Patent Description:
A driver recorder mounted on a vehicle captures an image of the neighborhood of the vehicle (e.g., the scenery in front of the vehicle) and records the image. Possible uses of a driver recorder include analyzing a situation at a site of an accident, or the like, by referring to images captured by a vehicle encountering the accident or a vehicle that happens to be at the site.

<CIT> discloses a related-art car navigation system. The car navigation system supports vehicle travel based on various information from a center apparatus. The center apparatus is provided with various travel environment information (map information, traffic sign and mark information, congestion information, highway regulation information, weather information, etc.) on all roads within a jurisdiction. The center apparatus supports vehicle travel by finding whether the vehicle condition information (vehicle travel condition information, vehicle information, driver information) transmitted from a vehicle-mounted apparatus at specified time intervals or every time the vehicle has traveled a certain distance is compatible (e.g., finding whether traffic regulations are not violated), in terms of safe travel, with the travel environment information maintained in the center apparatus and corresponding to the vehicle condition information, or by finding whether energy-saving travel is possible, and by, if energy-saving travel is possible, finding a travel condition, etc. through comparison, computation, and determination and transmitting the result found to the vehicle-mounted apparatus as safe travel support information or energy-saving travel support information.

<CIT> discloses an information processing device, which is communicable with an on-vehicle device installed on a vehicle, includes: a first acquisition unit for acquiring vehicle information of the vehicle from the on-vehicle device; a second acquisition unit for acquiring an image picked up at a predetermined position from the on-vehicle device on the basis of the vehicle information; and a detection unit for detecting a change in a status at the predetermined position on the basis of the image acquired by the second acquisition unit.

<CIT> discloses a server device which communicates with a plurality of terminal devices, and receives image information or contribution information which includes attribute information indicative of a generation time and a generation spot, so as to detect a recommended imaging area which is an area in which the number of image information sets or the contribution information sets of a reference number or greater are generated in a first period. The server device transmits the recommended imaging area information, which includes information indicative of the recommended imaging area, to cause a terminal device to automatically image in the recommended imaging area, to a terminal device other than the transmission source of the image information or the contribution information related to the recommended imaging area. The terminal device performs the automatic imaging in the recommended imaging area.

The car navigation system disclosed in patent literature <NUM> is solely used to support vehicle travel based on the various travel environment information that the center apparatus maintains. Meanwhile, the inventor of the present application has found that area information kept by the server apparatus, etc. could be used for operation of a drive recorder. The inventor of the present application has considered that the function of a driver recorder can be further improved by utilizing area information for function control such as initiation of a driver recorder recording.

The present invention addresses the above-described issue and a purpose thereof is to provide a drive recorder, an image recording method, and an image recording program capable of controlling the function relating to image recording in a vehicle based on area information.

In accordance with the present invention, a drive recorder according to claim <NUM>, an image recording method according to claim <NUM>, and a program according to claim <NUM> are provided.

According to the invention, the function relating to image recording in a vehicle can be controlled based on area information.

Hereinafter, the invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to <FIG>. Identical or like constituting elements and members shown in the drawings are represented by identical symbols and a duplicate description will be omitted as appropriate. The dimension of members in the drawings shall be enlarged or reduced as appropriate to facilitate understanding. Those of the members that are not important in describing the embodiment are omitted from the drawings.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram showing communicable connection in a drive recorder operation system <NUM> that includes a drive recorder <NUM> according to an example. The drive recorder operation system <NUM> includes the drive recorder <NUM> and the server apparatus <NUM>. The drive recorder operation system <NUM> transmits position information on a vehicle on which the drive recorder <NUM> is mounted to the server apparatus <NUM>, receives area information kept by the server apparatus <NUM>, and controls the function of the drive recorder <NUM>. Function control in the drive recorder <NUM> includes, for example, suspension or initiation of image recording.

The drive recorder <NUM> is mounted on a vehicle and captures an image of the neighborhood of the vehicle (e.g., the scenery in front of the vehicle) and records the image. The drive recorder <NUM> saves the captured image in a recording medium. Due to the limitation on the capacity of the recording medium, however, a plurality of items of image data are saved over a certain period of time, and then old image data is sequentially overwritten in the chronological order to record a new image.

