JP2011096063A - Drive recorder apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive recorder apparatus for suitable photographing each of a situation, prior to the generation of a predetermined event and a situation, after the generation of the predetermined event. <P>SOLUTION: The drive recorder apparatus includes a control section 3; the control section instructs an imaging section 1 to output images of different modes, before and after receiving notification indicating the generation of the predetermined event from a vehicle sensor signal analysis section 4; has a timer function; reads out from a buffer 6 compressed video dada for predetermined periods, prior to and after receiving the notification indicating the generation of the predetermined event from the vehicle sensor signal analysis section 4; and causes an external memory 10 record the read data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive recorder apparatus that records data relating to the operation status of a vehicle.

  Conventionally, there has been proposed a drive recorder device that records an image of a surrounding environment during driving and a vehicle sensor signal indicating a vehicle running state such as a vehicle speed, acceleration, brake pressure, steering wheel, and steering angle (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent). Reference 2).

  The drive recorder device continuously records the running image and the vehicle sensor signal in the ring buffer structure so as to sequentially update the oldest information, and an accident or danger occurs depending on the input from the vehicle sensor signal. In general, an event recording mode method is used in which information before and after the operation is recorded in another storage medium (for example, an SD card) when it is determined as driving.

  In the event recording type drive recorder apparatus, it is very beneficial to record the information not only at the time of an accident but also at the time of dangerous driving because it becomes possible to raise the driver's awareness of safe driving. For this reason, mounting of event recording type drive recorder devices to taxis, buses, trucks, etc. is being studied.

  Naturally, when an accident occurs, it is useful to investigate the cause of the accident by recording the surrounding environment as detailed as possible with the drive recorder device. For example, in Patent Document 1, by recording while tracking a traffic light so as to be located within a predetermined area of a recorded image, the lighting state of the traffic light, which is influential information at the time of the occurrence of an accident, is an influential clue for analyzing the cause of the accident. There has been proposed a drive recorder apparatus capable of performing the above.

JP 2003-151042 A JP 2002-209173 A

  However, in the conventional drive recorder device, for example, the situation immediately before the accident can be grasped, but the situation after the accident is not always sufficiently captured, and for example, it is difficult to identify the opponent vehicle when a rear-end collision occurs. Had a problem. In particular, in the drive recorder apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, since the photographing is stopped at the time of the occurrence of the accident, the state after the accident was not photographed at all.

  Furthermore, since the drive recorder apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a drive unit that changes the shooting direction or magnification of the imaging unit in order to obtain detailed information immediately before the accident, it is an expensive device. It also had the problem of end.

  In view of the above situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a drive recorder apparatus that can appropriately capture a situation before a predetermined event occurs and a situation after a predetermined event occurs. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a drive recorder apparatus according to the present invention is a drive recorder apparatus mounted on a vehicle, and includes an imaging unit and video compression for compressing video from the imaging unit and converting the compressed video data into compressed video data A buffer for storing the compressed video data output from the video compression unit for a certain period, and the oldest compressed video data among the compressed video data for a certain period stored in the buffer is the latest compressed video A control unit that sequentially updates data and records the data in the buffer, a vehicle sensor signal output unit that outputs a vehicle sensor signal indicating the state of the vehicle, and a case where a predetermined event occurs when the vehicle sensor signal is analyzed A vehicle sensor signal analysis unit that notifies the control unit to that effect, and the control unit indicates that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit. Instructing the imaging unit to output video in different modes before and after receiving knowledge, having a timer function, and for a predetermined period before and after receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit The compressed video data is read from the buffer and recorded in an external memory. According to such a configuration, the imaging unit performs video output in different modes before and after the occurrence of the predetermined event, so that the situation before the predetermined event occurs and the situation after the predetermined event occur can be appropriately captured. Is possible.

  Further, the video compression unit keeps the compression rate the same before or after the control unit receives a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit, or keeps the upper limit of the variable compression rate the same. It may be. This eliminates the possibility that the recording area of the external memory is compressed before or after the occurrence of a predetermined event.

  Further, the control unit instructs the imaging unit to output a video in a wide-angle mode before receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit, and receives a predetermined output from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit. After receiving the notification that an event has occurred, the imaging unit may be instructed to output a video in a cut-out mode, which is a mode for cutting out a predetermined range from the video in the wide-angle mode. This allows a wide range of peripheral information to be recorded in a wide-angle mode before the occurrence of a predetermined event, which can be used to estimate the cause of the occurrence of the predetermined event, and to identify the opponent vehicle in the cut-off mode after the occurrence of the predetermined event. It is possible to record in detail.

