JP2013080518A - On-vehicle video data recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle video data recording apparatus capable of removing a problem of conventional on-vehicle video data compaction apparatuses with which a high quality video data recording circumferential conditions before and after occurrence of an accident is hardly obtained.SOLUTION: The on-vehicle video data recording apparatus includes: a camera unit 101 that takes pictures around a vehicle; an ordinary quality image coding section 102 that compacts the pictures taken by the camera unit 101 with ordinary quality image; an ordinary quality image data storage 103 that stores the video data output from the ordinary quality image coding section 102; a trigger detection section 104 that detects a trigger such as an abnormal situation occurred during traveling of the vehicle; a high quality image coding section 105 that compacts the pictures taken by the camera unit 101 with a high quality; and a high quality image data storage 106 that stores the video data output from the high quality image coding section 105, which has been taken a specific time before a trigger timing detected by the trigger detection section 104. A storage memory provides a record of ordinary quality images for effective use during ordinary travelling, and provides a high quality video data immediately before and after an occurrence of an accident.

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus that performs two types of compression processing of normal image quality and high image quality on an image input from a camera, and records high image quality data when an abnormality is detected.

  In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for an in-vehicle moving image recording device called a drive recorder that records a situation around a running vehicle, analyzes a cause of an accident, understands a driving tendency, and uses it for safe driving guidance. Initially, it began to be installed in commercial vehicles such as taxis and heavy trucks, but now it is also being used in private cars.

  In such an in-vehicle moving image recording apparatus, in order to record moving image data for as long a time as possible in a storage memory having a limited capacity, recording is often performed with low image quality. However, especially when the accident occurs, it is necessary to record high-quality moving image data that facilitates the cause analysis.

  In a conventional in-vehicle moving image recording apparatus, there is a technique for providing a vehicle speed sensor and recording moving image data with higher image quality as the vehicle speed increases (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, there is a technique that includes vehicle approach determination means, and switches the frame rate at the time of moving image data compression from a normal low frame rate to a high frame rate when another vehicle approaches abnormally (see, for example, Patent Document 2). .

JP 2007-124155 A (first page, FIG. 1 etc.) JP 2007-88541 A (first page, FIG. 1 etc.)

  However, since the in-vehicle moving image recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 records high-quality moving image data only when the vehicle speed is high, when an accident occurs during normal driving at low speed or when the vehicle is stopped, There was a problem that moving image data of image quality could not be obtained.

  In addition, in the in-vehicle moving image recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, in order to perform high-quality recording, the GOP structure change such as changing the number of P pictures in the GOP or the total number of pictures in the GOP, or high Switching to the frame rate. However, in such high-quality recording, there is a problem that the image resolution and the like do not change, so that it does not change greatly from the normal image quality.

  In addition, since only one camera is provided in the front, or two in the front and rear, the necessary information can be obtained with the equipped camera even when switching to high-quality recording in the event of a vehicle collision accident from the left and right. It can happen that it is not filmed. In addition, the input image from the camera is compressed with the same image quality for the background images of buildings with relatively low importance and the vehicles, people, traffic lights, etc. with high importance. There was also a problem that high image quality could not be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems. During normal driving, recording is performed with a low image quality in consideration of the capacity of the storage memory. However, the situation around the vehicle after an accident has a high image quality. An in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus for recording is provided.

  A first aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle moving image data recording device mounted on a vehicle, wherein the normal image quality encoding unit that compresses a peripheral image of the vehicle captured by a camera unit with a normal image quality, and the normal image quality code A normal image quality data storage unit that records moving image data output by the conversion unit, a trigger detection unit that detects an abnormal situation that occurred during vehicle travel as a trigger, and an image captured by the camera unit with a higher image quality than the normal image quality And a high image quality data storage unit that records moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit based on the trigger detection timing of the trigger detection unit.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, the high image quality encoding unit preferably compresses with settings such as an image codec, an angle of view, a frame rate, and a bit rate that achieve higher image quality than normal image quality, and stores high image quality data. The unit preferably records an image captured a predetermined time before the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit from the moving image data compressed by the high-quality encoding unit, and the trigger detection unit is generated when the vehicle travels It is preferable to detect, as a trigger, any abnormality such as vehicle approach, person approach, sudden braking, or impact occurrence.

  According to this embodiment, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by recording normal image quality, and high-quality moving image data can be obtained immediately before the occurrence of an accident. Furthermore, not only when the vehicle speed is high, but also during normal travel and when stopped, a high-quality vehicle periphery image can be obtained when an abnormal trigger is detected. In addition, since the image codec, the angle of view, the frame rate, the bit rate, and the like are set higher than the normal image quality, it is possible to obtain moving image data whose image quality is significantly improved over the normal image quality.

  The on-vehicle image data recording apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is different from the first aspect of the invention in that a plurality of the camera units are provided in different directions, and the high image quality encoding unit is provided for each of the camera units. Each of the captured images is compressed with high image quality, and the high image quality data storage unit records the moving image data output by the high image quality encoding unit based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit. is there.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to record an image without losing a picture of a situation causing an accident when an abnormal trigger is detected by photographing the situation around the vehicle in all directions using a plurality of camera units.

