JP5249259B2 - On-vehicle shooting and recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention records a continuous video around the vehicle from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when it is turned off, and the vehicle as an “event recording method” in preparation for unexpected situations such as when a vehicle accident occurs. The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus that automatically records peripheral images.

  This type of conventional on-vehicle shooting and recording device is a drive recorder, and is used for consulting such as promoting safe driving and advice for energy saving driving by investigating the cause of a vehicle accident and recording the operation of the vehicle. Yes.

  This conventional vehicle-mounted shooting and recording apparatus includes an inner surface of a windshield in front of a vehicle interior of a vehicle, a rearview mirror and a camera, a microphone, a GPS antenna, an acceleration sensor, and the like mounted in the vicinity thereof. Position information, acceleration information, and the like are recorded in a predetermined recording unit, and a single camera for acquiring an image ahead of the vehicle has been put into practical use.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an event recording type event recorder. In Patent Document 1, a video is recorded based on a preset threshold value of the acceleration sensor. The same is also disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3.

  Patent Document 4 discloses a vehicular acceleration sensor correction device that corrects a drift of a zero point due to a change with time of an acceleration sensor when the vehicle stops when no acceleration occurs in the vehicle. A drive recorder using an acceleration sensor as in Patent Document 4 is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a principle configuration diagram of a conventional vehicle acceleration sensor correction device disclosed in Patent Document 4. In FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the conventional vehicle acceleration sensor correction apparatus 100 includes a correction amount determination unit 102 that determines a correction amount necessary to zero-correct the output of the on-board acceleration sensor 101 when the correction execution condition is satisfied. Vehicle stop detection means 103 for detecting stop of the vehicle, inclination determination means 104 for determining whether the output value of the acceleration sensor 101 when the vehicle is stopped exceeds a predetermined value, and vehicle stoppage determination means 103 for stopping the vehicle And a correction condition determination unit 105 that determines whether a correction execution condition is satisfied when the inclination determination unit 104 determines that the output value of the acceleration sensor 101 does not exceed a predetermined value.

  Further, in the vehicle acceleration sensor correction apparatus 100 configured as described above, when the vehicle is stopped, an output value exceeding a predetermined value is detected from the acceleration sensor 101, and the difference between the output value at the previous stop and the output value at the current stop is determined. An abnormality determination unit 106 may be provided for determining an abnormality of the acceleration sensor 101 when a state in which the value is equal to or less than a predetermined value continues.

  Further, the vehicle acceleration sensor correction apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration includes a traffic congestion determination unit 107 that determines that the vehicle is traveling on a traffic jam road, and the abnormality determination unit 106 uses the traffic congestion determination unit 107 to determine whether the vehicle is traveling in a traffic jam. If it is determined that the acceleration sensor 101 is abnormal, the abnormality determination of the acceleration sensor 101 may not be performed.

  Patent Document 5 discloses an accident information recording apparatus for grasping an alarm occurrence state at the time of an accident using the driver's arousal level information in order to investigate the cause of the accident.

  In the accident information recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 5, the sensitivity adjustment device is used to determine the sensitivity of the arousal level reduction determination unit that determines a reduction in the driver's arousal level by comparing the driver's arousal level information with a threshold value thereof. In the adjustment, the control means records at least one of the vehicle driving information and the arousal level information, the sensitivity adjustment information of the sensitivity adjustment device, or only the sensitivity adjustment information in the memory.

  Patent Document 6 discloses a video correction method for a drive recorder that automatically corrects the top-to-bottom direction of a video captured by the camera without adding a part for detecting the vertical direction of the camera.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of a conventional drive recorder disclosed in Patent Document 6. In FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the conventional drive recorder 200 includes a camera 201 that captures the surrounding situation of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor 202 that detects acceleration and detects an impact, and an image captured by the camera 201. A video recording unit 203 for recording the video, a video storage unit 204 for storing recorded video before and after the occurrence of the accident, and the drive recorder 200 itself, and the camera 201 based on the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 202 And a control unit 206 having a video correction unit 205 for correcting the captured video. The camera 201 and the acceleration sensor 202 are installed with their relative postures fixed so that the vertical direction of the acceleration sensor 202 is reversed when the vertical direction of the camera 201 is reversed.

  In the following description, an example is used in which the vertical direction of the acceleration sensor 202 and the vertical direction of the camera 201 are fixed and installed in a relative posture so as to be parallel. The video is described as including a moving image and a still image.

  The camera 201 for photographing the surrounding situation is installed so as to photograph the surrounding situation of the vehicle inside or outside the vehicle. The surrounding situation captured by the camera 201 is to photograph the front, rear, or side direction of the vehicle, but is usually installed so as to photograph the front of the vehicle. As a photographing element of the camera 201, a CCD or a CMOS can be used. In particular, a CCD is often used. Further, it is preferable to use a wide-angle lens capable of photographing a wider range as a lens used in the camera 201. A plurality of cameras 201 may be provided. Also in this case, the relative postures of the plurality of cameras 201 and the acceleration sensor 202 are all fixed.

