JP2006261865A - Video station, video camera, on-vehicle video camera apparatus, and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video station capable of easily photographing and recording a scene over a wide range in front of a vehicle during driving of the vehicle by using a popularized video camera provided with a camera-shake sensor, and to provide the video camera, an on-vehicle video camera apparatus, and a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The on-vehicle video camera apparatus 1B is configured by fixing the video station 100 provided with a mount face 111 formed with a receiving terminal 130 to which a drive mode switch 131 and a cigar lighter power supply 220 are connected onto a dashboard 210 of the vehicle 200, mounting the video camera 1a provided with a drive mode switching reception terminal 50 onto the mount face 111 and connecting the receiving terminal 130 and the drive mode switching reception terminal 50, and is configured to be capable of recording a video image in front through front glass according to the degree of shake of a hand-shake detection sensor 40 on a recording medium M every hour or stopping the recording during the drive of the vehicle 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a video station, a video camera, an in-vehicle video camera device, and a vehicle in which a video camera, in particular, a small video camera for consumer use, is mounted on a vehicle and an image in a range that can be seen from a driver's seat is recorded during driving of the vehicle. Is.

  Conventionally, this type of video camera is a dedicated camera mounted in the vicinity of the driver's seat of the vehicle. During driving, images of the range that can be seen from the driver's seat are always taken and recorded on a recording medium, and when an accident occurs, After recording until a predetermined short time has elapsed, the recording is stopped, and the captured video immediately before and immediately after the accident is played back, so that the cause of the accident can be verified.

  It is desirable that a video camera having a function capable of photographing such a drive state is mounted not only on a commercial vehicle but also on all private passenger cars.

  However, such video cameras are actually only installed in some commercial vehicles such as taxis. Since it is a dedicated device, it is expensive and difficult to install in personal passenger cars.

  On the other hand, consumer video cameras are becoming cheaper year by year, and are widely used in the majority of homes mainly for home use. The present inventor uses such a video camera, and thinks that a video camera capable of shooting an image in front of the vehicle during driving can be obtained by slightly improving the video station. A video camera device and a vehicle were developed.

  First, a presumed working video camera will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of the video camera of the prior art as viewed from the photographing lens side, FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of the video camera of FIG. 10 opened from the viewfinder, and FIG. 12 is shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a front window portion of the video camera shown in FIG. 10 and an electronic circuit board incorporated therein, and FIG. 13A shows the electronic circuit board. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram of a circuit portion facing the window, FIG. 14 is a plan view of a night shot switch provided in the video camera shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 15 is a video camera shown in FIG. FIG.

  10 and 11, reference numeral 1 indicates a conventional video camera as a whole. As an example of the video camera 1, “digital video camera / recorder, DRC-HC40 type” currently sold by the present applicant can be cited.

  Such a video camera 1 is provided with a main body 10, a photographing zoom lens (hereinafter abbreviated as “zoom lens”) 11 which is disposed and incorporated in the upper front of the main body 10, and is disposed and incorporated in the rear thereof. The viewfinder 12, the liquid crystal monitor 13 which is attached to one side of the main body 10 so as to be freely opened and closed, the microphone 14 which is disposed on the front surface of the main body 10 below the zoom lens 11 and is incorporated therein, and the microphone 14 is a window 15 that transmits and receives infrared rays, a night shot switch 16 that is disposed above the side surface of the main body 10, and a simple button 17 that is provided on the side surface of the main body 10 immediately above the liquid crystal monitor 13. The power switch 18 and the recording start / stop button 19a (on the back of the main body 10 at the lower right of the viewfinder 12) 11), a power supply mounting portion 20 mounted immediately below the viewfinder 12, a battery B mounted thereon, and a recording start / stop button 19b and a photo button 21 ( 11) and the like.

  The screen 13a of the liquid crystal monitor 13 is formed with a touch panel switch structure that is an electronic structure switch means that can perform a photographing operation or the like simply by touching each icon displayed on the screen 13a. When the simple button 17 is pressed, for example, The dial 131 on which various large operation items 132 as shown in FIG. 12 are mounted is projected, and the large operation item 132 desired by the user is enlarged by pressing the upward arrow Ra or the downward arrow Rb. It can be displayed in the center. In the example shown in the figure, a “picture application (abbreviation of application)” 132a is selected and displayed in large size. Various fine operation items 133 are displayed in the empty space below. When this “picture application” 132a is selected, a fader 133a, an overlap 133b, and a digital effect 133c are displayed.

  In order to select such a large operation item 132, it is only necessary to touch the “OK” button 134 in the lower right. To delete the large operation item 132 from the screen 13a, it is only necessary to touch the “×” button 135 in the upper right. Can be erased.

