Vehicle video recording device, playback device, program

Abstract

To provide a drive recorder and a program which display a video in accordance with the intention of a driver only by the driver simply performing a driving operation.SOLUTION: Camera video display processing performs processing of switching a video displayed on a display device 16 to a video from a rear view camera 13 when a video signal is input to a video signal from the rear view camera 13, and switching the video displayed on the display device 16 to a video before switching to the video from the rear view camera 13 when the video signal is not input to the video signal from the rear view camera 13. With this, a video shot by the rear view camera 13 is displayed on the display device 16 only by a driver changing a shift position to a back position, and the driver can confirm the state on the vehicle rear side by viewing the display device 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle video recording device and the like.

Background Art

[0002] A drive recorder that stores vehicle status information (front view video, vehicle speed, sudden acceleration or deceleration, etc.) before and after an automobile accident provides useful information for verification in the event of a collision accident of an automobile. Therefore, it is increasingly being installed in transportation vehicles such as trucks, and commercial vehicles such as taxis and buses, and is also being installed in general vehicles.

[0003] This drive recorder is configured to be able to store the front view video for a certain period before and after an accident or sudden braking, etc., and driving data (brake operation, turn signal operation, driving route, etc.) indicating the driving operation status of the driver. Briefly explaining the configuration for storing video data, the CCD camera etc. constantly captures the vehicle and surrounding situation from the driver's perspective (field of view), and stores the captured video in a temporary memory such as a ring buffer. The video stored in this temporary memory is sequentially updated with the latest one, and the past video data for a set time is retained. On the other hand, the drive recorder is equipped with sensors such as an acceleration sensor that detects impacts occurring during an accident, sudden braking, or sudden steering. When the output value of the sensor exceeds the threshold, it reads out the video for a certain period before the time when the threshold was exceeded (impact detection) from the temporary memory and stores it in a non-volatile memory (such as an SD memory card). After the time when the threshold is exceeded, it stores the video from the CCD camera etc. captured thereafter directly or via the temporary memory in the non-volatile memory, thereby having a function of saving the video and the driving data etc. for a predetermined time before and after the impact in the non-volatile memory (SD card).

[0004] When an accident occurs, it is possible to clearly prove the driver's legitimacy based on the vehicle status information (such as images) of the vehicle stored in the non-volatile memory. This type of drive recorder is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1 etc.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Some of this type of drive recorder has a function of reproducing and displaying the recorded images around the vehicle on a display means such as a monitor. There are also those equipped with a function of acquiring the images around the vehicle and displaying the acquired images on the display means. Which of these images is to be displayed on the display device needs to be instructed by a remote control or a switch. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult for the driver to switch to the desired image during the driving operation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a vehicle video recording device that acquires a vehicle state and a plurality of vehicle surrounding videos, and records the acquired vehicle state and the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos as reproducible data in a recording means in time synchronization. Among the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos, control is performed to determine and output a video to be preferentially output to a display means based on the operation state of the vehicle by the driver.

[0008] According to such a configuration, since a video to be preferentially output to the display means is determined and output based on the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, the driver does not need to switch the video with a remote control or a switch during the driving operation.

[0009] Note that the vehicle surrounding video may be video outside the vehicle or video inside the vehicle (e.g., inside the passenger compartment).

[0010] (2) In particular, as the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, it is preferable to set it as the driving state indicating the direction in which the driver intends to drive the vehicle. In this way, the video in the direction in which the driver will drive next will be output, and the appropriate video in accordance with the driver's intention will be displayed at the appropriate timing. For example, it is preferable to adopt the configuration shown in (8) and (9) described later.

[0011] (3) It includes a video generation means for generating a video to be output to the display means, and the video generated by the video generation means includes at least one of a video indicating a setting item related to control for determining and outputting a video to be preferentially output to the display means, a video indicating the vehicle state recorded in the recording means, at least one of the acquired vehicle surrounding videos, and a video obtained by playing back at least one of the videos recorded in the recording means. The control for determining and outputting the video to be preferentially output to the display means is preferably at least one of control for switching only to the video, control for switching to a video obtained by superimposing a predetermined video on the video, control for displaying the video in a larger size than other videos, and control for displaying the video at the center of the display means rather than other videos.

[0012] (4) On the premise of the configuration in (3), the video generation means is configured to generate a video to be output to the display means by executing a program by a computer, and further, even in a state where video generation by executing the program by the computer is not possible, when a signal of a video to be preferentially output to the display means is detected, it is preferable to include hardware for performing control to preferentially output the video over other videos.

[0013] When realizing the function of generating video by executing a program on a computer, for example, when the computer is in the startup process or the processing load of the computer is high, there may be a situation where it is not possible to generate video by executing the program on the computer. In such a case, it is difficult to output a video that immediately reflects the operation state of the vehicle by the driver by executing the program on the computer. However, with such a configuration, when a video signal of a video to be output preferentially to the display means is detected by hardware, the video is output preferentially over other videos, so that the operation state of the vehicle by the driver can be immediately reflected and a video to be output preferentially to the display means can be displayed.

