JP2022136534A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image recording device that can reduce record leakage of an image on the accident occurrence.SOLUTION: An image recording device according to the present embodiment includes an image acquisition unit that acquires an image including at least the surrounding of a vehicle, a record control unit that controls recording of the image to a recording unit, a proximity object detection unit that detects an object approaching the vehicle, and a vehicle speed detection unit that acquires a travel speed of the vehicle. The proximity object detection unit changes a detection range capable of detecting an approaching object according to the travel speed of the vehicle, and the recording control unit records the image in the recording unit when the proximity object detection unit detects the approaching object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to an image recording device.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, development of an image recording apparatus for accurately recording the situation at the time of accident occurrence has progressed.

Patent Literature 1 discloses an information processing system that improves the accuracy of determining contact with a vehicle by combining detection by a range sensor with sound pressure level detection. Specifically, the system of Patent Document 1 detects contact of the vehicle with an object when the sound pressure level detected when the distance between the vehicle and another object is zero exceeds a predetermined threshold. there is

JP 2020-173635 A

2. Description of the Related Art An image recording device such as a drive recorder constantly photographs the surroundings of a vehicle and records an image and a video (hereinafter simply referred to as an image) that is an aggregate of images. Furthermore, the image recording device determines that there is a high possibility that an accident has occurred when the change in acceleration of the acceleration sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold, and treats the image at that time as an event image, which is different from the image that is constantly being photographed. are recorded separately. In other words, the image recording apparatus protects, as an event image, an image in a situation where there is a high possibility that an accident has occurred, among the images that are constantly being photographed.

However, depending on the circumstances of the accident, it may not be possible to detect significant changes in acceleration.In particular, in the case of an accident that occurred while the vehicle was stopped or traveling at an extremely low speed, changes in acceleration could not be detected and no records would be kept. There are many. Even with the system described in Patent Literature 1, there are cases where no record of the accident remains in situations where it is difficult to detect an appropriate sound pressure level. Therefore, there is a demand for further improvement in technology for reducing image recording omissions when an accident occurs.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of reducing image recording omissions when an accident occurs.

The image recording device according to the present disclosure is
an image acquisition unit that acquires an image including at least the surroundings of the vehicle;
a recording control unit that controls recording of the image in a recording unit;
an approaching object detection unit that detects an object approaching the vehicle;
A vehicle speed detection unit that acquires the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The approaching object detection unit changes a detection range in which the approaching object can be detected according to the running speed of the vehicle,
The recording control section records the image in the recording section when the approaching object detection section detects the approaching object.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an image recording apparatus capable of reducing image recording omissions when an accident occurs.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment; 9 is a flow chart showing processing of the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment; 2 is a block diagram showing an example hardware configuration of a control device of the image recording apparatus according to the first and second embodiments; FIG.

<First embodiment>
The configuration of the image recording apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. An image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment includes an image acquisition section 1 , a recording control section 2 , an approaching object detection section 3 , a vehicle abnormality detection section 4 and a vehicle speed detection section 5 .

The image recording device 10 is a computer device that captures and records the surroundings of the vehicle while the vehicle is stopped and running. The image recording device 10 is, for example, a drive recorder. The image recording apparatus 10 may be provided with a battery inside or outside, or may be supplied with power from a vehicle.

The image recording device 10 constantly photographs the surroundings of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped and when the vehicle is running, and records the images in a recording unit. Since images are constantly captured, they are recorded in a rewritable manner so as not to increase the recording capacity of the recording unit.
In a situation where the possibility of an accident is high, the image recording apparatus 10 selects the images at the time when it is determined that the possibility of an accident is high, and the images before and after the time when the possibility of an accident is high, among the images that are constantly being photographed, as an event image. The data is protected against overwriting and recorded in the recording section. Here, the situation in which the possibility of an accident is high is, for example, when another object is approaching or when the vehicle receives an impact.
The image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment is an apparatus that reduces image recording omissions when an accident occurs by changing the detection range for detecting an approaching object according to the running speed of the vehicle. Specific components will be described below.

The image acquisition unit 1 acquires an image including at least the surroundings of the vehicle. The surroundings of the vehicle may include not only the front of the vehicle, but also the rear, sides, upper and lower parts of the vehicle. Also, the image acquisition unit 1 may acquire an image including the inside of the vehicle. The image acquisition unit 1 may be configured to include a camera, or may be separate from the camera and acquire an image captured by a connected camera.

