KR20090102039A - Apparatus for intermediating image and apparatus for capturing image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for intermediating image and apparatus for capturing an image are provided allow a user to find out a road condition in remote place since the user confirms the road condition of a certain region through a mobile terminal whenever necessary. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for intermediating image and apparatus for capturing an image are composed of a request receiver(210), a location information DB(25), and a service provider(220). The request receiver receives an image purchase request, and the image purchase request includes the location information from a user terminal. The location information DB stores the location information of vehicles on which an image supplying unit. The service provider control a traffic information image to be supplied from the image pick-up based on the information stored in the location information DB to the user terminal.

Description

Road image intermediary and image acquisition device {Apparatus for intermediating image and Apparatus for Capturing Image}

The present invention relates to a real-time road image relay device and an image acquisition device, and more particularly, to a road image relay device and an image acquisition device for providing a real-time road image.

As a method of identifying specific road situation information at a remote location, a loop type vehicle detector installed on a road surface in a freeway traffic management system (FTMS) and detecting a vehicle driving situation, and an image type vehicle detecting a road traffic situation through video recording There are ways to collect results detected by driving detection devices such as detectors, CCTVs and emergency calls. FTMS (Freeway Traffic Management System) is an abbreviation for highway traffic management system. It is a highway intelligent traffic system (ITS) established by Korea Expressway Corporation to provide accurate road information to drivers using highways and manage traffic conditions.

However, the method of measuring the speed of the vehicle by installing the loop type detector involves civil works during the installation of the loop coil detector, thereby causing traffic inconvenience during the construction period. In addition, for collecting information, a separate dedicated cable should be installed or KT leased line should be used. More advanced method is to check the road situation by video using CCTV camera. The method of collecting traffic information by CCTV camera mainly transmits information through its own network. Therefore, installation costs or line maintenance costs are greatly generated.

As such, the method of detecting the speed of the vehicle by using the driving detection apparatus cannot determine the exact speed of the vehicle, that is, the traffic volume information, in a place without the speed sensor. Therefore, in order to detect the traffic volume, a large number of speed sensors should be provided for each road, thereby increasing the number of communication lines, thereby increasing the burden on installation costs and communication rents. How to use CCTV cameras also has a limitation that traffic information can be identified only in the area where CCTV cameras are installed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a real-time road image intermediary device and an image acquisition device that can check the situation of a particular road as a real-time image without restriction of place or time.

In addition, when necessary, it is an object of the mobile terminal user or the police station to perform a voice call while watching the video with the vehicle driver of a specific area.

The technical problem is a request receiving unit for receiving an image purchase request including location information from the user terminal according to the present invention; A location information DB for storing location information of vehicles on which an image providing device is mounted; And when the image purchase request is received, the traffic information image from the image acquisition device installed in at least one vehicle operating at the corresponding location based on the information stored in the location information DB, to the user terminal that made the image purchase request. It is achieved by a real-time road image intermediary device comprising a; service providing unit for processing to provide.

On the other hand, the communication unit; An image processor which receives a captured image from at least one camera and converts the captured image into road image data; And a controller configured to transmit access identification information in response to the request for selling information and to provide the road image data through a communication channel formed with a user terminal requesting an image purchase. It is also achieved by the device.

According to the present invention, it is possible for a user to easily check the road situation of a specific region by using an image at a desired time by using a portable terminal, so as to accurately grasp a traffic condition or a road location of a remote place.

In addition, it is possible to conduct a voice call with the vehicle holder currently located in the area, thereby obtaining more accurate information.

1 is a block diagram of a real-time road image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a road image intermediation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an image processing unit in more detail;

The foregoing and further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following examples. Hereinafter, with reference to the preferred embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily understand and implement.

1 is a block diagram of a real-time road image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated, the road image providing system according to the present invention includes a real-time road image intermediary device 20, a user terminal 10 carried by a user, and a road image acquisition device 30 mounted on a vehicle.

The user terminal 10 may be implemented as a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a PDA that can be used by the user. The terminal holder inputs an image purchase request together with the location information of a specific road or place through the user terminal 10. In this case, the road information may be input in the form of address information, and a preset road number may be selected. In addition, according to an embodiment, an image purchase request including identification information of an image acquisition device mounted on a specific vehicle having a connection history may be input.