[0014] (5) The control for determining and outputting a video to be output preferentially to the display means based on the operation state of the vehicle by the driver is configured to output the video to the display means when a video signal of the video to be output preferentially is input. When the operation state of the vehicle by the driver is not in a predetermined operation state, the power supply to the device that outputs the video signal of the video to be output preferentially is not supplied. When the operation state of the vehicle by the driver is in a predetermined operation state, the power supply to the device that outputs the video signal of the video to be output preferentially is supplied.

[0015] According to such a configuration, when the operation state of the vehicle by the driver is not in a predetermined operation state, the video signal of the video to be output preferentially is not output, and the video is not displayed on the display means. On the other hand, when the operation state of the vehicle by the driver is in a predetermined operation state, the video signal of the video to be output preferentially is output and the video is displayed on the display means.

[0016] (6) It is provided with a plurality of video input terminals for inputting the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos, and the video input terminal of the video to be output preferentially to the display means may have a different shape from the video input terminals of other videos. In this way, it can be easily understood which imaging means (such as a camera) of the video to be output preferentially to which video input terminal should be connected.

[0017] (7) On the premise of the configuration of (6), the video input terminal of the video to be output preferentially to the display means and the video input terminals of the other videos are arranged within the same plane of the housing, and an insertion port for the recording medium constituting the recording means is provided on the surface facing the surface provided with these video input terminals. In this way, when inserting or removing the recording medium into or from the insertion port, the cables connected to the video input terminals will not get in the way. Also, when inserting or removing the recording medium into or from the insertion port, problems such as accidentally hooking and pulling out the cables connected to the video input terminals are less likely to occur.

[0018] (8) At least one of the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos is a vehicle rear video, and as the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, when the shift position is in reverse, a control is performed to output the vehicle rear video preferentially over other videos. In this way, the driver can confirm the situation behind the vehicle by simply looking at the display means when shifting the shift position to reverse.

[0019] (9) At least one of the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos is a vehicle right side video, and at least one of the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos is a vehicle left side video. As the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, when the right turn signal is turned on in a state where the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, a control is performed to output the vehicle right side video preferentially over other videos. As the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, when the left turn signal is turned on in a state where the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, a control is performed to output the vehicle left side video preferentially over other videos.

[0020] In this way, for example, when exiting the parking lot in either the left or right direction, or when attempting to turn at an intersection with poor visibility, the vehicle peripheral video in the direction of the turn signal will be displayed on the display means when the vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed. Therefore, the driver can easily check the vehicle peripheral video in that direction without any special operation for display in such a situation that requires attention. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed exceeds the predetermined speed, even if the turn signal is turned on, the vehicle peripheral video in the direction of the turn signal will not be displayed on the display means. Therefore, the driver will not be bothered by the display of the vehicle peripheral video on the display means during driving at a speed equal to or higher than the predetermined speed, nor will the driver's concentration on the driving operation be distracted.

[0021] (10) It is preferable to have a function of issuing an alarm when a person appears in the video outputted preferentially to the display means. In this way, evasive actions such as stopping the vehicle when the alarm is issued can be taken easily and immediately. Also, the driver can easily confirm whether the object of the alarm is an object to be avoided, etc., simply by looking at the display means when there is an alarm without any special operation. For example, when a person appears in the video of the side camera in the direction where the turn signal is on, it is advisable to notify with an alarm, or when the reverse position is on and a person appears in the video of the rear camera, it is advisable to notify with an alarm.

[0022] (11) It is preferable to be provided with collision detection means for detecting a state corresponding to a collision of the vehicle, and to configure such that, regardless of the video outputted to the display means, the recording of the acquired vehicle state and the plurality of vehicle peripheral videos in the recording means is performed when a collision is detected by the collision detection means. In this way, a plurality of vehicle peripheral videos at the time of collision can be reliably recorded.

[0023] (12) Regardless of the video output to the display means, it is preferable to configure the recording means to record the acquired vehicle state and the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos. In this way, it is possible to reliably record a plurality of vehicle surrounding videos at the time of a collision.

[0024] (13) It may be provided with collision detection means for detecting a state corresponding to a collision of the vehicle, and when a collision is detected by the collision detection means, the video output to the display means may be preferentially recorded by the recording means. In this way, it is possible to reliably record a video with a high possibility of recording the moment of a collision. In particular, according to the configuration based on the configuration of (2), since it is possible to record the video in the direction in which the driver tries to drive the vehicle, an excellent effect is exhibited.

[0025] (14) When determining the video to be preferentially output to the display means based on the operation state of the vehicle by the driver from among the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos, it may be configured to record the data as reproducible data by the recording means. For example, based on the configuration of (9), when the speed of the vehicle is lower than a predetermined value and the turn signal is turned on, the video of the side camera may be displayed on the in-vehicle monitor, and the recording may be performed at the timing when the turn signal is turned on.

[0026] (15) When reproducing the data of the vehicle surrounding video recorded by the recording means, it is preferable to have a function of reproducing the reproduced video with left-right or up-down inversion. In this way, even if the camera for shooting the vehicle surrounding video is installed upside down, the video can be reproduced in the correct orientation. Also, for example, the video shot by a rearview camera that outputs a left-right inverted video signal can be reproduced with left-right inversion.

