JP7466880B2 - Devices, in-vehicle equipment and systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to devices, in-vehicle equipment, systems, etc.

Devices for supplying power to in-vehicle devices have been known for some time (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 describes a bracket that includes a solar cell and supplies electricity generated by the solar cell to the in-vehicle device. The bracket described in Patent Document 1 is fixed to the top of the dashboard. Moreover, in order for the solar cell to generate power, it needs to be placed in a position where it is exposed to direct sunlight.

JP 2012-66744 A

As mentioned above, the bracket in Patent Document 1 is fixed onto the dashboard. Therefore, if the bracket is configured to include a storage battery, the storage battery will be fixed in a position exposed to direct sunlight. However, since the temperature range in which the storage battery can be charged and discharged is limited, if the temperature rises due to exposure to direct sunlight, the upper limit of the temperature at which the storage battery can be charged and discharged may be exceeded, and the storage battery may no longer be able to supply power to in-vehicle devices.

This application was proposed in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a device etc. that can effectively supply power to in-vehicle devices.

(1) The device of the present invention is a device that is interposed between a vehicle and an on-board equipment and supplies power to the on-board equipment, but is separate from the on-board equipment. The device is equipped with a battery and a charge/discharge control unit that is a control unit that controls charging of the battery and supply of power to the on-board equipment. When power is being supplied from the vehicle, the charge/discharge control unit supplies power to the on-board equipment using the vehicle as a power source and charges the battery. When the power supply from the vehicle is cut off, the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source to the on-board equipment from the vehicle to the battery and continues supplying power to the on-board equipment for a predetermined period of time.

In this way, even if the power supply from the vehicle is cut off, the power supply to the in-vehicle device can be continued. Examples of cases where the power supply from the vehicle is cut off include when the vehicle drive source is stopped, when the power supply from the vehicle battery, which stops charging when the vehicle drive source is stopped, when the vehicle is stopped, when it is parked, and when there is no one in the vehicle. Even in such cases, the in-vehicle device can continue to operate by the power supply from this device. In particular, in the case of the configuration (7) described below, in which the in-vehicle device operates while power is being supplied and stops operating when the power supply is stopped, the in-vehicle device stops operating in response to the device stopping the power supply after a predetermined period has elapsed, so the in-vehicle device can be operated for the desired time. In addition, for example, in the case of a configuration in which the in-vehicle device operates by power supply from the vehicle battery while the vehicle drive source is stopped, there is a risk that the vehicle battery will run out, but by interposing this device between the vehicle and the in-vehicle device, it is possible to make it difficult for the vehicle battery to run out even if the in-vehicle device is operated. This can prevent situations where a dead battery causes the engine starter motor to not rotate, making it impossible to start the engine and drive the vehicle.

Furthermore, because it is a separate entity, the device can be installed in a position different from the position of the in-vehicle equipment, and when using configuration (2) described below, it is particularly advantageous because it can suppress temperature rise. The battery may be, for example, a lithium ion battery or a lithium ion polymer battery, but a lithium hydride rechargeable battery is particularly advantageous because it has a wide temperature range in which it can be charged and discharged. The in-vehicle equipment may be, for example, a laser detector or a security device, but it is preferable for it to be one that generates a large amount of internal heat. An example of one that generates a large amount of internal heat may be an image processing device such as a drive recorder. Because the device is separate from the in-vehicle equipment, it is possible to reduce the effects of heat.

The in-vehicle device is preferably installed in a location that receives heat from the outside, and the present device is preferably installed in a location that is not easily affected by the heat from the outside. The outside may be, for example, direct sunlight or the engine. The in-vehicle device may be installed in a location that receives direct sunlight, and the present device may be installed in a location that blocks direct sunlight. In particular, the in-vehicle device may be installed near the glass between the outside and inside of the vehicle, and the present device may be configured not to be installed near the glass. Note that the in-vehicle device may not only be a device that is installed in the vehicle in advance as an integral part of the vehicle, but may also be a device that is separate from the vehicle and installed in the vehicle later.

(2) The in-vehicle device is a drive recorder that records images outside the vehicle, and is preferably sized and shaped to be installed in a location that blocks direct sunlight other than the engine compartment of the vehicle.

A drive recorder is installed near glass, such as the windshield, to record the outside of the vehicle through the glass. However, the area near glass is also a place that is exposed to direct sunlight and is prone to temperature rise. Therefore, by installing the drive recorder in a place that blocks direct sunlight, the battery temperature can be made less likely to rise. In addition, by installing the device in a place other than the engine compartment where the vehicle drive source is housed, the device can be made less susceptible to the effects of heat from the vehicle drive source. By making it difficult for the battery temperature to rise, it is possible to prevent charging and discharging from becoming impossible due to a rise in temperature, and it is possible to make it difficult for power supply to be impossible to occur to the in-vehicle equipment. The in-vehicle equipment can continue to operate even after the power supply from the vehicle is cut off.

(3) The vehicle-mounted device does not have a battery or has a battery smaller than the battery and is installed in a location where there are size and weight restrictions, and it is preferable that the vehicle-mounted device be configured to be installed in a location where there are fewer size and weight restrictions than the vehicle-mounted device.

In this way, the device can be made larger and heavier, allowing for a larger battery capacity. The vehicle-mounted device can continue to operate for a long time even after the power supply from the vehicle is cut off. The vehicle-mounted device should be installed in a location where there are size restrictions for installation, such as the windshield, where the installation range is specified by law. The vehicle-mounted device should also be installed in a location where it may fall due to its weight, or on a surface that is not parallel to the vehicle floor, such as the windshield or on the dashboard.

(4) It is advisable to design the size and shape of the device so that it can be installed in a position that does not take up too much space in the vehicle.

This is advantageous because it will not hit people or get in the way while they are in the car, when they are driving, or when they are getting in and out of the vehicle. The inventors have found that the location for providing the configurations (2), (3), and (4) is, for example, in the trunk or under the dashboard, and in particular under the seat.

(5) The device may include a communication means for communicating with the in-vehicle device, and a control unit. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit may be configured to output a switching signal (hereinafter referred to as a battery switching signal) via the communication means, indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery.

In this way, the in-vehicle device can know that the power supply source has been switched to the battery. This is particularly effective when combined with the configuration (11) in which power saving is achieved when the power supply source is switched to the battery, since the amount of power supplied is reduced, making it possible to extend the life of the battery. Note that the charge/discharge control unit and the control unit may be realized by a single control means, or each may be realized by a separate control means.

(6) The device may include a communication means for communicating with the in-vehicle device, and a control unit. When power supply from the vehicle is resumed, the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the battery to the vehicle. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the battery to the vehicle during a period when the power source for the in-vehicle device is the battery, the control unit may output a signal indicating that the power source has been switched to the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle switching signal) via the communication means.

In this way, the in-vehicle device can know that the power source has been switched back to the vehicle. In particular, when combined with the configuration of (11) in which the image capture conditions are switched depending on the power source, it is particularly advantageous because the image capture conditions can be switched in response to the power source being switched back to the vehicle. Note that when the configurations of (5) and (6) are provided, each communication means and each control means may be realized so as to share one communication means and one control means, or may be realized by separate communication means and control means.

(7) It is preferable that the in-vehicle device is configured to receive power from the device, operate while power is being supplied, and stop when power supply is stopped.

In this way, the in-vehicle device can continue to operate by receiving power from the device even if the power supply from the vehicle is cut off.

(8) The in-vehicle device should be configured to include a first continuous recording function that records when the vehicle is supplying power, a first event recording function that records when a specified event occurs when the vehicle is supplying power, a second continuous recording function that records when the battery is supplying power, a second event recording function that records when a specified event occurs when the battery is supplying power, a first setting function that sets the first continuous function, a second setting function that sets the second continuous function, and a third setting function that commonly sets the first event recording setting and the second event recording setting.

When users have to make settings, they may feel cumbersome and have difficulty understanding them. By making the settings a third setting function that commonly configures the first constant function setting, the second constant function setting, the first event recording setting, and the second event recording setting, it is possible to reduce the cumbersomeness felt by the user and make it easier to understand. The in-vehicle device can operate with the optimal settings depending on the conditions to which it is applied.

It should be noted that configurations other than (8) are also possible. For example, a configuration including a setting function for setting the first continuous function, a setting function for setting the first event function, and a setting function for commonly setting the second continuous recording setting and the second event recording setting may be used.

(9) The in-vehicle device may include a wireless communication function and a creation means for creating communication data of one communication unit having multiple frames based on the image captured by the image capture means and transmitted by the wireless communication function, and may be configured such that at least one of the multiple frames included in the communication data of one communication unit includes a reference frame that is a frame that can be played independently.

In this way, if only the reference frame of the communication data of one communication unit can be received, the video of the period of one communication unit included in the communication data of the communication unit can be played back alone. The video may be, for example, image information in which still image information is arranged in chronological order, such as 30 frames per second. One communication unit may be, for example, a block divided based on time, number of frames, data capacity, etc. The communication data of one communication unit may be, for example, data divided by a certain time, data up to a certain number of frames, or data exceeding a certain data capacity. The data length of the communication data of one communication unit may be variable or fixed. The communication data of one communication unit may have a variable number of frames, but it is preferable to use a fixed number of frames. The number of frames of the communication data of one communication unit may be, for example, multiple, and the reference frame of the multiple frames may be multiple, but it is particularly preferable to use one. However, for example, when there are multiple reference frames in the communication data of one communication unit, as long as one of the multiple reference frames can be received, there is no problem that no image is displayed during the period of one communication unit. For example, it is preferable to configure a playback device that includes a receiving means for receiving the communication data of one communication unit transmitted by the in-vehicle device, and a playback means for displaying an image on a display means based on the communication data of the received communication unit. With such a playback device, it is possible to play back an image based on the communication data of one communication unit transmitted by the in-vehicle device. The user can view the played back image.

(9-1) The in-vehicle device may be configured to repeat the creation of the communication data of one communication unit by the creation means and the transmission of the created communication data of one communication unit by the wireless communication function. In this way, when the image capturing means continues to capture images, it is possible to transmit continuous images. The creation of the communication data of one communication unit and the transmission of the communication data by the wireless communication function may be performed as separate processes. For example, ten pieces of communication data of one communication unit may be created, and after the ten pieces of communication data of the communication units are created, the ten pieces of communication data of the communication units may be transmitted ten times for each communication unit. However, it is preferable to configure the device to transmit the created communication data of one communication unit after creating the communication data of one communication unit. Also, it is preferable to create one communication unit according to the same standard for each repetition unit. The standard may be a fixed quantity for each repetition unit, for example, based on the above-mentioned time, number of frames, data capacity, etc. If the communication data of one communication unit cannot be transmitted, the communication data of the one communication unit may be retransmitted in its entirety. However, it is preferable to do as in the following (9-3).

(9-2) The in-vehicle device may be configured to store the frames that could not be transmitted among the communication data of one communication unit, and transmit the frames that could not be transmitted. In this way, even if there is a frame that could not be transmitted, the frame that could not be transmitted can be transmitted later. For example, an identifier such as a serial number may be assigned to the frame before transmission, and if the frame cannot be transmitted, the identifier of the frame that could not be transmitted may be recorded to identify the frame that could not be transmitted. Also, an identifier such as a serial number may be assigned to the communication data of one communication unit, and if the frame cannot be transmitted, the identifier of the communication data that could not be transmitted and the number of the frame that could not be transmitted may be recorded to identify the frame that could not be transmitted. Also, the identifier may be, for example, a date or a time. Of the multiple frames included in the communication data of one communication unit, the frame next to a certain frame may be used as difference data from the previous reference frame. However, it is preferable to do as follows (9-3).

(9-3) The in-vehicle device may be configured such that, among the multiple frames included in the communication data of one communication unit, the next frame of a certain frame is a differential frame that is differential data with respect to the frame one frame before. For example, if a certain frame is a reference frame, the next frame of the certain frame is a differential frame with respect to the reference frame. For example, if a certain frame is a differential frame, the next frame of the certain frame is a differential frame with respect to the frame created by that differential frame. In this way, the amount of communication data can be reduced more than when all frames are reference frames. In addition, the next frame of the differential frame may also be a differential frame. In particular, since the frames included in the communication data of one communication unit have a reference frame as a certain frame, it is possible to play back the video for the period of that one communication unit alone and reduce the amount of data. In the case where the in-vehicle device is a drive recorder that shoots outside the vehicle while driving, the entire frame changes more than, for example, a fixed camera that shoots a place with little change in the background, so it is better to use the next frame of a certain frame as differential data with the frame one frame before, rather than as differential data with the previous reference frame. Additionally, it is advisable for the reference frame to be at the beginning of the communication data for one communication unit.

(9-4) The in-vehicle device is an in-vehicle device equipped with an image capturing means and a sound collecting means, and is equipped with a wireless communication function and a creating means for creating communication data of one communication unit having multiple frames, which transmits the image captured by the image capturing means and the sound collected by the sound collecting means via the wireless communication function, and the communication data of one communication unit is preferably configured to be arranged in the following order from the beginning: a reference frame that can be played back independently, sound data, and a difference frame that indicates the difference from the previous frame.

In this way, even if communication is interrupted in the middle of transmission of communication data of one communication unit, the destination can at least view a still image based on the reference frame. If audio data can be received, the audio can be listened to. If a difference frame can be received, the video based on the difference frame can be viewed. The order of reception at the destination is still image, audio, and video. For example, if the communication data is a photograph of an accident situation, the still image can be viewed first as an outline of the accident. Then, the audio can be known about the accident situation. Then, the video can be known about the details of the accident. Even if communication is interrupted in the middle of audio data, the destination can at least view an outline of the accident. The playback device may further include an audio playback function and may be configured to play back audio that has been received from communication data of one communication unit. With such a playback device, audio based on communication data of one communication unit transmitted by an in-vehicle device can be played back. The user can listen to the played back audio.

(10) The in-vehicle device is an in-vehicle device equipped with an image capture means, and is equipped with a switching function for switching the write destination of data based on images captured by the image capture means between a plurality of recording media, and a wireless communication function for transmitting the data based on the images. If the data based on the images cannot be transmitted by the wireless communication function, the in-vehicle device is preferably configured to read the data based on the images that could not be transmitted from the recording medium storing the data based on the images that could not be transmitted during a period when the storage medium is not a write destination, and transmit the data based on the images that could not be transmitted by the wireless communication function.

In this way, even if the wireless communication means fails to transmit the image, the image that has failed to be transmitted can be read from one of the recording media that is not the write destination and transmitted. It may be difficult to simultaneously write and read data to the recording media. For example, when writing image-based data to the recording media for recording, the period during which the image-based data captured by the image capture means is stored in the storage medium may overlap with the period during which the image-based data stored in the storage medium is read for transmission. By switching the write destination between multiple storage media and creating a period during which the storage medium storing the image-based data is not the write destination, the image-based data can be easily read. There may be three or more storage media, but two storage media is particularly good. In addition, the image-based data for recording and the image-based data for transmission may be different data, and the data amount of the image-based data to be transmitted may be smaller than the data amount of the image-based data for recording. When constantly writing to the recording media for recording, the image-based data for recording may be written by switching between the two recording media alternately. Data based on the video to be transmitted may be written constantly by alternating between the two recording media, but data based on the video that was successfully transmitted does not have to be written to a recording medium. The recording medium to which data based on the video that could not be transmitted is written may be written to the recording medium to which data based on the video for recording is currently written. Data based on the video that could not be transmitted by the wireless communication function may be written in units of one communication, or in units of frames. For example, an identifier such as a serial number may be assigned to the frame before transmission, and if transmission is not possible, the identifier of the frame that could not be transmitted and the recording medium to which it should be written may be recorded to identify the storage medium storing the frame that could not be transmitted. Also, a portion of the storage area of the recording medium may be set aside in advance as an area to store data based on the video that could not be transmitted, and the data based on the video stored in that area of the storage medium that is not the write destination may be read.

(10-1) The in-vehicle device is an in-vehicle device equipped with an image capturing means, and is equipped with a wireless communication function for transmitting data based on the image, and the communication speed when transmitting the data based on the image captured by the image capturing means using the wireless communication function is preferably set to a speed at which the data based on the image can be transmitted in a shorter time than the time required to capture the data based on the image.

In this way, the in-vehicle device can transmit all the stored video-based data at once. The video-based data is captured for a certain period of time, and the video-based data for that period is stored and can be transmitted in a shorter time than the time required for capturing the video. For example, if one communication unit's worth of video-based data is stored and transmitted, the data can be transmitted in a shorter time than the time required to capture one communication unit. The remaining time can be used to transmit the video-based data that could not be transmitted. The data can be transmitted in a shorter time than the actual time of the video. There is free time before the start of capturing the next communication unit. The video-based data that could not be transmitted can be read from the storage medium in which it is recorded, and time can be secured for transmission by the wireless communication function. In particular, the configuration of (10-2) is particularly effective. Also, in the case of a configuration in which transmission is performed during the period when the power supply source is a battery as in (14), (
If the configuration is not as in 10-1), and the communication speed is slow, it takes a very long time to transmit the data based on the video that could not be transmitted after the power source becomes a battery. In the configuration of (10-1), the data based on the video that could not be transmitted is transmitted before the power source becomes a battery, so that the transmission time during the period when the power source is a battery can be shortened or eliminated.

(10-2) The in-vehicle device is an in-vehicle device equipped with an image capture means, and is equipped with a switching function for switching the write destination of data based on video captured by the image capture means between multiple recording media, a wireless communication function for transmitting the video-based data, and a real-time transmission function for writing the video-based data to a storage medium and transmitting the video-based data in real time via the wireless communication function, and is preferably configured such that, if the video-based data cannot be transmitted via the real-time transmission function, the video-based data that could not be transmitted is read from the recording medium storing the video-based data that could not be transmitted during a period when the storage medium is not a write destination, and the video-based data is transmitted via the wireless communication function.

In this way, when video-based data cannot be transmitted by the real-time transmission function, the video-based data that could not be transmitted can be read out and transmitted during a period when the storage medium storing the video-based data that could not be transmitted is not a write destination, almost simultaneously with the real-time transmission. In particular, it is preferable to constantly write video-based data for recording. As different data from the video-based data for recording and the video-based data for transmission, it is preferable to set the amount of data of the video-based data for recording to a larger amount than the amount of data of the video-based data for transmission, for example, high-quality data.

