Digital Camera Patent Abstract
A digital camera having a plurality of adjustable memory card fullness
icons to visually indicate the amount of memory space that is available
for storage in a plurality of corresponding removable memory cards
insertable into the digital camera is disclosed. The digital camera
includes an arrangement for capturing and digitizing image data,
a display, and a processor for constructing the memory card fullness
icon on the display. Each memory card fullness icon includes an
inner portion that can be adjusted to graphically display the relative
amount of memory space that is available for storage in its corresponding
removable memory card. The digital camera further includes circuitry
for transferring the digitized image data into a selected removable
memory card. The processor determines the relative amount of available
memory space in the selected memory card and modifies the adjustable
inner portion of the memory card fullness icon on the display to
visually indicate in graphic format the present relative amount
of available memory space in the selected memory card. Digital Camera Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A digital camera having a plurality of memory card fullness
icons to visually indicate the amount of memory space that is available
for storage in a plurality of corresponding removable memory cards
insertable into the digital camera, comprising: (a) means for capturing
and digitizing image data; (b) a display; (c) a processor coupled
to the display for constructing the plurality of memory card fullness
icons on the display, each memory card fullness icon having an inner
portion that can be adjusted to display in graphic format the relative
amount of memory space that is available for storage in its corresponding
removable memory card; (d) means for receiving the plurality of
removable memory cards; (e) means for selecting one of the plurality
of removable memory cards for storage; (f) means for transferring
the digitized image data into the selected removable memory card;
and (g) the processor including means responsive to the data transfer
means for determining the relative amount of available memory space
in the selected removable memory card and for modifying the adjustable
inner portion of the corresponding memory card fullness icon on
the display in accordance with the determined relative amount of
available memory space on the selected removable memory card to
visually indicate in graphic format the present relative amount
of available memory space in the selected removable memory card.
2. The digital camera according to claim 1 wherein each memory
card fullness icon includes a graphical representation of a removable
memory card showing the relative amount of available memory space
in its corresponding memory card.
3. The digital camera according to claim 1 further including means
for selecting a second removable memory card and for transferring
data from the first selected removable memory card to the second
selected removable memory card.
4. The digital camera according to claim 1 wherein the display
is a raster image display.
5. The digital camera according to claim 1 wherein the display
is a segmented status display.
6. A digital camera having a plurality of removable memory cards
and a display to indicate the amount of memory space that is available
for storage in the plurality of removable memory cards, comprising:
(a) means for capturing and digitizing image data; (b) means for
receiving the plurality of removable memory cards; (c) means for
selecting a first removable memory card from the plurality of removable
memory cards for storage; (d) means for transferring the digitized
image data into the first selected removable memory card; (e) a
processor coupled to the display for determining the amount of memory
space that is available for storage in the first selected removable
memory card and for controlling the display so as to visually indicate
the present amount of available memory space in the first selected
removable memory card; and (f) means for selecting a second removable
memory card and for transferring data from the first selected removable
memory card to the second selected removable memory card.
7. The digital camera according to claim 6 wherein the processor
further determines the amount of memory space that is available
for storage in the second selected memory card, and wherein the
display provides a graphical representation of two removable memory
cards showing the determined amount of available memory space in
each of the first and second selected removable memory cards.
8. The digital camera according to claim 7 wherein the graphical
representation of each of the two removable memory cards includes
a first portion representing the relative amount of memory which
is currently storing images and a second portion representing the
relative amount of unused memory space, and wherein the first portion
has a different tone or color than the second portion.
9. The digital camera according to claim 6 wherein the display
is a raster image display.
10. The digital camera according to claim 6 wherein the display
is a segmented status display.
11. A digital camera having a plurality of removable memory cards
and a display to indicate the amount of memory space that is available
for storage in the plurality of removable memory cards, comprising:
(a) means for capturing and digitizing image data; (b) means for
receiving the plurality of removable memory cards; (c) means for
selecting one of the plurality of removable memory cards for storage;
(d) means for transferring the digitized image data into the selected
removable memory card; and (e) a processor coupled to the display
for determining the amount of memory space that is available for
storage in the each of the plurality of removable memory cards and
for controlling the display so as to visually indicate the present
amount of available memory space in each of the removable memory
cards.
12. The digital camera according to claim 11 wherein the display
provides a graphical representation of each of the plurality of
removable memory cards showing the determined amount of available
memory space in each removable memory card.
