JP2018196066A - Drive recorder, display device for drive recorder, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a drive recorder having a large photographable range and a small dead angle.SOLUTION: A first camera 26 and a second camera 27 for photographing a range of a half-celestial sphere or more are provided. The two cameras are mounted in a casing 25 so as to photograph opposite directions respectively. In a state where a body case 13 in which a control unit and the like is mounted is adhered and fixed on a windshield, the dashboard and a pillar of the vehicle appear in the peripheries of images photographed respectively by the two cameras.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a drive recorder, a display device for a drive recorder, a program, and the like.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a drive recorder attached so as to be adjacent to a rearview mirror fixed to an upper portion of a windshield of a vehicle compartment of a vehicle such as an automobile. In this drive recorder, a vehicle interior surveillance camera is provided on the third case body, and a front surveillance camera is provided on the first case body.

  In Patent Document 1, as an explanation of a drive recorder, for example, in paragraph [0002], “the driver's field of view and the surrounding situation are imaged and the captured image data is stored in a temporary storage memory”. For example, in paragraph [0006], “not only recording a predetermined time before and after the occurrence of a vehicle accident, but also, for example, always capturing the surrounding situation and recording the captured image data” It is described.

JP2013-225179A

  The drive recorder disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a relatively narrow angle of view as an example of a picture taken by the front monitoring camera, as shown in FIG. A certain range in front of the vehicle is photographed. Paragraph [0077] of Patent Document 1 shows that the in-vehicle monitoring camera is configured with a lens having a narrower angle of view than the front monitoring camera. As described above, the conventional drive recorder has a narrow shooting range, and the range of video to be recorded is not sufficient.

  Further, the object of the present invention is not limited to this, and it is an object to obtain the effects produced from the components disclosed in the present specification and drawings. For example, the present specification discloses a problem in which a part described as “can be” in the present specification is read as “a task”. It is also an object of the present invention to solve this problem. The applicant of the present application intends to make a part of the configuration described in the present specification as a claim in the amendment or divisional application.

  (1) The photographing means for photographing a range wider than the hemisphere area and the attaching means for attaching to the vehicle so that a part of the range photographed by the photographing means is the front range of the vehicle. Since a wider range than the hemispherical region can be captured, the range that can be captured is wider than before. The attachment means has a function of attaching the drive recorder to the vehicle and fixing the photographing direction of the photographing means. Since a range wider than the hemisphere area including the front range of the vehicle is captured, for example, the range to be captured at the time of an accident is wide, and in addition to the collision at the front side of the vehicle, it is also possible to capture a collision in another direction It ’s good because there are fewer blind spots. The range wider than the hemispherical region may be a continuous space. Since this drive recorder captures a wider range than the hemispherical region including the front range, for example, when the attachment means is attached to a predetermined position in the vehicle interior of the vehicle, an image of the outside and inside of the vehicle is captured from the interior of the vehicle It becomes the device which outputs or records.

  (2) The photographing means includes a plurality of cameras, one of the plurality of cameras is a camera for photographing a range of hemisphere or higher, and the other camera is a camera for photographing a range narrower than the hemisphere. Yes, it is preferable that the two shooting areas have different areas. The shooting areas may partially overlap, but by shooting different parts, a range that cannot be covered by the shooting range of the camera that captures the hemisphere or higher range can be shot with another camera. If they have different areas, the imaging areas may include overlapping parts or the imaging areas may not overlap, but it is more preferable to include overlapping parts. A camera that captures a hemisphere or higher range has a lower resolution as it goes to the periphery. For example, a camera that captures a part of the periphery of the periphery where the resolution decreases and a range narrower than the hemisphere. If the shooting areas are overlapped, it is possible to capture clearly based on a camera that captures a range narrower than the hemisphere. In the embodiment, this drive recorder corresponds to a drive recorder including a third camera and a fourth camera. A camera that captures a range of the hemisphere or higher corresponds to the third camera, and a camera that captures a range smaller than the hemisphere corresponds to the fourth camera.

  In addition, for example, with the camera attached to a predetermined position of the vehicle, one camera that captures the hemisphere or higher range images the lower side, and another camera images the front of the vehicle. In this case, it is preferable to monitor the entire circumference of the horizontal plane of the vehicle using the one camera and to function as a normal drive recorder using another camera. For example, if one of the cameras captures a hemispherical range with an angle of view of 180 degrees around the circumference, the surroundings can be efficiently and beautifully captured. If the angle is 180 degrees or more, a useless scene such as a photograph of the ceiling of the vehicle is captured, and the captured image becomes smaller and the resolution is lowered. However, if the angle is 180 degrees, the problem is eliminated. On the other hand, when the angle is set to 180 degrees, an object located obliquely above, such as a traffic light in front, cannot be photographed, but it can be handled by another camera that photographs the front.

  (3) The imaging unit may include one camera that captures a wider range than the hemisphere including the lower hemisphere in a state of being attached to the vehicle by the attachment unit. In this way, it is possible to photograph all the front, rear, left and right directions of the vehicle. For example, it is possible to photograph an object approaching the vehicle from each direction around the vehicle. In order to image a range wider than the hemisphere, for example, the space of the imaging means obliquely above is also an imaging area. Therefore, for example, when photographing the front of the vehicle, it is sufficient that the vehicle ahead and the traffic light can be photographed firmly.

  By using the function to shoot in all directions, front, back, left and right, for example, even when there is a vehicle collision from the side or rear while driving, there is a high possibility of shooting the situation, and the conventional drive There are fewer blind spots compared to the recorder. For example, when operating during parking, security monitoring can be effectively performed.

  A wider range than the 180 degree hemisphere is, for example, a range of 220 to 260 degrees, which is preferable because the traffic light can be photographed and the color of the signal of the photographed traffic light can be confirmed. The range from 230 degrees to 240 degrees is more preferable because the traffic light can be photographed so that the color of the signal can be confirmed more reliably, and the image can be photographed without lowering the resolution of the vehicle ahead and other scenery such as the front of the vehicle.

 (4) The photographing means includes two cameras for photographing a hemisphere or higher range, and the two cameras photograph opposite directions, respectively, and are mounted in the vehicle interior by the attachment means. The dashboard and the pillar of the vehicle may be displayed on the periphery of the images captured by the two cameras.

  In this way, an image of a celestial sphere of 720 degrees (horizontal 360 degrees + vertical 360 degrees) can be taken with one drive recorder. With conventional drive recorders, you can only shoot within a predetermined range in front of the vehicle, so the sides and rear are blind spots, and the situation at the time of emergency may not be recorded in the video, It ’s good that the blind spots disappear by shooting. The two cameras correspond to the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 in the embodiment.

  When the drive recorder is mounted in the vehicle interior, one of the two cameras mainly shoots the area on the front side of the drive recorder, and the other camera mainly shoots the area on the back side of the drive recorder. Since the dashboard and pillars are projected on the periphery of the images taken by the two cameras, the drive recorder is attached in front of the driver by the attaching means. One camera shoots in front of the direction of travel, and the other camera shoots behind and inside the vehicle interior, so the front view, the driver in the car, etc. are shown at the center of the images taken by each camera. When the spheres of the images taken by the two cameras are connected so that the entire celestial sphere (images of 360 degrees in the front, back, left, right, top, bottom) is captured, the connection and boundary between the front and rear sides It can be positioned sideways, so that the connecting part does not become difficult to see in the front scenery or the center of the image showing the interior of the vehicle. The central area captured by each camera has a higher resolution than the peripheral area, and it is possible to capture the scenery of the front vehicle and the front central part, the driver in the passenger compartment, passengers, etc. in the high resolution area. . The front view that functions as the original drive recorder can be taken with the video from only one camera.

  In the above example, dashboards and pillars are reflected in the joints. However, for example, by fixing the joints at a specific position, the parts at the specific position are difficult to be seen and the other parts are reflected. It should be easy.

  Further, for example, a housing for mounting the photographing means and a main body case for mounting processing circuits and various sensors for executing various processes are configured by separate members, and both are connected by an angle adjustment mechanism. It may be configured to rotate around the horizontal axis and allow swinging in the front-rear direction, but does not rotate around the vertical axis and does not swing sideways.

  (5) The photographing means is provided with two cameras for photographing a hemisphere or more, and the two cameras are respectively photographed in opposite directions, and the two cameras are photographed respectively. It is for connecting the peripheral edges of the video to form one video, and it is preferable to provide means for making the connecting portions of the peripheral areas photographed by the two cameras inconspicuous.

  When two videos are connected to create one celestial sphere image, a part of the whole image is cut out and displayed, and the cut out area is moved, the connected area may be included in the cut out area. Since the connection part is not conspicuous and the means is provided, the connection part may not be conspicuous, and the whole celestial sphere may be connected to the image without a sense of incongruity.

  The inconspicuous means is, for example, brightness adjustment means at the time of shooting, and the brightness adjustment means may be configured such that, for example, two cameras capture images with the same brightness. For the same brightness, for example, the exposure conditions controlled by the exposure control function may be the same. Normally, when the exposure control function is implemented in each of the two cameras, photometry is performed with the respective cameras, and shooting is performed under appropriate exposure conditions according to the photometric results. In this case, for example, when one camera mainly captures the scenery outside the vehicle, the subject is bright, and when the other camera mainly captures the interior of the vehicle, the subject is dark. Under different exposure conditions, you can shoot with different brightness. When photographing is performed in this way, the difference in brightness at the connecting portion is noticeable and a sense of incongruity occurs. If the brightness adjustment means controls the two cameras to shoot at the same brightness, it does not matter that there is no sense of incongruity at the joint.

  When one image is created and displayed by connecting the edges of images taken with the same brightness by two cameras, the connecting portion is not noticeable. When the two cameras adjust the brightness separately, usually, for example, control is performed so that an outside bright scene and a relatively dark interior are captured beautifully. For example, if the brightness changes in a portion where the image changes from the image of the camera that shoots the front to the image of the camera that shoots the rear, the connected portion will stand out and become uncomfortable. In a dark and hard-to-see vehicle, it is good to shoot as it is difficult to see, so that you can reproduce what you see.

  When making the entire brightness the same, for example, it is preferable to perform based on the photometric result of one camera that captures the front, because it is possible to capture the front view clearly, but the photometric result of the other camera that captures the rear is also taken into account. This is more preferable because it is possible to prevent the vehicle interior from being dark and difficult to see. Metering with each camera is based on center-weighted metering because the video you want to see is in the center of the image.In addition, the dashboard, floor, seat, etc. are photographed below the image. Priority metering may be performed particularly on the upper region of the central portion. Furthermore, if the divided photometry is performed on the entire two images including the joint, it is sufficient that the entire image can be photographed without being too dark or whiteout. Further, it is preferable to extract a moving part, perform spot photometry on the part, and adjust the brightness based on the photometric result. For example, pillars and dashboards are not moving, but the scenery outside and the people in the vehicle are moving. Therefore, by measuring the area where there is movement, it is good to be able to shoot easily where you want to see.

  Further, the brightness adjusting means may be the same as the whole, or the central portion may be individually adjusted so that the brightness of the peripheral portion is the same. In that case, since the brightness adjusted individually in the central portion and the brightness in the peripheral portion may be different, it is preferable to correct gradation or the like at an intermediate portion between the central portion and the peripheral portion. It is more preferable to shoot the entire screen with the same brightness because the control on the photographing means / camera side is simple and the process of connecting the two shot images is simple.

  (6) The photographing means includes two cameras for photographing a hemisphere or higher range, and arranges the two cameras so that an area photographed by the two cameras overlaps at a peripheral portion. It is preferable that the overlapped area captures a predetermined position in the passenger compartment while being attached to the vehicle by means.

  An object existing in the overlapping area is photographed by each of the two cameras. When the images from the two cameras are connected, the same object may be divided into two parts and displayed at different positions. However, if the overlapping area is close to a predetermined position in the vehicle interior, the predetermined object in the vehicle interior will be displayed. Even if it is hidden in the position and is not photographed in the first place, or if it is photographed and displayed at a different position, the predetermined position in the vehicle compartment is conspicuous, and it is not noticeable that it is displayed in two parts, and there is no sense of incongruity.

  (7) The predetermined position may be at least one of a pillar and a dashboard of the vehicle. The pillar dashboard is about 1 to 3 meters away from the camera installed in the vehicle interior, which is relatively close to the object existing outside the vehicle, and there is little displacement when the images from the two cameras are connected. Even if it does not stand out. In addition, since the dashboard is generally similar in color and generally dark in color, the dashboard is not conspicuous even if it is shifted in view of this point. Also, dashboards and pillars aren't something you look at from the outset, so you don't mind even if they are misaligned. Further, the pillar is located behind the person or other object outside the vehicle, but part or all of the pillar is hidden behind the pillar, so that the shift is not noticeable.

  (8) The two cameras capture a range of a hemisphere or more, and the two cameras are mounted in one housing, and the outer shape of the housing is a sphere, and the two cameras These lenses may be arranged in a state of being exposed on the surface on the opposite side in the diameter direction of the sphere.

  Since the housing on which the camera is mounted is a sphere, it may be easy to imagine that it is a camera that shoots the entire celestial sphere. Since the lens is arranged so that the lens is exposed and protrudes on the surface of the sphere, the housing is less likely to be reflected on the camera even in a camera that captures a range of hemisphere or more. If it is made into a sphere, it will look smaller, and it will give off the omnidirectional drive recorder.

  (9) A main body case for mounting the control unit is provided, and a housing for mounting the two cameras is disposed below the main body case in a state of being attached by the attachment means, and the main body case is attached to the camera. It is good to have a shape that makes it difficult to capture. The main body case is less likely to appear in the images taken by the camera, so you can easily see the scenery outside the car and the interior of the car. For the shape that is difficult to capture, it is better to make the part that exists in the shooting range of the camera as small as possible, for example, to make the main body case a tapered surface with a predetermined corner, to reduce the size of the body case as much as possible, Since the blind spot becomes a conical shape, it is preferable to make the main body case a shape close to the conical shape.

