Information processing device, on-vehicle device, upload limiting method, and upload controlling method

Abstract

To provide an information processing device that can collect information, while preventing congestion in a network.SOLUTION: A server 12 comprises: a recording information receiving part 51 for receiving recording information which includes a video of the surroundings of a vehicle and positional information indicating a position of a drive recorder 11, that has been uploaded when impact to the vehicle was detected, from the drive recorder 11 mounted to the vehicle; an event detection part 52 for detecting earthquake information including information that shows at least an earthquake occurrence region; and an upload limiting part 53 for determining a limited content of uploading with respect to the drive recorder 11, on the basis of the information showing an earthquake occurrence region included in the earthquake information detected by the event detection part 52, and the positional information of the drive recorder 11, in order to limit the uploading in accordance with the limited content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an in-vehicle device, an upload restriction method, and an upload control method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been growing interest in dashcams as a way to record video footage that can serve as evidence in the event of an accident. Some dashcams not only record onto SD (Secure Digital) cards, but also have the ability to automatically save recordings to the cloud over the Internet.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an information collection system in which a drive recorder equipped with an on-board camera device is connected to a wireless communication network, and when an impact is detected, the acquired video information, driving information, etc. is transmitted to a server. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-127091 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, for example, when a large earthquake occurs, a large number of drive recorders that detect the earthquake as an impact may simultaneously send data to the server, which may cause congestion on the server and network.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and its purpose is to provide an information processing device, an in-vehicle device, an upload restriction method, and an upload control method that can collect information while preventing network congestion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a recording information receiving unit that receives recording information uploaded from an on-board device mounted on the vehicle when an impact to the vehicle is detected, the recording information including video of the area around the vehicle and location information indicating the location of the on-board device; an event detection unit that detects earthquake information including at least information indicating an earthquake occurrence area; and an upload restriction unit that determines restrictions on uploads to the on-board device based on the information indicating the earthquake occurrence area included in the earthquake information received by the event detection unit and the location information of the on-board device, and restricts uploads to the on-board device based on the restrictions.

[0008] An in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, and includes an imaging unit that acquires video of the area around the vehicle, an impact sensor that detects an impact to the vehicle, a location information receiving unit that receives location information indicating the location of the vehicle, a detection unit that detects an impact to the vehicle based on measurements from the impact sensor, an upload control unit that, when an impact to the vehicle is detected by the detection unit, uploads recorded information including the video captured by the imaging unit and the location information received by the location information receiving unit to an information processing device, an event detection unit that detects earthquake information including information that an earthquake has occurred at least at the current location of the vehicle, and an upload restriction unit that determines upload restrictions based on the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit, and the upload control unit restricts uploads in accordance with the restrictions determined by the upload restriction unit.

[0009] An upload restriction method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for restricting uploads to an information processing device, and is characterized by including: a recording information receiving step for receiving recording information uploaded from an on-board device mounted on the vehicle when an impact to the vehicle is detected, the recording information including video of the surroundings of the vehicle and location information indicating the location of the on-board device; an event detection step for detecting earthquake information including at least information indicating an earthquake occurrence area; and an upload restriction step for determining the content of restrictions on uploads to the on-board device based on the information indicating the earthquake occurrence area included in the earthquake information detected by the event detection step and the location information of the on-board device, and restricting uploads to the on-board device based on the content of the restrictions.

[0010] An upload control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling uploading from an on-board device mounted on a vehicle, and includes an imaging step for capturing video of the area around the vehicle, a location information receiving step for receiving location information indicating the location of the vehicle, a detection step for detecting an impact to the vehicle based on measurement values ​​of an impact sensor that detects an impact occurring to the vehicle, an upload control step for uploading recorded information including the video captured by the imaging step and the location information received by the location information receiving step to an information processing device when an impact to the vehicle is detected by the detection step, an event detection step for detecting earthquake information including information that an earthquake has occurred at least at the current location of the vehicle, and an upload restriction step for determining restrictions on uploading to the on-board device based on the earthquake information detected by the event detection step, wherein the upload control step restricts uploading in accordance with the restrictions determined by the upload restriction step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to collect information while preventing network congestion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an upload system 1. As shown in FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the drive recorder 11. As shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 12. As shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the upload restriction process performed by the server 12. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the upload process of each drive recorder 11 in response to the upload restriction process by the server 12. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the upload restriction process of the server 12 and the upload process of the drive recorder 11 based on a specific example. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the drive recorder 101. As shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 102. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the upload restriction process performed by the drive recorder 101. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the upload restriction process of the drive recorder 101 based on a specific example. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining an upload delay time. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining an upload delay time. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] [One embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [Server-side upload restrictions] (Configuration example of upload system 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an upload system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The upload system 1 includes drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 (hereinafter, simply referred to as drive recorders 11 when there is no need to distinguish between them) as multiple in-vehicle devices, a server 12, an Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13 as an external device, and a location management server 14. In the following description, the server 12 may be referred to as an information processing device. In the upload system 1, when an impact is detected by the drive recorder 11, video captured around the time the impact was detected is uploaded from the drive recorder 11 to the server 12. Note that while FIG. 1 shows two drive recorders 11, in reality, more than two drive recorders 11 can constitute the upload system 1 and communicate with the server 12.