[0027] (16) It is preferable to configure the recording means to record, as reproducible data, the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, the acquired vehicle state, and a plurality of vehicle surrounding images in temporal synchronization. For example, as the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, by recording what the shift position is, it is possible to determine whether there was a collision during reverse, whether engine braking was applied on a downhill slope, whether the vehicle was stopped, in neutral or in parking (ECO driving). etc. can be understood.

[0028] (17) It is preferable to configure the recording means to record, as reproducible data, the information indicating the video output preferentially to the display means, the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, the acquired vehicle state, and a plurality of vehicle surrounding images in temporal synchronization.

[0029] (18) A playback device that plays back the data recorded in the recording means by the vehicle video recording device according to (1) to (17) above. When playing back the data of the vehicle surrounding images recorded in the recording means, it is preferable to have a function of playing back the playback video with left - right or up - down inversion. The playback device may be mainly installed outside the vehicle, such as a personal computer, or may be configured as a function of a navigation device installed inside the vehicle.

[0030] (19) A playback device that plays back the data recorded in the recording means by the vehicle video recording device according to (17) above. Based on the information indicating the video output preferentially to the display means, it is preferable to configure it to perform a predetermined display indicating the video output preferentially to the display means among a plurality of vehicle surrounding images during playback. In this way, it can be easily grasped later, when playing back with the playback device, which video was being displayed on the display means. (20) It can be configured as a program for realizing the function as the playback device according to (18) or (19) on a computer.

Advantages of the Invention

[0031] According to the present invention, the driver does not need to perform any special operations such as switching images with a remote control or a switch along with the driving operation, and can simply perform the driving operation to cause the display means to display an image according to the intention of the driver.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0032]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 12

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0033] Figs. 1 to 9 are diagrams showing the configuration of a drive recorder as a vehicle video recording device, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram, and Fig. 2 is a device configuration diagram.

[0034] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a main unit 1 (hereinafter also referred to as the body) having a control unit 10, a remote control 11, a GPS unit 12, a rear view camera 13, an additional camera 14, a front view camera 15, a display device 16, a built-in microphone 17, an external microphone 18, a memory card slot 19, an acceleration sensor 20, and a speaker 21, which are connected to the control unit 10 of the main unit 1.

[0035] As shown in Figs. 2, 3(a), etc., on the front of the main unit 1, there are an AV output terminal 16b which is a terminal for outputting a video signal and an audio signal to the display device 16, a microphone terminal 18b which is a terminal for inputting an audio signal from the external microphone 18, an SD card slot 19b (corresponding to the memory card slot 19 in Fig. 1), and a slide lever 19c for locking and fixing the SD card when the SD card 2 (see Fig. 4(a)) is inserted into the SD card slot 19b. The slide lever 19c is for locking the SD card 2 when it is inserted. As shown in Fig. 4(a), the slide lever 19c is moved to the left side to insert the SD card 2 into the SD card slot 19b, and when the hand is released from the slide lever 19c, the slide lever 19c returns to its original position (Fig. 4(a)) to lock the SD card 2.

[0036] On the back surface (the surface opposite to the front) of the main unit 1, as shown in Fig. 3(b), there are a vehicle signal connection terminal 40b, a remote control connection terminal 11b, a GPS unit connection terminal 12b, a rear view camera connection terminal 13b, an additional camera connection terminal 14b, and a front view camera connection terminal 15b, which are respectively connected to the control unit 10. Also, an opening is provided on the upper surface of the main unit, and a built-in microphone 17 connected to the control unit 10 is provided inside the opening.

[0037] To each of these terminals, corresponding connectors are connected as shown in Fig. 2, and are connected to corresponding devices (each part) via the cords (cables) connected to the connectors. That is, the control unit 10 is connected to the display device 16 via the AV output connector 16a connected to the AV output terminal 16b, and is connected to the external microphone 18 via the microphone connector 18a connected to the microphone terminal 18b. Further, the control unit 10 is connected to the brake lamp wire 33 of the vehicle, the left turn signal wire 32 of the vehicle, the right turn signal wire 31 of the vehicle, the vehicle speed signal wire 30 of the vehicle, the ground wire of the vehicle, and the ACC system power supply of the vehicle via the vehicle signal connection connector 40a connected to the vehicle signal connection terminal 40b. Also, the control unit 10 is connected to the remote control 11 via the remote control connection connector 11a connected to the remote control connection terminal 11b, is connected to the GPS unit 12 via the GPS unit connection connector 12a connected to the GPS unit connection terminal 12b, is connected to the rear view camera 13 via the rear view camera connection connector 13a connected to the rear view camera connection terminal 13b, is connected to the additional camera 14 via the additional camera connection connector 14a connected to the additional camera connection terminal 14b, and is connected to the front view camera 15 via the front view camera connection connector 15a connected to the front view camera connection terminal 15b. The front view camera connection terminal 15b and the additional camera connection terminal 14b are mini-pin jacks, and the rear view camera connection terminal 13b is an RCA terminal, and they are terminals with different shapes.

[0038] The main unit 1 is installed inside the vehicle. For example, as shown in Fig. 4(b), it is installed near the driver's seat at a position where the driver can easily take out the SD card 2 and where the cables connected to the above-described respective terminals do not interfere with the driving operation. For example, as shown in Fig. 4(b), it is fixed by attaching the bottom surface using double-sided tape to the center console or the under cover of the instrument panel at the position in front of the left side of the driver's seat. At this time, it is installed with the front side of the main body facing the right side direction in Fig. 4(b) and the rear side of the main body facing the left direction.

