JP2008259088A - Operation state storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation state storage device having general applicability and practicality. <P>SOLUTION: The operation state storage device comprises: a camera 1 installed in a vehicle V; an acceleration detecting means 2 for detecting forward or backward acceleration Gx and lateral acceleration Gy of the vehicle V; and a storage means 34 for storing image data containing image data photographed at the time when the camera 1 satisfies either of two conditions that an absolute value of the detected forward or backward acceleration Gx exceeds a threshold value α of the forward or backward acceleration and an absolute value of the detected lateral acceleration Gy exceeds a threshold value β of the lateral acceleration. The camera 1 is installed so that one side of the front and the rear of the vehicle becomes a photography range, and mirrors 5a and 5b are installed within the photography range of the camera 1 so that the camera 1 can photograph the other side of the front and the rear of the vehicle V, thereby the camera 1 can photograph both sides of the front and the rear of the vehicle V. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation status storage device that stores an operation status of a vehicle.

  In this type of operation status storage device, for example, a camera installed vertically upward of a vehicle and an optical axis that faces the camera side and is the optical central axis of the camera (in the patent literature, it is expressed as a visual axis). A hyperboloid mirror having a central axis that coincides with the vehicle's speed, acceleration, and yaw rate, and storage means for storing an omnidirectional image captured by the camera (for example, Patent Documents) 1).

With the above-mentioned conventional operation status storage device, it is possible to photograph all directions of the vehicle with one camera, so it is possible to objectively grasp the surrounding situation at the time of the accident and to investigate the cause of the accident It is.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-128031 (FIG. 1)

  However, the conventional operation status storage device, when installed on the vehicle, installs the camera vertically upward, and further aligns the optical axis of the camera with the central axis of the hyperboloid mirror, that is, the camera and the hyperboloid mirror. It must be installed on the vehicle with the axis aligned, and it is difficult for those who are unfamiliar with it, and it may be difficult to secure installation space on the vehicle depending on the vehicle. Even if the so-called retrofitting of the operation status storage device is impossible or possible later, it is expected to be very difficult, and the conventional operation status storage device lacks versatility and practicality.

  In the conventional operation status storage device, since the camera captures the surrounding situation reflected by the hyperboloidal mirror, it is difficult to understand the surrounding situation when simply viewing the captured image. It is necessary to convert the camera to an image obtained by rotating 360 degrees. However, if the above-mentioned axis alignment is not complete, the converted image will also be distorted, so the coincidence between the optical axis and the central axis is stored in the conventional operation status memory. It will be understood that this is an important element in the device.

  The present invention has been developed to improve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an operation status storage device that is rich in versatility and practicality.

  The operation status storage device in the problem solving means of the present invention includes a camera installed in a vehicle, acceleration detection means for detecting the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration of the vehicle, and the absolute value of the detected longitudinal acceleration exceeds the longitudinal acceleration threshold. Storage means for storing image data including image data taken at a time when the camera satisfies the above condition on condition that either of the absolute value of the detected lateral acceleration exceeds a lateral acceleration threshold value is satisfied. In the operation status storage device provided, the camera is installed so that one of the front and rear of the vehicle is set as the shooting range, and is set within the shooting range of the camera and causes the camera to take the other of the front and rear of the vehicle. A mirror, and the camera is capable of photographing both the front and rear of the vehicle.

  According to the operation status storage device of the present invention, the mirror is not installed at a position that is uniquely determined with respect to the optical axis of the camera, but a mirror that causes the camera to capture the rear of the vehicle is installed within the imaging range of the camera. Even a person unfamiliar with the work can perform installation work very easily, and the camera can photograph the surrounding situation of the front and rear of the vehicle.

  In addition, the camera can be installed in front of or behind the vehicle, and a mirror can be placed in front of the camera. Therefore, the operation status storage device can be made small, and a large installation space on the vehicle is required. In particular, it can be installed in most existing vehicles that are not manufactured with the operation status storage device installed in mind, and the mounting capability of the operation status storage device on the vehicle is greatly improved.

