System, program or the like

Abstract

To provide a mechanism, for example, to improve the convenience of ship users by providing a new technique.SOLUTION: Disclosed is an image capturing apparatus 100 which is mounted on a ship 500. The image capturing apparatus 100 comprises: detection means for detecting a situation in which a ship 500 is placed; transmission means for transmitting status information, which is information regarding the situation of the sheet 500 detected by the detection means, to a server device 400 located on the mainland through a prescribed network NW. The detection means includes image capturing means for acquiring an image taken by capturing the circumference of the ship 500.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system, a program, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for creating a composite image by combining surrounding images taken by multiple cameras installed on a ship. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-150459 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One object of the present invention is to provide a new technology, for example, to provide a mechanism for improving convenience for ship users.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is not limited to this, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for configurations that aim to obtain effects from parts of the configurations disclosed in this specification and drawings, etc., by filing a divisional application, amendment, etc. For example, this specification discloses a problem in which the part described as "can be" in this specification is read as "the problem is to be". The problems are described as being independent, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for the configurations for solving each problem separately by filing a divisional application, amendment, etc. Even if the problems are implicitly understood from the description in the specification, the applicant intends to include part of the configurations described in this specification in the scope of the patent claim by amendment or divisional application. In addition, the applicant has disclosed a configuration that solves a problem that combines these independent problems, and intends to obtain rights for it. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, for example, the following configuration is adopted. The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems, and an example thereof is as follows.

[0007] (1) It is desirable to provide a system that is installed on a ship, comprising: a detection means for detecting the situation in which the ship is located; and a transmission means for transmitting situation information, which is information regarding the situation in which the ship is located detected by the detection means, to an external device on the mainland via a specified network, wherein the detection means has an imaging means for acquiring images of the area around the ship.

[0008] In this way, images of the ship's surroundings, which represent the ship's current situation, can be obtained via an external device on the mainland, allowing the mainland side to grasp the situation around the ship from these images.

[0009] (2) The detection means has one or more sensors installed on the ship, and the one or more sensors may include at least one of a GPS sensor that receives signals from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites to acquire position information of the ship, an acceleration sensor (e.g., a G sensor) that measures the acceleration of the ship, a pressure sensor that measures air pressure, a salinity sensor that measures salinity, a temperature sensor that measures temperature, and an inclination sensor.

[0010] In this way, at least one of the following information about the situation around the ship detected by the sensors can be provided to the external device on the mainland: the ship's position information, the ship's acceleration, air pressure, salinity, temperature, and the ship's inclination. The mainland side can grasp the situation of the ship detected by the sensors.

[0011] (3) It is preferable to provide a generation means for generating, as the situation information, information indicating at least one of changes in the weather around the ship and changes in the inclination of the ship's hull, based on data indicating the situation in which the ship is located output from at least one of the photographing means, the GPS sensor, the acceleration sensor, the air pressure sensor, the salinity sensor, the temperature sensor, and the inclination sensor.

[0012] In this way, information on at least one of the changes in the weather around the ship and the changes in the inclination of the ship's hull can be provided to an external device on the mainland, allowing the mainland side to grasp at least one of the changes in the weather around the ship and the changes in the inclination of the ship's hull.

[0013] (4) The detection means has a geomagnetic sensor that measures geomagnetism, and is equipped with a recording means that synchronizes the position information of the ship obtained by the GPS sensor with the magnetic direction measured by the geomagnetic sensor and records them in a memory unit.Since the ship may rotate due to the influence of waves even when anchored, it is preferable to be able to record both the position of the ship and the orientation of the hull.

[0014] In this way, even when the ship is anchored, it may rotate due to the effect of waves, but by recording both the ship's position and the orientation of the hull, the manner of rotation can be understood later.

[0015] (5) The device may include a recording means for recording a video of the surroundings of the ship generated by the photographing means in a memory unit, and a playback means for playing back the recorded video, and when playing back the recorded video, the playback means may dynamically display the recorded magnetic direction on the playback screen of the recorded video in accordance with the played back video.

[0016] In this way, the video of the surroundings of the ship captured by the image capturing means is recorded in the storage unit, and when the recorded video is played back, the recorded magnetic direction can be viewed on the playback screen of the recorded video in accordance with the video being played back. From the playback screen, the direction of the ship at the time of the video can be ascertained.

[0017] (6) When the video is a video taken in all directions of the ship, or when the video is a video taken horizontally over 360 degrees, the playback means may display on the screen four directions, or these four directions plus up and down in the vertical direction measured by the acceleration sensor, for a total of six directions.

[0018] In this way, when viewing video of the ship in all directions, or video shot horizontally over 360 degrees, it is possible to grasp six directions from the screen, either four directions, or these four directions plus up and down in the vertical direction measured by the acceleration sensor.

[0019] (7) The reproducing means displays an icon indicating the position of the ship on a map synchronized with the reproduced video, and rotates and displays the heading direction of the ship in accordance with the direction of the magnetic bearing. It is good.

[0020] In this way, when watching the video, the position of the ship and the direction of the ship's bow can be ascertained from the map.

[0021] (8) The detection means may have a gyro sensor, and may be provided with a recording means for recording values ​​measured by the gyro sensor in synchronization with the moving image captured by the imaging means, and a playback means for, when playing back the recorded moving image, inversely correcting screen shaking caused by waves for the moving image based on the values ​​measured by the gyro sensor.

[0022] In this way, the shaking of the screen caused by the rocking of the ship can be reduced when watching the reproduced video, and the user can see a stable image in the horizontal and vertical directions on the screen in the direction he or she wishes to view.

[0023] (9) The playback means for stably displaying the image should preferably have a function of displaying the state of the ship's swaying based on information from the sensor in the detection means, since once the screen is stably displayed, the state of the ship's swaying cannot be determined from the screen.

[0024] In this way, when images taken by a camera installed on board a ship are played back, there is a possibility that the rocking of the waves may cause motion sickness, but this problem can be alleviated by displaying images with reduced rocking.

[0025] (10) The playback means for playing back the video captured and recorded by the imaging means may display the speed of the ship in knots.

[0026] In this way, the ship's speed can be displayed in knots, which are commonly used for ships. Since kilometers per hour (km / h) is generally used for vehicles, it is particularly preferable to have a configuration in which the unit of speed display can be switched.

[0027] (11) It is preferable to include an onboard camera mounted on the ship, an estimation means for estimating the age of the driver of the ship from an image captured by the onboard camera, and a recording means for recording information on the age estimated by the estimation means.

[0028] In this way, by recording the age of the driver of the vessel, it is possible to know that age later. This is based on the idea that it is important to be able to know the driver's age, since even if the driver does not have a license, if there is a licensed passenger on board, the driver can still operate the vessel.

[0029] (12) The vessel may further include a flooding detection means for detecting flooding of the vessel, and the transmission means may transmit the status information when the flooding detection means detects that the vessel is flooded.

[0030] In this way, the flooding status of the ship can be notified to an external device on the mainland while reducing communication traffic.

[0031] (13) It is preferable to provide a means for monitoring the voltage of the ship, and a recording means for recording an event when the voltage drops during the voltage monitoring.

[0032] In this way, if a ship's battery runs out while at sea, the risk of distress increases, so the possibility of such an event occurring can be grasped.

[0033] (14) The vessel may be provided with an event generating means for generating an event when the vessel is not operated at sea, and the transmitting means may transmit the status information when the vessel has not been operated at sea for a predetermined number of hours and is not traveling at a speed greater than a certain speed.

[0034] In this way, the occurrence of an accident such as the driver falling into the sea and then not operating the vehicle can be treated as an event, making it possible to grasp the occurrence of such an accident.

[0035] (15) It is preferable to provide a grounding warning means for issuing an alarm when the ship approaches a predetermined point where the ship is likely to run aground, based on the coordinates of the point.

[0036] In this way, by issuing a warning when the ship approaches an area where caution is required regarding running aground, the possibility of the ship running aground can be reduced.

[0037] (16) The communication device equipped with the transmitting means may have a communication unit powered on and a control unit powered off or in a power saving mode, and the control unit may start up in response to receiving a message via SMS (Short Message Service), and the control unit may have an anchorage monitoring means for transmitting to the outside current images captured by an imaging means installed on the ship.

[0038] In this way, since the battery will run out if the communication equipment is always on, only the communication unit is turned on and it starts up when an SMS message is received.In addition, by making it possible to check the current image captured by the camera means installed on the ship, it is possible to monitor the ship's anchored state from a distance.

[0039] (17) The transmission means includes a first data extraction means which enables data extraction in the event of a distress of the ship, and the first data extraction means has a function of using an SMS retransmission function to transmit the status information to the external device as soon as the ship enters the range of the network in the event of an accident of the ship outside the range of a specified network.

[0040] In this way, if the captain of a ship reports an accident, a manager on land can obtain video data at a specified time from the time of the report and understand the details of the distress.

