Accident information collection device

Abstract

To collect accident information from the own vehicle and a peripheral vehicle to specify a vehicle involved in an accident when the accident involving damage to the vehicle is detected, accident information is collected from the own vehicle and peripheral vehicles to identify the vehicles involved in the accident.SOLUTION: An accident information collection device 1 comprises: an accident detection unit 111 that detects an occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage by a sensor; a positional information acquisition unit 112 that receives an electromagnetic wave emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires positional information of the own vehicle 10 when the occurrence of the accident is detected; a storage unit 121 that stores the own vehicle information including registration information relating to the own vehicle 10; a communication unit 200 that transmits own vehicle information to a peripheral vehicle 20 of the own vehicle 10 and receives peripheral vehicle information from the peripheral vehicle 20; and a control unit 113 that controls the processing of the accident detection unit 111, the positional information acquisition unit 112, and the communication unit 200.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an accident information collection device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, devices have been put into practical use that have the function of detecting the occurrence of an accident involving damage to a vehicle and notifying a server or the like of the occurrence of the accident.

[0003] For example, as this type of technology, a technology has been disclosed in which, when an impact stronger than a predetermined threshold is detected, impact information is transmitted to a predetermined external server (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-111560 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Generally, in most cases where a collision or other accident occurs while a vehicle is being driven, it is possible to identify the other vehicle that caused the accident. However, for example, if a driver who has parked a vehicle in a parking space crashes the door into an adjacent vehicle that is not driverless when getting out of the vehicle, the driver of the adjacent vehicle may not be aware that an accident has occurred, and may not be able to identify the other vehicle involved in the accident. Furthermore, even if a driver is on board the vehicle, in the case of a minor collision, the driver may not be aware that a collision accident has occurred, and there is a risk that the other vehicle involved in the accident may not be identified. As a result, the driver of the damaged vehicle may suffer a disadvantage.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an accident information collection device that, when an accident involving vehicle damage is detected, collects accident information from the vehicle itself and surrounding vehicles to identify vehicles involved in the accident. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Form 1: One or more embodiments of the present invention propose a vehicle accident information collection device that includes an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage using a sensor, a position information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires the position information of the host vehicle at the time the accident is detected, a memory unit that stores host vehicle information including registration information about the host vehicle, a communication unit that transmits the host vehicle information to vehicles surrounding the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, and a control unit that controls the processing of the accident detection unit, the position information acquisition unit, and the communication unit, wherein when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, the control unit causes the surrounding vehicles to transmit the host vehicle information via the communication unit and receives the surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, generates accident information that links the accident occurrence information, the position information of the host vehicle, the host vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to a server device via the communication unit.

[0008] Mode 2: One or more embodiments of the present invention include an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on external image information of the host vehicle captured by an imaging device, a position information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system to acquire position information of the host vehicle at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident, a storage unit that stores host vehicle information including registration information related to the host vehicle, a communication unit that transmits the host vehicle information to vehicles surrounding the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, and a determination unit that determines whether the host vehicle is a causing vehicle or a victim vehicle when the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage is detected in the accident detection unit, the accident detection unit, the position information acquisition unit, the communication unit, and the determination unit. and a control unit that controls the processing of the above, wherein when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident, if the determination unit determines that the host vehicle is the offending vehicle, the control unit causes the surrounding vehicles to transmit the host vehicle information via the communication unit, and if the determination unit determines that the host vehicle is the victim vehicle, the control unit causes the surrounding vehicles to receive the surrounding vehicle information via the communication unit, generate accident information that links the accident occurrence information, position information of the host vehicle, information related to the determination result of the determination unit, the host vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to a server device via the communication unit.

[0009] Form 3: One or more embodiments of the present invention propose a vehicle accident information collection device comprising a controller, a communication unit, and a sensor, wherein the controller includes one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, the one or more memories including storage for storing host vehicle information including registration information about the host vehicle, and when the sensor detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, the one or more processors cause surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle to transmit the host vehicle information via the communication unit and receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, generate accident information linking the accident occurrence information, location information of the host vehicle, the host vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and provide the accident information to a server device via the communication unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, when an accident involving vehicle damage is detected, accident information can be collected from the vehicle itself and surrounding vehicles to identify vehicles involved in the accident. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an accident information collection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an accident information collection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing the contents of accident information generated by an accident information collection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the accident information collection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an accident information collection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an accident information collection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of accident information generated by an accident information collection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the accident information collection device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an accident information collection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an accident information collection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of accident information generated by an accident information collection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of an accident information collection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of an accident information collection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] First Embodiment An accident information collection device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

[0014] <Configuration of accident information collection device 1> As shown in FIG. 1, an accident information collection device 1 according to this embodiment is installed in a subject vehicle 10. The accident information collection device 1 according to this embodiment includes a processor 110, a memory 120, and a communication unit 200.

[0015] In this embodiment, the processor 110 communicates with the peripheral vehicles 20_1 to 20_N present around the host vehicle 10 via the communication unit 200 to transmit and receive information related to the accident. In the following description, the peripheral vehicles 20_1 to 20_N will be collectively referred to as "peripheral vehicles 20". In this embodiment, the processor 110 transmits the accident information via the communication unit 200 to the server device 300 connected to the network 400 . In this embodiment, the server device 300 stores the accident information received from the accident information collection device 1. The accident-related information transmitted and received by the processor 110 to and from the surrounding vehicle 20 and the accident information transmitted by the processor 110 to the server device 300 will be described in detail later. The detailed configuration of the processor 110 will be described later.

