JP2008009761A - In-car environment recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-car environment recorder for performing mask processing of an image area including information specifying an individual passenger with respect to an image picked up by an in-car camera. <P>SOLUTION: The in-car environment recorder 10 has: an in-car camera 21 for picking up the inside of a car; an image processing means 71 for performing mask processing of an image area of a passenger in a car among images picked up by the in-car camera 21; and an image recording means 72 for recording the mask-processed image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle environment recording apparatus that records an image captured by an in-vehicle camera mounted on a vehicle.

  In recent years, it has been studied to mount a device for recording an image captured by an in-vehicle camera such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) camera on a vehicle.

  In such a device, the driver's face is imaged with an in-vehicle camera, the position of the eyes is detected based on the captured image, the state of the driver's eyes opening and closing, blinking, etc. There is an on-board occupant recognition device or the like that is used for prevention or the like (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a CCD camera is installed at the front end of the vehicle to improve the visibility of areas that are difficult to see while driving, assist driving during parking, etc., and detect the distance between vehicles and drive accordingly Development of a device having functions such as accident prevention to inform the user is underway.

  Among them, there is an in-vehicle environment recording device that records an image captured using an in-vehicle camera.

In the unlikely event that the driver encounters an accident while driving, the image recorded by the in-vehicle environment recording device is used as an operation record for investigating the cause of the accident.
JP-A-6-293227

  However, in the above-mentioned in-vehicle environment recording device, all passengers including passengers including passengers are imaged and recorded in the vehicle, and the recorded images specify individuals such as the faces of the passengers. Information (for example, “image including the face of the occupant”) is included. Therefore, for example, to investigate the cause of an accident, the recorded image is displayed on a display screen, or an external terminal (for example, “mobile PC (Personal Computer)”, “PDA (Personal Digital Assistants)”, “mobile terminal”). When the information is distributed to a third party, there is a possibility that information (for example, “an image including the face of the occupant”) specifying the occupant individual may be seen by a third party other than the occupant.

  Therefore, it is desired that the in-vehicle environment recording device protects the occupant's privacy by processing and recording the captured image so that the occupant cannot be identified.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle environment recording apparatus that performs mask processing on an image area that includes information for identifying an individual occupant on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to the present invention includes an in-vehicle camera that images an interior of a vehicle, and a mask process for an image area of an occupant in the vehicle out of images captured by the in-vehicle camera. And an image recording means for recording the masked image.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the image processing means performs mask processing on an image area of an occupant excluding a driver in an image captured by the in-vehicle camera. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the image processing means performs mask processing on an image area of the occupant's face in an image captured by the in-vehicle camera.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to the present invention synthesizes a mask image generated so as to conceal an occupant's image area with an image captured by the in-vehicle camera in the image processing means. It is characterized by doing.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the image processing means performs a mosaic process on the image area of the occupant.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus of the present invention includes a distribution unit that distributes an image captured by the in-vehicle camera and / or an image recorded by the image recording unit. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus of the present invention includes a display unit that displays an image captured by the in-vehicle camera and / or an image recorded by the image recording unit. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus of the present invention has a notification means for notifying an occupant that the mask processing is performed and recorded on the image captured by the in-vehicle camera. It is characterized by.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle interior environment recording apparatus which mask-processes the image area | region containing the information which pinpoints a passenger | crew individual with respect to the image imaged with the vehicle camera can be provided.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the image captured by the in-vehicle camera is image-processed and recorded so that the occupant cannot be identified. Information (for example, “image including the occupant's face”) is not seen, and the occupant's privacy can be protected.

  In addition, since the image processing is performed with respect to the passengers other than the driver and the passengers other than the driver, image processing is performed in the image recorded after the image processing because the image processing is performed with a difference in consideration of privacy protection. Can be used effectively.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle environment storage device 10 includes a storage unit 11 and a control unit 12, and includes various information such as vehicle control information and navigation information as well as image information acquired by an in-vehicle camera or an in-vehicle radar. Is to be recorded.

  The storage unit 11 is a large-capacity storage device represented by a hard disk (HD) or the like.

  The storage unit 11 stores various information such as vehicle control information and navigation information, as well as image information acquired by an in-vehicle camera, an in-vehicle radar, and the like.

  The control unit 12 is called a control circuit called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). On the substrate of the control circuit, a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (ROM) as main storage units are provided. Read Only Memory) is arranged. The ROM stores a program for controlling the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 (hereinafter referred to as “control program”) and related data, and the control unit 12 directly accesses the ROM and stores it as necessary. The loaded control program and related data are expanded (loaded) into the RAM, and the control program is executed.