[0041] (18) The transmission means is provided with a second data extraction means which enables retrieval of data on the time an accident occurred on the ship, and when the second data extraction means receives a request to acquire video data with a time specified based on the time of report from the ship, it transmits the video data taken at the time specified in the acquisition request.

[0042] In this way, if the captain of a ship reports an accident, a manager on land can obtain video data at a specified time from the time of the report and understand the details of the distress.

[0043] (19) The transmitting means is provided in communication equipment installed on the ship, and the communication equipment preferably has saltwater and pressure resistance specifications so as not to break down even if the ship sinks.

[0044] In this way, even if the ship sinks, it is possible to prevent failure of the communication device that transmits the status information, and it is possible to more reliably retrieve the status information.

[0045] (20) It is preferable to provide a program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the transmission means of any of the above systems.

[0046] The inventions shown in (1) to (20) above can be arbitrarily combined. For example, it is preferable to add at least a part of the configuration of at least one of the inventions after (2) to all or a part of the configuration of the invention shown in (1). In particular, it is preferable to add at least a part of the configuration of at least one of the inventions after (2) to the invention shown in (1). In addition, it is also possible to extract any configuration from the inventions shown in (1) to (20) and combine the extracted configurations. The applicant of this application intends to obtain rights to the inventions including these configurations. In addition, even if there is a description such as "in the case of" or "when", it is not intended to describe the configuration as being limited to that case or time. These are examples of better configurations, and the applicant intends to obtain rights to configurations other than these cases or times. In addition, the parts described in order are not limited to this order. Configurations in which some parts have been deleted or the order has been changed are also disclosed, and the applicant intends to obtain rights. Effect of the Invention

[0047] According to the present invention, by providing new technology, it is possible to provide a mechanism for improving convenience for users of ships, for example.

[0048] The effect of the invention of the present application is not limited to this, and the effect achieved from the configuration disclosed in the specification and drawings, etc. is also disclosed, and there is an intention to obtain rights to the configuration achieving said effect through divisional applications, amendments, etc. For example, in this specification, the part that states "can..." is a description that clearly indicates the effect achieved, and there are parts that show the effect even without the description "can...". Also, there are effects that can be understood from the configuration even without such a description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0049] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an imaging device according to the embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the imaging device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing another example of the electrical configuration of the imaging device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the display device according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0050] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below are examples of the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In the following description, labeling using numerical values ​​such as 1, 2, ... is for identifying each element, and does not determine the number of elements. In the drawings referred to in this embodiment, the same parts or parts having similar functions are given the same or similar symbols (symbols with A, B, etc. added after the numbers), and repeated explanations may be omitted. In addition, in each drawing referred to in the following description, the scale may be different from the actual scale in order to make each member, each area, etc. recognizable.

[0051] [1. Overall composition] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system 1 includes a photographing device 100, a display device 300, and a server device 400. The photographing device 100, the display device 300, and the server device 400 are referred to as devices here, but may be understood as a system or the like. The photographing device 100 takes pictures and generates image data showing the taken images. The photographing device 100 is a photographing device that is mounted on a ship 500 and takes pictures of the surroundings of the ship 500, and a specific configuration will be described later. The display device 300 is a display device that displays images (or may be called a playback device that plays back images). The display device 300 is used by, for example, the same user as the photographing device 100. When the photographing device 100 is owned by a corporation, the photographing device 100 is used by, for example, an employee of the corporation (for example, a sales employee), and the display device 300 is managed and operated by, for example, an employee of the management department of the corporation (for example, a manager). The display device 300 is, for example, a personal computer, and is a stationary display device such as a desktop personal computer. The display device 300 may be a portable display device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a feature phone, or a wearable terminal. Various data such as images captured by the image capturing device 100 is stored in a storage medium 200. The display device 300 displays information such as images captured by the image capturing device 100 based on the data stored in the storage medium 200. Unless otherwise specified, the display device 300 may be a device used on land or a device used on a ship 500, and various places of use are considered.

[0052] The server device 400 communicates with the image capturing device 100 via a network NW, which is a predetermined communication line. The server device 400 is managed and operated, for example, by a business that manufactures or sells the image capturing device 10, or a business or public institution that provides a predetermined service based on an image captured by the image capturing device 100. An example of a business that provides a predetermined service is an insurance company that grasps the situation of an accident or the like of the ship 500 based on images captured by the image capturing device 100 or 200 and pays insurance claims. The server device 400 may be a server device or the like managed and operated by a public institution such as the Japan Coast Guard.

[0053] The network NW may be of any standard, but may be, for example, a network for communication using a satellite. The network NW may be capable of communication using a ship internet communication service such as NetBreeze4w.

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a ship 500 floating on water, seen from the side. The ship 500 has a predetermined power source (which may be called a drive source) and travels on water, such as the sea, a lake, or a river. The predetermined power source may be an engine, a battery, or a combination of these, but is not limited thereto, and may include a power source for operating using natural energy such as solar power or wind power. The ship 500 may be used for any purpose, and may be a passenger ship often used for tourism, a cargo ship (merchant ship) that mainly carries cargo, or other ships. The ship 500 may be a ship that navigates on water for the purpose of performing a predetermined task, and may be, for example, a tugboat, a cleaning ship, a surveillance boat, a pilot boat, a security boat, a patrol boat, a port service boat, a fishing boat, or the like. The ship 500 may be a ship for the purpose of transporting people, and may be, for example, a pleasure boat, a water bus, a pleasure fishing boat, or the like. The ship 500 is not limited to a ship owned by a corporation, and may be an individually owned ship. The size (gross tonnage) of the ship 500 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, a case where the ship is a relatively small ship will be described. Such ships 500 include, for example, pleasure boats, motor boats, fishing boats, and ships used as sightseeing boats. However, the ship 500 may be a large ship, such as a passenger ship or a cruise ship.

[0055] The image capturing device 100 is a device (also called an aftermarket product) that is purchased by a user separately from the vessel 500 and later attached to the vessel 500. The user may be, for example, the owner, manager, or driver of the vessel 500. However, the image capturing device 100 may be a device that is pre-installed (that is, standard equipment) on the vessel 500. The image capturing device 100 is a front camera disposed on the front side of the vessel 500. The image capturing device 100 is attached, for example, to a predetermined position on the front side of the cabin of the vessel 500. The image capturing device 100 includes an image capturing unit 14 and captures the surroundings of the vessel 500 using the image capturing unit 14. In this embodiment, the image capturing device 100 has a function of capturing an image of the front of the vessel 500 through the windshield as the capturing direction, and capturing an image of the cabin of the vessel 500 or the rear of the vessel 500 as the capturing direction. Such an image capturing device 100 has a function of generating a 360-degree image. The photographing device 100 of this embodiment has a function of photographing and a function of recording image data showing the photographed image. Such a photographing device 100 may be called a photographing device called a ship-oriented (ship-use) drive recorder.

[0056] 2. External Configuration of the Imaging Device 100 Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the image capturing device 100. Fig. 2(A) is a diagram showing the image capturing device 100 as viewed from diagonally above right on the rear side (the front side of the ship 500). Fig. 2(B) is a diagram showing the image capturing device 100 as viewed from diagonally above right on the front side (the rear side of the ship 500). The image capturing device 100 has a housing 101. The housing 101 is longer in the up-down direction than in the left-right direction, and is relatively thin.

[0057] The housing 101 has a recording button 122 and light emitting units 181 and 182 on the front side. The recording button 122 is an operation means for instructing the start of recording (recording) of an image captured by the photographing unit 14 or the end of the recording. The light emitting units 181 and 182 emit light in a predetermined color according to the state of the photographing device 100. For example, the light emitting unit 181 emits light in green when the photographing device 100 is in an energized state in which power is supplied to the photographing device 100. The light emitting unit 182 emits light in blue when the photographing device 100 is recording. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a sound emission hole and a microphone hole are provided on the front side of the housing 101. The sound emission hole is a hole that transmits sound output by a sound output unit (a sound output unit 13 described later) of the photographing device 100 from the inside to the outside of the housing 101. The microphone hole is a hole that transmits sound from the outside to the inside of the housing 101. The sound transmitted through the inside of the housing 101 is input to a sound input section (a sound input section 121, which will be described later) that the image capturing device 100 has.

[0058] The housing 101 has an attachment section 102 on the rear side. The attachment section 102 is a portion for attaching the housing 101 (imaging device 100) to a predetermined attachment position on the boat 500. In this embodiment, the predetermined attachment position is the windshield located in front of the driver's seat of the boat 500. The attachment section 102 has, for example, double-sided tape attached thereto, and is fixed to the attachment position on the boat 500 using this double-sided tape. The attachment section 102 may further have a configuration that makes it possible to change the attitude (imaging direction) relative to the attachment position when attached to the boat 500. Such a configuration may be the same as a bracket used in a drive recorder attached to a vehicle, for example.

