JP2023084162A - Vehicle monitoring device and vehicle monitoring method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle monitoring device and a vehicle monitoring method, which can reduce processing loads of the device.SOLUTION: A vehicle monitoring device 100 includes: an input section 120 in which information indicating a state related to a vehicle is input; and a vehicle state monitoring section 110 which has a first mode in which first processing for monitoring a change of the information from the input section is performed and a second mode in which second processing is performed without performing the first processing and switches from the first mode to the second mode on the basis of a change of the information from the input section 120.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle monitoring device and a vehicle monitoring method.

Conventionally, it is determined whether or not the driver is looking aside while driving based on image data from an in-vehicle camera. An in-vehicle camera device capable of monitoring the interior of a vehicle is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-206025 A

By the way, in recent years, in a vehicle monitoring device for monitoring the state of a vehicle, the processing load of the device tends to increase due to the complexity of the functions of the device and the increase in the amount of information to be processed. there is

An object of the present disclosure is to solve the above problems, and to provide a vehicle monitoring device and a vehicle monitoring method that can reduce the processing load of the device.

A vehicle monitoring apparatus according to the present disclosure includes an input unit for inputting information indicating a state of a vehicle, a first mode for performing a first process of monitoring changes in information from the input unit, and a first mode for performing the first process. a second mode in which second processing is performed first, and a vehicle state monitoring section that switches from the first mode to the second mode based on a change in information from the input section. It is characterized by

According to the vehicle monitoring device and vehicle monitoring method of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the processing load of the device.

1 is a side view showing the configuration of a vehicle according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle monitoring system in which a vehicle state monitoring section is in a first mode in Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a vehicle state monitoring unit according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing vehicle monitoring processing performed by a vehicle state monitoring unit according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system in which the vehicle state monitoring unit is in the second mode in Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system in a state where the vehicle state monitoring unit is in the first mode in Embodiment 2; 9 is a flowchart showing vehicle monitoring processing performed by a vehicle state monitoring unit according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a vehicle state monitoring unit according to Embodiment 3; 10 is a flowchart showing vehicle monitoring processing performed by a vehicle state monitoring unit according to Embodiment 3;

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1.
First, the configuration of a vehicle 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of a vehicle 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. A vehicle 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a vehicle body 2 and a vehicle monitoring system S1 that monitors the state of the vehicle. Inside the vehicle main body 2, a vehicle room R is formed for a driver 3 and a passenger 4 who is a non-driver to board. In the description below, the occupants who are the driver and the non-driver are collectively referred to simply as "occupant." In addition, in the following description, the term "vehicle-related state" includes not only the state of the vehicle itself, but also the state of the occupants inside the vehicle.

Next, the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system. For example, the vehicle monitoring system S1 includes a control unit 100, a vehicle information acquisition unit 20, a main storage unit 30, a sub storage unit 40, and an information transmission unit 50. In addition, in Embodiment 1, the control unit 100 constitutes a vehicle monitoring device.

The vehicle information acquisition unit 20 has, for example, an image sensor 21 and an acceleration sensor 22 . The image sensor 21 acquires the state of the vehicle 1 (see FIG. 1) as image information. For example, the image sensor 21 acquires the state inside the vehicle compartment R (see FIG. 1), specifically, the presence or absence of a passenger, the position of the passenger, the motion of the driver, whether or not the passenger is wearing a seat belt, etc., as image information. do. For example, the driver's actions include the direction of the line of sight, the movement of the eyelids, the operation of a device such as a smartphone, and whether or not the driver is gripping the steering wheel. For example, the image sensor 21 has a camera (not shown) and acquires the state inside the vehicle compartment R as image information. The image information is, for example, image information shot at a frame rate of 30 fps (Frames Per Second). Note that the image sensor 21 may be configured to acquire image information by a non-optical sensor such as a radar device or a thermography, in addition to the camera.