  The video recording unit 203 that records the video captured by the camera 201 and the video storage unit 204 that stores the video recorded before and after the occurrence of the accident recorded by the video recording unit 203 are a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM or SRAM, a flash A nonvolatile memory such as a memory is often used. Further, a hard disk, a recordable / erasable optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, or the like may be used for the video recording unit 203 and the video storage unit 204. Furthermore, the video recording unit 203 and the video storage unit 204 may not be provided separately, and the video recording unit 203 may also serve as the video storage unit 204.

  The acceleration sensor 202 senses dynamic acceleration that occurs or changes suddenly in a short period of time due to an impact at the time of an accident, or static acceleration that is constantly acting like gravity, and responds to the acceleration. Output acceleration signals. The main acceleration sensor 202 includes a piezoresistive acceleration sensor, a piezoelectric acceleration sensor, a capacitive acceleration sensor, and the like. Among these, a small part and acceleration in three directions of X axis, Y axis, and Z axis are one part. It is preferable to use a piezoresistive type three-dimensional acceleration sensor that can be sensed by the above.

  The control unit 206 recognizes the occurrence of an accident from the acceleration signal of the acceleration sensor 202 and controls the video recording unit 203 and the video storage unit 204 to perform a predetermined operation. Also, the video correction unit 205 of the control unit 206 determines the vertical direction of the camera 201 from the vertical acceleration signal of the acceleration sensor 202 described later, and the vertical direction of the recorded video is not reversed when necessary. Make corrections as follows.

  The video display unit 207 can display the video shot by the camera 201 and can also reproduce and display the recorded video stored in the video storage unit 204 before and after the accident without using a personal computer or the like. It becomes. In addition, since the adjustment of the shooting range of the vehicle surroundings shot by the camera 201 can be performed while viewing the shot video of the video display unit 207, the installation of the camera 201 is further facilitated. Similarly, the video displayed on the video display unit 207 is automatically corrected in the vertical direction based on the acceleration signal Sz in the vertical direction of the acceleration sensor 202, so that the vertical direction of the camera 201 is whatever the vertical direction. The direction is not reversed.

  As the video display unit 207, a cathode ray tube may be used, but it is preferable to use a liquid crystal panel that can be further downsized. The video display unit 207 may be provided in the drive recorder 200, but the video signals Sv, Svm, and Sva can be output and displayed on a display unit of a vehicle-mounted DVD or a car navigation system by wire or wireless. It is.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an installation state when the camera of the drive recorder of FIG. 11 is installed in a vehicle.

  As shown in the installation state A of FIG. 12, the camera 201 is installed on the dashboard of the vehicle, or as shown in the installation state B, the camera 201 is suspended from the ceiling of the vehicle interior. It is possible to take either form. However, some cameras 201 have attachment means such as fixing screws on only one of the top and bottom surfaces. When such a camera 201 is used, the installation state A and the installation state B In this case, the vertical direction of the camera 201 is reversed depending on the mounting direction. Therefore, when the video recording unit 203 records the video captured from the camera 201 as it is, it may be recorded as a video with the vertical direction reversed. For this reason, when installing the camera 201 of the drive recorder 200, it is necessary to check the vertical direction of the camera 201 so that the vertical direction of the recorded video is not reversed.

  Also, in the conventional drive recorder 200, in order to play back the recorded video recorded by the video recording unit 203 and stored in the video storage unit 204, the recorded video file is taken out and then played back on a playback device such as a personal computer. There must be. For this reason, it takes time and effort to confirm whether the vertical direction of the recorded video is upright in advance.

  In this regard, as shown in FIG. 13, since the captured video and the recorded video from the camera 201 installed in the vehicle can be confirmed on the screen 208 of the video display unit 207, the top and bottom direction of the recorded video can be confirmed at the time of installation. It can be carried out.

JP 2006-67172 A JP 2006-347493 A JP 2009-32138 A JP 7-301641 A JP 2000-289660 A JP 2007-319044 A

  In the above conventional configuration, a drive recorder including a camera, a microphone, a GPS antenna, an acceleration sensor, and the like mounted on the inner side surface of the windshield in front of the vehicle interior of the vehicle, the rear mirror and the vicinity thereof is put into practical use. In the drive recorders of Documents 1 to 6, when an indoor image and a front image are necessary, it is necessary to perform shooting and recording using two cameras fixedly.

  That is, Patent Documents 1 to 3 only disclose an event recorder that activates shooting recording at an event such as a car collision. In Patent Document 4 described above, the zero-point drift due to the change with time of the acceleration sensor is It is disclosed that the vehicle is corrected when the vehicle is not accelerated, and in Patent Document 5 described above, the driver's arousal level information is compared with the threshold value to determine a decrease in the driver's arousal level and an alarm is generated. In Patent Document 6, a drive recorder is disclosed that corrects the top-to-bottom direction of a captured image of a camera depending on the mounting direction of a plurality of cameras.