  The control unit 12 executes various kinds of information such as vehicle control information and navigation information as well as image information acquired by an in-vehicle camera or an in-vehicle radar by executing a control program developed (loaded) in the RAM. (Hereinafter referred to as “recording to the hard disk”).

  Vehicles are equipped with digital cameras that convert video (both still images and moving images) into electrical signals using semiconductor elements that react to light, such as CCD and CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). These are called on-vehicle cameras. In addition to the Rr camera 21 (hereinafter referred to as “in-vehicle camera 21”) that captures the interior (in-vehicle environment) of all passengers including the driver, the environment outside the vehicle. Rr camera 22, corner dead angle camera 23, Fr camera 24, Fr night view camera 25, and the like.

  In addition, the vehicle includes an on-vehicle vehicle such as a millimeter wave radar 26 that detects the position, distance, and speed of a collision object in a collision damage mitigation system based on collision prediction, and a laser radar 27 that detects a distance between vehicles in a vehicle distance control system. Radar etc. are provided.

  The control unit 12 records image information and detection information from these in-vehicle camera and radar on the hard disk of the storage unit 11.

  The control unit 12 also includes position information by a GPS (Global Positioning System) 31 of the navigation system 30 provided in the vehicle, a vehicle stability control system VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) 61, and an air that is a collision safety function. Vehicle control information such as a bag (AirBag) 62, vehicle security information (security alarm signal) of the security system 51 that is a vehicle antitheft function, and the like are also recorded in the hard disk of the storage unit 11.

  Therefore, the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 receives and sends the data signals of the various information received and received by controlling the control unit 12 and sending a control signal instructing data storage (writing) to the hard disk of the storage unit 11. Various information can be recorded.

  The control unit 12 also informs the user who uses the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 while various information is being recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 (during “recording” and “writing”). Therefore, a control signal is sent to the operation lamp 28, the display screen 32 having a GUI (Graphical User Interface) function of the navigation system 30, or the like. For example, in the case of the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30, an RGB signal is sent from the control unit 12 to the navigation system 30 so that a character string such as “currently recording in-vehicle image information is being recorded” is displayed. The

  Therefore, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 can notify the user that various types of information are recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11.

  Various information recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 is stored in an external terminal (for example, “mobile PC”, “PDA”) in which a reading tool (dedicated application) is installed via the communication device 33 of the navigation system 30. , “Portable terminal”) and the like.

  Various information recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 is a remote support system (for example, “vehicle remote diagnosis” by remote diagnosis or ACN (automatic celestial navigation: automatic). Since it is used as information such as “automatic vehicle traveling” 41), it can be transmitted to the server of the remote support system via the communication device 33 of the navigation system 30.

  As described above, in a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle environment recording device 10, the latest various information such as image information and vehicle control information inside and outside the vehicle is recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10, and the recorded information can be used effectively. It provides "safety" and "comfort" during driving for passengers including drivers.

  Here, let us consider the problems that the present invention is trying to solve in the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10.

  The various information recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 includes an image obtained by capturing the in-vehicle environment with the in-vehicle camera 21 and is mainly used for investigating the cause of the accident.

  In this image, the driver's line-of-sight direction, eye open / closed state, steering wheel operation, etc. and passengers' images are captured, and information that can identify an individual such as the passenger's face (for example, “ Contains images ".).

  Therefore, for example, when displaying a recorded image on a display or distributing to an external terminal (for example, “mobile PC”, “PDA”, “portable terminal”), to a third party other than the passenger, There is a possibility that information (for example, “image including the face of the occupant”) for identifying the occupant is seen.

  The in-vehicle environment recording device 10 of the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described problems, and is an image area (at least an occupant's information) that includes information for identifying an occupant with respect to an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 21. The above problem is solved by masking the image area including the face and recording the image after the masking process on the hard disk of the storage unit 11.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, it implement | achieves by each means which the control program processed by the control part 12 has.

  Below, each means which the control program processed by the control part 12 has is demonstrated using FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a functional main unit in the control unit 11 according to the first embodiment.

  The configuration example of FIG. 2 includes an image processing unit 71, an image recording unit 72, a notification unit 73, a distribution unit 74, and a display unit 75.

  First, the image processing unit 71 includes a mask image generation unit 711 and an image composition unit 712. The image processing unit 71 generates a mask image in advance for an image area to be concealed from the viewpoint of privacy protection. This is means for performing mask processing by superimposing and synthesizing the generated mask image on the captured image.

