Device and program

Abstract

To prevent such a situation in which, processing which should be executed when an accident occurs actually is executed when accident occurrence is detected by a detection error.SOLUTION: A device executes a control for storing first information when a first condition is satisfied, and in a recognition point where the first condition is satisfied because of an event which does not require storage of the first information, even when the first condition is satisfied again, does not execute the control for storing the first information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for use in a mobile body and a program for causing the apparatus for use in a mobile body to function. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, drive recorders have come to be installed in moving objects such as automobiles for the purpose of analyzing the situation when an accident occurs.

[0003] A drive recorder, for example, is equipped with a camera for capturing images of the vehicle's surroundings, an acceleration sensor for detecting abnormalities such as sudden braking or steering to avoid collisions or other accidents, and a storage medium for storing image data captured by the camera.

[0004] The camera constantly captures video data of the surroundings while driving. In addition, the output from the acceleration sensor is monitored, and if the acceleration exceeds a certain threshold, it is assumed that an abnormality such as sudden braking or sudden steering has occurred to avoid a collision or other accident, and image data for a certain period of time before and after that point is stored in a storage medium. The video data that is constantly captured is overwritten over time, but image data stored in the storage medium when the acceleration exceeds a certain threshold is not overwritten and can be played back at a later date.

[0005] This allows the user to check the situation around the vehicle when an abnormality such as sudden braking or sudden steering occurs in order to avoid a collision or other accidents, etc. An example of such a drive recorder is described in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0006] It is also possible to store not only image data but also points where the acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold in a storage medium, and to superimpose information showing the points where the acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold on a map displayed by a car navigation device that provides navigation guidance to a user of a mobile object.

[0007] As a prerequisite for this case, the basic functions of the car navigation system will now be described.

[0008] An example of a car navigation device is described in, for example, Patent Document 2. The car navigation device described in Patent Document 2 includes a position detection means that detects the current position of the vehicle by performing positioning using a GPS (Global Positioning System), a storage unit that stores road type information and the like, and a display unit that displays images.

[0009] The car navigation device described in Patent Document 1 creates information for driving guidance based on the location of the destination, the current location of the vehicle, road type information, etc., and displays the created information for driving guidance on the display unit, superimposed on map information.

[0010] By including in this operation guidance information an icon or the like representing the point where the acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold and displaying it on a map, the user can easily understand where the acceleration has exceeded the predetermined threshold in the past. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-235395 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2013-160679 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0012] As described above, by utilizing the functions of the drive recorder, it is possible to store and play back video data when an accident, etc. occurs, and to store the location where the accident, etc. occurs. Furthermore, if the functions of the car navigation device are also utilized, it is possible to display an icon or the like representing the location where the accident, etc. occurred on a map.

[0013] However, in a method of detecting the occurrence of an accident or the like using measurement information such as acceleration, it is not possible to completely eliminate the possibility of erroneously detecting the occurrence of an accident or the like when no accident or the like has actually occurred. In other words, when the acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is merely "deemed" that an accident or the like has probably occurred, and it is possible that an accident or the like has not actually occurred even when the acceleration exceeds the predetermined threshold.

[0014] Here, a specific example of such a case where a false detection occurs will be described.

[0015] For example, if there is a point on the road where there is a step with a certain level of drop, then a moving body equipped with a drive recorder will receive a certain amount of shock according to the drop of the step every time it passes over the step at that point, and as a result, the acceleration exceeds a threshold every time it passes over. As a result, it is deemed that an accident or the like has occurred at that point every time it passes over.

[0016] However, the event of simply driving through a point with a step is not an event that should be detected in relation to the function of a drive recorder. Events that should be detected in relation to the function of a drive recorder are, for example, an accident caused by contact with another vehicle, or inappropriate and dangerous driving such as sudden braking or sharp turns to avoid an accident.

[0017] In other words, considering the original purpose of recording video data using the drive recorder function, it is inappropriate to assume that an accident or other incident has occurred when the vehicle is traveling through an area with a step, and it can be said that such an assumption that an accident or other incident has occurred is a false detection.

[0018] Furthermore, if an erroneous detection occurs in this way, many problems will arise related to the erroneous detection, which will be described below.

[0019] Naturally, the capacity of a storage medium is limited, and therefore there is an upper limit to the number of pieces of video data that can be stored. Nevertheless, if unnecessary video data is stored due to a false detection, the storage capacity of the storage medium is wasted. In addition, related to this, there is a problem that the free space of the storage medium is insufficient due to unnecessary video data, and therefore the video data at the time of an accident cannot be stored even if an accident has actually occurred, or the video data stored based on a correct detection is erased by overwriting.

[0020] Furthermore, when displaying icons or the like representing the locations where accidents or the like have occurred on a map as described above, icons representing locations where erroneous detections have occurred are also displayed, which causes a problem that the icons representing the locations where accidents or the like should actually have occurred and the map itself become difficult to see.

[0021] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an apparatus and a program capable of preventing processing that should be performed in the event of an actual accident or the like being performed despite erroneously detecting the occurrence of an accident or the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0022] (1) A device that performs control to store first information when a first condition is satisfied, characterized in that at a certified location where the first condition was satisfied due to an event that does not require the storage of the first information, the device does not perform control to store the first information even if the first condition is satisfied again.

[0023] In this way, at a certified location where the first condition is satisfied due to an event that does not require the storage of the first information, it is preferable that the first information is not stored even if the first condition is satisfied again. This is preferable because it reduces the amount of data to be stored. In particular, when an event that does not require the storage of the first information occurs at the same location every time, it is preferable because it is not necessary to store the first information every time. This is preferable because it is possible to prevent the storage capacity of the storage medium that stores the first information from becoming full.

[0024] In particular, it is preferable to configure the device to store the first information when the first condition is satisfied at a location other than the certified location. This allows the first information to be stored at a location where the first condition is satisfied due to an event that requires the storage of the first information. For example, an event that does not require the storage of the first information does not occur every time at the same location, but the first information can be stored at a location where an event that requires the storage of the first information occurs. This allows the first information that is truly necessary to be stored.

[0025] In addition, the present device may be realized by a device including the function of a drive recorder. In this way, the present device may be realized by hardware for realizing the function of the drive recorder. For example, a processor for performing arithmetic processing for realizing the function of the drive recorder and a storage device may be used to operate software for realizing the function of the present device. In addition, for example, it is preferable to determine whether the first condition is satisfied by using a measurement result by a sensor for realizing the function of the drive recorder. In particular, it is preferable to use an acceleration sensor as the sensor, and to determine whether the first condition is satisfied based on the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor. Furthermore, for example, the control target of the control for storing the first information may be the control of the storage of information by the function of the drive recorder.

[0026] The "first condition" may be a predetermined pattern of predetermined information, and the predetermined information may be information that changes with the movement of the moving body. For example, the "information that changes with the movement of the moving body" may be a predetermined pattern. The "predetermined pattern" may be a condition in which a predetermined state continues or a state that has a predetermined correlation with a pre-stored pattern, and may be, in particular, the condition (2) described below. The information that changes with the movement of the moving body may be a predetermined pattern when an impact that occurs when the moving body is involved in a collision accident or an impact that occurs when an abnormality such as sudden braking or sudden steering occurs to avoid an accident or the like is detected. In this way, the first information may be stored when an abnormality such as sudden braking or sudden steering occurs to avoid a collision accident or an accident or the like occurs.

[0027] The "first information" may be information related to the event that caused the first condition to be satisfied, for example, image data of the inside of the moving body or the surroundings of the moving body captured by an imaging device mounted on the moving body. This is preferable because it allows the situation inside the moving body or the surroundings of the moving body when the first condition is satisfied to be confirmed. Furthermore, the image data used as the first information may be a still image, but it is preferable that it is a video recorded before and after the first condition is satisfied, including the time when the first condition is satisfied. This is preferable because it allows the situation before and after the first condition is satisfied to be confirmed, not just the time when the first condition is satisfied.

[0028] Furthermore, the "event that does not require storage of the first information" may be an event that is not intended as an event that requires storage of the first information in light of the application of the device. This can prevent the first information from being stored even if an unintended event occurs.

[0029] In particular, the device may be used to control information stored by a drive recorder. For example, the device may be used to control whether or not to store video data when the drive recorder detects an impact. In this case, for example, if the impact is not caused by an accident or the like but is caused by passing over a step, the device may be controlled not to store the video data. On the other hand, if the impact is caused by an accident or the like, the device may be controlled to store the video data. This is advantageous in that it is possible to prevent the storage capacity of the storage medium from becoming full. In addition, since it is possible to prevent the storage capacity of the storage medium from becoming full, it is advantageous in that it is possible to store and preserve the truly necessary video, such as the video when an accident or the like occurs.

[0030] Furthermore, the "certified location" may be a location that is recognized as a location where the first condition is satisfied due to an event that does not require the storage of the first information. For example, if the first condition is satisfied by a moving object passing through a certain location, and it is recognized that this is due to an event that does not require the storage of the first information, this certain location may be recognized as a certified location. The certified location may be recognized, for example, in response to a user's operation. This allows accurate recognition based on the user's judgment, rather than just based on whether the first condition is satisfied.

[0031] (2) A device characterized in that the first condition includes measurement information that changes in accordance with the movement of a moving object on which the device is mounted changing to predetermined information.

[0032] In this way, it is preferable to determine whether to store the first information based on measurement information that changes with the movement of the moving object equipped with the device. In this way, it is preferable that the first information be stored according to the movement status of the moving object. Furthermore, it is preferable that the device measures information that changes with the movement of the moving object. In this way, it is preferable that the processing can be completed by the device.

[0033] In addition, even if the first condition is satisfied according to the movement status of the moving object, the first information may not be stored at the certified point. This allows the first information not to be stored based only on the movement status of the moving object.

[0034] (3) storing second information that identifies a location of a point where the first condition is satisfied when the first condition is satisfied; An apparatus characterized in that, when a second condition is satisfied, the second information identifying the location of a point other than the certified point is output, but the second information identifying the location of the certified point is not output.

[0035] In this way, when the second condition is satisfied, it is preferable to output information that identifies a location other than the certified location where the first condition is satisfied, so that the location where the first condition is satisfied can be identified at the output destination.

[0036] In this way, it is preferable to configure the device not to output information that identifies the location of the certified location, which is caused by outputting both information that identifies locations other than the certified location where the first condition is satisfied and information that identifies the location of the certified location, thereby preventing an excessive amount of information from being output.

[0037] The "output" may be performed, for example, by displaying the information on a screen referenced by the user. In this way, the user can identify a location other than the certified location where the first condition is satisfied. In addition, in this case, information identifying the certified location is not output to the screen referenced by the user, which is advantageous in preventing the screen from becoming difficult to view.

[0038] The "second information" may be, for example, an icon displayed on a map. In this case, the display mode of the icon may be changed in accordance with the degree to which the first condition is satisfied, the order in which the first condition is satisfied, etc. For example, the display mode may be changed by changing the color or shape of the icon, or by adding a number. In this way, a user who refers to the map and the icon may be able to recognize the degree to which the first condition is satisfied, the order in which the first condition is satisfied, etc.

[0039] The "second condition" may be a condition that is satisfied when it is desirable to refer to the second information at the output destination. For example, the second condition may be to display a map that the user refers to. In particular, it is more preferable to be as described in (4) below.

[0040] (4) A device characterized in that the second condition comprises that the device has approached a point where the first condition is satisfied.

[0041] In this way, the second condition may be the device approaching a point where the first condition is satisfied, and when the second condition is satisfied, information specifying the point where the first condition is satisfied may be output. This allows the output destination to know that the first condition was satisfied in the vicinity of the device in the past.

[0042] The output may be, for example, displayed on a screen that the user refers to, so that the user can know that the first condition has been met in the past near the current position of the device.

[0043] (5) A device characterized by outputting the second information identifying the location of the certified point when a third condition is satisfied.

[0044] In this way, when the third condition is satisfied, it is preferable to output the second information specifying the position of the certified point. This is preferable because the position of the certified point can be specified at the output destination. The output can be performed, for example, on a screen referenced by the user. In this way, the user can specify the position of the certified point. This is preferable because it allows the user to know in advance that, for example, the certified point will be passed soon and an event that satisfies the first condition will occur again. It is also preferable because it allows the user to know the reason why the first information has not been stored even though the first condition should have been satisfied.

[0045] The "third condition" may be a condition that is satisfied when it is desirable to refer to the location of the certified point at the output destination. For example, the third condition may be that an operation to confirm the location of the certified point is received from the user.

[0046] (6) A device characterized in that the second information about the certified location and the second information about a location other than the certified location are displayed in different display modes.

[0047] In this way, the second information, which is information specifying the position of the point where the first condition is satisfied, may be configured to be output in different display forms for the certified point and other points, which allows the position of the certified point to be distinguished from the positions of points other than the certified point where the first condition is satisfied at the output destination.

[0048] (7) A device characterized in that the certified location is determined based on a user's operation referring to stored information when a first condition is satisfied.

[0049] In this way, it is preferable to configure the certified point to be determined based on the user's operation. This is advantageous because it is possible to determine the certified point more accurately than if the certified point were determined by automatic judgment by the device. Also, it is advantageous because it is not necessary to set in the device what criteria are used to determine whether or not a point is certified.

[0050] In this way, the user determines the certified location by referring to the stored information when the first condition is satisfied, which allows the user to determine the certified location more accurately than if the information is not referred to.

[0051] The information stored when the first condition is satisfied may be either the first information or the second information, but it is even better to store both, since this increases the information available to the user for decision-making.

[0052] The first information may be, for example, image data captured when the first condition is satisfied. In this way, the user may refer to the image data and determine whether or not the location is a certified location.

[0053] The second information may be, for example, information that identifies the location of the point that satisfies the first condition. By doing so, the user can determine whether or not the point is a certified point after grasping the location of the point that satisfies the first condition.

[0054] (8) A device characterized in that the first condition includes condition 1-1 and condition 1-2, and at a certified location where it has been determined that condition 1-1 has been satisfied due to an event that does not require the storage of the first information, if condition 1-1 is satisfied again, control to store the first information is not performed, but if condition 1-2 is satisfied, control to store the first information is performed.

[0055] In this way, it is preferable that the first information is not stored at a location that has become an approved location after satisfying the condition 1-1 due to an event that does not require the storage of the first information, even if the condition 1-1 is satisfied again. This is preferable because it reduces the amount of data to be stored. In particular, it is preferable because the first information is not stored every time when the same event occurs at the same location. For example, if there is a step at a location, the same level of impact occurs every time this location is passed, but it is preferable because the first information is not stored every time at such a location.

[0056] In addition, even if a location becomes a certified location after satisfying condition 1-1, it is preferable to store the first information if it satisfies condition 1-2. This is preferable because even if the location has been certified as a certified location once, the first information can be stored if condition 1-2 is satisfied. In particular, even if the same event occurs at the same location every time, the first information can be stored if a different event occurs at the location instead of the same event. For example, if there is a step at a location, the same level of impact occurs every time the location is passed, but if an impact of a greater level occurs, the first information can be stored.

[0057] The "1-1 condition" and the "1-2 condition" may be further differentiated from the first condition. For example, if the first condition is that the measured acceleration exceeds a threshold, multiple thresholds may be set, and the 1-1 condition may be satisfied when the first threshold is exceeded, and the 1-2 condition may be satisfied when a second threshold, which is greater than the first threshold, is also exceeded. In this way, the first information can be stored in the case where an accident or the like occurs at the certified point and an impact greater than the impact normally detected due to a step at the certified point occurs.

[0058] (9) An apparatus characterized in that the first condition includes a plurality of conditions in stages according to the magnitude of the threshold, and when the conditions are arranged in order from the smallest threshold, the 1-2 condition is a plurality of conditions including the condition that is next in order after the 1-1 condition or a condition that is next in order after the 1-1 condition.

[0059] In this way, when the condition next to condition 1-1 or any of the conditions after the condition 1-1 in ascending order of threshold value is satisfied, control for storing the first information can be performed. This can advantageously prevent a situation in which the first information is not stored at a location that has been determined to be a certified location because condition 1-1 has been satisfied, even though condition 1-2, which is next to condition 1-1, has been satisfied.