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 6, even if the top-to-bottom direction of the captured image of the camera 201 is corrected, when only an indoor image and a front image are necessary, the two cameras are fixedly used for recording. When the vertical direction of the camera 201 is determined from the vertical acceleration signal of the acceleration sensor 202 and the camera 201 is mounted upside down, such as when the recorded image is captured with the camera 201 fixed. Corrections have been made so that the vertical direction of the image is not reversed.

  If the camera head unit includes a camera head unit having a mechanism that rotates 180 degrees in the vertical direction with the horizontal axis direction as the rotation center axis, the front of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle can be photographed using a single camera. . However, as for the image for photographing the front of the vehicle and the image for photographing the interior of the vehicle, if the camera head unit uses a mechanism in which the horizontal axis direction rotates in the vertical direction with an angle of 180 degrees, and one image is established. The other image rotated 180 degrees in the vertical direction is an upside down image on the display screen of a TV monitor or personal computer, so it is difficult to visually understand, and the camera head portion rotated 180 degrees in the vertical direction. It is necessary to have a mechanical switch for recognizing this, or to read the setting file preset in the firmware into the DSP parameter of the device that records it, so that the camera image is recognized upside down. There was a need to correct.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and when taking a picture of the front of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle using a single camera, a mechanical switch or the like is not required separately, and the camera image is turned upside down with an acceleration sensor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus that can recognize and correctly display the vertical positional relationship of an acquired image on a display screen.

  The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus of the present invention is arranged on a substrate and is configured to be rotatable in the vertical direction at least at an angle of 180 degrees with the horizontal axis as a rotation center together with the substrate. Camera means for taking a picture, a triaxial acceleration sensor means arranged on the substrate for detecting an impact by detecting acceleration (X direction and Y direction) and sensing gravity (Z direction), and the acceleration And a control unit for controlling the screen upside down process of the output video from the camera unit based on the acceleration signal from the sensor unit, thereby achieving the above object.

  Preferably, the control unit in the vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus according to the present invention uses, as a reference, a preset threshold value for an output waveform for detecting a gravitational direction (Z direction) among acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor means. Controls the screen upside down process of the output video from the camera means.

  More preferably, the gravitational direction (Z direction) in the on-vehicle photographing and recording apparatus of the present invention is set to an angle of 0 degrees, and the threshold is set to an angle of 60 degrees out of the 180 degrees.

  Further preferably, an illuminating means is provided on the side of the substrate surface on which the camera means is mounted in the vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus of the present invention, and illumination light from the illuminating means can be irradiated in the photographing direction by the camera means. .

  Further preferably, the illumination means emits illumination light with reference to a threshold value in the vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus of the present invention.

  Further preferably, the illumination means in the vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus of the present invention is any one of an illumination bulb, an illumination LED, and a bulb or LED capable of irradiating up to the infrared region.

  Furthermore, preferably, a video display unit for displaying a video image captured by the camera unit on the display screen in the vehicle-mounted video recording device of the present invention, and a recording unit for recording the video image captured by the camera unit, The control unit controls imaging of the camera unit, and performs display control of the video display unit and recording control of the recording unit.

  Further preferably, the control unit in the vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus according to the present invention changes the output waveform that is a predetermined value or more as an impact load generated during vehicle operation based on the three-axis output waveform from the acceleration sensor means. Is detected, the three-axis output waveform from the acceleration sensor means is recorded and controlled in the recording section, and the video imaged by the camera means is recorded and controlled in the recording section.

  Further preferably, in the vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus according to the present invention, a microphone unit for inputting voice is provided, and the control unit records the voice signal from the microphone unit according to a waveform change of the predetermined value or more. Recording control.

  Further preferably, the control unit in the vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus of the present invention acquires position information from the GPS antenna based on a waveform change greater than or equal to the predetermined value, and records and controls the acquired position information in the recording unit. To do.

  Further preferably, the recording unit in the vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus of the present invention is an SD memory or an SDHC car memory.

  Furthermore, preferably, the control unit in the vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus of the present invention continuously captures images captured by the camera means from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when it is turned off, and the acceleration sensor At least the photographed image is recorded and controlled in the recording unit among the acceleration information from the means, the sound information from the microphone means, and the position information from the GPS antenna.

  Still preferably, in a vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit takes out the shot video recorded in the recording unit and controls display on the display screen of the video display unit when a shot video playback instruction is given.

  Further preferably, in the vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus of the present invention, the camera means is disposed on the front surface side of the substrate, and the acceleration sensor means is disposed on the back surface side of the substrate to photoelectrically convert incident light. The vertical direction from the center of the light receiving area surface of the camera means to be imaged and the Y direction of the acceleration sensor means coincide with each other, and the horizontal direction and vertical direction of the light receiving area surface and the X direction and Z direction of the acceleration sensor means Are arranged in parallel.

  With the above configuration, the operation of the present invention will be described below.

  In the present invention, camera means disposed on the substrate and configured to be rotatable in the vertical direction at least at an angle of 180 degrees about the horizontal axis as a rotation center together with the substrate, and for photographing in the forward direction of the vehicle and in the vehicle interior. And a three-axis acceleration sensor means for detecting an impact and detecting gravity (Z direction) by detecting acceleration (X direction and Y direction), and an acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor means. And a control unit that controls the screen upside down process of the output video from the camera means.