(11) A system including the present device and an in-vehicle device, the device includes a communication means for communicating with the in-vehicle device, and a control unit. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit outputs a switching signal (hereinafter referred to as a battery switching signal) indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery by the communication means. The in-vehicle device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on an imaging condition, includes an equipment communication means for communicating with the device, applies a first condition as an imaging condition during a first period when the power source is the vehicle, and applies a second condition, which is more power-efficient than the first condition, as an imaging condition during a second period when the power source is the battery. When the switching signal (battery switching signal) is received, the imaging condition is switched from the first condition to the second condition, and imaging is continued.

In this way, the amount of power supplied by the battery is reduced, so the battery can last longer. Here, the shooting conditions are not the conditions for starting shooting, but the conditions when shooting. The shooting conditions may include, for example, the frame rate and the resolution, and the conditions for saving power may be to lower the frame rate or the resolution. When the configurations (5), (6), and (11) are provided, each communication means and each control means may be realized by sharing one communication means and one control means, or may be realized by separate communication means and control means. The present device may be any of the devices (1) to (6), and the in-vehicle device may be the in-vehicle device described in (7). The same applies to (13) to (15) described later.

(12) A system including the present device and an in-vehicle device, wherein the device includes a communication means for communicating with the in-vehicle device, and a control unit, wherein the control unit outputs, via the communication means, a signal indicating the remaining battery charge, and, when the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the vehicle to the battery, a switching signal (battery switching signal) indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery, wherein the in-vehicle device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on shooting conditions including a shooting time and a frame rate, and includes device communication means for communicating with the device, an imaging means, a storage medium for storing images captured by the imaging means, and a user interface for accepting settings of the shooting conditions, and wherein, upon receiving the signal indicating the remaining battery charge and the switching signal (battery switching signal), the other of the shooting time and the frame rate is determined based on the remaining battery charge, the remaining capacity of the recording medium, and either the received shooting time or the frame rate.

In this way, the in-vehicle device can prioritize either the shooting time or the frame rate and determine the other of the shooting time and the frame rate. The user can operate the in-vehicle device by setting the desired shooting time or frame rate. Note that when the configurations (5), (6), and (12) are provided, each communication means and each control means may be realized by sharing one communication means and one control means, or may be realized by separate communication means and control means.

(13) A system including the present device and an on-board device, the device includes a communication means for communicating with the on-board device, and a control unit. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the on-board device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit outputs a switching signal (battery switching signal) indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery by the communication means. The on-board device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on the capture conditions, and includes a positioning means for determining the position of the vehicle, a device communication means for communicating with the device, and a storage means for storing the capture conditions set by the user in association with the position. When the switching signal (battery switching signal) is received, if the current position is within a specified area of the positions stored in the storage means, the capture conditions associated with the position are determined to be the current capture conditions.

In this way, if the current position is within a predetermined radius of a previously set position, the in-vehicle device can set the current shooting conditions stored in the storage means as the current shooting conditions. The user can operate the in-vehicle device without the trouble of repeatedly setting the shooting conditions. Even if the current position does not match the position stored in the storage means, the in-vehicle device can set the shooting conditions associated with the position as the current shooting conditions as long as it is within a predetermined area of the stored position. Therefore, the same shooting conditions can be applied even when the user freely parks in a parking lot with a predetermined site. The predetermined area can be, for example, any shape centered on the latitude and longitude that specify the position, particularly a circle with a predetermined radius. In addition, when the configurations (5), (6), and (11) are provided, each communication means and each control means may be realized so that one communication means and one control means are shared, or each may be realized by a different communication means and control means.

(14) A system including the present device and an on-board device, the device includes a communication means for communicating with the on-board device, and a control unit. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the on-board device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit outputs a switching signal (battery switching signal) indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery by the communication means. The on-board device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on shooting conditions during a first period when the power source is the vehicle, and includes device communication means for communicating with the device, shooting means, recording means for recording images captured by the shooting means, and transmission means for transmitting the images via a network. When the switching signal (battery switching signal) is received, the control unit transmits images that could not be transmitted during the first period during the period when the power source is the battery.

In this way, even if the record cannot be transmitted during the first period, the record can be transmitted reliably. The transmission destination may be, for example, a database that can be viewed by the manager who manages the vehicle. The network may be, for example, a network for mobile terminals. The first period often corresponds to a period during which the vehicle is traveling, and during which communication is interrupted and transmission is not possible due to, for example, switching of base stations or traveling in an area with a slow communication speed. The second period often corresponds to a parking period, during which the vehicle does not move much, and therefore the traveling record can be transmitted reliably. In addition, when the configurations (5), (6), and (14) are provided, each communication means and each control means may be realized by sharing one communication means and one control means, or may be realized by separate communication means and control means.

(15) A system including the present device and an in-vehicle device, the device includes a communication means for communicating with the in-vehicle device, and a control unit. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit outputs a switching signal (battery switching signal) indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery by the communication means. The in-vehicle device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on shooting conditions during a first period when the power source is the vehicle, and includes a shooting means, a recording means for recording images captured by the shooting means, and a transmission means for transmitting the images via a network. During the first period, the image is transmitted at a lower bit rate, and when the switching signal (battery switching signal) is received, images are transmitted at a higher bit rate than during the first period if the communication speed is faster than a reference value.

In this way, in the first period, the amount of data per unit time can be reduced, and the time of the image relative to the transmission time can be increased. A method for lowering the bit rate can be, for example, lowering the image quality. A network can be a network for mobile terminals, a wireless LAN, or the like. A case in which the power supply source is switched to a battery can be, for example, when the vehicle is parked. If the parking lot can use a high-speed wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), it is expected that the driving image can be transmitted in a short time without reducing the amount of data per unit time of the driving image, and therefore, for example, a driving image with good image quality can be transmitted. Note that when the configurations (5), (6), and (15) are provided, each communication means and each control means may be realized by sharing one communication means and one control means, or may be realized by separate communication means and control means.

(16) A system including the present device and an on-board device, the device includes a communication means for communicating with the on-board device, and a control unit, and when the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the on-board device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit outputs a switching signal indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery by the communication means, and the on-board device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on the capture conditions during a first period in which the power source is the vehicle, and includes an image capture means, a wireless communication function, and a creation means for creating communication data of one communication unit having multiple frames and transmitted by the wireless communication function based on the video captured by the image capture means, and it is preferable that at least one of the multiple frames included in the communication data of one communication unit includes a reference frame that is a frame that can be played independently.

In this way, if the reference frame of the communication data for one communication unit can be received, the video can be played on its own.

(17) A system including the present device and an in-vehicle device, the device includes a communication means for communicating with the in-vehicle device, and a control unit. When the charge/discharge control unit switches the power source for the in-vehicle device from the vehicle to the battery, the control unit outputs a switching signal indicating that the power source has been switched to the battery by the communication means. The in-vehicle device is a drive recorder that captures images of the outside of the vehicle based on the capture conditions during a first period in which the power source is the vehicle, and includes a capture means, a switching function for switching the write destination of data based on images captured by the capture means between multiple recording media, and a wireless communication function for transmitting the data based on the images. When the data based on the images cannot be transmitted by the wireless communication function, the data based on the images that could not be transmitted is read from the recording medium storing the data based on the images that could not be transmitted during the period in which the storage medium is not a write destination, and is transmitted by the wireless communication function.

In this way, even if the wireless communication means fails to transmit video, the video that failed to be transmitted can be read from any recording medium that is not the storage destination and transmitted.

It is preferable to arbitrarily select and combine (1) to (17), and it is particularly preferable to combine (2) to (17) with (1). It is also preferable to arbitrarily select and combine elements (1) to (17).

The device according to the present application can effectively supply power to in-vehicle equipment.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a monitored battery. FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the correspondence between the outputs of the ACC power supply and the monitored battery. FIG. 1/4 shows screen transitions during surveillance recording. FIG. 2 is a diagram (2/4) showing screen transitions during surveillance recording. FIG. 3 is a diagram (3/4) showing screen transitions during surveillance recording. FIG. 4/4 shows screen transitions during surveillance recording. FIG. 1/6 shows screen transitions during settings. FIG. 2 is a diagram (2/6) showing screen transitions during settings. FIG. 3/6 shows screen transitions during settings. FIG. 4/6 shows screen transitions during settings. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating "OFF" and "ON" of "overwrite" in the settings. FIG. 5/6 shows screen transitions during settings. FIG. 6/6 shows screen transitions during settings. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating area registration in settings. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining transfer and writing to an SD card in parking monitoring (Method 1). FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining transfer and writing to an SD card in parking monitoring (Method 2). FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining transfer and writing to an SD card in parking monitoring (Method 3). FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of the drive recorder relating to the transfer of recorded data during continuous recording. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of communication data. 13 is a flowchart showing the contents of a communication process. 11 is a diagram illustrating the transfer of recorded data during continuous recording when a period of communication unavailable occurs. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining settings for recording to an SD card and data transfer. FIG. 11 is a front view of a monitoring battery according to a first modified example shown together with an input cord and an output cord. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the settings of dip switches of a monitored battery according to the first modification. 13 is a diagram illustrating an LED of a monitored battery according to Modification 1. FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a monitoring battery according to a second modified example. FIG. 11 is a plan view of a monitored battery according to a second modified example, shown together with an input cord and an output cord. FIG. 11 is a plan view of a monitored battery according to a second modified example. 11 is a diagram illustrating setting of a detection voltage of a monitored battery according to Modification 2. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the setting of an off timer of a monitored battery according to a second modification. FIG.

<Overall composition>
The overall configuration of a system 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The system 1 is installed in a vehicle. The system 1 is a system that is retrofitted to a vehicle, and is composed of a monitoring battery 3, a drive recorder 4, a power cable 11, a cable 12, and the like. When the monitoring battery 3 is supplied with power from an ACC power source (FIG. 2), the monitoring battery 3 supplies power to the drive recorder 4 using the ACC power source as a power source and charges the built-in internal battery 34 (FIG. 2). When the power supply from the ACC power source is cut off, the monitoring battery 3 switches the power source to the drive recorder 4 from the vehicle to the internal battery 34, and continues to supply power to the drive recorder 4. The monitoring battery 3 includes an input connector 3a and an input/output connector 3b. The drive recorder 4 includes an input/output connector 4a and a display 41. The power cable 11 includes a cigarette plug at one end and an output terminal 11a at the other end. The cable 12 includes a first terminal 12a at one end and a second terminal 12b at the other end. A cigarette plug provided on the power cable 11 is connected to a cigarette lighter socket of the vehicle, and an output terminal 11a of the power cable 11 is connected to an input connector 3a of the monitored battery 3. This allows the monitored battery 3 to receive power from the ACC power source. In addition, an input/output connector 3b of the monitored battery 3 is connected to a first terminal 12a of the cable 12, and a second terminal 12b of the cable 12 is connected to an input/output connector 4a of the drive recorder 4. This allows the monitored battery 3 to supply power to the drive recorder 4 and to communicate serially with the drive recorder 4.

<Configuration of monitoring battery>
Next, the electrical configuration of the monitoring battery 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The monitoring battery 3 includes a charge/discharge control unit 31, a DC-DC converter 32, a CPU 33, an internal battery 34, an indicator 35, and a DIP switch DIPSW 36. The charge/discharge control unit 31 controls charging the internal battery 34 and supplying power to the drive recorder 4. The internal battery 34 is a secondary battery, specifically realized by a nickel-hydrogen rechargeable battery. The DC-DC converter 32 converts a voltage of 12V or 24V supplied from the ACC power source via the charge/discharge control unit 31 to a voltage of 5V and outputs it. The CPU 33 controls the charge/discharge control unit 31 and the indicator 35. The CPU 33 also communicates with the drive recorder 4 connected via the cable 12. The indicator 35 includes a lamp that notifies the user that the battery is in operation, a lamp that displays the remaining battery level of the internal battery 34, and the like. The lamp is realized by an LED. The DIP switch DIPSW 36 includes three switches. In the following description and drawings, the internal battery 34 may be referred to as a built-in battery.

The charge/discharge control unit 31 receives power from the internal battery 34. While power is being supplied from the ACC power source, the charge/discharge control unit 31 controls the power supply path so that power is supplied from the ACC power source to the internal battery 34 and the DC-DC converter 32. As a result, the internal battery 34 is charged, and the DC-DC converter 32 supplies voltage-converted power to the drive recorder 4. The charge/discharge control unit 31 determines whether the ACC power source is ON/OFF and switches between charging and discharging the internal battery 34. When the charge/discharge control unit 31 determines that the ACC power source is ON, it controls so that power is supplied from the ACC power source to the internal battery 34 and the DC-DC converter 32. When the charge/discharge control unit 31 determines that the ACC power source is OFF, it controls so that the internal battery 34 is discharged and power is supplied from the internal battery 34 to the DC-DC converter 32.

Next, the operation of the monitoring battery 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The monitoring battery 3 outputs power to the drive recorder 4 using the ACC power source while the ACC power source is ON.
When the power supply is cut off, power is output to the drive recorder 4 using the internal battery 34 for a specified time after the cutoff. When the specified time has elapsed, the power output is turned off. When the supply of ACC power is resumed, power is output to the drive recorder 4 again using the ACC power. This allows the drive recorder 4 to continue operating for a specified time after the ACC power was cut off. The specified time is set by serial communication from the drive recorder 4. When the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal (described later) from the monitoring battery 3, it transmits a signal commanding the specified time. The CPU 33 sets the set value of the specified time contained in the received signal commanding the specified time as the specified time.

When a drive recorder without a communication function is connected to the monitoring battery 3, the CPU 33 sets the time set by the DIP switch DIPSW36 as the specified time. When the drive recorder 4 with a communication function is turned on, it transmits a signal inquiring about the remaining charge of the internal battery 34. If the CPU 33 does not receive a signal inquiring about the remaining charge of the internal battery 34, it determines that the drive recorder is not connected. When the CPU 33 determines that the drive recorder is not connected, it refers to the setting of the DIP switch DIPSW36. The DIP switch DIPSW36 can hold a total of eight set values related to the specified time in binary by combining the ON/OFF of three switches. The set values of the specified time are specifically 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 16 hours, 32 hours, and 64 hours. When a user connects a drive recorder without a communication function, the user refers to the manual attached to the monitoring battery 3 and turns each switch ON or OFF to correspond to the desired time.

When the supply of the ACC power is cut off, the monitoring battery 3 switches the power supply source to the internal battery 34 and supplies power to the drive recorder 4. Since the drive recorder 4 continues to be powered before and after the switch, the drive recorder 4 cannot determine whether the power supply source is the ACC power supply or the internal battery 34. For this reason, when the CPU 33 switches the power supply source to the internal battery 34, it transmits a battery switching signal to the drive recorder 4. If the ACC power supply is turned ON after the specified time has elapsed and the monitoring battery 3 has turned OFF its output, the drive recorder 4 resumes the power supply that was stopped, so it can be determined that the ACC power supply is ON. On the other hand, if the ACC power supply is turned ON within the specified time, the drive recorder 4 continues to be powered, so it cannot determine whether the power supply source is the ACC power supply or the internal battery 34. For this reason, if the ACC power supply is turned ON within the specified time, the CPU 33 transmits a vehicle switching signal to notify that the power supply source has been switched to the ACC power supply. This allows the drive recorder 4 to recognize that the ACC power supply has been turned on and the power supply source has been switched to the ACC power supply. As described below, the drive recorder 4 switches the operating mode in response to the input of the battery switching signal and the vehicle switching signal. In addition, the monitoring battery 3 transmits a signal indicating the remaining battery charge of the internal battery 34 every 1 second. This allows the drive recorder 4 to know the remaining battery charge of the internal battery 34.

Next, the shape of the monitoring battery 3 will be described. The monitoring battery 3 includes a mechanism case. The mechanism case is made of heat-resistant resin and is fixed to the vehicle with a tie wrap or double-sided tape. The mechanism case has a size of about an elementary school lunch box and is installed under the front seat of the vehicle with the widest surface facing down. Since the monitoring battery 3 is installed under the seat where direct sunlight is blocked, the temperature of the monitoring battery 3 can be made to be difficult to increase. Since the temperature of the monitoring battery 3 is difficult to increase, the charging and discharging of the internal battery 34 due to the temperature increase is difficult to be restricted. As a result, the power supply from the monitoring battery 3 is unlikely to be stopped, and the operation of the drive recorder 4 is unlikely to be stopped. In addition, since the monitoring battery 3 is configured to be installed under the seat, the size of the internal battery 34 can be made large enough to fit under the seat. This allows the capacity of the internal battery 34 to be increased. For example, if the monitoring battery is configured to be installed on the windshield like the drive recorder 4, there is a risk that it will fall if it is heavy, but if it is installed under the seat, there is no risk of it falling. Furthermore, since the monitoring battery 3 is installed under the seat, it does not take up space in the vehicle interior and is not likely to get in the way when people are driving or getting in and out of the vehicle.

The drive recorder 4 is attached to the windshield and is located away from the monitoring battery 3, which is installed under the seat. The length of the power cable 11 is about 4 m, so the user can connect the monitoring battery 3 and the drive recorder 4, which are located away from each other.

<Drive recorder configuration>
Next, the drive recorder 4 will be described. The drive recorder 4 is attached to the inside of the vehicle's windshield and has a recording function of capturing images of the front of the vehicle through the windshield and recording the images on an SD card. The drive recorder 4 also has a communication function of communicating with the monitoring battery 3 in addition to the recording function of a general drive recorder. The drive recorder 4 is provided with a display 41 (FIG. 1). The drive recorder 4 also has a control unit, a GPS sensor, a G sensor, a camera, a microphone, an OBD connection cable, an SD card interface, an operation button, an indicator lamp, a speaker, and the like, which are not shown. The display 41 is a liquid crystal display that is capable of full color display and has a backlight, and displays images according to the control of the control unit. The GPS sensor measures the position of the drive recorder 4 and outputs the vehicle position, which is position information, to the control unit. The G sensor measures acceleration and outputs the measured acceleration to the control unit. The camera captures images and outputs the captured image data to the control unit. The microphone collects sound and outputs the collected sound data to the control unit. The OBD connection cable is a cable that can be connected to an OBD-II connector mounted on the vehicle. The control unit acquires vehicle information, which is a self-diagnosis performed by an ECU mounted on the vehicle, via the OBD connection cable. The SD card interface has an SD card insertion port, and when an SD card is inserted into the SD card insertion port, it notifies the user that the SD card has been inserted. In addition, the SD card interface reads information recorded on the SD card and outputs the information to the control unit according to the control of the control unit. In addition, the SD card interface writes information such as image data output from the control unit to the SD card.