  Therefore, according to this operation status storage device, even if the surrounding situation before and after the vehicle can be photographed with a single camera, it is very easy to install on the vehicle and can be mounted on most existing vehicles. Therefore, the versatility and practicality of the operation status storage device are dramatically improved.

  The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle equipped with an operation status storage device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a case housing a camera and a mirror in the operation status storage device of one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a case housing a camera and a mirror in an operation status storage device according to a modification of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the operation status storage device according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of hardware resources of the operation status storage device according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the operation status storage device in one embodiment includes a camera 1 installed on a vehicle V so that the front of the vehicle is the shooting range, and a shooting range of the camera 1 on the vehicle V as well. Mirrors 5a and 5b that are installed so that the camera 1 captures the rear of the vehicle V, acceleration detection means 2 that detects acceleration acting on the vehicle V, and a control unit 3 that includes storage means. Configured.

  Hereinafter, the camera 1 will be described in detail. The camera 1 includes a CCD (charge coupled device, not shown) and a lens (not shown), and is configured as a CCD camera. The camera 1 has a shooting range in front of the vehicle V.

  The camera 1 is housed in a case 6, and the case 6 is formed in a box shape with a top plate, a bottom plate, and four side plates (not shown), as shown in FIG. The camera 1 is housed and held, and mirrors 5a and 5b positioned in the upper left and right in FIG. 2 that are in front of the camera 1 are held. Further, each side plate on the front and left and right sides of the camera 1 has windows 7 and 8 and 9 are open.

  Further, the mirrors 5a and 5b are positioned within a shooting range of the camera 1 so as to avoid the optical axis L of the camera 1 and its surroundings, and the camera 1 does not hinder the shooting of the vehicle V ahead. The camera 1 is capable of ensuring a sufficient field of view (shooting range) for grasping the operating situation ahead of the vehicle V.

  The mirrors 5a and 5b reflect the light from the rear of the vehicle V to cause the camera 1 to photograph the left and right situations behind the vehicle V. As shown in FIG. 2, the mirrors 5a and 5b The shooting range of the camera 1 extends to the left and right behind the vehicle V using the reflected light.

  In FIG. 2, the mirrors 5a and 5b are plane mirrors. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the mirrors 5a and 5b may be convex mirrors. If it is sufficient, one of the unnecessary mirrors 5a and 5b may be abolished.

  Further, the case 6 is provided with windows 7, 8, and 9, but the windows 7, 8, and 9 may be made of glass with a transparent plate. In this case, the mirror 6a, 5b and the camera 1 can be hermetically accommodated, and it is possible to prevent dust and the like from entering the case 6 and to prevent reflection of dust and the like in the captured image. Further, when the case 6 is made of a transparent material, the photographing of the camera 1 is not hindered, so the case 6 can be formed in a simple box shape and the windows 7, 8, 9 themselves can be eliminated.

  Furthermore, when the case 6 is made of a material on which a metal film such as glass can be deposited, for example, the mirrors 5a and 5b may be formed of a metal film deposited on the case 6 itself.

  Subsequently, the camera 1 continuously captures the front and rear of the vehicle V as described above, converts the captured image into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal to the control unit 3. Note that images are interpreted in a broad sense, and images include moving images as well as still images. Further, the camera 1 can be a camera using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) in addition to being configured as a CCD camera.

  Further, the acceleration detecting means 2 is specifically an acceleration sensor, and basically only needs to be able to detect the front and rear, left and right biaxial accelerations Gx and Gy of the vehicle V. When it is desired to obtain a lot of operation information, a three-axis acceleration sensor that can detect the vertical acceleration of the vehicle V may be used. As the acceleration detection means 2, specifically, for example, a piezoelectric type, a semiconductor piazo resistance type, a capacitance type, and other various acceleration sensors can be used.