  As described above, the camera unit integrated with the three-axis acceleration sensor unit can be manually rotated to record not only the vehicle front but also the vehicle interior image. As a result, it is possible to shoot in front of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle using a single camera, without the need for a separate mechanical switch, etc., using the acceleration information from the acceleration sensor to recognize the camera image upside down, It becomes possible to always display the vertical position relationship of the acquired video on the display screen correctly.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the camera unit integrated with the three-axis acceleration sensor unit can manually rotate to record not only the vehicle front but also the vehicle interior image. When taking a picture of the front and the interior of a vehicle using a single camera, there is no need for a mechanical switch or the like, and the acceleration sensor recognizes the camera image upside down and correctly displays the vertical position of the acquired image on the display screen. Can be displayed.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structural example of the imaging | photography recording device for mounting in vehicles in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structural example of the imaging | photography recording device for a vehicle mounting containing the principal part structural example of the control part 7 of FIG. FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a camera unit in which a camera and an acceleration sensor are integrated with the substrate of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a rear view of the camera unit, FIG. 2B is a side view of the camera unit; c) is a surface view of the camera unit. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the acceleration sensor of FIG. 1 showing the directions of the respective axes, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing acceleration signals and threshold values in the Z direction from the acceleration sensor of FIG. It is a figure which shows the state in which the vehicle-mounted imaging | photography recording device of FIG. 1 was attached to the room mirror in a vehicle interior. It is the figure which showed the triaxial direction of the acceleration sensor of FIG. It is a figure which shows the attachment state of a type 1 acceleration sensor. It is a figure which shows the attachment state of a type 2 acceleration sensor. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the imaging | photography recording device for mounting of a vehicle of FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the principle of the conventional acceleration sensor correction apparatus for vehicles currently disclosed by patent document 4. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structural example of the conventional drive recorder currently disclosed by patent document 6. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the installation state at the time of installing the camera of the drive recorder of FIG. 11 in a vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows the installation state at the time of installing the camera and display screen of the drive recorder of FIG. 11 in a vehicle interior.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, each thickness, length, etc. of the structural member in each figure are not limited to the structure to illustrate from a viewpoint on drawing preparation.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is a drive recorder, which is arranged on the front surface side of a substrate 2, and includes a camera 3 as camera means for shooting the surrounding situation of the vehicle, and a substrate 2. And an acceleration sensor 4 as a three-axis acceleration sensor means for detecting an impact (X direction and Y direction) and sensing an impact and sensing gravity (Z direction). A display unit 5 (video display unit) for displaying video captured by the camera 3 on a display screen, a recording unit 6 for recording video captured by the camera 3, the drive recorder itself and the camera 3; And a control unit 7 having a video reversing unit 71 for performing display control and recording control and controlling reversal processing in the vertical direction of the captured video of the camera 3 based on the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 4. There.

  The camera 3 is configured by a camera module, and is installed directly or indirectly on a rear mirror that is easy to manually rotate and does not visually impede driving, and a camera head unit that makes incident light incident together with the camera body It has a mechanism that rotates 180 degrees in the vertical direction (vertical direction) with the horizontal axis direction (horizontal direction) as the rotation center axis, and by manually rotating the direction of the camera head (photographing direction) together with the substrate 2 The vehicle front situation and the vehicle interior situation can be sequentially photographed by manual rotation. Although the surrounding situation photographed by the camera 3 is the front direction of the vehicle or the indoor direction of the rear, it can be selected by manual rotation, but usually the front of the vehicle is photographed as the driving history. The camera 3 also serves as one camera 3 in two directions, the front direction of the vehicle and the indoor direction of the rear. A CCD image pickup device (CCD imager) or a CMOS image pickup device (CMOS imager) can be used as the image pickup device of the camera 3, but a CCD image pickup device is particularly often used. In addition, it is preferable to use a wide-angle lens capable of photographing a wider range as the lens used in the camera 3.

  The acceleration sensor 4 senses a dynamic acceleration that occurs or changes suddenly in a short time due to an impact at the time of an accident, and also senses a static acceleration that is constantly acting, such as gravity, to detect the acceleration. An acceleration signal (FIG. 4B, which will be described later) corresponding to is output. The main acceleration sensor 4 includes a piezoresistive acceleration sensor, a piezoelectric acceleration sensor, a capacitive acceleration sensor, and the like, but it is small and the acceleration in the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis directions is one part. A piezoresistive type three-dimensional acceleration sensor that can be sensed by the above is used. Further, the acceleration sensor 4 is disposed on the back side of the substrate 2, and the vertical direction from the center of the light receiving area surface of the camera 3 that photoelectrically converts incident light to pick up an image coincides with the Y direction of the acceleration sensor 4. The horizontal and vertical directions of the area surface and the X and Z directions of the acceleration sensor 4 are arranged in parallel.