  The third invention is an in-vehicle moving image data recording device mounted on a vehicle, and includes an acceleration sensor unit that detects acceleration from a traveling state of the vehicle, and a surrounding image of the vehicle captured by a camera unit, A license plate detection unit that detects a license plate of a vehicle while performing motion prediction of a license plate using information of the acceleration sensor unit; and a normal image quality encoding unit that compresses an image captured by the camera unit with a normal image quality A normal image quality data storage unit for recording moving image data output by the normal image quality encoding unit; a trigger detection unit for detecting an abnormal situation that occurs during vehicle travel as a trigger; and a license plate detection unit for detecting a license plate A high image quality encoding unit that compresses the license plate portion of the image captured by the camera unit at a higher image quality than the normal image quality. , Based on the trigger detection timing at the trigger detection unit, and a high-quality data storage unit for recording the moving image data to which the image quality coding unit outputs.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when an abnormal trigger is detected, high-quality moving image data that makes it easier to identify a particularly important license plate portion among images taken by the camera unit can be obtained.

  The fourth aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus mounted on a vehicle, the normal image quality encoding unit that compresses the surrounding image of the vehicle captured by the camera unit with normal image quality, and the normal image A normal image quality data storage unit that records moving image data output by the image quality encoding unit, a trigger detection unit that detects, as a trigger, an abnormal situation that occurs when the vehicle travels, and a detection state in the trigger detection unit A danger warning unit that warns the driver when predicted, a high-quality encoding unit that compresses an image captured by the camera unit with a higher image quality than the normal image quality, and a trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit And a high image quality data storage unit for recording the moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit.

  In an embodiment of the fourth aspect of the invention, a plurality of the camera units are provided in different directions, and the high image quality encoding unit compresses each image captured by each of the camera units with high image quality, and The high image quality data storage unit preferably records the moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit based on the trigger detection timing of the trigger detection unit.

  According to this embodiment, when an abnormal trigger is detected, a high-quality vehicle periphery image captured by a plurality of camera units can be obtained. In addition, by performing risk prediction, a warning can be issued to the driver in advance before an accident occurs.

  The fifth aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus mounted on a vehicle, wherein the normal image quality encoding unit that compresses a peripheral image of the vehicle captured by a camera unit with a normal image quality, and the normal image A normal image quality data storage unit that records moving image data output by the image quality encoding unit, a trigger detection unit that detects an abnormal situation that has occurred during vehicle travel as a trigger, and an image captured by the camera unit than the normal image quality A high-quality encoding unit that compresses at high image quality, a high-quality data storage unit that records moving image data output from the high-quality encoding unit based on a trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit, and the camera unit A photographed image display unit for displaying the photographed image on the display.

  In an embodiment of the fifth aspect of the invention, a plurality of the camera units are provided in different directions, and the high image quality encoding unit compresses each image captured by each of the camera units with high image quality, and The high image quality data storage unit preferably records the moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit based on the trigger detection timing of the trigger detection unit.

  According to this embodiment, when an abnormal trigger is detected, a high-quality vehicle periphery image captured by a plurality of camera units can be obtained. Moreover, by displaying the video imaged by the camera unit, the driver can predict the danger and take a workaround.

  According to the in-vehicle moving image recording apparatus of the present invention, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by normal image quality recording, while high-quality moving image data can be recorded after an accident occurs, and through the video It is easy to analyze the cause of an accident.

Block diagram of in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1 Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus in the first embodiment Conceptual diagram for saving and discarding normal image quality data and high image quality data Block diagram of in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to Embodiment 2 Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus in the second embodiment Block diagram of in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to Embodiment 3 Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus in the third embodiment Block diagram of in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to Embodiment 4 Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus in the fourth embodiment Block diagram of in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus in embodiment 5 Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus in the fifth embodiment Conceptual image of the image displayed on the captured image display Conceptual image of the image displayed on the captured image display

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an on-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, since the component which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in embodiment performs the same operation | movement, description may be abbreviate | omitted again.

(Embodiment 1)
In this embodiment, two types of compression processing, normal image quality and high image quality, are performed on the image input from the camera unit, and when an abnormality is detected, the image quality is taken a certain time before the abnormality is detected. An in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus that starts recording from data will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The in-vehicle image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a camera unit 101, a normal image quality encoding unit 102, a normal image quality data storage unit 103, a trigger detection unit 104, a high image quality encoding unit 105, and a high image quality data storage unit. 106.

  A camera unit 101 made up of a CCD camera or the like is attached to a vehicle and captures a peripheral image of the traveling vehicle, mainly a front image.

  The normal image quality encoding unit 102 compresses an image captured by the camera unit 101 with normal image quality.

  The normal image quality here is, for example, the codec is Motion-JPEG, the angle of view is 640 × 480, and the frame rate is 15 fps.