[0060] For example, when the conditions are arranged in ascending order of threshold, n conditions are arranged as follows: condition 1, condition 2, condition 3, ... condition n. Then, in a location that has been determined as a certified location because condition 1 has been satisfied, the first information is not stored even if condition 1 is satisfied again. This is because condition 1 is only satisfied every time due to the step at the certified location, and no accidents or the like have occurred. In addition to this, it is also possible to not store the first information even if condition 2 or condition 3 is satisfied. However, if all of the conditions set in stages are subject to not storing the first information, it is possible that a situation will occur in which the first information is not stored even though it is an event for which the first information should be stored. For example, consider a case in which condition 2, which has a higher threshold, is satisfied due to the occurrence of an accident or the like, instead of condition 1, which is satisfied every time due to the step at the certified location. In this case, it is preferable to store the first information because an accident or the like has occurred. Therefore, it is preferable to store the first information if at least condition 2 is satisfied.

[0061] (10) A device characterized in that the first condition includes a plurality of conditions in stages according to the magnitude of a threshold, and when at least the condition with the highest threshold is satisfied, the first information is stored even for the certified location.

[0062] In this way, when the condition with the highest threshold among the multiple conditions according to the threshold is satisfied, the first information is stored regardless of whether the location is a certified location or not. This can prevent a situation in which the first information is not stored even when the condition with the highest threshold is satisfied.

[0063] When multiple thresholds are set, it is possible to consider not storing the first information even if an impact that exceeds the highest threshold occurs, if the location is a certified location. However, if this is done, the first information will not be stored even if an extremely large impact occurs. The occurrence of such an extremely large impact is considered to be caused by an accident or the like. For this reason, it is preferable to store the first information. Therefore, as described in (10), it is preferable to store the first information when the highest threshold is exceeded.

[0064] (11) An apparatus characterized in that the certified point is defined by a distance range representing the certified point and a passing direction when passing through the certified point.

[0065] In this way, it is preferable to define the certified point not only by the distance range but also by the passing direction when passing the certified point. By doing so, when the distance range of the certified point is entered from a certain direction, it is possible to determine that the user is present at the defined certified point. On the other hand, when the distance range of the certified point is entered from another direction, it is possible to determine that the user is not present at the defined certified point.

[0066] For example, in a location where the first condition is satisfied every time the vehicle enters the distance range of the certified location from a certain direction, but the first condition is not satisfied every time the vehicle enters the distance range of the certified location from another direction, the configuration described in (11) may be used. This is because, in a location where the first condition is satisfied every time, it is preferable to determine the location as a certified location even if the first condition is satisfied, and not to record the first information.

[0067] For example, suppose that one lane (assuming that it is an up lane) of a two-lane road has a step, and the other lane (assuming that it is an down lane) does not have a step. In this case, when the vehicle enters the distance range of the certified point from the up lane, a certain impact occurs due to passing over a step every time. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable not to store the first information as having passed the certified point. On the other hand, when the vehicle enters the distance range of the certified point from the down lane, since there is no step, no impact usually occurs. If an impact occurs, it is considered that it is caused by an accident or the like. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to store the first information as having not passed the certified point. Therefore, in consideration of the case where it is necessary to differentiate whether or not to store the information depending on such a passing direction, it is preferable to define the certified point not only by a distance range but also by the passing direction when passing the certified point as in (11) above, and then determine whether or not the certified point has been passed.

[0068] (12) A device characterized in that, when the first condition is satisfied consecutively at a plurality of locations at intervals less than a predetermined time interval and the plurality of locations are all certified locations, the device treats the plurality of certified locations as a single group, and outputs information identifying the location of this single group, rather than information identifying the location of each of the plurality of certified locations.

[0069] In this way, when the points that satisfy the first condition are consecutive and each of these points is a certified point, it is preferable to configure the multiple points as one group and output information that specifies the position of the one group. It is also preferable to configure the multiple pieces of information that specify the position of each of the multiple points as described above not to be output.

[0070] By doing so, the output destination does not output each piece of information specifying a plurality of locations, but rather outputs information specifying the location of one group. For example, the output destination may be a screen referenced by the user. This is advantageous in that it prevents the screen from becoming difficult to view due to all of the information specifying the location of each of the plurality of locations being displayed. Also, while the information specifying the location of each of the plurality of locations is not displayed, the information specifying the location of one group is displayed, so that the user can understand that there are multiple certified locations at that location.

[0071] There are roads on which a series of steps are provided in order to suppress the driving speed or to alert the driver of a moving object by applying sound or vibration. When passing through such a road, the first condition is satisfied in succession. However, if information for identifying each point that satisfies the first condition is output, the amount of information output will be large. Therefore, by treating each point as one group and outputting information for identifying the position of this one group, it is possible to prevent the amount of information output from being unnecessarily large.

[0072] (13) A device characterized in that, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the location was certified as a certified location, or when the number of certified locations reaches a predetermined number, or when both of these cases are met, some or all of the locations that have been certified as certified locations are not treated as certified locations.

[0073] In this way, if a predetermined time has passed since a location was recognized as a certified location, the location may not be treated as a certified location. By doing so, the number of certified locations can be kept below a predetermined number.

[0074] This is advantageous in that it is possible to prevent the number of certified locations from becoming too large. If the number of certified locations becomes too large, a large number of certified locations will be output when information specifying the positions of the certified locations is output, so it is preferable to prevent the number of certified locations from becoming too large in this way.

[0075] In particular, if the device is one that is used continuously for a long period of time, the number of certified points increases as the period of use increases, so it is advisable to limit the number of certified points in this manner.

[0076] (14) A device characterized in that if the first condition is not satisfied despite having passed the certified point, the certified point is not treated as the certified point.

[0077] In this way, if a location is recognized as a recognized location, but the location is subsequently passed through and the first condition is not satisfied, the location is not treated as a recognized location. This makes it possible to prevent a location that should no longer be a recognized location from being treated as a recognized location.

[0078] For example, suppose that there is a step at a certain point, and therefore an impact that satisfies the first condition occurs every time the point is passed. In this case, this certain point is designated as a certified point. However, if the situation changes, for example, if the step disappears, an impact that satisfies the first condition will not occur even if the certain point is passed. In such a case, it is advisable not to treat this certain point as a certified point. This is because, although the certain point was certified as a certified point precisely because it satisfies the first condition every time the point is passed, due to a change in the situation, it has become a point that does not satisfy the first condition even if the point is passed.

[0079] (15) A device having a drive recorder function and a car navigation function, the first information being image data captured by the drive recorder function, a location where the first condition is satisfied due to an event that does not require storage of image data captured by the drive recorder function being the certified location, and information identifying the location of a location that satisfies the first condition but is other than the certified location being displayed on a map displayed by the car navigation function.

[0080] In this way, when the first condition is satisfied, the image data captured by the drive recorder function may be stored. This allows the image data captured by the drive recorder function to be used even after the first condition is satisfied. The "image data captured by the drive recorder function" may be, for example, a digitalized image of the surroundings of a moving body captured when the moving body on which the device is mounted receives a certain impact by coming into contact with another object.

[0081] In addition, in this way, at the certified point where the first condition is satisfied due to an event that does not require the storage of image data captured by the drive recorder function, the image data captured by the drive recorder function may be configured not to be stored. This can prevent image data caused by an event that does not require the storage of image data from being stored every time the certified point is passed. An event that does not require the storage of image data may be, for example, a moving body equipped with the device passing through a step. The first condition being satisfied due to an event that does not require the storage of image data may be, for example, a moving body equipped with the device passing through a step, which causes an impact to be detected.

[0082] Furthermore, when the information specifying the location of the location that satisfies the first condition is displayed on the map displayed by the car navigation function, it is preferable to configure the information specifying the location of the certified location not to be displayed. This is preferable because it is possible to prevent more information than necessary from being displayed on the map. "Displaying the information specifying the location of the location that satisfies the first condition on the map displayed by the car navigation function" may, for example, mean displaying an icon specifying the location of the location that satisfies the first condition on the map.

[0083] (16) A program for causing a computer to function as the device according to any one of (1) to (15) above.

[0084] In this way, by making a program that causes a computer to function as any of the devices described in (1) to (15) above, it is possible to realize all or at least a part of the functions of the devices described in (1) to (15) above by the computer. Effect of the Invention

[0085] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a process that should be performed in the event of an actual accident or the like being performed, despite the occurrence of an accident or the like being erroneously detected. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0086] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is an image diagram illustrating three types of recording in an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 11 is a display example showing a list of icons corresponding to manual recording and event recording in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 13 is a display example of a pop-up displayed when an event occurs in the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a basic operation when identifying an erroneous detection identified point in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a display example showing an example of how event icons are displayed on a map in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 13 is a display example of a map and a list of icons corresponding to manual recording and event recording in the present invention. [Figure 8] 11 is a display example showing an example of how a history icon is displayed on a map in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram (1 / 4) showing screen transitions in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram (2 / 4) showing screen transitions in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 3 is a diagram (3 / 4) showing screen transitions in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram (4 / 4) showing screen transitions in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a power supply control unit in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 1 is a flowchart (1 / 2) illustrating a basic operation during power supply control in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 1 is a flowchart (2 / 2) illustrating a basic operation during power supply control in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 13 is a display example when the drive recorder has not been started in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] 13 is a diagram showing a display example when a navigation function is operated in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] 1A to 1C are six-sided views illustrating an implementation example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a notch provided in an implementation example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a speaker slit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a cradle and a base are connected in an implementation example of an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0087] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0088] <Function block> First, the configuration of an all-in-one device 1000 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing functional blocks included in the all-in-one device 1000.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 1, the all-in-one device 1000 includes a first control unit 100, a touch panel 110, a speaker 120, an alarm LED 130, a button 140, a television tuner 150, a GPS sensor 160, an acceleration sensor 170, a first memory unit 180, a main memory unit 190, a second control unit 200, a camera 210, a microphone 220, a second memory unit 230, a power supply unit 310 and a USB terminal 320.

[0090] Here, the first control unit 100 is a control unit that mainly realizes the function as a car navigation device. On the other hand, the second control unit 200 is a control unit that mainly realizes the function as a drive recorder. The first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 cooperate with each other to realize the control of the all-in-one device 1000. In other words, the all-in-one device 1000 is a device that has both the function as a car navigation device and the function as a drive recorder. In the following description, it is assumed that the all-in-one device 1000 is installed and used on the dashboard of a vehicle, which is a moving object.

[0091] Next, the functions of each of these parts will be described in more detail.

[0092] The first control unit 100 controls the touch panel 110, the speaker 120, the notification LED (Light Emitting Diode) 130, the button 140, the television tuner 150, the GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 160, the acceleration sensor 170, the first memory unit 180, and the main memory unit 190, among the above-mentioned units.

[0093] Specifically, the first control unit 100 inputs the contents of the operation accepted by the touch panel 110. Also, the first control unit 100 outputs image data to be displayed to the touch panel 110. Also, the first control unit 100 outputs sounds such as music and voice to be output to the speaker 120. Furthermore, the first control unit 100 notifies the user by turning on or blinking the notification LED 130.

[0094] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 controls the TV tuner 150 in response to an operation received by the touch panel 110.

[0095] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 receives as input position information measured by the GPS sensor 160. Furthermore, the first control unit 100 receives as input acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 170.

[0096] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 writes information to the first storage unit 180. Furthermore, the first control unit 100 reads information from the first storage unit 180.

[0097] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 writes information to the main memory unit 190. Furthermore, the first control unit 100 reads information from the main memory unit 190.

[0098] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 is connected to the second control unit 200 via a communication line or the like mounted on the board, and communicates with each other.

[0099] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 communicates with an external device connected via a USB terminal 320 .

[0100] Touch panel 110 accepts an operation when a user presses the screen, and outputs the content of the accepted operation to first control unit 100. Here, the content of the operation is information that specifies the position on the screen of touch panel 110 where the press was accepted. Furthermore, touch panel 110 displays image data input from first control unit 100 on the screen. Furthermore, touch panel 110 displays image data input from television tuner 150 on the screen.

[0101] The speaker 120 outputs sounds such as music and voices input from the first control unit 100 .

[0102] The notification LED 130 lights up or blinks under the control of the first control unit 100.

[0103] The button 140 is a physical button 140 provided on the housing of the all-in-one device 1000, and accepts user operations.

[0104] Here, when the all-in-one device 1000 is installed and used in an automobile as described above, the touch panel 110, the speaker 120, and the notification LED 130 are disposed at positions where the user can detect the outputs of the touch panel 110, the speaker 120, and the notification LED 130. Moreover, the touch panel 110 and the button 140 are disposed at positions where the user can operate them.

[0105] Television tuner 150 receives a television signal, converts the received television signal into image data in a predetermined format, and outputs the image data to touch panel 110. In the following description, the image data converted by television tuner 150 is referred to as a "television image."

[0106] The GPS sensor 160 measures the current position of the all-in-one device 1000 using a GPS, and outputs the measured position information to the first control unit 100. Here, the position information is realized by, for example, coordinate information conforming to the GPS standard.

[0107] The acceleration sensor 170 measures the acceleration and inputs the measured acceleration to the first control unit 100. The acceleration sensor 170 is sometimes called a "G sensor."

[0108] The first storage unit 180 is a portion into which a removable storage medium is inserted by the user. For example, a storage medium in which music files in MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) format and television images written by the first control unit 100 are stored is inserted into the first storage unit 180. Then, under the control of the first control unit 100, these music files and television images are read from the storage medium inserted into the first storage unit 180 and output from the speaker 120 and the touch panel 110.

[0109] The main memory unit 190 stores information for performing car navigation. Specifically, map information, information on certain landmarks, information for identifying road types, facility information, address information, etc. The main memory unit 190 also stores software for implementing control by the first control unit 100.

[0110] Also, the software in the main memory unit 190 can be updated using the latest data of software updated after shipment of the all-in-one device 1000, the latest data on targets, etc. For example, a storage medium storing the latest data is inserted into the first storage unit 180, and the first storage unit 180 reads the additional data from the storage medium and updates the software in the main storage unit 190. Here, the main storage unit 190 is realized by, for example, a flash memory.

[0111] Furthermore, when the all-in-one device 1000 is installed in an automobile and used as described above, the current position measured by the GPS sensor 160 represents the current position of the automobile, and the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 170 represents the acceleration of the automobile. The first control unit 100 then compares the current position measured by the GPS sensor 160 with map information stored in the memory unit, etc., to create a map for navigation including the current position of the automobile, and displays this map for navigation on the touch panel 110. Also, the touch panel 110, the speaker 120, and the notification LED 130 are used to output predetermined information, warnings, and messages. The first control unit 100 performs these processes to realize the car navigation function.

[0112] On the other hand, the second control unit 200 controls the camera 210, the microphone 220, and the second storage unit 230 among the above-mentioned units.

[0113] Then, the second control unit 200 receives the video signal captured by the camera 210 and the audio signal collected by the microphone 220, converts the received video signal and audio signal into image data in a predetermined format, and stores the image data in a storage unit. In the following description, the image data converted by the second control unit 200 is referred to as "real-time video."

[0114] In addition, the second control unit 200 outputs the real-time video to the first control unit 100. The output real-time video is displayed on the touch panel 110.

[0115] The camera 210 includes an entrance portion 211 .

[0116] The light incident on the incident portion 211 is converted into a video signal and output to the second control portion 200.

[0117] Furthermore, the microphone 220 collects sound. The sound collected by the microphone 220 is converted into an acoustic signal and output to the second control unit 200.

[0118] Here, when the all-in-one device 1000 is installed and used in an automobile, the light incident on the incident unit 211 and the sound collected by the microphone 220 are the objects to be captured as a drive recorder. Here, the objects to be captured as a drive recorder are, for example, the scenery in the traveling direction and the surrounding sounds captured from inside the automobile through the windshield. The second control unit 200 then realizes the function as a drive recorder by storing the objects to be captured as a drive recorder in the second storage unit 230 in a predetermined video format.