The recording control unit 2 controls recording of images in the recording unit. The recording unit is, for example, a recording medium such as an SD card, SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (hard disk drive), or memory. The recording control unit 2 may record images that are constantly being shot and event images in one recording unit, or may record them in a plurality of recording units. Also, the recording unit may be provided inside the image recording apparatus 10 or may be provided outside.
The recording control unit 2 may record the constantly captured images and the event images in different recording modes in the recording unit. For example, by setting an overwrite prohibition period for event images, it is possible to reliably record images at the time of an accident.

The approaching object detection unit 3 detects an object approaching the vehicle. The approaching object detection unit 3 has a predetermined detection range in which an approaching object can be detected, and can detect an object that has entered the detection range. The proximity object detection unit 3 preferably has a detection range of 360 degrees around the vehicle. Also, the proximity object detection unit 3 can change the detection range. The proximity object detection unit 3 changes the detection range of the proximity object by, for example, controlling the output of millimeter wave radar or ultrasonic waves that are transmitted to detect the proximity object. The proximity object detection unit 3 may change the detection range of the proximity object by controlling the sensitivity of the receiving side and the threshold value for object detection determination. The detection range may be a predetermined distance from the surroundings of the vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle is traveling forward, the proximity object detection unit 3 may set the detection range in front of the vehicle to be larger than the other side surfaces. may be set larger than the detection range on the other side.
In addition, approaching means that the relative distance between the vehicle equipped with the image recording device 10 and the object is shortened, and not only when a moving object approaches a stopped or running vehicle. , including when a moving vehicle approaches a stationary object.
Objects include, for example, people, other vehicles, guardrails, and the like.

Examples of the proximity object detection unit 3 include a proximity sensor and an image recognition device. More specifically, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a millimeter wave radar, an infrared sensor, or the like can be used as the proximity sensor. Note that the proximity object detection unit 3 may be an interface unit that acquires the output of a proximity sensor or an image recognition device provided in the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle is equipped with a proximity sensor or an image recognition device, the approaching object detection unit 3 may communicate with the vehicle via a communication unit (not shown) to obtain detection results of approaching objects. Alternatively, the proximity object detection unit 3 may communicate with the vehicle and request a change in the detection range of a proximity sensor or an image recognition device provided in the vehicle.

In addition to detecting an approaching object, the approaching object detection unit 3 may also detect the distance between the approaching object and the vehicle and the direction of the object viewed from the vehicle. In this case, the recording control section 2 records the distance and direction in the recording section in addition to the image. By recording the distance and the direction viewed from the vehicle in addition to the image, the user can easily determine whether or not the recording of the event image is related to the damage to the vehicle.
For example, if the right side of the vehicle is scratched, it can be determined that the recording of the event image of the object approaching the left side of the vehicle is unrelated to the scratch on the right side of the vehicle. The image recording device 10 may display an event image at a specific distance and direction on a display unit (not shown) in response to a user's request. For example, the image recording device 10 may display an event image in which an object approaching the right side of the vehicle is recorded on the display unit in response to a user's request. Note that the display unit is, for example, a user interface provided in the image recording apparatus 10 .

The vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 detects vehicle abnormalities. For example, the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 uses an acceleration sensor to detect an abnormality such as a collision or impact that has occurred in the vehicle from changes in acceleration. That is, the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the vehicle when the change in acceleration obtained from the acceleration sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. In addition to the acceleration sensor, the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 may detect the impact applied to the vehicle due to, for example, an accident, damage, or mischief, using sounds, images, or other known techniques.

The vehicle speed detector 5 acquires the running speed of the vehicle. The vehicle speed detection unit 5 may acquire the position of the vehicle using, for example, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and acquire the running speed of the vehicle from the amount of displacement of the position of the vehicle. Further, the vehicle speed detection unit 5 may, for example, acquire the running speed of the vehicle from the vehicle via CAN (Controller Area Network), or may acquire the running speed of the vehicle using other known techniques. . The vehicle speed detector 5 outputs the acquired vehicle speed information to the approaching object detector 3 . Note that the running speed of the vehicle includes the speed 0 when the vehicle is stopped.

The approaching object detection unit 3 that has acquired the running speed of the vehicle from the vehicle speed detection unit 5 changes the detection range of the approaching object according to the running speed of the vehicle. The recording control unit 2 records an image in the recording unit when the approaching object detection unit 3 detects an approaching object. Preferably, the recording control unit 2 records the image when the approaching object detection unit 3 detects an approaching object or when the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 detects an abnormality in the vehicle. to record.
For example, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined speed, the approaching object detection unit 3 sets the detection range to be larger than the predetermined detection range. For example, when the vehicle is stopped, the approaching object detection unit 3 sets a large detection range for an approaching object. It is possible to reliably record an event image starting from the detection of an object, and it is possible to reduce the omission of recording an image when an accident occurs.

