JP2010286944A - Drive recorder system, constant-recording type drive recorder, and navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive recorder system which can secure proper recording image quality while enabling prolonged photographing, and to provide a constant-recording type drive recorder and a navigation device. <P>SOLUTION: The drive recorder system includes: a navigation device 20 which performs route guidance during traveling; and a constant-recording type drive recorder 31 which records situations outside a vehicle during traveling. The drive recorder system determines road conditions ahead of a traveling vehicle by the navigation device 20, and changes the recording image quality of the drive recorder 31 when the road conditions reaches to a predetermined condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive recorder system, a continuous recording drive recorder, and a navigation device that control the recording image quality of a continuous recording drive recorder.

Drive recorders that record images taken by cameras installed in vehicles have initially detected the timing at which an accident can be determined using various sensors and recorded video before and after that. It may be difficult to determine and an image may not be recorded when an accident occurs.
In order to reliably record an image when an accident occurs, a continuous recording type drive recorder has attracted attention. However, since the constant recording type drive recorder always records video, the recording capacity of the recording medium tends to become full immediately. To compensate for this drawback, the higher the speed of the vehicle, the smaller the compression rate of the captured image, or the relatively high frame rate of the captured image when it is determined that the vehicle has abnormally approached due to magnetism around the vehicle. There has been proposed a method of switching to (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2007-124155 A JP 2007-88541 A

  However, with the conventional configuration, there are cases where the compression rate of the photographed image at the time of the accident is large or the frame rate is low, so that there is still an insufficient problem from the viewpoint of the recording device at the time of the accident.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a drive recorder system, a constant recording drive recorder, and a navigation device that can solve the above-described problems of the prior art and ensure appropriate recording image quality while enabling long-time shooting. There is.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a drive recorder system comprising a navigation device that provides route guidance during traveling and a constantly-recorded drive recorder that records a state outside the vehicle during traveling. The present invention is characterized by comprising a recording image quality control unit that determines a road condition ahead of the vehicle and changes the recording image quality of the drive recorder when the road condition reaches a predetermined condition.
According to this configuration, since the navigation apparatus determines the road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle and includes the recording image quality control unit that changes the recording image quality of the drive recorder when the road situation reaches a predetermined situation, the traveling vehicle The recording image quality of the drive recorder can be changed according to the road conditions ahead, and appropriate recording image quality can be ensured while enabling long-time shooting.

  In this case, the road information includes a node indicating a branch point of the road and data of a link connecting the nodes, and the determination unit determines a road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle based on the data of the node and the link. You may make it determine. According to this configuration, it is possible to easily detect road conditions such as an intersection accurately and in real time using existing road information.

  The present invention further includes a recording image quality changing unit that changes the recording image quality when the road condition ahead of the traveling vehicle reaches a predetermined condition in the always-recording drive recorder that records the state outside the vehicle during traveling. It is characterized by that. According to this configuration, since the recording image quality changing unit is provided to change the recording image quality when the road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle reaches a predetermined situation, the recording image quality of the drive recorder according to the road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle. Thus, it is possible to ensure appropriate recording image quality while enabling long-time shooting.

  Further, the present invention provides a navigation device that performs route guidance during traveling, determines a road condition ahead of the traveling vehicle, and records a state outside the vehicle during traveling when the road condition reaches a predetermined condition. The type drive recorder includes an output unit that outputs a signal for changing the recording image quality. According to this configuration, a signal for changing the recording image quality is determined to the constantly-recording drive recorder that determines the road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle and records the state outside the vehicle during traveling when the road situation reaches a predetermined situation. Therefore, the recording image quality of the drive recorder can be changed in accordance with the road conditions ahead of the traveling vehicle, and appropriate recording image quality can be ensured while enabling long-time shooting.

  In the present invention, the navigation device determines the road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle, and includes a recording image quality control unit that changes the recording image quality of the drive recorder when the road situation reaches a predetermined situation. The recording image quality of the drive recorder can be changed according to the road conditions, and appropriate recording image quality can be ensured while enabling long-time shooting.