There are multiple operation buttons, which are physical buttons provided on the mechanism case of the drive recorder 4. When the operation button is pressed by the user, for example, it outputs information indicating that it has been pressed to the control unit. The operation buttons are composed of a "Cursor (up)/REC" button, an "OK" button, a "Cursor (down)/One-touch recording" button, an "SD card format" button, a "MENU/MUTEonoff" button, a "Mode switching" button, and a "Power" button. In the following, the "Cursor (up)/REC" button, the "Cursor (down)/One-touch recording" button, the "SD card format" button, and the "MENU/MUTEonoff" button may be referred to as the "Cursor (up)" or "REC" button, or the "up" button, the "Cursor (down)" button, or the "down" button, the "SD" button, and the "MENU" button, respectively. Furthermore, "button" may be referred to as "key". The indicator lamp is realized by an LED, and turns on and off according to the control of the control unit. The indicator lamps consist of a power lamp that lights up when the power is on and a recording lamp that lights up during recording. The speaker emits sound according to the control of the control unit.

The control unit includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a non-volatile storage unit, and the like. The CPU controls each unit by executing various programs stored in the ROM. Here, the various units are the display 41, the GPS sensor, the G sensor, the camera, the SD card interface, the operation buttons, the indicator lamp, and the speaker. The ROM stores programs and data necessary for program execution. The RAM is used as a main storage device for the CPU to execute various processes. The RAM temporarily stores captured image data. The ROM also stores two codecs for image data. These are a program for encoding image data to be transmitted via the Internet, and a program for encoding image data to be stored in the SD card. Details of the codecs and the like will be described later. The non-volatile storage unit stores, for example, setting values set by the user. The CPU communicates with the monitoring battery 3 connected via a cable 12.

The drive recorder 4 further includes a LAN interface that can connect to a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) (not shown) that complies with the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard, and a mobile communication interface 52 (FIG. 19) that can connect to a network for mobile terminals that complies with LTE (Long term Evolution) and 4G (Generation). This allows the drive recorder 4 to connect to the Internet by wireless LAN via a router that can connect to Wi-Fi. It can also connect to the Internet via a base station. The LAN interface is preferably a wireless LAN communication device, and the mobile communication interface is preferably a communication device such as LTE or 4G. In addition, in areas where both wireless LAN connection and connection to a base station are possible, it has a function of prioritizing connection to wireless LAN.

The drive recorder 4 is equipped with a control unit, which processes image data and therefore generates a large amount of heat. For this reason, if the monitoring battery 3 is located near the drive recorder 4, it is susceptible to the effects of heat. As described above, in the system 1, the drive recorder 4 is installed on the windshield, and the monitoring battery 3 is installed under the seat. This makes it possible to make the monitoring battery 3 less susceptible to the effects of heat from the drive recorder 4. Because the temperature of the monitoring battery 3 is less likely to rise, the internal battery 34 is less likely to be restricted in charging and discharging due to temperature rise. This makes it less likely that power supply from the monitoring battery 3 will be stopped, and therefore makes it less likely that the drive recorder 4 will stop operating.

Here, the effect of adopting the configuration of system 1 compared to the conventional configuration will be described. For example, there is a drive recorder equipped with a battery such as a lithium ion polymer battery (LiPo). A drive recorder of this configuration can operate for, for example, about 20 to 30 minutes after the ACC power is turned off. However, drive recorders are usually installed to record the outside of the vehicle through the windshield, and since they need to be installed in a place exposed to sunlight, they are exposed to high temperatures in midsummer and the like, and the lithium ion polymer battery may not be able to be charged. For example, in summer, it is difficult to charge during the day, and it is often possible to charge it just before night. In addition, since the drive recorder is attached to the windshield, there are limitations on its size and weight. There is also a separate type drive recorder in which the camera unit equipped with the camera is separate from the main body equipped with the CPU and battery. In this case, the heat of the CPU and the like is trapped inside the case of the main body, and the temperature of the battery in the same case as the main body may become higher than the temperature of a place of the vehicle that is not exposed to the sun. In this regard, in the system 1, the drive recorder 4 is separate from the monitoring battery 3, so it can be less susceptible to the effects of heat generated by the CPU of the drive recorder 4. In addition, because the monitoring battery 3 is installed under the seat, it can be less susceptible to the effects of temperature increases caused by exposure to sunlight.

In addition, the internal battery 34 is a nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery, and since the upper limit temperature at which the battery can be charged is about 70°C, which is higher than the charging temperature of a lithium-ion polymer battery, which has a charging temperature of about 0 to 45°C, it is possible to prevent the battery from becoming unable to be charged even in the summer. The monitoring battery 3 can supply power for about 10 hours after the ACC power supply is turned off, depending on the operating conditions such as the environment. It is also possible to directly connect the drive recorder to the vehicle battery provided in the vehicle. However, in this configuration, it is necessary to leave a remaining capacity in the vehicle battery to turn the starter motor of the vehicle, and it is necessary to know the remaining capacity, but there is a problem that it is difficult to know the remaining capacity accurately. As a method for knowing the remaining capacity of the vehicle battery, there is a method of drawing out a current and measuring the voltage at this time. As the remaining capacity of the vehicle battery decreases, the voltage decreases, so for example, when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the remaining capacity of the vehicle battery is low. However, the current consumption of the drive recorder is, for example, less than 1 A, which is small compared to the current consumption when turning a starter motor, for example, several to several tens of A, and the amount of voltage drop is also small, making it difficult to accurately grasp the remaining charge of the vehicle battery. In this regard, in the system 1, when the ACC power supply is turned off, the monitoring battery 3 uses the internal battery 34 to supply power to the drive recorder 4, so it is possible to prevent the vehicle battery from running down.

<Continuous recording mode, surveillance recording mode, event recording>
Next, the recording function of the drive recorder 4 will be described. The drive recorder 4 operates according to an operation mode. The operation modes include a continuous monitoring mode and a monitoring recording mode. The drive recorder 4 records in the continuous recording mode and the monitoring recording mode. In addition, in the continuous recording mode and the monitoring recording mode, the drive recorder 4 records an event according to a predetermined trigger. There are two predetermined triggers: a case where the control unit determines that an event has occurred based on information from the G sensor, and a case where the user presses the "cursor (down)" button. In detail, the control unit determines that an event has occurred when the acceleration measured by the G sensor exceeds a threshold value. This allows the drive recorder 4 to perform event recording when the vehicle is subjected to an impact due to, for example, an accident. A case where the "cursor (down)" button is pressed is, for example, a case where a user who senses danger presses the "cursor (down)" button. The drive recorder 4 records in detail about 10 to 30 seconds before and after the event that has occurred as an event recording. Recording in the continuous recording mode and the surveillance recording mode performed by the drive recorder 4 are referred to as continuous recording and surveillance recording, respectively. Event recording that is started when the control unit determines that an event has occurred based on information from the G sensor is sometimes referred to as G-sensor event recording or G-sensor event recording. Event recording that is started when the control unit determines that an event has occurred based on information from the G sensor is sometimes referred to as one-touch recording or one-touch event recording.

When the drive recorder 4 is powered on and continuous recording is possible, it operates in continuous recording mode and starts continuous recording. In continuous recording mode, when a battery switching signal is received from the monitoring battery 3, the control unit determines whether to switch to surveillance recording mode or to turn off the power of the drive recorder 4 based on the settings. After switching to surveillance recording mode, if surveillance recording is possible, the drive recorder 4 starts surveillance recording. In addition, when a vehicle switching signal is received from the monitoring battery 3 and continuous recording is possible, the drive recorder 4 switches from surveillance recording mode to continuous recording mode and starts continuous recording.

When the monitoring battery 3 receives power from the ACC power source, the vehicle is often running the engine and is traveling. When the monitoring battery 3 is cut off from the ACC power source, the vehicle is often stopped with the engine turned off and is parked. When the drive recorder 4 operates in the continuous recording mode, the monitoring battery 3 receives power from the ACC power source. When the drive recorder 4 operates in the surveillance recording mode, the monitoring battery 3 does not receive power from the ACC power source. The drive recorder 4 switches the operating mode depending on whether the monitoring battery 3 receives power from the ACC power source, thereby changing the operating mode between when the vehicle is traveling and when it is parked. Note that in the following explanation and figures, the engine may be described as ON/OFF instead of ON/OFF of the ACC power source.

The drive recorder 4 records according to recording conditions corresponding to continuous recording, surveillance recording, and event recording. Here, the recording conditions are settings related to the image data to be stored, and in detail consist of setting items such as "number of recording frames," "resolution," and "recording time." The number of recording frames in event recording is high at about 30 fps, and the "resolution" is high at about 1080 p HD. This allows the details of the accident to be recorded. Note that in the following explanations and figures, "number of recording frames" may be referred to as "frame rate."

<Surveillance recording mode>
Next, the surveillance recording mode will be described. As described above, when the control unit receives a battery switching signal from the monitoring battery 3 in the continuous recording mode, the control unit judges whether to switch to the surveillance recording mode or to turn off the power supply of the drive recorder 4 based on the setting. The setting here refers to the setting related to the surveillance recording mode. The setting items related to the surveillance recording mode include "recording mode", "my area", "my cancellation area", etc. The drive recorder 4 provides multiple options for each of "recording mode", "my area", and "my cancellation area". The user is configured to be able to set one of the options in advance on a setting screen to be described later. The "setting" will be explained after the explanation of the surveillance recording mode.

There are three options for the "recording mode": "automatic", "manual" and "off". When the "recording mode" is "automatic", the drive recorder 4 automatically performs surveillance recording when the ACC power supply is turned off. Here, "automatic" means that the drive recorder 4 operates without depending on input, such as whether or not the user has operated the operation button. Also, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal from the monitoring battery 3, it determines that the ACC power supply is turned off. This applies to the following explanations. When the "recording mode" is "manual", when the ACC power supply is turned off, a POPUP display is performed on the display 41 to confirm with the user whether or not surveillance recording is to be performed. When the "recording mode" is "off", surveillance recording is not performed. Since it can be set to "manual", the user can set the recording conditions by himself/herself based on the vehicle's position, the remaining capacity of the internal battery 34 (hereinafter referred to as the battery remaining capacity), and the remaining capacity of the SD card (hereinafter referred to as the SD card remaining capacity), etc. As described below, the settings for "My Area" and "My Cancellation Area" take priority over the settings for "Recording Mode." In the following explanations and figures, "Recording Mode" may be referred to as "Surveillance Recording Settings."

"My Area" is an area where surveillance recording is performed automatically even if the "Recording Mode" is set to "Manual". "My Cancellation Area" is an area where surveillance recording is not performed automatically even if the "Recording Mode" is set to "Auto". "My Area" and "My Cancellation Area" can be registered in advance in "Settings". For example, if a user registers a parking lot at home that does not have security in "My Area", surveillance recording can be performed automatically when the user parks in the parking lot at home. Also, if a user registers a parking lot at work that has security in "My Cancellation Area", surveillance recording can be prevented in the parking lot at work. In the following explanations and figures, "My Area" and "My Cancellation Area" may be written as "Monitoring My Area" and "Monitoring My Cancellation Area", respectively.

The control unit determines to transition to the surveillance recording mode in the following cases: The first is when the "surveillance recording setting" is "automatic" and the vehicle position is outside the "surveillance my area" and "surveillance my cancellation area". The second is when the "surveillance recording setting" is "manual" and the vehicle position is within the "surveillance my area". The third is when the "surveillance recording setting" is "automatic", the vehicle position is within the "surveillance my cancellation area", and the "REC" button is pressed within 30 seconds after the display of the screen Sa1 (FIG. 4). The fourth is when the "surveillance recording setting" is "manual", the vehicle position is outside the "surveillance my area", and the "REC" button is pressed within 30 seconds after the display of the screen Sa2 (FIG. 4).

When the "Monitoring Recording Setting" is set to "Manual", the drive recorder 4 displays the screen Sa2 and prompts the user to press the "REC" button, except when the vehicle position is within the "Monitoring My Area", and starts surveillance recording when the "REC" button is pressed. When the "Monitoring Recording Setting" is set to "Auto", the drive recorder 4 starts surveillance recording without waiting for the user's operation, except when the vehicle position is within the "Monitoring My Cancellation Area". The user can have the drive recorder 4 automatically start surveillance recording when the vehicle is parked in a parking position by registering the parking position in "Monitoring My Area" before parking. The user can have the drive recorder 4 automatically cancel the start of surveillance recording when the vehicle is parked in a parking position by registering a parking position that does not require surveillance recording in "Monitoring My Cancellation Area" before parking.

The control unit determines to turn off the power of the drive recorder 4 in the following cases. The first is when "Surveillance Recording Setting" is "Automatic", the vehicle position is within the "Monitoring My Cancel Area", and 30 seconds have passed since screen Sa1 (Figure 4) was displayed without the "REC" button being pressed. The second is when "Surveillance Recording Setting" is "Manual", the vehicle position is outside the "Monitoring My Area", and 30 seconds have passed since screen Sa2 (Figure 4) was displayed without the "REC" button being pressed.

Next, the operation of the drive recorder 4 after receiving a battery switching signal in continuous recording mode will be explained using the display screen displayed on the display 41 with reference to Figures 4 to 7. "Monitoring recording" in Figure 4 indicates the state after receiving a battery switching signal in continuous recording mode.

The control unit displays screen Sa1 when "surveillance recording setting" is "automatic" and the vehicle position is within "my cancellation area". Screen Sa1 displays the message "<Inside monitoring my cancellation area> Cursor (up)/REC button: Surveillance recording started, power off in XX seconds" in white text on a red background. If the "REC" button is pressed before 30 seconds have passed, the system transitions to surveillance recording mode. Also, if "surveillance recording setting" is "manual" and the vehicle position is within "surveillance my area", the system transitions to surveillance recording mode. Also, if "surveillance recording setting" is "automatic" and the vehicle position is outside "surveillance my area" and "surveillance my cancellation area", the system transitions to surveillance recording mode. If "surveillance recording setting" is "manual" and the vehicle position is outside "surveillance my cancellation area" and "surveillance my area", the system transitions to surveillance recording mode. If "surveillance recording setting" is "manual" and the vehicle position is outside "surveillance my cancellation area" and "surveillance my area", the system transitions to surveillance recording mode. Screen Sa2 displays the message "Cursor (up)/REC button: Surveillance recording started, power off in XX seconds" in white text on a red background. If the user presses the "REC" button within 30 seconds, the device will switch to surveillance recording mode. If "surveillance recording setting" is "OFF," the device will display screen Sa3, the ending screen, and then turn the power off. If the "REC" button is not pressed within 30 seconds after screens Sa1 and Sa2 are displayed, a no-operation timeout occurs, and screen Sa3 will be displayed and the power will be turned off.

If the GPS sensor is unable to obtain location information, the system will switch to surveillance recording mode if the "REC" button is pressed within 30 seconds of displaying screen Sa2, just as it would if the "Surveillance Recording Setting" was set to "Manual" and the area was outside of the "My Surveillance Area" area.

Next, the control unit judges whether the remaining capacity of the SD card is sufficient for the "setting" of the recording conditions of the surveillance recording mode. If the control unit judges that the remaining capacity of the SD card is sufficient, it starts surveillance recording. The recording conditions of the surveillance recording mode include setting items such as "recording time," "resolution," and "number of recording frames." The control unit records image data on the SD card. Therefore, if the remaining capacity of the SD card is not sufficient, it may not be possible to record according to the setting. Therefore, before performing surveillance recording, the control unit judges whether the remaining capacity of the SD card is sufficient for the setting based on the setting of the recording conditions and the remaining capacity of the SD card. In detail, the amount of data per second is calculated by multiplying the amount of data corresponding to the "resolution" by the "number of recording frames." The calculated amount of data per second is multiplied by the "recording time," and if the total amount of data is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of the SD card, it is judged that recording can be performed according to the setting. The table of "resolution" versus "amount of data" is recorded in advance in the ROM. The control unit refers to the table, reads out the amount of data corresponding to the relevant "resolution," and calculates it. "SD card: OK" in FIG. 5 indicates a case where the control unit determines that the SD card has sufficient remaining capacity. "SD card: NG" indicates a case where the control unit determines that the SD card does not have sufficient remaining capacity.

The control unit also determines whether the remaining battery charge is sufficient for the "setting" of the recording conditions in the surveillance recording mode. In the recording surveillance mode, the drive recorder 4 operates using power supplied from the internal battery 34 of the surveillance battery 3 as a power source. For this reason, if the remaining battery charge is insufficient, it may not be possible to record as set. Therefore, the control unit determines whether the remaining battery charge is sufficient for the "recording time". The surveillance battery 3 transmits a signal indicating the remaining battery charge of the internal battery 34 to the drive recorder 4. The signal indicating the remaining battery charge of the internal battery 34 is a signal indicating numerical information indicating the remaining battery charge as a percentage and information on the model of the internal battery 34. Here, the model of the internal battery 34 is, for example, a battery capacity such as 500 mAh or 10,000 mAh. The control unit calculates the remaining capacity of the internal battery 34 by multiplying the model of the internal battery 34 by the numerical value indicating the remaining battery charge as a percentage. The calculated remaining capacity of the internal battery 34 is divided by its own consumption current stored in the ROM in advance to calculate the "usable time". If the "usable time" is equal to or greater than the recording time, it is determined that the battery remaining power is sufficient. "External battery remaining power: OK" in FIG. 5 indicates a case where the control unit determines that the battery remaining power is sufficient. "External battery remaining power: NG" indicates a case where the control unit determines that the battery remaining power is not sufficient.

In addition, when recording to the SD card, it is also possible to overwrite data already stored. The drive recorder 4 is configured to allow the user to set whether or not to overwrite in the "settings". In detail, the setting item "surveillance recording overwrite" is configured to allow the user to select either "ON" or "OFF". The SD card is also divided into four folders in advance: "continuous recording", "continuous event recording", "surveillance recording", and "event recording during monitoring". In addition to "surveillance recording overwrite", there are setting items such as "event recording overwrite" for overwriting, and the setting can be made in the same way as "surveillance recording overwrite". Incidentally, "continuous event recording" refers to event recording in the continuous recording mode. Similarly, "event recording during monitoring" refers to event recording in the surveillance recording mode. In the following explanations and figures, "surveillance recording overwrite" may be written as "previous recording overwrite". "Previous recording overwrite: ON" in FIG. 5 indicates the case where "surveillance recording overwrite" is set to "ON". "Overwrite previous recording: OFF" indicates that "Overwrite surveillance recording" is set to "OFF."

