JPH09163357A - Recorder for accidental state for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the accidental state recorder for vehicle which is mounted on a vehicle to record a momentary state of an accident of the vehicle in details and in which a circumstance reaching the accident is also recorded with a small recorder scale at a low cost. SOLUTION: Video data of a video image obtained by picking up surrounding of a vehicle by an image pickup means 11 are written in a storage area of a storage means 5 in time series sequentially and stored. A write control means 4 uses part of storage areas in which old video data after the lapse of a prescribed time after the write are stored for overwrite enable areas and selects a ratio of the overwrite enable areas larger as data written time is older and records new video data to the overwrite enable area endless. When an accident detection means 2 detects occurrence of an accident, endless recording of video data is stopped to leave detailed video data at the moment of the accident and video data before the accident takes place.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention is mounted on a vehicle,
The present invention relates to a vehicle accident situation recording device that records the situation of an accident that has occurred in a vehicle, and particularly to a vehicle accident situation recording device that records an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The situation of a traffic accident caused by a vehicle (hereinafter, simply referred to as an accident) is reproduced by data such as verification of an accident vehicle or an accident site and testimonies of parties and witnesses. However, the situation of the accident reproduced based on these data after the accident is not always accurate due to the lack of evidence and the absence of witnesses, etc. There is. Therefore, a device that can objectively record the situation when an accident occurs,
Particularly in the case of an accident involving a person or a vehicle, there has been a demand for a device capable of recording a video which is useful information.

Therefore, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-16785 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-197858, old images are erased by using a semiconductor memory or a floppy disk as a storage medium. However, there is a method in which endless recording is performed, and when an accident is detected by an acceleration sensor or the like mounted on a vehicle, the endless recording is stopped and a record of the situation of the accident is left behind from the time when the accident occurred.

[0004]

However, in each of the accident situation recording devices described above, the storage capacity is limited because the semiconductor memory or the floppy disk is used as the image storage medium. Therefore, if you increase the recording time,
When played back, the continuity of the image is poor, and it becomes difficult to clarify the causal relationship at the moment of the accident, such as a pool accident. On the contrary, if the number of images per unit time is increased, it becomes difficult to understand the history of the accident. Further, increasing the storage capacity of the storage medium is disadvantageous in terms of cost and size.

The present invention solves such a problem, and provides an accident situation recording apparatus capable of recording the situation at the moment of an accident in detail and also the history of the accident and being advantageous in terms of cost and size. With the goal.

[0006]

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, image data of an image of the surroundings of a vehicle taken by the image pickup means 11 is sequentially written and stored in the storage means 5 in time series. The storage area in which the old video data that has been configured and has been stored for a certain time after writing is stored is designated by the writing control means 4 as an overwrite permission area, and new video data is endlessly recorded in the overwrite permission area to detect an accident. When the means 2 detects the occurrence of an accident, in the vehicle accident situation recording device which stops the endless recording of the video data, the writing control means 4 is overwritten as the time when the video data is written becomes older. The ratio occupied by the permission area is set to be large (claim 1).

The older the time when the video data is written, the larger the ratio of the overwrite-permitted area becomes. Therefore, it is possible to record the details of the moment of the accident and perform the precise analysis of the accident. Moreover, it is possible to record from the video data of the time traced back from the occurrence of the accident to the video data of the moment of the accident, and it is possible to know the process leading up to the accident.

The writing control means 4 sets a plurality of the storage areas in which the video data continuous in time series is written as a unit, and a predetermined time elapses after the set is formed. Each time, a single storage area or a plurality of storage areas among the storage areas forming the set are newly set as overwrite permission areas (claim 2).

As the time elapses, the storage areas forming each set sequentially become the overwrite permission areas, so that the configuration is simple.
The older the time when the video data is written, the larger the ratio of the overwrite permission area can be.

In the present invention, the write control means 4 is also provided.
When the accident detection means 2 detects an accident and the endless recording is stopped, the video data shot after the accident is written in the storage area designated as the overwrite permission area (claim 3). I made it possible to record video. It is possible to know the process leading up to the accident as well as the situation after the accident.