  The normal image quality encoding unit 102 can usually be realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the normal image quality encoding unit 102 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded in a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The normal image quality data storage unit 103 records moving image data output from the normal image quality encoding unit 102. The normal image quality data storage unit 103 can record for a longer time than the high image quality data storage unit 106. When the storage capacity is full, old data is overwritten and erased.

  The trigger detection unit 104 detects any abnormal situation that has occurred during vehicle travel as a trigger.

  The trigger here is, for example, the approach of another vehicle to the vehicle, the approach of a person to the vehicle, the execution of a sudden brake, the impact detection, or the like.

  The trigger detection unit 104 is one of an ultrasonic sensor, a visible sensor, a far-infrared camera, a millimeter wave sensor, a laser / radar device, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, an infrared sensor, a brake sensor, an image processing by a camera, or the like. The vehicle is equipped with a combination of the above, and vehicle approach, human body approach, sudden braking, impact, etc. are detected.

  For example, the approach of the vehicle is detected by a magnetic sensor, the approach of a person is detected by an infrared sensor, the sudden braking is detected by a brake sensor that detects the amount of depression of the brake, and the impact is detected by an acceleration sensor.

  Further, the trigger detection unit 104 may detect the trigger in cooperation with these sensors provided on the vehicle and the road. For example, sensors that detect the approach of a vehicle are installed at intersections where traffic accidents frequently occur and mountain roads with poor visibility that continue with S-curves. When a sensor installed on the road detects a traveling vehicle, a trigger for starting recording is generated for the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus. In this manner, by detecting an oncoming vehicle that cannot be detected only by a sensor installed on the vehicle by using a sensor on the road, any situation can be recorded without omission. The sensor installed on the road may have a function of detecting not only a vehicle but also a two-wheeled vehicle or a human body. When a sensor is installed on the road, a recording start trigger may always be generated regardless of the presence or absence of a traveling vehicle.

  The high image quality encoding unit 105 compresses the image captured by the camera unit 101 with high image quality.

  The high image quality here means, for example, that the codec is Motion-JPEG2000, the angle of view is 1440 × 1080, and the frame rate is 30 fps.

  The high image quality encoding unit 105 can usually be realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the high image quality encoding unit 105 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The high image quality data storage unit 106 records the moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit 105 based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit 104.

  Further, when the trigger detection unit 104 detects a trigger, the high image quality data storage unit 106 records the moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit 105 a predetermined time before the trigger detection.

  In this high-quality data storage unit 106, the moving image data from the high-quality encoding unit 105 is always written so that moving image data from a predetermined time before trigger detection can be recorded, and old moving image data is discarded. Instead, the latest moving image data is overwritten, so that the moving image data from a certain time ago can be recorded, that is, stored regardless of the timing at which the trigger is detected.

  For example, the predetermined time is 15 seconds ago.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the camera 101 provided in the vehicle is used to photograph the surrounding situation of the running vehicle (step S601).

  Then, the image captured by the camera unit 101 is compressed with normal image quality (step S602).

  Next, the moving image data compressed with the normal image quality is stored in the normal image quality data storage unit 103 (step S603).

  Further, the same image compressed with the normal image quality is compressed with a setting that satisfies the high image quality codec, the high bit rate, the high frame rate, and the large screen than the normal image quality (step S604).

  Here, it is confirmed whether or not a trigger indicating an abnormal situation such as vehicle approach, human body approach, sudden braking, or impact has occurred (step S605). When an abnormality occurs, the high-quality data compressed with high image quality is stored in the high-quality data storage unit 106 (step S606), and when no abnormality occurs, the high-quality data is discarded (step S606). Step S607).

  In (step S606), as described above, the image quality is saved from the high-quality data captured a predetermined time before the abnormal trigger is detected.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram of saving and discarding of normal image quality data and high image quality data.

  As shown in FIG. 3, both normal image quality and high image quality data are output, but only normal image quality data is stored in the normal image quality data storage unit 103 during normal driving, and high image quality data is discarded. When some kind of abnormal trigger occurs, the high-quality image data obtained by photographing the peripheral image of a predetermined time ago is stored in the high-quality data storage unit 106. When a predetermined time elapses after the trigger is generated, the high-quality data is discarded again. Or you may make it cancel | discard, when it is judged with the acceleration sensor etc. that it returned to normal driving | running | working.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by recording the normal image quality, and high-quality moving image data can be obtained immediately before the occurrence of the accident. Furthermore, by changing not only the frame rate and GOP structure during high-quality recording, but also changing the compression codec, bit rate, angle of view, etc., high-quality moving image data in the vehicle surroundings immediately before and after the accident occurs. Can be obtained. In addition to various sensors attached to the vehicle, by detecting an abnormal trigger by linking a sensor equipped on the road and a sensor equipped on the vehicle, the surrounding situation of the vehicle at the time of the abnormality can be taken with high image quality. realizable.

