Vehicle surroundings monitoring device

Abstract

This device provides a way to suppress unnecessary recording at the user's home by not recording the surrounding environment of the vehicle when it is determined through radio wave reception that the vehicle is parked at the user's home. [Solution] A vehicle surroundings monitoring device that records the surrounding environment of a parked vehicle using an in-vehicle camera, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is parked at the user's home by receiving radio waves; and a recording control unit that does not record the surrounding environment of the vehicle if the determination unit determines that the vehicle is parked at the user's home.

Description

【Technical Field】 【0001】 The present invention relates to a vehicle surrounding monitoring device. 【Background Art】 【0002】 Conventionally, as a technical document related to a vehicle surrounding monitoring device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-200612 is known. This publication discloses a technique for canceling automatic recording of a drive recorder based on the position information of the own vehicle and the information of pre-registered non-recording points in the parking monitoring function of the drive recorder. 【Prior Art Document】 【Patent Document】 【0003】 【Patent Document 1】 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-200612 【Summary of the Invention】 【Problems to be Solved by the Invention】 【0004】 However, in position determination by GNSS [Global Navigation Satellite System], due to the coarseness of position accuracy, it is not possible to cancel recording of the drive recorder within an appropriate range, and there are cases where recording is canceled even at places where recording should be performed. 【Means for Solving the Problems】 【0005】 One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle surrounding monitoring device that records the surrounding environment of a parked vehicle using an in-vehicle camera, and includes a determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is parked at the user's home by receiving radio waves, and a recording control unit that does not record the surrounding environment of the vehicle when the determination unit determines that the vehicle is parked at the user's home. 【Effects of the Invention】 【0006】 According to each aspect of the present invention, when it is determined by radio wave reception that the vehicle is parked at the user's home, recording of the surrounding environment of the vehicle is not performed, thereby suppressing unnecessary recording at home. [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0007】 [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of a vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] (a) This diagram illustrates an example of a misidentification that may occur when determining whether a vehicle is parked at home using location information obtained via GNSS. (b) This diagram illustrates an example of determining whether a vehicle is parked at home using the home Wi-Fi signal. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of vehicle surroundings monitoring processing. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram of a vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of vehicle surroundings monitoring processing according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention] 【0008】 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 【0009】 [First Embodiment] The vehicle surrounding monitoring device 100 shown in Figure 1 is a device mounted on a vehicle that monitors the surrounding environment of a parked vehicle. The vehicle surrounding monitoring device 100 has the function of capturing and recording images of the surrounding environment when the vehicle is parked. The vehicle surrounding monitoring device 100 may also be configured as a drive recorder. 【0010】 The vehicle surroundings monitoring device 100 includes a front camera 1, a rear camera 2, a left-side camera 3, a right-side camera 4, a radio wave receiving unit 5, and an ECU 10 (Electronic Control Unit) that controls them. The ECU 10 has a determination unit 11 and a recording control unit 12. 【0011】 Front camera 1 is an in-vehicle camera installed to photograph the area in front of the vehicle. Front camera 1 plays a role in monitoring obstacles and conditions in the direction of travel of the vehicle. Front camera 1 is typically mounted on the front grille or behind the windshield of the vehicle. 【0012】 Rear camera 2 is an on-board camera installed to capture images of the area behind the vehicle. Rear camera 2 plays a role in monitoring obstacles and conditions behind the vehicle when parking or reversing. Rear camera 2 is typically mounted on the rear bumper or above the rear window of the vehicle. 【0013】 The left-side camera 3 and the right-side camera 4 are on-board cameras installed to capture images of the left and right sides of the vehicle, respectively. The left-side camera 3 and the right-side camera 4 play a role in monitoring approaching objects and situations from the sides. The left-side camera 3 and the right-side camera 4 are typically mounted on the vehicle's side mirrors or door panels. 【0014】 The radio wave receiver 5 is a device for receiving radio waves such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The radio wave receiver 5 can distinguish between received radio waves. When the radio wave receiver 5 detects the reception of a radio wave that has been pre-registered as the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth radio wave, it transmits the detection result to the ECU 10. This allows the ECU 10 to determine whether or not the vehicle is parked at the user's home. 