  (10) It is preferable that a main body case for mounting the control unit and the recording means is provided, the housing for mounting the two cameras is arranged separately from the main body case, and a switch is provided in the housing. For example, the recording means collects ambient sounds. For example, in the event of an accident, it collects and records the sound of a collision, the sound accompanying a brake operation, the voice of a driver or a passenger, etc. belongs to. This is useful, for example, for analyzing the accident after the accident has occurred. When the switch is operated, the operation sound will reverberate inside the case, and if recorded as it is and then played back, it will be annoying and you may feel troublesome in the analysis of the accident, but the recording means is a separate body from the case Since it is mounted in the case, even the reflected operation sound is not transmitted to the main body case, and the operation sound is not recorded. In the embodiment, the recording unit corresponds to, for example, a microphone. The switch may be, for example, a switch that gives an instruction to record information based on video captured by the camera in accordance with the operation of the switch.

  (11) A control unit, a main body case for mounting the recording means, and a housing for mounting the two cameras in a state of being mounted in the vehicle interior by the mounting means are located below the main body case, A switch may be provided on the lower surface side of the housing. The housing is disposed under the main body case, and the switch is disposed on the lower surface side of the housing. The switch is close to the driver and easy to push. Further, when the case is made into a sphere as described in (8) above, the switch can be pushed while holding the sphere while grasping it from above and below, and it is easy to push, and it is easy to apply force to the main body case side.

  (12) The casing is rotatably attached to the lower surface side of the main body case in a state of being attached to the vehicle interior by the attachment means via a connecting mechanism, and the connecting mechanism is arranged in front of and behind the vehicle in the attached state. It is advisable to allow rotation in the direction and prevent swinging in the left-right direction.

  (13) A display device for a drive recorder having a function of displaying images captured by two cameras in a single screen in a connected state may be used. For example, by widening the angle of view and displaying it in the opposite direction, the inside of the vehicle such as the driver / passenger is displayed in the center, and the left and right outside scenery is displayed on the periphery, and the virtual outside of the vehicle is displayed. There is a point of view, and the display looks as if the vehicle has been seen from a distance, making it possible to see a novel scenery that cannot be seen by humans and to be interesting.

  (14) The display device for the drive recorder may be provided with a function of displaying the images captured by the two cameras in a connected state, a function of changing the viewpoint, and a function of displaying a reference screen by a one-touch operation.

  When viewing from a different viewpoint, it is possible to return to the reference screen immediately regardless of the orientation. For example, if you cut out a part of the celestial sphere screen and move the cut position or change the size, you may not know which direction you are facing. However, once you return to the reference screen, you can understand the situation. In addition, even if the direction in which the user is currently viewing is known, it is preferable that the user can return to the original reference screen all at once. The reference screen includes, for example, the front and the driver (not diagonally behind but diagonally behind). In the embodiment, there are specific screens such as front, rear, left and right, and bookmarks registered during reproduction.

  (15) A display device for a drive recorder may be provided with a mask function that makes it difficult to see a predetermined part of a video captured by two cameras from other normal display portions. In this way, for example, by making it difficult to see at least the part where the face of the driver is displayed, it may be possible to meet the request that the driver himself does not want to be photographed or embarrassed. Making it difficult to see includes, for example, preventing the image from being clearly displayed, covering it with a mask member to make it completely invisible, performing mosaic processing, or displaying lightly. The area to be masked can be automatically set or manually specified. The automatic setting may be performed by, for example, recognizing a specific place such as a driver's seat, a registered person (self / family, etc.), and setting a part including the face of the person.

  (16) The display device for a drive recorder may include a main display unit and a sub display unit, and each display unit may have a function of displaying different images. It is preferable because different images can be viewed simultaneously. For example, it is preferable to display the scenery in the front on the main display unit and the state of the passenger compartment on the sub display unit because the situation when the scenery is viewed can be related and understood. In addition, during parking, the 360 degree horizontal part is displayed as a circular or panoramic image on the main display, and when the approach of a person is detected, the enlarged image of the person is displayed on the main display. The whole is continuously displayed on the sub display section. In the event of a collision, display the video in the direction of the impact on the main display, and display the scenery outside in a different direction or the situation of the driver / passenger in the passenger compartment on the sub-display. It is good because it can be done accurately. It is preferable to provide a function for switching to the main display unit according to the driving situation and circumstances. In such a case, a necessary video may be reproduced according to, for example, driving conditions.

  (17) A display device for a drive recorder having a function of displaying a specific direction so as to face a predetermined position on the screen may be used. For example, since the specific direction is displayed so as to face a predetermined position in the screen, the user can recognize and understand the reproduced monkey video in relation to the direction when viewing the screen. For example, if the specific direction is “north” and the predetermined position is “on the screen”, it may be intuitively understood by comparing with a map.

  (18) A display device for a drive recorder provided with an editing / playback function that automatically skips unnecessary video and automatically plays back video, instead of playing back the video taken by the two cameras in chronological order. It is good to do. For example, a video that does not interest you or that you do not want to watch will not be played back continuously, and a video that interests you will be played back. preferable.

  The above-described display devices for drive recorders include, for example, a viewer mounted on a computer, a display device connected to or mounted on a drive recorder, and a display device of an in-vehicle device linked to the drive recorder. Examples of the in-vehicle device include a car navigation device.

  (19) The program may be a program characterized by causing a computer to realize the function as the drive recorder display device according to any one of (13) to (18).

  (20) The drive recorder according to any one of (4) to (12) may be a drive recorder having the function of the drive recorder display device according to any one of (13) to (17).

  The inventions (1) to (12) and (20) described above can be arbitrarily combined. For example, not all or a part of (1) may be provided but at least one of the other (2) to (12) and (20) may be provided. However, in particular, it is preferable that all or part of the configuration of (1) is provided and at least one of the configurations and combinations of (2) to (12) and (20) is provided. Further, any constituent element may be extracted from at least one of (1) to (12) and (20) and combined. The inventions (13) to (18) can be arbitrarily combined. Further, any constituent element may be extracted from at least one of (13) to (18) and combined. The applicant of the present application has an intention to acquire a patent right, a design right, and the like by such an application for a change to an amendment / division application / design registration application.

  According to the present invention, the range that can be photographed is wider than before. In addition, for example, a product described in the present specification can be provided, such as a product having an effect described as “can be” in the present specification.

1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a drive recorder according to the present invention. It is a figure explaining the attachment procedure to the windshield of the drive recorder. (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows a part of main body case of a drive recorder, (c) is a bottom view of a drive recorder. It is the perspective view which abbreviate | omitted a part of main body case of the drive recorder of this form. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a lens part. It is a figure which shows the state etc. which attached the drive recorder to the vehicle. It is the perspective view which abbreviate | omitted a part, housing | casing, circuit board, etc. of the main body case of the drive recorder. It is a figure explaining the visual field, an angle of view, etc. of a camera part. It is a figure explaining the blinking state of the lamp | ramp of a switch part. It is a figure explaining the image | video image | photographed with a 1st camera and a 2nd camera. (A) is a figure explaining the example of a display of the image | photographed image | video, (b) is a figure explaining an exposure control function. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a figure explaining the function of PC viewer. It is a six-sided view showing an example of a drive recorder. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a drive recorder.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. These drawings are used to explain technical features that can be adopted by the present invention. The configuration, shape, and the like of the device described are merely illustrative examples, and the present invention is not construed as being limited thereto, and is based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Various changes, modifications, and improvements can be added.

  1 to 8, FIG. 21, FIG. 22, and the like show external views and the like of a preferred embodiment of the drive recorder according to the present invention. The drive recorder 10 according to the present embodiment has a function of recording and outputting an omnidirectional video obtained by photographing all directions of 360 degrees on a horizontal plane and 360 degrees on a vertical plane. The drive recorder 10 includes a main body unit 11 that executes various processes, and a camera unit 12 that is disposed below the main body unit 11 when installed in a vehicle.

  The main body 11 has a flat rectangular main body case 13, and various circuit boards and devices are mounted in the main body case 13. The main body case 13 is configured by connecting the first case 14 and the second case 15. The first case 14 and the second case 15 have a box shape in which the opposing surfaces are open, and are connected by a connecting means in a state where the tip surfaces of the first case 14 and the second case 15 are attached to each other. For example, the connecting means may include a protrusion provided on one of the first case 14 and the second case 15 and a recess linked to the protrusion provided on the other, and the protrusion and the recess may be fitted together.

  The first case 14 has a shallow bottom, the periphery of the opening surface is substantially rectangular and has a shape with four rounded corners, and the depth is substantially uniform throughout. In a state where the drive recorder 10 is installed in the vehicle, the first case 14 is located on the front side of the vehicle. Therefore, the surface opposite to the opening surface of the first case 14 becomes the front surface 13 a of the main body case 13. A joint rail 16 is provided on the front surface 13a. Two joint rails 16 are provided on the upper and lower sides at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction of the first case 14. A bracket 17 is detachably mounted between the two joint rails 16.

  The second case 15 has a box shape deeper than that of the first case 14, and the periphery of the opening surface is substantially rectangular and has a shape with four rounded corners like the first case 14. In a state where the drive recorder 10 is installed in the vehicle, the second case 15 is located on the rear side of the vehicle. Therefore, the surface of the second case 15 opposite to the opening surface is the rear surface 13 b of the main body case 13. The rear surface 13b is a flat surface 13b 'that is adjacent to one of the pair of long sides of the rectangle and is a plane parallel to the front surface 13a of the main body case 13, and the portion adjacent to the other of the pair of long sides is the inclined surface 13b. The inclined surface 13b "is formed so as to gradually approach the opening surface of the second case 15 from the middle side of the short side toward the outer long side. Therefore, the depth of the second case 15 is uniform in the first region including the flat surface 13b ′, and gradually decreases in the second region including the inclined surface 13b ″ as it goes to the long side. By providing the inclined surface 13b ″, the external shape of the main body case 13 becomes a shape in which one long side portion is chamfered based on a rectangular parallelepiped. One long side to be chamfered is the rear upper side with the drive recorder 10 installed in the vehicle. In a state where the first case 14 and the second case 15 are connected, the front surface 13a on the first case 14 side and the flat surface 13b 'on the second case 15 side are parallel to each other.

  The bracket 17 has a flat plate 17a, and a groove 17b is formed along the longitudinal direction on a pair of side surfaces of the long side. The groove 17b is configured to coincide with the joint rail 16. The user attaches or detaches the bracket 17 to the main body case 13 by aligning the groove 17b and the joint rail 16 and relatively sliding the bracket 17 and the main body case 13 (see FIG. 2 and the like).

  The surface of the plate 17a facing the main body case 13 in a state where the bracket 17 is mounted on the main body case 13 has a protrusion 17c (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). When the bracket 17 is mounted between the joint rails 16, the projections 17 c are prevented from being fitted into and removed from the hole 14 b provided in the leaf spring portion 14 a of the first case 14. An adhesive member such as a double-sided tape 19 is attached to the surface of the bracket 17 opposite to the surface facing the main body case 13. When the drive recorder 10 is attached to the vehicle, the bracket 17 is removed from the main body case 13, and the removed bracket 17 is attached and fixed to the windshield 2 of the automobile via a double-sided tape 19 (see FIG. 2B, etc.). . At this time, the bracket 17 is in a horizontally long state so that the pair of long sides are horizontal. By attaching the main body case 13 to the bracket 17 attached to the windshield 2 in such a state (see FIG. 2C, etc.), the drive recorder 10 is attached and fixed at a predetermined position of the vehicle. In this attached state, the front surface 13 a and the flat surface 13 b ′ of the main body case 13 are arranged in parallel with the mounting surface of the windshield 2, the long side of the main body case 13 is located in a horizontal plane, The side surface on the side is located in the vertical plane. Therefore, the main body case 13 is fixed in a state of being attached to the windshield 2 in a horizontally long state, and the camera unit 12 is disposed in a state of being hung down on the bottom surface side of the main body case 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 3, etc., a notch window portion 14c is formed on one short side of the first case 14, and a cover member 20 that closes the notch window portion 14c is attached. . The cover member 20 is fastened and fixed with a screw 21 in a state where the cover member 20 is disposed so as to close the notch window portion 14c. In a state where the cover member 20 is removed, the memory card slot 22 mounted in the main body case 13 is exposed through the notch window portion 14c. A memory card 23 is detachably attached to the memory card slot 22.

  A window hole 13c that opens across the second case 15 of the first case 14 is provided on the side surface opposite to the side where the notched window portion 14c is provided, and a DC jack 24 is provided at the back of the window hole 13c. Deploy. A connector provided at one end of the power cable is attached to the DC jack 24 so as to receive external power supply. The external power supply is performed from, for example, a vehicle battery. For example, the other end of the power cable attached to the DC jack 24 is attached to the cigar socket of the vehicle or directly connected to the power line of the vehicle battery. Further, a power supply device different from the vehicle battery may be prepared, and the drive recorder may be supplied with power from the power supply device. This power supply device is a device that can supply power from a built-in battery even when power is not supplied from the vehicle battery such as when the vehicle is parked. The built-in battery may be, for example, a rechargeable battery. When this power supply device is installed in a vehicle, the power supply device is disposed between the vehicle battery and the drive recorder in the power supply line. In a state where power can be supplied from the vehicle battery such as when the vehicle is running, power is supplied to the drive recorder 10 from the vehicle battery via the power supply device. In this state, the built-in battery of the power supply device is charged by receiving power supply from the vehicle battery. In a state where the power supply from the vehicle battery is OFF, the drive recorder 10 operates by receiving the power supply from the power supply device.

  A hole 13d is provided at a predetermined position on the inclined surface 13b ″ of the first case 14. A microphone 18 is disposed in the body case 13 near the hole 13d. The microphone 18 collects ambient sounds. A plurality of holes 13e are provided at predetermined positions on the flat surface 13b 'of the case 14. A speaker 29 is arranged in the main body case 13 near the holes 13e.