For example, the acceleration sensor 22 acquires the state of the vehicle 1 as acceleration information. Specifically, the acceleration sensor 22 detects the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 (horizontal direction in FIG. 1, the direction parallel to the paper surface), the vertical direction of the vehicle 1 (vertical direction in FIG. ), and the state of the vehicle 1 such as the amplitude and frequency of vibration received by the vehicle 1 are acquired as acceleration information. In this manner, the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 acquires state information regarding the vehicle 1 . The vehicle information acquisition unit 20 outputs information indicating the acquired state of the vehicle 1 to the control unit 100 .

The sub-storage unit 40 stores data and programs for processing by the control unit 100, information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 20, and other information related to the vehicle monitoring system S1. For example, the sub-storage unit 40 stores image information of the vehicle interior R acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 via the control unit 100 . Specifically, the sub-storage unit 40 is a non-volatile storage device that serves as an auxiliary storage unit for the main storage unit 30 and is composed of a hard disk, flash memory, various ROMs (Read Only Memory), etc., and does not receive power supply. Therefore, it is possible to store a large amount of information for a longer period of time than the main storage unit 30 does.

The main storage unit 30 temporarily stores data and programs used when the control unit 100 performs processing. For example, when the control unit 100 performs processing, the main storage unit 30 downloads data and programs used for processing from the sub storage unit 40 based on instructions from the control unit 100, and temporarily stores the data and programs. It exchanges necessary information with the control unit 100 . Specifically, the main storage unit 30 is a volatile storage device composed of RAM (Random Access Memory) such as DRAM and SRAM, and temporarily stores information used when the control unit 100 performs processing. . It should be noted that the main memory unit 30 may be partially composed of a non-volatile storage device.

The information transmission unit 50 transmits the information output from the control unit 100 to the outside of the vehicle monitoring system S1. For example, the information transmission unit 50 has an interface such as an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network), and transmits information output from the control unit 100 to a gateway ECU (Electronic Control Unit) outside the vehicle monitoring system S1 by in-vehicle LAN communication. Send. Further, for example, the information transmission unit 50 has an antenna or the like capable of wireless communication, and transmits information output from the control unit 100 to the outside of the vehicle 1 by wireless communication. Specifically, the information transmission unit 50 transmits the information output from the control unit 100 to nearby base stations, mobile terminals, other vehicles, emergency call receiving agencies, and other predetermined communication destinations by wireless communication. .

The control unit 100 includes a vehicle state monitoring unit 110 , an input unit 120 and an output unit 130 . Information indicating the state of the vehicle is input to the input unit 120 from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 . For example, the input unit 120 receives image information indicating the state of the vehicle interior R and acceleration information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 . The output unit 130 outputs the result of processing performed by the control unit 100 to the information transmission unit 50 .

The vehicle state monitoring unit 110 has a first mode and a second mode with different functions. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system when the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 is in the first mode. First, the vehicle state monitoring section 110 in the first mode will be described. In the first mode, the vehicle state monitoring section 110 has a state change detecting section 111 and a function changing section 112 . In the first embodiment, the function related to state change detection section 111 in the first mode is also called the first function.

The state change detection unit 111 causes the sub storage unit 40 to store the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 via the input unit 120 . Further, the state change detection unit 111 monitors changes in the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 via the input unit 120, and detects a predetermined change in the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1. Based on that, a change in the state of the vehicle 1 is detected. For example, the state change detection unit 111 monitors changes in the acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on the acceleration information of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 .

Specifically, the state change detection unit 111 detects that the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is less than the predetermined threshold value from the information of the acceleration of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 . When the information changes to indicate that it is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is detected that the state of the vehicle 1 has changed from a normal state to an accident occurrence state (abnormal state) in which an accident is presumed to have occurred. Note that in the first embodiment, the processing performed by the state change detection unit 111 is also referred to as state change detection processing. Further, in Embodiment 1, the state change detection process constitutes the first process.

Function changing unit 112 switches vehicle state monitoring unit 110 from the first mode to the second mode based on state change detecting unit 111 detecting a change in the state of vehicle 1, thereby changing vehicle state monitoring unit 110 to the second mode. Perform mode switching processing to change the function. For example, the function change unit 112 performs the mode switching process, so that the state change detection unit 111 performs the state change detection process based on the state of the vehicle 1 changing from the normal state to the accident occurrence state. , the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 is switched to the second mode for performing processing for outputting information indicating the state inside the vehicle interior R to the outside when an accident occurs. Details of the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 in the second mode will be described later.