As described above, the image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment changes the detection range of an approaching object according to the running speed of the vehicle. By recording the image on the device, it is possible to reduce the omission of recording the image when an accident occurs.

Next, processing of the image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment.

The image acquisition unit 1 continuously takes images of the surroundings of the vehicle and acquires the images (step S11). The vehicle speed detector 5 acquires the traveling speed of the vehicle (step S12). The information of the acquired traveling speed is output to the approaching object detection unit 3 . When the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the predetermined speed (step S13: YES), the approaching object detection unit 3 changes the detection range (step S14).
For example, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined speed, that is, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is low or when the vehicle is stopped, the proximity object detection unit 3 makes the detection range larger than the predetermined detection range. also set large. Also, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is higher than the predetermined speed (step S13: NO), the approaching object detection unit 3 maintains the predetermined detection range (step S15).

In step S13, the approaching object detection unit 3 changes the detection range when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the predetermined speed (step S13: YES). The detection range may be increased as the running speed decreases, or the detection range may be set for each running speed. Further, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is higher than the predetermined speed (step S13: NO), the approaching object detection unit 3 invalidates the detection of the approaching object in the proximity object detection unit 3, and the traveling speed of the vehicle reaches the predetermined speed. If the following (step S13: YES), detection of an approaching object in the approaching object detection unit 3 may be enabled.

Subsequently, when the approaching object detection unit 3 detects an approaching object (step S16: YES), the recording control unit 2 records the image in the recording unit (step S17). When the approaching object detection unit 3 does not detect an approaching object (step S16: NO), the recording control unit 2 does not record the image. Steps S11 to S17 in FIG. 2 are repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle, for example, at a frame rate for acquiring an image. Well, it may be executed for each processing cycle.

As described above, the image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment changes the detection range of an approaching object according to the running speed of the vehicle. By recording the image on the device, it is possible to reduce the omission of recording the image when an accident occurs.

<Second embodiment>
The image recording apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment can record event images in different recording modes depending on the importance of recording the event images. Since the configuration of the image recording apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the image recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are used for description. Further, the following description will focus on differences from the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions of the same contents as in the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

The recording control unit 2 records an event image starting from detection of an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3 and an event image starting from detection of a vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 in different recording formats. may be recorded in the section. Hereinafter, recording of an event image starting from the detection of an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3 will be described as a first recording mode, and recording of an event image starting from the detection of a vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 will be described below. This will be described as the second recording mode.

For example, compared to an event image whose starting point is the detection of a vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4, an event image whose starting point is the detection of an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3 includes pedestrians and adjacent vehicles. It is thought that a relatively large number of images unrelated to vehicle damage, such as parking and leaving the garage, are included. From this, it can be considered that the possibility of an accident occurring when the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 detects a vehicle abnormality is higher than when the approaching object detection unit 3 detects an approaching object. In other words, the event image whose starting point is the detection of a vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 is more important to record than the event image whose starting point is the detection of an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3. often.

Therefore, it is preferable that the first recording mode is a recording mode that does not increase the recording capacity of the recording unit, rather than the second recording mode. For example, the first recording format is preferably a recording format with a smaller recording capacity than the second recording format. The recording mode with a small recording capacity is, for example, recording mode such as shortening of recording time, file size reduction by image quality control such as bit rate, compression ratio, number of pixels, still image recording, and intermittent still image recording. By recording an event image starting from the detection of an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3 in this manner, it is possible to keep a record of an approaching object while suppressing pressure on the recording capacity. Moreover, it is preferable that the first recording mode has a shorter overwrite prohibition period than the second recording mode. By recording an event image starting from the detection of an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3, the detection of a vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 can be performed while leaving a record of the approaching object. It is possible to reliably leave a record even when the starting event occurs. By recording in these formats, it is possible to record in a format that does not occupy the recording capacity for records that are not considered to be of high importance, and to secure the recording capacity for recording that is considered to be of high importance. It is possible to reduce the recording omission of images that require

Similarly, from the viewpoint of the importance of recording, when the approaching object detection unit 3 detects an approaching object and records the image in the recording unit in the first recording mode, the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 When an abnormality is detected, it is preferable to switch from the first recording mode to the second recording mode and record the image on the recording unit. In other words, it is preferable to give priority to the recording of the event image starting from the detection of the vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 .

