WO2008043203A1

WO2008043203A1 - Automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment

Info

Publication number: WO2008043203A1
Application number: PCT/CN2006/002636
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ching-Shan Chang
Original assignee: Appro Technology Inc.
Priority date: 2006-10-09
Filing date: 2006-10-09
Publication date: 2008-04-17

Abstract

An automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment is provided. The mechanism includes a monitoring apparatus, a multimedia apparatus, a display unit, and a control unit. The monitoring apparatus outputs a monitoring information. The multimedia apparatus outputs an audio/video data. The control unit is coupled to the monitoring apparatus, the multimedia apparatus, and the display unit. The control unit receives the monitoring information and the audio/video data, and plays at least one of the monitoring information and the audio/video data on the display unit according to a play mode.

Description

AUTOMOTIVE/HANDHELD INTEGRATED SYNCHRONOUS PLAYBACK MECHANISM COMBINING MONITORING RECORDING APPARATUS WITH

MULTIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an integrated mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automotive/handheld integrated mechanism a combining monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment.

Description of Related Art

[0002] Video devices have become popular tools in modern life. Currently, in addition to providing entertainment, common video devices provide the function of capturing real-time dynamic or static images. Moreover, with the maturity of digital video recording technology, digital video recorders (DVRs) are gradually replacing conventional analog video recorders. That is because the data are digitalized by means of digital recording, and can be stored for a long term or be easily searched. Also, compared with the conventional analog video recorders, the cost of storage media and space for keeping the storage media can be saved by using DVRs. Therefore, the digital video recording technology has been used extensively in various fields, such as automotive safety monitoring systems. When the DVRs and the image capturing apparatuses are used together, the changes of the environment can be stored in high-capacity hard disks in the format of audio/video data, so as to facilitate the archiving or management. Prone to be mature and has high compression ratio, the compression technique used in the digital video recording is suitable for the long-term automotive safety recording and monitoring. [0003] Moreover, it is popular to equip vehicles with multimedia systems for entertainment currently. However, current automotive safety monitoring systems are not effectively integrated with the multimedia entertainment systems, i.e., they operate independently. Therefore, the two kinds of systems occupy large space, leading to the waste of space. Meanwhile, the purchasing cost and the complexity in operation are also increased, thus resulting a lot of troubles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention is directed to provide an automotive/handheld synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment that originally operate independently, so as to save space and purchasing cost.

[0005] Based on the aforementioned or other objects, the present invention provides an automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus and multimedia entertainment, which comprises a monitoring apparatus, a multimedia apparatus, a display unit, and a control unit. The monitoring apparatus outputs a monitoring information. The multimedia apparatus outputs an audio/video data. The control unit is coupled to the monitoring apparatus, the multimedia apparatus, and the display unit. The control unit receives the monitoring information and the audio/video data, and plays at least one of the monitoring information and the audio/video data on the display unit according to a play mode.

[0006] In the automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring apparatus comprises a video camera and a sound pickup device. The video camera is used to convert an external image into an image signal, the sound pickup device is used to convert an external sound to a sound signal, and the monitoring information includes the image signal and the sound signal. [0007] The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further comprises an audio/video compression unit. The audio/video compression unit is coupled between the monitoring apparatus and the control unit for compressing the monitoring information. [0008] The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further comprises a processing unit. The processing unit is coupled between the multimedia apparatus and the control unit, and is used to perform a decoding action or a compressing action on the audio/video data.

[0009] In the automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is coupled to a storage unit, and the storage unit stores the monitoring information and the audio/video data.

[0010] In the automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is corresponding to the storage unit, and is capable of searching any segment of the monitoring information and the audio/video data, and replaying the segment on the display unit. [0011] Based on the aforementioned or other objects, the present invention further provides an integrated synchronous playback method for the automotive/handheld mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment, which comprises dividing the display area of a display unit into a plurality of sub-areas, using the sub-areas to display the monitoring information or the multimedia audio/video data, or using the sub-areas to display the monitoring information and the multimedia audio/video data synchronously. [0012] In the integrated synchronous playback method for the automotive/handheld mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the sub-areas can switch between the monitoring information and the multimedia audio/video data freely. [0013] The present invention effectively integrates the monitoring recording apparatus and the multimedia entertainment system as whole, so the space occupied and the complexity in use are reduced substantially, thereby saving the purchasing cost.

[0014] In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block view of the apparatus of the automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0016] People are putting more and more emphasis on the life safety. Therefore, when purchasing vehicles, customers consider whether the vehicles can provide adequate safety protection in addition to the performance and comfortability. Under this trend, the improved rigidity of the vehicle structures, addition of air bags in the vehicles, and installation of antilock brake systems (ABSs) are used to improve the safety protection level of the vehicles.