[0016] The memory 120 includes a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), both of which are not shown. The memory 120 stores, for example, a control program and various data received from the processor 110. As shown in FIG. 2, the memory 120 includes a storage unit 121. The storage unit 121 stores host vehicle information and the like relating to the host vehicle 10. The vehicle information will be described later.

[0017] In this embodiment, the communication unit 200 is, for example, a wireless communication module connectable to a network 400, and communicates with the server device 300 via, for example, the Internet under the control of the processor 110. In this embodiment, the communication unit 200 includes, for example, a wireless communication module for performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V communication). The communication unit 200 transmits and receives information to and from the surrounding vehicles 20 with which inter-vehicle communication is possible, without going through the network 400 .

[0018] The communication unit 200 transmits the host vehicle information to the surrounding vehicles 20 of the host vehicle 10 and receives the surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20 in accordance with instructions from the processor 110 . In this embodiment, when the communication unit 200 receives the host vehicle information from the processor 110, the communication unit 200 transmits the host vehicle information to the surrounding vehicle 20. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 200 receives an instruction from the processor 110 to request nearby vehicle information, the communication unit 200 receives nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicle 20 . In this embodiment, when the communication unit 200 receives nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicle 20 , the communication unit 200 stores the received nearby vehicle information in the memory 120 . In this embodiment, when the communication unit 200 transmits and receives information (own vehicle information / surrounding vehicle information) with a surrounding vehicle 20 via vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the communication unit 200 stores, for example, the vehicle identification number of the surrounding vehicle 20 included in the communication content of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication in memory 120 via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 200 receives the accident information from the processor 110 , the communication unit 200 transmits the accident information to the server device 300 via the network 400 . The surrounding vehicle information will be described later.

[0019] <Configuration of the Processor 110 and Memory 120> As shown in FIG. 2, the processor 110 includes an accident detection unit 111, a location information acquisition unit 112, and a control unit 113. The various parts of the processor 110, the memory 120, and the communication part 200 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0020] The accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage using a sensor. In this embodiment, the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on acceleration information received from an acceleration sensor 500 installed in the host vehicle 10. The acceleration sensor 500 is installed, for example, on the door, bumper, frame, or the like of the host vehicle 10. For example, if the value of the acceleration information received from the acceleration sensor 500 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage. In this embodiment, when the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident accompanied by vehicle damage, it transmits information indicating that the accident has occurred to the control unit 113, which will be described later, via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, when the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, the accident detection unit 111 stores in the memory 120, via the bus line BL, information linking the time information at which the occurrence of the accident involving vehicle damage was detected with information relating to the acceleration information received from the acceleration sensor 500 at the time the accident was detected (for example, the installation position of the acceleration sensor 500, the acceleration value, the acceleration waveform, etc.). The sensor used by the accident detection unit 111 to detect the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage may be, for example, an imaging device. The accident detection unit 111 may, for example, analyze image information captured by an imaging device that captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle 10, and detect the occurrence of an accident resulting in damage to the vehicle.

[0021] The position information acquisition unit 112 receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system to acquire the position information of the vehicle 10 at the time when the accident was detected. In this embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 112 acquires the position information of the vehicle 10 when, for example, an instruction to request position information is received from the control unit 113, which will be described later. The position information acquisition unit 112 acquires the position information of the vehicle 10 based on, for example, radio waves received from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. In this embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 112 stores the position information of the vehicle 10 in the memory 120 via the bus line BL.

[0022] In this embodiment, the control unit 113 controls the overall processing of the accident information collection device 1 in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 120 . In this embodiment, when the control unit 113 receives information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred, it sends an instruction to the location information acquisition unit 112 requesting location information, and causes the location information of the vehicle 10 at the time the accident was detected to be acquired.

[0023] When the accident detection unit 111 detects that the vehicle has been damaged or that an accident has occurred, the control unit 113 causes the communication unit 200 to transmit vehicle information to the surrounding vehicles 20 and receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20. In this embodiment, the control unit 113 controls the communication unit 200, for example, to transmit vehicle information to surrounding vehicles 20 located around the vehicle 10, and to receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20 that have transmitted the vehicle information. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113 receives information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred, it transmits the vehicle information acquired from the memory unit 121 to the communication unit 200, and causes the vehicle information to be transmitted to nearby vehicles 20. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113 receives information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred, it sends an instruction to the communication unit 200 to request information about surrounding vehicles, and causes the communication unit 200 to obtain information about surrounding vehicles from surrounding vehicles 20. The surrounding vehicle information will be described later.