[0059] The housing 101 further has a first photographing unit 141 on the rear side and a second photographing unit 142 on the front side at a position on the lower side. The first photographing unit 141 and the second photographing unit 142 photograph and generate the photographed images, respectively. The first photographing unit 141 photographs the front of the ship 500 through the windshield as the photographing direction, and generates a hemispherical image. The second photographing unit 142 photographs the cabin of the ship 500 or the rear of the ship 500 as the photographing direction, and generates a hemispherical image. This allows the photographing device 100 to photograph in all directions around it. The control unit 11 has a function of generating a omnidirectional image (360-degree image) by combining the images generated by the first photographing unit 141 and the second photographing unit 142.

[0060] A lid 103 is provided on the right side surface of the housing 101. The lid 103 is provided so as to be able to open and close a storage medium insertion port (not shown) provided in the housing 101. The storage medium insertion port is an insertion port for inserting a storage medium 200 as an external storage means into the inside of the photographing device 100. With the lid 103 open, the storage medium 200 can be attached and detached to the storage medium insertion port. Data is read from and written to this storage medium 200 by a reader / writer 17.

[0061] The external configuration of the image capturing device 100 described above is merely an example. The image capturing device 100 may have, for example, a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) that displays an image, or a touch sensor that is overlaid on the display surface of the display unit to detect a touch operation by a user. When another image capturing device is provided on the ship 500, the image capturing device 100 may be connected to the other image capturing device through communication. It is preferable that the image capturing device 100 is an image capturing device that captures a celestial spherical image such as a full celestial sphere or a hemisphere, but it may also be an image capturing device that captures a planar image. The housing 101 may have another shape such as a rectangular parallelepiped or cylindrical shape.

[0062] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the external configuration of the image capturing device 100. Fig. 2(A) is a diagram showing the image capturing device 100 as viewed from diagonally above right on the rear side (the front side of the ship 500). Fig. 2(B) is a diagram showing the image capturing device 100 as viewed from diagonally above right on the front side (the rear side of the ship 500). The image capturing device 100 has a housing 101. The housing 101 is longer in the up-down direction than in the left-right direction, and has a shape with a relatively small thickness. In this example, the image capturing device 100 has a display unit 21. Display unit 21 has a display area for displaying images on the front side of housing 101 (the rear side of ship 500). If image capturing device 100 has a function for displaying images, for example a function for displaying images captured by image capturing device 100 and stored in storage medium 200 (a so-called viewer function), it is preferable for the reproduced image to be displayed on display unit 21. Unless otherwise specified in the following description, image capturing device 100 may have either the configuration in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, but if image capturing device 100 has a function for reproducing images, it is assumed that it has the configuration in FIG. 3.

[0063] 3. Electrical Configuration of the Imaging Device 100 FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the photographing device 100. The control unit 11 controls each unit of the photographing device 100. The control unit 11 is, for example, a computer including a processor 111 and a memory 112. The processor 111 has, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The memory 112 is, for example, a main storage device having a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM). The processor 111 temporarily stores a program read from the ROM of the memory 112 in the RAM. The RAM of the memory 112 provides a working area for the processor 111. The processor 111 performs various controls by temporarily storing data generated during the execution of the program in the RAM and performing arithmetic processing. The control unit 11 further includes a clock unit 113 that measures time. The clock unit 113 is, for example, a real-time clock. The clock unit 113 may be mounted on the motherboard of the processor 111 or may be externally attached to the processor 111 .

[0064] The input unit 12 accepts information input from a user. The input unit 12 has, for example, an audio input unit 121 and a record button 122. The audio input unit 121 has, for example, a microphone, and converts sound incident through a microphone hole into an electrical signal. As described above, the record button 122 is a button for performing operations related to recording.

[0065] The audio output unit 13 outputs audio. Examples of the audio include notification sounds such as a buzzer, background music, audio messages, etc. The audio output unit 13 includes, for example, an audio processing circuit and a speaker.

[0066] The photographing unit 14 photographs and generates image data obtained by photographing. The photographing unit 14 has a first photographing unit 141 and a second photographing unit 142. The first photographing unit 141 and the second photographing unit 142 each have an imaging lens and an imaging element that captures light collected by the imaging lens. The imaging element is, for example, a CMOS (Complementary MOS) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The photographing unit 14 generates a color (multi-color) image consisting of, for example, red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color components.

[0067] The communication unit 15 communicates with an external device. The communication unit 15 has a function of connecting to a network using, for example, a satellite to be an external device. The communication unit 15 may perform communication using, for example, a ship Internet communication service such as NetBreeze4w. The communication unit 15 may have a communication circuit for wirelessly communicating with an external device using, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication or short-range wireless communication. The communication unit 15 may have a communication circuit for performing communication in accordance with standards of mobile communication systems such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G, and 5G.

[0068] However, when the ship 500 travels on the sea, it is preferable that the communication unit 15 is configured to be capable of communicating with a device installed on land (the mainland), and it is particularly preferable that the communication unit 15 is configured to be capable of communicating using a satellite by using the function of the device itself or the function of a relay device installed on the ship 500. For example, to explain the necessity of sending information generated by the image capturing device 100 to the mainland through the ship's Internet, if the ship 500 has an accident and sinks, it is questionable whether the image capturing device 100 can be found in the sea even if it is saltwater-resistant and pressure-resistant. Therefore, it is considered better to send the data generated by the image capturing device 100 to the mainland while the communication infrastructure of the ship 500 and the functions of the image capturing device 100 are still available.

[0069] The sensor unit 16 has various sensors. For example, the sensor unit 16 has at least one of an acceleration sensor (G sensor), an air pressure sensor, a salinity sensor, a temperature sensor, and an inclination sensor. The acceleration sensor is a sensor that measures the acceleration acting on the image capture device 100, and is, for example, a three-axis acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration in the forward / backward, left / right, and up / down directions of the ship 500. The air pressure sensor measures the air pressure at the location of the image capture device 100. The salinity sensor measures salinity. The salinity sensor is used, for example, to monitor changes in salinity concentration and the inflow of saltwater due to overtopping waves. The temperature sensor measures the temperature (which may be called air temperature) at the location of the image capture device 100. The inclination sensor is a sensor that detects the inclination of the image capture device 100.

[0070] At least some or all of the sensors described as being included in the sensor unit 16 may be mounted on the ship 500. In this case, the control unit 11 may be configured to acquire information for the relevant sensor from a sensor mounted on the ship 500, rather than acquiring information from the sensor of the sensor unit 16.

[0071] The reader / writer 17 functions as a medium holding unit that holds the storage medium 200 inserted into the photographing device 100 through a storage medium insertion port. The reader / writer 17 writes data to the storage medium 200 and reads data from the storage medium 200. The storage medium 200 is a storage medium in which images photographed by the photographing device 100 are recorded, and is, for example, an SD card. The SD card includes any shape such as an SD memory card, a miniSD card, and a microSD card. The storage medium 200 may further store a viewer (for example, a dedicated viewer) program for playing back the stored images on an information display terminal such as a personal computer. This viewer is particularly preferably capable of converting km / h (kilometers per hour) into knots when displaying speed. The reader / writer 17 may hold only one storage medium 200, but may be configured to hold two or more storage media 200 simultaneously.

[0072] The light emitting unit 18 includes, for example, light emitting units 181 and 182, each of which emits light in a predetermined color. The light emitting unit 18 includes, for example, a light emitting diode. The present invention may also be applied to in-vehicle devices such as a navigation device, a display device, etc.

[0073] The position information acquisition unit 19 acquires position information indicating the position of the image capture device 100 (more specifically, the current position). The position of the image capture device 100 can be regarded as the position of the ship 500 on which the image capture device 100 is placed, and the position of a person on the ship 500. The position information acquisition unit 19 acquires position information (latitude information and longitude information) of the image capture device 100 based on a signal from a Global Positioning System (GPS), which is one of the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The position information acquisition unit 19 may also use Michibiki as a Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). It is to be noted that by installing the image capture device 100 having the position information acquisition unit 19 and the communication unit 15 (communication function) on the ship 500, it is expected that the distance between ships and the congestion on the sea can be known without looking at the service provided by Google (registered trademark).

[0074] The power supply control unit 20 controls the supply of power to each unit of the photographing device 100. The power supply control unit 20 has, for example, a power switch and a power supply control circuit. The power supply control unit 20 is connected to, for example, a power supply terminal provided on the ship 500 side via a power cable. The power supply control unit 20 supplies the power supplied from the ship 500 side to each unit of the photographing device 100. The power supply control unit 20 may be connected to an external battery so that the photographing device 100 can operate even without power supply from the ship 500 side. The power supply control unit 20 may have a secondary battery, a button battery, or an electric double layer capacitor (also called a supercapacitor) as a power storage means.

[0075] 3, the photographing device 100 further includes a display unit 21. The control unit 11 causes an image to be displayed using the display unit 21. The display unit 21 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, but may be an organic EL or other type of display unit.