Further, according to the present invention, the image data of the image of the surroundings of the vehicle taken by the image pickup means 11 is constructed so as to be sequentially written and stored in the storage means 5 in a time-series manner. When the writing control means 4 designates the storage area in which the data is stored as the overwrite permission area, new video data is endlessly recorded in the overwrite permission area, and the accident detection means 2 detects the occurrence of an accident,
In the vehicle accident situation recording apparatus that stops the endless recording of video data, the writing control means 4 specifies the overwrite permission area before the accident detection means 2 detects the occurrence of an accident. , The time when the video data was written is performed in order from the oldest storage area, and when the occurrence of an accident is newly detected, the older the time when the video data is written, the larger the proportion of the overwrite permission area becomes. The video data is written in the newly designated overwrite permission area (claim 4).

Since the overwrite permission area is specified so that the ratio of the overwrite permission area occupies the larger the written video data, the post-accident recording is performed in the overwrite permission area. It is possible to know not only the records but also the situation after the accident.

Further, according to the present invention, the video data is written after the occurrence of the accident is detected by the accident detection means 2 and the endless recording is stopped, and the video data is recorded as the time elapses after the occurrence of the accident is detected. The time interval for writing is made longer (claim 5) so that detailed records immediately after the accident can be made and the history after the accident can be known.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a vehicle accident situation recording apparatus of the present invention. The CCD camera 11, which is an image pickup means, is provided on the ceiling of the vehicle interior such that the lens faces the outside of the vehicle through the windshield to photograph the situation in front of the vehicle, and the image signal thereof is sent to the A / D converter 12. It is designed to be entered. The A / D converter 12 converts the video signal into a digital signal and inputs the digital signal to the frame memory 13. The video data input to the frame memory 13 is
After being temporarily held in the frame memory 13, it is input to the storage unit 5 as a storage means. The writing of the video data into the storage device 5 is controlled by the microcomputer 4 as a writing control means.

A running state data signal 3 indicating a running state of the vehicle such as a vehicle speed, an engine speed, a brake, a winker operation state, etc. is inputted to the microcomputer 4 from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) or the like, and is inputted via the microcomputer 4. The data is input to the storage unit 5.

The storage unit 5 is a semiconductor memory, and its storage areas are a video data storage area 51 and a running state data storage area 5.
2, the video data storage area 51 stores the video data input from the frame memory 13, and the running status data storage area 52 stores the running status data input from the microcomputer 4.

In the video data storage area 51, a storage area 150 for storing one video is formed as shown in FIG.
The size of each storage area is k. Each storage area is provided with a convenient area number (1-150). When the area number is input from the microcomputer 4 to the storage unit 5, the video data input from the frame memory 13 corresponds to the area number. It is designed to be written in the storage area. Each storage area has an overwrite permission area where overwriting is allowed,
The overwriting prohibited area is classified into the overwriting prohibited area on the microcomputer 4, and new video data is written in the overwriting allowed area.

Further, the vehicle is provided with an accident detecting section 2 which is an accident detecting means having an acceleration sensor, and when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds a certain upper limit value, an accident occurrence signal is sent to the microcomputer 4. Output.

The operation of the vehicle accident situation recording device (hereinafter, simply referred to as a device) will be described. FIG. 3 shows the main flow of the microcomputer 4.
First, initialization is performed (step 101). In the initialization, the video data and the like stored in the storage unit 5 are cleared, variables (CNT, n, t) described later, etc. are initialized. Subsequent processing of the device is executed at a predetermined timing by a timer interrupt.

The processing performed by the timer interrupt includes a processing for accepting a reset signal that greatly changes the state of the device and an accident determination processing for determining whether or not an accident occurrence signal input from the accident detection unit 2 is input. In the processing, when the accident occurrence signal is input, the accident occurrence flag f Set 1 for jiko. When a reset signal is accepted in the timer interrupt process (step 102), the accident occurrence flag is set to 0, which means the state before the accident (step 103), and the process returns to step 101 again.