It is the figure which showed the navigation apparatus of the drive recorder system which concerns on embodiment of this invention in detail. It is the figure which showed the drive recorder of the drive recorder system in detail. It is a figure with which it uses for description of road information. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a drive recorder system. FIG. 5 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 4.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are diagrams showing a drive recorder system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The drive recorder system 10 includes a navigation device 20 mounted on a vehicle (moving body) and a drive recorder 31 that records a captured image of a camera (imaging device) 30 attached to the vehicle. FIG. 1 mainly shows the configuration of the navigation device 20, and FIG. 2 mainly shows the configuration of the drive recorder 31.
As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 20 has a function of acquiring vehicle movement information and a function of guiding a vehicle to a destination by referring to pre-recorded road information. As shown in the figure, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit 21, a gyro unit 22, an acceleration sensor unit 23, a vehicle data processing unit 24, an information processing unit 25, and a user interface unit (hereinafter referred to as a UI unit). 26, a map information recording unit 27, and a signal output unit 28.

The GPS unit 21 receives a GPS radio wave from a GPS satellite via a GPS antenna, and obtains a position coordinate indicating the current position of the vehicle (vehicle position) and a traveling direction from the GPS signal superimposed on the GPS radio wave by calculation. In addition, date and time information (year, month, day, hour, minute, etc.) at the current location of the vehicle is obtained by calculation from the date and time information included in the GPS signal and the time difference of the current location of the vehicle, and these information are obtained by the information processing unit 25 Output.
The gyro unit 22 detects the relative azimuth of the vehicle (for example, the turning amount in the yaw axis direction) by the gyro sensor and outputs it to the information processing unit 25. The acceleration sensor unit 23 detects the acceleration of the vehicle (for example, the inclination of the vehicle with respect to the traveling direction) by the acceleration sensor and outputs the detected acceleration to the information processing unit 25. In addition, the vehicle data processing unit 24 functions as a vehicle speed detection unit that inputs a vehicle speed pulse of the vehicle and detects the vehicle speed, and inputs a back signal of the vehicle to determine whether the vehicle is in a back state (reverse drive state). And the detection results are output to the information processing unit 25.

That is, the navigation device 20 is configured to be able to acquire movement information (position, movement direction, speed) of the vehicle based on input data from the GPS unit 21 and the built-in clock information of the clock. Functions as a first movement information acquisition unit.
Further, as described above, the navigation device 20 does not use the data of the GPS unit 21, and can independently calculate the position, moving direction, and vehicle speed of the vehicle, the gyro unit 22, the acceleration sensor unit 23, and the vehicle data. A processing unit (vehicle speed detection unit) 24 is provided, and when the information processing unit 25 performs a predetermined calculation process, the vehicle movement information (position, movement direction, speed) can be obtained even by independent positioning. These function as a second movement information acquisition unit.

  For this reason, movement detected by the GPS unit, for example, when GPS radio waves cannot be received by traveling in tunnels or underpasses, or in a multipath environment where GPS radio waves are reflected and detected by buildings, etc. When the accuracy of information does not satisfy the predetermined accuracy, the movement information can be acquired by the second movement information acquisition unit described above. Therefore, in the navigation device 20, movement information having sufficient accuracy is acquired.

The information processing unit 25 has a computer configuration including a CPU and a memory (ROM, RAM, hard disk device, etc.), and the CPU controls each unit of the navigation device 20 by executing a control program stored in the memory. Function as.
In addition, the information processing unit 25 executes a predetermined program, and thereby, based on information obtained from the GPS unit 21, the gyro unit 22, the acceleration sensor unit 23, the vehicle data processing unit 24, and the like, vehicle movement information (position, It functions as a movement information calculation unit that calculates the movement direction and speed), and also functions as a map matching unit that reads map data of an area including the current position from the map information recording unit 27 and performs map matching processing.
The map matching process is a process for matching the position of the vehicle on the road in the map, and a known process is applied to the map matching process.