  Various processing circuits, power supply circuits, and the like are mounted in the main body case 13. As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the processing circuit, the power supply circuit, and the like are mounted on the main circuit board 40 and the sub circuit board 41. The main circuit board 40 and the sub circuit board 41 are mechanically integrated by connecting the connectors 42 attached to the two boards to each other, and connect the signal lines and the power lines formed on each circuit board. . The main circuit board 40 and the sub circuit board 41 are connected in parallel and overlapped, and mounted in the main body case 13 in that state. In the mounted state, the main circuit board 40 is located on the second case 15 side, and the sub circuit board 41 is located in the first case 14. A GPS antenna unit 43 and a battery 44 are provided on the non-facing surface of the sub circuit board 41 with the main circuit board 40. The memory card slot 22 is mounted on the side of the sub circuit board 41 facing the main circuit board 40. The main circuit board 40 is mounted with a CPU that controls various controls, the above-described DC jack 24, speaker 29, and the like. Although not shown, the body case 13 also includes an acceleration sensor.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the camera unit 12 includes a housing 25, a first camera 26 and a second camera 27 mounted in the housing 25, and a switch unit 28. The casing 25 has a spherical shape as a whole, and is configured by connecting a hemispherical first camera case 30 and a second camera case 31 that are divided into two parts. The first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31 are fixed in the same manner as the first case 14 and the second case 15 described above, for example, the protrusion 30a provided on the first camera case 30, for example, For example, it is good to use the fitting of the recessed part 31a provided in the 2nd camera case 31. FIG.

  The first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are arranged back-to-back, and are fixed and connected so as to shoot in opposite directions to constitute a camera unit 35. In the camera unit 35, a flat rectangular holder 36 is erected, the first camera 26 is fixed to the front surface thereof, and the second camera 27 is fixed to the rear surface thereof to be integrated. The fixing is performed by screws, for example.

  The first camera 26 is configured by arranging a first lens portion 26b on a first circuit board 26a. An image sensor and a processing circuit for photographing are mounted on the first circuit board 26a. The second camera 27 is configured by arranging a second lens portion 27b on a second circuit board 27a. An image sensor and a processing circuit for photographing are mounted on the second circuit board 27a. The first camera 26 and the second camera 27 have the same specifications and performance. The same state / performance is, for example, the same angle of view, the optical system from the leading lens to the image sensor, the sensor size of the image sensor, etc. When shooting in the same state, the shot images are the same. In this embodiment, there is no physical aperture, and the brightness of shooting is adjusted by changing the exposure speed by changing the shutter speed.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, when the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are attached to the holder 36, the optical axes L of the first lens portion 26b and the second lens portion 27b are positioned on the same straight line. Set. Thereby, the 1st camera 26 and the 2nd camera 27 image | photograph the opposite direction, respectively. A circular window hole 30 b is provided in the center of the first camera case 30, and a circular window hole 31 b is provided in the center of the second camera case 31. In a state where the camera unit 35 is mounted in the housing 25, the tip of the first lens portion 26b of the first camera 26 and the tip of the second lens portion 27b of the second camera 27 are positioned in the window holes 30b and 31b, respectively. And exposed to the outside.

The housing 25 of the camera unit 12 is connected to the main body case 13 via the angle adjustment mechanism 50. The angle adjustment mechanism 50 allows the swinging in the front-rear direction by rotating the housing 25 only around the rotation axis provided along the long side on the front side of the bottom surface of the main body case 13 (see FIG. 6). For example, the following configuration is adopted. As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 25 is provided with a first bearing piece 51 protruding above the first camera case 30 and a second bearing piece 52 protruding above the second camera case 31. The first bearing piece 51 includes a wall portion 51a extending upward and two first bearing portions 51b formed on the rear surface of the wall portion 51a so as to protrude rearward. The second bearing piece 52 includes a wall portion 52a facing the wall portion 51a of the first bearing piece 51, and second bearing portions 52b disposed on both the left and right sides of the wall portion 52a. The four bearing portions 51b and 52b have through holes of the same diameter, and in a state where the first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31 are connected, the four through holes are arranged concentrically.

  A concave portion 15 d is provided at a predetermined position on the bottom surface of the second case 15 of the main body case 13. The concave portion 15d is formed in the central portion of the long side on the front side of the bottom surface of the second case 15, and has a through hole 15e on a pair of inner side surfaces orthogonal to the long side. The through holes 15e formed in the pair of inner side surfaces are formed coaxially, and one of the inner diameters is larger than the shaft part of the bolt 53 and smaller than the outer diameter of the nut 54 attached to the threaded part of the bolt 53. A small chamber 55 in which the nut 54 is mounted is provided on the inner side of the second case 15 on the inner surface provided with a through hole 15e smaller than the outer diameter of the nut 54, and the nut is set in the small chamber. The inner diameter of the other through-hole 15 e is made larger than the outer diameter of the head of the bolt 53. The other through hole 15 e is connected to the opening 15 g of the side surface 15 f of the second case 15.

  The bolt 53 is inserted from the opening 15g side with the threaded portion at the top in a state where the first bearing piece 51 and the second bearing piece 52 are inserted and disposed in the recess 15d. With the first bearing portion 51b and the second bearing portion 52b penetrating, the screw portion of the bolt 53 is inserted into one through hole 15e and positioned in the small chamber. The bolt 53 is turned using a fastening tool such as a hexagon wrench to fasten the threaded portion and the nut. In this state, when one side surface of the recess 15d is sandwiched between the nut and one second bearing portion 52b of the second bearing piece 52, the detachment of the bolt 53 and the housing 25 is suppressed, and the bolt 53 is firmly tightened. The head of the bolt 53 urges the other second bearing portion 52b to prevent rotation, and when the bolt 53 is loosened, the casing 25 rotates around the bolt 53 within a predetermined angle range.

  The bolt 53 is arranged in parallel with the second case 15 and thus the long side of the main body case 13. And since the long side of the main body case 13 stuck and fixed to the windshield 2 is located in a horizontal plane, the angle adjustment mechanism 50 comprised of the bolt 53, the first bearing piece 51, the second bearing piece 52, etc. Rotation around the horizontal axis is allowed and rotation around the vertical axis is disabled, and the camera unit 12 is only allowed to swing in the front-rear direction.

  When the drive recorder 10 is used, the nut is tightened in a state in which the housing 25 and the camera unit 12 are swung back and forth in a desired posture while being pasted and fixed to the windshield 2 as described above. 12 is fixed. The desired posture is such that the first camera 26 faces forward and the second camera 27 faces rearward, and the optical axes L of the first lens portion 26b and the second lens portion 27b are parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle. It is such a posture. In such a posture, as shown in FIG. 6A and the like, the joint surface M of the first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31 is located in a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, each of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 is a predetermined angle that is 360 degrees in a plane direction parallel to the lens and whose angle of view θ in the direction perpendicular to the plane is greater than 180 degrees. This is a camera that can shoot the entire surface as it is. The predetermined angle is the same angle for the first camera 26 and the second camera 27. Since the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are arranged back to back in the opposite direction, there is a predetermined interval between the tip of the first lens portion 26b and the tip of the second lens portion 27b. For example, when the angle of view of both cameras is set to 180 degrees, a band-shaped unphotographed area is generated around the entire circumference corresponding to a predetermined distance between the two lens portions. By making the angle of view θ larger than 180 degrees, the area behind the plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the tip position of the lens portion also becomes the photographing range, and for example, as shown in FIG. An overlapping portion occurs in the area (see the hatched portion in FIG. 8), and a 720-degree (360 ° horizontal and 360 ° vertical) omnidirectional image can be taken with one drive recorder 10 (FIG. 8 (d)). ) Etc.).

  Images taken by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are circular, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, and are 360 degrees in the direction parallel to the lens with respect to the parallel direction. The rear side is photographed from the first region R1 in which the hemispherical portion on the front side of the lens portion within the angle of view of 180 degrees in the orthogonal direction is photographed, and the lens portion in which the angle of view is 180 degrees or more in the direction orthogonal to the other direction. There is a second region R2.

  The area above the predetermined angle is an area that cannot be captured by each camera and becomes a blind spot. Therefore, the area in the vicinity of the camera unit 12 from the position where the shooting areas of the two cameras indicated by hatching in FIG. 8 overlap is a blind spot area R3 that cannot be shot by any camera. As the predetermined angle is closer to 180 degrees, the point where the imaging regions start to overlap is further away from the camera unit 12, and the blind spot region R3 becomes larger. On the other hand, the larger the predetermined angle, the smaller the blind spot area R3, but the smaller the first area R1 obtained by photographing the front hemispherical part with respect to the lens portion, so that the image captured in the first area R1. This causes a problem that the resolution of the image becomes lower and difficult to see. Therefore, in this embodiment, the predetermined angle is set to 210 degrees, and the front view of the vehicle photographed in the first region R1 and the resolution in the vehicle can be kept high while appropriately reducing the blind spot region R3.

  The switch unit 28 is attached and integrated below the camera unit 35. Below the joint edge of the first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31, semicircular notches 30c and 31c are provided. The notches 30c and 31c have the same radius. When the first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31 are joined, the notches 30c and 31c are connected to form a circular hole. And the switch part 28 is located in the circular hole part, and the switch part 28 is exposed outside.

  The switch unit 28 is mounted in a housing 25 for the camera unit 12 and is housed in a housing separate from the main body unit 11 incorporating the speaker 29. The switch unit 28 is a push button type, and an operation sound is produced when the switch unit 28 is pressed. However, since the microphone 18 is built in the main body case 13 different from the housing 25, the operation sound is temporarily assumed. Even if the sound is reflected in the housing 25, the operation sound is not transmitted to the main body case 13, and the microphone 18 does not collect and record the sound. On the other hand, for example, when a switch part is provided on the main body case 13 side, the operation sound when the switch part is pressed is collected and recorded by the microphone 18, resulting in a problem that the operation sound becomes a large noise. However, in this embodiment, such a problem does not occur. Also, if the microphone and the switch unit are mounted on the same board, the board may vibrate when the switch unit is operated, and the sound caused by the vibration may be recorded as noise. Therefore, no such situation occurs.

  This switch section 28 is for pressing when performing event recording. The drive recorder 10 of this embodiment has a constant recording function for recording video from an engine start (ACC ON) to an engine stop (ACC OFF) on a memory card, and a certain time before and after the event condition is met. There is an event recording function to record. The event condition includes, for example, a case where the acceleration sensor detects a certain impact or a case where the switch unit 28 is pressed. The detection of impacts above a certain level is used when recording video and audio before and after the occurrence of an accident, and the pressing of the switch unit 28 is used for one-touch recording that records video and audio for a certain time passing through an arbitrary point. To do. The controller of the drive recorder, for example, records video and audio as separate data for a certain period before and after the occurrence of the event when the event condition is met while performing continuous recording, for example. Both the constantly recorded data and the other data when the event occurs are recorded in the memory card 23. In addition, when recording is not always performed, the controller of the drive recorder always records video and audio for a certain period of time temporarily in a buffer memory, etc. Is used to record video and audio on the memory card 23 for a predetermined time before and after the occurrence of the event.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the drive recorder 10 is prepared separately from the vehicle even when the ignition switch is off and the vehicle battery cannot be supplied with power, for example, when the vehicle is parked. Operates by receiving power from the power supply. Therefore, a mode for performing parking recording using such a function is provided. The parking recording mode is a mode in which power is supplied from the power supply device to the drive recorder 10 for a set time after the vehicle is turned off, such as when the vehicle is parked, and recording and event recording are always performed even during parking.

  In this embodiment, the GPS antenna unit 43 is provided, and a function of acquiring position information / date / time information / speed information is provided. Therefore, when performing the above-described recording, it is preferable to record these pieces of information in association with each other.

  In this embodiment, the switch unit 28 is provided at the center of the lower surface of the housing 25 made of a sphere. Therefore, the switch unit 28 is located closest to the driver and the passenger on the passenger seat, can easily operate by extending the hand, is easy to push, and is easy to see, so it is easy to check the position of the switch unit. In this embodiment, the camera unit 12 is positioned below the main body case 13 and the user may accidentally touch the lens when operating the switch. However, the switch unit 28 should be arranged on the lower side as in this embodiment. Thus, the possibility of touching the lens can be suppressed as much as possible.

  Further, when the switch unit 28 is pushed upward, a load is applied to the angle adjusting mechanism 50 that rotates the camera unit 12, and the load is received there. It should be noted that the bolt 53 and the nut 54 are firmly tightened and fixed so that the direction of the lens does not change when pressed.

  Since the housing | casing 25 is a spherical body, it may become easy to understand that it is the camera part 12 which image | photographs the omnidirectional sphere of all directions centering on the housing | casing 25. Since the housing 25 is a sphere, the housing 25 is positioned at the blind spot of the first lens portion 26b and the second lens portion 27b and does not appear in the image. Further, in order to prevent the main body case 13 from being reflected in the video imaged by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 as much as possible, for example, the main body case 13 and the housing 25 are arranged close to each other, and the upper portion of the housing 25 and the main body case Even if there is no gap in the bottom surface of 13, a space can be secured between the housing 25 and the main body case 13 as it goes to the left and right sides of the housing 25, and the housing 25 can be easily sandwiched between fingers. Then, when the switch unit 28 is pressed, the switch unit can be pushed by touching the upper side of the housing with the index finger and the middle finger so as to hold the ball, for example, and holding the thumb in contact with the switch unit 28. If this push operation is performed, the main body case 13 and the angle adjustment mechanism 50 are not loaded or difficult to apply.

