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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of high speed recording of images
and of information associated with the images by means of a motion picture
camera for high speed shooting equipped with an image pulse generator and
also to an apparatus for implementing the method.
2. Discussion of Background
At present, motion picture cameras for high speed shooting using claws or
rotary prisms are equipped with or are suitable for being equipped with
light emitting diodes (LEDs) or alphanumeric character displays for
writing information on the motion picture film. FIG. 1 of the accompanying
drawings shows a prior art motion picture camera 1 for high speed
shooting. A box 2, which is conventionally disposed adjacent to the camera
1, contains electronic circuits which receive information from one or more
information sources 3a, 3b, ..., 3n, for example an IRIG B time source or
clock, and speed, pressure, temperature, etc. sensors providing
information or data in analog form or in serial or parallel digital form.
If necessary, said information may be decoded in the box 2 and then
recoded in a form that is suitable for being written on the motion picture
film.
At present, there are two known methods of writing information on film. The
first method consists in recording the information on marginal tracks of
the motion picture film 4 by means of an electro-optical device 5 placed
adjacent to a loop of motion picture film in the camera 1, as shown in
FIG. 2. This method is similar to the method of recording image pulses
from a camera and from a time base in an auxiliary recorder. The portion
of the film which is used as the recording medium is a portion which is
running at a steady speed. One to four LEDs are conventionally used for
writing information to the marginal tracks of the motion picture film. A
track 6 may be written on either side of each of the rows of perforations
or sprocket holes 7 of the motion picture film 4, as shown in FIG. 3.
The second known method consists in writing information on the motion
picture film 4 in binary form or in binary coded decimal (BCD) form, etc.
as a matrix as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and at the bottom of FIG. 7, or else
in the form of characters in the clear as shown at the top of FIG. 7, for
example by means of an alphanumeric character display 8 and an optical
system comprising reflector elements 9 and 11 as shown in FIG. 4 In this
case, the information may be written on the motion picture film 4 either
within each image frame or to one side thereof (FIG. 3), or in the gap
between two successive image frames (FIG. 5) for discontinuous motion
cameras, or else to one side of the images per se in a zone lying between
the images and one of the rows of sprocket holes 7 of the film 4 (FIG. 6)
or else between successive frame sprocket holes 7 when using a 16 mm
motion picture film (FIG. 7).
Prior art methods of writing information on a motion picture film in a high
speed camera suffer from various drawbacks.
In particular, the amount of information which can be written on marginal
tracks in the form of serial bits is limited, at high speed, by the
minimum bit length (0.2 mm) and by possible blurring effects which give
rise to difficulty in reading back the information written on the film.
The writing of matrices or characters in the clear in the image frames,
between successive frames, or between the images per se and the sprocket
holes of the film all limit the area of film available for images per se.
When using matrices or characters in the clear, each camera must be
equipped with electro-optical write devices which, given the high speed at
which the film is running, are expensive and difficult to install, and in
particular are difficult to retrofit to existing equipment. In addition,
the writing of matrices or characters in the clear between two successive
film sprocket holes or in the gap between two image frames is not always
compatible with said information being transferred when the film is
duplicated using standard means.
In any event, the amount of information which can be written on film in
association with each image frame is relatively limited.
When the information on the motion picture film is being examined by means
of a film reader, it is easier to read characters which are in the clear
than it is to read serial bits or encoded matrices However, in all cases
the manual transfer of such information via a keyboard to enter said
information into a memory of the film reader is a long and tedious
process. With some prior film readers, it is possible to examine the
information on the film automatically; however this requires equipment
which is expensive and often complex for reading the serial bits, the
encoded matrices, or the characters in the clear. Further, each type of
writing requires special equipment and software specific to the location
of the information on the film, to the kind of code used, to the sizes of
the bits, etc.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide a method and apparatus
enabling images and information associated with the images to be recorded
at high speed without it being necessary to equip the motion picture
camera used for shooting with expensive and complex electro-optical
elements for recording said information, and without it being necessary to
equip the film reader with expensive and complex electro-optical elements
for reading back the information associated with the images.