(Embodiment 2)
In this embodiment, two types of compression processing of normal image quality and high image quality are performed on images input from a plurality of camera units such as front, rear, left and right, and when an abnormality is detected, a certain time before the time when the abnormality is detected A vehicle-mounted moving image data recording apparatus that starts recording from high-quality data of all the camera units photographed in the following is described.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, four camera units are provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle.

  The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first camera unit 201, a normal image quality encoding unit 202, a normal image quality data storage unit 203, a trigger detection unit 204, a first high image quality encoding unit 205, High image quality data storage unit 206, second camera unit 207, second high image quality encoding unit 208, second high image quality data storage unit 209, third camera unit 210, third high image quality encoding unit 211, third high image quality A data storage unit 212, a fourth camera unit 213, a fourth high image quality encoding unit 214, and a fourth high image quality data storage unit 215 are provided.

  The first camera unit 201 is provided in front of the vehicle and captures an image of the surroundings of the running vehicle, and has the same configuration as the camera unit 101 of the first embodiment described above.

  The normal image quality coding unit 202 compresses an image captured by the camera unit 201 with normal image quality, and has the same configuration as the normal image quality coding unit 102 of the first embodiment described above.

  The normal image quality data storage unit 203 records moving image data output from the normal image quality encoding unit 202, and has the same configuration as the normal image quality data storage unit 103 of the first embodiment.

  The trigger detection unit 204 detects a certain trigger such as an abnormal situation that occurs during vehicle travel, and has the same configuration as the trigger detection unit 104 of the first embodiment.

  The first high image quality encoding unit 205 compresses an image taken by the first camera unit 201 with high image quality, and has the same configuration as the high image quality encoding unit 105 of the first embodiment.

  The first high image quality data storage unit 206 records moving image data output from the first high image quality encoding unit 205 based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit 204, and is described in the first embodiment. The high-quality data storage unit 106 has the same configuration.

  The second camera unit 207, the third camera unit 210, and the fourth camera unit 213 are provided at the rear, right side, and left side of the vehicle, respectively, and take images of the vehicle surroundings during traveling.

  The second high-quality encoding unit 208, the third high-quality encoding unit 211, and the fourth high-quality encoding unit 214 are images captured by the second camera unit 207, the third camera unit 210, and the fourth camera unit 213, respectively. Are compressed with high image quality, and have the same configuration as the first high image quality encoding unit 205.

  The second high image quality data storage unit 209, the third high image quality data storage unit 212, and the fourth high image quality data storage unit 215 are based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit 204, the second high image quality encoding unit 208, The moving image data respectively output from the third high image quality encoding unit 211 and the fourth high image quality encoding unit 214 is recorded, and has the same configuration as the first high image quality data storage unit 206.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the surrounding conditions of the running vehicle are respectively photographed by all the camera units 201, 207, 210, and 213 provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle (step S701).

  Then, the image captured by the camera unit 201 provided in front of the vehicle is compressed with normal image quality (step S702).

  Next, the moving image data compressed with the normal image quality is stored in the normal image quality data storage unit 203 (step S703).

  In addition, the images captured by all the camera units 201, 207, 210, and 213 are compressed with settings that satisfy a higher image quality codec, higher bit rate, higher frame rate, and larger screen than normal image quality (step S704).

  Here, it is confirmed whether an abnormal trigger such as vehicle approach, human body approach, sudden braking, or impact has occurred (step S705). When an abnormality has occurred, all the high-quality data compressed with high image quality are stored in the respective high-quality data storage units 206, 209, 212, and 215 (step S706), and no abnormality has occurred. In this case, the high-quality data is discarded (step S707).

  Note that in (step S706), the high-quality image data captured a predetermined time before the detection of the abnormal trigger is stored.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by recording the vehicle surroundings using a plurality of camera units, it is possible to record the vehicle surroundings immediately before and after the accident in high-quality video from all directions, It is easy to analyze the cause of an accident through video. Further, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by recording normal image quality. In addition to simply changing the frame rate, GOP structure, etc. during high image quality recording, moving image data with higher image quality can be obtained by changing the compression codec, bit rate, angle of view, and the like. In addition to various sensors attached to the vehicle, by detecting an abnormal trigger by linking a sensor equipped on the road and a sensor equipped on the vehicle, the surrounding situation of the vehicle at the time of the abnormality can be taken with high image quality. realizable.

  According to the present embodiment, four camera units are provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle, but the number and setting location are not limited to these.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, high-quality data from all the camera units 201, 207, 210, and 213 is recorded based on the trigger detection of the trigger detection unit 204, but the first camera unit 201, the second camera unit 207, the third camera unit 210, and the fourth camera unit 213, closest to the place where the cause of the trigger has occurred, for example, approaching or forward of a vehicle or person from the front In such a case, only the high-quality data input from the first camera unit 201 that captures the front may be recorded.