  Accordingly, when the “OK” button 134 is touched when the “picture application” 132a is displayed, the screen 13a of the liquid crystal monitor 13 is changed as shown in FIG. 12B, and each fine operation item is displayed on the screen 13a. 133, that is, a fader 133a, an overlap 133b, and a digital effect 133c, are projected on a quadrilateral button. Touching a desired button, for example, the “digital effect 133c” button, “still”, “flash” ”,“ Lumi key ”,“ Trail ”,“ Slow shutter ”,“ Old movie ”, etc. can be selected and set, and various effects can be added to the photographed image.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a camera shake detection sensor 40 is provided in the main body 10 around the microphone 14, and the camera shake detection sensor 40 includes a vertical shake sensor 41 and a horizontal shake sensor 42. When the camera shake occurs during the shooting, the video shot by the video / sound recording / playback generation processing block 29 is corrected under the control of the main control block 25.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 15, a simple button 17, a power switch 18, recording start / stop buttons 19a and 19b, a photo button 21 and the like are connected to the inside of the main body 10 through a human interface. Or a main control block 25 equipped with a computer and software, which controls various blocks by a remote control light receiving unit 24 which outputs a predetermined signal in response to the remote control infrared ray Lb from the remote control transmitter 30, a zoom lens 11 is an optical-electrical signal conversion block 26 that converts an image from 11 into an electric signal by a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, a control block 27 that controls the zoom lens 11 and the optical-electrical signal conversion block 26, and the sound of the microphone 14 is electric. Processing block 28 for converting into signal, opto-electric signal conversion block 2 The digital video signal in a format that can be recorded on a video tape as an external recording medium, a DVD Ma, or a solid-state memory Mb as another external recording medium by synthesizing the video electrical signal from and the sound electrical signal from the processing block 28. A video, sound recording / playback processing block 29, and a video / sound recording / playback process having a function of playing back a digital video signal recorded on the video tape, DVDMa, or solid-state memory Mb. An input / output processing block 31 for cables for projecting from the block 29 to the screen 13a of the liquid crystal monitor 13 or the screen of an external monitor (not shown) via a cable or the like.

  An electronic circuit board 22 as shown in FIG. 13A is arranged facing the window 15 in the main body 10 in which the window 15 is formed, and has an elliptical shape corresponding to the window 15. An infrared light emitting unit 23 and a remote control (hereinafter simply referred to as “remote controller”) light receiving unit 20 are formed in the enclosed interior. FIG. 13B shows the positional relationship between the infrared light emitting unit 23 and the remote control light receiving unit 24 facing the window 15 (FIG. 10) opened in the main body 10 which is an exterior.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the night shot switch 16 is a slide switch. When the night shot switch 16 is slid to the “ON” position in a state where the power switch 18 is pressed to turn on the video camera 1, Usually, an infrared filter (not shown) interposed between the zoom lens 11 and the optical-electrical signal conversion block 26 is removed, and the main control block 25 detects that the video camera 1 is switched to the night shot mode and detects infrared rays. The light emitting unit 23 is activated, and a specific pulse of infrared light is emitted from the window unit 15 from the infrared light emitting unit 23.

  This night shot function is a reflected dark part that emits the dark part irradiation infrared light La to irradiate the subject and reflects from the subject when the subject is not bright enough at the time of shooting. This is a function that enables photographing in the dark using the irradiation infrared ray La as a medium.

  Accordingly, when the night shot switch 16 is slid to the “ON” position while the power switch 18 is turned on, the video camera 1 is set to “NIGHT SHOT MODE” and displayed on the screen 13 a of the liquid crystal monitor 13. Next, when the recording start / stop button 19a or 19b is pressed, infrared light for dark portion irradiation is emitted from the window portion 15, a dark subject is irradiated with the infrared light for dark portion irradiation, and a solid object disposed behind the zoom lens 11. The digital video signal photoelectrically converted by the optical-electrical signal conversion block 26 of the image sensor can be recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, a DVD 27, or a solid memory medium 28.

  The remote control light receiving unit 24 receives the remote control infrared ray Lb having a specific pulse different from the infrared ray La emitted from the remote control transmitter 30 (FIG. 15) that the operator remotely operates the video camera 1 at hand. Then, under the control of the main control block 25, operations such as recording, reproduction, fast forward, rewind, and stop are performed.

  Although this video camera 1 has various other functions, they are not directly related to the present invention, and will be omitted.

Using the video camera 1 having the imaging function as described above, when trying to photograph the front view seen from the windshield of the driver's seat while driving the vehicle,
1. The video camera 1 must be fixed somewhere in the front of the vehicle, but the current video camera and vehicle do not have such fixing means. 2. Even if it can be fixed in some way, the recording medium must always be driven, and if there is a time limit on the recording medium, it is necessary to replace the recording medium. It is difficult to operate the camcorder for a long time with only the camcorder battery. While driving, it is necessary to be able to shoot the scene in front of the vehicle at a wide angle, but even if a wide conversion lens is mounted in front of the zoom lens of the video camera, the driver or passengers can There are issues such as having to set the wide angle.

  The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and it is possible to easily photograph and record a wide range of scenes in front of a vehicle while driving the vehicle using the above-described popular video camera. An object is to obtain a video station, a video camera, an in-vehicle video camera device, and a vehicle.