The present invention also seeks to provide a method and apparatus making
it possible, if so desired, to record a greater number of additional data
items with each motion picture film image, even when using cameras
operating at very high rates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, the present invention provides a method of high speed
recording of images and of information associated with the images by means
of a motion picture camera for high speed shooting, the camera being
equipped with an image pulse generator, and the method comprising the
following steps during shooting: the information associated with the
images is acquired and stored in a large capacity fast access memory at
the image rate under the control of the image pulses generated by said
camera image pulse generator; and at least one reference signal is written
electro-optically on the motion picture film beside the image
corresponding to the first stored information.
In the recording apparatus of the present invention, the image medium (the
motion picture film) is different from the information medium since the
information is recorded in a fast access memory. For example, if a 35 mm
film is used having a length of 300 m and containing about 16,000 frames,
and if 32 characters are recorded in association with each frame, a 512
Kbyte memory will suffice for storing the information. The method of the
present invention requires the camera to be equipped with a device capable
of providing an image pulse signal (or a middle-of-exposure signal) for
synchronizing the inputting and recording of information in the memory,
together with an electro-optical marking device for putting a reference
signal on a marginal track of the motion picture film enabling the image
frame which corresponds to the beginning of information storage to be
identified. However, given that existing cameras are normally equipped
with such an image pulse generator device or that they are capable of
being fitted with such a device easily and at low cost, and given that the
said electro-optical marking device may be constituted by a small number
of LEDs or even by a single LED together with the associated current
amplifiers, i.e. by means which are simple, cheap, and easy to install in
a camera, the present invention makes it possible to use cameras which are
much less expensive than those which have been equipped with complex and
expensive electro-optical devices for writing information on the motion
picture film in the form of matrices or in the form of characters in the
clear. Further, the invention can easily be adapted to existing equipment.
Given that the memories which are currently commercially available are
relatively small in volume, the memory used in apparatus in accordance
with the present invention for storing information together with the
associated central processor unit which is necessary for controlling the
storage of said information in the memory at the rate at which the images
are being shot, and also for transmitting the reference signal to the
marking LED(s) for writing on to the motion picture film can easily be
received in the information acquisition box which is conventionally
disposed adjacent to the camera and connected thereto. Given that the
quantity of information which can be stored in the memory is mainly
limited by the capacity of said memory, and that this capacity may be as
large as desired the present invention makes it possible to store a much
greater quantity of information than could be written on the motion
picture film itself. In addition, the invention can be used with cameras
operating at very high rates of shooting, for example 10,000 image frames
per second. In addition, by providing a memory of suitable capacity, it is
possible to use the memory as a notepad for storing comments, e.g.
concerning shooting conditions.
Further, the present invention allows the information to be read back
simply and cheaply given the electronic and microcomputing means currently
available. After shooting, the information stored in the memory of the
information acquisition and storage box may either be:
(a) remotely transmitted over a serial, parallel, or radio link to
equipment for storing said information on a cheap data medium (cassette,
diskette, laser card, etc.), thereby releasing the camera and the
associated information acquisition and storing box for further shooting;
or
(b) retained in the memory of said box if it is equipped with nonvolatile
memory (EEPROM or battery backed-up memory, for example), with the
information contained in the memory being used in conjunction with a
conventional film reader after the film has been developed; or else
(c) read from the memory by some other equipment, if the information
acquisition and storage box is equipped with nonvolatile memory in plug-in
form, e.g. in the form of cartridges.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Implementations of the invention are described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a prior art apparatus for high speed recording
of images and information associated with the images;
FIG. 2 shows first prior art electro-optical means for writing information
on a motion picture film and suitable for installation in the FIG. 1
camera;
FIG. 3 shows a portion of a motion picture film obtained using the
apparatus and means of FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 shows second prior art electro-optical means for writing information
on a motion picture film and suitable for installation in the FIG. 1
camera;
FIGS. 5 to 7 show other lengths of motion picture film obtained using the
prior art apparatus and means of FIGS. 1 and 4;
FIG. 8 is a diagram of an apparatus in accordance with the present
invention for high speed recording of images and information associated
with the images, together with a film reader for viewing the motion
picture film after it has been developed;
FIG. 9 is a diagram of image pulse generator means incorporated in the FIG.