The drive recorder <NUM> communicates with the server apparatus <NUM> via a communication network <NUM>. The drive recorder <NUM> according to the present invention receives, from the server apparatus <NUM>, area information relating to the area in which the vehicle is located and controls the function in the drive recorder <NUM> accordingly. The server apparatus <NUM> finds an area in which the vehicle is located based on the position information on the vehicle and transmits the area information in that area to the drive recorder <NUM>.

In the case a restriction is imposed on recording of images due to legal regulations in the area such as a country and a region in which the vehicle is located, for example, the driver recorder <NUM> can automatically suspend image recording in such an area. Further, image recording may be suspended by user selection. In this case, the drive recorder may be equipped with a function of alerting the user that the vehicle is located in an area in which image recording is restricted.

Further, the drive recorder <NUM> may control its function to initiate image recording when the drive recorder <NUM> receives, as area information, traffic-related information such as information on a high accident area from the server apparatus <NUM>. The drive recorder <NUM> may control its function to initiate image recording or control its function to change the image quality in image recording when the drive recorder <NUM> receives, as area information, information relating to sightseeing such as information on a sightseeing spot from the server apparatus <NUM> so that a record of travel is saved more vividly.

<FIG> is a block diagram showing a configuration of the drive recorder <NUM> according to an example, and <FIG> is a block diagram showing a configuration of the server apparatus <NUM> according to an example. The drive recorder <NUM> includes an image processing unit <NUM>, a recording medium <NUM>, an input and output interface <NUM>, a user operation input unit <NUM>, an alert unit <NUM>, a communication unit <NUM>, a control unit <NUM>, etc. The image processing unit <NUM>, the recording medium <NUM>, the input and output interface <NUM>, the user operation input unit <NUM>, the alert unit <NUM>, the communication unit <NUM>, the control unit <NUM>, etc. are connected by a data bus 1a to exchange electrical signals mutually.

The parts in the drive recorder <NUM> can be implemented in hardware such as electronic devices or mechanical components exemplified by a CPU of a computer, and in software such as a computer program. <FIG> depicts functional blocks implemented by the cooperation of these elements. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the functional blocks may be implemented in a variety of manners by a combination of hardware and software.

The image processing unit <NUM> processes (e.g., compresses data) an image signal captured by an imaging unit 11a and covering a certain period of time and adds index information, etc. to the image signal to generate image data. The image processing unit <NUM> saves the generated image data in the recording medium <NUM>. The index information includes the location, date, and time and also includes the condition (e.g., acceleration) of the vehicle. For example, the imaging unit 11a includes an image sensor such as a CCD and a CMOS and captures an image of the neighborhood of the vehicle (e.g., the scenery in front of or behind the vehicle). The imaging unit 11a acquires the image and sends the image signal to the image processing unit <NUM>.

For example, the recording medium <NUM> is an SD card, a USB memory etc. and is configured to save or delete the image data generated by the image processing unit <NUM>. By configuring the recording medium <NUM> to be removably attached to the drive recorder <NUM>, the recording medium <NUM> can be removed from the drive recorder <NUM> to allow the image to be played back on a PC etc. In this case, the drive recorder <NUM> is provided with a slot for inserting the recording medium, an interface configured for connection to the recording medium, etc. The recording medium <NUM> may be a memory or a hard disk drive permanently provided in the drive recorder <NUM>.

The input and output interface <NUM> acquires acceleration information, angular speed information, vehicle moving speed, vehicle position information, etc. from an external apparatus. The drive recorder <NUM> may have a built-in acceleration sensor and gyro sensor for measuring acceleration and angular speed. The input and output interface <NUM> may acquire an output of a vehicle speed pulse sensor or acquire vehicle moving speed by communicating with the vehicle via a vehicle-mounted network such as a controller area network (CAN). The input and output interface <NUM> acquires latitude and longitude information as position information. The input and output interface <NUM> may acquire, as position information, a name of place, an address etc. acquired by finding a match on a map. The position information can be acquired by a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver. The drive recorder <NUM> may acquire position information by a GNSS receiver provided outside or acquire position information by a built-in GNSS function. Alternatively, the position of the driver's vehicle may be estimated based on sensor information such as acceleration, angular speed, and vehicle moving speed.

The user operation input unit <NUM> receives input information from the user by receiving, for example, an audio user operation input collected by a microphone, a user operation input to an input apparatus such as a touch panel. The alert unit <NUM> alerts the user of information by an audio output from a speaker, a display output on a display apparatus such as a liquid crystal panel, etc..

