KR101760261B1 - Around view monitoring system having function of black box and operating method - Google Patents

Abstract

An AVM system and an operation method having a black box function are disclosed. According to an aspect of the present invention, an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system having a black box function includes: an image input unit that stores, in a storage unit, video signals input in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle; An image synthesizer for generating a monitoring image using the image data; An accident determination unit for analyzing the monitoring image to determine whether an accident has occurred; And a black box function unit for processing the monitoring image corresponding to the time of the accident by the accident judgment unit as a black box image.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an AVM system having a black box function and an operating method thereof,

The present invention relates to an AVM system having a black box function for storing accident images and a method for operating the AVM system.

A black box is a device for taking a specific monitoring space and performing surveillance functions. In the case of a vehicle, a black box is used to generate and store various driving information and forward video information at the time of driving, and to accurately ascertain the accident occurrence at the time of an accident.

 In recent years, the mounting rate of such a black box has been gradually increasing, and it has become established as an essential fitting of a vehicle. A black box installed in a vehicle normally stores all captured images in chronological order. When a shock or the like is detected so that only an image such as an accident can be easily detected, the corresponding image is also stored as an event image. However, when only the impact is detected, the image due to the impact caused by the bump, the uneven portion, and the impact when the door is closed is also stored as an event, so that images other than the images related to the accident are also stored as event images. Therefore, there are inconveniences of retrieval, and there is a problem that the number of event images is increased and storage capacity is occupied.

Conventionally, a conventional black box device is provided as an independent device for only a black box function. However, since a black box device is installed inside the vehicle, space is limited and the image along the back or side of the vehicle is acquired To do this, you need to install and connect a separate camera.

Korean Patent No. 10-1047538 (Registered Date: July 01, 2011) Image storage and method of a vehicle black box system

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system for collecting and providing peripheral images of a vehicle as an auxiliary device for safe operation, .

In addition, the present invention provides an AVM system and a method of operating a black box function that allows a user to easily search for an accident image by utilizing only a storage space more effectively by analyzing and storing only an actual accident image will be.

In addition, the present invention provides an AVM system and a method of operation that have a black box function for providing a black box image to more easily grasp an accident situation.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the following preferred embodiments.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system, comprising: an image input unit for storing, in respective camera image data, image signals input in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle; An image synthesizer for generating a monitoring image using the image data; An accident determination unit for analyzing the monitoring image to determine whether an accident has occurred; And a black box function unit for processing the monitoring image corresponding to the time of the accident by the accident determination unit as a black box image.

Here, the black box function may analyze the monitoring image or the image data to obtain moving speed or license plate information of an accident vehicle due to an accident, and the moving speed or license plate information may be stored together with the black box image .

Also, the black box function may calculate the traveling speed of the vehicle by analyzing the monitoring image or the image data, and the traveling speed may be stored together with the black box image.

The black box function further recognizes a collision direction with the accident vehicle, calculates an error rate using the collision direction and the moving speed of the accident vehicle, and the error rate is stored together with the black box image .

The black box function unit analyzes image data corresponding to the time of the accident, identifies an accident location by recognizing at least one of nearby signs, a shop sign, and a building, It can be stored together with the box image.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating in an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system, the method comprising: storing video signals input from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle in respective storage units as respective camera image data; Generating a monitoring image using the image data; Analyzing the monitoring image to determine whether an accident has occurred; And storing the monitoring image corresponding to the time of the accident as a black box image when it is determined that an accident has occurred, and a recording medium on which a program for executing the method is recorded is provided .

The method may further include analyzing the monitoring image or the image data to calculate the moving speed of the accident vehicle according to the occurrence of the accident or to read the license plate information of the accident vehicle, It is possible to store the black box image so that one is displayed.

Also, the monitoring image or the image data may be analyzed to calculate the traveling speed of the vehicle, and the black box image may be stored such that the traveling speed is displayed.

Further, it is possible to further recognize the collision direction with the accident vehicle, to calculate the fault rate using the collision direction, the moving speed of the accident vehicle, and the traveling speed of the vehicle, Can be stored.

