Abstract:
In order to enable an owner of an unattended parked vehicle to identify a party that struck the owner&#39;s unattended parked vehicle, the present invention provides for a method, system and computer-readable medium for integrating operation of an on-board recorder with one or more vehicle-mounted cameras. Whenever an impact of sufficient strength is detected by an impact detector on a vehicle, feed from one or more vehicle-mounted cameras, which have a field of view that encompasses the striking vehicle, is sent to the on-board video recorder. The feed can also be sent to a remote receiver, such as a computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a video-enabled cell phone, or a law enforcement monitor.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present invention relates in general to the field of vehicles, and more particularly to vehicles equipped with impact detectors. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a video recording device for unattended vehicles that have been struck by another vehicle. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    It is a common occurrence for vehicles to be damaged while parked in a public parking lot. That is, an unattended parked vehicle is often struck by another vehicle, shopping cart, person, etc., which/who then leaves the accident scene without acknowledging responsibility for the impact. The owner of the vehicle is therefore left with no recourse against the guilty party. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In order to enable an owner of an unattended parked vehicle to identify a party that struck the owner&#39;s unattended parked vehicle, the present invention provides for a method, system and computer-readable medium for integrating operation of an on-board recorder with one or more vehicle-mounted cameras. Whenever an impact of sufficient strength is detected by an impact detector on a vehicle, feed from one or more vehicle-mounted cameras, which have a field of view that encompasses the striking vehicle, is sent to the on-board video recorder. The feed can also be sent to a remote receiver, such as a computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a video-enabled cell phone, or a law enforcement monitor. 
         [0006]    The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further purposes and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where: 
           [0008]      FIGS. 1A-B  depict a vehicle with one or more vehicle-mounted external camera whose fields of view are directed to various areas proximate to the vehicle; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates additional detail for an Impact Camera System (ICS); 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary on-board computer in which the present invention may be utilized; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a flow-chart of exemplary steps taken by the present invention to visually record an impact to the vehicle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0012]    With reference now to the figures and in particular to  FIGS. 1A-B , a vehicle  100  is presented. Note that while vehicle  100  is presented for exemplary purposes, and as a preferred embodiment, as an automobile, vehicle  100  may be any vehicle, including but not limited to trucks, buses, aircraft, water craft, construction equipment (e.g., forklifts, graders, etc.), agricultural equipment (e.g., tractors, combines, etc.), and any other vehicle capable of transporting passengers and/or material, and/or performing work during vehicle movement. 
         [0013]    Vehicle  100  includes multiple vehicle-mounted cameras  102   a - e.  As depicted for exemplary purposes, vehicle-mounted cameras  102   a - d  have slightly overlapping directional fields of view, while vehicle-mounted camera  102   e  has a 360° field of view. Optionally, each vehicle-mounted camera  102  is also equipped with an audio microphone (not shown). Also located on vehicle  100  are an impact detection logic  104 , an on-board computer  302 , a camera feed logic  106 , and an on-board video recorder  310 , which together make up part of an Impact Camera System. 
         [0014]    With reference now to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary Impact Camera System (ICS)  200  is depicted. In response to vehicle  100  being impacted with a force that is above a pre-determined level, impact detection logic  104  sends an impact detection signal to on-board computer  302 . The pre-determined level is defined as an impact level of force that can be caused only by a moving object having a momentum that is equal to or greater than that caused by a motorized passenger vehicle, such as an automobile (but not a light motorcycle, etc.). Alternatively, the pre-determined level is defined as a lesser impact level of force caused by a shopping cart, motorcycle, etc. Thus, in either embodiment, an impact caused by a pedestrian, a thief breaking a window or door on the vehicle, a light baby carriage, etc., will not be sufficient to cause impact detection logic  104  to send the impact detection signal to the on-board computer  302 . In a preferred embodiment, impact detection logic  104  is not only able to detect an impact force that exceeds the pre-determined level, but is also able to determine a direction, from which the impact force originated, through the use of an optional momentum detection logic  107  that has an ability to determine the direction from which the impact came. This direction detection may be accomplished by any means known to those skilled in the art, including but not limited to, a three-axis weighted strain gauge, an inertia detector, etc. In an alternative embodiment, a parked/motion logic  109  is able to detect that the vehicle is parked (not moving) and that the vehicle has been struck. Thus, if the vehicle is not moving, then a simple motion logic, such as a contact switch on a leaf or coil spring in the vehicle&#39;s suspension, can trigger a recording of a camera feed. By knowing that the vehicle is parked, then this contact switch can be assumed to be closed in response to a vehicle blow, rather than a pothole, bump, etc. that would close the contact during travel operations of the vehicle. 
