Patent US6833865B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6833865B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Embedded metadata engines in digital capture devices
Assignee: Micro Focus LLC
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Filing: 1999-07-29
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Granted: 2004-12-21
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Expires: 2019-07-29
Abstract
Abstract A digital capture system, such as a digital still camera or digital video recorder, has an embedded real-time content-based analysis function in the capture device to extract metadata from the digital signals. In one embodiment, metadata (descriptive information about the digital content) is formatted and stored separately from the content. In another embodiment, the metadata may be formatted and combined with the digital content in a container format such as MPEG-7, QuickTime, or FlashPix.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles Fuller
- 👤 Mojgan Monika Gorkani
- 👤 Richard D. Humphrey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:47
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/41; H04N21/418; H04N21/4184; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/50; G06F16/58; G06F16/583; G06F16/587; G06F16/70; G06F16/78; G06F16/783; G06F16/7844; G06F16/787; H04N1/00; H04N1/00127; H04N1/00326; H04N1/00328; H04N1/00331; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N21/422; H04N21/4223; H04N21/43; H04N21/433; H04N21/4334; H04N21/80; H04N21/83; H04N21/84; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/765; H04N5/77; H04N5/772; H04N9/00; H04N9/79; H04N9/80; H04N9/82; H04N9/8205; H04N9/8233; H04N1/32106; H04N1/32128; H04N2101/00; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3212; H04N2201/3214; H04N2201/3215; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3226; H04N2201/3232; H04N2201/3252; H04N2201/3253
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 46
Claim 1
Independent Claim
164 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content simultaneously with encoding of the content; a storage device capable of storing the encoded media content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the encoded media content; and an output interface in data communication with the storage device and generating output data, wherein the output interface is capable of preserving a temporal relationship between a sequence of the metadata and the digital content, wherein the digital capture device comprises a digital video camera including an audio capture capability, and wherein the feature extraction engine generates a plurality of time-based tracks of metadata that index the audio content and the video content.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
164 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content simultaneously with encoding of the content; a storage device capable of storing the encoded media content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the encoded media content; and an output interface in data communication with the storage device and generating output data, wherein the output interface is capable of preserving a temporal relationship between a sequence of the metadata and the digital content, wherein the digital capture device comprises a digital video camera including an audio capture capability, and wherein the feature extraction engine generates a plurality of time-based tracks of metadata that index the audio content and the video content.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 1 , additionally comprising at least one collateral metadata source, wherein the collateral metadata is simultaneously captured with the media content.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 2 , wherein the collateral metadata source includes at least one of the following: user input, device properties, and external sensors.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system defined in claim 2 , wherein the digital video camera is capable of marking a video clip, wherein the marking is automatically triggered by a recording process of the camera.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system defined in claim 4 , wherein the collateral metadata is associated with the video clip and is stored on the storage device with the metadata.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system defined in claim 5 , wherein the collateral metadata includes at least one of the following: time/date, location, or scene/take.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
12 words
The system defined in claim 1 , wherein the metadata comprises keyframes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system defined in claim 1 , wherein the metadata comprises a plurality of feature vectors.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 1 , wherein the output data comprises a FlashPix image containing image feature vectors as auxiliary metadata within an image file.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system defined in claim 1 , wherein the output data comprises an MPEG-7 digital video file containing the plurality of metadata tracks as embedded metadata within an MPEG-7 metadata framework.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 1 , additionally comprising a format module configured to associate a time code with the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system defined in claim 1 , additionally comprising a time code module configured to provide a time code for association with the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system defined in claim 1 , wherein the storage device comprises separate storages for the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
107 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content simultaneously with encoding of the content; and a storage device capable of storing the encoded media content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the encoded media content, and wherein the storage device comprises separate storages for the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
107 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content simultaneously with encoding of the content; and a storage device capable of storing the encoded media content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the encoded media content, and wherein the storage device comprises separate storages for the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 14 , additionally comprising at least one collateral metadata source, wherein the collateral metadata is simultaneously captured with the media content.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 15 , wherein the collateral metadata source includes at least one of the following: user input, device properties, and external sensors.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system defined in claim 15 , wherein the digital capture device comprises a digital video camera capable of marking a video clip, wherein the marking is automatically triggered by a recording process of the camera.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system defined in claim 17 , wherein the collateral metadata is associated with the video clip and is stored on the storage device with the metadata.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the collateral metadata includes at least one of the following: time/date, location, or scene/take.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
44 words