[0015] Each drive recorder 11 is mounted on each vehicle. Each vehicle may be equipped with a plurality of drive recorders 11. The drive recorder 11 stores, in a storage unit 26 (FIG. 2), video of the surroundings of the vehicle captured by an imaging unit 21 (FIG. 2) and location information indicating the location where the video was captured (hereinafter, this information will be collectively referred to as recording information as appropriate). The recording information stored in the storage unit 26 is overwritten as appropriate.

[0016] The drive recorder 11 is connected to the server 12 and the location management server 14 via a mobile wireless communication network W. The drive recorder 11 transmits its own location information to the location management server 14 at a predetermined timing.

[0017] When the drive recorder 11 detects an impact, it uploads the recording information to the server 12. The process of the drive recorder 11 will be described in detail later.

[0018] The server 12 receives and stores the video recording information uploaded from the drive recorder 11. The user can view the video stored in the server 12. When the server 12 receives earthquake information including at least information indicating the disaster-occurred area from the earthquake early warning distribution server 13, the server 12 determines the content of restrictions on uploading from the drive recorder 11 based on the information indicating the earthquake-occurred area included in the earthquake information and the location information of the drive recorder 11, and restricts uploading based on the content of restrictions. Details of the processing by the server 12 will be described later.

[0019] The Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13 transmits earthquake information, such as an Earthquake Early Warning issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency, to the server 12 via the network W. The earthquake information includes information indicating the date and time of the earthquake occurrence, the epicenter, the predicted arrival time of the main vibrations (S waves), the area where the earthquake is predicted to occur, and the predicted seismic intensity for each earthquake occurrence area.

[0020] The location management server 14 receives the location information of the drive recorders 11, and stores the location information of each drive recorder 11 in association with the location information. In response to a request from the server 12, the location management server 14 transmits the location information of the drive recorder 11 to the server 12. The location management server 14 may be realized as part of the functions of the server 12.

[0021] The drive recorder 11 is registered as a device that can use the upload system 1, and is assigned an ID that can identify the drive recorder 11. Although not explained in the following description, the information exchanged between the drive recorder 11 and the server 12 or the location management server 14 includes an ID that can identify the drive recorder 11, and is used appropriately in each process.

[0022] (Configuration example of drive recorder 11) 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the drive recorder 11. The drive recorder 11 includes an imaging unit 21, an impact sensor 22, a position information receiving unit 23, a control unit 24, a communication unit 25, and a storage unit .

[0023] The imaging unit 21 is, for example, a camera, which captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle (including the inside and outside of the vehicle) and supplies the captured images to the control unit 24.

[0024] The impact sensor 22 is, for example, a sensor that detects acceleration occurring to the vehicle. The impact sensor 22 supplies a measurement value representing the detected acceleration to the control unit 24. The impact sensor 22 is, for example, a sensor that detects acceleration in three axial directions. The three axial directions are the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction of the vehicle. The impact sensor 22 may be realized by a sensor that detects acceleration, or by known image recognition processing.

[0025] The position information receiving unit 23 receives vehicle position information based on, for example, a signal received from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, which is an example of a satellite positioning system GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and supplies the vehicle position information to the control unit 24. The position information is, for example, information indicating the position of the drive recorder 11 by latitude and longitude.

[0026] The control unit 24 includes an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage circuit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 24 reads and executes an information processing program stored in the storage unit 26, thereby functioning as a recording control unit 31, a detection unit 32, and an upload control unit 33, as shown in FIG.

[0027] The recording control unit 31 stores the video captured by the imaging unit 21 and the location information of the drive recorder 11 at the time the video was captured by the imaging unit 21, which is acquired by the location information receiving unit 23, as recording information in the storage unit 26. The recording information stored in the storage unit 26 is overwritten as appropriate. The recording control unit 31 transmits the location information of the drive recorder 11, which is acquired by the location information receiving unit 23, to the location management server 14 via the communication unit 25 at a predetermined timing.

[0028] The detection unit 32 detects an impact to the vehicle based on the measurement value of the impact sensor 22. For example, the detection unit 32 determines that an impact has been detected when the measurement value of the impact sensor 22 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. When the vehicle collides with something or when the brakes are applied suddenly, the measurement value of the impact sensor 22 exceeds the predetermined threshold, and an impact is detected. Similarly, when there is an earthquake with a seismic intensity equal to or greater than a predetermined magnitude, the vehicle shakes, and the measurement value of the impact sensor 22 exceeds the predetermined threshold, and an impact is detected.