Therefore, the video station of the present invention is configured to include mounting means for mounting a video camera including drive mode switching means, and receiving terminals that engage with connection terminals of the drive mode switching means. Features. Further, the video station includes power supply means for connecting to a power source of a vehicle, and a power supply terminal connected to the power source of the vehicle is disposed on the receiving terminal. The power supply means is preferably a power cord that can be connected to a cigarette lighter power supply. In addition, it is preferable that the video station includes a wide conversion lens that expands a photographing range of the photographing zoom lens of the video camera to a wider angle. Further, it is preferable that the mounting means of the video station includes a mounting base, and the receiving terminal is disposed at a predetermined position of the mounting portion of the mounting base.
The video station of claim 1. The mounting means includes a mounting table having a horizontal mounting surface, and a support plate is disposed around the mounting surface and perpendicular to the mounting surface. Still further, the video station preferably includes a fastening band for fixing a video camera mounted on the mounting portion.

  The video camera of the present invention is a video camera provided with video shooting means, video recording / playback means, camera shake prevention means, video recording / playback display means, and power supply means, with a drive mode switching receiving terminal provided with a drive mode switching terminal. It is characterized by comprising.

  In the video camera according to the present invention, it is preferable that a power supply terminal capable of receiving power from a vehicle power supply is disposed at the drive mode switching receiving terminal. The drive mode switching receiving terminal is preferably disposed on the bottom surface of the video camera body. In addition, this video camera preferably includes infrared transmission / reception means.

  Furthermore, the in-vehicle video camera device according to the present invention is a video camera provided with video photographing means, video recording / playback means, camera shake prevention means, video recording / playback display means, power supply means, drive mode switching means, and control means. The photographing means includes a photographing zoom lens, the video recording / reproducing means includes a recording medium, a recording / reproducing circuit for recording the video on the recording medium, and reproducing the recorded video, and the camera shake preventing means includes the camera shake A detection sensor, and the video recording / reproducing display means includes a video display device for displaying a video recorded on the recording medium, a video recorded on the recording medium, and control information from the control means, and a power supply means The drive mode switching means includes a vehicle power supply or a detachable battery, and the drive mode switching means operates the video camera in a normal recording / playback operation mode and a drive recording mode. A control circuit / mechanism for switching to the camera, wherein the control means detects that the video camera is mounted on the vehicle, controls the control circuit / mechanism to widen the shooting zoom lens, and records the recording The playback circuit is switched to the drive recording mode, and during the operation of the camera shake detection sensor, the video taken through the shooting zoom lens is recorded on the recording medium and displayed on the video display device, and the camera shake detection sensor The photographing and recording are stopped when the camera is stationary for a time.

  It is desirable that recording on the recording medium in the in-vehicle video camera device of the present invention is performed at a required time interval for a required time. In addition, the recording of the video on the recording medium is performed at a required time interval at a required time interval according to the remaining recordable time of the recording medium, and if the remaining recordable time runs out, the recordable time It returns to the beginning of the remaining amount and overwrites subsequent images. Furthermore, it is desirable that the in-vehicle video camera device includes an infrared transmission / reception means.

  Furthermore, the vehicle of the present invention has a video station having a mounting surface on which a video camera can be mounted on a dashboard near the driver position, a drive mode switch that can switch the video camera to a drive recording mode, and a power outlet. It is pre-installed.

  Therefore, according to the video station of the present invention, the video camera can be automatically set to the drive recording mode only by mounting the video camera.

  The video camera of the present invention can automatically switch to the drive recording mode when mounted on the video station.

  In addition, according to the in-vehicle video camera device of the present invention, it is possible to record an image in the traveling direction on a recording medium even in the dark with an inexpensive video camera during driving of the vehicle.

  Furthermore, according to the vehicle of the present invention, a video camera having the function of the present invention can be easily mounted if the driver desires.

Therefore, according to the video station of the present invention,
1) It can be mounted on the dashboard 2) The mounted video camera can be fixed securely 3) The video camera's zoom lens can be automatically widened by installing the video camera 4) Wide conversion lens 5) The wide angle of the zoom lens of the video camera can be further widened. 5) Power can be supplied from the power source for the cigarette lighter of the vehicle to the video camera. And the video camera of the present invention is generally sold. It can be obtained at low cost by slightly modifying the existing video camera.

The in-vehicle video camera device of the present invention is obtained by mounting the video camera on the video station,
1) It is possible to take a wide angle image of the front of the vehicle that changes every time during driving, whether day or night. 2) Record the situation of accidents that occurred during driving, etc., and use it as a criterion for determining the degree of negligence. 3) It is possible to prompt a warning for safe driving by displaying the driving record. Furthermore, according to the vehicle of the present invention, it can be obtained at low cost without having to prepare the individual video station of the present invention. A number of excellent effects can be obtained, such as easy installation of popular video cameras.

  The video station of the present invention is configured around a mounting base, and when the video camera of the present invention to be described later is mounted on the mounting base, the drive mode switching means that is a drive mode switching means provided in the video camera. A receiving terminal that engages with the receiving terminal is disposed on the mounting base, and further includes power supply means that is connected to the power source of the vehicle, and the power terminal connected to the power source of the vehicle is disposed on the receiving terminal. ing. And the power cord which can be connected to the power supply for cigarette lighters mounted in the vehicle is provided.