  Hereinafter, the mask image generation unit 711 and the image synthesis unit 712 included in the image processing unit 71 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image (original image) obtained by imaging the in-vehicle environment of only the driver according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image (mask image) obtained by cutting out and generating the driver image area from the original image according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an image obtained by imaging the in-vehicle environment according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an image after mask processing by image composition according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The mask image generation unit 711 includes an original image acquisition unit 711a and a driver image area detection unit 711b, and is a unit that generates an image (mask image) that hides an image area of a passenger other than the driver in advance. is there.

  In this embodiment, considering that the images recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 are effectively used as information for investigating the cause of an accident, the privacy protection is set as a passenger other than the driver (driver and driving). There is a difference in privacy protection between passengers other than passengers.)

  The original image acquisition unit 711a included in the mask image generation unit 711 is a unit that acquires an original image for generating a mask image.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the original image acquisition means 711a previously captures the in-vehicle environment in which only the driver is in the vehicle by the in-vehicle camera 21, and temporarily stores the captured image (original image) 91 in the RAM ( Buffer).

  The timing for acquiring the original image is that the message is displayed on the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30 so that only the driver is in the state, then the time until imaging is counted down and the original image is automatically captured. 91 is obtained.

  The driver image area detecting means 711b having the mask image generating means 711 is means for detecting the driver's image area 91a based on the original image 91 acquired by the original image acquiring means 711a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the driver image area detection unit 711 b extracts the driver's contour from the original image 91 using a contour extraction method (edge extraction method) in image processing, and displays the driver's image area (in broken lines). The enclosed area 91a is detected.

  Using the original image acquisition means 711a and the driver image area detection means 711b described above, the mask image generation means 711 cuts out the driver's image area 91a from the original image 91 as shown in FIG. A mask image 91b for concealing passengers other than passengers (image for concealing a region indicated by a gray diagonal line) 91b is generated.

  Next, the image synthesizing unit 712 is a unit that synthesizes the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 and the mask image 91b.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image composition unit 712 superimposes and synthesizes the mask image 91 b generated in advance by the mask image generation unit 711 on the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21.

  As described above, the image processing unit 71 sequentially executes the mask image generation unit 711 and the image synthesis unit 712 to perform mask processing on the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21.

  Next, the image recording means 72 will be described.

  The image recording unit 72 is a unit that records the image data temporarily stored in the RAM on the hard disk of the storage unit 11.

  In the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10, since the image processing unit 71 performs mask processing on the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 before recording it on the hard disk of the storage unit 11, an original image 91 necessary for mask processing is used. Image data such as a mask image 91b and an image 93 after mask processing as shown in FIG. 6 are temporarily stored in the RAM.

  Thus, the image recording means 72 writes the masked image 93 temporarily stored in the RAM to the hard disk of the storage unit 11 and records it as image data with privacy protected.

  Therefore, the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 records the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 as the masked image 93, so that a third person other than the occupant can use the recorded image 93 to record the individual occupant (the book). In the embodiment, no information (for example, “image including the face of the occupant”) specifying the occupant other than the driver is seen, and the privacy of the occupants other than the driver can be protected.

  Further, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 can be used effectively as information for investigating the cause of an accident in the image 93 after the mask processing.

  Next, the notification means 73 will be described.

  The notification means 73 is a means for notifying the occupant in the vehicle that the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 is being recorded.

  As described with reference to FIG. 1, the notification unit 73 notifies that the image is recorded using the operation lamp 28 provided in the vehicle, the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30, or the like.

  Therefore, when notifying using the operation lamp 28, the notification means 73 sends a control signal that lights up while recording an image to the operation lamp 28.

  In the case of notification using the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30, a control signal (RGB) that displays a character string such as “currently recording in-vehicle image information” while recording an image. Signal).

  Therefore, the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 can quickly notify the occupant who is in the vehicle that the information for identifying the occupant is recorded by the notification means 73.

  Next, the distribution unit 74 and the display unit 75 will be described.

  First, the distribution unit 74 is a unit that distributes the image 93 recorded by the image recording unit 72.

  As described with reference to FIG. 1, the distribution means 74 transmits the image 93 recorded on the hard disk of the recording unit 11 via the communication device 33 included in the navigation system 30 to a set distribution destination (for example, “email address”). Distribute image data to.

  Therefore, the distribution unit 74 generates distribution data in which header information including image data to be distributed and a distribution destination (for example, “mail address”) is collected, and issues a control command instructing distribution of the generated data.

  Next, the display means 75 is a means for displaying the image 93 recorded by the image recording means 72.

  The display means 75 displays the image 93 recorded in the storage unit 11 on the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30.

  Therefore, the display means 75 sends a control signal (RGB signal) for displaying an image to the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30.

