JP2018200612A - On-vehicle camera control device, car navigation device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To obtain an on-vehicle camera control device capable of preventing recording during parking from being performed unnecessarily.SOLUTION: The on-vehicle camera control device includes: a determination unit 14a that determines whether or not a vehicle is present at a recording unnecessary place using place setting information in which the recording unnecessary place is indicated and current position information of the vehicle; and a recording control unit 14b that exerts control such that recording during parking through use of a camera unit 12 is performed in the case where it is determined by the determination unit 14a that the vehicle is not present at the recording unnecessary place, and exerts control such that recording during parking through use of the camera unit 12 is not performed in the case where it is determined by the determination unit 14a that the vehicle is present at the recording unnecessary place.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling an in-vehicle camera.

For the purpose of crime prevention or the like, an in-vehicle camera for recording the periphery of the vehicle during parking may be provided. The in-vehicle camera receives power supply from a built-in battery or a vehicle battery. The built-in battery has a small capacity and it is difficult to record for a long time. In addition, since the vehicle battery is less frequently charged when the frequency of use of the vehicle is not so high, the battery may run out due to recording during parking. Therefore, it is important to suppress power consumption when recording while parking using a vehicle-mounted camera.
Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, the distance between a vehicle and a human body or an object existing around the vehicle is detected using a microwave sensor, and power is supplied to the video camera unit or the like only when the distance changes. An imaging device is described that supplies and puts it into operation.

JP 2004-224167 A

  However, in the case of using the imaging device of Patent Document 1, a change in the distance between a vehicle and a human body or an object is frequently detected not only in a suspicious person, but in a place where there is a large amount of traffic. However, the video camera unit is unnecessarily activated, and power is consumed for photographing that is not meaningful for crime prevention.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle camera control device that can suppress unnecessarily recording during parking.

  The vehicle-mounted camera control device according to the present invention uses a location setting information indicating a location where no recording is performed using a vehicle-mounted camera, and a current location information of the vehicle. When the determination unit that determines whether or not the determination unit determines that there is no vehicle in a recording unnecessary place, the control unit performs control so that recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera is performed. When it is determined that there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place, the recording control unit is configured to control so that recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera is not performed.

  According to the present invention, when it is determined that there is a vehicle in a place where recording is not required, control is performed so that recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera is not performed, so recording during parking is performed unnecessarily. That can be suppressed.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the drive recorder which has the vehicle-mounted camera control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating hardware configuration examples of the external memory read / write unit and the control unit. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process by a drive recorder. It is a figure which shows a structure when the vehicle-mounted camera control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 is provided in the car navigation apparatus. It is an example of the confirmation screen displayed.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a drive recorder 1 having an in-vehicle camera control device according to the first embodiment. The drive recorder 1 mounted on the vehicle includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 11, a camera unit 12, an external memory read / write unit 13, a control unit 14, an operation unit 15, and a battery unit 16, and the control unit 14 includes The determination unit 14a and the recording control unit 14b constitute an in-vehicle camera control device.

The GPS receiver 11 receives radio waves from GPS satellites via an antenna (not shown), and outputs the current position information of the vehicle and the current time information to the controller 14.
The camera unit 12 shoots the vehicle periphery and generates video information. The camera unit 12 outputs the generated video information to the external memory read / write unit 13 via the control unit 14.

  The external memory read / write unit 13 reads information from a removable recording medium such as the SD card 2 and writes information to the recording medium. The external memory read / write unit 13 writes the video information generated by the camera unit 12 to a recording medium such as the SD card 2 so that a video showing the periphery of the vehicle is recorded.

The control unit 14 includes a determination unit 14a and a recording control unit 14b, and controls each unit of the drive recorder 1.
The determination unit 14a determines whether or not there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place, using the current position information output from the GPS reception unit 11 and the place setting information stored in a memory (not shown). The location setting information is information indicating a location where recording is not required, in which recording is not performed during parking using the camera unit 12. The location setting information can be registered, for example, by the user operating the operation unit 15. For example, the user's home or the like may be registered as a recording unnecessary place. The determination result by the determination unit 14a is output to the recording control unit 14b.

  According to the determination result of the determination unit 14a, the recording control unit 14b performs recording while parking using the camera unit 12 or does not perform recording while parking using the camera unit 12. The units of the drive recorder 1 such as the camera unit 12 and the external memory read / write unit 13 are controlled.

The operation unit 15 is a key button, a touch panel, or the like, and outputs operation information indicating a user operation content to the control unit 14.
The battery unit 16 supplies power to each unit of the drive recorder 1. The battery unit 16 is charged with electric power from the vehicle battery 3. The vehicle battery 3 is a battery that is charged by the operation of the vehicle engine, as is well known.

