the audio clip. Audio recording continues until the shutter button is fully released. The recorded audio clip and corresponding image are stored in local camera memory in a format that allows them to be re-associated when the memory is downloaded from the camera.  
           [0013]    An optional feature of the present system includes a user-selectable, preset minimum recording time, so that if the shutter button remains depressed to a fully depressed position for a duration less than the preset minimum, the audio clip is nevertheless recorded for a minimum length of time. If the user presses the shutter button to a partially depressed position and releases the button without depressing it all the way to the fully depressed position, the audio clip is discarded, or saved with no attached image.  
           [0014]    The present system thus provides the ability to capture exactly the desired image and audio clip, as the user has real-time control over the interval of initiation and termination of the audio recording, as well as the point within that interval at which the associated image is captured. In addition, in contrast to the prior art, the user may initiate recording of the audio clip prior to, or during the image capture process. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of a digital camera used in the present system;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary basic steps employed in carrying out one embodiment of the present system;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the storage of audio and associated images in camera memory; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps employed in carrying out an alternative embodiment of the present system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of a digital camera used in the present system. As shown in FIG. 1, camera  101  comprises a light receiving device  104 , such as a CCD or CMOS imager, a microphone or other audio input device  103  for receiving ambient audio, a processor  110 , and a memory module  102 , for storing audio and image data. In an exemplary embodiment, light receiving device  104  is a CCD imager that detects light  126 , input through camera lens  127 , from the subject to be photographed. In an exemplary embodiment of the present system, processor  110  is programmable and includes an image processing module  130 , and a module  120  for processing the audio functions performed by the present system, including the recording and storing of audio segments, as described herein. The functions performed by audio processing module  120  and image processing module  130  may be executed in firmware or hardware, and the modules  120 / 130  may be external to processor  120 . Modules  120 / 130  may, alternatively, be combined into a single module. Memory module  102  may, alternatively, be divided into different memory types, such as temporary (e.g., RAM) and permanent memory (e.g., flash memory).  
         [0020]    Camera  101  further comprises a user input device  109  coupled to processor  110 , and a shutter button (or switch)  105  for initiating the capture (exposure) of an image, and for controlling the capture of a segment of audio information, hereinafter also referred to as an audio ‘clip’. User input device  109  is employed for entering user-selectable options, and may be any suitable mechanism, such as a displayable menu with an associated menu item selector. When shutter button  105  is depressed, it first moves, in the direction indicated by arrow  107 , from initial position S 0  to partially depressed position S 1 , which initiates the capture of an audio clip. The button  105  may then be further depressed to position S 2 , at which point an image is captured, i.e., a picture is taken, and audio capture is stopped when shutter button  105  is released. Shutter button  105  is coupled to processor  110  so that the processor detects its location relative to positions S 1  and S 2 . The relationship between shutter button positions and the capture of images and associated audio clips is explained in detail below with respect to FIG. 2.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary basic steps employed in one embodiment of the present system for capturing audio clips and associating them with corresponding images. As shown in FIG. 2, at step  201 , a user optionally enters a value representing the minimum recording duration for an audio clip, via user input device  109 . If no minimum duration is entered, camera  101  captures audio segments for only the length of time that shutter button  105  is depressed to the S 1  position or further, as explained below.  
         [0022]    At step  203 , the user partially depresses shutter button  105 , so that it reaches position S 1 . Shutter button  105  preferably provides tactile feedback so that the user can determine when position S 1  is encountered. When processor  110  detects that shutter button  105  has been depressed to the S 1  position, at step  205 , capture of audio information (i.e., an audio clip) via audio input device  103  is initiated. Other camera functions such as auto-focus and auto-exposure may also be initiated at this point. Audio processing module  120  includes an A/D converter which converts the received audio information, which is in analog form, to digital data. The digitized audio data is stored in memory  102 , as explained in detail with respect to FIG. 3. At steps  210  and  215 , audio capture continues as long as the shutter button is pressed at least to the S 1  position. If, however, the user presses the shutter button to the S 1  position and releases the button without depressing it all the way to the S 2  position, the audio clip is discarded. Alternatively, the audio clip could be saved without an accompanying image.  
         [0023]    At step  219 , the user fully depresses shutter button  105 , so that it reaches position S 2 , which causes an image to be captured, via CCD imager  104 , and stored in memory  102  at step  220 . The image capture and storage functions are controlled by image processing module  130 , which also typically performs image compression into a format such as JPEG. It should be noted that images may also be saved in an uncompressed format, such as a TIFF format, for example, and that compressed images may be stored in compression formats other than JPEG. At steps  225  and  230 , audio capture continues until shutter button  105  is released back past the S 1  position, i.e., until the button is in the position between S 1  and S 0 . At step  235 , if the user has not set a minimum audio clip duration in step  201 , then the capture of audio information is terminated, at step  250 . If, however, the user has set a minimum duration for the audio clip, audio capture continues at steps  240  and  245  until the amount of time, set in step  201 , has elapsed subsequent to the shutter button having reached position S 1 . The capture of audio information is then terminated, at step  250 .  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the storage of audio and associated images in camera memory in an exemplary embodiment of the present system. As shown in FIG. 3, memory  102  contains a plurality of (N) JPEG files  300 (1)- 300 (N), each containing an audio clip  310  and corresponding image  311 . After an image is captured by camera  101 , it is compressed (using a firmware or hardware component that is well-known in the art) into a JPEG format and stored in memory  102 . When audio capture is terminated (at step  250  in FIG. 2), an audio ‘clip’ is created in memory  102 , under the control of audio processing module  120 , in accordance with the format shown in FIG. 3. When an audio clip is created, it is moved from an area in memory, where it was originally stored, to the header of a JPEG file containing the image with which the clip is associated. Alternatively, each audio clip and corresponding image may be initially stored, when captured, in adjacent areas which are subsequently formatted as a single JPEG file in accordance with a desired JPEG format.  