  Further, in this embodiment, a lamp is mounted on the switch unit 28 so that the surface of the switch unit 28 emits light. Since the switch unit 28 emits light, the position can be easily understood even at night. By disposing the switch unit 28 on the lower side of the housing 25, light is emitted downward. Therefore, the driver looks up from the bottom so that it is easy to confirm the light emission, but from the outside of the vehicle, it may be in a state of looking down from the diagonally upper side, and it is not necessary to see the light emission. The light emitting part including the switch unit 28 is preferably located in the blind spot of the camera so that the light emitting state is not recorded and is not visible from the outside.

  Further, the lamp can emit different colors, for example, red and blue. The ability to emit light is realized, for example, by incorporating a light emitter that emits different colors, such as a three-color LED. By making it possible to emit different colors, the operation state and the like are notified by appropriately changing the emission color and the emission pattern (see FIG. 9).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 capture the opposite directions, the angle of view is 210 degrees, and the peripheral areas of the captured images overlap. As will be described later, the images captured by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are combined to generate an omnidirectional image, which is recorded or output. The boundary of the images to be joined when the images of the two cameras are combined becomes a vertical plane including the joint surface of the first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31, and the predetermined width region including the vertical plane overlaps. It becomes an area.

  The bracket 17 is affixed to a desired position on the windshield 2, the main body case 13 is attached to the bracket 17, and the camera unit 12 is positioned so that the joint surface M between the first camera case 30 and the second camera case 31 is positioned on the vertical surface. The bolt 53 is tightened and fixed with the angle and direction adjusted. In the normal installation / attachment state in which the bolt 53 is tightened and the camera unit 12 is adjusted in a desired direction, the first camera 26 has a front of the drive recorder 10 of 360 degrees in the vertical direction and 210 degrees in the horizontal direction of 210 degrees. The second camera 27 captures the rear of the drive recorder 10 within a range of 360 degrees in the vertical direction and 210 degrees in the horizontal direction. The peripheral areas of the images photographed by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are respectively photographed at a predetermined position in the vehicle interior, which is a portion close to the camera. When the drive recorder 10 is fixed at a predetermined position in the vehicle interior, a portion where the images photographed by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are joined is positioned at a predetermined position in the vehicle interior close to the camera. The predetermined position in the passenger compartment is a position including, for example, the pillar 3, the dashboard 4, and the ceiling.

  In the present embodiment, since the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 have an angle of view θ of 210 degrees on the entire circumference, the same surrounding object or the like is captured by both cameras in the peripheral area of the video shot by each camera. For example, as shown in FIG. 10B, it is assumed that an object is present in each of the positions P1, P2, and P3 in the peripheral area reflected in the camera in both directions. Each position of P1, P2, and P3 is near the boundary K2 of the area photographed by the second camera 27, and the distance from the camera unit 12 is different. Even if the distances are different as described above, if they are present near the boundary K2, they exist at the same position in the circular image photographed by the second camera 27 as shown on the right side in FIG. On the other hand, the positions of P1, P2, and P3 are photographed by the first camera 26 as shown on the left side in FIG. 10C because the distance from the boundary K1 of the region photographed by the first camera 26 is different. The location in the circular area is different. Therefore, when the boundary between two images in which the same object is reflected is synthesized, the objects existing in the respective images may be displayed separately and cannot be recognized as the same object. In particular, as P2 and P3 move away from the camera, that is, the vehicle, the amount of deviation increases. For example, if an object is a human, there is a possibility that two people are present instead of the same person.

  In this embodiment, since the object reflected in the boundary part of the two cameras is a fixed object in the vehicle such as the pillar 3 or the dashboard 4, the outside scenery located behind the fixed object is not reflected, and the boundary part There is little even if it is reflected in. Since the parts of the vehicle such as the pillar 3 and the dashboard 4 are about 1 to 3 m from the camera, there is little deviation even if the part of the vehicle is reflected on both of the boundary parts. On the other hand, there are many cases where the distance is 10 m to 30 m or more outside the vehicle, and the deviation of the positions reflected by the respective cameras becomes large and cannot be combined into one. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, since the joint between the images of the two cameras comes to an object in the vehicle at the same or close distance, it becomes difficult for a person or other object located on the rear side to be reflected. In addition, this form does not simply hide the rear side with the nearby pillar 3 or the like, but if there is something that does not move, it will not discomfort even if people and objects that exist afterwards are reflected Even if it is used and displayed separately in two, it is not conspicuous and it does not bother when people see it. In addition, since users tend to look only at the front and back or side, the pillars located in the middle are not considered, and the degree of attention to the scenery behind them is also low, so there is no sense of incongruity. Good.

  On the other hand, for example, from the above-described normal posture, the housing 25 of the camera unit 12 is rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal plane, and the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are moved to the left area. When the right and left areas are taken, the connecting area between the shooting areas of both cameras is separated into two areas, for example, when a boundary / seam comes at the center part of the windshield in the vertical direction. It ’s not good because you can see what ’s reflected in the image and it makes the image look strange.

[The first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are photographed with the same brightness]
In this embodiment, the exposure control function provided in each of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 is controlled so as to shoot under the same exposure conditions. As described above, since the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 of the present embodiment have the same aperture and the same value, the exposure condition for adjusting the brightness at the time of shooting is performed by adjusting the shutter speed. . In this embodiment, the exposure control function is a function for adjusting the shutter speed. By making the shutter speeds of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 the same, the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 shoot with the same exposure conditions and brightness. As described above, this embodiment is characterized in that two cameras are treated as if they were one camera and are photographed with a common brightness.

  In this way, the brightness does not change abruptly at the connecting portions of the images taken by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27, the connecting portions become inconspicuous, and are continuous without any discomfort over the entire circumference. Since it becomes a picture, it is good. For example, in a dark and hard-to-see vehicle, it is possible to reproduce the state as it is by photographing it while it is difficult to see.

  As described above, in the correct installation / attachment state, the first camera 26 shoots the front of the drive recorder 10 in the range of 360 degrees vertical and 210 degrees horizontal or more, and the second camera 27 is behind the drive recorder 10. Is photographed in a range of 360 degrees or more and a horizontal sky of 210 degrees or more. As a result, by connecting the images taken by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27, an image obtained by photographing the 360 ° horizontal and 360 ° vertical directions (see FIG. 8D, etc.) of the drive recorder 10 is obtained. Composed. In the case of reproducing such forward-oriented video, it is displayed on the display screen so that all of the omnidirectional images can be seen, or a part of the omnidirectional video is cut out and displayed on the display screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, the front side of the vehicle in front of the drive recorder 10 photographed by the first camera 26 is displayed, or the second camera 27 is photographed. The vehicle interior on the rear side of the drive recorder 10 can be displayed, and images in any direction such as diagonally upward, diagonally downward, left side, and right side can be displayed.

  The video to be displayed on the display screen is based on a video obtained by joining only the video shot by one of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 and the video shot by the two cameras depending on the direction of the viewpoint. There is something. In addition, the omnidirectional image of the omnidirectional sphere created by joining the two images together is an image that is continuously connected in any direction, so that the viewpoint changes gradually as described later. It is possible to gradually move the spanned display area. In such a case, the state in which only the image of one camera is displayed in the middle of the movement and the connected part of the images of the two cameras There is a state in which images from different cameras existing on the display screen are displayed on the same display screen.

  The first camera 26 and the second camera 27 have a photometry function and an exposure control function, respectively, and shoot a shooting range with the same exposure conditions, in this embodiment, the same shutter speed, according to the surrounding conditions. At this time, when connecting the peripheral edges of the images captured by the two cameras to form a single image, the connecting portion does not stand out. On the other hand, for example, when the exposure control function of two cameras adjusts the exposure condition separately based on the brightness of the subject metered by the respective metering functions, usually, for example, for an outside bright scene Shooting with a reduced shutter speed and reduced brightness. Controlled to take a brighter picture with a longer shutter speed for relatively dark cars. Different exposure conditions allow each image to be displayed clearly. Shoot with. When two images shot in this way are connected, for example, the connected portion of the images of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 exists on the display screen, and the images of different cameras are displayed on the same display screen. In such a state, there is a problem in that the brightness of the displayed image is different, the connecting portion is noticeable, and a sense of incongruity occurs. On the other hand, such a problem does not occur by shooting with the same exposure conditions and brightness as in the present embodiment.

  For example, when two images are connected to form an omnidirectional image, and the omnidirectional image is viewed while rotating 360 degrees in the horizontal direction, the display contents are taken from the state where the outside is bright and beautiful. Although it may be dark and difficult to see, the joint between the images from the two cameras is not an issue. On the other hand, if you change the brightness so that you can see the room well, if you rotate 360 degrees as described above, the outside scenery and the inside of the car will appear bright and clear, but there will be a sense of incongruity at the joints. End up. If it is a normal camera, each of them is brightly and beautifully photographed and displayed. In this embodiment, because the concept of photographing and displaying the omnidirectional sphere, an image obtained by cutting out a part of the omnidirectional sphere is arbitrary. When the display is performed while moving in the direction of, if the display is viewed as if the space is connected when all directions are viewed at 720 degrees, a sense of incongruity occurs. Therefore, in this embodiment, as one means for preventing a sense of incongruity at the joint portion, the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are set to have the same exposure conditions and photographed with the same brightness. For example, at night, you can take pictures outside, but inside the car while it is running, the interior lights are also off and it is difficult to see. By photographing in the dark state, the connection part of the images photographed by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 can be connected without a sense of incongruity. If you can see the outside in the real world and the inside is invisible or difficult to see, it is characterized by taking the picture as it is.

  As described above, the exposure control functions of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 shoot at the same shutter speed, but the shutter speed is determined as follows. The brightness is determined based on the reference / priority of the video of the first camera 26 that captures the front. One of the functions of the drive recorder 10 is to capture and record the situation outside the vehicle such as the front of the vehicle when an accident occurs. By determining the exposure condition such as the shutter speed based on the image captured by the first camera 26 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to clearly capture the area including the front of the vehicle and to exhibit the above functions of the drive recorder.

  As shown in FIG. 11 (b), an area spot R10 is provided in the upper half of a circular image taken by the first front camera 26, and the photometric function of the first camera 26 is within the area of the area spot R10. The brightness of the subject is metered, and the exposure control function takes a picture based on the exposure condition determined based on the brightness of the subject, in this embodiment, the shutter speed. The peripheral region R11 in the upper half is not set as a region for determining the exposure conditions. The scenery in front seen through the windshield 2 is within the range of the area spot R10, and there are many objects in the passenger compartment such as the dashboard 4 in the lower half. In the peripheral region R11, for example, a scene behind the lens unit having a vertical angle of view of 180 degrees or more enters, so that it is not affected when determining the exposure condition. Thereby, for example, a scene on the front side of the vehicle, such as a forward vehicle, can be captured and recorded in a crack. For example, in the case of a normal camera, there is something that focuses on the center part of the image to be shot, such as center-weighted metering, but the lower half is excluded instead of the center part. It is characterized by that. Further, it is also characterized in that the peripheral area R11 is excluded from the photometric object instead of the entire screen as in multi-pattern photometry.

In addition, the lower half and the peripheral area R11 are areas in which insignificant parts such as a ceiling and a dashboard in the vehicle are photographed, so that even if the photometry of the area is not reflected and is not visible, there is not much influence. Because there is no. Further, the main body case 13 of the drive recorder 10 may be reflected in the peripheral region R11. However, since the main body case 13 does not want to be copied originally, there is no problem even if it is not visible. For this reason, it is better not to use the peripheral region R11 or the lower half region for determining the exposure conditions. For example, what is called a sports camera / action camera that shoots the whole celestial sphere is used outdoors. So the whole area is just as bright. Therefore, like the normal camera exposure control function, the front and rear cameras measure light separately, and even if the exposure conditions and brightness are individually set based on the light measurement results, the images are taken beautifully in all directions. Yes, there is no sense of incongruity at the connecting part. On the other hand, in the installation / operating environment of the drive recorder as in the present invention, the brightness is greatly different between the scenery in front of the front and the passenger compartment in the rear. This is the present embodiment.

[Modification of the same brightness]
In the above-described embodiment, the exposure condition such as the shutter speed is determined based only on the photometry result of the photometry function of the first camera 26 on the front side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, the second The exposure condition may be determined in consideration of the photometric result of the photometric function of the camera 27. Considering a little, for example, importance is placed on the photometric result of the first camera 26 on the front side, and weighting is performed, for example. Thus, by evaluating the photometric result of the second camera 27 as well, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a situation in which the image in the passenger compartment photographed by the second camera 27 is completely dark and no person is captured. The photometric function of the second camera 27 is preferably provided with an area spot on the upper center as in the first camera 26, and haste the area spot area. Since this portion is an area in which the passenger is reflected, the passenger can shoot beautifully by measuring the area spot and determining the exposure condition based on it. In addition, the dashboard and the floor and seats in the passenger compartment are reflected in the lower area, so that this area is not affected by the exposure conditions. For the weighting, for example, the area spot on the first camera 26 side is +5 and the area spot on the second camera 27 side is +2, and the brightness is determined.

  Contrary to the above modification, the exposure condition may be determined with emphasis on the photometric result of the second camera 27. In this way, it is possible to capture and record a clear image of the vehicle interior. For example, when there is a purpose of clearly capturing the faces of passengers such as taxis and buses, it is preferable to configure as in this modification. However, if importance is attached to the photometric result of the second camera 27 as in this modification, the shutter speed becomes longer, and the brightness of the front camera is also set based on that, so the scenery outside the front will fly white. Sometimes. Therefore, in view of the original function of the drive recorder 10, it is preferable to give priority to the first camera 26 side as in the above-described embodiments and modifications.

  Further, the exposure conditions may be determined by treating the photometry results of the first camera 26 and the photometry results of the second camera 27 equally without weighting. In this way, the vehicle interior is not too dark due to the priority of the first camera 26, or the front scene is not overexposed with priority to the second camera 27, so that it is possible to shoot in all directions. However, in order to record the interior of the vehicle while recording the situation outside the vehicle such as before and after the occurrence of an accident, which is the original function of the drive recorder 10, the photometric result of the second camera 27 is also given priority to the front of the first camera 26. A modification in which a part is added is preferable.