Next, a hardware configuration example of the drive recorder 1 will be described. The GPS receiving unit 11 is configured by a well-known GPS receiver, and the camera unit 12 is configured by a camera provided with an image sensor and the like. The operation unit 15 is a key button or a touch panel as described above. A hardware configuration example of the external memory read / write unit 13 and the determination unit 14a and the recording control unit 14b of the control unit 14 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
Each function of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b is realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware or a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program stored in a memory. The CPU is also called a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a processor, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example when the functions of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b are realized by the processing circuit 101 that is dedicated hardware. The processing circuit 101 is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. To do. The functions of each unit of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b may be realized by combining separate processing circuits 101, or the function of each unit may be realized by one processing circuit 101.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration when the functions of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b are realized by the CPU 103 that executes a program stored in the memory 102. In this case, the functions of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software and firmware are described as programs and stored in the memory 102. The CPU 103 reads out and executes the program stored in the memory 102, thereby realizing the functions of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b. That is, the drive recorder 1 has a memory 102 for storing a program or the like in which the processing of steps ST1 to ST4 shown in the flowchart of FIG. It can also be said that these programs cause the computer to execute the procedures or methods of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b. Here, the memory 102 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). This corresponds to a semiconductor memory or a disk-shaped recording medium such as a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

  Note that some of the functions of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b may be realized by dedicated hardware, and part of the functions may be realized by software or firmware. For example, the function of the external memory read / write unit 13 is realized by a processing circuit as dedicated hardware, and for the determination unit 14a and the recording control unit 14b, the processing circuit reads and executes a program stored in the memory. The function can be realized.

  As described above, the processing circuit can realize the functions of the external memory read / write unit 13, the determination unit 14a, and the recording control unit 14b by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

  Next, an example of processing by the drive recorder 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The process shown in this flowchart is started when the user parks the vehicle on which the drive recorder 1 is mounted. Whether the vehicle is parked can be determined based on the operating state of the engine, the gear position, and the like.

The determination unit 14a acquires current position information from the GPS receiving unit 11, and acquires location setting information from a memory (not shown) (step ST1).
Subsequently, the determination unit 14a determines whether or not there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place using the current position information and the place setting information (step ST2). The location setting information lists the locations that do not need to be recorded during parking using the camera unit 12, and the determination unit 14a includes the location indicated by the current position information in the location setting information. It is determined whether or not.

  When the location indicated by the current location information is included in the location setting information, that is, when there is a vehicle in a location that does not require recording (step ST2; YES), the recording control unit 14b is connected to the drive recorder 1 from the battery unit 16. The power supply to each unit is cut off, and control is performed so that recording using the camera unit 12 is not performed during parking (step ST3). This state is maintained until the next use of the vehicle, and recording is not performed during parking. Even if the recording unnecessary location indicated in the location setting information and the current position of the vehicle do not exactly match, the vehicle is located within a set distance from the recording unnecessary location indicated in the location setting information. It may be determined that there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place.

  On the other hand, when the location indicated by the current location information is not included in the location setting information, that is, when there is no vehicle in the location where recording is not required (step ST2; NO), the recording control unit 14b includes the camera unit 12 and the external memory. The battery unit 16 supplies power to each unit necessary for the recording process such as the read / write unit 13 and the like, causes the camera unit 12 to photograph the periphery of the vehicle, and stores the video information generated by the camera unit 12 in the external memory read / write unit 13. Write to the SD card 2. In this way, the recording control unit 14b performs control so that recording using the camera unit 12 is performed during parking (step ST4). This state is maintained until the next use of the vehicle, and recording continues while parking.

  As described above, the drive recorder 1 performs recording when the vehicle is parked in a place that is not a recording unnecessary place, but does not perform recording when the vehicle is parked in a recording unnecessary place. Unlike conventional photographic devices that are susceptible to the influence of the surrounding environment, such as not only suspicious people but also the operating state when the distance between the vehicle and the human body or object changes, there are recordings depending on the location Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary recording from being performed, and it is possible to suppress power consumption for recording that is not meaningful for crime prevention.

  Note that the control unit 14 may control recording in consideration of time. In this case, time setting information indicating the recording unnecessary time is stored in a memory (not shown), and the determination unit 14a performs determination using time setting information in addition to determination using location setting information. The recording unnecessary time is a time at which recording during parking using the camera unit 12 is not performed. The determination unit 14a determines whether or not the current time is a recording unnecessary time. The determination unit 14a can know the current time using, for example, current time information output from the GPS receiving unit 11.

  Even when it is determined that there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place, the recording control unit 14b performs parking recording using the camera unit 12 when it is determined that the current time is not a recording unnecessary time. In the case where it is determined that there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place and it is determined that the current time is a recording unnecessary time, the parking recording using the camera unit 12 is not performed. Control. In this way, even when a user such as a home is parked in a relatively safe place that is considered unnecessary for recording all day long, for example, recording is not performed during the daytime and power consumption is reduced. It can be said that crime prevention is improved. The time setting information can be registered by operating the operation unit 15 by the user, for example.