8 camera;
FIG. 10a shows a first embodiment of electro-optical marking means suitable
for being installed in the FIG. 8 camera in order to write a reference
signal on the motion picture film;
FIG. 10b shows a second embodiment of electro-optical marking means;
FIG. 11 shows a length of motion picture film including a reference signal
obtained using the FIG. 10a marking means;
FIG. 12 is a waveform diagram showing the signals applied to the FIG. 10b
marking means for writing image numbers on the motion picture film to
constitute reference signals;
FIG. 13 shows a length of motion picture film having image numbers thereon
obtained using the FIG. 10b marking apparatus;
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the organization of circuits contained
in the FIG. 8 information acquisition and storage box;
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the FIG. 14 central processor unit card;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram of one of the FIG. 14 memory cards; and
FIG. 17 is a block diagram of one of the FIG. 14 information acquisition
cards.
MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The apparatus shown in FIG. 8 may be considered as comprising two
subassemblies 10 and 12 for recording images and for acquiring and storing
the information associated therewith, together with two subassemblies 13
and 14 for recording and exploiting the stored information and for
examining the motion picture film.
The camera 10 in FIG. 8 for taking the shots may be identical with the
camera 1 in FIG. 1 In addition, it includes means, known per se, for
delivering an image pulse or a middle-of-exposure signal which is used for
counting images during shooting and, as explained below, is also used for
triggering the writing of blocks of information in the memory of the
acquisition and storage box 12 at the image rate. As shown in FIG. 9, the
image pulse generator means may be constituted, for example, by a disk 15
fixed on the output shaft 16 of the motion picture film drive device and
having a notch or a hole 17 in its periphery. On each rotation of the
shaft 16, a sensor 18 such as a photocell detects the passage of the hole
17 and emits a signal which is appropriately shaped and amplified by an
amplifier 19 whose output 21 provides an image pulse signal STI. Depending
on the position of the disk on the shaft 16, this signal is emitted to
coincide either with the beginning or with the middle of each image.
The camera 10 also includes electro-optical marking means for writing at
least one reference signal on the motion picture film in order to identify
at least that image of the film which corresponds to the first information
recorded in the memory of the acquisition and storage box 12. As shown in
FIG. 10a, the electro-optical marking means may comprise a current
amplifier 22 which receives a reference signal SR on its input 23 and
which has its output connected to a LED 24. The LED 24 may replace the
electro-optical device 5 of FIG. 2 in order to write the reference signal
SR on a marginal track of the motion picture film 4. The reference signal
SR is emitted by the acquisition and storage box 12 to correspond with the
first block of information stored in the memory of the box 12. The
reference signal SR may be constituted by a single rectangular pulse which
is written in the form of a dash on one side of the image which
corresponds to the first block of stored information. However, in a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reference signal SR may
be constituted by a continuous signal which is written on a marginal track
of the motion picture film 4 in the form of a line 25 whose beginning
coincides with the image 26 corresponding to the first block of stored
information and whose end coincides with the image 27 corresponding to the
last block of stored information, as shown in FIG. 11.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the reference signal may be
written on the motion picture film in the form of an image number.
Although an image number could be associated with each image, it suffices
in practice to write numbers on the film every n images, for example every
10 images as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. In this case, the widths of the
pulses used for writing the image numbers are less critical than they
would be if an image number were to be written next to each image. FIG.
