Reusable camera

Abstract

A reusable camera is provided. The camera comprises an image processing unit configured to capture images and a memory coupled to the image processing unit. The memory is configured to store a plurality of images to be captured by the image processing unit.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A reusable camera comprising: 
 an image processing unit configured to capture images; and    a Permanent Inexpensive Removable Memory (PIRM) coupled to the image processing unit, the memory being configured to store a plurality of images to be captured by the image processing unit.    
     
     
         2 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the camera comprises a digital camera.  
     
     
         3 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the PIRM is built into the camera.  
     
     
         4 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the PIRM is removable from the camera.  
     
     
         5 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the PIRM comprises a non-volatile memory.  
     
     
         6 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the PIRM is configured to store over a hundred images.  
     
     
         7 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the PIRM is not configured to overwrite an image, which is currently being stored in a section of the PIRM, with a new image.  
     
     
         8 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the PIRM is configured to overwrite an image, which is currently being stored in a section of the PIR, with a new image.  
     
     
         9 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the image processing unit encodes image data before storing the image data in the PIRM.  
     
     
         10 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the image processing unit is configured to store a predetermined number of images in the PIRM.  
     
     
         11 . The camera of  claim 10 , further comprising a security system to prevent users from changing the pre-determined number.  
     
     
         12 . The camera of  claim 10 , wherein the image processing unit is configurable by an external system to store more than the pre-determined number of images in the PIRM.  
     
     
         13 . The camera of  claim 1 , further comprising a display coupled to the PIRM, the display being configured to display images stored in the PIRM.  
     
     
         14 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the image processing unit is configured to allow a user to invalidate a pre-determined number of images stored in the PIRM.  
     
     
         15 . The camera of  claim 1 , wherein the image processing unit is configured to allow a user to select a pre-determined number of images stored in the PIM to be retrieved from the PIRM.  
     
     
         16 . A reusable camera comprising: 
 an image processing unit configured to capture images; and    a built-in, non-volatile memory coupled to the image processing unit, the memory being configured to store images to be captured by the image processing unit, the memory being unable to overwrite an image currently being stored in a section of the memory with a new image.    
     
     
         17 . The reusable camera of  claim 16 , wherein the image processing unit is configured to store a pre-determined number of images in the memory.  
     
     
         18 . A method of using a reusable camera, the method comprising providing the reusable camera, the reusable camera comprising an image processing unit and a memory coupled to the image processing unit, the memory being configured to store a plurality of images to be captured by the image processing unit, the memory being unable to overwrite an image currently being stored in a section of the memory with a new image.  
     
     
         19 . A method of using a reusable camera, the reusable camera comprising an image processing unit and a memory coupled to the image processing unit, the memory configured to store a plurality of images to be captured by the image processing unit, the memory being unable to overwrite an image currently being stored in a section of the memory with a new image, the method comprising retrieving at least one image captured by the image processing unit and stored within the memory.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising invalidating a section of the memory that stores an image captured by the image processing unit.