  The acceleration detection means 2 detects accelerations Gx and Gy of the front, rear, left and right axes of the vehicle V at a predetermined sampling period, for example, a period of 10 ms (milliseconds), and an acceleration signal which is an analog voltage signal. The acceleration signal is converted into a digital signal and input to the control unit 3. The acceleration detection means 2 may be housed in a housing that houses the control unit 3.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, speed detecting means 4 for detecting the speed v of the vehicle V is provided, and this speed detecting means 4 is specifically a speed sensor. The speed sensor is a rotary encoder or the like, and outputs a pulse signal (vehicle speed pulse) corresponding to the speed v to the control unit 3. In addition to obtaining the speed v by calculating from the vehicle speed pulse, the speed detecting means 4 is provided with a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving device, which is used as the speed detecting means 4 to receive the GPS. The velocity v may be obtained from position data obtained from the apparatus.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 3 includes an image processing unit 31 that processes an image captured by the camera 1, an image data output by the image processing unit 31, and a vehicle V that is detected by the acceleration detection unit 2. Longitudinal acceleration data in the direction and lateral acceleration data in the lateral direction of the vehicle V, and further, secondary storage means 32 for always storing speed data detected by the speed detection means 4, and longitudinal acceleration data detected by the acceleration detection means 2 A determination unit 33 that determines whether to process the lateral acceleration data and store the image data in the storage unit 34, and a memory that extracts and stores predetermined image data from the image data stored in the sub storage unit 32 Means 34 are provided.

  The image processing unit 31 captures an image captured by the constantly operating camera 1 as a moving image, cuts out a still image from the moving image at a predetermined frame rate, and compresses the still image into a predetermined compression format such as JPEG or GIF. Format image data is generated. If the frame rate is increased too much, the volume of image data generated per second becomes too large and a large-capacity storage device is required, so that there is insufficient image data for verification at the time of a vehicle accident. For example, it is set to about 5 to 10 frames per second.

  Subsequently, the sub storage unit 32 stores the image data output from the image processing unit 31 and the acceleration data and the speed data at the time when the image data was obtained. The acceleration data and the velocity data at the time when the image data is obtained are associated and stored so as to be compatible.

  Specifically, the image data, acceleration data, and speed data are stored in association with the date and time, respectively, when stored in the sub storage means 32. The image data, longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration data, and velocity data stored in the secondary storage means 32 are deleted in order from the old data when they are accumulated in a certain amount, or collectively deleted, and new data is obtained. It has been updated.

  Then, the determination unit 33 takes in the longitudinal acceleration Gx and the lateral acceleration Gy detected by the acceleration detecting means 2, and the absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration Gx exceeds the longitudinal acceleration threshold α and the absolute value of the lateral acceleration Gy is the lateral acceleration threshold β. It is determined whether or not this condition is satisfied on the condition that one of the above conditions is satisfied. If the condition is satisfied, the camera 1 out of the image data stored in the secondary storage unit 32 is determined. Extracts the image data including the image data taken at the time when the above condition is satisfied, and stores it in the storage means 34 as a set of operation history data. Do not store image data.

  That is, the determination unit 33 determines that the camera 1 satisfies the above condition in the storage unit 34 even if the absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration Gx exceeds the longitudinal acceleration threshold α or the absolute value of the lateral acceleration Gy exceeds the lateral acceleration threshold β. The operation history data, which is image data including image data photographed at a certain time, is stored.

  Therefore, in determining whether or not the above condition is satisfied, the absolute value of the longitudinal acceleration Gx in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle V is compared with the longitudinal acceleration threshold value α, and the absolute value of the lateral acceleration Gy in the lateral direction of the vehicle V is compared with the lateral value. The acceleration threshold value β is compared.

  The longitudinal acceleration threshold value α and the lateral acceleration threshold value β necessary for the above determination are values independent of each other. Basically, sudden start, sudden stop, even if an excessive speed or an accident during turning is not reached. The absolute value of the acceleration that is assumed to act on the vehicle V in a situation that can be judged as a driving situation that may cause a vehicle accident such as a sudden turn or a side slip, that is, a driving situation in which the driver is tired or frustrated during driving. In this case, the absolute value of acceleration assumed to act on the vehicle V is set.