10b shows electro-optical marking means for writing image numbers on four
parallel racks A, B, C, and D (FIG. 13) of the motion picture film 4. Four
LEDs 24a, 24b, 24c, and 24d are associated with respective ones of the
tracks A, B, C, and D. The four LEDs may replace, for example, the FIG. 2
electro-optical device 5. The LEDs 24a, 24b, 24c, and 24d are connected to
the outputs of respective current amplifiers 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d which
receive respective decimal pulse trains SRa, SRb, SRc, and SRd on their
respective inputs 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d, once every ten images. The
numbers of pulses in the four pulse trains SRa, SRb, SRc, and SRd
correspond respectively to the tens digit, the hundreds digit, the
thousands digit, and the tens of thousands digits in the image number. In
the example shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, image 28 has the number 92310, and
image 29 has the number 92320.
Like the block 2 of FIG. 1, the acquisition and storage block 12 of FIG. 8
receives various kinds of information (e.g. IRIG B time, together with
values of speed, pressure, temperature, etc.) coming from one or more
sources of information 3a, 3b, ..., 3n. However, as described below with
reference to FIGS. 14 to 17, the structure and the function of the
electronic circuits contained in the acquisition and storage box 12 are
different from the structure and function of the circuits contained in the
prior art box 2.
FIG. 14 shows the organization of the circuits in the acquisition and
storage box 12. It comprises: at least one acquisition card 31 equipped
with its own microprocessor and suitable for receiving and decoding
information from one or more information sources 3i selected from the
information sources 3a, 3b, ..., 3n of FIG. 8; at least one memory card
32, e.g. two memory cards each having a capacity of 256 Kbytes; a central
processor unit card 33; and a power supply card 34 which provides the
various power supply voltages required to operate the electronic circuits
on the cards 31 to 33. Optionally, the box 12 may also include a
keyboard/display card 35 equipped with its own microprocessor and
controlling a keyboard 36 and a display 37 (FIG. 8). This enables an
operator to enter additional parameters and data via the keyboard 36, to
display them on the display 37, and to store them in the memories of one
of the memory cards 32 under the control of the CPU card 33 (i.e. to use
the memories as a notepad). The card 35 may have a conventional structure
similar to that of a microcomputer. The cards 31 to 35 are interconnected
by a bus 38.
The number of acquisition cards 31 depends on the number of information
sources and on the nature and the form of the information provided by each
of the sources (IRIG B time, parallel data, serial data, analog data
representative of pressure, fluid speed, temperature, ...). A card for
acquiring serial data is described below by way of example.
The total memory capacity provided by the memory card(s) 32, and
consequently the number of memory cards required, depends on the total
quantity of information to be stored during a shooting sequence
(information coming from the sources 3a, 3b, ..., 3n and optionally
additional information entered by the operator via the keyboard 36).
As shown in detail below, the CPU card 33 provides the following functions:
(a) at each image pulse signal STI, it requests that a block of information
from one of the acquisition cards 3i should be sent thereto and it
transfers said block of information to the battery backed-up memory
card(s) 32;
(b) it manages the image numbers and the numbers of the blocks of
information recorded in the memory card(s) 32;
(c) it controls the writing of the reference signal SR on the marginal
track(s) of the motion picture film 4 (line 25 in FIG. 11 or image number
in FIG. 13);
(d) after the shots have been taken, it controls an input/output interface
which makes it possible to use a link 39 (FIG. 8) to transfer the blocks
of information stored in the memories of the memory card(s) 32 to a
recorder contained in block 13 of FIG. 8 so that said blocks of
information can be written on a cheap data storage medium; and
(e) it handles control signals coming from control buttons 40, 41, 42 and
it actuates indicator lights 43, 44, and 45 which are associated with
respective ones of the control buttons 40, 41, and 42 on the front face of
the FIG. 8 acquisition and storage box 12. The three buttons 40, 41, and
42 may respectively comprise a "start" button, a "stop" button, and a
"transfer" button, for example, with the transfer button being used to
control the transfer of the blocks of information contained in the
memories of the memory card(s) 32 to the recorder contained in the box or
block 13 of FIG. 8.