  The video display unit 5 can display the video captured by the camera 3 on a display screen (liquid crystal panel or the like), and the recorded video stored in the recording unit 6 before and after the accident occurs without using a personal computer. Enable playback and display. In addition, the shooting range of the vehicle front situation and the vehicle interior situation taken by the camera 3 can be manually switched while viewing the shot image on the image display unit 5. Note that the video displayed on the video display unit 5 is also automatically inverted in the vertical direction based on the acceleration signal in the vertical direction of the acceleration sensor 4. Further, the video display unit 5 may be provided in the drive recorder. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the video display unit 5 receives video from the vehicle-mounted shooting recording device 1 attached to the side surface portion of the room mirror A via wired B or wireless. It is also possible to output and display the signal on the display screen C of the DVD device or car navigation system mounted on the vehicle.

  The recording unit 6 uses a semiconductor memory such as DRAM or SRAM, or a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory as a unit for recording images taken by the camera 3, and also a hard disk or an optical disc capable of recording and erasing. Alternatively, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, or the like may be used.

  The control unit 7 recognizes the occurrence of an accident from the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 4 and controls the recording unit 6 to perform a video recording operation. The video inversion unit 71 of the control unit 7 discriminates the vertical direction of the camera 3 from the acceleration signal in the vertical direction Z of the acceleration sensor 4, and when necessary for the recorded video in the video recording unit 6. The image is inverted in the vertical direction.

  In this case, if the camera 3 is manually rotated at an angle of 180 degrees in the vertical direction, the acceleration sensor 4 disposed on the back surface of the substrate 2 is also rotated at an angle of 180 degrees in the vertical direction. The control unit 7 senses that the vertical direction of the screen is the reverse direction based on the acceleration signal). In response to this, the video reversing unit 71 is activated to perform image reversal processing in the vertical direction of the captured image. As a result, the upside down camera image can be corrected to eliminate visually difficult to understand.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus including a detailed configuration example of a main part of the control unit 7 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 7 includes a video inversion unit 71, a central processing unit CPU 72 that controls the whole, a ROM 73 that records a control program and its data, and a control program and its data when the CPU 72 is activated. Is read from the ROM 73 and works as a work memory, an input port 75 for inputting control signals and data from the outside, an output port 76 for outputting control signals and data to the outside, and a common bus 77 for connecting them. have.

  The CPU 72 sequentially executes signal processing according to the control program and data stored in the ROM 73, and the video inversion unit 71 determines the vertical direction of the camera 3 from the acceleration signal in the vertical direction Z of the acceleration sensor 4. Thus, when an upside down process is required for the video shot from the camera 3 or the recorded video in the recording unit 6, the vertical direction of the image is inverted so that an always established image is obtained.

  The input port 75 receives the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 4, the imaging signal from the camera 3, and the recording data such as the video from the recording unit 6, and converts them into a state that can be processed in the control unit 7. Capture in the control unit 7. The output port 76 outputs a video display signal to the video display unit 5 and outputs a control signal to the camera 3 and the recording unit 6 after predetermined processing is performed in the control unit 7. ing.

  3A and 3B are diagrams showing an example of a configuration of a main part of a camera unit in which the camera 3 and the acceleration sensor 4 are integrated by the substrate 2 of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a rear view of the camera unit, and FIG. A side view of the camera unit, (c) is a surface view of the camera unit.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, an acceleration sensor 4 is mounted at the center of the back surface of the substrate 2. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, a camera 3 is mounted on the center of the surface of the substrate 2. In short, the camera 3 and the triaxial acceleration sensor 4 are mounted on the front surface and the back surface of the same substrate 2 (printed wiring substrate) in an integrated manner. Direction along at least one of the three directions of X, Y, and Z of the acceleration sensor 4 mounted on the substrate 2, the horizontal direction and the vertical direction along the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 mounted on the substrate 2, and the direction perpendicular to the light receiving surface. Are attached to match. Here, the Y-axis direction of the triaxial acceleration sensor 4 is mounted on the substrate 2 in the same direction as the photographing axis direction of the camera 3 (direction perpendicular to the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32), and the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 is The horizontal direction (horizontal direction) and the X-axis direction of the acceleration sensor 4 are set in the same direction parallel to each other, and the Z-axis direction that is the gravity direction of the acceleration sensor 4 and the vertical direction of the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 are parallel to each other. Are mounted on the substrate 2 in the same direction. Based on the acceleration information from the acceleration sensor 4, the control unit 7 determines whether the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 faces the vehicle front direction or whether the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 faces the vehicle interior direction, Control is performed so that the vertical direction of the image is always upright. In this case, when the position of the substrate angle of 60 degrees (or -60 degrees) corresponding to the hatched portion of the Z-axis rotation waveform of the acceleration sensor 4 is reached, the captured image is output as a vertically inverted image. When the substrate angle does not reach 60 degrees (or -60 degrees), an image that is not subjected to the upside down process is output.