The system defined in claim 14 , additionally comprising an output interface in data communication with the storage device and generating output data, wherein the output interface is capable of preserving a temporal relationship between a sequence of the metadata and the digital content.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system defined in claim 20 , wherein the digital capture device comprises a digital still camera, and the output data comprises a FlashPix image containing image feature vectors as auxiliary metadata within an image file.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system defined in claim 20 , wherein the digital capture device comprises a digital video camera including an audio capture capability.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system defined in claim 22 , wherein the feature extraction engine generates a plurality of time-based tracks of metadata that index the audio content and the video content.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system defined in claim 14 , wherein the digital capture device comprises a digital still camera.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system defined in claim 24 , wherein the metadata comprises a plurality of feature vectors.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 14 , additionally comprising a format module configured to associate a time code with the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
29 words
The system defined in claims 14 , additionally comprising a time code module configured to provide a time code for association with the encoded media content and the metadata.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
96 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture method, comprising: sensing analog signals; converting the analog signals to a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; compressing the digital media content; automatically extracting metadata in real-time from the digital media content simultaneously with the compressing of the digital media content; and storing the compressed digital media content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the digital media content, and wherein the storing includes storing to separate storage devices for the digital media content and the metadata.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
96 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture method, comprising: sensing analog signals; converting the analog signals to a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; compressing the digital media content; automatically extracting metadata in real-time from the digital media content simultaneously with the compressing of the digital media content; and storing the compressed digital media content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the digital media content, and wherein the storing includes storing to separate storage devices for the digital media content and the metadata.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method defined in claim 28 , wherein automatically extracting metadata in real-time includes extracting a plurality of feature vectors from the digital media content.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method defined in claim 28 , additionally comprising associating a time code with the digital media content and the metadata.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method defined in claim 28 , additionally comprising generating a time code for association with the digital media content and the metadata.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
119 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a frame buffer storing a frame of the digital content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content stored in the frame buffer, and wherein the feature extraction engine generates a plurality of time-based tracks of metadata that index audio content and video content; and a storage device capable of storing the digital content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the digital content.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
119 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a frame buffer storing a frame of the digital content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content stored in the frame buffer, and wherein the feature extraction engine generates a plurality of time-based tracks of metadata that index audio content and video content; and a storage device capable of storing the digital content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the digital content.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 32 , additionally comprising at least one collateral metadata source, wherein the collateral metadata is simultaneously captured with the media content.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system defined in claim 32 , additionally comprising a format module configured to associate a time code with the digital content and the metadata.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system defined in claim 32 , additionally comprising a time code module configured to provide a time code for association with the digital content and the metadata.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system defined in claim 32 , wherein the storage device comprises separate storages for the digital content and the metadata.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
113 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a frame buffer storing a frame of the digital content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content stored in the frame buffer; and a storage device capable of storing the digital content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the digital content, and wherein the storage device comprises separate storages for the digital content and the metadata.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
113 words
An integrated data and real-time metadata capture system, comprising: a digital capture device producing a digital representation of one or more forms of media content; a frame buffer storing a frame of the digital content; a feature extraction engine integrated with the digital capture device, the feature extraction engine having a plurality of feature extractors to automatically extract metadata in real-time from the digital content stored in the frame buffer; and a storage device capable of storing the digital content and the metadata, wherein selected portions of the metadata are associated with selected portions of the digital content, and wherein the storage device comprises separate storages for the digital content and the metadata.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system defined in claim 37 , additionally comprising at least one collateral metadata source, wherein the collateral metadata is simultaneously captured with the media content.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system defined in claim 37 , wherein the feature extraction engine generates a plurality of time-based tracks of metadata that index audio content and video content.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system defined in claim 37 , additionally comprising a format module configured to associate a time code with the digital content and the metadata.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system defined in claim 37 , additionally comprising a time code module configured to provide a time code for association with the digital content and the metadata.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-12-21 | 2008-06-21 | 2008-12-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-12-21 | 2012-06-21 | 2012-12-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-12-21 | 2016-06-21 | 2016-12-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |