JP2009288915A - Drive recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive recorder for securing a wide range photographic range without increasing the number of installation of cameras. <P>SOLUTION: This drive recorder is provided with a camera 1 installed in a vehicle; an abnormality detection means 2 for detecting abnormality; and a storage means 3 for storing image data photographed by the camera 1 when the abnormality by the abnormality detection means 2 is detected. This drive recorder is provided with a radio communication means 4, and when abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection means 2, an image data transmission request signal is transmitted through the radio communication means 4 to the outside, and the image data received from the outside are stored in the storage means 3, and when the image data transmission request signal is received from the outside, the image data photographed by the camera 1 are transmitted through the radio communication means 4 to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive recorder that stores the operation status of a vehicle.

  In a conventional drive recorder, for example, a camera installed in a vehicle, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, a first storage means that always stores an image taken by the camera, and acceleration data has a threshold value. It is configured to include a second storage unit that reads the image stored in the first storage unit and stores the images before and after the trigger detection by setting this as a condition (trigger) when continuously exceeding a certain time. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the conventional drive recorder described above, image data or the like is always stored in a storage device such as a RAM, and when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds a threshold value, this is stored as a trigger in the storage device such as a RAM. A method of storing image data in another memory is adopted, and image data and acceleration data at the occurrence of an abnormality such as a vehicle accident can be stored as operation history data.

Therefore, this drive recorder can store data such as objective images and impacts in the storage device for vague evidence such as testimonies of parties and witnesses of vehicle accidents, so the cause of the accident can be investigated. Can be a great help.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-165805 (paragraph numbers 0020 to 0033, FIG. 1)

  In such a drive recorder, since the camera is fixedly installed on the vehicle and only a certain range is taken with respect to the vehicle, if the cause of the accident is outside the camera's shooting range, It becomes difficult to identify the cause of the accident.

  In addition, even if the vehicle is parked in a parking lot etc., it is thought that the drive recorder can be used as a crime prevention system if monitoring is continued with the camera, but criminals who recognize the installation of the camera There is a possibility that the vehicle may range from a shooting blind spot to a close crime, and even if it is monitored with a camera, an image of an important criminal may not be obtained.

  To deal with such problems, it is possible to increase the number of cameras installed to widen the shooting range, but in order to eliminate shooting blind spots, it is uneconomical that a large number of cameras must be installed in the vehicle. .

  The present invention has been developed to improve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a drive recorder that can ensure a wide shooting range without increasing the number of cameras installed.

  The problem solving means of the present invention is a drive comprising a camera installed in a vehicle, an abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality, and a storage means for storing image data taken by the camera when the abnormality detection means detects an abnormality. The recorder includes a wireless communication unit, and when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality, the image data transmission request signal is transmitted to the outside via the wireless communication unit, and the image data received from the outside is stored in the storage unit, and the image is externally transmitted. When the data transmission request signal is received, the image data captured by the camera is transmitted to the outside via the wireless communication means.

  According to the drive recorder of the present invention, not only the drive recorder mounted on the own vehicle but also the image data taken by the drive recorder mounted on another vehicle around the own vehicle can be stored in the storage means. At the same time, when there is a request from the drive recorder installed in another vehicle, the image data captured by the drive recorder installed in the vehicle is sent to the drive recorder installed in the other vehicle. Opportunities can be taken with a camera installed in another vehicle even if the drive recorder can perform mutual monitoring and even if the camera of a single drive recorder enters the shooting blind spot Thus, the blind spot can be reduced without installing a large number of cameras in one drive recorder itself. In other words, a wide shooting range can be secured without increasing the number of cameras installed.

  In addition, since image data photographed by another vehicle can be stored in the drive recorder that has detected the abnormality, there is no need for the drive recorder of the other vehicle to verify the cause of the abnormality occurrence in the own vehicle.

  The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a drive recorder according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a shooting range of cameras of a plurality of vehicles on which the drive recorder according to the embodiment is mounted. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the drive recorder when abnormality is detected. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the drive recorder when an image data transmission request signal is received.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the drive recorder in one embodiment includes a camera 1 installed in a vehicle, an abnormality detection means 2 for detecting an abnormality of the vehicle, a storage means 3, a wireless communication means 4, and a drive recorder. The control unit 5 is configured to execute operations necessary for the above processing and control each unit.

  The camera 1 will be described in detail below. The camera 1 includes a CCD (charge coupled device, not shown) and a lens (not shown), and is configured as a CCD camera. For example, as shown in FIG. It is installed so that the front of V can be photographed.

  The camera 1 continuously captures an imaging range in front of the host vehicle V, converts the captured image into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal to the control unit 5. Note that images are interpreted in a broad sense, and images include moving images as well as still images. Further, the camera 1 can be a camera using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) in addition to being configured as a CCD camera.

  Further, in this case, the abnormality detection means 2 is specifically provided with an acceleration sensor 2a, and can detect the front, rear, left and right accelerations acting on the host vehicle V. In addition, when you want to obtain more operation information, you may make it use the triaxial acceleration sensor which can detect the acceleration of the up-down direction of the own vehicle V. FIG. As the acceleration sensor, specifically, for example, a piezoelectric type, a semiconductor piazo resistance type, a capacitance type, and other various acceleration sensors can be used. The abnormality detection means 2 may include a human sensor for detecting the approach of a person in addition to detecting the acceleration acting on the host vehicle V. As the human sensor, for example, an infrared sensor is used. It is possible.

  The acceleration sensor 2a in the abnormality detection means 2 detects the acceleration of the front, rear, left and right axes of the host vehicle V at a predetermined sampling period, for example, a period of 10 ms (milliseconds), and is an analog voltage signal. An acceleration signal is output, and the acceleration signal is converted into a digital signal and input to the control unit 5.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, a speed sensor 6 for detecting the speed of the host vehicle V is provided. Specifically, the speed sensor 6 is a rotary encoder or the like, and a pulse signal (vehicle speed pulse) corresponding to the speed is provided. ) Is output to the control unit 5. In addition to obtaining the speed by calculating from the vehicle speed pulse, the speed sensor 6 may be obtained from the GPS receiver as a speed sensor 6 if a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver is provided. The speed may be obtained from the obtained position data.

  The wireless communication means 4 is means for communicating with drive recorders mounted on the vehicles V1 and V2 existing around the host vehicle V so that ad hoc communication can be performed and communication between the drive recorders can be performed directly. It has become. For ad hoc communication, for example, a communication standard such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth, or Zigbee can be adopted.

  Then, the control unit 5 processes the image captured by the camera 1, the image processing unit 51, the image data output by the image processing unit 51, the longitudinal acceleration data in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle V detected by the acceleration sensor 2a, and the vehicle. Lateral acceleration data in the lateral direction of the vehicle V, further, a memory 52 that always stores speed data detected by the speed sensor 6, and longitudinal acceleration data and lateral acceleration data detected by the acceleration sensor 2a are processed to obtain image data. An abnormality determination unit 53 that determines whether or not to store in the storage unit 3 is provided.

  The image processing unit 51 captures an image captured by the constantly operating camera 1 as a moving image, cuts out a still image from the moving image at a predetermined frame rate, and compresses the still image into a predetermined compression format such as JPEG or GIF. Format image data is generated. If the frame rate is increased too much, the volume of image data generated per second becomes too large and a large-capacity storage device is required, so that there is insufficient image data for verification at the time of a vehicle accident. For example, it is set to about 5 to 10 frames per second.

  Subsequently, the memory 52 stores the image data output from the image processing unit 51 and the acceleration data and the speed data at the time when the image data was obtained. Are stored in association with each other so that the acceleration data and the velocity data at the time of obtaining can be handled.

  Specifically, when the image data, acceleration data, and speed data are stored in the memory 52, they are stored in association with the date and time, respectively. The image data, longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration data, and velocity data stored in the memory 52 are deleted in order from the old data or updated collectively to new data when a certain amount is accumulated. It has become so.

  Then, the abnormality determination unit 53 takes in the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 2a, and either the absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration exceeds the longitudinal acceleration threshold or the absolute value of the lateral acceleration exceeds the lateral acceleration threshold. On the condition that one of the conditions is satisfied, it is determined whether or not this condition is satisfied. If the condition is satisfied, the image data stored in the memory 52 is recognized as an abnormality in the host vehicle V and stored. Image data that is captured within a predetermined time including the time when the camera 1 satisfies the above conditions and image data associated with acceleration data or the like is extracted and stored in the storage means 3 as a set of abnormal data, If not satisfied, the image data is not stored in the storage means 3. From the above, in the case of this embodiment, the abnormality detection means 2 is composed of the abnormality determination unit 53 and the acceleration sensor 2a, and determines that it is abnormal when detecting a large acceleration that will not act during normal travel. It will be. When the vehicle is stopped or running at a low speed, the acceleration thresholds at the front and rear and side described above can be reduced to detect acceleration that acts on the vehicle when a criminal attempts to perform a criminal act. It can be determined that an abnormality has occurred, and this can be detected as an abnormality when not only an accident but a criminal act is performed. In addition, if a human sensor is used in combination, the occurrence of an abnormality can be determined by the approach of a criminal.