Reference is now made to FIG. 15 for describing one particular embodiment
of the CPU card 33 shown in FIG. 14, supposing that there are two memory
cards 32 each having a capacity of 256 Kbytes, with the link 39 of FIG. 8
being a serial link, and with the reference signal SR being the signal
shown in FIGS. 10b and 12. As shown in FIG. 15, the CPU card 33 comprises:
a microprocessor 46, e.g. an 80C88-2 type circuit which is clocked by a
clock signal CLK at 8 MHz provided by a clock circuit 47, e.g. an 82C84A
type circuit used in conjunction with a crystal 48;
memory and power amplifier circuits 49 to 55, e.g. 8286, 8282, and 74LS373
type circuits, with the circuits 49, 50 and 51 serving to amplify the
various address, data, and control signals from the microprocessor 46, the
circuit 52 amplifying the memory module select signals CE/ directed to the
memory cards 32, the circuit 53 amplifying the four pulse trains
constituting the reference signal SR, the circuit 54 amplifying the
signals to the three indicator lights 43-45 of FIG. 8, and the circuit 55
amplifying the image pulse signals STI coming from the FIG. 9 image pulse
generator;
a counter circuit 56, e.g. an 82C54-2 type circuit which includes three
programmable counters two of the counters serving to count image pulses
STI as amplified by the circuit 55, and the third counter generating a
clock signal HO for controlling the writing of image numbers on the
marginal tracks A, B C, and D of the FIG. 13 motion picture film 4;
a memory circuit 57, e.g. an 8155 H2 type circuit which includes a 256 byte
scratchpad working memory and two 8-bit ports one of which is programmed
to be an input port and the other to be an output port, which ports are
used for monitoring and controlling the control buttons 40-42 and the
indicator lights 43-45 of the box 12;
a serial transmitter 58, e.g. an 8251-A type UART (Universal Asynchronous
Transmitter/Receiver) circuit for providing serial transmission of the
information contained in the memories of the memory cards 32 over the link
39 of FIG. 8 via a voltage level translator 59, e.g. a MAX RS 232 type
circuit for use over a V24 or RS232C type junction;
a clock 60, e.g. a COM 8146 P type circuit driven by a crystal 61 and
serving to determine the speed of data transmission over the link 39
towards block 13 of FIG. 8, with the speed being under the control of
switches 60;
a memory circuit 63, e.g. an 87 55 A2 type circuit including a 2 Kbyte
REPROM (reprogrammable read only memory) containing the operating program
for the microprocessor 46, together with two 8-bit ports, one of which is
used as an output for generating various control signals (e.g. the memory
module select signal CE/);
an interrupt controller 64, e.g. an 82C 59 A2 type circuit which handles
INT.0. and INT1 interrupt commands from the serial transmitter 58, INT2
and INT3 interrupt commands from the control buttons 40-42 (via the
circuit 57), and INT4-INT7 interrupt commands from the acquisition card(s)
31; and
four programmable logic circuits 65, 66, 67, and 68, e.g. four EP 310 type
circuits, and four count-down circuits 69, 70, 71, and 72, e.g. four CD
4510 B type circuits, for controlling the writing of image numbers every
ten images on the four marginal tracks A, B, C, and D of the FIG. 13
motion picture film 4.
The circuits 65 and 66 are decoders for addressing the 4-bit input ports of
the count-down circuits 69-72.
The circuits 67 and 68 contain the control logic and the monitoring logic
for the count-down circuits 69-72 and the logic for controlling the
writing of clock pulses HO constituting the pulse trains SRa, SRb, SRc,
and SRd for writing image numbers on the motion picture film 4 of FIG. 13.
The first counter of the counting circuit 56 is a 4-digit BCD (binary coded
decimal) counter which counts the pulses in the image pulse signal STI
corresponding to the tens digit, the hundreds digit, the thousands digits,
and the tens of thousands digit in the current image number.
The second counter in the counting circuit 56 is a BCD counter which counts
the pulses in the image pulse signal STI and whose content represents the
units digits of the current image number.
The third counter of the counter circuit 56 is a programmable clock
generator which serves to generate the clock pulses in the pulse trains
SRa, SRb, SRc, and SRd used for writing the image number on the marginal
tracks A, B, C, and D of the motion picture film.