  In the video station, a wide conversion lens is disposed at the front end of the mounting base.

  Further, the mounting means includes a fastening band for fixing the video camera mounted on the mounting base, preferably the central portion of the main body.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the video station is attached to the dashboard on the side close to the driver's seat of the vehicle using an adhesive or the like, or is formed in advance on the dashboard of the vehicle when the vehicle is manufactured. By mounting the video camera on the mounting surface, an in-vehicle video camera device can be configured, and the mounted video camera can be automatically switched to the drive recording mode.

  In addition, due to the presence of the wide conversion lens, the photographing angle of the zoom lens of the in-vehicle video camera device switched to the drive recording mode can be further widened.

  Furthermore, it is possible to extract power from the power source for the cigarette lighter of the vehicle and supply power to the mounted video camera.

  The video camera of the present invention includes a zoom lens as a video photographing unit, a recording medium as a video recording / reproducing unit, a recording / reproducing circuit for recording a video on the recording medium, and reproducing the recorded video, and a camera shake as a camera shake preventing unit. Detection sensor, video to be recorded on the recording medium, video recorded on the recording medium, video display device such as a liquid crystal panel type for displaying control information from the control means, vehicle power source as power source means, or attachment / detachment A control circuit / mechanism for switching a video camera as a possible battery and drive mode switching means between a normal recording / reproducing operation mode and a drive recording mode, and detecting that the video camera as a control means is mounted on a vehicle; / Controlling the mechanism, zooming out the zoom lens for shooting to a wide angle, and setting the recording / reproducing circuit to the drive recording mode Switching, during operation of the camera shake detection sensor, the video shot through the shooting zoom lens is recorded on the recording medium and displayed on the video display device, and the recording / reproduction is performed when the camera shake detection sensor is stationary for a predetermined time. A computer composed of a central processing unit for stopping the shooting and recording of the circuit, an infrared transmission / reception means if necessary, and a drive mode switching receiving terminal having a drive mode switching terminal when mounted on the video station. In addition, a power supply terminal capable of receiving electric power from the power supply of the vehicle is provided as necessary. This drive mode switching receiving terminal is disposed on the bottom surface of the video camera.

  This video camera uses a camera shake detection sensor that is usually provided, and during the operation of the camera shake detection sensor, the front situation of the vehicle being driven is photographed at predetermined time intervals or continuously, and the front of the camera is detected. Is recorded on a recording medium, and the recording is stopped when the camera shake detection sensor is in a stationary state for a predetermined time. During night driving, the video camera shoots the image by operating the infrared light emitting means for emitting and irradiating the infrared light for illuminating the dark area, and records the image of the dark area.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a video station, a video camera, an in-vehicle video camera device, and a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is an external perspective view seen from the viewfinder and liquid crystal monitor side, and FIG. 1B is a view from the viewfinder, cassette lid and grip belt side. FIG. 2C is an external perspective view as viewed from the bottom of the main body, FIG. 2D is an external perspective view as viewed from the viewfinder and the liquid crystal monitor is opened, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a video station according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a video camera of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and a video station of the present invention. FIG. 3A is an external perspective view before the video camera is mounted on the video station as viewed from the zoom lens side, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electrical connection showing the relationship between the video camera and the video station shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a video camera is mounted on a video station fixed on the dashboard of the vehicle, and the in-vehicle video camera device of the present invention is configured, and FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the in-vehicle video camera device, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the video recording and reproducing operation of the video camera in step S7 shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a camera shake detection sensor built in the video camera of the in-vehicle video camera device. It is a screen displayed on a liquid crystal monitor according to the operating state of.

  First, a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1A denotes a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same components as those of the conventional video camera 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted to avoid redundant description.

  This video camera 1A has a main body 10A, a zoom lens 11 (FIGS. 3 and 4) as image photographing means, which is disposed and incorporated in front of the upper portion of the main body 10A, similarly to the conventional video camera 1. A viewfinder 12 that is disposed on the rear side, is attached to one side of the main body 10A so as to be freely opened and closed, a liquid crystal monitor 13 that displays recording / playback video, character information, and the like, and a main body below the zoom lens 11. 10A, a microphone 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4) for collecting sound, which is incorporated in the front, and an infrared ray L from the remote control transmitter 30 (FIG. 2). Remote control light receiving unit 24 for controlling functions of the main body 10A such as recording start / stop, and infrared light emitting unit 23 for emitting infrared rays for illuminating dark portions are arranged behind. In addition, a camera shake detection sensor 40 is provided in the window portion 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and the main body 10A around the microphone 14, and the camera shake detection sensor 40 and the pitch sensor 41 are laterally moved. When the video camera 1A is not mounted on the vehicle 200 (FIG. 6), it is activated when a camera shake occurs during normal video shooting, and is controlled by a main control block 25A described later. In addition, the video and sound recording / playback generation processing block 29 corrects the shaking of the video.

