Patent · US Expired

Real-time image transfer by selective frame dropping between a camera and host computer

US7050096B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
3References
23Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 29, 2002
Grant dateMay 23, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 9, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N1/2141
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An image capture system comprises a portable computer having a software-implemented subsystem and a connection to a sensor responsive still image digital camera including a control module and a FIFO buffer for storing more than one but less than two data image frames. When the image subsystem reaches a point during reading of a frame from the buffer where it is “safe” for the next image data frame captured by the image sensor to be stored in the buffer, the subsystem issues a “continue” signal, causing the next image data frame to be stored in the buffer. The “continue” signal is only issued if the buffer has sufficient capacity for the next frame to be completely stored. The “continue” signal minimizes frame loss, optimizes memory requirement, and sensibly drops frames when the host computer cannot handle image data at the same rate they are generated.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.