  Therefore, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 can not only record the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21, but can effectively use the recorded image 93 as information.

  Next, the privacy function setting with an authentication function that the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 has will be briefly described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 has a privacy function setting for setting whether to protect various types of information including recorded personal information from the viewpoint of privacy protection.

  The privacy function setting can be set by a GUI (software key) or a manual switch (hard key) 29 on the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30.

  In addition, the privacy function setting has a password authentication function, and an authenticated user (for example, “driving” is set so that the setting is not changed by a third party other than the user (for example, “driver”). "") ") Can only be set.

  The functions set by the privacy function setting will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a state transition diagram of operation functions of the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the modes in which the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 operates are roughly divided into two modes: a normal mode 81 and a privacy protection mode 82.

  The normal mode 81 is an operation mode in which the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 is not masked by the image processing unit 71 and the captured image 92 is forcibly recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11. is there.

  On the other hand, the privacy protection mode 82 has a plurality of operation modes from the viewpoint of privacy protection. Whether the captured image 92 is masked and recorded, or the recorded image is erased, etc. Is an operation mode that can be set and implemented for each information item.

  The operation modes of the privacy protection mode 82 include an occupant image mask mode 821, a recording stop mode 822, a recording item deletion mode 823, a recording item setting mode 824, and an operation notification setting mode 825.

  First, the occupant image mask mode 821 is a mode in which the image processing unit 71 performs mask processing on the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 and records it.

  Next, the recording stop mode 822 is a mode in which all the various information recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 is not recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11.

  Next, the recording item erasing mode 823 is a mode in which the image information recorded in the recording unit 11 is completely erased or erased for each item.

  Next, the recording item setting mode 824 is a mode for selecting information to be recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 for each information item (for example, “VSC” is recorded, but “in-vehicle environment image information” is not recorded). ).

  Next, the operation notification setting mode 825 is a mode for setting whether to notify the occupant that various types of information are recorded.

  As described above, the privacy function setting can set an operation mode that meets the privacy policy of the user (for example, “driver”).

  Further, since the privacy function setting performs password authentication processing when the operation mode is switched from the normal mode 81 to the privacy protection mode 82, the setting value of the privacy function setting is set to a value other than the user (for example, “driver”). It can be prevented from being changed to a third party.

  Next, the processing of the control program in each unit described in FIG. 2 and each operation mode described in FIG. 7 will be described using FIG. 8 and FIG.

  First, the processing in each operation mode of the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 will be described using FIG. 8, and then the processing of the image processing means 71 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the control unit 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the control unit 11 determines whether the operation mode set by the privacy function setting is the normal mode 81 or the privacy protection mode 82 (S101).

  In S101, when the normal mode 81 is set (when S101 is YES), it waits until a control signal (hereinafter referred to as “TRG: trigger”) for instructing imaging of the in-vehicle environment is received (TRG). (Standby state) (S102). At this time, based on a predetermined setting (sampling rate (unit: Kbps) and recording time (unit: sec)), the in-vehicle camera 21 temporarily stores image data captured before receiving the TRG in the RAM ( Buffer).

  Next, it is determined whether or not TRG is received (S103). At this time, the signal received as TRG is the PCS (if the acceleration exceeds the preset acceleration (v / s), the VSC or ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) is activated, the steering operation is sudden, This message is transmitted when a “pre-crash safety” system (collision inevitable system) is activated, a security system is activated, or a manual operation is performed.

  In S103, when TRG is received (when S103 is YES), the image data before and after TRG reception is determined based on the predetermined settings (sampling rate (unit: Kbps) and recording time (unit: sec)). Temporarily stored in the RAM (S104). At this time, the data held in the RAM is both the image data held in S102 and the image data captured after receiving the TRG. Various information other than image data is also temporarily stored in the RAM.

  In S103, when TRG is not received (when S103 is NO), the process returns to the process of determining the operation mode switching (S101).

  Next, in S104, various information including image data temporarily stored in the RAM is recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 (S105). Thereafter, the process returns to the process of determining the operation mode switching (S101).

  In S101, when the privacy protection mode 82 is set from the normal mode 81 (when S101 is NO), password authentication is performed, and the operation mode is changed to the privacy protection mode 82 only when the entered password is authenticated. (S106).

  Next, it is determined which operation mode is set among the operation modes of the privacy protection mode 82 (S107, S112, S116, S121, and S123).

  When the occupant image mask mode 821 is set in S107 (when S107 is YES), first, mask processing by the image processing means 71 is performed on the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21, and mask processing is performed. The subsequent image data is temporarily stored in the RAM (S108), and then the image data after the mask processing is recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 (S109).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the operation notification setting mode 825 is set to perform operation notification (S110).

