JP2002216284A - Drive recorder and image recording method for travel support - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately and surely record a travel support image necessary for post processing, vehicle insurance assessing processing or the like related to an accident without manual operation. SOLUTION: This derive recorder 1 is for recording a travel support image showing a situation around a vehicle 2 picked up by cameras 4a1-4an attached to the vehicle 2. It is provided with a memory unit 12 and a controller 3 recording the travel support image picked up by the cameras 4a1-4an in the memory unit 12 at timings corresponding to a traveling state of the vehicle 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to driving assistance such as an image on the front side of a vehicle, an image on the rear side of a vehicle, and the like, which represent a situation around the vehicle captured by an imaging device attached to the vehicle such as an automobile. The present invention relates to a drive recorder for recording an image for use and a driving support image recording method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a vehicle such as an automobile causes an accident,
Accurately determining the cause depends on post-processing of the accident,
This is extremely important in the assessment of vehicle insurance.

On the other hand, in recent years, in order to assist the driving of a vehicle driver (driver) to prevent an accident from occurring, a CCD camera or the like for capturing a situation around a running vehicle as a driving support image has been developed. Are mounted on the vehicle.

[0004] Against this background, recently,
Driving support image captured by the imaging device, i.e., to record an image representing the surrounding situation while the vehicle is traveling, post-processing at the time of accident occurrence, in order to easily and accurately perform vehicle insurance assessment processing, etc. It has been studied to mount a drive recorder for recording the driving support image on a vehicle.

[0005]

However, in the conventional drive recorder, the timing at which the driving support image picked up by the imaging device is recorded on the recording medium of the drive recorder is determined by, for example, a manual operation by the driver. Depending on the post-processing and vehicle insurance assessment processing, there is a possibility that images required for the processing may not be recorded.
There has been a demand for the development of a drive recorder capable of recording necessary images accurately and reliably.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. For example, when an accident occurs in a vehicle, the traveling required for post-processing related to the accident and vehicle insurance assessment processing without manual operation is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a drive recorder and a driving support image recording method capable of accurately and reliably recording a support image.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a driving support image representing a situation around the vehicle captured by an imaging device attached to the vehicle is recorded. And a recording control means for recording a driving assistance image captured by the imaging device on the recording medium at a timing according to a traveling state of the vehicle. .

[0008] In the first invention, the recording control means is communicably connected to a vehicle travel control unit installed in the vehicle and which controls travel of the vehicle, and the recording control means is connected to the vehicle travel control unit. Starting control means for starting recording of the driving support image on the recording medium when a vehicle start signal for starting the vehicle is transmitted from the vehicle start signal, and a vehicle stop signal for stopping the vehicle from the vehicle driving control unit Stop control means for receiving the vehicle stop signal when n is transmitted, and stopping the recording of the driving support image on the recording medium after n (n is a positive number exceeding 0) seconds from the reception timing. And

[0009] In the first invention, the recording control means is communicably connected to a vehicle travel control unit installed in the vehicle for controlling travel of the vehicle, and the recording control means is connected to the vehicle travel control unit. When a vehicle start signal for vehicle start is transmitted from, start control means for starting recording of the driving support image on the recording medium, and a vehicle control signal for decelerating a vehicle having a predetermined value or more from the vehicle driving control unit. When the vehicle deceleration signal is transmitted, the vehicle deceleration signal is received, and the recording of the driving support image on the recording medium is stopped after n (n is a positive number exceeding 0) seconds from the reception timing. Stop control means.

[0010] In the first invention, the recording control means is means for recording the driving support image on the recording medium by an overlay method.

In the first invention, the recording control means compresses the driving support image in a predetermined format and codes it, and records the coded driving support image (driving support image code) on the recording medium. Means.

[0012] In the first invention, an external I / F that can connect to a communication control device such as an external computer and communicate with the communication control device is provided, and the recording control means is provided for the external I / F. When the communication control device is connected, the driving assistance image code recorded on the recording medium is downloaded to the communication control device.