In this case, the user terminal 10 is not limited to a mobile terminal, but may be implemented as a personal computer such as a home TV or a desktop or a notebook computer having a VoIP function. In addition, the user terminal 10 may be a navigation mounted on a vehicle.

The image acquisition device 30 is mounted on a vehicle. The image acquisition device 30 obtains a road photographing image from at least one camera installed above the vehicle exterior. It may be implemented to be mounted on a vehicle in the form of a small terminal. In addition, the image acquisition device 30 obtains its current position as GPS coordinate information from the GPS satellites. The image capturing apparatus 30 transmits the GPS coordinate information obtained from the GPS satellites to the road image relay apparatus 20 periodically or by request for location information.

When the road image intermediary device 20 receives a road image purchase request for a specific location from a user terminal, the road image mediation apparatus 20 searches for information on vehicles located in the area based on the location information of the vehicles stored in the location information DB 25 provided. do. The search result transmits a video selling request to at least some of the at least one vehicle existing at the location. When a response to the image sales request is received, the mediation may be performed between the image acquisition apparatus 30 mounted in the vehicle in which the response is received and the user terminal 10 that has transmitted the road image purchase request.

According to an embodiment, the road image intermediary device 20 may enable a communication channel to be formed in a P2P form between the user terminal 10 transmitting the road image purchase request and the image acquisition device transmitting the response to the image selling request. Can be. In another embodiment, the road image intermediation device 20 may be implemented by obtaining road image information of a corresponding region from the image acquisition device 30 provided in the vehicle and transferring the road image information to the user terminal 10. .

First, the user terminal 10 transmits a road situation image purchase request of a specific region including information input from the user to the road image intermediary apparatus (S100). Then, the road image intermediary device 20 searches for the vehicle information existing in the specific area based on the information stored in the location information DB 25 of the vehicle and the specific area included in the road condition image purchase request (S110). . Then, according to the search result, the image purchase request is transmitted to the image acquisition device 30 provided in the vehicles existing in the region (S120). In this case, the road image intermediary device 20 may simultaneously transmit an image purchase request to the image acquisition device 30 provided in all of the vehicles existing within a predetermined range of the corresponding position. It waits for a response to the request to be received. When the request response is received from the image acquisition device 30 mounted in a vehicle (S130), the road image intermediary device 20 receives the road image information from the image acquisition device 30 that has transmitted the response to the request. Process to transmit to the user terminal 10.

Specifically, at this time, the road image intermediary device 20 may intermediate to form a communication channel through P2P directly between the user terminal 10 requesting the road image information and the image acquisition device 30 responding to the image purchase request. (S150). However, it is not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, the road image relay device and the image acquisition device according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a road image intermediation apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the road image intermediary device 20 according to the present invention includes a communication unit 200, a request receiving unit 210, a location information DB 25, an image data storage unit 240, and a service providing unit 220. ).

The request receiving unit 210 receives an image purchase request from the user terminal through the communication unit 200. In one embodiment, the communication unit 200 includes an antenna and an RF circuit, and wireless communication with the mobile terminal is possible through the mobile communication network. In another embodiment, the communication unit 200 is a communication module capable of receiving a video purchase request received from a home television or a computer implemented with a VoIP function through the Internet network. Alternatively, the two methods may be implemented as a combined communication module. In addition, the communication unit 200 is implemented to enable data communication with the image acquisition device 30 or the navigation mounted on the moving vehicle.

The location information DB 25 stores location information of a vehicle equipped with the image acquisition device according to the present invention. In one embodiment, the location information DB 25 is preferably implemented as a memory that can be updated at any time. The image data storage unit 240 stores image data received from the image information obtaining apparatus. This can be implemented with a storage device such as a conventional memory.

The service provider 220 may be implemented as at least some of a microprocessor, a logic circuit, and a stored program. In the present embodiment, the service provider 220 receives the road image information purchase request from the user terminal through the request receiving unit 210, based on the information stored in the vehicle location information DB 25 in the region Find out about the current vehicle. In addition, processing is performed so that the captured image from the image capturing apparatus mounted on at least one of the vehicles existing in the region can be provided to the user terminal requesting the purchase.