Next, the hardware configuration of the control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control unit 100. As shown in FIG.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 100 has a processor 101 and an I/O (Input/Output) port 102, and executes a program stored in the main memory unit 30 (see FIG. 2). is configured to read and execute. Thus, each function of the control unit 100 is implemented by the processor 101 executing the program. Note that the control unit 100 may be configured by a processing circuit or the like that is dedicated hardware having a memory that configures the main storage unit 30, an I/O port, and the like.

Next, processing performed by the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing vehicle monitoring processing performed by the vehicle state monitoring unit 110. As shown in FIG. For example, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 starts vehicle monitoring processing when the accessory power source of the vehicle 1 is turned on. When starting the vehicle monitoring process, vehicle state monitoring unit 110 downloads a program relating to the first mode of vehicle state monitoring unit 110 from secondary storage unit 40 to main storage unit 30 (step ST1). In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 reads and executes a program related to the first mode stored in the main storage unit 30, thereby operating the state change detecting unit 111 and the function changing unit 112 as shown in FIG. It is in the state of having, and becomes the first mode in which state change detection processing and mode switching processing can be performed.

After performing the process of step ST1, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 starts the state change detection process (step ST2). In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 monitors changes in the information from the input unit 120, and detects a change in the state of the vehicle 1 based on the change in the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1. Processing has started.

Vehicle state monitoring unit 110 determines whether or not there is a predetermined change in the information from input unit 120 in the state of the first mode (step ST3). In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 uses the function changing unit 112 to check whether or not there has been a predetermined change in the information from the input unit 120, which is a condition for performing mode switching processing for switching from the first mode to the second mode. Judging. In the process of step ST3, if there is no predetermined change that is the condition for performing the mode switching process for switching from the first mode to the second mode (NO in step ST3), vehicle condition monitoring section 110 repeats the process of step ST3. .

In the processing of step ST3, if there is a predetermined change as a condition for performing mode switching processing for switching from the first mode to the second mode (YES in step ST3), vehicle state monitoring section 110 causes function changing section 112 to change the mode. A switching process is performed (step ST4). In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 terminates the state change detection process and downloads the program related to the second mode of the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 from the secondary storage unit 40 to the main storage unit 30 . In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 reads out and executes a program relating to the second mode stored in the main storage unit 30, thereby transmitting information indicating the state of the vehicle interior R to the outside when an accident occurs. It becomes the second mode in which processing for output can be performed. Further, in this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 has the functions related to the information processing unit 113 and the information output unit 114, and does not have the functions related to the state change detection unit 111 and the function change unit 112. .

In general, it is desirable that devices provided in vehicles are light in weight and low in power consumption in order to improve fuel efficiency, and small in size in order to expand the passenger compartment without enlarging the vehicle body. When the state of the vehicle 1 changes from the normal state to the accident occurrence state and switches from the first mode to the second mode, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 according to the first embodiment terminates the processing performed in the first mode. Then, the process performed in the second mode is started. For example, when switching from the first mode to the second mode, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 overwrites the program related to the first mode stored in the main storage unit 30 with the program related to the second mode. The area used for executing the program related to the mode is released for executing the program related to the second mode.

As a result, in the second mode, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 according to the first embodiment uses the processing capacity used for executing the program related to the first mode as can be used to make the device smaller. In other words, in the second mode, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 changes from the state having the functions related to the first mode to the state having the functions related to the second mode instead of the functions related to the first mode. By effectively utilizing the resources of the state monitoring unit 110, the size of the device can be reduced.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system when the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 is in the second mode. In the second mode, vehicle state monitoring section 110 has information processing section 113 and information output section 114 . The information processing unit 113 performs information processing for processing information from the input unit 120 into information for outputting to the outside. For example, the information processing unit 113 refers to the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 stored in the sub-storage unit 40 in the first mode and compresses the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 by performing information processing. . Specifically, information processing unit 113 performs information processing so that vehicle state monitoring unit 110 changes from the first mode to the second mode among the information indicating the state of vehicle 1 stored in sub-storage unit 40 . The information immediately before switching to the mode is extracted, and the extracted information is compressed.