The communication unit <NUM> communicates wirelessly with the communication network <NUM> in compliance with a communication standard such as WiFi (registered trademark) and communicates with the server apparatus <NUM> via the communication network <NUM>. The communication unit <NUM> may communicate with the server apparatus <NUM> using communication schemes complying with the respective communication standards of the ITS communication system, the road-to-vehicle communication system, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system, or the like. The communication unit <NUM> transmits and receives radio signal waves by an antenna connected thereto to communicate wirelessly with the communication network <NUM>. Alternatively, the communication unit <NUM> may communicate by using a mobile communication line.

The control unit <NUM> includes a position information acquisition unit 17a and a function control processing unit 17b. For example, the control unit <NUM> is comprised of a CPU or the like and performs the processes in the respective units described above by operating in accordance with a computer program stored in a storage unit <NUM>. The storage unit <NUM> is comprised of a data storage device such as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, and a hard disk storage device and stores the computer program, etc. executed in the control unit <NUM>.

The position information acquisition unit 17a of the control unit <NUM> acquires position information on the vehicle via the input and output interface <NUM> or by using a built-in GNSS receiver. The position information on the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition unit 17a is transmitted by the function control processing unit 17b to the server apparatus <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM>.

The function control processing unit 17b transmits the position information on the vehicle to the server apparatus <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM> and acquires area information relating to a predetermined area from the server apparatus <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM>. The function control processing unit 17b controls the function in the drive recorder <NUM> based on the acquired area information.

When the area information includes information indicating a restriction that necessitates suspending recording of images, the function control processing unit 17b performs function control for suspending recording of images in the image processing unit <NUM>. Further, the function control processing unit 17b alerts the user that the vehicle is in an area with a restriction that requires suspending image recording.

A description will be given of the server apparatus <NUM> based on <FIG>. The server apparatus <NUM> includes an area information storage unit <NUM>, a communication unit <NUM>, a control unit <NUM>, etc. The area information storage unit <NUM>, the communication unit <NUM>, the control unit <NUM>, etc. are connected by a data bus 5a to exchange electrical signals mutually.

The area information storage unit <NUM> divides a country, a region, etc. into individual areas and stores area information in the divided areas. The area information storage unit <NUM> stores, for example, the position of a border of each area and area information relating to restriction on image recording in that area, associating the position and the area information with each other. Given, for example, an area of a country A, the area information storage unit <NUM> exhaustively stores the spots representing the national border of the country A or the latitude and longitude information on the border representing the national border of the country A. The area information storage unit <NUM> defines an area within the border as the area of the country A and stores the area information in association with information on restriction of image recording within the country A. Given that there is a restriction on recording of images within the country A, for example, information relating to the restriction is stored. The area information in each of the divided areas may be stored in a list or table format that maps latitude and longitude information to designation of an area in which the spot is located. A publicly known technology may be used in the format in which the area information storage unit <NUM> stores the area information.

The communication unit <NUM> is communicably connected to the communication network <NUM> wirelessly or by wire and communicates with the communication unit <NUM> of the drive recorder <NUM> via the communication network <NUM>.

The control unit <NUM> includes a position information acquisition unit 53a and an area information processing unit 53b. For example, the control unit <NUM> is comprised of a CPU or the like and performs the processes in the respective units described above by operating in accordance with a computer program stored in a storage unit <NUM>. The storage unit <NUM> is comprised of a data storage device such as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, and a hard disk storage device and stores the computer program, etc. executed in the control unit <NUM>.

The position information acquisition unit 53a of the control unit <NUM> acquires the position information sent from the drive recorder <NUM> mounted on the vehicle via the communication unit <NUM> and outputs the position information on the vehicle thus acquired to the area information processing unit 53b.

The area information processing unit 53b identifies the area in which the vehicle is located based on the position information on the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition unit 53a. The area information processing unit 53b extracts the area information relating to restriction on image recording associated with the area in which the vehicle is located from the area information storage unit <NUM>. The area information processing unit 53b sends the extracted area information to the drive recorder <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM>.