[0024] The control unit 113 generates accident information that links together accident occurrence information, location information of the vehicle 10, the vehicle information, and surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to the server device 300 via the communication unit 200. The accident information is explained below. As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the accident information includes accident occurrence information, position information of the vehicle 10, vehicle information, and surrounding vehicle information. In this embodiment, examples of accident occurrence information include time information when the accident detection unit 111 detects the accident, and acceleration information obtained from the acceleration sensor 500 when the accident detection unit 111 detects the accident (for example, the value of the acceleration information of the acceleration sensor 500 for 30 seconds before and after the time when the accident is detected by the accident detection unit 111). The accident information may include, for example, vehicle information (such as whether there are occupants, the traveling speed, and information regarding the driver's driving operation). In this embodiment, the position information of the vehicle 10 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 112 can be exemplified as the position information of the vehicle 10. The host vehicle information includes registration information about the host vehicle 10. The vehicle information may include, for example, a vehicle identification number (VIN). The vehicle information may further include, for example, registration information of the vehicle 10, owner information (name, address, contact information, etc.), and the like. The nearby vehicle information is information for identifying the other vehicle involved in the accident, and includes registration information regarding the nearby vehicle 20. The surrounding vehicle information may be, for example, a vehicle identification number (VIN). The surrounding vehicle information may further include, for example, registration information of the surrounding vehicle 20, owner information (name, address, contact information, etc.), vehicle information (location information, presence or absence of occupants, driving speed, information regarding the driver's driving operation, etc.), detection results of an acceleration sensor installed in the surrounding vehicle 20, etc.

[0025] <Processing of accident information collection device 1> The processing of the accident information collection device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0026] The control unit 113 determines whether or not information indicating that an accident has occurred has been received from the accident detection unit 111 via the bus line BL (step S110). When the control unit 113 determines that it has not received information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred ("NO" in step S110), the control unit 113 returns the process to the standby state. When control unit 113 determines that information indicating that an accident has occurred has been received from accident detection unit 111 ("YES" in step S110), control unit 113 moves the process to step S120.

[0027] The control unit 113 causes the position information acquisition unit 112 to acquire the position information of the vehicle 10 (step S120), and then causes the process to proceed to step S130.

[0028] The control unit 113 controls the communication unit 200 to transmit the host vehicle information and an instruction to request the surrounding vehicle information to the surrounding vehicle 20 (step S130), and then causes the process to proceed to step S140.

[0029] The control unit 113 controls the communication unit 200 to acquire nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicle 20 (step S140), and then causes the process to proceed to step S150.

[0030] The control unit 113 generates accident information based on the information acquired in steps S120 and S140 (step S150), and moves the process to step S160.

[0031] The control unit 113 controls the communication unit 200 to transmit the accident information generated in step S150 to the server device 300 (step S160), and then ends the process.

[0032] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the accident information collection device 1 of this embodiment includes an accident detection unit 111 that uses a sensor to detect the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, a location information acquisition unit 112 that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information of the vehicle 10 at the time of detecting the occurrence of an accident, a memory unit 121 that stores vehicle information including registration information related to the vehicle 10, a communication unit 200 that transmits vehicle information to surrounding vehicles 20 of the vehicle 10 and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20, and a control unit 113 that controls processing of the accident detection unit 111, the location information acquisition unit 112, and the communication unit 200. When the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, the control unit 113 causes the communication unit 20 to transmit vehicle information to the surrounding vehicles 20 and receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20. That is, the accident information collection device 1 transmits the subject vehicle information to the surrounding vehicles 20 when an accident involving vehicle damage occurs in the subject vehicle 10. This makes it possible to provide the surrounding vehicle 20 that may have come into contact with the host vehicle 10 with host vehicle information that allows the host vehicle 10 to be identified. When an accident involving vehicle damage occurs in the host vehicle 10, the accident information collection device 1 acquires nearby vehicle information from nearby vehicles 20 located around the host vehicle 10. As a result, when the accident information collection device 1 detects an accident involving damage to a vehicle, it can collect surrounding vehicle information for identifying vehicles involved in the accident.

[0033] The control unit 113 of the accident information collection device 1 in this embodiment generates accident information that links accident occurrence information, location information of the vehicle 10, vehicle information, and surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to the server device 300 via the communication unit 200. In other words, when the accident information collection device 1 detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, it provides the server device 300 with accident information including surrounding vehicle information collected from surrounding vehicles 20 that may have come into contact with the vehicle 10. This allows the driver of the vehicle 10 to identify the surrounding vehicle 20 that may have come into contact with the vehicle 10 based on the surrounding vehicle information, even if the surrounding vehicle 20 that came into contact with the vehicle 10 has left the accident scene.

[0034] <Second embodiment> An accident information collection device 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that components with the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same functions, and therefore detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0035] <Configuration of accident information collection device 1A> As shown in FIG. 5, an accident information collection device 1A according to this embodiment is installed in a subject vehicle 10A. The accident information collection device 1A according to this embodiment includes a processor 110A, a memory 120, and a communication unit 200.

[0036] <Configuration of Processor 110A> As shown in FIG. 6, the processor 110A includes an accident detection unit 111A, a position information acquisition unit 112, and a control unit 113A. The various components of the processor 110A, the memory 120, and the communication unit 200 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0037] The accident detection unit 111A detects the occurrence of an accident involving damage to the vehicle based on external image information of the vehicle 10A captured by the imaging device 600. In this embodiment, the accident detection unit 111A acquires external image information of the surroundings of the vehicle 10A from the imaging device 600 equipped in the vehicle 10A, and detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage by performing video analysis of the acquired external image information. The image capturing device 600 is, for example, a camera, and at least one image capturing device 600 is installed in a position where it can capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 10A. In this embodiment, when the accident detection unit 111A detects the occurrence of an accident accompanied by vehicle damage, it transmits information indicating that the accident has occurred to a control unit 113A (described later) via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, the accident detection unit 111A stores in the memory 120, via the bus line BL, time information at which an accident accompanied by vehicle damage is detected and external image information at the time the accident is detected.

