In-vehicle drive recorder system

Abstract

To accurately detect contact with a parked own vehicle and record appropriate data related to the contact.SOLUTION: An in-vehicle dashboard camera system includes: a plurality of image capturing units for capturing images around an own vehicle; a recording unit for recording images captured by the plurality of image capturing units; a contact detection unit 210 for detecting contact of a parked own vehicle with a vehicle's body based on acceleration input from an acceleration detection unit that detects acceleration of the vehicle and the images captured by the plurality of image capturing units; and a recording control unit 220 for allowing the recording unit to record the captured images in a specific range of time before parking the own vehicle as a first specified image when the contact is detected by the contact detection unit 210, and record the image captured by the plurality of image capturing units after contact is detected as a second specified image until a predetermined condition is satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle drive recorder system. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses an assault detection device that takes and records images outside the vehicle for a predetermined period of time when it detects an impact to the vehicle. This assault detection device detects an impact to the vehicle when acceleration exceeding a predetermined threshold is applied to the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-302017 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when an impact on the vehicle is detected only based on a change in acceleration, as in the case of the injurious behavior detection device described in the above Patent Document 1, an event other than contact with the vehicle may be detected as an impact, for example, when the vehicle is parked and vibrates due to wind, etc. Therefore, when the impact is detected only based on a change in acceleration, it is difficult to accurately determine contact with the vehicle while parked, and it is difficult to record an appropriate image related to the contact.

[0005] In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle drive recorder system that can accurately detect contact with a parked vehicle and record appropriate data related to the contact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The in-vehicle drive recorder system according to the present invention as described in claim 1 includes a plurality of imaging units that capture images of the surroundings of the vehicle, a recording unit that records the images captured by the plurality of imaging units, a contact detection unit that detects contact with a vehicle body of the vehicle while parked based on the captured images and an acceleration input from an acceleration detection unit that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, and when the contact is detected by the contact detection unit, Among the captured images recorded in the recording unit, the captured images from a time prior to the time when the host vehicle was determined to be parked are and a recording control unit that causes the recording unit to record the captured image at a specific time as a first specific image, and causes the recording unit to record captured images captured by the multiple imaging units after the contact is detected as second specific images until a predetermined condition is satisfied.

[0007] According to the in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 1, the contact detection unit detects contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle based on the acceleration input from the acceleration detection unit that detects the acceleration of the vehicle and the captured images captured by the multiple imaging units. Therefore, contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle can be detected with higher accuracy than when contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle is detected based only on the acceleration.

[0008] In addition, the recording control unit, when the contact detection unit detects contact with the vehicle, Among the captured images recorded in the recording unit, those from the time when the vehicle was determined to be parked The recording unit records an image captured at a specific time as a first specific image. This makes it possible to record an adjacent vehicle that is already parked when parking the vehicle. The recording control unit also records images captured by the multiple imaging units after a contact with the vehicle is detected as a second specific image in the recording unit until a predetermined condition is satisfied. This makes it possible to record an adjacent vehicle parked next to the vehicle while the vehicle is parked. In this way, according to the in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 1, the recording control unit can record appropriate data related to the contact.

[0009] The in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention as described in claim 2 is the in-vehicle drive recorder system as described in claim 1, wherein the contact detection unit detects contact with the body of the parked vehicle when a moving object is detected within a specific distance from the vehicle in an image captured by the multiple imaging units when the change in acceleration becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0010] According to the in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 2, the contact detection unit detects contact with the body of the parked vehicle when a moving object is detected within a specific distance from the vehicle in the captured images captured by the multiple imaging units when the change in acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. That is, after determining that there is a possibility of contact with the body of the parked vehicle based on the change in acceleration, the contact detection unit detects that a moving object has entered within a specific distance from the vehicle based on the captured images. In this way, contact with the body of the parked vehicle can be detected based on the acceleration and the captured images, so that contact with the body of the parked vehicle can be detected more accurately than when contact with the body of the parked vehicle is detected based only on the acceleration.

[0011] The in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention as described in claim 3 is the in-vehicle drive recorder system as described in claim 2, wherein the specified condition is that, in an image captured by the multiple imaging units after the contact detection unit detects contact with the body of the host vehicle while parked, feature points of the moving object are extracted and tracked, and the feature points of the moving object that were being tracked are no longer extracted in the captured image.