The timer interrupt processing also includes input processing of running state data, data output processing for outputting the video data and running state data to the storage unit 5, and storage for writing video data input from the frame memory 13 to the storage unit 5. There is a region number output process for outputting the region number of a region, and these processes are performed every 100 ms.

The area number output processing will be described. The microcomputer 4 has a video data storage area 5 on its software before the occurrence of an accident is detected by the accident detection unit 2.
An array for managing 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a first management array.
(A)) and a pool (FIG. 4 (B)) for storing the area number of the overwrite permitted area. The first management array has a size of 10 rows × 20 columns, and a variable 0 to 9 for convenience is attached to each row in order from the bottom row. Each time the area number output process is performed at intervals of 100 ms, the first management array stores one area number of the storage area in which the image is written, and 10 seconds in the array are stored every 1 second (100 ms × 10).
The area number of is removed. On the other hand, the pool outputs the area number stored here to the storage unit 5, receives the area number of 10 removed every second in the first management array, and stores it. That is, the region number circulates between the first management array and the pool. When the device is initialized (step 101 in FIG. 3),
The pool stores all area numbers (1 to 150), and the extraction of area numbers is performed by FIFO (First In First Out).
t).

FIG. 5 shows the procedure of the area number output processing. First, the operation before the accident detector 2 detects the occurrence of an accident will be described. In the first area number output processing after the device initialization, CNT is 0 and the accident occurrence flag f jiko is
It is 0 because the accident detection unit 2 has not detected the occurrence of an accident. Therefore, the process proceeds from step 201 through step 211 to step 202.

In step 202, the area number is extracted from the pool and output to the storage unit 5, and the area number is also stored in the first row of the first column of the first management array (that is, CNT =
0). Next, CNT is incremented by one step (step 203), and in step 204 it is determined whether CNT is smaller than 10. CNT = 1 (<1
Since 0), the interrupt processing ends.

The interrupt processing to be carried out next is also carried out in the same manner. However, in step 203, CNT is sequentially increased up to 9, so that the first column of the first management array is stored in the storage unit 5 at 100 ms intervals for the first 1 second. The entered area number is stored.
When the region number is stored in the top row of the first column, CNT becomes 10 in step 203, and the process proceeds from step 204 to step 205. In step 205, the area numbers stored in the first column are shifted to the second columns on the right side, respectively, and
Empty the column. Then reset CNT to 0 again (step 2
06) The interrupt processing for one column is completed.

In the next 1 second and each 1 second thereafter,
The area number is sequentially set in units of 1 second, and the first of the first management array
The 10 region numbers stored in a column and then stored are each shifted to the right adjacent column. That is, the area numbers in the first column move to the second column in the same row, and the area numbers in the second and subsequent columns move to the adjacent column on the right side in the same row. The position where the area number is shifted is the hatched area in the figure (hereafter called the update area)
If so, the area number is removed and stored in the pool (step 205). Array size is 10 rows x 20
Since it is a column, the first management array is filled with 100 area numbers except for the update area 20 seconds after the device is activated, and the remaining 50 area numbers remain in the pool.

After the lapse of 20 seconds, the ten area numbers taken out from the pool and stored in the first column of the first management array form a group and shift to the right column every second,
On the way, every time a predetermined time elapses, one area number enters the update area, is removed, and is stored in the pool. In the example in the figure, the area number of CNT = 3 enters the update area in 7 seconds,
Removed. Then, 20 seconds after being stored in the first column, all the above 10 area numbers are removed from the first management array and stored in the pool. Further, since the area number of 10 (indicated by the area number circled in the figure) enters the update area every one second, the area number of 10 is newly stored in the pool in the pool. By repeating this routine, the storage area in which the old video data is written is overwritten with the new video data in the storage unit 5, and the video data is endlessly recorded.

