Video Recording Device

Abstract

The present invention reliably extracts close calls at a site where construction machinery is used. The present invention includes: a recording unit 33 that transitorily or non-transitorily records video data; a trigger determination unit 32 that determines whether or not a recording trigger is enabled; and a recording management unit 31 that non-transitorily records an amount of video data in the recording unit 33 from the video data transitorily recorded in the recording unit 33 when it is determined that the recording trigger is enabled, the amount of video data corresponding to a prescribed period preceding and succeeding the timing at which the recording trigger is enabled. The trigger determination unit 32 determines that the recording trigger is enabled when an object detection sensor attached to a vehicle body has detected an object and thus a prescribed operation of construction machinery is restricted.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a video recording device mounted on a construction machine. [Background technology]

[0002] In automobiles, in order to investigate the cause of an accident, a recording device is generally used that records the surroundings with a camera attached to the vehicle body and stores the video data, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In recent years, more detailed information about the situation can be obtained by linking not only the video but also the vehicle body data such as CAN signals to the video and storing them.

[0003] Not only in automobiles but also in construction machinery, it is effective to install video recording devices to investigate the cause of accidents and review near misses. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4394780 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] If a video recorder records the video taken at all times while the machine is operating, various problems occur, such as unnecessary data taking up memory capacity of the video recorder, necessary data being overwritten and erased, and the work of searching for data at the time of an accident increasing. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the accuracy of near miss extraction by setting a trigger at the timing when recording is necessary. In automobiles, the trigger is generally a brake signal or impact on the body of the vehicle, but since there are always workers and equipment around construction machinery and, depending on the work, the construction machinery may be constantly subjected to impacts, a trigger similar to that for automobiles is not appropriate. Therefore, it is necessary to reliably extract near misses at work sites where construction machinery is used. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the video recording device of the present invention has a recording unit that records video data temporarily or non-temporarily, a trigger determination unit that determines whether a recording trigger is activated or not, and a recording management unit that, when it is determined that the recording trigger is activated, non-temporarily records, in the recording unit, video data for a predetermined time period before and after the point in time when the recording trigger is activated from the video data temporarily recorded in the recording unit, and the trigger determination unit determines that the recording trigger is activated when an object detection sensor attached to the vehicle body detects an object and certain operations on the construction machine are restricted. In addition, when a locking device that is provided on the construction machine and permits or prohibits the operation of the vehicle body is in a state permitting the operation of the vehicle body, and a predetermined operation of the construction machine is performed in a state in which the predetermined operation of the construction machine is restricted due to the detection of an object by the object detection sensor, it is determined that the recording trigger is enabled even if an object is not detected by the object detection sensor. . Effect of the Invention

[0007] By adopting the above configuration, the trigger can be activated when recording is required, improving the accuracy of near miss detection.

[0008] Further features related to the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the objects, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a construction machine having a camera and an object detection sensor. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a camera and an object detection sensor of the construction machine. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a video recording device and a vehicle body control controller according to the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a timing chart showing conditions under which a recording function is enabled. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a process for generating video data. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for determining a recording trigger. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows a construction machine 100 having a video recording device according to the present invention.

[0012] The construction machine 100 is equipped with an engine 1 as a prime mover and a main pump 2 driven by the engine 1, and the lower running body 3, upper rotating body 4, and front device 5 each operate independently using the hydraulic oil delivered by the main pump 2.

[0013] The lower traveling structure 3 controls the drive of a pair of tracks 6 (only one side is shown in FIG. 1) by a traveling hydraulic motor 7.

[0014] The upper rotating body 4 is connected to the lower traveling body 3 so as to be capable of rotating, and the upper rotating body 4 is driven and controlled by a rotating hydraulic motor 8 .

[0015] The front device 5 is mounted on the upper rotating body 4, and is composed of a boom 9, a boom cylinder 10 for driving the boom 9, an arm 11, an arm cylinder 12 for driving the arm 11, a bucket 13, and a bucket cylinder 14 for driving the bucket 13. Each cylinder expands and contracts with hydraulic oil sent from the main pump 2, and drives a rotating shaft 15 of the upper rotating body 4 and the boom 9, a rotating shaft 16 of the boom 9 and the arm 11, and a rotating shaft 17 of the arm 11 and the bucket 13, respectively, to perform work such as excavation and leveling.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the camera and object detection sensor mounted on the construction machine 100.