In more detail, the service provider 220 includes an information searcher 222, a communication broker 224, an information updater 226, and an image manager 228.

The information retrieval unit 222 determines the location information included in the image purchase request received from the user terminal. And based on the information stored in the positional information DB 25, the vehicle information which exists in the position is grasped | ascertained.

The communication intermediary unit 224 processes the captured image from the image acquisition device mounted on at least one of the vehicles retrieved by the information retrieval unit 222 to the user terminal requesting the purchase. In this case, the service provider 220 transmits a request for selling image information from the image acquisition device 30 installed in at least one vehicle operating at the corresponding location. Then, the image obtaining apparatus 30 waits for a response to the request for selling image information to be received.

The service provider 220 may transmit a request for selling image information to an image capturing apparatus of vehicles existing within a predetermined range of a specific location. The communication broker 224 specifically acquires connection identification information from one of the image acquisition apparatuses responding to the information selling request. Then, the obtained access identification information is transmitted to the user terminal requesting the purchase of the information. In this case, the communication broker 224 may receive a response from the plurality of vehicles. The communication broker 224 selects some of the plurality of responses. In one embodiment, the communication broker 224 selects the connection identification information only for the image obtaining apparatus that responds the fastest. According to another embodiment, the road image intermediary device may retain and manage image sales history information about the image acquisition apparatuses. In addition, the image acquisition apparatus having the smallest number of sales histories may be selected so that image sales are fairly performed according to the number of sales.

Even if a plurality of responses are received to the information selling request, the communication broker 224 selects some of them and transmits the connection identification information of the image capturing apparatus to the user terminal. In the present embodiment, since the video relay device merely serves as a broker, when the communication channel is formed so that P2P communication is directly performed between the user terminal and the image acquisition device, the road video relay device may be implemented to disconnect the connection. In addition, the communication broker 224 may form a communication channel to transmit data between the image capturing apparatus and another image capturing apparatus. That is, mediation is performed so that data communication between image acquisition devices is performed.

The information updater 226 receives the location information from the image acquisition device 30 mounted in the plurality of vehicles through the communication unit 200 and updates the information stored in the location information DB 25. In the present embodiment, the information updater 226 periodically receives current location information from the image capturing apparatus and updates previously stored information. However, it is not limited thereto.

The image manager 228 obtains image data from the image acquisition device through the communication unit 200. The obtained image data is stored in the image data storage 240. In the present embodiment, the image manager 228 matches and stores the time information at the reception time and the position information of the vehicle on which the image acquisition device is mounted at the time with respect to the image data received from the image acquisition device. In other words, it is possible to extract image data for a specific point at a specific time point later. According to an embodiment, when a request for road situation image information of a specific area is received from a user terminal at a specific time period, the image manager 228 extracts some of the image data stored in the previously stored image data storage unit to provide to the user terminal. It is possible.

In addition, when an image purchase request is received from the user terminal through a P2P connection, the communication broker 224 forms a communication channel between the user terminal and the image capturing apparatus as described above. On the other hand, when a video purchase request for the latest updated image or a video purchase request for an image of a past specific time point is received from the user terminal, the image manager 228 extracts and provides the corresponding image in response to the video purchase request.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the communication image mediation apparatus according to the present invention further includes a charging processor 250. When the communication connection between the user terminal and the image capturing apparatus is terminated, the charging processor 250 acquires the charging information for the image purchase from the image capturing apparatus mounted on the vehicle, reports the obtained charging information to the user terminal, and displays the road image. Perform billing processing for the offer.

In the present embodiment, the charging processor 250 may receive a termination report indicating that the communication connection is terminated from one of the user terminal or the image acquisition apparatus. When a report message indicating that the connection is terminated is received, the billing process is performed. In more detail, information necessary for billing processing may be received from the image capturing apparatus. For example, the information required for the billing process may be a communication connection time, data transmission amount information, and the like. Then, the billing processing unit 250 performs the billing processing based on the information necessary for billing processing according to a predetermined criterion. Then, the billing information for calculating the corresponding image is reported to the user terminal 10. In one embodiment, the billing processing unit 250 may be implemented to be integrated with the call charge of the user terminal in conjunction with the mobile carrier server.