【0015】 The ECU10 is an electronic control unit having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory unit. The memory unit consists of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The ECU10 implements various functions by, for example, executing programs stored in the memory unit with the CPU. The ECU10 may be composed of multiple electronic units. 【0016】 Next, the functional configuration of the ECU 10 will be described. The ECU 10 includes a determination unit 11 and a recording control unit 12. 【0017】 The determination unit 11 makes a determination regarding the recording of the surrounding monitoring by the vehicle surrounding monitoring device 100 when the vehicle is parked. The determination unit 11 detects the on / off state of the vehicle ignition and determines whether the vehicle is parked. 【0018】 In addition, the determination unit 11 determines whether the vehicle is parked at the user's home. Hereinafter, the function of the determination unit 11 will be described in detail while referring to FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b). 【0019】 FIG. 2(a) shows an example of a case where the determination of whether the vehicle is parked at home is made based on the position information by GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) in a conventional device. GPS (Global Positioning System) is an example of GNSS. In GNSS, the determination range of the position is widened in order to absorb the positioning error and to cope with places where pinpoint positioning should not be performed, such as company parking lots. Thus, since the home determination range G by GNSS is wide, there are cases where it is misjudged as being around the home even in the parking lot of a store near the home. For example, even when the vehicle D is parked in the parking lot of a convenience store C near the home M, it is included within the home determination range G, so it may be misjudged that the vehicle is parked at home and the recording may be canceled. 【0020】 On the other hand, FIG. 2(b) shows an example of a case where the determination of whether the vehicle is parked at home is made based on the radio wave of the home Wi-Fi. In this case, since the home radio wave reception range W is narrow, the misjudgment is reduced. The home radio wave reception range W is a range where the radio wave of the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth reaches. 【0021】 Specifically, the determination unit 11 analyzes the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth radio waves received via the radio wave receiving unit 5, and determines that the vehicle is parked at home when the radio waves of the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth are received. Thus, even when the vehicle D is parked in the parking lot of the convenience store C near the home M, since it is outside the home radio wave reception range W, it will not be erroneously determined that the vehicle is parked at home. The determination unit 11 accurately determines whether the vehicle is parked at home in this way. 【0022】 The recording control unit 12 is responsible for controlling the recording of the vehicle's surrounding environment. The recording control unit 12 starts and stops recording based on an instruction from the determination unit 11. Specifically, the recording control unit 12 receives the determination result from the determination unit 11 when the vehicle parks. When the determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle is parked at the user's home, the recording control unit 12 controls not to record the surrounding environment of the vehicle. 【0023】 On the other hand, when the determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle is parked at a place other than home, the recording control unit 12 starts recording the surrounding environment of the vehicle. Thereby, the situation around the parked vehicle can be recorded, and the safety of the vehicle can be improved. For example, it is possible to record illegal acts such as mischief or theft in the parking lot and check them later. 【0024】 The recording control unit 12 integrates the video data from the front camera 1, the rear camera 2, the left side camera 3, and the right side camera 4, and performs recording as necessary. Thereby, it is possible to record the entire surrounding area of the vehicle, and comprehensive monitoring is realized. 【0025】 Furthermore, the recording control unit 12 also stores and manages the recording data. The recording data is generally set to be stored for a certain period and then automatically overwritten. Thereby, necessary data can be efficiently managed, and the storage capacity can be optimized. 【0026】 Next, the vehicle surroundings monitoring process of the vehicle surroundings monitoring device 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example of the vehicle surroundings monitoring process. 【0027】 As shown in Figure 3, first, the ECU 10 determines whether the vehicle's ignition has been turned off (step S10). If the vehicle's ignition has been turned off (step S10: YES), the ECU 10 proceeds to step S11. If the ignition is not turned off (step S10: NO), the ECU 10 does not start the vehicle surroundings monitoring process. 【0028】 Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not it has received the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal via the determination unit 11 (step S11). The determination unit 11 determines whether or not the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal has been received via the radio wave receiving unit 5. 