  The imaging unit may include a fisheye lens. This eliminates the need for an additional function (for example, a drive unit that changes the shooting direction or magnification of the imaging unit) for collecting vehicle peripheral information, thereby reducing costs.

  The vehicle sensor signal output unit includes an impact detection unit that outputs information about an impact received by the vehicle and / or a vehicle information output unit that outputs information about a running state of the vehicle, and the buffer includes the impact Information from the detection unit and / or the vehicle information output unit may be stored in synchronization with the compressed video data. Thereby, the situation before and after the occurrence of the event is recorded in the external memory in more detail.

  In addition, the control unit includes a license plate recognition unit, and after receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit, the license plate recognition unit is included in an image output from the imaging unit. Whether the number plate portion of the vehicle is present, and if the number plate portion of the vehicle is included in the image output from the image pickup portion, the image of the number plate portion of the vehicle is added to the image output from the image pickup portion. The video may be superimposed and recorded in the buffer. Thereby, for example, when an accident occurs, the opponent vehicle can be identified more easily.

  A microphone; and an audio compression unit that compresses audio data output from the microphone and converts the compressed audio data into compressed audio data; and the buffer stores the compressed audio data in synchronization with the compressed video data. May be. Thereby, the situation before and after the occurrence of the event is recorded in the external memory in more detail.

  In addition, a GPS receiving unit that receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite and generates position information of the drive recorder device may be provided, and the buffer may store the position information in synchronization with the compressed video data. Good. As a result, the location when the event occurs is also recorded in the external memory.

  The control unit may have a clock function, and the buffer may store time information output from the control unit in synchronization with the compressed video data. Thereby, the time when the event occurs is also recorded in the external memory.

  According to the drive recorder device of the present invention, the imaging unit performs video output in different modes before and after the occurrence of the predetermined event, so that the situation before the predetermined event occurs and the situation after the predetermined event has occurred, respectively It becomes possible to photograph appropriately.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the drive recorder apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the angle of view of a fisheye lens. It is a figure which shows the example which used the buffer memory by the ring buffer structure. It is an image figure which shows the example of the video data in wide angle mode. It is an image figure which shows the example of the video data in cutout mode. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the drive recorder apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the drive recorder apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure of the video data when the license plate of the vehicle is recognized by the control unit in the cutout mode. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the drive recorder apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the drive recorder apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

<< First Embodiment >>
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

<Configuration of Drive Recorder Device According to First Embodiment>
The configuration of the drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes an imaging unit 1 equipped with a fisheye lens, a video compression unit 2, a control unit 3 having a timer function, a vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4, A vehicle sensor signal output unit 5, a buffer memory 6, and an external memory interface 7 are provided. The vehicle sensor signal output unit 5 includes a vehicle information output unit 8 and an impact detection unit 9. The external memory (for example, SD card) 10 is detachable from the external memory interface 7.

  When the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4 determines that an accident has occurred or a dangerous driving is performed based on information from the vehicle information output unit 8 and the impact detection unit 9, the timing at which an image is recorded in the control unit 3 (hereinafter referred to as event generation). ). Here, for example, the vehicle information output unit 8 may output a vehicle running state such as vehicle speed, brake pressure, steering wheel, and steering angle, and the impact detection unit 9 may output acceleration. The vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4 may When a sudden change in acceleration (for example, 0.3 G or more) is detected and a sudden start, a sudden brake, or a sudden handle is detected, it is determined that an accident or dangerous driving has occurred, and an event occurrence is notified to the control unit 3 .

  When the event occurrence notification is not received from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4, the control unit 3 instructs the imaging unit 1 to output a video in the wide-angle mode by the mode instruction signal S1. The imaging unit 1 outputs the video in the wide-angle mode to the video compression unit 2 based on the video captured through the fisheye lens. The video compression unit 2 converts the video received from the imaging unit 1 into compressed video data by performing an encoding process at a constant compression rate using the MPEG4 or Motion JPEG compression method, and converts the compressed video data to the control unit. 3 is output. The control unit 3 uses the buffer memory 6 in a ring buffer structure, and buffers the compressed video data for a certain period.

  Here, the method of performing the encoding process at a constant compression rate has been described, but even a variable compression rate can be used in the same manner if the upper limit of the compression rate is determined.