Specifically, information processing unit 113 performs information processing so that vehicle state monitoring unit 110 changes from the first mode to the second mode among the information indicating the state of vehicle 1 stored in sub-storage unit 40 . Image information is extracted from the point of time when the mode is switched to a predetermined time before, and the extracted image information is compressed. Information processing unit 113 performs information processing so that vehicle state monitoring unit 110 switches from the first mode to the second mode among the information indicating the state of vehicle 1 stored in sub-storage unit 40 . Only the information immediately before the change may be extracted without compression, or all the information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 stored in the sub-storage unit 40 may be compressed.

The information output unit 114 performs information output processing for outputting information processed by the information processing unit 113 . For example, the information output section 114 transmits the information compressed by the information processing section 113 to the outside of the vehicle 1 via the output section 130 and the information transmission section 50 . In addition, in Embodiment 1, information processing processing and information output processing are also referred to as second processing. In other words, the second process is a process for outputting to the outside via the output unit 130 information according to the information from the input unit 120 immediately before switching from the first mode to the second mode.

Returning to the description of the vehicle monitoring process performed by vehicle state monitoring unit 110 with reference to FIG. 4 . After performing the process of step ST4, the vehicle state monitoring section 110 performs information processing by the information processing section 113 (step ST5), and performs information output processing by the information output section 114 (step ST6). Vehicle state monitoring unit 110 processes (converts) the information indicating the state of vehicle 1 stored in sub-storage unit 40 into information for external output in the process of step ST5, and converts the information to the outside in the process of step ST6. , and outputs this information to the outside. After performing the processes of steps ST5 and ST6, the vehicle state monitoring section 110 terminates the vehicle monitoring process.

As described above, the control unit 100 according to Embodiment 1 includes the input unit 120 to which information indicating the state of the vehicle 1 is input, and the first mode for performing the first process of monitoring changes in the information from the input unit 120. and a second mode in which the second process is performed without performing the first process, and the vehicle condition monitoring unit switches from the first mode to the second mode based on a change in the information from the input unit 120. 110, in the second mode, it is possible to use the processing power used for the first processing in the first mode for the second processing, and in parallel with the second processing The processing load on the apparatus can be reduced as compared with the case where the first process is performed.

In the first embodiment, vehicle state monitoring unit 110 has state change detection unit 111 and function change unit 112 in the first mode, and information processing unit 113 and information output unit 114 in the second mode. However, it is not limited to this. The vehicle state monitoring unit may have other configurations. For example, the vehicle state monitoring unit has a function changing unit in the second mode, and at a predetermined trigger (for example, a processor reboot operation, etc.) Based on this, the vehicle state monitoring unit may be configured to perform processing for switching from the second mode to the first mode.

In the first embodiment, the vehicle state monitoring unit 110 detects a change in the state of the vehicle 1 based on the change in the acceleration information of the vehicle 1 by the state change detection unit 111, and detects the change in the state of the vehicle 1. Although function changing unit 112 is configured to switch vehicle state monitoring unit 110 from the first mode to the second mode based on what has been done, it is not limited to this. The vehicle state monitoring unit may be configured to switch the vehicle state monitoring unit from the first mode to the second mode based on detection of a change in the state of the vehicle. For example, the state change detection unit may A change in image information indicating the state of the vehicle may be monitored, and a change in the state of the vehicle may be detected based on the change in the image information. Specifically, the state change detection unit monitors changes in image information indicating the state of the vehicle, and detects that the child is left behind in the vehicle based on changes in the image information. Alternatively, it may be detected that the physical condition of the driver of the vehicle has changed based on the change in the image information.

In Embodiment 1, the information output unit 114 is configured to transmit the information processed by the information processing unit 113 to the outside of the vehicle 1 via the output unit 130 and the information transmission unit 50. is not limited to The information output unit may be configured to perform processing for outputting the information processed by the information processing unit to at least the outside of the vehicle monitoring device via the output unit. The information processed by the unit may be output to the sub-storage unit via the output unit.