  Returning, the image data stored in the storage means 34 is image data taken within a predetermined range of time including the time when the conditions are satisfied, and the storage means 34 further stores the image to be stored. Along with the longitudinal acceleration Gx and lateral acceleration Gy data detected within the predetermined range of time associated with the data, and the speed data, these are stored as one operation history data. That is, the storage means 34 can store not only the image data at the time satisfying the above-described conditions but also the image data before and after the time, so that the entire situation at the time of an accident or near-miss can be stored. You can remember it.

  In addition, the time of the predetermined range is specifically set to about 30 seconds in total of 20 seconds before and 10 seconds after the condition satisfaction time, and by storing this degree of operation history data, You can remember all the details of the situation at the time of an accident or near-miss.

  Further, in the above description, the above determination is made for the longitudinal and lateral accelerations Gx and Gy of the vehicle V. However, when the acceleration detecting means 2 also detects the vertical acceleration Gz, three accelerations are detected. The above determination may be made for Gz, Gx, Gy, or the image data may be stored in the storage means 34.

  In addition, since the operation history data includes image data detected within a predetermined range including the time when the longitudinal acceleration Gx or the lateral acceleration Gy satisfies the condition, the absolute values of the accelerations Gx and Gy correspond to each other. Before and after reaching the thresholds α and β, it is easy to investigate the causes of vehicle accidents and violent driving, and data on longitudinal acceleration Gx and lateral acceleration Gy is included. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the braking and steering status of the vehicle V, and since the speed data is included, it becomes possible to investigate the cause of the vehicle accident and the violent driving more precisely. It is possible to grasp the exact operation status from the data.

  The camera 1 can photograph not only the front of the vehicle V but also the front and rear of the vehicle V at the same time with the rear left and right sides of the vehicle V reflected by the mirrors 5a and 5b within the photographing range. Therefore, it is possible to leave the surrounding situation of the vehicle V as image data in the storage means 34. That is, according to this operation status storage device, the situation around the vehicle V can be photographed with one camera 1 and important image data that can identify the cause of the accident can be stored in the storage means 34.

  That is, if the image data in the operation history data at the time of the accident is confirmed, the accident verifier can accurately grasp the situation around the vehicle V from the above image data, and the investigation work of the cause of the accident can be easily performed. This makes it possible to accurately identify the cause of the accident.

  Then, the mirrors 5a and 5b are not installed at positions that are uniquely determined with respect to the optical axis L of the camera 1, but mirrors 5a and 5b that cause the camera 1 to photograph the rear of the vehicle V within the photographing range of the camera 1. Even a person unfamiliar with the installation work can perform the installation work very easily, so that the camera 1 can photograph the surrounding situation before and after the vehicle V.

  Further, since the camera 1 is installed facing the front of the vehicle V and the mirrors 5a and 5b may be disposed immediately in front of the camera 1, the operation status storage device can be reduced in size, and the mounting space on the vehicle can be reduced. It is not necessary to secure a large amount, and in particular, it can be installed in most existing vehicles that are not manufactured with the installation of the operation status storage device in mind, and the installation of the operation status storage device on the vehicle is dramatically improved. To do.

  Therefore, according to this operation status storage device, even if the surrounding situation before and after the vehicle V can be photographed with one camera 1, it is very easy to install on the vehicle V, and it can be installed on most existing vehicles. Since it can be mounted, the versatility and practicality of the operation status storage device are dramatically improved.

  In the case of this embodiment, since the mirrors 5a and 5b are provided on the left and right sides of the shooting range of the camera 1, the camera 1 can shoot the left and right behind the vehicle V. The surrounding situation can be stored in the storage means 34, and the cause of the accident can be easily identified.

  Furthermore, since the camera 1 and the mirrors 5a and 5b are installed in the same case 6, the positional relationship between the camera 1 and the mirrors 5a and 5b is set in advance so that the shooting range of the camera 1 is in an optimal state. In addition, the camera 1 and the mirrors 5a and 5b are not separately installed on the vehicle V, but only the case 6 is installed on the vehicle V, and the optimal positional relationship between the camera 1 and the mirrors 5a and 5b is maintained. Since it can be installed in the vehicle V as it is, the versatility and practicality of the operation status storage device are further improved.