13. The digital camera according to claim 12 wherein the graphical
representation for each of the plurality of removable memory cards
includes a first portion representing the relative amount of memory
which is currently storing images and a second portion representing
the relative amount of unused memory space, and wherein the first
portion has a different tone or color than the second portion.
14. The digital camera according to claim 12 wherein the display
is a raster image display.
15. The digital camera according to claim 12 wherein the display
is a segmented status display.
Digital Camera Patent Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic
imaging, and in particular, to digital cameras having memory cards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typical digital cameras include a memory card onto which captured
digital images can be stored. Many digital cameras provide an indication
of the approximate number of images that could be stored on a memory
card. However, this number depends on the resolution level and compression
mode, which can be confusing to a user. This can be difficult for
the user to determine whether the memory card is nearly empty or
nearly full.
Some new digital cameras provide two memory card slots, which enable
images to be stored on either card, or transferred from one card
to another. This increases a user's difficulty in determining the
amount of memory space that is available for storage in each of
the memory cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,303 discloses an electronic still camera which
uses a memory card for storing captured images. The camera includes
an indicator light and detects the remaining capacity on the memory
card, and causes the indicator light to flash when the available
memory space on the memory card is close to capacity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide
a visual indication which can quickly determine how much space has
been used on each memory card, and how much available memory space
is remaining.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a digital
camera having an adjustable memory card fullness icon which visually
indicates in graphic format the relative amount of available memory
space on a removable memory card.
These objects are achieved by a digital camera having an adjustable
memory card fullness icon to visually indicate in graphic format
the amount of memory space that is available for storage in a removable
memory card insertable into the digital camera, comprising: (a)
means for capturing and digitizing image data; (b) a display; (c)
a processor coupled to the display for constructing the memory card
fullness icon on the display, the memory card fullness icon having
a graphical representation of a memory card, and including an inner
portion that can be adjusted to graphically display the relative
amount of memory space that is available for storage in the removable
memory card; (d) means for receiving the removable memory card;
(e) means for transferring the digitized image data into the removable
memory card; and (f) the processor including means responsive to
the data transfer means for determining the relative amount of available
memory space in the removable memory card and for modifying the
adjustable inner portion of the memory card fullness icon on the
display in accordance with the determined relative amount of available
memory space to visually indicate in graphic format the present
relative amount of available memory space in the removable memory
card.
These objects are also achieved by a digital camera having a plurality
of memory card fullness icons to visually indicate the amount of
memory space that is available for storage in a plurality of corresponding
removable memory cards insertable into the digital camera, comprising:
(a) means for capturing and digitizing image data; (b) a display;
(c) a processor coupled to the display for constructing the plurality
of memory card fullness icons on the display, each memory card fullness
icon having an inner portion that can be adjusted to display in
graphic format the relative amount of memory space that is available
for storage in its corresponding removable memory card; (d) means
for receiving the plurality of removable memory cards; (e) means
for selecting one of the plurality of removable memory cards for
storage; (f) means for transferring the digitized image data into
the selected removable memory card; and (g) the processor including
means responsive to the data transfer means for determining the
relative amount of available memory space in the selected removable
memory card and for modifying the adjustable inner portion of the
corresponding memory card fullness icon on the display in accordance
with the determined relative amount of available memory space on
the selected removable memory card to visually indicate in graphic
format the present relative amount of available memory space in
the selected removable memory card.
ADVANTAGES
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a digital
camera having a simple, easily understood visual indication of the
approximate amount of memory remaining on a removable memory card.
In this manner, a user would know whether an additional memory card
is needed, or whether captured images should be downloaded to a
computer for storage.
An important feature of the present invention is that a digital
camera can have two memory cards and a user can select the appropriate
memory card for image storage. A user can determine how much memory
space is available on each card by viewing the graphical display
on the icon. This is particularly useful for applications such as
sports photography, where the photographer would like to know whether
a memory card is nearly empty or nearly full before a major event
is about to occur. A user can also transfer images from one card
to another within the digital camera. This is particularly useful
for image management in situations, for example, where a user is
taking pictures for multiple clients.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is block diagram of a digital camera including a single
memory card in accordance with a first embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 2A depicts an image display on the digital camera of FIG.