The method may further include the step of analyzing image data corresponding to the time of the accident to identify an accident location by recognizing at least one of a nearby sign, a store sign, and a building, It can be stored together with the box image.

According to the present invention, since an AVM (around view system) that collects and provides peripheral images of a vehicle as an auxiliary device for safe operation provides a black box function, there is no need to install a separate device for the black box function, And the space inside the vehicle can be used more efficiently.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is an effect of allowing a user to more easily search for an accident image by utilizing the storage space more efficiently by analyzing and storing only the accident image.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to more easily grasp the accident history by providing information on the accident history in the top view image by the AVM.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a concept of an AVM system providing a top view image. FIG.
2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a flowchart illustrating a black box image storing process in an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a black box image generation process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a black box image according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, terms such as a first threshold value, a second threshold value, and the like which will be described later may be previously designated with threshold values that are substantially different from each other or some of which are the same value, Because there is room, the terms such as the first and the second are to be mentioned for convenience of division.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like refer to the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

It is to be understood that the components of the embodiments described with reference to the drawings are not limited to the embodiments and may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is to be understood that although the description is omitted, multiple embodiments may be implemented again in one integrated embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

1 is a view schematically showing the concept of an AVM system for providing a top view image.

Referring to FIG. 1, cameras 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d (hereinafter, collectively referred to as 110) are installed on front and rear sides, right and left sides of the vehicle 100, respectively. Each of the cameras 110 photographs the images A, B, C, and D on the front and rear sides and the left and right sides of the vehicle 100 and displays the captured image on a video (B) of FIG. 1), and outputs the reconstructed image to various display devices mounted on the vehicle 100.

The reconstructed AVM image is generated by converting an image photographed horizontally on the ground by a camera 110 installed on front and rear sides, left and right sides of the vehicle into an image of a shape perpendicular to the ground, Since there is a distance from the event, a detailed explanation thereof is omitted.

As described above, the AVM system generates and provides a monitoring image such as a top view image by using image data by a plurality of cameras.

Hereinafter, a method of operating the black box function in the AVM system will be described in detail.

2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the AVM system according to the present embodiment includes an image input unit 210, an image synthesizing unit 220, a storage unit 230, an accident determination unit 240, a black box function unit 250, (260). Although not shown, a controller for controlling the operation of one or more components included in the AVM system may further be included.

The image input unit 310 generates camera image data, which is captured and input from the at least one camera 110 provided in the vehicle 100 or the main body, as camera image data, and stores the camera image data in the storage unit 230. Here, the camera 110 may be implemented as a wide-angle camera in order to capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle with a small quantity.

The storage unit 230 stores an operation program of the AVM system, camera image data generated by the image input unit 310, monitoring image data generated by the image synthesizing unit 220 to be described later, And a black box image by the controller 250 may be stored. The storage unit 230 may be separated into a permanent storage memory for permanently storing data and a temporary storage memory for temporarily storing and operating data necessary for operation, or may be operated as a removable memory.

The image synthesis unit 220 generates a monitoring image output by the display unit 260 using the camera image data stored in the storage unit 230.

As described above, the AVM system according to the present embodiment generates a top view image by photographing the front, rear, left, and right sides respectively, and when the user performs driving, parking, etc., . In other words, the image synthesizing unit 220 synthesizes the image data of the plurality of cameras 110 to generate AVM image data, which is a top view image that looks like the vehicle's environment from above the vehicle, as a monitoring image do. The top view image generated as shown in FIG. 1 by the image generating unit 220 will be output through the display unit 260.

Here, the image generating unit 220 generates AVM image information, that is, images obtained by horizontally photographing images on the ground by the cameras 110 installed on the front and rear sides, left and right sides of the vehicle, And thus the process of generating and converting the image is distant from the technical idea of the present invention and will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The accident determination unit 240 analyzes the monitoring image synthesized using the image data and / or image data by the camera 110, and determines whether or not an accident has occurred. In other words, the AVM system detects an object moving in the direction of the vehicle using a top view or a wide-angle original image obtained by combining images using three or more cameras, and judges whether or not there is an accident with the vehicle. For example, various sensors capable of detecting an impact may be provided. When an impact value is inputted from the sensor, the image (the monitoring image and / or the original image by each camera 110) stored in the storage unit 230 ) To determine if any objects are approaching the car.