[0017] In addition, it is also an effective manner of improving the safety protection to install video recording devices to shoot the surroundings, so as to assist the drivers to reduce the optical dead angles while driving, thereby preventing traffic accidents, which is the basic concept of the automotive safety recording and monitoring system. [0018] The automotive safety recording and monitoring system uses a method of using a manner of e.g. video recording to record the changes of the environment or information of the vehicle, so as to preserve the evidence for the vehicle. The system mainly involves installing video recording apparatuses in the vehicle to shoot various dynamic images inside or outside the vehicle at any time, and to capture and record the images shot at various angles, so as to provide the reference of the driving state. In case of a car accident, the recorded image data is used to determine the causes of the accident, and used as the evidence in the judgment. In addition, when monitoring vehicles, if an unusual case occurs, the obtained information can be sent to the monitoring system instantly, and the vehicle owner can be alerted at the same time, so as to guarantee the life and property safety of the vehicle owner. [0019] Furthermore, most vehicles are equipped with multimedia entertainment systems to satisfy the requirements of passengers for entertainment. Through the multimedia entertainment system, users of the vehicle can view digital multimedia optical discs, or watch digital TV through wireless signals, and thus the vehicle is like a mobile home cinema. Otherwise, the passengers can communicate and hold conference with remote users, and thus the vehicle is like a mobile office. [0020] One of the basic concepts of the present invention is to effectively integrate the monitoring and recording apparatus with the multimedia entertainment. FIG. 1 is a block view of the apparatus of the automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, this embodiment includes a monitoring apparatus 110, a multimedia apparatus 120, a control unit 130, an audio/video compression unit 116, a processing unit 122, a storage unit 132, and a display unit 140. The monitoring apparatus 110 outputs a monitoring information Sc, the audio/video compression unit 116 compresses the monitoring information Sc, the multimedia device 120 outputs the audio/video data Sv, and the processing unit 122 decodes or compresses the audio/video data Sv. The control unit 130 receives the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv, and displays at least one of the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv on the display unit 140. The display unit 140 is, for example, an LCD. [0021] In addition, the monitoring apparatus 110 includes a video camera 112 and a sound pickup device 114. The video camera 112 converts an external image to an image signal, and the monitoring information Sc includes the image signal. The video camera 112 is achieved by a charge coupled device camera (CCD camera) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) lens, which can be assembled in the front or rear of a vehicle, so as to dynamically capture real-time images, and send the data back to the monitoring apparatus 110 to store the data and record the time. The sound pickup device 114 (e.g., a microphone) converts the environment sound into a sound signal. The monitoring information Sc includes the sound signal. Therefore, the monitoring apparatus 110 can store the changes of the surroundings by the use of the video camera 112 and the sound pickup device 114 to facilitate the future recognition or analysis. The monitoring apparatus 110 can also record the states of the vehicle in driving, including the internal states of vehicle, such as engine speeds, states of the fuel system, vehicle speeds, and vehicle computer information. Moreover, the monitoring apparatus 100 can also record the external information, such as moisture, temperature, or the GPS (global positioning system) position. The aforementioned information can be included in the monitoring information Sc.

[0022] The multimedia apparatus 120 has various types. Several types are illustrated below, but the present invention is not limited to these, and other types of multimedia apparatuses can be employed without departing from the spirit of the present invention in practice. In this embodiment, the multimedia apparatus 120 can be a game machine for playing multimedia games, or a card reader through which pictures, movies, or the like in a memory card can be played. In addition, the multimedia apparatus 120 can be an optical disc drive capable of reading various digital multimedia optical discs, or a digital TV capable of playing various audio and visual contents provided by TV stations.

[0023] Furthermore, the storage unit 132 of this embodiment can store the monitoring information Sc, such that the monitored changes of the surroundings are stored for future recognition. The storage unit 132 can also store the audio/video data Sv, such that the user can view the content of the audio/video data Sv without using an external storage device. For example, the storage unit 132 is a hard disk, which can store a large amount of data due to the large capacity of the hard disk. The storage unit 132 can also be a card reader capable of storing data in a storage media such as memory card. Being light and thin, the memory cards are more convenient to carry. [0024] As a large amount of data can be stored in the storage unit 132, the data must be managed effectively. In this embodiment, the management performed by the user includes modifying the name of any segment of the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv to distinguish one from another, or deleting any segment to save the storage space. In order to protect the output data and to prevent the data from being disclosed, a recognition system can be used to recognize the user, i.e., the right to perform the management is determined by the identity of the user. For example, the user must input the account number or the password to rename or delete files in the audio/video data. [0025] The control unit 130 is corresponding to the storage unit 132, and is capable of searching any segment in the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv (for example, according to searching conditions of the time of storage or the name of the segment searched), and replaying the segment on the display unit 140 (for example, in the modes of fast, slow, or step, or in the forward or reverse directions). For example, when searching the internal states of the vehicle or the surroundings when the vehicle speed is over 80 km/h, the user can retrieve the video information in accordance with the segment name by setting a single condition or multiple conditions, which is quite convenient for the user.