[0013] In the first invention, there are a plurality of the imaging devices, and the recording control means has a clock function for measuring a current time, and a plurality of driving support images captured by the plurality of the imaging devices. Is associated with a plurality of traveling support images corresponding to the time measured by the timing function at a timing when the recording is performed on the recording medium, and each traveling support image associated with the measured time is recorded for each imaging device. This is means for recording in different recording areas on the medium.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a driving support image representing a situation around the vehicle captured by an imaging device mounted on the vehicle is attached to the vehicle. An image is captured by an imaging device, and the captured driving assistance image is recorded on the recording medium at a timing according to a traveling state of the vehicle.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a drive recorder and a driving support image recording method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a drive recorder 1 according to the present embodiment and a system configuration in a vehicle 2 on which the drive recorder 1 is mounted.

According to FIG. 1, a drive recorder 1 includes a DC power supply DC supplied from a power supply portion of a vehicle 2 such as an automobile.
This is a small recorder manufactured on a single board using a controller chip having compression / encoding and decompression / decoding functions described later.

That is, the drive recorder 1 includes a controller 3 for executing the processing of the entire recorder in accordance with a built-in or external program, and a traveling state indicating the surroundings of the own vehicle attached to the vehicle 2 (including the inside of the vehicle). A plurality of driving support images I1 to In (analog) periodically captured by cameras (for example, a two-dimensional CCD camera, a line CCD camera, etc.) 4a1 to 4an, which are a plurality of imaging devices for capturing the support images. Image), converts the digital image data DI1 to DIn into digital image data DI1 to DIn, and transmits the converted digital image data DI1 to DIn to the controller 3.

Further, the capture 5 captures sound information indicating a situation related to the sound around the vehicle periodically collected by the sound collection microphone 6 attached to the vehicle 2 and transmits the digital voice data VD to the controller 3. It has become.

Further, the drive recorder 1 includes the vehicle 2
A digital IO, which is an input / output interface for transmitting and receiving digital control signals between the vehicle running control controller 7 and the controller 3 for transmitting a running control signal to the driving device to control the running state of the vehicle 2 (DIO) 8 and the current time are measured with high precision,
A clock unit 9 for sequentially transmitting the current time data obtained by adding the current date to the measured current time to the controller 3.

The controller 3 converts digital image data processed by the controller 3 into an analog image, and outputs the converted analog image to a display 10 mounted on the vehicle 2 by a D / A converter (hereinafter referred to as a D / A converter). , D
/ A), a memory unit 12 for recording digital data (digital image data, digital sound data) processed by the controller 3 in a plurality of recording areas, and a memory unit 12 between the drive recorder 1 and the outside. An on-board computer (on-vehicle PC) 14 that includes an external I / F 13 for a communication interface (I / F) and performs navigation processing and the like of the own vehicle mounted on the vehicle 2 is a wireless or predetermined communication cable and It is communicably connected to the controller 3 via the external I / F 13.

In this embodiment, for example, n = 11 cameras 4a1 are used as the cameras for capturing the driving support images.
To 4a11 are attached to the vehicle 2.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, nose cameras 4a1 and 4a2 are attached to both front corners of the vehicle 2 to image and monitor a blind spot area on the front side of the vehicle. Side monitoring cameras 4 for imaging and monitoring the situation on both sides of the vehicle 2
a3, 4a4 are attached.

Further, the vehicle 2 has front monitoring cameras 4a5 and 4a6 for capturing an image of an area in front of the vehicle 2 to monitor an obstacle on the front side of the vehicle, a vehicle in front, and the like, and an image of a rear side area of the vehicle 2. A rear side surveillance camera 4a7 for monitoring
Rear monitoring cameras 4a8 and 4a9 for capturing an image of the rear side of the vehicle 2 and monitoring an obstacle on the rear side, a rear vehicle, and the like are attached.

Further, in the vehicle 2, a driver camera 4a10 for capturing an image of the driver and monitoring the identification of the individual and monitoring the driving state, and an occupant for capturing and monitoring the occupant in the vehicle including the driver. Camera 11 is attached to each.

On the other hand, in the vehicle 2, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, cameras 4a1 to 4a11, a drive recorder 1, a display 10, and an on-vehicle PC (computer)
14 are connected to each other, and an information image bus B1 for mutually transmitting image information at high speed between the connected components.
, A camera 4a1 to 4a11, a drive recorder 1, a vehicle drive control controller 7, and an in-vehicle PC 14, and a control data bus for high-speed mutual communication of control signals (control data) between the connected components. B2 are installed respectively.