(Embodiment 3)
In this embodiment, two types of compression processing, normal image quality and high image quality, are performed on the image input from the camera unit, and when an abnormality is detected, high-quality data captured a predetermined time before the abnormality is detected A vehicle-mounted moving image data recording apparatus for recording the license plate portion with high image quality when recording is started from and when a license plate is detected in the input image will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a camera unit 301, an acceleration sensor unit 302, a license plate detection unit 303, a normal image quality encoding unit 304, a normal image quality data storage unit 305, a trigger detection unit 306, and a high image quality. An encoding unit 307 and a high-quality data storage unit 308 are provided.

  The camera unit 301 is attached to the vehicle and captures an image of the surroundings of the running vehicle, and is the same as the camera unit 101 of the first embodiment described above.

  The acceleration sensor unit 302 detects acceleration from the running state of the vehicle.

  The license plate detection unit 303 detects the license plate of the vehicle from the image captured by the camera unit 301 while performing the motion estimation of the license plate using information from the acceleration sensor unit 302. That is, the license plate detection unit 303 detects a location including four digits estimated to be a license plate from the image captured by the camera unit 301, and further uses the information of the acceleration sensor unit 302 to immediately Considering that the image and the current image have moved by the amount of change based on the acceleration, the position of the license plate of the vehicle is detected more accurately.

  The normal image quality coding unit 304 compresses an image captured by the camera unit 301 with normal image quality, and has the same configuration as the normal image quality coding unit 102 of the first embodiment described above.

  The normal image quality data storage unit 305 records moving image data output from the normal image quality encoding unit 304, and has the same configuration as the normal image quality data storage unit 103 of the first embodiment.

  The trigger detection unit 306 detects a certain trigger such as an abnormal situation that has occurred during vehicle travel, and has the same configuration as the trigger detection unit 104 of the first embodiment described above.

  When the license plate detection unit 303 detects the license plate, the high image quality encoding unit 307 compresses the license plate portion of the image captured by the camera unit 301 with high image quality. If no license plate is detected, the entire image is compressed with high image quality.

  The high image quality encoding unit 307 may use, for example, a JPEG2000 ROI (Region of Interest) function in order to compress the license plate portion with high image quality.

  The high image quality encoding unit 307 has the same configuration as the high image quality encoding unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that the license plate portion is compressed with high image quality.

  The high image quality data storage unit 308 records the moving image data output from the high image quality encoding unit 307 based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit 306. The high image quality data of the first embodiment described above. The configuration is the same as that of the storage unit 106.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the surrounding situation of the running vehicle is photographed by the camera unit 301 provided in the vehicle (step S801).

  Further, the acceleration of the vehicle is acquired using the acceleration sensor unit 302 (step S802). Then, the license plate information is detected from the input image captured by the camera unit 301 based on the travel acceleration acquired by the acceleration sensor unit 302 (step S803).

  Next, the image captured by the camera unit 301 is compressed with normal image quality (step S804).

  Then, the moving image data compressed with the normal image quality is stored in the normal image quality data storage unit 305 (step S805).

  Further, it is confirmed whether or not a license plate is detected in the input image (step S806). When the license plate is detected, the license plate portion is compressed so as to have high image quality (step S807). On the other hand, when the license plate cannot be detected in the input image, all the images are compressed with high image quality with uniform image quality (step S808).

  Here, it is confirmed whether an abnormal trigger such as vehicle approach, person approach, sudden brake detection, or impact detection has occurred (step S809). When an abnormality occurs, the high-quality data compressed with high image quality is stored in the high-quality data storage unit 308 (step S810), and when no abnormality occurs, the high-quality data is discarded (step S810). Step S811).

  In step S810, the image quality is saved from high-quality data captured a predetermined time before the abnormal trigger is detected.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by recording the normal image quality, and high-quality moving image data can be obtained immediately before the occurrence of the accident. Furthermore, by changing not only the frame rate and GOP structure during high-quality recording, but also changing the compression codec, bit rate, angle of view, etc., higher-quality moving image data of the vehicle surroundings immediately before and after the accident occurs Can be obtained. In addition, by compressing the license plate portion with high image quality, it is possible to obtain information that is particularly effective for contact accidents with other vehicles and identification of witnesses. In addition to various sensors attached to the vehicle, by detecting an abnormal trigger by linking a sensor equipped on the road and a sensor equipped on the vehicle, the surrounding situation of the vehicle at the time of the abnormality can be taken with high image quality. realizable.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, only the license plate information is recorded in high image quality. However, even if information other than the license plate is recorded in high image quality, such as traffic lights and signs on roadways, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, etc. good.

(Embodiment 4)
In this embodiment, two types of compression processing of normal image quality and high image quality are performed on images input from a plurality of camera units such as front, rear, left and right, and when an abnormality is detected, a certain time before the time when the abnormality is detected A vehicle-mounted moving image recording apparatus that starts recording from high-quality data of all the camera units taken in the camera and alerts the driver when danger is predicted during traveling will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, four camera units are provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle.

