JP5756658B2 - Vehicle information recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a vehicle information record that acquires predetermined information on a vehicle when a predetermined event occurs or periodically or continuously, and automatically records the acquired information on a predetermined recording medium. In particular, the present invention relates to securing a recording area for recording acquired information.

  Conventionally, drive recorders and digital tachographs have been used as devices for automatically recording information acquired on a vehicle. Such a vehicle-mounted device is used for automatically acquiring data useful for analyzing the cause of a traffic accident and analyzing the operation status of a business vehicle.

  Basically, a drive recorder automatically records data such as video taken by an in-vehicle camera onto a non-volatile recording medium such as a memory card when it detects the occurrence of a large acceleration, such as when a traffic accident occurs. It has a function to save.

  Digital tachographs acquire various information related to vehicles, such as vehicle speed, engine speed, brake status, vehicle position, etc. periodically or continuously, or when specific events occur, A function for automatically recording and storing this data on a nonvolatile recording medium such as a memory card is installed.

  A specific technique related to the drive recorder is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In Patent Document 1, image data and the like obtained by photographing with a camera are sequentially recorded endlessly as temporary data on a volatile memory. Further, when a predetermined condition indicating the occurrence of an event is satisfied, control is performed so that the temporary data read from the memory is written and stored in a nonvolatile memory card. Specifically, temporary data is written to the memory card when the occurrence of large acceleration is detected or when the supply of power from the vehicle is stopped.

JP 2008-123498 A

  By the way, it is necessary to retain the information acquired by the vehicle information recording apparatus even when the power supply is cut off, and it is desirable to be able to analyze the contents of the information taken out and recorded from the vehicle-mounted device. Therefore, it is necessary to store the final data in a non-volatile recording medium such as a memory card as in Patent Document 1.

  Since such a memory card has a recordable data capacity that increases year by year, it is possible to store a large amount of data such as image data. Therefore, a memory card can be used without any problem as a data recording destination of a general drive recorder or digital tachograph.

  However, for example, in the case of a drive recorder or digital tachograph mounted on a commercial vehicle, it is necessary to record a large amount of data acquired over a long period of time on a recording medium and store this data for a long period of time. For example, in order to record data that can be used to determine whether a crew member of a business vehicle such as a taxi vehicle or a truck is driving safely, a large-capacity image or various types of time-series data Must be recorded daily over a long period of time.

  Accordingly, the capacity of data recorded by a drive recorder or digital tachograph tends to continue to increase, and the recording capacity of the memory card may be insufficient. If the recording capacity of the memory card is insufficient, no further recording is possible, or old data is overwritten and disappears. However, in order to correctly grasp the crew's driving situation, data acquired over a long period of time may be required, so it is necessary to avoid situations where important data is erased due to insufficient memory card capacity .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information recording apparatus for a vehicle capable of storing a large amount of data exceeding a limited recording capacity of a single recording medium. It is to provide.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the vehicle information recording apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to ( 2 ).
(1) A vehicle information recording apparatus that acquires predetermined information on a vehicle when a predetermined event occurs or periodically or continuously, and automatically records the acquired information on a predetermined recording medium Because
A plurality of recording medium holding units capable of simultaneously holding two or more independent recording media in a removable state;
An information writing control unit for controlling writing of information to the plurality of recording media held in the plurality of recording medium holding units;
With
The information writing control unit
When said plurality of recording media is held in the plurality of recording medium holding unit, assigned as primary recording medium at least one of said plurality of recording media, assigned as a sub recording medium at least one of the other recording medium,
One of the main recording medium and the sub recording medium includes a first area that is a recording destination of the first information acquired when the predetermined event occurs and the second information acquired periodically or continuously. A second area serving as a recording destination of the second information, and securing only a second area serving as a recording destination of the second information on the other of the main recording medium and the sub recording medium,
When recording the first information, the first area is selected as a recording destination, and when there is no empty area in the first area, the information recorded in the first area is the most. Delete old information to free up space,
When recording the second information, the second area of the main recording medium is selected as a recording destination, and when there is no empty area in the second area of the main recording medium, the sub recording medium When the second area of the sub recording medium is selected as a recording destination and there is no empty area in the second area of the sub recording medium, the data is recorded in the second area of the main recording medium or the sub recording medium. Delete the oldest information to secure free space.
about.
(2) The vehicle information recording device according to ( 1 ) above,
The information writing control unit determines in advance the maximum recording capacity of the first area and the second area, or the ratio between the recording capacity of the first area and the recording capacity of the second area . Limit automatically according to the value.