1 which has a memory card fullness icon that graphically displays
that the memory card does not contain any image data;
FIG. 2B depicts the same image display as FIG. 2A, but shows the
memory card fullness icon as indicating that the memory card is
one third full;
FIG. 2C depicts the same image display as FIG. 2B, except that
the memory card fullness icon indicates that the memory card is
two thirds full;
FIG. 3A depicts another embodiment of the present invention wherein
the memory card fullness icon is shown on a status display on the
digital camera of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3B depicts the memory card fullness icon as being a status
liquid crystal display;
FIG. 4 is block diagram of another embodiment of a digital camera
including two memory cards;
FIG. 5 depicts an image display on the digital camera of FIG. 4
which has two memory card fullness icons that graphically display
the availability of memory storage on/he two memory cards, respectively;
and
FIG. 6 depicts an alternative embodiment of the two memory card
fullness icons on the image display of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Because imaging devices employing electronic sensors are well known,
the present description will be directed in particular to elements
forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, apparatus in
accordance with the present invention. Elements not specifically
shown or described herein may be selected from those known in the
art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an exemplary digital camera
10 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention
is shown, such as, for example, the Kodak DCS 315.TM. digital camera
sold by the Eastman Kodak Company. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital
camera 10 includes a lens 12 which directs image light from a subject
(not shown) through an aperture/shutter controller 13 upon an image
sensor 14 having a discrete number of photosites or pixels arranged
in a two-dimensional array to form individual photosites corresponding
to the pixels of the image. The image sensor 14 can be a charge
coupled device (CCD) sensor, such as, for example, the Kodak KAF-1600
full-frame sensor having 1536 columns and 1024 rows of photosites,
or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imager. The
photosites of the image sensor 14 convert the incident photons of
light into electron charge packets. Each photosite is overlaid with
a color filter array (CFA), such as the Bayer CFA described in commonly-assigned
U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,065, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated
by reference. The Bayer CFA has 50% green pixels in a checkerboard
mosaic, with the remaining pixels alternating between red and blue
rows. The photosites respond to the appropriately colored incident
light illumination to provide an analog signal corresponding to
the intensity of illumination incident on the photosites.
The analog output of each pixel is amplified and analog processed
by an analog signal processor (ASP) 16 to reduce the image sensor's
output amplifier noise. The output of the ASP 16 is converted to
a digital image signal by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 18,
such as, for example, an 8 bit A/D converter which provides an 8
bit signal in the sequence of the Bayer CFA.
The digitized image signal is temporarily stored in a frame memory
20, and is then processed and compressed by a digital signal processor
(DSP) 22. The image processing includes white balance, color correction,
tone correction, and image sharpening. The DSP 22 also decimates
(or resamples) the digitized image signal for each still image to
produce a thumbnail image having fewer pixels (i.e., lower resolution)
than the original captured image as described in commonly-assigned
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,831 to Kuchta et al., the disclosure of which
is herein incorporated by reference. The image file containing both
the full resolution image and the thumbnail image is stored in a
data memory 26, and then transferred through a memory card interface
32 to a memory card 28 that is present in a memory card slot 30
of the digital camera 10. The thumbnail image is also sent to an
image display 24, such as a Seiko Epson Model LB18-B000 312.times.230
pixel color liquid crystal display (LCD), through an LCD controller
25 where the user can view the image. The image display 24, which
is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2A-2C and which will be discussed
later, includes a conventional arrangement for displaying the captured
image. The image display 24 may, alternatively, utilize many other
types of raster image displays, including miniature CRT's, organic
light emitting diode (LED) arrays, or field emission displays.
The memory card 28 can be adapted to the PCMCIA card interface
standard, such as described in the PC Card Standard, Release 2.0,
published by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association,
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 1991. The memory card 28 can also be
adapted to the Compact Flash interface standard, such as described
in the CompactFlash Specification Version 1.3, published by the
CompactFlash Association, Palo Alto, Calif., Aug. 5, 1998.
Electrical connection between the memory card 28 and the digital
camera 10 is maintained through a card connector (not shown) positioned
in the memory card slot 30. The memory card interface 32 and the
card connector provide, e.g., an interface according to the aforementioned
PCMCIA card or CompactFlash interface standard. The image file may
also be sent to a host computer (not shown), which is connected
to the digital camera 10 through a host computer interface 34.