  In S110, when it is set to perform the operation notification (when S110 is YES), first, the notification means 73 transmits a control signal to the operation lamp 28 and the navigation system 30, and the operation lamp 28 is turned on. A message displayed on the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30 notifies the passenger that the image data is being recorded (S111).

  Thereafter, the processing returns to the TRG standby state processing in the mask processing (S108) by the image processing means 71 (A).

  In S110, when it is not set to perform the operation notification (when S110 is NO), the process returns to the TRG standby state process in the process of the image processing means 71 (S108) (A).

  When the recording stop mode 822 is set in S112 (when S107 is NO and S112 is YES), the TRG standby state processing is first performed as in S102 (S113), and the same as S103. In this manner, TRG reception determination processing is performed (S114).

  In S114, when TRG is received (when S114 is YES), the received TRG is used as an invalid control signal, and image data captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 and image data before TRG reception temporarily stored in the RAM All data stored in the RAM is erased so as not to record various information such as (S115).

  Thereafter, the process returns to the setting determination process (S107, S112, S116, S121, and S123) of each operation mode of the privacy protection mode 82 (B).

  In S114, when TRG is not received (when S114 is NO), the process returns to the TRG standby state process (S113).

  If the record item deletion mode 823 is set in S116 (when S112 is NO and S116 is YES), it is first determined whether or not all the information recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 is to be deleted. Is determined (S117).

  In S117, when all the data is erased (when S117 is YES), all the stored various information is erased (S118).

  In S117, if not all erasure is performed (S117 is NO), an erasure item is set (S119), and only the corresponding information item is erased according to the set item (S120).

  Thereafter, the process returns to the setting determination process (S107, S112, S116, S121, and S123) of each operation mode of the privacy protection mode 82 (B).

  If the recording item setting mode 824 is set in S121 (S116 is NO and S121 is YES), information to be recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 is set for each information item (S122).

  Thereafter, the process returns to the setting determination process (S107, S112, S116, S121, and S123) of each operation mode of the privacy protection mode 82 (B).

  In S123, when the operation notification setting mode 825 is set (when S121 is NO and S123 is YES), the fact that various information is recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 is displayed. Whether or not to notify the occupant is set using the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30 (S124).

  Thereafter, the process returns to the setting determination process (S107, S112, S116, S121, and S123) of each operation mode of the privacy protection mode 82 (B).

  Hereinafter, the mask processing of the image processing means 71 in S108 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing image processing A (mask processing by image composition) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The control unit 11 captures in advance the in-vehicle environment in which only the driver gets on by the in-vehicle camera 21 by the original image acquisition unit 711a, and temporarily stores the image data of the captured image (original image) 91 in the RAM. (Buffering) (S801).

  Next, the driver's image area is extracted from the image (original image) 91 temporarily stored in the RAM by the driver image area detecting means 711b using the edge extraction method (edge extraction method). 91a is detected (S802).

  Next, the mask image generation means 711 cuts out the driver's image area 91a from the original image 91 held in the RAM, and generates an image (mask image) 91b that conceals passengers other than the driver (S803).

  Next, a TRG standby state process is performed as in S102 shown in FIG. 8 (S804).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the operation mode is switched from the privacy protection mode 82 to the normal mode 81 (S805).

  In S805, when the operation mode is switched to the normal mode 81 (when S805 is YES), the process returns to the process (S101) for determining the operation mode switching shown in FIG. 8, and the normal mode 81 is set ( The process continues to the process of S101 (YES) (Z).

  In S805, when the operation mode is not switched (NO in S805), TRG reception determination processing is performed in the same manner as S103 shown in FIG. 8 (S806).

  In S806, when TRG is received (when S806 is YES), the image data of the image 92 captured before and after TRG reception is temporarily stored in the RAM (S807) as in S104 shown in FIG.

  If no TRG is received in S806 (if S806 is NO), the process returns to the TRG standby state process (S804).

  Next, the image synthesizing unit 712 performs a mask process for superimposing and synthesizing the mask image 91b generated in S803 on the captured image 92 (S808).

  Thereafter, the image data of the image 93 after the mask process is recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 (S109), and the process is continued.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 uses the driver image area detection unit 711b from the original image 91 acquired by the original image acquisition unit 711a in the mask image generation unit 711. The driver's image area 91a is detected, the detected driver's image area 91a is cut out from the original image 91, and a mask image 91b for concealing passengers other than the driver is generated.