In another embodiment, the billing processing unit 250 may be linked with the credit card company server to perform the billing processing based on the card information of the user using the user terminal. The billing processor 250 is not limited thereto and is interpreted to cover various embodiments capable of efficiently processing billing processing for performing communication and providing information.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image capturing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the image capturing apparatus includes a communicator 300, an image processor 310, a controller 320, and a GPS receiver 330.

The communicator 300 may be configured not only to communicate with an image relay device through a communication network but also to communicate with a user terminal through a mobile communication network.

The image processor 310 receives a captured image from at least one camera and converts the captured image into road image data. At least one camera is mounted on the outer upper portion of the vehicle. In one embodiment, one or more cameras may be mounted on the taxi display panel of the vehicle outer top portion. At this time, the cameras may be provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the taxi sign respectively. That is, it is provided in the position which can photograph the road situation around a vehicle efficiently. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be implemented as a rotary camera. For example, the cameras provided on the front, rear, left and right sides, respectively, can be rotated left and right by periodic or manual operation signals, thereby widening the photographing range. In another embodiment, one camera may be mounted on the upper portion of the vehicle exterior and rotated 360 degrees to capture surrounding road images. In this case, the cameras may be provided in a detachable form.

4 is a diagram illustrating in more detail the configuration of the image processor.

The image processor 310 receives images captured by the plurality of cameras and converts the images into one image data. Specifically, the A / D converters 312-1, 312-2, 312-3, and 312-4. , Scaling units 314-1, 314-2, 314-3, and 314-4, a multiplexer 316, an encoding unit 318, and a coding unit 139. The image processor 310 includes an image input buffer and synchronizes images captured by a plurality of cameras. In this case, an image may be received from a camera by an NTSC (National Television System Committee) method. However, it is not limited thereto. The A / D converters 312-1, 312-2, 312-3, and 312-4 convert the captured images input from the respective cameras into digital data. In the present exemplary embodiment, the image processor 310 may be implemented through an image processing chip such as a MUX chip. In the present exemplary embodiment, the image processor 310 may normally input 4 to 16 channels. However, it is not limited thereto.

The scaling units 314-1, 314-2, 314-3, and 314-4 convert the data converted into digital data by the A / D converters 312-1, 312-2, 312-3, and 312-4. To scale. The scaling units 314-1, 314-2, 314-3, and 314-4 perform a vertical / horizontal direction deduction function. This is a task required to contain a plurality of shot images taken by the cameras on one screen. For example, the scaling units 314-1, 314-2, 314-3, and 314-4 display images captured by each camera so that the front, rear, left, and right shots are output in four divisions on one screen. Can be scaled. In another embodiment, the scaling units 314-1, 314-2, 314-3, and 314-4 capture each image so that images captured by two cameras before / after, or left / right are output on one screen. Scale the image. However, it is not limited thereto.

The multiplexer 316 combines image data scaled to an appropriate size by the scaling units 314-1, 314-2, 314-3, and 314-4 into a single screen. However, it is not limited thereto. Images captured by a plurality of cameras may be output by a single image, or images generated by a plurality of cameras may be multiplexed to generate and output one frame as a split screen.

The encoder 318 compresses the image data multiplexed by the multiplexer. For example, the encoding unit 318 may use RGB or YUV format, or may compress according to an algorithm such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). The coding unit 139 codes the image data in a format that can be transmitted according to the standard according to the communication channel formed with the user terminal. The image data coded by the coding unit 139 is transmitted to the user terminal through a communication channel formed with the user terminal. In one embodiment, the coding unit 139 may perform coding in a low-density parity-check codes (LDPC) method. However, it is not limited thereto.

The GPS receiver 330 is implemented as a Global Positioning System (GPS) module that receives a GPS signal from a satellite. The GPS module measures the exact time and distance from three or more satellites and can calculate the current position accurately by triangulating three different distances.