When the control unit judges that the remaining capacity of the SD card and the remaining capacity of the battery are sufficient and "surveillance recording overwrite" is set to "ON" (shown in FIG. 5 as "SD card remaining capacity: OK", "external battery remaining capacity: OK", and "previous recording overwrite: ON"), the control unit judges that surveillance recording can be performed according to the "settings", and displays screen Sa4. Screen Sa4 displays the message "Surveillance recording will start, surveillance recording time: xxx minutes, external battery remaining capacity:". Also, to the right of "external battery remaining capacity:", an icon that displays the remaining battery capacity is displayed. The icon that displays the remaining battery capacity is an icon that displays the remaining capacity in stages on the outline of the battery. The control unit displays the calculated "usable time" to the right of "surveillance recording time:". Also, the icon is displayed based on the percentage of the remaining battery capacity transmitted from the surveillance battery 3. Next, after 3 minutes have passed, screen Sa8 is displayed.

Also, if the control unit determines that the SD card has sufficient remaining power, but not enough remaining battery power, and "surveillance recording overwrite" is set to "ON" (as shown in FIG. 5 as "SD card remaining power: OK", "external battery remaining power: NG", and "previous recording overwrite: ON"), the control unit determines that the battery is low and cannot perform surveillance recording for the set "recording time", and displays screen Sa5. Screen Sa5 displays the message "Surveillance recording will start, external battery remaining power is low, surveillance may end midway, external battery remaining power:". Also, an icon indicating the remaining power is displayed to the right of "external battery remaining power:". Next, if the remaining battery power drops to a level where the drive recorder 4 cannot operate before the set "recording time" has elapsed, the screen transitions to screen Sa3.

Furthermore, if the control unit determines that there is not enough space left on the SD card and "surveillance recording overwrite" is set to "OFF" (shown in FIG. 5 as "SD card remaining space: NG" and "previous recording overwrite: OFF"), the control unit displays screen Sa6 to prompt the user to change the "settings", for example by changing "previous recording overwrite" to ON. Screen Sa6 displays the message "There is no free space in the surveillance recording folder, MENU button: change settings, SD button: erase surveillance recording, power off in XX seconds". If the user presses the "MENU" button within 30 seconds of screen Sa6 starting to be displayed, screen Sa14 (FIG. 8) is displayed. Screen Sa14 is a settings screen that accepts "settings". As described below, if the "MENU" button is pressed while a setting screen (screens Sa14 to Sa17) is displayed, the "settings" may have been changed, so the system returns to the "surveillance recording mode" shown in FIG. 5, and the control unit again determines whether the remaining capacity of the SD card and the battery are sufficient. On the other hand, if the "SD" button and the "MENU" button are not pressed within 30 seconds from the start of the display of screen Sa6, a no-operation timeout occurs, the system transitions to screen Sa3, and the power is turned off.

If the "SD" button is pressed after displaying screen Sa6, the control unit displays screen Sa12 because the user has instructed to erase the data on the SD card. Screen Sa12 displays the message "Erasing the surveillance recording folder, MENU button: Cancel, surveillance recording will start after erasing in XX seconds." Next, if the "MENU" button is not pressed within a predetermined time after displaying screen Sa12, it is determined that the user has accepted the erasure of the data on the SD card, and after clearing the surveillance recording folder, screen Sa5 is displayed. On the other hand, if the "MENU" button is pressed within a predetermined time after displaying screen Sa12, it is determined that the user has canceled the erasure of the data on the SD card, and screen Sa6 is displayed without clearing the surveillance recording folder. In this way, when the remaining capacity of the SD card is low, the user can erase the parking recording data with a simple operation of one button. Here, the parking recording data is the recording data stored during parking recording.

The recorded data stored in the folders assigned to "Surveillance Recording" and "Event Recording During Monitoring" is unnecessary if there are no abnormalities with the vehicle, so the user can erase the data by pressing the easy erase button. Here, the easy erase button refers to the "SD" button that is pressed while screen Sa6 is displayed.

Screens Sa8 and Sa10 are display screens when surveillance recording is in progress. Screens Sa7 and Sa9 are display screens when event recording is in progress. Screens Sa8 and Sa7 are in the screen-off state, and screens Sa10 and Sa9 are in the screen-on state. The screen-off state is a state in which the backlight is not turned on, and the screen-on state is a state in which the backlight is turned on. Screens Sa8 and Sa7 are in the screen-off state, but in order to notify the user that recording is in progress, the control unit turns on the recording lamp in a lighting pattern different from that of continuous recording. Screens Sa10 and Sa9 display the video being captured by the camera in real time, and also display an icon depicting a camera and an icon depicting a red circle in the upper left corner of the screen to clearly indicate that recording is in progress. In addition, the elapsed time since the start of recording and the resolution are displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. In addition, the time is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen.

When the control unit determines that an event has occurred in the state of surveillance recording with screen Sa8 displayed, it transitions to screen Sa7 and switches to event recording. Also, when the control unit detects the end of the event in the state of surveillance recording with screen Sa7 displayed, it transitions to screen Sa8 and switches to surveillance recording. Similarly, when the control unit determines that an event has occurred in the state of surveillance recording with screen Sa10 displayed, it transitions to screen Sa9 and switches to event recording. Also, when the control unit detects the end of the event in the state of surveillance recording with screen Sa9 displayed, it transitions to screen Sa10 and switches to surveillance recording. Note that the control unit determines that the event has ended when 30 seconds have passed since it determined that an event has occurred. Also, screens Sa8 and Sa10 are alternately switched each time the "MODE" button is pressed. Also, 10 seconds have passed since the start of displaying screen Sa10, and it switches to screen Sa8. By using screens Sa7 and Sa8 as the display screens, power consumption can be reduced compared to screens Sa9 and Sa10, and the internal battery 34 can last longer. It is also possible to take pictures secretly.

If the "surveillance recording time" expires during surveillance recording while screen Sa8 is displayed, if the remaining battery power of the internal battery 34 (external battery) becomes low ("LOBATT"), or if the cable 12 (power cord) is unplugged, the screen will transition to screen Sa3. Similarly, if the "surveillance recording time" expires during surveillance recording while screen Sa10 is displayed, if the remaining battery power of the internal battery 34 (external battery) becomes low ("LOBATT"), or if the cable 12 (power cord) is unplugged, the screen will transition to screen Sa3.

When the "REC" button is pressed during surveillance recording while screen Sa10 is displayed, the screen transitions to screen Sa11 and surveillance recording stops. Next, one minute after screen Sa11 starts to be displayed, the screen transitions to screen Sa3. Also, when screen Sa4 is displayed, if it is determined that an event has occurred, the screen transitions to screen Sa9 and event recording begins.

Among the recording conditions in the event recording mode, the "number of recording frames" is preset and is 30 fps. As explained above, event recording is performed when the end of an event is detected, but if "Event recording overwrite" is set to "OFF" in the recording conditions for "Event recording mode" in "Settings" and there is no remaining space on the SD card allocated for event recording, event recording will not be performed. Also, the control unit will not perform event recording for three minutes after the start of surveillance recording. This makes it possible to determine that an event has occurred when a user gets on or off the car or the door is opened or closed to load or unload luggage, and to prevent event recording from being performed.

<Surveillance recording settings in surveillance recording mode>
Next, the setting screen to which the screen transitions when the "MENU" button is pressed while the screen Sa6 is displayed will be described with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. The screens Sa14 to Sa17 are all setting screens for setting the surveillance recording. As shown in the screen Sa14, the control unit displays "Surveillance Recording Setting" at the top right of the screen, and displays the message "MENU, SD Free: XXX minutes" at the bottom of the screen. To the right of "MENU", an icon depicting a back arrow is displayed. This notifies the user that pressing the "MENU" button will return to the previous display screen. The control unit also displays the calculated "Available Time" to the right of "SD Free:". In the center of the screen, the setting items in the surveillance recording mode, "Recording Time", "Recording Resolution", "Number of Recording Frames", and "Overwrite Previous Recording", are displayed in a list. The number of items that can be displayed on the screen is four, and items that are not displayed are scrolled when the "Up" key or the "Down" key is pressed. Also, in order to distinguish the currently selected item from other items, it is displayed with a different background color (hereinafter referred to as "selection display"). In detail, for example, both are displayed in white characters, the background color of the selected item is blue, and the background color of the other items is black. Note that in Figures 8 and 9, the currently selected item is shown shaded for the sake of explanation.

As described above, when the "MENU" button is pressed while screen Sa6 is displayed, screen Sa14 is displayed. Each time the "down" key is pressed, the screen transitions in the order of screen Sa15, screen Sa16, screen Sa16, screen Sa17, and back to screen Sa15. Similarly, each time the "up" key is pressed, the screen transitions in the order of screen Sa17, screen Sa16, screen Sa15, screen Sa14, and back to screen Sa17.

When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sa14 is displayed, screen Sa18 is displayed. In screen Sa18, "Recording Time", the item being set, is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, and "1/5" is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen to indicate the page number of the "Recording Time" display screen. As with screen Sa14, the number of displayed items is four, and each group of four is displayed as one page. As will be described later, there are a total of 17 options for "Recording Time", and the total number of pages is five. When the "Down" key is pressed, the next page is displayed. When the "Up" key is pressed, the previous page is displayed. Note that illustrations of the second and subsequent pages are omitted. The options for "Recording Time" are 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes (1 hour), 90 minutes (1.5 hours), 120 minutes (2 hours), 180 minutes (3 hours), 240 minutes (4 hours), 300 minutes (5 hours), 360 minutes (6 hours), 420 minutes (7 hours), 480 minutes (8 hours), 540 minutes (9 hours), 600 minutes (10 hours), 660 minutes (11 hours), and 720 minutes (12 hours). On the "Recording Time" display screen, if there is an option currently set, a check mark will be displayed to the left of the currently set option.

In addition, options that cannot be recorded and are longer than the "available time" calculated based on the remaining capacity of the SD card are displayed in red (not shown). For example, if the "available time" is 60 minutes, options that are 90 minutes or more are displayed in red. This allows the user to avoid setting options that cannot be recorded. When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sa18 is displayed, the non-volatile memory is updated with the selected option as the setting value for "recording time" and the screen transitions to screen Sa14. In addition, when the "MENU" key is pressed while screen Sa18 is displayed, the setting value for "recording time" stored in the non-volatile memory is not updated and the screen transitions to screen Sa14.

When the "down" key is pressed while the screen Sa14 is displayed, the screen Sa15 is displayed. In the screen Sa15, the "recording resolution" is "selected and displayed". When the "OK" key is pressed while the screen Sa15 is displayed, the screen Sa19 is displayed. In the screen Sa19, the item "recording resolution" being set is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, and "1/1" is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, indicating the page number of the display screen of "recording resolution". There are four options for "recording time", and one page for "recording resolution". In detail, the options are 1080p HD (1920 x 1080), 1080p (1440 x 1080), 720p (1280 x 720), and VGA (640 x 480). As with the "recording time", if there is an option currently set, a check mark is displayed at the left end of the currently set option. When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sa19 is displayed, the non-volatile storage unit is updated with the selected option as the setting value of "recording resolution" and the screen transitions to screen Sa15. When the "MENU" key is pressed while screen Sa18 is displayed, the setting value of "recording resolution" stored in the non-volatile storage unit is not updated and the screen transitions to screen Sa15.

When the "Down" key is pressed while screen Sa15 is displayed, screen Sa16 is displayed. On screen Sa16, "Number of Recorded Frames" is "selected and displayed". When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sa16 is displayed, screen Sa20 is displayed. On screen Sa20, "Number of Recorded Frames", which is the item being set, is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, and "1/2" is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, indicating the page number of the display screen for "Number of Recorded Frames". Although the second page is not shown, there are two pages of "Number of Recorded Frames". In addition, there are five options for "Number of Recorded Frames". In detail, they are 1 fps, 5 fps, 10 fps, 15 fps, and 30 fps. As with "Recording Time", if there is an option currently set, a check mark is displayed to the left of the currently set option. When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sa20 is displayed, the non-volatile memory is updated with the selected option as the setting value for "Number of frames to record" and screen Sa16 is displayed. Also, when the "MENU" key is pressed while screen Sa20 is displayed, screen Sa16 is displayed without updating the setting value for "Number of frames to record" stored in the non-volatile memory.

As with "Recording Time," options that cannot be recorded are displayed in red (not shown). The remaining capacity of the SD card is divided by the "Recording Time" setting, and then divided by the amount of data corresponding to "Resolution" to calculate the number of frames that can be recorded. Any fps value greater than the calculated number of frames that can be recorded is displayed in red. For example, if the number of frames that can be recorded is 10 fps, options of 15 fps or more are displayed in red. This allows the user to avoid setting options that cannot be recorded. The table of "resolution" versus "amount of data" is pre-recorded in ROM.

When the "Down key" button is pressed while screen Sa16 is displayed, screen Sa17 is displayed. On screen Sa17, "surveillance recording overwrite" is "selected and displayed". When the "OK key" is pressed while screen Sa17 is displayed, screen Sa21 is displayed. On screen Sa21, "surveillance recording overwrite", which is the item being set, is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. There are two options for "surveillance recording overwrite", "ON" and "OFF". As with "recording time", if there is an option currently set, a check mark is displayed on the currently set option. When the "OK key" is pressed while screen Sa21 is displayed, the non-volatile memory is updated with the selected option as the setting value for "surveillance recording overwrite", and screen Sa17 is displayed. Also, when the "MENU key" is pressed while screen Sa21 is displayed, screen Sa17 is displayed without updating the setting value for "surveillance recording overwrite" stored in the non-volatile memory.

When the "MENU key" is pressed while screens Sa14 to Sa17 are displayed, the display transitions to "surveillance recording mode" (Figure 5). In addition, if the remaining battery charge of the monitoring battery 3 becomes low while screens Sa14 to Sa17 are displayed, or if the power cable 11, which is the power cord, is unplugged, the display transitions to screen Sa3.

As described above, if a user who wishes to perform surveillance recording finds that the remaining capacity of the SD card is low and recording is not possible with the previously set values, the user can immediately display screens Sa14 to Sa17 and change the set values to options that match the remaining capacity of the SD card. In addition, the drive recorder 4 displays options for "recording time" and "number of recording frames" that cannot be recorded in red. This allows the user to set whichever of the "recording time" and "number of recording frames" they want to prioritize, and then set the other of the "recording time" and "number of recording frames" to an option that allows recording.

<Surveillance recording settings>
The above describes the setting screen for the surveillance recording mode, which is displayed when the remaining capacity of the SD card is insufficient in the surveillance recording mode. In addition to this, the drive recorder 4 is configured to accept more detailed settings for the surveillance recording mode in the continuous surveillance mode. Next, a description will be given with reference to Figs. 10 and 11.

First, the continuous recording mode and event recording will be described. As described above, when the drive recorder 4 is turned on and continuous recording is possible, the drive recorder 4 starts continuous recording in the continuous recording mode. In detail, when the drive recorder 4 is turned on, it displays an opening screen and then displays "Preparing to record, please wait a moment" on the screen. Here, the control unit judges whether continuous recording is possible if the "continuous recording overwrite" setting is "ON" or if there is free space in the folder of the SD card assigned to continuous recording. If it is judged that continuous recording is possible, it starts continuous recording. On the other hand, if it is judged that continuous recording is not possible, it switches to a camera image through display screen. The camera image through display screen is a screen that displays images captured by the camera in real time. Note that, if event recording is performed during surveillance recording before the power is turned on, after displaying the opening screen, it transitions to a screen that displays the message "An event was recorded during surveillance recording" on the screen. This allows the user to know that an event occurred during surveillance recording. If the "OK" button is pressed while the message "An event was recorded during surveillance recording" is being displayed, or if 60 seconds have passed without any operation since the display began, the screen will transition to the above-mentioned "Preparing to record, please wait." screen.

As described above, the drive recorder 4 switches from continuous recording to event recording in response to a specified trigger. If the G-sensor detects an impact during continuous recording, the screen transitions to the G-sensor event recording screen, and if the "cursor (down)" button is pressed, the screen transitions to the one-touch recording screen. When event recording ends, the screen transitions to the continuous recording screen. The G-sensor event recording and one-touch recording screens display different icons to notify the user which screen they are on: the G-sensor event recording screen or the one-touch recording screen.

When the "MENU" key is pressed while the camera video through display screen is displayed, a menu screen is displayed. A menu screen is a screen that displays a list of setting items that the user can set. As with screen Sa14, the menu screen displays four items, which are divided into groups of four and each group is displayed as one page. In addition to the above, the control unit also displays the camera video through display screen after the "REC" button is pressed during continuous recording and continuous recording has stopped. Furthermore, if an event recording trigger is detected while the camera video through display screen is displayed, the control unit starts event recording, and transitions to the camera video through display screen again when the event recording ends.

The screen Sb1 shown in FIG. 10 is the third page of the menu screen. As shown in the screen Sb1, the control unit displays "Recording Settings" in the upper right corner of the screen and displays "MENU" at the bottom of the screen. To the right of "MENU", an icon depicting a back arrow is displayed. The page number is displayed at the bottom right of the screen. There are 14 items for recording settings. In detail, they are "Resolution", "Number of Recording Frames", "Audio Recording", "Event Beep Sound", "Continuous Recording Overwrite", "One-Touch Recording Overwrite", "G-Sensor Recording Overwrite", "Auto Screen Off", "G-Sensor Setting", "G-Sensor Sensitivity", "Monitoring Recording Setting", "Monitoring My Area", "Monitoring My Cancel Area", and "My Area Cancel". Incidentally, "Resolution" and "Number of Recording Frames" are recording conditions applied to continuous recording. Also, "One-Touch Recording Overwrite", "G-Sensor Recording Overwrite", "G-Sensor Setting", and "G-Sensor Sensitivity" are settings that are commonly applied to event recording in the continuous recording mode and event recording in the monitoring recording mode. This eliminates the need for the user to go to the trouble of separately setting up event recording in the continuous recording mode and event recording in the surveillance recording mode, reducing the inconvenience felt by the user and making it easier for the user to understand.

