Information recording device, information recording method, and program for information recording

Abstract

To provide an information recording device capable of securely recording necessary recording information while suppressing unnecessary power consumption.SOLUTION: When recording control over a recording part R for recording information is controlled according to detected acceleration, at least one of image information and sound information is acquired as recording information, and after electric power supply from outside is stopped, a power source is stopped a present standby time later. At this time, the standby time can be prolonged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the technical fields of an information recording device, an information recording method, and an information recording program. More specifically, the present application relates to an information recording device and an information recording method for recording image information and the like, and a program for the information recording device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, so-called drive recorders have been installed in vehicles, for example, for safety purposes. Patent Document 1 below is an example of a prior art document disclosing conventional technology related to such drive recorders. In the technology described in Patent Document 1, the drive recorder includes a delay circuit that delays (continues) the supply of power to the drive recorder itself by using a battery, for example, after the vehicle in which the drive recorder is installed is stopped and, for example, an ACC (Accessory) switch is turned off. With this configuration, even when the vehicle is stopped, information required for the next startup of the drive recorder can be recorded in a temporary recording medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the recorded information can also be recorded (transferred) to a non-volatile recording medium. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-141214 A (for example, paragraphs

[0073] and

[0074] of the specification) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, even with the technology described in Patent Document 1, if a situation arises in which it becomes necessary to record new information while the power supply is delayed after the ACC switch is turned off, the delay time may be insufficient and the new information may not be recorded / saved, or some of the information may be recorded / saved but the rest may not be recorded / saved to the end.

[0005] As a countermeasure to prevent the information that should be recorded from not being recorded, it is possible to set the delay time to be uniformly long by the required amount, but in this case, it is necessary to set a long delay time every time even when there is no need to record the other information, which poses the problem of unnecessary consumption of battery power.

[0006] Therefore, the present application has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and one example of the object of the application is to provide an information recording device and information recording method, as well as a program for the information recording device, that can reliably record necessary recording information while suppressing unnecessary power consumption. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is an information recording device that controls the recording of recorded information to a recording means based on detected acceleration, and is equipped with an acquisition means that acquires at least one of image information and sound information as the recorded information, and a stop control means that stops the power supply when a preset standby time has elapsed after external power supply has stopped, and is configured so that the standby time can be extended.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 3 is an information recording device that controls the recording of record information to a recording means based on detected acceleration, and is equipped with an acquisition means and a stop control means.In this information recording method executed in the information recording device, the information recording device includes: an acquisition step in which the acquisition means acquires at least one of image information and sound information as the record information; and a stop control step in which the stop control means stops the power supply after a preset standby time has elapsed after external power supply has stopped, and the standby time is configured to be extendable.

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 4 is an information recording program that causes a computer included in an information recording device that controls the recording of recorded information to a recording means based on detected acceleration to function as an acquisition means that acquires at least one of image information and sound information as the recorded information, and as a stop control means that stops the power supply when a preset standby time has elapsed after external power supply has stopped, and is configured so that the standby time can be extended. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information recording apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive recorder according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a recording process according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams specifically illustrating storage times and the like according to an embodiment, where FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a first example, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a second example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information recording apparatus according to the embodiment.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording device S according to the embodiment is configured to include an acquisition means 1, a detection means 2, a recording control means 3 connected to a recording means R, and a stop control means 4.

[0013] In this configuration, the acquisition means 1 acquires at least one of image information and sound information as record information.

[0014] On the other hand, the detection means 2 detects the applied acceleration.

[0015] As a result, the recording control means 3 starts recording the record information into the recording means R when the applied acceleration is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

[0016] Then, the stop control means 4 stops the power supply when a preset standby time has elapsed after the external power supply has stopped, and if acceleration equal to or greater than the threshold is detected within the standby time, the stop control means 4 extends the standby time.