The control unit 320 transmits the access identification information in response to the request to sell the information. When a connection request is received from the user terminal, a communication channel is formed with the user terminal. The communication channel formed at this time is a type suitable for P2P transmission. Then, the image data output from the image processor 310 is transmitted through a communication channel formed with the user terminal requesting the image purchase.

In more detail, the controller 320 includes a location information reporter 322, a communication channel forming unit 324, an image provider 326, and a voice call unit 328.

The location information reporter 322 obtains current location information from the GPS receiver 330. And transmits the current location information of the road image intermediary device 20 through the communication unit 300.

The communication channel forming unit 324 forms a communication channel with a user terminal through which a connection request is received through the communication unit 300. First, when a sales request is received through the communication unit 300, the communication channel forming unit 324 transmits its connection identification information. The communication channel forming unit 324 forms a communication channel with a user terminal requesting a communication connection to the user based on the connection identification information.

The image provider 326 transmits the image data output from the image processor 310 to the user terminal through the communication channel through the communication unit 300. According to an aspect of the present invention, the image providing unit 326 is characterized in that for transmitting the streaming video data. Accordingly, there is an effect that can accurately provide the road situation image in real time.

The voice call unit 328 makes a voice call with the user terminal by using a speaker and a microphone additionally provided. In one embodiment, the voice call unit is implemented to include a codec for converting a voice signal input to the microphone into a form suitable for transmission through the communication channel formed with the user terminal. The apparatus may further include a decoder to decompress voice data received from the user terminal through a communication channel and output the same through a speaker. However, the voice call unit 328 is not limited to this, and is interpreted to cover all technical configurations necessary for performing a voice call.

In addition, the control unit 320 is preferably implemented to calculate the billing information and report to the image relay device when the communication connection established with the user terminal is terminated. In this case, the charging information is preferably implemented with information that can be used to calculate the charge, including, for example, talk time, data capacity information transmitted through the communication channel, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the image capturing apparatus may be implemented to further perform a function of mediating in addition to directly providing a photographed image obtained through a camera to the user terminal. In this case, the communication channel forming unit 324 further forms a communication channel with an image relay device mounted in another vehicle. The camera may further obtain a captured image from an image intermediary device mounted on another vehicle, provide the captured image to a user terminal, or store the image in a storage unit provided therein. In addition, it may further transmit to another image acquisition device.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims (7)

A request receiving unit receiving an image purchase request including location information from a user terminal; A location information DB for storing location information of vehicles on which an image providing device is mounted; And When the image purchase request is received, based on the information stored in the location information DB, providing the traffic information image from the image acquisition device installed in at least one vehicle running at the corresponding location to the user terminal making the image purchase request. Real-time road image intermediary apparatus comprising a; service providing unit for processing. The method of claim 1, The service providing unit includes a communication broker for relaying a communication connection between the image providing apparatus mounted on the searched vehicle and the user terminal. The method of claim 2, The service provider transmits a request for selling image information to image acquisition devices installed in at least one vehicle operating at the corresponding location. And a communication broker obtaining connection identification information from one of the image acquisition apparatuses responding to the information selling request, and providing the obtained connection identification information to the user terminal. The method of claim 1, When the communication connection is terminated, charging is performed to obtain charging information about an image purchase from an image acquisition device mounted in the vehicle, report the obtained charging information to the user terminal, and perform charging processing for providing the road image. Real-time road image intermediary device further comprising a processing unit. Communication unit; An image processor which receives a captured image from at least one camera and converts the captured image into road image data; And And a controller configured to transmit access identification information in response to the request for selling information and to provide the road image data through a communication channel formed with a user terminal requesting an image purchase. . The device of claim 5, wherein the device is Further comprising: a GPS receiver for receiving a GPS signal including the current location information, The control unit is a location information reporting unit for transmitting the current location information received by the GPS receiver to the road image intermediary device through the communication unit, when a video purchase request is received from the road image intermediary device to transmit the access identification information to request the video purchase And a communication channel forming unit for forming a communication channel with the user terminal, and an image providing unit for streaming and transmitting image data to the user terminal through the formed channel. The method of claim 5, The control unit further comprises a voice call unit for performing a voice call with the user terminal through the communication channel formed in the communication channel forming unit.