  Next, the image synthesizing unit 712 performs mask processing for superimposing and synthesizing the mask image 91b generated by the mask image generating unit 711 on the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21, and the image recording unit 72 performs mask processing. The processed image 93 can be written to the hard disk of the storage unit 11 and recorded as privacy-protected image data.

  Thus, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 of the present invention performs image processing (mask processing) and records the image 92 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 so that an occupant other than the driver cannot be specified. The third person other than the occupant does not see information (for example, “image including the occupant's face”) that identifies the occupant from the recorded image 93, and protects the privacy of the occupant other than the driver. be able to.

  In addition, since image processing (mask processing) is performed for the passengers other than the driver and passengers other than the driver with a difference in consideration of privacy protection, after image processing (after mask processing) The recorded image can also be used effectively as information for investigating the cause of the accident.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the first embodiment, the hard disk of the storage unit 11 mentioned in the above embodiment is an example of a storage destination for storing various information such as image information and vehicle control information. The present invention is not limited to the requirements. For example, as a storage device other than the hard disk, a memory card such as an SD card or CF (CompactFlash) (registered trademark), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), flash ROM, EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), etc. As the recording medium (recording medium), there are a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a magnetic tape, and the like, and these storage devices and storage media may be used.

  Further, the configuration of the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 linked to the navigation system 30 described in the above embodiment is an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle environment recording device 10, and the present invention is not limited to this requirement. . For example, the in-vehicle camera 21, the storage unit 11, the control unit 12, the display unit, the communication, and the external device I / F may be integrated.

  In addition, the notification method by the notification means 73 listed in the above embodiment is an example of a method for promptly notifying an occupant that an image including information identifying an occupant is recorded. The present invention is not limited. For example, a warning sound or a voice message may be output from a voice output device included in the navigation system 30 to notify that effect.

  In the distribution unit 74 described in the above embodiment, the image data to be distributed has been described as the recorded image 93. However, the present invention is not limited to this requirement. The image data to be distributed may be the image 93 after the mask process.

  Moreover, although the information distributed in the distribution means 74 was demonstrated as image data, this invention is not limited to this requirement. Of the various types of information recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10, any information that can be distributed may be used.

  In the display unit 75 described in the above embodiment, the image to be displayed is described as the recorded image 93. However, the present invention is not limited to this requirement. The image data to be displayed may be the image 93 after the mask process.

  Moreover, although the display screen which displays an image in the display means 75 was demonstrated as the display screen 32 of the navigation system 30, this invention is not limited to this requirement. Any display device that can receive RGB signals transmitted by the display means 75 may be used.

  The password authentication function described in the above embodiment is an example of an authentication method for authenticating a user, and the present invention is not limited to this requirement. For example, usable user information may be registered in advance, and user authentication may be performed using a fingerprint authentication or a contact / non-contact IC card in which information for specifying a user is stored.

  Moreover, each operation mode of the privacy protection mode 82 given in the above embodiment is an example of an operation item that needs to be restricted from the viewpoint of privacy protection, and the present invention is limited to this requirement. It is not a thing. For example, operation items such as retrieval and transfer of recorded information may be added to the operation restriction items in consideration of privacy protection.

  In addition, the operation in the recording stop mode 822 of the privacy protection mode 82 described in the above embodiment is an example of an operation that does not record various information in the storage unit 11, and the present invention is not limited to this requirement. Absent. For example, a method may be used in which the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 itself is in an operation standby state (energy saving mode) or the like, and information is not recorded.

  In addition, regarding the use of RAM in the destination for temporarily holding (buffering) the image captured in the TRG standby state in S102, S113, and S804 in the above embodiment, an example of the destination for temporarily holding the buffering However, the present invention is not limited to this requirement. For example, a hard disk may be used. Any storage device can be used as long as it can maintain an access speed that does not decrease the processing speed when performing data buffering processing.

  As described above, these points can be changed within a range not impairing the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

  In the present embodiment, mask processing is performed so as to conceal the occupant's face in the image captured by the in-vehicle camera, thereby protecting the occupant's privacy.

  The difference from the first embodiment is that the image area to be concealed is the occupant's face from the viewpoint of privacy protection, and concealment processing by mosaic processing is performed in the mask processing.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the description will focus on the point that the occupant's face is concealed by a mask process different from that in the first embodiment.

  Moreover, in FIGS. 10-14 used when explaining a present Example, about the same part as Example 1, the same code | symbol is provided and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the main functional unit in the control unit 12 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  First, unlike the first embodiment, the image processing unit 71 includes an occupant image area detection unit 713 and an image processing unit 714, and performs image processing (concealment processing) on an image area to be concealed from the viewpoint of privacy protection. It is.