  Further, it is preferable to provide a mode setting function for giving priority to the photometry result of the first camera 26 and the photometry result of the second camera 27. In this way, it is possible to set the priority of the scenery in the front, the priority in the vehicle interior, etc. according to the usage situation of the user. For example, the mode setting function may use only one photometry result, use both photometry results, but select one that sets a preferred camera, and more preferably set the degree of weighting. .

  In the embodiment and the modification described above, the video taken with one camera is premised on the whole image being shot with the same setting without image processing or the like. Only the connecting part may have the same brightness. However, in such a case, it is necessary to set which region the correction is to be started from, and it can be easily configured to shoot the entire image with the same brightness as in the above-described embodiments and modifications. Further, the brightness may be adjusted when combining with a PC viewer or the like, which will be described later, so that the connecting portion is not noticeable.

[Body case etc. is hard to see]
The position of the housing 25 attached to the main body case 13 was shifted from the center of the bottom surface in the front-rear direction to the rear surface 13b. The angle adjusting mechanism 50 is disposed along the rear surface 13b side of the bottom surface. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the flat rectangular main body case 13 is attached to the windshield 2 and fixed. Therefore, in the attached state, the main body case 13 is disposed obliquely along the inclination of the windshield 2. The end edge on the rear surface 13b side of the bottom surface is located at the lowest position. By attaching the housing 25 of the camera unit 12 via the angle adjustment mechanism 50 at the lower position, the area in which the main body case 13 is reflected on the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 is reduced.

  The main body case 13 is configured to be located near the lens main body. The blind spot area R3 that is not reflected in either the first camera 26 or the second camera 27 has a conical shape, and becomes narrower with a tapered tip as the distance from the camera unit 12 increases. Therefore, the region where the main body case 13 is reflected in the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 becomes wider as the main body case 13 moves away from the lens portion, and therefore it is preferable that the main body case 13 approach.

  The shape of the main body case 13 is provided with an inclined surface 13b ″ and the like so as to enter the blind spot of the camera as much as possible. It is not necessary to make the camera unit 12 spherical, and the camera has an angle of view of 210 degrees all around. Since the image is taken and there is a room mirror near the lens unit, the room mirror should be prevented from entering the blind spot of the camera, and there are no parts such as a GPS antenna unit in the camera unit 12.

[Display device: PC viewer]
One embodiment of a display device for a drive recorder according to the present invention is constituted by a personal computer. Although not shown, the hardware configuration of the drive recorder display device includes an arithmetic processing unit, a storage unit, an input unit, a display unit, a card reader, and the like. The storage unit is a non-volatile memory that stores an application program executed by the arithmetic processing unit, a work memory that is used by the arithmetic processing unit during execution of the operation, and an internal or internal unit that records video / sound and other information recorded during running There is an external storage device (hard disk). The input unit is a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard. The card reader is a device that reads / writes data from / to the installed memory card 23.

  By starting an application program (referred to as “PC viewer” in this embodiment) installed in the storage unit, the personal computer operates as a display device for a drive recorder. As described above, the drive recorder 10 records in the memory card 23 various information related to the recorded video such as video and audio and date / time information and speed information taken during traveling and parking. When reproducing a video or the like recorded on the memory card 23, the user takes out the memory card 23 from the memory card slot 22 and sets it in a card reader of a personal computer. The activated PC viewer is executed, and images and the like recorded during traveling are displayed on the display unit. Specific functions of the PC viewer are as follows.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of a display layout displayed on the display unit of the personal computer in a state where the PC viewer is activated, the recorded video is selected, and the playback is executed. In the vicinity of the upper side of the display screen 60, there is a menu bar, and a display area 62 for displaying an image of the selected data is arranged in a large area below the menu bar. Below the display area 62, a map display unit 63, a related information display unit 64, and a playlist list display unit 70 are provided in this order from the left.

  The menu bar button group 61 includes, in order from the left, a folder designation button 61a, a still image conversion button 61b, a print button 61c, a moving image conversion button 61d, a backup button 61e, a log data conversion button 61f, and a recording setting change button 61g. The folder designation button 61a is for designating data to be reproduced. When the folder designation button 61a is clicked, the PC viewer displays a list of folders recorded on a memory card set in the personal computer. . The user clicks and selects a folder in which data to be reproduced is recorded from the displayed folder list.

  The PC viewer according to the present embodiment has a function of converting a video displayed in, for example, the display area 62 into a predetermined file format, for example, a JPEG format still image, and saving it. When the still image conversion button 61b is clicked, the PC viewer converts the screen image displayed in the display area 62 into a still image and records it in a predetermined storage area of the personal computer. According to the setting, the PC viewer creates and records a still image obtained by dividing the range-designated time from the image being displayed or the video in the display area 62 by the number of frames designated.

  The PC viewer of this embodiment has a function of printing a video displayed in the display area 62, for example. When the print button 61c is clicked, the PC viewer prints the screen image displayed in the display area 62 according to the set condition. For example, the set condition is that, as in the case of the still image conversion described above, the displayed video is printed as a still image, or a still image obtained by dividing the time specified from the video in the display area 62 by the number of frames specified is used. There is printing.

  The PC viewer of the present embodiment has a function of converting recorded data into a predetermined file format, for example, an AVI format moving image, and storing the converted data. When the video conversion button 61d is clicked in a state where the recording data to be converted into a moving image is selected and read by a user operation, the PC viewer displays the condition setting screen, and the contents set on the condition setting screen The read moving image data is converted into moving image data in a predetermined format. The condition setting screen includes an input area for specifying a file name, a storage location, a range, subtitles, and an item of compression format, and a [Start] button. The user sets conditions using the input area and clicks the [Start] button. By converting to a movie in AVI format, the file that has been converted and saved can be browsed using various video playback software, or uploaded to a homepage or other sites.

  When the backup button 61e is clicked, the PC viewer backs up the video recorded on the memory card 23 to the personal computer. Even if it is backed up, the video recorded on the memory card is not deleted. When deleting, a separate deletion process is executed. When the log data conversion button 61f is clicked, the PC viewer converts the accumulated history data into a KML file and records it as log data. When the recording setting change button 61g is clicked, the PC viewer displays a recording setting screen (not shown). The user inputs various recording conditions using the recording setting screen and confirms the contents, thereby storing the recording conditions in the memory card. As for the stored recording conditions, when the memory card is set in the drive recorder 10, the drive recorder 10 is updated to the recording conditions, and thereafter operates according to the updated conditions.

  The map display unit 63 displays a map 63a of a predetermined area and the vehicle position on the map 63a. The PC viewer acquires map data around the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle position information associated with the read video, displays the set scale map 63a on the map display unit 63, and The own vehicle position icon 63b is drawn at the current position of the vehicle on the map 63a (see FIGS. 12A and 12C, etc.). The map data may be obtained from a server on which a map is recorded, for example, via the Internet. When the information is acquired from the Internet, the map is not displayed on the map display unit 63 when the personal computer is not connected to the Internet. In addition, if “do not display a map” is selected in the setting, an operation mode in which no map is displayed on the map display unit 63 is set.

  Furthermore, when the current position is unknown due to GPS non-positioning, for example, as shown in FIG. 12B, information that changes to a map may be displayed without displaying a map. For example, there is a mode in which the vehicle position icon 63b is not displayed while the map 63a is displayed at the time of GPS non-positioning. However, if the vehicle position icon 63b is not displayed, the vehicle position icon on the map may be searched or a failure may occur. However, if another image or the like is displayed without displaying the map 63a as in the present embodiment, it can be easily understood that GPS non-positioning is possible.

  The related information display unit 64 has a timeline display unit 74 arranged at the upper end, a volume switching button 66 arranged at the upper left below, a date information display unit 73 arranged at the upper right, and a playback button display unit below it. 65, a traveling speed display unit 67, an acceleration display unit 68, and a latitude / longitude display unit 69 are arranged in order from the top to the lower left of the playback button display unit 65, and an acceleration sensor graph is displayed at the lower right of the playback button display unit 65. A layout for arranging the unit 71 is adopted. The timeline display unit 74 indicates how much playback position the video displayed in the display area 62 is in one piece of recorded data, and the entire timeline of the recorded data playback time is represented by a red bar. As the reproduction proceeds, control is performed to move the position of the knob 74a to the right side. When the position of the knob 74a is slid and moved, playback is started from that position. During regular recording, the place where the event was recorded is displayed with a yellow vertical line 74b (see FIG. 12C, etc.).

  The volume switching button 66 is a button for performing mute and volume adjustment, and includes a mute button 66a and a knob 66b (see FIG. 16C). When the mute button 66a is clicked, the PC viewer mutes the sound to be reproduced, and when the mute button 66a is clicked in the mute state, the mute is released. When the pointing 66 is operated to slide the knob 66b, the PC viewer adjusts the volume according to the position of the knob 66b.

  The date / time information display section 73 is an area for displaying the date and time when the video being reproduced is recorded. The time includes a main body time recorded based on the internal clock of the drive recorder 10 and a GPS time acquired by GPS positioning. In this embodiment, it is changed according to the recording condition of the video being reproduced. The PC viewer displays the time of the main body on the date / time information display unit 73 when the recording condition of the video being played back is a video based on continuous recording. When the recording condition of the video being played is video based on event recording, the PC viewer displays the GPS time in the case of GPS positioning at the time of the event occurrence, and the main unit time in the date and time information display unit 73 in the case of GPS non-positioning. To do. When the recorded data is displayed at the main unit time during reproduction (see FIG. 12B), the display is updated to the GPS time at the timing of GPS positioning (see FIG. 12C).

  The playback button display unit 65 is a group of buttons for performing operations such as playback and fast forward. In order from the left, each button section includes “fast reverse”, “previous frame”, “reverse playback”, “stop”, “play”, “next frame”, and “fast forward”. When each button is clicked, the PC viewer executes processing corresponding to the button. When the button portions of “fast reverse”, “reverse playback”, “playback”, and “fast forward” are clicked a plurality of times, the PC viewer changes the playback speed. For example, when “replay” or “reverse playback” is clicked once, the recycled paper is played at a normal speed of 1 × speed, and when clicked twice, “replay” or “reverse playback” is performed at a slow speed such as 0.5 times speed. Also, “Fast Rewind” and “Fast Forward” are clicked once to double speed, double click to quad speed, 3 click to 8 speed and 4 click to “fast forward” or “fast reverse” at 16 speed. " “Playback / Reverse Playback” adjusts the direction in which the speed decreases, and “Fast Forward / Fast Rewind” adjusts the direction in which the speed increases to switch from high speed playback to slow playback or vice versa. Switching can be easily performed, and the user can intuitively understand the assignment by using an adjustment function in a direction in which the speed is increased in addition to a button that is originally reproduced at high speed such as “fast forward”.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 16A, the travel speed display unit 67 is an area for displaying the travel speed recorded by the GPS. The acceleration display unit 68 is an area for displaying the recorded impact / acceleration values in the front-rear direction (X direction: red, for example), right and left (Y direction: yellow-green, for example), and up and down (Z direction: blue, for example). . The latitude / longitude display unit 69 is an area for displaying latitude (N) and longitude (E) recorded by GPS. The travel speed, acceleration, and longitude / latitude are all information at the current position of the video displayed in the display area 62. The acceleration sensor graph display unit 71 is an area for displaying the acceleration sensor graph in time series. The recorded data is displayed graphically with the vertical axis representing acceleration and the horizontal axis representing time. In this embodiment, an X-axis acceleration graph 71a, a Y-axis acceleration graph 71b, and a Z-axis acceleration graph 71c are displayed, and the display color of the graph is the same color as the display color in the acceleration display unit 68. As a result, the correspondence between the two can be easily understood. When the area is clicked, the PC viewer moves the cursor 71d to the clicked position, and displays the traveling speed, acceleration, latitude and longitude on each display unit with the position of the cursor 71d as the current position. When the play button is clicked, the PC viewer plays the video from the position of the cursor 71d. The PC viewer acquires various information stored in association with the video to be reproduced and displays it on a corresponding display unit.

  A time display unit 71e is arranged below the graph. The time display unit 71e indicates, in order from the left, the recording disclosure time of the recording data to be reproduced, the current time at the cursor position, and the recording end time. When there is an impact of acceleration exceeding the reference value, the time when the testimony is given is displayed as an event time 71f in the graph. A + button 71g, a return button 71h, and a-button 71i are prepared on the right side of the graph. When the + button 71g is clicked, the PC viewer enlarges the acceleration sensor scale, and when the-button 71i is clicked, the PC viewer reduces the acceleration sensor scale. When the return button 71h is clicked, the PC viewer returns to the standard scale.

  The playlist list display unit 70 displays the selected data name. In FIG. 12, the data name “2016/09/06 11:47:28 [48 minutes]” is displayed. In the case of continuous recording, the data name is a combination of the recording start date and recording time. In the case of event recording, the data name is the event occurrence date and time and the type of event occurrence. Types of event generation include “impact” based on an acceleration sensor, “rapid start / stop”, “one touch” based on an operation of the switch unit 28, and the like.