[0029] When the detector 32 detects an impact, the upload controller 33 uploads the recording information stored in the memory 26 to the server 12 via the communicator 25 at that time.

[0030] When the upload control unit 33 receives a restriction command from the server 12 to instruct a restriction on uploading, it restricts uploading in accordance with the restriction command.

[0031] The communication unit 25 communicates with the server 12 and the location management server 14 via the network W under the control of the control unit 24.

[0032] The storage unit 26 is an information recording device configured with a magnetic recording medium (e.g., a flexible disk, a magnetic tape, a hard disk drive), a magneto-optical recording medium (e.g., a magneto-optical disk), a semiconductor memory (e.g., an EPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a flash ROM, a RAM), etc. The storage unit 26 stores various programs for controlling the overall operation of the drive recorder 11 and various data acquired by the drive recorder 11.

[0033] (Server 12 configuration example) 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 12. The server 12 includes a control unit 41, a communication unit 42, and a storage unit 43.

[0034] The control unit 41 includes an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU and a storage circuit such as a RAM. The control unit 41 reads and executes an information processing program stored in the storage unit 43, thereby functioning as a recording information receiving unit 51, an event detection unit 52, and an upload restriction unit 53, as shown in FIG.

[0035] The recording information receiving unit 51 receives recording information uploaded from each drive recorder 11 when an impact to the vehicle is detected, and stores the information in the storage unit 43.

[0036] The event detection unit 52 receives and detects earthquake information including at least information indicating a disaster-stricken area from the Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13 via the communication unit 42. In another example, the event detection unit 52 receives and detects earthquake information including at least information indicating a disaster-stricken area from each drive recorder 11 via the communication unit 42. In another example, the event detection unit 52 detects earthquake information including at least information indicating a disaster-stricken area from each drive recorder 11 based on recorded information uploaded when an impact to the vehicle is detected.

[0037] The upload restriction unit 53 determines the upload restriction content for the drive recorder 11 based on the earthquake occurrence area indicated by the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit 52 and the location of the drive recorder 11, and transmits a restriction command indicating the restriction content to the drive recorder 11 via the communication unit 42.

[0038] The upload restriction may be, for example, prohibiting uploading or delaying the upload timing by a predetermined time. The upload restriction may also be generating a random waiting time and delaying the upload timing by that time.

[0039] The communication unit 42 communicates with the drive recorder 11, the earthquake early warning distribution server 13, and the location management server 14 via the network W under the control of the control unit 41.

[0040] The storage unit 43 is an information recording device configured with a magnetic recording medium (e.g., a flexible disk, a magnetic tape, a hard disk drive), a magneto-optical recording medium (e.g., a magneto-optical disk), a semiconductor memory (e.g., an EPROM, a flash ROM, a RAM), etc. The storage unit 43 saves recording information uploaded from the drive recorder 11. The storage unit 43 also stores various programs for controlling the overall operation of the server 12 and various data acquired by the server 12.

[0041] The recording information stored in the memory unit 43 can be output to an external device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a smartphone via a communication interface having, for example, a communication IC (Integrated Circuit) and a communication connector, and the user can view the video as the recording information stored in the memory unit 43.

[0042] (Server 12 upload restriction processing) 4 is a flowchart showing the upload restriction process by the server 12. It is assumed that, before the upload restriction process starts, the process of receiving and saving the video recording information uploaded from each drive recorder 11 by the video recording information receiving unit 51 has already started.

[0043] In step S11, the event detection unit 52 waits until it detects earthquake information from the Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13. When the event detection unit 52 detects earthquake information, the process proceeds to step S12.

[0044] In step S12, the upload restriction unit 53 acquires the location information of each drive recorder 11 from the location management server 14.

[0045] In step S13, the upload restriction unit 53 determines the upload restriction details for the drive recorder 11 based on the earthquake occurrence area and seismic intensity indicated by the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit 52 and the location indicated by the location information of the drive recorder 11. For example, the upload restriction unit 53 sets the restriction details to prohibit uploading for the drive recorder 11 located in the area where an earthquake of a predetermined seismic intensity or higher has occurred. The upload restriction unit 53 also sets the restriction details to delay the timing of uploading for a predetermined time for the drive recorder 11 located in the area where an earthquake of a predetermined seismic intensity or higher has occurred.

[0046] In step S14, the upload restricting unit 53 transmits a restriction command to the drive recorder 11 instructing the determined restriction content.

[0047] In step S15, the upload restriction unit 53 waits until a predetermined time has elapsed since the event detection unit 52 detected the earthquake information. If the predetermined time has elapsed, in step S16, the upload restriction unit 53 transmits a release command to the drive recorder 11 to release the upload restriction command. Thereafter, the process returns to step S11, and the same process is executed.