  Hereinafter, the occupant image area detection unit 713 and the image processing unit 714 included in the image processing unit 71 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by capturing an in-vehicle environment according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image after mask processing by image processing for a face of an occupant other than the driver according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image after mask processing by image processing for a face of an occupant including a driver according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The occupant image area detection unit 713 included in the image processing unit 71 is a unit that detects an image area of the occupant's face based on an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 21.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the occupant image region detection means 713 extracts the occupant contours from the captured image 94 using the contour extraction method (edge extraction method) in image processing, and images corresponding to the faces. Regions (regions surrounded by broken lines) 94a and 94b are detected.

  The image processing means 714 included in the image processing means 71 is means for performing concealment processing (mask processing) on the image areas 94a and 94b of the occupant's face to be concealed, and is detected by the occupant image area detection means 713. Mosaic processing is performed on the image areas 94a and 94b of the occupant's face.

  With mosaic processing, the density value of one pixel (or the average value of the density values of all the pixels in the rectangle) in the rectangular (or square) range is used as the density value of the entire range. In this process, the image is expressed in blocks, and the image can be blurred (discolored).

  For the image areas 94a and 94b to be concealed, as in the first embodiment, the subject of privacy protection may be a passenger other than the driver (even if there is a difference in privacy protection between the driver and the passenger other than the driver). Good.)

  Further, in the present embodiment, the image recorded in the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 is made because the image areas 94a and 94b are configured so as not to hide the steering record of the driver's steering wheel operation and the like but to hide only the occupant's face. Since it can be effectively used as information for investigating the cause of an accident, all passengers including the driver may be used.

  Therefore, the image processing means 714 performs concealment processing by mosaic processing 95b as shown in FIG. 12 when concealing the image regions 94a and 94b of the faces of passengers other than the driver. Further, when concealing the image areas 94a and 94b of the occupant's face including the driver, concealment processing is performed by mosaic processing 95a and 95b as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the image processing unit 71 performs the mask process on the image 94 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 by sequentially executing the occupant face image region detection unit 713 and the image processing unit 714.

  Therefore, the in-vehicle environment recording device 10 specifies the occupant individual from the recorded image 95 to a third party other than the occupant because the image 94 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 is recorded as the masked image 95. Information (for example, “image including the face of the occupant”) is not seen, and the privacy of the occupant can be protected.

  In addition, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 can be used effectively as information for investigating the cause of an accident in the image 95 after the mask processing.

  Next, processing of the image processing unit 71 described with reference to FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing image processing B (mask processing by image processing) according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The process shown in FIG. 14 is a mask process by the image processing means 71 shown in S108 of FIG.

  The control unit 11 performs a TRG standby state process in the same manner as S102 shown in FIG. 8 (S811).

  Next, it is determined whether or not to switch the operation mode from the privacy protection mode 82 to the normal mode 81 (S812).

  In S812, when the operation mode is switched to the normal mode 81 (when S812 is YES), the process returns to the process (S101) for determining the operation mode switching shown in FIG. 8, and the normal mode 81 is set ( The process continues to the process of S101 (YES) (Z).

  In S812, when the operation mode is not switched (when S812 is NO), TRG reception determination processing is performed in the same manner as S103 shown in FIG. 8 (S813).

  If the TRG is received in S813 (S813 is YES), the image data of the image 94 taken before and after the TRG reception is temporarily stored in the RAM (S814) as in S104 shown in FIG.

  If no TRG is received in S813 (NO in S813), the process returns to the TRG standby state process (S811).

  Next, the occupant face image area detection means 713 extracts the outline of the occupant's face based on the captured image 94, and detects the occupant face image areas 94a and 94b (S815).

  Next, the image processing unit 714 performs concealment processing (mask processing) by mosaic processing on the image areas 94a and 94b of the occupant's face detected in S815 (S816).

  Thereafter, the image data of the image 95 after the mask process is recorded on the hard disk of the storage unit 11 (S109), and the process is continued.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 uses the occupant face image area detection unit 713 to detect the occupant's face from the image 94 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 in the image processing unit 17. The image areas 94a and 94b are detected.

  Next, the image processing unit 714 performs concealment processing (mask processing) by mosaic processing 95a and 95b on the image areas 94a and 94b of the occupant's face detected from the captured image 94, and the image recording unit 72 The masked image 95 can be written to the hard disk of the storage unit 11 and recorded as privacy-protected image data.