  The UI unit 26 includes a display device 26A that displays various types of information, a user instruction input unit 26B that inputs user instructions, and a voice output unit 26C that outputs voice for route guidance and the like. As the display device 26A, for example, a liquid crystal display device is applied, and under the control of the information processing unit 25, various displays for route guidance such as displaying the position of the vehicle together with a map are performed, and from the current location to the destination Display the result when the route is calculated. The user instruction input unit 26B includes various operation elements (not illustrated) provided in the navigation device 20, an operation detection unit that detects the operation of the touch panel, a reception unit that receives a transmission signal from a remote controller (not illustrated), and the like. Various instructions from the user are output to the information processing unit 25.

The map information recording unit 27 is a recording unit that records map information (map data), and specifically, a reading device that can read map information stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, Alternatively, a hard disk device or the like is applied. This map information is map information for vehicle navigation, and includes road information in addition to map information (also referred to as background information) as a so-called image.
This road information is road data used for route guidance and the like, and as shown in FIG. 3, links with nodes (points) (indicated by reference numeral N in FIG. 3) mainly corresponding to the road shape. (Line) (shown with a symbol L in FIG. 3), nodes indicate branch points such as intersections, and links indicate road portions connecting the branch points. .
In FIG. 3, the position of the vehicle is indicated by a substantially triangular figure indicated by the symbol α, and the most acute vertex of the triangular image α indicates the front side of the vehicle body, that is, indicates the moving direction of the vehicle. A node connecting two or more links, that is, an intersection is indicated by a symbol β.

  Each link is assigned a unique number (link ID), link length, type (national road, prefectural road, etc.), link road width, toll / free, and traffic restrictions. ing. Each node is given a unique number (node ID) that identifies the node, traffic restrictions between connected links, lane information, and other attributes. In addition, in order to provide appropriate guidance, the name of an intersection serving as a mark at that point, symbol data of a facility in the vicinity, image data of the intersection, and the like are stored corresponding to each node. That is, the information processing unit 25 performs map matching processing by referring to the road information, and performs route calculation from the vehicle position to the destination, route guidance, and the like.

  The signal output unit 28 has a connection terminal to which a predetermined signal line is connected, and is electrically connected to the drive recorder 31 via a signal line connected to the connection terminal. The signal output unit 28 outputs an image quality control signal CS, which will be described later, to the drive recorder 31 under the control of the information processing unit 25. This image quality control signal CS is a signal for instructing the drive recorder 31 on the recording image quality, that is, the information processing section 25 also functions as a recording image quality instruction section for instructing the drive recorder 31 on the recording image quality. The connection between the signal output unit 28 and the drive recorder 31 is not limited to a wired connection and may be a wireless connection.

Next, the drive recorder 31 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the drive recorder 31 includes a video signal processing unit 32, an image compression unit 33, a captured image recording unit 34, a control unit 35, a user interface unit (hereinafter referred to as UI unit) 36, And a signal input unit 37. In this configuration, the drive recorder 31 is described as a separate device from the camera 30 for convenience of explanation, but the drive recorder 31 may include the camera 30. Further, the number of cameras 30 is not limited to one, and there may be a plurality of cameras 30 that can photograph the front, left, right, and rear of the vehicle.
The video signal processing unit 32 performs processing of converting a video signal output from the camera 30 attached so as to be capable of capturing an image (video) of the surrounding environment of the vehicle from an analog signal to a digital signal (analog-digital conversion).