In Embodiment 1, the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 has the image sensor 21 and the acceleration sensor 22, and is configured to acquire the state of the vehicle 1 as image information and acceleration information, respectively. Not limited. The vehicle information acquisition unit 20 only needs to be able to acquire information about the state of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 has either one of the image sensor 21 and the acceleration sensor 22, and acquires the state of the vehicle as one of image information and acceleration information. Alternatively, other sensors may be provided in place of or in addition to the image sensor 21 and the acceleration sensor 22 . For example, the vehicle information acquisition unit may have a temperature sensor that acquires information about the temperature of the engine or passenger compartment of the vehicle, or may have a sensor that detects whether the seat belt is worn or not. Alternatively, it may have a sensor that detects the operation of the airbag, a sensor that detects the locked state of the door, or a speed sensor that acquires information on the speed of the vehicle. may be Further, when the vehicle information acquisition unit has a speed sensor, the state change detection unit calculates the acceleration of the vehicle based on the change in the speed information acquired by the speed sensor, and calculates the acceleration based on the calculated acceleration. It may be configured to detect a change in condition regarding the vehicle.

In Embodiment 1, vehicle state monitoring unit 110 is configured to perform the second process, which is a process for outputting information to the outside via output unit 130, in the second mode. It is not limited to this. The second process may be performed in place of the first process based on a change in the information from the input unit. It may be a process of detecting the change, or a process of notifying the passenger or the outside of the vehicle that the information from the input unit has changed.

Further, in the first embodiment, the state change detection unit 111 determines that the acceleration information of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 is less than the predetermined threshold, and the vehicle 1 When the acceleration changes to information indicating that the acceleration is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, it is detected that the state of the vehicle 1 has changed from a normal state to an accident occurrence state in which it is assumed that an accident has occurred. Not limited. The state change detection unit detects a state of the vehicle, that is, the vehicle itself, based on a predetermined change in the information that indicates the state of the vehicle, that is, the information that indicates the state of the vehicle itself, and the information that indicates the state of the occupants in the vehicle. For example, the state change detection unit detects the state of the vehicle from a state in which information indicating the state of the vehicle is not input from the input unit. It may be configured to detect a change in the state of the vehicle based on a change in the indicated information to the state input from the input unit. Further, for example, the state change detection unit may be configured to detect a change in the physical condition of the occupant in the vehicle compartment based on the image information from the image sensor. Specifically, the state change detection unit acquires information on at least one of the driver's posture and face orientation based on the image information from the image sensor, It may be configured to determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the physical condition of the driver, or the driver cannot continue driving the vehicle based on the occurrence of an abnormality in the physical condition of the driver. It may be configured to detect that

Further, in the first embodiment, control unit 100 controls image information indicating the state of vehicle 1 stored in sub-storage unit 40 when vehicle state monitoring unit 110 switches from the first mode to the second mode. is configured to output to the outside, but is not limited to this. The control unit may be configured to perform the second processing without performing the first processing when the vehicle state monitoring unit switches from the first mode to the second mode. For example, the information output by the vehicle state monitoring unit in the second mode may include information indicating that the state of the vehicle has changed. Specifically, the information output by the vehicle state monitoring unit in the second mode may include information indicating that the state of the vehicle has changed from a normal state to an accident occurrence state, or may include information indicating that the state of the vehicle has changed from a normal state to an accident occurrence state. It may contain information for reporting.