According to the vehicle information recording apparatus having the configuration (1), a necessary area as a recording destination can be automatically secured using a plurality of recording media at the same time, so that limited recording of a single recording medium is possible. A large amount of data exceeding the capacity can be saved.
Further, it is possible to appropriately allocate the recording destination area according to the characteristics of the information to be recorded. For example, for large-capacity data such as images that are generated each time a specific event occurs, the recording destination is limited to the main recording medium, and the capacity of vehicle information that is generated regularly at regular intervals. For small data, it is conceivable to assign a recording destination to both the main recording medium and the sub recording medium.
Further , the areas can be secured in order from the main recording medium and the sub recording medium in accordance with the priority order. Therefore, the user can easily grasp whether the recorded data exists in the main recording medium or the sub recording medium.
Further , even when the recording capacities of the main recording medium and the sub recording medium are used up, it is possible to erase only old data, secure a new area, and continue writing new data.
According to the vehicular information recording apparatus having the above configuration ( 2 ), the user can designate the maximum capacity or the ratio of the capacity in advance so that the recording destination can be appropriately recorded according to the characteristics of the information to be recorded. Space can be allocated.

  According to the vehicle information recording apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to store a large amount of data exceeding the limited recording capacity of a single recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to record a large amount of data over a long period of time without being restricted by the capacity of a single recording medium and store it for a long period of time.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the modes for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of the drive recorder of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of allocation of the storage area on a some recording medium. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the hardware of a drive recorder.

  Specific embodiments of the vehicle information recording apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, the case where this invention is applied to the drive recorder 100 of a structure as shown, for example in FIG. 3 is assumed. Of course, the present invention can be applied not only to the drive recorder but also to other in-vehicle recording devices having a digital tachograph or a similar data recording function.

  The drive recorder 100 shown in FIG. 3 includes an in-vehicle device body 10 and a plurality of independent memory cards 21 and 22 connected thereto, an in-vehicle camera 31, and a vehicle speed sensor 32. Further, inside the vehicle-mounted device main body 10, there are a microcomputer (CPU) 11, a memory card reader / writer 12, interfaces (I / F) 13, 14, 15, an acceleration (G) sensor 16 and a volatile memory (SDRAM) 17. Is equipped.

  The microcomputer 11 controls the entire apparatus so as to realize a function as a drive recorder by executing a program prepared in advance. Specifically, for example, when a trigger is generated due to detection of a large acceleration, data such as an image obtained by photographing is automatically recorded over a certain period of time. As constant recording control, vehicle data such as vehicle speed and images are automatically recorded at regular time intervals.

  The memory card reader / writer 12 includes a plurality of independent card slots 12a and 12b, and a plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 can be mounted simultaneously. The specific memory cards 21 and 22 are assumed to be recording media including a nonvolatile memory capable of writing and reading data, such as an SD card and a CF card. Of course, the memory cards 21 and 22 can be removed from the card slots 12a and 12b as needed.

  Accordingly, the microcomputer 11 can individually access the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 mounted on the memory card reader / writer 12 and can write and read data.

  The volatile memory 17 is a memory in which data can be written and read, and is accessed from the microcomputer 11 as necessary. The volatile memory 17 is used as an area for recording temporary data because the stored data disappears when the supply of power is stopped.

  The acceleration sensor 16 can detect the magnitude of acceleration applied to the vehicle. Accordingly, the acceleration sensor 16 can be used to detect whether or not an abnormal situation has occurred, such as when a traffic accident occurs. A signal output from the acceleration sensor 16 is input to the microcomputer 11 via the interface 14. The interface 14 converts an input signal into a signal suitable for the processing of the microcomputer 11.