[0119] The power supply unit 310 supplies power to each functional block included in the all-in-one device 1000. Power is supplied to the power supply unit 310 from an external device via a USB terminal 320. Note that wiring for the power supply unit 310 to supply power to each functional block is omitted in FIG.

[0120] The USB terminal 320 is a terminal that complies with the USB standard. The USB terminal 320 is connected to an external device via a cable that complies with the USB standard. Power is supplied from the external device via the cable. Also, the first control unit 100 and the external device can communicate with each other via the cable.

[0121] Here, when the all-in-one device 1000 is installed in a car and used, a cable connected to a car charger of the car is connected to the USB terminal 320. Then, the all-in-one device 1000 is supplied with power from the car charger of the car.

[0122] The functional blocks of this embodiment have been described above.

[0123] The first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 described above are each realized by an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read only memory), etc. The control by the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 is realized by the CPU reading software stored in the ROM or the main storage unit 190 and performing arithmetic processing while expanding the software in the RAM. <Processing of this embodiment> Next, each of the processes performed by this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. <Real-time video recording> First, the recording of real-time video images performed under the control of the second control unit 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In this embodiment, there are three recording methods: continuous recording, manual recording, and event recording.

[0124] First, imaging is performed and acquisition of real-time video begins when the engine of the automobile in which the all-in-one device 1000 is installed is started. Then, imaging ends when the automobile engine is stopped, and acquisition of real-time video also ends accordingly.

[0125] Here, whether the engine of the automobile is operating may be determined, for example, according to whether power is being supplied from the automobile via the USB terminal 320. In other words, if the power supply starts, acquisition of real-time video is started, and if the power supply ends, acquisition of real-time video is ended.

[0126] Next, continuous recording will be described. From the start of acquisition of real-time video to the end of acquisition of real-time video, the real-time video is stored in the second storage unit 230. In other words, continuous recording is always performed while the engine of the car is running.

[0127] The recorded real-time video is divided into multiple files in units of a predetermined length and stored in the second storage unit 230. The unit of the predetermined length is arbitrary, but for example, one file may be 30 seconds. In the following description, these files are called "video files."

[0128] 2, "From startup until the capacity of the second storage unit 230 is full" indicates that video files will continue to be saved until the capacity of the second storage unit 230 allocated for continuous recording is full. The capacity allocated for continuous recording is arbitrary, but it is advisable to set it to a capacity that allows recording of video files with a length of, for example, 20 minutes.

[0129] In addition, even if the capacity of the second storage unit 230 allocated for continuous recording becomes full, the storage of video files continues. However, if this continues, the capacity will be insufficient and new video files cannot be stored. Therefore, when storing a new video file, it is recommended to delete the oldest video file first.

[0130] Next, manual recording will be described. When the user presses the button 140 or the touch panel 110, the second control unit 200 executes manual recording. Specifically, when the first control unit 100 detects the user pressing the button 140 or the touch panel 110, it instructs the second control unit 200 to execute manual recording. The second control unit 200, upon receiving such instruction, protects the video file including the time when the button 140 or the touch panel 110 was pressed and the video file immediately before that video file. In other words, two video files are protected in response to one press. Here, protection means that the protected video file is excluded from the deletion of the oldest video file by continuous recording.

[0131] The two protected video files, the date and time of manual recording, and the location information that specifies the location of the location where the two video files were captured are linked and stored as a pair in the second storage unit 230. In addition, an identifier must also be added to the pair to identify this manual recording. For example, the date and time of manual recording may be used not only to confirm the date and time, but also as an identifier. In addition, the first control unit 100 may be requested to provide coordinate information measured by the GPS sensor 160 as the location information, and the coordinate information transmitted from the first control unit 100 in response to the request may be used. Alternatively, when the first control unit 100 instructs the execution of manual recording, the coordinate information may be transmitted together, and the second control unit may use the transmitted coordinate information.

[0132] Furthermore, the second control unit 200 notifies the first control unit 100 that manual recording has been performed. Specifically, the second control unit 200 associates the execution of manual recording, the date and time of manual recording, and location information specifying the location of the point where manual recording was performed with each other to form a pair, and transmits this pair and an identifier for specifying the current manual recording to the first control unit 100. The first control unit 100 then stores the received paired information and its identifier in the main storage unit 190.

[0133] The number of items that can be protected may be determined arbitrarily according to the capacity of the second storage unit 230, but may be set to a maximum of 10 incidents, i.e., 20 video files, for example. When 20 video files are protected and a user's press of button 140 is detected to perform new manual recording or new event recording (described below) is performed, the two video files that are the oldest video files for one incident are removed from the list of protected files and deleted. This makes it possible to protect new video files.

[0134] Next, event recording will be described. When the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred, the second control unit 200 executes event recording. Here, an event is an event for which real-time video should be recorded. In other words, when an event for which real-time video should be recorded occurs, it is determined that an event has occurred. An event for which real-time video should be recorded is, for example, a collision accident, which is an event for which video should be recorded by the function of a drive recorder, or an abnormality such as sudden braking or sudden steering to avoid an accident. However, a collision accident, or an abnormality such as sudden braking or sudden steering to avoid an accident is merely one example of an event, and these events may not be treated as events, or other events may be treated as events.

[0135] Then, when the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred, the date and time when the event occurred is linked to location information that identifies the location where the event occurred, forming a pair, and storing this pair and an identifier for identifying the current event recording in the main memory unit 190.

[0136] Furthermore, when the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred, the event occurrence, the date and time of the event occurrence, and location information identifying the location of the point where the event occurred are linked together to form a set, and the first control unit 100 notifies the second control unit 200 of this set and an identifier for identifying the current event recording. The second control unit 200, upon receiving such notification, executes the event recording. Note that how the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred will be described following the description of this event recording.

[0137] The second control unit 200 that executes event recording protects the video file including the time when the event occurred and the video file immediately before that video file, i.e., protects two video files in response to one event occurrence.

[0138] The two protected video files, the date and time when the event occurred, and the location information that identifies the location where the two video files were captured are linked together to form a pair, and an identifier for identifying this pair and the current event recording is stored in the second storage unit 230. As with manual recording, the date and time when the event occurred may also be used as an identifier. Furthermore, as with manual recording, the coordinate information transmitted from the first control unit 100 may also be used for the location information.

[0139] As with manual recording, the number of protectable cases may be determined arbitrarily according to the capacity of the second storage unit 230, but may be set to a maximum of 10 incidents, i.e., 20 video files, when combined with the number of manual recordings. As with manual recording, when 20 video files are protected and further recording is to be performed, the two video files that are the oldest video files for one incident may be removed from the list of protected files and deleted.

[0140] The video file recorded in this manner can be played back in response to a user operation. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, the date and time when the protected video file was captured is used as an identifier and the video file is displayed in a list on the touch panel 110. Then, the touch panel 110 accepts a selection by the user, and a video file corresponding to the selection is played back on the touch panel 110. Note that, in order to enable the user to distinguish between manual recording and event recording, an icon such as i1 in Fig. 3 is attached in the case of manual recording, and an icon with a different shape from i1, such as i2 in Fig. 3, is attached in the case of event recording.

[0141] <Determining whether an event has occurred> In this embodiment, the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred.

[0142] In order to determine that an event has occurred, the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 170, which is measurement information that changes with the movement of the automobile, and a predetermined threshold value are used. Then, when the measured acceleration exceeds the predetermined threshold value, it is determined that an event has occurred. In this way, it is possible to determine that the automobile has collided with another moving object or an installed object, or that a sudden stop, sudden start, or sudden turn has occurred due to the driving of the user operating the automobile, that is, that an event has occurred.

[0143] Also, instead of using only one threshold, multiple thresholds are provided in stages. By determining which of the thresholds provided in stages the measurement value of the acceleration sensor 170 has exceeded, it is possible to determine not only whether the automobile has collided with another moving object or an installed object, but also the extent of the impact of the collision.

[0144] For example, the most sensitive threshold level can be set at 0.5G, and the thresholds can be set in stages from there to be less sensitive, i.e. the second least sensitive threshold level can be 0.8G, the intermediate threshold level can be 1.1G, the second least sensitive threshold level can be 1.4G, and the most insensitive threshold level can be 1.7G, for example, for a total of five stages.

[0145] If the measured value of the acceleration sensor 170 is less than 0.5G, for example, it is not determined that an event has occurred. If the measured value of the acceleration sensor 170 is 0.9G, for example, it exceeds the threshold of the second least sensitive stage, so it is determined that a level 2 event has occurred. If the measured value of the acceleration sensor 170 is 1.9G, for example, it exceeds the threshold of the least sensitive stage, so it is determined that a level 5 event has occurred. In this way, the higher the measured value of the acceleration sensor 170, the higher the level of the event that has occurred. In other words, the higher the level of the event, the greater the impact that has been detected.

[0146] When it is determined that an event has occurred, the first control unit 100 associates location information for identifying the location where the event occurred, the level of the event that occurred, and the date and time when the event occurred into a set, and stores this set and an identifier for identifying the current event in the main storage unit 190. In addition, the date and time when the event occurred may also be used as an identification code for identifying each event, in the same way as the second control unit 200 does in manual recording and event recording.

[0147] Furthermore, as described above, when the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred, the second control unit 200 executes event recording. Specifically, when the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred, it notifies the second control unit 200 of the occurrence. The second control unit 200, upon receiving the notification, executes event recording. The method of executing event recording by the second control unit 200 is as described above in the section <Recording of real-time video>.

[0148] Furthermore, when it is determined that an event has occurred, the first control unit 100 notifies the user of the occurrence of the event by lighting or blinking the notification LED 130. The first control unit 100 also displays a pop-up message such as "***** event has occurred" on the touch panel 110.

[0149] For example, when using the navigation function, a pop-up message is displayed on the map. An example of this message is shown in Figure 4.

[0150] First, as shown in FIG. 4, a map for operation guidance is displayed on the entire touch panel 110. Then, i3 shown in FIG. 4 is a message that is displayed as a pop-up to indicate the occurrence of an event. In this message, "*****" indicates, for example, the level of the event that has occurred. For example, it may be displayed as "An event of level 3 has occurred." Furthermore, such a message is urgent and should be conveyed to the user immediately. In other words, the information to be conveyed to the user is highly important. Therefore, when a function other than the navigation function is being used, for example, even when a television image is being played, it is preferable to display a pop-up message on the television image.

[0151] In addition, an area for displaying various information used for operation guidance is provided in the i4 area shown in Fig. 4. In the example shown in Fig. 4, from the top, this area is arranged with the current time obtained from GPS satellites, the reception strength and direction of the GPS signal, a value indicating the scale of the map, and shortcut buttons.

[0152] Here, the shortcut button is a button for switching the information displayed on the screen each time the shortcut button is pressed. Switching of the information displayed on the screen when the shortcut button is pressed, i.e., screen transition, will be described later, and therefore will not be described in detail here.

[0153] Also, i5 shown in FIG. 4 displays the current traveling speed of the automobile in which the integrated device 1000 is installed, in kilometers per hour.

[0154] Also, i6 shown in Fig. 4 displays information related to the location where the automobile in which the all-in-one device 1000 is installed is currently traveling. Information related to the location where the automobile is currently traveling, for example, the address, road name, latitude, and longitude of the location where the automobile is currently traveling, is displayed. Also, it is preferable that a menu screen is displayed when i6 shown in Fig. 4 is pressed.

[0155] <Locations where false positives were confirmed> Next, the determination of an erroneous detection determination point, which is a process unique to this embodiment, will be described.

[0156] As described above, the all-in-one device 1000 of this embodiment includes both a function as a drive recorder and a function as a car navigation device. The function as a drive recorder determines whether an event has occurred. If it is determined that an event has occurred, event recording is performed. Furthermore, an icon or the like for identifying the location where it is determined that the event has occurred is displayed on a map displayed by the function as a car navigation device.

[0157] As described above in the section <Determining whether an event has occurred>, in this embodiment, it is determined that an event has occurred when the measurement value of acceleration sensor 170 exceeds a predetermined threshold. In other words, the determination is made based on the premise that the measurement value of acceleration sensor 170 exceeding a predetermined threshold means that an event has occurred.

[0158] However, a judgment based on such a premise is not necessarily correct, and even if the measurement value of the acceleration sensor 170 exceeds a predetermined threshold, there may be cases where an event has not actually occurred. In other words, there may be cases where an event is erroneously detected as having occurred when it has not actually occurred.

[0159] There are various possible causes for such erroneous detection. For example, there may be a step on the road. If there is a step with a certain drop or more at a certain point on the road, a certain amount of impact occurs every time the car passes that point. Therefore, every time the car passes that point, the measurement value of the acceleration sensor 170 exceeds a predetermined threshold, and the first control unit 100 detects the occurrence of an event.

[0160] Even if the vehicle does not pass a step, for example, if the road has a sharp curve, the vehicle will make a sharp turn every time it passes over the step. Therefore, it is conceivable that the measurement value of the acceleration sensor 170 will exceed a predetermined threshold value, and the first control unit 100 will detect the occurrence of an event.

[0161] However, it is considered undesirable to determine that an event has occurred and to start event recording simply because the vehicle has gone over a step or made a sharp turn that is unavoidable due to the road structure.

[0162] This is because, in light of the functionality of a drive recorder, occurrences that should be treated as events are, for example, the occurrence of a collision accident, or abnormal operations such as sudden braking or steering being performed in order to avoid an accident.

[0163] In contrast, an event such as simply passing over a step, or making a sharp turn that is unavoidable due to the road structure, is not an event that should be treated as an event in light of the functions of a drive recorder. If an event is falsely detected as occurring, unnecessary real-time video will be recorded when the event is recorded. This may cause the storage capacity of the storage medium inserted in the second storage unit 230 to become full, and video of a collision accident or the like that is truly necessary may not be retained. In addition, an icon for identifying the location of the point where the false detection occurred is displayed on the map, making the map difficult to read.

[0164] Therefore, in this embodiment, a point where it is determined that an event that should be treated as an event has occurred based on the measurement results of acceleration sensor 170, but the determination is incorrect and the event that should be treated as an event does not actually occur is recognized as an "erroneous detection recognized point." Information specifying the position of the erroneous detection recognized point is then stored, for example, in main storage unit 190. Then, when the erroneous detection recognized point is passed again, even if the measurement value of acceleration sensor 170 exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is not recognized as an event having occurred. And since it is not recognized as an event having occurred, event recording is not performed.

[0165] This makes it possible to prevent the storage capacity of the storage medium inserted in the second storage unit 230 from becoming full, and therefore makes it possible to store and retain truly necessary images of collision accidents and the like.

[0166] In addition, since the event is not considered to have occurred, an icon for identifying the location where the event occurred is not displayed on the map. Therefore, every time a false positive determination point is passed, a new icon for identifying the location where the event occurred is not displayed, which prevents the map from becoming difficult to read.

[0167] Next, a method for identifying an erroneous detection identification point will be described.

[0168] In this embodiment, a determination is made based on reception of a user operation as to whether the detection of an event was an appropriate detection caused by an event such as a collision accident, or an erroneous detection caused by an event such as simply passing over a step.

[0169] The reason for making the determination based on the reception of a user's operation is that for safety reasons, it is necessary to avoid making an erroneous determination as to whether or not a location is certified. If an erroneous determination results in a location being certified as a false positive, then if an accident or the like occurs at the location, the event will not be detected and event recording will not be performed.

[0170] In order to avoid such erroneous judgment, in this embodiment, the integrated device 1000 does not automatically judge whether or not a location is a misdetection-certified location based on predetermined criteria, but rather certifies the location as a misdetection-certified location based on the user's judgment, which is considered to be more reliable than such an automatic judgment.

[0171] Next, the process of when an erroneous detection recognized point is actually recognized will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0172] First, assume that an automobile equipped with the integrated device 1000 passes a point where there is a step while an operation to recognize an erroneous detection recognized point has not been accepted (No in step A1). Then, as described above in the section <Determining whether an event has occurred>, the first control unit 100 determines that an event has occurred because the measurement value of the acceleration sensor 170 exceeds a predetermined threshold (Yes in step A2). Then, assume that the point where the step is present has not been recognized as an erroneous detection recognized point (No in step A3).