[0038] In this embodiment, the control unit 113A controls the overall processing of the accident information collection device 1A in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 120. When the control unit 113A detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on the detection result of the accident detection unit 111A, the control unit 113A causes the position information acquisition unit 112 to acquire the position information of the host vehicle 10A at the time the occurrence of the accident was detected. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113A receives information from the accident detection unit 111A that an accident has occurred, it sends an instruction to the location information acquisition unit 112 to request location information, and causes the location information of the vehicle 10A at the time the accident occurred to be acquired.

[0039] When the control unit 113A detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on the detection results of the accident detection unit 111A, the control unit 113A causes the surrounding vehicles 20 to transmit vehicle information via the communication unit 200, and also causes the control unit 113A to receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20. In this embodiment, the control unit 113A controls the communication unit 200 to, for example, transmit vehicle information to a surrounding vehicle 20 that is located around the vehicle 10A and is capable of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicle 20 that has transmitted the vehicle information. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113A receives information from the accident detection unit 111A that an accident has occurred, it transmits the vehicle information acquired from the memory unit 121 to the communication unit 200, and causes the vehicle information to be transmitted to nearby vehicles 20. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113A receives information from the accident detection unit 111A that an accident has occurred, it sends an instruction to the communication unit 200 to request information about surrounding vehicles, and causes the communication unit 200 to obtain information about surrounding vehicles from surrounding vehicles 20.

[0040] The control unit 113A generates accident information that links together information on the occurrence of an accident, position information of the vehicle 10A, the vehicle information, and information on surrounding vehicles, and provides the accident information to the server device 300 via the communication unit 200. The accident information in this embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the accident information includes accident occurrence information, position information of the host vehicle 10A, host vehicle information, and surrounding vehicle information. In this embodiment, examples of accident occurrence information include time information when the accident detection unit 111A detected the accident, detection information of the accident detection unit 111A (information on the damaged area, etc.), and vehicle information (presence or absence of occupants, driving speed, information on the driver's driving operation, etc.). In this embodiment, the position information of the vehicle 10A acquired by the position information acquisition unit 112 can be exemplified as the position information of the vehicle 10A. In this embodiment, examples of the host vehicle information include a vehicle identification number and external image information obtained by capturing an image of the periphery of the host vehicle 10A. In this embodiment, examples of the surrounding vehicle information include a vehicle identification number and external image information of the surrounding vehicle 20 captured by the surrounding vehicle 20 .

[0041] <Processing of accident information collection device 1A> The process of the accident information collection device 1A will be described with reference to FIG.

[0042] The control unit 113A determines whether an accident has been detected (step S210). The control unit 113A determines whether or not information indicating that an accident has occurred has been received from the accident detection unit 111A via the bus line BL. When the control unit 113A determines that it has not received information from the accident detection unit 111A indicating that an accident has occurred ("NO" in step S210), the control unit 113A returns the process to the standby state. When control unit 113A determines that information indicating that an accident has occurred has been received from accident detection unit 111A ("YES" in step S210), control unit 113A moves the process to step S220.

[0043] The control unit 113A causes the position information acquisition unit 112 to acquire the position information of the vehicle 10A (step S220), and moves the process to step S230.

[0044] Control unit 113A controls communication unit 200 to transmit the host vehicle information and an instruction to request nearby vehicle information to nearby vehicle 20 (step S230), and then causes the process to proceed to step S240.

[0045] The control unit 113A controls the communication unit 200 to acquire nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicle 20 (step S240), and then causes the process to proceed to step S250.

[0046] Control unit 113A generates accident information based on the information acquired in steps S120 and S140 (step S250), and moves the process to step S260.

[0047] The control unit 113A controls the communication unit 200 to transmit the accident information generated in step S250 to the server device 300 (step S260), and then ends the process.

[0048] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the accident detection unit 111A of the accident information collection device 1A according to this embodiment detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on external image information of the host vehicle 10A captured by the imaging device 600. This allows the accident detection unit 111A to detect the occurrence of an accident with high accuracy.

[0049] The host vehicle information transmitted to the surrounding vehicle 20 by the control unit 113A of the accident information collection device 1A according to this embodiment includes external image information obtained by capturing an image of the surroundings of the host vehicle 10A. That is, when the accident information collection device 1A detects the occurrence of an accident, it provides external image information at the time of the accident detection to nearby vehicles 20 that may have come into contact with the subject vehicle 10A. The surrounding vehicle information acquired by the control unit 113A of the accident information collection device 1A from the surrounding vehicle 20 includes external image information obtained by capturing an image of the surroundings of the surrounding vehicle 20. That is, when the accident information collection device 1A detects the occurrence of an accident, it acquires external image information captured by a nearby vehicle 20 that may have come into contact with the subject vehicle 10A. The accident information provided to the server device 300 by the control unit 113A of the accident information collection device 1A includes an external image of the vehicle 10A. That is, when the accident information collection device 1A detects the occurrence of an accident, it provides the server device 300 with accident information including external image information that can identify the nearby vehicle 20 that has come into contact with the subject vehicle 10A. As a result, even if the surrounding vehicle 20 that collided with the vehicle 10A has left the accident scene, the driver of the vehicle 10A can identify the surrounding vehicle 20 that collided with the vehicle 10A based on external image information captured around the vehicle 10A and external image information captured around the surrounding vehicle 20. Since the video information at the time of the accident is stored in the server device 300, the details of the accident occurrence can be checked at any time. The accident information generated by the accident information collection device 1A includes an external image of the vehicle 10A captured by the imaging device 600. As a result, even if a person damages the vehicle 10A, the driver of the vehicle 10A can identify the person who may have caused the damage based on the external image information of the vehicle 10A.