The image compression unit 33 performs compression processing on the video signal digitized by the video signal processing unit 32. The image compression unit 33 is configured to be operable in a high image quality mode and a low image quality mode with different compression ratios, and performs compression processing in one of the operation modes under the control of the control unit 35.
Here, the high image quality mode is an operation mode in which priority is given to image quality over reduction of the image data amount, and the compression rate is a relatively low value or non-compression. In short, the high image quality mode is a mode for obtaining a photographed image that can satisfy the image quality required for the recorded image at the time of the accident at a high level.
On the other hand, the low image quality mode is an operation mode in which reduction of the image data amount is prioritized over the image quality, and the compression rate is a relatively high value. This low image quality mode is a mode for obtaining a photographed image that satisfies at least the image quality required for the recorded image at the time of the accident.

The photographed image recording unit 34 is a recording unit that records an output image from the image compression unit 33, and a hard disk device, a writing device that can write a recorded image on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, or the like is applied. Is done.
The control unit 35 has a computer configuration having a CPU and a memory (ROM and RAM), and functions as a computer that controls each unit of the drive recorder 31 by executing a control program stored in the memory.
In addition, the UI unit 36 includes an operation element for the user to operate the drive recorder 31. The signal input unit 37 has a connection terminal to which a predetermined signal line is connected. The signal input unit 37 is electrically connected to the navigation device 20 via the signal line connected to the connection terminal, and is output from the navigation device 20. The image quality control signal CS is input. That is, the signal input unit 37 is connected to the signal output unit 28 of the navigation device 20.

  Here, in the drive recorder system 10, the navigation device 20 has a function of outputting an image quality control signal CS for instructing the recording image quality to the drive recorder 31. The drive recorder 31 is a navigation device under the control of the control unit 35. Based on the image quality control signal CS 20, it has a function of changing to image recording in the high image quality mode (referred to as high image quality recording) or image recording in the low image quality mode (referred to as low image quality recording). Yes. That is, the navigation device 20 is configured to be able to output an image quality control signal CS1 for instructing high image quality recording and an image quality control signal CS2 for instructing low image quality recording as the image quality control signal CS. The unit 35 functions as a recording image quality control unit that controls the recording image quality in accordance with the signals CS1 and CS2.

Next, the operation of the drive recorder system 10 will be described. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing this operation. In this configuration, the drive recorder 31 is configured to be a constant recording type.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the vehicle engine is started, power is supplied from the vehicle to the drive recorder 31 and the navigation device 20, so that the drive recorder 31 is started (step S1), and the navigation device 20 is also started. (Step S1A). In this case, power is also supplied to the camera 30, and the camera 30 starts shooting based on the supply of this power as a trigger or based on control from the drive recorder 31.

First, the operation after the start of the drive recorder 31 will be described.
After starting, the control unit 35 of the drive recorder 31 sets the operation of the image compression unit 33 to the low image quality mode, and operates each unit of the drive recorder 31 to record the captured image from the camera 30 with low image quality recording. The photographed image recording unit 34 starts recording (step S2). That is, immediately after the vehicle is started, the drive recorder 31 starts low-quality image recording.
Then, the control unit 35 of the drive recorder 31 inputs an image quality control signal CS1 (“image quality“ high ”switching signal” in FIG. 4) from the outside (navigation device 20) to instruct high image quality recording through the signal input unit 37. In this case, the operation of the image compression unit 33 is immediately switched to the high image quality mode, and high quality recording of the photographed image from the camera 30 is started (step S3).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 35 uses the signal input unit 37 to instruct low-quality image recording from the outside (navigation device 20) (image quality “low” switching signal ”in FIG. 5). Is input, the operation of the image compression unit 33 is immediately switched to the low image quality mode, and the low image quality recording of the photographed image from the camera 30 is started (step S4). During the operation of the vehicle engine, the processing in steps S3 and S4 is performed so as to be always executable. The operation of the drive recorder 31 is stopped when the vehicle engine is stopped. The above is the operation of the drive recorder 31.

Next, the operation after the navigation device 20 is started will be described. The navigation device 20 has a control function for controlling the drive recorder 31 in addition to various functions such as route guidance provided in a known navigation device. In the following description, only operations related to this control function will be described.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the information processing unit 25 of the navigation device 20 acquires movement information (position, movement direction, speed) of the vehicle by calculation using the GPS unit 21 or the like after startup (step S2A). This calculation of the movement information is repeatedly executed in a short cycle, and the current position of the vehicle is acquired in substantially real time.