  As a result, the in-vehicle environment recording apparatus 10 of the present invention records and records the image 94 captured by the in-vehicle camera 21 by performing image processing (mask processing 95a, 95b) so that an occupant cannot be identified. The third person other than the occupant does not see information (for example, “image including the occupant's face”) identifying the occupant from the recorded image 95, and thus the privacy of the occupant can be protected.

  Further, since image processing (mask processing 95a, 95b) is performed on the image areas 94a, 94b of the occupant's face, the driver's privacy is also included in the image 95 recorded after the image processing (after mask processing). However, it can be used effectively as information for investigating the cause of an accident while protecting it in the same way as a passenger on board.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the second embodiment, the image areas 94a and 94b of the occupant's face listed in the above embodiment need to be hidden so that the occupant cannot be identified from the viewpoint of privacy protection. It is an example of a field and the present invention is not limited to this requirement. For example, mask processing may be performed on a part of the face that can identify an individual, such as eyes, nose, or mouth, as a concealment target.

  Further, the concealment processing by the mosaic processing 95a and 95b given in the above embodiment is an example of concealing the target image area from the viewpoint of privacy protection, and the present invention is limited to this requirement. It is not something. For example, the image region may be concealed by a filtering process such as noise or a rectangular filling process.

  As described above, these points can be changed within a range not impairing the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

  Finally, the present invention has been described based on each embodiment. The driver image area detection method by the driver image area detection means 711b in S802 and the occupant face image area in S815 described in the above embodiments. The method for detecting the image area of the occupant's face by the detection means 713 is an example of a method of extracting an image feature and detecting a specific image area, and the present invention is not limited to this requirement. For example, using an image recognition method that grasps the image features of the image area to be concealed from a combination of color, geometric shape, shading pattern, etc., and detects the image area to be concealed from the captured image May be detected.

  Moreover, although the present invention has been described based on each embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown here, such as combinations with other elements in the shapes listed in the above embodiments. .

  These points can also be changed within a range that does not impair the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

1 is a system diagram illustrating an in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the function principal part in the control part which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is an example of the image (original image) which imaged the in-vehicle environment of only a driver concerning Example 1 of the present invention. It is an example of the image (mask image) which cut and produced | generated the driver | operator image area | region which concerns on Example 1 of this invention from the original image. It is an example of the image which imaged the vehicle interior which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is an example of the image after the mask process by the image composition which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a state transition diagram of the operation function which the in-vehicle environment recording device concerning Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention has. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the control part which concerns on Example 1 and 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the image process A (mask process by image composition) which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the function principal part in the control part which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is an example of the image which imaged the vehicle interior which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is an example of the image after the mask process by the image process for the faces of crew members other than the driver concerning Example 2 of the present invention. It is an example of the image after the mask process by the image process for the face of the passenger | crew containing the driver | operator which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the image process B (mask process by image processing) which concerns on Example 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 In-car environment recording device 11 Storage unit (RAM, HD)
12 Control unit (ECU)
21 Rr camera (in-car camera)
22 Rr camera (outside the car)
23 Fr camera (outside the car)
24 corner blind spot camera (outside the car)
25 Fr night view camera (outside the car)
26 Millimeter wave radar (outside the car)
27 Laser radar (outside the car)
28 Operation lamp 29 Manual switch 30 Navigation system (Navi)
31 GPS (Global Positioning System)
32 Display screen (including GUI (Graphical User Interface) function)
33 Communication equipment 41 ACN (automatic celestial navigation)
42 Reading tool 51 Security system 61 VSC (Vehicle Stability Control)
62 Air Bag (AirBag)
71 Image processing means 72 Image storage means 73 Notification means 74 Distribution means 75 Display means

Claims (8)

An in-vehicle camera that images the interior of the vehicle;
Image processing means for performing mask processing on an image area of an occupant in the vehicle out of images captured by the vehicle camera;
An in-vehicle environment recording apparatus comprising: an image recording means for recording the mask processed image. The image processing means includes
The in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image area of an occupant excluding a driver in an image captured by the in-vehicle camera is subjected to mask processing. The image processing means includes
The in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image area of an occupant's face in an image captured by the in-vehicle camera is subjected to mask processing. The image processing means includes
The in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a mask image generated so as to conceal an occupant's image area is combined with an image captured by the in-vehicle camera. The image processing means includes
The in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein mosaic processing is performed on an image area of a passenger.   The in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a distribution unit that distributes an image captured by the in-vehicle camera and / or an image recorded by the image recording unit. .   The in-vehicle environment recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays an image captured by the in-vehicle camera and / or an image recorded by the image recording unit. .   The vehicle interior according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising notification means for notifying an occupant that the masking process is performed and recorded on an image captured by the vehicle camera. Environmental recording device.

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