  A detailed description of the fisheye lens, ring buffer structure, and wide-angle mode will be described later.

  On the other hand, when an event occurrence notification is received from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4, the control unit 3 starts measuring time with an internal timer, and outputs a video in the cut-out mode to the imaging unit 1 based on the mode instruction signal S1. Instruct. The control unit 3 then sends the compressed video data (compressed video data before and after the occurrence of the event) stored in the buffer memory 6 via the external memory interface 7 to the external memory 10 after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the time measurement by the internal timer. To record. The control unit 3 may record information output from the vehicle information output unit 8 and / or information output from the impact detection unit 9 in the buffer memory 6 in synchronization with the compressed video data.

  If the recording time before and after the event occurs is at least 10 seconds before the event occurrence and about 5 seconds after the event occurrence, it is possible to record the surrounding environment before the event occurrence and the detailed status after the event occurrence. Conceivable.

  Detailed description of the cut-out mode will be described later.

<Description of fisheye lens>
Next, the fisheye lens will be described. A fisheye lens is a lens having an angle of view of around 180 degrees. When a fisheye lens is used, it is possible to capture a substantially horizontal field of view that does not fit in the human field of view at once, using the light refraction of a hemispherically raised lens. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the angle of view of the fisheye lens, and assumes a horizontal angle of view of 180 degrees and a vertical angle of view of 144 degrees. In this case, if the height of the traffic light is assumed to be 5 m in general, the traffic light can be captured in the video even if the distance from the traffic light is 2 m. It becomes possible.

<Description of ring buffer structure>
Next, the ring buffer structure will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which the buffer memory 6 is used in a ring buffer structure. Before the event occurs, as shown in FIG. 3A, the “recording pointer 1” is placed on the latest video “wide-angle video (N)” (N is time), and the recording time to the external memory 10 is reached. “Recording pointer 2” is placed on “wide-angle video (N-14)” which is a video retroactive from the latest video for 15 seconds. At the stage where 1 second has elapsed from the state shown in FIG. 3A, both “record pointer 1” and “record pointer 2” are moved down by one, and the latest video data is the location of “wide-angle video (N-19)”. And the oldest information is sequentially updated.

  When an event occurs in the state shown in FIG. 3A, the compressed video data in the cut-out mode is overwritten sequentially from the oldest video of the compressed video data in the wide-angle mode, and the mode is switched from the wide-angle mode to the cut-out mode. 3 seconds later, that is, when the state shown in FIG. 3B is reached, the compressed video data for 15 seconds located between “record pointer 1” and “record pointer 2” is stored in the external memory 10. Will be recorded.

  Here, since there is no accumulation of compressed video data immediately after the power is turned on, “record pointer 2” is in the same location as “record pointer 1”, and “record pointer 2” does not move until 15 seconds after power is turned on. It is controlled by the control unit 3 so as not to exist.

<Description of wide-angle mode and clipping mode>
FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing an example of video data in the wide-angle mode. Although the four corners are usually distorted due to the fisheye lens, the distortion of the four corners is omitted in FIG. 4 is an imaging range in the cutout mode, and FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing an example of video data in the cutout mode. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the hatched portion indicates the hood of the host vehicle.

  As can be seen by comparing FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the wide-angle mode can sufficiently capture the surrounding environment, but the vehicle or the like appears small, so it is not suitable for recording detailed information after an accident. In contrast, the cut-out mode is suitable for recording detailed information after an accident because the range in which the surrounding environment is imaged is narrow but the vicinity of the front of the host vehicle can be recorded in detail.

<Operation of Drive Recorder Device According to First Embodiment>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. When the drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is powered on, the control unit 3 first sets the imaging unit 1 to the wide angle mode (step S10). Next, the controller 3 determines whether or not an event has occurred based on the notification from the vehicle sensor signal analyzer 4 while recording the compressed video data in the wide-angle mode in the buffer memory 6 (step S20) (step S20). Step S30).

  If no event has occurred (NO in step S30), the process returns to step S20 to continue recording the compressed video data in the buffer memory 6 in the wide-angle mode. On the other hand, when an event occurs (YES in step S30), the control unit 3 changes the imaging unit 1 from the wide-angle mode to the cut-out mode (step S40).

  After the process of step S40, the control unit 3 determines whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed since the event occurred while recording the compressed video data in the cut-out mode in the buffer memory 6 (step S50). (Step S60).