[0173] Then, a process associated with the detection of the event is executed (step A4).

[0174] As a process associated with the detection of an event, first, the first control unit 100 issues an instruction to the second control unit 200 to execute event recording. In response to this instruction, the second control unit 200 executes event recording. Specifically, two video files related to the current event, the date and time when the event occurred, and location information specifying the location of the point where the two video files were captured are linked together to form a pair, and an identifier for specifying this pair and the current event is stored in the second storage unit 230. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, a message indicating that an event has occurred is popped up on the touch panel 110. Furthermore, the first control unit 100 links the location information for specifying the location where the event occurred, the level of the event that occurred, and the date and time when the event occurred to form a pair, and stores the identifier for specifying this pair and the current event in the main storage unit 190.

[0175] In other words, even if there is a step at a point that should be determined to be a false positive point, if it has not yet been determined to be a false positive point, the processing associated with event detection, such as recording processing, screen display processing, and storage processing of location information, etc., is carried out as usual.

[0176] However, if no collision has actually occurred and no sudden braking or other operation has been performed to avoid an accident, the user can immediately determine that the detection of such an event is a false positive.

[0177] Even if the user is unable to make a judgment on the spot, the user can later judge that the detection of the event was a false positive by referring to the real-time video recorded by the event recording. Even if the user is unable to make a judgment based on a single event detection, the user can judge that the detection of the event at that point was a false positive by detecting the event every time the point is passed.

[0178] When the user judges that the event is an erroneous detection, the user performs an operation to recognize that the location where the event was detected is an erroneous detection recognized location. Then, the all-in-one device 1000 accepts the user's operation via the touch panel 110 or the button 140 (Yes in step A1).

[0179] When the operation is accepted, the content of the accepted operation is input to the first control unit 100. Then, the first control unit 100 to which the content of the operation has been input performs a process for accepting that the location where the event was detected is a location where a false detection occurs, that is, a false detection acknowledgement location (step A5). Specifically, the date and time when the event occurred at the false detection acknowledgement location and the location information that identifies the location of the false detection acknowledgement location are linked to form a pair, and this pair and an identifier for identifying the false detection acknowledgement location are stored in the main storage unit 190.

[0180] After that, even if the measurement value of acceleration sensor 170 exceeds the predetermined threshold (Yes in step A2), if the location is an erroneous detection confirmed location (Yes in step A3), the first control unit 100 treats it as if an event has not occurred. Therefore, even if the measurement value of acceleration sensor 170 exceeds the predetermined threshold, the process does not proceed to step A4. In other words, the processes associated with the detection of an event, such as recording process, screen display process, and storage process of position information, are not executed.

[0181] Thereafter, the monitoring of A1 and A2 continues until a recognition operation of a false positive recognition point for another point or a new event is detected (No in step A1 and No in step A2).

[0182] As described above, by carrying out the process with reference to FIG. 6, it is possible to identify erroneous detection identified points.

[0183] At the point where a false detection has been confirmed, even if the acceleration value exceeds the threshold value, it is treated as if no event has occurred, and the processes associated with the detection of an event, such as recording, screen display, and storage of location information, etc., are not performed.

[0184] This makes it possible to prevent the storage capacity of the storage medium inserted in the second storage unit 230 from becoming full, and therefore provides the effect of making it possible to store and retain truly necessary images of collision accidents and the like.

[0185] In addition, since the event is not considered to have occurred, an icon for identifying the location where the event occurred is not displayed on the map. Therefore, every time a false positive determination point is passed, a new icon for identifying the location where the event occurred is not displayed, and the map is prevented from becoming difficult to read.

[0186] On the other hand, if the location is not a location where a false detection has been confirmed, and the acceleration value exceeds the threshold value, it is treated as if an event has not occurred, and processing associated with the detection of an event, such as recording processing, screen display processing, and storage processing of location information, etc., is executed.

[0187] Therefore, if an accident or the like actually occurs, it is possible to execute event recording. In relation to this, since event recording is not executed at a location where an erroneous detection has been confirmed as described above, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the storage capacity of the storage medium is already full when an accident or the like actually occurs.

[0188] In addition, if an accident or the like actually occurs, an icon for identifying the location where the accident or the like occurred is displayed, making it possible to identify the location where the accident or the like occurred. In relation to this, an icon for identifying the location where a false detection has been confirmed is not displayed, making it possible to easily see the icon for identifying the location where the accident or the like occurred.

[0189] The basic details of the determination of an erroneous detection determination point have been described above. Below, modified examples related to an erroneous detection determination point will be described.

[0190] As explained in the section <Determining whether an event has occurred> above, in order to determine whether an event has occurred, the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 170, which is measurement information that changes as the vehicle moves, and a predetermined threshold value are used; however, this threshold value is not just one, but multiple threshold values ​​are set in stages.

[0191] Therefore, it is conceivable to use these multiple thresholds also for the determination of erroneous detection determination points.

[0192] For example, assume that a point where the threshold of Level 1, which is the most sensitive level, is exceeded is determined to be a false positive point. In this case, as explained in step A3 above, even if an event is detected when passing through the false positive point, this is treated as a false positive and the event is not generated (Yes in step A3).

[0193] However, it is possible to modify this. Specifically, if the threshold value of Level 1, which is the most sensitive threshold value, is exceeded when passing through this false positive determination point, it is deemed to be a false positive, but if the threshold value of Level 2 or higher, which is a threshold value in a less sensitive stage than Level 1, is exceeded, it is considered to be an actual event that has occurred, rather than a false positive.

[0194] The reason for this is as follows. When there is a step with a certain drop, a certain impact corresponding to the drop occurs every time the step is passed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the point is recognized as an erroneous detection recognition point, and thereafter, the erroneous detection recognition point is treated as if no event had occurred.

[0195] However, if an impact greater than the impact that would be caused by the drop of the step occurs when passing over the step, the impact is considered to have occurred unrelated to the step. In other words, the impact is considered to have occurred due to an accident or the like that is unrelated to the step. In such a case, even if the location is a false positive, event recording should be performed and video data before and after the accident or the like should be stored.

[0196] Therefore, as described above, for example, if a point exceeding the Level 1 threshold is determined to be a false positive point, if the point exceeds a less sensitive threshold of Level 2 or higher, it is treated as an actual event occurring rather than a false positive, and processing associated with event detection is carried out (step A4).

[0197] By modifying the system in this manner, if an accident or the like actually occurs at a location where an erroneous detection has been determined, it is possible to perform event recording and store video data before and after the occurrence of the accident or the like.

[0198] On the other hand, if the same level of impact occurs each time at the location where a false detection has been confirmed, processing such as storing video data before and after the occurrence of an accident, etc. is not performed, which has the effect of preventing unnecessary video data from being stored.

[0199] In the above description, a location that exceeds the Level 1 threshold is regarded as a false detection determination location, and a process associated with event detection is executed when a threshold of a less sensitive level, Level 2 or higher, is exceeded, but this is just one example. Alternatively, a location that exceeds the Level 2 threshold may be regarded as a false detection determination location, and a process associated with event detection is executed when a threshold of a less sensitive level, Level 3 or higher, is exceeded.

[0200] In addition, when a point exceeding the threshold of level 1 is determined as a false detection recognized point, it is possible to not execute the process associated with event detection when the threshold of not only level 1 but also level 2 is exceeded, and to execute the process associated with event detection when the threshold of level 3 or higher is exceeded. In other words, it is possible to configure so that the process associated with event detection is not executed unless the level is two or more levels away, not just one level higher. This is because, even if the step is the same, if the passing speed is different, the magnitude of the impact changes, so the process associated with event detection is not executed not only for the same level but also for the level one level higher. By doing so, if the same step causes the threshold of the next level higher to be exceeded, it becomes unnecessary to execute the process of recertifying the false detection recognized point.

[0201] However, in this case, if an accident or the like occurs with an impact that exceeds the threshold of the next higher level, the process associated with the event detection may be executed despite the occurrence of the accident or the like, and the video data at the time of the accident or the like may not be stored. Therefore, in consideration of the fact that the video data at the time of the accident or the like should be reliably stored, it is preferable not to configure the process associated with the event detection not to be executed unless the level is two or more levels apart. Then, after the point where the threshold of level 1 is exceeded when passing through a step is determined as an erroneous detection determination point, if the threshold of level 2 is exceeded again due to a difference in passing speed or the like at that step, it is preferable to accept the user's operation to recognize the erroneous detection determination point again.

[0202] As another modification, when at least the highest threshold condition is satisfied, the process associated with the event detection may be executed without fail even at the erroneous detection recognized point. For example, if there are thresholds up to level 5, the process associated with the event detection may be executed without fail even at the erroneous detection recognized point when the threshold of level 5 is exceeded. This can prevent a situation in which the process associated with the event detection is not executed even when the highest threshold condition is satisfied, resulting in the processed video data not being stored.

[0203] When multiple thresholds are set, even if an impact that exceeds the highest threshold occurs, it is possible to not execute the processing associated with event detection if the location is a location recognized as a false detection. However, if this is done, the processing associated with event detection will not be executed even if an extremely large impact occurs. The occurrence of such an extremely large impact is considered to be caused by an accident or the like. For this reason, it is preferable to execute the processing associated with event detection. Therefore, as described above, it is advisable to always execute the processing associated with event detection when at least the condition with the highest threshold is satisfied, even if the location is a location recognized as a false detection.

[0204] As another modification, the size of the erroneous detection determination point can be defined by a certain distance range. For example, when an event is detected at a certain point, the area with a radius of several meters from that point can be defined as the erroneous detection determination point. By doing so, even if the point where the impact occurs shifts slightly depending on the passing speed even for the same step, this shifted point can also be treated as the erroneous detection determination point.

[0205] Further, it is also conceivable that the erroneous detection confirmed point may be defined by the passing direction when passing through the erroneous detection confirmed point, in addition to the distance range representing the erroneous detection confirmed point.

[0206] By doing so, when a user enters the distance range of a false detection acknowledged point from a certain direction, it can be determined that the user is present at the defined false detection acknowledged point, whereas when a user enters the distance range of a false detection acknowledged point from another direction, it can be determined that the user is not present at the defined false detection acknowledged point.

[0207] For example, when entering the distance range of the false detection recognition point from a certain direction, an impact of the same magnitude occurs each time, but when entering the distance range of the false detection recognition point from another direction, no impact occurs each time. In this case, it is advisable to define the point by the direction of passage when passing through the false detection recognition point, in addition to the distance range that represents the false detection recognition point as described above.

[0208] For example, suppose that there is a step in one lane (assuming that it is the up lane) of a two-lane road, and there is no step in the other lane (assuming that it is the down lane). In this case, if the vehicle enters the distance range of the erroneous detection acknowledged point from the up lane, a certain amount of impact will occur due to passing a step every time. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable not to execute the process associated with the event detection, assuming that the erroneous detection acknowledged point has been passed. On the other hand, if the vehicle enters the distance range of the erroneous detection acknowledged point from the down lane, there is no step, so normally no impact will occur. If an impact does occur, it is considered to be due to the occurrence of an accident or the like. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to execute the process associated with the event detection, assuming that the erroneous detection acknowledged point has not been passed.

[0209] Therefore, taking into consideration cases where it may be necessary to determine whether or not to store a point depending on the passing direction, it is advisable to define the point as being determined by the passing direction when passing through the point, in addition to the distance range representing the point.

[0210] As another modification, a process may be performed to prevent the number of erroneous detection recognized locations from increasing too much. For example, when a predetermined time has passed since the location was recognized as an erroneous detection recognized location, or when the number of erroneous detection recognized locations reaches a predetermined number, or when both of these cases are met, some or all of the locations recognized as erroneous detection recognized locations may not be treated as erroneous detection recognized locations.

[0211] In this way, if a predetermined time has passed since a location was recognized as an erroneous detection recognized location, it is preferable to configure the location not to be treated as an erroneous detection recognized location. In this way, the number of erroneous detection recognized locations can be always kept below a predetermined number. This also makes it possible to prevent the number of erroneous detection recognized locations from becoming enormous. If the number of erroneous detection recognized locations becomes enormous, a large number of erroneous detection recognized locations will be output when information identifying the positions of the erroneous detection recognized locations is output, so it is preferable to prevent the number of erroneous detection recognized locations from becoming enormous in this way.

[0212] In particular, if the all-in-one device 1000 is a device that is used continuously for a long period of time, the number of erroneous detection recognition points increases as the period of use increases, so it is advisable to suppress the number of erroneous detection recognition points in this manner.

[0213] As another modification, if an erroneous detection-recognized point has been passed but no impact occurs, the point may not be treated as an erroneous detection-recognized point thereafter.

[0214] This makes it possible to prevent a location that should no longer be considered an erroneous detection confirmed location from being treated as an erroneous detection confirmed location.

[0215] For example, suppose that there is a step at a certain point, and therefore an impact exceeding a threshold of one of the levels occurs every time the point is passed. In this case, as described above, the certain point is determined to be an erroneous detection recognized point. However, if the situation changes, for example, if the step is removed by paving work, an impact exceeding a threshold of one of the levels will not occur even if the certain point is passed. In such a case, it is advisable not to treat the certain point as an erroneous detection recognized point. This is because, although the certain point was recognized as an erroneous detection recognized point because it is a point where an impact exceeding a threshold occurs every time the point is passed, an impact exceeding a threshold will not occur even if the point is passed due to a change in the situation.

[0216] Furthermore, as another modified example, it is also possible for the all-in-one device 1000, rather than the user, to determine whether or not a location is an erroneous detection certified location. However, as described above, for safety reasons, it is to be avoided to mistakenly determine a location as an erroneous detection certified location when it should not be. Therefore, the description has been given assuming that the user, rather than the all-in-one device 1000, determines the erroneous detection certified location. However, if the all-in-one device 1000 can determine the erroneous detection certified location with the same or higher accuracy as the user, the all-in-one device 1000 may determine the erroneous detection certified location.

[0217] As such, the all-in-one device 1000 may consider the following three methods for determining an erroneous detection determination point.

[0218] The first example is an example in which the acceleration of each axis of the acceleration sensor 170 is taken into consideration, rather than simply using the acceleration value measured by the acceleration sensor 170. Assume that the acceleration sensor 170 can measure acceleration of three axes, the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. In this case, if a large impact is detected only on the Z-axis (e.g., the axis corresponding to the up-down direction) among the three axes, it is determined that there is a step at that point, and the point is recognized as an erroneous detection recognition point.

[0219] Next, in the second example, if the same level of impact is detected every time a certain point is passed, it is determined that there is a step or the like at that point and that no accident has occurred. It is not usually conceivable that an accident or the like will occur every time a certain point is passed. Therefore, if the same level of impact is detected every time a certain point is passed, it is determined that there is a step at that point and the point is recognized as a false positive recognition point.

[0220] Finally, the third example is an example of pattern matching. First, a pattern of change in acceleration on each axis of the acceleration sensor 170 when actually passing over a step is prepared as test data. Then, the pattern of change in acceleration on each axis measured when passing over a certain point is pattern matched with the prepared pattern. If the change patterns are similar, it is determined that there is a step at that point, and the point is recognized as an erroneous detection recognition point. <Display method> Next, a display method in this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the location where an event has occurred and an event has been recorded, or the location where a manual recording has been performed in response to a user's operation, is displayed as, for example, an icon on a map for driving guidance displayed by a car navigation system function. In the following description, these icons are called "event icons."

[0221] Then, the corresponding image data is played back when the user presses the event icon on the touch panel 110. Here, the corresponding image data is captured by the function of the drive recorder. That is, in this embodiment, the car navigation function and the function of the drive recorder are linked.

[0222] The event icon may be a single color, but it may be better to use different colors depending on the level of the event, for example. By doing so, a user who refers to the event icon can not only know the location where the event occurred, but also know what level the event was.

[0223] Furthermore, it is preferable to be able to distinguish whether the location is an event recording location due to an event occurrence or a location where manual recording was performed in response to a user operation. Therefore, the color of the event icon representing the location where manual recording was performed is made different from the color of the event icon representing the location where event recording was performed. In addition, it is preferable to assign colors according to traffic lights, for example, so that the user can intuitively recognize the location.