Further, for example, the vehicle information acquisition unit is configured to be capable of acquiring image information around the vehicle, so that information input from the input unit may include image information around the vehicle, thereby enabling vehicle status monitoring. The information output by the unit in the second mode may include image information around the vehicle. Further, for example, when the vehicle state monitoring unit switches from the first mode to the second mode, the control unit acquires new information from the vehicle information acquisition unit via the input unit, and transmits the acquired information to an external device. may be configured to output to

Embodiment 2.
2, 6 and 7, when the vehicle state monitoring unit 210 switches from the first mode to the second mode, new information is obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 via the input unit 120. and outputs the acquired information to the outside. Embodiment 2 differs from Embodiment 1 in the configuration when the vehicle state monitoring unit is in the second mode and the processing performed when the vehicle state monitoring unit is in the second mode. Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, redundant description is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle monitoring system S2 in the second embodiment in which the vehicle state monitoring section 210 of the control section 200 is in the second mode. Vehicle state monitoring unit 210 switches from the first mode to the second mode by function changing unit 112 performing mode switching processing based on state change detecting unit 111 detecting a change in the state of vehicle 1 in the first mode. mode. In the second mode, vehicle state monitoring section 110 has output information acquisition section 215 , information processing section 213 , and information output section 114 .

Output information acquisition unit 215 performs output information acquisition processing for acquiring information through input unit 120 for vehicle state monitoring unit 210 to output to the outside in the second mode. In other words, the output information acquisition process outputs information to the outside via output unit 130 according to the information from input unit 120 after vehicle state monitoring unit 210 has switched from the first mode to the second mode. is the processing of For example, the output information acquisition unit 215 acquires information different from the information acquired by the state change detection unit 111 in the first mode from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 via the input unit 120 by performing the output information acquisition process. do.

Specifically, the output information acquisition unit 215 performs the output information acquisition process to acquire image information in a range different from the image information acquired by the state change detection unit 111 in the first mode via the input unit 120. Acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 20 . More specifically, the output information acquisition unit 215 performs the output information acquisition process so that when the state change detection unit 111 acquires the state of the face of the driver 3 as image information in the first mode, the output information acquisition unit 215 performs the second mode. Then, the state of the entire vehicle interior R is obtained from the vehicle information obtaining section 20 via the input section 120 as image information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing vehicle monitoring processing performed by vehicle state monitoring unit 210 according to the second embodiment. In the processing of step ST3, if there is a predetermined change that is the condition for performing the mode switching processing for switching from the first mode to the second mode (YES in step ST3), vehicle state monitoring section 210 causes function changing section 112 to change the mode. A switching process is performed (step ST14). In this process, vehicle state monitoring unit 210 terminates state change detection processing and downloads a program related to the second mode of vehicle state monitoring unit 110 from secondary storage unit 40 to main storage unit 30 .

In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 210 reads out and executes a program relating to the second mode stored in the main storage unit 30, thereby transmitting information indicating the state inside the vehicle interior R to the outside when an accident occurs. It becomes the second mode in which processing for output can be performed. In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 210 reads out and executes a program related to the second mode stored in the main storage unit 30, thereby obtaining output information acquisition unit 215, information processing unit 213, and information output unit 114. becomes a second mode having

After performing the process of step ST14, the vehicle state monitoring section 210 performs output information acquisition processing by the output information acquisition section 215 (step ST15), performs information processing by the information processing section 213 (step ST5), and performs information output section 213. 114 performs information output processing (step ST6). In the process of step ST5, the vehicle state monitoring section 110 processes the information acquired by the output information acquisition section 215 through the output information acquisition process into information to be output to the outside, and in the process of step ST6, the information is transmitted to the outside. is outputting to After performing the processes of steps ST15, ST5 and ST6, the vehicle state monitoring section 210 terminates the vehicle monitoring process. Note that in the second embodiment, the output information acquisition process, the information processing process, and the information output process are also referred to as second processes.

Further, in Embodiments 1 and 2, the processor 101 and the I/O port 102 are provided, and the processor 101 is configured to read and execute the program stored in the main storage unit 30. Although the control unit 100 and the control unit 200 have been described, the configuration of the control unit is not limited to this. The control unit may be configured to perform the second processing without performing the first processing when the vehicle state monitoring unit switches from the first mode to the second mode. Instead of the processor, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) may be configured to implement each function by executing a program.