  If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the event occurrence (NO in step S60), the process returns to step S50 to continue recording the compressed video data in the buffer memory 6 in the cut-out mode. On the other hand, when a predetermined time has elapsed from the occurrence of the event (YES in step S60), the control unit 3 stores the compressed video data for 15 seconds positioned between the “record pointer 1” and the “record pointer 2”. It records in the external memory 10 (step S70), and then returns to step S10.

  As described above, the drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention uses the same compression rate (the same upper limit compression rate in the case of the variable compression rate) for the video data in the wide-angle mode and the video data in the cut-out mode. Since the recording is performed, the image quality is improved in the cut-out mode compared with the wide-angle mode without pressing the recording area of the external memory 10. As a result, a wide range of peripheral information is recorded in the wide-angle mode before the event occurs, and it is useful for estimating the cause when the event occurs, and after the event occurs, detailed recording is performed so that the opponent vehicle can be identified in the cut-out mode. And the situation after the event occurs can be appropriately photographed.

<< Second Embodiment >>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

<Configuration of Drive Recorder Device According to Second Embodiment>
The configuration of the drive recorder apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The drive recorder apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 removes the control unit 3 from the drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and is provided with a control unit 3 ′ instead. It is a configuration.

  The control unit 3 ′ includes a license plate recognition unit, and is obtained by adding a license plate recognition function to the function of the control unit 3. Upon receipt of the event occurrence notification from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4, the control unit 3 ′ starts measuring time with the internal timer, and instructs the imaging unit 1 to output video in the cut-out mode by the mode instruction signal S1. After that, it is determined whether or not there is a license plate part in the video in the cut-out mode using image recognition technology. If there is a license plate part, the part is overlaid on the video data in the cut-out mode and buffered. 6, and after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of timing by the internal timer, the compressed video data (compressed video data before and after the occurrence of the event) stored in the buffer memory 6 is recorded in the external memory 10 via the external memory interface 7. Let Note that the control unit 3 ′ previously stores, for example, feature items (for example, shape, color, etc.) of the license plate in the built-in memory, and a location that matches the special items exists in the video in the cutout mode. It is preferable to determine whether or not there is a license plate portion in the video in the cut-out mode by checking whether or not to do so. It is desirable that the license plate portion is enlarged and then superimposed on the video data in the cut-out mode.

<Description of video in wide-angle mode>
FIG. 8 is an image diagram of video data when the control unit 3 'recognizes a license plate in the cut-out mode, and an image obtained by cutting out the license plate is superimposed on the lower side of the video data. The lower part of the video data shows the bonnet of the host vehicle and is likely to be outside the data required for detailed information verification after the accident.

<Operation of Drive Recorder Device According to Second Embodiment>
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the drive recorder apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, the same steps as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is obtained by adding steps S41 and S42 to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the drive recorder apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is turned on, the control unit 3 'first sets the imaging unit 1 to the wide angle mode (step S10). Next, the control unit 3 ′ determines whether or not an event has occurred based on the notification from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit 4 while recording the compressed video data in the wide-angle mode in the buffer memory 6 (step S20). (Step S30).

  If no event has occurred (NO in step S30), the process returns to step S20 to continue recording the compressed video data in the buffer memory 6 in the wide-angle mode. On the other hand, when an event occurs (YES in step S30), the control unit 3 ′ changes the imaging unit 1 from the wide-angle mode to the cut-out mode (step S40).

  After the process of step S40, the control unit 3 ′ determines whether or not there is a license plate portion in the video in the cutout mode (step S41). If there is no license plate portion in the video in the cut-out mode (NO in step S41), the process immediately proceeds to step S50. On the other hand, if there is a license plate portion in the video in the cut-out mode (YES in step S41), the control unit 3 ′ superimposes the license plate portion on the video in the cut-out mode (step S42), and then goes to step S50. Transition.

  Then, the control unit 3 ′ determines whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed since the event occurred while recording the compressed video data in the cut-out mode in the buffer memory 6 (step S50). S60).

  If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the event occurrence (NO in step S60), the process returns to step S50 to continue recording the compressed video data in the buffer memory 6 in the cut-out mode. On the other hand, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the occurrence of the event (YES in step S60), the control unit 3 ′ displays the compressed video data for 15 seconds located between the “recording pointer 1” and the “recording pointer 2”. Is recorded in the external memory 10 (step S70), and then the process returns to step S10.

  Since the drive recorder device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is configured to superimpose the license plate portion on the video in the cut-out mode as described above, it is compared with the drive recorder device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The partner vehicle can be identified more easily when an accident occurs.