  The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first camera unit 401, a normal image quality encoding unit 402, a normal image quality data storage unit 403, a trigger detection unit 404, a danger warning unit 405, and a first high image quality encoding. 406, first high-quality data storage unit 407, second camera unit 408, second high-quality image encoding unit 409, second high-quality data storage unit 410, third camera unit 411, third high-quality image encoding unit 412 A third high image quality data storage unit 413, a fourth camera unit 414, a fourth high image quality encoding unit 415, and a fourth high image quality data storage unit 416.

  The first camera unit 401, the normal image quality encoding unit 402, and the normal image quality data storage unit 403 are the first camera unit 201, the normal image quality encoding unit 202, and the normal image quality data storage unit 203 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. It is the same composition as.

  A first high image quality encoding unit 406 that compresses an image captured by the first camera unit 401 with high image quality, and a first high image quality data storage unit 407 that records moving image data output by the first high image quality encoding unit 406. These are the same configurations as the first high-quality image encoding unit 205 and the first high-quality data storage unit 206 of the second embodiment.

  Based on the trigger detection timing in the second camera unit 408, the second high image quality encoding unit 409 that compresses the image captured by the second camera unit 408 with high image quality, and the trigger detection unit 404, the second high image quality encoding is performed. The second high image quality data storage unit 410 that records the moving image data output by the unit 409 is the second camera unit 207, the second high image quality encoding unit 208, and the second high image quality data storage unit of the second embodiment. The configuration is the same as in FIG.

  Based on the trigger detection timing in the third camera unit 411, the third high image quality encoding unit 412 that compresses the image captured by the third camera unit 411 with high image quality, and the trigger detection unit 404, the third high image quality encoding is performed. The third high-quality data storage unit 413 that records moving image data output by the unit 412 is the third camera unit 210, the third high-quality encoding unit 211, and the third high-quality data storage unit of the second embodiment described above. The configuration is the same as 212.

  Further, the fourth camera unit 414, the fourth high image quality encoding unit 415 that compresses the image captured by the fourth camera unit 414 with high image quality, and the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit 404, are used. The fourth high-quality data storage unit 416 that records moving image data output from the encoding unit 415 is the fourth camera unit 213, the fourth high-quality encoding unit 214, and the fourth high-quality data in the second embodiment. The configuration is the same as that of the storage unit 215.

  The trigger detection unit 404 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the trigger detection unit 204 according to the above-described second embodiment, but further, under two types of conditions where the alerting level for alerting and the accident occurrence level are different. Trigger detection is performed. The trigger detection of the accident occurrence level is the same as the trigger detection of the trigger detection unit 204 of the second embodiment.

  The trigger detection at the alert level does not reach the accident occurrence level, but the level at which danger can be predicted and the driver needs to be alerted. This is the trigger detection level at which the risk is predicted.

  The danger warning unit 405 warns the driver when the warning level at which danger is predicted is reached in accordance with the detection status of the trigger detection unit 404.

  For example, the danger warning unit 405 sounds a warning sound or displays a warning on the display.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the surrounding situation of the running vehicle is photographed by all the camera units 401, 408, 411, and 414 provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle. (Step S901).

  Then, the image captured by the camera unit 401 provided in front of the vehicle is compressed with normal image quality (step S902).

  Next, the moving image data compressed with the normal image quality is stored in the normal image quality data storage unit 403 (step S903).

  In addition, the images captured by all the camera units 401, 408, 411, and 414 are compressed with settings that satisfy a higher image quality codec, higher bit rate, higher frame rate, and larger screen than normal image quality (step S904).

  Here, it is confirmed whether or not an abnormal trigger such as vehicle approach, human body approach, sudden braking, impact, or lane change has occurred (step S905). The confirmation here is not the occurrence of the accident itself, but the confirmation that the abnormal trigger of the above-mentioned alert level that may cause the accident has occurred. If a warning level abnormality occurs, a warning warning is given to the driver (step S906). In addition, it is confirmed whether or not an accident trigger at an accident occurrence level at which an accident is thought to have occurred (step S907). If an abnormality has occurred, high-quality compressed data with high image quality is converted into all high-quality data. The images are stored in the storage units 407, 410, 413, and 416, respectively (step S908), and if no abnormality has occurred, the high-quality data is discarded (step S909).

  Note that in (step S908), the image is stored from the high-quality data photographed a predetermined time before the abnormal trigger was detected.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by recording the vehicle surroundings using a plurality of camera units, it is possible to record the vehicle surroundings immediately before and after the accident in high-quality video from all directions, It is easy to analyze the cause of an accident through video. Further, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by recording normal image quality. In addition to simply changing the frame rate, GOP structure, etc. during high image quality recording, moving image data with higher image quality can be obtained by changing the compression codec, bit rate, angle of view, and the like. In addition, when an abnormal trigger is detected, it is possible to prevent an accident from occurring in advance by giving a warning warning to the driver.

  According to the present embodiment, four camera units are provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle, but the number and setting location are not limited to these.

  Moreover, although an example of the warning method in the danger warning part 405 was shown, it is not limited to these.