[0224] For example, the event icon for a level 1 event, which is an event based on a minor impact, is green. The event icon for a level 1 event, which is an event based on a medium level of impact, is yellow. The event icon for a level 5 event, which is an event based on a major impact, is red. The event icon for manual recording is indigo blue.

[0225] An example of this color allocation is shown in Table 1. The following explanation will be based on this allocation.

[0226] [Table 1]

[0227] Then, the event icons to which colors have been assigned in this way are displayed on the touch panel 110, superimposed on a map for operation guidance, as shown in FIG.

[0228] Furthermore, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, an upper limit is set for the number of manual recordings and event recordings that can be recorded. For example, the total number of video files for manual recordings and event recordings is 20, that is, a total of 10, is the upper limit. When a new recording is made, the oldest file is deleted, even if the user has not yet viewed it. Therefore, it is preferable to make the user aware of which old file will soon be deleted. It is also preferable to encourage the user to view it before deleting it.

[0229] It is also preferable to allow the user to know which event icon corresponds to an event recording that just happened, which event icon corresponds to a manual recording that was made, for example, three events ago, etc.

[0230] Therefore, instead of simply displaying each event icon in a different color, for example, the event icons can be displayed with numbers in circles that include a chronological number, allowing the user to know which event icon is new, which is old, and how far back it is.

[0231] To display these event icons, the first control unit 100 uses map information stored in the main storage unit 190. Also, when manual recording occurs, the first control unit 100 uses information received from the second control unit 200 and stored in the main storage unit 190, which is "information indicating that manual recording has occurred, the date and time when manual recording was performed, and location information specifying the location where manual recording was performed, which are linked together to form a set." Also, when an event occurs, the first control unit 100 uses information stored in the main storage unit 190, which is "information specifying the location where the event occurred, the level of the event that occurred, and the date and time when the event occurred, which are linked together to form a set."

[0232] A concrete example of an event icon displayed with these contents is shown in FIG.

[0233] 6, first, a map for operation guidance is displayed on the touch panel 110. Then, it can be seen that i8 on the map is an event icon that is indigo blue and indicates the location where manual recording was performed. In addition, it can be seen that the number is 1, which indicates that it indicates the location where manual recording was performed most recently.

[0234] Also, it can be seen that i9 on the map is a yellow event icon that indicates the location of a level 3 event recording, and since its number is 2, it also indicates that it indicates the location of the event recording that took place just before the manual event that took place on the map at i8.

[0235] Furthermore, it can be seen that i10 on the map is a red event icon that indicates the location of a level 5 event recording, and since its number is 3, it can also be seen that it indicates the location of the event recording that occurred just before the event recording corresponding to i9 on the map.

[0236] Furthermore, it can be seen that i11 on the map is a green event icon that indicates the location of a level 1 event recording, and since its number is 4, it can also be seen that it indicates the location of the event recording that was made just before the event recording corresponding to i10 on the map.

[0237] Furthermore, i12 on the map is an event icon that indicates the current position and traveling direction of the automobile in which the integrated device 1000 is installed.

[0238] A user who refers to the information displayed in Fig. 6 can make decisions such as "I'm approaching a place where a level 5 event occurred before, so I'll try not to drive in a way that will cause an event this time" or "If I continue on this path, I won't pass the place where I previously recorded manually." In other words, it is possible to present information that is useful to the user.

[0239] Moreover, when the user presses an event icon, the video file corresponding to the event icon is played back.

[0240] Specifically, when any event icon is pressed, a list of event icons including that event icon is displayed, for example, on the right half of the touch panel 110, as shown in i13 of Fig. 7. For this reason, the map is displayed, for example, on the left half, as shown in i14 of Fig. 7.

[0241] The first control unit 100 then determines which event icon in the event list the user pressed based on where on the touch panel 110 was pressed. Then, the first control unit 100 reads from the main storage unit 190 the date and time when the event recording of the event corresponding to the pressed event icon was performed, or the date and time when the manual recording corresponding to the pressed event icon was performed. The first control unit 100 then transmits the read date and time to the second control unit 200.

[0242] The second control unit 200 searches the second storage unit 230 using the received date and time as a search key. Then, it reads out the video file corresponding to the date and time. Here, since the video files are paired for each manual recording and each event recording, the two video files that make up the pair are read out. Then, the second control unit 200 decodes the two read out video files to make them image data. Then, it transmits the image data to the first control unit 100.

[0243] The first control unit 100 plays back the received image data by outputting it to the touch panel 110. The user can check the state of manual recording or event recording by referring to the played back image data.

[0244] Next, we will explain the history icon, which is a different icon from the event icon. As mentioned above, there is a limit to the number of video files that can be protected for manual recording and event recording, so if the number exceeds 10, for example, the video files will be deleted in order from the oldest. Therefore, the event icon corresponding to the deleted video file will also be deleted.

[0245] Here, the reason for deleting the video files is to take into consideration the capacity of the second storage unit 230, and it is preferable to display information about manual recordings and event recordings from more than the previous 10 events on the map, if possible.

[0246] In this regard, the data size of information about the occurrence positions of manual recording and event recording stored in the main storage unit 190 is small compared to the data size of a video file.

[0247] Therefore, this information is not deleted but remains stored in the main storage unit 190. Then, using this information, icons representing the occurrence positions of manual recording and event recording and the level of event recording are displayed on a map. In the following explanation, such icons are called "history icons" to distinguish them from event icons.

[0248] As described above, the amount of data required to display the history icons is small. However, if history icons were displayed for too many past manual recordings and event recordings, the screen would be overloaded with icons, which would interfere with the operation guidance.

[0249] Therefore, an upper limit is set on the number of icons to be displayed. For example, it is set to 10 event icons and 490 history icons, for a total of 500 icons.

[0250] It is also necessary to distinguish between history icons and event icons. To achieve this, the display mode, such as the shape and size of the history icon and the event icon, is made different. For example, the shapes are made different, such as round and rectangular. Alternatively, both are the same round shape, but the event icon is larger and the history icon is smaller, making the sizes different. In either case, the shapes and sizes of the history icons are made such that the colors of the icons can be distinguished. In the following explanation, the history icons are displayed as diamond shapes.

[0251] The information used to display the history icon is specifically information received from the second control unit 200 when manual recording occurs and stored in the main storage unit 190, which is "information indicating that manual recording has occurred, the date and time when manual recording was performed, and location information specifying the location where manual recording was performed, which are linked together to form a set." Furthermore, information stored in the main storage unit 190 when an event occurs is used, which is "information specifying the location where an event occurred, the level of the event that occurred, and the date and time when the event occurred, which are linked together to form a set."

[0252] A specific example of an event icon displayed with these contents is shown in Fig. 8. In the example in Fig. 8, the video file corresponding to the event icon shown in the example in Fig. 6 has become old and has been deleted, and replaced with a history icon.

[0253] 8, first, a map for operation guidance is displayed on the touch panel 110. Then, i15 on the map is a deep blue history icon indicating a position where manual recording has been performed.

[0254] Also, i16 on the map is a yellow history icon that represents the location where a level 3 event recording was made.

[0255] Additionally, i17 on the map is a history icon that is red and represents the location where a level 5 event recording took place.

[0256] Additionally, i18 on the map is a history icon that is green and represents the location where a level 1 event recording took place.

[0257] Furthermore, i19 on the map is an icon representing the current position and traveling direction of the automobile in which the integrated device 1000 is installed.

[0258] In this way, by displaying not only the event icons but also the history icons, the user can grasp the locations where events frequently occur, etc.

[0259] Although the above-mentioned event icon and history icon are usually displayed on the map for operation guidance, an icon representing the location of the erroneous detection recognition point may be displayed on the map for operation guidance, for example, when an operation for confirming the location of the recognition point is received from the user. The icon representing the location of the erroneous detection recognition point is called the "erroneous detection recognition icon."

[0260] By displaying the false detection confirmation icon on the map in this way, for example, it is possible to know in advance that a certain shock will occur because a false detection confirmation point is about to be passed, and it is also possible to know the reason why the video data, which is a process associated with the occurrence of an event, is not stored, even though a shock has occurred.

[0261] The false positive recognition icon may be a single color, but may be a different color depending on the level of the threshold that triggered the recognition of the false positive recognition point. For example, the false positive recognition icon may be a different color when the false positive recognition point is determined to be a point where an event occurred with an impact exceeding level 1 and when the false positive recognition point is determined to be a point where an event occurred with an impact exceeding level 2. This allows a user who refers to the false positive recognition icon to not only know the location of the false positive recognition point, but also know the "level" of the threshold that was exceeded before the point became a false positive recognition point.

[0262] In order to distinguish between the erroneous detection acknowledgment icon and the event icon and history icon, the erroneous detection acknowledgment icon may be displayed in a different manner, such as with different icon shapes or colors, from the event icon and history icon.

[0263] In addition, if an impact exceeding a threshold occurs consecutively at multiple locations at intervals less than a specified time interval, and all of the multiple locations are certified locations, the multiple certified locations can be treated as one group, and an icon shaped to identify the location of this one group can be displayed, rather than displaying multiple icons identifying the location of each of the multiple certified locations.

[0264] This prevents the screen from becoming difficult to see due to the display of a large number of icons specifying the positions of each of the multiple locations. Also, although icons specifying the positions of each of the multiple locations are not displayed, an icon specifying the position of one group is displayed, which is advantageous in that the user can understand that there are multiple erroneous detection recognition locations at that position.

[0265] There are roads on which a series of steps are provided in order to suppress the driving speed and to alert the driver of a moving body by giving sound or vibration. When passing through such a road, impacts exceeding a threshold occur continuously. However, if information for identifying each point where an impact exceeding a threshold occurs is output, the output information will be large. Therefore, by treating each of these points as one group and outputting an icon for identifying the position of this one group, it is possible to prevent the number of icons output from being unnecessarily large. In this case, it is cumbersome for the user to perform an operation to identify each of these points as a false detection recognition point. Therefore, it is preferable to group each of the points included in this one group together and to enable the user to recognize the points as a false detection recognition point with a single operation. <Screen transition> Next, how the screens change in response to the vehicle's condition and the user's operations will be described with reference to the transition diagrams of FIG. 9 to FIG.

[0266] First, refer to Fig. 9. When the first control unit 100 is started, a main menu is displayed as shown in screen S1. On the main menu screen, various functions such as navigation, television, music, picture, and drive recorder can be selected. Among these, the functions of navigation and drive recorder, which are characteristic of this embodiment, will be described.

[0267] When the [NAVI] button is selected on screen S1, the navigation function is activated and the screen transitions to screen S2.

[0268] As described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, the screen S2 displays event icons and history icons on a map for operation guidance, and performs operation guidance accompanied by audio output. The contents of such display are as described in the above-mentioned <Display Method> section. The method of determining the occurrence of an event by the first control unit 100 and the operation at the time of the occurrence of an event are as described in the above-mentioned <Event Occurrence> section. Here, it is assumed that the user presses the [Shortcut] button. Here, it is assumed that the [Shortcut] button is associated with "camera video". In this case, the screen transitions to the screen S3, and a real-time video that is currently being captured by the camera 210 is displayed on the screen. In this state, when the user presses the [End] button, the screen transitions to the screen S2, and operation guidance is performed again.

[0269] Also, when any of the [icon] buttons is pressed on screen S2, a process for playing the video file corresponding to the pressed event icon or history icon is started. Specifically, the screen transitions to screen S4, a message is displayed indicating that continuous recording will be temporarily suspended, and the user's selection of either the [Yes] or [No] button is accepted.

[0270] The reason for temporarily suspending continuous recording here is that by doing so, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the image data being played back is overwritten if it is determined that a new event has occurred while the image data is being played back.

[0271] In addition, in the case where image data is assigned a number and managed in a list, and when it is determined that a new event has occurred during image data playback, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the number assigned to the new image data overlaps with the number assigned to the image data being played back. For example, in the case where the currently played recorded data is managed as the latest image data, if new image data is generated, it is possible to prevent a situation in which it becomes impossible to manage which data is the latest data after playback ends.

[0272] If the user presses the "No" button, the screen transitions to screen S2 and operation guidance continues.

[0273] On the other hand, if the user presses the [Yes] button, the screen transitions to screen S5, and the event list is displayed in the right half of the screen as described with reference to Fig. 7. Here, the user now wishes to play the video file corresponding to the icon selected on screen S2, rather than playing the video file corresponding to the icon selected from the event list on screen S5.

[0274] Therefore, the entire event list is treated as an [Event Item] button, and when this [Event Item] button is pressed for the first time, the map moves to the coordinate value of the icon selected on screen S2. When the [Event Item] button is pressed for the second time, the screen transitions to screen S6 and video playback begins.

[0275] Screen S6 displays the message "Video will be played" while the process for generating the video is being carried out. Then, when the message "Video will be played" is displayed for a period of time longer than the predetermined period of time required for the process for generating the video, it is determined that a timeout has occurred and the screen transitions to screen S7. Then, on screen S7, the video file corresponding to the icon selected on screen S2 is played.

[0276] Then, when the user presses the [Back] button during or after shooting, the screen transitions to screen S5. When the user presses the [Back] button on screen S5, the screen transitions to screen S2, where operation guidance continues. Continuous recording is also resumed without requiring user operation.

[0277] Next, as described above, when any of the [Icon] buttons is pressed on screen S2, instead of playing the video file corresponding to the pressed icon, the operation will be described when the user selects an icon from the event list and the video file corresponding to the icon selected from this event list is played.

[0278] When the [MENU] button at the bottom of the screen is pressed while in screen S2 state, the screen transitions to screen S8, which is a menu screen for the navigation function.

[0279] Thereafter, when the [Register / Edit] button is pressed on screen S8, the screen transitions to screen S9, which is a registration / edit menu screen.

[0280] When the [Event] button is pressed while the screen is S9, the screen transitions to screen S10 in FIG.

[0281] In the screen S10, similar to the screen S4, a message is displayed to the effect that continuous recording will be temporarily suspended, and the screen S10 accepts the user's selection of either the [Yes] or [No] button. The reason for the temporary suspension of continuous recording is as described in the explanation of the screen S4.

[0282] If the user presses the [No] button here, the screen transitions to screen S9 in FIG. 9, which is a registration / editing menu screen.

[0283] On the other hand, if the user presses the [Yes] button, the screen transitions to screen S11, and the event list is displayed in the right half of the screen as described with reference to Fig. 7. Unlike the case of screen S5, since the user has not selected an icon on screen S2, the user's selection of an icon from the event list on screen S5 is accepted.

[0284] Then, playback of the video file corresponding to the icon selected by the user is started. The processing on screens S6 and S7 thereafter is the same as the processing when transitioning from screen S5 to screen S6, so detailed explanations will be omitted. Note that in FIG. 10, when the back button is pressed on screen S7, the screen returns to screen S5, but it is also possible to make it so that screen S11 returns instead of screen S7.

[0285] The above describes the screen transitions when using the car navigation function. Next, the following describes the screen transitions when using the drive recorder function.

[0286] First, when the [Drive Recorder] button is pressed on the screen S1, the screen transitions to screen S12 or screen S13 shown in Fig. 11. Here, as for the condition for transitioning to which screen, if the integrated device 1000 is not installed in the car and is powered by the secondary battery included in the power supply unit 310, the screen transitions to screen S12. On the other hand, if the integrated device 1000 is installed in the car and is powered by the car, the screen transitions to screen S13.

[0287] First, the case where the all-in-one device 1000 is not installed in the car and is powered by the secondary battery included in the power supply unit 310, and the screen transitions to S12, will be described. In this case, since the battery capacity of the secondary battery has an upper limit, it is necessary to suppress power consumption. In this case, the user carries the all-in-one device 1000 and uses it, and since the camera 210 is not fixed, it is difficult to effectively utilize the functions of the drive recorder. Therefore, in this embodiment, the drive recorder function is not operated when power is supplied from the secondary battery. Then, in order to inform the user of this, when the screen transitions to S12, a message such as "The recording and playback functions of the drive recorder will not operate while this device is running on the built-in battery" is displayed. Then, when a predetermined time that is considered to be enough for the user to recognize this message has elapsed, it is determined that a timeout has occurred and the screen transitions to S1.