If it is determined by the accident determination unit 240 that an accident has occurred, the black box function unit 250 stores a monitoring image of a predetermined time before and after the time of the accident as a black box image.

Hereinafter, a process of storing a black box image will be described in detail.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a black box image storing process in an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the AVM system stores image data of each of the plurality of cameras 110 (S310), and generates a monitoring image using the stored image data (S320). This has been described above and will be obvious to those skilled in the art, so redundant explanations are omitted.

The AVM system mainly analyzes the generated monitoring image (S330), and determines whether an accident has occurred (S340). That is, when a top view image showing the front and rear sides and the left and right sides of the vehicle is provided as a monitoring image, it can be determined whether or not an accident occurs by determining whether there is an object causing a collision by accessing the vehicle. Or, in order to recognize a more accurate accident occurrence, it can be recognized that an accident occurs when a sensing value by the provided collision detection sensor is present and an object causing a collision is identified by image analysis.

When the occurrence of an accident is recognized, the AVM system stores a monitoring image corresponding to the time of the accident (for example, 10 seconds before the accident time and 10 seconds after the accident) as a black box image (S350).

According to the present embodiment, by using an image according to an AVM system used as an auxiliary system for safe operation as a black box image, there is no need to install a separate additional system for a black box, The storage capacity can be efficiently used and the user can easily search for an accident image.

Although the monitoring image is stored as a black box image in the present embodiment, the monitoring image may be generated and stored as a black box image according to another embodiment. Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a black box image generation process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary black box image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the AVM system analyzes the monitoring image and / or the image data by the camera 110 to recognize the speed and running direction of each vehicle (i.e., the vehicle and the accident vehicle) (S410). That is, it is analyzed how much the vehicle has a speed (hereinafter referred to as a running speed) and how much of the accident vehicle has a speed (hereinafter, referred to as a moving speed) approaching and colliding in any direction. Here, the traveling speed of the vehicle can be acquired from an external device such as a navigation system provided or a speed measuring device (a device for measuring the speed displayed on the instrument panel) provided in the vehicle itself. Alternatively, the relative speed may be calculated by analyzing the image captured by the camera 110 that photographs the outside and calculating the moving speed of the surrounding object. For example, the traveling speed of the vehicle can be calculated by analyzing the image taken by the camera that photographs the front of the vehicle and recognizing the degree of change of the lane displayed on the road in a dotted line of a predetermined length. For example, if six lanes of four meters with 1 meter intervals disappear in a second, then 30 meters per second (30 meters per second), which is 30 meters per 5 meters (1 + 4 meters) 108 km / h).

And, in a similar way, the speed of movement of an accident vehicle may also be measured. For example, the moving speed can be calculated by calculating the moving distance of the accident vehicle per frame by analyzing the top view image. For example, if the actual distance per centimeter of the top view image is 1 meter, if the accident vehicle analyzed at a frame period of 0.05 seconds travels 1 centimeter per frame, then the accident vehicle will travel at 20 meters per second, s (i.e., 72 km / h). By analyzing the top view image, it is possible to recognize the traveling direction (that is, the approaching direction) as to which direction the accident vehicle approaches. Then, the original image of the accident vehicle is analyzed to recognize the license plate of the accident vehicle, and license plate information such as the car number can be read.

The AVM system calculates the rate of failure (S420) by recognizing the calculated speed of the car and the accident vehicle and the approach direction of the accident vehicle. For example, if an accident vehicle is approaching and approaching from the rear side and the moving speed of the accident vehicle is higher than that of the vehicle, the fault rate will be set low. That is, the failure rate can be calculated according to the relative speed and approach direction between the vehicle and the accident vehicle. In order to more accurately calculate the error rate, it is also possible to recognize the lane of the road shown in the top view image, and to calculate the error rate by judging whether or not the vehicle and the accident vehicle have deviated from the lane. Of course, it can be seen that the error rate calculated here can be confirmed only as information that can be referred to by the driver, and it is natural that the actual error rate can be set at a different error rate. However, based on the information on the calculated error rate, the driver will be able to carry out accident handling without making more mistakes.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the AVM system analyzes not only the monitoring image but also the image data, which is the original image by each camera 110, to read the surrounding situation information such as a signboard of a nearby road, a signboard of a shop, ). A technique of recognizing text in an image is utilized in various fields and will be obvious to those skilled in the art, so that detailed description is omitted. Here, the AVM system may measure the current position using the surrounding situation information. That is, it analyzes the area name, road name, and the like displayed on the recognized road sign, the name of the nearby building, the telephone number displayed on the signboard of the shop, the name of the area, and the like to find out the approximate location of the accident.