[0012] According to the in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 3, the predetermined condition is that, in the captured images captured by the multiple imaging units after the contact detection unit detects contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle, the feature points of the moving object are extracted and tracked, and the feature points of the tracked moving object are no longer extracted in the captured images. This makes it possible to record the captured images until the adjacent vehicle parked adjacent to the parked vehicle moves away from the surroundings of the vehicle.

[0013] The in-vehicle drive recorder system according to the present invention described in claim 4 is the in-vehicle drive recorder system described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the predetermined threshold is set lower than normal while the host vehicle is parked.

[0014] According to the in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 4, the predetermined threshold value is set lower than normal while the vehicle is parked, so that the contact detection unit can detect even minute changes in acceleration, i.e., slight contact with the vehicle.

[0015] The vehicle-mounted drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 5 is an in-vehicle drive recorder system described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the recording control unit prohibits overwriting of the first specific image and the second specific image recorded in the recording unit.

[0016] According to the in-vehicle drive recorder system of the present invention described in claim 5, the recording control unit prevents the first specific image and the second specific image recorded in the recording unit from being overwritten, thereby ensuring that appropriate data related to the contact is recorded. Effect of the Invention

[0017] As described above, the in-vehicle drive recorder system according to the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to accurately detect contact with the host vehicle while parked, and to record appropriate data relating to the contact. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an in-vehicle drive recorder system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining contact detection by a contact detection unit; FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining recording of a first specific image. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) for explaining recording of a second specific image. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) for explaining recording of a second specific image. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram (part 3) for explaining recording of a second specific image. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart for explaining control by the control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] An in-vehicle drive recorder system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 9. In the following description, when the front-rear, left-right, top-bottom directions are indicated, these directions are intended to indicate the front-rear, left-right, top-bottom directions of the vehicle, and the arrow FR shown in each figure indicates the forward direction in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the arrow RH indicates the rightward direction in the vehicle width direction.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle-mounted drive recorder system 10 of this embodiment includes an acceleration sensor 12, a surroundings monitoring camera 14, a recording unit 16, and a control device 20.

[0021] The acceleration sensor 12 is an acceleration detection unit that detects the acceleration of a vehicle 40 (hereinafter referred to as "host vehicle 40") equipped with the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10. The acceleration sensor 12 outputs the detected acceleration to the control device 20. This acceleration sensor 12 may be configured integrally with the main body of the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10. In addition, this acceleration sensor 12 may be an acceleration sensor fixed to the body of the host vehicle 40.

[0022] The periphery monitoring camera 14 is a camera that captures images of the periphery of the vehicle 40, and includes a plurality of imaging units that are constituted by color CCD (Charge Coupled Device) cameras and the like. In this embodiment, the plurality of imaging units include a front camera 14A that captures images in front of the vehicle 40, a rear camera 14B that captures images behind the vehicle 40, a right side camera 14C that captures images on the right side of the vehicle 40, and a left side camera 14D that captures images on the left side of the vehicle 40. The front camera 14A, the rear camera 14B, the right side camera 14C, and the left side camera 14D are installed on the inside or outside of the vehicle 40 at the front, rear, right side, and left side, respectively. The periphery monitoring camera 14 captures images of the periphery of the vehicle based on an imaging signal from the control device 20, and outputs the captured image data to the control device 20 and the recording unit 16.

[0023] The recording unit 16 is a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and records the images captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14. It also records the vehicle speed, steering angle, and the like of the host vehicle 40.

[0024] 2, the control device 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 22, a ROM (Read only Memory) 24, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 26, a storage 28, and an input / output I / F 30. The CPU 22, the ROM 24, the RAM 26, the storage 28, and the input / output I / F 30 are connected to each other via a bus 32 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0025] The CPU 22 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 22 reads a program from the ROM 24 or the storage 28, and executes the program using the RAM 26 as a working area. The CPU 22 controls each component and performs various arithmetic processing, which will be described later, according to the program stored in the ROM 24 or the storage 28.

[0026] The ROM 24 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 26 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 28 is configured with a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various programs including an operating system, and various data.

[0027] The input / output I / F 30 is an interface for the control device 20 to communicate with the acceleration sensor 12, the surroundings monitoring camera 14, the recording unit 16, and the like.