<< Third Embodiment >>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

<Configuration of Drive Recorder Device According to Third Embodiment>
FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the drive recorder apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 10, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The drive recorder apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 10 removes the control unit 3 from the drive recorder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and is provided with a control unit 3 ″ instead. Furthermore, the microphone 11, the voice compression unit 12, and the GPS receiving unit 13 are newly provided, and the GPS receiving unit 13 receives the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite and receives the GPS signal shown in FIG. The position information of the drive recorder device according to the third embodiment of the present invention is generated. The control unit 3 ″ is obtained by adding a clock function and a function for processing the position information generated by the GPS receiving unit 13 to the function of the control unit 3. It is.

  In the control unit 3 ″, the audio compression unit 12 performs encoding processing on the audio data output from the microphone 11 by a predetermined compression method to convert the audio data into compressed audio data, and converts the compressed audio data into the control unit 3 ″. Output to. The control unit 3 ″ records the compressed audio data in the buffer memory 6 in synchronization with the compressed video data. Thereby, the situation before and after the event occurrence is recorded in the external memory 10 in more detail.

  The control unit 3 ″ also records time information and position information in the buffer memory 6 in synchronization with the compressed audio data and the compressed video data. Thereby, the location and time when the event occurs are also recorded in the external memory 10. It will be.

<< Other >>
As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, the range of this invention is not limited to this, A various change can be added and implemented in the range which does not deviate from the main point of invention.

  For example, you may implement combining 2nd Embodiment and 3rd Embodiment of this invention mentioned above. Further, for example, a wide-angle lens may be used instead of the fisheye lens.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image pick-up part 2 Image | video compression part 3 Control part 4 Vehicle sensor signal analysis part 5 Vehicle sensor signal output part 6 Buffer memory 7 External memory interface 8 Vehicle information output part 9 Impact detection part 10 External memory 11 Microphone 12 Voice compression part 13 GPS reception Part

Claims (9)

A drive recorder device mounted on a vehicle,
An imaging unit;
A video compression unit that compresses video from the imaging unit and converts it into compressed video data;
A buffer for storing the compressed video data output from the video compression unit for a certain period;
Among the compressed video data for a certain period stored in the buffer, a control unit that sequentially updates the oldest compressed video data to the latest compressed video data and records it in the buffer;
A vehicle sensor signal output unit that outputs a vehicle sensor signal indicating the state of the vehicle;
A vehicle sensor signal analysis unit that analyzes the vehicle sensor signal and notifies the control unit to that effect when a predetermined event occurs;
The controller is
Instructing the imaging unit to output video in different modes before and after receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit,
It has a timer function, and reads compressed video data for a predetermined period before and after receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit, and records the compressed video data in an external memory. Drive recorder device.   The video compression unit maintains the same compression rate or the same upper limit of the variable compression rate before and after the control unit receives notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit. The drive recorder apparatus according to claim 1.   The control unit instructs the imaging unit to output a video in a wide-angle mode before receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit, and a predetermined event is received from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit. 3. The image pickup unit is instructed to output a video in a cut-out mode, which is a mode for cutting out a predetermined range from the video in the wide-angle mode after receiving the notification that the occurrence has occurred. The drive recorder apparatus described in 1.   The drive recorder device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit includes a fisheye lens. The vehicle sensor signal output unit includes an impact detection unit that outputs information about an impact received by the vehicle and / or a vehicle information output unit that outputs information about a running state of the vehicle,
5. The drive recorder device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer stores information from the impact detection unit and / or the vehicle information output unit in synchronization with the compressed video data. . The control unit has a license plate recognition unit,
After receiving a notification that a predetermined event has occurred from the vehicle sensor signal analysis unit, the license plate recognition unit determines whether or not there is a vehicle license plate in the video output from the imaging unit. When the image output from the image pickup unit includes a vehicle license plate portion, the image output from the image pickup portion is superimposed on the image of the vehicle license plate portion and recorded in the buffer. The drive recorder apparatus of any one of Claims 1-5. With a microphone,
An audio compression unit that compresses audio data output from the microphone and converts it into compressed audio data;
7. The drive recorder device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer stores the compressed audio data in synchronization with the compressed video data. A GPS receiver that receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite and generates position information of the drive recorder device,
8. The drive recorder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buffer stores the position information in synchronization with the compressed video data. The control unit has a clock function;
9. The drive recorder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buffer stores time information output from the control unit in synchronization with the compressed video data.

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