Screens Sb11 to Sb15 are all screens for setting the surveillance recording settings. As shown in screen Sa14, the control unit displays "surveillance recording settings" in the upper right corner of the screen, and displays a list of the surveillance recording setting items "recording mode," "recording time," "recording resolution," "number of recording frames," and "overwrite previous recording" in the center of the screen. The number of items displayed on the screen is four, and items that are not displayed can be scrolled and displayed by pressing the "up" key or the "down" key. Also, the currently selected item is "selected and displayed." In addition, in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, the currently selected item is shaded for explanation. Here, the configurable items are the items displayed on the setting screen in surveillance recording mode (Figs. 9 and 10) with the addition of "recording mode." Therefore, the explanation of the items displayed on the setting screen in surveillance recording mode, "recording time," "recording resolution," "number of recording frames," and "overwrite previous recording," will be omitted as appropriate.

When the "OK" button is pressed while screen Sb1 is displayed, screen Sb11 is displayed. When the "OK" button is pressed while screen Sb11 is displayed, screen Sb111 is displayed. On screen Sa11, "Surveillance Recording Setting", which is the item being set, is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, and "1/2" is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen, indicating the page number of the display screen of "Surveillance Recording Setting". On screen Sa111, "Recording Mode", which is the item being set, is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. There are three options for "Recording Mode", "Automatic", "Manual", and "OFF". The "Recording Mode" has been described above, so its description is omitted. When the power is turned on, the monitoring battery 3 transmits a signal inquiring about the remaining battery level, and when it receives a signal indicating the remaining battery level, it determines that the monitoring battery 3 is connected. On the other hand, when it does not receive a signal indicating the remaining battery level, it determines that the monitoring battery 3 is not connected. When the monitoring battery 3 is not connected, surveillance recording is not possible, so the control unit grays out "Automatic" and "Manual". Specifically, the text will be displayed in grey instead of white, preventing users from selecting it.

Screens Sb12, Sb13, Sb14, and Sb15 are similar to screens Sa14, Sa15, Sa16, and Sa17, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

Now, the "overwrite previous recording" that can be set on screens Sa17 and Sb15 will be explained with reference to FIG. 12. "overwrite previous recording" sets whether or not to overwrite the surveillance recording data that is the surveillance recording data recorded up until the last time. When it is "OFF", recording is performed within the remaining capacity of the surveillance recording folder without overwriting. Recording is performed in the free space, and recording stops when there is no more free space. When it is "ON", recording is performed first within the surveillance recording folder. When the capacity becomes full and there is no more free space, the previous surveillance recordings are overwritten starting from the oldest. In this case, the surveillance recording data being shot this time is not overwritten, and recording stops when the current data is recorded to the capacity of the SD card.

For example, if the user has confirmed that there was nothing unusual with the vehicle when it was last parked, they can set it to "ON," and if they have not yet confirmed anything, they can set it to "OFF."

Next, the "My Area Monitoring" shown on screen Sb2 (Fig. 13) will be described. When setting up "My Area Monitoring", the user can set recording conditions other than continuous recording and monitored recording for the area registered as "My Area Monitoring" in the settings. "My Area Monitoring" is defined by a center position and an area radius. The control unit accepts the center position of "My Area Monitoring" in "Registration Execution" described below. The control unit accepts the area radius of "My Area Monitoring" in the settings of "My Area Monitoring".

As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, there are five options for "Monitoring My Area", namely, "Recording Time", "Recording Resolution", "Number of Recording Frames", "Area Radius", and "Registration". Among these, screens Sb21 to Sb23, which are setting screens for "Recording Time", "Recording Resolution", and "Number of Recording Frames", are similar to the above-mentioned screens Sb12 to Sb14, respectively, and therefore their explanations are omitted. In screen Sb24 (Fig. 14), the control unit "selects and displays""AreaRadius". When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sb24 is displayed, the screen transitions to screen Sb241. In the lower right corner of screen Sb241, "1/2" is displayed, indicating the page number of the display screen for "Area Radius". There are five options for "Area Radius", namely, "15m", "30m", "50m", "100m", and "200m". The number of displayed items is four, and each group is divided into four groups, and each divided group is displayed as one page. The total number of pages for "Area Radius" is two pages. Note that the second and subsequent pages are not shown in the drawings. When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sb241 is displayed, the non-volatile storage unit is updated with the selected option as the setting value for "area radius" and the screen transitions to screen Sb24. Also, when the "MENU" key is pressed while screen Sb241 is displayed, the screen transitions to screen Sb24 without updating the setting value for "area radius" stored in the non-volatile storage unit. As described above, the "area radius" is specified by the user.

When the "Down" key is pressed while screen Sb24 is displayed, screen Sb25 (FIG. 14) is displayed. In screen Sb25, the control unit "selects and displays" "Register". When the "OK" key is pressed while screen Sb25 is displayed, the screen transitions to screen Sb251. In screen Sb251, the message "Do you want to register your current location in my area monitoring?" and the options "OK" and "Cancel" are displayed. In addition, the control unit refers to the non-volatile storage unit, reads out the number of locations that can be recorded in the non-volatile storage unit and the number of locations recorded in the non-volatile storage unit, and displays (○/○) indicating which location is the current registration. When the "OK" button is pressed, the control unit displays screen Sb252 and records the location information output from the GPS sensor in the non-volatile storage unit as the center position of the "My Area Monitoring". In screen Sb252, the message "Your current location has been registered in my area monitoring (○/○)" is displayed. Three seconds after screen Sb252 begins to be displayed, or when the "OK" button is pressed, the screen will transition to screen Sb251.

As shown in FIG. 15, in "Registration Execution", the control unit recognizes the area of circle A1 drawn with a radius of the area radius set in "Area Radius" as its center, centered on location P1 recorded in the non-volatile memory unit as the center position of "My Monitoring Area", as "My Monitoring Area", which is a parking area.

For example, suppose the user parks at location P1 for the first time and presses the "OK" button while screen Sb251 is displayed. The control unit records location P1 in the non-volatile memory as the center position of "My Monitoring Area". If the user parks at location P2 within circle A1, which is within "My Monitoring Area", for the second or subsequent time, surveillance recording will begin according to the recording conditions for "My Monitoring Area" that have been set. Recording conditions include "recording time," "recording resolution," and "number of recording frames." Once the user sets the recording conditions, the control unit will automatically record surveillance footage with those settings from the next time onwards.

Suppose the user registers the location where they park for the first time as the center location of "My Monitoring Area". If they set "Monitoring Recording Setting" to "Automatic", the drive recorder 4 will automatically start monitoring and recording the second time they park within "My Monitoring Area". Also, if they set "Monitoring Recording Setting" to "Manual", the drive recorder 4 will start monitoring and recording the second time they park within "My Monitoring Area". Users can set "Monitoring Recording Setting" to "Manual", and then press the "REC" button manually to start monitoring and recording the second time they park within "My Monitoring Area". This allows users to meet their needs, such as wanting to set automatic recording at the minimum setting (1 fps) in locations that are not important to them (safe, short-term parking locations such as convenience stores), or to check the remaining SD card and battery levels and set the settings when they are planning to spend a long time shopping, etc.

When the "down" key is pressed while screen Sb2 is displayed, screen Sb3 (Fig. 13) is displayed. In screen Sb3, the control unit "selects and displays" "Monitoring My Cancel Area". When the "OK" button is pressed while screen Sb3 is displayed, the screen transitions to the next setting screen. The setting screen is similar to "Monitoring My Area", and illustration and description are omitted. As with "Monitoring My Area", there are five options for "Monitoring My Cancel Area": "Recording Time", "Recording Resolution", "Number of Recorded Frames", "Area Radius", and "Register". As with "Monitoring My Area", there are multiple options for "Recording Time", "Recording Resolution", "Number of Recorded Frames", "Area Radius", and "Register". The conditions set in "Monitoring My Cancel Area" are applied when the "REC" button is pressed on screen Sa1.

When the "down" key is pressed while screen Sb3 is displayed, screen Sb4 (FIG. 13) is displayed. In screen Sb4, the control unit "selects and displays" "Cancel My Area". Screen Sb4 is a screen for accepting the cancellation of the registration of "Monitoring My Area". When the "OK" button is pressed while screen Sb4 is displayed, a screen displaying a list of options "Cancel Current Location" and "Cancel All Locations" is displayed. When the "OK" button is pressed with "Cancel Current Location" selected and displayed, the options "OK" and "Cancel" are displayed along with the message "Do you want to cancel the My Area information of the current location?". Furthermore, when the "OK" button is pressed with "OK" selected, the screen transitions to a screen displaying the message "Cancelled", and the position information stored in the non-volatile memory as the center position of "Monitoring My Area" that matches the vehicle position output from the G sensor is erased from the non-volatile memory. Furthermore, if "OK" is pressed while "Cancel" is "selected and displayed," it is determined that the user has canceled the cancellation, and the screen transitions to one that displays the options "Cancel current location" and "Cancel all locations."

On the other hand, when the "OK" button is pressed on a screen that lists the options "Cancel current location" and "Cancel all locations" and "Cancel all locations" is "selected and displayed," the screen will display the message "Do you want to cancel all My Area information?" along with the options "OK" and "Cancel," and when the "OK" button is pressed, the screen will transition to one that displays the message "Cancel completed," and the location information of all locations stored in the non-volatile memory as the center position of the "Monitoring My Area" will be erased from the non-volatile memory.

When recording on the SD card, the drive recorder 4 determines the upper limit capacity for each of "continuous recording", "G-sensor recording" which is an event recording, "one-touch recording" which is an event recording, and "parking surveillance recording". In addition, the recorded recording data can be played back and erased. In detail, when the "MODE" key is pressed on the above-mentioned camera image through display screen, the screen transitions to a screen that displays the options of "continuous recording", "G-sensor recording", "one-touch recording", and "surveillance recording" as playback folders. For example, when the "OK" key is pressed with "surveillance recording" selected, the recorded data is displayed on the display 41. In addition, the SD card can be removed from the drive recorder 4 and played back on, for example, a PC. Here, "G-sensor recording" is event recording that is started when the control unit determines that an event has occurred based on G-sensor information. "One-touch recording" is event recording that is started by the control unit when the "cursor (down)" button is pressed. "Parking surveillance recording" is surveillance recording.

If you wish to erase the data recorded on the SD card, pressing the "SD" button on the camera video through display screen will transition to the "SD card maintenance" screen, where you can select "Clear surveillance recording folder" and press the "OK" button to erase the "surveillance recorded" data.

<Communication functions>
The drive recorder 4 receives power from the monitoring battery 3 after the engine is stopped and transmits the continuous recording data and the event recording data to a center connected to the Internet. Here, the center is, for example, a database that can be viewed by a manager who manages the vehicles.

The CPU executes two codecs, and in continuous recording, executes the codec of the recording data to be transmitted from the LAN interface or mobile communication interface 52 and the codec of the recording data to be written to the SD card in parallel as separate processes. This allows the recording data to be transmitted from the LAN interface or mobile communication interface 52 and the recording data recorded on the SD card to be different. Here, the recording data recorded on the SD card has a smaller compression rate than the recording data to be transmitted from the LAN interface or mobile communication interface 52, and the image is clearer when played back.

Next, the data transfer method in the communication of data recorded continuously will be described with reference to FIG. 16. During continuous recording, the control unit records the image output from the camera in the RAM and the SD card. In detail, the CPU converts the image output from the camera into JPEG format and stores the recorded data in the RAM. The CPU also outputs the recorded data for the SD card, which is compressed from the recorded data recorded in the RAM, to the SD card interface. Here, the recorded data for the SD card is in JPEG format, and the amount of data can be reduced to about 1/10 or 1/20 of the recorded data recorded in the RAM. The SD card interface writes the input recorded data for the SD card to the SD card. The CPU also outputs the recorded data for communication, which is compressed from the recorded data recorded in the RAM, to the LAN interface or the mobile communication interface 52. The LAN interface or the mobile communication interface 52 packetizes the input recorded data for communication and transmits it to the destination via the Internet. In the case of event recording, the control unit also records the recorded data in JPEG format in the RAM and the SD card. As mentioned above, the recording data for continuous recording and the recording data for event recording are each stored in the corresponding folder on the SD card.

During continuous recording, the vehicle connects to the Internet via a base station and transfers the recorded data to the destination. The communication speed of mobile communications for mobile terminals is not uniform; for example, it is about 10 Mbps in rural areas and about 2 Mbps in urban areas. In areas with slow communication speeds, the amount of recorded data to be transmitted must be reduced to, for example, about 1 to 2 Mbps in order to keep up with the transmission. For this reason, the control unit generates and transmits recorded data for communication by compressing the recorded data recorded in the RAM. The recording conditions for data at about 1 Mbps are a resolution of 720 x 400 and a frame rate of about 15 fps. Also, while the vehicle is traveling, there may be periods when communication is not possible. For example, this occurs when the base station is switched or when the vehicle enters an area with high communication traffic. In this case, the recorded data cannot be transferred during the period when communication is not possible. In other words, there are parts of the recorded data that cannot be transmitted.

When communication becomes possible after being unavailable, the control unit resumes data transfer from the currently recorded data. In other words, the recorded data that is transferred to the destination is missing the portions where communication is unavailable. When the engine is turned off and the ACC power is turned off, continuous recording ends and the portions that could not be transmitted are transmitted. Next, the event recorded portions are transmitted.

When the control unit receives a battery switching signal from the monitoring battery 3 indicating that the power supply source has been switched to the internal battery 34, the control unit measures the communication speed. The control unit transmits recording data at a bit rate according to the communication speed. For example, when the communication speed is 100 Mbps, the control unit transmits recording data at 100 Mbps. In detail, the CPU compresses the recording data recorded in the RAM to a predetermined bit rate. Next, the CPU outputs the compressed recording data for communication to either the LAN interface or the mobile communication interface 52, whichever has a higher communication speed. On the other hand, when the communication speed is slower than the reference value, the control unit compresses the recording data recorded in the RAM to recording data at the same bit rate as when the ACC power supply is ON and transmits the compressed data. When the ACC power supply is ON, the amount of data per unit time of the recording data can be reduced to lengthen the image time relative to the transmission time.

<Modification of Data Transfer Method>
Next, method 2, which is a modified example of the data transfer method, will be described with reference to FIG. 17. The method of writing to the SD card is the same as method 1, so the description will be omitted. In method 2, when communication becomes possible, data is transferred starting from the data up until communication becomes impossible, rather than the currently recorded data. In other words, data is transferred in chronological order to the destination. When the engine is turned off and continuous recording ends, the portion that could not be transmitted is transmitted. Next, the event recorded portion is transmitted.

Next, method 3, which is a variation of the data transfer method, will be described with reference to FIG. 18. The method of writing to the SD card is the same as method 1, so the description will be omitted. In method 3, during continuous recording, data transfer of continuous recording and data transfer of event recording are performed in parallel. When communication becomes possible, data is transferred from the data recorded up until communication becomes impossible, rather than the current data. In other words, the data recorded during continuous recording and the data recorded during event recording in chronological order are transferred to the destination. When the engine is turned off and continuous recording ends, the part of the data recorded during continuous recording that could not be sent and the part of the data recorded during event recording that could not be sent are sent.

As described above, the drive recorder 4 can transmit the recorded data that could not be transmitted while the ACC power supply was ON by receiving power from the monitoring battery 3 after the ACC power supply is turned OFF.

Next, another example of a drive recorder is shown. This is also a modified example of the data transfer method. The data transfer method and its configuration will be described with reference to Figures 19 to 22. Note that configurations similar to those in the above embodiment will be described using similar names and symbols. In the above data transfer methods 1 to 3, it was explained that recorded data that could not be transmitted due to a period of communication not being possible is transmitted after the engine is turned off. In method 4, the drive recorder 4 combines the recorded data that could not be transmitted with real-time recorded data and transmits it while the engine is ON.

First, the configuration of the drive recorder 4 will be described with reference to Fig. 19. The drive recorder 4 has a storage compression unit 44, a communication compression unit 45, an audio compression unit 46, an image buffer 48, an audio buffer 49, a communication data creation unit 50, and a ring buffer 51 in addition to the camera 42, the microphone 43, the SD card interface 47, and the mobile communication interface 52. The storage compression unit 44 and the communication compression unit 45 are realized by the above-mentioned "codec of the recorded data to be written to the SD card" and "codec of the recorded data to be transmitted from the LAN interface or the mobile communication interface", etc. The storage compression unit 44 and the communication compression unit 45 output the compressed image data to the SD card interface 47 and the image buffer 48, respectively. The communication compression unit 45 detects the current communication rate, automatically changes the data capacity to a capacity that can be transmitted in real time as much as possible, and generates image data, which is video data. When compressing, the communication compression unit 45 obtains, for example, a communication rate measured by the mobile communication interface 52, and compresses the image data at a compression rate according to the obtained communication rate. The SD card interface 47 has two SD card insertion slots, into which SD cards 61 and 62 are inserted.
The audio compression unit 46, SD card interface 47, image buffer 48, audio buffer 49, communication data creation unit 50, ring buffer 51, and part of the mobile communication interface 52 are preferably realized by an SOC (System On a Chip).

The audio compression unit 46 compresses the audio data collected by the microphone 43 into MP3 format audio data, and outputs the compressed audio data to the SD card interface 47 and audio buffer 49. The image buffer 48 and audio buffer 49 buffer the compressed image data and audio data, respectively. The communication data creation unit 50 reads the compressed image data and audio data from the image buffer 48 and audio buffer 49, respectively, creates communication data, and outputs the created communication data to the ring buffer 51 with information on the date and time of creation. The ring buffer 51 buffers the communication data with information on the four dates and times of creation. The mobile communication interface 52 reads the communication data from the ring buffer 51, packetizes it, and transmits it to the destination.

The SD card interface 47 writes the compressed image data and audio data output from the storage compression unit 44 and the audio compression unit 46 to the storage area of the SD card 61 or SD card 62. Here, the SD card interface 47 divides the memory area of each of the SD cards 61 and 62 into a storage area and a communication area, and writes the recording data. The memory area is an area for keeping the data clean, and is an area for saving the image data output from the storage compression unit 44 and the audio data output from the audio compression unit 46. The communication area is an area for saving all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted. As described above, in areas with slow communication speeds, the amount of communication data, which is the recording data to be transmitted, must be reduced in order to keep up with the transmission, so the communication data is compressed according to the communication speed. The area for keeping the data clean is an area for keeping the recording data, which has a smaller compression rate than the communication data and produces a clean image when played back. The SD card interface 47 determines the upper limit of capacity for each of the storage area and communication area, such as "continuous recording," "G-sensor recording," "one-touch recording," and "parking surveillance recording." The SD card interface 47 reads all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted from the ring buffer 51 and writes it to the communication area of the SD card 61 or SD card 62. The SD card interface 47 also reads all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted from the communication area of the SD card 61 or SD card 62 and outputs it to the mobile communication interface 52. The audio compression unit 46 and the communication data creation unit 50 are realized by the CPU executing a program stored in the ROM, etc.