[0039] The front view camera 15 is a camera for photographing the front of the vehicle and outputs an NTSC signal as a video signal of the photographed video. As shown in FIG. 5, the front view camera 15 is fixed to the front glass in the vehicle interior with double-sided tape so that the lens faces the traveling direction as the direction for photographing the front of the vehicle. The fixing position shall be within 20% of the entire front glass from the upper part of the front glass in the vehicle interior (the range indicated by the symbol d in the figure). The power supply of the front view camera 15 is supplied from the control unit 10.

[0040] The additional camera 14 is a camera that can be attached at an arbitrary position to photograph the surrounding video of the vehicle and outputs an NTSC signal as a video signal of the photographed video. For example, as shown in FIG. 6(a), it is fixed to the front glass in the vehicle interior with double-sided tape so as to face the interior direction (from the front glass to the rear direction of the vehicle) as the photographing direction. The power supply of the additional camera 14 is supplied from the control unit 10.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 6(b), the additional camera 14 includes an upright image mode for outputting the photographed video as it is and a mirror image mode for outputting the photographed video with left and right reversed, and is provided with a setting switch 14s for setting the mode. The additional camera 14 switches between the upright image mode and the mirror image mode according to the state of the setting switch 14s and outputs the corresponding video signal. For example, when photographing the front direction of the vehicle, the upright image mode may be set, and when photographing the interior direction or the rear direction of the vehicle, the mirror image mode may be set.

[0042] The rear view camera 13 is a camera for photographing the rear of the vehicle and outputs an NTSC signal as a video signal of the photographed video. The rear view camera 13 is installed, for example, in the vicinity of the license plate outside the back door of the vehicle as shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b). The viewing angle of the rear view camera 13 is shown in FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d). FIG. 7(c) is a view showing the vehicle as seen from the upper surface side of the vehicle and shows the horizontal viewing angle when displayed on the display device 16. The viewing angle is 60 degrees to the left and right (120 degrees in total) with respect to the shooting direction. FIG. 7(d) is a view showing the vehicle as seen from the side surface side of the vehicle and shows the vertical viewing angle when displayed on the display device 16. The viewing angle is 43 degrees to the left and right (86 degrees in total) with respect to the shooting direction.

[0043] The wiring of the power supply for the rearview camera 13 and the wiring of the video signal from the rearview camera 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The power supply for the rearview camera 13 is supplied from the positive side wiring 93 of the reverse lamp of the vehicle. That is, the positive side wiring 93 of the reverse lamp and the power supply line 81 are connected by an electro tap 80 and are configured to be connected to the power supply line of the rearview camera 13 via the power supply line 81 and the fuse 82. The positive side wiring 93 of the reverse lamp of the vehicle is connected to one end of the reverse lamp and one end of the back position switch 92 of the shift lever. The other end of the reverse lamp 94 is connected to the negative terminal of the battery, and the other end of the back position switch 92 is connected to the positive terminal of the battery. The ground line 83 has one end connected to an existing uncoated screw or the like of the vehicle, and the other end connected to the ground line of the rearview camera 13. The uncoated screw of the vehicle is connected to the negative terminal of the battery 91. The back position switch 92 of the vehicle is configured to be turned on when the shift lever is in the back position and turned off when the shift lever is in a position other than the back position. As a result, while the shift lever is in the back position, current flows through the positive side wiring 93 of the reverse lamp of the vehicle, and the reverse lamp 94 lights up. At this time, power is supplied to the rearview camera 13 from the electro tap 83 via the power supply line 81 and the fuse 82. The rearview camera 13 outputs a video signal while power is being supplied. This video signal is input to the control unit 10 via the rearview camera connection connector 13a connected to the rearview camera connection terminal 13b. On the other hand, while the shift lever is in a position other than the back position, no current flows through the positive side wiring 93 of the reverse lamp of the vehicle, the reverse lamp 94 turns off, and power supply to the rearview camera 13 also stops. As a result, while the shift lever is in a position other than the back position, the rearview camera 13 does not output a video signal, and no video signal from the rearview camera 13 is input to the control unit 10.

[0044] The GPS unit 12 is installed in the front position of the dashboard, receives GPS signals, determines the current position from the received GPS signals, and sends the position information (longitude, latitude, etc.) of the determined current position to the control unit 10 in the form of NMEA data.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 9(a), the remote control 11 includes a first button 11p, a second button 11q, a third button 11r, a first lamp 11x, and a second lamp 12y. As shown in Fig. 9(b) with three installation patterns, it is fixed by pasting and fixing the back surface using double-sided tape at a position where the driver can easily operate, such as on the center console or the under cover of the instrument panel. The display device 16 is a liquid crystal monitor that inputs and displays NTSC signals such as car navigation and car TV.