  Furthermore, the night shot switch 16 disposed above the side surface of the main body 10A, the simple button 17 provided on the side surface of the main body 10A immediately above the liquid crystal monitor 13, and the right side of the viewfinder 12 are provided on the side surface of the main body 10A. The power switch 18 and the recording start / stop button 19a (FIGS. 1B and 1C), the power supply mounting portion 20 attached immediately below the viewfinder 12, the battery B attached thereto, and the frame portion of the LCD monitor 13 A recording start / stop button 19b (FIG. 11), a photo button 21 (FIG. 3B), a cassette lid opening / closing knob 22 (FIG. 3B) disposed near the side surface of the power supply mounting portion 20, and the main body 10A. The cassette lid 23 formed on the opposite side of the LCD monitor 13 is attached to the cassette lid 23. Attached has the grip belt 24, and a like drive mode switch receiving terminal 50 disposed on the bottom portion of the main body 10A (FIG. 1C).

  The screen 13a of the liquid crystal monitor 13 is formed with a touch panel switch structure in which a shooting operation can be performed simply by touching each icon displayed on the screen 13a. For example, like the video camera 1 of the prior art shown in FIG. Although various large operation items and various detailed operation items are displayed, since they are not directly related to the gist of the present invention, a detailed description is omitted, but a video camera 1A is mounted on the video station 100 described later. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the “drive record 140” which is one of the major features of the present invention is displayed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a simple button 17, a power switch 18, recording start / stop buttons 19a and 19b, a photo button 21, the various touch panels and switches, etc. are provided inside the main body 10A of the video camera 1A of the present invention. Are connected by a human interface and are operated by these operations, or in response to an input signal L from a remote control transmitter (not shown), various blocks are controlled by a remote control light receiving unit 24 that outputs a predetermined signal. A main control block 25A equipped with a computer and software, an optical-electrical signal conversion block 26 for converting an image from the zoom lens 11 into an electric signal by a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, a zoom lens 11 and an optical-electrical signal conversion A control block 27 for controlling the block 26 and the sound of the microphone 14 are The video electrical signal from the processing block 28 for converting to a signal and the optical-electrical signal conversion block 26 and the sound electrical signal from the processing block 28 are combined to form a recording medium M such as a video tape, a DVD, or a solid-state memory. A video and sound recording / playback processing block 29 having a function of processing and recording a digital video signal in a recordable format or playing back the digital video signal recorded on the recording medium M, and the video and sound recording / playback processing The block 29 is connected to the liquid crystal monitor 13 or an external monitor (not shown) via a cable or the like via an A / D converter 43 to the input / output processing block 31 for cables and the main control block 25A. Camera shake detection sensor 4 comprising a vertical vibration sensor 41 and a horizontal vibration sensor 42. , And a like drive mode switch receiving terminal 50 which is further connected to a main control block 25A.

  The night shot switch 16 is a slide switch. When the night shot switch 16 is slid to the “on” position in a state where the power switch 18 is pressed to turn on the video camera 1A, the zoom lens 11 and the light − The infrared filter (not shown) interposed between the electrical signal conversion block 26 is removed, and the main control block 25A senses that the video camera 1A has switched to the night shot mode and activates the infrared light emitting unit 23A.

  Next, a video station 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The video station 100 is configured around a flat rectangular parallelepiped mounting table 110, and support plates 121, 122, 123, and 124 are formed vertically from each side of the mounting table 110.

  The mounting surface 111 of the mounting base 110 engages with the drive mode switching receiving terminal 50 disposed on the bottom surface of the video camera 1A, and the receiving terminal 130 that can be connected to each terminal protrudes slightly higher from the mounting surface 111. It is arranged with the structure.

  A power outlet 140 is disposed on one side surface 112 of the long side of the mounting base 110.

  Furthermore, a wide conversion lens 150 is disposed on the one end surface 113 side of the mounting table 110. The wide conversion lens 150 includes one end surface 113 or a side surface 112 on the one end surface 113 side and a pair of arms 151 and 152 extending obliquely upward from the side surface facing the side surface 112. The video camera 1A is mounted on the mounting base 110. In this case, the zoom lens 11 is supported so that the optical axes thereof coincide with each other.

  Still further, a fastening band 170 including fastening members 171 such as easy fasteners at both ends is fastened to the side surface of each long side of the mounting base 110 and the video camera 1A mounted on the mounting surface 111 is fastened. Is fixed. The mounted video camera 1A can be normally fixed by the support plates 121, 122, 123, and 124 and the receiving terminal 130. However, if there is a possibility that strong vibration is applied to the video camera 1A, the video camera 1A may be fastened by the fastening band 170.

  A DC power cord 160 is connected to the power outlet 140. This DC power cord 160 is inserted into a voltage converter 161 and a cigarette lighter power socket 220 provided on the vehicle 200 via a cord 162 at one end of the voltage converter 161 and can be connected to the power source of the vehicle 200. A video station side plug 165 that can be connected to the power outlet 140 of the video station 100 through a cord 164 is connected to the other end of the voltage converter 161.