  The in-vehicle camera 31 is fixed on the vehicle, and is used, for example, to photograph a landscape in front of the traveling direction or a situation in the vehicle interior at all times or regularly. A video signal output from the in-vehicle camera 31 by photographing is converted into image data by the interface 13 and input to the microcomputer 11.

  The vehicle speed sensor 32 outputs an electrical signal called a vehicle speed pulse every time the transmission output shaft of the vehicle rotates a predetermined amount. The vehicle speed pulse output from the vehicle speed sensor 32 is input to the microcomputer 11 via the interface 15. By monitoring the generation state of the vehicle speed pulse, it is possible to grasp the moving speed (vehicle speed) and the moving amount of the vehicle.

  In the case of a realistic drive recorder, it may be possible to further increase the number of components connected to the vehicle-mounted device body 10 and collect various information. For example, it is conceivable to connect a plurality of in-vehicle cameras, take a picture of the scenery outside the vehicle with one camera, and take a picture of the interior of the vehicle interior with the other camera. It is also conceivable to connect a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver to acquire vehicle position information. Furthermore, it is also conceivable to acquire various vehicle information representing the driving situation, for example, information such as engine speed, brake on / off, and shift state of the transmission.

  By the way, for example, image data obtained by photographing with the in-vehicle camera 31 has a large capacity. Therefore, when a trigger is repeatedly generated, it is necessary to record a large amount of image data, and a large-capacity recording area is consumed to store this. In addition, although the amount of information per time acquired by the constant recording operation is relatively small, a large amount of information is recorded as time passes, and a large capacity recording area is consumed.

  On the other hand, a non-volatile memory card that can be used for storing recording data has a limited recordable capacity per sheet. Therefore, if the trigger occurs repeatedly or the recording operation is continued for a long time, there will be no free space on the memory card, and the subsequent recording operation will be impossible, or old important data may be deleted. There is sex.

  For example, in a taxi company or a transportation company, it is necessary to instruct each crew member who operates a business vehicle to know the actual driving situation and perform a safe operation. In order to grasp such a situation, information recorded by a drive recorder or the like can be used. However, in the case of a vehicle-mounted device such as a drive recorder mounted on a commercial vehicle, a large amount of information continues to be recorded on a daily basis, resulting in a situation where the capacity of a memory card for storing data is insufficient. Cheap.

  For example, when each crew member takes out a memory card from the vehicle-mounted device every day, the data can be transferred from the memory card to a management computer installed in the office of the company. it can. In this case, the data on the memory card can be erased and a new free area can be created on the memory card each time the daily work is completed. However, the memory card may run out of capacity before transferring data from the memory card to the management computer. When a capacity shortage occurs, valuable information cannot be newly recorded or the recorded valuable information is erased.

  Therefore, in the drive recorder 100 shown in FIG. 3, the memory card reader / writer 12 is provided with a plurality of card slots 12a and 12b so that two or more independent memory cards 21 and 22 can be simultaneously attached to the vehicle-mounted device main body 10. It is provided. The microcomputer 11 in the vehicle-mounted device main body 10 has a function for securing a necessary recording destination area by properly using a plurality of mounted independent memory cards 21 and 22.

  Next, a specific operation of the drive recorder 100 relating to data recording will be described. An outline of characteristic operations of the drive recorder 100 shown in FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. The operation shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the processing of the microcomputer 11. An example of allocation of storage areas on the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 is shown in FIG.

  In step S11, the microcomputer 11 reads the state of the memory card reader / writer 12 and identifies whether or not a plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 are mounted in the card slots 12a and 12b. If a plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 are loaded, the process proceeds to step S12. If only one memory card is installed, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S12, the microcomputer 11 assigns main recording media and sub recording media to the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 mounted on the memory card reader / writer 12, and further assigns priorities.