[0050] <Third embodiment> An accident information collection device 1B according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that components with the same reference numerals as those in the first and second embodiments have similar functions, and therefore detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0051] <Configuration of accident information collection device 1B> As shown in FIG. 9, an accident information collection device 1B according to this embodiment is installed in a vehicle 10B. The accident information collection device 1B according to this embodiment includes a processor 110B, a memory 120, and a communication unit 200.

[0052] <Configuration of Processor 110B> As shown in FIG. 10, the processor 110B includes an accident detection unit 111B, a position information acquisition unit 112, a control unit 113B, a determination unit 114, and a key position detection unit 115. The various components of the processor 110B, the memory 120, and the communication unit 200 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0053] The accident detection unit 111B detects the occurrence of an accident involving damage to the vehicle based on external image information of the vehicle 10B captured by the imaging device 600. In this embodiment, the accident detection unit 111B acquires external image information of the surroundings of the vehicle 10B from the imaging device 600 equipped in the vehicle 10B, and detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage by performing video analysis of the acquired external image information. The image capturing device 600 is configured by, for example, a camera, and at least one image capturing device 600 is installed in a position where it can capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 10B. In this embodiment, when the accident detection unit 111B detects the occurrence of an accident accompanied by vehicle damage, it transmits information indicating that the accident has occurred to a control unit 113B, which will be described later, via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, the accident detection unit 111B stores in the memory 120, via the bus line BL, time information at which an accident accompanied by vehicle damage is detected and external image information at the time the accident is detected.

[0054] When the accident detection unit 111B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, the determination unit 114 determines whether the host vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle or the damaged vehicle. In this embodiment, when the determination unit 114 receives an instruction from the control unit 113B described later to request a determination result, it determines whether the vehicle 10B is either the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle based on the external video information of the vehicle 10B captured by the imaging device 600. In this embodiment, the judgment unit 114, for example, acquires external image information from the memory 120 when the accident detection unit 111B detects an accident, analyzes the acquired external image information, and determines whether the vehicle 10B is either the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle. For example, when the determination unit 114 confirms from external image information that the host vehicle 10B has collided with a nearby vehicle 20 that is stopped, the determination unit 114 determines that the host vehicle is the offending vehicle. In this embodiment, when the determination unit 114 receives information from the key position detection unit 115 (described later) that the position of the smart key 700 is "not inside the vehicle cabin or around the vehicle," and receives an instruction from the control unit 113B (described later) requesting a determination result, the determination unit 114 determines that the vehicle 10B is a victim vehicle. In this embodiment, the determination unit 114 stores the determination result in the storage unit 121 via the bus line BL, and also transmits the determination result to the control unit 113B, which will be described later.

[0055] The key position detection unit 115 acquires the position information of the key held by the driver of the vehicle 10B. In this embodiment, for example, when the key position detection unit 115 receives an instruction from the control unit 113B described later requesting the key position detection results, the key position detection unit 115 detects the position of the smart key 700 held by the driver of the vehicle 10B. The key position detection unit 115 communicates with the smart key 700, and in this embodiment, for example, detects whether the position of the smart key 700 is "inside the vehicle" or "not inside the vehicle or around the vehicle." In this embodiment, the key position detection unit 115 stores the detection result in the storage unit 121 via the bus line BL, and also transmits the detection result to the determination unit 114 and a control unit 113B, which will be described later.

[0056] In this embodiment, the control unit 113B controls the overall processing of the accident information collection device 1B in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 120. When the control unit 113B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on the detection result of the accident detection unit 111B, the control unit 113B causes the position information acquisition unit 112 to acquire the position information of the host vehicle 10B at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113B receives information from the accident detection unit 111B that an accident has occurred, it outputs an instruction to the location information acquisition unit 112 to request location information, and causes the location information of the vehicle 10B at the time the accident occurred to be acquired.

[0057] When the control unit 113B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on the detection result of the accident detection unit 111B, the control unit 113B causes the determination unit 114 to determine whether the host vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle or the damaged vehicle. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113B receives information from the accident detection unit 111B that an accident has occurred, it outputs an instruction to the determination unit 114 to request a determination result, and has the determination unit 114 determine whether the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle.