  On the mounting surface 111 of the video station 100, the zoom lens 11 of the video camera 1A faces the wide conversion lens 150 from above as shown in FIG. The video camera 1A is mounted so as to be fitted to the terminal 130 (FIG. 4B). Then, the plug 165 of the DC power cord 160 is inserted into the power outlet 140, and the vehicle side plug 163 is inserted into the cigarette lighter power socket 220 of the vehicle 200.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the electrical connection relationship between the video camera 1A and the video station 100. In the video station 100, a drive mode switch 131 is connected to a specific terminal of the receiving terminal 130 by a wiring 132, and a power outlet 140 is connected to another specific terminal of the receiving terminal 130 by a wiring 141. As described above, the plug 165 of the DC power cord 160 is connected to the power outlet 140.

  By inserting the drive mode switching receiving terminal 50 disposed on the bottom surface of the video camera 1A into the receiving terminal 130 protruding slightly higher from the mounting surface 111 of the video station 100 thus wired, the drive mode switch 131 (FIG. 4) enters, the video camera 1A is switched to the drive recording mode (details will be described later), and the power supply voltage of the vehicle 200 is converted from, for example, 12 volts to 8 volts by the voltage converter 161. The dropped voltage is supplied to the video camera 1A through the receiving terminal 130.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the video station 100 configured as described above has its bottom surface fixed beforehand on the dashboard 210 using an adhesive. The fixed position is preferably close to the driver because the viewing angle is almost the same. Then, the plug 165 of the DC power cord 160 is connected to the fixed power outlet 140 of the video station 100, and the plug 163 is inserted into the cigarette lighter power socket 220 to keep the video station 100 in an operating state.

  When the video camera 1A is mounted on the mounting surface 111 of the video station 100 in such an operating state using the support plates 121, 122, 123, 124 as shown in FIG. 4B, the support plates 121, 122, 123, 124, and The video camera 1A is supported and fixed to the receiving terminal 130, and the video camera 1A is switched to the drive recording mode.

  Although the video camera 1A is not fastened with the fastening band 170 in FIG. 6, it is safer to fasten with the fastening band 170 if necessary. Reference numeral 230 denotes a windshield, reference numeral 240 denotes a drive meter, reference numeral 250 denotes a rearview mirror, and reference numeral 260 denotes an A / V device.

  As described above, the connection circuit when the video camera 1A of the present invention is mounted on the mounting surface 111 of the video station 100 of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle video camera device 1B according to the present invention configured to be mounted on the video station 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in addition to FIGS.

  First, the plug 163 of the DC power cord 160 is connected to the power outlet 140 of the video station 100 of the present invention fixed on the dashboard 210 of the vehicle 200, and one plug 163 is inserted into the cigarette lighter power source 220. The video camera 1A is mounted on the mounting surface 111 of the video station 100 in such a state (step S1 in FIG. 7), and the drive mode switching receiving terminal 50 of the video camera 1A and the receiving terminal 130 of the video station 100 are connected. The in-vehicle video camera device 1B is assumed (step S2). The power switch 18 of the video camera 1A is turned on (step S3). Then, the main control block 25A operates, and the control block 27 sets the zoom lens 11 to a wide angle. The focus of the zoom lens 11 is also set to be a distance of 2 meters or more, for example. Although the battery B is attached to the video camera 1A, when the video camera 100 is installed, the supply of power from the battery B is stopped and the power is supplied from the cigarette lighter power supply 220.

Next, when the liquid crystal monitor 13 of the video camera 1A is opened, the drive recording mode is displayed on the screen 13a (step S4). The display conditions for drive recording mode are:
1. 1. When the recording medium M is not attached to the video camera 1A, a request for attaching the recording medium M is displayed. Even if the recording medium M is attached to the video camera 1A, for example, if it is not possible to shoot for 15 minutes, a display is made to replace the recording medium M or to erase the already recorded contents ( Step S5).

  Next, driving of the vehicle 200 is started (step S6). Then, during normal driving, the vehicle 200 swings up and down, back and forth, and right and left, and the shake is detected by the hand shake detection sensor 40 including the pitch sensor 41 and the roll sensor 42, and a weak analog signal from the hand shake detection sensor 40 is detected. Is then converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 43, and the main control block 25A is activated to control the video / sound recording / playback processing block 29 as follows, for example, to The video starts to be recorded over a wide angle, and the microphone 14 collects the external sound of the vehicle 200 and the sound of the conversation of the passenger or the like during the video shooting, and the video and sound recording / playback processing block 29 is processed through the processing block 28. And is recorded on the recording medium M together with the video signal (step S7). In the following description, since sound is recorded along with video, description of recording related to sound is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the video / sound recording / playback processing block 29 records the first minute image at the first memory address of the recording medium M, and then the second minute at the second memory address. Then, the third minute video is recorded at the third memory address, the video is sequentially recorded in the same manner, and the fifteenth video is recorded at the fifteenth memory address.

  When the 15th video has been recorded in the 15th memory address, the first recording area is overwritten, and the 16th video is overwritten in the first memory area, and the second recording area is also overwritten. Then, the 17th video is recorded sequentially at the second memory address, and the video can be recorded endlessly up to 15 minutes ago.