[0028] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the control device 20. The control device 20 has a contact detection unit 210 and a recording control unit 220. Each functional configuration is realized by the CPU 22 reading out and executing an execution program stored in the ROM 24 or storage 28.

[0029] The contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the vehicle body of the vehicle 40 while parked, based on the acceleration of the vehicle 40 input from the acceleration sensor 12 and the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14. Specifically, when the change in the acceleration of the vehicle 40 input from the acceleration sensor 12 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the contact detection unit 210 determines that it is highly likely that a moving object has contacted the vehicle, and starts acquiring the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14. The captured image may be acquired directly from the periphery monitoring camera 14, or may be acquired from an image recorded in the recording unit 16. The predetermined threshold is set lower when the vehicle 40 is parked than when the vehicle is normally running. Specifically, when an ignition switch (also referred to as IG; not shown) is turned OFF, the contact detection unit 210 determines that the vehicle 40 is parked and sets the predetermined threshold lower.

[0030] 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining contact detection by the contact detection unit 210. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the captured image acquired by the contact detection unit 210 is a right side image A1 of the right side area of ​​the vehicle 40 captured by the right side camera 14C. In this case, as shown in the right side image A1 enlarged and displayed in FIG. 4, the contact detection unit 210 detects whether or not a moving object is present in an area 42 near the vehicle, which is indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 4. The area 42 near the vehicle is an area set in advance within a specific distance from the vehicle 40, and the area 42 near the vehicle is set as an area for detecting the entry of a moving object.

[0031] 4, when, for example, a door 50A or the like that is a part of an adjacent vehicle 50 parked adjacent to the host vehicle 40 enters the host vehicle vicinity area 42 in the right side image A1, the contact detection unit 210 recognizes that a moving object is entering. That is, the contact detection unit 210 determines that the adjacent vehicle 50 has come into contact with the body of the host vehicle 40, and detects the contact of the adjacent vehicle 50 with the host vehicle 40. Note that, by detecting the position coordinates of the door 50A in the right side images A1 captured in time series, it is determined whether the door 50A is a moving object.

[0032] If there is no intrusion of a moving object in the right side image A1, and if the right side image A1 is an image obtained directly from the surrounding surveillance camera 14, the recording control unit 220 stops recording the right side image A1 in the recording unit 16, and if the right side image A1 is an image obtained from the recording unit 16, the recording control unit 220 deletes the right side image A1 recorded in the recording unit 16.

[0033] The contact detection unit 210 also performs the same processing as for the right side image A1 on the forward image of the area in front of the vehicle 40 captured by the front camera 14A, the rear image of the area in the rear of the vehicle 40 captured by the rear camera 14B, and the left side image of the area in the left side of the vehicle 40 captured by the left side camera 14D, and determines that contact has occurred with the body of the vehicle 40 if a moving object is entering in at least one of the captured images among the forward image, rear image, right side image, and left side image.

[0034] In this embodiment, the captured images used to determine that a moving object is entering are images showing the moving object entering the area 42 near the vehicle, the moment of collision, and the object moving away after the collision, so the recording control unit 220 stores these images in the recording unit 16 as instantaneous images.

[0035] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the recording of the first specific image. The upper diagram of FIG. 5 shows a state in which the ignition switch of the vehicle 40 is turned OFF, that is, the vehicle 40 is parked. In this state, that is, in the case of the vehicle 40 being parked, when the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the vehicle body of the vehicle 40, the recording control unit 220 causes the recording unit 16 to record an image captured at a specific time before the vehicle 40 is parked as the first specific image. Note that the recording control unit 220 determines that the time before the ignition switch (not shown) is turned OFF is the time before the vehicle 40 is parked, and stores an image captured at a specific time prior to the time the ignition switch is turned OFF as the first specific image.

[0036] In this embodiment, the first specific image is an image captured within a predetermined distance from the parking position of the vehicle 40. Before the vehicle 40 is parked, as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 5, in order to park the vehicle 40 in the target parking space P, the vehicle 40 moves forward and backward at a position away from the target parking space P. The amount of this movement differs depending on the size of the vehicle, that is, the type of vehicle, etc. Therefore, the predetermined distance is set in advance for each type of vehicle 40, taking into consideration the amount of forward and backward movement of the vehicle 40 during parking. As a result, the above-mentioned specific time before parking the vehicle 40 is set to the time during which the vehicle 40 exists within the predetermined distance before the ignition switch (not shown) is turned off.