[0048] (Uploading process for Drive Recorder 11) Next, the upload process of each drive recorder 11 in response to the upload restriction process by the server 12 in Fig. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. The upload process can be started when the accessory power of the vehicle is turned on and the drive recorder 11 is started, or can be started according to the settings made by the user for the drive recorder 11.

[0049] In step S21, the recording control unit 31 starts storing the recording information in the storage unit 26. The recording control unit 31 starts a process of transmitting the location information of the drive recorder 11 acquired by the location information receiving unit 23 to the location management server 14 at a predetermined timing.

[0050] In step S22, the detection unit 32 determines whether or not an impact has been detected. If it is determined that an impact has not been detected, step S22 is repeated. If it is determined that an impact has been detected, the process proceeds to step S23.

[0051] In step S23, the upload control unit 33 determines whether an upload restriction command has been received from the server 12 via the communication unit 25 within a predetermined time. If it is determined that a restriction command has not been received, in step S24, the upload control unit 33 uploads the recording information to the server 12 via the communication unit 25 at a standard timing. The standard timing may be, for example, immediately after an impact is detected or 10 seconds after the impact is detected. Information indicating the standard timing is assumed to be set in advance in the storage unit 26. Thereafter, the process returns to step S22. Here, depending on the processing of the Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13, it is possible that an upload restriction command has already been received from the server 12 when the processing of step S23 is started. In that case, the processing of step S23 may be omitted and the process may proceed to step S24.

[0052] If it is determined in step S23 that a restriction command has been received, in step S25 the upload control unit 33 restricts the upload of the recording information in accordance with the restriction command. If the restriction command commands prohibition of uploading, the upload control unit 33 stops uploading of the video recording information. If the restriction command commands delaying the timing of uploading for a predetermined time, the upload control unit 33 waits for the predetermined time to elapse before uploading the video recording information.

[0053] In step S26, the upload control unit 33 waits until it receives a lift command from the server 12 to lift the restriction command, and lifts the upload restriction upon receiving the lift command. Then, the process returns to step S22, and the subsequent processes are performed in the same manner.

[0054] (Example) Referring to FIG. 6, the upload restriction process of the server 12 and the upload process of the drive recorder 11 will be described based on a specific example.

[0055] In this example, the drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 are located in an area A, and the drive recorder 11-3 is located in an area B that is distant from the area A.

[0056] When the server 12 detects earthquake information from the earthquake early warning distribution server 13 (step S11: Yes), it acquires the locations of the drive recorders 11-1 to 11-3 from the location management server 14 (step S12). In this example, it is assumed that area A is an area within the earthquake occurrence area, and area B is an area outside the earthquake occurrence area. Because the drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 are located within the earthquake occurrence area, the server 12 determines the restriction content for restricting uploads from the drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 (step S13), and transmits a restriction command instructing the restriction content to the drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 (step S14). The server 12 waits for a predetermined time (step S15), and then transmits a release command to the drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 to release the upload restriction command (step S16).

[0057] The drive recorders 11-1 to 11-3 start saving recorded images (step S21). The drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 determine that the vehicle has received an impact because the vehicle is shaking due to the earthquake (step S22: Yes). The drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 receive an upload restriction command from the server 12 (step S23: Yes), and restrict the upload of recorded information in accordance with the restriction command (step S25). When the drive recorders 11-1 and 11-2 receive a lift command from the server 12, they lift the upload restriction.

[0058] On the other hand, even if the drive recorder 11-3 detects an impact, for example, due to a collision with something, at the time an earthquake occurs in area A (step S22: Yes), it does not receive a command regarding transmission from the server 12 (step S23: No), and therefore uploads the recording information to the server 12 at the standard timing (step S24).

[0059] When an earthquake occurs, it is expected that the shaking caused by the earthquake will be detected as an impact by the drive recorders 11 in the area, but by limiting uploads in this way, it is possible to prevent communication congestion from occurring.

[0060] [Upload Limits on Drive Recorders] In the above embodiment, the upload restriction process is executed in the server 12, but it can also be executed in the drive recorder 101. This will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

[0061] (Configuration example of drive recorder 101 and server 102) Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the drive recorder 101. Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 102. That is, the drive recorder 101 has a function equivalent to the event detection unit 52 of the server 12 and a function equivalent to the upload restriction unit 53 instead of the server 12.

[0062] The event detection unit 111 of the drive recorder 101 receives and detects earthquake information including at least information that an earthquake has occurred at the current location of the drive recorder 101 from the Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13 via the communication unit 25. In another example, the event detection unit 111 of the drive recorder 101 detects earthquake information including at least information that an earthquake has occurred at the current location of the drive recorder 101 based on information when an impact to the vehicle is detected.

[0063] The upload restriction unit 112 of the drive recorder 101 determines the upload restriction content based on the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit 111. The upload restriction unit 112 determines the upload restriction content based on information that an earthquake has occurred at the current location of the drive recorder 101.

[0064] When the detector 32 detects an impact, the upload controller 33 uploads the recording information stored in the memory 26 to the server 12 via the communicator 25 at that timing.