  When the vehicle 200 stops, the camera shake detection sensor 40 senses that there is no shaking (step S8). Since the output from the camera shake detection sensor 40 is not output, and therefore the output from the A / D converter 43 is not output, the main control block 25A starts measuring the time when there is no input.

  Since driving without fluctuation for about 5 minutes is assumed to be stopped, traffic jams, etc., the time measurement is set so that the recording of the video continues for about 5 minutes (step S10).

  However, if some accident occurs, for example, if the vehicle stops for 10 minutes or more, the main control block 25A keeps timing, and the main control block 25A temporarily stops the recording by the video / sound recording / playback processing block 29. When the vehicle 200 is restarted, the camera shake detection sensor 40 is activated, and the main control block 25A activates the video / sound recording / reproducing processing block 29 to start recording the video (step S11).

  When the liquid crystal monitor 13 is opened, “drive record 140” is displayed on the screen 13a as shown in FIG. 9, and “continuous recording” is displayed as shown in FIG. The However, when the vehicle 200 stops for 10 minutes or more and the camera shake detection sensor 40 is activated, “Recording interruption” and “Do you want to resume” are displayed as shown in FIG. The driver determines the driving situation and touches any display to interrupt or restart the video recording.

  The time such as “5 minutes”, “10 minutes”, and “1 minute” exemplified above can be arbitrarily set and changed by a program stored in the main control block 25A.

  When driving at night, the night shot switch 16 of the video camera 1A is operated to irradiate infrared rays forward from the infrared light emitting unit 23, so that an image can be projected and recorded on the recording medium M even in the dark. .

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the video in front of the vehicle 200 is intermittently recorded at intervals of 1 minute on the assumption that the remaining amount of the recording medium M is at least 10 or more has been given. It is preferable to record in If you want to record video continuously like this, for example, if you use a “miniDV cassette tape” as a recording medium M with a video camera currently on the market, you can record continuously for up to 80 minutes in SP recording mode. Therefore, if such a “miniDV cassette tape” that has not yet been recorded is used, it can be sufficiently applied to the continuous recording. Therefore, when such a recording medium M is used, if a driver or the like presses the recording start / stop button 19a of the in-vehicle video camera device 1B, images can be continuously recorded on the “miniDV cassette tape”. it can.

  As the recording medium M, there is a solid-state memory that can be recorded for a long time, and a video camera equipped with a DVD is also commercially available.

  However, even if recording can be performed for a long time using any recording medium M such as miniDV cassette tape, solid-state memory, DVD, etc., the recording time has its own limit, and if it is desired to record video exceeding the recording limit. Since the operation of erasing the already recorded video or exchanging with each new recording medium M occurs, it is automatically overwritten repeatedly at a required time interval as in the embodiment of the present invention. With this recording method, the present invention is more useful because video can be recorded endlessly without exchanging the recording medium M during operation.

  The video station 100 is fixed on the dashboard 210 by using an adhesive, but this type of in-vehicle video camera device 1B can clearly record the cause of the accident, so that the accident processing can be performed quickly and accurately. Since it can be performed, it is considered to be an essential equipment for the vehicle in the near future. Therefore, when the vehicle is manufactured, the video station of the present invention is provided on the dashboard as a standard equipment like the power source 220 for the cigarette lighter. 100 can also be mounted in advance by attachment means such as fitting.

  Further, it should be noted that, depending on the configuration and structure of the video camera device 1A, the video camera device 1A does not necessarily have to be mounted on the dashboard 210, and can be attached to the ceiling of the driver's seat.

  The video station, video camera, in-vehicle video camera device, and vehicle of the present invention can be used not only by electronic equipment manufacturers but also by parts manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, and the like.