[0076] The photographing device 100 may further include an auxiliary storage device, such as a flash memory (e.g., eMMC, SSD), as an internal storage means. As the auxiliary storage device, various storage media, such as optical storage media, magnetic storage media, and semiconductor storage media, can be used.

[0077] [4. Image recording function of the photographing device 100] The photographing device 100 has one or more of the following functions as an image recording function. The image recording function is a function for recording an image photographed by the photographing device 100 as image data in a predetermined file format. The image data may be image data in a moving image format, such as an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) format (e.g., MPEG2, MPEG4), AVI, MOV, WMV, etc.

[0078] <4-1. Continuous recording function> The continuous recording function (also called the continuous video recording function) is a function that continuously (i.e., constantly) records images captured by the image capturing device 100 while the image capturing device 100 is in operation. When the control unit 11 is executing the continuous recording function, it stores image data captured from the start to the stop of the power source of the boat 500. The start of the power source may be detected, for example, by the turning on of an accessory power source of the boat 500, and the stop of the power source may be detected by the turning off of the accessory power source.

[0079] <4-2. Recording function using the record button> The recording function using the record button is a function for recording an image in response to the operation of the record button 122. When the user operates the record button 122 while recording is not being performed, the control unit 11 causes the photographing device 100 to start recording. When the user operates the record button 122 while recording is being performed, the control unit 11 causes the photographing device 100 to end recording. Note that the control unit 11 may end recording even if the user does not operate the record button 122 when a predetermined time has elapsed since the record button 122 was operated to start recording. This predetermined time may be set to a fixed time, but is not limited to this, and may be set in advance by the user, for example.

[0080] <4-3. Event recording function> The event recording function is a function for recording an image captured by the photographing device 100 in response to the occurrence of a specific event. The event is an occurrence for which an image captured by the photographing device 100 should be recorded, such as when the user performs an operation such as sudden steering or sudden braking while the ship 500 is traveling, or when the ship 500 collides with another object. The control unit 11 determines that an event has occurred, for example, based on a measurement value by the acceleration sensor of the sensor unit 16. Specifically, the control unit 11 determines that an event has occurred when the measurement value of the acceleration sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value or when a predetermined change over time is shown. The determination condition for the occurrence of an event is not limited to this. The control unit 11 may determine that an event has occurred when the state of the ship 500, such as the speed or steering state, meets a predetermined condition. The control unit 11 may determine that an event has occurred when the control unit 11 analyzes an image captured by the photographing unit 14 and detects dangerous traveling (for example, approach or abnormal approach) of the ship 500 or another ship.

[0081] When the control unit 11 determines that an event has occurred, it records images captured during a predetermined period (hereinafter referred to as "event recording period") before and after the occurrence of the event in the storage medium 200. The control unit 11 may temporarily record images captured by the image capturing unit 14 in the memory 112 (e.g., RAM), and when it determines that an event has occurred, record images during the event recording period read from the memory 112 in the storage medium 200. The control unit 11 may, for example, create one file from images of 20 seconds before the occurrence of the event and 20 seconds after the occurrence of the event, totaling 40 seconds. The event recording period is an example, and may be different depending on the type of event, or may be changeable by the user. The control unit 11 may record images consisting of multiple files for each occurrence of one event in the storage medium 200. The control unit 11 may further record values ​​(e.g., acceleration in each direction of three axes) measured by the sensor unit 16 during the event recording period and position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19 in association with the images in the storage medium 200.

[0082] Unless otherwise specified, event recording is a process of recording images on storage medium 200, but it may also be a process of transmitting images to an external device such as server device 400 using communication unit 15 and recording the images.

[0083] 5. Electrical Configuration of Display Device 300 FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the display device 300. The control unit 31 controls each unit of the display device 300. The control unit 31 may have, for example, the same hardware configuration as the control unit 11. The input unit 32 accepts information input from a user. The input unit 32 has, for example, an operation means exemplified by a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch sensor. The display unit 33 displays an image. The display unit 33 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The communication unit 34 has, for example, a communication circuit and an antenna, and communicates with an external device. The storage unit 35 stores data. The storage unit 35 stores a viewer program 351 in addition to the program executed by the control unit 31. The viewer program 351 is a program for displaying an image captured and recorded by the imaging device 100 on the display device 300. The storage unit 35 has an auxiliary storage device exemplified by, for example, a flash memory and a magnetic storage medium. The reader / writer 36 functions as a medium holding unit that holds the storage medium 200 inserted inside from a storage medium insertion port (not shown). The reader / writer 36 writes data to the storage medium 200 and reads data from the storage medium 200. The control unit 31 executes a viewer program 351 and causes the display unit 33 to display information such as images captured and recorded by the imaging device 100 based on the data read from the storage medium 200 by the reader / writer 36.

[0084] In the following description, unless there is any particular contradiction, the image playback function realized by the control unit 11 may be realized by the control unit 31 of the display device 300, and the image playback function realized by the control unit 31 may be realized by the control unit 11.

[0085] [6. Functions of System 1] The following describes the functions of the system 1. The system 1 may have at least some of the functions described below, but preferably has two or more functions in a compatible combination, and more preferably has three or more functions.

[0086] <6-1: Function example 1 (basic function)> The photographing device 100 may include a detection means for detecting the situation in which the ship 500 is located, and a transmission means for transmitting situation information, which is information on the situation in which the ship 500 is located and detected by the detection means, to an external device on the mainland via a predetermined network. The detection means may particularly preferably include the photographing unit 14 as a photographing means for acquiring an image of the periphery of the ship 500. The detection means may particularly preferably include a sensor of the sensor unit 16. In this case, the control unit 11 functioning as a transmission means may transmit the situation information to the external device on the mainland using the communication unit 15. In this way, even if an unexpected accident occurs on the ship 500, the situation information received by the external device can be used to grasp the situation of the ship 500 at that time. The external device on the mainland may be a server device 400, but may also be a display device 300 or other devices.

[0087] <6-2: Function example 2> The control unit 11 may function as a generating means for generating information that indicates at least one of changes in the weather around the ship 500 and changes in the inclination of the hull of the ship 500 as situation information based on data indicating the situation in which the ship 500 is located output from the photographing unit 14, the position information acquisition unit 19 (e.g., a GNSS sensor), and at least one of the acceleration sensor, air pressure sensor, salinity sensor, temperature sensor, and inclination sensor possessed by the sensor unit 16 as a detection means.

[0088] The change in the weather around the ship 500 may be identified, for example, by the following method. The control unit 11 may recognize the image captured by the image capture unit 14, identify the state of the outside of the ship 500, such as the sky and the sea, and identify the weather, such as fine weather or stormy weather, based on the color of the sky or the height of the waves in the sea. For image recognition, for example, a known image recognition algorithm may be adopted. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may identify the acceleration acting on the ship on which the image capture device 100 is mounted, based on an acceleration sensor, and identify the weather, such as fine weather or stormy weather, based on the magnitude of the acceleration and the change in acceleration over time. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may identify the air pressure at the location of the image capture device 100, based on a pressure sensor, and identify the weather, such as being under a high-pressure atmosphere or approaching a low-pressure atmosphere. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may identify the salinity at the location of the image capture device 100, based on a salinity sensor, and identify the weather, such as fine weather or stormy weather, based on whether or not there is an increase in salinity due to stronger winds or an increase in salinity due to contact of seawater with waves, and the degree of the increase. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may determine the temperature based on a temperature sensor, and determine the weather change based on the temperature change. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may determine the inclination acting on the ship on which the image capture device 100 is mounted based on an inclination sensor, and determine the weather, such as fine or stormy. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may obtain weather information for the current position using the communication unit 15 based on the position information obtained by the position information obtaining unit 19, and determine the weather.

[0089] Regarding changes in the inclination of the hull of the ship 500, the control unit 11 can use the acceleration sensor and inclination sensor possessed by the sensor unit 16 to identify time-series changes in the up-down and left-right directions (turning directions) and determine whether or not there has been a change in the inclination of the hull and the degree of that change.

[0090] The algorithm for identifying such changes in the weather around the ship 500 and changes in the inclination of the hull of the ship 500 is merely an example, and various algorithms can be adopted.

[0091] <6-3: Function example 3> The sensor unit 16 as a detection means may have a geomagnetic sensor that measures geomagnetism. The geomagnetic sensor is an example of a sensor that measures a direction, and in this case, it is a sensor that measures the direction in which the photographing device 100, in other words, the ship 500, is facing. The control unit 11 may function as a recording means that synchronizes the position information of the ship 500 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 19 with the magnetic direction measured by the geomagnetic sensor and records them in the storage medium 200 (an example of a recording unit). Even when the ship 500 is anchored, the ship 500 may rotate due to the influence of waves, so that both the position of the ship 500 and the direction of the hull can be recorded.