[0065] When the upload restriction section 112 determines the content of the upload restriction, the upload control section 33 restricts the upload in accordance with the content of the restriction.

[0066] (Dashcam 101 upload process) 9 is a flowchart showing the upload restriction process by the drive recorder 101. The upload process can be started when the accessory power of the vehicle is turned on and the drive recorder 11 is started, or can be started according to the setting of the drive recorder 11 by the user.

[0067] In step S31, the recording control unit 31 starts storing the recording information in the storage unit .

[0068] In step S32, the detection unit 32 determines whether or not an impact has been detected. If it is determined that an impact has not been detected, step S32 is repeated. If it is determined that an impact has been detected, the process proceeds to step S33.

[0069] In step S33, the event detection unit 111 determines whether earthquake information has been detected from the Earthquake Early Warning distribution server 13. For example, the event detection unit 111 determines that earthquake information has been detected if earthquake information is received within a predetermined time period set based on the time when the impact was detected. For example, the event detection unit 111 can set the predetermined time period to be from 10 seconds before the impact was detected to 10 seconds after the impact was detected. This allows the drive recorder 101 to appropriately upload recorded information not only when an earthquake occurs after the distribution of the earthquake information, but also when it occurs before the distribution of the earthquake information. The event detection unit 111 may also detect earthquake information including information that an earthquake has occurred at the current location of the drive recorder 101 by analyzing, using known technology, the measurement value of the impact sensor 22 at the time of step S32 or the video of the area around the vehicle captured by the imaging unit 21 at the time of step S32. That is, the event detection unit 111 may detect that an earthquake has occurred at the current location of the drive recorder 101 based only on the information held by the drive recorder 101 .

[0070] If it is determined in step S33 that earthquake information has not been detected, in step S34, the upload control unit 33 uploads the recording information to the server 12 at the standard timing via the communication unit 25. Thereafter, the process returns to step S12.

[0071] If it is determined in step S33 that earthquake information has been detected, in step S35, the upload restriction unit 112 determines the upload restriction content based on the earthquake occurrence area and earthquake intensity indicated by the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit 111.

[0072] In step S36, the upload restriction section 112 restricts the upload of the record information in accordance with the determined restriction content.

[0073] In step S37, upload restriction unit 112 waits until a predetermined time has elapsed, and when the predetermined time has elapsed, in step S38, it removes the upload restriction based on the restriction content. Thereafter, the process returns to step S32, and the same process is executed.

[0074] This makes it possible to prevent simultaneous transmission of multiple data from the drive recorder 101 to the server 12 even when the drive recorder 101 detects shaking caused by an earthquake as an impact. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent communication congestion from occurring.

[0075] In this example, in the server 102, the recording information receiving unit 51 receives the recording information uploaded from each drive recorder 11 and stores it in the storage unit 43. In this example, the location management server 14 shown in FIG. 1 is not required.

[0076] (Example) The upload restriction process of the drive recorder 101 will be described based on a specific example with reference to FIG.

[0077] In this example, the drive recorders 101-1 and 101-2 are located in an area A within the earthquake occurrence area, and the drive recorder 101-3 is located in an area B outside the earthquake occurrence area.

[0078] Drive recorders 101-1 to 101-3 start saving recorded images (step S31). Drive recorders 101-1 and 101-2 detect that an earthquake has shaken the vehicle and caused an impact (step S32: Yes). Drive recorders 101-1 and 101-2 then receive earthquake information within a predetermined time period (e.g., within a period from 10 seconds before the impact is detected to 10 seconds after the impact is detected) (step S33: Yes). Drive recorders 101-1 and 101-2 are located within the earthquake occurrence area, so they each determine the restrictions on uploads (step S35) and restrict uploads in accordance with the determined restrictions (step S36).

[0079] It is assumed that the drive recorder 101-3 detects that it has collided with something and received an impact (step S32: Yes). Since the drive recorder 101-3 is outside the earthquake occurrence area and does not receive earthquake information within the predetermined time (step S33: No), the drive recorder 101-3 transmits an upload of the recorded information to the server 102 at the standard timing (step S34).

[0080] [Upload restrictions: Delay upload timing for each group] In the above-described embodiment, one example of upload restriction is to delay the timing of uploading from a drive recorder 11 located in an area where an earthquake of a predetermined magnitude or higher has occurred for a predetermined time. An example of a method for determining this delay time will now be described.

[0081] For example, a group number Gn of 1 to N is assigned to a drive recorder 11 that is located in an area where an earthquake of a predetermined magnitude or greater has occurred and that needs to delay the timing of uploading (hereinafter referred to as a drive recorder 11 to be delayed), and the drive recorder 11 to be delayed waits for a time T calculated by equation (1) using the assigned group number Gn before uploading. X is an arbitrary value according to the system specifications. Waiting time T [seconds] = Group number Gn × X [seconds] (1)

[0082] That is, since the upload timing is shifted for each of the N groups, it is possible to prevent drive recorders 11 to be delayed from uploading all at once. By appropriately determining the number of groups N, it is possible to prevent the server 12 from exceeding its capacity.