[0017] As described above, according to the operation of the information recording device S of the embodiment, at least one of image information and sound information is acquired as recording information, and when the applied acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, recording of the recording information to the recording means R is initiated. Meanwhile, after the external power supply is stopped, the power supply is stopped when a predetermined standby time has elapsed. Then, when acceleration equal to or greater than the threshold is detected during the standby time, the standby time is extended. Therefore, when acceleration equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold is detected during the standby time after the external power supply is stopped, the standby time is extended and power supply to the recording control means 3 is continued. Therefore, when acceleration equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold is detected due to, for example, sudden acceleration or deceleration, recording information that will be needed later can be reliably recorded. Furthermore, because the standby time is extended when acceleration equal to or greater than the threshold is detected during the standby time, unnecessary power consumption due to extending the standby time can be suppressed. [Example]

[0018] Next, specific examples corresponding to the above-described embodiments will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. The examples described below are examples in which the present application is applied to a drive recorder whose imaging range is, for example, the front or interior of a vehicle or the like.

[0019] 2 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of a drive recorder according to an embodiment, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing recording processing according to an embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of storage times, etc. In FIG. 2, the same component numbers as those of the information recording device S according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are used for the components of the embodiment corresponding to the components of the information recording device S.

[0020] The drive recorder according to the embodiment is mounted on, for example, a vehicle, and captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle. As shown in Fig. 2, the drive recorder DR according to the embodiment includes a power receiving unit 11 connected to an external power source EB, such as a vehicle battery; a battery unit B provided in the drive recorder DR itself and including a battery main body and its control unit; an operation unit 10 including operation buttons; a camera unit 1 including a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor; an impact detection unit 2 including, for example, a two-axis or three-axis acceleration sensor; a status management unit 3 including a CPU, RAM, and ROM (Read Only Memory); a power management unit 12; and a recording unit R including a volatile unit RA including RAM and a non-volatile unit RO including an SSD (Solid State Drive) or HDD (Hard Disc Drive). An example of the external power source EB is the external power source EB (in other words, the battery of the vehicle itself) connected to the power receiving unit 11 via, for example, a cigarette lighter socket of the vehicle in which the drive recorder DR is mounted. Furthermore, the camera unit 1 corresponds to an example of the acquisition means 1 according to the embodiment, the impact detection unit 2 corresponds to an example of the detection means 2 according to the embodiment, and the recording unit R corresponds to an example of the recording means R according to the embodiment. Furthermore, the status management unit 3 corresponds to an example of the recording control means 3 and an example of the stop control means 4 according to the embodiment, the battery unit B corresponds to an example of the "battery means" according to the present application, and the power management unit 12 corresponds to an example of the "remaining power amount detection means" according to the present application. Furthermore, in Figure 2, components of the drive recorder DR that correspond to an example of the information recording device S according to the embodiment are indicated by dashed lines.

[0021] In this configuration, when the power receiving unit 11 is able to receive power from the external power source EB, it receives the power under the control of the state management unit 3 and distributes / supplies the necessary power to each component of the drive recorder DR, such as the camera unit 1 and the impact detection unit 2. Furthermore, when the power receiving unit 11 is no longer able to receive power from the external power source EB, for example, because the physical connection with the external power source EB is severed, the power receiving unit 11 generates a power interruption signal indicating this and outputs it to the state management unit 3. Here, cases in which the physical connection with the external power source EB is severed may include, for example, when the plug-in portion of the cigarette lighter socket falls out due to an impact caused by sudden acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle, or when the plug-in portion is manually removed.

[0022] Meanwhile, under the control of the state management unit 3, the camera unit 1 captures, for example, an image of the area ahead of the vehicle in which the drive recorder DR is mounted, and continues to output image information corresponding to the captured image to the volatilization unit RA of the recording unit R after the start of power supply via the power receiving unit 11. The state management unit 3 then controls the recording unit R so that the image information is temporarily recorded in the volatilization unit RA for, for example, 12 seconds from the time the image information is recorded, and thereafter, the image information is erased from the volatilization unit RA in order, starting with the oldest image information, every time new image information is recorded. Through the above control of the state management unit 3, for example, the most recent 12 seconds' worth of image information is temporarily recorded in the volatilization unit RA while being constantly updated.