  Returning, the abnormality determination unit 53 determines whether or not the time when the camera 1 satisfies the above condition in the storage unit 3 even if the absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration exceeds the longitudinal acceleration threshold value or the absolute value of the lateral acceleration exceeds the lateral acceleration threshold value. The abnormal data which is the image data including the image data photographed is stored. That is, the storage means 3 can store not only the image data at the time satisfying the above conditions but also the image data before and after that time. Can be stored.

  The predetermined time is specifically, for example, about 30 seconds in total of 20 seconds before and 10 seconds after the condition satisfaction time. You can remember all the details of the situation at the time of occurrence.

  In the above description, the above determination is made only for the longitudinal and lateral accelerations of the host vehicle V. However, when the acceleration sensor 2a is a three-axis acceleration sensor, Similarly to the processing of acceleration data in the front / rear and left / right directions of the vehicle V, a threshold for vertical acceleration is provided for the acceleration in the direction, and the image data is stored in the storage means 3 even when the vertical acceleration exceeds the threshold. You may make it make it. Furthermore, when the abnormality detection unit 2 includes a human sensor, the abnormality data may be stored in the storage unit 3 when the approach of a person to the host vehicle V is detected.

  In this way, the abnormal data includes image data detected within a predetermined range of time including the time when the longitudinal acceleration or the lateral acceleration satisfies the condition, so that the absolute value of each acceleration corresponds to the corresponding threshold value. It is possible to confirm the situation before and after exceeding the situation, and it is easy to investigate the cause of the abnormality, and since the data of longitudinal acceleration or lateral acceleration is included, the braking and steering conditions of the vehicle V can be In addition, since the speed data is included, it is possible to investigate the cause of occurrence of the abnormality more precisely.

  However, with only the camera 1 mounted on the own vehicle, it is difficult to specify the cause of the abnormality when the cause of the abnormality is not in the shooting range of the camera 1. Therefore, in the drive recorder of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, when the abnormality detection means 2 recognizes the occurrence of the abnormality (step S11), it exists in the vicinity of the host vehicle V via the wireless communication means 4. An image data transmission request signal (step S12) is transmitted to an external drive recorder mounted on the other vehicles V1, V2.

  Then, the image data is received from an external drive recorder mounted on the other vehicles V1, V2 existing around the host vehicle V (step S13), and the received image data is stored in the storage means 3 (step S14). .

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the image data transmission request signal is received from either one or both of the drive recorders of the other vehicles V1, V2 existing around the host vehicle V via the wireless communication means 4 (step S21). ) And the image data captured by the camera 1 are transmitted to the drive recorders of the other vehicles V1, V2 that transmitted the image data transmission request signal (step S22).

  When the communicable range of the wireless communication means 4 is extremely narrow, when the image data transmission request signal is received from the drive recorder of the other vehicle V1 (V2), the image data is also sent to the drive recorder of the own vehicle V. A transmission request signal is transmitted to cause a drive recorder of a distant vehicle that cannot communicate from the other vehicle V1 (V2) to recognize the abnormality through the own vehicle V, and the image data acquired by the drive recorder of the distant vehicle is transmitted to the own vehicle V. It may be transferred to the drive recorder of the other vehicle V1 (V2) that has requested the image data transmission via. As described above, when transmitting the image data transmission request signal as a relay point with the drive recorder that has received the image data transmission request signal, if the image data transmission request is continued without limitation, the image data transmission request signal is first transmitted. Since the image data may be transmitted from a drive recorder that is far away from the vehicle equipped with the drive recorder and cannot capture the cause of the abnormality, the number of relays of the image data transmission request signal is limited. You may do it.

  Further, when it is possible to access the Internet communication network or the mobile phone communication network by the wireless communication means 4, in addition to the image data transmission by the ad hoc communication, the image data is externally installed by the Internet communication network or the mobile phone communication network. The image data may be transmitted to the server and stored in the server at one end, and then the image data may be transmitted from the server to the drive recorder that requested the image data transmission and stored in the storage unit 3.

  Therefore, not only the drive recorder mounted on the host vehicle V but also the image data taken by the drive recorder mounted on the other vehicles V1, V2 existing around the host vehicle V can be stored in the storage means 3. When there is a request from the drive recorder mounted on the other vehicle V1, V2, the image data captured by the drive recorder mounted on the own vehicle V is transmitted to the drive recorder mounted on the other vehicle V1, V2. Therefore, mutual monitoring can be performed by the drive recorder mounted on each vehicle V, V1, V2, and as shown in FIG. 2, the camera 1 of a single drive recorder enters the shooting blind spot. Even if there is an opportunity to take pictures of the cause of anomalies such as accidents and criminals with a camera installed in another vehicle, a large number of cameras can be installed in one drive recorder itself. Even without it is possible to reduce the shooting blind spot. In other words, a wide shooting range can be secured without increasing the number of cameras installed.