[0058] In this embodiment, when the determination unit 114 determines that the host vehicle 10B is an offending vehicle, the control unit 113B causes the nearby vehicle 20 to transmit host vehicle information via the communication unit 200. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113B receives a determination result from the determination unit 114 that the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle, the control unit 113B outputs the vehicle information stored in the memory unit 121 to the communication unit 200 via the bus line BL, and causes the vehicle information to be transmitted to the surrounding vehicle 20. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113B receives a determination result from the determination unit 114 that the vehicle 10B is a victim vehicle, the control unit 113B causes the communication unit 200 to receive nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicle 20. In this embodiment, the control unit 113B outputs an instruction to request nearby vehicle information to the communication unit 200 via the bus line BL, and causes the communication unit 200 to receive nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicles 20.

[0059] When the accident detection unit 111B detects that an accident involving vehicle damage has occurred and determines based on the key position information that the key for the host vehicle 10B is not in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10B, the control unit 113B provides the driver of the host vehicle 10B with information that an accident has occurred. In this embodiment, when the control unit 113B receives information from the accident detection unit 111B that an accident has occurred and also receives a determination result from the key position detection unit 115 that the smart key 700 is not near the vehicle 10B, the control unit 113B transmits information that an accident has occurred to the communication unit 200, and causes the communication unit 200 to transmit the information that an accident has occurred to the driver's mobile terminal or the like (not shown) connected to the network 400.

[0060] The control unit 113B generates accident information that links together information about the occurrence of an accident, location information about the vehicle 10B, information about the judgment result of the judgment unit 114, vehicle information, and surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to the server device 300 via the communication unit 200. The accident information in this embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 11, the accident information includes accident occurrence information, position information of the host vehicle 10B, host vehicle information, surrounding vehicle information, and the determination result of the determination unit 114 in this embodiment. Examples of the host vehicle information include the vehicle identification number, external image information of the surroundings of the host vehicle 10B, the detection result of the key position detection unit 115, and the like. Examples of the surrounding vehicle information include a vehicle identification number, external image information of the surrounding vehicle 20 captured by the surrounding vehicle 20, and key position information. The information relating to the determination result of the determination unit 114 may be, for example, the determination result of either the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle.

[0061] <Processing by the accident information collection device 1B> The processing of the accident information collection device 1B will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0062] The control unit 113B determines whether or not information indicating that an accident has occurred has been received from the accident detection unit 111B via the bus line BL (step S310). When the control unit 113B determines that it has not received information from the accident detection unit 111B that an accident has occurred ("NO" in step S310), the control unit 113B returns the process to the standby state. When control unit 113B determines that information indicating that an accident has occurred has been received from accident detection unit 111B ("YES" in step S310), control unit 113B moves the process to step S320.

[0063] The control unit 113B causes the position information acquisition unit 112 to acquire the position information of the vehicle 10B (step S320), and moves the process to step S330.

[0064] Control unit 113B causes key position detection unit 115 to detect the key position (step S330), and moves the process to step S340.

[0065] The control unit 113B causes the determination unit 114 to determine whether the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle (step S340), and then causes the process to proceed to step S350.

[0066] The control unit 113B checks the determination result received from the determination unit 114 and determines whether the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle (step S350). The control unit 113B checks the judgment result received from the judgment unit 114, and if it judges that the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle ("YES" in step S350), it controls the communication unit 200 to transmit the vehicle information to the surrounding vehicle 20 (step S360). The control unit 113B checks the judgment result received from the judgment unit 114, and if it judges that the vehicle 10B is a victim vehicle ("NO" in step S350), it controls the communication unit 200 to receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicle 20 (step S370).

[0067] Control unit 113B generates accident information based on the information acquired in steps S320, S330, S340, and S370 (step S380), and moves the process to step S390.

[0068] Control unit 113B controls communication unit 200 to transmit the generated accident information to server device 300 (step S390), and moves the process to step S400 shown in FIG.

[0069] Based on the detection result received from the key position detection unit 115, the control unit 113B determines whether or not the driver is inside the vehicle (step S400). If it is determined that the driver is inside the vehicle ("YES" in step S400), the control unit 113B ends the process. When it is determined that the driver is not inside the vehicle ("NO" in step S400), the control unit 113B shifts the processing to step S410.

[0070] Control unit 113B controls communication unit 200 to transmit information that an accident has occurred to the driver (step S410), and ends the process.

[0071] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the accident information collection device 1B of this embodiment includes an accident detection unit 111B that detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, a location information acquisition unit 112 that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information of the host vehicle 10B at the time of detecting the occurrence of an accident, a memory unit 121 that stores host vehicle information including registration information regarding the host vehicle 10B, a communication unit 200 that transmits host vehicle information to surrounding vehicles 20 of the host vehicle 10B and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles 20, a determination unit 114 that determines whether the host vehicle 10B is either the causing vehicle or the victim vehicle when the accident detection unit 111B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, and a control unit 113B that controls the processing of the accident detection unit 111B, the location information acquisition unit 112, the communication unit 200, and the determination unit 114. When the determination unit 114 determines that the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle, the control unit 113B controls the communication unit 200 to transmit vehicle information to the surrounding vehicle 20, and when the determination unit 114 determines that the vehicle 10B is the victim vehicle, the control unit 113B controls the communication unit 200 to receive surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicle 20. That is, the accident information collection device 1B transmits the subject vehicle information to the surrounding vehicles 20 when the subject vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle. This allows the surrounding vehicle 20 to acquire information about the host vehicle 10B, which is the offending vehicle. When the subject vehicle 10B is the victim vehicle, the accident information collection device 1B receives from the surrounding vehicle 20 surrounding vehicle information for identifying the surrounding vehicle 20 that is the offending vehicle. This allows the drivers of the vehicle 10B and the surrounding vehicle 20 to obtain information for identifying the offending vehicle.