Embodiment 3.
A third embodiment in which the control unit 300 of the vehicle monitoring system S3 has an FPGA will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, 8 and 9. FIG. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the control unit 300 has an FPGA instead of a processor, but the rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment. Description is omitted.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control unit 300. As shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 300 has an FPGA 301 and an I/O port 302, and the FPGA 301 reads and executes a program stored in the main storage unit 30 (see FIG. 2). Configured. Thus, each function of the control unit 300 is implemented by the FPGA 301 executing the program.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing vehicle monitoring processing performed by the vehicle state monitoring unit 310. As shown in FIG. When vehicle state monitoring section 310 starts the vehicle monitoring process, vehicle state monitoring section 310 downloads circuit configuration information related to the first mode of vehicle state monitoring section 310 from secondary storage section 40 to main storage section 30 (step ST21). In this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 310 generates an FPGA circuit based on the circuit configuration information related to the first mode stored in the main storage unit 30, thereby forming a state change detection unit as shown in FIG. 111 and the function changing unit 112, and the first mode in which state change detection processing and mode switching processing can be performed.

In the processing of step ST3, if there is a predetermined change that is the condition for performing the mode switching processing for switching from the first mode to the second mode (YES in step ST3), vehicle state monitoring section 310 causes function changing section 112 to change the mode. A switching process is performed (step ST24). In this process, vehicle state monitoring unit 310 terminates state change detection processing, and downloads information on the circuit configuration related to the second mode of vehicle state monitoring unit 310 from secondary storage unit 40 to main storage unit 30 . Further, in this process, the vehicle state monitoring unit 310 generates (reconfigures) the FPGA circuit based on the circuit configuration information related to the second mode stored in the main storage unit 30, and the circuit in the first mode. is replaced with a new circuit, it becomes the second mode in which it is possible to perform processing for outputting information indicating the state inside the vehicle interior R to the outside when an accident occurs.

It should be noted that the present disclosure allows free combination of each embodiment, modification of arbitrary constituent elements of each embodiment, or omission of arbitrary constituent elements in each embodiment.

1 vehicle, 100, 200, 300 control section (vehicle monitoring device), 110, 210, 310 vehicle state monitoring section, 120 input section, 130 output section.

Claims (11)

an input unit into which information indicating the state of the vehicle is input;
A first mode in which a first process is performed to monitor a change in information from the input unit, and a second mode in which a second process is performed without performing the first process, wherein the information from the input unit changes and a vehicle state monitoring unit that switches from the first mode to the second mode based on the operation of the vehicle monitoring apparatus. Equipped with an output unit that outputs information to the outside,
2. The vehicle monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the second process is a process for outputting information to the outside via the output unit. The second processing is processing for outputting to the outside via the output section information according to information from the input section immediately before switching from the first mode to the second mode. 3. The vehicle monitoring device according to claim 2. The second processing is processing for outputting to the outside via the output section information according to information from the input section after switching from the first mode to the second mode. 4. The vehicle monitoring device according to claim 2 or 3. 5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the second processing is processing for outputting information indicating a change in information from the input section to the outside via the output section. Vehicle monitoring device. 6. The vehicle monitoring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information input from the input unit includes image information of the surroundings of the vehicle or the interior of the vehicle. 7. The vehicle monitoring apparatus according to claim 6, wherein in the second process, the vehicle state monitoring unit acquires image information in a range different from that in the first process. 8. The vehicle monitoring apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said vehicle state monitoring unit monitors a change in said image information in said first processing. The information input from the input unit includes information about the acceleration of the vehicle,
The vehicle monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, in the first processing, the vehicle state monitoring unit monitors changes in acceleration of the vehicle. The vehicle state monitoring unit replaces the circuit for performing the first process with the circuit for performing the second process based on the change in the information from the input unit, whereby the first mode is selected. 10. The vehicle monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the device switches from the mode to the second mode. A vehicle monitoring method performed by a device comprising an input unit and a vehicle state monitoring unit,
a step of inputting information indicating a state of the vehicle into the input unit;
The vehicle state monitoring unit having a first mode in which a first process is performed to monitor changes in information from the input unit and a second mode in which a second process is performed without performing the first process, the input unit a step of switching from the first mode to the second mode based on a change in information from the vehicle monitoring method.

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