  In the above description, the location setting information and the time setting information are registered via the operation unit 15. However, one or both of the location setting information and the time setting information is stored in a removable recording medium such as the SD card 2 to be processed by the external memory read / write unit 13, and the determination unit 14 a One or both of the location setting information and the time setting information may be acquired from the recording medium via the memory read / write unit 13. The user can write location setting information, time setting information, and the like on the SD card 2 using the personal computer 4 shown in FIG.

  In the above description, the camera unit 12 of the drive recorder 1 is used for monitoring during parking and is a control target of the in-vehicle camera control device. However, the camera unit 12 is not limited to the camera unit 12 of the drive recorder 1 and is parked. Any vehicle-mounted camera that can be used for monitoring can be set as a control target of the vehicle-mounted camera control device.

  Further, in the description using the flowchart of FIG. 3, it is assumed that the recording unnecessary places are listed in the place setting information. For example, when the user thinks that recording is not required while parked at home, information related to the home location such as the latitude and longitude of the home is described in the location setting information. However, the place setting information may be a list of places that the user thinks that recording during parking is necessary. In this case, the determination unit 14a treats locations other than the locations listed in the location setting information as locations that do not require recording. In short, the location setting information may directly indicate the locations where recording is not required by listing locations where recording is unnecessary, or indirectly by listing locations where recording is required. May indicate a recording unnecessary place. The same applies to the time setting information.

4 shows that the determination unit 14a and the recording control unit 14b in the control unit 14 constituting the vehicle-mounted camera control apparatus according to the first embodiment are provided in the car navigation device 5 as the determination unit 52a and the recording control unit 52b. It is a figure which shows the modification in the case of being performed. In the case of this modification, the control unit 14 of the drive recorder 1A receives the instruction signal from the car navigation device 5 and controls the camera unit 12, the external memory read / write unit 13, and the like.
The car navigation device 5 includes a GPS receiving unit 51, a control unit 52, an operation unit 53, a display unit 54, and a theft information acquisition unit 55.

Similar to the GPS receiver 11, the GPS receiver 51 receives radio waves from a GPS satellite via an antenna (not shown), and outputs the current position information of the vehicle and the current time information to the controller 52.
The control unit 52 includes a determination unit 52a, a recording control unit 52b, a registration receiving unit 52c, and a notification unit 52d, and controls each unit of the car navigation device 5. The control unit 52 also performs processing such as route search and guidance to the destination, which are generally known processes in the field of car navigation, but for the configuration responsible for these generally known processes, Illustration and description are omitted.

The determination unit 52a performs the same determination process as the determination unit 14a already described. The determination result by the determination unit 52a is output to the recording control unit 52b.
The recording control unit 52b performs the same control process as the recording control unit 14b already described according to the determination result by the determination unit 52a. The recording control unit 52b controls the recording by indirectly controlling the camera unit 12, the external memory read / write unit 13 and the like by outputting an instruction signal to the control unit 14 of the drive recorder 1A.

The registration accepting unit 52c accepts registration of location setting information or time setting information using the operation information output from the operation unit 53.
The notification unit 52d outputs a warning signal indicating the display screen to the display unit 54.

The operation unit 53 is a key button, a touch panel, or the like, and outputs operation information indicating a user operation content to the control unit 52.
The display unit 54 is a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays a screen indicated by the warning signal output from the notification unit 52d.

  The theft information acquisition unit 55 acquires the theft location information indicating the theft location of the vehicle and outputs it to the control unit 52. When the user registers the location setting information via the operation unit 53, the notifying unit 52d is a vehicle theft in which the recording unnecessary location indicated by the location setting information received by the registration receiving unit 52c is indicated in the theft location information. When it is a place, a warning signal indicating a confirmation screen for calling attention is output to the display unit 54. FIG. 5 is an example of the confirmation screen. Note that the notification unit 52d may output a warning signal indicating the output voice to a speaker (not shown) to alert the user by voice. The theft information acquisition unit 55 is a communication device compatible with Wi-Fi, LTE (Long Term Evolution), or the like, and acquires information about a place where the vehicle is frequently stolen as theft place information via the Internet.

The determination unit 52a, the recording control unit 52b, the registration receiving unit 52c, and the notification unit 52d of the control unit 52 are the processing circuit 101 shown in FIG. 2A or the memory 102 shown in FIG. It can be realized by the CPU 103.
Similarly to the drive recorder 1 shown in FIG. 1, the car navigation device 5 also has a configuration in which a removable recording medium such as the SD card 2 can be read and written, and the determination unit 52a receives location setting information from the recording medium. In addition, time setting information and the like may be acquired.