【0029】 If ECU10 determines that it has received a signal from the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (step S11: YES), it proceeds to step S12, assuming the vehicle is parked at home. If ECU10 does not determine that it has received a signal from the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (step S11: NO), it proceeds to step S13, assuming the vehicle is not parked at home. 【0030】 In step S12, the ECU 10 cancels the recording of the vehicle's surrounding environment using the recording control unit 12. This prevents unnecessary recording around the user's home. After that, the ECU 10 terminates the vehicle surrounding environment monitoring process. 【0031】 In step S13, the ECU 10 initiates recording of the vehicle's surrounding environment via the recording control unit 12. The recording control unit 12 records images captured by the front camera 1, rear camera 2, left-side camera 3, and right-side camera 4 until, for example, a predetermined time has elapsed or the vehicle's ignition is turned on. After that, the ECU 10 terminates the current vehicle surrounding environment monitoring process. 【0032】 According to the vehicle surroundings monitoring device 100 of the first embodiment described above, if it is determined by receiving radio waves that the vehicle is parked at the user's home, recording of the surrounding environment of the vehicle is not performed, thereby suppressing unnecessary recording at home. Furthermore, since it determines whether or not the vehicle is parked at home by receiving Wi-Fi or Bluetooth radio waves from the home, accurate determination is possible without requiring additional location information acquisition means, contributing to system simplification and cost reduction. 【0033】 Furthermore, because Bluetooth uses smaller transmitters than Wi-Fi, it's easy to increase the area where recording is canceled by installing them in multiple locations. This makes it easy to install them not only at home but also in places like workplace parking lots. 【0034】 [Second Embodiment] Next, the vehicle surrounding monitoring device 200 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle surrounding monitoring device 200 according to the second embodiment differs from the vehicle surrounding monitoring device 100 according to the first embodiment in that it uses GNSS (GPS) to determine if the vehicle is parked at home. If the vehicle surrounding monitoring device 200 does not receive home signals such as Wi-Fi, and determines that the vehicle is parked at home using GNSS location information, it will ask the user whether or not recording is necessary. 【0035】 Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a vehicle surroundings monitoring device 200 according to the second embodiment. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device 200 shown in Figure 4 includes a GNSS receiver 6 and an HMI 7 (Human Machine Interface). The GNSS receiver 6 measures the vehicle's position (e.g., the vehicle's latitude and longitude) by receiving signals from positioning satellites. The GNSS receiver 6 transmits the measured vehicle position information to the ECU 20. 【0036】 The HMI7 is an interface for inputting and outputting information between the ECU20 and the user. The HMI7 includes, for example, a display and speakers located inside the vehicle cabin. The HMI7 outputs images from the display and audio from the speakers in response to control signals from the ECU20. The display may be a MID (Multi-Information Display) or a HUD (Head-Up Display). The HMI7 may also include various indicators. 【0037】 In the ECU20, if the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal is not received when the vehicle is parked, and the vehicle's location information measured by the GNSS receiver 6 falls within a pre-set home location range G, the determination unit 21 will contact the user via the HMI7 to inquire whether recording is necessary. 【0038】 The home detection range G is a range set to determine whether the vehicle is parked at the user's home based on GNSS location information (see Figure 2(a)). For example, the home detection range G is an area within a certain radius centered on the user's home location. The user may be asked whether recording is necessary by displaying text on the HMI7 display, by voice, or by using both images and voice. The user's selection may be made by button operation, touch panel operation, or by voice recognition. 【0039】 The recording control unit 22 starts recording the vehicle's surrounding environment if the user selects via the HMI 7 that recording is required. The recording control unit 22 cancels recording of the vehicle's surrounding environment if the user selects via the HMI 7 that recording is not required. 【0040】 Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the vehicle surroundings monitoring process of the vehicle surroundings monitoring device 200 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, first, the ECU 20 determines whether or not the vehicle ignition has been turned off (step S20). If the vehicle ignition has been turned off (step S20: YES), the ECU 20 proceeds to step S21. If the ignition is not turned off (step S20: NO), the ECU 20 does not start the vehicle surroundings monitoring process. 【0041】 Next, the ECU 20 determines whether or not it has received the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal via the determination unit 21 (step S21). The determination unit 21 determines whether or not the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal has been received via the radio wave receiving unit 5. 【0042】 If ECU20 determines that it has received a signal from the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (step S21: YES), it proceeds to step S25, assuming the vehicle is parked at home. If ECU20 does not determine that it has received a signal from the home Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (step S21: NO), it proceeds to step S22, assuming the vehicle is not parked at home. 