[0092] <6-4: Function example 4> The control unit 11 may function as a recording means for recording a video of the periphery of the ship 500, which is generated by the photographing unit 14, in the storage medium 200, and may further function as a playback means for playing the video recorded in the storage medium 200. With regard to this playback means, the control unit 11 may dynamically display the recorded magnetic direction on the playback screen of the recorded video, in accordance with the played video, when playing back a recorded video. As a method for displaying the magnetic direction, the control unit 11 may display, for example, the letters N, S, W, and E, which indicate east (E), west (W), south (S), and north (N), in an overview on the screen displaying the recorded video. In this way, when playing back a video of the periphery of the ship 500, which is generated by the photographing unit 14, the user can see the recorded magnetic direction on the playback screen of the video in accordance with the played video. The user can grasp the orientation of the ship 500 at the time of shooting from the playback screen.

[0093] <6-5: Function example 5> In <6-5: Functional Example 4>, when the video is a video captured in all directions of the ship 500, like the above-mentioned 360-degree image, or when the video is a video captured horizontally over 360 degrees, the control unit 11 may display on the screen four directions (e.g., north, south, east, west) or six directions obtained by adding up and down in Z-axis information (e.g., height direction) from an acceleration sensor to the four directions. This display is particularly good if it is constantly displayed (always displayed). In this way, no matter what point in the video the user views, the direction of the ship 500's hull and changes in acceleration in the height direction (e.g., the state of vertical displacement due to waves) can be grasped.

[0094] <6-6: Function example 6> The control unit 11 may display an icon indicating the position of the control unit 11 (i.e., the ship 500 or the image capturing device 100) on a map synchronized with the played video, and may further rotate and display the bow direction of the ship 500 according to the magnetic direction. In this way, the user can visually grasp in what position the ship 500 was located and in what direction the bow was facing when the played video was recorded.

[0095] <6-7: Function example 7> The sensor unit 16 as the detection means of the photographing device 100 may have a gyro sensor. The control unit 11 may function as a recording means for recording values ​​measured by the gyro sensor in synchronization with the video photographed by the photographing unit 14, and as a playback means for stably displaying the horizontal and vertical directions of the screen in the direction desired to be viewed by inversely correcting screen shaking caused by waves based on the values ​​measured by the gyro sensor when playing back the recorded video. In this way, it is possible to reduce image shaking, which is the vertical shaking of the image caused by the influence of waves, making it easier to view, and to prevent nausea caused by viewing a shaking image.

[0096] <6-8: Function example 8> In <6-7: Function Example 7>, if the control unit 11 causes the display to be performed by the function of the playback means for stable display, then the state of the swaying of the ship 500 becomes impossible or difficult to discern from the screen. Therefore, the control unit 11 may display the state of the swaying of the ship 500 from the information of the sensor of the sensor unit 16 as the detection means. The state of the swaying may be displayed as information that allows the magnitude of the swaying to be visually understood, for example, by displaying large, medium, and small icons in a viewer, like the antenna pictogram of a smartphone. If the image capturing device 100 (so-called dashcam for ships) mounted on the ship 500 is played back in a viewer in the same way as a vehicle, the screen may cause motion sickness due to the swaying of the waves, so this is based on the idea that display correction using sensor information during playback or recording is important. The sensor may be, for example, an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor that can be used to detect the swaying of the ship 500. The state of the swaying may be displayed on the same screen as the display screen of the video.

[0097] <6-9: Function example 9> The control unit 11, which functions as a playback means and plays back the video captured and recorded by the imaging unit 14, and the control unit 31 of the display device 300 (e.g., using a PC browser, etc.) may display the speed of the ship 500 in knots.

[0098] <6-10: Function example 10> The second photographing unit 142 of the photographing device 100 functions as an inboard camera mounted on the ship 500. Even if the driver of the ship does not have a license, the driver can operate the ship as long as there is a licensed passenger among the passengers. In this regard, in order to record the type of driver who is operating (piloting) the ship 500, the control unit 11 may have a function of recording information about the driver of the ship 500 based on the image captured by the second photographing unit 142. The control unit 11 may have an estimation means for estimating the age of the driver of the ship 500 captured by the second photographing unit 142, which is an inboard camera, and a recording means for recording information about the age estimated by the estimation means. The age estimation may be performed, for example, by recognizing the face of the driver from the image captured by the second photographing unit 142 and estimating the age using a known algorithm. The control unit 11 may record information on age in association with the images captured by the image capturing unit 14, and in particular may record the driver's age at each capture time on the time axis of the video so that the driver's age at each capture time can be known. It is particularly preferable for the control unit 11 (playback means such as a viewer) to have a function of displaying the age together with the video. In addition to age, the control unit 11 may record attributes of the driver such as gender and body size, and may have a function of recognizing and recording who the driver is.

[0099] <6-11: Function example 11> The system 1 may include a flooding detection means for detecting flooding of the vessel 500. The flooding detection means may be a means for detecting the ingress of water into a place of the vessel 500 where water would not normally ingress, and may be a flooding detection means provided on the deck or other parts of the vessel. The flooding detection means (e.g., a flooding sensor) is connected to the image capture device 100. Then, the control unit 11 of the image capture device 100 may generate an event and perform event recording when the vessel 500 is flooded (when flooding is detected) based on the detection result of the flooding detection means. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may transmit (report) situation information (e.g., information such as GPS) to the server device 400 when the vessel 500 is flooded (when flooding is detected) based on the result of the flooding detection means. In this way, necessary information is transmitted when necessary, so that the amount of communication can be reduced compared to a case where necessary information is transmitted but transmitted all the time. If a so-called G sensor is used to record events in the same way as a vehicle's drive recorder, it is possible that events (G events) caused by the influence of waves will always be recorded. Therefore, the image capture device 100 may not have a function for recording events caused by G events, and may record events when the above-mentioned ship 500 is flooded (when flooding is detected).

[0100] <6-12: Function example 12> The image capturing device 100 may include a means for detecting the occurrence of an event in the voltage monitoring of the ship 500. The image capturing device 100 may monitor the voltage of the power source (battery) of the ship 500 and generate an event based on the monitored voltage. If the ship 500 runs out of battery while at sea, the risk of being lost increases. Therefore, the control unit 11, which functions as an event means in the voltage monitoring, monitors the voltage of the battery of the ship 500 and generates an event when the voltage drops. By monitoring the voltage in this manner, it is possible to detect engine stoppage due to flooding or failure. The voltage drop may be detected when the voltage falls below a threshold value, when the amount of voltage reduction per unit time exceeds a threshold value, or other indicators may be used. When an event is generated, the control unit 11 may notify the server device 400 using the communication unit 15. It is preferable for the control unit 11 to further transmit status information or record the event in order to grasp the state of the ship 500 when the voltage drops in more detail.

[0101] <6-13: Function example 13> The photographing device 100 may include a means for detecting the occurrence of an event without operation on the sea. The inventor of the present application got the idea for this function after seeing a news report about a fisherman who fell into the sea and only his ship was adrift. If a crew member falls from the ship 500 or is unable to operate it for some reason, the no-operation state continues. Therefore, as an event generating means for no operation on the sea, the control unit 11 may generate an event when there is no operation on the sea for a predetermined number of hours and the ship 500 does not reach a speed above a certain speed. For example, the control unit 11 may generate an event when the speed is not above a certain speed for several hours on the sea. When an event is generated, the control unit 11 may notify the server device 400 using the communication unit 15. It is desirable for the control unit 11 to further transmit situation information or record the event in order to grasp the situation when no operation is performed on the sea in more detail. In addition, it is preferable for the control unit 11 to transmit (report) data to the server device 400, so that an abnormality in the ship 500 can be promptly reported to the outside. The predetermined number of hours of no operation may be determined by an operation means provided in the ship, an operation means provided in the image capturing device 100, or a combination of these. When an operation means provided in the ship is used, the control unit 11 of the image capturing device 100 may, for example, analyze an image captured by the image capturing unit 14 to determine whether or not an operation has been performed, or may connect to the ship 500 to obtain a signal indicating an operation to the ship 500 to determine whether or not an operation has been performed.

[0102] <6-14: Function example 14> The control unit 11 may include a grounding warning means. The control unit 11 functioning as the grounding warning means may set (list) in advance GPS coordinates of dark rocks and the like where grounding is likely to occur, and may issue a warning when the ship 500 approaches a point based on the previously set coordinates of the point where grounding is likely to occur. The control unit 11 may issue a warning alert when the ship 500 approaches the GPS coordinates of the coordinate warning point. The GPS coordinates may be stored in the storage medium 200 in advance, or may be provided to the image capture device 100 by update data or other methods. In terms of a vehicle, this function is similar to the POI (Point of Interest) of a radar detector. In this way, when the ship 500 approaches a place where grounding is likely to occur, a warning is issued, and the possibility of the ship 500 running aground can be reduced.