The accident detector 2 detects the occurrence of an accident and
When all the area numbers are stored in the first column of the management array, the accident detection unit 2 detects the occurrence of an accident when the process proceeds to step 211 during the next interrupt processing (CNT = 0). Flag f 1 stands on jiko, step 2
Proceed to 12. Therefore, step 205 of changing the first management array is not performed, and the video data stored in the storage area of the area number stored in the first management array at that time becomes a record of the accident situation. In the column of the first management array, the area number shifts to the right every second, so it is possible to go back to the current point 1
It represents the time in seconds. Since the row is written every 100 ms, it represents the time in 100 ms units. Since the distribution density of the update area is set to be larger on the right side of the first management array, the number of pieces of video data at the moment of the accident is larger, and the number of pieces of video data is smaller as the trace goes back to before the occurrence of the accident. Therefore, it is possible to record the moment of the accident in detail and continuously record from the image traced 20 seconds before the occurrence of the accident to the moment of the accident.

Next, the area number output processing after an accident has occurred will be described. After the accident detection unit 2 detects the occurrence of an accident, the first
Instead of the management array, the area number output process is performed by an array (hereinafter, referred to as a second management array, FIG. 6) that manages the video data storage area 51 after the occurrence of an accident is detected by the accident detection unit 2.

The second management array has an array size of 10 rows × 1.
In the 0th column, variables 0 to 9 for convenience are sequentially attached from the lower row, and the variable t (= 0, 1, 2, 3, ...) Is sequentially attached from the left first column. In the second management array, the area number output processing is 10
The area number of the storage area in which the video is written is stored one by one every time the operation is performed at intervals of 0 ms. In the figure, a hatched portion (hereinafter referred to as a thinned area) is a range in which the storage of the area number is prohibited, and will be described later.

First, at step 212 of the first interruption processing after the occurrence of the accident, it is judged whether or not the position (n, t) of the second management array is the thinning area. (N, t) = (0,
The position 0) is not the thinning area, and the process proceeds to step 214 to determine whether the pool is empty. Since 50 area numbers are stored in the pool, the process proceeds to step 215, one area number is taken out from the pool and is output to the storage unit 5, and the area number is stored at the position of the second management array. Then, n is incremented by one step (step 216). Since n = 10 is not satisfied (step 217), the interrupt processing is ended.

The interrupt process to be carried out next is also carried out in the same manner, but in step 216, the CNTs are sequentially increased to 9, so that the first column of the second management array is stored in the storage unit 5 at 100 ms intervals for the first 1 second. The entered area number is stored.
When the area number is stored in the top row of the first column, n becomes 10 in step 216, and the process proceeds from step 217 to step 218. In step 218, n is reset to 0 again and t is incremented by 1 step (step 2
18) The interrupt processing for one column is completed.

In the next interrupt processing, since t = 1, the area numbers are sequentially stored in the second column of the second management array. When the position (n, t) enters the thinning area (step 214), the area number is not output to the storage unit 5. Therefore, the video data at this timing is not written in the storage unit 5. Then, n is incremented by one step (step 213), and the interrupt process ends.

The interrupt process after the occurrence of an accident is continued while the area number is in the pool. When the pool becomes empty (step 214), the video recording is terminated and the operation is stopped (step 219).

The area number stored in the second management array indicates the area number of the storage area in which the video data has been written after the accident. t represents the time of 1 second unit after the accident, and n represents the time of 100 ms unit. Then, the time when the video data stored in the storage area of the area number stored therein is known from the first and second management arrays at the time when the operation of the device is completed, and the cause of the accident is determined from the video data. It is possible to analyze relationships, vehicle behavior, etc., and play back accident videos. Since the distribution density of the thinning area is set to the right side of the second management array, the image data will be thinned as the time after the accident elapses. Can also be recorded.

FIG. 7 shows the temporal distribution of the video data recorded in the storage unit 5 when the operation of the apparatus is completed. The moment of the accident is 10 sheets / sec, which is the largest and traces back the time. Further, although it decreases as time passes after the accident, a continuous image data group from 20 seconds before the accident to 10 seconds after the accident is formed. Therefore, detailed information can be obtained at the moment of the accident, and the process leading up to the accident and the situation after the accident can be recorded between the moments of the accident.