In the memory unit 12, each camera 4a1
(11) recording areas 12a1 corresponding to .about.4a11
The digital image data DI1 to DIn of each of the cameras 4a1 to 4a11 obtained by the processing of the controller 3 is stored in a corresponding recording area (having a predetermined recording capacity) 12a1 to 12an.
It can be recorded on.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the in-vehicle PB 14 performs an interface process (a sound input / output process including a voice) for an occupant such as a driver via a sound output speaker 20 and a microphone 6 installed in the vehicle 2. H for executing character information input / output processing on the screen of the display 10).
An MI (Human Machine Interface) 14a, an image processing engine (VC) 14b for image processing, and image and audio information are compressed by, for example, a predetermined compression format (for example, MPEG4 in the present embodiment). A compression / decompression processing unit (MPEG) 14c having a function of encoding and a function of decompressing and decoding image and audio information compressed by MPEG4 is provided.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle running control controller 7 sends a driving signal for starting the own vehicle, a vehicle stop signal for stopping the own vehicle, and a vehicle deceleration signal to the driving device of the vehicle 2. A vehicle traveling state control signal such as a deceleration signal is transmitted, and the vehicle traveling state control signal is transmitted to the controller 3 simultaneously with the transmission of the vehicle traveling state control signal to the driving device. .

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, the controller 7 for controlling the traveling of the vehicle of the vehicle 2
When the vehicle start signal is transmitted to the vehicle 2, the vehicle 2 starts running by the vehicle start process based on the driving device.

When the vehicle 2 starts running, the camera 4
a1 to 4a11 start periodic imaging of a plurality of driving assistance images I1 to I11 representing the surroundings of the own vehicle 2 during traveling, and the resulting driving assistance images I1 to I11.
Is the digital image data DI1 via the capture 5
Transmitted to the controller 3 as .about.DI12.

On the other hand, in response to the start of running of the vehicle 2, the microphone 6 also starts collecting sound, and the sound information obtained as a result is transmitted to the controller 3 as digital sound data VD via the capture 5.

The time measuring unit 9 measures the current time according to the start of traveling of the vehicle 2, and the current time data TD obtained as a result is sequentially transmitted to the controller 3.

At this time, the controller 3 performs the processing shown in FIG.

That is, the controller 3 determines whether or not a vehicle start signal has been transmitted from the vehicle traveling control controller 7 (step S1).
When the vehicle start signal is transmitted from the controller 3, the determination in step S1 becomes YES, and the controller 3 transmits the transmitted image data DI1 to DI11 and digital sound data V
D and the current time data TD are received (step S
2) The received image data DI1 to DI11 and the digital sound data VD are respectively compressed by the compression format MPE.
The compressed and coded image data DI1 to DI11 are associated with the current time data TD corresponding to the reception timing of the compressed and coded image data DI1 to DI11 based on the G4 (step S3).
1 to 12an, and at the same time, digital sound data VD
To the current time data TD corresponding to the reception timing.
Is recorded in the memory unit 12 (step S4).

Thereafter, the controller 3 repeatedly executes the processing of steps S2 to S4 in accordance with the sequentially (periodically) transmitted image data DI1 to DI11, digital sound data VD, and current time data TD, and performs compression / compression. The coded image data DI1 to DI11 and the digital sound data VD are recorded in the memory unit 12 in association with the current time data TD (step S5).

In the process of step S5, the image data DI1 to DI11 are sequentially stored in the corresponding recording area 12a1.
When recording in the recording areas 12a1 to 12a11,
When the storage capacity of the memory 12a11 becomes full, the controller 3 sends the compressed and coded image data DI1 to D
I11 is sequentially updated (overwritten) and recorded in the recording areas 12a1 to 12a11 from the area corresponding to the image data with the oldest current time data (overlay method).

On the other hand, the image data DI1 to DI1 in step S5
During the process of repeatedly recording the DI 11 and the audio data VD in the memory unit 12, the controller 3
Determines whether or not a vehicle stop signal has always been transmitted from the vehicle travel control controller 7 (step S
6), as a result of this determination, no transmission (step S6 → NO)
In the case of, the controller 3 continues to perform the recording process in step S5.