[0083] (If there is an upload limit on the server side) When restricting uploading on the server 12 side described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, the server 12 executes the following processing in steps S13 and S14 of FIG. 4. First, the server 12 calculates the number of groups N of drive recorders 11 to be delayed based on formula (2). M is the maximum number of drive recorders 11 for which simultaneous uploading can occur, in this case the number of drive recorders 11 to be delayed. C is the number of drive recorders 11 that can simultaneously accept uploads on the server 12 side (hereinafter referred to as the limit number). B is a buffer value. Number of groups N = M ÷ C × B (2)

[0084] Next, the server 12 calculates the waiting time T for each group using the calculated number of groups N according to equation (1). Then, the server 12 generates restriction details for delaying upload for each of the N groups by the waiting time T calculated based on the group number Gn (step S13). Then, the server 12 uniformly allocates group numbers Gn from 1 to N to the drive recorders 11 to be delayed, and transmits a restriction command to each of the drive recorders 11 to be delayed, instructing the restriction details of the group with the allocated group number Gn (step S14).

[0085] The drive recorder 11 to be delayed waits for the waiting time T indicated by the restriction command to elapse, and then uploads the recording information (step S25 in FIG. 5).

[0086] (Example) For example, if the limit number of servers 12 is 5, and the number of drive recorders 11 to be delayed is 25, and the buffer value is 2, the number of groups N is 10, as shown in equation (3). 25 ÷ 5 × 2 = 10 (3)

[0087] In this case, a restriction content that delays uploading for a waiting time T calculated based on the group number Gn is generated for each of the 10 groups, and a restriction command instructing the restriction content of the group of the assigned group number Gn is transmitted to each of the drive recorders 11 to be delayed that are assigned group numbers Gn of 1 to 10. The drive recorders 11 to be delayed wait for the waiting time T indicated in the restriction command to elapse, and then upload the recording information.

[0088] In this example, group numbers Gn of 1 to 10 are assigned to 25 drive recorders 11 to be delayed, so that the number of drive recorders 11 to be uploaded at one time can be set to 2 to 3 for the drive recorders 11 to be delayed, as shown in Fig. 11. In Fig. 11, the reference numerals of the drive recorders 11 are omitted. In Fig. 11, the numbers 1 to 10 indicate the group numbers Gn assigned to the drive recorders 11.

[0089] If the buffer value B is 1, the number of groups N is 5 (Equation (2)). Therefore, for the drive recorder 11 to be delayed, the number of drive recorders 11 to which uploading can be performed at one time is limited to 5. In this case, uploading from drive recorders 11 other than the drive recorder 11 to be delayed (for example, uploading from drive recorder 11-3 in the example of FIG. 6) becomes impossible. Therefore, by introducing a buffer value when determining the number of groups N, a design can be made that takes into consideration uploading from drive recorders 11 other than the drive recorder 11 to be delayed.

[0090] Note that X [seconds] in formula (1) is an arbitrary value depending on the system specifications, but as can be seen from FIG. 11, X is the interval between uploads for each group.

[0091] If the timing of uploading is not delayed for each group in this way, for example, as shown in Fig. 12, uploading from 25 drive recorders 11 at the same time, which exceeds the limit of the number of drive recorders 11 that can be handled by the server 12, will cause the server 12 to crash. Note that the reference numerals for the drive recorders 11 are omitted in Fig. 12.

[0092] In the above example, the server 12 generates restriction details for each of N groups, delaying upload by a waiting time T (formula (1)) calculated based on the group number Gn, and transmits a restriction command to each of the drive recorders 11 to be delayed, which is assigned to group numbers Gn from 1 to N. The drive recorders 11 to be delayed then wait for the waiting time T indicated in the restriction command to elapse, and then uploads the recording information.

[0093] That is, although the restriction content indicates the waiting time T, this is not limiting. The server 12 transmits a group number Gn from 1 to N as the restriction content to the drive recorder 11 to be delayed, and the drive recorder 11 to be delayed calculates the waiting time T based on the group number Gn indicated in the restriction content (Equation (1)), and waits for the calculated waiting time T to elapse before uploading the recording information.

[0094] (Upload restrictions on the drive recorder) When restricting uploading on the drive recorder 101 side described with reference to Figures 7 to 10, the drive recorder 101 executes the following process in steps S35 and S36 of Figure 9. The drive recorder 101 calculates the waiting time T by calculating equation (1) using the group number Gn assigned to itself in advance.