         [0015]    Once the on-board computer  302  receives the impact detection signal from the impact detection logic  104 , and assuming that the impact detection logic  104  includes the momentum detection logic  107 , then the on-board computer  302  sends a view selection signal to the camera feed logic  106 . Coming into camera feed logic  106  are multiple video (and optionally audio) feeds from different vehicle-mounted cameras  102 . Based on the direction from which the impact came, feed from that camera will be selected by the camera feed logic  106  for recording by on-board video recorder  310 . For example, assume that another vehicle hit the front of vehicle  100  shown in  FIG. 1A . In this example, feed from vehicle-mounted camera  102   b  would be selected, since vehicle-mounted camera  102   b  would have a field of view most likely to “see” the other vehicle. Alternatively, a feed from vehicle-mounted camera  102   e  may be selected, either as an alternative to the feed from vehicle-mounted camera  102   b  or as a supplemental feed to provide additional video information. 
         [0016]    With reference now to  FIG. 3 , there is depicted a block diagram of an exemplary on-board computer  302 , in which the present invention may be utilized. On-board computer  302  includes a processor unit  304  that is coupled to a system bus  306 . A video adapter  308 , which drives/supports a on-board video recorder  310 , is also coupled to system bus  306 . System bus  306  is coupled via a bus bridge  312  to an Input/Output (I/O) bus  314 . An I/O interface  316  is coupled to I/O bus  314 . I/O interface  316  affords communication with various I/O devices, including a keyboard  318 , a mouse  320 , a Compact Disk—Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) drive  322 , a floppy disk drive  324 , and a flash drive memory  326 . The format of the ports connected to I/O interface  316  may be any known to those skilled in the art of computer architecture, including but not limited to Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. 
         [0017]    On-board computer  302  is able to communicate with a remote video receiver  350  via a wireless network  328  using a wireless network interface  330 , which is coupled to system bus  306 . Wireless network  328  may be any wireless network, including a cell phone based system, a satellite communication system, etc. Note the remote video receiver  350 , which may be a computer, a cell phone, logic at a law enforcement office, etc., may utilize a same or substantially similar architecture as on-board computer  302 . 
         [0018]    A hard drive interface  332  is also coupled to system bus  306 . Hard drive interface  332  interfaces with a hard drive  334 . In a preferred embodiment, hard drive  334  populates a system memory  336 , which is also coupled to system bus  306 . System memory is defined as a lowest level of volatile memory in on-board computer  302 . This volatile memory includes additional higher levels of volatile memory (not shown), including, but not limited to, cache memory, registers and buffers. Data that populates system memory  336  includes on-board computer  302 &#39;s operating system (OS)  338  and application programs  344 . 
         [0019]    OS  338  includes a shell  340 , for providing transparent user access to resources such as application programs  344 . Generally, shell  340  is a program that provides an interpreter and an interface between the user and the operating system. More specifically, shell  340  executes commands that are entered into a command line user interface or from a file. Thus, shell  340  (as it is called in UNIX®), also called a command processor in Windows®, is generally the highest level of the operating system software hierarchy and serves as a command interpreter. The shell provides a system prompt, interprets commands entered by keyboard, mouse, or other user input media, and sends the interpreted command(s) to the appropriate lower levels of the operating system (e.g., a kernel  342 ) for processing. Note that while shell  340  is a text-based, line-oriented user interface, the present invention will equally well support other user interface modes, such as graphical, voice, gestural, etc. 
         [0020]    As depicted, OS  338  also includes kernel  342 , which includes lower levels of functionality for OS  338 , including providing essential services required by other parts of OS  338  and application programs  344 , including memory management, process and task management, disk management, and mouse and keyboard management. 
         [0021]    Application programs  344  include a browser  346 . Browser  346  includes program modules and instructions enabling a World Wide Web (WWW) client (i.e., on-board computer  302 ) to send and receive network messages to the Internet using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) messaging, thus enabling communication with wireless Internet Service Providers (ISPs), etc. (not shown). 
         [0022]    Application programs  344  in on-board computer  302 &#39;s system memory also include an Impact-Camera Integration Program (ICIP)  348 . ICIP  348  includes code for implementing the processes described in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . 