If it is unnecessary to record the history after the accident, the size of the first management array is set to, for example, 35 rows, and the area number stored in the pool at the time of endless recording is 10 area numbers that enter the update area every one second. And it is sufficient.

(Second Embodiment) Another vehicle accident situation recording apparatus of the present invention will be described. The area number output processing of the first embodiment is replaced with another one, and the different points will be mainly described.

FIG. 8 shows an array for managing the video data storage area 51 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a management array). The management array has a size of 10 rows × 25 columns, 15 columns on the left side are the pre-accident area, and 10 columns on the right side are the post-accident area. When the operation of the apparatus is started, the area number in which the video data is written is output to the storage unit 5, and the area number is stored in the lower right position of the pre-accident area (hereinafter, referred to as an input position; indicated by I in the figure). . In the next interrupt processing, the area number written in the input position is shifted up one row, and a new area number is written in the blank input position. In this way, the already written area numbers are incremented one by one, and the area numbers are stored in all the rows having the input position in the first 1 second. In the next interrupt processing, the area number that was written first and shifted to the top row moves to the bottom of the second column, and the other area stored in the row with the input position The numbers are incremented by one, and a new area number is stored in the blank input position.

When the area number is stored in the input position in this manner, the area number is sequentially moved in 100 ms increments as shown by the arrows in the figure, and 15 seconds later, the position at the upper left end of the pre-accident area (hereinafter, It is called an update position (indicated by R in the figure), and is output to the storage unit 5 as the area number of the storage area in which the video data is written in the next interrupt processing, and is stored again in the input position. In the storage unit 5, new video data is 1
The storage area in which the old video data 5 seconds before is stored is overwritten. However, until the accident detection unit 2 detects the occurrence of an accident, the apparatus records the video data for 15 seconds endlessly using the area number written in the update position as the area number of the overwrite permitted area.

When an accident is detected by the accident detection unit 2, the output of the area number written in the update position to the storage unit 5 is stopped and the area number written in the management array is temporarily fixed. The area number of the storage area to be newly set as the overwrite permitted area is designated from among the area numbers. Areas other than the storage area with the specified area number are overwritten prohibited areas. The newly designated area number is the area number enclosed by □ in the figure, and the area numbers are assigned to the left side of the pre-accident area. On the left side of the pre-accident area, the area number of the storage area that stores the video data with the oldest written time is stored. Is big.

When the overwrite permission area is newly designated, the area number of the storage area designated as the overwrite permission area is output to the storage unit 5 in the interrupt process every 100 ms, as in the first embodiment, and an accident occurs. The data is sequentially stored from the position of the lower left corner of the rear area (hereinafter, referred to as a start position; indicated by S in the figure) along the arrow in the figure. The hatched portion of the post-accident area is the thinning area described in the first embodiment, and the area number is not output to the storage unit 5 and is not stored in the post-accident area. When all the area numbers of the newly designated overwrite permission area are output to the storage unit 5 and written in the post-accident area, the operation of the apparatus is stopped.

The management array at the time when the operation of the device is finished represents the relative time when the position represented by the row and the column is based on the time of the accident detection, and is stored in the management array. The time when the video data stored in the storage area of the area number was captured can be known. Therefore, it is possible to analyze the causal relationship of the accident, the behavior of the vehicle, etc. and reproduce the video of the accident from the video data.

FIG. 9 shows the temporal distribution of the video data recorded in the storage unit 5 when the operation of the apparatus is finished. The number immediately before and after the accident is 10 sheets / sec, which is the largest and traces back the time. Further, although it decreases as time passes after the accident, a continuous image data group from 15 seconds before the accident to 10 seconds after the accident is formed. For this reason, detailed information can be obtained immediately before and after the accident, and the process leading up to and after the accident can be recorded between the time immediately before and after the accident.

The time distribution of the number of pieces of video data is not limited to that in each of the above-described embodiments, but the setting of the hatched portion in each management array is changed to appropriately set the proportion occupied by the overwriting-permitted area and to obtain another value. It can be a time distribution. Further, in the hatched portion, the hatched portion and other portions are evenly distributed, so that a suitable video data group that does not impair continuity can be obtained.