Next, the configuration of the communication data will be described with reference to FIG. 20. In FIG. 20, "image data" indicates image data output by the communication compression unit 45, "audio data" indicates audio data output by the audio compression unit 46, and "communication data" indicates communication data created by the communication data creation unit 50. The horizontal axis of the data is the time axis. The image data is composed of I frames and P frames. Here, an I frame is data that can be played back independently, and a P frame is differential data from the image data of one frame before. The image data has one I frame and multiple P frames. The communication compression unit 45 assigns a serial number, which is additional information, to each frame in order from the first frame. The serial number becomes an identifier that indicates the order of the time series. The audio compression unit 46 divides the audio data into sections corresponding to the I frame of the image data and the next I frame, and assigns a serial number to each of the divided audio frames. The communication data creation unit 50 creates communication data with one I frame, one section of audio data, and multiple P frames as one communication unit. The communication data consists of a sequential sequence of I frames, audio data, and P frames.

The communication compression unit 45 creates three I frames per second. For example, when the frame rate is 15 fps, the communication compression unit 45 converts the image data into one I frame and four P frames every 1/3 seconds. The audio compression unit 46 attaches a mark to the audio data in synchronization with the communication compression unit 45 converting the image data into an I frame. The communication data creation unit 50 first reads an I frame from the image buffer 48, then reads one section of audio data from the audio buffer 49 from the mark corresponding to the I frame to the mark corresponding to the next I frame, then reads P frames from the image buffer 48 to the next I frame, and outputs the communication data with each of the read data as one communication unit to the ring buffer 51. The ring buffer 51 sequentially buffers communication data of one communication unit, and when the memory area becomes full, it overwrites the oldest communication data with the latest communication data. When the frame rate is 15 fps, the playback time of one communication unit of communication data is 1/3 seconds. The ring buffer 51 can hold multiple pieces of communication data of one communication unit. The destination is provided with a playback device capable of receiving and playing the communication data, and can play the received communication data to view the video and listen to the audio. When an I frame, which is part of the communication data, is received, the playback device can play a still image based on the I frame. When an I frame and audio data, which are part of the communication data, are received, the playback device can play a still image and audio based on the I frame. In this case, when audio data is received up to a certain point, the audio for the received section can be played back. When an I frame, audio data, and P frame, which are part of the communication data, are received, the playback device can play video and audio based on up to the received P frame.

The communication data configuration described above can be applied not only when using method 4, but also when using methods 1 to 3.

Next, the communication process executed by the CPU to transfer the recorded data to the destination in real time during continuous recording will be described with reference to FIG. 21. In the following description, the transfer of the recorded data in real time by the communication process may be described as real-time transfer. When the CPU starts continuous recording, the communication process starts. First, the CPU causes the mobile communication interface 52 to read the communication data buffered in the ring buffer 51 (S1). The communication data here means the communication data of one communication unit, and the same applies in the following description. Next, the CPU causes the mobile communication interface 52 to transmit the communication data (S3). As a result, the continuous recorded data is transferred to the destination in real time. Next, after a predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined whether the transmission of the mobile communication interface 52 has been successful (S5). Here, the predetermined time is a time equal to or less than the playback time of the communication data. During continuous recording, the communication data is generated one after another, so if the communication data is not transmitted within a time equal to or less than the playback time of the communication data, the communication data that could not be transmitted will accumulate. In order to perform real-time transfer while performing continuous recording, it is necessary to finish the transfer of the communication data of one communication unit within the playback time of the communication data of one communication unit. When the transmission is not possible, the CPU stores the I frame, P frame, and one section of the voice data that could not be transmitted in the SD card 61, 62. The mobile communication interface 52 further divides the communication data, packets it, and transmits it. When the transmission of the packet is an error, a retransmission process is also performed to retransmit the packet that could not be transmitted due to the error. For example, when the communication data of one communication unit cannot be transmitted because the regeneration process occurs frequently due to poor radio wave conditions, the communication data that could not be transmitted is stored in the SD card 61, 62. When the mobile communication interface 52 can transmit the communication data of one communication unit, the CPU determines that the transmission was successful. When the CPU determines that the transmission was successful (S5: Yes), the CPU proceeds to step S7 to transmit the next communication data. On the other hand, when the CPU determines that the transmission was unsuccessful (S5: No), the CPU reads out the I frame, P frame, and one section of the voice data that could not be transmitted from the ring buffer 51 of the communication data that could not be transmitted to the SD card interface 47, stores them in the SD card 61 or SD card 62, stores the fact that the transmission was unsuccessful in the RAM (S9), and proceeds to step S7. If an I frame cannot be transmitted, the I
The frame, P frame, and one section of audio data are stored. If all of the audio data for one section cannot be transmitted, the audio data for one section and the P frame are stored. If all of the multiple P frames cannot be transmitted, the P frames that could not be transmitted are stored. If the communication data for one communication unit cannot be transmitted within the playback time (S5: NO), the next communication data for one communication unit is transmitted (S1, S3). The destination cannot receive the communication data for one communication unit, but the communication data for one communication unit can be played back even if there is no communication data for the previous or next communication unit. Therefore, if the destination can receive the next communication data for one communication unit, the communication data for that communication unit can be played back. Even if the communication data for one communication unit cannot be transmitted, the section that cannot be viewed can be limited to the real time for one communication unit, which is 1/3 s in the above example.

In step S7, it is determined whether the communication data has ended. When continuous recording ends, no new communication data is generated, and so the ring buffer 51 is not overwritten with new communication data. The CPU moves the read position of the ring buffer 51 to the next position, and if the creation date and time information attached to the communication data at that position is older than the creation date and time information attached to the communication data read in step S1, it determines that the communication data has ended. If it is determined that the communication data has ended (S7: Yes), the communication process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication data has not ended (S7: No), step S1 is executed for the next communication data. The CPU reads the communication data at the read position of the ring buffer 51 to which it was moved.

The CPU reads all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted during the communication process from the SD card 61 or the SD card 62 and transmits it when communication is restored and communication is possible. The CPU also transmits all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted in parallel with the communication process. At the same time as the real-time transfer, the data at the time when the real-time transfer could not be performed is read from the SD card 61 or the SD card 62, whichever medium is not recorded, as described below, and transferred at the same time. Here, during continuous recording, the SD card interface 47 writes the recording data for storage, so the writing of the recording data and the reading of the communication data are performed simultaneously. It is difficult to perform writing and reading in parallel on one SD card. Therefore, in method 4, two SD cards are used to write the data for storage and to read the communication data that could not be transmitted. Incidentally, when the communication data cannot be transmitted, for example, when the base station is switched or when the device enters an area with a high volume of communication, a communication interruption occurs, as described above.

In FIG. 22, the horizontal axis is the time axis, and "recording data" indicates communication data and storage data created by the communication data creation unit 50. Here, the storage data is compressed image data and audio data output from the storage compression unit 44 and audio compression unit 46. "Storage medium 1 data recording" and "storage medium 2 data recording" indicate periods during which storage data is written to the SD card 61 and the SD card 62, respectively. The shaded areas indicate periods during which communication data is written to the SD card 61 or the SD card 62. However, writing is not always performed during the periods indicated by the rectangular shapes of "storage medium 1 data recording" and "storage medium 2 data recording" in FIG. 22, but writing is performed for a short period of time, and there is a period during which writing is not performed between the periods during which writing is performed. Writing of storage data and writing of communication data are performed during the period indicated by the rectangular shape of "storage medium 1 data recording" in FIG. 22. In the "communication connection state", the period during which communication is possible in the mobile communication interface 52 is indicated by an arrow. "Real-time transfer in communication" refers to a period during which communication data is being transmitted in communication processing. "Transfer of data that could not be transmitted" refers to a period during which communication data that could not be transmitted by the mobile communication interface 52 is being transmitted in communication processing.

During the period of continuous recording, the SD card interface 47 alternates between the SD card 61 and the SD card 62 as the writing destination of the data for storage at predetermined intervals (for example, every 10 seconds) and writes the data in a time-division manner. As a result, while one of the SD cards 61 and 62 is being written to, the other is not being written to, so the SD card interface 47 can easily read data from the other card. One of the SD cards 61 and 62 is used for writing and recording data for storage, which is recording data for storage, and the other of the SD cards 61 and 62 is used for reading and transmitting communication data that could not be transmitted. During the period from time t1 to time t2, when communication is possible, the mobile communication interface 52 executes communication processing and transmits communication data. During the period from time t2 to time t4, when communication is not possible, the SD card interface 47 writes data for storage to the storage area and writes communication data to the communication area. Here, the SD card interface 47 writes communication data to the same SD card as the SD card to which the data for storage is written. Step S9 of the communication process is performed during an idle time when data to be saved is not being written to the storage area. When communication becomes possible at time t4, the CPU, in addition to transmission in the communication process, reads all or part of the communication data written to the SD card 62 because transmission was not possible, which is indicated by the hatched area in FIG. 22, from the SD card 62 and transmits it. In detail, when a signal indicating that communication is possible is received from the mobile communication interface 52, it determines whether or not the fact that transmission was not possible is stored in the RAM, and if it determines that the fact that transmission was not possible is stored, it determines whether or not communication data is stored in the communication area of the SD card 62, which is the SD card to which data to be saved has not been written, and if it determines that communication data is stored, it reads all or part of the stored communication data and transmits it. The time to transfer the communication data is shorter than the time to write the communication data to the SD cards 61 and 62. The time from time t4 to time t5, during which the communication data is transferred, is shorter than the time from time t2 to time t3, during which the data is written to the SD card 62. Therefore, the drive recorder 4 can transmit all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted during the period from time t2 to time t3 during the period from time t4 to time t5. During the period from time t4 to time t5, the SD card interface 47 writes the data to be saved to the SD card 61, so it reads all or part of the communication data from the SD card 62 to which data has not been written. Next, at time t5, when the write destination is switched to the SD card 62, all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted is read from the SD card 61 and transmitted. Similarly, as for all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted during the period from time t6 to time t7, when communication is not possible, when communication becomes possible at time t7, the CPU reads all or part of the communication data from the SD card 62 to which data has not been written and transmits it. Next, at time t8, when the write destination is switched to the SD card 62, the CPU reads all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted from the SD card 61 and transmits it. For example, if the actual time required to capture one communication unit is 1 s and the predetermined time to switch the writing destination of the storage data is 10 s, one cycle of steps S1 to S7 of the communication process is performed 10 times during the 10 s. Note that in FIG. 22, for example, at time t2, the time when the communication connection state becomes communication-unavailable and the start time of the period when the communication data shown by the shaded area is written to the SD card 62 are shown as the same time, but in detail, since step S9 is executed after communication becomes unavailable and step S5 is executed, the time when writing of the communication data to the SD card 62 starts is later than the time when the communication connection state becomes communication-unavailable.

Although this is omitted in FIG. 22, if all communication data cannot be transmitted while the engine is ON, the drive recorder 4 is powered by the monitoring battery 3 after the engine is turned OFF and transmits the remaining communication data.

The period during which communication is not possible is indefinite, and it is not known when communication will be cut off, so communication may become impossible during execution of step S3 of the communication process. Here, communication data is transmitted to the destination from the beginning. That is, the data is transmitted in the order of I frame, audio data, and P frame. If communication becomes impossible during the P frame, the I frame and audio data are transmitted to the destination. Since the I frame is data that can be reproduced independently, at least the still image and audio data can be reproduced at the destination. Furthermore, since the communication data that could not be transmitted due to communication being impossible is transmitted later, the destination receives communication data that is not arranged in chronological order. Since a serial number is assigned to each frame of the communication data, the destination can easily reproduce the communication data of the transmitted section by sorting the communication data in the order of serial numbers after receiving all the communication data. A typical video file has a management area at the beginning and end of the file that manages the allocation of data areas. Since a management area is necessary to reproduce a video file, if the management area at the end is not transmitted to the destination, the video file cannot be reproduced. In this regard, since communication data does not have a management area, the destination can reproduce the communication data of the transmitted section as described above. Furthermore, since one communication unit of communication data has one I frame, even if one communication unit of communication data cannot be transmitted, it is possible to reproduce another communication unit of communication data.

<SD card storage and data transfer settings>
The drive recorder 4 is configured to accept whether or not to perform recording to the SD card and data transfer for each "data item" and "data content". As shown in FIG. 23, the "data items" include "continuous recording", "G-sensor event recording", "one-touch event recording", and "history". "History" is data that does not have image and audio data like recorded data. Among these, the "data content" of "continuous recording", "G-sensor event recording", and "one-touch event recording" includes "video data", "audio data", "GPS", "acceleration sensor", and "vehicle information". The "data content" of "history" includes "GPS", "acceleration sensor", and "vehicle information". During the period when "continuous recording", "G-sensor event recording", and "one-touch event recording" are being performed, the CPU records the vehicle position output from the GPS sensor, the acceleration output from the G sensor, and the vehicle information acquired through the OBD connection cable in the RAM together with the date and time, etc. The "GPS", "acceleration sensor", and "vehicle information" of the "data content" are the vehicle position, acceleration, and vehicle information recorded together with the date and time, etc. When the "GPS", "acceleration sensor", and "vehicle information" are transferred to the destination via the LAN interface or the mobile communication interface 52, the CPU separates and transfers the vehicle position, acceleration, and vehicle information data for each frame or each second of the video data.

In the "settings" shown in FIG. 23, "recording" refers to storing the recorded data in the SD card. "Transfer" refers to transferring the recorded data to the destination via the LAN interface or the mobile communication interface 52. "○" in FIG. 23 indicates that the setting is to execute "recording" or "transfer", and "×" indicates that the setting is not to execute. The non-volatile storage unit of the drive recorder 4 stores settings with "○" and "×" as parameters corresponding to "data item", "data content", "recording", and "transfer". The drive recorder 4 accepts the above settings on a setting screen, for example, and executes "recording" and "transfer" in the case of "○". The driver of the vehicle and the administrator who views the "recorded" or "transferred" data, for example, who manages the vehicle, may be different. In this case, the driver may request that all "data contents" not be "recorded" or "transferred". By accepting the setting of "recording" or "transfer" in detail for each "data item" and "data content", it is possible to provide a drive recorder 4 that can be set according to the intentions of both the driver and the administrator. The user can set the drive recorder 4 according to the operating method and needs. Furthermore, if there is "data content" that has not been recorded while continuous recording, G-sensor event recording, or one-touch event recording is being performed, it is preferable to configure the display 41 to clearly indicate that no data has been recorded.

Here, the drive recorder 4 is an example of an in-vehicle device, the monitoring battery 3 is an example of a device, and the internal battery 34 is an example of a battery. The input/output connector 3b is an example of a communication means, and the CPU 33 is an example of a control unit. The "resolution" and "number of recording frames" selectable on the setting screen are examples of a first setting function, the "monitoring recording setting" selectable on the setting screen is an example of a second setting function, and the "G sensor setting" selectable on the setting screen is an example of a third setting function. The input/output connector 4a is an example of an equipment communication means, the camera is an example of an imaging means, the SD card is an example of a storage medium, the operation button is an example of a user interface, the GPS sensor is an example of a positioning means, and the non-volatile recording unit is an example of a recording means. The battery switching signal is an example of a "switching signal indicating that the power supply source has been switched to the battery", and the vehicle switching signal is an example of a "signal indicating that the power supply source has been switched to the vehicle". The power cable 11 is an example of a "power supply line between the vehicle and this device", and the cable 12 is an example of a "power supply line between this device and in-vehicle devices". The communication data creation unit 50 is an example of a creation unit, and the SD cards 61 and 62 are examples of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The mobile communication interface 52 and the LAN interface are examples of a transmission means. The SD card interface 47 is an example of a storage control means.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects are achieved.
The monitoring battery 3 can continue to supply power to the drive recorder 4 even when the power supply from the vehicle is cut off. In addition, the drive recorder 4 generates heat from inside the housing, but since the monitoring battery 3 is separate from the drive recorder 4, it is less susceptible to the heat generated from inside the drive recorder 4. By making it difficult for the temperature of the internal battery 34 to rise, it is possible to suppress the inability to charge and discharge due to the temperature rise, and it is possible to make it difficult for the inability to supply power to the drive recorder 4 to occur. Since the monitoring battery 3 is installed under the seat, the monitoring battery 3 can be made large and heavy enough to be installed under the seat, and the capacity of the internal battery 34 can be increased. This allows the drive recorder 4 to continue operating for a long time even after the power supply from the vehicle is cut off. In addition, since the monitoring battery 3 is installed under the seat, it does not take up space in the living space, and can be installed without hitting or getting in the way of people while driving the car or getting in and out of the car.

When the CPU 33 switches the power source to the internal battery 34, it outputs a switching signal. Also, if the ACC power source is turned on within a specified time, the CPU 33 outputs a switching signal to notify that the power source has been switched to the ACC power source. This allows the drive recorder 4 to know that the power source has been switched to the internal battery 34.

The "One-touch recording overwrite," "G-sensor recording overwrite," "G-sensor settings," and "G-sensor sensitivity" settings on the settings screen are common to both event recording in continuous recording mode and event recording in surveillance recording mode. This saves the user the trouble of having to set up event recording in continuous recording mode and event recording in surveillance recording mode separately, reducing the inconvenience felt by the user and making it easier to understand.

In the surveillance recording setting in the surveillance recording mode, the drive recorder 4 displays in red the options for "recording time" and "number of recording frames" that are not recordable. This allows the user to set either the "recording time" or the "number of recording frames" that he/she prefers, and then set the other of "recording time" and "number of recording frames" as an option that is recordable. In addition, in the transition state to the surveillance recording mode, the drive recorder 4 judges whether the location information output from the GPS sensor is included in "My monitoring area". If it is judged that the location information is included in "My monitoring area" and "surveillance recording setting" is "automatic", the recording conditions set in "My monitoring area" are used as the surveillance recording conditions, and the subsequent processing is performed.
Similarly, in the transition state to the surveillance recording mode, if it is determined that the location information is included in the "Monitoring My Cancellation Area", the "Monitoring Recording Setting" is "Automatic", and the "REC" button is pressed, the recording conditions set in the "Monitoring My Cancellation Area" are used as the surveillance recording conditions, and the subsequent processing is executed. This allows the user to operate the drive recorder 4 without having to repeatedly set them. Furthermore, even if the location information does not match the position stored in the non-volatile storage unit, if it is the "Monitoring My Area" or the "Monitoring My Cancellation Area", the drive recorder 4 can use the shooting conditions associated with the "Monitoring My Area" and the "Monitoring My Cancellation Area" as the current shooting conditions.