[0046] The acceleration sensor 20 is provided inside the main unit 1 and is connected to the control unit 10. After the main unit 1 is fixed to the vehicle (for example, after being fixed as shown in Fig. 4(b)), when the control unit 10 detects that both the first button 11p and the second button 11q of the remote control 11 are pressed simultaneously for 2 seconds or more, initial settings are performed. This initial setting involves moving the vehicle straight forward and backward, detecting the direction of acceleration generated during this forward and backward movement with the acceleration sensor 20, detecting the correspondence between the three axes (x-axis, y-axis, z-axis) of the acceleration sensor 20 and the front and rear direction of the vehicle, and thereafter, setting the acceleration sensor 20 to output values with the front and rear direction of the vehicle as the X-axis, the left and right direction of the vehicle as the Y-axis, and the up and down direction of the vehicle as the Z-axis. The forward direction is the positive direction of the X-axis, the left direction is the positive direction of the Y-axis, and the upward direction is the positive direction of the Z-axis. Such an initial setting method can use a known method. The speaker 21 is provided inside the main unit 1 and is connected to the control unit 10.

[0047] The control unit 10 includes a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, various peripheral circuits, interfaces, etc., and is connected via interfaces that input or output respective signals to each of the parts described with reference to FIG. 1. When the ACC of the vehicle is turned ON, the control unit 10 is powered and starts operating. The control unit 10 expands the OS and application programs recorded in the flash memory onto the RAM by means of the bootloader recorded in the ROM, and executes the OS and application programs on the RAM to execute various processes described hereinafter and realize various functions. The OS is a multitasking OS, and realizes parallel processing by switching and executing various application programs.

[0048] After power-on, the control unit 10 periodically acquires, as vehicle states, the NMEA data from the GPS unit 12, and the signal states of the acceleration sensor 20, the brake lamp wire 33, the left turn signal wire 32, and the right turn signal wire 31, and performs data and signal state recording processing for recording these data and signal states in a file at a predetermined time interval (for example, 30 times per second) on the memory card 2 mounted in the memory card slot 19.

[0049] In addition, the control unit 10 acquires the images of the front view camera 15, the rear view camera 13, and the additional camera 14 as a plurality of vehicle peripheral images, performs camera image display processing for displaying them on the display device 10, and performs video and audio recording processing for recording, as reproducible data, the vehicle states recorded by the data and signal state recording processing and these vehicle peripheral images in a time-synchronized manner on the memory card 2.

[0050] The control unit 10 includes, as peripheral circuits, a video capture circuit that captures NTSC signals from the front view camera 15, the rear view camera 13, and the additional camera 14 as video data onto the RAM, respectively. Further, the control unit 10 includes, as a peripheral circuit, a video memory (VRAM) or the like, and a video generation circuit that outputs the drawing data drawn in the video memory as an NTSC signal to the display device 16 via an electronic switch described later.

[0051] After power-on, the control unit 10 performs camera video display processing to transfer each captured video data to the video memory and display it on the display device 16 as needed. As a default process, the camera video display processing outputs the video of the front view camera 15 to the display device 16. Further, in the camera video display processing, when the pressing of the first button 11p of the remote control 11 is detected, the video transferred to the video memory and displayed on the display device 16 is switched in the order of the videos of the front view camera 15, the additional camera 14, and the rear view camera 13. For example, if the driver presses the first button 11p twice after starting the device and the shift position is in reverse, as shown in FIG. 10, the video captured by the rear view camera 13 is displayed in the display area 16a of the display device 16. Further, in the camera video display processing, when a video signal is input to the video signal from the rear view camera 13, the video transferred to the video memory and displayed on the display device 16 is switched to the video from the rear view camera 13. When the video signal is no longer input to the video signal from the rear view camera 13, the video transferred to the video memory and displayed on the display device 16 is switched to the video before the switch to the video from the rear view camera 13.

[0052] In this way, the driver only needs to shift the shift position to the reverse, and as shown in FIG. 10, the video captured by the rear view camera 13 will be displayed in the display area 16a of the display device 16, and the driver can check the situation behind the vehicle by looking at the display device 16. In this way, based on the operation state of the vehicle by the driver, the control unit 10 determines and outputs the video to be preferentially output to the display device 16. Therefore, the driver does not need to switch the video with the remote control 11 along with the driving operation, and the video in the direction in which the vehicle will travel next will be output, and the appropriate video in accordance with the driver's intention will be displayed at the appropriate timing.

[0053] The video and audio recording process is a process of recording the audio obtained from the built-in microphone 17 and the audio data obtained from the external microphone 18 together with the respective video data captured by the front view camera 15, the rear view camera 13, and the additional camera 14 after the power is turned on. For the video data of the front view camera 15, the video data of the rear view camera 13, and the video data of the additional camera 14, the audio data obtained from the built-in microphone 17 is used as the left channel, and the audio data obtained from the external microphone 18 is used as the right channel, encoded in the MPEG format, and recorded in three files.

[0054] The file names of the signal state files recorded by the data signal state recording process and the three MPEG files recorded by the video and audio recording process are recorded using the date and time when each file started being recorded in each process from the real-time clock (clock) provided as a peripheral circuit of the microcomputer. Therefore, by reading the date and time of this file name, the position recorded at the same date and time of the data of each file can be specified. Thus, a playback process for playing back these files while taking temporal synchronization is possible. Note that the recording of these files ends when the supply of ACC power to the main body is cut off. The control unit 18 is provided with a backup power source having a battery for operating the control unit 18 and each connected unit for a period of time (5 seconds) required for ending the recording of the file when the ACC power is cut off. When the cut-off of the ACC power is detected, the control unit 18 is notified from the OS of the recording process, and the end process for recording all files is executed. Therefore, each recorded file is generated between the power-on by vehicle ACCON and the power-off by ACC OFF.