In operation, a camera microprocessor 36 receives user inputs 48,
such as from a shutter release (not shown), and initiates a capture
sequence by signaling a timing generator 38. The timing generator
38 is connected generally to the elements of the digital camera
10, as shown in FIG. 1, for controlling the digital conversion,
compression, and storage of the image signal. The camera microprocessor
36 also processes a signal from a photodiode 44 for determining
a proper exposure, and accordingly signals an exposure driver 46
for setting the aperture and shutter speed via the aperture/shutter
controller 13 and triggers a flash unit 42 (if needed). The image
sensor 14 is then driven from the timing generator 38 via a sensor
driver 40 to produce the image signal. The user inputs 48 are used
to control the operation of the digital camera 10 in a well-known
manner.
Referring now to FIGS. 2A-2C, a memory card fullness icon 52 is
provided on the image display 24 in accordance with the present
invention. The memory card fullness icon 52 includes a graphical
representation of the removable memory card 28. The memory card
fullness icon 52 further includes an inner portion 54 that can be
adjusted to graphically display the relative amount of memory space
that is available for storage in the removable memory card 28. The
use of the term "graphic" means a non-numeric indication
which has an adjustable portion such as a bar or a colored area.
For example, the graphical format on the memory card fullness icon
52 (or 66 and 68) can be provided by adjustable color portions.
One color can indicate the amount of memory availability, while
another color can indicate the amount of used memory. In FIG. 2A,
the memory card fullness icon 52 indicates that the memory card
28 is empty. In FIG. 2B, the memory card fullness icon 52 indicates
that the memory card 28 is one third full. In FIG. 2C, the memory
card fullness icon 52 indicates that the memory card 28 is two thirds
full.
The camera microprocessor 36, which is coupled to the image display
24 through the LCD controller 25 (see FIG. 1), constructs the memory
card fullness icon 52 on the image display 24. The camera microprocessor
36 determines, using the memory card interface 32, the amount of
total memory and available memory in the memory card 28. The ratio
of the available memory to the total memory in the memory card 28
is then calculated by the camera microprocessor 36. The camera microprocessor
36 then provides appropriate signals to the memory card fullness
icon 52 on the image display 24 to cause the modification of the
adjustable inner portion 54 of the memory card fullness icon in
accordance with the determined ratio of the available memory to
the total memory to visually indicate in graphic format the present
relative amount of available memory space in the memory card 28.
Other circuit architectures will suggest themselves to those skilled
in the art. For example, the data memory 26 can be directly coupled
by a bus to the image display 24 under the control of the camera
microprocessor 36.
The portion of the memory card fullness icon 52 that is filled
is determined by the following ratio:
[number of bytes that are currently "used" or recorded
on memory card 28]/[number of total bytes available for storage
on the memory card 28]. For example, if the digital camera 10 uses
an 8 Mbyte memory card and 2 Mbyte worth of images has been taken,
6 Mbyte are available for storage on the memory card 28 and the
memory card fullness icon 52 is 25 percent full. The memory card
fullness icon 52 does not assume a specific resolution level or
compression; it is independent of both of these settings. Accordingly,
it is easier for a user to understand whether the memory card 28
is "mostly" full or "mostly" empty, compared
to having only a number of pictures remaining that changes as a
function of resolution level and compression mode.
Referring again to FIG. 1, a status display 50 is shown which can
be used in place of the image display 24 for displaying the memory
card fullness icon 52. FIG. 3A shows the status display 50 in more
detail. As shown in FIG. 3A, the status display 50 also displays
a conventional battery level indicator 60 and a flash mode indicator
62. In FIG. 3B, the memory card fullness icon 52 is shown in more
detail. As shown, the memory card fullness icon 52 is provided by
a series of liquid crystal display (LCD) segments 64 which are controlled
to visually indicate in a graphic format the available storage on
the memory card 28. Each LCD segment 64 provides for a different
level of storage fullness on the memory card 28. The LCD segments
64 are driven by the camera microprocessor 36 by way of LCD segment
drivers which are understood to be included in the block labeled
"camera microprocessor 36" on FIG. 1. The status display
50 could, alternatively, use light emitting diodes (LED's) or other
emissive display technologies.
Turning now to FIG. 4, a block diagram similar to FIG. 1 is depicted.
The main difference is that this block diagram includes a second
memory card 58 that is present in a second memory card slot 56 which
is electrically connected to the memory card interface 32. The operation
of the digital camera 10 is similar to FIG. 1 with the exception
that the user, through the user inputs 48, can select which of the
memory cards 28 or 58 is to be used for storing captured images.