  That is, one of the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 is assigned as a main recording medium, and the other is assigned as a sub recording medium. Which of the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 is selected as the main recording medium may be identified by, for example, the position of the card slot 12a or 12b in which the memory card is installed, or the memory card 21 or 22 may be selected in advance. You may identify with the value of information, such as card ID currently written in. As for the priority assignment, for example, the priority of the main recording medium is increased and the priority of the sub recording medium is decreased.

  In step S13, the microcomputer 11 assigns the type of recordable information to each of the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 loaded.

  In the present embodiment, the microcomputer 11 manages the data to be recorded in two types of groups. One group corresponds to data that is irregularly recorded according to a trigger that is generated when an abnormally large acceleration is detected, and the other group corresponds to data that is regularly and regularly recorded at a certain time interval.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, both the area that can be allocated for the data of the trigger recording group and the area that can be allocated for the data of the recording group are secured for the main recording medium. For the sub-recording medium, only an area that can be allocated for the data of the recording group is always secured. In other words, the data of the regular recording group can be recorded on both the main recording medium and the sub recording medium, while the data of the trigger recording group is assigned so as to be recorded only on the sub recording medium.

  In step S14, the microcomputer 11 assigns the maximum recording capacity value or capacity ratio for each type of information to both the main recording medium and the sub recording medium.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, of the entire area (capacity is C1max) on the main recording medium, the maximum capacity of the area that can be allocated for the trigger recording group data is defined as Ca, The maximum capacity of the assignable area is defined as Cb. For the sub-recording medium, the entire area (capacity is C2max) is determined as the maximum capacity of the area that can be allocated for the data of the recording group at all times. The maximum capacity may be managed so that the ratio of Ca and Cb is constant.

  In step S15, the microcomputer 11 identifies whether or not a recording command to the recording medium has occurred. In other words, the recording command is generated when it becomes a state to save the data acquired with the occurrence of the trigger or when the data is to be saved at the regular timing of the continuous recording operation. Proceed to the next step S16.

  Regardless of the occurrence of the recording command, new data such as an image is always acquired and stored in a buffer such as the volatile memory 17, so that past data acquired before the occurrence of the trigger is also stored in the memory. It can be stored on the cards 21, 22.

  In step S16, the microcomputer 11 checks the state of the area on the main recording medium described above, and identifies whether or not there is a sufficient free area for storing the data to be recorded. For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 2, when a recording command is generated in response to the occurrence of a trigger, is the size of the free area in the maximum capacity Ca of the area that can be allocated for data of the trigger recording group sufficient? Identify whether or not.

  When only one memory card 21 is attached to the memory card reader / writer 12, the memory card 21 is regarded as a main recording medium, and no sub recording medium is present or the capacity is zero. What is necessary is just to process.

  In step S <b> 17, the microcomputer 11 assigns a recording destination area from among the free areas on the main recording medium for the recording target data for which the recording command has been issued.

  In step S18, the microcomputer 11 identifies whether the recording target data for which the recording command has been issued is information that can be recorded on the sub recording medium. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 2, since there is only an area that can be allocated for the data of the always recording group on the sub recording medium, the data of the always recording group can be recorded, and the data of the trigger recording group cannot be recorded. Identify.

  In step S19, the microcomputer 11 checks the state of the area on the sub-recording medium and identifies whether there is a free area sufficient to store the data to be recorded. For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 2, when a recording command occurs at the time of continuous recording, is the size of the free area within the maximum capacity C2max of the area that can be allocated for the data of the always recording group sufficient? Identify whether or not.

  In step S20, the microcomputer 11 assigns a recording destination area from among the empty areas on the sub recording medium for the recording target data for which the recording command has been issued.

  In step S21, the microcomputer 11 searches for the recording information of the oldest data in time on the main recording medium or the sub recording medium in order to secure a new area, and automatically deletes the corresponding data. Then, a new free area secured by the deletion is allocated as a recording destination area for the recording target data.

  In step S22, the microcomputer 11 writes the data to be recorded in the recording destination area allocated by the processes of S17, S20, and S21 on the main recording medium or the sub recording medium.