  In addition, since the image data photographed by the other vehicles V1, V2 can be stored in the drive recorder that has detected the abnormality, the drive recorders of the other vehicles V1, V2 are necessary to verify the cause of the abnormality in the own vehicle V. There is no trouble to become.

  When the drive recorder in the own vehicle V is not activated and is in the sleep state, the abnormality detection means 2 continues its function, and the wireless communication means 4 is maintained in a state where signal reception is possible. When an abnormality is detected at 2 or an image data transmission request signal is received via the wireless communication means 4, the drive recorder is activated to perform the entire function of the drive recorder.

  When the image data is transmitted according to the image data transmission request, if the drive recorder is activated and the image data captured by the camera 1 is being stored in the memory 52 successively, the image data Image data captured within a predetermined time including the time at which the transmission request signal is received may be extracted from the memory 52 and transmitted to an external drive recorder via the wireless communication unit 4. Is stopped and the drive recorder is in the sleep state, the image data transmission request signal is used as a trigger to start the system, and then the image data captured by the camera 1 is transmitted or stored in the memory 52 once. The image data may be transmitted from. The image data in this case may be a still image or a moving image depending on the communication speed in the wireless communication unit 4.

  When the drive recorder is activated in response to the image data transmission request signal from the sleep state, it may be shifted to the sleep state when the image data transmission is completed, or an external drive that has transmitted the image data transmission request signal. When a signal indicating that the image data has been received from the recorder is received, a transition to the sleep state may be made.

  In addition, when an abnormality is detected and activated in the sleep state, it is sufficient to shift to the sleep state when no abnormality is detected.

  Next, the configuration of the hardware resources of the drive recorder in the present embodiment will be described. As hardware, in addition to the camera 1, the acceleration sensor 2a, and the speed sensor 6, a video decoder that decodes image data of the camera 1, and an acceleration sensor An A / D converter that converts an acceleration signal, which is an analog voltage output from 2a and the speed sensor 6, into a digital signal, and an image signal, an acceleration signal, and a speed signal are captured via the video decoder and each A / D converter. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes the processing of the control unit 5 described above, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that provides a storage area for the CPU, a flash memory as the storage means 3 that stores abnormal data, Performs control unit 5 processing Therefore, it is only necessary to include a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores an application executed by the CPU and a program such as an operating system, and the configuration of each unit of the control unit 5 is because the CPU performs the processing of the control unit 5. This can be realized by executing an application program.

  Specifically, the image processing unit 51 is realized by compressing the image data by the CPU that has captured the image data, and the abnormality determination unit 53 is configured such that the CPU that has captured the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration data is stored in the storage area from the RAM. The absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration data exceeds the corresponding longitudinal acceleration threshold and lateral acceleration threshold, and the memory 52 is used as the RAM. The compressed image data, acceleration data, and velocity data are written, and the CPU extracts and reads the image data, acceleration data, and velocity data within a predetermined range of time before and after the above condition is satisfied from the RAM, and includes the image data. The abnormal data may be generated and stored in the flash memory as the storage unit 3.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the drive recorder is described as being applied to an automobile. However, the vehicle is not limited to an automobile, and the drive recorder can be applied to a railway vehicle, a two-wheeled vehicle, or the like. .

  This is the end of the description of the embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is of course not limited to the details shown or described.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the drive recorder in one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the imaging | photography range of the camera of the some vehicle carrying the drive recorder in one embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process of the drive recorder at the time of detecting abnormality. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of the drive recorder at the time of receiving an image data transmission request signal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera 2 Abnormality detection means 2a Acceleration sensor 3 Storage means 4 Wireless communication means 5 Control part 6 Speed sensor 51 Image processing part 52 Memory 53 Abnormality judgment part V Own vehicle V1, V2 Other vehicle

Claims (1)

A drive recorder including a camera installed in a vehicle, an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality, and a storage unit that stores image data captured by the camera when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality, and includes a wireless communication unit. When the abnormality detection means detects an abnormality, the image data transmission request signal is transmitted to the outside via the wireless communication means, the image data received from the outside is stored in the storage means, and when the image data transmission request signal is received from the outside, it is wireless A drive recorder that transmits image data captured by a camera to the outside via a communication means.

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