[0103] <6-15: Function example 15> The image capturing device 100, which is a communication device, will run out of battery if it is always activated. For this reason, the image capturing device 100 is equipped with a function of keeping the communication unit 15 (e.g., an LTE module) powered on and turning off some or all of the other functions, or operating in a power-saving mode. When the communication unit 15 receives a message by SMS (Short Message Service), it outputs a signal to activate the control unit 11. In response to this signal, the control unit 11 starts up (activates). When the activation is complete, the control unit 11 activates a function as a functional berthing monitoring means that allows the current image captured by the image capturing unit 14 mounted on the ship 500 to be confirmed. Here, the control unit 11 may transmit image data (image data) showing the current image captured by the image capturing unit 14 to the server device 400 or a predetermined external device (e.g., the display device 300) using the communication unit 15. Since there are a certain number of people who live far from the port or who want to check the status of the ship at anchor during a typhoon, such an berthing monitoring means exhibits a function of transmitting the current image to meet their requests.

[0104] <6-16: Function example 16> The image capturing device 100, which is a communication device, may function as a first data retrieval means that enables retrieval of data in the event of a disaster of the ship 500. The control unit 11, which functions as the first data retrieval means, has a function of using an SMS retransmission function to transmit situation information such as GPS information to an external device immediately upon entering the range of the network NW in the event of an accident of the ship 500 outside the range of the network NW. The external device may be, for example, a server device 400 or a display device 300 (for example, a smartphone).

[0105] Alternatively, the following may be done: Assuming that the ship 500 is adrift outside the range of the network NW, if a rescuer sends an SMS message to a communication device (e.g., a drive recorder) mounted on the ship 500, the SMS message cannot be received immediately because the ship is outside the range of the network NW. When the image capture device 100 serving as a communication device enters the range, the image capture device 100 is notified of the SMS message by an SMS retransmission function. Furthermore, it is preferable that the image capture device 100 that receives the SMS message has a function of transmitting situation information such as GPS information to an external device (e.g., a server), or notifying the rescuer's mobile device by an SMS message.

[0106] <6-17: Function example 17> In <6-16: Function Example 16>, the image capturing device 100, which is a communication device, may include a second data retrieval means that enables retrieval of data on the time of occurrence of an accident on the ship 500. In the case of a ship, it is considered difficult to determine whether an event was recorded using a G sensor. Therefore, even if only the history of such an event of the G sensor is automatically transmitted over the network NW, there is a possibility that data at the time of the accident will not be transmitted. In this case, assuming that the captain of the ship 500 reports an accident, the control unit 11, which serves as the second data retrieval means, has a function that enables video data recorded in the image capturing device 100 to be retrieved at a specified time based on a time (report time) specified by an administrator on the mainland (land). For example, the control unit 11 receives a request for retrieving video data, including a time designation, from the server device 400 via the communication unit 15. The control unit 11 reads out the video data recorded at the specified time based on the request for retrieving video data from the storage medium 200, and transmits (responds to) the video data to the server device 400 via the communication unit 15. For example, if an accident on ship 500 is reported at 2 p.m., server device 400 as an external device can request image capture device 100 as a communication device to acquire data (video data) from 1:50 p.m.

[0107] <6-18: Function example 18> The image capturing device 100, which is a communication device, may have a function of communicating with a buoy that floats on water and has at least one of the following functions (A) to (N). The buoy may be a buoy 600 connected to a ship 500 via a rope 700, as in the system 1A shown in Fig. 6. The buoy may be interpreted as a life buoy, a beacon / signal buoy, a navigation buoy, an automatic distress signal transmitter, an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon by Satellite), etc.

[0108] (A) The buoy 600 has a built-in GPS sensor. (Instead of the GPS sensor, something equivalent to the position information acquisition unit 19 may be used.) (B) Buoy 600 transmits latitude and longitude information via ultra-small radio. (C) Buoy 600 has a built-in antenna for a special small radio. (D) Buoy 600 has a built-in battery (e.g., iron phosphate). (E) Buoy 600 will automatically recharge when the charge level gets low while connected to a ship. (F) When buoyancy occurs, the buoy 600 detaches from the hull of the ship 500, powers up, and begins transmitting. (G) Buoy 600 has a container that is waterproof to approximately 5 atmospheres. (H) Buoy 600 is connected to the hull of ship 500 by a thin rope 700. (I) The rope 700 connecting the buoy 600 and the ship 500 floats on water and is thin and strong. (J) The length of rope 700 is 300 meters. (K) The weight of the rope (700) prevents the buoy (600) from sinking. (L) A separate Buoy 600 receiver is required (assuming that the buoy will be searched for by helicopter or boat) (M) The buoy 600 can be connected to a PC (eg, the display device 300) so that the latitude and longitude data can be displayed on a map service such as Google Maps (registered trademark). (N) Buoy 600 has a sensor that can detect the topography of the seabed, like a fish finder.

[0109] In this way, various functions can be provided by the functions of the buoy 600 or by the cooperation between the image capturing device 100 and the buoy 600.

[0110] <6-19: Function example 19> The image capturing device 100 having the function of a ship drive recorder may have a function of performing event processing such as event recording in response to detection of, for example, any of the following events (in other words, detection of an event trigger). The event processing may be, for example, any of event recording, transmission of status information, and notification to the server device 400, but may also be a specific process executed in response to the occurrence of other events.

[0111] (A. Event type (trigger detection type)) (1) Activation of Buoy 600 as an EPIRB (satellite-based distress alert) or when Buoy 600 is removed and manually turned on (2) Trigger based on water pressure (for example, water pressure acting on the vessel 500 or the imaging device 100 is equal to or greater than a threshold value) (3) When the Bompet (automatic diffusion type fire extinguishing system) is activated or the glass of the vessel 500 is broken. (4) When the bilge pump of vessel 500 is operated (5) When 500 vessels blow their whistles. (6) When the anchor motor of ship 500 is turned on (7) When the engine blower of ship 500 is turned on (8) When the emergency start power switch of ship 500 is turned ON (9) When the ship lights (anchoring lights, navigation lights, etc.) of ship 500 are turned on (10) When the power source of the ship 500 is off (for example, the engine is off) and a low battery is detected (for example, when the voltage is monitored and drops). If the battery of the ship 500 runs out at sea, the engine will not start and the ship will be lost. (11) When the barometer is abnormal (detection of low pressure) The barometer may be provided in the sensor unit 16 or the ship 500. (12) When the radar transponder shows a specific response (for example, when responding to the radar of a patrol boat or aircraft during a search). (13) When the life raft of vessel 500 is lowered (14) When an abnormality is detected by a sensor such as a water pressure gauge, a thermometer, or a smoke detector attached to a compartment divided into bulkhead units in the ship 500. (15) When a distress signal transmitter (PLB (Personal Locator Beacon): portable position indicating radio beacon) is detected. (16) When there is a risk of the ship 500 running aground. For example, when the distance to the seabed measured by sonar is close to the bottom of the ship 500 (when the distance is less than a predetermined distance). This is to avoid hitting the ballast keel. (17) When the power source of the vessel 500 is started (for example, when the engine is started) (18) When a specific position of the ship 500 is below 1 m of the water surface. The specific position may be a position where people may be present, such as on the deck.

[0112] <6-20: Function example 20> (Hazard trigger in steering) The image capturing device 100 may have a function of performing event processing such as event recording in response to a danger trigger in steering, or a function of issuing a notification (for example, an alarm or warning). (1) When the bow of the vessel 500 is lower than the stern, the bow plunges into the waves in front of the vessel 500, making steering difficult and causing broaching (the phenomenon in which the bow is pulled to the left or right). In this case, the operator should reduce the speed of the vessel 500. (2) Be careful with the stern drive angle If this is the case, it could be useful on ships that do not yet have video recording equipment.

[0113] <6-21: Function example 21> The control unit 11 may perform recording (e.g., event recording) and other event processing based on the following event recording, for example. The event processing may be, for example, event recording, transmission of status information, notification to the server device 400, or other specific processing executed in response to the occurrence of an event. In the following description, when specific contents of the event processing are given, it is particularly preferable to use that processing. (6-21-1. Berthing and Unberthing) (6-21-1-1) The control unit 11 may perform event recording as a trigger when it detects the start of an operation for focusing on the target or leaving the shore. The control unit 11 may perform a process of recording this event for a longer period of time. For example, the longer period may be set to be longer than the time for recording other events. (6-21-1-2) The control unit 11 may record (for example, record an event) until the boat leaves the shore. The control unit 11 may estimate the distance to land by image recognition, for example, and record until the boat leaves the shore by a predetermined distance. For example, it is particularly effective to use the distance to the nearest land in the entire circumference of the photographing device 100 that functions as a 360-degree camera. (6-21-1-3) The control unit 11 may record (for example, record an event) until mooring is completed. For example, the control unit 11 may record until it detects by image recognition that the rope is taut and in a stable position. (6-21-1-4) The control unit 11 may start recording (for example, event recording) when unwinding of the ship 500 (untangling of the rope) begins. (6-21-1-5) It is advisable to attach a solar motion sensor to the pier at the mooring location and wirelessly transmit a trigger from there to the image capturing device 100 (dashcam). In this way, the control unit 11 can automatically obtain an event trigger at the mooring location and start event recording.