[0095] In this case, the number of groups N is calculated using equation (2) where M, which is the maximum number of drive recorders 11 for which simultaneous uploads can occur, is the number of drive recorders 11 registered in the upload system 1. The group number Gn is based on the number of groups N calculated in this way. The group number Gn is assigned when the drive recorder 101 is registered in the upload system 1. The assigned group number Gn is stored in the memory unit 26 (FIG. 7) of the drive recorder 101.

[0096] [Other examples of upload restrictions] In the above embodiment, delaying the timing of uploading for a predetermined time is shown as one example of upload restriction, but the predetermined time can be changed depending on the predicted seismic intensity.

[0097] For example, the upload limiting unit 53 may set the predetermined time so that the recorded information of the drive recorders 11 located in the earthquake occurrence area is uploaded to the server 12 in descending order of predicted seismic intensity. Specifically, if the standard timing for transmitting recorded information is 10 seconds after an impact is detected, the upload limiting unit 53 may leave it at 10 seconds when the predicted seismic intensity is the highest, and gradually adjust the timing so that the lower the priority, the later the standard timing becomes.

[0098] This allows the drive recorder 11 to transmit to the server 12, with priority given to images capturing scenes of relatively large earthquake damage, while preventing communication congestion.

[0099] In the above-described embodiment, prohibition of uploading is shown as one example of the upload restriction content, but in this case, the drive recorder 11 can also upload the video recording information for which uploading is prohibited after receiving the cancellation of the restriction command from the server 12. Furthermore, the user can select, via an input operation unit of the user's smartphone app (not shown), whether to upload the video recording information for which uploading is prohibited after receiving the cancellation of the restriction command from the server 12.

[0100] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the event detection unit and the upload restriction unit are located in either the drive recorder 11 or the server 12, but the event detection unit and the upload restriction unit may be located in either the drive recorder 11 or the server 12.

[0101] [Use of devices other than drive recorder 11] In the above-described embodiment, the in-vehicle device is described as the drive recorder 11, but the in-vehicle device is not limited to the drive recorder 11 as long as it includes a similar configuration. Furthermore, each configuration may be provided as an independent device within the vehicle.

[0102] [Detection of events other than earthquake information] In the above-described embodiment, the event detection units 52 and 111 are described as detecting earthquake information, but this is not limiting. The event detection units 52 and 111 may detect events that may cause multiple impacts to vehicles simultaneously, resulting in a large amount of data being transmitted to the server 12, such as large-scale fires, forest fires, typhoons, and strong winds.

[0103] [Supplementary explanation of the embodiment] The above-described embodiments each show a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, components, arrangement and connection order of the components, processing order in the flowcharts, etc. shown in the embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the drawings are not necessarily strict illustrations.

[0104] The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. When the series of processes is executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed from a program recording medium into a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware, or into, for example, a general-purpose personal computer that can execute various functions by installing various programs.

[0105] The program executed by the computer may be a program that processes in chronological order according to the order described in this specification, or may be a program that processes in parallel or at the required timing, such as when called. [Note] The contents of the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0106] (1) Upload restriction processing by server 12 The above-mentioned server 12 a video recording information receiving unit (51) that receives video recording information uploaded from a drive recorder (11) mounted on the vehicle when an impact to the vehicle is detected, the video recording information including an image of the surroundings of the vehicle and location information indicating the location of the drive recorder (11); an event detection unit 52 that detects earthquake information including at least information indicating an earthquake occurrence area (step S11); an upload restriction unit (53) that determines upload restrictions for the drive recorder (11) based on information indicating an earthquake occurrence area included in the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit (52) and location information of the drive recorder (11) (step S13), and restricts uploads based on the determined restrictions (step S14); Equipped with.

[0107] The upload restriction unit 53 determines the upload restrictions for the drive recorder 11 based on information indicating the earthquake occurrence area and location information, and restricts uploads based on the restrictions, thereby preventing simultaneous transmission of multiple data from the drive recorder 11 to the server 12 even when the drive recorder 11 detects shaking caused by an earthquake as an impact.

[0108] (2) Use of measurement values The upload restriction unit 53 receives from the drive recorder 11 the measurement value of an impact sensor that detects an impact occurring to the vehicle body, and can further use the measurement value to determine the content of the upload restriction for the drive recorder 11.

[0109] For example, the upload limiting unit 53 sets a shorter predetermined time for delaying the upload timing for a drive recorder 11 with a larger shock sensor measurement value. This allows the server 12 to quickly collect video of violent shaking caused by an earthquake while suppressing simultaneous transmission of multiple data to the server 12.

[0110] In another example, the upload restriction unit 53 calculates a predicted value of the impact sensor due to the effects of the earthquake in each region from the seismic intensity information included in the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit 52, and sets a longer predetermined time for delaying the timing of uploading when the impact sensor measurement value received from the drive recorder 11 and the predicted impact sensor value due to the effects of the earthquake are the same or similar. In this way, the server 12 can quickly collect video of vehicles that have been hit by impacts due to factors other than the earthquake in the area where the earthquake occurred, while suppressing data transmission.