【0043】 In step S22, the ECU 20 determines whether the vehicle's location information measured by the GNSS receiver 6 is within the home location range G using the determination unit 21. If the ECU 20 determines that the vehicle's location information is within the home location range G (step S22: YES), it proceeds to step S23. If the ECU 20 determines that the vehicle's location information is not within the home location range G (step S22: NO), it proceeds to step S26. 【0044】 In step S23, the ECU20 prompts the user to confirm whether recording is necessary. The ECU20 prompts the user to confirm whether recording is necessary by displaying an image (including text) on the HMI7's display and outputting audio from the speaker. After that, the ECU20 proceeds to step S24. 【0045】 In step S24, the ECU20 determines whether the user has selected "no recording required". If the user has selected "no recording required" (step S24: YES), the ECU20 proceeds to step S25. If the user has not selected "no recording required" (step S24: NO), the ECU20 proceeds to step S26. If the user has not selected "no recording required," this may include cases where a certain period of time has elapsed without the user performing any operations. 【0046】 In step S25, the ECU 20 cancels the recording of the vehicle's surrounding environment using the recording control unit 22. This prevents unnecessary recording around the user's home. After that, the ECU 20 terminates the vehicle surrounding environment monitoring process. 【0047】 In step S26, the ECU 20 starts recording the vehicle's surrounding environment via the recording control unit 22. The recording control unit 22 records images captured by the front camera 1, rear camera 2, left side camera 3, and right side camera 4 until, for example, a predetermined time has elapsed or the vehicle's ignition is turned on. After that, the ECU 20 terminates the current vehicle surrounding environment monitoring process. 【0048】 According to the vehicle surrounding monitoring device 200 of the second embodiment described above, when the vehicle receives Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals from the user's home while parked, it is determined that the vehicle is parked at the user's home and recording is not performed, thereby preventing recording cancellations in locations where recording should be performed due to the coarseness of the position accuracy provided by GNSS. Furthermore, if the home Wi-Fi signal is not received and the vehicle's location information falls within a pre-set home determination range, the device can ask the user whether or not recording is necessary, thereby improving the accuracy of location determination while simultaneously suppressing unnecessary recordings and ensuring necessary recordings. 【0049】 Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. The present invention can be implemented in various forms, starting with the embodiments described above, by making various changes and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. 【0050】 The on-board cameras used in the vehicle surrounding monitoring devices 100 and 200 do not necessarily need to be installed to capture images of the entire area around the vehicle. The on-board cameras may consist of only the front camera 1, or only the front camera 1 and the rear camera 2. It is not necessarily required to ask the user whether or not recording is required. [Explanation of symbols] 【0051】 1...Front camera, 2...Rear camera, 3...Left side camera, 4...Right side camera, 5...Radio wave receiver, 6...GNSS receiver, 10,20...ECU, 11,21...Determination unit, 12,22...Recording control unit, 100,200...Vehicle surroundings monitoring device.

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle surroundings monitoring device that uses an in-vehicle camera to record the surrounding environment of a parked vehicle, A determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is parked at the user's home by receiving radio waves, If the determination unit determines that the vehicle is parked at the user's home, the recording control unit will not record the surrounding environment of the vehicle. A vehicle surroundings monitoring device equipped with the following features. [Claim 2] The aforementioned radio waves are the Wi-Fi signals from the home, The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the vehicle is parked at the home if it receives the home's Wi-Fi signal when the vehicle is parked. [Claim 3] The system further includes a GNSS receiving unit that acquires the vehicle's position information using radio waves from positioning satellites. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit, when the home Wi-Fi signal is not received when the vehicle is parked, and the vehicle's location information falls within a pre-set home determination range, inquires with the user whether or not recording is necessary. [Claim 4] The aforementioned radio waves are the Bluetooth radio waves from the aforementioned home. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the vehicle is parked at the home when it receives Bluetooth signals from the home while the vehicle is parked. [Claim 5] The system further includes a GNSS receiving unit that acquires the vehicle's position information using radio waves from positioning satellites. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit, when the Bluetooth signal from the home is not received when the vehicle is parked, and the location information of the vehicle falls within a pre-set home determination range, inquires with the user whether or not recording is necessary.

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