(Embodiment 5)
In this embodiment, two types of compression processing of normal image quality and high image quality are performed on images input from a plurality of camera units such as front, rear, left and right, and when an abnormality is detected, a certain time before the time when the abnormality is detected Start recording from the high-quality data of all the camera parts taken in the camera, and display the images taken by all the camera parts on a display installed in a place that is easy for the driver to see An in-vehicle moving image compression apparatus that can be grasped more clearly will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, four camera units are provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle.

  The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first camera unit 501, a normal image quality encoding unit 502, a normal image quality data storage unit 503, a trigger detection unit 504, a first high image quality encoding unit 505, and a first. High image quality data storage unit 506, second camera unit 507, second high image quality encoding unit 508, second high image quality data storage unit 509, third camera unit 510, third high image quality encoding unit 511, third high image quality A data storage unit 512, a fourth camera unit 513, a fourth high image quality encoding unit 514, a fourth high image quality data storage unit 515, and a captured image display unit 516 are provided.

  The first camera unit 501, the normal image quality encoding unit 502, and the normal image quality data storage unit 503 are the first camera unit 201, normal image quality encoding unit 202, and normal image quality data storage unit 203 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. It is the same composition as.

  A first high image quality encoding unit 505 that compresses an image captured by the first camera unit 501 with high image quality, and a first high image quality data storage unit 506 that records moving image data output from the first high image quality encoding unit 505. These are the same configurations as the first high-quality image encoding unit 205 and the first high-quality data storage unit 206 of the second embodiment.

  Based on the trigger detection timing in the second camera unit 507, the second high image quality encoding unit 508 that compresses the image captured by the second camera unit 507 with high image quality, and the trigger detection unit 504, the second high image quality encoding is performed. The second high-quality data storage unit 509 that records moving image data output from the unit 508 is the second camera unit 207, the second high-quality encoding unit 208, and the second high-quality data storage unit of the second embodiment described above. The configuration is the same as in FIG.

  Based on the trigger detection timing in the third camera unit 510, the third high image quality encoding unit 511 that compresses the image captured by the third camera unit 510 with high image quality, and the trigger detection unit 504, the third high image quality encoding is performed. The third high-quality data storage unit 512 that records moving image data output by the unit 511 is the third camera unit 210, the third high-quality encoding unit 211, and the third high-quality data storage unit of the second embodiment described above. The configuration is the same as 212.

  Further, the fourth camera unit 513, the fourth high image quality based on the trigger detection timing in the fourth high image quality encoding unit 514 and the trigger detection unit 504 that compress the image captured by the fourth camera unit 513 with high image quality. The fourth high-quality data storage unit 515 that records the moving image data output from the encoding unit 514 is the fourth camera unit 213, the fourth high-quality encoding unit 214, and the fourth high-quality data in the second embodiment. The configuration is the same as that of the storage unit 215.

  The trigger detection unit 504 detects some kind of trigger such as an abnormal situation that has occurred during vehicle travel, and has the same configuration as the trigger detection unit 204 of the second embodiment.

  The captured image display unit 516 displays the captured content of all the camera units 501, 507, 510, and 513 on the display.

  For example, the captured image display unit 516 may divide the display into four and display all the camera videos side by side. Alternatively, all camera images may be connected around the vehicle, processed into a panoramic image, and displayed. Further, the background image may be deleted and only important objects such as traffic lights, vehicles, motorcycles and people may be displayed.

  The captured image display unit 516 may be considered as including or not including a display device. The captured image display unit 516 can be implemented by display device driver software, or display device driver software and a display device.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the surroundings of the vehicle that is running are photographed by the camera units 501, 507, 510, and 513 provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle (step S1001).

  Then, the captured images of all the camera units 501, 507, 510, and 513 are displayed on the display (step S1002).

  Next, the image captured by the camera unit 501 provided in front of the vehicle is compressed with normal image quality (step S1003).

  Further, the moving image data compressed with the normal image quality is stored in the normal image quality data storage unit 503 (step S1004).

  Furthermore, the images captured by all the camera units 501, 507, 510, and 513 are compressed with settings that satisfy a higher image quality codec, higher bit rate, higher frame rate, and larger screen than normal image quality (step S1005).

  Here, it is confirmed whether an abnormal trigger such as vehicle approach, human body approach, sudden braking, or impact has occurred (step S1006). If an abnormality occurs, the high-quality data compressed with high image quality is stored in all the high-quality data storage units 506, 509, 512, and 515 (step S1007), and no abnormality occurs. Discards the high-quality data (step S1008).

  In (step S1007), the image data is saved from the high-quality data photographed a predetermined time before the abnormal trigger is detected.