Next, processing of the image recording apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing processing of the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. Steps S21 to S25 in FIG. 3 are the same as steps S11 to S15 in FIG. 2, so description thereof will be omitted.

The proximity object detection unit 3 detects the object when the object enters the detection range (step S26). The approaching object detection unit 3 may determine that the object is approaching when the object is within the detection range and the distance between the vehicle and the object is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. When the approaching object detection unit 3 detects an approaching object (step S26: YES), the recording control unit 2 records the image in the recording unit in the first recording mode (step S27). When the approaching object detection unit 3 does not detect an approaching object (step S26: NO), the recording control unit 2 does not record an image.

When the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 detects vehicle abnormality (step S28: YES), the recording control unit 2 records the image in the recording unit in the second recording mode (step S29). When the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 does not detect vehicle abnormality (step S28: NO), the recording control unit 2 does not record the image.

The recording control unit 2 detects an approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3 (step S26: YES), and records the image in the recording unit in the first recording mode (step S27). When the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 detects vehicle abnormality (step S28: YES), the image is recorded in the recording unit in the second recording mode (step S29). At this time, if the recording is performed in the first recording mode, it overlaps with the recording in the second recording mode, so it is preferable to stop the recording in the first recording mode. In other words, recording in the second recording mode of the event image starting from the detection of the vehicle abnormality by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 is the first recording mode of the event image starting from the detection of the approaching object by the approaching object detection unit 3. has priority over recording in the This is because the possibility of an accident occurring when a vehicle abnormality is detected by the vehicle abnormality detection unit 4 is higher than when the vehicle abnormality detection unit 3 detects a vehicle abnormality, as described above. Steps S21 to S29 in FIG. 3 are repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle, for example, every frame rate for acquiring an image. Well, it may be executed for each processing cycle.

As described above, the image recording apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment can change the recording mode according to the importance of recording event images. This makes it possible to further reduce image recording omissions when an accident occurs.

A hardware configuration example of the control device of the image recording apparatus 10 according to the first and second embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. The image recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 has a processor 101 and a memory 102 . The processor 101 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Processor 101 may include multiple processors. Memory 102 is comprised of a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory. Memory 102 may include storage remotely located from processor 101 . In this case, processor 101 may access memory 102 via an input/output interface (not shown).

Further, each device in the above-described embodiments is configured by hardware or software, or both, and may be configured by one piece of hardware or software, or may be configured by multiple pieces of hardware or software. The functions (processing) of each device in the above-described embodiments may be implemented by a computer. For example, a program for performing the operations in the embodiment may be stored in the memory 102 and each function may be realized by executing the program stored in the memory 102 by the processor 101 .

Such programs can be stored and provided to computers using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (eg, flexible discs, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (eg, magneto-optical discs), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R/W, semiconductor memory (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory)). The program may also be delivered to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. Transitory computer-readable media can deliver the program to the computer via wired channels, such as wires and optical fibers, or wireless channels.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 image recording device 1 image acquisition unit 2 recording control unit 3 proximity object detection unit 4 vehicle abnormality detection unit 5 vehicle speed detection unit 101 processor 102 memory

Claims (5)

an image acquisition unit that acquires an image including at least the surroundings of the vehicle;
a recording control unit that controls recording of the image in a recording unit;
an approaching object detection unit that detects an object approaching the vehicle;
A vehicle speed detection unit that acquires the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The approaching object detection unit changes a detection range in which the approaching object can be detected according to the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The recording control unit records the image in the recording unit when the approaching object detection unit detects the approaching object.
Image recording device. Further comprising a vehicle abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality of the vehicle,
The recording control unit records the image in a first recording mode when the approaching object detection unit detects the approaching object, and records the image when the vehicle abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the vehicle. is recorded in the second recording form,
The first recording form is a recording form with a smaller recording capacity than the second recording form.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1. Further comprising a vehicle abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality of the vehicle,
The recording control unit records the image in a first recording mode when the approaching object detection unit detects the approaching object, and records the image when the vehicle abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the vehicle. is recorded in the second recording form,
The first recording mode is a recording mode having a shorter overwrite prohibition period than the second recording mode.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1. The recording control section detects the approaching object and records the image in the recording section in the first recording mode. when an abnormality is detected, switching from the first recording mode to the second recording mode to record the image on the recording unit;
4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2 or 3. The approaching object detection unit detects the approaching object and also detects the distance between the approaching object and the vehicle and the direction of the object as seen from the vehicle,
The recording control unit records the distance and the direction in the recording unit in addition to the image.
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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