1 shows a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. A is an external perspective view seen from the viewfinder and a liquid crystal monitor side, and FIG. B is an external view seen from the viewfinder, cassette lid and grip belt side. A perspective view, FIG. C is an external perspective view seen from the bottom of the main body, and FIG. D is an external perspective view seen from the viewfinder and shown with the liquid crystal monitor opened. It is a circuit block diagram in a state where a video camera is mounted on a video station. It is an external appearance perspective view of the video station of one Example of this invention. FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the video camera of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and the video station of the present invention, wherein FIG. A is an external perspective view seen from the zoom lens side, and FIG. B is the video camera of the present invention. It is the external appearance perspective view seen from the zoom lens side which shows the state mounted in the video station. It is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection which shows the relationship between the video camera shown in FIG. 4, and a video station. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the video station mounted with the video camera shown in FIG. 4 is fixed on the dashboard of the vehicle. It is an operation | movement flowchart in the state which mounted the video camera in the video station shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of video recording / playback operations of the video camera in step S shown in FIG. 7. This is a screen displayed on the LCD monitor according to the operating state of the camera shake detection sensor built in the video camera. It is the external appearance perspective view seen from the photographing lens side of the video camera of a prior art. It is the external appearance perspective view which opened the liquid crystal monitor of the video camera of FIG. 10, and was seen from the viewfinder. It is a top view of the screen projected on the liquid crystal monitor shown in FIG. FIG. 11 shows a front window portion of the video camera shown in FIG. 10 and an electronic circuit board incorporated therein, wherein FIG. A is a plan view of the electronic circuit board and FIG. B is a circuit portion facing the window portion. FIG. It is a top view of the night shot switch provided in the video camera shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a configuration block diagram of the video camera shown in FIG. 10.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A ... Video camera of one Example of this invention, 1B ... Car video camera apparatus, 10A ... Main body, 11 ... Zoom lens, 12 ... Viewfinder, 13 ... Liquid crystal monitor, 13a ... Screen of liquid crystal monitor 13, 14 ... Microphone 15 ... Window part, 16 ... Night shot switch, 17 ... Simple button, 18 ... Power switch, 19a, 19b ... Recording start / stop button, 20 ... Power supply attaching part, 21 ... Photo button, 23 ... Infrared light emitting part, 24 ... Remote control Light receiving unit, 25A ... main control block, 26 ... optical-electrical signal conversion block, 27 ... control block, 28 ... processing block, 29 ... video, sound recording / playback processing block, 31 ... input / output processing block for cables, 40 ... Camera shake detection sensor, 41 ... Pitch sensor, 42 ... Slide sensor, 50 ... Drive module Switching terminal, 100 ... video station of the present invention, 110 ... mounting table, 111 ... mounting surface, 121,122,123,124 ... support plate, 130 ... receiving terminal, 131 ... drive mode switch, 140 ... power outlet, 150 ... Wide conversion lens, 160 ... DC power cord, 161 ... Voltage converter, 163, 165 ... Plug, 170 ... Fastening band, 200 ... Vehicle of the present invention, 210 ... Dashboard, 220 ... Cigarette lighter socket (power supply) 230 ... windshield, B ... battery, L ... infrared for remote control, M ... recording medium

Claims (16)

Mounting means for mounting a video camera equipped with drive mode switching means;
A video station comprising: a receiving terminal engaged with a connection terminal of the drive mode switching means.   2. The video station according to claim 1, further comprising power supply means for connecting to a power supply of the vehicle, wherein a power supply terminal connected to the power supply of the vehicle is disposed on the receiving terminal.   3. The video station according to claim 2, wherein the power supply means is a power cord that can be connected to a cigarette lighter power supply.   The video station according to claim 1, further comprising a wide conversion lens that further widens a photographing range of the photographing zoom lens of the video camera.   The video station according to claim 1, wherein the mounting means includes a mounting base, and the receiving terminal is disposed at a predetermined position of a mounting portion of the mounting base.   2. The video station according to claim 1, wherein the mounting means comprises a mounting base having a horizontal mounting surface, and a support plate is disposed around the mounting surface and perpendicular to the mounting surface. .   The video station according to claim 1, wherein the mounting means includes a fastening band for fixing a video camera mounted on the mounting portion. In a video camera provided with video shooting means, video recording / playback means, camera shake prevention means, video recording / playback display means, power supply means,
A video camera comprising a drive mode switching receiving terminal having a drive mode switching terminal.   9. The video camera according to claim 8, wherein a power supply terminal capable of receiving electric power from a vehicle power supply is disposed at the drive mode switching receiving terminal.   9. The video camera according to claim 8, wherein the drive mode switching receiving terminal is disposed on a bottom surface of the video camera body.   11. The video camera according to claim 8, further comprising infrared transmission / reception means. In a video camera provided with video shooting means, video recording / playback means, camera shake prevention means, video recording / playback display means, power supply means, drive mode switching means, control means,
The video photographing means includes a photographing zoom lens,
The video recording / reproducing means includes a recording medium, a recording / reproducing circuit for recording the video on the recording medium, and reproducing the recorded video,
The camera shake preventing means includes a camera shake detection sensor,
The video recording / playback display means includes a video display device for displaying video recorded on the recording medium, video recorded on the recording medium, and control information from the control means,
The power supply means comprises a vehicle power supply or a detachable battery,
The drive mode switching means includes a control circuit / mechanism for switching the video camera to a normal recording / playback operation mode and a drive recording mode,
The control means detects that the video camera is mounted on a vehicle, controls the control circuit / mechanism to widen the shooting zoom lens, and switches the recording / reproducing circuit to the drive recording mode, During the operation of the camera shake detection sensor, the video shot through the shooting zoom lens is recorded on the recording medium and displayed on the video display device, and when the camera shake detection sensor is stationary for a predetermined time, the shooting and recording are performed. An in-vehicle video camera device characterized by being stopped.   13. The in-vehicle video camera device according to claim 12, wherein recording on the recording medium is performed at a predetermined time interval for a predetermined time.   Recording of video on the recording medium is performed at a required time interval at a required time interval according to the remaining recordable time of the recording medium, and when the remaining recordable time is exhausted, the remaining recordable time is reached. 13. The in-vehicle video camera device according to claim 12, wherein the subsequent video is overwritten by returning to the beginning.   The in-vehicle video camera device according to claim 12, further comprising an infrared transmission / reception unit. A video station having a mounting surface on which a video camera can be mounted in the vicinity of the driver position on the dashboard, a drive mode switch for switching the video camera to a drive recording mode, and a power outlet is mounted in advance. vehicle.

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