[0055] When the control unit 10 detects a long press (continuous pressing for 2 seconds or more) of the second button 11q of the remote control 11, the control unit 10 starts a playback process of playing back the video from the beginning of the currently recorded MPEG file for the video and audio of the front view camera 15 (starts a so-called chase playback of playing back while recording). For a certain period of time (5 seconds) from the start of the playback process, as shown in FIG. 11, an operation help 82, camera information 85 of the playback video, a playback state 84, and a playback video date and time 83 are displayed superimposed on the playback video 81. These displays are also performed for a predetermined period of time (3 seconds) when any button of the remote control 11 is pressed during the playback process.

[0056] The operation help 82 indicates what processing is performed when each button of the remote controller 11 is pressed. As shown in FIG. 11, it shows the correspondence between the button positions and the processing contents of the remote controller 11 in a state where the remote controller 11 in FIG. 9 is rotated 45 degrees clockwise. When the button shown in black in the figure is pressed, it indicates that the processing described in characters on its right side is executed. For example, in the schematic diagram of the remote controller 11 on the left side of the portion where "Play / Stop / Slow" is drawn in FIG. 11, the button shown in black corresponds to the second button 11q. Each time only the pressing of this second button 11q is detected, the screen display processing (that is, the playback processing content of the control unit 10) switches in the order of play → stop → slow. The state of the current screen display processing is displayed as "Playing", "Stopped", "Slowing" in the playback state 84. Also, information indicating which camera recorded the video currently being played is displayed as camera information 85. The camera information 85 is displayed as "CAM1" when displaying the video of the file recorded by the front view camera 15, "CAM2" when displaying the video of the file recorded by the additional camera 14, and "REAR" when displaying the video of the file recorded by the rear view camera 13. The playback video date and time 83 is an area for displaying the date and time of the video of the file being displayed, and it is obtained by obtaining the recording date and time at the beginning of the file from the file name and the recording date and time of the currently displayed frame based on the frame information of the file and then displaying it.

[0057] During the playback process, if only the pressing of the first button 11p is detected, the file to be played is switched, and the video is played from the frame with the same date and time as the currently playing frame. By doing so, even if there is a switch of the file to be played, the video will be displayed as temporally continuous. As a result, regarding the playback video date and time 83, even if there is a switch of the file to be played, it will continue to progress continuously. During the playback process, if only the pressing of the third button 11r is detected, the playback process is terminated and the camera video display process is performed (playback ended).

[0058] During playback processing, if the simultaneous pressing of the second button 11q and the third button 11r is detected, the file to be played is switched from the currently playing file to the previous file. That is, referring to the file name, the file recorded one before the currently playing file is identified from the date and time included in the file name, and the video is played from the beginning of that file. If there is no file older than the currently playing file, the currently playing file is played from the beginning.

[0059] During playback processing, if the simultaneous pressing of the first button 11p and the second button 11q is detected, the file to be played is switched from the currently playing file to the next file. That is, referring to the file name, the file recorded one after the currently playing file is identified from the date and time included in the file name, and the video is played from the beginning of that file. If there is no file newer than the currently playing file, the currently playing file is played from the beginning.

[0060] In this way, by operating the remote control 11, the images of the front view camera 15, the additional camera 14, and the rear view camera 13 can be switched to display the desired current image on the display device 16, or the images already recorded on the memory card 2 by the front view camera 15, the additional camera 14, and the rear view camera 13 can be played back, and by operating the remote control 11, the playback images of the front view camera 15, the additional camera 14, and the rear view camera 13 can be switched to display the desired past image on the display device 16. The control unit 10 performs control to switch to at least one of the images of the vehicle surrounding images thus obtained or only the image of at least one of the images played back recorded on the memory card 2.

[0061] In this embodiment, the control unit 10 is configured to perform control to switch to only at least one of the acquired vehicle surrounding images and the image reproduced from at least one of the images recorded on the memory card 2. However, the control unit 10 may further determine and output a setting item related to control for determining and outputting the image to be preferentially output to the display device 16, and display an image indicating the vehicle state recorded on the memory card 2. Also, the control for determining and outputting the image to be preferentially output to the display device 16 is set as control to switch to only the image. However, further, the control may be at least one of control to switch to an image in which a predetermined image is superimposed on the image, control to display the image in a larger size than other images, and control to display the image at the center of the display device 16 rather than other images.

[0062] According to the process of this embodiment, regardless of the image output to the display device 16, the acquired vehicle state and a plurality of vehicle surrounding images acquired from the front view camera 15, the rear view camera 13, and the additional camera 14 are recorded on the memory card 2. By doing so, a plurality of vehicle surrounding images at the time of a collision can be reliably recorded.