  The display area 62 is an area for displaying the recorded video. As described above, the drive recorder 10 according to the present embodiment records omnidirectional videos of 360 degrees horizontally and 360 degrees vertically. Therefore, for example, the PC viewer has a function of displaying a partial image in all directions in the display area 62 or displaying an image in all directions as a single image. When displaying some images, the display area 62 displays a video in a desired range in any direction of front, back, left, right, up and down by changing the display range, orientation, and the like. Such a change of the display range is configured as follows.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, in a state where a predetermined range is displayed in front, the user performs a left button drag operation at an arbitrary position in the display area 62 using a pointing device such as a mouse. I do. When the PC viewer detects that the drag operation of the left button has been performed, the PC viewer displays the image to be displayed in the drag direction in the display area 62 so as to move. For example, as indicated by an arrow 75 in FIG. 13A, when the display area 62 is dragged to the right by a predetermined distance, the PC viewer moves the displayed image to the right by a predetermined distance, and FIG. In FIG. 13, the video that was on the left outer side of the display area 62 is drawn in the display area 62, and the video that was displayed on the right side in the display area 62 in FIG. 13 (b)). As a result, the image displayed in the display area 62 changes so that the line of sight rotates in the left direction, and in the example shown in the figure, the left front scene is displayed. By extending the drag distance or dragging repeatedly in the same direction, an image that rotates counterclockwise in the horizontal direction around the position of the camera unit 12 of the drive recorder 10 is displayed. Returning to the original display direction shown in FIG. 13 (a), which is further forward from the left side of the side to the rear side (vehicle interior) or facing forward through the scenery on the right side. By moving the drag direction to the opposite left direction, the scenery or the like that can be seen while rotating clockwise is displayed in the display area 62. In this way, moving the image displayed in the right direction / left direction while shifting the image is performed by moving the display area 62 to the left or right in a state where a 360-degree image in the horizontal direction is extended horizontally like a panoramic photo, for example. Thus, the image in the display area 62 is displayed (see FIG. 20).

  The drag direction is not limited to the horizontal direction as described above, and can be moved in any direction within the display area 62 such as up and down or diagonally, and the PC viewer displays an image displayed along the movement direction. Change. The user can display and view a desired video by dragging the left button of the mouse and moving the pointer to a portion to be displayed.

  When the right mouse button is clicked with the pointer placed in the display area 62, the PC viewer displays the image display area menu shown in FIG. For example, the screen display area menu is drawn on the display area 62. In this image display area menu, an “image state” item for displaying the current image orientation is arranged on the upper side, and three operation items “return to standard”, “inverted”, and “enlarged / reduced” are operated below. Take a layout to place items. In the figure, the “image state” displays “normal rotation” which is the state of FIG.

  When “return to standard” is clicked and selected, the PC viewer returns the reversed, enlarged / reduced image to the initial display, and displays the returned video in the display area 62. “Invert” has three items of “left-right inversion”, “upside-down inversion”, and “front-back inversion” as a lower menu list. When “invert horizontally” is clicked, the PC viewer inverts the displayed image to the left and right (see FIG. 13D). When “Flip Vertical” is clicked, the PC viewer flips the displayed image up and down (see FIG. 13E). When “reverse front / back” is clicked, the PC viewer displays an image that is reversed 180 degrees and rotated 180 degrees from the displayed image. For example, in the state where the image of the front image is displayed as shown in FIG. 13 (a), when “inverted back and forth” is clicked, the image in the vehicle interior behind the drive recorder as shown in FIG. 13 (f). Is displayed. “Enlargement / reduction” has two items of “enlargement” and “reduction” as a lower menu list. When “enlarge” is clicked, the PC viewer enlarges and displays the image by 200% with reference to the center of the display image (see FIG. 14A). When “reduction” is clicked, the PC viewer reduces and displays the image by 50% with reference to the center of the display screen (see FIG. 14A). By appropriately changing the viewing direction in this way, the driving situation can be confirmed from all directions.

  When reproducing the recorded data, a desired moving image list is selected from the playlist list display unit 70 and executed. In this embodiment, event recording, constant recording, and history recording are grouped, and one to be reproduced is selected from the grouped recording. Therefore, the user clicks one of the event recording tab 70a, the constant recording tab 70b, and the history recording tab 70c. For example, FIG. 15 shows a state where the event recording tab 70a is clicked.

  When the event recording tab 70a is clicked, the PC viewer creates and displays a list of event recording data recorded on the memory card. The user clicks and selects a check box 70d associated with the data name of the video to be viewed. When the check box 70d is clicked, the PC viewer displays a check mark “re” in the check box 70d. This selection may be performed collectively for a plurality of data. When the read button 70e is clicked, the PC viewer reads the selected recording data, displays the data name in the playlist, and displays the video in the display area 62. When a plurality of data are selected, a plurality of data names are listed in the playlist, and the uppermost video is displayed.

  The video displayed in the display area 62 together with the recording / playback is a predetermined main image. The main image is, for example, an image facing a desired direction such as the front of the vehicle, and is a standard size image set as an initial display (see FIG. 17A and the like). For example, the standard size may be in the range of 120 degrees horizontally and 70 degrees vertically. Since this range corresponds to the range of angle of view adopted as a normal drive recorder, the video is familiar to the user of the normal drive recorder, and the necessary information equivalent to that of a normal drive recorder is obtained. Because it is good. The main image should be in a state where the entire windshield is reflected.

  In the present embodiment, when the drive recorder 10 is attached to the vehicle, the first camera 26 is directly facing forward in the regular installation state in which the camera unit 12 is adjusted to a desired orientation. Assuming that the center of the image captured by the first camera 26 is captured in front of the vehicle, a predetermined area is cut out with a standard size and displayed in the display area 62.

  Further, it is preferable to have a function of calculating the front position when displaying on the PC viewer from the installation angle obtained when the installation angle is corrected by the acceleration sensor, and determining the standard position of the display image as the calculated front position. This assumes that the direction perpendicular to the acceleration sensor is parallel to the front of the camera. Based on the gravitational direction at the time of installation and the vertical angle of the acceleration sensor, obtain the angle so that the gravitational direction is directly below, and the vertical direction of the acceleration sensor and the front of the camera are in the direction where the gravitational direction is directly below. The orthogonal direction is determined to be the center of the display image. Thereby, for example, even when the user puts it sideways by mistake rather than the windshield, the front can be detected from the direction of gravity and displayed as the standard position.

  Although specific illustration is omitted, when the always recording tab 70b is clicked, the PC viewer creates and displays a list of constantly recorded data recorded on the memory card. The PC viewer captures the recording data selected by the user, displays the data name on the playlist in the playlist list display unit 70, and displays the video in the display area 62. When the trigger list display button 70f is clicked, the PC viewer displays the event trigger list 70h in the playlist of the playlist list display unit 70 (see FIG. 16B). When an item in the trigger list 70h is clicked, the PC viewer jumps to the recorded event and reproduces the video. By doing in this way, it is possible to efficiently reproduce the video of the part where the event has occurred and confirm the content.

  Further, the processing based on the playback button display unit 65 and the processing based on the volume switching button 66 described above are executed similarly based on the playback button 72a on the menu bar. For example, as shown in FIG. 16D, when the playback button 72a on the menu bar is clicked, the PC viewer displays a menu list 72b as shown in a pull-down list. When a desired item in the menu list 72b is clicked, the PC viewer executes a reproduction operation for the corresponding item. Although not shown in detail, a pull-down menu of items for executing the above-described processes is displayed based on clicking on the button of each item of “File”, “Display”, and “Tool” on the menu bar, and based on that. And a function for executing similar processing.

[Function to display the scenery of the driver and passengers and the scenery outside the vehicle on a single screen so that the scenery outside flows]
As described above, at the start of playback, a predetermined reference image is displayed, and then the viewing direction is changed according to the user's operation, etc. You can see the video. For example, a backward image captured by the second camera 27 is displayed by reducing the image to widen the angle of view, reversing the image relative to the reference image, or changing the viewing direction by 180 degrees horizontally. Good. Such a display mode is, for example, as shown in FIG. 17B, and a driver or vehicle interior is displayed in the central portion 81 of the display area 62, and a video in which the scenery outside the vehicle is displayed in the peripheral portion 82 is reproduced. Is done. When the image is further reduced, for example, as shown in FIG. 18, the image of the whole celestial sphere is displayed as one screen. As apparent from a comparison between FIG. 17B and FIG. 18, the photographed subject is different, and is a diagram for understanding the image of the display mode with the difference in scale.

  According to this display mode, the outside scenery is displayed so as to flow from the center toward the left and right rear, and it may be an interesting video that cannot be normally seen. Just looking at the front of the reference image is the function of the original drive recorder, but the scenery in front and the vehicle in front continue to be visible, making it less interesting and less interesting, but it cannot be seen normally if the above display mode is used. You can see the scenery. For example, recently, on TV travel programs, etc., a camera shot on the dashboard is used to shoot images of the situation inside the vehicle such as drivers and passengers, but the images taken and displayed by drivers / passengers etc. The scenery of the car is not visible, and even if it appears, it can only be seen from the window behind the driver / passenger. According to this embodiment, passengers in the passenger seat and the rear seat as well as the driver are displayed in the central portion 81, and the left and right outside scenery flows around the periphery, which is interesting. And it is good because the pictures of entertainers and others in the car are having fun and the beautiful scenery outside can be provided at the same time.

  In this display mode, the video displayed in the peripheral portion 82 is not only the left and right scenery of the vehicle, but also a wide range of scenery from the front of the vehicle taken by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27. Can be seen. Thus, the display is characterized in that the front part and the rear part are displayed so as to appear on one screen. Behind me, the image taken by the second camera 27 is reflected on the back side of the subject, and the outside scenery photographed by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 flows sideways and appears to wrap around later. . For example, it can be said that the scenery is as if the virtual camera is outside the vehicle, the virtual viewpoint is outside the vehicle, and the vehicle looks transparent as if it were transparent. . In this way, you can see scenery that you can't usually see.

[Viewer composition function]
As described above, in this embodiment, two images shot by the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are connected to create a spherical image. The angle of view of both cameras is set to 210 degrees horizontally in a state where they are attached and fixed at regular positions, and the peripheral area photographed by each camera is an overlapping area for photographing the same scenery or the like. When these overlapping areas are overlaid, they are combined with gradation. That is, for example, as in the second region R2 shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, in the overlapping connection portion, the display becomes thinner toward the periphery. For example, assuming that the second region R2 is a gradation processing target region, for example, the boundary portion with the first region R1 is set to 100% at 0% of the peripheral edge, and the density of the intermediate portion is gradually changed. Since the resolution decreases as it goes to the periphery, the effect on the display is reduced by making it difficult to capture. In addition, as described above, there is a risk that objects such as the same person will be displayed as separate objects in the images of each camera, but by applying gradation, even if they are displayed as separate objects, this is less noticeable .

[Mask function, etc.]
As shown in FIGS. 17B, 18A, 19 and the like, the drive recorder 10 that captures and records the omnidirectional sphere of this embodiment also captures the appearance of drivers, passengers, and the like. For example, it is good that the scenery and the passenger compartment are photographed and recorded, but there is a demand for not wanting to be photographed. The PC viewer of this embodiment has a mask function, and the masked mask area 62b has a function of outputting in a display mode that is less visible than the normal display area 62a. The mask region 62b that is difficult to see may be set, for example, or may be set based on user designation. In the case of fixing, for example, an area in the video corresponding to an area where the approximate position in the vehicle interior such as the vicinity of the driver's seat or the passenger's seat is determined may be set as the mask area 62b. In addition, the function of setting an arbitrary mask area 62b based on user designation, for example, stands still in a state where a person to be masked is displayed in the display area 62, and designates a position for specifying the area with a mouse or the like. When a predetermined button of the mouse is clicked, the PC viewer stores the position, and sets the inside of the figure having the clicked position as a vertex in the mask area 62b. When playing back the video, the PC viewer sets the area corresponding to the stored clicked position in the video taken by the second camera 27 as a mask area, and plays back and displays the corresponding area in a masked state. . A user having a setting function for the mask area 62b may perform mask processing on an arbitrary area.

  The display in the mask area 62b includes various processes such as mosaic processing, resolution reduction, and painting with a predetermined color. When painting a color, it is better to adjust the transparency appropriately so that you can see it lightly rather than completely filling it with a solid color.

  It is more preferable to have a function of automatically setting the mask area 62b. For example, the automatic setting function is as follows. For example, a face image or the like is registered in advance for a person such as a user who wants to perform mask processing, a registered person such as a user in a vehicle interior is recognized by image recognition or the like, and a predetermined range portion including the face of the person is obtained. Although it may be set in the mask area, for example, it is more preferable to set it based on the moving speed / displacement speed in the image. For example, while the vehicle is moving, the relative movement speed of the person outside the vehicle or the object with respect to the vehicle is high while the movement speed of the person in the passenger compartment is low. Also, seats and other installations in the passenger compartment do not move. From this difference in moving speed, it is preferable to set a mask area for a certain speed range. In this way, pre-registration is not required, masking can be done with simple processing without image recognition, and even when a person who has not been registered is placed, masking can be performed on the passengers, which is versatile. Good.

[Specific image display function]
As described above, the PC viewer can pause the video being played at any position according to the user's operation, view the video in any direction, flip it upside down, zoom in / out, and so on. Are displayed in a desired angle of view. If the display direction and angle of view are appropriately changed during playback, an interesting / interesting video is played back, but there is a risk that it may be difficult to know where the currently displayed video is. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a function of displaying a specific direction by a one-touch operation. For example, when the “return to standard” item in the screen display area menu shown in FIG. 13B is clicked, the display in the display area 62 is returned to the initial display. Similarly, for example, a menu bar, By clicking buttons / items provided at specific locations in other arbitrary locations, for example, ones in a specific direction such as front / rear / left / right are displayed with one touch. With such a function, a desired direction can be displayed with a single touch regardless of which direction the current display is facing. Further, as described above, the specific direction is not a direction such as front / rear / right / left centered on the drive recorder, but may be an oblique rear rather than a back when displaying the rear side. It is better to face the driver's seat diagonally behind. In this way, the situation in the passenger compartment can be shown with a focus on the driver. Apart from the mask function described above, it is preferable for the user who wants to see himself / herself because it is displayed with self-centering.

  In addition, as described above, the function is not limited to the function of displaying a predetermined direction by a one-touch operation. In addition to the function, or in place of the function, a range viewed during playback is saved in a form such as bookmark saving. It is preferable to have a function of displaying an image of the same direction and angle of view that is registered in the above and saved by one-touch operation or other simple operation during subsequent playback.