Each time the second counter of the circuit 56 counts through ten, the
microprocessor 46 reads the contents of the first counter of the circuit
56 and loads each BCD digit into the corresponding count-down circuit
69-72. Two write commands PE are required, one of them being enabled by
AD.0. in order to load the count-down circuits 69 and 70 simultaneously
(the tens digit and the hundreds digit), and the other being enabled by
AD1 in order to load the count-down circuits 71 and 72 simultaneously (the
thousands digit and the tens of thousands digit).
When the loading of each of the count-down circuits 69-72 has been
completed, an associated D-type bistable circuit is set, thereby enabling
the application of clock pulses HO to the count-down circuits and enabling
said pulses to be written to the corresponding marginal tracks A, B, C,
and D of the motion picture film. The roll-over signals CD/ of the
count-down circuits 69-72 reset the D-type bistable circuits associated
with each count-down circuit to zero and prevent pulses from being written
on the corresponding marginal tracks of the motion picture film until said
bistable circuits are set again, ten images later.
Given that the memory cards 32 of FIG. 14 have the same general structure,
there follows a description of one of said cards only, given with
reference to FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, each memory card 32 comprises:
eight battery backed-up memory modules 73 with each of the modules 73 being
constituted, for example, by a DS 1235 type circuit having a capacity of
32 Kbytes;
two decoders 74 and 75 each constituted by a 74 HC 138 type circuit, for
example;
a two-input OR gate 76 having one input connected to control line CE/ and
having its other input connected to control line IO/M0 of the bus 38 and
whose output is connected to the G2B input of the decoder 75; and
a one-out-of-eight switch 77 whose inputs are connected to selected outputs
from the decoder 74 and whose output is connected to the G2A input of the
decoder 75.
If two memorY cards 32 are provided, addresses 40000H to 7FFFFH (in
hexadecimal notation) are assigned to the first card 32 and addresses
80000H to AFFFFH are assigned to the second card 32.
This is achieved in each card 32 by means of the first decoding circuit 74
which is connected to address lines A18 and A19 of the bus 38. In each
card 32, when made active by the output signals from the switch 77, the
selection of one or other of the memory modules 73 is performed by means
of the second decoding circuit 75 which transmits the signal CE/(memory
module select signal) to the module selected by the address present on
lines A15, A16, and A17 of bus 38.
The information present on the data lines D.0. to D7 is written or read
from the selected module 73 at the address specified by address lines A.0.
to A14 of the bus 38 under the control of the signal WR/ (write enable) or
OE/ (read enable) as the case may be.
There follows a description, with reference to FIG. 17 of the structure of
card 31 in FIG. 14 for the particular case of a serial data acquisition
card. The card 31 in FIG. 17 comprises:
a microprocessor 78, e.g. an 80C88-2 type circuit clocked by an 8 MHz clock
signal CLK provided by a clock 79, e.g. an 82C84A type circuit in
conjunction with a crystal 80;
a serial transmitter 81, e.g. an 8251-A type UART circuit for receiving
serial data from one of the serial data sources via a voltage level
translator 82, e.g. an MAX RS232 type circuit for providing a V24 or
RS232C type junction;
a clock 83, e.g. a COM 8146P type circuit under the control of a crystal 84
which, in conjunction with switches 85, serves to set the speed at which
information is received by the UART 81;
a memory 86, e.g. a 2732 A2 REPROM type memory containing the operating
program for the card 31;
a memory circuit 87, e.g. an 8155 H2 type circuit which includes a 256 byte
scratchpad memory and two 8-bit ports one of which is programmed as an
output port for generating interrupts, when required, for sending to the
CPU card 33;
a first-in first-out (FIFO) type memory 86 constituted by a DS 2010 type
circuit, for example; and
a PAL decoder 89, constituted by an EP 310 type circuit, for example.
The FIFO memory circuit DS 2010 comprises 1 Kbytes of memory under the
control of a write counter and a read counter each of which points to a
single byte in the memory. These circuits allow data to be interchanged
between two processors operating at different speeds.