[0037] Therefore, the first specific image is an image captured from a position a predetermined distance away from the target parking space P, as shown in the lower diagram of Fig. 5. For example, assume that the vehicle 40 moves forward from right to left in front of the target parking space P. In this case, when the vehicle 40 is located within the predetermined distance, an image of the area in front of the vehicle 40 captured by the front camera 14A, for example, is recorded as the first specific image. Therefore, the front and right side of the adjacent vehicles 50, 60 parked in advance on both sides of the target parking space P are recorded in the recording unit 16.

[0038] On the other hand, when the vehicle 40 turns rightward as seen from the vehicle 40 in front of the target parking space P, for example, an image of the rear area of ​​the vehicle 40 captured by the rear camera 14B is recorded as the first specific image. Therefore, since the rear camera 14B can capture images of the front sides of the adjacent vehicles 50, 60 parked in advance on both sides of the target parking space P, there is a possibility that a license plate or the like is captured in the first specific image recorded in the recording unit 16.

[0039] Furthermore, the recording control unit 220 causes the recording unit 16 to record, as a second specific image, the images captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after the contact with the vehicle body of the vehicle 40 is detected by the contact detection unit 210, from the time the contact is detected along the time axis until a predetermined condition is satisfied. Figures 6 to 8 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the recording of the second specific image.

[0040] Specifically, the recording control unit 220 extracts feature points of the moving object in each captured image captured along the time axis by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40. For example, as shown in Fig. 6, feature points are extracted in a right side image A1 of the right side area of ​​the vehicle 40 captured by the right side camera 14C. As an example, the right side image A1 shows the left side part of the adjacent vehicle 50 parked to the right of the vehicle 40, and five feature points F are extracted.

[0041] The recording control unit 220 tracks and extracts the five feature points F in each captured image. When the five feature points F are tracked, for example, as shown in Fig. 7, in a front image A2 captured by the front camera A after a time has passed from the state in Fig. 6, the same feature point F as the feature point F extracted in Fig. 6 is extracted. In this way, the feature point F is successively extracted in captured images captured at the same time and in chronological order by the front camera 14A, rear camera 14B, right side camera 14C, and left side camera 14D constituting the perimeter monitoring camera 14.

[0042] Then, as shown in Figure 8, when the five feature points F that were being tracked in the right side image A1 captured by the right side camera 14C, the forward image A2 captured by the forward camera 14A, and the left side image A3 captured by the left side camera 14D are no longer extracted, the recording control unit 220 determines that the adjacent vehicle 50 having feature point F has moved outside the angle of view of the perimeter monitoring camera 14, and stops recording the second specific image to the recording unit 16.

[0043] From the above, in this embodiment, the "predetermined condition" is that, in an image captured by the surrounding surveillance camera 14 after the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the body of the parked vehicle 40, the feature points of the moving object are extracted and tracked, and the feature points of the moving object that was being tracked are no longer extracted in the captured image.

[0044] In addition, since the second specific image recorded in the recording unit 16 shows the adjacent vehicle 50 captured from multiple directions, there is a possibility that characteristics of the adjacent vehicle 50, such as its license plate, are also recorded in the second specific image.

[0045] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the recording control unit 220 prohibits the instantaneous image, the first specific image, and the second specific image recorded in the recording unit 16 from being overwritten.

[0046] Next, the operation of the vehicle-mounted drive recorder system 10 will be described.

[0047] Fig. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the control by the control device 20. The control process by the CPU 22 is performed by the CPU 22 reading a program from the ROM 24 or the storage 28, expanding it in the RAM 26, and executing it. As an example, the control process shown in Fig. 9 is started when the ignition switch of the host vehicle 40 is turned ON.

[0048] The CPU 22 determines whether the ignition switch is still ON (step S10), and if it is not ON (step S10; NO), repeats the process of step S10 until it is turned ON. On the other hand, if the ignition switch is still ON (step S10; YES), the recording control unit 220 stores the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14, i.e., the peripheral image of the host vehicle 40, and the running data of the host vehicle 40, such as the vehicle speed and steering angle, in the recording unit 16 (step S11).