         [0023]    The hardware elements depicted in on-board computer  302  are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essential components required by the present invention. For instance, on-board computer  302  may include alternate memory storage devices such as magnetic cassettes, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, and the like. These and other variations are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0024]    With reference now to  FIG. 4 , a high-level flow-chart of exemplary steps taken by the present invention is presented. After initiator block  402 , a query is made to determine if a the impact detection logic in the vehicle has detected an impact of a force that is above a pre-determined level (query block  404 ). This pre-determined level may be reached by the vehicle  100  (shown in  FIG. 1A ) being hit by another vehicle, either while vehicle  100  is parked, or alternatively, while vehicle  100  is moving. If so, then a video feed selection logic (e.g., camera feed logic  106  shown in  FIG. 2 ) selects a video feed from an appropriate (left, right, front, rear, omnidirectional) camera, based on the direction from which the impact was delivered, and sends the selected video feed to the on-board camera for recording (block  406 ). Feed from the camera is recorded for any pre-determined period of time, ranging from a few seconds (if the on-board recorder is able to record only a limited amount of MPEG data) to an unlimited amount of time. The process thus ends at terminator block  408 . 
         [0025]    With reference again to query block  404 , in an alternate embodiment, a video feed selection logic selects an appropriate video feed if a collision is determined to be imminent. This determination may be made by a speed/proximity combination logic, known to those skilled in the art, which determines that an impact is imminent based on the speed of an approaching object. By spooling up the video feed before the impact, relevant forensic evidence can be gathered by the vehicle-mounted cameras, such as the license plate of the other vehicle, road conditions, time of day, etc. 
         [0026]    It should be understood that at least some aspects of the present invention may alternatively be implemented in a computer-useable medium that contains a program product. Programs defining functions on the present invention can be delivered to a data storage system or a computer system via a variety of signal-bearing media, which include, without limitation, non-writable storage media (e.g., CD-ROM), writable storage media (e.g., hard disk drive, read/write CD ROM, optical media), and communication media, such as computer and telephone networks including Ethernet, the Internet, wireless networks, and like network systems. It should be understood, therefore, that such signal-bearing media when carrying or encoding computer readable instructions that direct method functions in the present invention, represent alternative embodiments of the present invention. Further, it is understood that the present invention may be implemented by a system having means in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware as described herein or their equivalent. 
         [0027]    The present invention thus presents a new and useful method, vehicle, system, and computer-readable medium for recording an impact to a vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the method includes the steps of: detecting an impact to the vehicle; and in response to detecting the impact to the vehicle, recording a video feed from a vehicle-mounted camera, wherein the vehicle-mounted camera has a field of view that captures a source of the impact. Preferably, the impact has a force that exceeds a pre-determined level, such as that caused by another vehicle. The method may further include the step of recording an audio record of the impact. In one embodiment, the video feed is created by activating, from a plurality of vehicle-mounted cameras, a specific vehicle-mounted camera that has the field of view of captures the source of the impact, wherein the specific vehicle-mounted camera is chosen according to a direction from which the impact hit the vehicle. The video feed may be from a single omnidirectional vehicle-mounted camera. The vehicle may be any type of vehicle, including a transportation vehicle. 
         [0028]    More specifically, the vehicle may include an impact detection logic that selectively detects an impact to the first vehicle, wherein the impact is determined by the impact detection mechanism to be of sufficient force to have been caused by an other vehicle traveling at a sufficient velocity to damage the first vehicle; at least one vehicle-mounted camera, wherein the at least one vehicle-mounted camera captures an image of the other vehicle in response to the impact detection mechanism selectively detecting the impact to the first vehicle; a momentum detection logic, wherein the momentum detection logic detects a direction from which the impact originated; a camera feed logic, wherein the camera feed logic selects a video feed from a plurality of vehicle-mounted cameras according to the direction from which the impact originated; an on-board video recorder for recording the image of the other vehicle; and a transmission means for transmitting the image of the other vehicle to a remote video receiver. The image of the other vehicle may be a moving video image. 
         [0029]    The inventive system, which may installed in any land, air, or water based transportation vehicle, as well as non-transportation equipment, may include an impact detection logic; an impact detection mechanism that selectively detects an impact to the first vehicle, wherein the impact is determined by the impact detection mechanism to be of sufficient force to have been caused by an other vehicle traveling at a sufficient velocity to damage the first vehicle; at least one vehicle-mounted camera, wherein the at least one vehicle-mounted camera captures an image of the other vehicle in response to the impact detection mechanism selectively detecting the impact to the first vehicle; a momentum detection logic, wherein the momentum detection logic detects a direction from which the impact originated; a camera feed logic, wherein the camera feed logic selects a video feed from a plurality of vehicle-mounted cameras according to the direction from which the impact originated; a transmission means for transmitting the image of the other vehicle to a remote video receiver; and an on-board video recorder for recording the image of the other vehicle. 
         [0030]    While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the term “computer” or “system” or “computer system” or “computing device” includes any data processing system including, but not limited to, personal computers, servers, workstations, network computers, main frame computers, routers, switches, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA&#39;s), telephones, and any other system capable of processing, transmitting, receiving, capturing and/or storing data.