[0017] A number of cameras 18 for monitoring the surroundings and object detection sensors 19 are mounted outside the driver's seat of the construction machine 100, and a monitor control controller 20, a vehicle control controller 21, a monitor 22, and a video recording device 23 are mounted inside the driver's seat.

[0018] One or more cameras 18 are disposed on the periphery of the vehicle body so as to capture images of the entire surroundings of the construction machine 100. The camera 18 is connected to the monitor control controller 20 and transmits the captured images to the monitor control controller 20. The camera 18 is capable of constantly capturing images of the surroundings of the construction machine 100 and transmitting the images to the monitor control controller 20 in real time.

[0019] The object detection sensor 19 is composed of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a camera, or the like. One or more object detection sensors 19 are arranged on the periphery of the vehicle body so as to be able to detect objects all around the construction machine 100. The object detection sensor 19 can measure the position of a detected object by measuring the distance to the detected object and the direction in which the object was detected. The measured position of the object is the relative position of the object with respect to the construction machine 100. The object detection sensor 19 is connected to the vehicle body control controller 21, and transmits information relating to the position of the detected object to the vehicle body control controller 21.

[0020] Each controller and the video recording device 23 can communicate with each other via an in-vehicle network 24 such as a CAN. These are mounted in the vehicle body as an ECU equipped with a CPU and a memory. Furthermore, the video recording device 23 has a cache for temporarily recording data of the video captured by the camera 18 and a storage for non-temporarily (non-volatilely) recording part of the temporarily recorded video data. The camera 18 is connected to a monitor control controller 20, and the object detection sensor 19 is connected to a vehicle body control controller 21. The monitor control controller 20 synthesizes the surrounding images input from the cameras 18, and outputs to the monitor 22 an image in which the images of the cameras 18 are divided or an image in which the boundaries of the adjacent cameras 18 are blended as a surround view. The monitor 22 displays the input composite image, and further outputs the image displayed on the monitor 22 to the video recording device 23. The video data temporarily recorded in the video recording device 23 is recorded in a cache when the video recording device 23 is powered on (starting up), and is erased when the power is turned off. Video data that is non-temporarily recorded in storage continues to be recorded (saved) even after the power is turned off.

[0021] A communication terminal 25 is connected to the video recording device 23, which records the input video of the monitor 22 and the vehicle body information flowing through the in-vehicle network 24, and connects to the Internet via the communication terminal 25, enabling both uploading to the server 26 and access to the video recording device 23 from the server 26. The vehicle body controller 21 transmits a detection signal of the object detection sensor 19 to the video recording device 23 via the in-vehicle network 24. Upon receiving the detection signal, the video recording device 23 non-temporarily records in the storage the video data and operation information data before and after the object detection that were temporarily recorded in the cache for a preset period of time. Furthermore, the vehicle body position data at the time of object detection acquired by the communication terminal 25 is also recorded at the same time, and linked to the recorded video data and operation information data.

[0022] The vehicle body control controller 21 is a controller that performs hydraulic control of the machine, and acquires the amount of operation of the swing lever 27 and the amount of operation of the travel lever 28 operated by the operator. It also acquires the state (locked state or unlocked state) of a gate lock device 29 that permits or prohibits operation of the vehicle body. In this embodiment, the gate lock device 29 is arranged as, for example, a gate lock lever, and in the locked state, it disables operation of the operation lever to prohibit operation of the vehicle body, and in the unlocked state, it enables operation of the operation lever to permit operation of the vehicle body. The gate lock lever is connected to the vehicle body control controller 21, and transmits a gate lock signal indicating the operation state of the gate lock lever to the vehicle body control controller 21. The gate lock signal may be a pulse signal indicating the ON or OFF state of the gate lock lever.

[0023] In this embodiment, when the gate lock device 29 is in the released state and the object detection sensor 19 is detecting an object, there is a high possibility that a person or object is present around the vehicle body, and the vehicle body controller 21 restricts the operation of the swing lever 27 and the traveling lever 28 to prevent contact with the person or object due to traveling and swing operations. Specifically, the operation of the swing lever 27 and the traveling lever 28 is disabled to put the upper swing body 4 and the lower traveling body 3 in a non-driven state, or even if the swing lever 27 and the traveling lever 28 are operated, the operating speed instructed by the lever is restricted to make the operating speed of the upper swing body 4 and the lower traveling body 3 extremely slow.