[0063] Note that in this embodiment, the images are constantly recorded from ACCON to ACCOFF. However, the constant recording may not be performed, or while the constant recording is being performed, when a state corresponding to a collision of the vehicle is detected by the acceleration sensor 20, regardless of the image output to the display device 16, the vehicle state and the vehicle surrounding images acquired from the front view camera 15, the rear view camera 13, and the additional camera 14 may be recorded on the memory card 2. By doing so, a plurality of vehicle surrounding images at the time of a collision can be reliably recorded. Also, when a collision is detected, the image output to the display device 16 may be preferentially recorded on the memory card 2. By doing so, an image with a high possibility of recording the moment of the collision can be reliably recorded.

[0064] In this embodiment, the video of the rear view camera 15 that captures the rear of the vehicle is recorded. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any video may be recorded. Further, as the operating state of the vehicle, any state may be acquired and recorded. For example, side cameras for acquiring the right-side video and the left-side video of the vehicle are provided respectively. The control unit 10 is connected to the in-vehicle LAN. As the operating state of the vehicle by the driver, when it is detected from the packets flowing through the in-vehicle LAN that the right turn signal has been activated in a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed (for example, 10 km / h or lower), control is performed to preferentially output the right-side video of the vehicle over other videos. On the other hand, when it is detected that the left turn signal has been activated in a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed (for example, 10 km / h or lower), it is preferable to adopt a configuration in which control is performed to preferentially output the left-side video of the vehicle over other videos. In this way, for example, when exiting the parking lot in either the left or right direction, or when trying to turn at an intersection with poor visibility, the video of the vehicle periphery in the direction where the turn signal is activated in a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed is displayed on the display device 16. Therefore, in such a situation that requires attention, the driver can easily check the video of the vehicle periphery in that direction by looking at the display device 16 without performing any special operation for display. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed exceeds the predetermined vehicle speed, even if the turn signal is activated, the video of the vehicle periphery in the direction where the turn signal is activated is not displayed on the display device 16. Therefore, when the vehicle is traveling at a speed equal to or higher than the predetermined vehicle speed, the driver will not feel annoyed or distracted by the display of the vehicle periphery video on the display device 16. Further, when the control unit 10 determines the video to be preferentially output to the display device 16 based on the operating state of the vehicle by the driver among a plurality of videos of the vehicle periphery, it may be configured to record the data as reproducible data on the memory card 2. For example, when the vehicle speed is slower than a predetermined value and the turn signal is activated, the video of the side camera may be displayed on the in-vehicle monitor, and the recording may be performed at the timing when the turn signal is activated.

[0065] When playing back the data of the vehicle surrounding video recorded on the memory card 2, it is preferable to have a function of playing back the playback video with left - right or up - down inversion. In this way, even if the camera for shooting the vehicle surrounding video is installed upside - down, the video can be played back in the correct orientation. Also, for example, the video captured by a rear - view camera that outputs a video signal of a left - right inverted video can also be played back with left - right inversion.

[0066] In addition, it is preferable to record on the memory card 2 as data that can be played back with the driving state of the vehicle by the driver, the acquired vehicle state, and a plurality of vehicle surrounding videos synchronized in time. For example, as the driving state of the vehicle by the driver, by recording what the shift position is, it can be known whether there was a collision during reverse, whether engine braking was applied on a downhill slope, whether the vehicle was stopped, in neutral or in parking (ECO driving), etc. Then, it is preferable to perform a process of recording on the memory card 2 as data that can be played back with the information indicating the video preferentially output to the display device 16, the driving state of the vehicle by the driver, the acquired vehicle state, and a plurality of vehicle surrounding videos synchronized in time.

[0067] In this embodiment, the camera video display process is performed by executing a program on a computer to generate an output video. However, even when it is not possible to generate a video by executing a program on a computer, if a signal of a video to be output preferentially to the display device 16 is detected, it is preferable to provide hardware that performs control to output the video preferentially over other videos. That is, the control unit 10 further includes an electronic switch (video signal selector), which is hardware that performs control to output the video of the rear-view camera 13 preferentially over the videos of the front-view camera 15 and the additional camera 14 when the shift position is in the reverse. A video signal line from the rear-view camera 13 and an output line from the video generation circuit of the control unit 10 are connected to this electronic switch. When a video signal is input to the video signal from the rear-view camera 13, the electronic switch outputs the video signal from the rear-view camera 13 to the display device 16. When no video signal is input to the video signal from the rear-view camera 13, the electronic switch outputs the output from the video generation circuit to the display device 16. Also, a signal indicating whether a video signal is input from the rear-view camera 13 is output to the microcomputer included in the control unit 18. When a signal indicating that a video signal is input to the video signal from the rear-view camera 13 is detected during the above-described playback process, the playback process is temporarily stopped. With the configuration described with reference to FIG. 8, while the shift lever is in a state other than the reverse position, the video signal from the rear-view camera 13 is not input to the electronic switch of the control unit 10. While the shift lever is in the reverse position, the video signal from the rear-view camera 13 is input to the electronic switch of the control unit 10.