  Next, the information processing unit 25 refers to the map information recorded in the map information recording unit 27, and searches for a forward road network for the acquired travel information (step S3A). In this case, the information processing unit 25 searches for a node located in the traveling direction based on the movement information and the road information. For example, the information processing unit 25 matches a vehicle position on a road in the map by map matching processing based on the current position indicated by the movement information, and is a node positioned in the traveling direction based on the movement direction indicated by the movement information. Thus, a node within the vicinity range is searched.

For this reason, when a node (branch point) exists in the map information within the predetermined traveling range of the vehicle and based on the position of the vehicle, the information processing unit 25 selects the node. Detect (step S4A).
Then, the information processing unit 25 determines whether or not the number of links connected to the detected node is 2 or more (step S5A). If the number of links is less than 2, that is, one (step S5A: N), The process proceeds to step S2A, and when the number of links is 2 or more, the process proceeds to subsequent step S6A. That is, the information processing unit 25 determines whether or not the road condition ahead of the traveling vehicle is an intersection based on the number of links of the nodes ahead of the traveling vehicle, and proceeds to the process of step S6A in the case of an intersection.

In step S6A, the information processing unit 25 acquires the position of the vehicle by calculating movement information using the GPS unit 21 and the like, and subsequently calculates the distance from the vehicle position to the node (step S7A). ). This distance calculation is performed by an existing method by using road information.
The information processing unit 25 determines whether or not the distance to the node is equal to or less than a predetermined set value (step S8A). This determination process determines whether or not the vehicle has moved before the intersection. For example, a value of about several meters to several tens of meters is applied as the setting value. Moreover, the process of step S6A-S8A is repeated until it becomes below a setting value. Thereby, it is possible to continuously monitor whether or not the vehicle has moved before the intersection.

When the distance to the node is equal to or smaller than the set value (step S8: Y), the information processing unit 25 uses the image output control signal CS1 (“image quality“ high ”switching signal in FIG. 4) to instruct high image quality recording by the signal output unit 28. ") Is output (step S9A). As a result, when the vehicle moves before the intersection, the drive recorder 31 is switched to high-quality recording.
As shown in FIG. 5, the information processing unit 25 acquires the position of the vehicle by the same position calculation as described above (step S10A), and determines whether the distance to the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined set value (step S10A). S11A). This determination process determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the intersection, and a value of about several meters to several tens of meters is applied as the setting value, for example.

  When the distance to the node becomes equal to or greater than the set value (step S12: Y), the information processing unit 25 instructs the signal output unit 28 to perform low image quality recording, and the image quality control signal CS2 ("image quality" low "in FIG. 5). A switching signal ") is transmitted (step S13A). Thereby, after the vehicle passes the intersection, the drive recorder 31 is switched to the low image quality recording. The processing from step S2A to step S13A is repeatedly executed during operation of the vehicle engine. Note that the operation of the navigation device 20 is also stopped when the vehicle engine is stopped. The above is the operation related to the drive recorder 31 of the navigation device 20.