[0023] Next, the status management unit 3 normally receives the power required for its operation from the external power source EB via the power receiving unit 11. On the other hand, when the status management unit 3 receives the power cutoff signal from the power receiving unit 11, it controls the battery unit B to start supplying power to the power receiving unit 11. As a result, the power receiving unit 11 distributes / supplies the power supplied from the battery unit B to each of the above-mentioned components until a preset standby time has elapsed. At this time, the power management unit 12 monitors the remaining power amount in the battery unit B, and successively generates a remaining power signal indicating the remaining power amount and outputs it to the status management unit 3.

[0024] The preset standby time is the time required to record information needed for the next startup of the drive recorder DR in the non-volatile storage RO of the recording unit R when a power cutoff signal indicates that the drive recorder DR is no longer able to receive power from the external power source EB. Specifically, this standby time is, for example, one second. The "information needed for the next startup" includes, for example, configuration information for the drive recorder DR at the time when power supply from the external power source EB is cut off, location information indicating the drive recorder's location at that time, or a portion of the image information (e.g., one screen's worth of image information) that was recorded in the volatile storage RO at that time. In the following description, the information needed for the next startup will be simply referred to as "next startup information." The status management unit 3 controls the recording unit R, the camera unit 1, and the like so that the next startup information is recorded in the non-volatile storage RO within the standby time.

[0025] On the other hand, when the impact detection unit 2 detects that acceleration of a preset magnitude and direction has been applied to the drive recorder DR (in other words, the vehicle in which the drive recorder DR is mounted), it generates a detection signal indicating this and outputs it to the status management unit 3. This detection signal is a signal that means that acceleration of the preset magnitude and direction has been applied due to an impact caused by, for example, sudden acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle.

[0026] If the detection signal is output from the impact detection unit 2 within the standby time, the state management unit 3 controls the power receiving unit 11 and the power management unit 12 to extend the standby time and distribute / supply power from the battery unit B. As a result, the power management unit 12 controls the battery unit B to distribute / supply power up to a storage time (e.g., 20 seconds) to which the standby time is extended, which will be described later.

[0027] Then, at the storage time corresponding to the timing at which the detection signal is output, the state management unit 3 records, in the non-volatile unit RO of the recording unit R, the image information temporarily recorded in the volatile unit RA at that time and, for example, 8 seconds' worth of image information immediately after the timing at which the detection signal is output. At this time, the image information temporarily recorded in the volatile unit RA at that time is transferred from the volatile unit RA to the non-volatile unit RO, while the image information immediately after that time is recorded directly from the camera unit 1 to the non-volatile unit RO. Since, at the time at which the detection signal is output, the image information immediately before that time is temporarily recorded in the volatile unit RA, for example, 12 seconds' worth of image information, resulting in a total of, for example, 20 seconds' worth of image information corresponding to the storage time, being recorded in the non-volatile unit RO around that time. Furthermore, the state management unit 3 controls the storage time itself and the recording times of the image information before and after the timing at which the detection signal is output, corresponding to the storage time, in the non-volatile unit RO, based on the remaining capacity signal from the power management unit 12.

[0028] After that, when the above-mentioned storage time has elapsed, the state management unit 3 stops the distribution / supply of power from the battery unit B and turns off the power supply of the entire drive recorder DR.

[0029] Next, the recording process of the image information in the non-volatile unit RO in the drive recorder DR according to the embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as the "recording process according to the embodiment") will be specifically described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. The recording process according to the embodiment is mainly executed by the status management unit 3.

[0030] The recording process according to the embodiment starts when the ACC switch of the vehicle equipped with the drive recorder DR is turned on while power is being supplied from the external power source EB via the power receiving unit 11. Then, while the drive recorder DR is operating (step S1), the state management unit 3 monitors whether or not it has become possible to receive power from the external power source EB based on the presence or absence of the power cutoff signal (step S2). If the power supply from the external power source EB is continuing in the monitoring of step S2 (step S2: NO), the state management unit 3 returns to step S1 and continues normal operation as the drive recorder DR.