  Next, a conceptual diagram of an image displayed on the captured image display unit 516 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the display is divided into four, and the front, rear, left and right images taken by all the camera units 501, 507, 510, and 513 are displayed side by side as they are. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13, the images of the camera units 501, 507, 510, and 513 may be connected in a panorama and displayed so that the surrounding situation can be easily understood visually around the vehicle on which the user is riding. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by recording the vehicle surroundings using a plurality of camera units, it is possible to record the vehicle surroundings immediately before and after the accident in high-quality video from all directions, It is easy to analyze the cause of an accident through video. Further, during normal driving, the storage memory can be effectively used by recording normal image quality. In addition to simply changing the frame rate, GOP structure, etc. during high image quality recording, moving image data with higher image quality can be obtained by changing the compression codec, bit rate, angle of view, and the like. In addition, by displaying images taken by a plurality of cameras in advance on the display, the driver can grasp the road traffic situation and can drive to prevent accidents.

  According to the present embodiment, four camera units are provided on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle, but the number and setting location are not limited to these.

  Moreover, although an example of the image display in the picked-up image display part 516 was shown, it is not limited to these.

(Other embodiments)
Although the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present invention has been described based on the first to fifth embodiments, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to these. The modifications will be described below.

  In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present invention has been described, but it may be realized by either hardware or software. Also, a part processed by hardware or a part processed by software may be mixed.

  In the above embodiment, examples of encoding formats with normal image quality and high image quality are shown, but the present invention is not limited to these.

  In the said embodiment, although an example of the various sensors used for a trigger detection part is mentioned, it is not limited to these.

  In the above embodiment, the low-quality data encoding is performed while the abnormal trigger is detected and the high-quality data is recorded, but the low-quality data encoding is interrupted during the recording of the high-quality data. May be.

  In the above embodiment, the recording of the high quality data may be terminated after a certain time has elapsed since the recording was started. Alternatively, the process may be terminated when it can be determined that the vehicle has returned to normal travel by an acceleration sensor or the like.

  In each of the above embodiments, each processing (each function) may be realized by centralized processing by a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. Also good.

  As described above, the in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to the present invention includes both the normal image quality encoding unit and the high image quality encoding unit, so that the storage memory can be effectively used during normal driving, and Immediately before the occurrence of the accident, high-quality moving image data can be obtained, which is useful as a drive recorder or event recorder.

101, 201, 301, 401, 501 Camera unit 102, 202, 302, 304, 402, 502 Normal image quality encoding unit 103, 203, 305, 403, 503 Normal image quality data storage unit 104, 204, 306, 404, 504 Trigger detection unit 105, 307, 406 High-quality encoding unit 106, 308 High-quality data storage unit 201, 401, 501 First camera unit 205, 406, 505 First high-quality encoding unit 206, 407, 506 First high Image quality data storage unit 207, 408, 507 Second camera unit 208, 409, 508 Second image quality encoding unit 209, 410, 509 Second image quality data storage unit 210, 411, 510 Third camera unit 211, 412, 511 Third high-quality encoding unit 212, 413, 512 Third high-quality data storage unit 213, 14, 513 Fourth camera unit 214, 415, 514 Fourth high image quality encoding unit 215, 416, 515 Fourth high image quality data storage unit 302 Acceleration sensor unit 303 Number plate detection unit 308 High image quality data recording unit 405 Danger warning unit 516 Photographed image display section

Claims (5)

An in-vehicle moving image data recording device mounted on a vehicle,
A normal image quality encoding unit that compresses the surrounding image of the vehicle captured by the camera unit with normal image quality;
A normal image quality data storage unit for recording moving image data output by the normal image quality encoding unit;
A trigger detection unit that detects, as a trigger, an abnormal situation that occurred during vehicle travel;
A high image quality encoding unit that compresses an image captured by the camera unit at a higher image quality than the normal image quality;
Based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit, a high-quality data storage unit that records moving image data output by the high-quality encoding unit;
An in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus comprising: The high image quality data storage unit records from the moving image data output by the high image quality encoding unit a predetermined time before the trigger detection timing,
The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to claim 1. A plurality of the camera parts are provided in different directions,
The high image quality encoding unit compresses each image captured by the camera unit with high image quality,
The high-quality data storage unit records the moving image data output from the high-quality encoding unit based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit;
The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein An in-vehicle moving image data recording device mounted on a vehicle,
An acceleration sensor unit for detecting acceleration from the running state of the vehicle;
A license plate detection unit that detects a license plate of a vehicle while performing motion prediction of the license plate using information of the acceleration sensor unit, from the surrounding image of the vehicle captured by the camera unit,
A normal image quality encoding unit that compresses an image captured by the camera unit with normal image quality;
A normal image quality data storage unit for recording moving image data output by the normal image quality encoding unit;
A trigger detection unit that detects, as a trigger, an abnormal situation that occurred during vehicle travel;
When the license plate is detected by the license plate detection unit, a high-quality encoding unit that compresses the license plate part of the image captured by the camera unit at a higher image quality than the normal image quality,
Based on the trigger detection timing in the trigger detection unit, a high-quality data storage unit that records moving image data output by the high-quality encoding unit;
An in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus comprising: The high image quality data storage unit records from the moving image data output by the high image quality encoding unit a predetermined time before the trigger detection timing,
The in-vehicle moving image data recording apparatus according to claim 4.

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