  That is, the control unit 7 controls the screen upside down process of the output video from the camera 3 with reference to a preset threshold value of the output waveform for detecting the gravitational direction (Z direction) among the acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor 4. . Here, the gravitational direction (Z direction) is set to an angle of 0 degrees, and the threshold value is set to 60 degrees (or −60 degrees) out of the 180 degrees.

  In the camera 3, a photographing lens 31 is disposed in the camera head portion, and on the back side of the photographing lens 31, a light receiving surface of an imaging element 32 that performs image conversion by using image light from a subject as incident light is disposed, and the imaging is performed. A camera module in which a holder 33 for shielding and sealing the inside in which the element 32 is disposed is mounted on the substrate 2. A flexible wiring board FPC is signal-connected to the board 2, and various XYZ acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor 4 and imaging signals from the camera 3 are transmitted from the board 2 through the flexible wiring board FPC to the control unit 7 of the drive recorder. And the connector 34 can be connected.

  With the above configuration, various XYZ acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor 4 and imaging signals from the camera 3 are input to the control unit 7, and the control unit 7 controls display of the imaging signals captured by the camera 3 on the video display unit 5. At the same time, the acceleration signal and the imaging signal are recorded and controlled in the recording unit 6.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, first, in step S1, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the screen vertical direction is the reverse direction based on the acceleration signal in the gravity direction (the acceleration signal in the vertical direction Z). . When the gravity direction (Z direction) is 0 degree and the threshold is 180 degrees, the substrate angle is 60 degrees (or -60 degrees), and when the substrate angle is 60 degrees (or -60 degrees) or more, It is determined that the direction is the reverse direction. This process is repeated until the substrate angle reaches 60 degrees (or -60 degrees) or more.

  Next, in step S2, the substrate angle is set to 60 degrees (or -60 degrees) or more with reference to a preset threshold value of the output waveform for detecting the gravitational direction (Z direction) among the acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor 4. At that time, it is determined that the captured image has changed in the vehicle interior from the vehicle traveling direction (upside down), and the first screen upside down process of the output video from the camera 3 is performed.

  Subsequently, in step S3, the control unit 7 determines whether the vertical direction of the screen is the reverse direction based on the acceleration signal in the gravity direction (acceleration signal in the vertical direction Z). When the gravity direction (Z direction) is 0 degree and the threshold is 60 degrees (or -60 degrees) out of 180 degrees, the substrate angle is smaller than 60 degrees (or -60 degrees). It is determined that the vertical direction of the screen is the reverse direction. This process is repeated until the substrate angle is smaller than 60 degrees (or -60 degrees).

  After that, in step S4, the substrate angle is smaller than 60 degrees (or −60 degrees) with reference to a preset threshold value of the output waveform for detecting the gravitational direction (Z direction) among the acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor 4. At that time, it is determined that the captured image has changed in the vehicle traveling direction from the vehicle interior (upside down), and the second screen upside down process of the output video from the camera 3 is performed.

  Further, in step S5, the control unit 7 continuously controls the video display unit 5 to display and control the captured image captured by the camera 3 from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when it is turned off, and the acceleration sensor. 4 controls the recording of the acceleration signal and the imaging signal from the recording unit 6.

  As described above, in the vehicle-mounted shooting / recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the vehicle is arranged on the board 2 and is configured to be rotatable with the board 2 in the vertical direction at least at an angle of 180 degrees with the horizontal axis as the rotation center. A camera 3 that takes images in the forward direction of the vehicle and in the vehicle interior, a triaxial acceleration sensor 4 that is provided on the substrate 2 and detects acceleration to detect impact and gravity, and acceleration from the acceleration sensor 4 And a control unit 7 for controlling the screen upside down process of the output video from the camera 3 based on the signal.

  Conventionally, a method using a mechanical switch for recognizing that the camera 3 has rotated 180 degrees, or a method for correcting upside down camera images by reading preset firmware / software files into the DSP parameters of the drive recorder However, in the vehicle-mounted recording / recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, a TV monitor can be used without using a mechanical switch or having a preset firmware software file read into the DSP parameter of the drive recorder. The output of the camera 3 and the output video from the camera 3 to the personal computer monitor are mounted on the board 2 of the triaxial acceleration sensor 4 in conjunction with the camera 3 rotating in the vertical direction, so that the direction of the camera 3 is the vehicle traveling direction. In the Z-axis direction output by the 3-axis acceleration sensor 4. The control unit 7 recognizes from the speed signal (FIG. 4B) and inputs the acceleration signal as the control unit 7 to, for example, the DSP, thereby changing the parameter setting in the DSP, thereby outputting the output video to the TV monitor. And output video to a PC monitor can be flipped upside down. The triaxial acceleration information of the triaxial acceleration sensor 4 is not used for recognizing that the camera 3 has been rotated in the vertical direction by an angle of 180 degrees based on the Z axis acceleration information, but the Y axis acceleration information and the X axis. From the acceleration information, it is possible to obtain information such as an impact during an operation of the vehicle and acceleration information such as sudden braking and sudden steering. In this case, triaxial acceleration information can be obtained by one triaxial acceleration sensor 4.