  In this manner, the recording during parking may be controlled via the car navigation device 5.

Further, an in-vehicle camera control device is built in a server outside the vehicle, the server receives current position information and location setting information from the vehicle, determines whether to record while parking, The used recording may be controlled remotely.
In addition, a server outside the vehicle receives current position information and location setting information from the vehicle, performs a determination process corresponding to the determination unit 14a, and transmits a determination result to the vehicle side. It may be provided in a distributed manner on the vehicle side and the server side outside the vehicle.

  As described above, according to the in-vehicle camera control device according to the first embodiment, when it is determined that there is a vehicle in a place where recording is not required, recording during parking using the camera unit 12 is not performed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress unnecessary recording during parking. As a result, it is possible to suppress battery exhaustion in vehicles that are not frequently used. Further, the battery unit 16 can be downsized. Once the location setting information is registered, the in-vehicle camera control device automatically controls the recording during parking, so there is no complication that the user manually switches on / off the recording every time the vehicle is parked.

  In addition, the determination unit 14a acquires the location setting information from a removable recording medium such as the SD card 2. In this way, the user can register the location setting information by operating the personal computer 4 or the like that can write information to the recording medium.

  In addition, the determination unit 14a determines whether or not the present time is a recording unnecessary time by using time setting information indicating a recording unnecessary time at which no recording is performed during parking using the camera unit 12, and recording control is performed. When the determination unit 14a determines that there is a vehicle in a recording unnecessary place and when it is determined that the current time is a recording unnecessary time, the unit 14b does not perform recording during parking using the camera unit 12. It was decided to control. If it does in this way, the vehicle-mounted camera control apparatus will be able to perform recording control in consideration of time.

  In addition, the car navigation device 5 includes an in-vehicle camera control device and a registration receiving unit 52c that receives registration of location setting information. In this way, the user can register the place setting information by operating the car navigation device 5.

  In addition, the theft information acquisition unit 55 that acquires the theft location information indicating the theft location of the vehicle, and the recording-unnecessary location indicated by the location setting information received by the registration reception unit 52c is the vehicle location indicated in the theft location information. A notification unit 52d that outputs a warning signal in the case of a stolen place is provided. In this way, it is possible to prevent a place where the vehicle is frequently stolen from being erroneously registered as a recording unnecessary place.

  In the present invention, any constituent element of the embodiment can be modified or any constituent element of the embodiment can be omitted within the scope of the invention.

  1, 1A drive recorder, 2 SD card, 3 vehicle battery, 4 personal computer, 5 car navigation device, 11 GPS receiver, 12 camera unit, 13 external memory read / write unit, 14 control unit, 14a determination unit, 14b recording control unit, 15 operation unit, 16 battery unit, 51 GPS reception unit, 52 control unit, 52a determination unit, 52b recording control unit, 52c registration reception unit, 52d notification unit, 53 operation unit, 54 display unit, 55 theft information acquisition unit, 101 Processing circuit, 102 memory, 103 CPU.

Claims (6)

A determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is in the recording-unnecessary location by using the location setting information indicating the location where the recording is unnecessary and the current location information of the vehicle that does not perform the recording while parking using the in-vehicle camera. When,
When the determination unit determines that the vehicle is not in the recording-unnecessary place, control is performed so that recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera is performed. A vehicle-mounted camera control device comprising: a recording control unit that controls to prevent recording during parking using the vehicle-mounted camera when it is determined that the vehicle is present.   The in-vehicle camera control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit acquires the location setting information from a removable recording medium. The determination unit determines whether or not the present time is the recording unnecessary time by using time setting information indicating a recording unnecessary time that does not perform recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera,
The recording control unit is parked using the in-vehicle camera when the determination unit determines that the vehicle is in the recording unnecessary place and determines that the current time is the recording unnecessary time. 3. The in-vehicle camera control device according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so that recording is not performed. The vehicle-mounted camera control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A car navigation device comprising: a registration receiving unit that receives registration of the location setting information. A theft information acquisition unit for acquiring theft location information indicating the theft location of the vehicle;
And a notification unit that outputs a warning signal when the recording unnecessary location indicated by the location setting information received by the registration accepting unit is a stolen location of the vehicle indicated by the stolen location information. The car navigation device according to claim 4. A determination step of determining whether or not the vehicle is in the recording-unnecessary location by using the location setting information indicating the location where the recording is not necessary using the in-vehicle camera and the current location information of the vehicle. When,
When it is determined by the determination step that the vehicle is not in the recording unnecessary place, control is performed so that recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera is performed. A program for causing a computer to execute a recording control step of controlling so that recording during parking using the in-vehicle camera is not performed when it is determined that the vehicle is present.

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