Data is written into the memory 88 under the control of signal W/ which
increments the write counter and it is read from the memory 88 under the
control of signal R/ which increments the read counter. The signal RT/
resets the read counter to zero, thereby enabling the same block of data
to be read over several times if they are not rewritten in the meanwhile.
Signal RS/ serves to reset both counters to zero.
The data stored in the memory 88 is read by the CPU card 33 by means of
thirty-two read commands RD/ which are enabled by the address decoder 89.
The decoder 89 appears to the CPU card 33 as an output port. The CPU card
33 then applies a command signal RT/ which resets the read counter to zero
and sends an interrupt to the microprocessor 78 on the card 31. The
microprocessor 78 then reads the state of a flag which is set to "1" if a
new block of data has been formatted and written in the scratchpad memory
of circuit 87. If the flag is at state "1", the microprocessor 78 writes
this block of data into the FIFO memory 88 after resetting both the read
and the write counters to zero and also after resetting the flag.
Each character received over the V24 serial junction (level translator 82)
is stored When the last character of a data block has been received, the
data in the scratchpad memory 87 can be written and formatted, and the
flag can be set to state "1".
The operation of the circuits in the acquisition and storage box 12 of FIG.
8 is now described for a shooting sequence. The operator initializes the
program by pressing the "start" control button 40.
Each image pulse signal STI increments the image number counters in the
counting circuit 56 and causes the microprocessor 46 to read the
information stored in the memory 88 of the, or each, acquisition card 31
and to write said information in the battery backed-up memories 73 of the
memory card(s) 32. Since 32 bytes are written into the memory on each
pulse in the image pulse signal STI, the data block number corresponding
to the current image n is equal to:
starting address+(n-1)*32.
Each time the contents of the second counter of the counting circuit 56
passes through 10, the corresponding image number is written on the four
marginal tracks A, B, C, and D of the motion picture film. The values of
the tens digit, the hundreds digit, the thousands digit, and the tens of
thousands digit are read from the first counter of the counting circuit 56
and are loaded into the count-down circuits 69-72. When said values have
been loaded therein, the writing of clock pulses HO onto the four tracks
of the motion picture film is enabled, with said pulses being generated by
the third counter of the count circuit 56 and with the numbers of pulses
on each track corresponding to the values of the respective digits (tens
digit, hundreds digit, thousands digit, tens of thousands digit). Each
time one of the four count-down circuits 69-72 passes through zero, the
writing of clock pulses HO on the corresponding marginal track of the
motion picture film is stopped.
When the operator presses the "stop" button 41, the pulses in the image
pulse signal STI are no longer counted and the information contained in
the memories 73 of the memory cards 32 may be transferred to a receiver
member via the serial transmitter 58, the level translator 59 (FIG. 15),
and the link 39 (FIG. 8).
The box 13 of FIG. 8 may comprise:
a read/write device capable of writing information on a cheap data medium
(laser card, cassette, diskette);
a first serial link for receiving blocks of information over the link 39
from the memories of the memory cards 32 in the box 12 after a sequence of
shots has been taken, and for writing said blocks of information on the
cheap data medium in the read/write device;
a random access memory whose capacity is not less than that of the capacity
of the cheap data medium in the read/write device;
a second serial link for transmitting information read back from the cheap
data medium in the read/write device and written in the random access
memory to the film reader 14 over the link 91; and
a microprocessor for controlling the operation of the above-mentioned items
in the box 13 and also controlling the reception of the image number as
sent by the film reader 14 in order to trigger the transmission to the
film reader of the block of information which corresponds to the image
currently being displayed.
The read/write device may be a TEAC novel MT2-24 cassette drive, a CANNON
model CARDINAL laser card drive, or an EPSON model SD540 floppy disk
drive.
The examination of the information in the images of the motion picture film
and the exploitation of the information associated with the film images
may be performed using the above-described box 13 in conjunction with the
film reader 14. The film reader may be a conventional film reader, for
example an SFAT model 1324 or model CLINFOC.
The film reader 14 compris | | |