The time distribution of the number of pieces of image data is set such that the number of pieces of image decreases as time elapses after the accident, but the number is not limited to this and may be constant.

The numerical values described in each embodiment, such as the size of the array, are not necessarily limited to these values, and are arbitrary as long as they do not violate the spirit of the present invention.

Further, although the acceleration sensor is provided as the accident detecting means, the amount of depression of the brake pedal can be used, and from the states of a plurality of types of vehicles, for example, O
You may make it detect an accident comprehensively by taking R output.

To retrieve the area number from the pool, use F
I am doing it at IFO, but FILO (First In Last Out
) You may go. However, when using an element with a short rewriting life such as a flash memory for the memory of the microcomputer, it is more advantageous to use the FIFO because the number of times of rewriting data becomes uniform in the storage area, in terms of the life of the element. is there.

Further, the image pickup means is not limited to the CCD camera, and any means can be used as long as it is capable of continuous photographing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram of a vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a table for explaining the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a first flowchart for explaining the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a first arrangement for explaining the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording apparatus of the present invention. is there.

FIG. 5 is a second flowchart for explaining the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a second arrangement for explaining the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the operation of the vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an array for explaining the operation of another vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graph for explaining the operation of another vehicle accident situation recording device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CCD camera (imaging means) 2 accident detection section (accident detection means) 4 microcomputer (writing control means) 5 storage section (storage means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means mounted on a vehicle for photographing an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, an accident detection means for detecting that an accident has occurred in the vehicle, and image data of the image photographed by the image pickup means. Are sequentially written in a time series and are overwritten and stored, and a write control unit that specifies a storage area in which the video data is written for each of the video data. The write control means specifies the storage area in which the video data is stored as an overwrite permission area, new video data is written in the overwrite permission area, the video is recorded endlessly, and the accident detection means detects the occurrence of an accident. Upon detection, in the vehicle accident situation recording device that stops the endless recording and leaves a record of the accident situation, the writing control means is set to the video data. The accident situation recording device for a vehicle, wherein the older the writing time is, the larger the ratio occupied by the overwrite permission area is set. 2. The vehicle accident situation recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the writing control means forms a set sequentially with a plurality of predetermined number of storage areas in which video data is written for a continuous time. A vehicle accident situation recording apparatus set so that a single or a plurality of storage areas are newly designated as an overwrite permission area from each group each time a predetermined time has elapsed since the group was formed. 3. The vehicle accident situation recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the writing control means is provided in the storage area designated as an overwrite permission area when an accident is detected by the accident detection means. A vehicle accident situation recording device set to store video data captured by the image capturing device after the occurrence of an accident is detected. 4. An image pickup means mounted on a vehicle for photographing the surroundings of the vehicle, an accident detection means for detecting that an accident has occurred in the vehicle, and image data of an image photographed by the image pickup means. An old image that has been written and stored sequentially in series and has an overwritable storage unit, and a write control unit that specifies a storage area in which the video data is written for each of the video data, and an old image that has passed a certain time after writing. The write control means designates the storage area in which data is stored as an overwrite permission area, new video data is written in the overwrite permission area, the video is recorded endlessly, and the accident detection means detects the occurrence of an accident. Then,
In the vehicle accident situation recording device for stopping the endless recording and leaving a record of the accident situation, the writing control means, before the accident detection means detects the occurrence of an accident,
When the accident detection means detects the occurrence of an accident by designating the overwrite permission area in order from the storage area with the oldest time when the video data was written, the older the time when the video data was written, A vehicle characterized in that a new overwrite permission area is newly specified so that the ratio becomes large, and the video data after the accident is detected by the accident detection means is recorded in the overwrite permission area. Accident situation recording device. 5. The vehicle accident situation recording apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein after the occurrence of an accident is detected by the accident detecting means, a time interval for writing video data as time elapses. A vehicle accident situation recording device that is set to be long.