  As a result, the vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is applied to a drive recorder and a drive camera mounted on various vehicles such as passenger cars, public buses, taxis and other cargo transport trucks, railway vehicles, and motorcycles. Besides being usable, it can be used as a video input camera module using a display screen of a car navigation system.

  Although not specifically described in the first embodiment, illumination means for illuminating the photographing direction is provided on the surface side of the substrate 2 on which the camera 3 is mounted, and illumination from the illumination means is performed in the photographing direction by the camera 3. Light can be irradiated. With reference to the threshold value, when the substrate angle is 60 degrees (or -60 degrees) or more and the shooting direction of the camera 3 is the direction of the vehicle interior inside the vehicle, the illumination light from the illumination means to the vehicle interior side of the vehicle inside Irradiate. The illumination means at this time is any one of an illumination bulb, an illumination LED, and a bulb or LED that can irradiate the infrared region.

  Although not specifically described in the first embodiment, the control unit 7 changes the output waveform that is greater than or equal to a predetermined value as an impact load generated during vehicle operation based on the three-axis output waveform from the acceleration sensor 4. As a precaution, the three-axis output waveform from the acceleration sensor 4 is recorded and controlled in the recording unit 6, and the video imaged by the camera 3 is recorded and controlled in the recording unit 6. In this case, a microphone means for inputting sound is provided, and the control unit 7 controls the recording unit 6 to record the sound signal from the microphone means by changing the waveform over a predetermined value. Further, the control unit 7 acquires position information from the GPS antenna based on a waveform change equal to or greater than the predetermined value, and records and controls the acquired position information in the recording unit 6. This recording unit may be an SD memory or an SDHC car memory.

  In the first embodiment, the control unit 7 continuously records a captured image captured by the camera 3 and acceleration information from the acceleration sensor 4 from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when it is turned off. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 7 continuously captures images taken by the camera 3 from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when it is turned off, and an acceleration sensor. Acceleration information from 4, audio information from the microphone means, and position information from the GPS antenna may be recorded and controlled in the recording unit 6. Also, continuously from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when the control unit 7 is turned off, the captured image taken by the camera 3, the acceleration information from the acceleration sensor 4, the voice information from the microphone means, and GPS What is necessary is just to record-control at least the picked-up image of the positional information from an antenna in the recording part 6. FIG. In this case, the control unit 7 takes out at least a photographed image of the photographed image, acceleration information, audio information, and position information recorded in the recording unit 6 and instructs it on the display screen of the image display unit 5 when the photographed image reproduction instruction is given. Display control is possible.

  Although not specifically described in the first embodiment, correction processing related to attachment of the acceleration sensor 4 will be further described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the acceleration sensor 4, when X 紬 is defined as the left and right direction, the Y axis is defined as the vehicle traveling direction, and the Z axis is defined as the vertical direction (the direction of gravity G), the acceleration sensor 4 is attached to the substrate 2. Are attached so that the Y axis of the acceleration sensor 4 and the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 2 coincide. Actually, since the inclination of the acceleration sensor 4 and the direction of each axis differ depending on the mounting state of the drive recorder main body, correction is necessary. Here, the acceleration sensor 4 and the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 of the camera 3 are attached to the back surface and the front surface of the substrate 2, and the horizontal direction of the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 is the X-axis direction of the acceleration sensor 4. The acceleration sensor 4 and the camera 3 are attached to the substrate 2 so that they are aligned or parallel, and the vertical direction (vertical direction) of the light receiving surface of the image sensor 32 is aligned or parallel to the Z-axis direction of the acceleration sensor 4. Since the acceleration sensor 4 and the camera 3 are attached to 2 with respect to the error, correction is required.

  Although there are two types of attachment states of the acceleration sensor 4 in the current life recorder, the correction is performed at least once after the drive recorder is attached. adi. When the ini file is in the SD card, measurement for correction is executed. When correction is performed, the mounting state and angle are recorded in the flash memory, and adi. Delete the ini file.

  When the value of 3 紬 is absolute value X <absolute value Yor absolute value X <absolute value Z, it is determined as type 1.

  When the values of the three axes are absolute value Y <absolute value Xor absolute value Y <absolute value Z, it is determined as type 2.

  FIG. 7 shows the mounting state of the type 1 acceleration sensor 4. In this case, correction is required for the Y and Z axes. The calculation method is described below. First, X. Y. The inclination angle of each Z axis is calculated.

θx = cos−1 (X) θy = cos−1 (Y) θz = cos−1 (z)
Next, the G value (AdiX) in the left-right direction, the G value (AdiY) in the traveling direction, and the G value (AdiZ) in the ground axis direction are calculated.

AdiX = Xs i (θx)
AdiY = Ysin (θY) + Zsin (θz)
AdiZ = Ycos (θY) + Zcos (θz)
The mounting state of the type 2 acceleration sensor 4 is shown in FIG. In this case, correction is required for the X, Y, and Z axes. The calculation method is shown below. First, the inclination angles of the X, Y, and Z axes with respect to the ground axis are calculated.