[0288] Next, a case where the all-in-one device 1000 is installed in an automobile and receives power from the automobile, and therefore the screen transitions to screen S13 will be described.

[0289] Screen S13 plays back in full screen display a real-time image captured by camera 210. Then, when a user presses touch panel 110 in this state, that is, when any part of the screen is touched, the screen transitions to screen S14.

[0290] Then, the screen S14 displays an [End Application] button. When the user presses the [End Application] button, the operation of the application that realizes the drive recorder function is terminated and the screen transitions to the screen S1. On the other hand, when the screen S14 accepts a press on the screen, the screen returns to the screen S13 again and the real-time video is played back in full screen display. Note that the screen S14 may display, for example, a button for changing settings, and when the button for changing settings is pressed, the screen may transition to a screen for performing various settings related to the drive recorder function, for example.

[0291] Furthermore, when a user operation is received while screen S13 and screen S14 are displayed, this is used as a trigger to start manual recording, which has been described with reference to the middle part of Fig. 2. In other words, the real-time video played back on screen S13 and screen S14 is used as a preview image for performing manual recording.

[0292] Next, how the screen changes in response to a user's operation when an erroneous detection certified point is certified or the certification is cancelled will be described with reference to FIG.

[0293] Here, the screen transitions when a false positive identified location is recognized are basically the same as those described with reference to the transition diagrams of Figures 9 to 11. Therefore, we will omit explanations of the content that overlaps with the content described with reference to the transition diagrams of Figures 9 to 11, and only explain the differences.

[0294] In screen S2, the [Shortcut] button is associated with "display of false positive recognition icon." When the [Shortcut] button is pressed, the screen remains on screen S2 without transitioning to screen S3, but instead of the event icon and history icon, a false positive recognition icon is displayed on the map. This allows the user to refer to the false positive recognition icon. When the [Shortcut] button is pressed again in this state, the screen remains on screen S2, but instead of the false positive recognition icon, an event icon and a history icon are displayed on the map.

[0295] When any of the [icon] buttons is pressed while a false detection acknowledgement icon is displayed on the map on screen S2, the screen transitions to screen S21 instead of screen S4, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 12. Then, screen S21 accepts the user's selection of either the [Yes] or [No] button to confirm whether or not the point identified by the pressed false detection acknowledgement icon should remain as a false detection acknowledgement point.

[0296] Here, if the [Yes] button is pressed, the location specified by the pressed erroneous detection acknowledgement icon remains as an erroneous detection acknowledgement location, and the screen returns to S2.

[0297] On the other hand, if the [No] button is pressed, the location specified by the pressed false detection acknowledgement icon is deemed not to be a false detection acknowledgement location. Specifically, a set of information that links the date and time when an event occurred at the false detection acknowledgement location corresponding to the location specified by the pressed false detection acknowledgement icon and the location information that specifies the false detection acknowledgement location, which are stored in the main storage unit 190, and an identifier for specifying this false detection acknowledgement location are deleted. Then, the screen returns to S2.

[0298] When any of the [Icon] buttons is pressed while the event icon and history icon are displayed on the map on screen S2, the screen transitions to screen S22 instead of screen S4 and screen S21, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 12. Then, screen S22 accepts the user's selection of either the [Yes] or [No] button to confirm whether or not the point identified by the pressed erroneous detection confirmation icon should be made a new erroneous detection confirmation point.

[0299] Here, if the [Yes] button is pressed, the location specified by the pressed event icon or the pressed history icon is deemed to be a false detection acknowledged location. Then, the main storage unit 190 stores a set of information linking the date and time when the event occurred at the false detection acknowledged location corresponding to the location specified by the pressed event icon or the pressed history icon with location information specifying the location of the false detection acknowledged location, and an identifier for specifying this false detection acknowledged location. Then, the screen returns to S2.

[0300] On the other hand, if the "No" button is pressed, the process for identifying the location as an erroneous detection identified location is not performed, and the screen transitions to screen S4.

[0301] In this manner, it becomes possible to certify or cancel the certification of an erroneous detection certified point. <Battery control> Next, the battery control in this embodiment will be described.

[0302] 1, the power supply unit 310 of the all-in-one device 1000 of this embodiment receives power from an external device via the USB terminal 320. Here, the external device is, for example, an automobile in which the all-in-one device 1000 is installed.

[0303] Specifically, one end of the cigarette plug cord is inserted into the cigarette lighter socket of the vehicle. The other end of the cigarette plug cord is then connected to the USB terminal 320. The cigarette plug cord used is equipped with a converter. The cigarette plug cord and converter have a rated voltage of 5V and a rated current of 2A, for example.

[0304] After that, when the car engine starts, power supply from the cigarette lighter socket starts in conjunction with this, and when the car engine stops, power supply from the cigarette lighter socket also stops.

[0305] Next, a detailed configuration of the power supply unit 310 will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Referring to Fig. 13, the power supply unit 310 includes a power supply control unit 311, a lithium ion battery 312, and a supercapacitor 313 (registered trademark). The power supply unit 310 is connected to the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200. Among the functional blocks shown in Fig. 1, those that are not directly related to the description of the battery control are omitted from Fig. 13.

[0306] The supercapacitor 313 corresponds to the "electricity storage device" of the present invention. The lithium ion battery 312 corresponds to the "secondary battery" of the present invention. Furthermore, the power source supplied from the cigarette lighter socket of the automobile corresponds to the "external power source" of the present invention.

[0307] Here, the power supply control unit 311 has a function of controlling which device a voltage is applied to. The power supply control unit 311 is realized by, for example, a power management IC. Also, the first control unit 100 may perform part or all of the control of the power supply control unit 311. In Fig. 13, signal lines for transmitting and receiving signals for the first control unit 100 to control the power supply control unit 311 are indicated by dashed lines. Meanwhile, lines for applying voltage are indicated by solid lines in Fig. 13.

[0308] The lithium ion battery 312 is a secondary battery that can be used as a battery after storing electricity by charging. The lithium ion battery 312 is charged under the control of the power supply control unit 311. When the all-in-one device 1000 is supplied with power from an external device, the first control unit 100 is driven by the power supplied from the external device.

[0309] On the other hand, when the all-in-one device 1000 is not receiving power from an external device, the first control unit 100 is driven by the power supplied by the lithium ion battery 312. As described above in the explanation section of <Screen Transition>, when the all-in-one device 1000 is not receiving power from an external device and is driven by the power supplied by the lithium ion battery 312, the first control unit 100 stops the function of the drive recorder. Since the purpose of this is to reduce power consumption, not only is the software operating in the second control unit 200 shut down, but the application of voltage to the second control unit 200 itself is stopped.

[0310] The supercapacitor 313 is a power storage device that stores power when the integrated device 1000 receives power from an external device.

[0311] In this regard, in this embodiment, when the integrated device 1000 is removed from the automobile, the second control unit 200 performs a shutdown process, such as storing the information that it caches in the second storage unit 230, which is a non-volatile memory, to prevent data corruption.

[0312] However, as described above, when the integrated device 1000 is removed from the vehicle, the application of voltage to the second control unit 200 is stopped. Therefore, the second control unit 200 performs this shutdown process using the charge stored in the supercapacitor 313. For this reason, the supercapacitor 313 used has a capacity that can guarantee that the shutdown process can be performed in this manner.

[0313] The information cached by the second control unit 200 is, for example, a cached real-time video before being converted into a video file.

[0314] The first control unit 100 also controls the power supply. For example, the first control unit 100 controls the power supply of the touch panel 110, the speaker 120, the notification LED 130, the button 140, the TV tuner 150, the GPS sensor 160, the acceleration sensor 170, the first storage unit 180, and the main storage unit 190, among the units shown in Fig. 1. In addition, the first control unit 100 may control a part or all of the power supply control unit 311.

[0315] On the other hand, the second control unit 200 controls the power supply of the camera 210, the microphone 220, and the second storage unit 230 among the units shown in FIG.

[0316] Next, the basic idea of ​​the battery control in this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the activation of the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200, and the charging of the supercapacitor 313 and the lithium ion battery 312 are not all performed in parallel, but are performed stepwise by controlling the timing of the activation. This is to activate the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200, and charge the supercapacitor 313 and the lithium ion battery 312 without exceeding the rated current of the cigarette plug cord.

[0317] Here, the rated current of the cigar plug cord is, for example, 2 A. In this regard, it is also possible to use a cigar plug cord with a rated current exceeding 2 A. However, as the rated current increases, it becomes necessary to make the cigar plug cord thicker. This is because the conductors that form the cord, such as the electric wires, have resistance, albeit small, and there is a risk that the insulating coating will melt due to the heat generated by the resistance, so that the cord must be thicker as the current increases.

[0318] However, if the cord is made thick, it becomes difficult to handle the cord, which is very inconvenient for a user who uses the all-in-one device 1000 in the limited space inside a car. In addition, using a thick cord also causes a problem of increased manufacturing costs.

[0319] Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, the activation of the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200, and the charging of the supercapacitor 313 and the lithium ion battery 312 are not all performed in parallel, but are performed stepwise by controlling the timing of the activation. As a result, in this embodiment, the maximum value of the current when the integrated device 1000 is activated is suppressed.

[0320] Next, the power supply control process of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIG. 14 and FIG.

[0321] First, when the all-in-one device 1000 is in a shutdown state and connected to a car charger, the engine of the car starts, which starts supplying power to the all-in-one device 1000 (Yes in step A11).

[0322] Then, the power supply control unit 311 starts applying a voltage to the first control unit 100. This causes the first control unit 100 to start a startup process (step A12). The startup process includes, for example, a process for starting up the touch panel 110 and the GPS sensor 160.

[0323] The first control unit 100 that has performed the start-up process displays on the touch panel 110. At this time, the screen S1 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. Then, in response to pressing of the [NAVI] button 140, the navigation function is executed (step A13). Even if the [DRIVE RECORDER] button 140 is pressed, the drive recorder function has not yet been executed. Therefore, as shown in the screen S14 shown in FIG. 16, a message such as "The drive recorder is starting up. Please wait a moment" is displayed on the screen. Then, when a predetermined time that is considered to be long enough for the user to recognize this message has elapsed, it is determined that a timeout has occurred and the screen transitions to the screen S1. In this way, it is possible to inform the user that the start-up process is being performed by first starting the first control unit 100 and displaying it on the touch panel 110.

[0324] Furthermore, the power supply control unit 311 starts applying a voltage to the supercapacitor 313. Accordingly, the supercapacitor 313 starts storing electricity, and the voltage of the supercapacitor 313 increases (step A14).

[0325] Next, it is determined whether the current voltage of the supercapacitor 313 is greater than a predetermined first voltage (step A15). Then, when the current voltage of the supercapacitor 313 is greater than the predetermined first voltage (Yes in step A15), the power supply control unit 311 starts applying a voltage to the second control unit 200. As a result, the second control unit 200 starts a startup process. This startup process includes a process for starting the camera 210 and the microphone 220.

[0326] However, if the drive recorder function is executed, the maximum current may exceed the rated current of the cigarette lighter plug cord. Therefore, the second control unit 200 performs a startup process, but does not yet execute the drive recorder function. Therefore, even if the [Drive Recorder] button 140 is pressed at this point, a message like the screen S14 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed as in step A13, and the drive recorder function is not executed.

[0327] Next, it is determined whether the current voltage of the supercapacitor 313 is greater than a predetermined second voltage (step A17), where the predetermined second voltage is greater than the predetermined first voltage.

[0328] Then, when the current voltage of the supercapacitor 313 becomes larger than the predetermined second voltage (Yes in step A17), it means that the supercapacitor 313 is sufficiently charged, and a large current is no longer required to charge the supercapacitor 313. Therefore, in response to Yes in step A17, the process proceeds to step A18, and the second control unit 200 executes the drive recorder function (step A18). Furthermore, the power supply control unit 311 starts applying a voltage to the lithium ion battery 312. This starts charging the lithium ion battery 312 (step A19).

[0329] As described above, in this embodiment, the timing of applying voltage to each unit included in the all-in-one device 1000 is controlled. This has the effect of suppressing the maximum current value when the all-in-one device 1000 is started, and eliminating the need to make the cigar plug cord thicker than necessary.

[0330] This point will be explained using specific values. For example, suppose that 1.3 A is used when applying a voltage to the first control unit 100 in step A12. Also, suppose that 0.5 A is used when applying a voltage to the supercapacitor 313 in step A14, at least until step A15 becomes Yes. Furthermore, suppose that 0.2 to 0.3 A is used when applying a voltage to the second control unit 200 in step A16. Furthermore, suppose that 0.35 A is used when applying a voltage to the lithium ion battery 312 in step A19.

[0331] Adding these currents together, a total of 2.35 to 2.36 A is required, which exceeds the rated current of the above-mentioned cigar plug cord of 2 A. However, in this embodiment, by controlling the timing of applying voltage to each part included in the integrated device 1000, it is possible to start the integrated device 1000 without exceeding the rated current of 2 A.

[0332] Next, battery control after the start-up of the all-in-one device 1000 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0333] The all-in-one device 1000 executing the navigation function and the drive recorder function continues to monitor whether the supply of power from the car charger has been interrupted as the engine of the car has stopped. Also, the all-in-one device 1000 continues to monitor whether the all-in-one device 1000 has been removed from the car charger by removing the cigarette lighter plug cord from the USB terminal 320 or by removing the cigarette lighter plug cord from the car charger (No in step A20 and No in step A22).

[0334] Then, when the supply of power from the car charger is interrupted due to the engine of the car being stopped (Yes in step A20), the shutdown process is performed for the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200. At this time, the shutdown process for the first control unit 100 is performed by power supply from the lithium ion battery 312, and the shutdown process for the second control unit 200 is performed by power supply from the supercapacitor 313. Then, the process returns to step A2 and waits until power is supplied again.

[0335] On the other hand, when the all-in-one device 1000 is removed from the car charger by disconnecting the cigarette plug cord from the USB terminal 320 or by disconnecting the cigarette plug cord from the car charger (Yes in step A22), the second control unit 200 starts a shutdown process by power supply from the supercapacitor 313. By doing so, the user cannot use the drive recorder function, but the first control unit 100 does not perform a particular shutdown, so the navigation function can be continued. In other words, the all-in-one device 1000 can be used as a portable navigation system. The first control unit 100 continues to operate by power supply from the lithium ion battery 312. In this way, since only one of the two control units can be shut down, the other control unit does not need to perform a particular shutdown process to restart, and can continue to operate as is.

[0336] Next, it is determined whether or not the device is connected again to the car charger of the car, and whether or not it is connected to an external device other than the car. Here, the external device is, for example, a personal computer connected to the USB terminal 320 via a USB cable. Whether the device that is connected is the car charger of the car or the personal computer may be determined, for example, by a signal output from the USB cable. For example, a USB connector has five wires (VBus / D- / D+ / ID / GND). If the ID wire is shorted to the GND wire, it can be determined that the device is connected to a personal computer. On the other hand, if the ID wire is open (not connected), it can be determined that the device is connected to a car charger.

[0337] If the device is connected to the automobile (Yes in step A24: automobile), the process returns to step A2 and waits until power is supplied again.

[0338] On the other hand, if an external device is connected (Yes in step A24: external device), the process proceeds to step A25, where the first control unit 100 is shut down. This is because, if the all-in-one device 1000 is connected to a personal computer, it is considered that there is no need to execute the navigation function any more. Also, there may be cases where the output of the USB terminal 320 of the personal computer is not enough to provide the current for driving the all-in-one device 1000.

[0339] After shutting down the first control section 100, charging of the lithium ion battery 312 is started in preparation for the case where the all-in-one device 1000 is used again as a portable navigation device (step A26).

[0340] Thereafter, it is monitored whether or not the portable terminal is removed from the external device (step A27). If the portable terminal is removed from the external device (Yes in step A27), the first control unit 100 starts a startup process by receiving power from the lithium ion battery 312 in order to realize the function of the portable navigation system (step A28).