[0024] For example, if the turning lever 27 and the driving lever 28 are operated while the vehicle control controller 21 has disabled operation of these levers, a signal notifying this fact is sent to the video recording device 23, and the video recording device 23 records in storage, for a predetermined period of time, the video data and vehicle body data before and after object detection that were temporarily recorded in the cache, just as when an object detection signal is received.

[0025] This is because, for example, assuming that the object detection sensor 19 detects a person or the like in the operator's blind spot and disables the operation, and the operator performs a turning or driving operation without noticing this, if the operation remains enabled, the vehicle will turn and drive, whereas if the object detection sensor 19 detects a person or the like in the operator's blind spot and restricts the operation, and the operator performs a turning or driving operation without noticing this, if the operation is not restricted, the vehicle will turn and drive at the normal operating speed according to the lever operation, which may put the detected person in danger, i.e., a near-miss event may occur. When the operation is disabled or restricted, if an operation is performed even if the object detection sensor 19 does not detect a person, etc., The purpose is to record such situations on video and take subsequent measures.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the video recording device 23 and the vehicle body controller 21 according to the present invention.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the video recording device 23 is an ECU equipped with a CPU and memory as described above, and includes a communication unit 30, a video recording management unit 31, a trigger determination unit 32, and a memory, which are functional units of the CPU. The recording unit 33 includes a cache for temporarily recording (volatilely storing) video data and a storage for non-temporarily recording (non-volatile). The communication unit 30 transmits and receives various data to and from the server 26 via the communication terminal 25, and also transmits and receives various data to and from the vehicle body control controller 21 via the vehicle-mounted network 24. When the recording trigger is enabled, the recording management unit 31 performs a process of non-temporarily recording the video data for a predetermined time before and after the time when the recording trigger is enabled, among the video data temporarily recorded in the cache of the recording unit 33, in the storage in the same recording unit 33. The trigger determination unit 32 determines whether the vehicle body control controller 21 has enabled the recording trigger, and outputs a command signal to the recording management unit 31 to start recording the video data when the recording trigger is enabled.

[0028] The vehicle body control controller 21, which is connected to the video recording device 23 via the in-vehicle network 24, has a communication unit 34, an operation control unit 35, and a gate lock control unit 36. The communication unit 34 transmits and receives various data to and from the video recording device 23 via the in-vehicle network 24. The operation control unit 35 acquires the amount of operation of the swing lever 27 and the amount of operation of the travel lever 28 operated by the operator, and restricts the swing operation and travel operation under conditions that will be described later. The gate lock control unit 36 ​​acquires the locked / unlocked state of the gate lock device 29.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the conditions and recording time when the video recorder 23 starts recording video data.

[0030] First, as shown in Figures 4(a) and (c), when the gate lock device 29 is released, operation by the operator becomes valid. Next, as shown in Figures 4(b), (c), (e), and (f), when the object detection sensor 19 detects an object, turning and driving operations by the operator are restricted (disabled), and the recording trigger (detection) 37 becomes valid for t seconds. From the video data temporarily recorded in the cache, video data from T1 seconds before to T2 seconds after the generation of the recording trigger (detection) 37 is recorded non-temporarily (non-volatile).

[0031] this, As shown in FIG. 4(b), an object is detected by the object detection sensor 19, and as shown in FIG. 4(c), the turning and traveling operations by the operator are restricted (disabled) and the state continues. When a turning or driving operation is performed as shown in Fig. 4(d), As shown in FIG. 4(b), even if the object is not detected by the object detection sensor 19, The recording trigger (disable operation) 38 is enabled for t seconds, and video data is recorded non-temporarily (non-volatilely) in the same manner as when the recording trigger (detection) 37 is generated.

[0032] Finally, as shown in Figures 4(a), (b), and (c), when the gate lock device 29 is locked while the object detection sensor 19 is not detecting an object, the disabled operation state is released and the operator's turning operation and travel operation become valid, and by releasing the gate lock device 29 again, the operator can perform turning operation and travel operation.