θx = cos−1
θy = cos−1 (Y)
θz = cos−1 (Z)
Next, the G value (AdiX) in the left-right direction, the G value (AdiY) in the traveling direction, and the G value (AdiZ) in the ground axis direction are calculated.

AdiX = Ysin (θy)
AdiY = Xsin (θx) + Zsin (θz)
AdiZ = Xcos (θx) + Zcos (θz)
In addition, as mentioned above, although this invention was illustrated using preferable Embodiment 1 of this invention, this invention should not be limited and limited to this Embodiment 1. It is understood that the scope of the present invention should be construed only by the claims. It is understood that those skilled in the art can implement an equivalent range from the description of the specific preferred embodiment 1 of the present invention based on the description of the present invention and the common general technical knowledge. Patents, patent applications, and documents cited herein should be incorporated by reference in their entirety, as if the contents themselves were specifically described herein. Understood.

  The present invention records a continuous video around the vehicle from the time when the power switch of the vehicle is turned on to the time when it is turned off, and the vehicle as an “event recording method” in preparation for unexpected situations such as when a vehicle accident occurs. In the field of on-vehicle shooting and recording devices that automatically record peripheral images, camera means integrated with the three-axis acceleration sensor means manually rotate to record not only the front of the vehicle but also the vehicle interior image. It is possible. As a result, it is possible to shoot in front of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle using a single camera, without the need for a separate mechanical switch, etc., using the acceleration information from the acceleration sensor to recognize the camera image upside down, It becomes possible to always display the vertical position relationship of the acquired video on the display screen correctly.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image | photographing recording apparatus mounted in a vehicle 2 Board | substrate 3 Camera 4 Acceleration sensor 5 Display part (video display part)
6 Recording unit 7 Control unit 71 Video inversion unit 72 CPU
73 ROM
74 RAM
75 Input Port 76 Output Port 77 Common Bus 31 Shooting Lens 32 Image Sensor 33 Holder 34 Connector A Room Mirror B Wired C Car Navigation System Display Screen

Claims (14)

  Camera means disposed on the substrate and configured to be rotatable in the vertical direction at least at an angle of 180 degrees with the horizontal axis as a rotation center together with the substrate; A three-axis acceleration sensor means for detecting an acceleration by sensing acceleration (X direction and Y direction) and sensing gravity (Z direction), and the camera based on an acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor means A vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls a screen upside down process of an output video from the means.   The control unit controls the screen upside down process of the output video from the camera unit with reference to a preset threshold value of an output waveform for detecting the gravitational direction (Z direction) among the acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor unit. The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The on-vehicle photographing recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the gravitational direction (Z direction) is set to an angle of 0 degrees, and the threshold value is set to an angle of 60 degrees out of the angle of 180 degrees.   The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein illumination means is provided on a substrate surface side on which the camera means is mounted, and illumination light from the illumination means can be irradiated in a photographing direction by the camera means.   The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein illumination light is emitted from the illumination unit with the threshold as a reference.   The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the illumination unit is any one of an illumination bulb, an illumination LED, and a bulb or LED that can irradiate an infrared region.   A video display unit that displays a video image captured by the camera unit on a display screen; and a recording unit that records the video image captured by the camera unit. The control unit includes: The vehicle-mounted photographing and recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photographing control device controls imaging and performs display control of the video display unit and recording control of the recording unit.   When the control unit detects a change in the output waveform exceeding a predetermined value as an impact load generated during vehicle operation based on the three-axis output waveform from the acceleration sensor means, the three-axis from the acceleration sensor means The on-vehicle shooting and recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the output waveform is controlled to be recorded in the recording unit, and an image captured by the camera unit is recorded and controlled on the recording unit.   9. The vehicle-mounted shooting recording according to claim 8, wherein microphone means for inputting sound is provided, and the control section records and controls the sound signal from the microphone means in the recording section according to a waveform change equal to or greater than the predetermined value. apparatus.   The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit acquires position information from a GPS antenna based on a waveform change equal to or greater than the predetermined value, and records and controls the acquired position information in the recording unit.   The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the recording unit is an SD memory or an SDHC car memory.   From the time when the control unit turns on the power switch of the vehicle to the time when it is turned off, the captured image taken by the camera means, acceleration information from the acceleration sensor means, audio information from the microphone means, and GPS 8. The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein at least the photographed image of position information from an antenna is recorded and controlled in the recording unit.   The vehicle-mounted photographing recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control unit takes out a photographed video recorded in the recording unit and controls display on the display screen of the video display unit when a photographing video reproduction instruction is given.   The camera means is disposed on the front surface side of the substrate, and the acceleration sensor means is disposed on the back surface side of the substrate, and the vertical direction from the center of the light receiving area surface of the camera means for photoelectrically converting incident light to image. The vehicle-mounted shooting record according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor means is made to coincide with the Y direction, and the horizontal direction and vertical direction of the light receiving area surface and the X direction and Z direction of the acceleration sensor means are arranged in parallel. apparatus.

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