[0341] Then, the first control unit 100 performs display on the touch panel 110 and also executes the navigation function.

[0342] As described above with reference to FIG. 15, in this embodiment, when the car engine stops and the power supply from the car charger is interrupted, when the car is removed from the car charger, and when an external device is connected, it is possible to operate or shut down the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 as appropriate. <Car navigation> Next, the car navigation function by the first control unit 100 will be described in more detail. The first control unit 100 outputs a predetermined alarm when the current position detected by the GPS sensor 160 and the position of a target such as a traffic monitoring point stored in the main memory unit 190 are in a predetermined positional relationship. For this reason, the main memory unit 190 stores information on the target to be detected (target position information including longitude and latitude, target type information, etc.), traffic safety information such as accident-prone areas and traffic crackdown information for driving more carefully and safely, and landmarks and various information useful for driving. Each piece of information is registered in association with the specific type of information (type of target, type of traffic crackdown, accident-prone areas, name of landmark, etc.) and the position information.

[0343] The distance to the target when issuing an alarm can be changed for each type of target. As for the manner of the alarm, similar to the above, there are alarms by voice using the speaker 120 and alarms using the touch panel 110. In this embodiment, the all-in-one device 1000 realizes a car navigation function and therefore has map data.

[0344] Therefore, as a basic screen, the first control unit 100 has a function of reading out road network information around the current position and displaying a map of the area around the current position on the touch panel 110. Then, a warning screen is displayed on the touch panel 110, superimposed on the currently displayed screen. When the map is displayed, the warning screen is displayed when the distance between the current position and an LH system, which is a type of speed measurement device and a traffic monitoring point, becomes, for example, 500 m. Furthermore, the first control unit 100 performs processing to output a warning voice indicating the type of warning and the distance, such as "LH system 500 m ahead," from the speaker 120.

[0345] On the other hand, the first control unit 100 for implementing the navigation function also operates as follows: First, the main storage unit 190 stores road network information for navigation.

[0346] The first control unit 100 has a function of reading out road network information around the current position from the main memory unit 190 and displaying a map of the current position on the touch panel 110. The first control unit 100 can use this road network information to search for a route from one position to another. The main memory unit 190 also includes a telephone number database that stores telephone numbers in association with location information and names of homes, businesses, facilities, etc., and an address database that stores addresses in association with location information of those addresses. The main memory unit 190 also stores location information of traffic monitoring points, such as speed measuring devices, together with their types.

[0347] The first control unit 100 also has a function of performing processing of a general navigation device. That is, the touch panel 110 displays a map of the surroundings of the current position and displays the destination setting button 140 at all times. When the first control unit 100 detects a touch on the touch panel 110 at a position corresponding to the display position of the destination setting button 140, the first control unit 100 performs a destination setting process. In the destination setting process, a destination setting menu is displayed on the touch panel 110, and the user is prompted to select a destination setting method. The destination setting menu has a phone number search button 140 and an address search button 140 that prompt the user to select a destination setting method. When the touch on the phone number search button 140 is detected, a phone number input screen is displayed, and location information corresponding to the input phone number is obtained from the main storage unit 190. When the touch on the address search button 140 is detected, an address selection input screen is displayed, and location information corresponding to the input address is obtained from the main storage unit 190. Then, the acquired location information is set as location information of the destination, and a recommended route from the current location to the destination is calculated based on the road network information stored in the main storage unit 190. A known method such as the Dijkstra algorithm can be used to calculate this recommended route.

[0348] Then, the first control unit 100 displays the calculated recommended route together with a map of the surrounding area. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, a route i23 from a current position i21 to a destination i22 is displayed as a recommended route in a predetermined color (e.g., red). This is similar to a general navigation system. In this embodiment, the first control unit 100 compares position information on the route i23 with position information of landmarks such as traffic monitoring points stored in the main memory unit 190, and displays the positions of the traffic monitoring points and the like located on the route i23.

[0349] As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, a speech bubble is displayed from a position on the road, and the type of the traffic monitoring point at that position stored in the main memory unit 190 is displayed in the speech bubble. For example, FIG. 17(a) is a display example of a warning point search screen, showing an example in which traffic monitoring points i25a to i25f are displayed. The traffic monitoring point i25a displays the character "N" indicating an N system in the speech bubble. The traffic monitoring points i25b, i25c, and i25e display the character "LH" indicating an LH system in the speech bubble. The traffic monitoring point i25d displays the character "loop" indicating a loop coil in the speech bubble. The traffic monitoring point i25f displays the character "H" indicating an H system in the speech bubble. In this way, when the touch panel 1108 detects a touch at the position of a speech bubble in a simplified display state where characters are displayed in the speech bubble, the simplified display is switched to a detailed display as shown in FIG. 4(b).

[0350] As shown in Fig. 4(a), a traffic monitoring point type designation section i26 is displayed on the lower right side of the touch panel 110. The traffic monitoring point type designation section i26 is a section that displays buttons 140 listing the types of traffic monitoring points present on the route i23. In the example of Fig. 4(a), an "N" type button 140i27a indicating the N system of the traffic monitoring point i25a, an "LH" type button 140i27b indicating the LH system of the traffic monitoring points i25b, i25c, and i25e, a "loop" type button 140i27c indicating the loop coil of the traffic monitoring point i25d, and an "H" type button 140i27d indicating the H system of the traffic monitoring point i25f are displayed. When the first control unit 100 detects a touch on the display portion of this type button 140 on the touch panel 1108, it inverts the touched type button 140 and switches the display mode of the traffic monitoring point corresponding to the touched type button 140 to detailed display if it is in simple display, or switches it to simple display if it is in detailed display.

[0351] The all-in-one device 1000 of this embodiment has a surrounding area search function as a method for setting a destination (hereinafter including a stopover). When this surrounding area search function is selected and activated, the first control unit 100 extracts facilities that meet the specified conditions and are close to the current location, and draws the extraction results on the touch panel 110. The user can then select one of the candidates drawn on the touch panel 110 and confirm it to specify it as the destination (including a stopover).

[0352] That is, in order to realize such a function, the main storage unit 190 of this embodiment stores information about each facility in association with information about the classification of the facility together with its location information. The information about the classification of the facility is a plurality of items that are grouped together by the name of the genre to which each facility corresponds.

[0353] In this embodiment, when any of the items is specified, the first control unit 100 extracts facilities that match the specified items and are close to the current location, and draws the extracted results as destination candidates on the touch panel 110. The user can select one of the candidates drawn on the touch panel 110 to specify it as a destination.

[0354] When any of the items is selected, the first control unit 100 accesses the main memory unit 190 and extracts facilities that exist within a reference distance (e.g., 10 km) from the current position and that match the classification of the specified item. Then, a predetermined number (e.g., 10) of the closest facilities are drawn by superimposing icons (marks) representing the facilities on the corresponding locations on the map drawn on the touch panel 110. As facility information stored in the main memory unit 190, an icon is registered in association with each facility, and when drawing, the associated icon is read out and drawn at a predetermined location on the touch panel 110.

[0355] If the current position is present on the map drawn on the touch panel 110, a vehicle icon representing the vehicle is drawn superimposed on the position corresponding to the current position. Furthermore, when drawing such facility icons, numbers are added to the facility icons in order of proximity to the vehicle. The numbers are updated as the vehicle moves.

[0356] When the user selects a desired facility, the first control unit 100 recognizes this and calculates a recommended route with the selected facility as the destination, and draws the result on the map on the touch panel 110 by overlaying it.

[0357] Furthermore, the first control unit 100 has a function of performing route guidance to a set destination. That is, the first control unit 100 performs route guidance to the destination using images and voices while successively detecting the vehicle position by GPS or autonomous navigation in response to a user's selection to start guidance, and drawing map information showing roads and the like on the touch panel 110.

[0358] The above-mentioned user's input of instructions such as specification and selection can be triggered by the first control unit 100 detecting that the user has touched a button 140 on which the name of an item or function is displayed on the touch panel 110, or a facility icon. <Implementation example> The all-in-one device 1000 described above can be implemented in an electronic device, for example, as follows.

[0359] Fig. 18 is a six-sided view showing an example of the appearance of an electronic device equipped with an all-in-one device 1000. In Fig. 18, a front view is shown in the second row of the center column. Here, in Fig. 18, the front view shows the surface that faces the touch panel 110 when the all-in-one device 1000 is installed. The touch panel 110 is disposed on the front of the all-in-one device 1000. In addition, buttons 140 and the like are not disposed on the bezel surrounding the periphery of the touch panel 110 so as not to obstruct the visual observation of the touch panel 110.

[0360] A left side view is shown to the left of the front view. The first storage unit 180, the notification LED 130b, and the USB terminal 320 are arranged on the left side of the all-in-one device 1000. The first storage unit 180 is realized by an SD slot, and an SD card, which is a storage medium, is inserted into the SD slot. The notification LED 130b is an LED that indicates whether or not power is being supplied, and lights up, for example, green while power is being supplied. A cigarette plug cord 504 is connected to the USB terminal 320, and as described in the section on <Battery Control>, the all-in-one device 1000 receives power from a car charger via the cigarette plug cord 504. In order to clearly show the shape of the all-in-one device 1000, the cord portion extending from the socket of the cigarette plug cord is omitted in FIG. 17.

[0361] A right side view is shown to the right of the front view. A second storage unit 230 is disposed on the right side of the all-in-one device 1000. The second storage unit 230 is realized by an SD slot, and an SD card, which is a storage medium, is inserted into the SD slot.

[0362] Above the front view, a top view is shown. On the top surface of the all-in-one device 1000, a notification LED 130a, a button 140a, a button 140b, and a button 140c are arranged. The notification LED 130a is used to indicate whether or not continuous recording is being performed by the all-in-one device 1000, and is lit in red when continuous recording is not being performed, for example. The button 140a is a button 140 for starting manual recording, and pressing the button 140a is a trigger to start event recording. The button 140b is a button 140 for stopping or restarting continuous recording, and each time the button 140c is pressed, the continuous recording is stopped or restarted. The button 140c is a button 140 for turning the all-in-one device 1000 ON or OFF, and when the button 140c is pressed while the power is ON, the all-in-one device 1000 is turned OFF, and when the button 140c is pressed while the power is OFF, the all-in-one device 1000 is turned ON.

[0363] The third row in the center column shows a rear view. The camera 210 and the joint portion 502 are arranged on the rear of the all-in-one device 1000. Edges 501a, 501b, 501c, and 501d are formed on the rear of the all-in-one device 1000. The unit of the camera 210 is incorporated into the all-in-one device 1000 by a ball joint, and the camera 210 is movable. The movable range of the camera 210 is, for example, 15 degrees in each direction. In other words, if the camera 210 is in the center, it can move, for example, 15 degrees upward and 15 degrees downward. The joint portion is a portion for attaching the all-in-one device 1000 to a cradle for fixing the all-in-one device 1000. Edges 501a, 501b, 501c, and 501d are ridges formed on the rear. The edges 501a, 501b, 501c, and 501d are curved and have a shape that does not get caught in the hand of a user carrying the all-in-one device 1000.

[0364] The third row in the center column shows a bottom view. A speaker slit 503 is provided on the bottom surface of the all-in-one device 1000. The speaker slit 503 is a slit through which sound is output from the speaker 120 of the all-in-one device 1000. Details of the speaker slit 503 and the speaker 120 will be described later.

[0365] As described above, the all-in-one device 1000 has four edges, 501a, 501b, 501c, and 501d, on the rear surface, thereby providing four surfaces on the rear surface. Also, as can be seen by referring to the bottom, top, left, and right side views, the all-in-one device 1000 has a shape in which the camera 210 is at the apex and a downward slope is provided on each end of the rear surface.

[0366] In this regard, it is conceivable to realize the housing of the all-in-one device 1000 as a flat rectangular shape by making the thickness of each end portion and the thickness of the camera 210 equal without providing such an inclination. However, such a shape would result in the entire all-in-one device 1000 becoming larger, and thus reducing portability.

[0367] Also, the reason why the camera 210 portion becomes thick and becomes the apex is due to the size of the camera 210 unit forming the camera 210. Therefore, the camera 210 portion cannot be made thin. On the other hand, other circuits can be made thinner than the camera 210 portion. Therefore, even if the thickness of each end portion and the thickness of the camera 210 portion are made equal, it will only result in wasted space being generated within the housing of the all-in-one device 1000. From this viewpoint as well, it is not necessary to make the housing of the all-in-one device 1000 into a flat rectangular shape.

[0368] Therefore, in this implementation example, the thickness of the back surface is made thin by providing a downward slope from the apex at the camera 210 to each end of the back surface. This has the effect of preventing the back surface from becoming unnecessarily thick, making it less portable, and preventing wasted space inside the housing.

[0369] Other features of this implementation example will be described with reference to Fig. 19. Fig. 19(a) shows the left side of the all-in-one device 1000. As described with reference to Fig. 18, the USB terminal 320 for connecting the cigarette plug cord 504 is disposed on the left side of the all-in-one device 1000. A notch 505 is formed in the right half of the periphery of the USB terminal 320 when viewed from the left side. Here, the notch 505 when viewed from the left side is approximately vertical from top to bottom up to the height where the USB terminal 320 is provided, but in the portion below the height where the USB terminal 320 is provided, it curves to the left like an arc.

[0370] 19(b) shows the rear of the all-in-one device 1000. When viewed from the rear, the cutout 505 has a different left-right length at the upper portion (e.g., approximately two-thirds of the total) from the left-right length at the lower portion (e.g., approximately one-third of the total). Specifically, the left-right length of the lower portion is shorter.

[0371] The reason why the cutout 505 has such a shape will be described with reference to Fig. 19(c). Fig. 19(c) is a left side view showing a state in which the cigar plug cord 504 is attached to the USB terminal 320. Referring to Fig. 19(c), the cigar plug cord 504 and the cord portion 504-1 extending from the cigar plug cord 504 are shown.

[0372] First, as described with reference to FIG. 19(b), the length of the lower part of cutout 505 when viewed from the rear is shorter in the left and right directions, and is determined according to the thickness of the cable. Therefore, when viewed from the rear, cord portion 504-1 does not shift left or right, but follows the shape of cutout 505. Then, cord portion 504-1 hangs down along a shape curved to the left like an arc when viewed from the left side of cutout 505. In other words, the shape curved to the left like an arc when viewed from the left side of cutout 505 does not cause cord portion 504-1 of cigar plug cord 504 to hang down, but guides it in a desired direction.

[0373] This makes it possible to prevent the cord portion 504-1 from moving in an unintended direction. Also, because the cord is shaped like an arc, it is possible to prevent the cord from bending at an acute angle. This makes it possible to extend the life of the cord.

[0374] In addition, the width of the notch 505 from left to right when viewed from the back of the all-in-one device 1000 should be set so that the cigarette plug cord 504 and the cord portion 504-1 are not visible to the user when the all-in-one device 1000 is viewed from the front. This allows the user to see only the rectangular shape of the front of the all-in-one device 1000, creating a sense of unity.

[0375] Furthermore, the width of the notch 505 from left to right when viewed from the back of the all-in-one device 1000 should be set to a width that allows the cigarette plug cord 504 and the cord portion 504-1 to be seen by the user when the all-in-one device 1000 is viewed from the front. This allows the user to confirm that the cigarette plug cord 504 is connected to the USB terminal 320.

[0376] Other features of this implementation example will be described with reference to Fig. 20. Fig. 20 is a rear view of the all-in-one device 1000, showing the shape of the all-in-one device 1000 with the rear part of the cover that realizes the housing of the all-in-one device 1000 removed.

[0377] FIG. 20 shows a speaker unit 506, a speaker holder 507, and a speaker slit corresponding position 508 which indicates a position corresponding to the position of the speaker slit 503.

[0378] 1, and generates sounds such as voices for operation guidance, warning sounds, and music using a diaphragm. Generally, a sound emission hole for guiding the sound generated by the diaphragm to the outside of the cover is provided in a portion corresponding to the speaker unit 506 on the rear surface of the cover that realizes the housing of the all-in-one device 1000.