A description will now be given of the operation of the drive recorder <NUM> based on image recording control process in the drive recorder <NUM>. <FIG> is a flowchart showing a sequence of steps of image recording control process in the drive recorder <NUM>. The drive recorder <NUM> acquires current position information on the vehicle by using the position information acquisition unit 17a of the control unit <NUM> (S1). The function control processing unit 17b transmits the position information on the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition unit 17a to the server apparatus <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM> (S2). Upon acquiring the position information on the vehicle, the server apparatus <NUM> identifies the area in which the vehicle is located, extracts the area information relating to restriction on image recording in that area, and transmits the extracted information to the drive recorder <NUM>.

The function control processing unit 17b of the drive recorder <NUM> receives and acquires the area information transmitted from the server apparatus <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM> (S3). The function control processing unit 17b determines whether the area information indicates a restriction on image recording (S4). When there is a restriction on image recording (S4: YES), the function control processing unit 17b suspends the image recording process in the image processing unit <NUM> (S5) and terminates the process. When there is no restriction on image recording (S4: NO), the function control processing unit 17b performs the image recording process in the image processing unit <NUM> (S6) and terminates the process.

<FIG> is a flowchart showing a sequence of steps of area information transmission process in the server apparatus <NUM>. The position information acquisition unit 53a of the server apparatus <NUM> acquires the position information on the vehicle from the drive recorder <NUM> (S11). The area information processing unit 53b identifies the area in which the vehicle is located based on the position information on the vehicle (S12).

The area information processing unit 53b extracts the area information in the area in which the vehicle is located, from the information stored in the area information storage unit <NUM> (S13). The area information processing unit 53b transmits the extracted area information to the drive recorder <NUM> via the communication unit <NUM> (S14).

The drive recorder <NUM> can suspend the image recording process when the vehicle is found to be located in an area with a restriction on image recording based on the area information transmitted from the server apparatus <NUM>. Further, the drive recorder <NUM> can control, based on the area information transmitted from the server apparatus <NUM>, its function. For example, the drive recorder <NUM> performs the image recording process or changing the quality of images recorded, when it is found that the vehicle is located in an area with no restriction on image recording, when the vehicle is located in a high accident area, etc., or when the vehicle is located in a sightseeing spot.

When the vehicle moves from an area with a restriction on image recording to an area with no restriction on image recording, the drive recorder <NUM> can initiate the image recording process suspended so far. Thus, the drive recorder <NUM> can perform function control on suspension and initiation of image recording in the vehicle based on the area information.

Further, in the above-described step S5, the function control processing unit 17b may alert the user that the vehicle is located in an area with a restriction on image recording, by using the alert unit <NUM>. The function control processing unit 17b may suspend the image recording process when the user uses the user operation input unit <NUM> to select to suspend the image recording process as a result of the alert.

Further, when the vehicle moves from an area with a restriction on image recording to an area with no restriction on image recording, the function control processing unit 17b may alert the user that the vehicle has moved to an area with no restriction on image recording, by using the alert unit <NUM>. The function control processing unit 17b may initiate the image recording process when the user uses the user operation input unit <NUM> to select to initiate the image recording process as a result of the alert.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram for illustrating the timing of position information transmission in the drive recorder <NUM> according to the invention. The area information transmitted from the server apparatus <NUM> is configured to include information on a distance Lb to the border of the area in which the vehicle is located closest to the position of the vehicle, in addition to the information relating to restriction on image recording.

The function control processing unit 17b of the drive recorder <NUM> determines the timing of transmitting the position information on the vehicle in accordance with the distance Lb. For example, the function control processing unit 17b may configure the position information on the vehicle to be transmitted once in every one hour when the distance Lb is <NUM> and may configure the position information on the vehicle to be transmitted once in every one minute when the distance Lb is <NUM>. Further, the function control processing unit 17b identifies the time required to reach the border of the area based on the distance Lb and the vehicle speed acquired via the input and output interface <NUM> and determines the timing of transmitting the position information next. The drive recorder <NUM> suspends the transmission of the position information until there is a likelihood that the vehicle moves from an area in which it is located to another area, thereby reducing the communication traffic and the volume of processing in the server apparatus <NUM>.

Further, the function control processing unit 17b may identify a distance Ln between the position of the vehicle where the position information was transmitted previously to acquire the area information for the distance Lb and the current position of the vehicle. The function control processing unit 17b may determine the timing of transmission so that the position information is transmitted at a point of time that the distance Lb is reached or at a point of time that the distance Lb is nearly reached. In this case, too, the drive recorder <NUM> may suspend the transmission of the position information until there is a likelihood that the vehicle moves from an area in which it is located to another area, thereby reducing the communication traffic and the volume of processing in the server apparatus <NUM>.