         [0025]    There are presently a number of different JPEG specifications, several of which have provisions for storing image-supplementary information as a segment which is part of a JPEG file. Regardless of the fact that certain JPEG specifications do not formally define a ‘header’ area as such, the present system may use any available segment of any type of JPEG file, such as a user-defined header area or equivalent, for storing audio information corresponding to the image data stored in the same file. Although, in the presently described embodiment, image data is stored in a JPEG format with associated audio information stored in a JPEG header, it is to be noted that any data format, such as TIFF or bitmap, may be used for storage of captured images. Furthermore, the audio information (clip) corresponding to a given image may, alternatively, be stored anywhere in memory  102 , using any one of a number of schemes for establishing a correspondence between two data items, such as address pointers, or file name similarities as is well-known in the art. In the present embodiment, the audio and image information is stored in 2 separate files. Images and corresponding audio clips stored non-contiguously in memory  102  may be retrieved by audio processing module  120  in a contiguous fashion so that they are suitably co-associated with a JPEG or other file type, when downloaded from the camera  101 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps employed in carrying out an alternative embodiment of the present system. As shown in FIG. 4, at step  403 , the user partially depresses shutter button  105  to position S 1 . When processor  110  detects that shutter button  105  has been depressed to the S 1  position, at step  405 , capture of audio information via audio input device  103  is initiated. The captured audio is stored in memory  102 , as explained above with respect to FIG. 3. At step  410 , if the shutter button is released to the SO position before being depressed to position S 2 , then audio capture is terminated, and an audio sub-clip is created, at step  411 . When the shutter button is again depressed to position S 1  (at step  403 ), capture of an additional audio sub-clip is initiated (at step  405 ). In this manner, several time-wise discontiguous segments of audio may be captured by repetitively pressing the shutter button to position S 1  and releasing it to position S 0  before depressing the button to S 2  to capture an image that is associated with each of the audio sub-clips. The audio data for each of the sub-clips may be stored sequentially in the header corresponding to the associated image. Alternately, the audio data for each of the sub-clips may be stored as individual audio files with no image attached. Alternatively, the audio data and the image data may be stored in separate files having file name similarities, e.g., having the same file name with different extensions. For example, the audio data may be stored in a ‘.WAV’ file (or any other suitable format), designated (in this particular case) “IM 00043 .WAV”, and the image data stored in a JPEG file designated “IM 00043 .JPG”. The camera  101  and/or software in a user&#39;s PC then matches the audio and image files using the common file name “IM00043”. Implementation of the audio/image storage aspect of the present system requires only that there be a method, either internal to camera  101  or external thereto, for associating a particular audio clip with a corresponding image in memory  102 , assuming that such an image has been captured.  
         [0027]    At steps  412  and  415 , audio capture continues as long as the shutter button is pressed at least to the S 1  position. At step  420 , the user fully depresses shutter button  105 , so that it reaches position S 2 , which causes an image to be captured and stored in memory  102  at step  425 . At step  430 , if the shutter button is fully released to position SO, then audio capture is terminated, at step  440 . If, however, the shutter button is partially released to position S 1 , then audio capture continues (at step  415 ), and additional images may be captured by depressing the shutter button back and forth between positions S 2  and S 1 , as indicated in steps  425 - 435 . Audio capture continues until shutter button  105  is released back to the S 0  position, which terminates audio capture (step  440 ) for the sequence of corresponding images. In this manner, a continuous audio segment may be captured and associated with multiple images by taking a picture, then releasing up only to S 1 , then pressing S 2  to take another picture.  
         [0028]    In order to provide the proper association in memory  102  between multiple images and a single audio clip, the audio data may be broken up into segments, each of which is stored with a different image. The audio could be played back continuously in a slide show, for example. Alternatively, a single audio clip may be inserted in the header for the first image of a series, with the remaining images having blank (empty) audio headers. As a further alternative, the audio data for the clip may be replicated by audio processing module  120  and stored in the header for each of the associated images.  
         [0029]    While exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown in the drawings and described above, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various embodiments of the present invention are possible. For example, the functional blocks shown in FIG. 1, the specific sequence of steps described in FIGS. 2 and 4, and the formatting shown in FIG. 3 should not be construed as limiting the invention herein described. Modification may be made to these and other specific elements of the invention without departing from its spirit and scope as expressed in the following claims.

Technology Category: h