[0031] On the other hand, if the power cutoff signal is detected during monitoring in step S2 (step S2: YES), the status management unit 3 switches to power supply from the battery unit B and waits for the drive recorder DR to be powered off (step S3), and further records the next startup information in the non-volatile unit RO during the waiting time (step S4).

[0032] Next, the state management unit 3 determines whether the detection signal has been output from the impact detection unit 2, in other words, whether the loss of power supply from the external power source EB monitored in step S2 is due to the vehicle suddenly accelerating or decelerating (step S5). If the detection signal has not been output in step S5 (step S5: NO), the state management unit 3 presumes that the loss of power supply from the external power source EB was caused by human error, and proceeds to step S9 (described later). On the other hand, if the detection signal has been output in step S5 (step S5: YES), the state management unit 3 extends the standby time so as to ensure the storage time (step S6). Then, the state management unit 3 starts recording the image information recorded in the volatile storage unit RA and the image information from the camera unit 1 (in other words, image information for the storage time including the timing at which the detection signal is output) in the non-volatile storage unit RO (step S7), and stops this process after recording the necessary amount of information (step S8). At this time, the status management unit 3 adjusts the recording time of the image information before the timing at which the detection signal is output (i.e., the transfer time from the volatile unit RA) and the recording time of the image information from the camera unit 1 after that timing based on the remaining capacity signal from the power management unit 12.

[0033] Here, the adjustment of each of the recording times will be specifically explained using Fig. 4. In Fig. 4, the remaining power amount of the battery B is represented as "remaining amount," the recording time of the image information before the timing when the detection signal is output is represented as "before detection," and the recording time of the image information after that timing is represented as "after detection."

[0034] As shown in FIG. 4(a), the retention time is controlled to vary based on the remaining power of the battery unit B. More specifically, the retention time is controlled to be shorter as the remaining power of the battery unit B decreases. For example, when the remaining power of the battery unit B is close to 100%, the retention time is set to 20 seconds as described above. In this case, within the retention time, the ratio between the recording time of the image information before the timing at which the detection signal is output and the recording time of the image information after the timing is set to approximately 3:2 (specifically, 12 seconds:8 seconds). Note that if a fractional part occurs in each recording time based on the above ratio, the respective recording times are set by, for example, rounding off. Furthermore, when the remaining power of the battery unit B is low at the timing at which the detection signal is output, and therefore the retention time must be shortened, the ratio of the respective recording times is set to, for example, approximately 1:1. Note that, as shown in FIG. 4(b), if a so-called margin of 2 seconds is added as the retention time, each of the above recording times is set to be approximately 1 second longer. The reason why the recording time of the image information before the timing at which the detection signal is output is set longer than the recording time of the image information after the timing is that, in order to investigate the cause of a sudden acceleration or deceleration after the occurrence of the sudden acceleration or deceleration, it is important to record the behavior of the vehicle up to the sudden acceleration or deceleration, such as the direction of travel of the vehicle immediately before the sudden acceleration or deceleration. Note that the relationship between the recording time of the image information before the timing at which the detection signal is output and the recording time of the image information after the sudden acceleration or deceleration can be set arbitrarily, and information indicating the set recording times is preferably recorded in, for example, the non-volatile memory RO in the form of a table as shown in Fig. 4. Furthermore, depending on the subsequent use of the image information recorded in the non-volatile memory RO, the recording time of the image information after the timing at which the detection signal is output may be set to zero and the recording time of the image information before the timing may be set to a longer time.

[0035] When the required amount of image information has been recorded in the non-volatile unit RO by the processing up to step S8 (see step S8), the state management unit 3 then determines whether the waiting time has elapsed (step S9). If the determination in step S9 is that the waiting time has not elapsed (step S9: NO), the state management unit 3 returns to step S3 and repeats the series of processing described above. On the other hand, if the image information has been recorded in the non-volatile unit RO, this means that the waiting time has also elapsed (step S9: YES), so the state management unit 3 turns off the power supply as the drive recorder DR (step S10) and ends the recording processing according to this embodiment.