[0068] In this way, the driver can immediately check the situation behind the vehicle by looking at the display device 16 just by shifting the shift position to the reverse. Thus, based on the operating state of the vehicle by the driver, the control unit 10 determines and outputs the video to be preferentially output to the display device 16. Therefore, the driver does not need to switch the video with the remote control 11 along with the driving operation, and the video in the direction in which the vehicle will travel next will be output, and the appropriate video in accordance with the driver's intention will be displayed at the appropriate timing. Since the camera video display process is realized by the execution of the program by the microcomputer, for example, there may be a state where the video cannot be generated by the camera video display process because the microcomputer is in the process of starting up the OS or the processing load of the microcomputer is high. In such a state, it is difficult to immediately reflect the operating state of the vehicle by the driver by the camera video display process and output the video of the rearview camera 13. However, when the signal of the video from the rearview camera 13 is detected by the electronic switch (hardware), the video from the rearview camera 13 is output preferentially over other videos, so that the operating state of the vehicle by the driver can be immediately reflected and the video from the rearview camera 13 can be displayed on the display device 16.

[0069] Furthermore, it is determined whether a person is captured in the video output preferentially to the display device 16, such as the video of the rearview camera 13, by performing pattern matching processing on the video data acquired from the rearview camera 13 of the control unit 10. When it matches the pattern corresponding to a person, a process of emitting an alarm sound may be performed from the speaker 21. In this way, when the alarm sound is generated, an avoidance action such as stopping the vehicle can be taken easily and immediately. In addition, the driver can easily confirm whether the object of the alarm is an avoidance target or the like by simply looking at the display device 16 when the alarm sound is emitted without performing any special operation. For example, when a person is captured in the video of the side camera in the direction where the turn signal is on, it may be notified by an alarm sound, or when the reverse position is set and a person is captured in the video of the rear camera, it may be notified by an alarm sound.

[0070] In this embodiment, the rearview camera connection terminal 13b, which is the input terminal of the rearview video that is the video output preferentially to the display device 16, is an RCA terminal, while the front view camera connection terminal 15b and the additional camera connection terminal 14b, which are the video input terminals of other videos, are mini pin jacks and have different shapes. In this way, it can be easily understood which video input terminal the camera (rearview camera 13) of the video output preferentially should be connected to. The rearview camera connection terminal 13b, the front view camera connection terminal 15b, and the additional camera connection terminal 14b are arranged inside the back surface of the main unit 1, and a memory card slot 19, which is the insertion slot of the memory card 2, is provided on the front surface of the main unit 1, which is the surface facing the surface provided with these video input terminals. In this way, when inserting or removing the memory card 2 into / from the memory card slot 19, the cables connected to the video input terminals do not get in the way. Also, when inserting or removing the memory card 2 into / from the memory card slot 19, problems such as accidentally catching and pulling out the cables connected to the video input terminals are less likely to occur.

[0071] The data recorded on the memory card 2 can be retrieved by removing the memory card 2 from the memory card slot 19, inserting it into a personal computer, and played back using a program on the personal computer. Through processing by the program on the personal computer, for example, a viewer screen 100 as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 12, the viewer screen 100 includes a menu bar 101, a display area 102, display switching buttons 103, a volume knob 104, a speed display 105, a brake and turn signal display 106, an acceleration display 107, a latitude and longitude display 108, display operation buttons 109, an acceleration sensor graph 110, a date and time display 111, a map 112, and a playlist list 113.

[0072] The display area 102 includes a front view camera video playback area 102a, an additional camera video playback area 102b, and a rear view camera video playback area 102c. When playing back the data of the vehicle surrounding videos of the front view camera, additional camera, and rear view camera recorded on the memory card 2, it has a function of playing back the playback video after inverting it horizontally or vertically. When right-clicking on the front view camera video playback area 102a, the additional camera video playback area 102b, or the rear view camera video playback area 102c, the playback video can be switched in the order of horizontal inversion, vertical inversion, horizontal and vertical inversion, and no inversion.

[0073] Also, based on the information indicating the video that was output with priority to the display device 16 as described above, it is preferable to adopt a configuration in which a predetermined display indicating the video that was output with priority to the display device 16 is performed among the plurality of vehicle surrounding videos being played back. In this way, it is possible to easily grasp which video was being displayed on the display device 16 when playing back later using a playback device such as a personal computer. For example, record the start date and time and end date and time when the video from the rear view camera was input, and while playing back the video of that date and time, highlight the outer frame portion of the rear view camera video playback area 102c.

[0074] Note that the viewer screen 100 is set as a screen to be displayed on a personal computer. However, for example, it may be configured to output to a screen of a navigation device installed in a vehicle or the like, or to output to the display device 16.

[0075] As described above, the present invention has been described using examples. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. The examples described in the above embodiments may be combined in any combination, or various changes or improvements may be made. Further, the contents described in the claims, the background art, the problems to be solved by the invention, and the means for solving the problems can be appropriately applied to each embodiment, and an embodiment can be obtained by applying the common technical knowledge of those skilled in the art.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0076] 2 Memory Card 10 Control Unit 11 Remote Control 12 GPS Unit 13 Rear View Camera 14 Additional Camera 15 Front View Camera 16 Display Device 17 Built-in Microphone 18 External Microphone 19 Memory Card Slot 20 Acceleration Sensor 21 Speaker

Claims

An apparatus having a function of playing back an image captured and recorded by a camera in a vehicle, characterized in that it has a function of temporarily stopping playback when a video signal from a rearview camera is input during playback. An apparatus characterized by the above. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the apparatus according to claim 1.

Images