  As for the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22, it is actually assumed that they are used properly as follows, for example. That is, one memory card 22 assigned to the sub-recording medium is always mounted in the vehicle-mounted device main body 10, and the crew member removes the other memory card 21 assigned to the main recording medium from the vehicle-mounted device main body 10 after the daily crew is finished. Take it home. Then, the data recorded in the memory card 21 is transferred to the management computer in the office, and the transferred data is deleted from the memory card 21. Then, at the start of the next day's crew, the crew member mounts the memory card 21 on the vehicle-mounted device body 10 again and starts the crew. The memory card 22 allocated to the sub-recording medium is removed from the vehicle-mounted device body 10 when the company administrator feels necessary due to, for example, the occurrence of a traffic accident, and the data recorded in the memory card 22 is obtained. To do.

  In any case, since a plurality of independent memory cards 21 and 22 can be used at the same time, data exceeding the limit of the recording capacity of one memory card can be recorded and stored. In other words, it is possible to continuously record large amounts of data such as images and data that is regularly recorded over a long period of time, and in business applications that regularly record various information related to vehicle operation Less likely to run out of capacity.

  Further, when the free space is insufficient, old data is deleted and a new area is automatically secured, so that it is possible to avoid a situation in which newly acquired data cannot be recorded. Also, by assigning priorities to the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 and managing the recording destination by distinguishing the type of data to be recorded, the plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 can be properly used. That is, even when a plurality of memory cards 21 and 22 are used, it is possible to operate such that only one card is attached and detached by the crew at the start and end of daily work.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the two memory cards 21 and 22 are mounted on the vehicle-mounted device main body 10, but three or more recording media may be mounted. When three or more recording media are used at the same time, for example, one recording medium may be assigned as the main recording medium, and all the remaining recording media may be assigned as sub recording media.

  As described above, the vehicle information recording apparatus of the present invention can be applied to an apparatus that automatically acquires and stores information on a vehicle, such as a drive recorder or a digital tachograph mounted on a vehicle as an on-vehicle device. In particular, even in the case of a vehicle-mounted device mounted on a commercial vehicle, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a shortage of capacity and continue the recording operation for a long time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Onboard equipment 11 Microcomputer 12 Memory card reader / writer 12a, 2b Card slot 13, 14, 15 Interface 16 Acceleration sensor 17 Volatile memory 21, 22 Memory card 31 Car camera 32 Car speed sensor 100 Drive recorder

Claims (2)

An information recording apparatus for a vehicle that acquires predetermined information on a vehicle when a predetermined event occurs or periodically or continuously, and automatically records the acquired information on a predetermined recording medium. ,
A plurality of recording medium holding units capable of simultaneously holding two or more independent recording media in a removable state;
An information writing control unit for controlling writing of information to the plurality of recording media held in the plurality of recording medium holding units;
With
The information writing control unit
When said plurality of recording media is held in the plurality of recording medium holding unit, assigned as primary recording medium at least one of said plurality of recording media, assigned as a sub recording medium at least one of the other recording medium,
One of the main recording medium and the sub recording medium includes a first area that is a recording destination of the first information acquired when the predetermined event occurs and the second information acquired periodically or continuously. A second area serving as a recording destination of the second information, and securing only a second area serving as a recording destination of the second information on the other of the main recording medium and the sub recording medium,
When recording the first information, the first area is selected as a recording destination, and when there is no empty area in the first area, the information recorded in the first area is the most. Delete old information to free up space,
When recording the second information, the second area of the main recording medium is selected as a recording destination, and when there is no empty area in the second area of the main recording medium, the sub recording medium When the second area of the sub recording medium is selected as a recording destination and there is no empty area in the second area of the sub recording medium, the data is recorded in the second area of the main recording medium or the sub recording medium. Delete the oldest information to secure free space.
An information recording apparatus for a vehicle. The information writing control unit determines in advance the maximum recording capacity of the first area and the second area, or the ratio between the recording capacity of the first area and the recording capacity of the second area . The vehicle information recording device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle information recording device is automatically limited according to a value.

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