As described above, in this embodiment, the navigation device 20 determines the road situation ahead of the traveling vehicle, and when the road situation reaches an intersection, the drive recorder 31 is changed from the low-quality recording to the high-quality recording. High-quality recording can be started reliably before the intersection. Further, the navigation device 20 determines whether or not the traveling vehicle has passed the intersection, and when the vehicle passes the intersection, the drive recorder 31 is changed from the high image quality recording to the low image quality recording. Can be returned to.
Here, since the drive recorder 31 is a recording device at the time of an accident, sufficient recording image quality is secured at a point where an accident is likely to occur, and recording is performed with an optimal image quality before reaching the point. It is hoped that Places where many accidents occur are branching points (including junctions) such as intersections. From the viewpoint of photography, many of these places are reflected, and if they are not taken with high image quality, there is a high possibility that they will be insufficient as records at the time of the accident. On the other hand, a straight road or a monotonous road without a branch has a good view, so it is considered that it is not necessary to record with high image quality.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the drive recorder 31 is configured to be able to change the recording image quality in cooperation with the navigation device 20, and the function of the navigation 10 is used to determine before and after the intersection and before the intersection. Since the drive recorder 31 is switched to high image quality recording and the drive recorder 31 is switched to low image quality recording after passing the intersection, a drive recorder system capable of performing high image quality recording at the intersection while performing low image quality recording and suppressing storage capacity. It can be constructed easily. As a result, it is possible to efficiently shoot for a long time and to sufficiently ensure the recording image quality at the intersection.

In addition, the navigation device 20 determines whether or not there is a road situation corresponding to an intersection based on node and link data described in normal road information used by the navigation device 20 for route guidance and the like. By using road information, it is possible to easily detect intersections and the like with high accuracy and in real time.
In addition, since the image quality control signal CS is output when the distance between the vehicle and the intersection reaches a predetermined distance, the image quality control is performed at the timing before and after the intersection using the existing distance measurement function of the navigation device 20. The signal CS can be output.

The above-described embodiment is merely one aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case of searching for the next node in the destination has been described. However, in the case where it is assumed that the search for the next node is not in time when the traveling speed is high, You may comprise so that the several node in a progress destination may be searched.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where high-quality recording is performed in the case of a road situation corresponding to an intersection has been described. What is necessary is just to comprise. For example, high-quality recording may be performed at a junction or junction of an expressway, or high-quality recording may be performed at a point where visibility is poor such as a sharp curve. In this case, for example, whether or not it is a junction or junction of an expressway can be determined by further referring to expressway identification data (such as road type data included in link data) included in existing road information. Good. The determination of whether or not the curve is a sharp curve may be made by determining whether or not the angle formed by the link is an acute angle, and determining a point at an acute angle as a sharp curve.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a drive recorder system for a vehicle has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be applied to a drive recorder system for a moving body that travels on a road other than a vehicle. Hey. The vehicle is not limited to automobiles, but means vehicles in a broad sense including motorcycles and bicycles.
In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a control program for performing the above processing is recorded in the apparatus in advance. This control program is stored in a computer such as a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, or a semiconductor recording medium. May be stored in a readable recording medium, and the computer may read and execute the control program from the recording medium. Further, the control program may be downloaded from a distribution server or the like via a communication network (electric communication line).

10 Drive recorder system 20 Navigation device 21 GPS unit (movement information acquisition unit)
22 Gyro unit (movement information acquisition unit)
23 Acceleration sensor unit (movement information acquisition unit)
24 Vehicle data processing unit (movement information acquisition unit)
25 Information processing section (recording image quality instruction section)
27 Map information recording unit 28 Signal output unit (output unit)
30 Camera (photographing device)
31 Drive recorder 32 Video signal processing unit 33 Image compression unit 34 Captured image recording unit 35 Control unit (recording image quality control unit)

Claims (3)

  It is equipped with a navigation device that provides route guidance during travel and a constantly-recorded drive recorder that records the situation outside the vehicle during travel. The navigation device determines the road conditions ahead of the traveling vehicle, and the road conditions reach a predetermined condition. A drive recorder system comprising a recording image quality control unit for changing the recording image quality of the drive recorder in the case of In the continuous recording drive recorder that records the state outside the car during driving,
An always-recording type drive recorder comprising a recording image quality control unit that changes a recording image quality when a road condition ahead of a traveling vehicle reaches a predetermined condition. In a navigation device that provides route guidance during travel,
An output unit that outputs a signal for changing the recording image quality to a constantly-recording drive recorder that determines the road situation in front of the traveling vehicle and records the state outside the vehicle during traveling when the road situation reaches a predetermined situation. A navigation device characterized by comprising.

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