[0049] Next, the CPU 22 determines whether the ignition switch is turned OFF (step S12). If the ignition switch is not turned OFF (step S12; NO), the CPU 22 shifts the process to step S10. On the other hand, if the ignition switch is turned OFF (step S12; YES), the contact detection unit 210 lowers the threshold value of the acceleration change for detecting contact with the host vehicle 40 (step S13).

[0050] Next, the contact detection unit 210 determines whether or not the change in acceleration (acceleration change) of the host vehicle 40 input from the acceleration sensor 12 is greater than a predetermined threshold (step S14). If the change in acceleration (acceleration change) of the host vehicle 40 input from the acceleration sensor 12 is less than the predetermined threshold (step S14; NO), the contact detection unit 210 determines that there is no contact with the host vehicle 40 and ends the series of processes.

[0051] On the other hand, if the change in acceleration (acceleration change) of the vehicle 40 input from the acceleration sensor 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S14; YES), it is determined that there is a high possibility that a moving object has come into contact with the vehicle, and the contact detection unit 210 starts acquiring images captured by the surrounding monitoring camera 14 (step S15).

[0052] Next, the contact detection unit 210 determines whether or not there is a moving object in the area 42 near the vehicle based on the captured image acquired in step S15 (step S16). If there is no moving object (step S16; NO), the contact detection unit 210 determines that there has been no contact with the vehicle 40 and ends the series of processes. On the other hand, if there is a moving object (step S16; YES), the contact detection unit 210 determines that there has been contact with the vehicle 40 and detects the contact (step S17).

[0053] Next, the recording control unit 220 causes the recording unit 16 to record the captured image captured at a specific time before parking the vehicle 40 as a first specific image (step S18), and further causes the recording unit 16 to record the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after contact detection by the contact detection unit 210 as a second specific image (step S19). Note that since the recording of the first specific image and the second specific image has been described in detail above, a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0054] Next, the recording control unit 220 extracts and tracks the feature point F of the moving object in each captured image captured at the same time and in time series by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after the contact detection by the contact detection unit 210 (step S20). Then, the recording control unit 220 judges whether the feature point F has been extracted in the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 (step S21). If the feature point F has been extracted (step S21; YES), the recording control unit 220 takes over and records the second specific image. If the feature point F has not been extracted (step S21; NO), the recording control unit 220 judges that the feature point of the moving object has disappeared from the angle of view, that is, the moving object is not captured in the captured image, and ends the recording of the second specific image (step S22), and ends the series of processes. In this manner, the series of processes is performed.

[0055] Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0056] According to the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10 of this embodiment, the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the body of the parked vehicle 40 based on the acceleration input from the acceleration sensor 12 that detects the acceleration of the vehicle 40 and the captured image captured by the surroundings monitoring camera 14. Therefore, contact with the vehicle 40 can be detected more accurately than when contact with the body of the parked vehicle 40 is detected based only on the acceleration.

[0057] Furthermore, when the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the vehicle 40, the recording control unit 220 causes the recording unit 16 to record an image captured at a specific time before the vehicle 40 is parked as a first specific image. This makes it possible to record adjacent vehicles 50, 60 that are already parked when the vehicle 40 is parked.

[0058] Normally, even if the adjacent vehicles 50, 60 parked next to the host vehicle 40 are imaged by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after the host vehicle 40 is parked, the image is not stored in the recording unit 16. Therefore, in this embodiment, the recording control unit 220 causes the recording unit 16 to record the image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after contact with the host vehicle 40 is detected as a second specific image until a predetermined condition is satisfied. This makes it possible to record the vehicle parked next to the host vehicle 40 while the host vehicle 40 is parked. In this way, according to the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10 according to this embodiment, the recording control unit 220 can record appropriate data related to the contact.

[0059] Moreover, according to the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10 of this embodiment, the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40 when a moving object is detected within a specific distance from the vehicle 40 in the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 when the change in acceleration becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. That is, after determining that there is a possibility of contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40 based on the change in acceleration, the contact detection unit 210 detects that a moving object has entered within a specific distance from the vehicle based on the captured image. In this way, since contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40 can be detected based on the acceleration and the captured image, contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40 can be detected with higher accuracy than when contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40 is detected based only on the acceleration.

[0060] Moreover, according to the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10 of this embodiment, the predetermined condition is that, in the captured image captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 after the contact detection unit 210 detects contact with the vehicle body of the parked vehicle 40, the feature point F of the moving object is extracted and tracked, and the feature point F of the tracked moving object is no longer extracted in the captured image. This makes it possible to record the captured image until the adjacent vehicles 50, 60 parked adjacent to the parked vehicle 40 leave the vicinity of the vehicle.