Now, when a vehicle stop signal is transmitted from the vehicle running control controller 7 of the vehicle 2 to the driving device and the controller 3, respectively, the vehicle 2 stops running by the vehicle starting process based on the driving device.

At this time, when the vehicle stop signal is transmitted from the controller 7 and received by the controller 3, the determination in step S6 of the controller 3 becomes YES, and the controller 3 sends the vehicle stop signal in accordance with the received current time data TD. It is determined whether or not n (n is a positive number exceeding 0) seconds have elapsed from the reception timing (step S7), and as a result of this determination, if it has elapsed (step S7 → YES),
The recording of the image data DI1 to DI11 and the digital sound data VD in the memory unit 12 is stopped (step S8), and the processing shifts to the processing of step S1 again, and the processing of steps S1 to S8 is sequentially performed.

That is, according to the present embodiment, the driver of the vehicle 2 does not need to perform any operation related to recording of the driving support image and the sound information on the drive recorder 1.
The image data representing the surrounding state in the running state (drive state) of the vehicle 2 is stored in the memory unit 12 in the drive recorder 1 in accordance with the timing based on the running state of the vehicle 2, that is, the vehicle start signal / vehicle stop signal reception timing. Can be recorded automatically and accurately.

In particular, since the recording operation is automatically stopped after elapse of n seconds from the vehicle stop signal, the situation after the stop can be recorded accurately and reliably.

As a result, the driving support image and the sound information recorded in the drive recorder 1 are decompressed and decoded by the controller 3 and D / A converted by the D / A converter 11 or decompressed and decoded by the in-vehicle PC 14. D /
Since display output (reproduction) can be performed via the display 10 and the speaker 20 via the A conversion process,
By visually recognizing the displayed image and listening to the sound information, for example, the situation around the vehicle 2 at the time of the occurrence of an accident necessary for post-processing related to the accident at the time of the accident or vehicle insurance assessment processing, etc. Can be grasped accurately and easily.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the recorded driving support image and sound information are recorded in the memory unit 12 in association with the recording time {year / month / time of photographing (recording)} for the memory unit 12. Therefore, the situation around the vehicle 2 can be grasped more accurately.

As described above, when the driving support image and the sound information recorded in the drive recorder 1 via the in-vehicle PC 14 are subjected to the extension / decoding process and the D / A conversion process, the controller 3 The drive recorder 1 can be further miniaturized because an inexpensive chip not having a decoding function can be used and the D / A converter 11 can be omitted.

When an accident occurs, for example, a mobile terminal (mobile personal computer,
PDA, mobile phone, etc.) is connected to the drive recorder 1 via the external I / F 13, and the compressed / coded image data and sound data stored in the memory unit 12 of the drive recorder 1 are carried by the controller 3. By downloading the information to the terminal, the mobile terminal side can reproduce the driving support image and the sound information at the time of occurrence of an accident, for example, to accurately grasp the surrounding situation at the time of occurrence of the accident at the vehicle 2.

Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of cameras 4
Since a plurality of image data I1 to I11 imaged respectively in a1 to 4a11 are stored in different storage areas 12a1 to 12a11 of the memory unit 12, management of the image data I1 to I11 can be facilitated. .

In particular, in this embodiment, the image data I1
I11 is stored in a different storage area 12a1 of the memory unit 12.
Since the data is updated and stored in the memory units 12a11 to 12a11, an increase in the storage capacity of the memory unit 12 can be suppressed, and an inexpensive memory unit 12 can be used.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle start signal and the vehicle stop signal transmitted from the vehicle traveling control controller 7 are used as signals representing the timing corresponding to the traveling state of the vehicle. It is not limited.

That is, the controller 3 determines in step S
In the process 1, the vehicle start signal is similarly used, while in the process of step S 6, a vehicle deceleration signal for decelerating the vehicle at a certain value or more (assuming occurrence of an accident such as a collision) is transmitted to the drive device and the controller 3. When it is done, step S7
Subsequent recording stop processing may be performed.

In this embodiment, the image data I1 to I1
I11 is stored in a different storage area 12a1 of the memory unit 12.
Although the present invention is not limited to this, a plurality of different memory groups (semiconductor memory, magnetic memory, etc.) are prepared as the memory unit 12, and the plurality of different memories are Image data I1
To I11 may be recorded.

Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle running conditions such as the vehicle start signal for starting the own vehicle, the vehicle stop signal for stopping the own vehicle, and the vehicle deceleration signal for decelerating the vehicle transmitted from the vehicle running controller 7 are provided. When the control signal is transmitted to the controller 3, the controller 3 controls the recording operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A sensor detects that a vehicle traveling control state control signal such as a vehicle stop signal for stopping the own vehicle, a vehicle deceleration signal for decelerating the vehicle, or the like has been transmitted, and the controller 3 responds to the detection signal transmitted from the sensor. May perform the recording operation control.

[0054]

As described above, according to the drive recorder and the driving support image recording method of the present invention, the situation around the driving state (drive state) of the vehicle can be determined without manual operation by the driver of the vehicle. Since the driving assistance image represented can be automatically and accurately recorded on a recording medium according to the timing based on the traveling state of the vehicle, the recorded driving assistance image can be post-processed in the event of an accident or vehicle insurance. It can be used for assessment processing and the like, and can perform accurate and quick post-processing and vehicle insurance assessment processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic functional block configuration of a drive recorder and a vehicle equipped with the drive recorder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mounting state of a plurality of cameras shown in FIG. 1 to a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an electrical connection relationship between system components in the vehicle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of a process of a controller illustrated in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 drive recorder 2 vehicle 3 controller 4a1-4an camera 5 capture 6 microphone 7 vehicle traveling control controller 8 DIO 9 timekeeping unit 10 display 11 D / A converter 12 memory unit 13 external I / F 14 on-board computer (in-vehicle PC)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasunori Takase 33rd Shinisogo-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Toshiba Production Technology Center Co., Ltd. 5H180 CC04 DD06 EE15

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A drive recorder for recording a driving assistance image representing a situation around the vehicle captured by an imaging device attached to a vehicle, the drive recorder comprising: a recording medium; and an image captured by the imaging device. A drive recorder comprising: a recording control unit that records a driving support image on the recording medium at a timing according to a traveling state of the vehicle. 2. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the recording control means is communicably connected to a vehicle traveling control unit installed in the vehicle and configured to control traveling of the vehicle. Starting control means for starting recording of the driving support image on the recording medium when a vehicle starting signal for starting the vehicle is transmitted from the vehicle driving control unit; and When a vehicle stop signal for vehicle stop is transmitted, the vehicle stop signal is received, and after n (n is a positive number exceeding 0) seconds from the reception timing, the driving support image is transferred to the recording medium. A drive recorder, comprising: stop control means for stopping recording. 3. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the recording control means is communicably connected to a vehicle travel control unit installed in the vehicle and configured to control travel of the vehicle. Starting control means for starting recording of the driving support image on the recording medium when a vehicle start signal for starting the vehicle is transmitted from the vehicle driving control unit; When a vehicle deceleration signal for vehicle deceleration equal to or greater than the value is transmitted, the vehicle deceleration signal is received, and n (n
A drive control unit for stopping the recording of the driving support image on the recording medium after a lapse of (positive number exceeding 0) seconds. 4. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the recording control unit is a unit that records the driving support image on the recording medium in an overlay manner. 5. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the recording control unit compresses and encodes the driving assistance image in a predetermined format, and encodes the encoded driving assistance image (driving assistance image). ) On the recording medium. 6. The drive recorder according to claim 5, further comprising an external I / F connected to an external computer or other communication control device and capable of communicating with the communication control device. A drive configured to download the driving assistance image code recorded on the recording medium to the communication control device when the communication control device is connected to an external I / F. Recorder. 7. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of image pickup devices are provided, and said recording control means has a clock function for measuring a current time, and said plurality of image pickup devices are used for image pickup. The time measured by the timing function at the timing at which the plurality of traveling support images are recorded on the recording medium is associated with the corresponding plurality of traveling support images, and each traveling support image associated with the clock time is A drive recorder for recording in a different recording area of the recording medium for each imaging device. 8. A driving support image representing a situation around the vehicle, which is taken by an imaging device attached to the vehicle, is taken by an imaging device attached to the vehicle, and the taken traveling support image is taken. And recording the image on the recording medium at a timing according to the traveling state of the vehicle.