[0379] However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the all-in-one device 1000 will be carried around, and it is considered that the user will be able to see the back side. In such a case, if sound emission holes are provided, the aesthetic appearance of the device will be marred.

[0380] Therefore, in this implementation example, speaker holding portion 507 not only holds speaker unit 506, but also surrounds the periphery of speaker unit 506. However, the lower portion of speaker unit 506 is not surrounded. As a result, the sound generated by the diaphragm is guided from the lower portion of speaker unit 506 to speaker slit corresponding position 508, and is ultimately emitted from speaker slit 503. This makes it possible to output sound to the outside without providing a sound emission hole in the portion corresponding to speaker unit 506 on the back of the cover that realizes the housing of all-in-one device 1000. This makes it possible to prevent the sound emission hole from spoiling the aesthetic appearance.

[0381] Next, referring to Fig. 21, a diagram of the all-in-one device 1000 mounted on the cradle 2000 and the base unit 3000 in order to fix the all-in-one device 1000 to a dashboard or the like will be described. In this implementation example, the cradle 2000 is detachable from the joint unit 502 shown in Fig. 18, and the all-in-one device 1000 can be installed on the dashboard of a vehicle and used together with the cradle 2000, or the all-in-one device 1000 can be removed from the cradle 2000 and used as a portable navigation system.

[0382] The cradle 2000 is further connected to a base unit 3000. The base unit 3000 includes: The cradle 2000 is supported in any position. The base 3000 is fixed to a dashboard or the like by a suction cup or an adhesive sheet provided on the bottom surface. The base 3000 and the cradle 2000 are connected to each other rotatably within a predetermined angle range via a connecting mechanism such as a ball joint. Because of the ball joint, the base 3000 and the cradle main body 2000 can rotate and move relatively within any angle range in three dimensions, and can stay in any angular position due to frictional resistance at the joint. Therefore, the integrated device 1000 attached to the cradle 2000 can also be placed in any position on the dashboard. <Modification> The above-described embodiments and implementation examples are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention may be implemented in various modified forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0383] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the shape of the icon displayed on the map was changed depending on the presence or absence of a video file. Also, the color of the icon displayed on the map was changed depending on the level of the event. Furthermore, numbers were assigned to events according to the time series, and the order was displayed numerically. In other words, the display mode of each icon was changed depending on such conditions. Here, changing the display mode includes, for example, changing the color, shape, size, number display, etc. of the icon.

[0384] In this regard, the correspondence between the way in which the display mode is changed and the conditions for changing the display mode are not necessarily limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the color of the icon displayed on the map may be changed depending on the presence or absence of a video file. Also, both the color and the shape may be changed. For example, the number of the icon displayed on the map may be changed depending on the level of the event. Also, when there is a first condition such as the presence or absence of a video file and a second condition such as the level of the event, the way in which the display mode is changed may be changed depending on the condition.

[0385] For example, when performing continuous recording, it is a good idea not to delete the oldest file. This makes it impossible to save new real-time video, but it is possible to prevent old real-time video from being deleted.

[0386] It is also preferable to start and stop continuous recording in conjunction with the supply of power, which makes it possible to perform continuous recording at any time without requiring user operation.

[0387] Furthermore, in manual recording and event recording, the oldest file may not be deleted even if a new event occurs or a user operation is performed. This makes it impossible to protect new files, but it is possible to prevent previously protected files from being erased.

[0388] Furthermore, it may be possible to make it possible to delete files that are protected in manual recording and event recording according to user operations or settings, making it possible to delete files that are deemed unnecessary after checking their contents and increase the free space in the storage unit.

[0389] Furthermore, in the list of icons such as i13, the event icon pressed on the map or the history icon may be placed at the top of the list. Also, each event may be sorted in chronological order based on the date and time when the event occurred.

[0390] Furthermore, it is also possible that the first recording unit and the second storage unit 230 can use the same type of storage medium, and for example, when the capacity of the storage medium used in the second storage unit 230 reaches its maximum, it can be used in place of the storage medium used in the first storage unit 180. This makes it possible to use the two storage media differently depending on the situation. Also, it is preferable that the video file can be played back by the first control unit 100 by inserting a storage medium storing a video file into the first storage unit 180 by the second control unit 200.

[0391] Furthermore, when it is determined that an event has occurred, it is preferable to perform control so as not to execute a function that would be an obstacle to capturing real-time video. An example of a function that would be an obstacle to capturing real-time video is the audio output function of a television. By doing so, when capturing image data, at least after it is determined that an event has occurred, the audio of the television is stopped, making it possible to prevent the audio of the television from being mixed into the captured data.

[0392] Furthermore, when it is determined that an event has occurred, even if the measured value of the acceleration sensor 170 exceeds any one of a plurality of thresholds, event recording may not be performed. As a result, in cases where it is frequently determined that an event has occurred based on a minor impact, for example, a video file is not stored even if it is determined that an event has occurred based on a minor impact. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which the number of video files increases too much and the capacity of the storage medium is quickly used up. For example, depending on the type of vehicle, road conditions, driving habits, etc., when it is frequently determined that an event has occurred based on the most sensitive threshold, if recording is performed every time, the important recorded data will be quickly overwritten. Therefore, in such cases, it is preferable not to store a video file even if it is determined that an event has occurred based on the most sensitive threshold.

[0393] Furthermore, since camera 210 is movable, it is preferable to make it possible to adjust either or both of the incident position and the direction of incident portion 211 of camera 210. In this way, it becomes possible to adjust the incident position even after automobile-integrated device 1000 is installed. This makes it possible to adjust the captured range so as to correspond to the shape and installation position of the automobile, and to capture image data of the desired range.

[0394] Furthermore, the threshold for determining that an event has occurred can be set to a different value for each measurement axis, and the threshold for the measurement axis corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle may be set to be higher than the threshold for the other measurement axes. In this way, a threshold according to the usage status of the all-in-one device 1000 can be used, and it becomes possible to prevent erroneous determination that an event has occurred when no event has actually occurred.

[0395] In this regard, depending on the usage conditions of the all-in-one device 1000, the measurement value by the acceleration sensor 170 may increase in a predetermined direction regardless of the occurrence of an event. For example, if the front surface of the all-in-one device 1000 is the touch panel 110, when the user presses the touch panel 110, the measurement value by the acceleration sensor 170 increases in the measurement axis corresponding to the direction from the front surface to the rear surface of the all-in-one device 1000. Since this is unrelated to the occurrence of an event, it is preferable not to determine that an event has occurred in such a case.

[0396] Therefore, for example, it is preferable to set a high threshold value in the measurement axis corresponding to the direction from the front to the rear of the all-in-one device 1000. For example, when the all-in-one device 1000 is installed in an automobile, the front of the all-in-one device 1000 on which the touch panel 110 is provided faces the front of the user, and the rear of the all-in-one device 1000 faces the traveling direction of the automobile. Therefore, for example, when the traveling direction of the automobile is set to the front, the measurement axis corresponding to the traveling direction of the automobile is set to the X direction (front and rear), when the traveling direction of the automobile is set to the front, the measurement axis corresponding to the left and right of the automobile is set to the Y direction (left and right), and when the traveling direction of the automobile is set to the front, the measurement axis corresponding to the top and bottom of the automobile is set to the Z direction (left and right), and the threshold value for the measurement axis in the X direction (front and rear) is set to be high.

[0397] This makes it possible not to determine that an event has occurred even if a small impact is detected.

[0398] Furthermore, even if the measured value of the acceleration sensor 170 exceeds the threshold, if the threshold is exceeded during a predetermined period including the time when the touch panel 110 accepts the operation, it is preferable not to determine that an event has occurred. As described above, for example, the measured value by the acceleration sensor 170 increases in the measurement axis corresponding to the front to rear direction of the all-in-one device 1000. Since this is not related to the occurrence of an event, it is preferable not to determine that an event has occurred in such a case. Therefore, if the measured value is within a predetermined period including the time when the operation is accepted, it is not determined that an event has occurred. This makes it possible to prevent an erroneous determination that an event has occurred based on the measured value even if the acceleration sensor 170 measures an impact associated with the operation. Also, in such a case, it is possible to determine that an event has occurred and perform event recording, but not to display a pop-up or output a warning sound indicating that an event has occurred. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which a warning is output despite the acceleration sensor 170 measuring an impact associated with the operation and making a erroneous determination that an event has occurred.

[0399] When an automobile is located near a place where an event has occurred, it is preferable to restrict at least a part of the functions executed by the all-in-one device 1000 that is the control target of the all-in-one device 1000. This allows the user to concentrate on driving the automobile at the place where the previous event occurred. It is often desirable to drive with a strong sense of alertness at the place where an event has occurred in the past. For example, assume that there is a place where an event has occurred because the driver braked suddenly in the past to avoid an accident or the like. In this case, the functions of the all-in-one device 1000 that is the control target are restricted in part near this place. For example, it is preferable to restrict the audio output function of a television. This allows the user to stop outputting audio from the television, which is a hindrance to driving, near the place where the driver braked suddenly in the past to avoid an accident or the like, and allows the user to concentrate on driving the automobile.

[0400] Furthermore, it is preferable to output, as measurement information other than the acceleration measured when an event occurs, the moving speed of the vehicle, for example. This allows the user to prove that the vehicle was traveling at or below the legal speed limit when the event occurred, or that the vehicle was moving slowly. The moving speed of the vehicle can be calculated, for example, by using GPS location information. It is also preferable to obtain the moving speed of the vehicle by using OBD (On-board diagnostics), for example.

[0401] In the above description, it has been explained that the event icon and the history icon are displayed on the map including the current position of the automobile in which the all-in-one device 1000 is installed. In other words, it has been explained that the map around the automobile is displayed. In addition to this, when performing a route search or a destination search, it is preferable to display the event icons and history icons for the manual recordings and the event recordings that have occurred around the route or the destination. This allows the user to refer to the icons even for places that do not include the current position of the automobile.

[0402] Furthermore, when an event icon or history icon is pressed, driving guidance may be provided to the location of the event icon or history icon. This allows the user to easily revisit locations where accidents have occurred in the past, where events frequently occur, or where the user has manually recorded video.

[0403] Furthermore, the information for navigation stored in the main storage unit 190 may include all information for the entire country at the time of shipment. Map data and the like may be provided stored in a storage medium for each region, and the user may prepare a storage medium in which the necessary map data and the like is stored, and insert it into the first storage unit 180 for use. The map data and the like stored in the storage medium may be transferred to and stored in the main storage unit 190. Also, the first control unit 100 may access the storage medium, read it out from there, and use it.

[0404] In the above-described embodiment, three storage units are provided, such as the main storage unit 190, the first storage unit 180, and the second storage unit 230, but it is not necessary to provide three storage units. For example, it is also possible not to provide the first control unit 100.

[0405] In the above-described embodiment, it has been explained that the software for realizing the control by the first control unit 100 is stored in the main memory unit 190. However, it is also possible that some or all of the software is stored in a ROM included in the first control unit 100 rather than in the main memory unit 190.

[0406] The threshold value may be adjustable by the user, but considering that users generally do not know to what extent the threshold value should be adjusted, the threshold value may be fixed, which makes it possible to prevent the user from setting an inappropriate threshold value.

[0407] In the above description, each icon is not simply displayed in a different color, but rather, for example, the icons are displayed with numbers in circles including chronological numbers. In this case, the numbers may be assigned in descending or ascending order along the timeline. In other words, the newest icon may be numbered 1 and the oldest icon may be numbered 10. Also, the newest icon may be numbered 10 and the oldest icon may be numbered 1.

[0408] In the above description, the video files are played back via the first control unit 100, but they may be output directly from the second control unit 200 to the touch panel 110. In addition, the process of decoding the two video files to generate image data may be performed by the first control unit 100, not by the second control unit 200.

[0409] In the above description, it is also possible to associate the [shortcut] button 140 with "television image" rather than "camera image." Since the user will refer to the "camera image" when setting up the all-in-one device 1000, but will refer to the "television image" after installation, it is possible to improve user usability.

[0410] In addition, it is preferable to continue the voice operation guidance even when the [Shortcut] button 140 is pressed and the screen transitions to S3, thereby preventing the inconvenience of the operation guidance being interrupted.

[0411] Also, button 140 for accepting an operation that triggers manual recording may be displayed on the screen, that is, on touch panel 110. Also, it is preferable to accept an operation that triggers manual recording with button 140 which is a hard key, rather than button 140 displayed on touch panel 110. This eliminates the need to provide button 140 on touch panel 110, and therefore it is possible to prevent, for example, a situation in which part of a real-time video image displayed full screen on screen S13 is obscured by button 140.

[0412] 14, step A3 is performed first, followed by step A4, but steps A3 and A4 may be performed simultaneously if the current is within the rated current range of the cigar plug cord, thereby shortening the time it takes for the second control unit 200 to start up.

[0413] Furthermore, the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 170 varies depending on factors such as an individual's driving style, the type of vehicle, and the road on which the vehicle is usually driven. Therefore, in some cases, the threshold value used as the criterion for determining that an event has occurred may be too low. In this case, it may be erroneously detected that an event has occurred even when it has not. On the other hand, in some cases, the threshold value used as the criterion for determining that an event has occurred may be too high. In this case, it may be erroneously detected that an event has not occurred even when it has occurred.

[0414] Therefore, it is also good to allow the user to modify the threshold value set at the time of shipment. In addition, in this embodiment, a plurality of threshold values ​​are set, and the color of the icon displayed on the map is changed depending on which threshold the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 170 exceeds. In this way, the user can use the icons of different colors as a guide when individually setting the threshold value according to the individual driving style, the type of vehicle, the roads that are usually driven, etc.

[0415] Furthermore, in cases where it is considered that it is difficult for users to set the thresholds, it is also possible to prevent users from modifying the thresholds that are set at the time of shipment.

[0416] Furthermore, when an SD card or the like is inserted as a storage medium into the second storage unit 230, the number of video data that can be stored is limited depending on the storage capacity of the SD card, so it is not possible to view videos for all of the icons displayed on the map. However, it is preferable to distinguish between the latest file in which video data is stored and older files in which no video data is stored. This distinction can be realized, for example, by making the icon shape or color different. The number of the latest files can be, for example, 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0417] 100 First control unit 110 Touch Panel 120 Speaker 130 Notification LED 140 Buttons 150 TV Tuner 160 GPS Sensor 170 Acceleration Sensor 180 First memory unit 190 Main memory 200 Second control section 210 Camera 211 Incidence part 220 Mike 230 Second memory unit 310 Power supply section 320 USB port 501 Edge 502 Joint 503 Speaker slit 504 Cigarette lighter plug cord 504-1 Code section 505 Notch 506 Speaker unit 507 Speaker holder 508 Speaker slit position 1000 integrated devices 2000 Cradle 3000 Pedestal

Claims

1. An in-vehicle device having a function of detecting acceleration occurring in a vehicle, a function of detecting an event when the detected acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold and performing event recording; The function of processing while receiving power from a battery, a function of starting a process for realizing the drive recorder function capable of recording an event when the button for realizing the drive recorder function is pressed and, if the vehicle is not receiving power from the battery, notifying the driver that the recording function of the drive recorder will not operate while the vehicle is being driven by the battery; An in-vehicle device comprising:

2. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, further comprising a function of notifying the driver that a recording function of the drive recorder will not operate while the drive recorder is being driven by the battery, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, transitioning to a screen on which a button for realizing the drive recorder function and a button for realizing another function can be pressed.

3. As a process for realizing the drive recorder function capable of recording the event, a function for displaying real-time images captured by a camera in full screen display is provided, The device is provided with a function that, when a real-time image captured by a camera is being played back in full screen display and a button to end the image is displayed in a non-full screen display when a user presses the button.

3. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. a function of executing a navigation function when power is not being supplied from the battery; When a predetermined icon on a map displayed in the navigation function is pressed, Equipped with a function to notify the driver that continuous recording by the drive recorder function will be temporarily suspended.

4. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein:

5. When notified that continuous recording by the drive recorder function will be temporarily suspended, the user must select either the "Yes" or "No" button.

5. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1,

6. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images