[Function to display a specific orientation, etc., to come to a specific position]
One feature of the drive recorder that captures the celestial sphere as in this embodiment is that it displays a sphere as shown in FIG. When the PC viewer displays the sphere in this way, if the center of the circle is displayed on the ground and the outer circumference of the circle is empty, for example, the geomagnetic sensor is stored in association with the usage position information. It is good to display so that it may become the top.

  In the above-described embodiments and the like, the standard display is such that the bone net of the vehicle is at a specific position, and the scenery in front of driving is at the center. In addition to this display mode, it is preferable to provide a function for displaying a specific orientation (eg, north) at a specific position (eg, up) as described above. Thus, for example, when north is displayed on the top, it is preferable because matching with the map is improved. For example, when a map is displayed on the north head and shot with a drive recorder at the corresponding position on the map, but the images are displayed side by side, if the image is also displayed with north above, the upper part shown in the image is north. Therefore, it is only necessary to easily associate a building or the like shown in the image with a landmark such as a building on the map. In this way, particularly when the specific direction is “north”, it is convenient to view with the map. In addition, for example, when preparing an accident report, a situation report such as “a collision with a vehicle traveling from the south” can be easily described. In addition, it is easy to correlate videos taken by a plurality of drive recorders. Not only in the circular display but also in the case of 360 degrees developed in a band shape like a panoramic photograph, it is preferable that the north side is at a predetermined position.

  Also, the direction of a specific direction is not limited to the direction. For example, it may be a destination or a specific landmark, but if it is set to the direction, especially “north”, it can be matched with the map. preferable.

  Furthermore, when a specific direction such as “north” is set upward, it is not limited to good matching with the map, and for example, the traveling direction angle of the own vehicle can be easily estimated from the flow of the image at the time of moving image reproduction. . For example, when “north” is displayed at the top and all directions in FIG. 18 are displayed on one screen, when traveling in the north, it is displayed in the peripheral region R11 on both sides of the circle. The scenery is played so that the outside scenery flows from top to bottom. On the other hand, when traveling to the south, it flows from the bottom to the top contrary to the above, and in the east-west direction, the upper and lower parts of the circle flow sideways. In this way, it is easy to understand in which direction the image flows. Further, the azimuth to be displayed on the upper side is not limited to “north”. By displaying another specific azimuth on the upper side, the traveling direction of the vehicle can be known from the flow of the image.

  For example, what is called a sports camera or action camera that shoots the whole celestial sphere may be displayed so that a subject such as a child is in the center. In this case, the subject is not unique because it is impossible to predict where the danger will come, such as a rear-end collision with a forward vehicle, a rear-end collision with a vehicle from the rear, or the like. Therefore, paying attention to the azimuth and determining a specific azimuth (for example, “north”) as a specific position (for example, “up”), as described above, “you can see the direction of the image at a glance” The direction of the vehicle can be easily estimated from the flow of images during video playback. “Matching with a map is better.” “Videos taken with multiple drive recorders and videos taken at the same place in the past. It is good because various effects such as “It becomes easy to take a correlation with the image” are obtained.

[Modification of spherical display]
For example, when a spherical display is used as shown in FIG. Therefore, the PC viewer provides an additional information display unit 78 in an area where there is no such image. The various information may be displayed (see FIG. 18B). In FIG. 18B, the additional information display unit 78 is provided in the lower left, but the arrangement position is arbitrary, and a plurality of information may be arranged. If a plurality of devices are arranged, more information can be displayed.

  For the pedestrian information, for example, the PC viewer performs image recognition processing on the image to be displayed, and extracts a person. When a person is extracted, the PC viewer displays the presence of the person such as “There was a person” as character information. In addition, a mark such as an arrow may be drawn on the portion of the person displayed in the display area 62a of the display area 62 so that the presence position can be easily understood. In this way, for example, it can be easily confirmed that a person is approaching or is away from the vehicle. In addition, for example, when a person is recognized, not all are displayed but image recognition or other personal authentication is used, and when a specific person is detected, information for identifying the detected person, such as a name, may be displayed. .

  In this case, the person outside the vehicle and the person inside the vehicle may be displayed separately. For example, if it is outside the vehicle, it will be displayed when the presence of a person is detected in order to determine whether there is a risk of contact, etc. good.

[Multi-screen display function]
In each of the above-described embodiments, the display area 62 displays one image based on one viewpoint, such as the entire omnidirectional image or an image cut out from the entire celestial sphere image. Is not limited to this, and a plurality of different images may be displayed simultaneously. In this way, a plurality of images in different directions can be seen, the blind spots are eliminated, and a graceful video can be seen.

  As for the images in a plurality of different directions, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, a front landscape may be displayed on the first image display unit 76, and an image in the vehicle interior may be displayed on the second image display unit 77. In this way, for example, the driver and passengers when viewing the scenery in front can be linked and confirmed. For example, when you see a beautiful scenery, if there is an image that the driver and passengers are thrilled or pleased with, you can see the correlation with the scenery, and it is good for remembering the journey of the drive. Further, the size of the first image display unit 76 and the second image display unit 77 may be the same size as shown in the figure, but it is more preferable that the main image display unit and the sub image display unit are provided with a size difference. . By changing the size of main and sub, the video displayed on the main image display section can be seen well. In this way, when the main image is divided into the main image and the sub image, the main image may be a front image of the front, and the sub image may be an image of the passenger compartment in which the driver or the like is captured. This assignment is preferable for exerting the original function of the drive recorder. The sub image may be, for example, the left side or the right side of the vehicle. In this way, for example, an accident such as a collision from the side can be confirmed.

[Automatic edit playback function]
When the whole sky image is displayed as a whole, it becomes a circular image as shown in FIG. The PC viewer has a function of enlarging and projecting a part of an image on a plane. As described above, the PC viewer performs enlargement / reduction of the all-round image, movement of the display range, and the like based on a user operation such as dragging or button operation using the mouse while reproducing the image. There is a problem that this user operation is complicated and troublesome. Therefore, it is preferable to have a function of automatically performing a process of cutting out and displaying an appropriate part of the entire image without a user operation. It is desirable to have a function to automatically change the angle and angle of view displayed on the screen in all sky images.

  For example, a function of automatically changing the viewable range (viewport) in the video in conjunction with the vehicle information may be provided. Examples of changing the range include zooming in, zooming out, and panning.

  For example, when traveling, a portion corresponding to the front is displayed in an enlarged manner. For example, if there are viewpoints to be seen such as Mt. Fuji, the viewport may be automatically panned and reproduced in the direction of the point. For example, the function stores the position information of the viewpoint, obtains the direction of the viewpoint from the position information of the vehicle being reproduced, automatically moves the cutout position, and pans and reproduces the direction.

  For example, when driving on a highway, the video taken by the first camera 26 continues to display the vehicle ahead, especially in sections or tunnels where soundproof walls are installed on both sides of the highway. For example, the scenery does not change. Continuing to watch video in the same direction is tedious and not basically what you want to see, and there is a problem that you don't want to play it even if you always record it. Therefore, it is desirable to have a function of cutting such a useless place and skipping it and reproducing a place that seems to be interesting. For example, when the position photographed from the map information is an expressway, it is preferable to skip and reproduce the rest after getting off the expressway interchange or the like. Further, the present invention is not limited to a highway, and it is preferable to skip a registered area such as the vicinity of a home.

  Also, if you pause from running, you will continue to shoot the same video when you are stopped, so the video you play may continue to display the same picture as a still image while you pause. Is not preferable. Therefore, you may skip the display while the vehicle is temporarily stopped like an expressway and start playback again from the beginning. It is recommended that the screen is automatically rotated so that the neck is swung from side to side. When pausing, the driver may want to confirm the surrounding situation, and the confirmation operation will be reproduced, and it will be understood that the driver has paused due to rotation.

  In this way, since the scenery or the like that interests you is automatically played back, it may be motivated to play back the recorded video. Further, it is preferable to have a function of recording the reproduced video. In addition, it is preferable to have a function of recording the video reproduced from the viewport or the like as another video file. In this way, viewport information can be written out in a separate file and uploaded to the Internet or the like for publication.

  In addition, for example, there are television programs that are broadcast while switching between the scenery inside the train, a video taken from above the train using a drone or the like, and the scenery outside the vehicle. As mentioned above, if you are able to automatically replay the scenery you are interested in from the video you ran, the video like the above TV program will be created and replayed, It will be good.

  Also, for example, what are called sports cameras and action cameras that shoot the whole celestial sphere, the photographer operates the camera with his / her hand at the time of shooting. Therefore, even if the video that has been shot and recorded is played back as it is, it is the video that is desired to be viewed. In particular, there is no problem even if the viewport is fixed and not edited. On the other hand, since the drive recorder is attached to the vehicle and is constantly recorded, there is a high possibility that a wasteful video that is not of interest or a video that does not face the direction that the user wants to watch will be played back. Become. The present embodiment solves this problem.

[Drive recorder with display]
The drive recorder may be provided with a display device having the functions of the PC viewer described above. In the above-described embodiment, the drive recorder does not include a display unit, and the video shot by the camera is recorded on the memory card 23 and checked by the PC viewer of the personal computer. By providing the recorder with a display device, it is good to see the video in real time. It is desirable to be able to perform operations such as moving or enlarging / reducing an area in which a part of the spherical image provided in the PC viewer is cut out and displayed.

  For example, if the image of the side or rear of the vehicle is displayed while the vehicle is running, the driver can know the situation around the vehicle by slightly shifting his line of sight toward the display device while facing forward. Further, for example, when the image of the passenger compartment taken by the second camera 27 is displayed on the display device, the driver or the like, for example, confirms the state of an infant or child in the rear seat, confirmation of the person on board, etc. You can do it without looking back. In particular, it is difficult for the driver in the driver's seat to visually confirm the back side of the driver's seat. For example, by setting the mounting position of the drive recorder 10 at the center / upper side of the windshield, It is good because you can clearly capture and display the state of the seat.

  Further, in the case where a function for enlarging / reducing such as a PC viewer is not provided, for example, when an image photographed by one or both of the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 is displayed in a circle, FIG. As shown in (b), an additional information display section 78 may be provided in a circular outer area to display various types of information.

[Driving recorder equipped with a function to notify the vehicle interior situation]
It is preferable to have a function of determining and notifying the passenger's state from the video captured by the second camera 27. For example, it may be determined that an infant or child sleeping in the back seat is likely to get up / sleeps asleep, and is notified when the child is about to get up or go away. In this way, there is no need to regularly check the rear seat, and it is sufficient to be able to concentrate by driving.

  Moreover, it is good to provide the function which extracts a person by image recognition processing etc. from the image | video image | photographed with the 2nd camera 27, counts the number of boarding passengers, and notifies. This is preferable because all the members can see immediately. The back of the driver's seat is particularly difficult to see, but it's good because you can see it reliably and smoothly without overlooking it. In particular, in the case of a vehicle having a large number of passengers such as a bus, it is preferable that the number of passengers can be confirmed quickly.

  As described above, it is preferable to have a function of counting and recognizing a state or the like by paying attention to a person in the passenger compartment and notifying the result by display or voice. Whether the person is in the vehicle is, for example, a person recognition process within the area corresponding to the inside of the vehicle, or the size of the movement (for example, if the vehicle is moving, the movement is less ), You can easily distinguish people inside and outside the car.

[Drive recorder with camera that only one of the two cameras captures the hemisphere area]
In the above-described embodiment, the first camera 26 and the second camera 27 are both cameras that capture a range of a hemisphere or more. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one of the two cameras is a hemisphere. Or it is a 3rd camera which image | photographs the range beyond it, It is a 4th camera which image | photographs the range narrower than the other hemisphere, It is good to comprise so that both imaging | photography area | regions may have a different area | region. For example, the third camera may be a hemispherical camera with a full circumference of 180 degrees, and the fourth camera may be a wide-angle camera used in a conventional drive recorder, such as a wide-angle camera with a horizontal of 120 degrees and a vertical of 70 degrees. good.

  For example, when the drive recorder is mounted and fixed on the ceiling of the vehicle, the third camera has a lens facing downward and takes an image of an area of 360 degrees in the horizontal direction and 180 degrees in the vertical direction. Take a picture of the front of the vehicle when attached to the vehicle.

  Although not specifically shown, the third camera and the fourth camera may be arranged in one housing. When arranged in a single housing, for example, a housing with a hemispherical portion protruding from one surface of a rectangular parallelepiped box, a third camera is mounted on the hemispherical portion, and a rectangular parallelepiped portion To implement the fourth camera. The lens of the fourth camera is disposed at the apex of the hemispherical portion, and the lens of the third camera is disposed so as to be exposed on one side surface adjacent to the hemispherical portion. And in the state which attached the drive recorder to the ceiling of the vehicle via the attachment member, the hemispherical portion is positioned below, and the side surface on which the lens of the fourth camera is provided faces the front of the vehicle. .

  For example, the hemispherical camera constituting the third camera captures the area of the lower half of the hemispherical sphere, but since the image of the distant area around the outside of the vehicle is too small, the situation is difficult to understand, for example, when an accident occurs. In addition, since the traffic light exists diagonally above the vehicle, there is a problem that the traffic light often does not enter the shooting range. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the fourth camera constituting the front camera is provided, so that it is possible to shoot in a range where it is difficult or impossible to shoot with the third camera in front of the vehicle.

  The operation of the two cameras may be switched depending on circumstances. For example, while driving, the third camera and the fourth camera are operated to photograph the front and lower hemispherical parts, and the images captured by the two cameras are simultaneously recorded on the memory card. In this way, for example, in the event of an accident, in the event of a collision on the front side of the vehicle, a clean and clear image can be recorded based on the image taken with the fourth camera as with a conventional drive recorder, In the event of a collision at the side or rear side of the vehicle that becomes the blind spot of the fourth camera, a clear and clear image can be recorded based on the image taken by the third camera.