The drive recorder 4 can reliably transmit the continuously recorded data after the engine is stopped by receiving power from the monitoring battery 3. When the ACC power is ON, the amount of recorded data per unit time can be reduced, thereby lengthening the time of the image relative to the transmission time.

Electrical equipment with radio wave receiving capabilities that are retrofitted to vehicles, and receiving antennas, are often installed on the dashboard or above the windshield, but the monitoring battery 3 is configured to be installed under the seat, so the impact of noise from the charge/discharge control unit 31, DC-DC converter 32, CPU 33, etc. on these electrical equipment and antennas can be greatly reduced.

Since one communication unit of communication data includes one I frame, the transmission data can be reproduced at the destination where the transmission data is sent. The image can be confirmed by treating the transmission data as video. If one communication unit of communication data is 1/3 s, the image can be confirmed at least every 1/3 s. For example, if the communication data is a video of an accident at the time of a collision, the video of the accident can be confirmed reliably at the destination. Even if the mobile communication interface 52 cannot transmit the communication data during the communication process, the mobile communication interface 52 can transmit the communication data that could not be transmitted by the SD card interface 47 reading it from one of the SD cards 61 and 62 that is not the storage destination. The destination where the communication data is sent can obtain the communication data while the engine is ON. The SD card interface 47 can easily read the communication data by switching the storage destination between the SD cards 61 and 62 and reading it from one of the SD cards 61 and 62 that is not the storage destination.

<Modification>
Incidentally, although the present invention is preferably embodied in the above-described embodiment, it is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the value of the option for "recording resolution" in the "surveillance recording setting" may be lower than the value of the option for "recording resolution" in the continuous recording setting. The value of the option for "recording frame count" in the "surveillance recording setting" may be lower than the value of the option for "recording frame count" in the continuous recording setting. The initial values of the options for "recording resolution" and "recording frame count" in the "surveillance recording setting" and the continuous recording setting may be displayed explicitly, and the initial values of "recording resolution" and "recording frame count" in the "surveillance recording setting" may be lower than the initial values in the continuous recording setting. In surveillance recording, since the vehicle is often stationary, it is possible to capture moving objects outside the vehicle even if the frame rate and resolution are lowered. In addition, since event recording can be performed by setting, when an event occurs, it is recorded. This allows the recording conditions in surveillance recording to be power-saving. Since the amount of power supplied by the internal battery 34 is reduced, the internal battery 34 can last longer.

The monitoring battery 3 is described as receiving power from the ACC power source via the power cable 11 connected to the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket, but is not limited to this. The power cable 11 may be directly connected to the ACC power source, and the monitoring battery 3 may be powered from the ACC power source. The output terminal 11a and the input connector 3a are described as mini USB connectors, but they may be USB connectors other than mini USB. The input/output connector 3b and the first terminal 12a are described as 10-pin connectors, but are not limited to 10 pins and may have more or less pins. The DIP switch DIPSW 36 is described as having three switches, but the number of switches is not limited.

Although the monitoring battery 3 has been described as being powered from an ACC power source via the power cable 11, this is not limited to this. A mobile battery may also be connected.

Also, while it has been explained that the monitoring battery 3 outputs a signal indicating the remaining battery charge of the internal battery 34 every 1 second, the time is not limited to 1 second, and may be 1 minute or 3 minutes.

Also, it has been explained that when the power supply source is switched to the internal battery 34, the CPU 33 transmits a battery switching signal to the drive recorder 4. In this way, when there is a change in the power supply state from the ACC power source, a signal to that effect may be transmitted to the drive recorder 4, but it is preferable to transmit a signal indicating the presence or absence of power supply from the ACC power source to the drive recorder 4 at a predetermined time interval, for example at one second intervals.

Also, as explained above, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal from the monitoring battery 3 in the continuous recording mode, it determines whether to switch to the surveillance recording mode or to turn off the power of the drive recorder 4. However, it is preferable to make the determination based on multiple battery switching signals rather than one. For example, in the continuous recording mode, it is preferable to determine whether to switch to the surveillance recording mode when the battery switching signal is received multiple times in succession. In this way, it is possible to prevent switching between the continuous recording mode and the surveillance recording mode when, for example, the power supply from the ACC power source to the monitoring battery 3 is momentarily cut off and then restored. Similarly, it is preferable to determine whether to switch to the continuous recording mode based on multiple vehicle switching signals from the monitoring battery 3.

Also, as explained above, when a vehicle switching signal is received from the monitoring battery 3 and continuous recording is possible, the drive recorder 4 transitions from the monitoring recording mode to the continuous recording mode and starts continuous recording, but the transition to the continuous recording mode may also be effected by resetting the drive recorder.

As a configuration for performing a reset, the drive recorder 4 itself may perform the reset process, but it is also preferable to send an instruction signal from the drive recorder 4 to the monitoring battery 3 to turn off the power supply for a predetermined time, and when the monitoring battery 3 receives this signal, it stops the power supply to the drive recorder 4 for a predetermined time and then resumes the power supply. In this way, switching from surveillance recording mode to continuous recording mode can be performed by a reliable reset, that is, turning off the power, and the possibility of more reliably recording situations such as accidents during continuous recording can be increased. For example, when switching from surveillance recording to continuous recording, a hard reset of the drive recorder 4 can be performed by turning off the output from the monitoring battery 3 for a predetermined time, and continuous recording can be started reliably and normally.

The above-mentioned predetermined time for the monitoring battery 3 to stop supplying power to the drive recorder 4 in order to reset the drive recorder 4 should be, for example, a time longer than the time for the drive recorder 4 to be surely turned off after the monitoring battery 3 stops supplying power. For example, if the drive recorder is configured to include a supercapacitor in addition to the configuration described for the drive recorder 4, the time should be longer than the maximum time required to close a file using power from the supercapacitor or the like. For example, it should be about 3 seconds. The supercapacitor is charged while the drive recorder is being supplied with power, and discharged while the drive recorder is not being supplied with power. Also, "closing a file" means, for example, completing writing of data to an SD card.

However, after the user turns off the ACC power supply of the vehicle for parking, for example, the user may turn on and off the ACC power supply of the vehicle again in order to operate the vehicle's electric mirrors or the windows if the user forgets to close them. In this case, the ACC power supply will be repeatedly turned off, on, and off from the on state. If the timing of this second off is within the period when the monitoring battery 3 stops supplying power to the drive recorder, various problems may occur, such as the inability to continue monitoring recording. This is because the ACC power supply may be switched from off to on, and the monitoring battery 3 may stop supplying power for a predetermined period of time to transition to continuous recording, and then the ACC power supply may be off when power supply is resumed. Therefore, this predetermined period of time should be as short as possible, so that the power supply to the drive recorder can be reliably turned off after the power supply to the drive recorder is stopped. For example, it should be about 1.5 seconds. In this way, by shortening the off period of the monitoring battery 3 from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds, the probability that the period when the power supply to the drive recorder is stopped overlaps with the timing when the ACC power supply of the vehicle is turned off can be reduced. Additionally, this measure can shorten the period of time that is not recorded between the time surveillance recording starts when the ACC power is turned on and the start of continuous recording.

The inventors have also found that the vehicle's ACC power supply may be repeatedly switched from an on state to off, on, off, as described above, and therefore the following configuration may be adopted. When the CPU 33 switches the power supply source to the internal battery 34, it does not immediately send a battery switching signal to the drive recorder 4, but rather, on the condition that the vehicle's ACC power supply remains off for a presumed predefined time when the ACC power supply is turned on for such a short time, it is preferable to send the battery switching signal to the drive recorder after the predefined time has elapsed. For example, if the power supply from the ACC power supply of the vehicle remains off for a predefined time, such as 20 seconds, after the power supply from the ACC power supply of the vehicle is turned off, it is preferable to send the battery switching signal to the drive recorder.

In addition, after the drive recorder is powered on, the control unit performs various initialization processes and then starts continuous recording, and so a certain start time is required after power is turned on before continuous recording begins. Furthermore, some drive recorders are designed to start recording in continuous recording mode first, depending on their configuration. Therefore, the monitoring battery 3 may transmit a signal indicating the presence or absence of power supply from the ACC power source to the drive recorder at a certain time interval, and may output a signal to the drive recorder indicating that power is being supplied from the vehicle, regardless of the presence or absence of power being supplied from the vehicle's ACC power source, for a certain time from the point at which power supply to the drive recorder begins after receiving power from the ACC power source. This certain time may be, for example, about 10 seconds.

In addition, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal from the monitored battery 3, it transmits a signal commanding a specified time, but this is not limited to the above. The drive recorder 4 may be configured to transmit a signal commanding the monitored battery 3 to stop supplying power after the specified time has elapsed.

In addition, when the drive recorder 4 receives the battery switching signal from the monitored battery 3, the drive recorder 4 transmits a signal commanding the specified time, but the timing of transmitting the signal commanding the specified time is not limited to this. The drive recorder 4 may be configured to transmit the signal when the power supply is turned on, when the set value of the specified time is changed, or at every predetermined time. The predetermined time may be 1 s, 1 minute,
For example, 3 minutes.

Also, as explained above, if the CPU 33 does not receive a signal inquiring about the remaining charge of the internal battery 34, it determines that a drive recorder with communication capabilities is not connected. However, the signal received is not limited to a signal inquiring about the remaining charge. It may also be a signal commanding a specified time. Also, the switch included in the DIP switch DIPSW36 may be configured to indicate whether or not a drive recorder with communication capabilities is connected. In this case, when the corresponding switch is OFF, it is configured to indicate that a drive recorder with communication capabilities is not connected.

Although the control unit has been described as displaying screens Sa14 to Sa17 and accepting settings for recording conditions, this is not limiting. The control unit may be configured to have a function of automatically determining the longest possible recording time by prioritizing frame rate. When the control unit accepts a change in the setting value for "Number of frames to record" on screen Sa20, which transitions from screen Sa16, it calculates the "usable time" based on the setting value for "Number of frames to record." The control unit determines the longest "recording time" option that is equal to or less than the calculated "usable time" as the setting value for "recording time." Alternatively, the control unit may be configured to have a function of automatically determining the longest possible recording time by prioritizing resolution.

Also, after switching to "surveillance recording mode", if the control unit determines that there is insufficient remaining capacity on the SD card and "surveillance recording overwrite" is set to "OFF", screen Sa6 is displayed, but this is not limited to the above. In this case, if there is no remaining capacity on the SD card, surveillance recording is not possible, so a sound and visual notification may be issued and a screen may be displayed that allows the user to select whether to erase the surveillance recording or not to perform surveillance recording. Here, surveillance recording refers to the recording data that has been recorded by surveillance recording.

In addition, in the continuous recording mode, when a battery switching signal is received from the monitored battery 3, screen Sa1 or the like is displayed according to the settings, but this is not limited to this. It may also be configured to automatically transition to a screen with the minimum necessary settings when the engine is turned off.

In addition, while it has been described that the monitoring battery 3 sets the set value transmitted by serial communication from the drive recorder 4 as the specified time, this is not limited to this. Instead of serial communication, a 1-bit Hi/Low signal may be received and the time corresponding to the Hi/Low signal may be set as the set value. Specifically, the monitoring battery 3 receives a command indicating the specified time and a Hi or Low signal. The monitoring battery 3 pre-stores the corresponding time as 3 hours when the signal is Hi and 6 hours when the signal is Hi. The monitoring battery 3 sets the time corresponding to the Hi/Low signal as the specified time. Note that the signal is not limited to 1 bit and may be 2 bits or more.

Although the drive recorder 4 has been described as monitoring and recording according to the recording conditions of the set "Monitoring My Area," this is not limited to the above. The drive recorder 4 may be configured to have a function for determining recording conditions for each "Monitoring My Area," which is a plurality of parking areas. Recording conditions include whether or not monitoring and recording (parking monitoring) is required, the frame rate, recording time, etc.

In addition, although the control unit has been described as storing image data in JPEG format in the RAM, the format is not limited thereto. It may also be in MP4 format, MP2 format, Hdot264 format, or Hdot265 format.

In addition, although the control unit has been described as transmitting recording data at a bit rate according to the communication speed, the bit rate of the transmitted recording data is not limited to this. For example, if the communication speed is 100 Mbps, the data may be transmitted at 10 Mbps, although this would result in a longer transmission time.

In addition, when setting up surveillance recording in surveillance recording mode, "Total capacity in folder" may be added to the "Recording time" item. "Total capacity in folder" means that surveillance recording will continue until the SD card runs out of space. Also, when "Recording time" is set to "Total capacity in folder," the option will not be displayed in red.

In addition, while it has been explained that the frame rate for event recording is about 30 fps and the resolution is fine to record details, the frame rate for event recording in surveillance recording can be lowered and the resolution can be coarse. When a large vehicle passes, there is a large vibration, which may result in an event recording. In places where large vehicles are passing, it is expected that people who may cause harm to vehicles will often not pass by. For this reason, it is considered safe to lower the frame rate and use coarse resolution for event recording in surveillance recording.

As explained above, if the "SD" button or "MENU" button is not operated within a specified time after screen Sa6 is displayed, an inactivity timeout occurs. However, if there is remaining capacity on the SD card, only that much will be recorded, and if there is no remaining capacity, recording is not possible. Therefore, the user may be notified by sound and display, and a selection screen may be displayed to allow the user to either erase the surveillance recording or not record.

Also, it was explained that the control unit will switch to the surveillance recording mode if it determines that the conditions for switching to the surveillance recording mode are met. It was explained that the items of the switching conditions include "My Area" and "My Cancel Area", but "Time" may be added to these. It is preferable to configure the system to determine whether to switch to the surveillance recording mode based on the set "Time" and time. This allows the user to perform surveillance recording only at night in "My Area", for example. Also, it is possible to configure the system to determine whether to switch to the surveillance recording mode based only on "Time", for example, in addition to "My Area". For example, if you want to record from about 4:00 to 6:00 in the morning, you can enter the time you want to record the most (5:00 in the morning), and the system will record to include that time. If the remaining battery power or SD card capacity is insufficient, you can select whether to prioritize the time before, the time after, or the center. The recording time period is allocated with a focus on the set priority. This allows the user to know whether it is a stray cat or a crow that is messing with the garbage in the garbage dump in front of the car in the morning.

In addition, in the "Register" setting of "Monitor My Area," it has been explained that the location is registered based on location information from the GPS sensor, but this is not limited to this. It is also possible to display a map on the display 41, have the user specify a location on the map, and register the location on the map.

In addition, in surveillance recording, for example, a motion detector may be used to automatically reduce the frame rate when there is absolutely no change in the image. Furthermore, the frame rate may be increased and recording may be performed from a few seconds before a change occurs.

In addition, in the case of surveillance recording, it has been explained that event recording is not performed for three minutes from the start of surveillance recording when an event occurs due to the opening and closing of a door, but it is also possible to configure it so that the connection with the door is recorded while the event recording is being performed. In this way, it is possible to exclude the portion where the event recording due to the acceleration detected by the G sensor and the door recording overlap based on the time when checking the recorded data later.

Also, it has been explained that after the opening screen is displayed, the screen transitions to one that displays the message "An event was recorded during surveillance recording." However, it is also possible to configure the system so that event recording is performed for a few seconds after the engine is turned off or a few seconds before the engine is turned on, but no notification is given that an event has occurred during surveillance when the engine is on.

In addition, in the surveillance recording mode, the calculation method of the "usable time" displayed as "surveillance recording time" on the screen Sa4 is not limited to the above. The monitoring battery 3, not the drive recorder 4, may calculate the available supply time based on the current currently flowing, i.e., the current consumed by the drive recorder 4. Alternatively, the monitoring battery 3 may calculate the available supply time from the percentage of the remaining battery capacity and a preset, fixed current value. Alternatively, the monitoring battery 3 may calculate the available supply time from the percentage of the remaining battery capacity and a current value determined from the model of the drive recorder 4 obtained through communication. The internal battery 34 may transmit the calculated available supply time to the drive recorder 4, and the control unit may display the received available supply time to the right of "surveillance recording time:".

Further, the specifications of the drive recorder 4 are preferably the above-mentioned configuration, but are not limited to this.
Although the drive recorder 4 has been described as including a camera, the camera unit including the camera and the main body including the control unit may be configured as separate bodies. In this case, the camera unit is installed, for example, on the windshield, and the main body is installed, for example, on the dashboard.

Although the drive recorder 4 has been described as being equipped with a camera, it may be configured to be equipped with two cameras. In this case, the two signals from the cameras may be combined into one signal and stored. In more detail, the screen is divided into two, for example, left and right, and signal processing is performed so that each is assigned to the data captured by each of the two cameras. The two signals from the cameras are combined into one. This reduces the amount of recorded data, and particularly when transmitting, it is possible to increase the amount of recorded data that can be transmitted per unit time. Also, it is not limited to being divided into two, and may be divided into two or more.

Although the display 41 has been described as an LCD, it is not limited to this and may be a touch panel. Alternatively, the configuration may not include a display. In the case of a product without a display, the user writes the settings to a recording medium such as an SD card, and inserts the SD card with the settings written into the drive recorder. The drive recorder reads the SD card and operates. Note that the configuration may be such that the settings written on the SD card are stored in a non-volatile memory unit, for example, and the drive recorder operates by reading the settings stored on the SD card as appropriate without storing them in the non-volatile memory unit.

The brightness of the indicator 35 may also be variable between daytime and nighttime. If a transition is made to event recording during surveillance recording, the indicator will be displayed at the same bright daytime brightness even at night.

Although the drive recorder 4 has been described as having a communication function, it may be configured not to have a communication function. In this case, it is not possible to set a specified time for continuing power supply after the supply of ACC power from the monitoring battery 3 is cut off, but since the monitoring battery 3 is equipped with a dip switch DIPSW36, it is possible to supply power for only a specified time according to the setting of the dip switch DIPSW36.

In addition, although it has been stated that the monitoring battery 3 outputs power for a specified period of time, it may also supply the entire remaining battery charge.