[0033] As described above, the recording trigger (detection) 37 is enabled when the gate lock device 29 is in the released state and the object detection sensor 19 detects an object. Furthermore, after the recording trigger (detection) 37 is enabled, when the swing lever 27 or the travel lever 28 is operated while the gate lock device 29 is in the released state and the object detection sensor 19 is not detecting an object, etc., the recording trigger (disable operation) 38 is enabled and ignored in order to avoid duplication of recording processes until recording due to the enabled recording trigger (detection) 37 is completed.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart when the video recorder 23 records video data.

[0035] When the vehicle body is powered on, the power of the video recorder 23 is turned on in step A1, and preparations for recording are made (step A2).

[0036] In step A3, the trigger determination unit 32 determines whether or not the recording trigger is enabled. If the recording trigger is enabled, the process proceeds to step A4, and if not, the process proceeds to step A7.

[0037] In step A4, the recording management unit 31 generates video data from a preset time T1 seconds before the point in time when the recording trigger becomes valid.

[0038] In step A5, it is determined whether or not a preset time T2 seconds has elapsed since the time when the recording trigger became effective. If T2 seconds have elapsed, the process proceeds to step A6, and if not, the process waits until T2 seconds have elapsed.

[0039] In step A6, the video data acquired during steps A4 and A5 from T1 seconds before to T2 seconds after the recording trigger is enabled is recorded in the storage of the recording unit 33, and the process proceeds to step A7. At this time, in order to grasp the situation at the scene where the near miss occurred more accurately when performing an analysis using the recorded video data, it is desirable to also record the vehicle's operating information (speed, moving direction, turning angle, etc.) and position information at the time the recording trigger is enabled.

[0040] In step A7, if the vehicle power supply is ON, the process returns to A3, and the process repeats the process of determining whether the recording trigger is enabled and the process of generating and recording data, whereas if the vehicle power supply is OFF, the process proceeds to step A8.

[0041] In step A8, the power supply of the video recording device 23 is turned off, and the recording flow ends. At this time, the power supply of the vehicle body is turned off, but the video recording device 23 is driven by a battery power supply of a separate system, and the video recording device 23 does not turn off its own power supply until the final data recording to the storage is completed.

[0042] 6 is a flowchart showing how the vehicle body controller 21 determines whether the recording trigger is enabled or disabled. This control is executed in parallel with the recording flow in FIG.

[0043] First, in step B1, the gate lock control unit 36 ​​judges whether the gate lock device 29 is released, and if it is released, the process proceeds to step B2, whereas if it is locked, the process waits.

[0044] In step B2, it is determined whether the object detection sensor 19 detects an object based on whether the communication unit 34 receives a detection signal, and if an object is detected, the process proceeds to step B3, whereas if an object is not detected, the process returns to step B1.

[0045] In step B3, the communication unit 34 enables the recording trigger (detection) for t seconds, and transmits a signal to that effect to the trigger determination unit 32 of the video recorder 23. Furthermore, the operation control unit 35 restricts (disables) the operator's turning operation and driving operation via the in-vehicle network 24.

[0046] In step B4, it is determined whether or not the object detection sensor 19 has detected an object by the same process as in step B2, and if not, the process proceeds to step B5, otherwise the process proceeds to step B6.

[0047] In step B5, the gate lock control unit 36 ​​determines whether the gate lock device 29 is locked, and if it is locked, the process proceeds to step B8, whereas if it is unlocked, the process proceeds to step B6.

[0048] In step B6, the operation control unit 35 determines whether or not a restricted (invalidated) turning or traveling operation has been performed, and if an operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step B7, whereas if no operation has been performed, the process returns to step B4.

[0049] In step B7, the recording trigger (disabled operation) is enabled for t seconds, and the process returns to step B4.

[0050] In step B8, the operation control unit 35 enables the operator's turning operation and traveling operation via the in-vehicle network 24. After that, the operator can actually operate the construction machine by releasing the gate lock device 29. After that, the flow from step B1 is repeated until the vehicle power is turned off.

[0051] This embodiment makes it possible for a construction machine that has control to limit vehicle operation when an object detection sensor detects an object to record recording at the time an action is performed that may result in contact with people in the vicinity.