[0072] The control unit 113B generates accident information that links together information on the occurrence of an accident, location information of the vehicle 10B, vehicle information, surrounding vehicle information, and information on the judgment result of the judgment unit 114, and provides the accident information to the server device 300 via the communication unit 200. That is, when the accident information collection device 1B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, it provides the server device 300 with accident information including surrounding vehicle information collected from surrounding vehicles 20 that may have come into contact with the vehicle 10B. As a result, even if the surrounding vehicle 20 that collided with the vehicle 10B has left the accident scene, the driver of the vehicle 10B can identify the surrounding vehicle 20 that collided with the vehicle 10B based on the accident information stored in the server device 300. The accident information includes a determination result as to whether the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle. As a result, even if an accident occurs when the driver of the vehicle 10B is not in the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle 10B can identify whether the vehicle 10B is the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle based on the accident information stored in the server device 300.

[0073] The subject vehicle information or surrounding vehicle information included in the accident information generated by the accident information collection device 1B according to this embodiment includes position information of the key of the subject vehicle 10B or surrounding vehicle 20. In other words, the accident information collection device 1B acquires key position information indicating whether the drivers of the vehicle 10B and the surrounding vehicle 20 were in the vehicle when the accident occurred, and provides the accident information including the key position information to the server device 300. This allows the driver of the vehicle 10B to check the accident information and determine whether or not the driver of the nearby vehicle 20 was in the vehicle when the accident occurred. For example, even if an accident occurs in which the driver of a nearby vehicle 20 parked in a parking space opens the door to get out and crashes the door into the driver's own vehicle 10B, which is not at home, the driver of the own vehicle 10B can recognize that the accident occurred during the period when the driver was not at the vehicle by checking the accident information including the key position information, and can further recognize that the driver of the own vehicle 10B is the victim vehicle.

[0074] In the accident information collection device 1B of this embodiment, when the accident detection unit 111B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage and determines based on the key position information that the key for the vehicle 10B is not in the vicinity of the vehicle 10B, the accident information collection device 1B provides information to the driver of the vehicle 10B that an accident has occurred. When the accident detection unit 111B detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage and determines, based on the key position information obtained from the key position detection unit 115, that the key is not in the vicinity of the vehicle 10B (the driver of the vehicle 10B is not in the vicinity of the vehicle), the accident information collection device 1B transmits information that an accident has occurred to the driver's mobile terminal or the like. This allows the driver to be made aware of the occurrence of an accident even if the driver is at a location away from the vehicle 10B.

[0075] <Variation 1> When providing the accident information to the server device 300, the accident information collection device 1 described above may also transmit information that an accident has occurred in the vehicle 10 to the driver's mobile terminal. When the control unit 113 of the accident information collection device 1 controls the provision of accident information to the server device 300, it checks the contact information of the owner information stored in the vehicle information and transmits information that an accident has occurred to the user via the communication unit 200. This ensures that the driver is aware that an accident involving damage has occurred.

[0076] <Variation 2> The accident detection unit 111 of the above-described accident information collection device 1 may detect an accident by changing the acceleration threshold for detecting the occurrence of an accident while the vehicle 10 is traveling or parked. In other words, since there is a large difference between the acceleration that occurs when the driver of a nearby vehicle 20 opens the door and the door hits the parked vehicle 10, and the acceleration that occurs when two vehicles hit each other while driving, the acceleration threshold for determining that an accident has occurred is changed depending on the driving state of the vehicle. This allows the accident information collection device 1 to detect an accident even if the collision is minor.

[0077] The accident information collection device 1 of the present invention can be realized by recording the processing of the accident detection unit 111 and control unit 113 of the above-mentioned accident information collection device 1 on a recording medium readable by a computer system, and loading and executing the program recorded on this recording medium into memory. The computer system here includes the OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

[0078] If the above computer system uses a WWW (World Wide Web) system, it also includes the homepage providing environment (or display environment). The above program may be transmitted from a computer system in which the program is stored in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. The transmission medium for transmitting the above-mentioned program refers to a medium having a function for transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.

[0079] The above program may be for realizing part of the above-mentioned functions. The above program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0080] The above has described in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but all accident information collection devices that can be implemented by a person skilled in the art by making appropriate design modifications based on the accident information collection device described above as an embodiment of the present invention also fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they include the gist of the present invention. Within the scope of the concept of the present invention, a person skilled in the art may conceive of various modifications and alterations, and it is understood that these modifications and alterations also fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, any embodiment in which a person skilled in the art has appropriately added or deleted components or modified the design, or added or omitted steps or modified conditions, is included within the scope of the present invention as long as it contains the essence of the present invention.