  For example, when parking, the third camera is operated only for the security monitoring mode. In the omnidirectional drive recorder, two cameras were operated even when parked. In this embodiment, only the third camera is operated, so it is possible to reduce power consumption and perform longer recording / security monitoring. . The judgment at the time of parking includes, for example, engine stop, no driver in the driver's seat, side brake is pulled, speed is 0 km, and the current position is a home parking lot.

  In addition, while driving, only the fourth camera may be operated. However, it is preferable to use the third camera and the fourth camera together because it can record the collision around the vehicle, especially from the side or behind. . For example, when moving to a highway or other destination, for example, when taking a forward shot with the fourth camera as a countermeasure against an accident, the surrounding scenery is often beautiful near the destination. A third camera may also be operated to capture and record the scenery.

  Further, the third camera may be used for monitoring while parked, and only one of them may be operated during traveling, such as shooting in front of the fourth camera. This usage mode is to switch between a video specialized for the front and a video specialized for the periphery of the vehicle depending on the purpose.

  If either one is sent to a smartphone or server as a real-time video, real-time monitoring can be performed. Although sending may be fixed to either one, for example, it is good to use the image of the fourth camera during traveling and the image of the third camera during parking.

  In addition, the idea of extending the operation time by using one camera for security monitoring during parking in this embodiment may be applied to, for example, a drive recorder that captures the entire celestial sphere. In this case, for example, instead of the switch unit 28 of the drive recorder 10, a wide-angle camera may be mounted to form three cameras, and only the wide-angle camera may be operated while the vehicle is stopped.

[Drive recorder with one camera]
In each of the above-described embodiments, a plurality of cameras are combined to capture a range wider than the hemispherical region, but in this embodiment, a single camera captures a range wider than the hemispherical region. I made it. When a hemispherical camera with a full circumference of 180 degrees is used and affixed to the ceiling to shoot the range of the lower hemisphere, the following problems arise.

  Among the circular images obtained by photographing, the resolution is the best at the center and the lowest at the periphery. Therefore, for example, in parking monitoring, it is preferable because a single camera can shoot 360 degrees in the horizontal direction. However, since the forward scenery such as the vehicle ahead is located at the periphery of a circular image obtained by shooting, the resolution is low. There is a problem of getting worse. Furthermore, for example, if the camera is attached to the ceiling or the like, the vehicle and the driver can be photographed even at an entire circumference of 180 degrees, but in addition to the low resolution described above, it is possible to photograph a traffic light located above the vehicle. Can not. In particular, in the event of an accident, it is indispensable to photograph the traffic light in order to specify the color of the travel route and surrounding traffic lights, and there is a problem that photographing cannot be performed.

  In this embodiment, for example, a camera with a full circumference of 240 degrees is used, and the one camera is installed downward, and the drive recorder records the lower hemisphere and the upper oblique area. As a result, in addition to the vehicle in front and the driver / passenger in the room, the traffic light can be captured with a single camera.

  If the angle is 210 degrees, the traffic light may not be photographed, so the lower limit is 220 degrees. On the other hand, as the angle increases, the traffic light can reliably shoot, but as the angle increases, more areas are shot in the same circle, so the object to be shot becomes smaller. If the traffic light is not photographed at a certain size, the color of the signal cannot be determined and the meaning of recording is lost. Therefore, the upper limit is 260 degrees at which an appropriate size can be secured. A more preferable range is 230 to 240 degrees, and in the present embodiment, it is 240 degrees.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, a microwave sensor and an LTE communication function are provided. When the approach to the vehicle is detected by the microwave sensor, the main body is activated. That is, in order to suppress vehicle battery consumption, the CPU, camera, and LTE are set to sleep during standby. And if a microwave sensor reacts, it will start from a sleep state. Since it takes 5 to 10 seconds to start up, when the acceleration sensor or the door opening sensor reacts after being started up by the microwave sensor, the image is transferred to the user carrying the smartphone using LTE. Notice.

  Since the microwave sensor reacts to all moving objects, in this embodiment, the notification is made based on the detection of the acceleration sensor or the door opening sensor, and the frequent notification is suppressed. It is desirable to provide a function that allows a user in a remote place to check with a smartphone by sending real-time video to the smartphone by mode setting.

[Other features]
It is preferable that the camera body and the GPS are separate units and have a vehicle tracking function capable of tracking by the GPS even when the camera is destroyed or stolen.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the drive recorder may be provided with a function of automatically uploading images taken around the mobile orbis to the server.

  It is desirable to connect a drive recorder to an in-vehicle device such as a car navigation system and to provide a function for displaying the video taken by the camera on the car navigation system.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the drive recorder provided with two cameras is configured such that the two cameras are mounted in one housing, but the present invention is not limited to this, and separate housings are provided. You may make it mount in. In that case, it is preferable to attach to the vehicle with one common attachment member. In addition, two cameras provided in separate housings may be separately attached to the vehicle using attachment members, and the two cameras may be linked by wired or wireless communication that shakes the cable. In order to achieve a desired positional relationship, it is better to use a common mounting member to attach the vehicle to the vehicle. Further, as in the above-described embodiment, a single housing has a desired positional relationship in advance. More preferably it is implemented.

[Application to ADAS (advanced driving system)]
The following problems arise when an image captured by the drive recorder 10 that captures the entire celestial sphere or an image captured by the camera that captures the entire celestial sphere is used in ADAS processing. For example, when using for lane departure warning, there are two 360 degree images, so it is necessary to specify the lane to be prevented from departing. In addition, in the all-sky camera, not only the vehicles and traffic lights in front but also the vehicles and traffic lights in the side and rear are included in the sky image, so it is necessary to identify the target ADAS area, for example, the front signal. is there.

  Therefore, for example, the camera is fixed and cannot be moved in the same manner as the drive recorder 10 so that the position where the image is captured is fixed. And when a camera is attached to a vehicle, the part which wants to use with ADAS is set to the part which does not hit the joint of several cameras.

  As another configuration, the camera is not fixed and the direction can be adjusted. An area used in ADAS is cut out from an area of the windshield where the area of the windshield and the passenger compartment is estimated from a portion that moves in the video (a portion with an optical flow) and a non-movable portion such as a pillar. You may cut out the area | region used for a user's dozing, detection of a side look, etc. from the area | region of a vehicle interior.

  Further, in the drive recorder, the portion with the highest resolution (for example, the center) is directed to the front front, but it is preferable to face the white line, for example.

[Form to be mounted outside the vehicle]
In the above-described embodiment, the camera is provided in the vehicle interior. However, the camera may be provided in the vehicle interior or may be provided with the following configuration without being provided in the vehicle interior. A hemispherical camera for photographing the outside of the vehicle (preferably a camera capable of photographing an area exceeding 180 degrees around the circumference, particularly a camera exceeding 210 degrees around the circumference) may be provided.

  In particular, it may be installed from the side of the vehicle toward the outside, or may be installed from the side of the vehicle to the bottom. For example, such a camera may be installed on the side mirror so as to photograph the lower side from the lower surface side of the side mirror. In particular, such a camera may be provided on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle.

  In addition, the installation position is not limited to this, and for example, at least one of the positions (front right, front left, rear right, rear left) that hit the four corners when the vehicle is viewed from above (particularly the front left is desirable). A good camera should be installed (especially all four corners). In particular, it is preferable to install the camera so that the outside is photographed from the vehicle side at a portion where the front and side surfaces of the vehicle body are in contact (between). At this time, the photographing direction at the center of the camera may be set to a direction exceeding 45 degrees toward the outside in the lateral direction with respect to the straight forward direction. That is, it is preferable to install the apparatus so that the area of the image captured on the side is larger than that on the front.

  According to such camera images, it can be confirmed more easily than before whether it does not run on a curb, falls into a gutter, does not fall into a valley, or hits a guardrail. In particular, it is effective when passing on or stopping by avoiding oncoming vehicles on narrow roads such as mountain roads, or when parking from the left as much as possible.

  In particular, it should be installed so that the area around the tire is within the shooting range. It is preferable to include a range seen from the driver's seat on a small mirror installed under the conventional left side mirror. These small mirrors are difficult to see in a small size, and can hardly be seen at night, but they can solve these problems.

  In particular, when the camera is installed at the front end or the rear end of the vehicle as in the above four corners, it comes from the left and right when going to the road from one side (or especially both sides) surrounded by walls. A wide range can be easily confirmed with a few cameras, such as bicycles and pedestrians.

  In particular, it is preferable to provide a function for changing the display range of the all-sky camera by a user instruction. In particular, it is preferable to have a function of enlarging a portion where a touch is detected in the image of the all-sky camera displayed on the display screen. In particular, it is preferable to draw by moving the touched position to the center of the display portion of the screen.

  In the above-described embodiment, the omnidirectional camera is fixed. However, for example, a mechanism for changing the shooting direction of the omnidirectional camera based on a user operation may be provided. For example, an electric pan head or the like that can be remotely operated may be attached to the vehicle, and a camera may be fixed to the pan head so that the photographing direction can be changed by remote control of the pan head.

  As described above, various aspects of the present invention have been described using the embodiments and modifications. However, these embodiments and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is added that it was provided to contribute to The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations or limitations explicitly described in the specification, and includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed in the present specification. Of the present invention, the configuration for which a patent is sought is specified in the scope of claims attached to the application. However, even if the current configuration is not specified in the scope of claims, It should be noted that the disclosed configuration may be claimed in the future. The applicant of the present application has an intention to acquire the right for such a part / combination through an application for amendment, divisional application, change to design registration application, or the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment. The components of the above-described embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily selected and combined. In addition, any component of each embodiment or modification, and any component described in the means for solving the invention or any component described in the means for solving the invention And may be combined arbitrarily. The invention of these configurations also has an intention to acquire rights in the amendment or divisional application of the present application.

  In addition, although the drawing shows the entire apparatus as a solid line, the drawing includes not only the entire design but also a partial design that is claimed for a part of the apparatus. For example, it is a drawing that includes a part of the apparatus as a partial design as well as a part of the apparatus as a partial design. A part of the device may be a part of the device or a part of the member.

2 windshield 3 pillar 4 dashboard 10 live recorder 11 main body 12 camera 13 main body case 25 housing 26 first camera 27 second camera 28 switch unit 50 angle adjustment mechanism 60 display screen 62 display area 62b mask area

Claims (20)

Photographing means for photographing a wider range than the area of the hemisphere,
A drive recorder comprising mounting means for attaching to the vehicle so that a range to be photographed by the photographing means includes the front of the vehicle. The photographing means includes a plurality of cameras,
One of the plurality of cameras is a camera that captures a range of a hemisphere or higher, and the other camera is a camera that captures a range that is narrower than the hemisphere, and both shooting areas have different areas. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein:   The said imaging | photography means is equipped with one camera which image | photographs the range wider than the said hemisphere including the lower hemisphere in the state attached to the said vehicle by the said attachment means. drive recorder. The photographing means includes two cameras for photographing a hemisphere or higher range,
Let the two cameras shoot in opposite directions,
2. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the dashboard and the pillar of the vehicle are reflected on the periphery of the images captured by the two cameras when mounted in the vehicle interior by the mounting means. . The photographing means includes two cameras for photographing a hemisphere or higher range,
Let the two cameras shoot in opposite directions,
The two cameras are configured to form one video by connecting the peripheral edges of the video shot by each camera,
5. The drive recorder according to claim 1, further comprising means for making a connecting portion between peripheral areas photographed by the two cameras inconspicuous. The photographing means includes two cameras for photographing a hemisphere or higher range,
Arrange the two cameras so that the area captured by the two cameras overlaps at the periphery,
The drive recorder according to any one of claims 1, 4, and 5, wherein an overlapping region is photographed at a predetermined position in a passenger compartment when attached to the vehicle by the attachment means.   The drive recorder according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined position is at least one of a pillar and a dashboard of the vehicle. The two cameras capture a range of hemisphere or more, and the two cameras are mounted on a single housing.
The outer shape of the housing is a sphere,
The drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein each lens of the two cameras is disposed in a state of being exposed on a surface on the opposite side in the diameter direction of the sphere. It has a body case for mounting the control unit,
The housing for mounting the two cameras is disposed on the lower side of the main body case by the attachment means,
The drive recorder according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the main body case has a shape that makes it difficult to be reflected in the camera. A control unit and a body case for mounting recording means are provided.
The housing for mounting the two cameras is arranged separately from the main body case,
The drive recorder according to claim 4, wherein a switch is provided in the housing. A control unit and a body case for mounting recording means are provided.
The housing for mounting the two cameras when mounted in the vehicle interior by the mounting means is located below the main body case, and a switch is provided on the lower surface side of the housing. Item 11. The drive recorder according to any one of Items 4 to 10. The housing is rotatably attached to the lower surface side of the main body case in a state of being attached to the vehicle interior by the attachment means via a coupling mechanism,
The drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the coupling mechanism allows rotation of the vehicle in the front-rear direction in the attached state and prevents swinging in the left-right direction. A display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12,
A display device for a drive recorder, comprising a function of displaying images taken by the two cameras in a connected state in a connected state. A display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12,
The video taken by the two cameras is displayed in a connected state and has a function to change the viewpoint.
A drive recorder display device having a function of displaying a reference screen by one-touch operation. A display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12,
A display device for a drive recorder, comprising a mask function for making it difficult to see a predetermined portion of an image captured by each of the two cameras from other normal display portions. A display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12,
A display device for a drive recorder, comprising a main display portion and a sub display portion, and a function of displaying different images on each display portion. A display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12,
A drive recorder display device comprising a function of displaying a specific direction so as to face a predetermined position on a screen. A display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12,
For a drive recorder characterized by having an editing / playback function that automatically skips unnecessary video and automatically plays back the video captured by the two cameras, instead of playing it back in time series Display device.   A program for causing a computer to realize a function as a display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 13 to 18.   The drive recorder according to any one of claims 4 to 12, comprising the function of the display device for a drive recorder according to any one of claims 13 to 17.