Also, for example, the camera may be configured to be movable 360 degrees. In this way, the entire periphery outside the vehicle can be monitored, and monitoring can be strengthened, especially in the surveillance recording mode. Also, for example, the drive recorder may be configured to have a function capable of wireless communication using the LoRa (Long Range) method, and to be operable with an attached remote control that is also capable of wireless communication. In this way, a user with a remote control in a remote location can turn surveillance recording on and off, periodically transmit recording time, switch recording settings, report the occurrence of an event, and transfer and store still images when an event occurs in the remote control. Also, for example, if the drive recorder is configured to have a function capable of Wi-Fi communication, it can communicate with a communication terminal such as a smartphone. It may be configured to transfer recording data of an event recording within the range of Wi-Fi.

The control unit of the drive recorder 4 has been described as including a CPU, ROM, RAM, a non-volatile storage unit, etc., but is not limited to these. For example, it may include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) and the like, and may be configured to operate in cooperation with these.

Although a drive recorder installed in a vehicle has been given as an example of an in-vehicle device, the present invention is not limited to this and may be installed in a forklift. Since forklifts are often used for business purposes, it is expected that an environment where Wi-Fi can be used can be created in the operating area of the forklift. In this case, it is recommended that data transfer while the forklift is traveling be configured to use Wi-Fi.

The method of data transfer is not limited to the above. In the above, it has been described that after the ACC power is turned off, the CPU reads out the recording data recorded in the RAM, compresses it, and transmits it. It is not limited to this, and the recording data stored in the SD card may be read out and transmitted. Alternatively, the transmission method may be different between the recording data of the event recording and the recording data of the continuous recording. For example, the recording data of the event recording to be transmitted may be read out from the RAM and transmitted. The RAM stores the recording data in which the image at the time of playback before being compressed for transmission is clearer than the recording data stored in the SD card. On the other hand, the recording data of the continuous recording may be read out from the SD card and transmitted. For example, since the event recording often records an accident, it is better to have a clearer image than the recording data stored in the SD card so that the details of the accident can be confirmed. In addition, after the ACC power is turned off, all the recording data, including the data already transmitted during driving, may be transmitted at a uniform bit rate so that the image becomes uniform. In addition, instead of the recording data of the event recording, the time and position information may be transmitted. It is also possible to configure the system so that after parking, the event recording data is transmitted first. It is also possible to configure the system so that the surveillance recording data is transmitted. It is also possible to configure the system so that the parking surveillance recording data is transmitted.

The drive recorder 4 may also be configured to have a function of outputting an instruction to change the orientation of the camera. For example, if the garbage dump is not directly in front of the parking lot but diagonally forward to the right, the drive recorder needs to be reoriented diagonally forward to the right in order to capture the garbage dump, but the user may forget to change the orientation of the camera. Therefore, when the engine is turned off (on), or according to the location information measured by the GPS sensor, it is a good idea to notify the user by voice or other means, saying "Please check the orientation of the drive recorder." The orientation may be registered and the user may be notified of the orientation, or a voice memo may be recorded and the voice memo may be played back. Furthermore, the camera orientation may be automatically moved by a motor.

In addition, although the drive recorder 4 has been described as recording an event in response to a predetermined trigger, the trigger in the surveillance recording mode is not limited to the above, and the event may be recorded with the operation of the parking lot's auxiliary equipment as a trigger. There is a risk that the robot or parking lot may harm the vehicle. Since the operation of the parking lot is related to the movement of other people, the event may be recorded with the operation of the parking lot's auxiliary equipment as a trigger. In a gate-type parking lot, a gate opening/closing signal is received and used as a trigger for event recording. In a flap-type parking lot, where a flap installed on the ground comes into contact with the underside of the vehicle's body, a flap raising/lowering signal is received and used as a trigger for event recording. In a mechanical multi-storey parking type, it is preferable to record an event with a signal equivalent to the lateral and vertical movement of the cart of the vehicle body using a G sensor. In this case, it is preferable to set a threshold value to a level at which the acceleration level generated in the parking lot is detected as an event.

It has also been described that when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal in the continuous recording mode, it transitions to surveillance recording mode depending on the settings, but this is not limited to this. It has also been described that the drive recorder 4 performs event recording in response to a specified trigger, but this is not limited to this. In summer, the inside of a car can become scorching hot when the car is parked, so the upper part of the window may be opened slightly remotely. For this reason, the drive recorder 4 may be configured to transition to event recording or surveillance recording mode when the window is open as a trigger, and to perform surveillance recording. By "slightly," it is preferable to open the window just enough so that a hand cannot get in.

In addition, when the control unit of the drive recorder 4 determines that the SD card has sufficient remaining capacity, the control unit determines that the battery does not have sufficient remaining capacity, and "surveillance recording overwrite" is set to "ON", the drive recorder 4 displays screen Sa5 (FIG. 5), and as the battery level decreases, the drive recorder transitions to screen Sa3 and turns off the power. However, this is not limited to the above. If the internal battery 34 is about to run out during surveillance recording, the drive recorder 4 may be configured to have a function of notifying a remote control having a function for starting the vehicle engine so that the engine can be started and the car can generate electricity to continue recording. The engine may also be turned off again when the internal battery 34 is charged to a certain extent. After a predetermined period of time, the drive recorder 4 may be configured to display a query instruction on the remote control as to whether to continue recording, and to continue recording if an instruction to continue is received.

Also, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal in the continuous recording mode, it transitions to the surveillance recording mode according to the settings and starts surveillance recording, but this is not limited to this. Also, while it has been described that the drive recorder 4 performs event recording according to a specified trigger, this is not limited to this. The drive recorder 4 may be configured with a surveillance recording or surveillance recording function triggered by the approach of a drone. This makes it possible to record a drone falling into a parking lot and a collision accident with a vehicle. The approach of a drone may be detected, for example, by detecting radio waves emitted by the drone or by image recognition.

In addition, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal in the continuous recording mode, it transitions to the surveillance recording mode depending on the settings, but this is not limited to the above. It may be linked to navigation map data and configured to automatically record when the vehicle is parked in a high-risk area. It may also be configured to transition to surveillance recording mode when the vehicle position is in a high-risk area. Alternatively, the recording conditions may be made higher than normal. Here, making the recording conditions higher than normal means increasing the "number of recording frames" in the recording conditions to record in detail. High-risk areas are, for example, areas where thefts are common or areas where crimes are common, and information such as this is available on the Metropolitan Police Department website.

In addition, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal in the continuous recording mode, it transitions to the surveillance recording mode depending on the settings, but this is not limited to this. Recording can be performed when the vehicle is parked and the EV is charging. Alternatively, the recording conditions can be set to a higher level than normal. In recent years, EV chargers have been installed in commercial facilities and other locations. Since EVs may be vulnerable to tampering while charging, it is effective to record the vehicle. This can be determined based on the EV station area in the map data, or by obtaining the vehicle's charging status from OBD (On-board diagnostics) or the like.

The drive recorder 4 may also be configured with a function to stop surveillance recording when the amount of light is too low to record, such as in the middle of the night. It is advantageous to control the power supply from the battery by determining the brightness using a light sensor separate from the imaging element of the camera, as this can save power.

Also, when the drive recorder 4 receives a battery switching signal in the continuous recording mode, it transitions to the surveillance recording mode and starts surveillance recording according to the settings, and when the surveillance recording time expires, it turns off the power, but this is not limited to the above. The drive recorder 4 may be configured with a function to stop surveillance recording when the amount of packets flowing through the OBD CAN (Controller Area Network) is low, and to start surveillance recording when the amount of packets is high. A situation in which a large number of packets are flowing even when the engine is turned off is likely to be a situation in which the vehicle's sensors have detected some kind of movement around the vehicle, so recording is effective.

Also, in the explanation of screen Sb25 (FIG. 14), it was explained that when the "OK" button is pressed, the control unit displays screen Sb252 and records the location information output from the GPS sensor in the non-volatile memory unit as the center position of "My Area to be Monitored". When the location to be registered as "My Area to be Monitored" or "My Cancel Area to be Monitored" is an indoor parking lot, it may be difficult to obtain the location using the GPS sensor, or the location accuracy may be low. Therefore, for example, it is preferable to register a location that has been located in time from the time of the registration operation, or a location that has been located with a certain level of accuracy or higher (which may be determined based on GPS location accuracy information). For example, it is preferable to obtain location information (and location accuracy information) at a certain time interval (for example, one second), store the location information as a location history, and at the time of registration, it is preferable to register a location that has been located in time from the time of the registration operation, or a location that has been located with a certain level of accuracy or higher (which may be determined based on GPS location accuracy information).

Various modified examples are possible without being limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. Next, a monitoring battery according to Modification 1, which is a modified example of the monitoring battery 3, will be described with reference to Figs. 24 to 26. As shown in Fig. 24, the monitoring battery according to Modification 1 has an input connector into which the input cord of the monitoring battery is inserted, an input/output connector into which the output cord is inserted, a USB Type A connector, a DIP switch, and a number of LEDs, etc., on the front of the mechanism case of the monitoring battery. Here, the input cord corresponds to the power cable 11 in the monitoring battery 3. The output cord corresponds to the cable 12 in the monitoring battery 3. Although the power cable 11 of the monitoring battery 3 has been described as having a cigarette plug at one end, it may also be configured to have a red cord connected to an accessory power source and a black cord connected to a metal part of the vehicle. The accessory power source is the ACC power source of the vehicle that is turned on/off in conjunction with the engine key. The USB Type A connector is connected to a commercially available USB cable or the like, and charges the connected smartphone, etc. Hereinafter, the ACC power source may be referred to as the accessory power source.

Although it has been explained that the dip switch DIPSW36 of the monitoring battery 3 has three switches, as shown in FIG. 25, the monitoring battery of variant 1 has four dip switches. Depending on the ON/OFF combination of the four dip switches, the specified time can be set to 0.5 hours, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, or 12 hours, or the specified time can be set without using the dip switches. In the explanation of the dip switches in FIG. 25, up/down respectively refer to the ON/OFF state of the dip switches.

As shown in Fig. 26, the indicator of the monitoring battery according to the first modification includes six LEDs. The six LEDs are an LED that lights up when power is being supplied from the ACC power source to the monitoring battery, an LED that lights up while the internal battery is charging, and four LEDs that light up according to the remaining charge of the internal battery. The internal battery of the monitoring battery is configured so that it can be replaced when its lifespan is reduced. The monitoring battery is installed in a place that is not likely to interfere with driving or airbag operation, in a place exposed to hot air from an air conditioner or heater, in a place exposed to direct sunlight, in an unstable place, in a place where there is a possibility of a break or short circuit due to pinching of wiring or friction of the coating, or near electrical equipment (including antennas, etc.) of the vehicle.

Next, a monitoring battery according to Modification 2, which is a modification of the monitoring battery 3, will be described with reference to Figs. 27 to 31. As shown in Fig. 27, the monitoring battery according to Modification 2 has eight dip switches, a power switch, and an indicator LED on the flat surface of the mechanism case, an input terminal on the left side, and an output cable on the front. Here, the input terminal corresponds to the input connector 3a in the monitoring battery 3. The output cable corresponds to the cable 12 in the monitoring battery 3. The power switch is a switch that switches the power supply of the monitoring battery ON/OFF, and when the power switch is OFF, the input of power to the monitoring battery and the output of power from the monitoring battery are cut off. This allows the user to safely remove the monitoring battery. In addition, the dip switch is installed closer to the bottom than the power switch.

As shown in FIG. 28, the input cord connected to the input terminal has a red cord connected to the vehicle's battery power source, a yellow cord connected to the accessory power source, and a black cord connected to a metal part of the vehicle. The input cord corresponds to the power cable 11 in the monitoring battery 3. In this way, the monitoring battery may be powered from the vehicle's battery power source, which is always powered regardless of whether the engine is on or off, in addition to the accessory power source, and the charge/discharge control unit 31 may be powered from the battery power source. As shown in FIG. 29, the monitoring battery according to the second modification has an LED that lights up when the engine is on and while the monitoring battery is operating.

The monitoring battery according to the second modification monitors the power supply of the vehicle's battery power source, and when the voltage falls below a set voltage (hereinafter referred to as the detection voltage), it stops outputting power from the monitoring battery. After the vehicle's engine is turned off, it outputs power for a specified time (hereinafter referred to as the off timer), similar to the monitoring battery 3. As shown in FIG. 30, the detection voltage may be switched between 12V and 24V using three dip switches. To accommodate the case where the vehicle's battery specifications are 12V, any of the settings of 11.6V, 11.8V, 12V, and 12.2V is accepted. Similarly, to accommodate the case where the vehicle's battery specifications are 24V, settings of +0.2V, ±0V, -0.2V, and -0.4V are accepted for 24V. Here, by setting two negative side settings and more than one positive side setting for the vehicle's battery specifications, the monitoring battery may continue outputting even when the vehicle's battery is low. As shown in FIG. 31, the off timer setting is received by three dip switches separate from the detection voltage setting, as with the monitoring battery of variant 1. As shown in FIG. 30, of the eight dip switches lined up in a row, three are assigned to setting the detection voltage, three are assigned to setting the off timer, and two are unused. By arranging one unused switch between the three used to set the detection voltage and the three used to set the off timer, user setting errors are reduced.

In the description of the data transfer method 4, it has been described that the image data has a plurality of P frames for one I frame, but the image data may have no P frames. In the description of the data transfer method 45, it has been described that three I frames are created in 1 s, but the number of frames is not limited. The number of I frames per s may be less than three or more than four. In the case of a video with little movement, the number of frames may be reduced, and in the case of a video with a lot of movement, the number of frames may be increased. In the description of the data transfer method 1, it is also possible to configure the communication compression unit 45 to change the frame rate, the number of I frames, and the compression rate of the image data according to the communication speed. In the description of the data transfer method 45, it has been described that the communication data is arranged in the order of the I frame and the audio data from the beginning, but the position of the audio data is not limited. It may be arranged before the I frame or after the P frame.

Although it has been described that a serial number is assigned to each frame, a serial number may be assigned to the communication data of one communication unit arranged in chronological order, and a serial number may be assigned to each frame within one communication unit. For example, the communication data of the first communication unit may be numbered 1, the communication data of the second communication unit may be numbered 2, the P frame of the communication data of the first communication unit may be numbered 1, the next P frame may be numbered 2, the P frame of the communication data of the second communication unit may also be numbered 1, and the next P frame may be numbered 2. In this way, a frame can be identified by the number of the communication data of the number of communication units. Furthermore, the identifier to be assigned is not limited to a serial number, and may be any identifier that can be sorted. For example, the time or date may be used, or any combination of serial numbers, time, and date may be used.

In addition, in step S5 of the communication process, the I frame, P frame, and one section of audio data that could not be transmitted are stored in the SD cards 61 and 62. However, the communication data for one communication unit, including the portion that was communicated, may also be stored in the SD cards 61 and 62. In addition, when communication is restored and transmission is to be performed again, the communication data for one communication unit may also be transmitted.

Also, during the period of continuous recording, the SD card interface 47 alternates between the SD card 61 and the SD card 62 as the writing destination for the storage data, for example, every 10 seconds, as explained above. Although there is no limit to the period, it is advisable to set the period to be longer than the time required to capture the communication data of one communication unit.

Also, as explained above, all or part of the communication data that was written to the SD card 62 because it could not be transmitted is read from the SD card 62 and transmitted. Although it has been explained that the fact that transmission was not possible is stored in the RAM in step S9 of the communication processing, it is also possible to store information in the RAM in step S9 of the communication processing that associates an identifier that identifies all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted with an identifier that identifies the SD card to which the data was written, and when communication becomes possible, refer to that information to identify the SD card that stores all or part of the communication data that could not be transmitted.

Also, in the explanation of FIG. 19 of another example of a drive recorder, it was explained that the communication compression unit 45 automatically varies the data capacity according to the current communication rate. Changing the compression rate to enable real-time transmission according to the current communication rate is not limited to changing the compression rate, and a configuration that changes the frame rate may also be used.

In addition, in the alternative example of the drive recorder shown in FIG. 19, two SD cards are inserted, but one SD card may be inserted. In this case, the drive recorder may be configured to write recorded data by dividing the memory area of the SD card into a storage area and a communication area.

As shown in FIG. 20, one communication unit may contain only one I frame, but multiple I frames may also be included. In this case, it is preferable to be able to identify which P frame group corresponds to which I frame. For example, the number of P frames for one I frame may be the same, or all frames may be assigned consecutive numbers. When there are multiple I frames in one communication unit, the I frame group may be transmitted in succession first, and then the P frame group following the I frame group may be transmitted, or a group of frames in an alternating order such as I frame - P frame - I frame - P frame, etc. may be used as one communication unit.

It is recommended that the frame rate be configurable. For example, 1 fps, 5 fps, or 10 fps. It is recommended that the number of I frames included in one communication unit be changed depending on the frame rate. The higher the frame rate, the more I frames should be included in one communication unit.

The configuration is not limited to that of the above embodiment, and the configuration of the above embodiment and the configuration of the above modification may be arbitrarily combined. Also, a part of the configuration of the above embodiment and a part of the configuration of the above modification may be arbitrarily combined. Also, a part of the configuration described in "Measures for solving the problem", a part of the configuration of the above embodiment, and a part of the configuration of the above modification may be arbitrarily combined.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 System 3 Monitoring battery 3a Input connector 3b Input/output connector 4 Drive recorder 4a Input/output connector 11 Power cable 12 Cable 31 Charging/discharging control unit 34 Internal battery 33 CPU
35 Indicator 36 DIP switch DIPSW
47 SD card interface 52 Mobile communication interface

Claims (4)

A system to be installed in a vehicle having a function of switching an operation mode depending on whether or not power is being supplied from an ACC power source,
This system is characterized by having a function that, during surveillance recording in surveillance recording mode when power is not being supplied from an ACC power source , uses motion detection to automatically lower the frame rate when there is no change in the image, and then increases the frame rate and records from the moment a change occurs. Equipped with a G sensor that measures acceleration,
2. The drive recorder according to claim 1, further comprising a function for determining that an event has occurred based on acceleration measured by a G sensor during surveillance recording, and for recording the event at a frame rate higher than that of surveillance recording. 3. The drive recorder according to claim 1, further comprising a function of not performing event recording , which is recording performed in response to a predetermined trigger , for a predetermined time period from the start of surveillance recording. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the drive recorder according to any one of claims 1 to 3.