[0081] Furthermore, other effects and advantages brought about by the aspects described in this embodiment that are clear from the description in this specification or that can be appropriately thought of by a person skilled in the art are naturally understood to be brought about by the present invention. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

[0082] <Additional notes> [Additional note 1] A vehicle accident information collection device comprising a controller, a communication unit, and an imaging device, wherein the controller includes one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, the one or more memories including storage for storing host vehicle information including registration information regarding the host vehicle, and when the one or more processors detect the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on external image information of the host vehicle captured by the imaging device, determine whether the host vehicle is the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle, and if it determines that the host vehicle is the offending vehicle, cause surrounding vehicles to transmit the host vehicle information via the communication unit, and if it determines that the host vehicle is the victim vehicle, cause surrounding vehicle information to be received from the surrounding vehicles via the communication unit, and provide accident information linked to the accident occurrence information, position information of the host vehicle, the determination result of whether the host vehicle is the offending vehicle or the victim vehicle, and the host vehicle information and the surrounding vehicle information to a server device via the communication unit. [Additional note 2] a communication unit that transmits the host vehicle information to vehicles surrounding the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles; and a control unit that controls the processing of the accident detection unit, the location information acquisition unit, and the communication unit; wherein, when an accident involving vehicle damage occurs in the accident detection unit, the control unit causes the surrounding vehicles to transmit the host vehicle information via the communication unit and receives the surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, generates accident information that links the accident occurrence information, the location information of the host vehicle, the host vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to a server device via the communication unit. [Additional note 3] A vehicle including a vehicle accident information collection device and an imaging device, wherein the vehicle accident information collection device includes an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on external image information of the host vehicle captured by the imaging device, a position information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system to acquire position information of the host vehicle at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident, a storage unit that stores host vehicle information including registration information regarding the host vehicle, a communication unit that transmits the host vehicle information to vehicles surrounding the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, and a determination unit that determines whether the host vehicle is a causing vehicle or a victim vehicle when the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage is detected in the accident detection unit, the accident detection unit, and the position information acquisition unit. A vehicle including an information acquisition unit, a communication unit, and a control unit that controls the processing of the determination unit, wherein when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident, if the determination unit determines that the vehicle is the offending vehicle, the control unit causes the communication unit to transmit the vehicle information to the surrounding vehicles, and if the determination unit determines that the vehicle is the victim vehicle, the control unit causes the communication unit to receive the surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, and generates accident information that links the accident occurrence information, the position information of the vehicle, information related to the determination result of the determination unit, the vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and provides the accident information to a server device via the communication unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 1. Accident information collection device 10;Own vehicle 20; Peripheral vehicles 100;controller 110;processor 111; Accident detection section 112;Location information acquisition unit 113;Control unit 114; Judgment section 115: Key position detection unit 120;Memory 121;Memory part 200;Communications Department 300; Server device 400;Network 500;Accelerometer 600: Imaging device 700;Smart key

Claims

1. an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage using a sensor; a location information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information of the vehicle at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident; a storage unit that stores host vehicle information including registration information related to the host vehicle; a communication unit that transmits the host vehicle information to surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles; a control unit that controls the processing of the accident detection unit, the location information acquisition unit, and the communication unit; Including, When the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident involving damage to the vehicle, the control unit causes the nearby vehicles to transmit the host vehicle information and receive the nearby vehicle information from the nearby vehicles via the communication unit, A vehicle accident information collection device characterized by generating accident information that links the accident occurrence information, the vehicle's location information, the vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and providing the accident information to a server device via the communication unit.

2. the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on external image information of the host vehicle captured by an imaging device; the host vehicle information includes external image information of the host vehicle; The vehicle accident information collecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the surrounding vehicle information includes external image information of the surrounding vehicle.

3. an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage based on external image information of the host vehicle captured by the imaging device; a location information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information of the vehicle at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident; a storage unit that stores host vehicle information including registration information related to the host vehicle; a communication unit that transmits the host vehicle information to surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles; a determination unit that determines whether the host vehicle is a causing vehicle or a damaged vehicle when the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage is detected by the accident detection unit; a control unit that controls the processing of the accident detection unit, the location information acquisition unit, the communication unit, and the determination unit; Including, When the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident, if the determination unit determines that the host vehicle is the offending vehicle, the control unit causes the nearby vehicles to transmit the host vehicle information via the communication unit; When the determination unit determines that the vehicle is the victim vehicle, the communication unit receives the surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicle, A vehicle accident information collection device characterized by generating accident information that links the accident occurrence information, the vehicle's location information, information regarding the judgment result of the judgment unit, the vehicle's information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and providing the accident information to a server device via the communication unit.

4. 4. The vehicle accident information gathering device according to claim 3, wherein the subject vehicle information or the surrounding vehicle information includes location information of a key of the subject vehicle or the surrounding vehicle.

5. 5. The vehicle accident information collection device according to claim 4, wherein when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident involving damage to the vehicle and determines based on the key position information that the key for the vehicle is not present in the vicinity of the vehicle, the control unit provides the driver of the vehicle with information that an accident has occurred.

6. A controller, a communication unit, a sensor, Equipped with the controller includes one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors; the one or more memories a storage for storing host vehicle information including registration information relating to the host vehicle; the one or more processors: When the sensor detects the occurrence of an accident involving vehicle damage, the communication unit transmits the host vehicle information to surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle and receives surrounding vehicle information from the surrounding vehicles, A vehicle accident information collection device characterized by generating accident information that links the accident occurrence information, the vehicle's location information, the vehicle information, and the surrounding vehicle information, and providing the accident information to a server device via the communication unit.

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