  Next, the configuration of the hardware resources of the operation status storage device in the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation status storage device includes a camera 1, acceleration detection means 2, and speed detection means as hardware. 4, a video decoder 20 that decodes image data of the camera 1, an A / D converter 21 that converts an acceleration signal that is an analog voltage output from the acceleration detection means 2 into a digital signal, and a speed detection means 4 An image signal, an acceleration signal, and a velocity signal are taken in via the A / D converter 22 that converts the analog pulse signal to be output into a digital signal, and the video decoder 20 and the A / D converters 21 and 22, and the above-described control is performed. CPU (Central Processing Unit) 23 for executing the processing of unit 3 and the CPU 23 SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) 24 that provides an area, a flash memory 25 that stores operation history data, and a ROM that stores programs such as applications and operating systems executed by the CPU to perform the control unit 3 processing (Read Only Memory) 26, and the configuration of each unit of the control unit 3 can be realized by the CPU 23 executing an application program to perform the processing of the control unit 3.

  Specifically, the image processing unit 31 is realized by compressing the image data by the CPU 23 that has captured the image data, and the determination unit 33 is performed by the CPU 23 that has captured the data of the accelerations Gx and Gy in the front and rear and the lateral directions. This is realized by performing calculation for determining whether or not the absolute values of the accelerations Gx and Gy exceed the corresponding threshold values while receiving the storage area from the SDRAM 24. This is realized by writing data, acceleration data and speed data to the SDRAM 24 and storing these data in the SDRAM 24. The storage means 34 is the image data, acceleration data within a predetermined range of time before and after the above condition is satisfied by the CPU 23 from the SDRAM 24. And speed data is extracted and read, and an operation history data file including the image data is generated. It will be realized by causing stored in the flash memory 25 in Te.

  In the operation status storage device of the present embodiment, the camera 1 is installed so as to photograph the front of the vehicle V, and the mirrors 5a and 5b have the photographing range in the camera 1 including the rear of the vehicle V. However, conversely, the camera 1 is installed so as to photograph the rear of the vehicle V, and the mirrors 5a and 5b are installed on the camera 1 so that the front of the vehicle V is also within the photographing range. Then, since the front and rear periphery of the vehicle V can be photographed with one camera 1, this may be done, and the above-mentioned effects are not lost.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the operation status storage device has been described using an example applied to an automobile. However, the vehicle is not limited to an automobile, and the operation status storage device is also applied to a railway vehicle, a two-wheeled vehicle, etc. can do.

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

It is a side view of the vehicle carrying the operation condition memory | storage device in one Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the case which accommodated the camera and mirror in the operation condition memory | storage device of one Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the case which accommodated the camera and mirror in the operation condition memory | storage device of the modification of one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the operation condition memory | storage device in one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the hardware resource of the operation condition memory | storage device in one Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera 2 Acceleration detection means 3 Control part 4 Speed detection means 5a, 5b Mirror 6 Case 7, 8, 9 Window 20 Video decoder 21, 22 A / D converter 23 CPU
24 SDRAM
25 Flash memory 26 ROM
31 Image processing unit 32 Sub storage unit 33 Judgment unit 34 Storage unit V Vehicle

Claims (3)

A camera installed in the vehicle, acceleration detecting means for detecting the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration of the vehicle, the absolute value of the detected longitudinal acceleration exceeding the longitudinal acceleration threshold, and the detected absolute value of the lateral acceleration being the lateral acceleration threshold In an operation status storage device comprising storage means for storing image data including image data taken at a time when the camera satisfies the above condition on condition that either one of the above conditions is satisfied, the camera is located in front of the vehicle. And a mirror that is set within the shooting range of the camera and that allows the camera to take a picture of the other of the front and rear of the vehicle. An operation status storage device characterized by being capable of photographing both. The operation status storage device according to claim 1, wherein one mirror is provided on each of the left and right sides of the photographing range. The operation status storage device according to claim 1, further comprising a case for housing the camera, wherein the case is provided with a mirror.

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