[0036] As described above, according to the recording process of the embodiment, when acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined value is detected during the standby time, the standby time is extended and power supply from the battery B is continued, so that image information that will be needed later can be reliably recorded when acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined value is detected due to, for example, sudden acceleration or deceleration. Furthermore, since the standby time is extended when acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined value is detected during the standby time, it is possible to suppress unnecessary power consumption caused by extending the standby time when it is not necessary.

[0037] Furthermore, since the recording of image information continues until the end of the extended standby time (in other words, until the end of the storage time), it is possible to record image information corresponding to the desired recording time.

[0038] Furthermore, after the power supply from the external power source EB is stopped, power is supplied from the battery section B until the end of the standby time, so that the next startup information and image information can be reliably recorded until the end of the standby time.

[0039] In addition, the time corresponding to the extension of the standby time is controlled based on the remaining charge of the battery B, so that necessary information can be reliably recorded according to the remaining charge of the battery B. Furthermore, at this time, the time corresponding to the extension is controlled to be shorter as the remaining charge of the battery B decreases (see FIG. 4), so that necessary information can be more reliably recorded according to the remaining charge of the battery B.

[0040] Furthermore, within the storage time, the recording time for image information before the timing at which the detection signal is output is set to be longer than the recording time for image information after that timing, so that image information that will be required later in connection with the detection of acceleration above a predetermined value can be recorded more reliably.

[0041] Furthermore, since the image information is recorded in the nonvolatile section RO, it is possible to reliably record the image information after the acceleration equal to or greater than the predetermined value is applied.

[0042] In the above-described embodiment, the non-volatile section RO records the next startup information and image information, but in addition to this, audio information (sound information) from the same time period as the image information, and information indicating the specific value and direction of the acceleration detected by the impact detection section 2 may also be recorded.

[0043] In the above-described embodiment, the impact detection unit 2 generates a detection signal indicating that acceleration of a predetermined magnitude and direction is applied to the drive recorder DR (in other words, the vehicle in which the drive recorder DR is mounted) due to an impact caused by sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, etc. However, the impact detection unit 2 is only required to be able to generate a detection signal indicating that acceleration of a predetermined magnitude and direction is applied when it is detected that acceleration has been applied, regardless of whether it is sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration.

[0044] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, both the recording process during the standby time and the recording process during the extended storage time are performed using power supplied from the battery unit B. Alternatively, the recording process during the standby time may be performed using a delay circuit for powering off the drive recorder DR, and only the recording process during the storage time may be performed using power supplied from the battery unit B.

[0045] Furthermore, if the power supply of the drive recorder DR itself is turned off while image information is being recorded from the camera unit 1 to the non-volatile unit RO, it is preferable that the status management unit 3 transmits a signal to the camera unit 1 requesting that the recording be interrupted.

[0046] In addition, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 may be recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk or a hard disk, or may be obtained via a network such as the Internet, and then read and executed by a general-purpose microcomputer or the like, thereby causing the microcomputer or the like to function as the status management unit 3 according to the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Acquisition method (camera unit) 2. Detection means (impact detection unit) 3 Recording control means (status management unit) 4 Stop control means R Recording means (recording unit) S Information recording device B Battery section RA volatile part RO non-volatile part DR Drive Recorder EB external power supply

Claims

[Claim 1] An information recording device that controls recording of information to a recording means based on detected acceleration, an acquisition means for acquiring at least one of image information and sound information as the recorded information; a stop control means for stopping the power supply when a preset standby time has elapsed after the external power supply has stopped; Equipped with The information recording apparatus is characterized in that the stop control means extends the standby time when the acceleration equal to or greater than a preset threshold is detected during the standby time.

Images