[0026] In this embodiment, as the monitoring recording apparatus and the multimedia entertainment system are integrated as whole, the two systems can share the display unit 140. After the control unit 130 receives the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv, at least one of the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv is displayed on the display unit 140 according to the play mode. A plurality of play modes is available in this embodiment. One of the play modes is to divide the display area of the display unit 140 into a plurality of sub-areas, and to display at least one of the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv in these sub-areas in sync. In other words, a plurality of images of the monitoring information Sc or a plurality of images of the audio/video data Sv can be viewed from the display unit 140 at one time, or a plurality of images of the monitoring information Sc and a plurality of images of the audio/video data Sv can be viewed in sync. In addition, in this embodiment, the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv can be freely switched to be displayed in any sub-area of the display unit 140. Another play mode is to display the monitoring information Sc or the audio/video data Sv in full image of the display unit 140, and the user can freely switch between the monitoring information Sc and the audio/video data Sv.

[0027] It should be noted that in addition to being applied in vehicles, the integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment can also be realized in the handheld mode, for example, in applied in handheld devices such as a mobile phones. When the integrated mechanism is applied in the handheld mode, the pulse recorder, the pedometer, the heart rate recorder, or the humidity meter worn by the user can be taken as the monitoring apparatus 110 to monitor the physical state of the user or the changes of the environment. At this time, the monitoring information Sc can include the aforementioned information. Meanwhile, it can also be applied to the personal handheld apparatus to display the multimedia entertainment information. [0028] To sum up, the automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment of the present invention has the following advantages. [0029] (1) The monitoring recording apparatus is integrated with the multimedia entertainment, so that one system has multiple functions, thus saving space and purchasing cost.

[0030] (2) This mechanism has a wide application. The real-time monitoring function can be used to monitor vehicles or persons going out for sports or at home, so as to react or take measures in real time when accident happens, and can also be used to provide evidence for the recognition and judgment of the accident by retrieving the monitored audio/video data after accident happens.

[0031] (3) As the monitoring recording apparatus is integrated with the multimedia entertainment, the complexity in use is reduced, and thus the efficiency of operation is improved.

[0032] It will be apparent to persons of ordinary art in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment, comprising: a monitoring apparatus, for outputting a monitoring information; a multimedia apparatus, for outputting an audio/video data; a display unit; and a control unit, coupled to the monitoring apparatus, the multimedia apparatus, and the display unit, wherein the control unit receives the monitoring information and the audio/video data, and plays at least one of the monitoring information and the audio/video data on the display unit according to a display mode.

2. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitoring apparatus comprises at least a video camera for converting an external image into an image signal, and the monitoring information comprises the image signal.

3. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the monitoring apparatus comprises at least a sound pickup device for converting an external sound into a sound signal, and the monitoring information comprises the sound signal.

4. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sound pickup device is a microphone.

5. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an audio/video compression unit, wherein the audio/video compression unit is coupled between the monitoring apparatus and the control unit for compressing the monitoring information.

6. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a processing unit, wherein the processing unit is coupled between the multimedia apparatus and the control unit, and is used to perform a decoding action or a compressing action on the audio/video data.

7. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multimedia apparatus is a digital TV.

8. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multimedia apparatus is an optical disc drive.

9. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multimedia apparatus is a card reader.

10. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multimedia apparatus is a game machine.

11. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit is coupled to a storage unit, and the storage unit stores the monitoring information and the audio/video data.

12. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the storage unit is a hard disk.

13. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 11, wherein the storage unit is a card reader.

14. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit is capable of searching any segment of the monitoring information and the audio/video data, and replaying the segment on the display unit.

15. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control unit searches the segment according to the time of storage or the name of the segment.

16. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control unit performs a management on the segment, and the management comprises modifying the name of the segment or deleting the segment.

17. The automotive/handheld integrated synchronous playback mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 16, wherein the right of the control unit to manage the segment is determined by an identity of a user.

18. An integrated synchronous playback method for the automotive/handheld mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment, comprising: dividing the display area of a display unit into a plurality of sub-areas; and using the plurality of sub-areas to display a monitoring information or a multimedia audio/video data, or using the plurality of sub-areas to display the monitoring information and the multimedia audio/video data in sync.

19. The integrated synchronous playback method for the automotive/handheld mechanism combining a monitoring recording apparatus with multimedia entertainment as claimed in claim 18, wherein each of the sub-areas displays the monitoring information or the multimedia audio/video data.