The server apparatus <NUM> may store a map including borders of areas, road information, etc. and may increase the precision of estimation of the vehicle position by checking the map against the position information on the vehicle received from the drive recorder <NUM> for map matching correction.

In the above-described embodiment, the drive recorder <NUM> performs control relating to restriction on image recording. Alternatively, the server apparatus <NUM> may store setting information relating to restriction on image recording and include the setting information in the area information before transmitting the area information to the drive recorder <NUM>. The setting information relating to restriction on image recording is information designating whether a restriction on image recording in the drive recorder <NUM> is effected automatically or manually or information designating initiation or suspension of recording.

Alternatively, the area information stored by the server apparatus <NUM> may be information relating to a dangerous region such as a high accident area. When it is determined that the vehicle position enters that area, the area information is transmitted to the drive recorder <NUM> to initiate imaging and recording automatically. When that area information is received, the drive recorder <NUM> alerts the user that imaging and recording are initiated even while imaging and recording are being suspended. When the user enters a user operation for permission, or when the user has set a permission in advance, the drive recorder <NUM> initiates imaging and recording.

Further, the drive recorder <NUM> may be equipped with a mode to transmit desired regional information (e.g., regions in which accidents, disasters, blackouts have occurred, regions of frequent traffic incidents such as so-called aggressive driving, etc.) in response to a user operation. The server apparatus <NUM> stores the received information in the area information storage unit <NUM> as dangerous region information. In the case of area information relating to occurrence of disasters, it is preferred that the area information provided in the server apparatus <NUM> be updated appropriately to maintain the latest state.

An external apparatus or recording medium that stores information relating to the route or area in which the vehicle having the drive recorder <NUM> mounted thereon travels frequently may be connected or attached to a different drive recorder <NUM> for use. The drive recorder <NUM> may acquire information relating to the frequently traveled route or area from the recording medium, etc. connected or attached and transmit the information to the server apparatus <NUM>.

This results in a service mode whereby the user can use the information relating to the route or area in which the vehicle travels frequently other outside the drive recorder <NUM> (or the vehicle) used on a daily basis.

The server apparatus <NUM> may be configured to update or maintain the latest disaster information for each area (or region, etc.) periodically. When a disaster warning is issued in the area in which the drive recorder <NUM> is located, the area information is configured to include that information before being transmitted to the drive recorder <NUM>. The drive recorder <NUM> alerts the user of the disaster information.

The drive recorder operation system <NUM>, including the server apparatus <NUM>, may provide a service of communicating disaster information to the user as well as the information on image recording control in the drive recorder <NUM>. Further, the drive recorder <NUM> may automatically initiate imaging and recording in an area with disaster information.

Given above is an explanation based on an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiments are intended to be illustrative only and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications are possible within the claim scope of the present invention and that such variations and modifications are also within the claim scope of the present invention. Therefore, the description in this specification and the drawings shall be treated to serve illustrative purposes and shall not limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention relates to a drive recorder mounted on a vehicle, an image recording method, and an image recording program.

Claim 1:
A drive recorder (<NUM>) comprising:
an imaging unit (11a) configured to capture an image of a neighborhood of a vehicle;
an image processing unit (<NUM>) configured to record the image captured by the imaging unit (11a) in a recording medium (<NUM>);
a position information acquisition unit (17a) configured to acquire position information on the vehicle;
a communication unit (<NUM>) configured to communicate with a server apparatus (<NUM>) to deliver information including the position information; and
a function control processing unit (17b) configured to acquire area information transmitted from the server apparatus (<NUM>) based on the position information, the area information relating to an area in which the vehicle is located, characterized in that
the area information includes a first distance (Lb) to a border of the area in which the vehicle is located closest to a position of the vehicle, and
the function control processing unit (17b) is further configured to control function of recording of images in the image processing unit (<NUM>) to be suspended when the area information includes information indicating a restriction that necessitates suspending recording of images, wherein
the function control processing unit (17b) is configured to identify a time required to reach the border of the area based on the first distance (Lb) and vehicle speed to determine the timing of transmitting the position information next, and to suspend the transmission of the position information until there is a likelihood that the vehicle moves from the area in which it is located to another area.