[0111] (3) Upload restriction processing by Drive Recorder 101 The above-mentioned drive recorder 101 A drive recorder 101 mounted on a vehicle, an imaging unit 21 that captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle; an impact sensor 22 for detecting an impact occurring to the vehicle; a location information receiving unit 23 that detects location information indicating the location of the vehicle; a detection unit 32 that detects an impact to the vehicle based on the measurement value of the impact sensor 22; an upload control unit that uploads, to a server, an image captured by the imaging unit and video recording information including location information received by the location information receiving unit when an impact to the vehicle is detected by the detection unit; an event detection unit 111 that receives information that an earthquake has occurred at least at the current location of the vehicle; an upload restriction unit (112) that determines the content of upload restrictions based on earthquake information detected by the event detection unit (111); Equipped with The upload control unit 33 restricts uploading in accordance with the restriction content determined by the upload restriction unit 112 .

[0112] The upload restriction unit 112 determines the content of upload restrictions based on information indicating the earthquake occurrence area and location information, and restricts uploads based on the content of the restrictions, thereby preventing simultaneous transmission of multiple data from the drive recorder 101 to the server 102 even when the drive recorder 11 detects shaking caused by an earthquake as an impact. [Explanation of symbols]

[0113] 1. Upload System 11 Drive recorder (in-vehicle device) 12 Server (information processing device) 13 Earthquake Early Warning Distribution Server 14 Location Management Server 21 Imaging unit 22 Impact sensor 23 Location information receiving unit 24 Control Unit 25 Communications Department 26 Memory section 31 Recording control unit 32 Detection unit 33 Upload control section 41 Control Unit 42 Communications Department 43 Storage section 51 Recording information receiving unit 52 Event detection unit 53 Upload Restrictions 101 Drive recorder (on-board device) 102 Server (information processing device) 111 Event detection unit 112 Upload Restrictions

Claims

1. a video recording information receiving unit that receives video recording information uploaded from an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle when an impact to the vehicle is detected, the video recording information including an image of the surroundings of the vehicle and location information indicating the location of the in-vehicle device; an event detection unit that detects earthquake information including at least information indicating an earthquake occurrence area; an upload restriction unit that determines the content of the upload restriction for the in-vehicle device based on information indicating the earthquake occurrence area included in the earthquake information received by the event detection unit and location information of the in-vehicle device, and restricts the upload for the in-vehicle device based on the content of the restriction; An information processing device comprising:

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The upload restriction unit receives a measurement value of an impact sensor that detects an impact occurring to the vehicle from the in-vehicle device, and further uses the measurement value to determine the restriction content of the upload to the in-vehicle device. An information processing device characterized by:

3. An in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, an imaging unit that captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle; an impact sensor that detects an impact occurring to the vehicle; a location information receiving unit that receives location information indicating the location of the vehicle; a detection unit that detects an impact to the vehicle based on a measurement value of the impact sensor; an upload control unit that uploads, to an information processing device, video captured by the imaging unit and video recording information including the location information received by the location information receiving unit when the detection unit detects an impact on the vehicle; an event detection unit that detects earthquake information including information that an earthquake has occurred at least at the current location of the vehicle; an upload restriction unit that determines the content of the upload restriction based on the earthquake information detected by the event detection unit; Equipped with The upload control unit restricts the upload in accordance with the restriction content determined by the upload restriction unit. An in-vehicle device comprising:

4. An upload restriction method for restricting uploads to an information processing device, comprising: a video recording information receiving step of receiving video recording information uploaded from an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle when an impact to the vehicle is detected, the video recording information including an image of the surroundings of the vehicle and location information indicating the location of the in-vehicle device; an event detection step of detecting earthquake information including at least information indicating an earthquake occurrence area; an upload restriction step of determining a restriction on uploading to the in-vehicle device based on information indicating the earthquake occurrence area included in the earthquake information detected in the event detection step and the location information of the in-vehicle device, and restricting the uploading to the in-vehicle device based on the restriction; 1. An upload restriction method comprising:

5. An upload control method for controlling uploading from an in-vehicle device mounted in a vehicle, comprising: an imaging step of acquiring an image of the surroundings of the vehicle; a position information receiving step of receiving position information indicating the position of the vehicle; a detection step of detecting an impact to the vehicle based on a measurement value of an impact sensor that detects an impact occurring to the vehicle; an upload control step of uploading, to an information processing device, video recording information including the video captured in the imaging step and the location information received in the location information receiving step when an impact to the vehicle is detected in the detection step; an event detection step of detecting earthquake information including information that an earthquake has occurred at least at the current location of the vehicle; an upload restriction step of determining the upload restriction content for the in-vehicle device based on the earthquake information detected in the event detection step; Including, The upload control step restricts the upload in accordance with the restriction content determined in the upload restriction step.

10. An upload control method comprising:

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