[0114] (6-21-2. Operation related) (6-21-2-1) The control unit 11 may be triggered by operating an external operating unit such as a mini station. (6-21-2-2) The control unit 11 may be triggered when the thruster is operated. (6-21-2-3) The control unit 11 may be triggered by an operation to switch to automatic ship steering.

[0115] (6-21-3. Environment-related) (6-21-3-1) The control unit 11 uses strong wind as a trigger. The wind may be identified based on a wind sensor mounted on the image capture device 100 or the ship 500. The control unit 11 may perform event recording when it detects that the wind force is equal to or greater than a threshold. (6-21-3-2) The control unit 11 may record the wind direction and wind speed in association with the image.

[0116] 6-21-4. Recording with other footage (6-21-4-1) The control unit 11 may have a function of inputting a video signal from an underwater camera and recording it together with the dashcam footage from the same time. (6-21-4-2) The control unit 11 may have a function to input a video signal from a fish finder and record it together with the dashcam video of the same time. The control unit 11 may record the image from the fish finder when it becomes a predetermined pattern (such as "Fish Found!"). (6-21-4-3) The control unit 11 may have a function to input a radar image signal and record it together with the dashcam image at the same time. The control unit 11 may record it when the radar image becomes a predetermined pattern (such as "A ship has been spotted nearby!").

[0117] (6-21-5. Vibration control device) The control unit 11 may have a function for setting the presence or absence of a vibration damping device (e.g., a ship rocking damping device) so that the trigger is less likely to be activated for a ship without a vibration damping device than for a ship with one. Making it less likely to be activated may be done, for example, by changing the threshold value that is the condition for the event trigger (raising the threshold value).

[0118] (6-21-6) The control unit 11 may have a fish point registration function. The control unit 11 may register a GPS point and display the direction and distance to the point.

[0119] <6-22: Function example 22> The following features may be employed in the buoy 600. GPS location information transmission Buoy 600 will transmit GPS coordinates that indicate two locations: the buoy's current position and when the buoy becomes buoyant or is detached from the ship. ·Extra small radio It may be better to use LoRa to ensure communication distance. Even if the buoy 600 is not detached from the ship 500, it may transmit the position of the ship 500 periodically (every 10 minutes, for example). The ship location may be constantly monitored by a fishery association or the like. If the buoy 600 is detached from the ship, it will transmit periodically at intervals of about 1 minute. Buoy 600 power supply (buoy power supply) It would be better to have a built-in battery, but make the buoy transparent and install a solar panel inside. (However, ultraviolet rays and deterioration of seawater may be an issue with a transparent buoy.) The internal battery is charged non-contact (to make it waterproof) using the ship's power source. ·buoy The buoy 600 is fixed to the ship with a permanent magnet, and is designed to be released from the ship when the buoy's buoyant force overcomes the magnet's force. If the buoy 600 and ship 500 are connected with the rope 700, a very long rope may be required. However, this can be made unnecessary by transmitting two types of GPS position as described above. In addition, it may be necessary to design the structure so that the antenna and solar panels face the sky (above the water surface). It is also a good idea to attach something that colors the water around the buoy when it comes into contact with water. The buoy 600 is particularly good if it is structurally designed to withstand rain and waves.

[0120] <6-23: Function example 23> The buoy 600 may be configured as follows. A power generating unit that uses the temperature difference to generate electricity is installed between the water and the air of the buoy 600. A power generating unit that generates electricity using wind power will be installed on the top of Buoy 600 (the floating side). A power generating unit that generates electricity by the swaying of Buoy 600 is installed inside the buoy. - Apply reflective tape or paint to the Buoy 600 to make it easier to find at night. - Make the Buoy 600 emit light. Since emitting light from the buoy uses electricity, the buoy will emit light when it receives radio waves emitted by the search team's equipment. - Storage spaces for life tubes, mirrors, whistles, and food will be installed on top of Buoy 600 and made accessible. Information indicating that these items are accessible will be written in multiple languages.

[0121] <6-24: Function example 24> The control unit 11 of the image capturing device 100 may perform a specific recording process such as turning off the image and recording audio and history / turning off the image and audio and recording history / recording nothing at a specific location. Various combinations of these processes can be set, and may be set by the user, for example. For example, the control unit 11 may vary the frame rate when recording an image at a specific location. For example, the control unit 11 may perform a specific recording process such as turning off the image and recording audio and history / turning off the image and audio and recording history / recording nothing at a specific location when the camera direction (for example, the shooting direction of the first image capturing unit 141) is shooting a specific direction (specified from the range shot by the camera shooting the outside of the ship, regardless of the camera shooting the inside of the ship). The control unit 11 may be configured to be able to display (output) what is currently being shot and what is being recorded.

[0122] Assuming that it is okay to use cameras on board ships or in specific locations that do not capture warships or other vessels at that facility, international law requires that large ships in the open seas be equipped with various devices. Among these are communication / display devices that share information with other large ships about where you are and the direction you are heading. This allows you to accurately determine your location, bow direction, and heading direction based on information from various sensors, rather than just using the GPS installed on vehicles traveling on land, so you can accurately identify the orientation of the camera (not the orientation of the ship and the camera) relative to the world map.

[0123] <6-25: Function example 25> (6-25-1) In the photographing device 100 having a camera that photographs the surroundings of a ship, it is preferable to set whether anti-shake photographing is turned on or off according to the conditions described in <6-24: Function Example 24>. For example, it is possible to set anti-shake photographing on or off depending on the location, and by turning anti-shake on at the wharf to capture a clear image of thieves trying to board the ship, while turning anti-shake off while traveling, to show the realistic rocking of the ship from the image.

[0124] (6-25-2) The photographing device 100 having a camera for photographing the surroundings of the ship can also be installed as a camera for photographing the ship and the inside of the ship, and it is possible to set whether the main subject of photography is the outside of the ship or the main subject of photography is the inside and the outside of the ship, and it is preferable to have a function for changing various photographing parameters depending on which setting is selected. As the photographing parameters, for example, the above-mentioned anti-vibration on / off and the ones described by Hattori-san can be provided.

[0125] (6-25-3) The image capture device 100 may have a camera with a changeable pan-tilt state, and may have a function for changing image capture parameters depending on whether the capture range is predominantly onboard or predominantly outside the ship. For example, when 80% or more of the deck is captured, anti-shake may be turned off, and when less than 80%, anti-shake may be turned on.

[0126] (6-25-4) Although the processes of (6-25-1) to (6-25-3) are performed by the camera itself, they may be performed by the display device 300 functioning as a viewer. The camera may record the state of shaking in chronological order using a sensor, and play back the image in sync with the time series of the video. The image may be moved in a direction that cancels the shaking by moving the position of the image at the corresponding time in accordance with the recorded state of shaking.

[0127] (6-25-5) The image capturing device 100 may recognize the areas on the ship and the areas outside the ship by image recognition, and wirelessly transmit the image when no one is recognized in the area on the ship to the registered display device 300 (e.g., a smartphone, etc.). Finally, it may be possible to reconfirm the state of the ship immediately after leaving the ship (whether it is properly secured with ropes, etc.) on the display device 300 (a smartphone, etc.).

[0128] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, the following modified examples may be combined as appropriate.

[0129] In the above-described embodiment, the image capturing device 100 is mounted on a ship, but may be mounted on a moving body other than a ship. For example, it may be a moving body such as a truck, a forklift, or heavy machinery whose location such as a warehouse or a factory can be specified. For example, the moving body may be a vehicle, and may be, for example, a four-wheeled automobile such as a general vehicle or a taxi, a large transport vehicle with four or more wheels such as a bus or a truck, a two-wheeled vehicle such as a motorcycle or a bicycle, or a transportation vehicle such as a train, a monorail, or a linear motor car. The image capturing device 100 may also be mounted on a transportation device such as an aircraft. The image capturing device 100 may be installed in a location where a drive recorder or an image capturing device that performs a similar purpose (for example, a surveillance camera) is installed.

[0130] In the above-described embodiment, the configuration for transmission may be appropriately interpreted as a configuration for output. The output may be an output other than transmission, for example, an output by recording (storage) or printing. The functions of the control units 11, 31 may be realized by one or more hardware resources, one or more software resources, or a combination of these. For functions realized by software resources, a program for realizing the function may be distributed via the Internet or other networks.

[0131] The description of GPS position information may be replaced with position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 20.

[0132] Each function described in the above embodiment may be realized by one or more hardware elements, one or more software elements, or a combination of these. Furthermore, each function may be realized by one device that is physically or logically coupled, or by two or more devices that are physically or logically separated.