The AVM system stores the black box image reflected in the monitoring image corresponding to the calculated failure rate and surrounding situation information at the time of the accident (S440). Referring to FIG. 5 illustrating a black box image using a top view image according to the time of an accident, an approach direction of an accident vehicle 500 colliding with the vehicle 100 can be known as an example. Information on the moving speed and the vehicle number. Further, information on the traveling speed of the vehicle and the calculated error rate 520 as described above can be further displayed on the screen. Although not shown in the figure, information on the position measured by analyzing the photographed image may be processed to be displayed on the black box image as described above. Of course, in this embodiment, a plurality of pieces of related information are displayed together in the image. However, according to another embodiment, related information may be displayed in a form of overlapping with a black box image according to a user's selection, And related information may be provided as audio information.

According to the present embodiment, unlike storing only an image at the time of an accident, each vehicle stores information about the speed, the vehicle number of the accident vehicle, the failure rate, etc. together with the black box image, .

The method of operating the AVM system having the black box function according to the present invention can be implemented as a computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording media storing data that can be decoded by a computer system. For example, it may be a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, or the like. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed and executed in a computer system connected to a computer network, and may be stored and executed as a code readable in a distributed manner.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made.

100: vehicle 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d:
210: image input unit 220:
230: storage unit 240: accident judgment unit
250: black box function 260: display part

Claims (11)

In an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system,
A video input unit for storing video signals inputted respectively in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle as respective camera video data in a storage unit;
An image synthesizer for generating a top view image using the image data;
An accident determination unit for analyzing the top view image to determine whether an accident has occurred;
A top view image corresponding to the time of an accident by the accident determination unit is processed as a black box image, and the top view image or the image data is analyzed to determine a traveling speed of the accident vehicle, The license plate information of the accident vehicle is recognized and the fault rate is calculated by using the traveling direction of the accident vehicle and the collision direction, and the fault related information, the license plate information, A black box function for processing the box image; And
And a display unit for displaying a top view image by the image synthesizing unit or a black box image on which the incident related information is processed.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the black box function calculates the traveling speed of the vehicle by analyzing the top view image or the image data,
And the traveling speed is displayed on the black box image.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the black box function unit analyzes the image data corresponding to the time of the accident and identifies an accident location by recognizing at least one of a nearby signboard, a store signboard, and a building, The AVM system having a black box function.
In an operation method in an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system,
Storing video signals inputted respectively in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle as respective camera image data in a storage unit;
Generating a top view image using the image data;
Analyzing the top view image to determine whether an accident has occurred; And
Storing a top view image corresponding to the time of an accident as a black box image when it is determined that an accident has occurred;
The top view image or the image data is analyzed to recognize the moving speed of the accident vehicle, the collision direction with the accident vehicle, and license plate information of the accident vehicle according to the occurrence of an accident, and use the moving speed of the accident vehicle Processing the black box image so that the error rate, the license plate information, and the accident related information on the collision direction are displayed together; And
And displaying the black box image processed with the accident related information.
delete The method of claim 6,
Wherein the black box image is stored such that the traveling speed of the vehicle is calculated by analyzing the top view image or the image data and the traveling speed is displayed.
delete The method of claim 6,
Further comprising the step of analyzing image data corresponding to the time of the accident and identifying an accident location by recognizing at least one of nearby signs, store signs, and buildings,
And the information about the accident location is stored together with the black box image.
10. A recording medium in which a program for performing the method of any one of claims 6, 8, and 10 is recorded so as to be read by a computer.

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