[0052] According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the following advantageous effects are obtained.

[0053] (1) The video recording device of the present invention is a video recording device that records video data acquired by a camera attached to the body of a construction machine, and has a recording unit that records the video data temporarily or non-temporarily, a trigger determination unit that determines whether a recording trigger is activated or not, and a recording management unit that, when it is determined that the recording trigger is activated, non-temporarily records in the recording unit video data for a predetermined period of time before and after the point at which the recording trigger is activated from the video data temporarily recorded in the recording unit, and the trigger determination unit determines that the recording trigger is activated when an object detection sensor attached to the body detects an object and certain operations of the construction machine are restricted.

[0054] With the above configuration, the recording trigger can be enabled at an appropriate timing, thereby improving the accuracy of detecting near misses.

[0055] (2) The trigger determination unit determines that the recording trigger is enabled when a specific operation is performed on the construction machine while the specific operation on the construction machine is restricted. As a result, for example, if an object detection sensor detects a person or the like in the operator's blind spot and disables the operation, and the operator performs a turning / driving operation without noticing this, if the operation remains enabled, the machine will turn / drive, which may put the detected person in danger, i.e., a near-miss event may occur. Even if the object detection sensor 19 does not detect a person, etc. It will be possible to record such situations on video and take subsequent measures.

[0056] (3) The video recording management unit non-temporarily records the video data and the operation information of the construction machine synchronized with the video data in the storage unit. This makes it possible to analyze the situation when the near miss occurred in more detail.

[0057] (4) The recording management unit also non-temporarily records the location information of the construction machine at the time the recording trigger is activated in the recording unit. This makes it possible to correlate the frequency of near misses with the locations where they occur, enabling flexible responses at the site.

[0058] (5) The device further includes a communication unit, and the recording management unit non-temporarily records the video data, the operation information of the construction machine synchronized with the video data, and the location information of the construction machine at the time the recording trigger was activated in the recording unit, and the communication unit can upload the recorded video data, operation information, and location information to an external server via the Internet. This enables an operator in a remote location to monitor the occurrence of near misses in real time.

[0059] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, although the example in which the vehicle body operation is disabled when the object detection sensor detects an object has been described, the vehicle body movement may be slowed down by restricting the operation as described above. [Industrial Applicability]

[0060] The present invention is used at a construction site where a construction machine equipped with an object detection device is operated. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 18 camera, 19 object detection sensor, 21 vehicle body controller, 23 video recording device, 31 video recording management unit, 32 trigger determination unit, 33 recording unit

Claims

1. A video recording device that records video data acquired by a camera attached to a body of a construction machine, a recording unit for temporarily or non-temporarily recording the video data; a trigger determination unit that determines whether a recording trigger is enabled; a recording management unit that, when it is determined that the recording trigger is enabled, non-temporarily records, in the recording unit, from among the video data temporarily recorded in the recording unit, the video data for a predetermined time period before and after the point in time when the recording trigger is enabled; The trigger determination unit determines that the recording trigger is activated when an object detection sensor attached to the vehicle body detects an object and a predetermined operation of the construction machine is restricted, and When a locking device provided on the construction machine for permitting or prohibiting operation of the vehicle body is in a state permitting operation of the vehicle body and a predetermined operation of the construction machine is performed in a state in which the predetermined operation of the construction machine is restricted due to detection of an object by the object detection sensor, the recording trigger is determined to be enabled even if an object is not detected by the object detection sensor.

1. A video recording device comprising:

2. 2. The video recording device according to claim 1, The video recording management unit non-temporarily records, together with the video data, operation information of the construction machine synchronized with the video data in the recording unit.

1. A video recording device comprising:

3. 2. The video recording device according to claim 1, The recording management unit non-temporarily records the position information of the construction machine at the time when the recording trigger is activated in the recording unit.

1. A video recording device comprising:

4. 2. The video recording device according to claim 1, Further comprising a communication unit, The recording management unit non-temporarily records, together with the video data, operation information of the construction machine synchronized with the video data, and position information of the construction machine at the time when the recording trigger was activated, in the recording unit; The communication unit is capable of uploading the recorded video data, the operation information, and the location information to an external server via the Internet.

1. A video recording device comprising:

Images