[0133] The storage medium storing the program described in the above embodiment is not limited to the one described in the above embodiment, and may be any storage medium readable by a computer. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include storage media of various storage methods such as semiconductor storage media, optical storage media, and magnetic storage media. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include storage media built into a device that realizes a function based on a program, storage media external to the device, storage media of a server connected to the device via an electric communication line (e.g., wired and / or wireless), and other storage media.

[0134] The computer that realizes the functions based on the programs described in the above-mentioned embodiments is not limited to the computer of the device described in the above-mentioned embodiments. The functions may be realized by other computers depending on the purpose, use, nature, etc. of the functions. For example, the functions realized by the viewer program of the imaging device may be realized by a computer program of a personal computer that plays back images captured by the imaging device, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other devices, as appropriate. In addition, the functions based on the programs described in the above-mentioned embodiments may be realized by diverting them to a device other than the device described in the above-mentioned embodiments, for example, by a computer for more general-purpose use. The programs described in the above-mentioned embodiments may be executed by, for example, a program executed by a personal computer (for example, PC software), a program executed by a smartphone (for example, a smartphone app), or a computer of another information processing terminal. Alternatively, the computer that realizes the functions based on the programs may be a computer used in a device for a specific purpose, such as a home device or a commercial device.

[0135] Furthermore, functions described as being implemented by an application program may be implemented by an operating system, middleware, firmware, or other programs other than application programs.

[0136] Furthermore, the notification or announcement of specified information is not limited to being made explicitly as long as the user is able to recognize the notification or announcement, but may also be made implicitly (i.e., without explicitly notifying or announcing the specified information).

[0137] In addition, in the portion where it is explained that A may be, for example, a1, a2..., and an, A may be specified as including one or more of a1, a2..., and an, but it is also possible to specify A as not including one or more of a1, a2..., and an. Therefore, it is also possible to specify A by excluding at least some of the listed elements, such as "A (excluding a1)" or "A (excluding a1 and a2)."

[0138] In a section that describes A having B and B having C, A may have C. In a section that describes processing as performing B after A and C after B, A may have C. In a section that describes processing as being performed after a conditional judgment, the disclosure also discloses the processing to be performed for that processing part that does not require a conditional judgment, and we intend to obtain rights for these as well. In a section that describes P having Q, an intervening object or intervening processing may be provided between P and Q. We intend to obtain rights for these as well by divisional application or amendment.

[0139] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations explicitly described in the specification, but includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed in this specification. The configurations of the present invention that are to be patented are specified in the attached claims, but it is our intention to include configurations disclosed in this specification in the claims in the future, even if they are not currently specified in the claims.

[0140] The present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above-mentioned embodiment. The components of each of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Any components of each of the embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily combined with any components described in the means for solving the invention or any components that embody any components described in the means for solving the invention. We intend to acquire rights to these as well through amendments to this application or divisional applications. Even if there is a description such as "in the case of" or "when", this is not intended to describe a configuration that is limited to that case or time. We also disclose configurations that are not in these cases or times, and we intend to acquire rights. Furthermore, the parts described in order are not limited to this order. We also disclose configurations in which some parts are deleted or the order is changed, and we intend to acquire rights.

[0141] In addition, we intend to obtain rights to the overall design or partial design by converting to a design registration application. The drawings depict the entire device in solid lines, but they include not only the overall design but also partial designs claimed for a part of the device. For example, some parts of the device may be partial designs, and the drawings include some parts of the device as partial designs regardless of the parts. A part of the device may be a part of the device, or a part of that part. We intend to obtain rights to the overall design as well as partial designs in which any part of the solid line part of the drawing is shown as a broken line part. In addition, the modules, parts, and components inside the device's casing, all of which are shown in the drawings, are subject to trade independently, and we intend to obtain rights to them by converting to a design registration application in the same way. [Explanation of symbols]

[0142] 1: System 1A: System 10: Imaging device 11: Control section 12: Input section 13: Audio output section 14: Photography Department 15: Communications Department 16: Sensor section 17: Reader / writer 18: Light emitting part 19: Location information acquisition section 20: Power supply control unit 21:Display section 31: Control section 32: Input section 33: Display section 34: Communications Department 35: Storage section 36: Reader / writer 61: Control section 71: Control section 100: Imaging device 101: Housing 102: Mounting part 103: Lid 111: Processor 112: Memory 113: Timing section 121: Audio input section 122: Record button 141: First Filming Section 142: 2nd Filming Division 181: Light emitting part 182: Light emitting part 200:Storage medium 300:Display device 351: Viewer program 400: Server device 500: Ship 600: Buoy 700: Rope NW: Network

Claims

1. A system installed on a ship, comprising: A detection means for detecting a situation in which the vessel is located; a transmitting means for transmitting status information, which is information regarding the status of the ship detected by the detecting means, to an external device on the mainland via a predetermined network; Equipped with The detection means includes an image capturing means for capturing an image of the surroundings of the ship. A system characterized by:

2. The detection means is One or more sensors provided on the vessel; The one or more sensors include a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor that receives signals from GPS satellites to acquire position information of the ship; An acceleration sensor (e.g., a G sensor) for measuring the acceleration of the vessel; A pressure sensor that measures pressure; a salinity sensor for measuring salinity; A temperature sensor for measuring a temperature; and a tilt sensor.

2. The system of claim 1 .

3. and a generating means for generating, as the situation information, information indicating at least one of a change in weather around the ship and a change in inclination of the hull of the ship, based on data indicating the situation in which the ship is placed output from at least one of the photographing means, the GPS sensor, the acceleration sensor, the air pressure sensor, the salinity sensor, the temperature sensor, and the tilt sensor.

3. The system of claim 2.

4. The detection means has a geomagnetic sensor that measures geomagnetism, The ship position information acquired by the GPS sensor and the magnetic direction measured by the geomagnetic sensor are recorded in a memory in a synchronized manner.

4. The system of claim 3.

5. a recording means for recording the video of the surroundings of the ship, which is generated by the imaging means, in a storage unit; a playback means for playing back the recorded video; Equipped with The regeneration means includes: When the recorded video is being played back, the recorded magnetic direction is dynamically displayed on a playback screen of the recorded video in accordance with the played back video.

5. The system of claim 4.

6. The regeneration means includes: When the video is a video taken in all directions of the ship, or when the video is a video taken horizontally over 360 degrees, the four directions or the four directions plus the up and down directions in the height direction measured by the acceleration sensor are displayed on the screen in six directions.

6. The system of claim 5.

7. The regeneration means includes: An icon indicating the position of the ship is displayed on a map synchronized with the reproduced video, and the heading direction of the ship is rotated and displayed in accordance with the direction of the magnetic bearing.

7. The system of claim 6.

8. The detection means includes a gyro sensor. a recording means for recording the value measured by the gyro sensor in synchronization with the video captured by the imaging means; a playback means for performing reverse compensation for wave-induced screen shaking of the recorded video based on the value measured by the gyro sensor when the video is played back; 8. The system of claim 7, comprising:

9. The regeneration means includes: The detection means has a function of displaying the state of the ship's rolling based on information from the sensor.

9. The system of claim 8.

10. A reproducing means for reproducing the moving image photographed and recorded by the photographing means displays the unit of the speed of the ship in knots. The system of claim 9.

11. An onboard camera mounted on the vessel; A prediction means for predicting the age of the driver of the vessel photographed by the onboard camera; a recording means for recording information on the age estimated by the estimation means; The system of claim 10, comprising:

12. a water ingress detection means for detecting water ingress into the vessel, The transmitting means transmits the status information when the water inundation detection means detects that the ship is inundated.

12. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. means for monitoring the vessel's voltage; When the voltage is monitored and drops, the status information is transmitted.

12. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. An event generating means is provided for generating an event when the ship is not operated at sea, The transmitting means transmits the status information when there has been no operation for a predetermined number of hours at sea and the ship is not traveling at a speed equal to or greater than a certain speed.

12. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

15. The ship is provided with a grounding warning means for notifying the ship when it approaches a point where the ship is likely to run aground, based on the coordinates of the point that has been set in advance.

12. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

16. The communication device including the transmitting means has a communication unit powered on and a control unit powered off or in a power saving mode; The control unit is started up in response to receiving a message by SMS (Short Message Service), The control unit has an anchorage monitoring means for transmitting current images captured by an image capturing means mounted on the ship to an outside. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

17. The transmitting means includes a first data retrieval means for enabling retrieval of data when the ship is in distress, The first data extraction means comprises: In the event of an accident with the ship outside the range of a predetermined network, a function is provided to transmit the situation information to the external device immediately upon entering the range of the network by using an SMS retransmission function.

12. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

18. The transmission means includes a second data retrieval means for retrieving data on the time of occurrence of the accident on the vessel, The second data retrieval means, when receiving a request for acquiring video data with a time designated based on the report time from the ship, transmits the video data taken at the time designated in the request. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

19. The transmitting means is provided in a communication device installed on the ship, The communication equipment is saltwater and pressure resistant so that it will not break down even if the ship sinks. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

20. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the transmission means of the system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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