[0061] In addition, according to the in-vehicle drive recorder system 10 of this embodiment, while the vehicle 40 is parked, the predetermined threshold value is set lower than normal, so that the contact detection unit 210 can detect even minute changes in acceleration, i.e., slight contact with the vehicle.

[0062] Furthermore, in the vehicle-mounted drive recorder system 10 of this embodiment, the recording control unit 220 prohibits overwriting of the first specific image and the second specific image recorded in the recording unit 16, so that appropriate data related to the contact can be reliably retained as a record.

[0063] In the above embodiment, it is determined that the vehicle 40 is parked when the ignition switch is turned off, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined that the vehicle 40 is parked when the shift range of the shift lever of the vehicle 40 is selected to the parking position.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the periphery monitoring camera 14 is configured with four cameras 14A to 14D, but the present invention is not limited to this. As long as it is possible to obtain an image of the periphery of the host vehicle 40, the periphery monitoring camera 14 may be configured with more or less than four cameras.

[0065] In the above embodiment, the camera constituting the perimeter monitoring camera 14 is configured with a color CCD, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be configured with a monochrome CCD, or with other types of cameras such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the first specific image is an image captured within a predetermined distance from the parking position of the vehicle 40, but the present invention is not limited to this. The first specific image may be, for example, all images captured by the periphery monitoring camera 14 during a period from the time the vehicle 40 is parked to a predetermined time period going back.

[0067] In addition, various processors other than the CPU may execute each process executed by the CPU 22 shown in FIG. 2 by reading the software (program) in the above embodiment. In this case, examples of the processor include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, and a dedicated electric circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed exclusively for executing a specific process. Each process may be executed by one of these various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, a combination of a CPU and an FPGA, etc.). More specifically, the hardware structure of these various processors is an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0068] Furthermore, each of the programs described in the above embodiments may be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, etc. Furthermore, the programs may be provided in a form downloaded from an external device via a network.

[0069] The above-described embodiment and modified examples can be implemented in appropriate combinations.

[0070] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it is of course possible to implement the present invention in various other modified forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 10. In-vehicle drive recorder system 12 Acceleration sensor (acceleration detection section) 14 Perimeter surveillance cameras 14A Front camera (imaging unit) 14B Rear camera (imaging unit) 14C Right side camera (imaging unit) 14D Left side camera (imaging unit) 16 Recording Section 210 Contact detection unit 220 Recording control section 40 Vehicle 50 Adjacent vehicles 60 Adjacent Vehicles A1 Right side image (captured image) A2 Front image (captured image) A3 Left side image (captured image) F feature points

Claims

1. A plurality of imaging units for imaging the surroundings of the host vehicle; a recording unit that records images captured by the plurality of imaging units; a contact detection unit that detects contact with a vehicle body of the host vehicle while parked based on the captured image and an acceleration input from an acceleration detection unit that detects the acceleration of the host vehicle; a recording control unit that, when the contact is detected by the contact detection unit, causes the recording unit to record, as a first specific image, an image captured at a specific time prior to the time when the host vehicle was determined to be parked, among the captured images recorded in the recording unit, and causes the recording unit to record, as a second specific image, captured images captured by the plurality of imaging units after the contact is detected, until a predetermined condition is satisfied; and An in-vehicle drive recorder system including:

2. The vehicle-mounted drive recorder system of claim 1, wherein the contact detection unit detects contact with the body of the parked vehicle when a moving object is detected within a specific distance from the vehicle in an image captured by the multiple imaging units when the change in acceleration becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

3. The vehicle-mounted drive recorder system according to claim 2, wherein the specified condition is that, after the contact detection unit detects contact with the vehicle body of the vehicle while parked, feature points of the moving object are extracted and tracked in the captured images captured by the multiple imaging units, and the feature points of the moving object that were being tracked are no longer extracted in the captured images.

4. 4. The vehicle-mounted drive recorder system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined threshold is set lower than normal while the host vehicle is parked.

5. 5. The vehicle-mounted drive recorder system according to claim 1, wherein the recording control unit inhibits overwriting of the first specific image and the second specific image recorded in the recording unit.

Images