The user can also cause image information to be transferred through
the memory card interface 32 from one of the memory cards to another
memory card under the control of the camera microprocessor 36. The
image display 24 or the status display 50 now has two memory card
fullness icons 66 and 68 which respectively correspond to memory
cards 28 and 58 and indicate their respective relative availability
of memory storage. FIG. 5 shows the image display 24 with the two
memory card fullness icons 66 and 68. As shown, the memory card
fullness icon 66 indicates that the memory card 28 is one third
full and the memory card fullness icon 68 indicates that the memory
card 58 is two thirds full.
FIG. 6 depicts an alternative embodiment of the two memory card
fullness icons 66 and 68 on the image display 24 of FIG. 5. The
first memory card fullness icon 66 includes a card slot number 80
(indicating the first memory card 28 inserted in the memory card
slot 30 shown in FIG. 4) and a card total memory size value 84 (indicating,
for example, that the first memory card 28 is an 8 Mbyte capacity
card). Similarly, the second memory card fullness icon 68 includes
a card slot number 82 (indicating the second memory card 58 inserted
in 5 memory card slot 56) and a card total memory size value 86
(indicating, for example, that the second memory card 58 is a 4
Mbyte capacity card).
In accordance with the present invention, the memory fullness icons
66 and 68, as shown in FIG. 6, include inner portions 90 and 100,
respectively, that are adjusted to graphically display the amount
of memory space that is available for storage in each corresponding
memory card, relative to the largest capacity of the two cards (for
example, relative to the 8 Mbyte card capacity of the first memory
card 28 inserted in the memory card slot 30). The inner portion
90 of the first memory card fullness icon 66 includes two regions
92 and 94, which differ in tone or color. In a preferred embodiment,
the upper region 94 is colored green, indicating the relative amount
of available (i.e., unused) memory space on the first memory card
28 while the lower region 92 is colored black, indicating the relative
amount of memory on the first memory card 28 which is currently
storing images.
Because the total capacity of the second memory card 58 is less
than the total capacity of the first memory card 28, the inner portion
100 of the second memory card fullness icon 68 includes three regions
102, 104, and 106 which all differ in tone or color. In a preferred
embodiment, the upper region 106 is colored red, indicating that
the second memory card 58 has a proportionally lower memory capacity
than the first memory card 28. The middle region 104 is colored
green, indicating the relative amount of available (i.e., unused)
memory space on the second memory card 58, while the lower region
102 is colored black, indicating the relative amount of memory which
is currently storing images.
The colored inner portions 90 and 100 of the memory card fullness
icons 66 and 68, respectively, enable the user to easily visualize
whether or not it will be possible to copy images from one memory
card to another. For example, if the height of the green region
104 of the second memory card fullness icon 68 is larger than the
height of the black region 92 of the first memory card fullness
icon 66, all of the images stored on the first memory card 28 can
be copied to the second memory card 58 (i.e., the memory card 58
has sufficient available memory space to receive all of the images
stored on the memory card 28).
Alternatively, the memory card fullness icons 66 and 68 for the
two different capacity memory cards 28 and 58, respectively, could
be displayed using two different sized icons, rather than using
three different regions (i.e., regions 102, 104, and 106) for the
memory card fullness icon of the smaller capacity card. For example,
the memory card fullness icon 68 for the 4 Mbyte memory card could
have a smaller vertical height than the memory card fullness icon
66 for the 8 Mbyte card. The memory card fullness icon 68 would
then use only two different regions (i.e., regions 102 and 104)
rather than the three regions depicted in FIG. 6. This approach
would allow use of relative size as a perceptual indicator of used/unused
capacity for different capacity memory cards.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference
to preferred embodiments thereof. It will be understood that variations
and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of
the invention.
PARTS LIST 10 digital camera 11 lens 12 aperture/shutter controller
13 image sensor 16 analog signal processor 18 analog-to-digital
converter 20 frame memory 22 digital signal processor 24 image display
25 liquid crystal display controller 26 data memory 28 memory card
30 memory card slot 32 memory card interface 34 host computer interface
36 camera microprocessor 38 timing generator 40 sensor driver 42
flash unit 44 photodiode 46 exposure driver 48 user inputs 50 status
display 52 memory card fullness icon 54 adjustable inner portion
56 memory card slot 58 memory card 60 battery level indicator 62
flash mode indicator 64 liquid crystal display segment 68 memory
card fullness icon 80 memory card fullness icon 82 card slot number
84 card slot number 86 card total memory size value 90 card total
memory size value 94 adjustable inner portion 100 lower region 102
upper region 104 adjustable inner portion 106 lower region middle
region upper region
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